February 7, 2007--Mediator Hired for Water-Sharing Talks (Denver Post)
Locked in an almost two-year standstill, Denver Water and a coalition of Western Slope water users have hired a Washington, D.C., mediator to prod stalled water-sharing talks. The two factions hope the mediator will be able to help them avoid litigation and reach agreement on some long-standing conflicts between the state's largest water provider and water users in Grand, Summit, Eagle and Mesa counties...In May 2005, a coalition of Western Slope water users with what was billed as a "global solution" aimed to protect their supplies while giving the utility a chance to develop more projects in the high country. The proposal, the details of which remain under wraps, marked the first time various Western Slope factions had come together to negotiate...Among the sticking points are future allocations from Green Mountain and Wolcott reservoirs. Under one proposal, Denver Water would get a portion of the water stored in the federally owned Green Mountain reservoir. Two-thirds of it currently goes to the Western Slope. A pipeline would be built to ship water from Green Mountain to Denver Water's Dillon Reservoir. In exchange, the Western Slope might augment its supply from a new reservoir to be built near Wolcott in Eagle County.
To view the full article, visit the Denver Post website. A similar article, February 7, 2007--Mediator to Wade into Colorado Rive Dispute was published in the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. An editorial, February 9, 2007--Rivers of Disagreement, related to this topic was also published in the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. For copies of the original articles contact the WIP at (970) 247-1302 or stop by the office at 841 East Second Avenue in Durango.