In the 1960s, the city and county of Denver bought up water rights on the Western Slope, including hundreds of thousands of acres in the Vail Valley. To keep water though, you have to use it--or at least prepare to use it in the future. Hoarding unneeded water isn't allowed in Colorado. Every six years, Denver goes through the paper shuffle of water court to prove it’s being diligent in using the water in some way or another. This is also a chance for someone to challenge those rights. The Upper Eagle Regional Water Authority and the Eagle River Water & Sanitation District pounced on that opportunity in 2002, arguing that Denver doesn’t need the water and hasn’t done enough to keep those water rights. Instead, that water should stay in the Vail Valley, they say.

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