Water managers from the Colorado River District met with Pitkin County Commissioners Tuesday to talk about shared goals and points of contention around keeping more water in Western Slope rivers.

Representatives from the Glenwood Springs-based Colorado River Water Conservation District attended a work session with commissioners to explain how a deal with a Front Range diverter keeps more flow in the Roaring Fork, and about their plan to purchase the water rights tied to the Shoshone hydroplant in Glenwood Canyon.

Brendon Langenhuizen, director of technical advocacy with the River District, explained that through a River District agreement with the Twin Lakes Reservoir and Canal Co., about 500 acre-feet of water contaminated by acid rock drainage did not flow down Lincoln Creek and the Roaring Fork, but instead went through the Twin Lakes Tunnel to the Front Range. This complicated, circular movement of water was a win-win for all the parties, Langenhuizen said.