Six members of Colorado’s congressional delegation, including Sens. John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet, have come out in support of a $99 million effort to secure historic Colorado River water rights, a move that would provide environmental benefits and protect Western Slope users from any potential future sale.

Western Slope water agencies, including the Glenwood Springs-based Colorado River District, and the state have committed $56 million to purchase the water from Xcel Energy, which uses the water to operate its Shoshone hydropower plant in Glenwood Canyon.

Colorado River District Manager Andy Mueller could not immediately be reached for comment, but in a statement, he said he was grateful for the political shoutout from the senators, as well as Democratic Reps. Jason Crow, Joe Neguse, Brittany Pettersen and Diana DeGette.