On December 19, 2023, the Colorado River District and Public Service Company of Colorado/Xcel Energy  signed a Purchase and Sale Agreement (PSA) to transfer ownership of the historic Shoshone water rights to the Colorado River District. These rights command significant flows upstream and downstream of the Shoshone Hydropower Plant on the Upper Colorado River in Glenwood Canyon, and are essential to the communities and economies not only on the West Slope, but across the state.

The signing of the PSA officially launched the public outreach and fundraising effort known as the Shoshone Water Right Preservation Campaign, the work to permanently protect Shoshone flows is not new. For over 20 years, 19 western Colorado governments and water entities – including Grand, Summit, Eagle, Garfield, and Mesa Counties and many of the municipalities therein – have been working together to secure Shoshone flow permanency.