Washington, D.C. — Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper celebrated the U.S. Department of Interior’s (DOI) announcement of over $61 million for six Colorado projects to update aging water infrastructure, increase drought resilience, and improve hydropower generation. This investment is provided through the DOI’s Aging Infrastructure Account, which received over $3 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
“As Colorado and the West face historic drought, we must safeguard clean water for future generations,” said Bennet. “These Bipartisan Infrastructure Law investments will revitalize aging water delivery systems across the West and help ensure Colorado’s families, farmers, and Tribes have access to a safe, reliable water supply.”
“Our water is too precious to waste even a drop on outdated infrastructure meant to deliver and conserve our water supplies,” said Hickenlooper. “Our BIL is fixing that. These updates will help save water and make us more resilient to drought.”
Bennet and Hickenlooper fought to include $8 billion for western water infrastructure, $10 billion for forests, $19 billion for agricultural conservation, and $4 billion for drought in the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
A full list of projects in Colorado is below.
| Location | Title | Project Description | Amount |
| Blue Mesa Reservoir | Blue Mesa Powerplant Butterfly Valves Replacement | Replace the two existing 156″ butterfly valves at the Blue Mesa Powerplant and refurbish the two existing Ring Follower Gates at the Blue Mesa Dam. | $32,035,759 |
| Mt. Elbert Forebay | Mt. Elbert Unit 2 Seal Ring Replacement | Design and fabricate of headcover supports and draft tube platforms, load testing of current below-the-hook lifting devices, disassembly of Unit 2, removal and replacement of the stationary and rotational seal rings, and reassembly of Unit 2. | $20,000,000 |
| Turquoise Lake | Boustead Tunnel Weep Holes Drilling | Install 299 additional weep holes and the cleaning of 293 existing weep holes throughout the 5.5-mile tunnel to relieve and prevent the buildup of hydrostatic pressure behind the tunnel concrete lining. | $4,632,800 |
| Upper Molina Power Plant | Upper Molina Penstock Emergency Shut Off Valve | Install a remotely operated emergency isolation valve to prevent catastrophic flooding in case of rupture. | $3,000,000 |
| Blue Mesa Reservoir | Blue Mesa Powerplant Access Road Pavement | Pave the public access road to Blue Mesa powerplant. | $1,300,000 |
| Blue Mesa Reservoir | Blue Mesa Station Service Transformer Electrical Bus Replacement | Replace the electrical bus from the station service transformer to the station service switchgear. | $650,000 |