ASPEN I (AP) A deal has been made to pay off the outstanding $34 million construction debt on Ruedi Reservoir and keep the last of the un-contracted water for Western Slope users. The Colorado River District announced Tuesday the water that is being purchased will serve primarily as a backup supply for very dry years.
According to the Aspen Times, the federal government permitted the construction of the dam in the 1960s on the assumption that oil-shale development would create demand for the reservoir’s water, which has been subject to a boom and bust economy.