Utah’s Supreme Court has upheld a decision blocking a proposal to pipe Green River water from Utah to Colorado’s Front Range — a controversial project that’s been in the works for more than a decade.
The plan, led by Fort Collins developer Aaron Million and his company Water Horse Resources, would divert 55,000 acre-feet of water each year from the Green River in northeastern Utah, sending it more than 300 miles across Wyoming to serve communities along Colorado’s Front Range.
The Utah state engineer rejected the proposal in 2020, citing unanswered questions about whether the project would count against Utah’s or Colorado’s allocation of Colorado River water under the 1948 Upper Basin Compact. The Utah Supreme Court agreed, saying Water Horse must first prove the water would be beneficially used in Colorado before any export could be approved.
Conservation groups, including Save the Colorado, called the ruling a victory against large-scale diversions, saying it should be the “nail in the coffin” for the project. But Million insists it’s only a temporary setback, saying the company plans to continue seeking approvals — and possibly appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
