Water battle likely headed for trial

DELTA – A Colorado water court judge appears likely to let supporters and opponents of a pipeline diversion from Cow Creek into Ridgway Reservoir duke out their claims at a trial scheduled for next year. As the long-running water rights application inches toward a resolution, Division 4 Water Court Judge Steven L. Schultz signaled at a hearing last week that he was wary of letting a coalition of environmentalists and ranchers stop the project in its tracks. Schultz repeatedly suggested that what opponents of the project asserted as undisputed facts — including that the project is an engineering non-starter — were in fact contested issues to be sorted out at trial. And he voiced skepticism at their argu- ments that Tri-County Water Conservancy District had distorted the project’s aims over the course of the litigation. “I have yet to have a case go to trial that is exactly the same as it was [when filed],” Schultz said.

This excerpt comes from the named source. Read the original for the full reporting.