Bennet, Hickenlooper Celebrate $170 Million from Inflation Reduction Act to Fight Western Drought

Jan 21, 2025|Press Releases
Washington, D.C.— Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper celebrated $152 million from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) for 17 Colorado projects to combat the Colorado River crisis, increase drought resiliency, and restore habitats and $18 million for drought mitigation in the Upper Rio Grande Basin. These investments were made possible through the $4 billion Bennethelped securein theInflation Reduction Act (IRA)to address drought, restore the health of our watersheds, and invest in the future of the American West. Bennet and Hickenlooper sent letters to USBR in support of several of the projects awarded.
This funding comes from USBR’s Upper Colorado River Basin Environmental Drought Mitigation program, referred to as “Bucket 2E”.
“The Inflation Reduction Act provided historic funding to address drought, restore the health of our watersheds, and invest in the future of the American West. I’m glad the Biden-Harris administration answered our calls to support the water security of critical basins across the state from the Rio Grande Basin to Southwest Colorado,”said Bennet.“This funding will also bring us one step closer to securing the Shoshone water right on the Colorado River fulfilling a long-standing goal of Coloradans to protect the environmental, economic, and agricultural resources of the State’s namesake river.”
“We passed our historicInflation Reduction Actto tackle the long-term aridification of the West head-on,”said Hickenlooper.“That’s exactly what these new federal investments do. They’ll preserve historical Colorado River flows, help manage drought impacts on Upper Basin ecosystems, and improve water supply resiliency on the Upper Rio Grande.”
In October 2024, Bennet and HickenlooperurgedUSBR to support the Colorado River Water Conservation District’s application for federal funding to purchase two of the oldest water rights on the Colorado River mainstem in Colorado, known as the Shoshone Permanency Project. The Shoshone Permanency Project will benefit the Colorado River ecosystem, especially as Colorado and the West face unprecedented drought.
In addition to $4 billion in drought mitigation funding, Bennet and Hickenlooper also helped secure $8 billion for western water infrastructure, $10 billion for forests, and $19 billion for agricultural conservation in theInflation Reduction ActandBipartisan Infrastructure Law.
A full list of Colorado projects awarded is below.

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