The AVC agreement would store water in the Pueblo Reservoir, built after President John F. Kennedy signed legislation authorizing the Fry-Ark agreement in 1962, Photo courtesy of the City of Aurora.
Senators Bennet, Hickenlooper Welcome Additional Funding to Deliver Clean Water to 39 Southeast Colorado Communities
Late Thursday, the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) confirmed that $90 million in new funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law would be made available to expedite construction of the Arkansas Valley Conduit (AVC). This means that Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper have now helped secure more than $348 million to expedite construction.
“Since joining the Senate, I’ve pushed for greater investments and passed legislation to ensure the federal government keeps its word and finishes the Arkansas Valley Conduit,” said Bennet. “This announcement brings us one step closer, but I’ll keep working with the Bureau of Reclamation and the 39 communities across Southeast Colorado to finish this project and deliver a safe and reliable water supply for every Coloradan.”
“We broke ground on the Arkansas Valley Conduit to finally deliver clean drinking water to Southeast Colorado. Now, more Bipartisan Infrastructure Law investments like this one will speed up the timeline,” said Hickenlooper.
U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet joined Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton, Department of the Interior Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water and Science Gary Gold, and Colorado Water Conservation Board Director Becky Mitchell for a groundbreaking ceremony for the Arkansas Valley Conduit, a major water infrastructure project that will deliver clean drinking water to 50,000 Coloradans when complete.
The AVC is a planned 130-mile water-delivery system from the Pueblo Reservoir to communities throughout the Arkansas River Valley in Southeast Colorado. This funding will help expedite the construction timeline. The AVC is the final phase of the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project, which Congress authorized in 1962.
Bennet and Hickenlooper have consistently and successfully advocated for increased funding for the AVC. In January, Bennet and Hickenlooper wrote to President Biden to urge him to prioritize funding for the AVC in his Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) budget. The senators also called on Senate Appropriations leaders to provide more funding for the project in the FY25 appropriations bill.
In January 2023, Bennet and Hickenlooper urged BOR to allocate additional resources through annual appropriations and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding.
As a result of their calls and with this announcement, the senators have helped deliver $250 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for the AVC, including $100 million in 2023 and $60 million in 2022. They also secured over $60 million in annual appropriations bills since 2010, including $10.1 million in Fiscal Year 2024 and $10.1 million in Fiscal Year 2023.
Beginning in 2013, Bennet and HIckenlooper then pushed BOR to support the project with mire than $38 million in additional funding. Both say they will continue working in Washington to ensure Colorado has the resources needed to complete this vital project for the region.