Cynthia Barnett, in her book "Mirage, Florida and the vanishing water of the Eastern U.S. ( University of Michigan Press, 2007) writes that the project was the legacy of Congressman Wayne Aspinall of Colorado.
In 1988, the project was incorporated into the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement Act (Public Law 100-585).
Roy Romer and his lieutenant governor, Gail Schoettler, undertook an initiative to bring supporters and opponents together to address and resolve the issues and gain consensus on project alternatives.
In 1998, the Department of the Interior issued a recommendation for a substantially scaled-down project designed primarily to satisfy Native American water rights, along with municipal and industrial needs in the immediate area secondarily, and completely excluding other non-Indian irrigation systems.
As of March 2015, the Bureau or Reclamation was working with the city of Durango on a recreation lease and annexation agreement, as well as a cultural resource management plan to comply with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.