The major population centers in Colorado don’t rely on the Colorado river. Everything east of the continental divide/the Rockies is in a different watershed
Wow. I knew about the straws, but I didn't know just what a large percentage of the water was coming from Dillon, etc...
Still though, the original point stands. The front range where everyone lives has a lot less to worry about than downstream users like Nevada and California.
There are a number of trans-mountain diversions of Colorado River water eastward under the continental divide.
Denver Water alone collects 50% of its drinking water from the tributaries of the Colorado River on the west side of the continental divide.
Water diverted from the Colorado River Basin, through trans-mountain diversions, makes up 60-70% of the water used by Colorado Springs.
For example, see https://www.denverwater.org/your-water/water-supply-and-plan...
Much of the water used by Fort Collins and Greeley comes from the western slope through the Adams Tunnel under Rocky Mountain National Park.
https://www.northernwater.org/