From The Denver Post opinion page (Charles W. Howe):
The Million project would be a costly undertaking. As proposed, it would pump 81 billion gallons of water a year (250,000 acre-feet per year, slightly less than Denver Water’s annual use) a distance of nearly 600 miles, requiring at least three new reservoirs and 16 pumping stations to lift the water uphill 3,000 feet. The Colorado Water Conservation Board estimates the project’s construction cost to be in excess of $7 billion. To cover construction and operating costs, the price of project water would have to be at least $2,200 for each acre-foot provided — which no farmer and few cities can afford.
In late 2009, the Corps of Engineers required Million to demonstrate the project’s purpose and need by providing information on interested customers. In response, Million recently produced a series of non-binding form letters from a few cities and agricultural districts in Colorado and Wyoming saying they could use extra water. Notably absent from Million’s list of interested customers are the three biggest water providers on the Front Range — Denver Water, Aurora Water, and Colorado Springs Utilities…
Perhaps the greatest cost of Million’s proposal will be borne by all Colorado water users, since Million’s project would lock up most of the state’s remaining Colorado River allocation. This removal of water from the Colorado River system would also increase the probability that Colorado will not be able to meet its obligation to the Lower Basin under the Colorado River Compact of 1922, an event that would jeopardize existing Western Slope exports to the Front Range.