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<br />preme Court Decisions required the State Engineer
<br />to promulgate Rules and Regulations restricting the
<br />utilization of pumps which were junior to surface
<br />decrees. State Engineer Clarence Kuiper worked with
<br />the members of the Board of Directors of the District
<br />o and representatives from the Colorado Water Protec-
<br />..: live and Development Association - an Organization
<br />.... representing the majority of the large capacity pumps
<br />Q!) between Pueblo and the Kansas Stateline - to develop
<br />U1 a cooperative program, whereby the District would sell
<br />_1 a portion ,of its re,:urn flow from Project Water, and
<br />......,., thus provIde the replacement water' necessary for
<br />the State Engineer to permit owners of pumps to pro.
<br />vide necessary M&I and Agricultural water. This kind
<br />of cooperative program will provide a meaningful and
<br />long-range Water Management Project which will
<br />benefit the Arkansas Valley, and multiply the benefits
<br />accrued from the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project.
<br />
<br />PROPOSED WINTER STORAGE PROGRAM
<br />
<br />The Congress of the United States when author.
<br />izing the Frringpan-Arkansa!3 Project Act, authorized
<br />the District to work out a cooperative program with
<br />Irrigation Companies below Pueblo Dam, whereby
<br />they could utilize storage space in Pueblo Reservoir
<br />to store their decreed waters during Winter months,
<br />and then have those waters available for use during the
<br />more productive irrigation season. In 1972, represen-
<br />tatives from the District and the U.S. Bureau of Rec-
<br />lamation met with the Board of Directors of each of
<br />the 13 Ditch and Canal Companies to discuss a wide
<br />variety of alternatives which might be utilized. The
<br />meetings proved to be very productive, and data used
<br />during those meetings are now being upd.lted to reflect
<br />the amount of water actually diverted during the
<br />Winter months of 1970,71, and 1971,72, identifying
<br />the actual amount of water which could have been
<br />available during the irrigation seasons of 1971 and
<br />1972, but which was not, because it could not be stored
<br />in Pueblo Reservoir. Plans are being made for con.
<br />tinuation of these meetings early in 1973.
<br />
<br />ANNUAL BUDGET
<br />
<br />In accordance with Colorado State Statutes, the
<br />members of the Boa[d of Directors, working through
<br />their respecti\'e Committees and the Staff, carefully
<br />prepared a well defined Proposed Budget for 1973,
<br />based upon actual expenditures in previous years,
<br />anticipated requirements for the r.oming year, and
<br />estimated income. Copies of the Proposed Budget
<br />were then widely distributed throughout the District,
<br />and Legal Notices published in the newsp,lpers of gen-
<br />eral circulation in the nine Counties in advance of the
<br />
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<br />'., .;..n.,"
<br />
<br />Official Budget Hearing, The Formal Hearing was
<br />held September 21, 1972, at 1 ;30 p.m, at the District
<br />Offices, 905 Highway 50 West, Pueblo, Colorado.
<br />
<br />~'; :.
<br />
<br />WATER LITIGATION AND LEGISLATION
<br />
<br />During the past six years, members of the Colo-
<br />rado General Assembly have passed a number of
<br />Water Bills relating to Water Resource Management
<br />throughout the State, with particular emphasis on
<br />water supplies in the Arkansas Valley. The South-
<br />eastern Colorado Water Conservancy District, created
<br />under Colorado State Statutes, has a direct interest in
<br />all Water Legislation and Water Statutes, and in the
<br />administration of Water La\'..s passed by the General
<br />Assembly. It is necessary, therefore, that the Board
<br />of Directors authorize Legal Counsel for the District
<br />to review Applications Filed, to determine not only
<br />their effect on decrees owned by the District, and the
<br />ultimate operation of the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project,
<br />but also the o\'er-all water regime within and without
<br />the confines of the District as set forth in the Statutes
<br />authorizing the creation of the District. The Board
<br />of Directors, after a thorough discussion of various
<br />Applications Filed in Water Courts, authorized Legal
<br />Counsel to represent the District in appropriate Courts
<br />of Law. Representative!3 from the District alsu spend
<br />time during the Annual Session of the Colorado Gen-
<br />eral Assembly working with members of the Legisla-
<br />ture on Amendments to Colorado Water Statutes, to
<br />help make current Water Laws more manageable, and
<br />more in tUlle with the times. The Directors are anxious
<br />that water litigation he held to an absolute minimum,
<br />while at the same time assuring the protection of the
<br />rights of decree holders under Colorado Water
<br />Doctrine.
<br />
<br />MUNICIPAL. INDUSTRIAL CONDUITS
<br />
<br />When the Congress of the United States author-
<br />ized the construction of the Fryingpan-Arkansas Proj-
<br />ect in 1962, they provided that two separate Municipal-
<br />Indusrtial Conduits could be built after it was deter-
<br />mined the entities could not construct the Conduits
<br />themselves. Studies were subsequently made by the
<br />District and the Bureau, to affirm the fact it would
<br />be financially necessary for the Bureau and the Dis-
<br />trict to construct the Proposed Conduits.
<br />
<br />On July 1, 1971, the Board of Directors entered
<br />into a contract with the Engineering Firm of Black
<br />and Veatch to perfect an Economic and Engineering
<br />Feasibility Study on the "Proposed Arkansas Valley
<br />Conduit'\ which would serve municipal customers be-
<br />tween Pueblo and Lamar. This exhaustive Study was
<br />completed in November 1972, and copies were imme-
<br />
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