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<br />~~ ~ IIi News
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<br />. ~::' 'f). : ~;~~. P:lo.:~
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<br />Fraser River water is assured
<br />S~y-Hi ~ews 7/301 92 page 1)
<br />b~' Patrick Dro",!:r
<br />'. ~::~m~ms ......:rc '1~'I'lC\J bst '.~','-':Jo:
<br />.:.n ",:.1. ll,Jr r:lany ~-'::l.rs to <.:om~. ~Ol\'C
<br />.:~;:- i'mblem or" in.ll!c:quate w;!(cr :lows
<br />. ~;:: frJscr River.
<br />:;:..::~c .H.:rc~mcnls also .;!;mtlcd me
<br />;:uJis lh:lt~ '\Iii :.illuw Wolfor;,! ~luLln.
<br />..m R:,..;:rY;:Olf :.:J ~c bl..ult. ;:::;;J~ably
<br />,.~l\m me r.:)(~ twO :'cars, .m ~luGLi~
<br />':r~ck nortJ\ uL Krcrnmling.
<br />;":. !n!i ...to~':: JCI.:lIJS (Ul!clhcr tlUOU!!:il
<br />~~".m~lnll :..ltIglc: o( water inwrcsLS
<br />""d ;llUCcmcm on till: Oimon Reser-
<br />.,llt JC.lJ. whien ..llSO gIV":S Summll
<br />C<Jumv ski J.re:lS and towns rnure water.
<br />Dc~\'er:ll.SO geLS iLS share oi.....alcr m
<br />t:lcsc<.lcals.
<br />"The Fr:lsct Vall<:v's water
<br />problems for the near and Ti,ld.lcnn IU-
<br />I~re Jrc now solveu:' sa.u.1 Cowuy
<br />~Ianager Howard ~100dy. "We will
<br />have the water Ilows nec:ac:d for Lhe
<br />low-walt:r winter months."
<br />11'lC towns of Fraser and Granby and
<br />the water and sani[Ujon disD'icts of the
<br />Frasar Valley and Granby have all
<br />struggled for years wuh low flows in
<br />the Fraser River. Prospects for growth
<br />in the Fr.J.ser Valley were severely
<br />UmilCd by the low [lOwS in the Fraser.
<br />The: Wolford Motmwn deal. and its
<br />connection with the Qinron Reservoir
<br />deal, will require tOO Denver Water
<br />Board to leave up to an additional 920
<br />J.cre feet in the Fraser Basin per year
<br />during critical low flow periods in the
<br />winter. The upper Fraser Valley is
<br />Laced with Denver Water Board diver-
<br />sion SUUCNfCS and [unnels that funnel
<br />water to Denver.
<br />Rrst comes the Lease agreement on
<br />Wolford Mountain Reservoir.
<br />Hailed by water expertS across the
<br />state as a landmark move, the Denver
<br />Water Board and the Coloma River
<br />Water Conservation District agRlCd on
<br />an amended leasing deal concerning the
<br />construction of Wolford Mountain
<br />Reservoir.
<br />Wolford Mowttain Reservoir bas
<br />been pllUll'led for nearly 10 years and is
<br />the only n:se{'(oir jn Colorado. and one
<br />of very few in the western U.S., cur-
<br />rently permitted and ready for
<br />constrUction.
<br />With the amended Lease agreed upon
<br />last week, it is likely that consuuction
<br />will stan. neltt year.
<br />TIle resel"Yoir wu set 10 be built by
<br />the river disDict. sw1ing wilh funds
<br />gained through the Windy Gap Reser-
<br />voir project near Granby, and with sig-
<br />nificant help from Denver Ihrough a
<br />Lease agreement in which Denver
<br />would have paid for the right 10 use
<br />some of the water stOred in the reser-
<br />VOIr. That lease money was to haVe
<br />.helped pay for the long-tenn debt
<br />needed (or building the reservoir.
<br />TIle reccntl.y agreed upon change in
<br />the lease turnS the old le:lSC intO a iease-
<br />purchase agreement wherein Denver
<br />:J.gJeeS to pay $43 million up-from for a
<br />:.5-year lease on water in Wolford
<br />~Iountain. That would supply lS,CXXl
<br />Jcte feet of water for Denver from Wol-
<br />ford for the first 2~ years.
<br />Further. the new agreement allows
<br />Denver to own. outright, l2.00J acre
<br />feet after the 2S-year tenn; a difference
<br />from ~ first agreement in which the
<br />w~rw~h~e~o~bythe
<br />River District aftm: the 23 yeart.
<br />
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<br />.' ~~:~...;~ . ~ -~< ..,;-~-- - " . .-:.:.,,~ ~ --~:::"'.. (.
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<br />Th. F,...,. RN.r durin9 the criticel wint.r montn. fRquent'" had 10 little
<br />weter in it thm: demllncb for flow. for fieh ,",e crimping ..... ......... nHtil>. A
<br />serin of recent agreemtlma .houId help eolY. tho.. protMema.
<br />
<br />
<br />Getting better
<br />
<br />TIle trade-off was mat 1U0re money
<br />was gained. by the River Distritt up-
<br />front for the reservoir cottStnlCtion.
<br />eliminating lhc need for any bond
<br />financing, while Dcm'er gets in return
<br />outright ownership of 12.000 acre feet
<br />from the reservoir in 2S years,
<br />TIle runaining water in 1:hc reservoir.
<br />about 60 percent, is permanently
<br />reserved for West Slope use.
<br />This agreement on Wolford ties in
<br />with the Fraser River because it re-
<br />quires Denver 10 bypus its Il'llt1S-
<br />mounWn water diversions in me Fraser
<br />River Basin. which will leave more
<br />water in the Fraser baSin and help .solve
<br />senous water shonagt:l _ from Winter_
<br />P1rk to Granby on the Fraser River.
<br />l11e amended lease is conneclCd ta a
<br />package of water agrecmems concem-
<br />ing Ointan Rescl"Yoir. a body at" water
<br />owned. by Amax. in Summit Counl)'.
<br />Consummation of the Wolford Deal
<br />was critical to the Clinton Reservoir
<br />deal.
<br />In essence, the twO deals allow the
<br />River District. to meet its obligation to
<br />
<br />salve the upper Fruer River's water
<br />problems. ThaI: was agreed upon 10
<br />years ago when money was gained for
<br />the River DisUict in constrUCtion of the
<br />Windy Oap Project near Oranby.
<br />TIle River District has about $16 mil-
<br />lion from the Nonhem Colorado Water
<br />Conservancy Districl (ml.lflicipal sub-
<br />district), bwlden of the Windy Gap
<br />Project. that was put up as compensa-
<br />tion to the West Slope (or the negative
<br />impacts of W1nd.y Gap.
<br />TIle Wtndy Gap project is located
<br />JUSt below the confluence of the Fraser
<br />and Colorado Rivers near Granby,
<br />But exactly how to solve lhc Fraser
<br />- Rj\ler problem- had puzz.1ed. local and
<br />state-wide: expertS, A daD1 along Ranch
<br />Creek wu studied. and rejected. be-
<br />cause of iu high cost. ^ Williams Fork
<br />pwnpback plan. wherein water from the
<br />Williams Fork drainaa:e would have
<br />been pumped. to the uppc1' Fraser Val-
<br />ley, was also considered, but rejected.
<br />But with Denver now being able to
<br />diven more water through the Roberts
<br />Tunnel from Lake Dillon by way of the
<br />
<br />Clnton Reservoir deal. it's able to
<br />bypass diverting as much. water from
<br />the Fraser Valley u it has in the past.
<br />TIlat leaves moJC water In the Fraser
<br />River.
<br />Even better for the Fraser Valley,
<br />county manager Howard Moody sald,
<br />the deals allow the problem to b::
<br />solved sooner than had been expeCted.
<br />Moody said the deals marked an im-
<br />ponaru. point in Grand Cowuy water
<br />hislOry.
<br />"[ think we have arnved," he said.
<br />"It's a pretty aood deal. The Fraser
<br />Valley will be a very busy piace before
<br />this water isn't enough to meet iu
<br />nec4ll.' ,
<br />Furth.ennore, Kremmling will be get-
<br />ting a reservoir, lOuted as a potential
<br />boon for recrellllonal. interests in West
<br />Grand County.
<br />But even then the deal leaves open
<br />the possibility that through. Wolford
<br />more water could be purchased 10 allow
<br />more water in the Fraser Valley. al.
<br />though that scenario is many years
<br />down me road. Moody siUd.
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