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<br />Debate Heats Up
<br />
<br />Over San Luis Water
<br />
<br />Denver firm offers 200,000 acre.
<br />feet annually to Front Range
<br />
<br />The anticipated veto of the Two Forks Dam project
<br />is becoming a victory for both environmentalists and
<br />water developers as Front Range cities scramble for water,
<br />A powerful and superbly assembled Denver firm,
<br />American Water Development (AWD), is working to
<br />secure water for projected "economic growth and popula-
<br />tion demands," In anticipation of a heated water-rights
<br />court case, AWD proposes to deliver a large quantity of
<br />water from Crestone, in south-central Colorado, to the
<br />Metropolitan Denver Water Authority (MDWA).
<br />MDW A advises and consults 27 Front Range
<br />municipalities on their water needs, The far-reaching pro-
<br />posal adds another iron to the already hot fire of Col-
<br />orado water procurement.
<br />In a "Statement of Qualifications" presented to MDW A
<br />Nov. 13, AWD boasts it can "plan, construct, finance
<br />, and deliver water directly to municipalities' boundaries."
<br />A WD proposes to relieve "local governments of the
<br />uncertainties and enormous costs of undertaking water
<br />development while guaranteeing that those supplies will
<br />be available where and when needed,"
<br />The water supply AWD offers will come from a vast
<br />underground aquifer beneath its llO,ooo-acre ranch near
<br />Crestone, In 1986, AWD applied to Alamosa Water
<br />Court for permission to dig 97 deep wells on its Baca
<br />Ranch to pump up to 200,000 acre-feet of water annual-
<br />ly, The proposal is opposed by several state and federal
<br />agencies as well as many ranching, agricultural and social
<br />organizations in the San Luis Valley,
<br />At issue is whether or not the underground water is
<br />non-tributary, and a threat to the water rights of other
<br />Valley users, Steven Vandervere, the state's district
<br />engineer, said in a recent news article, "If you create a
<br />big enough hole, and 200,000 acre-feet is a major volume,
<br />you'll change the whole hydrological system of the
<br />valley."
<br />David Robbins, a Denver water attorney representing
<br />the leading opponent, the Rio Grande Water Conserva-
<br />tion District, says AWD "will not be able to show that
<br />the water is non-tributary."
<br />Attorney John Carlson, representing the Rio Grande
<br />Water Users Association, doesn't believe the water rights
<br />"will ever be secured" by AWD,
<br />Although no court date has been set to determine the
<br />water rights, AWD is showcasing the Baca water as its
<br />most prized asset. In its report to MWDA, AWD states
<br />that "... AWD will construct the transmission facilities
<br />necessary to deliver the Baca water ,.. leading to initial
<br />water deliveries as early as the spring of 1994,"
<br />Rocky Smith, water expert with the Colorado En-
<br />vironmental Coalition, calls the proposal "unrealistic."
<br />The planned route from the Baca to the Front Range, over
<br />Poncha Pass and into the Platte River above Antero
<br />Reservoir, will, according to Smith, cost "hundreds of
<br />millions of dollars," Moreover, many, including Smith,
<br />expect the Baca litigation to last up to two more years,
<br />making a 1994 delivery date unlikely.
<br />AWD also plans to be a central plaver in Front Range
<br />
<br />NEWS LINE
<br />
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<br />G-RANl>E
<br />WAn1t
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<br />MOW A, the water developer plans to "manage existing
<br />water supplies more efficiently through a metropolitan
<br />water bank, ,.. Water users with an excess supply will
<br />deposit water and receive a credit or payment while the
<br />deposited water can be redirected to meet needs elsewhere
<br />in the area:',
<br />Attorney Carlson says it's "farfetched that
<br />municipalities will turn public tills ,over to private
<br />speculators. "
<br />Lost in the debate is the effect the project will have on
<br />the San Luis Valley, Carlson says the environmental con-
<br />sequences "are much greater than the Two Forks enter-
<br />prise:' His clients fear the effect on the agricultural
<br />region's water supply and fragile irrigation system,
<br />Despite this, AWD packs a formidable political and
<br />financial punch, Investors include Canadian financier
<br />Sam Belzberg, Directors include William Ruckelshaus,
<br />and former Colorado Gov, Richard Lamm, Lamm, who
<br />has spoken in another context of the "Rape of the West:'
<br />is not talking to the press about his involvement with
<br />AWD,
<br />Larry Berkowitz, president of MOW A, describes
<br />AWD's offering as "harmless puffing:'
<br />Carlson characterizes the proposal as "predatory
<br />capitalism," -David ner
<br />
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