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<br />was just coming off the Union Park litigation [more on this later], They were just trying to find their identity again; all the money
<br />went into that. Now its really exciting because the budgets not the problem, it's allocating it. It's a good position to be in."
<br />One thing that has not changed in recent years is the District's view toward various attempts at transmountain diversion, Just
<br />as it did during the Union Park litigation, the District opposes even one drop of water being pumped to the Front Range,
<br />Though the Districts Water Management Plan is designed to help construct defenses against transmountain diversions and
<br />other threats to the District's water, how much the plan will actually help the Water District Board remains to be seen, The
<br />document is a hefty volume of not very light reading,
<br />"Will anyone have the tenacity to read it and understand it all?" asked Tyler Martineau, the plan's author, "It is a lot to ask of
<br />the Board, That's a real question from a public policy standpoint: How do you educate boards to the level they need to be at to
<br />make decisions, I'm not sure this is the way The Board has the desire to have these plans, and yes, you can hire consultants to
<br />create them, But can lay boards effectively deal with all the complexity that's there? Is there a better process?"
<br />Among the measures approved in 2002 for the draft version of the plan, are the continuation of some of the creative measures
<br />the District recently developed in response to drought, such as working with Redlands Water and Power and the UVWUA. The
<br />District will also work for continuation and formalization of historic operations of the Aspinall Unit and Taylor Park Reservoir.
<br />Settling litigation with the National Park Service regarding Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park water rights (more on this
<br />later) remains high on the list of priorities, as does serving as a proponent for Upper Gunnison water users' interests in connection
<br />with the Endangered Species Program and Aspinall Unit reoperation,
<br />Another priority in the draft plan, is developing an augmentation plan to meet existing agricultural needs using Taylor Park
<br />Reservoir refill water, or if needed, using a contract with the Federal Government for Aspinall Unit Water. The draft also calls for
<br />Aspinall Unit water to meet the needs of non-agricultural users in the district, and groundwater storage as a water source for either
<br />domestic or agricultural augmentation plans, A further priority is maximizing efficient use of existing supplies through helping
<br />landowners improve irrigation systems,
<br />Curry hopes that in the future County and municipal land use planning will be more closely linked to District activities,
<br />Something that might facilitate this is completion and adoption of a long range, all-encompassing plan for Gunnison County,
<br />Gunnison County has recently embarked on creating a comprehensive plan, the first effort of its kind for the County County
<br />planners have just finished revising the Gunnison County Land Use Resolution (LUR) document, a lengthy process that involved
<br />a large number of people and an even larger number of hours, Though the LUR focuses on code specifics, it does identify general
<br />goals: "Protecting the heritage of our rural character." the beauty of the landscape and rural character of Gunnison County," and
<br />"protect the quantity, quality and dependability of water resources in Gunnison County" The Comprehensive Plan will be a
<br />broader, more forward-thinking document that describes the future of Gunnison County as citizens would like it to be,
<br />As County Long Range Planner Dave Michaelson begins to delve into the project, he is finding many people are bringing up
<br />the issue of carrying capacity Carrying capacity, a term borrowed from ecology and biology, refers to an ecosystem's limits in
<br />supporting organisms,
<br />"We've been asking if there are physical elements or quality of life elements that suggest a maximum number of people in
<br />Gunnison County," said Michaelson, "And in the past three years, water has become a really big issue,"
<br />Michaelson has initiated an analysis of existing water resources in the county "How strained is our water resource?" he asked,
<br />"Are we approving subdivisions without taking that into account?" Michaelson will examine existing well permits, well logs,
<br />instances where well owners are asking the State whether they can drill deeper-implying the water table is dropping-municipal
<br />rights, agricultural rights and minimum stream flows, The research will develop a "glass ceiling of how much water we can take
<br />out of the basin without hurting it," said Michaelson, "To this point a lot of subdivisions have been approved with 'paper water,'''
<br />said Michaelson, "developers have been able to establish a legal right for water."
<br />In addition, some developers have been avoiding denser developments, dividing parcels into 35-acre parcels, because
<br />according to law, Colorado must grant a well permit for a 35-acre parce1. "But that doesn't mean there's water in the well," said
<br />Michaelson,
<br />Now, however, the Gunnison County Planning Commission and Board of County Commissioners are starting to require
<br />developers to prove their physical water supply, to show they have water in the ground and that they will not hurt other wells by
<br />using it. "It's more of a forward-thinking process," said Michaelson,
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