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<br />said Trainor.
<br />The municipal drinking water for the City of Grand Junction comes from sources on top of Grand Mesa and tributaries of the
<br />Gunnison River. The City holds a conditional right for 120 acre-feet out of the mainstem of the Gunnison River, about 18 acre-feet
<br />of which is absolute, Grand Junction rarely pumps water from the river, although it did pump for ten days during summer of 2002,
<br />diverting about 10 acre-feet.
<br />Water quality is one of the City's main concerns, "V.ie are concerned about what is coming off private and federal lands into
<br />the river water we uptake for drinking," said Trainor. To monitor these concerns, the City is involved in the newly formed Grand
<br />Valley Selenium Task Force,
<br />Along with many others, the City of Grand Junction is an opposer in the Black Canyon water rights case, Furthermore, the
<br />municipality keeps an eye on plans surrounding the endangered fish and critical habitat in the Gunnison River,
<br />The City is also focused on results of revisions to the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forest Management
<br />Plan, and how those revisions might affect the City's ability to access canals, ditches and reservoirs on Grand Mesa, The Forest Plan
<br />would spell out Forest Service requirements to bypass, or maintain minimum stream flows on Grand Mesa for habitat and aquatic
<br />life purposes, "We are not necessarily opposed to that," said Trainor. "But our storage reservoirs are way up on Grand Mesa; the
<br />water flows into terminal reservoirs at the bottom, then into our treatment plant. So in essence, we already maintain a stream flow
<br />from when runoff begins in the spring until everything freezes in the falL"
<br />
<br />High Country Citizens' Alliance (HCCA)
<br />The prospect and threat of a giant molybdenum mine in Red Lady Bowl on Mt. Emmons above the town of Crested Butte
<br />jolted residents of the Gunnison Valley into action, In 1977, they formed High Country Citizens' Alliance, a grassroots citizens
<br />group first organized to fight the mine, The mine threat faded because of a decline in the worldwide value of molybdenum, and
<br />passionate community activism fired by a media-savvy Crested Butte Mayor. Although AMAX, the multinational mine owners,
<br />placed the project on hold, members of High Country Citizens' Alliance used momentum created by the battle to forge their
<br />organization into a citizens group ready to deal with environmental and community issues that increased with growing Gunnison
<br />County populations, The group now serves approximately 725 members,
<br />High Country Citizens' Alliance initiated a formal Water Program in 1986 in response to the Union Park transmountain
<br />diversion proposaL That proJect threatened to build another massive reservoir above Taylor Reservoir in Union Park. and divert
<br />Gunnison River water to the Front Range, High County Citizens' Alliance was one of several parties that opposed the proposal,
<br />which was eventually defeated (twice) in court,
<br />Since 1991, High Country Citizens' Alliance has had a full-time Water Program Director in Steve Glazer. Glazer attends water
<br />policy and management meetings throughout the region, testifies locally and in Denver on behalf of the public, and takes pan in
<br />a number of collaborative efforts in water resource management and planning, These efforts include the Uncompahgre/Gunnison
<br />Selenium Task Force, the GMUG Instream Flow Pathfinder Project, the Water Quality Standards Working Group and the Upper
<br />Gunnison Water Quality Monitoring Program, Glazer also holds a seat on the Board of Directors of the Upper Gunnison River
<br />Water Conservancy District.
<br />One of the main objectives of HCCI\s Water Program is to educate the public about water issues, including water quality
<br />protection and the importance of wetlands and riparian areas, HCCA electronically publishes a monthly water report, indexing
<br />important water-related news across the country, The educational direction of the Water Program encourages voting in water-
<br />related elections, and advocating for the public through letters to the press and at public hearings,
<br />High Country Citizens' Alliance serves a constituency experiencing rapid growth, The group encourages integrated watershed
<br />planning and management to insure the health of a sustainable watershed, It remains involved in water quality monitoring effons
<br />throughout Gunnison Basin and promotes wetlands studies and protection by local municipalities, HCCA also works to insure
<br />adequate, high quality flows for endangered fish, In the face of future growth, another priority for the organization is ensuring that
<br />adequate flows remain available for existing Gunnison Basin agriculture,
<br />As demonstrated by participation in the Union Park legislation, and with outspoken opposition to more recent proposals such
<br />as the Big Straw (both discussed later in this document), High Country Citizens' Alliance adamantly opposes proposals for
<br />transmountain diversion of water, One of [he goals of the Water Program is to prod the reform of Colorado water law to include
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