Arkansas - Fountain Creek Vision Task Force_Full Application

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Water Supply Reserve Account - Grant Application Form Form Revised October 2006 3. Please provide an overview of water project or activity to be funded including - type of activity, statement of what the activity is intended to accomplish, the need for the activity, the problems and opportunities to be addressed, expectations of the participants, why the activity is important, the service area or geographic location, and any relevant issues etc. Please include any relevant Tabor issues. Please refer to Part 2 of criteria and guidance document for additional detail on information to include. Attach additional sheets as needed. The Water for the 21 st Century Act requires a pro-active effort by Basin Roundtables to detennine the basin's water needs, both consulnptive and non-consumptive. Section 37-75-104 (2)( c) states, in part, that: "Basin Roundtables shall actively seek input and advice in establishing its needs assessn'zent, and shall propose projects or n'zethods for n'zeeting those needs." In a river basin as large and diverse as the Arkansas, what lnethod can the Basin Roundtable elnploy to aggregate the infonnation necessary to cOlnplete a needs assessment? This proposal suggests a subregional/watershed approach, distinguishing the needs of Fountain Creek froln the upper and lower lnainsteln of the Arkansas River or other subregions with comlnon interests. How can this be accomplished in a contentious setting where several of the parties are embroiled in litigation? In what fashion can the Arkansas Basin Roundtable "actively seek" an objective assessment of the needs of the Fountain Creek watershed? As the Fountain Creek Vision Task Force Process Framework (attached) describes, the past six lnonths have seen the coalescing of a Consensus Committee, formation of working groups, and the identification of a neutral facilitator from The Keystone Center for the process. FrOln a needs assessment perspective, the working groups are organized to look at water froln a broad perspective, including Public Outreach, Water Quality, Water Quantity, and Land Use/Environment. These working groups repoli to a Consensus Comlnittee, the body which most closely reflects the diversity called for by 37-75-104 (2)( c): "affected local governlnents, water providers, and other interested stakeholders and persons." In this case, the Consensus Committee includes parties as diverse as county, city and town governments, Colorado Open Lands, the Sierra Club, Colorado State Parks, water utilities, water conservancy districts, individual property owners, farmers, area councils of government, and representatives from the offices of Colorado's congressional delegation. The lnelnbers of the COlnlnittee lneet lnonthly, deliberate on issues relating to the Fountain Creek watershed, and hear progress reports froln the working groups. The 28 lnembers of the Consensus Committee are all equal participants in the consensus-based decision lnaking of this critical body. In addition, there are lnore than 200 members of the full Task Force, which includes all interested parties. These 200 people receive regular elnail updates on the progress of the Consensus Committee and the working groups. There are quarterly Task Force meetings, at which this larger group can engage in a constructive dialogue with the Consensus Committee and working group members about the issues in the watershed and the best approach to resolving theln. These emails and periodic meetings give an even broader group of watershed stakeholders the opportunity to shape the future of Fountain Creek and the comlnunities that surround it. The ongoing deliberations of the Consensus COlnmittee, the working groups, and the full Fountain Creek Vision Task Force are all focused on two key tasks: 1) assessing the problelns and needs in the watershed (including structural/non-structural, consulnptive/non-consulnptive, etc.), and 2) identifying specific, project-level solutions to meeting those needs. The needs asseSSlnent and the strategies and solutions for lneeting them will be joined with the group's existing mission statement, vision statement, and goals statelnent to cOlnprise the "Strategic Plan for the Fountain Creek Watershed." The plan will leverage the existing studies that have been done on various aspects of the Fountain Creek watershed into specific, on-the-ground solutions to the needs and problems in the watershed. It will be a consensus-based document, agreed to by the diverse melnbers of the Consensus COlnlnittee, and will include projects both within jurisdictions but also several that cross jurisdictions. The Strategic Plan will be vetted and ilnproved by lnelnbers of the affected and invested cOlnmunities and will become the shared cOlnlnunity roadlnap for the future of Fountain Creek. Everyone involved in the Consensus COlnlnittee and the working groups agrees that the time has COlne to set aside past differences and begin working together on this shared strategy for improving and managing Fountain Creek. However, these are complex issues so emotions run high among stakeholders when discussing how best to address the many needs in this watershed. Several members of the group have already contributed or pledged $42,500 to initiate and educate the participant in this neutral, facilitated prograln. The facilitator's role is to plan an overall process and individuallneetings that encourage productive and focused discussions and that will result in the written Strategic Plan for Fountain Creek. During and between lneetings, the facilitator will work with stakeholders on the fralning and articulation of their individual and group interests so that they get traction and find their way into the final plan. This will ilnprove the depth and breadth of the plan, will make it more reflective of the broad needs and interests of the various stakeholders, to achieve the Roundtable's mandate to assess consumptive and non-consumptive water needs. In doing so, Water Reserve Account funding will insure that the strategies and solutions identified in the plan are extremely likely to be implemented in the watershed. 4