BOARD00185 ‎(2)‎

• Board Meeting Date: 5/23/2007
• Description: Intrastate Water Management and Development Section - Water Supply Reserve Account Applications for Grants
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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Water Supply Reserve Account - Grant and Loan Program
Water Activity Summary Sheet

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Applicant:

Pueblo and EI Paso Counties

Water Activity Name:

Fountain Creek Vision Task Force

Water Activity Purpose:

Study or Analysis of consumptive and non-consumptive needs

County:

E1 Paso, Pueblo, Teller

Drainage Basin:

Fountain Creek

Water Source:

Multiple not specified

Water Activity Summary:

The seed which has blossomed to become the Fountain Creek Vision Task Force was planted by EI Paso
County Commissioner Sally Clark in July, 2006. Seeking to create consensus around the future of Fountain
Creek, the initial meeting included interested parties from federal, state and local levels along with active
members of the Fountain Creek Watershed study group. A second meeting was hosted in Pueblo County by
Commissioner Loretta Kennedy with a focus on inclusiveness towards all stakeholders and identification of
organizing principles for moving toward a vision. A fundamental belief by all parties was that an
independent, neutral facilitator was essential to the success of the effort.

Amount Requested: $75,000
Source of Funds: Basin Account

Matching Funds: Past contribution of
$43,800

Therefore, the Fountain Creek Vision Task Force is the creation ofEI Paso County and Pueblo County.
Joining in sponsorship of this activity are the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District and the EI
Paso County Water Authority.

There are more than 200 members of the full Task Force, which includes all interested parties. These 200
people receive regular email 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 them. These emails and periodic meetings give an even broader group of watershed
stakeholders the opportunity to shape the future of Fountain Creek and the communities that surround it.

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The ongoing deliberations of the Consensus Committee, the working groups, and the full Fountain Creek
Vision Task Force are all focused on two key tasks: 1) assessing the problems and needs in the watershed
(including structural/non-structural, consumptive/non-consumptive, etc.), and 2) identifying specific, project-
level solutions to meeting those needs. The needs assessment and the strategies and solutions for meeting
them will be joined with the group's existing mission statement, vision statement, and goals statement to
comprise 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

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