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<br />Good"bye to Jasper and Wekome Mil{e Smedley
<br />
<br />Mary Fenwick, Southwestern ~ter Conservation District
<br />As Jasper Welch moves on to new horizons, the Water Information Program will move into its sixth year.
<br />There were a lot of concerns with finding a replacement for Jasper Welch. Jasper took a handful of ideas from board
<br />members, water officials, and others and molded the Water Information Program into a strong, reliable, and reputable
<br />source for water information. The Water Information Program is unmatched in the state for its basic approach and
<br />wide variety of relaying water issues and water information. The program has reached out to a wide group of people:
<br />newcomers, those anticipating a move to our area, professionals in the water arena and those just out looking for water
<br />information. Jasper has led us into the wide world of the Internet and corresponding by way of e-mail. On behalf of
<br />the Water Information Program Steering Committee, the staff of the Water Information Program and the staff and
<br />board members of the Southwestern Water Conservation District, I wish to thank Jasper for a great five years.
<br />
<br />The Water Information Program participants and staff would like to extend a warm welcome to Mike Smedley,
<br />our new Information and Program Coordinator. I hope he finds the world of communicating our water message an
<br />exciting and challenging project. Mike has lived in the Durango area for several years and has a background in media
<br />relations and communications. We anticipate that Mike will bring with him new ideas and a fresh approach to tackling
<br />the age old job of water education. I look forward to working with Mike as we continue the task of informing Colorado
<br />residents about our most precious resource - Water. .
<br />
<br />So...is it Water Conservation or Water Manacement?
<br />
<br />Pat Page, U. S. Bureau of Reclamation
<br />People often talk about water conservation when they should be talking about good water management, and in doing so,
<br />they may not be conveying the appropriate message. So, what's the difference? To some, water conservation means taking
<br />an action to produce a calculated quantity of water savings. To the home water user, water conservation is often associated
<br />with water shortages where drastic measures are needed. water conservation might conjure up images of lawn-watering
<br />restrictions or a ban on outdoor water uses such as car washing or driveway cleaning. Either way, it's usually a short-term,
<br />emergency-driven, sometimes mandated, plea to cut back on water use. Once the situation has passed, people usually go
<br />back to using water the way they did before.
<br />
<br />To agricultural water users, water conservation might imply implementing some type of costly conservation measure
<br />(i.e., canal lining or on-farm improvements) that will result m "saved" water that others have their eyes on to fulfill their
<br />own water needs.
<br />
<br />The term water conservation used to mean, and I suppose still does for some, storing water in the spring to ensure
<br />adequate supplies in the hot, dry, summer months.
<br />
<br />Good water management, on the other hand, is making the decisions and taking the actions that will make the most
<br />efficient use of water and preserve supplies for future use. It means stretching your water supply by reducing waste and
<br />inefficient use.
<br />
<br />To the irrigation district or ditch company, good water management means meeting the water needs of its customers as
<br />efficiently as possible, with minimum waste or loss. The Bureau of Reclamation, through its Water Conservation Field
<br />Services Program, offers technical and financial assistance to water manag,ing entities to develop water management plans.
<br />The program was initiated in 1996, and is designed to encourage and factlitate efficient water use, assist water districts and
<br />other water managing entities to develop and implement effective water management plans, coordinate with state, tribal,
<br />and other local water management efforts, and generally foster improved water management on a regional, statewide, and
<br />watershed basis.
<br />
<br />Many water management entities in the Four Corners area who receive water from Bureau of Reclamation projects
<br />are required to develop water management plans, either through Reclamation law or their repayment contracts with the
<br />United States. In addition, some districts who are not required to develop plans have determined that a written water
<br />management plan would help them in the overall management of their project. The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe has completed
<br />its plan and has begun to implement water management measures contained in the J?lan. Others, like the Animas-La Plata,
<br />the Dolores, and the Florida Water Conservancy Districts have started writing their plans (The ALPWCD is preparing a
<br />plan for Western La Plata County). Finally, the Mancos Water Conservancy District, the Hammond Conservancy District,
<br />the Bloomfield and Farmers Irrigation Districts, and the San Juan River Dineh Water Users Association all plan to start
<br />developing t~eir respective plans in 2000. With the recent interest in water management plans, it looks to be a busy, but
<br />rewarding wmter.
<br />
<br />Pat Page is the Water Management Program Coordinator for the Bureau of Reclamation's Western Colorado Area
<br />Office - Southern Division in Durango. ,
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