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<br />DENVER: ROCKY 'MOU NTAIN NEWS
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<br />. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 21; 2000
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<br />Mile High" Suburbs
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<br />Eric Brown; Sub!,lrban Edltor -:- (303) ,892-5261 · e-mail -. suburban@RockyMountainNews;com
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<br />High court rejects water -plan
<br />
<br />Not enough reserves
<br />for reservoir near .
<br />Gunnison, justices say
<br />
<br />.8y Karen Abbott. ,..
<br />News Staff Writer
<br />, Colorado's. Jlighest court has
<br />nixed an Arapahoe County plan to '
<br />AR.APAHOE' supply water to,
<br />400,000. Fro,nt
<br />i COUNTY,.. Rdrang~ residentfrs by :
<br />awmg water om
<br />the Western Slope's Gunnison
<br />, River basin into a huge reservoir
<br />northeast of-Gunnison. .
<br />: 'The state Supreme' Court rUled
<br />Monday. th~t there isn't enough.
<br />unaIlocated water in the GwUtisOil
<br />. River ,basin for the proposed.
<br />900,OOO-acre-foot Union ~ark
<br />
<br />Reservoir. The cou~ty had e~ti.
<br />mated the project would cost half a
<br />billion dollars, inciuding a tunnel to
<br />carry the water through the Rocky
<br />Mountains. ".
<br />"It's certainly a setback," Frank
<br />Jaeger, a member of the UniolfPark
<br />Water Authoritis board, said. .
<br />Arapahoe c.ounty Commissioner
<br />Marie Mackenzie said. the south
<br />metro area still needs water:
<br />"It may be that we,'ll have to con-
<br />tra~ with j:be United States Bureau .
<br />of Reclaniation for water," Macken-
<br />zie.said.' .
<br />The Supreme Court's . ruling
<br />Monday left ()peri that possibility.
<br />The bureau legally controls most of
<br />. the' water that Arapa,poe. County
<br />wants. ,
<br />Mackenzie and Jaeger said it was
<br />too soon to. know what steps the'
<br />
<br />county and others rhigh~ take next,
<br />since officials involved in the water
<br />. dispute hadn't yet had a cmmce to
<br />discuss Monday's I\Iling. .
<br />Fast-growing Arapahoe County,
<br />had hoped to draw wat~r from the
<br />Western Slope to supply residents
<br />now dependent on.water wells that
<br />might dry up, or water that Denver
<br />and other area govenunents are ",
<br />willing to sell. '
<br />. The Supreme Court's 56:'page
<br />,unanimous ruling, written by Ju~
<br />tice. RebecCa Kourlis, upheld a wa-
<br />ter ~ourt's decision in a hotly, con~
<br />tested legal battle that bas. raged
<br />since 1986. Colorado Attorney
<br />General Ken Sal~ said Monday
<br />that the lerigthy court fight lias cos~
<br />more than $6. million. . "
<br />Salazar said ArapahQe . County
<br />and o~er organizations now must
<br />find other ways to supply more...
<br />
<br />water to thefast~growing southern
<br />metropolitan area. . '
<br />'. Sal~ar, whose staff opposed the
<br />reserVoir. plan in court, applauded
<br />the ruling.
<br />'''The Colorado Supreme Court
<br />has acted to protect ColoradO water,
<br />'rights and Colorado's system of
<br />water appropriationj" he said in a
<br />statement '"
<br />Arapahoe County, 'and later the
<br />Union' Park Water :Authority, had .
<br />argued that technicalities' in how
<br />water from the Gunnison. River
<br />, basin. is legally allocated "among "
<br />various', uS~,ts meant. that enough
<br />Water was available for the pro-'
<br />. posed reserv~ir. ,: .' ": ...' ... .
<br />But theStipremeCourt said it
<br />. didn't agree with. the county's eal-
<br />, culations,.of how much water is
<br />
<br />, See WATER on 22A
<br />
<br />(Jo
<br />.. ' './ <. ...
<br />. ' .' .t./{J
<br />Court 'disputes, .
<br />
<br />.coun~'s 'figures
<br />
<br />WATER from' 20A ' .
<br />available. ,
<br />Many Western Slop~ water u
<br />. ers and gover~ments oPP9sed tl
<br />idea of taking water from the G1,l
<br />nis.on River basin to support tl
<br />, growth of Front ,Range cities a:
<br />suburbs.
<br />Most of the water is supposed
<br />be devoted to power generatic
<br />the Supreme Court &aicL
<br />Much.of the water flows into t
<br />Colorado River, from. which 0
<br />orado is required to, provide a c(
<br />tain amount of water to seve
<br />other states. Several reservo
<br />store the water so enough will
<br />available in dry years., .,.
<br />Other water from the Gunnis
<br />River basin is legally allocated :
<br />irrigation, flood. control, boatiJ
<br />the ,support of fish and wildlife. a
<br />a variety of other purposes. Arno
<br />other' t~ngs, the water fills t
<br />. 'Blue, Mesa Reservoir;' ,heart 0:
<br />national recreation area that dra
<br />more than a, million, visitors e,
<br />. 'year, the Supreme Court said~
<br />The high ~ourt rejected, Ara
<br />hoe County's arguments that
<br />water needs should outrank s\
<br />uses' as flood control and ree
<br />ational boating and fishing. .
<br />
<br />Contact Karen Abbott at (3031892.51:
<br />or abbot\k@RockyMountalnNews.com.
<br />, Staff writer Marl~ Duran. contrlbu,ed t
<br />this reporL .
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