ArkansasComments27

• Basin: Arkansas
• Title: Comments 27
• Date: 3/16/2004
• SWSI - Doc Type: Comments

Palmer Divide Water Group
P.o. Box 1976
Colorado Springs, Colorado 80901
[phone]
Fax; [phone]

February 25, 2004

Area Manager
Bureau of Reclamation
Western Colorado Area Office
2764 Compass Drive
Suite 106
Grand Junction, CO 81506

Re: Aspinall Unit Environmental Impact Statement

Dear Area Manager:

I am writing on behalf of a coalition of Front Range municipal water providers who are
interested in participating in the Aspinall Unit Operations Environmental Impact Statement. The
purpose of this letter is to identify issues which we believe are significant and provide ideas on
alternatives for consideration. To put these remarks in context. first let me provide a little
background on the Palmer Divide Water Group.

The common element connecting the members of the Palmer Divide Water Group is a
dependence upon the aquifers of the Denver Basin as a primary source of supply. While
seemingly drought-proof, these bedrock aquifers are non-renewing and represent a very reliable,
but ultimately finite, water source. Rather than condemn the prior land-use decisions of local
jurisdictions, the members of the Palmer Divide Water Group are looking forward to a future
where renewable water resources support and ultimately supplant the Denver Basin. The many
positive attributes of the Denver Basin could then be converted to a dependable reserve for use in
future droughts. During the interim, the non-tributary water in the Denver Basin can be used
conjunctively with available surface water to empower the efficient use of both.

The alternative to developing West Slope supplies for many Front Range providers,
particularly those that have come late to the water resource development game (post 1970), is the
purchase and dry-up of irrigated agriculture. Before we abandon our rural communities. at least
from our perspective, prudence demands an exploration of capturing Colorado=s entitlements