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lurango Herald Online Page 1 of T ..". t\LI) )ilverton aims to secure water supply lountian town, San Juan County intend to protect future development ecember 13. 2005 Y Dale Rodebaugh I Herald Staff Writer , response to Durango's possible water-rights application to protect recreation, San Juan County and the town of Silverton will file their own claim~ { the end of December to protect development. In other action In another matter, Southwestern Water ~onservation District board l1embers decided not to mmediately seek a role in a awsuit by two ranching families. The ranchers are 3sking that coal-bed methane Jroducers be required to the ~et the same well permits as 3gricultural or sand/gravel Jperations. Jim and Terry Fitzgerald and Bill and Beth Vance, who ranch ~ast of Durango, say that water ~xtracted during gas drilling :;ould dry wells or contaminate ~round water. The couples are 5uing state engineer Harold Simpson and Ken Beegles, Nho retired Nov. 30 as the 5tate Division of Water Resources engineer for Division 7 in Durango. ould increase the pressure. The county and town would file through the Southwestern Water Conservation District. In a telephone conference Monday, district board members authorized their legal and engineering experts to help with the applications. The application for the town would be filed in its name. The county application would be held by the conservation district. "We're going to file for a water right to protect our potential for development," Willie Tookey, administratol for San Juan County, said Monday. "It would be a minimal amount, but we're concerned because we're upstream from Durango." Until now, the county and town have had few water worries, taking water from creeks in the Animas Rivel drainage. But recent controversy statewide about water rights specifically for recreation has them concerned. Old-time water consumers fear that a Recreational In-Channel Diversion would interfere with traditional uses such as irrigation or providing water for homes and businesses. On the other hand, the recreation industry points to its growing importance as an economic generator. A water right puts the holder in line ahead of others who want water later. San Juan County is taking no chances, although it's not filing for recreational water, Tookey said. Durango has said it intends to ask the Colorado Water Conservation Board for recreational water. Beverly Kaiser, the planner whose services Silverton and San Juan County share, said the town owns rights to about 9 cubic feet a second of water from four creeks. But a surge in development could put the city in a bind, she said, noting that about 25 percent of incorporated land is buildable and that annexation Ve need to be able to serve our residents at build-out," Kaiser said. arry Spear, an attorney with the Maynes Bradford Shipps & Sheftellaw firm that represents the Southwestern Water Conservation District, said ,e district holds similar rights on the San Juan River in the name of others. Holding a water right for another is largely a procedural move, one hich would not give the water district control over how the water is used. he law firm stands ready to aid La Plata County if county commissioners decide to file an RICO application, Spear said. urango, which touched off a flurry of discussions in recent weeks by announcing that it wants water for a kayak course on the Animas River, won' e an application this year, city Director of Public Works Jack Rogers said Monday. He didn't attend the conservation district meeting. Ve have a study going on what a kayak course would look like and where it would go," Rogers said. "We haven't decided how much water would ~ needed to support the course, but we're trying to find a way that a kayak course wouldn't affect upstream water users." ogers has told city councilors he doesn't have enough information to file an RICO application this year. melter Rapid on the Animas at Santa Rita Park in Durango is a world-class kayak course. tip:/ /www.durangoherald.com/asp-bin/printable_ article _generation.asp?article -path=/news/OS/newsOS121... 12/13/200