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<br />nursday.' Ocrober 30. 2003 <br /> <br />.. <br />~~ <br />~ <br /> <br />~bt . JUtblO <br />~bit(tatn <br /> <br />FRANK S. HOAG. Genera! Manager, P"bHsher. Presicef't-:9f".A-1S63 <br />fRA!IlK 5, HOAG. JR.. Chair"'lan, Publisher. President-193H989 <br /> <br />R08ERT H. RAWU'IlGS, P..;blisher a:;d Editor <br /> <br />'No' is a simpl~.word . <br /> <br />W. -. HAT PART of "no"oon't the water buffaloes in <br />.' '.: :- ". . :these parts understand, as in "no more water <br />'. .' . ~ut of the Arkansas Valley"? <br />. 'ta,st year a scientific poll of people in the five lower <br />ArKa~as Valley, counties showed that 89 percent <br />oppdftd any further trans~ers of water out of this ~asin. <br />SubS'~ueJltly, voters handIly. approved the formatIon of <br />~e-f~~vt:r. ~rkaIisa~_ V!!l$Y Wcjter .<;,~s.rv~Gy})istJift <br />all'p.FQl>ertf;" ,~~upp~~ that-~ijflty~ whose mam <br />P. .'. stff keep:-. ,term thevalley.- <br />. . j st this month directors of the Southeastern Colo- <br />ra40 Water ConseIVancy District approved a settlement <br />witH] Ay,rOra in die pending Rocky Ford Ditch transfer <br />case;i1lDivisio~ 2 \Vater Court after having entered into <br />an int..ergovernmental agreement with Aurora ov8{ the <br />same issue. Less than a week later, the Pueblo BOald of <br />\Vater Works agreed to a settlement with Aurora over <br />the transfer ofthe Rockv Ford Ditch shares. <br />Aurora bought about 60 percent of the Rocky Ford <br />Ditcl). in the mid-1980s and contracted to buy most of the <br />remaining shares four years ago. It's that second pur- ' <br />chase that both of the locally based water entities gave <br />up their opposition to this month. <br />So, what part of "no" don't these people understand? <br />They have a moral responsibility to look out for the best <br />interests of this region, its economy and its people. <br />One of the concerns about Aurora's purchase of Rocky ; <br />Ford Ditch water is the quality of what's left in the river' <br />after that water is moved out of the basin. Other irriga- <br />tors in the vallev will feel the deleterious effects most <br />keenly. . <br />Mike Bartolo, a cropland specialist at the Colorado . <br />State University agriculture research center at Rocky- <br />Ford, is watching this case closely. He notes: <br />"As that water is moved out upstream, it's going to <br />make some significant changes in water quality. Part of <br />the vear. we're concerned whether we'll even be able to <br />get {vater through the ditch." <br />The research center, along 'with the city of Rocky Ford, <br />own the remaining shares of the ditch and rely on it to <br />supply their needs. The research center has signed a stip- <br />'ulation in the court case on condition that it gets the <br />same quantity - and quality - of water it has in the <br />past. <br /> <br />Mr. Bartolo worries that the water left in the dit h will <br />be extremely salty partl b th. c. <br />S hi hi' 1" . y ecause e ditch receives <br />Com~ g y sa me dramage from the nearby Catlin <br />'-.,In . Fu~herII?-ore, a report prepared by Water and <br />lik aft,e Engmee~~ of Denver says the latest transfer is <br />e ~ to add sallmty to the Arkansas at ROcky Ford and <br />;POSSIbly even. at La Junta, and to increase salinity in <br />;ground water m the area. . <br />j That m~es sens~. When mostly pure water is taken i <br />!out of the nver up hIgh for export to Aurora, th . 1 ' <br />'d"l t' . h . ~ ere 18 ~ss <br />1 u I.on m t e nver downstreattL' T6~aBow tllat 'to 118 ". <br />pe~ IS hardly good stewardship of the .' 'd ' <br />regIOn. nver an e <br />So, we ask again, what part of "no" don't the 1 i <br />understand? se peop e I <br />~ <br /> <br />t>u.. eh loCh I e~k~ <br />10 - 30- ::L003 <br />