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<br />~e'4 -:-THE MOUNTAINMAII.-SALlDA,COlORADO ~ TUeSDAY, 0
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<br />
<br />Editorial
<br />VVateragreements
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<br />I
<br />, I,
<br />Local voters are being inundated with informa-
<br />,~~:s~~:~g to them, about water issues and ballot J i
<br />
<br />Last month, the Southeastern Colorlildo Water
<br />ConservancfDistpctappr9ved an agreement With
<br />the City of Aurora.>Under the agreement the city.
<br />will.' be able to. pur-chase and lease rig'hts up to .a '
<br />maximum of-145,OOOacrefeetofwati)rdUririg the [,
<br />dea1's40-year.life,willpay some. $24 million over ..Ii
<br />fourdecades'forthoserights and~not.attempt I:
<br />topurcliase'additional rightsfr9-'A.tl}e Arkansas Ii
<br />basin throughthe,.year2043.H..t::.'.. ..'. .... ..', II
<br />Then, justlil few days ag9,'~ectoI's'of the Upper II i,
<br />Arkansas Water ConservtUicy Distr!ct.. signed off oil
<br />a separate agreement.withj\urorabased on the :!
<br />above terms. .,'/ ".... ...' . ". ....,....
<br />, ,In addition, AurOra 'Villpay the Upper Arkansas
<br />di~trict.$3 mHIio~whi~hwill be' used, to develop
<br />storage in the~I>1>er basin and provide storage
<br />space fOr' as 'much-as 1,520 acre. feet of-water froIlt
<br />its own facilities for use-by the upper district.
<br />Just, asimpdrlant, settlement terms will reduce '
<br />anAevenielimi~ate the 187.4 Rocky Ford ditch
<br />water ca,lls out of the -county's water rights. Had
<br />this provision been in effect during last year's
<br />drought, many upper district ditches would not
<br />have been shut down. This will be an especially
<br />important prQvision when future'droughts occur.
<br />Area residents, are involved as taxpayers in the
<br />Southeast and Upper Ark.~asdistricts. The South-
<br />east district, which, includes most counties in the
<br />Arkansasbaain from Leadville to the Kansas-Colorado
<br />state line, collects. .897mill in property taxes. On a res-
<br />idential property with an assessed value of $150,000
<br />this amounts to about $12 per year in property taxes.
<br />
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<br />... "'0 _ - -, .. .......-.......... .&.....""'.&.....""\"..o
<br />Chaffee,. Custer and' a _ po1i;ion 'of Fremont County,
<br />collects .41 ~ll in property taxes, which amotihts to
<br />r()ughly $6 per Ye~r in property taxes on the same
<br />$150,000 residential property. . ,
<br />
<br />. Although.bot~districts are charged with preserv-
<br />mg and conservmg the basin's water, their interests
<br />are by no means the same.
<br />
<br />While Chaffee County does have representation
<br />. on the Southeast district board, that district is
<br />. dominated by directors. from Colorado Springs,
<br />Pueblo an? t~e lower district. If the Upper
<br />Arkansas distnct had not been formed more than
<br />two decades ago,' it is highly. unlikely, for instance,
<br />that .~uro~a would have made' any allowance' for
<br />prOVISIOns m the recent agreements relating to the
<br />upper basin, '. -
<br />
<br />But the..upper district is in place ;md therefore it
<br />was able to negotiate coiIcessioIiB of importance to
<br />the Upper Arkansas Valley.
<br />
<br />The two agreements only apply to Aurora.' If
<br />some other F!ont Range municipality comes along,
<br />~aybe the CIty of Denver for example, and has its
<br />sIghts set on Arkansas River basin water, the two.
<br />agreement~ do not apply. Some other entity could
<br />be conductmg another raid on water from the basin.
<br />
<br />I Nonetheless, it is Aurora that has been the
<br />I . heavy, attempting to purchase water from lower
<br />I valley water rig,hts owners. The 'upper basin
<br />becomes involved in the matter be-cause Aurora
<br />plans to divert t~e water from farmers' in the lower
<br />valley, sucking the water out of the.the river
<br />. through the Otero pipeline north of Buena Vista.
<br />
<br />Th~s ~ans. water diverted, by Aurora through
<br />t~e pIpelme. WIll not be flowing through the county
<br />WIth. a.11 t~~ attendant implications for irrigators,
<br />mUnICIpalItIes and other water rights owners and
<br />those with interests in flows on the Arkansas.
<br />
<br />Although they only apply to Aurora, the recent
<br />agreements approved by the two districts provjde a
<br />measure of protection for Arkansas River water.
<br />
<br />-MJB
<br />
<br />5 a...t' I do.. 1M t/LLYl -ta: I Y\
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<br />10- /4-2003
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