River District Discusses Koelbel Water

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WINTER PARK MANIFEST Winter Park, CO (Grand County) Wed., 2,301 Wednesday, June 12, 2002, Winter Park Manifest / Daily Tribune, Page 3 R lstri ct I's'se SCUs , oe e wa er and that the request for the transfer was serves _ the Winter Park Ranch subdivi- l in subordinating it (the water) Developer wants! being made by a private developer. lion. Curran said. Y "This. is enhancing a private deve'l- Jack Bestall, a Rendezvous manager, Bestall responded that this was "a some of the water to oper to the determent of the smaller said the Koelbel firm has invested drafting issue," and that the subordina- players," said Michael Sayler, a water approximately $454;000 in the so- called tion would be "a condition of the restore river levels consultant representing the waxer district "pump- back" line. decree" that granted the CRWCD right that serves the town of` Granby. "The Winter Park West is among. the .dis- to Rendezvous and Fraser. by Harry Williamson water should be used by all', not by one - tricts. that . have opposed CRWCD Paul Ohri, chairman of the CRWCD In what may be the first of several private developer or even one munici- transfer. The district has also filed oppo board, said the big concern about the meetings, officials from the Colorado pality. sition in water court to four other vari- transfer was "the river district convey - River - Water Conservation District Sayler referred to Rendezvous as ous water right requests made for the ing rights to a private, developer." He (CRWCD) last week met with officials "the new kid on_the block," which drew Rendezvous project, according to Mike added that. the entire 185 cfs were from various county to discuss the ire of Fraser Town Manager Chuck LaPorte, a Winter Park West board offered to the Middle Park water dis- a request to transfer a small portion of a Reid, who said, "The town (which member. trict, which serves the Granby area, two 1984 water, right from the district to would share in the water) is definitely Fifer said when the water was not years ago. Koelbel's Rendezvous project. not a new .kid." needed to replenish the river, "about half Ohri said there was no response. from, Koelbel has asked the district to Other water district representatives . of it" would be used on an 18 -hole the. district, except for a brief letter from assign 5 cfs (cubic feet per second) of said that Koelbel-was simply" trying to Rendezvous golf course, with some of . the district's attorney requesting, infor- water from the total 185 cfs water right get "a 17 -year improvement" on junior the water being.used for "various pur- mation on the "status" of the 185 cfs. originally intended to be used to con- 2001 ' water rights the firm has obtained. poses" in the town of Fraser. Both Ohri and_ Kuhn pointed out that struct the so- called Fraser Valley _Scott- Fifer, hydrologist for the "The primary -use. (of -the water) even if the 5 cfs transfer was made, Project. - Rendezvous project, said the water right would be to enhance.and protect the "there was still 180 cfs out there for This project .would have constructed would be' used to take treated water aquatic resource of the Fraser River anyone to. use." the 20,000 acre feet Ranch- Creek from the consolidated sewage treatment within the town of Fraser, ". Fifer said. "We set up this meeting to find out Reservoir, located approximately one plant, now under construction a mile "We want to maintain river flows as what you want us to do," Ohri said. "We mile east of Tabernash. It would have north of'Frager, and pump it back up to ` they are today. may. decide to do nothing at all with it." been filled by water from Ranch .Creek, the Rendezvous project. Tie said por- Several people at the meeting, which In a brief interview, Kuhn said, in Meadow Creek and the Fraser River, "to tions of the water would then be used; as was held at the Fraser library, also, effect, that a private developer has as benefit water in the Fraser and needed, to bring up the water level in expressed concern that the CRWCD much right as' anyone. else to obtain a Colora River valleys. the Fraser River, "to maintain flows as . transfer might "impact" 1992 water water. right .adding that "developers CRWCD Manager Eric Kuhn said they have been." rights, referred to as the "Clinton water make things liappen." the mid- 1980s. project, which 'he Fifer said the water could be .put in exchange." These rights were provided "There is not a town in Colorado that described as being "ahead of its time," " the river, put in. storage at the so- called by the "Denver Water Board, purchased - has not benefitted from developers," he still has a total water'right of 185 cfs, of "Mary's (Cozens) Pond, located just by various county agencies and towns, said. Kuhn said the CRWCD could - which the Koelbel request represents south of the Cozens Ranch historical and were intended, Kuhn said, to "make decide 'to make the 5 cfs transfer, to approximately 3 percent. building, or used on the golf course. the Fraser River whole_" "convey nothing, convey it to others, or He said the 5 cfs being requested Various officials have expressed con- Lurline Underbrink Curran; county take (the entire 185 cfs) off the books." would be used both within 'the town of cefn about maintaining the amount of manager, asked if it was Rendezvous "We're in no big rush to make this Fraser and by the Rendezvous project, water in the Fraser River between the intention to protect the Fraser. River, decision," he said. "We're not going to "including the operation of a pump -back , existing Grand #1 sewage treatment why its officials did not put in writing : do anything that people, especially the facility to be located on the Fraser lagoons and the new consolidated' plant. that the CRWCD rights, if obtained, county commissioners,. don't want us to River. He added that portions of.the Treated water is currently returned to would be "subordinate to the Clinton` do. water right would "eventually be con- the river from the lagoons, and no final water." veyed to the town." decision has been made on what use will . "If that is what you believe, if you Several county agencies, especially be made of the lagoons once the new mean it, then you should have no prob- water districts, have filed suit . with . the , plant, located., approximately three miles Colorado Water Court to stop the trans - downriver, is operational: The new plant fer. The principal reason for the opposi- will serve the Fraser Sanitation District, tion, as stated at the meeting, was that Grand County. Water & Sanitation the 185 Fraser Valley Project cfs were District #1, and the Winter Park West originally intended for "public benefit;" Water & Sanitation District, which - t