Enlargement of Pueblo Reservoir Essential

Home Browse Search

Enlargement of Pueblo Reservoir essential Page 2 of 3 • t. - An enlarged lake surface would provide more -opportunities €orreereatio*f r the. citizens andbring even n greaterbenefits to ,..thealconomyof =region. re hl o ' isevitalo•o vandowc ids ososcoitexpandod- sizo: then do-wo -have ourow City Connell and city - management going back toWashington to present arill-adviset aril -advised factually flawed ti u ,sitionto 38.81, whielY proposesa study ofhat expansic Why ourown City Corin i ?andlcity- ov :.9 . 0. - o spending hundreds' oftiallampoplious o a • .0 -hrgattatecnt'otrtofDertver; and apparen4lywillimtgto ssgendnearlyAa'a miliotrdollaesto conduct a fight -toolatainwhatthey € tldaequirothrongkreasonahthnegotiati l Thee* mks that it wantsorrlyto preserve the esthetics of riverflovrthrough Vi and to provide-adequate water for a kayak exarse. To do this, the laitydemandsan absolutes flow of no less than lOOmubio per second (a lot ofwater) i rthe�winter 5O0 cfs vonmore'water )-irrthe summer. Whose-amounts are very 0 Y •ti 0 ! r, o le wherrthecity'sowtradviser saiEHr writingthat 89' cps would be . nougb„to..rnaintaimakay k eoursesitiosaidby some who should knowt .twaterforkayaksha nothingto do with the city position, but .aaathes the-oityismakinganoettempt 'todiknewi:th ore watertlre°efflaentput imtheriverrby oursewer plant Regardless of that, the= eityowns -no water rightward has not tried to acquire-any, soft cannot provide the water it demands. Where then will-the-wales come m theilrkking water suppliesof oureitizens, and from the irrigation waterof our farmers. yet iotko theoit35 ie. _ g abo tb the - upper Ar. A ti -.., rafters, who (lice the city) have no water rights, wanted to acquire water flows to support the rafting business, which is a major factor in the economy of cities on the Arkansas to the west of Pueblo. The =Remand:the SCWCD<negotiated are agreement to modify the regulation of water 'releases for irrigation and other uses to try to =aced therafters' needs. the eity wouldenter hatoreasonable uego'tiationswitlr SCWCD; a sirra far agreement cold be -thashotforthisarea. lirebigeliffesenco between. sucbanegotiated ntand. the. demands o€the ei is-that, under the agreement, when water supplies get .sh .the,priosity of usgoeswhere shouldr namely, to the provision of adequate drinking water for our citizens, the preservation of our farm economy, and supplies to our industries to preserve jobs, all uses absolutely vital to our survival. One of the first rules in Congress is that, if the sponsor of the legislation does not have all parties in agreement, Congress will run, not walls, away from that legislation. ere is little question in my mind that thocity's appearance in Washington in opposition to H.R. 3881 4sas seriously compromised the ability of the citizens of this area to acquire the major benefits that a reservoir expansion would bring to us. - stead -of tying to- take••wateraway from the citizens, the city of Pueblo should be helping in the-efforts to keep water from being sold .outsider :Ar basin entities like°Amor& Once the water is gone, it is gone forever - for Pueblo and all others on the Arkansas River. The Pueblo Chieftain is concerned that H.R. 3881 allows cities such as Aurora, who are not part of the SCWCD, to store water in the reservoir, which enables them to exchange and use the water they buy and take out of the Arkansas basin. The key words in H.R. 3881 which are of concern are the ones that say that the Bureau of Reclamation can lease storage to anyone it pleases, including Aurora and others who are not part of the conservancy district. itiewever, :R. 388 goes on to -say that the Bureau of Reclamation cannotde thisonless there is an agreement between the SCWCD and *e ont of- di'striett . dose words would would actually restrict the-Bureau ofReclamation's ability to-lease to anyone it wishes, which is what the bureau maintains it can do, and what it has done, for years. The bureau owns the Pueblo Dam, and was quick to tell the bill sponsors that it will not accept any restriction on its ability to lease where and when it wishes. epansion of the reservoir will not accelerate water sales to Aurora and others, and unfortunately, there may be little to prevent those sales which are having and will have terrible effects on the citizens up and down the Arkansas River. Thanks to the efforts of Bob Rawlings and The Chieftain, the issue of water being sold away forever is finally getting the attention of lots of folks and groups. But the Rocky Ford Ditch is gone for all practical purposes; the Fort Lyon system (the largest water user on the river) may be sold off to other uses; and even our own Bessemer Ditch system could be in jeopardy, if you listen to many of the farmers in our area. How will we react on a drive from Blende to Avondale if the only vistas are weed - choked fields and no farming? Many residents in • that area who depend on wells will find them dry when there is no irrigation going on. h et's hope that somewhere in the next few decades that the citizens of Pueblo and The Chieftain are not asking these questions: - How on earth did those folks in Pueblo let the opportunity to enlarge Lake Pueblo slip away from them? - Why in the world didn't the hundreds of thousands of citizens who have been badly hurt, forever, by water sales out of the Arkansas River basin do something to stop the few hundred or few thousand water right holders from selling off their and our heritage? http: / /www.chieftain.com/ print /archive /2002 /mar /31 /edi3.htm 04/02/2002