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http: / /resourcescommittee. house. gov /107cong /water /2002mar19 /heflei <br /> • <br /> Plan, or PSOP. This plan calls for re- operations storage, or the use of excess capacity in existing reservoirs <br /> to store non - project water under long -term contracts with the Bureau of Reclamation. It also called for <br /> enlargement of the Pueblo and Turquoise reservoirs by 75,000 and 19,000 acre -feet respectively; for a <br /> variety of water quality monitoring and water banking programs; and preservation of a portion of the <br /> municipal outlet works capacity at Pueblo Dam for future domestic needs in the lower Arkansas River <br /> valley. <br /> The Water Conservancy District first approached me regarding this legislation in March 2000. At the <br /> beginning of this Congress, they asked me to be its sponsor and I was happy to do so. H.R. 3881 begins the <br /> implementation process for the Preferred Storage Option Plan. <br /> The first part of the bill - the re- operations segment -- authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to enter into <br /> contracts with cities and towns comprising the Southeast Colorado Water Conservation District that need to <br /> store non- Project water to meet their current and future domestic needs. <br /> Second, the bill authorizes the Secretary to study the proposed enlargement of the Pueblo and Turquoise <br /> Reservoir. These studies would be funded by the District and by the communities that participate in the <br /> PS OP. <br /> Third, the bill authorizes the Secretary to enter temporary contracts to facilitate a water bank program in the <br /> basin. Such a pilot water bank program has already been approved by the Colorado State Legislature. <br /> The legislation also authorizes the Bureau of Reclamation to contract for the use of excess storage capacity <br /> by the city of Aurora and Pueblo West. And finally, the bill assures that the use of excess capacity in the <br /> existing storage facilities of the Fry-Ark project under the new Reclamation contracts will not be used to <br /> increase diversions out of the Colorado or Arkansas river basins without agreements or protections. <br /> H.R. 3881 is not the solution to Colorado's water problem but it is an important first step toward finding the <br /> 173,000 acre -feet the state will need in the next 40 years. Through intelligent use of existing resources, the <br /> process outlined in H.R. 3881 will provide for the storage of 48,000 acre -feet of non - Project water. That is <br /> water available under existing water rights held by cities and towns within the District's nine - country <br /> service area. Further, it will do this while continuing to honor the District's existing obligations under the <br /> 1962 authorizing legislation and interstate compacts. <br /> • As with any western water issue, this is something of a work in progress. Its present form came about, not <br /> only from the PSOP process, by as the result of lengthy negotiations this year between the District and the <br /> City of Aurora and the City of Pueblo. The debate continues. Today, we will hear other comments and <br /> concerns voiced by Pueblo, the Colorado River District, the state of Kansas and even the Bureau. Where <br /> water is scarce, everyone has an opinion on how it should be used. <br /> Thirteen years ago, when the great western water debate was over Two Forks, a member of one <br /> environmental group claimed the state could meet its needs through better utilization of existing smaller <br /> reservoirs. Thirteen years later, that is basically what H.R. 3881 will do. I look forward to working with the <br /> various affected groups to address their concerns and to working with this subcommittee on passing this <br /> bill. <br /> Thank you. <br /> # # ## <br /> 2 of 2 3/22/02 4:48 PM <br />