House Resources Subcommittee on Water Power: Statement of Mr. James Null

Home Browse Search

. ;a STATEMENT OF JAMES NULL COLORADO SPRINGS CITY COUNCIL BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON WATER AND POWER UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Good morning Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee. I am Jim Null, a member of the Colorado Springs City Council. I appreciate the opportunity to testify here today on H.R. 3881, by Congressmen Hefley, McInnis, Schaffer and Tancredo. This bill which is of great importance to the City of Colorado Springs and I appreciate the leadership of our Congressional delegation for introducing this legislation. Colorado Springs is the second largest metropolitan area in the state of Colorado and the home to a number of our military installations, including the Air Force Academy, Fort Carson, NORAD, and Peterson Air Force Base. It is located within the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District and is, in fact, the largest "customer" of that District in terms of population served. We sit at the base of Pikes Peak and find ourselves in a beautiful place to work, recreate and raise a family. That is undoubtedly part of the reason why we have experienced rapid growth in the past five years, an 18% increase overall. In fact, the population has nearly tripled in the last 30 years. Our community continues to attract new industry and residents. We have a history of providing reliable, cost - effective utility services to our customers, including domestic, commercial and industrial water supplies, despite our location in a very and part of the country. H.R. 3881 will allow us to continue to meet that responsibility in a manner which maximizes the efficiency of both existing infrastructure and existing water supplies, thereby minimizing the need for new storage and the acquisition of additional water rights within