Testimony on Behalf of the City of Pueblo

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During the early 1930s, Pueblo and the Arkansas Valley experienced a severe drought, which created near dustbowl conditions. This continued for many years, preventing otherwise fertile soil from being productive throughout the normal growing season. In the mid- 1950s, President Dwight D. Eisenhower visited Pueblo and the Arkansas Valley. He took this opportunity to experience firsthand the blighted conditions of the soil and the plight of the region's farming communities. In good, wet years, nature stored heavy - packed snow in the high Rocky Mountains. Farmers had water for the initial part of the growing season, but not all of the growing season, as run -off in the early part of the season prevented water from being available later in the year. This flow regime made it difficult for the farming community to harvest good crops and utilize the fertile soil to its full potential. After many years of local citizens selling cast iron frying pans to generate funds for lobbying Congress, President John F. Kennedy- visited Pueblo and -signed 1. egi -s-l- ate -o - -aut ri i—r the-- Bur-eau_of e-cl-aration to begin building the Fryingpan- Arkansas Project, part of which is Pueblo Reservoir located less than 10 miles upstream from Pueblo. This project brings surplus water from the western slope of Colorado to southeastern Colorado for use by the people of southeastern Colorado. Once completed in 1975, Pueblo Reservoir provided relief to the farm communities downstream as a more reliable source of precious water fotboth agriculture and domestic use. Now, nearly thirty years later, there are those that see the project's usefulness not in terms of preserving the River and the life which it brings to southeastern Colorado, but as a vehicle to transfer and store additional water for use elsewhere. Both the economic difficulties of farming and the value of water to thirsty metropolitan cities - such as Aurora which lies more than 100 miles north of Pueblo - are exerting pressure to remold the project into a vehicle to transfer more water away from Pueblo and the region generally, by making possible additional upstream exchanges of water, that previously flowed through the City to downstream users. As explained below by Ms. Castle in her testimony, H.R. 3881 as presently drafted, will allow further exchanges and transfers, and conceivably could at times dry up the Arkansas River through Pueblo. As presently written, Pueblo must oppose H.R. 3881. First, we do this because the bill authorizes reoperation of the project and contemplates enlargement of water storage space in a manner that will benefit other entities far from the Arkansas River while burdening Pueblo. These burdens are the additional depletion of the Arkansas River as it flows through Pueblo, thereby diminishing the value of the River as an important and irreplaceable amenity for the City and its residents. Second, the project may thwart the City's efforts to restore the riparian habitat and enhance recreation through Pueblo under the Arkansas River Corridor Legacy Project (the "Legacy Project ") being undertaken by the United States Army Corps of Engineers in partnership with Pueblo: The Legacy Project, which involves improvements to approximately ten miles of the River as it runs through the core of the City, has been long in planning, and enjoys the support and cooperation of numerous entities, including the Pueblo Natural Resources and Environmental Education Council, funding from Great Outdoors Colorado and the provision of lands and easements from the Pueblo Conservancy District. Third, the River may be depleted to such a degree that 3