Testimony on Behalf of the City of Pueblo

Home Browse Search

• • proposed bill, expands the definition of "excess water storage capacity," thereby effectively creating a larger federally subsidized storage reservoir for private use. As acknowledged in the PSOP Report, the proposal to expand the storage capacity of Pueblo Reservoir has the potential to result in further dewatering of the river as it flows through Pueblo, by providing additional storage capacity into which water can be exchanged upstream. The current ability of several municipalities to operate their decreed exchanges is limited by the availability of upstream storage, and an enlarged Pueblo Reservoir will allow more water to be exchanged. A new water supply pipeline for the delivery of additional water from Pueblo Reservoir north to Colorado Springs and neighboring communities is currently in the planning stages. The_bottom_line is that upstream_ exchanges of Arkansas River water rights that cannot be operated currently due to the limited availability of storage in Pueblo Reservoir, would be able to operate if the Pueblo Reservoir reoperation and enlargement sought in H.R. 3881 proceeds. The result will be further reduction in Arkansas River flows through Pueblo, as the exchanged water is transferred out of, rather than flowing from Pueblo Reservoir. C. Negative Impacts to the Legacy Proiect, Including Fish, Wildlife, and Recreation. The Legacy Project being undertaken at an estimated cost of $6.6 million, as a partnership between the Corps of Engineers and Pueblo, is intended to rehabilitate fish and wildlife habitat and improve public recreational opportunities in a 10 -mile reach of the Arkansas River, stretching from Pueblo Dam downstream through the City. The anticipated benefits to Pueblo and the riverine environment that will result from the Legacy Project, which is scheduled to be completed in 2004, will evaporate if Arkansas River flows substantially diminish below current levels. Pueblo believes that a wintertime flow of 100 cfs through the City is the minimum level that would be sufficiently protective of the improved wildlife habitat, re- established fish populations, and recreational aspects of the Legacy Project. The "voluntary," "target" flow of 100 cfs at the outfall of the Dam, provided for in H.R. 3881 and supporting documents is not an adequate guarantee or protection of the investment in the Legacy Project. The significant negative impacts to fish and wildlife, and recreational opportunities on the Arkansas River through Pueblo that could result from H.R. 3881 would also be contrary to the original purposes of the Fryingpan- Arkansas Project, which include "supplying water for irrigation, municipal, ... and for- other useful and beneficial purposes incidental thereto, including recreation and the conservation and development of fish and wildlife ...." Pub. L. No. 87 -590, 76 Stat. 389 (1962) (emphasis added.) The interests of the municipal water providers that are supporting the Pueblo Reservoir reoperation and enlargement should not be advanced, to the exclusion and at the expense of the other intended purposes of the original project. D. The Proposed Project Will Diminish Water Quality. Passage of H.R. 3881 will exacerbate the poor water quality conditions that exist at certain times in the Arkansas River. The reoperation and proposed enlargement will not only result in decreased quantity of water through Pueblo, but also will allow distant municipalities to 6