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WATER NEWS Page 5 Primary District Activities The District is committed to protect- ing the quality and quantity of the basin's water resources, and has been working actively on a number of fronts to further those objectives. A brief summary of the District's on- going primary activities follows: District's conditional water rights, Taylor Park Reservoir storage, and Blue Mesa Reservoir. a local water engineering consultant, to coordinate the program. Please contact him at 349 -5700 for more information. Call Protection In the summer of 1994, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced that it would no longer operate the Aspinall Unit in a manner that pro- tected upper basin water users from downstream senior water right calls. Calls originating from the Gunnison Tunnel (1905 administrative priority) or the Redlands Power Canal (1911 administrative priority) have become a concern because of increasing demands for water to meet the needs of the Colorado River endangered fish and the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Prior to construction of the Aspinall Unit, downstream senior calls frequently resulted in curtailment of upper basin junior water rights. In 1995, Gunnison basin interests were successful in obtaining temporary protection under the terms of an agreement signed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U. S. Bureau of Reclamation, and the Colorado Water Conservation Board. This agreement was recently ex- tended until August of 2005. The UGRWCD is currently pursuing development of a basinwide aug- mentation plan in order to address future river administration. The plan will identify shortages in the basin, as well as water supplies that will be used to meet those shortages. Key to the augmentation plan is the amount of water that requires replacement in the event of a call. The District is investing significant resources studying the depletions that occur in the basin. Augmenta- tion sources of supply include the Front Range Water issues The Front Range continues to view the Gunnison Basin as a potential source of water supply to meet the needs of rapid population growth. As was noted previously, the UGRWCD is continuing to actively oppose efforts to remove water from the basin. During last year's legislative session, the District actively opposed a pro- posed bill that would have required the construction of a project to divert water out of the Gunnison Basin to the Front Range. Legislation has been proposed this session that could impact the basin. The District will continue to support alternative approaches to meeting the needs of the Front Range. Water Quality Monitoring The District is also participating actively in the State's triennial review of water quality classifica- tions in the Gunnison River basin. Watershed Plannind- In October of 1999, the District initiated a watershed planning process. Over the course of the past year, the Gunnison Water- shed Planning Group has been working to identify the key issues that should be addressed. A steering committee was put together to assist in implementing the process. The goal is to thoroughly identify the issues in the basin and prepare a plan that would include action items addressingthe issues. The Upper Gunnison District has been coordinating and providing a majority of the funding for a basinwide water quality monitoring program since 1995. The program has nine major participants, including Gunnison County, the City of Gunnison, the Town of Crested Butte, Mount Crested Butte Water and Sanitation District, Crested Butte South Metro District, the Colorado River Water Conservation District, the National Park Service, and the USGS. Ralph E. Clark, III, (Butch Clark) a local resident, also recently contributed funding for a site on his property. The program has been focused on developing baseline information regarding water quality in the East River and Gunnison River. Over the past two years, the USGS has been working on development of a Retro- spective Analysis that will summarize basinwide water quality sampling results and provide recommenda- tions regarding future monitoring needs. The final report will be available later this year. The District has contracted with Tyler Martineau, The Upper Gunnison District is also embarking on development of its own Water Management Plan that will summarize needs in the basin and identify options for addressing those needs. Although the board annually adopts priorities and activities for the coming budget year, it was agreed that the District would benefit from a planning process that is more long term. District staff will be prepar- ing the Water Management Plan over the next 9 -12 months. Elections On June 22, 2000, the District held its second round of elections for board member seats. At issue were two Division 8 (City of Gunnison) positions. The election was conducted in accordance with the state's requirements, and 234 people voted. Incumbents Diane Lothamer and Bob Drexel were both elected to additional four - year terms. No terms are scheduled to expire this year.