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The Pueblo Chieftain Online <br />Page 3 of 3 <br />Turquoise and Twin Lakes. While the mountain lakes usually have sufficient water, <br />their operation has become an issue in negotiations over storage in the valley. <br />Kiowa County commissioners are searching for ways to keep water in the Great <br />Plains Reservoirs in the southern part of the county. The agricultural lakes make <br />for great fishing, but have suffered during five years of drought conditions. <br />The final piece of the recreation puzzle is Fountain Creek, seen for years as <br />nothing more than a polluted drainage channel. The Fountain Creek Vision Task <br />Force, U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, state parks, and a separate joint effort by Colorado <br />Springs Utilities and the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District are all <br />aiming for ways to revive the Fountain as a recreation hot spot. <br />RECREATION <br />Recreation has become important to the economy and quality of life in the <br />Arkansas Valley. <br />• The issue: Water for recreation and wildlife has often been a coincidental <br />impact of how water is moved. Water rights for recreation now are allowed <br />and some water is purchased or leased for the benefit of wildlife. <br />• What's at stake: Without flows at certain times of year, there might not be <br />enough water to recreate in. <br />• Why it matters: Recreation is an increasingly important economic factor, as <br />well as a way to maintain the quality of life that attracts people to the state. <br />• Who's involved: People, critters, birds and fish. <br />©1996- 2008The Pueblo Chieftain Online <br />http:// www .pueblochieftain.com /print.php ?article= /metro/1199599200/3 1/7/2008 <br />