John Martin Reservoir Part Of River Compact: Tribune-Democrat

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Page 2 Lo Junta (Colorado Tribune - Democrat Wednesday, April 2, 2003 John. 4artin Reservoir part of river . com act p EDITOR'S NOTE: The fol -. lowing is the fourth in a multi -part series covering the 10th Annual Arkansas River Basin Water Forum held in Pueblo last week. The topics addressed a variety of issues on the river - ingny of which conic into the public spotlight since the drought and recent acquisition of basin water by out -of -basin inter- es is. By ANDREA RICH For 102 years, Colorado and Kansas have paid for the best legal minds and engineers to state their case for right to flows of the Arkansas River. One of those solu- tions was to build John Martin Reservoir. Tom Pointon, a long -time Las Animas farmer and rancher, is one of two Colorado residents who owns water rights in the Arkansas River system and represents Col - orado on the Arkansas River Com- pact board. The president of the Colorado Water Conservation Board and the Division II Water Engineer round out the slate of Col - orado representatives on the com- pact, which meets regularly in WATER REPORT Wednesday, April 2, 2003 Ditch Company Reading (CFS) Ark River at Pueblo............ 183 Excelsior ..................... 11 Ark River at Avondale .......... 243 Colorado Canal ............... out Highline Canal. r .... . .......... 89 Nepesta ..................... 186 Oxford ... ..................... 25 Otero Ditch ................... out Catlin Canal .................. 25 Holbrook Canal ............... out Rocky Ford Ditch .............. 49 Fort Lyon Canal .............. 237 Arkansas River at La Junta....... 20 t.as Animas Consolidated ....... 31 Nine Mile (Higbee) ............. out Purgatoire River at Las Animas ... 38 Lamar with Kansas representatives. Pointon spoke io a crowd of more than 150 Friday at the Arkansas River Basin Water Forum in Pueblo, detailing some of the local history of the compact. John Martin dam, which last year became part of the state's newest park, was originally built for water conservation and flood control. Col- orado and Kansas created a com- pact — or agreement for Arkansas River flows at the state line — prior to its construction in what was once a town named Caddoa. That reservoir was completed in 1948, and full responsibility of its operation was turned over to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which still opel ates the dam today. For many years, the reservoir was drained each year. For flood control purposes, John Martin did its job in 1965. Accord- ing to Pointon, 130,000 cubic feet of water per second crossed the state line in the flood of 1965. Engineers estimate that, without the dam, the amount would have been greater than 500,000 cfs, holding grave consequences for the towns of Lamar, Granada, Holly in Col- orado and Kansas towns along the river east of the state line. On Aug. 14, 1976, the compact approved John Martin Reservoir holding a permanent pool of water. This is not water dedicated to recre- ation, as is the case with other reservoir permanent pools, but is designated storage. All the water in that pool is fully consumable, and flood water may be left in the pool if both Colorado and Kansas agree. The water was actually pur- chased by Bent and Prowers coun- ties in the 1970s when an intent by the state to purchase water from the city of Colorado Springs fell through. Pointon, then a Bent County commissioner, met with the heads of the five other south- east counties and bought the per- manent pool with Bent and Prow - ers money for just over $50,000. Colorado Springs signed the deal one Monday morning and had the water released by lunchtime. A year later the two counties got their money back from the pur- chase through legislative action and out of the Division of Wildlife budget. Growing concern "Over the past 10 years, Kansas has had more and more trouble get- ting water to the state line," Pointon said. Kansas believes Colorado ti. r' GROW f TOM POINTON well pumpers are taking more than their allowable amount of water from the system, but Pointon and many others believe it is the tamarisk, or salt cedar. (Forum attendees also viewed a presenta- tion on salt cedar eradication done on the Pecos River in Texas. Mature tamarisk drink between 200 and 300 gallons of water a day and line many of the rivers of tit t Th ' t ewes .) ere is grow t ng to er- est in salt cedar eradication in Coloradothrough local govern- ment efforts like Southeast Col- orado Enterprise Development. Federal legislation by Sen. Pete Domenici, (R -NM), and senators Wayne Allard and Ben Nighthorse Campbell, (R -CO), would autho- rize at least 10 research and removal projects in five states at a cost of $7 million each — to be born entirely by the federal gov- ernment. Should the bill pass, the lower Arkansas Valley should be ready to run for the funds, offi- cials say.