Challenges of Future: Tribune-Democrat

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Challenges of future • River forum kicks off in Pueblo By ANDREA RICH PUEBLO — Times of change, challenge and controversy were outlined in the opening remarks of the 10th Annual Arkansas River Basin Water Forum, which began yesterday at the University of Southern Colorado. Alan Hamel, chairman of the Southeast Colorado Water Conser- vancy District and a member of that board for 15 years, gave the open- ing address to the 165 in attendance by focusing on the issues facing the District. The drought has brought additional attention to the water issues in the state, which are now the focus of not only farmers and municipal suppliers, but.the general population as well, as evidenced by the amount of media coverage of water issues, the attention to water purchases, formation by voters of a new water district and the atten- dance at various meetings, Hamel said. Change has come in quantity at the Southeast District. When sev- eral directors were up for reap- pointment last year, Judge Dennis Maes named a host of new repre- sentatives in those seats. The dis- trict lost general manager Steve Arveschoug to the Dolores water distript last summer and imported Jim Broderick as the GM, a native of Pueblo who was in the municipal water picture in Tuscon, Ariz., "That's more changes than I'd seen in my 15 years on the board," Hamel said. That District, however changed in organization, is not without chal- lenges. The most wide- spread, long -term drought in Colorado's ecorded history has forced water users large and small to evaluate the plans they had made and is teaching them to plan for what may be called a one -in -300 year event when it's over. The Arkansas River basin was hit harder by the drought than any other part of the state, now encompassing what experts call the three phases of drought: lack of precipitation, loss of stored water . and loss of groundwater or soil moisture. Plans to re- operate the Frying - pan- Arkansas trans- mountain water project and have the federal gov- ernment study . the possibility of enlarging Pueblo and Turquoise reservoirs was a heavily invested plan of the district that did not get its federal legislation through for political reasons in 2002. The Dis- trict spent $2 million in engineering the Preferred Storage Options Plan, Hamel said, and other interested parties' contributions in engineer- ing and legal work probably dou- bled that figure. While; the Dis- trict pushes to have House Bill 3881 — the PSOP legislation — ' passed this session in Washing- ton. The plan would allow for another 45,000 to 50,000 acre -feet of non - project water to be stored in Pueblo Reservoir in space that until now was dedicated to Fry - Ark project water. The expansion could allow another 75,000 a/f in. Hamel said the board awaits an opinion from the Bureau of Reclamation on several issues that the District tried to address in the PSOP legislation: _ • Whether the district needs the approval of the federal govern- ment to reoperate Pueblo Reser- voir for non- project water, as sought in the house bill; and - • • Whether the BOR has the right to offer a non - project mem- ber, the city of Aurora, space in Pueblo Reservoir. For 16 years the Bureau has had an If -and- When contract with Aurora, which means they can use the space, for a fee, if there is room and would have to spill first when a spill into the river is necessary. This contract began with the first purchase of Rocky Ford Ditch water made through the Resource Investment Group case. s "As soon as we have that," Hamel said of the Bureau's opin- iqn, "we need to digest it and move on." �_0\ 1�vh - 0\ � �) �) - 2 (�- o'3 ALAN HAMEL Hamel said the District also has the task of coming to a reso- lution with the city of Pueblo for a "meaningful flow program" through the city. Pueblo political- ly opposed PSOP legislation last year because it wanted guaranteed volume in the river, varying by time of year, to allow for a kayak course to tie into its Historic Arkansas River project. Pueblo may buy into PSOP legislation if their needs are satisfied through compromise, Hamel said. An intergovernmental agree- ment SECWCD signed with Aurora, which has run into some obstacles since new District board members have come on board an opposed what some called being "in bed" with Aurora, also needs revisited. As Aurora seeks to pur- chase the majority of the remain- ing Rocky Ford Ditch, the IGA brought Aurora's money into the district to help pay down the debt of constructing the Fry -Ark pro- ject. Aurora's transfers also affect water rights and water quality, Hamel said - valley wide issues that cannot continue to be sacri- ficed for Aurora's municipal thirst. "Understand with Aurora that this is it — no more for this val- ley," Hamel said. Support for the Arkansas Val- ley. Conduit — a pipeline to move municipal water from the Pueblo Dam down to Lamar that was originally part of the Fry -Ark pro- ject — is overdue, Hamel said. It has the District's support. Work with Colorado Springs, the largest municipality in the district, and future collaborations between members is necessary to meet the district's goals in place_ since it's inception: to operate the Fry -Ark project, including the responsibil- ity to pay back the municipal and agricultural portions of construc- tion costs, and to provide supple- mental water and the acquisition of wet water for the district mem- bers.