Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District 2000 Annual Report

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Year - 2000 Highlights of the Southeastern District Project Water Allocations and the Winter Water Storage Program - The District allocated over 156,000 acre -feet of Project Water in 2000. That was a record year for the annual sale of Project Water, but 2000 was not a record year for Fry -Ark imports. Limited space in the east -slope storage system meant that imports were shut off at Boustead Tunnel before our diversions were called out by minimum stream - flow requirements or a senior call on the Colorado River. We imported 44,830 acre -feet in 2000. Most of the water we allocated to farms and cities in the District's nine - county service area was unallocated carryover Project Water stored during 1998 and 1999. In 2000 the cities in the District received an allocation of 18,006 acre -feet of Project Water. Farmers in the District received 88 percent of the allocated Project Water for a total of 138,039 acre -feet. For the first time in the last five years, irrigators who store water under the Winter Water Storage decree had plenty of storage space in Pueblo Reservoir. The direct flow entities were able to begin storing in Pueblo Reservoir on the opening day (November 15, 2000) of the 2000- 2001 Winter Water Storage Program (WWSP), and they completed the Farm Water Use Program with nearly 45,000 acre -feet of winter - stored water in the conservation pool at Pueblo Reservoir. The "system's grand total" for the WWSP was 158,389 acre -feet, which is about 20,000 acre -feet less than last year's total, and 8,000 acre -feet less than the last five year average. District Completes Construction of New Office Building - After one year of design and construction time, Houston Construction and HGF Architects handed the District the keys to a new, state -of- the -art office building. The facility features five offices, a boardroom with video conferencing and video - projector presentation equipment, a centrally located office equipment/workroom, and a xeriscape demonstration garden. The complex was paid for out of proceeds from the sale of the District's property on Hwy 50 and with contributions from local water resource agencies for the xeriscape project. Ribbon Cutting Plan for an O &M Transfer Study is Approved - The District Board of Directors approved a staff recommendation to study the possibility of transferring the day -to -day operations and maintenance responsibility over to the District. The Bureau of Reclamation has performed the O &M on the Fry -Ark Project facilities since the construction phase of the Project was deemed complete in 1982. The District is responsible to pay nearly 50 percent of the cost of operations and maintenance for the water diversion and storage features of the Fry -Ark Project; that adds up to nearly $1 million each year and over $12 million since the District's repayment obligation began. 0 Pueblo Dam O &M at Pueblo Reservoir was 36 percent of Total District O &M Costs.