Water News: Southeastern Colorado Water District Volume 1 Issue 10

• Description: Water News: Southeastern Colorado Water District Volume 1 Issue 10
• State: CO
• Date: 7/30/2000
• Title: Water News: Southeastern Colorado Water District Volume 1 Issue 10
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Publication

SECWCD BOARD MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
RALPH ADKINS
PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Ralph Adkins began his
service on the Southeastern
Colorado Water Conservancy
District Board in 1973, when he
was appointed to replace Harold
Christie as a private - industry
representative on the Board.
During his 27 years of service
Mr. Adkins has seen the
completion of Pueblo Reservoir
(1975) and the signing of the
final Fry -Ark Project repayment
contract in 1982, two very
significant milestones for the
Fryingpan- Arkansas Project.
Today he serves as President of
the District Board, a position he
has held since 1992.
Understanding the value of
the Fry -Ark Project comes easy
for Ralph Adkins. He was
born in La Junta and graduated
from Bent County High School
in Las Animas, Colorado. He
believes the Fry -Ark Project has
helped to stabilize the economy
in the Arkansas Valley by
providing a supplemental
source of water for irrigation
and industry, but he also notes
that recreation has become one
of the most significant
contributions of the Project.
As a professional engineer,
Mr. Adkins looks at the success
of the Fry -Ark Project and his
service on the District Board in
very practical terms. When I
asked him what he felt his most
notable achievement has been
while serving on the Board, he
said, "Directing the day -to -day,
Ralph Adkins, SECWCD
President of the Board of Directors.
month -to -month operation of
the District and getting the
water to where it needs to go."
At 82- years - young, Ralph
Adkins still looks of the matters
of the District and the Project
with the practical and critical
eye of an engineer.
Most days Ralph Adkins can
be found at his office now
working in private practice as
the principal in Ralph Adkins
and Associates, Inc. Following
graduation from Colorado State
University in 1943, with a
degree in civil engineering, he
worked for 40 years for CF &I
(1943 to 1983), and at the time
of his appointment to the
District Board he was Director
of Land and Water Operations,
in charge of the large
5
landholdings and water rights
for the corporation. Ralph
Adkins remembers negotiating
with the Bureau of Reclamation
for the "CF &I Leadville
Properties" needed for the
enlargement of Sugarloaf
Reservoir, later to become
Turquoise Reservoir and a part
of the Fry -Ark Project. I asked
him where the name Turquoise
came from and he wasn't sure.
He did say that Sugarloaf Dam
and Reservoir, named for
Sugarloaf Mountain, was a
perfectly good name and that I
should ask the Bureau why they
saw fit to change it.
Ralph Adkins enlisted in the
U.S. Navy in 1944 and served
two tours in the Pacific during
World War II. He is a
registered professional engineer
in Colorado and Arizona. He
and his wife Bobbye have been
married for "54 1/2 years."
When asked about the future
of the Fry -Ark Project, Mr.
Adkins said, "Our most
important job is to protect our
water rights and the yield of the
Project."
Written by: Steve Arveschoug,
SECWCD, General Manager.
Turquoise Reservoir