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Newsletter, Colorado Stream Lines <br />http://water.state.co.us/Article3.htm <br />Quarterly Newsletter of the Division of Water Resources <br />"Mediation proved more fruitful- -and less expensive - -than the 'see you in court' attitude <br />that traditionally reigns in water disputes, " <br />Arkansas Ground Water Rules Implemented in Horse Creek <br />Basin <br />The State Engineer's Amended Rules and Regulations Governing the Use of Tributary Ground <br />Water in the Arkansas River Basin went into effect in the Horse Creek basin, east of Pueblo, on <br />April 1, just days before well owners in the basin and the State Engineer were scheduled to face <br />off in water court. The out -of -court agreement occurred thanks to a first -ever "alternative dispute <br />resolution" process spearheaded by the State Engineer /Division of Water Resources (DWR) and <br />an $825,000 loan from the Colorado Water Conservation Board's Construction Fund. The <br />mediation process, which took more than four months and 300 hours of negotiations, was <br />mediated by DWR's Jody Grantham. <br />"As long and arduous as the process has been," Grantham said, "l still believe that it proved <br />more fruitful - -and less expensive - -than the 'see you in court' attitude that traditionally reigns in <br />water disputes." <br />A little background on the dispute: In September 1995, as the result of litigation with the State of <br />Kansas, Colorado's State Engineer issued new rules governing ground water well pumping <br />throughout the Arkansas River drainage. These rules revoked the old "3 -day rule," which allowed <br />holders of junior water -well rights three days of "free" pumping before they would be judged to be <br />affecting senior rights on the river system. Under the new rules, well owners are responsible for <br />finding augmentation water to replace water they pump. <br />Basing their claims on an earlier water court ruling, a majority of junior well owners in the basins <br />who formed the Horse Creek Water Users Association (HCWUA), argued that their ground water <br />rights were not tributary to the mainstem of the Arkansas, and the new rules did not apply to <br />them. The water court agreed that the new rules did not apply concerning the mainstem of the <br />Arkansas, however, the applicability within the Horse Creek basin itself would still have to be <br />argued in trial. The judge then ordered a separate trial concerning the applicability of these rules <br />to be held in April of 1997, instead of ordering that the new rules would go into effect with the <br />mainstem rules on June 1, 1996. <br />This decision brought to head decades of contention between upstream junior ground water well <br />users and the owner of the senior calling surface water right in the basin, the Box Springs Canal. <br />Box Springs contended that for years the upstream pumping damaged its water right, and the <br />1 of 2 09/11/97 12:35:58 <br />