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• <br /> Court Actions: A case is pending (USFS Reserved Rights Application in Case W-1605-76B) <br /> that involves whether the USFS is entitled to water rights "reserved" as of the date Congress <br /> reserved land for the National Forest for fluvial geomorphological (stream-channel maintenance) <br /> purposes. and, if so, how much water per stream across USFS land. In short, this case relates to <br /> whether or not the USFS holds a Federally Reserved Water Right and, if so, its size. Negotiations <br /> to resolve the case have been limited since 2003. <br /> Municipal Water: The West Fork is the source of the PAWSD (Pagosa Area Water and <br /> Sand District) municipal raw water supply. <br /> Potential Consumptive Uses: The potential for additional consumptive use on the <br /> private land exists. The private land that adjoins the Area includes water rights both conditional <br /> and absolute, and development of the conditional rights would result in additional consumptive <br /> use. Snowmaking for ski areas is a potential consumptive use. However, given the abundance of <br /> snowfall in the Area, is not considered likely. There are conditional water rights for a dozen wells, <br /> with snowmaking a use on the East Fork. <br /> Potential Water Diversion and Storage Locations: <br /> SWSI site— The State Water Supply Initiative ("SWSI") lists the East Fork Reservoir for potential <br /> development of 35,200 acre-feet already decreed and up to a potential storage capacity of <br /> 147,000 acre-feet .However, the 35,200 acre-feet right was abandoned by the SWCD in 2003 <br /> SWSI also identified two additional potential reservoir sites, one on the West Fork and one on the <br /> East Fork, but there are no high-priority projects in the watershed. SWSI was a basin-by-basin <br /> study conducted by the Colorado Water Conservation Board to examine Colorado's water uses, <br /> water-supply needs, and future water-planning efforts. SWSI focused on using a common <br /> technical basis for identifying and quantifying water needs and issues. SWSI catalogued the <br /> specific projects, plans, and processes that local water suppliers have identified and are <br /> undertaking as components of their own water-supply planning efforts to meet the needs they <br /> themselves have identified. In addition, pursuant to House Bill 1117 and the Water for the 21st <br /> Century Act, the Southwest Water Roundtable is evaluating the consumptive and non- <br /> consumptive needs in the basin. For more information, go to: http://cwcb.state.co.us/IWMD/ (then <br /> go to the SWSI I and SWSI II). <br /> Dry Gulch Project— The San Juan Water Conservancy District and Pagosa Area Water and <br /> Sanitation District are currently purchasing land, pursuing water rights and planning for storage to <br /> secure future water supplies with the Dry Gulch Project. Currently, the districts are planning to <br /> construct a 19,000-acre-foot reservoir. The point of diversion for this project is approximately <br /> seven miles downstream of the confluence of the East and West Forks. The San Juan Water <br /> Conservancy District also owns conditional water rights on the West Fork. The West Fork Canal <br /> water right is decreed for 70 cfs and was to deliver water from the West Fork to Four Mile Creek. <br /> The West Fork Reservoir has a conditional right with a decreed amount of 35,797 acre-feet. Both <br /> of these conditional rights remain valid, with a 1968 adjudication date, but no physical work has <br /> been done on either structure. The water rights for the Dry Gulch Project have been the subject of <br /> two recent Colorado Supreme Court decisions, and there is ongoing debate regarding the districts' <br /> future water needs and the size of the Dry Gulch Project. <br /> 7 <br />