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Follovving his father's footsteps, hardvvorking Eric Wilkinson novv manages a large vvater conservancy district Eric Wilkinson first became familiar with water as a small child growing up on his family's small acreage northwest of Fort Collins. Wilkin- son's father, Dugan Wilkinson, was the water commissioner for the Poudre River, and later became the divi- sion engineer for the Colorado Division of Water Resources (DWR) in Greeley. "Betvveen 5 months old and graduating from high school, I spent a lot of time with my dad in a pickup going up and down the Poudre," recalls Wilkinson. While in college, Wilkin- son himself was a deputy water commis- sioner, assisting then water commissioner Jack Neutze on the Poudre River. Wilkinson '5 upbringing and his childhood interest in water turned into a career. Wilkin- son's father has had a lasting influence in his life, especially when it comes to work ethics- a 40-hour working week, for example, never resonated with Wilkinson. After receiving his bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from Colorado State University in 1973, Wilkinson began his career at the DWR in the Dam Safety Branch. In 1984, he changed jobs and worked for the City of Greeley as a water resources engineer for three years before join- ing the Northern Colorado Water Conser- vancy District (NCWCD) in 1987. In January 1994, after serving in various positions, Wilkinson was appointed as the General Manager of the NCWCD. Regardless of where he worked, however, Wilkinson and his fam- ily has lived on his small farm east of Fort Collins since 1977. As the General Manager of the NCWCD, Wilkinson oversees an organization that employs roughly 90 talented professionals and that is responsible for the operation and maintenance of nearly all the non-power facil- ities of the Colorado-Big Thompson Project and the diversion, storage and delivery of an average of nearly 220,000 acre-feet of water per year from that project. The NCWCD was formed in 1937 as the local agency to contract vvith the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for the construction of the Colorado-Big Thompson Project (CBT). The CBT system is the largest single transmountain diversion project in the state, built in response to a need for a supple- mental water supply in Colorado's northern front range. It diverts water from the upper reaches of the Colorado River and transports it via a series of reservoirs, pumping plants, pipes and a 13-mile tunnel through the conti- nental divide to the headwaters of the Big Thompson River near Estes Park. Built from 1938 to 1957, the CBT provides supplemental water to 30 cities and towns, over 120 ditch and reservoir companies, and approximately 600,000 acres of irrigated farmland. The NCWCD's service area stretches from north of Wellington south to Boulder and Broom- field, and east along the South Platte River all the way to the Colorado-Nebraska border. The CBT system is truly a marvel of engineer- ing design. Once the water reaches the East Slope, it is used to generate electricity as it falls over half a mile in elevation through five power plants. The sale of generated electric- ity by the federal Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) repays the federal government's cost of constructing, operating and maintaining the CBT Project. Water is stored in three terminal front-range reser- voirs (Horsetooth, Carter and Boulder) and is then released to farmers, cities, and indus- try. The West Slope collection system con- sists of five reservoir0'Viilow Creel(,""'Shadow Mountain, Green Mountain, Lake Granby, and Grand Lake and tvvo pumping plants. The system captures runoff from high moun- tains and stores water for diversion to the East Slope. The West Slope collection system provides many economic benefits to western Colorado. The Scenic beauty of the lakes cre- ated by the CBT system has provides a vital boost to tourism and recreation in the head- waters region. Wilkinson reports to a 12-member board of directors that meets tvvice a month. "I appre- ciate my board members for their knowledge and dedication," says Wilkinson. The direc- tors, appointed by district judges, represent the seven counties within the NCWCD serv- ice area. They serve staggered 4-yeal Lellll. Board selection is governed by the Water Conservancy Act passed in 1937 that specifies the board members have knowledge in water matters. Appointment by district court judges, as specified in the statutes, was done to avoid board members being politically bound. "Selection of the NCWCD board remains outside of the political arena because the drafters of the organic legislation realized that water planning was a long-term strategy and should not be subjected to politics," notes Wilkinson. 3 The Municipal Subdistrict of the NCWCD was formed in 1970 to develop and operate the Windy Gap Project (WGP). The WGP is located just west of the Town of Granby and consists of a diversion dam on the Colorado River, a pumping plant and a six-mile pipeline to Lake Granby. The system is designed to deliver an average of 48,000 acre-feet of water annually, primarily for municipal and industrial uses along the northern front range. The Subdistrict has no employees and has the same board of direc- tors as the NCWCD, although a different slate of officers. The Subdistrict compen- sates the NCWCD for staff time spent on the administration, operation and maintenance of the WGP. Wilkinson has a pragmatic approach to man- aging water resources. A typical day for Wilkinson includes attending two or three meetings, responding to a number of phone calls, and in between, discussing important issues with staff and others to solicit their input or provide direction. He largely focuses on matters related to policy, water rights, engineering, water allotment, finance and public information. Part of'W'11kinson's chal- lenge is responding and adapting to changing needs of the constituents while prudently managing water resources. "Just a few years ago, water was predominantly used for agri- culture; now development and municipal needs are increasingly competing with agri- culture," confirms Wilkinson. "In addition, our increased focus on water quality concerns and our involvement in threatened and endangered species programs reflects our commitment to meeting changing needs." Wilkinson was recently appointed as a mem- ber of the CWCB. He represents the South Platte Drainage. "I am extremely honored to serve on the CWCB," says Wilkinson. "I am very impressed by the caliber of CWCB mem- LeI::;; I geta 10t'uUL or Llle g(Jmh~a::; I aOI exposed to in the CWCB meetings." Wilkin- son believes that serving on the CWCB has increased his knowledge and awareness of the water challenges that the state of Colorado faces. He regards the CWCB's construction fund providing the highest benefit to the state of Colorado. Wilkinson views the instream flow program as highly beneficial to the state providing an opportunity for balancing human needs and the need for the protection (continued on page 4)