BOARD00054

• Board Meeting Date: 1/12/1998
• Description: ISF Section - Acceptance of Injury with Mitigation
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

SMVC Comment (CWCB meetin~):

The CWCB should not accept the relinquishment of Bear
Creek development as mitigation by the Town because the Town never
had plans to develop it.

Town's Response:

Although Bridal Veil Creek is the Town's preferred
alternative, Bear Creek has been seriously considered for
development and provides a viable alternative. Giving up
development rights in Bear Creek will preserve stream flows and
help maintain the basin in its natural condition. This is
appropriate mitigation for the Town's application.

The construction of a treatment plant on Bear Creek has
been given serious consideration by the Town beginning in 1577 with
completion of a report prepared by Wright-McLaughlin Water
Engineers. The study seriously considered development of Bear
Creek because the Town's senior municipal water rights were decreed
at a location in the basin where water could be gravity fed into
the Town's pressure zone and the water was of exceptional quality.
Despite this attraction, the Town ultimately decided to construct
a new plant on Mill Creek rather than Bear Creek due in part to
potential avalanche hazard along the route required to access the
prpposed Bear Creek treatment plant site and in part to a desire to
protect the relatively pristine nature of Bear Creek.

The 1552/1553 study also gave serious consideration to
developing Bear Creek water supplies. To address the avalanche
hazard, the study conceptually relocated the treatment plant site
to the Town park area leaving only the diversion facility and
pipeline high in the basin. This significantly reduced the need to
access the upper site in the winter thus reducing avalanche
hazardS. However, the new study ultimately favored the development
of Bridal Veil Creek over Bear Creek partly because Bear Creek's
operation would diminish stream flow in Bear Creek and the San
Miguel River during low flow periods.

The Town has taken additional measures to protect the
Bear creek corridor such as partiCipating with other upper basin
entities in acquiring lands for open space and retiring certain
water rights associated with those lands. Without doubt the Town
is committed to the protection of Bear Creek, but the ability~o
develop Bridal veil is an essential component of the Town's ability
to continue to protect Bear Creek., The Town does not Want to
develop its water rights on Bear Creek but might be forced to do so
if such development emerges as the only viable alternative. The
Town has proposed a win-win solution. The use of the Bridal Veil
water rights will result in a benefit to instream flows because the
system will operate" on storage releases during low-flow times in
all but na=ow emergency circumstances. At the same time Bear

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