Board Meeting 11/03/1983

• Board Meeting Date: 11/3/1983
• Description: Agenda, Minutes, Memos
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Meeting

7. Supreme Court decision in Huston Case.

Agenda Item 6 - State Engineer's Report

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At the request of Chairman Vandemoer, State Engineer Jeris
Danielson, reported on the following items:

1. Satellite Monitoring Program - Legislature enacted by
the 1983. General Assembly, in Senate Joint Resolution 20,
provided that the Colorado Water Resources and Power
Development Authority fund the purchase of a statewide
satellite monitoring system. Plans are to finalize and
award a contract for 80 stations in November.

It is anticipated that these stations will be ready for
operations during the spring (1984) runoff period.

2. House Bill 1416 (Interim Dam Safety Bill). This
legislation instructed the State Engineer's office to
prepare a report identifying high hazard dams and transmit
it to all local government agencies and water organizations
whose works included dam/dams. In compliance with this
requirement, the State Engineer, with funds obtained from
the U.S. Corps of Engineer~, prepared a Dam Safety Manual
for use by all groups and organizations mentioned above.

3. Blue Mesa Reservoir Water Sales and Subordination
Agreements

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Mr. Danielson reported on a recent meeting with Bureau
of Reclamation repre~entatives concerning sale of water
stored in Blue Mesa Reservoir. This question and discussion
stemmed from recent applications for well permits by the
City of Gunnison to install additional wells in the Gunnison
River alluvium to increase the City's municipal and
industrial water supplies. These permits were denied by the
State Engineer's Office on the grounds that the wells would
pump tributary water and thus would be junior to and would
interfere with senior storage rights and direct flow rights
for the Aspinal Unit. As a resolution to this problem, the
Bureau of Reclamation agreed to sell water out of Blue Mesa,
up to 60,000 acre-feet, for use by local entities upstream
from the reservoir and would subordinate its rights for such
upstream uses up to 60,000 acre-feet.

4. Senate Bill 439

Mr. Danielson discussed this Bill which was passed by
the 1983 General Assembly and signed by the Governor on
October 11, 1983. This Bill was enacted as a stop-gap
measure in response to the Colorado Supreme Court's decision
in the Huston Case. The measure gives water courts certain

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