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Arkansas River Forum: The 2003 Arkansas River Basin Water Forum will be held March 28-29, . 2003 in Pueblo, Fountain Creek Flood Hydrology: Recent discussions have occurred with the USGS and the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) regarding on-going flood hydrologic analyses. Over a year ago, the Albuquerque office of the Corps prepared initial flood hydrology information for the watershed, based entirely on a statistical analysis of annual peak flow data for nine stream gages located on Fountain Creek and Monument Creek. The results of the analyses were not deemed to be reliable due to problems at individual gages and counter-intuitive results obtained from one gage to another, This discovery led us to solicit input and further analyses from the USGS in the form of paleohydrologic information (the study of historic flood events through examination of physical evidence) to supplement the existing streamflow records. Dr. Robert Jarrett of the USGS has been collecting field data for use in his paleo work and hopes to soon have sufficient data to be used by the Corps for completion of the Fountain Creek hydrology study. The Corps will produce a final product consisting of a calibrated rainfall-runoff model for Monument Creek and for Fountain Creek below its confluence with Monument Creek. previously published hydrology study by the City of Colorado Springs (for the upper Fountain Creek watershed) will be adapted by the Corps. Fountain Creek Watershed Study: We are continuing to work with the City of Colorado Springs, seven other municipalities and three counties on the initiation of the Corps' Watershed Study for Fountain Creek. The local governments and the Corps are currently finalizing the Scope of Work. The City of Colorado Springs staff has prepared materials to be presented to each of the local governments as part of the process of adopting Intergovernmental Agreements (IGA' s) between . Colorado Springs, who will contract directly with the Corps, and each of the other 10 local . jurisdictions, The IGA's should be adopted in December or January 2003, as part of the process of formal adoption between the Corps and the City of Colorado Springs. There will also be IGA's between the CWCB and Colorado Springs ($300,000) and between the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) and Colorado Springs (another $300,000). It is expected that work on the three-year $3 million study will begin late in the winter of2002 - 2003. Fort Lyon Canal Buyers Sue: On Nov. 13 the company attempting to buy most of the Fort Lyon Canal filed a lawsuit in district court in Pueblo against the new lower Arkansas River Water Conservancy District, the Arkansas Valley Preservation Trust, which started the new district, and the commissioners of all five counties included in the, district to void the creation of the district that was approved by voters in Nov. 5. High Plains A&M attorney Robert Bruce is arguing that the ballot question that created the district was unconstitutional because it contained more than one subject. He is also arguing that the ballot question violated the constitutional tax-limitation amendment by not interpreting the initiative in the way most likely to restrict the growth of government. Voters in Bent, Crowley, Otero, Pueblo and Prow~rs counties approved Initiative 4A by a 62-38 percent margin, The measure passed in all five counties, although Bent County's 54 percent win was the lowest margin, due to opposition by some who already had sold their land and water to High Plains, The district was proposed as a way to save farming water by raising money with a property tax to buy . water from farmers who might otherwise sell their water rights out of the Arkansas Valley. The tax revenues would allow the district to sell bonds that also would be used to buy water, 9