BOARD02035

• Board Meeting Date: 5/16/2006
• Description: ISF Section - Arkansas River Instream Flow Appropriation
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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Diversion ("RICD") water rights filing. CDOW has also provided support for this .
recommendation.

The Board will recall that the City of Pueblo originally filed for an RICD on the Arkansas River
downstream of Pueblo Reservoir for flows of 100 cfs and 500 cfs for 365 days a year, 24 hours a
day. This Application is part of a much larger Legacy Project that involves restoration of the
entire river corridor, Specific aspects of the project involve cooperation between Pueblo and the
Colorado Division of Wildlife, Colorado State Parks, Oreat Outdoors Colorado ("OOCO") and
the Army Corps of Engineers, among others,

The Board, in making its recommendation on the first RICD application filed under Senate Bill
216, recommended the decree be granted as long as the flows were reduced from 500 cfs to 250
cfs during certain shoulder months, the water right not be granted during the nighttime hours, as
well as other specified conditions, The City of Pueblo after a number of years of discussion and
negotiation, obtained a global settlement with the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy
District, the Pueblo Board of Water Works, and the Cities of Fountain, Colorado Springs, and
Aurora. The historic Intergovernmental Agreement (lOA) provides for, among other things, the
Arkansas River Flow Management Program ("FMP"). To implement the FMP, Colorado
Springs, the Pueblo Board of Water Works ("PBWW"), the Southeastern Colorado Water
Conservancy District, and the Cities of Aurora and Fountain agreed in the Regional lOA to
subordinate their senior water rights as necessary to protect variable ranges of flow for the RICD
in the Arkansas River through Pueblo (100 to 500 cfs, depending upon the time of year). The
obligations of these parties are less during dry years, and years when reservoir storage is being
restored. However, the 100 cfs flow rate is protected without regard to dry years, under the .
RICD water rights decree and the lOA. In addition, the Regional lOA also provides for
mitigation of the reduction in yield of the subordinated water rights through the construction of
additional storage downstream of the Arkansas River/Fountain Creek confluence, so that water
that is required to flow through the City of Pueblo can be captured in the storage vessel and
exchanged up to Pueblo Reservoir at a later time when the minimum RICD flows are not
threatened, Finally, the Regional lOA includes various commitments of the parties relating to
Colorado Springs' proposed "Southern Delivery System"; support for federal legislation
concerning the Southeastern District's "Preferred Storage Options Plan"; and storage contracts in
Pueblo Reservoir.

Through discussions with the City, it became clear that the City sought to protect values
associated with flows that could occur during the nighttime hours, even though there may be
times when the RICD might not be in use by recreationalists. As such, the Board entered into an
agreement with the City of Pueblo whereby the City sought a decree for an RICD that would not
protect flows during the nighttime hours. In addition, the CWCB Staff agreed to promote in
good faith and the Board agreed to consider in good faith, the appropriation of an instream flow
water right for approximately 100 cfs within the vicinity of the Pueblo whitewater course. (See
the attached agreement).

The CWCB Staff and the City of Pueblo asked the Division of Wildlife to consider an instream
flow from the outlet of Pueblo Reservoir down to the confluence with Fountain Creek. This
segment of river is located within the City of Pueblo and is greatly affected by its urban setting. .

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