|
<br />('.:)
<br />, :-~)
<br />
<br />~
<br />0")
<br />c.~..,
<br />c.n
<br />
<br />Q. How do you view the Repayment Cont1'act?
<br />A. I would say that the District $ot a very
<br />good deal. There are older peqple in the
<br />Bureau that may resent that (t;he terms),
<br />but it's water under the hridge.l.ft's go on
<br />down the road and cooperate 4nd be a
<br />partner and not get hung up about it.
<br />Q. When you look back on the 1976 flood,
<br />what comes to mind? .
<br />A. Well, we had just premiered the C- BT
<br />movie "Green Echoes of Snow:" and that
<br />evening I took Zenas Blevins (Chief of
<br />Water and Land Operations) t~ Fort
<br />Collins for dinner. We saw tht$e terrible
<br />plack clouds on our way up to Fort Collins.
<br />Back at home. about midnight, libeaed that
<br />. the siphon had been taken out fin the
<br />canyon. '
<br />
<br />especially below the dam where there was
<br />so much debris. We did return the funds
<br />borrowed from the District which had
<br />enabled us to get started right away without
<br />seeking a loan from Congress.
<br />
<br />Ray Willms:
<br />Q. Did you make any changes when you took
<br />overl
<br />A. Some changes in organization and
<br />emphasis. I don't think anything really
<br />significant. There's not much that a
<br />manager can do to change the direction of
<br />the Bureau. Perhaps I have put more
<br />emphasis on how we administer oilr
<br />contracts, and we worked out a
<br />cost~sharing agreement for raising the
<br />. Horsetooth dams.
<br />
<br />
<br />Big Thompson Flood. The'siphon over ighway 34 was carried away with the flood waters
<br />
<br />Q. Wha, did you do then? ,
<br />A. Zenas checked the flow on hi. way
<br />home; thought we had about 10,~ cfs
<br />running in the river, but when I he*d that
<br />the siphon was out, I knew that so~ething
<br />much bigger was happening. .'
<br />Q. How did the Bureau work with the District?
<br />A. Earl (Phipps) came tight dowrj to my
<br />office and asked what he could dd,. I said
<br />that the best thing he could do was tp get
<br />a pump started to pump water to those
<br />people who had been cut off wherl the
<br />siphon went down. Not only did q,e
<br />District do that, but they offered Us
<br />approximately $400,000 that was il> their
<br />Contingency Fund to get started ",ith the
<br />rebuilding. .
<br />Q. What else happened? ,
<br />A. We got the Big Thompson Power!J'lant
<br />back in operation. It was knocked OU~, and
<br />within a week we had it back in openition.
<br />That was a real challenging job, arid
<br />although we didn't realize it at the (time,
<br />it prepared us for the Lawn Lake Dam1break
<br />in 1982. '
<br />Q. What was thetotalcostofrepairingj1{>od
<br />domage? i
<br />A. It cost us about $750,000. Wehad:quite
<br />a bit of work to do up at Lake Este~1
<br />
<br />Q. Has the Washington Bureau leadership
<br />been changing?
<br />A. I think so. I think we are in a
<br />transitional role with our irrigation
<br />projects. The Bureau is placing'less
<br />emphasis on going out and building
<br />facilities and more emphasis on alternative
<br />solutions. I think we are in a considerable .
<br />state of flux right now, as we have been
<br />for several years, searching for what the
<br />role of the Bureau should really be under
<br />a changing economy and changing budgets.
<br />Q. Does this situation radiate down ,hrough
<br />the chain of command?
<br />A. We feel that it doesj not in real concrete
<br />terms, but in lots of little things. We have
<br />budget problems. Morale problems aren't
<br />too bad in a project like this, because an
<br />operating project is fairly stable. The
<br />transfer of facilities to Northern has a
<br />certain morale fallout, because a certain
<br />amount of our people see our turf going to
<br />someone else. Probably the biggest
<br />uncertainty came from the transfer of water
<br />and power facilities when the Department
<br />of Energy was formed.
<br />Q. What do you see as the future role of the
<br />Bureau and the District?
<br />A. I see the Bureau's role, I guess, in the
<br />
<br />future staying about the way it is nOWj at
<br />least, as I view our role as having the basic
<br />responsibility for managing water supply in
<br />the power systems. The District has the
<br />primary role of managing the distribution
<br />of water to the users in the facilities related
<br />to it. I don't think this role has changed
<br />substantially over the past, probably since
<br />the project was built. I think thar they
<br />(NCWCD) have always had the primary
<br />role as far as distribution of water to the
<br />users, and I think that we.have.always had
<br />the primary role of developing the water
<br />supply and managing the mainstem of the
<br />project that. would bring .the water from
<br />Granby into Horsetooth, and, of course,
<br />the power generation.
<br />Q. Do the Bureau and the Distric, have a
<br />partnershiP?
<br />A. I thin~ th(!.t's fair. I suppose. there's some
<br />change .in the role. Probably 15 years ago
<br />we had an enormous technical advantage
<br />over the, District in most areas. 1 would-
<br />gUess that doesn't exist any more.
<br />Q. Do the Bureau and the Districtshare what
<br />they have .with each other?
<br />A. We do to a certain extent. They
<br />- certainly provide us with advice on water
<br />operations. We provide them with advice
<br />on the mechanical and electrical issues. For
<br />example, we have the expertise to rewind
<br />the Granby generators; they will probably
<br />realign the Granby units with the windings
<br />that are moved.
<br />Q; Is there much conflict with the District?
<br />A. Not really. .The maximum power
<br />production occurs with the maximum
<br />movement of water from the West Slop'e
<br />to the East Slope. The only problem
<br />develops when it becomes necessary to take
<br />'a power unit out of service {or
<br />maintenance, whereas on the water side,
<br />you can bring water over for ten months,
<br />and shue down the system for repair and
<br />maintenance for two months.
<br />Coordinating maximum power
<br />p'roduction with the optimum water
<br />disttibution requires careful planning.
<br />Q. SO there really aren', any conflicts with the
<br />District?
<br />A. I am not.aware of one. As far as I am
<br />aware, the District recognizes, the need to
<br />keep the power system intact through the
<br />spring, and they have never advocated
<br />operatihg otherwise. They are somewhat
<br />uncomfortable with the level of
<br />maintenance; particularly the Charles
<br />Hansen Feeder Canal, but they have never
<br />really pushed us hard to take it out for a
<br />longer period of time and do more
<br />maintenance on it.
<br />Q. What are the big issues facing the Bureau
<br />in the future?
<br />A. Right now we have an insufficient
<br />amount of money for O. & M. We could
<br />use several million dollars over a ten..year
<br />period. Graham..Rudman across..the~board
<br />cuts have hurt us. Some of the power
<br />equipment is wearing out.
<br />
<br />23
<br />
|