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<br />Forest Service Balks'
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<br />I ,At City Water Plan
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<br />I I, Continued from page 35. TO KEEP THE MAITER out of court,
<br />'son Mill) many more people have been the Forest Service deliberately marked
<br />,doing that," he added. the tall trees grove area as "suitable for
<br />I The Water Department now apparently water development" in its just-released
<br />favors building the gravity diversions in master plan for the area,
<br />the high country, The apparent second "We wanted to give the department a
<br />I choice envisions chopping down the tall viable alternative to the higb country, to
<br />trees and building a 13,1lO0-acre-foot reser. persuade them not to go rigbt ahead with
<br />' 'voir and pump station where the grove what they regard legally as a sure thing
<br />now stands. out of a desire to avoid another ,bout of
<br />uncertainty and delay like Foothills,"
<br />RusseII said.
<br />However, there is a third alternative
<br />that would save both the taIl trces grove
<br />and the high country-pumping water di.
<br />rectly out of the river (or out of a lake
<br />dredged in the river) below the con-
<br />fluence of the three forks. But the idea,
<br />mentioned by the Forest Service, hasn't
<br />been explored much by the Water Depart.
<br />ment because of a preliminary assess-
<br />ment that it would cost as much as the
<br />reservoir alternative but deliver about a
<br />third less water, sources say.
<br />"But we'II still consider this or any al-
<br />ternative UlC~.t's reasonable in view of
<br />events," said Miller.
<br />THE MAIN REASON no one has
<br />pushed that idea, foresters said, is that
<br />there has been no third-party pressure on I
<br />the Forest Service and,the Water Depart-
<br />ment.
<br />UThat's because we've been asleep at
<br />the switch on this situation," said CliIf I
<br />Merritt, Denver.based Western regional
<br />director for the Wilderness Society, "Our I
<br />only excuse is that all our people have
<br />been busy'in Washington lobbYing on the
<br />Alaskan land bill. We just haven't had
<br />the time to read the documents the
<br />Forest Service has sent us so far on the
<br />Williams Fork,"
<br />Merritt said the entire South Fork
<br />should be a prime candidate for wil.
<br />derness preservation in the federal gov-
<br />ernment's evaluation process scheduled
<br />for completion by January 1979. "There-
<br />fore, the third alternative is the only onel
<br />that makes sense in view of the recrea-
<br />tional value of the land and its proximity
<br />to the Denver metro area, JI Merritt said.
<br />Brown, whose office is in KremmJing,
<br />said a possible conclusion to the draft en-
<br />vironmental analysis on the Water
<br />Department's plans-to be finished in
<br />September-might be an order that the
<br />department. come back with an analysis
<br />of that pumping alternative,
<br />"But frankly, a lot depends on what We
<br />hear from the public between now and
<br />then," h~ said.
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<br />WATER DEPARTMENT planning chjef
<br />Ken Miller said, "Right now we have a
<br />firm, legal 1924 easement signed by the
<br />Forest Service and the preSident allowing
<br />us to build up high, a 1921 water right
<br />allowing us to divert at that point and the
<br />desire to develop Our water.
<br />J "To propose that we do anything else
<br />· Involves speculation and uncertainty. In
<br />view of the rising cost of power, We
<br />especially don't want to commit ourselves
<br />to long-term pumping," Miller said,
<br />But the Forest Service is opposed to the
<br />high-country gravity diversions because
<br />I of "unstable soils and the vast number of
<br />damaging cuts and fills required to build
<br />t the conduits and necessary access
<br />! roads," forester Brown said.
<br />I "That 1924 easement was granted at a
<br />,time when nobody thought much about en-
<br />II vironmental consequences-it was a mis-
<br />jtake," he said. "If there's any legal ac.
<br />'tion the Forest Service can take to stop
<br />I! construction up thcre, we'll take it if it
<br />"comes to that."
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<br />r I Hearing Scheduled
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<br />I On Residency 1l.ule
<br />
<br />, At its regular meeting Monday, the
<br />~ Denver City Council will hold a public
<br />I hearing on a proposed City Charter
<br />I amendment which would require Denver
<br />r residency for all city employees hired
<br />after Jan. 1, 1979,
<br />Also Monday, the council will be asked
<br />I to kill one version of a bill for another
<br />City Charter amendment creating a five-
<br />member, civilian police commission to
<br />oversee the Denver Police Department so
<br />that a new version can be introduced next
<br />week.
<br />Both proposed amendments, if adopted
<br />by council would go before voters at the
<br />Sept. 12 primary election,
<br />: Also Monday, the council will give pre-
<br />, liminary consideration to a bill regulating
<br />I the use and legal classification of
<br />i mopeds.
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<br />00655
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