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<br />l':'>- <br /> <br />..- <br /> <br />FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH <br /> <br />00 <br />"",,, <br /> <br />:Stop A WOI <br /> <br />American Water Development, Inc. <br />should be defeated in its attempt to <br />pump groundwater out ofthe San Luis <br />Valley. <br />There are less <br />damaging alterna- <br />tives. If you think <br />you've heard that ar- <br />gument before, you <br />have. It is the one <br />that has apparently <br />defeated the Two <br />Forks project. In- <br />cidentally, the defeat Sally Schuff <br />of Two Forks has <br />turned out to be extremely convenient <br />for A WDI. It darn near guarantees a <br />market for the company's water on <br />Colorado's Front Range. <br />Two Forks would have changed a <br />canyon with a great trout stream into a <br />canyon with a great recreational <br />reservoir. <br />A WDI's proposed water profiteering <br />scheme in the San Luis Valley threatens <br />a 3,120 square-mile high alpine valley <br />where some 40,000 people depend, in <br />one way or another, on irrigated <br />agriculture. <br />In addition, the San Luis Valley is a <br />naturalist's delight. Countless migra- <br />tions of waterfowl have depended on its <br />natural, free-flowing artesian wetlands. <br />Unfortunately, environmentalists have <br />not taken the same interest in San Luis <br />Valley cranes as they have in the Nebras- <br />ka cranes that live downstream from <br />Two Forks. <br />A WDI believes there is surplus water <br />in the Valley's deep aquifer. However, <br />that's not really the point. The point is: <br />that water system works for man and <br />beast because of artesian pressure. <br />Relieve that pressure, and the whole sys- <br />tem sags. Free.flowing welIs stop flow- <br />ing. Pumping becomes more costly, <br />maybe prohibitive. <br />A WDI's proposed project is draining <br />the Valley already. Of dolIars. The legal <br />battle has been costly. The expenses <br />could go on for years. It's a battle the <br />Valley can il1 afford. <br />A WDI brags that it has planned great <br />economic benefits forthe Valley. Com- <br />pany officials point with pride to a new <br />joint venture it has formed with a small <br />group from the town of Center to start <br />a cooperative farming operation at its <br />Baca Ranch. A WDI has committed <br /> <br />48 <br /> <br /> <br />S500,OOO to it, so far. Big deal- <br />compared to the dollars flowing out of <br />the ValIey in court costs. <br />Nobody is really fooled by the joint <br />venture. It is widely viewed as an objec- <br />tionable form of tokenism. Hand it to <br />the folks from Center, though; they <br />seem to be among the few who have <br />found a way to take advantage of <br />AWDI. <br />AWDI bowed to some of the ValIey <br />concerns and amended its water rights <br />application-finally-only after the <br />Alamosa water court made it clear that <br />the company couldn't outright steal the <br />groundwater under protection of Span- <br />ish land grant law. <br />The company now wants to be con- <br />gratulated on the fact that its amended <br />application will harm the Valley in slow <br />stages, not all at once. Phase I, for in- <br />stance, proposes to take 60,000 acre-feet <br />of water out of 35 welIs drilled into the <br />confined (artesian) aquifer. Never mind <br />that farmers haven't been allowed to <br />drilI into that aquifer since 1970. <br />A WDI says its Phase I will only <br />damage 256 existing wells in the Valley, <br />just 4"7. of the total, and it has nicely <br />agreed to let the water court supervise <br />compensation of damages to its neigh- <br />bors. It's also developing an augmenta. <br />tion plan to mitigate damages that it has <br />claimed through the years would not oc- <br />cur. When everybody is satisfied that <br />that deal works, A WDI wilI continue to <br />the develop "sequential phases" up to <br />pumping 200,000 acre. feet a year under <br />terms set by the water court. <br />There has been a lot of speculation in <br />the Valley about where AWDI's water <br />would really go. There are numerous <br />possibilites because of the Valley's prox- <br />imity to four major river basins, includ- <br />ing the Colorado River. Conceivably, <br />A WDI water could go to lucrative mar- <br />kets in Arizona and California if it were <br />piped over mountain passes into the <br />Colorado River drainage. Or, it has a <br />straight, downhill shot at the Rio <br />Grande River. <br />AWD!'s amended application now <br />says the water will remain in Colorado. <br />All of the 200,000 acre-feet, says A WDI <br />President Dale Schaffer. <br />Despite AWDI's amended applica- <br />tion, the project simply has too much <br />risk. And, there are better alternatives. <br />The project should be stopped. . <br /> <br />SEE YOUR LOCAL <br />FORD NEW <br />HOLLAND DEALERS <br /> <br />COLORADO <br />ALAMOSA <br />Sorum Tractor Co., Inc. <br />7727 Highway 160 <br />(71 g) 589.2822 <br />BURLINGTON <br />Farmers Ford New.Holland <br />West Highway 24 <br />(719) 348.5548 <br />DOVE CREEK <br />Dove Creek Implement, Inc. <br />P.O. Box 546 <br />(3031677.2274 <br />FORT MORGAN <br />Wickham Tractor Co. <br />15447 Highway 34 <br />(303) 867.5869 <br />GLENWOOD SPRINGS <br />Berthod Motors, Inc. <br />2914 Grand Avenue <br />(3031 945.7466 <br />GRAND JUNCTION <br />Western Implement Co., Inc. <br />2919 North Avenue <br />(303) 242.7960 <br />GREELEY <br />Greeley Ford New Holland <br />1 71 7 Second Avenue <br />(3031 352.2288 <br />LONG MONT <br />Longmont Farm Supply <br />10683 1.25 Access Road <br />(303) 776-0031 <br />PARKER <br />Potestio Bros. Equipment <br />191 02 East Mainstreet <br />(3031 841.2299 <br />PIERCE <br />Van Why & Sona, Inc. <br />P.O. 80x 89 <br />(303) 834.2895 <br />PUEBLO <br />Rusler Implement Co. <br />29050 Highway 98 Eost <br />(719) 948,3338 <br />STEAMBOAT SPRINGS <br />Farrow Repair Service. Inc. <br />26840 Mystlc Route <br />(3031 879.0130 . <br />TRINIDAD <br />Barney's Garage & Implement <br />705 N. CommericaJ Street <br />(719) 846.6641 <br />WILEY <br />Wiley Olwer Sales Co., Inc. <br />P.O. Box 217 <br />(7191829.4821 <br />YUMA <br />Yuma Ford New Holland <br />5500 E. Hwy. 34 <br />(303) 848-5847 <br /> <br />Colorado Rancher & Farmer <br /> <br />