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State Blocks All but 3 Mission Viejo Wells t. \ Bv PEGGY STRAIN Denver Post Staff Writer State Engineer C.J. Kuiper has denied all bul three of Mission Viejo's applica- tions to drill 2~ water wells for a planned city of up to 100,000 peroons. '1]'he action is a major impediment to the C'alifornia-based development com- Pany's. plan to build a major population <:enter~ on the Phipps Highlands Ranch south of Denver in Douglas County. Many ~id the deveiopment would worsen I)cnver's air pollution. . Kuiper said Saturday that the applica- tIons were denied because "Mission Viejo 4id not present enough hydrological and 'l"ologicAI facts 10 ensure that there would be no injury"~ to present users of t\yo urulerground aquifers. . .' ., ! "WE GOT HORDES of letters from flVerybody south of Denvey." said Kuiper. who added that existing water users oouth -of Den\'er and in southeast Denver j-: dre l~concerned because their water 19ve1s are dropping." i He said residents who use the Arapahoe and Laramie-Fox Hills aquifers. from Which the company wanted to draw water. "were afraid they would be left tithollt any water" if the, cO".lpany drilled its wells.' : In January Mission Viejo applied for lfermission to drill 13 wells into the Arapahoe aquifer and t5 wells in the Laramie-Fox Hills aquifer, which isn't <frawn upon as heavily. ~ Each welt W(lS to produce about 300 ~allons per minute or 480 acre-feet an- qually. . , KUIPER APPROVED three wells in \pe taramie-Fox Hills aquifer because ',we're .sure those three won't cause any ipjury" to present users. Under state law, ;ell permits can't be granted unless an ~pplicant has proved that present users won't be harmed by further withdrawals from their water source. The state engineer said Mission Viejo faikd to provide information on the im- pact of withdrawals because a test hole had collapsed. Kuiper said he thought the company plans to pursue an adjudication of the well rights he denied by appealing to a water judge in Weld County District Court in Greeley. Company executives couldn't be reached Saturday for com- ment on that or the permit denials. HARLAN ERKER OF Zorich-Erker En- gineering Inc., who applied for the per- mits for Mission Viejo Saturday said eight wells are being constructed on the Phipps Ranch with right obtained from the Willows Water District. Erker said with the water from those wells and the three approved by Kuiper "they (Mission Viejo) could serve a con- siderable number of people." But he said the water from the combined 11 wells, couldn't prOVide adequate water for ,: 100,000 persons. ~l In January Mission Viejo took an option _.il t<l purchase the 22,000-acre ranch from an . investor group headed by Denver oilman /< Marvin Davis. . After announcement of the transaction State Treasurer 'Roy Romer proposed that the state buy the ranch to prevent urban sprawl, which could contribnte to Denver's air pollution problem, caused by automobile traffic. IF MISSION VIEJO officials want to subdivide the land, they must apply through the Douglas County Board of Commissioners, which would pit the de- velopers against the state engineer's of~ fice. Kuiper said board members must ask the state engineer's opinion on the ade- quacy of the water supply in the develop- ment area. 00663