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- 120TH YEAR, NO, 9.1 . -- ....- lI!';'-- --- -- -,-_:...--_.....-._~--;.---- ~,. FORECAST: Warmer Deteils, paille 107 216 PAGES 15 CENTS Rocky Mountain News DENVER, COLORADO 80201 , SATURDAY MORNING, JULY 22, 1978 ~ MDjor setback lor proposed community Mission Vieio~to be denied wells By JERRY BROWN NeWs Staff " State Engineer C, J, Kuiper is expected to ,';lIeny on Monday all but three of Mission , VieJO'S applications to drill 28 water wells on the Phipps Highlands Ranch in Douglas County: , rhe denials, if tbey stand, would be a major setback for Mission Viejo's plans to ~uild a satellite city for up to 100.000 per- sons on the property because the wells were to be the primary water source for the community, Mission Viejo officials, who spent much of Friday afternoon closeted in an "impor- tant" meeting, declined comment on Kuip- er's expected action, saying they had not been officially'notified, ,However, they had received u~official no- bce that the deruals are commg. it was learned. o o Q') en .... AND THE CHIEF PLANNING engineer r the project indicated that Mission Viejo \y not have much to say even after deni- are made official next week, 'ssion Viejo has adopted a strategy of "trying not to say anymore than we have to" about water because it is such a contro- versial subject. said Gary Eickerman of Jack G, Raub Co.. which is the planning consultant on the project. "Until we find out more about the ground- water situation," Eickerman said, "we're not going to discuss other alternatives at any great length." MISSION VIEJO APPLIED on January 31 for permission to drill 13 wells into the heavily used Arapahoe aquifer and another 15 wells into the deeper, little.used Laramie-Fox Hills aquifer, Each well was to produce 300 gallons per minute, or 480 acre-feet per year, Kuiper'is eXJ!6cled to deny all 13 of the Arapahoe aqUIfer applications on w.ounds that Mission Viejo failed to prOVIde evi- dence the proposed wells would not ad. versely affect wells already drawing water from the aquifer. He is expected to deny all but three of the Laramie-Fox Hills applications on similar, grounds plus an added finding that Mission Viejo hasn't shown there is enough water in the a9uifer for the wells to produce at the, rate hsted in the application, Three of the Laramie-Fox Hills wells will , be approved, however, to give Mission, Viejo an opportunity to develop better data on the amount of water in the aquifer. Mission Viejo was believed to have been asked on several occasions to provide addi- tional support for its apphcations, but failed to do so, 'Mission Viejo could refile the applica- tions if it comes up with additional data to support its contention that the wells could Related story on page 19 produce the water it needs without affect- mg other water users.in the area, However, Mission Viejo is expected to file a lawsuit challenging Kuiper's decision to deny the 25 permits, But state officials are thought to be highly skeptical about whether there is enough water available in the two aquifers ~ to support the Mission Viejo project with- out reducing the flow of other wells in the area, AT LEAST SOME STATE officials were said to believe that the data supporting Mission Viejo's applications for the well permits was so weak that they questioned whether the company was, in fact. serious about the applications, These officials wer~ understood to be- lieve that the well applications may have been used to give MISSion Viejo lime to scout around for other water sources with- out tipping its hand, The denials are likely to prove very popu- lar'among other water users in the vicinity of the Phipps Ranch, Both Kuiper and his boss, Executive Director Harris Sherman of the Department of Natural Resources. have been under heavy pressure from land- owners in the area to deny the Mission Viejo permits. The other landowners were concerned that the Mission Viejo wells would affect their own water supplies,