Article by John Orr
Water – July 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine
Fryingpan-Arkansas Project News
Dueling bills have been introduced for increasing the storage in Pueblo Reservoir. Doug Lamborn’s (CO-5) seeks to study the feasibility of expanding storage in the Reservoir by 50,000 acre feet along with allowing long-term storage contracts. The bill would pave the way for Colorado Springs’Southern Delivery System project. The SDS consists of a pipeline from the main stem (or Pueblo Reservoir) to the city, with return flows running down Fountain Creek. Congress would need to separately authorize the reservoir expansion.
John Salazar’s (CO-6) bill hopes to define an long-term approach for planning and construction by authorizing a basin-wide environmental impact statement. The congressman’s bill would require quantifying the impacts of past water transfers along with a storage study that could include Lake Pueblo enlargement. Salazar’s bill prohibits future excess-capacity contracts with out-of-basin entities (i.e. Aurora).
The Southeastern Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District (administrator for the Fry-Ark project) has been trying to get its Preferred Options Storage Plan in place for over seven years. Expansion of storage in Pueblo Reservoir is the keystone of the plan.
The Fry-Ark project has benefitted recreation businesses, in particular, rafting and fishing, in Chaffee and Frémont counties. Voluntary flow management programs have enabled a more sustained and consistent flow, along with providing more water late in the summer. For once an unintended consequence of a water project has had positive results. Most entities along the river hope to build more storage, including expanding Lake Pueblo and Turquoise lake to store non Fry-Ark water, without allowing out-of-basin transfers.
The Fryingpan-Arkansas project has been in the news a lot lately. Congresswoman Grace Napolitano held a meeting of the water and power subcommittee of the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee early in June in Pueblo. The meeting was billed as a fact finding effort, to help assess the performance of Fry-Ark, both good and bad, since it went online in the 60s.
The hearing attracted more than 150 people from up and down the valley and across the Front Range. Two of Colorado’s congressmen disagreed over the original intent of the project. John Salazar (CO-3) said it was envisioned to benefit agriculture. Ed Perlmutter (CO-7) reminded the attendees that President Kennedy said the project was an investment in growth in the West. The original split for Fry-Ark was supposed to be 51 percent municipal and 49 percent agricultural. In fact the split has historically been 74.5 percent agriculture and 25.5 percent municipal.
One outcome from the hearing is the request that the Bureau of Reclamation provide a legal opinion, in writing, on the subject of using the Fry-Ark project to move water out of the basin. BuRec cites the 1961 authorization for the project, along with earlier reclamation acts as their authority.
The controversial Aurora Long Term Storage Contract comment period ended on June 4. The Bureau of Reclamation will likely issue the contract and it should be in place mid-July. That’s when the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District will file a lawsuit seeking to block it and clarify the legality of out-of-basin entities benefitting from the Fry-Ark project. After the contract is issued, the plan is for Aurora to exchange water in Pueblo Reservoir with Fry-Ark water that can be delivered to the city via the Otero pipeline.
Water Resources Development Act
Many are now keeping a close eye on the Water Resources Development Act winding its way through the U.S. Congress. Part of the legislation sets aside $25 million for the Rio Grande Environmental Management Program, including the Alamosa and Conejos rivers.
The act includes money for watershed-wide studies of selenium concentrations in Colorado.
After passing in both the House and the Senate the bill is on track and should be considered by a conference committee soon.
32nd Annual Colorado Water Workshop
The 32nd Annual Colorado Water Workshop was held in Gunnison in late May. One idea that was floated to attendees was an environmental impact statement for the entire basin, first mentioned in the 1980s when the political climate was not favorable. That has changed, of course, after the recent (and still ongoing) drought in the Southwestern U.S.
Rich Ingebretsen, Director of the Glen Canyon Institute, got everyone’s attention with his contention that Lake Powell is going away. According to Ingebretsen there isn’t enough water to fill the reservoir again. He contends that Glen Canyon dam should be decommissioned and that the Upper Basin states should use Lake Mead for storage. Glen Canyon and the Grand Canyon would then revert to a more natural state. He cites the Bureau of Reclamation’s predictions that the silted up reservoir will be empty 15 percent of the time in the future and only 40 percent full at best.
Short Takes
Governor Ritter signed SB 07-220 on May 25th. Proponents hope that giving the Rio Grande Water Conservation District the ability to form groundwater sub-districts will head off the wholesale shutting down of wells in the San Luis Valley by the State Engineer (as happened on the South Platte River in the spring of 2006).
Poncha Springs officials are hoping that their annexation of the Friend Ranch development will lead to the building of a wastewater treatment plant for the town with greater flexibility for the use of treated water. They currently pipe sewage to Salida for treatment.
State Attorney General John Suthers is still drawing criticism for his office’s filing of objections to the state water rights agreement about water in the Gunnison River. Some are calling for Governor Ritter to fire current head of the State Colorado Water Conservation Board, Rod Kuharich.
The Colorado Water Conservation Board allocated $120,000 from the Interbasin Compact fund to the Round Rock Water and Sanitation District to fund a water supply well for Westcliffe and Silver Cliff in Custer County.
The board also lowered rates for raw water projects. Agriculture rates will go from 2.5 percent to 2.25 percent.
The USGS is using airborne geophysics to get a more accurate map of groundwater resources in the San Luis Valley.
Congratulations to Don Walker for landing the new Colorado record Lake Trout from Blue Mesa reservoir (50 pounds, 5 ounces, 44 1/4 inches long).
Please send links to articles and story suggestions to jworr [AT] operamail [DOT] com.
John Orr follows Colorado water, and many other topices, at coyotegulch.net.
