Custer County groundwater study update
November 20, 2009
From the The Wet Mountain Tribune (Nora Drenner):
For a number of years, the county has been participating in a water quantity survey with USGS. In the study, USGS officials monitor 60 wells spread throughout Custer County. Each well is monitored twice a year—in the spring and fall—to check water level changes. Cost to the county is some $7,000 a year. The study is paid for through 2010. The county commissioners are considering suspending the study thereafter…
[United States Geological Survey official Ken Watts of Pueblo] told the county bosses the study helps to determine what will happen to water here in the future, therefore, it was a good idea to continue. ‘You need the background information to determine future water needs,” said Watts. Watts also said it might be a good idea to add some newly drilled wells to the study and take out of the study some of the wells in the Sangres. Scanga agreed saying the data received from the local monitoring of the 60 wells will benefit a water study the UAWCD is completing to study the quantity of water in the Upper Arkansas Basin.
The study will begin in 2010 and continue through 2012. Total cost is $406,912 with USGS paying $134,281. Kicking in $6,000 is Custer County. Other entities helping to pay for the study include the Round Mountain Water and Sanitation District at $3,000, Fremont County at $15,000, Chaffee County and municipalities at $30,000, Penrose Water District at $6,000, and Canon City at $3,000. The UAWCD is paying some $226,912 plus administration costs valued at approximately $24,000.
From the Wet Mountain Tribune (Nora Drenner):
The City of Fountain purchased the 480-acre ranch for $3.5 million in partnership with the city of Widefield in March 2008 to acquire some 700-acre-feet of water. The ranch is located about two-and one-half miles west of Westcliffe on Kettle Lane. The purpose of the meeting, said Fountain and Widefield officials, was to let locals know what the future plans are for the water. “We are taking a forthright approach with no secrets,” said City of Fountain Utilities Director Larry Patterson. “We want to communicate with everyone and hear what they have to say.”[...]
Patterson also said the H2O ranch case has been filed in state water court, and he expects the case to take up to four years for completion. As part of the process for water court, said Patterson, the two entities are providing an engineering review and opinion regarding the water rights on the H2O ranch. Also in the works, said Patterson, are individual meetings with neighboring property owners. “We do not want to harm our neighbors’ ability to receive their water,” said Patterson…
“Our number one consideration at this time,” said Paterson, “is to lease the land with part of the water.” The amount of water which would be leased with the land, said Patterson, will depend upon the final water decree. Patterson also said, “We are not in the development business,” adding that the land will probably be sold sometime in the future. Other considerations, said Patterson, are placing a part of the ranch in a conservation easement, and working with the Upper Arkansas Water Conservation District to exchange the water.
More Custer County coverage here.
Chris Haga: ‘At 100 feet, we broke through a clay layer and found a pristine supply of water. It was an awesome day’
September 13, 2009
From The Pueblog Chieftain (Chris Woodka):
The [Round Mountain Water District] reported it has completed a plan to build a well to increase the reliability of its water supply at the monthly meeting of the Arkansas Basin Roundtable. The roundtable supported the district’s $120,000 grant from the Water Supply Reserve Account in 2007, part of a $1 million project to improve the water system that serves Silver Cliff and Westcliffe…
“The Gallery Well project has been completed,” Chris Haga, a member of both the district board and the roundtable. “The purpose of the project was to bring a new source of water into the district.” Haga reviewed the project’s history in a slide presentation with the district’s manager, Tracey Garcia, and fellow board member Jerry Lacy. “Prior to the project, we were struggling to bring water into our system at peak times,” Garcia told the roundtable.
The new well includes a wireless control system that allows it to be operated remotely from the district’s office. “It’s phenomenal what it can do,” Haga said…
The Gallery Well was the final step in providing a reliable water supply. “At 100 feet, we broke through a clay layer and found a pristine supply of water. It was an awesome day,” Haga told the roundtable.
More Custer County coverage here.
Upper Arkansas River augmentation plan update
September 6, 2009
From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):
A blanket augmentation plan for the Upper Arkansas River is being extended to include portions of Custer County…
“This is the augmentation plan we already have, but includes Texas Creek and Grape Creek,” said Terry Scanga, general manager of the Upper Ark district. “It saves the water rights owners the expense of $50,000-$150,000 to file their own augmentation plan.” An augmentation plan assures that water will be released to the river to make up for out-of-priority depletions. Water usually is released from storage to make up for well-pumping or surface diversions at times when the water is needed. “The benefit to the district is that it puts a plan in place to protect the senior water rights,” Scanga said. The plan touches other water operations in the Arkansas Valley and attracted the attention of the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District last week, which voted to enter the case.
More Upper Ark coverage here.
From the Wet Mountain Tribune (Nora Drenner):
The county commissioners are hiring a water attorney to review the proposed water augmentation plan the Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District filed in court late last month. The commissioners have also decided to file an objection to the proposal, which if approved, would bring a blanket water augmentation plan to Custer County. The attorney wasn’t identified…
All three commissioners—Lynn Attebery, Jim Austin and Carole Custer—said they did not necessarily think the proposed water augmentation plan was a bad one, however, it was in the best interest of the county to have it reviewed by an independent expert. Also, in order to stay in the loop during the water court process, said Austin, it was necessary to file a written objection to the plan. Attebery and Custer agreed.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
From The Pueblo Chieftain (Tracy Harmon):
Thanks to a recently awarded $484,200 Great Outdoors Colorado grant, the San Isabel Land Protection Trust will be able to preserve the 720-acre ranch. It will stay as it always has been, a working cattle and hay ranch that also is home to wildlife on the valley floor. “We grow native hay that requires just one cutting usually in mid July to the end of July. Since my husband passed, we’ve taken in cattle for pasture,” Mrs. Vickerman said. “We have a lot of deer and antelope. They like the alfalfa and when we are haying we see where they’ve made beds to stay in the meadow then they move on when it is cut low and not as protective.”
The $1.3 million Vickerman Ranch project consists of a $400,000 contribution from the Vickerman family through the donation of development rights to the property, $450,000 in matching funds being sought through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm and Ranch Protection Program and the GOCo funds.
Custer County augmentation plan update
June 26, 2009
Here’s an update on Custer County’s augmentation plan through the Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District, from Nora Drenner writing for the Wet Mountain Tribune. From the article:
A public hearing regarding the matter took place on Wednesday, June 17 in the county courthouse. Some 40 interested persons showed up to voice their opinions on the matter. The hearing began with an opening statement by UAWCD manager Terry Scanga. That statement illustrated the benefits of bringing a blanket water augmentation plan to the county. Scanga said the sources of augmentation water would not result in the dry-up of agricultural land in Custer County. Instead, said Scanga, the UAWCD would use water from its existing water rights to meet Custer County’s needs. Scanga further noted a blanket augmentation plan would allow the UAWCD to augment those wells that are currently out of compliance and as such are in need of water…
The UAWCD is proposing using the Texas Creek and Grape Creek water drainages to bring the water augmentation plan to the county. Also in the works is the building of reservoirs along Texas Creek and Grape Creek, however, sites or a time frame has not been established.
In his statement, Scanga also said that the local Concerned Citizens for Custer County organization C-4 has made inaccurate representations about the advantages of postponing the filing of the augmentation plan until after July 1 when new regulations go into effect. According to C-4, said Scanga, “The new rules will change the disclosure obligations of an applicant in respect to the proposed augmentation plan.” Scanga continued, “The new rules are no more stringent in requiring the applicant to demonstrate in water court that no injury will occur to other water right owners. It is odd that this citizen’s group has shown little concern about the protection of senior water right owners, which is the whole purpose of augmentation.” Instead, said Scanga, “The new rules increase the burden on water resource engineers, and therefore the cost of such engineers to all parties.” Scanga further said, “The new rules would likely decrease the efficiency of the process because the first cases subject to the new rules would likely experience delays and increased costs.”[...]
In the end, the commissioners asked the UAWCD to delay filing the water augmentation plan in water court to they could have time to review it. Scanga indicated the plan would be submitted by June 30.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
Custer County: Augmentation plan public hearings
June 11, 2009
From the Wet Mountain Tribune (Nora Drenner):
All interested persons are invited to provide input during two upcoming public hearings regarding a water augmentation plan that the Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District is proposing to bring to the county. Both public hearings will take place Wednesday, June 17. The first one is slated for 1 p.m. in the Custer County courthouse. A second public hearing will be held at 6 p.m. in the Wetmore fire station…
Local UAWCD board members Bob Senderhauf and Bill Donley have also been invited to address the group and will be prepared to answer questions. The purpose of the public hearings is to seek input from the community. UAWCD officials gave an overview of the proposed water augmentation plan late last month. At that time, UAWCD manager Terry Scanga and UAWCD engineer Ivan Walters indicated the plan would be submitted to water court by June 30. New Colorado regulations regarding the filing of water cases goes into effect July 1.
