Weekly water roundup: McCain and the Colorado River Compact, Jimmy Camp Creek reservoir, Windy Gap

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October 5, 10:50 AM

by John Orr, Colorado Water Examiner

 

Graphic: Coyote Gulch Archives

McCain: Renegotiate the Colorado River Compact

John McCain rolled through Colorado this week. He spoke to a rally of women voters in Denver before heading to the unfriendly -- reliably Democratic stronghold -- Pueblo on Friday.

While in Pueblo he tried to make a joke of his proposal to renegotiate the Colorado River Compact. The Pueblo Chieftain quoted McCain as saying, "'Thank you, thank you, thank you' - for the drinking water that comes from Colorado rivers, 'I will never seek to renegotiate the Colorado River Compact.'"

Readers may remember that The Pueblo Chieftain quoted McCain in August saying, "I don't think there's any doubt the major, major issue is water and can be as important as oil. So the compact that is in effect, obviously, needs to be renegotiated over time amongst the interested parties." This statement was met with a firestorm of criticism from across the state on both sides of the aisle.

Voters will have to decide if McCain's current position really reflects his views. He has done an about face on many issues over the summer in an attempt to shore up his faltering campaign. Which statement contains the "straight talk," renegotiate the compact to provide more water to Arizona or never, never, renegotiate?

Southern Delivery System: Jimmy Camp Creek Reseroir

Colorado Springs Utilities -- paying heed to the comments on the proposed Southern Delivery System EIS -- has removed their planned Jimmy Camp Creek Reservoir from the water project. The SDS is a pipeline project to move water from Lake Pueblo (or the Arkansas River) to Colorado Springs. The reservoir was removed for its impact on paleontological, cultural and wetlands. CSU now plans to build a 30,500 acre-foot reservoir on Upper Williams Creek.

Windy Gap Firming Project

Trout fisherman should plan to head up to Loveland or Granby this week for public hearings on the Windy Gap Firming Project EIS. Reclamation is hoping to get everyone to the table so that the project meets the needs of Front Range communities and the Fraser and Colorado River watershed.

Aurora long term contract with Reclamation: Lawsuit

Earlier this year Reclamation inked a deal with Aurora that would allow the city to store water in Lake Pueblo to enable exchanges upstream to satisfy some of the problems with anticipated growth. The Lower Arkansas Water Conservancy District filed a lawsuit.

Last week federal judge Edward Nottingham issued a ruling allowing about half of the Lower Ark's claims and allowing the lawsuit to proceed. The first claim is that the reservoir and its facilities cannot be used to move water out of basin. The second claim says that the contract is a change in intent for the project and that Congress must change the authorizing legislation.

Zebra and quagga mussel veligers found in Colorado-Big Thompson reservoirs and Grand Lake

The Colorado Department of Wildlife had bad news about zebra and quagga mussels. The veligers or larvae have now been found in Grand Lake, Willow Creek Reservoir and Shadow Mountain Reservoir in additon to Lake Granby.

Colorado Springs Utilities: Substitute water and repayment for interference with power generation at Green Mountain Reservoir

Reclamation and Colorado Springs Utilities are working through the environmental impact process for mitigating the effects of CSU's operations on electrical generation at Green Mountain Reservoir. Reclamation is accepting comments until October 14th.

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