by Missy Votel

Durango voters will soon decide whether or not to take a gulp from the Animas-La Plata Project.

This year’s ballot, which is mail-in only, will contain a measure from the City of Durango asking residents to approve a $4 million loan to be used to buy 3,800 acre feet annually from the project.

City Charter requires a vote of the electorate before assuming debt. The $4 million would be borrowed from the Colorado Water Resources and Power Development Authority, a state agency established to promote water and power development in Colorado. As such, the city will get a more favorable rate than it would on the open market. The 20-year loan will be at an interest rate of 1.95 percent, making for total repayment of just under $5 million.

Assessing the Animas – City asks residents to weigh in The City of Durango is seeking input on another facet of Animas River usage. Through Sept. 30, the city is asking residents and river users to take an online survey on recreational river habits. The data will be used to craft a new Animas River Management Plan, an outgrowth of 2010’s Parks, Open Space and Trails Master Plan. “When we were working on the POST, there were a lot of requests from the community for the City to develop an Animas River Master Plan as well,” Durango Director of Parks and Recreation Cathy Metz said. The planning process will be overseen by Joy Lujan, a community planner from the National Park Service who was involved in crafting the Lake Nighthorse recreation plan for the City. Lujan’s services are paid for through a grant from the NPS. Metz said once the survey portion is completed, the next step will be to compile results, which will be discussed at forthcoming public meetings this fall. “The survey captures what we heard as staff; issues we wanted more feedback on,” said Metz. Of particular concern is the growing number of tubers as well as access and crowding issues at put-ins and take-outs. “We think the time is right,” said Metz. “We’re really trying to make sure river users enjoy a safe experience on the river; have access; and respect private property. We’re looking to the community to help us come up with solutions.” The Animas River Management Plan survey is online at: www.surveymonkey .com//AnimasRiver. – Missy Votel

“The City has the opportunity to purchase water surplus from A-LP,” City Director of Public Works Jack Roger said Tuesday. “Now that (A-LP) is completed, I think a lot of people think let’s at least use it and not waste the opportunity.”

Seven entities own water in 123,541-acre-foot Lake Nighthorse. The partners include: the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Navajo Nation, State of Colorado and several water agencies.

The 3,800 acre-feet would supplement the City’s current municipal and agricultural use of about 5,000 acre-feet per year. According to a 2003 study, an additional 3,800 acre-feet is the amount needed to meet the needs of a projected population of 40,000. Currently, the City serves its nearly 17,000 residents plus another couple thousand in adjacent areas for a total of about 19,000 customers, Rogers said.

However, if Durango keeps on its current growth rate – 20 percent from 2000-2010, according to U.S. Census data – it could need additional water well before reaching the 40,000 mark. Rogers estimated the City’s water capacity at 25,000 users during the summer. “That’s only 6,000 more. When we reach that number, we’ll need to invest in other supplies,” he said.

In addition to concerns over meeting growing demand, Rogers said there is also concern over security. Right now, the City has only a seven-day supply of water in its reservoir on College Mesa. The A-LP purchase would ensure an additional 75 days. Rogers said for the most part, the current supply has proven sufficient. However, in 2002, drought and fires threatened the City’s water, which is drawn from the Animas and Florida rivers. “With the fires, there was ashflow coming into Lemon Reservoir and the Florida, which polluted the watershed. We had to draw all our water from the Animas,” he said. “A-LP would provide an emergency supply we don’t have.”

 

Although the entire cost of the A-LP water is $6.2 million, the City already put a “down payment” on the water when it gave $1 million toward A-LP construction. The City has another $1.2 million available from unexpended surplus in the City’s water fund, making for the $4 million that will need to be borrowed.

 

Rogers said city water rates increased between 2002-06, but have not gone up since 2007. He said there are no plans to raise rates right now, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t have to be raised in the future to cover increasing costs.

 

The $1 million that went toward A-LP construction was used to help pay for pumps and pipelines at the A-LP intake and the City’s wastewater treatment plant. According to Rogers, there are a few scenarios that could play out for water delivery. One would be to pull water directly from the Animas at the treatment plant, above the Whitewater Park. A corresponding amount would then be available in A-LP’s Lake Nighthorse to be released back into the river for downstream users. Meanwhile, the water drawn from the river would be pumped up an existing pipeline to College

Mesa reservoir. Gravity would then be used to release it back down to the wastewater treatment plant before use.

 

The other, costlier long-term plan entails a new wastewater treatment plant near the Ridges Basin Dam. The water would then be piped down to city water users in a yet-to-be-built pipeline.

 

Despite the costs of buying and delivering the A-LP water, the need for a new wastewater treatment plant and additional water is an inevitable reality of growth. And any plan, such as revisiting a city reservoir in Horse Gulch, will have costs, financial and otherwise.

 

“If we didn’t buy A-LP water now, it may not be available when we do need it,” Rogers said. “As a water planner, I need to plan for the future.” n

 

For more on the City’s proposed $4 million A-LP water measure, go to www.durangogov.org/ongoing/ALP.cfm . The League of Women Voters of La Plata County will hold a forum on the measure at 6:30 p.m. Mon., Oct. 10, at City Hall.