Photo: Aerial view of Stevens Reservoir, just east of the Pagosa Lakes subdivisions. The reservoir was enlarged by PAWSD in 2009 to double its original capacity.
We noted, previously, that Zipper Valley Ranch LLC submitted a proposal, last October, to help San Juan Water Conservancy District (SJWCD) build a water reservoir in the Dry Gulch Valley, a couple of miles north of downtown Pagosa Springs, on the Running Iron Ranch.
That particular reservoir has been in the planning stages since at least 2003, but does not yet have an engineered design, nor any defined funding mechanism.
A previous preliminary design and funding mechanism — a $357 million reservoir with all costs to be paid by Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District (PAWSD) customers — was invalidated by a Colorado Supreme Court decision in 2010, based on its finding that PAWSD and SJWCD were engaged in ‘water speculation’.
A revised water rights decree granted SJWCD and PAWSD the right to store up to 11,000-acre-feet of drinking water on the Running Iron Ranch.
Disclosure: I currently serve as a volunteer member of the PAWSD board of directors, but this editorial series reflects only mu own opinions, and not necessarily the opinions of the full board or of the PAWSD staff.
The current PAWSD Board has expressed its desire to sell the Running Iron Ranch. and has filed documents in District Court claiming that a 2016 agreement with SJWCD and Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) gives PAWSD the right to sell the property “at its sole discretion.” That agreement also allowed PAWSD to pay reduced loan payments on its CWCB loan, the during a specified 20-year ‘Planning Period’.
From that agreement:
4.2.2. The PAWSD may decide to abandon the Project and sell the Running Iron Ranch pursuant to the terms of Paragraph 5 below.
…and…
5.2. Sale of Running Iron Ranch during the Planning Period:
5.2.1. PAWSD agrees to make every effort to retain the Running Iron Ranch during the Planning Period made possible by this Agreement. In the event that PAWSD, in its sole discretion but after consultation with SJWCD and CWCB, does sell the Running Iron Ranch during the Planning Period, the following terms shall take effect:
The agreement then clarifies the obligations PAWSD faces if the property is sold ‘during the Planning Period’.
SJWCD subsequently filed documents with the Court claiming that PAWSD does not, in fact, have a contractual right to sell the Ranch “in its sole discretion… during the Planning Period.”
At the May 29 public meeting, the plan put forward by Trey Fricke — representing Zipper Valley Ranch LLC — would dedicate an easement on the property for a future water reservoir, and would also relieve PAWSD customers of an estimated $13 million in future principal and interest payments on the CWCB loan.
Mr. Fricke suggested that his plan could provide multiple benefits to the greater Pagosa community.
We might make note of the orange target, with an arrow in its bulls-eye.
“Water storage at proper scale… taking into account needs, financing & avoiding unnecessary water storage (evaporation)”
Following Trout Unlimited’s two successful appeals before the Colorado Supreme Court, TU negotiated with PAWSD and SJWCD a maximum size for a future Running Iron Ranch reservoir at 11,000 acre-feet. At that time, no one had any documentation indicating that 11,000 acre feet was related in any rational way to the future water demands in Archuleta County. As far as I can tell — after having researched and written about the proposed reservoir often since 2008 — the size “11,000 acre feet” was simply a compromise between two opposing parties.
Is that still the optimum size in 2025?
PAWSD now has accurate historical water demand data showing that the original Harris Engineering estimates of future PAWSD water demands were ridiculously exaggerated at more than 700% of what PAWSD currently projects for 2040. Mr. Fricke pointed out the exaggeration during the May 29 presentation.
.
The current projected demand for 2040 — about 1,599 acre feet annually — can easily be met by existing PAWSD infrastructure, and by 4,000 acre feet of existing reservoir storage.
When a community builds an oversized, underutilized reservoir, much of the stored water can disappear through evaporation instead of benefiting the taxpayers. The reservoir can thus have a negative impact on the scarce water resources in the American West, rather than a benefit.
Zipper Valley is proposing a reservoir sized at about 3,000 acre feet rather than 11,000 acre feet. This size might have multiple benefits for the project.
1. It would fit within the Running Iron Ranch. (An 11,000-acre-foot reservoir would require SJWCD to obtain additional land outside the existing Ranch boundaries.)
2. It would lower the cost of the dam and infrastructure, thus reducing any long-term loan payments.
3. It would eliminate the need to re-engineer the existing Park Ditch — an agricultural ditch that runs through the property.
4. It would still be twice as large as the largest existing PAWSD reservoir — Stevens Reservoir — and would nearly double PAWSD’s total storage capacity.
But some people have concerns about the Zipper Valley proposal.
At the conclusion of Mr. Fricke’s presentation, (which you can download here) PAWSD President Gene Tautges opened the floor to questions from the SJWCD Board members in attendance, and from the general public.
SJWCD Board member Randy Cooper asked if the proposed reservoir property would be open for public access.
No, it would not.
Mr. Fricke:
“Public access just turns this into a whole other thing. I mean, insurance, people driving through. I have nothing against public access, but I personally feel there’s so much public recreational access around here, that it’s not in short supply. If I felt there was not a place for people to recreate in this area, I would try and make it a win-win for the public too, and make that as part of the plan. I just don’t think it’s an important ingredient.
“When you allow the public to access a ranch, and they leave a gate open, and a bull runs someone over, it’s just not a conducive environment.”
Many reservoirs in Colorado provide public recreational opportunities, while some do not. Stevens Reservoir, for example, is closed to the public. The other PAWSD reservoirs are open for fishing and boating, but only to PLPOA property owners.
Mr. Cooper then asked if the reservoir would be used by Zipper Valley livestock.
Mr. Fricke:
“There are so many better ways to water livestock. When you let livestock into the [Park Ditch] or into the lake, it just creates problems. It would be better to water livestock from a tank. That’s been my experience.”
There were more thoughtful questions and comments from the public.