Here’s an update on the state of financing for the proposed Arkansas Valley Conduit, From Chris Woodka writing for the Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:
A timeline for the $300 million conduit indicating that it could be up and running in 10 years was presented Thursday at a workshop of the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District. The conduit would run from the Pueblo Dam serving communities all the way from St. Charles Mesa to Lamar and Eads. President Barack Obama signed legislation approving a plan to use revenues from Fryingpan-Arkansas Project contracts to help pay for the local share of the conduit as well as reimbursing other federal project costs. That cleared the way for appropriations. The district is asking Congress to appropriate $9 million in 2010, lobbyist Christine Arbogast told the Southeastern board. The district is asking for letters of support from Gov. Bill Ritter and the 42 communities that would benefit from the conduit, as well as continuing to seek the support of all Colorado members of Congress, she added…
Meanwhile, the district is using a $573,000 Environmental Protection Agency grant, matched with $473,000 in local funds to do engineering and financial studies related to the conduit, said Project Manager Phil Reynolds. Some of the work done in the studies by Black & Veatch engineering consultants will be applicable to later environmental studies. The studies will look at the route and land acquisition for the conduit. Of the local share, the Colorado Water Conservation Board has approved $200,000, Southeastern and the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District have each put in $100,000 and the water providers $73,000. The CWCB also has approved a $60.6 million loan that is still in place, despite a state budget crisis that reduced water projects funding…
Reynolds presented a timeline that calls for completion of the environmental impact study by 2011; final design, permitting, land acquisition and contracts by 2014; and construction from 2015-19. The timeline could be moved up if more federal funding becomes available sooner than anticipated.