From The Pueblo Chieftain (Matt Hildner):
Shareholders for the San Luis Peoples Ditch unveiled their plans to reduce flooding and secured $40,000 from the Rio Grande Basin Roundtable Tuesday. The ditch, which, with an 1852 water right, is the oldest in the state, has been overwhelmed with floodwaters in recent years because of faulty infrastructure that keeps it from shedding the excess flows. “This is becoming a bigger and bigger problem to us,” said Conrad Trujillo, the ditch company’s president. The 7-mile long ditch diverts water from Culebra Creek southeast of San Luis and waters 2,100 acres stretching west of town. There are 23 shareholders in the company. When functioning properly, the ditch’s crossover structure and headgates on the southern edge of town can divert the excess flows into the Rito Seco stream bed and on to the Culebra. But that was not the case as recently as last summer when a cloud burst sent water from the Rito Seco into the ditch at a rate of 100 cubic feet per second…
Craig Cotton, the division water engineer, said he would support the revamping of the Peoples Ditch because the ditch is also taking on water from the Rito Seco, which needs to go back into the Culebra to fill downstream water rights. The project would replace a headgate and culvert that could send floodwaters back down the Rito Seco. In addition to the $40,000 from the roundtable, the Costilla Conservancy District has pledged $20,000. “We’re just asking to do a state-of-the-art job so that this doesn’t have to be done for another 100 years,” Cortez said. “We’re reaching out for resources wherever we can to get the job done right.” Down the road, the ditch company also hopes to pipe roughly 1,600 feet of the ditch through a section that now includes a crumbling, cement-lined ditch that loses up to 30 percent of its capacity. The crumbling ditch has forced shareholders to divert the water into lateral ditches that have more trouble carrying the water to the right places. The last phase of the ditch’s overhaul would include a new diversion structure at the Culebra.
More coverage from the Valley Courier (Ruth Heide):
In a rare split decision of the diverse water group on Tuesday, the roundtable board voted to spend $50,000 out of its local basin account for further river restoration efforts on the Rio Grande. The vote was not unanimous, with Cindy Medina voting against the funding. Medina said although this project was worthwhile, the roundtable had already provided funding for it in the past and she believed with the financial resources dwindling the group should consider spending its remaining funds on projects that have not yet received any money from the group…
At the beginning of Tuesday’s water meeting, the Rio Grande Roundtable had about $202,000 in its local basin account. At the end of the day, the group had $87,000 left in the basin account. On Tuesday the group voted to provide $40,000 to the San Luis Peoples Ditch for an upgrade and rehabilitation project near San Luis, $25,000 to assist Judy Lopez’s educational efforts and $50,000 to continue Rio Grande stabilization…
Projects receiving basin support on Tuesday (still to go to the state for final approval) were:
>[?• San Luis Peoples Ditch. The roundtable approved $40,000 out of basin funds for Phase I of this project that will reconstruct the main headgate for the ditch, as it has deteriorated over time, and rebuild banks that have eroded. “We are jeopardizing a couple of houses that are right next to it where the bank has washed out,” explained Ditch President Conrad Trujillo. He said San Luis experienced a flash flood last year that caused problems for area residents. Colorado Division of Water Resources Division III Division Engineer Craig Cotten said in addition to flooding problems, the ditch has contributed to water right issues.
• Education. The roundtable approved $25,000 over two years to assist Judy Lopez’s educational work. Lopez, a former classroom teacher, has served as a conservation education specialist for five years. Her work is varied and includes educational activities with K-12 students, teacher workshops, conservation curriculum activities, project learning oversight, water festival management, Beaver Creek junior conservation camp coordination, land owner workshops and representation at conferences and community events.
• Rio Grande stabilization. The roundtable approved $50,000 from basin account funds for continued river restoration/stabilization efforts. The group is also requesting $98,0000 from the state funds but that money may not be available. The $148,000 total project is Phase 4 of riparian stabilization to include such tasks as stream bank and stream channel modification and sediment reduction.
More IBCC — basin roundtables coverage here.