From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):
the project has faced contention from major water users in the state. At one point, the state’s largest water users sought to block a Bureau of Reclamation contract proposal, and an alternative group led by Parker Water and Sanitation is trying to form its own coalition to develop the project. One of the reservoir sites, on the Norris Ranch in El Paso County, also lies on the same spot in Upper Williams Creek where Colorado Springs Utilities wants to build a reservoir that is part of the Southern Delivery System.
To wade through all of the potential issues the project could face, the El Paso County Water Authority has suggested a task force, similar to the one that broke political logjams on Fountain Creek and led to the formation of a special district, said Gary Barber, agent for the El Paso County group. “This grant is for an assessment only, not to form the task force,” Barber explained to the Arkansas Basin Roundtable this week. Barber also chairs the roundtable and was instrumental in forming the Fountain Creek district. He is now the interim director of the Fountain Creek district as well. The roundtable agreed to apply for a $40,000 state appropriation through the Water Supply Reserve Account. The Metro Basin Roundtable approved the grant request last month. The El Paso County group would kick in another $5,000. The Keystone Center would be hired to bring together those who would be affected by the pipeline to determine if a task force should be convened. If the decision to move ahead is made, a task force would be formed to study the project and alternatives…
Million’s plan, now under environmental review by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, includes conservation measures that would directly benefit the environment and agriculture. It also brings the pipeline into the Arkansas River basin. The Parker-led coalition is still in its nascent stages and has not looked at the Arkansas River basin one way or the other.