From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):
More than 400 water rights owners have returned cards the Super Ditch board sent out earlier this month to shareholders on seven ditches in an attempt to measure interest in the fledgling water leasing program. And more than 120 attended a meeting Thursday at the Gobin Community Center. About 30 people turned out for an evening meeting at Lamar.
They peppered the Super Ditch board with questions for two hours about how the program would work: how much water would be available, where it would be stored and when water contracts would be expected. Many wanted to know why they had to sign up by the end of November, before many of the ditches had annual meetings to discuss the proposal among themselves. “The reason we need a commitment now is that we have to identify a source of water for the court case, an environmental impact statement and 1041 permits,” explained John Schweizer, president of the Super Ditch. “By returning the cards, you keep your options open.”
The Super Ditch board decided to send out the cards and host the meetings after a meeting last month. The board has lease agreements with the Pikes Peak Regional Water Authority and Aurora and now needs to show it has ditch shareholders interested in filling the supply. “Otherwise, you are speculating,” Schweizer said…
“The best thing about leasing is that you can control your vote,” [Dale] Mauch said. “The cities are going to keep coming. We came up with a way to to deal with it so we can take advantage of it in the future. If Super Ditch can supply the water, 50 years from now, it’s the Walmart of water.”