From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):
The Two Rivers Water Co., started by Denver businessman John McKowen and managed by Gary Barber, chairman of the Arkansas Basin Roundtable, is renovating the Cucharas Reservoir dam, which has been under safety restrictions for the past 24 years. The lease will generate nearly $100,000 per year of revenue for the water board for 500 acre-feet per year. The water will be delivered to the confluence of the Huerfano River at the Arkansas River, where Two Rivers will exchange it upstream…
During many years, such as this one, precipitation in the Huerfano-Cucharas watershed is not sufficient to fill the reservoir to meet the conditions of the ditch’s water rights. Cucharas Reservoir was built in the early 1900s to meet irrigation needs by storing water during wet years. The dam breached in 1987 and storage has been restricted since that time. After repairing the existing dam, Two Rivers plans to build a new dam in the rugged canyon just downstream…
The lease with the water board is for $196.54 an acre-foot, which is lower than the board water sales under municipal and industrial leases, but higher than the water board receives on spot leases to agriculture. The lease would increase at the same rate paid by Pueblo customers.
More Pueblo Board of Water Works coverage here.