From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):
A group representing thousands of businesses in Southern Colorado wants to take a crack at calming the waters on Fountain Creek. The Southern Colorado Business Partnership sketched out its plans Tuesday for the Pueblo Board of Water Works. The group wants to launch an effort to clear the air on issues surrounding Fountain Creek sometime later this year. “One of the things we can do is pull the right people together to reach solutions,” said Rod Slyhoff, president of the Greater Pueblo Chamber of Commerce and chairman of the partnership. “We understand the concerns in Pueblo and downstream about Fountain Creek.”
Slyhoff and Randy Scott, the partnership’s president, did not list specific actions about what should be done on Fountain Creek, but said the issue fits into its goal of finding “big picture” solutions to regional problems. The group, which includes chambers and business groups from Castle Rock to Trinidad, represents 5,000 businesses and 150,000 employees, Scott said. It also plans to tackle regional military issues, emergency preparedness, intergovernmental cooperation and air transportation.
Fountain Creek has been a controversial topic for decades. While a watershed improvement district was formed in 2009 after three years of regional meetings, its funding still is in question. An El Paso County stormwater task force reached some conclusions last year, but the level of funding still is at issue because Colorado Springs Mayor Steve Bach is seeking a second opinion on the costs.
Pueblo County commissioners and the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District continue to pressure Colorado Springs about controlling stormwater as a condition of its Pueblo County permit to operate the Southern Delivery System.