From The Pueblo Chieftain (Matt Hildner):
The board of the Rio Grande Water Conservation District found a familiar face to become its general manager.
Cleave Simpson was appointed to the post at the end of last month after working for nearly two years to help the district initiate groundwater management subdistricts across the San Luis Valley.
And while the district could see a host of issues in the coming years, the implementation of the voluntary efforts to mitigate the damage from groundwater pumping and restore the aquifers will remain a priority.
“If we’re smart about it, it’s just a small incremental change,” Simpson said. “If we’re haphazard and not thoughtful about it, it’s a fundamental change and we really need to be cautious about that.”
Subdistrict No. 1 already is in operation but the district hopes to lead the implementation of as many as five others.
The implementation of the subdistricts will proceed alongside the state’s efforts to impose groundwater rules, which are also meant to protect surface water owners and restore the valley’s two major aquifers.
The district takes in all of the valley’s counties with the exception of Costilla County.
Simpson will oversee a host of other issues in his day-to-day work, including a conservation plan to recover the southwestern willow flycatcher and yellow-billed cuckoo, planning for the Rio Grande Natural Area and the district’s move to a new building in mid-March.
Simpson has spent the bulk of his professional career as a coal-mining engineer mainly in Texas but also for two years in Australia.
His other career, one that continues to this day, is farming and ranching.
He grew up on a farm in Alamosa County and now runs his own while also lending a hand to his father’s operation.
“I’m still an irrigator,” he said. “I own surface rights and I own groundwater rights.”
The district has kept former General Manager Steve Vandiver on to assist Simpson in the transition.Ralph Curtis, who managed the district until 2005, has also stayed in touch with Simpson.
“I’ve never assumed a position where I had the affordability of gentlemen like Steve and Ralph to rely on,” he said. “It feels like this safety net.”