Water conservancy district board meets

staff report
WALSENBURG- The Huerfano County Water Conservancy District Board of Directors met in regular session Monday and approved their draft budget for 2012.
The draft budget was approved on a unanimous vote with all members present except Kent Mace. The proposed budget will be on display for public inspection at Walsenburg City Hall, La Veta Town Hall and the Gardner Post Office within a few days.
In other business the board tabled any action on the application for surface water rights, amended from Deborah Blouin regarding Ojo Springs #1 and #2. The board requested Blouin to prepare and present a water augmentation plan before any action can be taken on the application.
Board members also voted Monday night to table the request from Petroglyph Operating Company regarding an amendment to their application for a change of water rights and augmentation plan involving 1/60th of the Wallerstein interest in the Coler Ditch, which represents 10-acre feet of water.
The applicant’s original application was filed in September, 2010, and concerns an augmentation plan to replace depletions associated with a methane remediation plan in the county, and a change of water rights. The methane remediation plans includes water production wells, recovery wells and injection wells and remains the same as in the original application. The amendment to the application would allow additional uses of the changed Coler Ditch and reservoir system and reflects the purchase contract which is being finished regarding the Coler System water rights after Petroglyph exercised their option on those rights.
Both items are expected to be agenda topics at the board’s November 28 meeting.
Board President Raymond Harriman reported that both he and board member Dawson Jordan had been reappointed to the group with four-year terms that expire in 2015.
Following the hour-long water conservancy district meeting, members took a short break before calling to order the Water Activity Enterprise Board meeting chaired by Dawson Jordan.
The main topic of discussion during the Enterprise meeting concerned letters and emails received on Friday to Ted Zorich, consulting engineer for both boards, from Two Rivers Water Company of Denver, CO and Lytle Water Solutions, LLC of Highlands Ranch, CO. Lytle is the water resource engineering firm for Two Rivers.
Gary Barber and John McKowen, representing Two Rivers were present at the meeting.
The correspondence centered on a idea presented by Barber that Two Rivers could permanently move the #19 water to help the Enterprise with its augmentation pans, using water from #9 as a backup augmentation source. At the last meeting of the Enterprise board, member Erin Jerant asked that any proposal be put in writing. The correspondence from Thursday, Oct. 20 and Friday, Oct. 21 was in response to that request.
The board discussed a possible work session or executive session meeting with water attorneys and water engineers representing both the water company and the Enterprise. But, after lengthy discussion between the board members, it was decided not to meet with the Two Rivers representative on Nov. 28, but instead to review information that will be gathered by Zorich regarding the company’s proposal.
It is expected the board members will sit down with Two Rivers representatives some time in December or January to further discuss the proposal.