by Eva Benine
AGUILAR — Outside watering is allowed once again in Aguilar, after much confusion and frustration on the part of all involved. Office assistant Sara Porras spoke with the World Journal Monday afternoon, and confirmed the water ban has been lifted and both the January 1, 2016 and the June 30, 2016 benchmarks have been met. Included here is a section from the court decree dated December 1, 2014, stating the benchmarks and the due dates that are relevant to the construction of the augmentation pond to the west of the town. As of Monday, there are no restrictions on outside watering, but this may change based on availability of water and conservation efforts as has happened in past summers. Although the drought is said to have passed, recent high temperatures caution us to not overuse the precious resource.
I personally would like to thank those who helped Aguilar residents in any way during this trying time. Sincere appreciation to Mayor Marc Piano, Town Clerk Tyra Avila, Steve Witte, Bob Frachetti of FEI Engineering, all town council members, Town of Aguilar Employees, and all those who supplied accurate timely information in order to move this process forward.
Benchmarks taken from the Water Court Decree 2005CW103 are as follows, including explanation of penalties to be imposed if the benchmarks are not met:
• 1 No later than August 1 2015 Aguilar has filed with the Court and served on all Opposers herein its detailed design and construction plans for the reservoir
• 2 No later than January 1 2016 Aguilar has filed with the Court and served on all Opposers herein notice of its application s for financing of construction of the reservoir
• 3 No later than June 30 2016 and every 6 months thereafter until such time as financing for construction of the reservoir is secured Aguilar has filed with the Court a status report regarding Aguilar s efforts to secure such financing
• 4 No later than March 1 2018 Aguilar has filed with the Court and served on all Opposers herein notice of its acquisition of financing for construction of the reservoir
• 5 No later than May 1 2018 Aguilar has filed with the Court and served on all Opposers herein notice of its request for bids for construction of the reservoir
• 6 No later than August 1 2018 Aguilar has filed with the Court and served on all Opposers herein notice of its acceptance of a bid for construction of the reservoir
• 7 No later than December 1 2018 Aguilar has filed with the Court and served on all Opposers herein notice of its confirmed date for commencement of construction ofthe reservoir and
• 8 No later than six years from the date of entry of this Decree Aguilar has filed with the Court and served on all Opposers herein its notice that the reservoir is complete and operational
The determination that the reservoir is complete and operational will be made in writing by the Division Engineer
In the event that Aguilar fails to meet a benchmark by the deadline set forth above or fails to comply with any of the requirements set forth in this Paragraph 15 then Aguilar shall immediately curtail all outdoor water use until such time as the benchmark has been met by Aguilar Failure to curtail all outdoor water use in such a circumstance subjects Aguilar to being held in contempt of Court for violation of this Court order Failure of Aguilar to pass an ordinance or otherwise go through the proper procedure that would allow Aguilar to curtail outdoor use and implement this provision is not a valid defense to being held in contempt of Court for failure to comply with this Paragraph 15
CORRECTION:
The previous article that ran about Aguilar’s watering restrictions had several inaccuracies regarding where the water came from and who it belonged to. Apologies to the Waller family for the incorrect information. For more details view the Letters to the Editor section.
