U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar had high praise for the Fountain Creek Vision Task Force and voiced his support for Colorado Springs’ stormwater enterprise Thursday. “I think it is a testament to these communities working together,” Salazar said, referring to the diverse membership of the task force. “People are working together, and I find that the most positive thing the group has accomplished. I have all the confidence in the world that if you continue the way you have, you will be successful.” Two years ago, Salazar launched what he called the Fountain Creek Crown Jewel Project. Thursday he checked in with the task force, which has been the driving force toward that goal. “We’ve turned our backs on our rivers for too many years,” Salazar said. Salazar applauded the task force for moving toward a model adopted on the Urban Drainage District and the Greenway Foundation that turned an open sewer into an amenity for Denver and its suburbs after the 1965 flood. What’s happening now on Fountain Creek parallels that effort, Salazar said. The task force is taking steps toward a two-county authority and a Fountain Creek Foundation formed earlier this year. Pueblo Chieftain, September 5, 2008.

Fountain Creek just needs to work on its curves. That's one of the recommendations of the Fountain Creek Master Plan, nearly half completed. Wednesday, Carol Baker, watershed planning manager for Colorado Springs Utilities, gave the city's Utilities Board an update on the plan. "It's curvy. When the water goes through a curvy path it slows down," said Baker, showing a photo of a healthy stretch of the creek. "When it slows down, there's less erosion that goes on. There's less contamination." The problem is that only a third of the 44-mile stretch between Colorado Springs and Pueblo is what planners consider "healthy." The master plan is a joint project between Colorado Springs Utilities and the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District, which are splitting the $600,000 cost. The Gazette, August 21, 2008.

FLORENCE — It’s full steam ahead. That was the plan for Colorado Springs Utilities, who will begin the permitting process in two to three weeks to complete the Colorado Delivery System project. Colorado Springs is seeking the rights to use the water from the Lester-Attebery conversion near the Arkansas River at Florence for Colorado Springs. And at the same time, the company will continue to pursue the preferred alternative, which is to build it from the Pueblo Reservoir to Colorado Springs. This was part of Colorado Springs Utilities employees project director John Fredell and program manager Dan Higgins’ presentation Monday at the Florence City Council. Canon City Daily Record, August 19, 2008.

FOUNTAIN - A committee is moving closer to forming an authority to spearhead physical improvements to Fountain Creek. The funding committee of the Fountain Creek Vision Task Force met Friday to hash out details of how the proposed authority could be formed, agreeing to a timetable that could lead to state legislation next year to create an authority. Final approval of the plan must be made by a consensus committee, which will meet Sept. 5. If the authority is created, it would still require a vote by El Paso and Pueblo counties to participate in and fund it. Pueblo Chieftain, August 16, 2008.

Fixing Fountain Creek doesn’t necessarily mean straightening it out. In fact, by adding a few bends here and there, some marshy areas and a string of detention ponds, it would be less prone to minor flooding, say those who are crafting an improvement plan for the creek. “A lot of the things we’re showing are not hard and fast,” Carol Baker of Colorado Springs Utilities told Pueblo City Council on Monday. “Our goal is to educate the landowners in the best methods to prevent erosion. We want to give the landowners a place to look for help and the funds to do it.” Baker and Jay Winner, general manager of the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District, presented a progress report on a Fountain Creek Master Plan to council. The plan is 10 months into a two-year, $600,000 program to improve Fountain Creek. Pueblo Chieftain, July 31, 2008.

A request by U.S. Rep. Mark Udall to delay the environmental impact statement for the Southern Delivery System has sparked an angry response from some Colorado Springs business leaders and politicians. The group wrote Udall last week to express “strong opposition” to Udall’s June 26 letter to the Bureau of Reclamation, requesting a delay in the EIS because of the potential for a lawsuit over the document. Udall also cited comments by Bob Rawlings, publisher of The Pueblo Chieftain, and “others like them” as his support for seeking a delay. Pueblo Chieftain, July 9, 2008.

Never mind that five years of extensive study and community discourse have run their course. Never mind that the official public comment period has come and gone. Never mind that the Southern Delivery System, needed for the future water supply of Colorado Springs, has been studied and debated to a point of exhaustion. Forget all that, because U.S. Rep. Mark Udall is running for election to the United States Senate. What may be good for his campaign, it appears, holds more weight with the congressman than what's good for the economic welfare of Colorado. The Southern Delivery System is a reasonable plan for Colorado Springs to obtain water it owns in Pueblo Reservoir. Don't be fooled by the reservoir's name: Colorado Springs is the majority owner of water stored behind the dam, and the city pays for 70 percent of the reservoir's debt. The water is rightfully ours, but a political mover and shaker in Pueblo has made full-time sport of finding ways to deprive our city of what it owns. Editorial, The Gazette, July 8, 2008. PDF Document.

In evaluating the draft EIS, we find a great deal of salient information about the various alternatives available to Colorado Springs and its partners for developing the water rights that they own on the Arkansas River, and for supplying the cities with the water necessary to support regional population growth through the middle of this century. Two facts seem inescapable. First, the population of El Paso County, as predicted by the state demographer, is forecast to grow from 605,000 during 2010 to 935,000 by 2035 — an increase of more than 50 percent. It’s clear that even with accelerated residential water conservation, as well as more efficient use of water by businesses, Colorado Springs and its partners will require additional water. Secondly, it’s clear that the best, fairest and most environmentally sensitive way of providing additional water is through the construction of the so-called “preferred option,” a pipeline to be constructed by Colorado Springs Utilities from Pueblo Reservoir to Colorado Springs. Editorial, Colorado Springs Business Journal, June 13, 2008. PDF Document (13K)

SDS: Fremont County Won’t Pay – Colorado Springs Utilities is exploring the possibility of building the Southern Delivery System pipeline through Fremont County. From the beginning, we’ve approached SDS with a commitment to ourselves and others that we will minimize the impact of SDS on the environment and those who are affected by the project. Based on questions we’ve heard from residents of Fremont County, I want to reiterate and put in writing for all to see four commitments related to SDS that reflect what we’ve communicated in face-to-face discussions. Guest editorial by John Fredell, SDS Project Director for Colorado Springs Utilities. Canon City Daily Record, June 11, 2008.

Colorado Springs has been rated as the best place to live in the United States by Money magazine and among the top 25 cities for business by Forbes. Access to a dependable supply of water is critical to ensure that it stays that way. We need the Southern Delivery System to provide water for our future. Our ability to do business and continue our quality of life depends on it. Guest Editorial by Stephannie Finley, president of the Governmental Affairs Division of the Greater Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce, Colorado Springs Business Journal, April 18, 2008.

The mayor of Colorado Springs said connecting a pipeline to Pueblo Dam is the best regional solution for the Southern Delivery System because it would serve Pueblo West and contracts could provide revenue to help build the Arkansas Valley Conduit. “Coming from the dam gives the best quality of water for all users and is the lowest cost option for the customers over the long term,” Colorado Springs Mayor Lionel Rivera said Wednesday at an open house hosted by the Bureau of Reclamation to explain the draft environmental impact statement for SDS. Pueblo Chieftain, April 10, 2008

Fremont County has agreed to ground rules for consideration of Colorado Springs' $1 billion Southern Delivery System being built through its land. That's key to giving the city an option if Pueblo County blocks the city from drawing water from Pueblo Reservoir, the city's preferred alternative. The Gazette, April 10, 2008

Chances are “significant” the final choice for the massive Southern Delivery System water project will run through Fremont County. On Tuesday, the Fremont County Commissioners entered into a contract of cooperation with Colorado Springs Utilities. The six-page Intergovernmental Agreement provides for a $50,000 initial deposit to the county to pay for permit applications, expert reviews, consultants and other costs associated with the project. (Fremont) County attorney Brenda Jackson said the IGA is an understanding for the entities to cooperate throughout the application process. Canon City Daily Record, April 10, 2008

Mayor Rivera: SDS needed to meet city’s future needs – Forty years ago, the citizens of Colorado Springs agreed to invest in the Homestake Project, a pipeline that supplies a major share of the water we use today. A big decision. And a big investment. Fortunately for us, they said yes. The city we love and enjoy today wouldn’t exist if they had said no to that investment in their future. Now, it’s our turn to invest in our future — and the future of our children and grandchildren — by building the Southern Delivery System. Guest editorial, by Mayor Rivera The Gazette, March 29.

Pueblo Chieftain publisher Robert Rawlings seems to despise Colorado Springs. To spite our city, he appears willing to forgo the best interests of his own. The Gazette, March 27, 2008.