INTRODUCTION

This 2010 Annual Report of the San Luis Valley Water Conservancy District (District) provides a status report on the activities of the District during calendar year 2010.

DIRECTORS

Directors Ms. Karla Shriver, (Rio Grande County) and Darius Allen ( Alamosa County) were reappointed to the Board of Directors for a four (4) year term ending September 6, 2014.  The other Directors are Robert Felmlee, Chairman, (Saguache County); Mike Prentice, Vice-Chairman, (Rio Grande County); M. Dee Greeman, Secretary/Treasurer, (Alamosa County); Charles Lavery, (Alamosa County); Charles Griego (Alamosa County); Doug Messick, (Rio Grande County); Rick Davie (Rio Grande County) and Randall Palmgren, (Saguache County).

MANAGEMENT

Mike Gibson remained as Manger of the District. A part-time administrative assistant continued to support the District.

FINANCIAL

Upon the completion of the 2010 Audit of the Financial Statements it will be available for viewing at the District's office during regular business hours.  All fees charged by the District for thier services remained at the same levels as in 2009.

OPERATIONAL

During the year, the District continued to assess its role in meeting future augmentation water needs within its service boundaries. Throughout the year sales of augmentation water continued in Alamosa and Rio Grande Counties, primarily for private property home use. The District is providing augmentation water for SunPower's solar powered electrical generating facility, near Mosca, Colorado, ans continues to work with the companies associated with the proposed solar powered electrical generating facilities in Alamosa (3) and Saguache (2) Counties to meet their augmentation water needs for wells serving their facilities.  The District continues to meet the current augmentation needs through its existing holdings of water rights.  THe Distrit executed an Agreement with River Island Ranch, Inc. on December 31, 2008, to acquire the water rights associated with the Anaconda Ditch, and to provide augmentation water for the subject development.  An Appliation was filed with the Water Court for a change in beneficial use of the acquired water right in December 2009.  This Change Case continues in Water Court. 

In 2010, the District received about 55% of the water historically produced by their main water right on the Pine River / Weminuche Transmountain Ditch. The 03CW41 Decree (BAR Cattle) yielded approximately 100% of its possible yield.  The combined yield of the 05CW13 Decree (Bear Creek Ridge Ditch) and Decree 07CW63 was approximately 68% of the possible yield.  Water of 153 acre-feet was stored that was not required to meet the 2010 augmentation water obligation of 292 acre-feet.

Scheduled routine maintance was continued on the Pine River / Weminuche Transmountain Ditch. This continued the planned maintenance and repaires in the seventh year of a multi-year program to repair and upgrade the ditch to raise the capisity of the Ditch to handle the associated water rights.

The District continued to support the Saguache Creek Water Users Association, as they have for more than 16 years, with funding for the maintenance of their irrigation system.



The District continued to seek additional opportunities to aquire suitable water rights.  On a case-by-case basis the District continued with its requirement that developers wanting more than 3.00-acre -feet of augmentation water, had to provide the District with acceptable water rights to the the District.  No additional water was acquired under this program. 

RIO GRANDE HEADWATERS RESTORATION PROJECT 

 In 2010, the Project was again supported by the District, which provided management and administrative support, and by a donation from the Rio Grande Water Conservation District.  In 2010, the Project continued to benefit from the services of a part-time Coordinator, full-time employee, and volunteers.

 In 2008, the Project was successful in obtaining a $250,000.00 grant through the Colorado Non Point Source Program. In addition, the Project received a grant of $285,000.00 from the Water Supply Reserve Account, which provides funding through the Inter Basin Roundtables.  These funds are being used for Phase 3 of the Riparian Stabilization Program and used on cost–share projects with landowners on the Rio Grande in Alamosa County.  At year end all engineering, design and construction had been completed on four (4) of the scheduled five (5) sites. 

In 2010 the Project was successful in obtaining an NRCS Colorado Partnership Program grant of $250,000.00. These monies were used in a NRCS/landowner cost-share arrangement to address five (5) riparian stabilization sites in Rio Grande County. Work on three (3) of these sites has been completed.

 In 2009 the Project was successful in obtaining a $250,000.00 grant through the Colorado Non Point Source Program for Phase 4 of the Riparian Stabilization Program.  Again, the Project was successful in obtaining matching Water Supply Reserve Account funds of $148,000.00 through the Rio Grande Inter Basin Roundtable, for the cost-share riparian restoration with landowners.

The Colorado Rio Grande Restoration Foundation, a non-profit 501(c) 3 corporation continued to be the fiscal agent for the Project.