San Juan Water Conservancy District scheduled a Work Session for 1 PM on Tuesday, March 25, at 46 Eaton Drive Suite 5. All Directors are welcome to engage in a discussion of Strategic Objective One: Redefine the financial partnership for Running Iron Ranch. A Work Session is open to the public. There is no agenda, no opportunity for public comment, and no actions will be taken.
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a Special Meeting of the Board of Directors of the San Juan Water Conservancy District (SJWCD) is scheduled for Monday, March 17, 2025, at 4 PM (Mountain Standard Time).
The meeting will be at the SJWCD office at 46 Eaton Drive Suite 5, Pagosa Springs, CO. The SJWCD Board may require an Executive Session and discussion of shared documents related to the agenda below. This meeting is in-person, but may be attended by Zoom.
Use the link below to connect to the scheduled Zoom meeting. Only the SJWCD Attorney and Directors will be on Zoom during the Executive Session. The public may be admitted before and following Executive Session. An unknown Zoom attendee will be asked to identify him/herself before being admitted to the meeting.
San Juan Water Conservancy District is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: SJWCD Special Meeting
Time: Mar 17, 2025 04:00 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
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Meeting ID: 813 0912 8486
Passcode: 506080
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Proposed Agenda for the Regular Meeting is as follows:
1. Call to Order
2. Revisions to Agenda and Approval of Agenda
3. Disclosures of Conflict of Interest
4. Consideration of motion to the Court regarding Board Member Appointment (Kappelman) and Reappointments (Hagberg, Riehm)
5. Executive Session. Upon an affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the members present, the San Juan Water Conservancy District will go into executive session pursuant to section 24-6-402(4) of the Colorado Revised Statutes to discuss matters concerning the transfer or sale of real, personal or other property interest pursuant to section 24-6-402(4)(a) of the Colorado Revised Statutes, to confer with the District’s attorney for the purposes of receiving legal advice on specific legal questions pursuant to section 24-6-402(4)(b), C.R.S., and to determine positions relative to matters that may be subject to negotiations, developing strategy for negotiations, and instructing negotiators pursuant to section 24-6-402(4)(e), C.R.S., all regarding the potential sale of the Running Iron Ranch on the initiative of the Pagosa Area Water & Sanitation District and related litigation (Case No. 24CV30069 filed in Archuleta County District Court), settlement negotiations, and public statements.
6. Consideration of Actions regarding the Running Iron Ranch and Related Litigation (Case No. 24CV30069 filed in Archuleta County District Court), settlement negotiations, and public statements.
7. Consideration of Attorney’s Report
8. Consideration of Treasurer’s Report
9. Consideration of Running Iron Ranch Leases (Riehm, Jones)
10. Discussion of Trust for Public Lands (Riehm)
11. Discussion of Yeh Engineering Activities (Cooper)
12. Updates from Directors
13. Consideration of Americorp intern opportunity – Blue Elements (Jones)
14. Consideration of May 20 “Threats” Film Premiere arrangements, including SJHFHP’s Proposal to Discuss Archuleta County Community Wildfire Protection Plan
14. Consideration of New Projects, Grant Opportunities, and Deadlines
15. Strategic Objective Reports.
16. Approval of Record of Proceedings from 2/17 Regular Meeting
17. Schedule next meeting. Adjournment.
SAN JUAN WATER CONSERVANCY DISTRICT
By /s/ Sally High
Executive Assistant to the Board of Directors
DISTRICT SEAL
The San Juan Water Conservancy District will not pursue a recent purchase offer from a private developer for the Running Iron Ranch. The SJWCD board made that decision by a unanimous vote at a special meeting held November 7, 2024.
The offer received by SJWCD does not commit to a future reservoir at the Running Iron Ranch as Pagosa Area Water & Sanitation District board members publicly stated the offer would.
SJWCD cannot sell reservoir project water rights it holds. The SJWCD board has a fiduciary duty to maintain ownership of the project water rights and manage them for the benefit of the public.
SJWCD was asked to sign a nondisclosure agreement. SJWCD is a water conservancy district subject to Colorado open records laws. SJWCD will manage its records in accordance with applicable law.
A statement made by SJWCD on November 1, 2024, explaining why SJWCD opposes sale of the Running Iron Ranch as a policy matter is posted on the SJWCD website at sjwcd.org.
The San Juan Water Conservancy District opposes the Pagosa Area Water & Sanitation District’s sale of public property held as a future reservoir site in a private deal to a land developer. SJWCD will work to halt sale plans based on short-sighted and narrow views of current PAWSD board members.
PAWSD board members refuse to share details of its plan with SJWCD, co-owner of the reservoir site, despite a specific request that they do so and a contractual duty to consult SJWCD.
SJWCD calls upon PAWSD to work cooperatively with SJWCD and the public to secure our water future. SJWCD also calls upon the public to demand from PAWSD an open and informed discussion of water needs and conditions that affect our future water supply.
It is simply wrong for PAWSD to sell public land vital to water storage without making every effort to retain the property as it agreed to do.
Public Property for a Future Reservoir
The Pagosa Area Water & Sanitation District (PAWSD) and San Juan Water Conservancy District (SJWCD) co-own property known as the Running Iron Ranch. The Ranch was purchased as the site for a future reservoir with funds provided by the State of Colorado – a grant to SJWCD and loan to PAWSD.
In 2015, PAWSD, SJWCD, and the State entered into an agreement to restructure the PAWSD loan and provide a substantial reduction in interest owed to the State. That agreement sets out a timeline designed to keep the Ranch in public hands while the lengthy process of planning, permitting, and building a reservoir can proceed. The first part of the timeline is a 20-year planning period. PAWSD agreed to “make every effort to retain the Running Iron Ranch” during the planning period (2015-2035).
SJWCD Opposes PAWSD’s Action to Sell Running Iron Ranch
In recent weeks, PAWSD’s board voted to sell the Ranch. SJWCD opposes the sale as a policy matter. SJWCD does not believe PAWSD’s action to sell the Ranch is based on sound water planning or economic analysis. 2
Selling the Ranch deprives County residents and property owners of the best available site for a future reservoir. The sale plan abandons land now in public hands and dedicated to use for water storage and public purposes consistent with a reservoir.
PAWSD has not engaged with SJWCD to discuss these concerns. Instead, PAWSD voted on October 24, 2024, to sue the SJWCD as a tactic to complete a sale over SJWCD’s objection.
PAWSD’s Rush to Litigation is a Bad Use of Limited Public Funds
Public/ratepayer funds should not be spent litigating when cooperative efforts could answer the questions that divide PAWSD and SJWCD. The Districts’ funds would be better spent on professional services assisting the SJWCD, PAWDS, and the community plan for long-term water needs, evaluate drought risks, and assess the feasibility and requirements for building a reservoir at the Running Iron Ranch.
In 2008, PAWSD issued a Source Water Protection Plan identifying drought as a risk to PAWSD’s water supply. That Plan, available on PAWSD’s website, called for ongoing public education on water conservation and planning for future storage. PAWSD’s current board members are walking away from planning for water storage.
SJWCD applauds residents, businesses, and PAWSD for taking steps to conserve water. Conservation efforts will not, however, put water in the San Juan River during hotter drier years. In Spring 2024, snowpack above Navajo Reservoir peaked at roughly 105% of the 30-year average. The April – July runoff, however, was only 70% of average. Our water needs include faucets and more – the health of the river and access for recreation, a key to our local economy.
SJWCD believes planning decisions are best made in open and transparent processes informed by current water conditions and a forward-looking perspective.
SJWCD Invites the Public to Support Cooperative Efforts
SJWCD is ready to work with PAWSD and other community stakeholders in a cooperative planning effort. SJWCD has been moving over the past year to build public awareness of our watersheds and environmental conditions affecting them, introduce community members to the Running Iron Ranch, and engage professional services for reservoir planning. SJWCD foresees public uses of the Ranch beyond water storage.
SJWCD has included PAWSD in many of its public outreach efforts, and SJWCD designated board members to provide a clear channel of communication to PAWSD’s board. In contrast, PAWSD board members have taken it upon themselves to negotiate sale terms without involving SJWCD in any of those discussions.
SJWCD encourages the public to reach out to board members of both SJWCD and PAWSD about the potential sale of public property identified years ago as the best available site for future water storage.
Click on the link below to see a graphic of all five Water Rights of SJWCD. The image includes:
Dry Gulch Reservoir (1967) 6,300 Acre Feet (AF), conditional
Dry Gulch Reservoir (2004) 4,700 AF first fill, 11,000 AF refill, conditional
Dry Gulch Pumping Station, 50 Cubic Feet Per Second (cfs), conditional
Park Ditch, 11 shares, 1.1 cfs, absolute
Dutton Ditch Second Enlargement, 20 cfs, conditional
Link here to view slides explaining the Three Way Agreement to purchase and manage the Running Iron Ranch property. SJWCD agrees to manage the property and plan for an 11,000-acre foot reservoir, the San Juan Headwaters Project
The San Juan Water Conservancy District Board currently has one vacancy. If you are interested in volunteering to work on the SJWCD Board, send a letter of interest to the Court address below and to SJWCD. Contact SJWCD President Candace Jones at cjones.sjwcd@gmail.com to learn more about the forward progress being achieved or attend an upcoming meeting to ask questions of all Directors.
When San Juan Water Conservancy District seeks to fill a vacancy on its Board of Directors, an applicant submits a letter of interest to:
Jeffery R. Wilson, Chief Judge
Archuleta County Combined Courts
P.O. Box 148, Pagosa Springs, CO 81147
Include your permanent address, confirm that you are a resident of the District, and list your relevant experience. Send a copy of your letter to SJWCD at 46 Eaton Drive, Suite 5, Pagosa Springs CO 81147.
The WWG report was commissioned to assist the Board in determining whether it makes sense for the District and its taxpayers to attempt to retain the West Fork water rights during a future diligence filing…
The Board is required to take action by June 21, 2021 if it wishes to move the rights to a different location…