Washington, DC – Congressman Doug Lamborn (R-Colorado Springs) today introduced legislation authorizing the Secretary of the Interior, through the Bureau of Reclamation, to conduct a study to determine the most feasible method of meeting water supply and related storage requirements within the area served by the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project, including potential enlargement of Pueblo and Turquoise Reservoirs.

“Growth in Colorado while positive, can strain availability of critical resources like water, and it is imperative that we find common sense, broad based solutions to address the growth impacts we face, including taking a serious and thoughtful look at expanding and improving storage facilities that already exist,” Rep. Lamborn said. “This legislation seeks to achieve the same goals put forward in previous federal legislation that enjoyed broad support of groups, while protecting important water rights and agreements that have been carefully established to ensure a ready supply for all areas involved in PSOP. This legislation will allow us to move forward with workable solutions that already have widespread support to serve the needs of Colorado’s residents.”

The Pueblo-based Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District is the local sponsor of the Fryingpan-Arkansas (Fry-Ark) project, which stores and delivers water for municipal and agricultural uses within the district's nine-county service area. In 1997, the District began a study of water storage needs through the year 2040. The result of the study, the Preferred Storage Option Plan (PSOP), is designed to provide up to an additional 145,000 acre-feet by 2040.

The PSOP is a two-part plan, Phase I would authorize the above mentioned study and provide an additional 50,000 acre-feet of storage through the use of long-term excess capacity contracts, thereby maximizing existing space in the Fry-Ark project. Phase II would commence once the study is completed and subsequent Congressional authorization is granted for enlargement of Fry-Ark facilities.

The bill is co-sponsored by Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo.

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