Eagle Valley Trout Unlimited
2010 January

Eagle County water providers strike precedent-setting water Agreement with City of Aurora
·         Local water users to receive additional 500 acre-feet of water from Homestake Reservoir

VAIL, Colo – Jan. 26, 2010 – A group of Eagle Valley water providers reached an agreement with the City of Aurora for an additional 500 acre-feet of water from Homestake Reservoir.
Aurora council members unanimously approved the Agreement Monday night. Under the terms of this new water agreement, the west slope owners of Eagle Park Reservoir, located in the headwaters of the Eagle River above Camp Hale, will pay Aurora $7.5 million. The water may be used by water users in Eagle County in drier years.
“The old east-west model is obsolete. The new model is joint action. The Valley wins, Aurora wins. It’s how Colorado should work in the future,” said Aurora Mayor Ed Tauer.
Two prior agreements with Aurora and Colorado Springs, in 1998 and 2004, gave Eagle County water users the right to 1,000 acre-feet of water from Homestake Reservoir. Homestake Reservoir is jointly owned by the cities of Aurora and Colorado Springs and is a component of a transmountain diversion project that takes water from the Eagle River basin to Colorado’s eastern slope.
“This is truly another precedent-setting water agreement between the east and west slopes,” said John Garnsey, co-president of the mountain division for Vail Resorts and COO of Beaver Creek. “With the 500 acre-feet of water becoming available, this was also an opportunity to ask Eagle County to join Eagle Park Reservoir Company and assist with the purchase, as well as become a co-owner of Eagle Park Reservoir.”

The west slope parties consist of the four original owners of Eagle Park Reservoir (Vail Associates, the Eagle River Water & Sanitation District, the Upper Eagle Regional Water Authority, and the Colorado River Water Conservation District), together with Eagle County.
“This tremendous addition of water, in conjunction with our new ownership investment in Eagle Park Reservoir, is a huge benefit for all Eagle County residents,” said Jon Stavney, who serves on the Eagle Board of County Commissioners.
The acquisition serves as a milestone towards a long-term goal of in-basin water storage that was cooperatively developed in the 1990’s. The Eagle River Water & Sanitation District and Upper Eagle Regional Water Authority have pursued these “Eagle River Assembly” objectives to ensure an adequate and reliable public water supply while sustaining local rivers.
“This transaction has truly brought together a multitude of parties across the divide and represents the new era of cooperation between the east and west slopes of Colorado,” said Glenn Porzak, who serves as Water Counsel for the Eagle Park Reservoir Company, some of its shareholders, and a variety of local governments in Eagle County.