Water advisory board asks trustees to adopt watershed vision and goals for Cottonwood Creek basin

The Water Advisory Board asked the Board of Trustees on June 10 to formally adopt a set of watershed vision and goal statements for the Buena Vista watershed (Cottonwood Creek drainage, including north, middle and south forks). Members said an adopted statement would help the town take consistent positions and build partnerships with agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service, the Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District and Chaffee County.

Board member Jeff Olinger described the three levels of influence for town water policy — the municipal distribution system, source‑water protection area, and the full watershed — and said the draft goals provide a foundation for evaluating future projects such as recreation proposals, timber or other land‑use proposals and grant applications. The water board recommended trustees adopt the vision and goals by resolution; trustees agreed to place the item on a future consent agenda for formal adoption unless they requested changes.

The water board listed ongoing projects including a water conservation plan being developed with an outside consultant (Swiftwater), source‑water protection plan implementation, distribution‑system hydraulic modeling and outreach to partner agencies. The board also noted recent on‑the‑ground coordination with the U.S. Forest Service and with Saint Charles Mesa water operators while researching ditch agreements and distribution practices.

Trustees supported moving the watershed goals to a consent agenda resolution for formal adoption at a later meeting so the town could use the goals when evaluating funding requests and interagency projects.