Colorado's state engineer sees Cherokee Metropolitan District as

Dick Wolfe, acting state engineer, has been involved with most of Cherokee Metropolitan District's water sufficiency applications. He views the district's challenges as based mostly on past management and legal counsel which made "poor decisions."

So far, he concurs with what General Manager Kip Petersen has done and said the addition of legal input from Felt, Munson and Culichia has "breathed new life" into a previously controversial water management policy.

"The past leadership had many debates over wells and access to the water supply as laid out by the Ground Water Management District," he said. "This new team wants to find solutions."

Wolfe also said that the CMD's aquifer recharge program, which is a model for other plains communities around the state, is a commendable step.

While El Paso County Commissioner Douglas Bruce said his Cherokee constituents would question the quality of recycled and treated water, finding it "psychologically unpalatable," water experts are not as concerned.

"For decades homeowners with wells and septic systems with leach fields in eastern El Paso County have been drinking naturally recycled waste water," Wolfe said. "They don't worry about it because it's under ground. The Cherokee Metro District water will have to meet or exceed state health requirements, providing water to a higher standard than many places around the world."

He also said that because of Coloradoan's proximity to clean mountain run-off, state residents have come to "expect higher standards."

Wolfe said that Cherokee's leadership offers promise to future Coloradoans who want sustainable systems.

"I think over time, as people begin to see how limited our water supply is, they will realize re-use and conservation are both vital. Necessity will transcend other concerns," he said. "You're looking at 80 percent of our water supply on the western slope and 80 percent of the population on the eastern slope."

That's an imbalance that will continue to be a source of conflict.

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