Cherokee not the only place facing serious water issues

During a recent Housing and Building Association of Colorado Springs meeting about the Cherokee Metropolitan District, Colorado National Bank Vice President Chris Bryan took notes as General Manager Kip Petersen provided an overview of plans to acquire new water and to continue conservation efforts.

"Frankly we turned down one home loan application earlier this year in Cherokee," Bryan said. "But since then we've been convinced that going forward, they'll have all the water they need."

Petersen said CMD's water problems have been, to some degree, offset by conservation efforts, development of additional recharge systems to provide for peak usage periods and by requiring developers to "bring wet water" to their projects.

"Wet water" is physical water, not simply water rights.

Petersen assumed his leadership role three months before the Colorado Water Court denied Cherokee access to 40 percent of its anticipated water supply. A few months later, a Colorado Supreme Court judge denied the district's appeal, which resulted in CMD implementing water restrictions throughout the summer of 2006.

The former Cripple Creek city manager and Teller County planner admits that he walked into a firestorm.

"But we're certainly not the only ones experiencing water restrictions -- and contrary to the rumors, we've never been out of water," Peterson said.

He points to other metro districts, like Donala, Woodmen Hills and Woodmoor.

"They're all in the same boat," he said, adding that no one -- even metropolitan districts that currently have plenty of water rights -- is immune from the challenges of securing water on the dry eastern plains.

The district's plan to purchase seven additional wells is still up in the air because several Ellicott residents have raised concerns about additional strains on an already declining aquifer water supply.

As a result of the conservation measures, CMD has been able to save 3.5 million gallons of water during the past year, even as the population continues to grow.

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