The San Juan Water Conservancy District (SJWCD) Board of Directors discussed the district’s ongoing efforts to secure grants and its work with its engineer contractor RJH Consultants at its May 18 meeting.
SJWCD board president Randy Cooper provided an update on the district’s grant applications and work with RJH, which he indicated is continuing on multiple fronts.
He stated that the district is still awaiting a final figure from RJH for the cost of a water supply and demand study that the district’s recent attempt to apply for U.S. Bureau of Reclamation funding indicated would be necessary.
However, he stated that the estimated cost for the one-year study would be around $120,000.
Cooper added that the estimate seems accurate to him.
SJWCD board member Candace Jones commented that the estimate for the study was on the low end of estimates she had received from other water experts.
In response to a question from SJWCD board member Joe Tedder, Cooper stated that RJH would be happy to assist the district in efforts to secure grant funding that might help cover this expense.
Cooper then discussed a Nature Conservancy grant that the district recently attempted to apply for, noting that RJH indicated that the district would likely be eligible for support on a water study through the grant while Jones expressed reservations about whether or not the grant would cover it.
Cooper commented that the grant application then entered a “holding pattern” and that the district had not yet applied for the grant, which was due May 22, as of the time of the meeting.
He added that RJH had recently reached out about where the district was with applying for this grant and that it was likely too late to apply.
He also commented that RJH would charge for any assistance on grant applications it provides, but that it would be willing to assist with any appropriate applications.
Tedder asked if RJH would have any insights into what grants might be suitable or possible for the district to obtain.
Jones commented that she received feedback on the Nature Conservancy grant application from a contact there who indicated that the water study likely did not fit what the organization had in mind for the grant, which is more focused on river restoration.
“So, I really think they were looking for projects that were not this kind of planning work,” she said.
Cooper commented that RJH read the grant and believed that the district’s application would be suitable.
He added that he would ask RJH about its insights into upcoming grant opportunities and that he believed RJH would have information about opportunities since its staff frequently attend regional and state-level water organization meetings.
Jones commented that the SJWCD also needs to restart conversations about funding opportunities with the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) now that the district is approaching a settlement of its litigation with the Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District (PAWSD) over the Running Iron Ranch and the CWCB is likely less concerned about appearing to take a side between the entities.
The districts are litigating about PAWSD’s ability to sell the ranch, which is a proposed site for construction of a reservoir that the SJWCD is attempting to build, without the SJWCD’s consent.
The CWCB holds the loans used to purchase the land, which PAWSD is currently making payments on, and is a party in a three-way agreement about the management of the property which is at the center of the litigation.
Jones noted that the CWCB has funding available that might be able to help move the project forward.
She commented that the district would have to do so carefully to ensure that these discussions are not a barrier to finalizing a settlement between the SJWCD and PAWSD, but that she is confident that the CWCB could “walk and chew gum at the same time.”
Cooper noted that is a “great point.”
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