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| 9/20/2008 6:00:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article |
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Courtesy Photo
Workers from the Mancos Water Conservancy District rebuild 2,000 feet of a maintenance road leading to the Jackson Gulch Reservoir canal. |
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Jackson Gulch repair bill passes House,
moves to Senate
Kristen Plank
Journal Staff Writer
The United States House of Representatives passed a critical bill Monday regarding a rehabilitation project for the Jackson Gulch Reservoir.
The bill, titled the Jackson Gulch Rehabilitation and Repair Act of 2007, will allow funding repairs for the Jackson Gulch Reservoir feeder canal, a main water supplier into the Mancos Valley. The canal is nearly 60 years old and is in need of rehabilitation.
"It serves the entire Mancos Valley, the Mesa Verde National Park and is the backup supply for the town of Mancos," Gary Kennedy said, superintendent for the Mancos Water Conservancy District (MWCD).
The reservoir provides irrigation water for over 13,000 acres, from residential, commercial and agricultural consumers. According to Kennedy, there are 2,500 - 2,800 people who receive water from the Mancos water district.
MWCD board members have been traveling to and from Washington, D.C. for the past five years, Kennedy said, in order to secure a federal cost-share for the rehabilitation project.
U.S. Rep. John Salazar, D-Colo., has been winding his own way through Washington to get this bill passed.
"He introduced the bill in 2007 and it has been in the works for nearly two years now, (with Salazar) working on the committee process and building support," said Salazar spokesperson Eric Wortman.
The bill was first passed at the committee level of the Senate and was then sent to the floor of the House. On Monday, it came up before the full House of Representatives and passed by a vocal vote.
"The fact that it passed by a voice vote, with no vocal dissent, shows there's a strong support in the House," Wortman said.
The bill will now journey to the Senate side of Congress in hopes of getting passed soon.
"We are hoping the earlier support from the Senate committee kickstarts them to pass it," Wortman said.
Kennedy and Salazar hope to get the bill passed in this year's session due to the reservoir having exceeded it's life expectancy since it was built in 1949, under President Roosevelt's authorization. In a speech delivered Monday, Congressman Salazar explained the need for expediency in passing this bill.
"Congress is faced with a simple decision," Salazar said. "Tackle the problem of rehabilitation for $8 million today or wait for a catastrophic failure and face a $30 million price tag for replacement tomorrow."
The most dangerous time of the year for the canals are the fall and spring, when the reservoir fills with melting snow, according to Kennedy.
He explains that concrete "box flumes" and earthen sections of the canal will be replaced with a type of lining system to keep the structure together. There are two miles of canal that need to be rehabilitated, roughly half of the total canal mileage.
"Before we can do all of that, we have to rebuild 2,000 feet of the road to that canal," Kennedy said, referring to the construction maintenance road that goes up to the canal. "It slid off the hill 50 years ago and we are putting it back in place as we speak."
Kennedy notes even if the bill does pass both sides of Congress and is signed by the President, it does not automatically give them the money, but rather the authorization for the money.
"It will then go through next year's Congress before the money is appropriated," he said. "The money would not come until 2010 at the earliest."
Even so, he and others have been working hard with Salazar to pass the bill for funds. Wortman explains how Kennedy's hard work affected Salazar's own enthusiasm.
"(Kennedy's) dedication was something the Congressman took note of, and he should be credited for the Congressman working so hard on this," Wortman said.
Kennedy said he and board members are very pleased the bill has passed in the House and hopes for the same with the Senate and the President. Wortman also hopes for the best for the bill's future in the Senate.
"Even if it doesn't (get signed), it sends a strong signal to Congress to be one of the first bills to pass next year," Wortman said. "There is an end in sight."
Reach Kristen Plank at kristenp@cortezjournal.com.
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