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Show Wed/Thurs/Fri, October 24-26, 2018 The Park Record B- Park City boys soccer coach Colorado ski industry veils named state’s best by peers itself in drought protection Reservoirs, rights keep resorts’ water tables in the black BY JASON BLEVINS The Colorado Sun RK RECORD FILE PHOTO rk City High School Soccer Head Coach Tom Merchant speaks with the team after losing 4-0 during e state playoff game against Juan Diego at Dozier Field on May 6, 2017. Merchant was named Utah gh School Boys Coach of the Year by his peers in the association United Soccer Coaches. Merchant has spent lose to three ecades as a coach EN RAMSEY he Park Record The United Soccer Coaches, e world’s largest association soccer coaches, has named ark City High School’s Tom erchant as its 2018 Utah High chool Boys Coach of the Year. Merchant, who has coached r almost 30 years, took over oth the boys and girls teams ur years ago, preceding Miela Carriel’s tenure on the rls team that began in 2017. the spring, the boys team nd Merchant had their most COURTESY OF TOM MERCHANT Tom Merchant, head soccer coach of the Park City Miners. successful season yet, reaching second place at the Class 4A state tournament after losing to Desert Hills 4-0 in the championship game at the Real Salt Lake Academy in Bluffdale. assemble Park City’s Premier Co-Working Space A peer voting committee selected Merchant based on success on the field, knowledge of the game, involvement in the soccer community and how he represents himself and the Miners. “It’s a nice honor to be recognized by them,” Merchant said of his fellow coaches, then was quick to add that success isn’t the product of one person. “I think it’s nice for the school, because it recognizes they are doing a good job,” he said. “If I had a bunch of miserable people around me, it wouldn’t be possible. I have good assistant coaches, a nice team and a supportive school, so that kind of stuff is what really makes it work.” Please see Soccer, B-4 DENVER – Reservoirs have turned to dust. Farmers have fallow fields. But don’t expect the skiing to languish. Ski resorts have spent many decades amassing water rights and water storage and continuously upgrading snowmaking systems to make the state’s vibrant, multibillion-dollar resort industry virtually immune to drought – so long as this winter, farmers and ranchers have repeatedly said over the summer, is wetter than last winter and those critical reservoirs are filled to brimming come spring. “I think everybody is fine right now. I think everyone is going into the season in good shape,” said Glenn Porzak, the preeminent water lawyer who has worked with resorts for more than 30 years to corral water rights and develop storage. It was the devastating seasons of 1976-77 and 1980-81 that spurred the state’s resorts to do more than pray for snow. Those were the seasons when Breckenridge trucked in chunks of ice chiseled from St. Mary’s Glacier and when Steamboat deployed locals to shovel snow onto bald runs. In the aftermath of those lean seasons, resorts started investing in water rights and storage to feed more aggressive snowmaking. They developed more than just on-the-hill storage ponds. Clinton Gulch Reservoir, a former mining impound south of Copper Mountain that sold to ski areas and municipalities in 1992, holds 4,500 acre feet. The 3,300-acre-foot Eagle Park Reservoir, built in the 1960s to hold tailings from the Climax molybdenum mine, was cleaned up for water storage in 1998. Both reservoirs, which hold resort-owned water for snowmaking, are near full as the snowmaking season begins. “Resorts have ample storage,” said Porzak, speaking of the Eagle, Summit and Grand county ski areas that use Clinton Gulch and Eagle Park water to replenish any upstream water diverted for snowmaking. And that storage shifts from reservoir to ski slopes in the coming months. That’s the thing about snowmaking: 80 to 90 percent of the water that makes snow returns to rivers and streams after it has served skiers. “I’m not too worried about snowmaking because the water is used to make snow – that becomes our natural water-storage system,” said Liza Mitchell, who compiles weekly river and snowpack reports for the Roaring Fork Conservancy, which protects the watershed below five ski areas in the Roaring Fork Valley. “A lot of that water infiltrating the ground recharges groundwater supplies or runs off into the river. As a river-focused organization, . we see snowmaking as not necessarily a bad use of water.” There is a difference between summer water rights and winter water rights. Resorts pull water when demand ebbs. “We are a pretty efficient seasonal reservoir,” said Sam Williams, the head of mountain operations at Purgatory, a ski area outside Durango. “Peop should be happy that ski resor have gone out and secured w ter rights in the winter instead letting all that water flow dow stream. We store that water an deliver it back to ranchers an farmers and municipalities the spring when everyone real needs it.” But, oftentimes, resorts r move water from one cre for snowmaking and repa the water farther downstream And they pull that water fro streams in the late fall, whe those streams are nearing the annual low-point for flow This fall, as drought ravages th state for another season, tho low points have been historic. The Colorado Water Conse vation Board’s Instream Flo Program was created in 1973 maintain minimum streamflow to protect natural environmen The board and the Colorad Water Trust buy water rights maintain natural flows to pr tect riparian habitats. But Colorado has a hors trader-like water market, whe a user can pull from one ar and deposit in another. Th may work in the spring, whe rivers are rushing. However, it more of a challenge in the ear winter, when the state’s wat plumbing system goes dorman Linda Bassi is the chief stream and lake protection f the Colorado Water Conserv tion Board. She watches flo gauges below resorts’ snow making diversions to mak sure minimum flows protectin fish and habitat are maintaine When a resort’s flow dips belo required levels, she calls th resort and asks for adjustmen The board also issues admi istrative calls on their priori Please see Few water woes, B WHY WORK ALONE Business Lounge • Work Stations • Private Offices Conference Rooms • Reception Services • Daily Rates Available For details please contact Angela at 435-200-1312 info@assembleparkcity.com | www.assembleparkcity.com Located in Newpark @ Kimball Junction BUY IT SELL IT TRADE IT RENT IT LOCALLY! 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