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Show hf Page B3 I intr nbnxt August 8, 2002 Moab's John Keys, Reclamation Commissioner, says drought won't spawn wave of BuRec focusing on water conservation and quality by Erin McIntyre The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel In the midst of the worst recorded drought in Western history, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is not looking at the resurrection of big-da- m building. And neither are some water officials in Colorado. Terms such as conservation and reuse bounce back and forth between officials fur the most part, instead of talk about constructing big water projects. The only major new project being discussed is the Big Straw, a proposal to build a underground 210-mile-lo- pipeline to rescue water Colorado owns before it crosses the Utah border and becomes Californias. But even the Big Straw, as its designer said, is a last resort. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner John Keys touts the benefits of the bureaus projects over the years, but this years drought hasnt prompted him to say that more dams and reservoirs are in the future. If you go out and talk to some of the farmers right now, they will tell you how valuable that storage space that they have has been this year, Keys said. But, he said, I dont think (the drought) will cause them to run out and start a big wave of Keys said the bureau is concentrating on making the best use of what resources it has, rather than eyeing a new construction boom. Were trying to find better ways to operate the old facilities, Keys said in an interview with The Daily Sentinel. Dams are an important part of water resources, deliveries and management," Keys said. Were trying to make the best use of those we have. As far as Reclamation in the future is concerned, We will continue our commitment to reliable water delivery and power generation, but we will also respect the changing values and needs of the American public, Keys wrote in a bureau publication. Because of the competing needs of recreation, the envi- dam-buildin- MARC ronment and agriculture, along with changing public opinion, we've become innovative so we could get the job done," Keys said. His agency now focuses more on how to conserve wa- ter, maintain water quality and prevent water loss in its journey downstream. Keys said his agency is working on strategies to squeeze the most out of the water that is there. Keys advocated development of multiple uses of water, continuing to conserve water and recycling wastewater. We can't just use it once and dump it in the ocean, Keys said. How can we use the water more than once? Coloradans are asking the same question. ln the past, the water-us- e philosophy has been kind of a thinking, said Butch Clark, designer of the Big Straw. But a lot of the possibility now is in reusing one-time-u- se and easier than building his project, which he estimated would cost $1.9 billion. When asked if he thinks the drought w ill become so severe that Coloradans would be willing to pay for the Big Straw, Clark said: Probably not. I think for the most part that peoples values are going to change. Clark said he thinks municipalities will start reusing water more, and people will 6tart conserving more. Unfortunately its hard to Clark pointed out the many ways water can be used more than once. For example, water in rivers can serve endangered fish and recreation at the same time as instream flow, while traveling to a water treatment plant for a municipality, and going to another water treatment plant afterward and flowing to farmers and eventually back to the river for fish and recreation Water that has been through many uses and is conserve water that people dont have. The worst time to plan for a drought is w hen youre in it. Youve got to get ahead of the darned thing, Keys said. Right now, some officials say there isnt much more they can do about the drought other than conserve and reuse. Theres not a lot that can be done to increase our water supply at this time, said Doug Kemper, water resources manager for the city of Aurora. Aurora is examining underground aquifers the city may need to tap while water storage levels return to normal, Kemper said, but Aurora is not looking at any major water storage developments. Conservation seems to be working for Kempers city. Aurora responded to the drought situation in May w ith a mandatory watering schedule, complete with fines. People are responding well, Kemper said. So far this is working ... only one person has reached the $250-fin- e level. Although it seems that the era of building might, in fact, be dead, there are still projects for the Bureau of Reclamation in maintaining or expanding dams and reser big-da- m voirs that have been storing ater for many years. Colorado water officials look toward that as well. Plata Indeed, Animas-Lwater be the last big might project in Colorado, but it will still be in the works for at least another six years, according to the bureau. Keys is quick to point out that if the public asks the bureau for another big water project, the bureau will be there in a second. Now, I don't know that we w a need another one. But, could we build another one? Absolutely." Blood drive is huge success; surpasses goals with 82 pints The annual Red Cross blood drive on July 31 was a huge success according to or- ganizers. (water). again. non potable can still be used for irrigation or fighting fires, among other things. Clark said solutions like this would be much cheaper dam-buildin- g Eighty-tw- o pints of blood were collected, which was well above the goal of sixty pints. Local organizers said the Red Cross staff was sur- prised by the number of people wanting to donate blood and they ran out of the materials needed to collect the blood. We want to thank the community for their support of this blood drive. The local media was very supportive in letting people know about the blood drive, and we feel that helped create the overwhelming response," said organizers. Were already planning for next years blood drive. Were working on ways to minimize the time the donors spend waiting in line. Giving blood is such a selfless gift and we want to make it as easy as sible for them." pos- Grand County received credit for eighty-twpints of blood, which can be used by any county resident who needs it. There is no charge for the blood because it has been donated, but there will be a minio mal processing fee. For more information contact Allen Memorial Hospital. g. taking submissions for bike fest exhibit The Moab Arts and Rec prevention programs work. Be a part of something that works. Please attend the second community forum on tobacco and the youth of Grand County. Wednesday, August 14th 6 to 8 PM Grand County Senior Citizens Center Center is now accepting submissions for a group art Bhow titled, Bikes, Trikes & Wheels. Celebrate bicycle festival season and submit artwork inspired by or made of bikes and wheels. Two and three-dimension- al pieces, poetry and short essays will be due Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 9 and 10 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Contact the MARC for details, HIE. 100 N. or at 259-627- Food and beverages will be served, and everyone who attends the meeting will have their names entered in a drawing for gift certificates to local restaurants and merchants. 2. Please call Alison at 259-613- 1 for more information. The Grand County Tobacco Prevention and Control Program is a joint project between the Grand County School District, Four Comers Behavioral Health, and the Utah Department of Health I |