The controversial RWR San Luis Valley Water Project plan is wrong. The fact that it is even considered is wrong. The only one that seems to think it should go forward is Commissioner George Teal. Most politicians are against it, San Luis Valley is against it, and it seems that several reports on how it being proposed is also wrong.

In the early 1900s my grandfather and his family moved from central Nebraska to San Luis Valley to homestead near the now area of Mosca. They were not able to farm the land as there was not enough water available. They had planned to raise alfalfa and some cattle. This was before the ability to drill wells deep enough to reach necessary water. The result was they moved back to central Nebraska.

Now Douglas County wants to move (pipeline?) water from San Luis Valley to Douglas County?

The report that Commissioner Abe Laydon made the decisive vote to not use a portion of the county's $68 million of the federal COVID-19 funds on the proposal, feels like a decision to avoid fraud.

At first it was thought that perhaps the American Rescue Plan Act money could be used on the proposal to “buy” the water and the county continued to pay legal counsel $75,000 to continue work on the “plan,” even though none of the water districts in Douglas County are interested in the water from RWR as they have plans in place and San Luis says there is not unappropriated water available in the valley. It now has been disclosed that ARPA funds are not eligible for the funding.

There doesn't seem to any part of this plan that would be a positive to San Luis Valley. The valley has found the water they need to produce several different resources using the water under the valley aquafer via wells that were not available in the early last century.

If Douglas County doesn't have water, then they should probably stop issuing building permits.

Lee Carpenter

Highlands Ranch