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Wright’s Mesa Water Coalition moves forward 

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Representatives from area water organizations came together last week, April 2, for the first of a series of stakeholder meetings. Then, Norwood Mayor Candy Meehan with former San Miguel County Commissioner Kris Holstrom helped lead the meeting. Both women were the founders of the Wright’s Mesa Water Coalition (WMWC) just a few years ago, after receiving specific water training and then Meehan later attending the Colorado Water Congress. 

Meehan read the WMWC’s mission statement: “The Wright's Mesa Water Coalition is dedicated to protecting and preserving the water resources of the Wright's Mesa region through collaborative stewardship, equitable access, and sustainable practices. We work together to ensure that current and future generations can rely on clean, resilient water supplies and systems that support our communities, ecosystems, and way of life.”

Members of the mesa’s five area water groups were present and acknowledged as stakeholders: Norwood Water Commission, the Town of Norwood, Norwood Fire Protection District, Lone Cone Ditch Company and Farmers Water Development. The groups have already had some discussion within the new coalition, sharing their long-term needs, short-term priorities, along with recent developments. Meehan said such discussions were to find common ground for the purpose of combining any potential funds and accessing support to further area water goals in the systems. 

Also helping to lead the meeting was Donzil Worthington, of Bohannon Huston, Inc., who is a water specialist. Worthington said he spent the early part of last week speaking with the representatives of the five stakeholder groups and will be putting collected responses together into a “fluid document.” He said in about 40 days that document will include GIS mapping exhibits, surveys, historical documents and more, so that groups can view it and give feedback.

He said he’ll continue to work with the document this summer, and by early October stakeholder groups can look in more detail at the summaries to see if it’s “on the right track.” He said the last quarter of the year will focus on revisions, and a draft plan will be ready by the end of the year. The final plan will be available in the first quarter of 2026, and it will be distributed. 

“That is the goal we have at this point,” Worthington said. “This meeting is the opening of the discussion … We will work toward what you think is representative of the goals and what you want to accomplish."

Meehan said the greater goal was to take a water master plan to the Colorado Water Conservation Board for funding and to go for federal monies, which will a two-year process. At the same time, the plan can also be used by stakeholder groups to go for whatever opportunities they wish. 

Meehan said partnering for mutual benefit was a good thing, and that there’s more “buying power” when groups combine resources. 

Makayla Gordon, of the West End Economic Development Corporation, has agreed to  do oversight and reporting during the grant application and funding process. Adrian Bergere, of the San Miguel Watershed Coalition, was present and said his organization wants to be a resource and already looks for projects, like environmental restoration in Beaver Creek, to benefit multiple groups at once. April Montgomery was also acknowledged for help in securing initial funding for the water master plan’s jumpstart. 

In the stakeholder comments at the close of the meeting, some of the items discussed were the repeated waterline breaks that affect the town and fire district, old PVC pipe in place since 1977, water storage, Farmers Water finishing fixing its dam, Lone Cone Ditch redoing its outlet structure, the need for snowpack and Norwood needing a water treatment plant upgrade at some point.