Here's an article from the Rocky Mountain News about Front Range cities partnering with farmers to solve long-term water supply problems [October 8, 2005, "Tapping the plains"]. From the article, "Parker and other thirsty Douglas County cities are taking the first steps to build, in partnership with northeastern Colorado farm communities, what could become the state's longest water pipeline. The project - if it can overcome political and legal hurdles - could cost more than $1 billion to bring water roughly 140 miles, from just outside Sterling to as far south as Castle Rock. Frank Jaeger, manager of the Parker Water and Sanitation District, would like to see the project up and running within 10 years. He believes the undertaking can be accomplished without crippling farm economies in places such as Iliff and Proctor. If he's right, it would mark a new era in water-sharing between urbanites and farmers, and could serve as a model for other fast-growing regions in the West...As the fall harvest begins in Logan County, locals are wary, in part because Parker initially entered their world on the sly. When it first started buying farms in 2000, it did so anonymously, letting county commissioners and the sellers know only afterward."
Coyote Gulch recommends the article, read the whole thing before it scrolls behind the Rocky's paywall. Here's the Coyote Gulch coverage of Part II of the series Wringing Water from the Rocks, the night Frank Jaeger spoke.
One of the cool ideas that came out of Frank Jaeger's partnering with Logan County is Parker's donation of 35 acres of farmland for the Caliche Elementary and High School Future Farmers of America. Here's another article from today's Rocky detailing how that is working [October 8, 2005, "Todd Thomas seems to treasure everything about his quiet life as a teacher at the Caliche Elementary and High School, where 275 students ages 4 to 18 attend classes. Among his favorite things, though, is teaching agriculture to 50 teenagers in a brick building that sits high on a hill above the South Platte River. Two years ago, when the Parker Water and Sanitation District offered to donate 35 acres of nearby farmland for the school's agriculture classes, Thomas welcomed the opportunity."
Category: Colorado Water
7:26:11 AM 
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