The Mancos Water Conservancy District is preparing its budget for 2017, Superintendent Gary Kennedy said Thursday.
“There are no real big changes from the previous year, and there are no major projects that we’re looking at,” he said.
The budget will be finalized at the district board’s next meeting on Dec. 13. Board members discussed the draft budget at their meeting Nov. 8, and there was a small amount of discussion about each line item at that meeting, Kennedy said.
Also at the Nov. 8 meeting, board members discussed the Jackson Gulch rehab project, which has hit some speed bumps, Kennedy said. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the MWCD entered into a contract in 2010 for rehab work around the reservoir, but now the BOR is questioning the validity of that contract, he said. The district has already spent about $800,000 on the project, but the BOR might not pay for that work if the contract is deemed invalid, he said.
The Jackson Gulch Reservoir title transfer project also has hit some road blocks, Kennedy said. The district has been pursuing a transfer of ownership from the BOR, so that the district could be the sole owner of the reservoir project. The process could take five years or more and requires an act of Congress. Board members are waiting for more information about the process before they will be able to make any more decisions, Kennedy said.
Kennedy also reported that water releases for Bauer reservoir are done, and that lake is now at its end-of-year content. Also at the meeting, board members approved two reallocations.