This week's headlines

Photo by Hank Lohmeyer A road sign at the Grand Mesa Visitor Center peeking out of a snow bank indicates why water managers are a bit less concerned about valley water supplies than some were just a few weeks ago.Recent snows have lessened worries about summer water supplies, worries that were being voiced only a few weeks ago.

At this time, there aren't any serious concerns being aired about the adequacy of water supplies for Orchard City this year.

"They should be about the same as last year," Trustee Jimmie Boyd told the town board at its Feb. 13 meeting.

He also noted that Orchard City has an ordinance on the books for drought response if needed.

Grand Mesa water managers, along with irrigators and domestic water utilities in the valley, are hoping for more snow pack to increase available supplies. On March 1, a snow depth of 59 inches was reported at Park Reservoir and the snow contained an estimated 14.8 inches of snow water equivalent.

The 2011-12 dry spell had left short-water supply carryover into the 2013 water year. As reported during a January 31 Surface Creek Valley water conference, those carryover amounts comprised 17 percent of average on Grand Mesa. By comparison, that carryover figure had been 44 percent going into 2011.

Individual drainages recorded carryover amounts beginning 2013 of 16 percent for Surface Creek; Young's Creek, 4 percent; Kiser Creek, 27 percent; Ward Creek, 24 percent; and the Granby system, 37 percent.

Following recent storms, current snowpack indicates a 70 percent of average, or possibly better, accumulation affecting Surface Creek Valley overall, according to some estimates.

In other business at its Feb. 13 regular meeting, the Orchard City Town Board dealt with the following business:

• Trustee Marsha Thomas, the trustees' representative on the Delta Housing Authority board, said that the Authority is wanting to construct Phase II of its Villas at the Bluff "essential workforce" housing project.
The second phase would include 32 total units: 12 of them would be one-bedroom and another 20 would have two bedrooms.

Plans depend upon financing based on tax credits for investors. The investor tax credits were a major piece of the Phase I project when The Villas were built during the "housing boom." Current economics make the investor tax credit financing option more uncertain, Thomas reported.

• In anticipation that sale of its Eckert storage building will close as expected on March 4, a bid opening has been scheduled for March 5 at 9 a.m. for construction of a new storage building town hopes to realize $79,000 to $80,000 from sale of the Eckert building, money that will be used to build the new one. Storage of water line and other gear is planned to be its main function.

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