[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 69 (Tuesday, April 29, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S3500]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SOUTHEASTERN COLORADO WATER CONSERVATION 
                                DISTRICT

 Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, on April 29, 1958, the District 
Court in Pueblo, CO, established the Southeastern Colorado Water 
Conservancy District. That action resulted in a firm water supply for 
the Arkansas River Basin, providing much-needed supplemental water to 
communities which are home to the wonderful people of this region.
  The Arkansas River Basin includes communities whose livelihoods have 
always depended on water: farming, ranching, steel manufacturing, small 
businesses. The economic tide in this region has ebbed and flowed 
during that 50-year period, but its riches lie not in dollars but in 
its people.
  The Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District has served the 
region and people honorably and with diligence. The district works hard 
to help the Arkansas Valley realize the importance and value of a well-
managed water supply.
  Currently, the district is spearheading a plan to at last construct 
the Arkansas Valley Conduit, originally authorized as part of the 
Fryingpan-Arkansas Project. The conduit was deemed necessary five 
decades ago, and the need for clean and safe water supplies for the 
people of the valley has only increased as water quality is threatened 
and federally acceptable standards have increased. But the Lower 
Arkansas Valley, which this project will serve, needs assistance in 
providing that safe water supply and in meeting those standards.
  This Arkansas Valley Conduit is a top priority to me as I near the 
end of my tenure in the Senate. As one of the final components of the 
Fryingpan-Arkansas Project and as a major goal of the now 50-year-old 
Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District, I congratulate the 
district on their hard work to make this project feature a reality, and 
thank them for all they have accomplished in their half century of 
commitment to the Arkansas Valley.

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