Photo credit: Sunrise photo by Don Richmond
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Here’s our Daily Report.
USDA state rural director showcases
new Antonito clean water treatment plant
ANTONITO – USDA Colorado Rural Director Armando Valdez toured the new Wastewater Treatment Plant in Antonito on Wednesday. Valdez spotlighted the $4.6 million project as part of the USDA’s efforts in rural Colorado. The project received $2.8 million in funding from the USDA and Colorado Department of Local Affairs and is considered a model by Valdez for the work USDA is doing in rural Colorado.
President Biden appointed Valdez, a native of Conejos and member of the Rio Grande Water Conservation District Board of Directors, as Colorado rural director for USDA in November 2021.
Antonito clean water treatment plant
RGWCD Subdistrict 1 board focused
on amended water management plan
The Board of Managers for the Rio Grande Water Conservation District’s Subdistrict 1 held intense discussions Wednesday as they worked to finalize a new Plan of Water Management to address ongoing declining levels of the Upper Rio Grande Basin’s unconfined aquifer.
The board went through the proposed new plan section-by-section during a 5-hour meeting Wednesday in Alamosa. Here’s more background on the Subdistrict 1 new water management efforts, which did go through new changes at Wednesday’s meeting.
“This plan in my mind is all about achieving sustainability,” said Board Member Jake Burris, one of 11 board members. The plan will eventually need approval from the Rio Grande Water Conservation District Board and then would get submitted to State Engineer Kevin Rein and the state Division 3 Water Court for sign off.
The state ordered the Rio Grande Water Conservation District and its Subdistrict 1 managers to bring the unconfined aquifer to a “sustainable level” by 2031. The proposed new plan, which would be an amended plan to a previous state-approved water management plan, would give Valley crop producers in Subdistrict 1 more time to address the unconfined aquifer’s sustainability challenges.
Subdistrict 1 board
Square Peg Brewerks co-owner confirmed
to serve as Adams State Trustee
DENVER – Mark Martinez, co-owner of Square Peg Brewerks andan Alamosa native, was confirmed as a member of the Adams State Board of Trustees on March 3. “Because I’m local, I’ve seen where Adams State has been, seen where it has been going, recently, and it’s one of those things that if I’m going to be committed to it, I need to be all in,” Martinez said.
Martinez said he has no big changes in mind for the school initially, and plans to talk with people, such as employees, who know Adams State well, to gather information to use in his role as trustee.
Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area
seeks student participants
ALAMOSA – Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area is looking for students to participate in its Caminos de Valle Youth Walking Tours and its Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Camp. If you or someone you know is interested please fill out an application: https://www.sangreheritage.org/collaborate/ and email to info@sdcnha.org or hand deliver to 231 State Avenue. Deadline is Friday March 18, 2022.
CDOT plans improvements on CO Highway 149
CREEDE – The Colorado Department of Transportation will begin a surface treatment and safety improvement project on Colorado Highway 149 on March 28. Anticipated completion is late October. The highway will be resurfaced in two locations:
- near Lake City – from about 10 miles north of Lake City, continuing south through the community, and ending just south of town. This 22-mile stretch lies within Hinsdale and Gunnison counties, between Mile Points 70 and 92.
- near Creede – from the west side of Creede and continuing north to the Mineral-Hinsdale county line for 19 miles, between MPs 23 and 42
CDOT resurfaced the segment between these two work zones over Slumgullion pass in 2016.
Included in the project are the following safety and infrastructure upgrades:
- Resurfacing and restriping of the roadway
- Deep patch repair of the existing asphalt in some areas, as needed
- Installation of two new wheelchair-accessible ramps in Creede, on the northeast and northwest corners of 7th and South Main Street to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act
- Installation of new bridge rail at MP 86.7 (13 miles north of Lake City)
- Removal and replacement of existing guardrail with new guardrail
“The project will improve and prolong the life of the road surface, as well as increase motorists’ safety,” explained CDOT Southwest Regional Transportation Director Julie Constan. “The asphalt recycling process is designed to correct surface cracks and ruts, while any necessary deep-patch repairs will address more severe roadway damage. The new ADA ramps in Creede will improve safety and accessibility for all pedestrians, including those with special needs.”
