The Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District filed suit Wednesday in federal court against the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation over a deal the government made with Aurora.
The 40-year contract allows Aurora to store and purchase up to 10,000 acre-feet of water – about 5 percent of the city’s water usage – from the Pueblo Reservoir each year. That water comes from the Arkansas River Basin.
A previous deal between Aurora and the government was year-to-year.
The lawsuit claims the government didn’t conduct proper studies on alternatives to the eventual deal or on how the plan would affect the basin.
“We have to be conservative. We’re already 100 percent short of what we need,” said John Singletary, chairman of the conservancy district board.
