VAIL —The Eagle River Water and Sanitation District and Vail Resorts have brought outside-the-box thinking to a new water agreement signed late last month.
In the agreement signed Aug. 23, the Water District can pump water out of the Eagle River, until Oct. 15, at Dowd Junction via Vail Mountain’s snowmaking pipeline and then through the resort’s on-mountain snowmaking system and into Mill Creek.
In return, Vail Mountain will have access to as much as 100 acre-feet of water in Black Lakes, atop Vail Pass, for snowmaking through Dec. 31.
The Water District wants to pump the water through Vail Mountain’s snowmaking system and into Mill Creek because it will help flows in Gore Creek, which is experiencing low streamflows that could negatively affect river health.
Rick Sackbauer, chairman of the Water District’s board of directors, told the Vail Town Council Tuesday night the agreement is “historical.”
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