When Palmer Lake resident Cynthia Graff took her seat in front of the Monument board of trustees recently, she was one in a long line of area residents who came to plead for a timeless Western right: water.
Water, specifically in Palmer Lake, is part of what drew Graff and others to the Tri-Lakes region. Even after development cut off the flow of runoff into the natural lake, Palmer Lake residents have fought for six decades to keep the iconic lake full.
But now the town is fighting for the water against close competitors, the town of Monument and its lake, pitting the survival of one lake against another.
For some locals, the fight over an old railroad water right has one resolution — to fill Palmer Lake, which has been dry since 2012 and began losing water a decade ago.
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