Missed deadlines cost Cherokee water district four wells

A ruling against the Cherokee Metropolitan District last week shut down four of its wells, reducing the water supplier’s capacity by 20 percent and putting residents at risk of a mid-year rate increase.

The district, which provides water to 8,000 homes in Cimarron Hills and nearby neighborhoods, didn’t apply on time to upgrade the conditional water rights on the wells.

Cherokee’s attorneys submitted the paperwork on three of the wells in 2005, but not within the required two-year period after each became operational. The attorneys also were two days late on the application for the fourth well in 2006.

“The judge made his ruling that late is late, and vacated those water rights,” said Kip Peterson, Cherokee’s general manager.

The district will file for reconsideration Thursday with the Pueblo Water Court, which ruled against Cherokee on July 28.

“If that fails, there would be a Supreme Court request,” Peterson said.

The order comes nearly three years after a state Supreme Court decision reduced the district’s water well production by 40 percent, leading to strict watering rules for residents. The latest ruling cuts the district’s 2006 production by more than half, Peterson said.

“Our analysis shows that we should be able to meet our current demands through the end of this year,” Peterson said. “We are not going to impose any irrigation limitations.”

Peterson said he hopes to present his findings to the board by September. One option is raising rates again before the year’s end to purchase water. Rates were raised 35 percent in January after two years with no increase. The district held a special board meeting on Tuesday to notify customers of the ruling.

The motion to shut down Cherokee’s wells was filed in January by the Upper Black Squirrel Creek Ground Water Management District. The group oversees the Upper Black Squirrel Creek groundwater basin, where Cherokee gets a portion of its water. In certain cases, the group can limit how much water Cherokee withdraws.

In 2006, Cherokee lost a state Supreme Court battle with Upper Black Squirrel Creek after committing to supply customers within its boundaries, but outside the basin.

The president of Upper Black Squirrel Creek’s board and an attorney representing the group did not return calls seeking comment.

“These are water rights that should’ve been filed five years ago, in some cases seven years ago,” Peterson said. “This is definitely a decision that the district did not anticipate.”

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Contact the writer at 636-0368.