Water war in Chaffee County

BUENA VISTA - Nestle Waters North America is on the verge of tapping into an aquifer it calls plentiful. Located near Ruby Mountain and Big Horn Springs in rural Chaffee County, the aquifer feeds into the Arkansas River.

The company would harvest the water for its Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water brand. Many county residents are concerned about the impact the project would have on the wildlife and surrounding ecosystem and of course the impact on the community water supply.

"We're all just praying it doesn't happen, that we can keep them away and keep them out of Colorado. The fear is we won't have enough water, that we'll be buying back water from Nestle in 10 years to water our gardens so that we can eat," said Vicki Klein, head of a group called Chaffee Citizens for Sustainability.

Klein and nearly 100 residents packed the American Legion Hall in Buena Vista on Tuesday. The meeting was a continuation of a previous one. The meetings will eventually lead to a decision to either grant or deny Nestle a special land use permit. Dozens of people brought signs protesting what they call a simple water grab for profit. One read: "Water is our life blood."

Dave Lauermann has been the company's representative to the community during the process. Nestle has been interested in the aquifer since 2007. It is planning to pump roughly 124 gallons per minute from the aquifer.

Lauermann says the impact on the Arkansas River's flow, measured in cubic feet per second (CFS), would be minimal.

"We're only going to be decreasing the flow by .3 CFS. The flow in the river is probably 250 CFS at its lowest flow of the year, again our decrease is three tenths of a CFS," Lauermann said.

To help further stem the flow of concerns from county residents, Nestle pledges to replace what it takes. Through a water lease with the city of Aurora, the company plans to replenish the water it removes by shipping in water from the Twin Lakes Reservoir.

"Whenever there is water involved it's going to be very contentious. Our process has been to listen to the community and we're doing so. We believe what we bring to the table with economic benefits and also our assurances to replenish the water is our way of being a good corporate partner," Lauermann said.

Kathy Weeks is a resident who is welcoming the proposal. She owns a liquor store which sits on a lot that Nestle is looking to develop into a water loading station. Weeks says with the state of the economy, Nestle could bring in jobs, tax revenue and activity that otherwise wouldn't exist.

"Buena Vista is hurting, we have no construction going on, there's no sort of economy going on, the only thing we live off of is three months of rafting in the summer," Weeks said.

"They would make millions, we would make nothing," said Vicki Klein when asked about the potential economic benefits.

She added that the environmental costs outweigh the small benefits the company would bring.

When asked about how much the company would profit from the establishment of a spring system in Chaffee County, Lauermann would only say that the profit margin would be between 6 to 7 percent.

Lauermann says some local contractors would be hired for construction and some local truck drivers for the water that would be transported to Denver.

Lauermann says Nestle operates 50 similar sites in the United States. A majority of the water it ships to the West currently comes from California.

Lauermann says if a special land use permit is granted, some of its carbon footprint could lower since the water would travel a shorter distance.

Public comments were expected to be lengthy and a vote on the proposal was predicted to come at a later date.