Pat Edelmann rejoins Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District board
Pat Edelmann, who spent his career exploring water issues in the Arkansas River basin, has rejoined the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District board.
Edelmann, 64, was appointed to the board this month to represent El Paso County. He lives in Colorado Springs. Edelmann served on the board as a Pueblo County representative from 2014-17. He replaces Gibson Hazard, who retired from the board in April.
“I resigned because I had moved, so I am happy to be serving again,” Edelmann said.
Edelmann retired from the U.S. Geological Survey after 37 years in 2011. He served 32 years in the Pueblo USGS office. During that time, he spearheaded numerous water quality studies dealing with the Arkansas River, Fountain Creek and other tributaries to the river during a time when water quality emerged as a central issue for water development in the basin.
The Southeastern District includes parts of nine counties, and administers the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project in partnership with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. There are 15 directors on the board who are appointed by District Court judges in Pueblo and within their specific geographic areas.
ABOUT SECWCD
The Fryingpan-Arkansas Project (Project) is a transmountain diversion which supplies southeastern Colorado with improved supplemental water supply for irrigation, municipal and industrial uses, hydroelectric power generation, and recreational opportunities. The Project also provides flood control for the area and is designed to maintain or improve fish and wildlife habitats. The Project acquired its name from the fact that it collects approximately 57,400 acre-feet of water each year from the Fryingpan River basin on the western slope of the Continental Divide and delivers it via the Arkansas River to the water-short eastern slope. Learn more online @ https://www.secwcd.org/