Personally, I don’t understand the emotion around “The Reservoir.” Ask an opponent and you will trigger a red-faced, angry response. The emotional outburst overwhelms any argument otherwise.

For me, the angry outbursts over the reservoir remind me of the controversy over our participation with La Plata County in a joint health department. Because of the anger of some Archuleta County residents, we now have our own health department.

It just costs us $750,000 more a year than the joint health department operation. Think of that the next time you hit a pothole the county says it doesn’t have the money to fix.

Anger-driven decisions are seldom good ones in my life experience. Taking a pause and reflecting on the pros and cons with someone who doesn’t have an emotional investment in the outcome usually brings clarity.

Full Community Participation is the Key

In my business life as an IT project manager and business analyst, I’ve found that it is important to listen to all sides of an issue, and to give equal time to all. Even using a simple Ben Franklin style process on a whiteboard helps clarify the way forward.

I am no water expert. As I write this today the water level in the San Juan River is 73 cubic feet per second (CFS). The average is 425. At 73 CFS the level is well above 2002 low of 18 CFS, but is still at the point where a drought emergency could be triggered (see page 14).

Fortunately, PAWSD has other water sources it can call on. We don’t have fresh water wells, but the Hatcher Lake system is filled via water runoff from our mountains. What happens if that runoff is polluted by forest fire debris or some other natural disaster?

The PAWSD response is that water would be pumped from the San Juan River.

What happens of the river is low and the lake runoff is unavailable? We might need a reservoir then.

Is the cost of a reservoir worth it? I don’t know, but I think everyone, not just the angry anti-reservoir group, should have a say.

So speak up, and let’s make this a community decision. Anger over health regulations led to more potholes. Let’s not let anger over the reservoir lead to water rationing.