Heart of the Rockies Radio News broke this news story July 12. This is the official announcement issued by the conservancy district.
At the July 11 meeting of the Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District, the board of directors selected Gregory W. Felt to become the District’s next general manager. Felt will assume this position on January 1, 2025. He will be replacing long-time manager Ralph “Terry” Scanga, who is retiring at the end of 2024, and will be only the third general manager of the UAWCD in its 45-year history.
Founded in 1979, the District serves the Upper Arkansas Basin by protecting water rights and working to maintain and increase the beneficial use of water in the basin.
Felt, an 18-year member of the Board of Directors, arrived in Chaffee County in 1985 to work as a guide on the Arkansas River. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Yale University while guiding rafting and fishing trips each summer.
Felt and his wife Susan went on to start their own rafting company, Canyon Marine, and to co-found ArkAnglers with Rod and Connie Patch. His early years in business led Felt to take a strong interest in the hydrology and water management of the river.
“It was a vulnerable feeling to depend on this river for our livelihood and yet not have much knowledge or voice in how the river is managed,” said Felt.
Seeking to strengthen protections for flows and the fishery, he worked with the Arkansas River Outfitters Association to constrain the impacts of Aurora and Pueblo West as they converted irrigation water rights to municipal use. In turn, he was appointed to the UAWCD board of directors in 2006 and to the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District board in 2017.
In 2020 and 2023, Governor Jared Polis appointed Felt to consecutive terms as Arkansas Basin director on the Colorado Water Conservation Board.
A two-term Chaffee County Commissioner first elected in 2016, Felt remarked that the timing of the UAWCD job is perfect. “I am term-limited as commissioner at the end of 2024. I will finish my term while training part-time with Mr. Scanga for the remainder of this year. His are big shoes to fill, but I look forward to the challenge and thank the Board for the opportunity.”
Scanga assumed the District general manager position in 2001 after serving on the UAWCD board of directors for 12 years. He followed Mr. Ken Baker, the District’s first general manager and water attorney, who led the organizational effort for the District in 1979.
During Mr. Baker’s tenure the District adopted the state’s first ever umbrella augmentation plan, thereby assisting District constituents in obtaining well permits and protecting water rights in the basin.
Mr. Scanga continued implementation of additional plans of augmentation, acquisition of water rights and decrees, and expansion of augmentation services throughout the District, expanding the District’s territory to encompass more than 3,000 square miles.
Photo: Founded in 1979, the Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District has had two general managers. Ken Baker (left) was the first, Terry Scanga (right) is the second, and Greg Felt (center) will be the third beginning Jan. 1, 2025.
