Future plans for Fountain Creek will be rolled out next month as two groups conclude their efforts to identify potential solutions. The Watershed Plan represents a nine-year effort by communities in El Paso, Pueblo and Teller counties to deal with erosion, sedimentation and flood control issues on Fountain Creek.

Funding for a study of a dam or series of dams on Fountain Creek is unlikely in this year’s federal budget. U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., was successful in pushing a resolution authorizing the Army Corps of Engineers to begin studying Fountain Creek dams in May.

Funds for two area water projects are included in the omnibus bill now moving toward the White House after passage Tuesday by the U.S. Senate. The bill would provide $600,000 for continued planning of the Arkansas Valley Conduit and $149,000 to complete the Fountain Creek Watershed Plan, according to U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo.

A dam on Fountain Creek will receive further study under the Fountain Creek Watershed Plan, the technical advisory committee agreed Thursday. The move came after a morning of discussion about the plan with the Army Corps of Engineers, which plans to use $150,000 to complete a $3 million study of Fountain Creek by March.

Funds for area water projects, including the completion of the Fountain Creek Watershed plan, are included in the energy and water appropriations bill. Allard, a member of the Senate appropriations subcommittee on energy and water development, said he has secured $78.9 million in funding for Colorado as a part of the bill.