From the Fort Collins Coloradoan (Kevin Duggan):
About 300 people attended the rally sponsored by the Colorado Farm Bureau and the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, which has proposed building Glade as part of the Northern Inte-grated Supply Project, or NISP.
A series of politicians and representatives of farm associations told the crowd that without the water-storage provided by the Colorado-Big Thompson Project, which includes Horsetooth Reservoir, Weld County wouldn’t be one of the top agricultural producers in the country and the region wouldn’t enjoy such a high quality of life.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
CWCB: Old Dillon reservoir upgrade chasing $1.5 million
June 30, 2009
From the Summit Daily News (Caitlin Row):
Dillon’s town staff seeks to secure substantial funds from the Colorado Water Conservation Board for a project that will create water reserves for Dillon, Silverthorne and unincorporated Summit County. “We want to nail (the loan) down,” said Devin Granbery, Dillon’s town manager, noting that an emergency ordinance would put the financial agreement into effect right away. The town is moving quickly to access the loan because Granbery said he’s unsure if more money will be available for water projects in the near future.
While Dillon sought a loan to pay for 90 percent of its portion of the expansion, Silverthorne and the county plan to pay for the project with reserved internal funds. Dillon will pay the remainder of its costs through its water fund. In all, Dillon must pay $1.7 million. The total cost estimate for the expansion is $6.3 million, and it will be shared proportionately between the three entities. The project will include reservoir enlargement, associated improvements, wetlands mitigation and rehabilitation of outlets to the reservoir. The U.S. Forest Service is still reviewing the project’s permit application — the reservoir is located on Forest Service land — and project bids could go out later this year if it’s approved. Construction is slated for 2010.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
Green Mountain and Ruedi reservoirs update
June 30, 2009
From email from Reclamation (Kara Lamb):
It looks like we might have seen the peak of the snowmelt run-off over the weekend. As inflows to Green Mountain Reservoir dropped off Saturday night, we responded by reducing releases from Green Mountain Dam to the Lower Blue River. Sunday, we reduced releases from above 3000 cfs to around 2700 cfs. This was done in three separate intervals of about 100 cfs over the course of the day. This morning, Monday, we reduced again, cutting releases back by about 200 cfs to a flow of 2500 in the Lower Blue River.
From email from Reclamation (Kara Lamb):
We may have seen the peak of the snowmelt inflow to Ruedi Reservoir over the weekend. Yesterday, inflow to the reservoir began to slow down. As a result, we were able to begin reducing our releases to the Fryingpan. Currently, at 2 p.m. Monday, we are reducing releases from the dam to the Fryingpan again. We are cutting back by 50 cfs. This should result in a flow of about 510 cfs in the Fryingpan River.
Federation of Fly Fishers (FFF) 44th annual International Fly Fishing Show and Conclave
June 30, 2009
From the Cherry Creek News (Josset Gauley):
Fly fishers from across the United States and world are uniting July 28 – August 1 for the Federation of Fly Fishers (FFF) 44th annual International Fly Fishing Show and Conclave in Loveland, Colorado that is the premier event dedicated to the art and sport of fly fishing. The event features more than 80 workshops and clinics on casting, fly tying, on-water fishing techniques and other topics taught by well-known instructors. The fly fishing show features exhibits with the latest in gear, outfitters, conservation information and the Authors Booth.
Lower South Platte watershed meeting July 8
June 30, 2009
From the Greeley Tribune:
A Lower South Platte Watershed meeting has been scheduled for July 8 in Fort Morgan. The meeting will offer an opportunity for landowners, organizations, agencies and businesses to be involved in making decisions about water quality issues in the watershed. The meeting will be from 3-5 p.m. at Morgan Community College, Founders Room, 920 Barlow Road, Fort Morgan. It is open to the public…
The watershed planning project, funded by the state health department’s Water Quality Control Division through the Colorado Non-point Source Program, will encompass about 3.45 million acres from Platteville north and northeast to the Colorado-Nebraska state line and all or portions of nine smaller tributary watersheds within the planning area. The goal of this planning process, scheduled for completion in November 2010 with the publication of the Lower South Platte Watershed Plan, is to empower a group of landowners, managers, conservation professionals and residents to implement and oversee the plan in their watershed and review the plan on a regular basis to determine whether changes are needed to keep the plan functional.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
Precipitation news
June 30, 2009
From the Fort Collins Coloradoan (Douglas Crowl):
As of Sunday, the city of Loveland treated 300 million gallons less water than it did in 2008 during the same time, and 234 million less than in 2007, said Ralph Mullinix, Loveland’s director of water and power…
Water use in recent days has been about 20 million gallons a day, but Mullinix said he expects usage to increase with dry, hot weather in the forecast and this month being the peak. The city of Loveland treats 42 percent of its annual water production within a three-month period when people usually water their lawns in the summer, Mullinix said…
Besides green lawns and low water bills, Loveland residents can look at Lake Loveland to see the rain’s impact. The lake is tiptop full, along with Horseshoe Lake and Boyd Lake, which all are in the Greeley-Loveland Irrigation Co.’s system. Though Loveland owns some shares in that system, the company primarily supplies water to Greeley, Evans and to 14,000 acres of farmland between Loveland and Greeley…
What’s most unique this year is how long the lakes and reservoirs have remained full, or nearly full. In recent years, the spring runoff fills the lakes but immediately are drained as farmers begin to irrigate crops because of dry weather, Brinkman said. This year, farmers with row crops, such as beans and beets, have yet to irrigate, when in typical years they are on a second or third round of irrigation, he said.
From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):
Southern Delivery System partners have expressed “significant concern” over Pueblo West’s refusal to accept the Arkansas River flow management program as a condition for the $1.1 billion pipeline project. A letter also proposes ways to support Pueblo West’s pumpback plan, which could reduce the projected losses of water that Pueblo West fears.
A June 19 letter from Colorado Springs Utilities Chief Water Services Officer Bruce McCormick to Pueblo West Utilities Director Steve Harrison raised concerns about Pueblo West’s lawsuit against Pueblo County over the county’s conditions that all SDS participants must participate in the flow program set up in a 2004 intergovernmental agreement. A copy of the June 19 letter was provided to The Pueblo Chieftain. Apparently, Pueblo West has responded to the letter, but no one would make a copy of that response available. “We’re talking through the issues,” McCormick said Monday. “We’re in the process of scheduling a meeting.” “I can’t tell you what’s in the letter. Things are kind of intense on negotiations right now,” Harrison said…
Colorado Springs Utilities is still leaning toward bringing SDS through Pueblo County, rather than along its fall-back route in Fremont County, and expects a decision from Colorado Springs City Council at a July 22 meeting. Utilities also is looking at how large it would size its North Outlet Works to accommodate future users as it advances the engineering for SDS in Pueblo County.
U.S. Representatives Markey and Salazar announce $5 million for Arkansas Valley Conduit
June 30, 2009
From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):
U.S. Reps. John Salazar and Betsy Markey, both Democrats, made the joint announcement of a $5 million appropriation by the energy and water subcommittee Monday.
“We’re extremely pleased and hopeful things continue to go this well in the Senate,” said Bill Long, president of the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District, sponsors of the conduit project. Long and other Southeastern officials are in Washington today to further discuss with members of the Colorado delegation how a plan to use Bureau of Reclamation contracts to help repay the cost of building the conduit will work. The concept was approved in an authorization bill signed into law earlier this year by President Barack Obama…
Salazar is a member of the appropriations committee and has made several public statements in the past few months about the need for the conduit, even assuring valley residents last month that construction will begin before he leaves office…
Markey stressed that the funding will save the communities of the Lower Arkansas Valley millions of dollars in expenditures they could face in meeting water quality standards. Radium and uranium are contaminating some of the wells in the area, and smaller water systems would be hard-pressed to cover the costs projected by preliminary estimates by the state Water Quality Control Division…
The Southeastern District had sought $9 million in funding, but the $5 million will be enough to advance the project significantly, said Phil Reynolds, project manager. The money will go toward finalizing the route, determining property ownership, identifying geologic or technical obstacles, begin work on an environmental impact statement and begin the pre-design of the pipeline. The pipeline would be gravity-fed along about 140 miles and spurs would serve Crowley County and Eads along the way.
S.B. 09-080, Precipitation Collect Limited Exemptions
June 29, 2009
Here’s the link to the notices page at the Colorado Water Conservation Board. They’re gearing up for an, “acquisition via a long-term loan of certain water rights associated with the Stapleton Brothers Ditch to be used for instream flow purposes on Maroon Creek and the Roaring Fork River,” according email from Rob Viehl.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
CWCB: Water availability task force meeting July 16
June 29, 2009
From email from the Colorado Water Conservation Board (Ben Wade):
The next Water Availability Task Force Meeting will be held on July 16 from 9:30-12:00pm at the Division of Wildlife Headquarters in the Bighorn Room. The agenda can be found on the CWCB website.
Since the last WATF meeting in May, conditions have continued to improve statewide. The only region with continued dry conditions is the southern Front Range. Reservoir storage remains strong. June 1 storage data shows the highest positive departure from average volumes since late summer of 1999. For the first time in many years, several basins are at or near their total storage capacity.
If you have any questions, please contact Ben Wade at 303-866-3441 ext 3238 or ben.wade@state.co.us.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
Pueblo West is educating public about potential effects if the city is require to join Pueblo flow program
June 29, 2009
From the Pueblo West View (Mike Spence):
Pueblo West officials are planning to meet with as many local groups as possible in an effort to educate them on the Southern Delivery System and the flow management program. A special public meeting with Pueblo West’s Metropolitan District board of directors was held at the Pueblo West Library three weeks ago. The latest stop on the tour was at the Rotary Club’s meeting last week. Steve Harrison, Pueblo West’s director of utilities, presented Pueblo West’s case against Pueblo West’s participation in the flow management program. The short synopsis is that Pueblo West sought to partner with Colorado Springs Utilities on the SDS project. The pipeline coming out of Pueblo Dam would be expanded from 72 inches to 96 inches to allow Pueblo West to take up to 18 million gallons of water daily from Pueblo Reservoir…
Pueblo West’s role with the SDS would be small – only the first 800 feet of the 43-mile pipeline would be involved. Things were proceeding smoothly until March 5 when the Pueblo County Board of Commissioners released its 1041 permit requirements for the SDS project. Requirement No. 9 was that Pueblo West participate in the flow management program. The purpose of the flow management program is to ensure that a minimal amount of water (100 cubic feet per second) flows through the Arkansas River from Pueblo Dam through Pueblo’s legacy project that includes Pueblo’s kayak course.
County officials insist the impact on Pueblo West would be minimal – from zero to 50 acre feet of water annually. Studies, however, indicate the impact would be around 700 acre feet of water per year. None of the other partners in the flow management program back up the county’s projections. Pueblo West officials estimate the replacement cost of that water would be around $5 million – if the additional water could be found.
County officials have said the 1041 permit requirements are non-negotiable and they have stuck to that stance. That prompted the metro district in May to file suit against the county over the flow management program. Pueblo West followed that suit with a letter opposing the Army Corps of Engineer’s 404 permit dealing with wetlands in connection with the SDS project…
Whatever amount of water is lost is critical because Pueblo West doesn’t have much to spare, according to Harrison. The district has enough water for its customers now (10,600 tapholders, about 33,000 residents), but is working to acquire more to accommodate buildout (60,000 residents). The district has enough water rights to collect about 8,300 acre feet of water in an average year, Harrison said. But Harrison said those water rights, which collect water from mountains on the West side of the Continental Divide above Leadville, collect only about 4,500 acre feet of water in a dry year. That can put Pueblo West in a tight situation because the metro district needs about 4,500 acre feet of water to supply its existing residents and businesses…
Pueblo West officials think they have a strong case because it never agreed to the flow program, despite its participation in the pipeline. And that is reflected in language approved by federal authorities in the environmental impact statement for the pipeline. In addition, Pueblo West’s water has never been used in the portion of the river (between the upper gage near Pueblo Dam and West Fourth Street. Supporters of the flow management program, however, say that Pueblo West’s water usage does have an impact on that section of river. Because Pueblo West water is non-native to the Arkansas River Basin, it can be reused over and over again. Pueblo West takes its water from the reservoir, then sends its wastewater down Wildhorse Creek into the Arkansas River near West Fourth Street. However, it is credited for the amount of water it is putting into the river at that point and is allowed to exchange that credit for water in the reservoir Pueblo West is seeking to build a Pump Back project that will take the wastewater and treat it and send it back into the reservoir, skipping the exchange process. That will increase Pueblo West’s water supply by about two acre feet a day.
Precipitation news
June 29, 2009
From the Associated Press via The Aspen Times:
Denver is one-tenth of an inch away from a precipitation record in June. The National Weather Service says that as of Friday, 4.86 inches of water had been measured at Denver International Airport for the month, which is 3.52 inches above normal…For the year, 10.38 inches of water has been measured at the airport as of Friday.
Nelson Tunnel/Commodore Waste Rock Pile superfund update
June 28, 2009
From The Mineral County Miner:
Hays Griswold, overseeing the stabilization of the pile for the EPA, said the original plan to build a ramp up the channel for West Willow Creek that would serve as the stream bed was abandoned after this year’s runoff threatened to wash away part of the two-acre pile…
The new design for the project, once the channel is established in bedrock, would line grouted boulders four-to-six feet up the side of the bed. From there, the pile would be benched and pushed back further…
While the end of work is near on the rock pile, the EPA is still doing testing inside the Nelson Tunnel to determine the type and number of water sources entering the 8,000-foot adit that drains five mines before dumping into West Willow Creek.
Vallecito Reservoir: New fees in the offing
June 28, 2009
From the Pine River Times (Carole McWilliams):
User fees are in the works at Vallecito for things like vehicle and boat trailer parking as part of Pine River Irrigation District’s new contract to manage recreation for the Bureau of Reclamation on the lake and bureau land around it.
But the details of where and when fees will be charged are a work in progress…[Business owners and residents] most immediate concern was parking for the fireworks over the lake on July 4, as well as the Vallecito Service League’s annual arts and crafts fair that weekend.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
Orchard City: Trustee Water Committee workshop
June 28, 2009
From the Delta County Independent:
The second, monthly Trustee Water Committee workshop meeting will be held in the Orchard City Community Room on July 7 beginning at 4 p.m. The committee’s monthly meetings are being conducted now in an open workshop format due to the high interest in the subject of water shown by the public and other trustees.
Click through and sign up for the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Ntwork.
Here’s a report from the Denver Post. From the article:
A real-time rain, hail and snow-gauge network, masterminded by Colorado State University, took in more than 800 instant reports one wet day this month. So far, no floods, so good, but the network — the awkwardly named Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network — stands by, and in the meantime provides climatologists with priceless data on actual weather patterns. The grid has spread to 46 states and will take on three more this year, with 14,500 volunteer reporters nationwide.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
Good year for lynx in Colorado
June 28, 2009
Raise a glass today to the lynx restoration program and the ten lynx kittens the CDOW has counted this year. Here’s a report from the Associated Press via MSNBC.com. From the article:
The tuft-eared cats with big, padded feet were native to Colorado, but were wiped out by the early 1970s by logging, trapping, poisoning and development. They are listed as threatened on the endangered species list.
Be sure to click through for the photo of one of the brood. Here’s the link to CDOW’s lynx website.
H.B. 09-1185, Water Rights Applications Documents
June 28, 2009
House Bill 09-1185 (pdf) will become state law on Wednesday. The bill allow electronic filing of documents for water rights applications. From the Durango Herald:
House Bill 1185 allows people filing paperwork for water rights to e-mail the application instead of mailing four paper copies to state regulators. Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, and Sen. Jim Isgar, D-Hesperus, were the sponsors.
•SB 80 allows homeowners with a well permit to collect rain and snow from their rooftops for use in the house, to water a garden and for stock watering. Isgar and Rep. Marsha Looper, R-Calhan, were the sponsors.
Here’s the link to the new streamlined water court rules also slated for their debut on Wednesday.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
Ruedi, Green Mountain and Colorado-Big Thompson update
June 28, 2009
From email from Reclamation (Kara Lamb):
[Saturday] As the snowmelt continues to runoff, we are matching our releases from the dam to the Fryingpan with the rising inflows. Now that Ruedi Reservoir is full, we are just bypassing the snowmelt as it comes down. Our increases will be in 50 cfs intervals. Today at one p.m. we increased from 531 cfs to 581 cfs. Today at 5 pm. we will increase again from 581 cfs to 631 cfs. Tomorrow, Sunday, we will increase releases another time from 631 to about 681 cfs. The 681 cfs in the Fryingpan will continue until further notice.
From email from Reclamation (Kara Lamb):
[Saturday] As the temperatures warm up, we are seeing more snowmelt runoff come down the Blue River system. With Green Mountain Reservoir about full, we continue to match our releases to the Lower Blue to what we see coming into the reservoir. In other words, we are bypassing the inflow to Green Mountain on downstream. The snowmelt runoff did increase over night and during the night we bumped up over 3000 cfs. We are releasing both through the hydro-electric power generation plant and the spillway. Releases to the dam today and tomorrow could be as high as 3300 cfs. If you plan on recreating in the area, please be sure to check the gage before you head up. Also be aware that changes in flow, up or down, could occur while you are in the river.
From email from Reclamation (Kara Lamb):
[Saturday] With the warming weather, we are seeing snowmelt come down the river system, some of which we are bypassing through the C-BT system. But this year, there is just enough for us to capture a little of it. This weekend, the little we are capturing, we are sending to Horsetooth. Horsetooth should hit an elevation of 5420 this weekend. Pinewood is also up, compared to where it has been the past couple months. The rise in water level will last through this weekend, but will begin dropping again on Monday as we start moving some water up to Carter Lake. And snowmelt runoff into Lake Estes has enabled us to bump up releases from Olympus Dam to the lower Big Thompson River. Last night, we bumped up releases to about 450 cfs. Tonight, we anticipate we will scale that back slightly to around 400 cfs.
Taming the land: See how we grew
June 28, 2009
Here’s the link to number 8 in Chris Woodka’s series Taming the Land titled “See how we Grew,” running in The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:
The Arkansas Valley was a fertile source of food for the miners in the mountains and the people in the towns that served them. The farmers markets that opened in Pueblo last week are a reminder of an era when the local farmers market was the market for nearly everyone in the area. Sure, there were foodstuffs imported into the area after the arrival of railroads in the valley, and the valley’s farmers exported cash crops as well. Locally grown fruits and vegetables were part of the local diet as well as money-makers for many more farmers than remain in the business today. As the region grew, there were canneries, flour mills, slaughterhouses, cheese factories, alfalfa pellet plants, sugar beet mills, broom factories and other food or fiber processing businesses that expanded the reach of the local farmer.
Meanwhile, here’s a look at farming in the Arkansas Valley today from Chris Woodka writing for The Pueblo Chieftain.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
Republican River Water Conservation District closes on compliance water pipeline groundwater rights
June 27, 2009
From the Yuma Pioneer (Tony Rayl):
The Republican River Water Conservation District Water Activity Enterprise completed the purchase of ground water rights for the Compact Compliance Pipeline on Friday, June 19, using funds provided from the Colorado Water Conservation Board’s construction loan fund. The ground water rights will be leased back to the sellers until the water is needed for delivery through the pipeline. Although the Republican River Compact Administration has not yet approved a plan for augmentation and accounting procedures for the pipeline project, the RRWCD Board of Directors concluded that completing the purchase was prudent in light of the State of Colorado’s current budget situation.
Bonny Reservoir update
June 27, 2009
From the Yuma Pioneer (Tony Rayl):
A release of water from Bonny Reservoir that began June 17 will continue until 5 p.m. on Sunday, June 28. Healthy rainfall in the area led to State Engineer Dick Wolfe to order a maximum release of inflow water. According to information from Wolfe, the reason for requesting this final level is to recognize there will be a continued net increase in reservoir storage once the release is stopped, for at least the next several days. It is estimated that the net increase in storage will be approximately 15 to 20 acre feet per day once the release is stopped, meaning water flowing into the reservoir will make up for the water being released, maintaining a certain level in the reservoir.
Wheat Ridge: Clear Creek Greenbelt cleanup
June 27, 2009
From YourHub.com (Karen Groves):
…Wheat Ridge stormwater coordinator Bill LaRow will be leading crews along the banks of Clear Creek Greenbelt for a clean up day on July 18…
The clean-up day is open to individuals or groups who don’t mind volunteering to collect trash from along the banks of the creek. LaRow said he and Open Space Coordinator, Margaret Paget would lead groups and share a little water wisdom along the way.
more info:
What: Clear Creek Clean Up
When: July 18 from 9 a.m. to noon
Where: Anderson Park by Pavilion, Wheat Ridge
Contact: To confirm the date or for more information, call Bill LaRow at 303-235-2871 or e-mail blarow@ci.wheatridge.co.us.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
From the Fort Morgan Times:
During the team’s monthly planning meeting Tuesday, MCQWD Manager Mark Kokes said there is currently a strong push to pump water underground for storage. The water would percolate through natural sands into an underground gravel pit, he said, where it would be pumped back to the surface when needed. If water from less pure sources such as the South Platte River were pumped into areas near the MCQWD well fields, he said, it could affect the quality of the cleaner water. “With poor quality water entering an aquifer, it doesn’t take long for water to infiltrate through the soil profile,” he said. Kokes said any water that may affect the MCQWD well fields should meet local qualifications, but he fears that legislators will implement criteria for all of the state’s underground water storage…
Identified as a considerable source of concern for the well field near Brush was the Prairie Ponds augmentation recharge area and the Clean Harbors hazardous waste facility. The Clean Harbors facility is a good distance from the protection area, Williams said, but it is in the same drainage basin.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
