Roaring Fork River restoration project
June 17, 2009
From The Aspen Times (Janet Urquhart):
Commissioners, county staffers and a couple of neighboring residents tromped through the grass and mud along about a half-mile stretch of the river to see, first hand, the condition of the river where four property owners — including the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies and Aspen Valley Land Trust — are seeking approval to alter the streambed and shore up eroding areas of the bank. “This is a stretch of river that has been degraded,” said Tom Cardamone, ACES executive director. One long, straight stretch in particular, where the river is a uniform depth and quite shallow in late summer, would gain riffles and pools to improve the trout habitat, explained Mike Claffey of Fruita-based Claffey Ecological Consulting Inc. An island formed by the buildup of sediment would be reshaped to match what can be seen in a 1968 aerial photo, he said.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
Here’s an update on Parker’s Rueter-Hess Reservoir — currently under construction — and the water they hope to store there, from Chris Michlewicz writing for the Parker Chronicle. From the article:
District officials have secured water in the South Platte River and Cherry Creek and remain active in pursuing new resources to wean themselves off deep underground aquifers that are being depleted at a mind-numbing pace. New water resources will eventually help fill the 72,000-acre-foot Rueter-Hess Reservoir, which is being built in Newlin Gulch southwest of Parker. It is scheduled to be completed in less than three years, and decision-makers are grappling with the immense task and astronomical cost of piping the water back to Parker…
Instead of throwing money at high-dollar water rights, officials purchased more moderately priced farms near Sterling that came with certain rights to South Platte water. Now the district owns 9,000 acre-feet of consumptive-use water that could be moved back through the water courts. “We’re looking at that water as a relatively inexpensive insurance policy,” Jaeger said. “If everything else goes sideways, that’s our least favorite alternative, but that’s an alternative we own.”
Because of heavy industrial uses along the South Platte, the water must be treated with a costly process called reverse osmosis, which strips the water of all pollutants and minerals. The treated water would then be sent through a pump station and piped back to Parker. It would take several partners to pay for a pipeline, and Parker water would be forced to raise rates or ask customers to approve a major bond issue to fund such an intensive project. If all options were exhausted, customers essentially would not have a choice but to go along with the “last resort” project, Jaeger said…
Parker Water and Sanitation hopes it will never reach a critical stage that would require it to make those tough decisions. Leaders are heading efforts to explore some promising new resources, including a new project that has created a buzz in both Colorado and its neighbor to the north. A coalition of Front Range water entities has opened a dialogue with Wyoming’s top brass to find out how much water is is Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, an expanse of wilderness on the Wyoming-Utah border. Preliminary estimates put Colorado’s portion alone at 165,000 acre-feet…
Water providers, including members of the South Metro Water Supply Authority, have high hopes for Flaming Gorge because Wyoming would share the costs to build a pipeline to distribute the water and because the clean resource would not require reverse osmosis. Additionally, there would be no need to establish a massive evaporative pond to remove the brine left by lawn fertilizers and other pollutants in the South Platte. Although Flaming Gorge would require more miles of pipeline, the large number of partners sharing the cost would lower the price tag for end users, or customers. One considerable obstacle for Flaming Gorge is the need for local, state and federal dollars to back the project. However, a tentative cooperative agreement is already in place to conduct due diligence in determining the possible benefits to both states. Agreements are in draft form, and the Parker water district is a founding member of the Colorado-Wyoming Water Coalition. A meeting with representatives from Wyoming’s western slope in late April went “better than expected,” Jaeger said…
Parker water approached Wyoming’s leadership, including the division of natural resources, with a suggestion that the water authorities and conservation districts dictate where the water ends up instead of allowing private companies and speculators to get there first and set a price. Depending on how much Parker would get from the deal, water from the multi-billion dollar project could essentially become an infinite resource for Parker because the water can be reclaimed at the district’s water treatment plants, which remove waste and other pollutants before the water is dumped back into Cherry Creek, as required by the Endangered Species Act. A study showed that Parker needs roughly 31,000 acre-feet of water to sustain all homes and businesses at full build-out, Jaeger said. The Statewide Water Initiative Study from 2007 identified a need for 600,000 acre-feet of water for long term municipal and industrial uses across Colorado.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
Runoff news
June 17, 2009
From the Denver Post (Colleen O’Connor):
Colorado’s peak flow from snowmelt hit a few weeks earlier than normal, causing problems for some recreational users of the state’s rivers and complicating downstream irrigation strategies. A dozen late-winter windstorms coated high mountain snow with dust, causing the snow to melt earlier than usual. Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman Erin Curtis said the peak occurred in late May. BLM is especially worried about flows on the Colorado River in the western part of the state, where the so-called flat water is running especially cold and fast, at a flow now about five times what it will be later this summer…
Data from the Natural Resources Conservation Service shows that reservoir storage statewide is at 116 percent of average, the best since 1999. “But the earlier the runoff comes, the sooner the water runs out for certain irrigation systems that depend on streams, not water in reservoirs,” said Jim Pokrandt, a spokesman for the Colorado River Water Conservation District…
But the early snowmelt, combined with recent weeks of heavy rain, is good news for quenching thirsty lawns right now, and maintaining municipal water supplies for the summer. “Everyone’s drinking water will be fine,” Pokrandt said.
From the Greeley Tribune:
A group of real estate agents have organized a group in northern Colorado with a goal of bringing attention to the connection between the quality of life that attracts employers and the conservation of public lands and water. The primary focus of the Northern Colorado Home Ownership Alliance is a concern for the long-term impacts on Colorado’s clean water and public land because of the hardrock mining of uranium and other minerals. The group also hopes to focus on the need for clean energy and climate protection legislation that leads to the creation of new markets for renewable energy producers, local green collar job growth, and economic opportunity for families.
Western Governors Association Annual Meeting
June 17, 2009
Here’s a recap of the final day of the Western Governors Association Annual Meeting, from Charles Ashby writing for The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:
On the final day of a Western Governor’s Association conference in Park City, Utah, the Colorado governor told the state’s media that talks over Western water issues should focus on desalination plants and conservation measures rather than trying to squeeze more water from the upper basin states of the Colorado River. The governor said he and others heard from water experts in similar dry regions of the world, and walked away “with great optimism” that there are other ways that growing, dry regions of the Southwest can get the water they need…
Ritter said technologies have improved in desalinization and conservation that make it less likely such lower Colorado River states as California, Nevada and Arizona will have to look upstream for additional water, supplies that the upper states of Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico can ill afford to provide. The question, however, is whether they will. Ritter said the governors of those three lower states didn’t attend the conference, but did send representatives to it. “It was still an optimistic conversation,” Ritter said. “The optimism flows from the ability for those lower basin states to address some of those challenges in a manner other than looking for Colorado to provide more (water). We’re just not going to be able to provide more to the (Colorado River) compact, we’re just not.”
Nestlé Waters Chaffee County Project: Commissioners delay deliberations awaiting $122,890 in fees
June 17, 2009
From The Pueblo Chieftain (Tracy Harmon):
Chaffee County Attorney Jennifer Davis told the commission that county code indicates that when fees exceed a deposit, the applicant has 10 days to submit certified funds which are the full difference between the deposit and the balance. According to a seven-page spreadsheet obtained by The Pueblo Chieftain, Nestle made $33,320 in deposits and still owes $122,890 of the total $156,210 application fee bill. The spreadsheet, which was submitted to Nestle on May 21, gives a detailed description of the date and types of charges ranging from postage fees to legal ad costs.
It also includes billings for the time county staff have spent working on the proposal and consultant fees. Chaffee County Planning Engineer Don Reimer, for example, spent 640 hours on the proposal through April 30 at a cost of $28,800 to the county. However, Nestle Waters North America representative Bruce Lauerman said, “The spreadsheet was not very clear – this is just poor accounting and I cannot express it any other way.” At his request, county representatives sent another invoice June 2. Lauerman said that invoice also was inadequate. Lauerman said he did not find out until Monday that failure to pay all the expenses incurred by the county could stall a decision. “We would like to pay our bill but this (invoice) will not get past Kentucky (Nestle officials),” Lauerman said. “I don’t think the county followed their own code here.”
From The Durango Herald (Jason Gonzales):
On Monday, [U.S. Senator Mark Udall] proposed a bill that, if passed, will repair the decrepit system that pumps irrigation water from Vallecito Dam to serve a 13,000-acre tribal and nontribal area. The irrigation system funded by the federal government has been neglected and meets only about 60 percent of the acreage it is intended to serve, Tara Trujillo, Sen. Udall’s communication director, said in an e-mail. “Currently, people who live farthest away from the project seldom get the water allocated to them, even though they pay operating and maintenance fees (to the Bureau of Indian Affairs for Native American tribes),” she said.
Colorado State University: ‘Bridging the Gap: Collaborative Conservation from the Ground Up’
June 16, 2009
From a CSU release:
Colorado State University is hosting a public conference, “Bridging the Gap: Collaborative Conservation from the Ground Up,” Sept. 8-11, 2009 on the CSU campus in Fort Collins. Co-hosts for the conference are the Center for Collaborative Conservation, Colorado Forest Restoration Institute, Colorado State Forest Service and Colorado State University Extension.
The first generation of collaborative conservation initiatives forged new ways to bring together diverse stakeholders to achieve joint conservation and livelihood goals. The second generation challenges entail strategically sustaining and expanding collaborative conservation to new levels and this is what will be discussed at the conference.
The four water-related issues on the poll fill the top four spots in this year’s ranking. In addition to worrying about pollution of drinking water, roughly half of Americans also express a high degree of worry about pollution of rivers, lakes, and reservoirs (52% worry a great deal about this), and water and soil contamination from toxic waste (52%). About half worry about the maintenance of the nation’s supply of fresh water for household needs (49%).
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
Colorado Conservation Voters: 2009 scorecard
June 16, 2009
From the Associated Press via the New York Times:
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said the West has vast untapped potential for harnessing wind, the sun and geothermal energy to create electricity. But ”it doesn’t do any good to generate energy if you can’t get it to market,” Salazar said during the annual meeting of the Western Governors’ Association. That’s long been the concern of Western governors eager to develop renewable energy projects but frustrated by limitations in the transmission system and sluggish bureaucracies…
Salazar said four Western states — Arizona, California, Nevada and Wyoming — will get federal renewable energy planning offices to help make sure projects don’t get stalled.
More coverage of the Western Governors Association Annual Meeting from Mike Stark writing for the Denver Post. From the article:
Sunday’s main discussion, which included Canadian officials and experts from the Middle East and Australia, focused on managing water amid changing climate conditions…Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute, an environmental think tank based in Oakland, Calif., was one of four panelists who spoke Sunday. He said there’s evidence of intensified water disputes, ecosystem collapse in some places and a population growth that’s driving a sometimes-fractured water management system.
From The Mountain Mail (Ron Sering):
Three returning directors and a new one were sworn in Thursday during the regular Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District meeting in Salida. Taking the oath of office for four year terms were returning directors Jeff Ollinger of Chaffee County and Tom French and William McGuire, both of Fremont County. Tom Goodwin of Fremont County, appointed by a panel of three district judges, was sworn to the at-large seat vacated by Pat Alderton of Poncha Springs. Goodwin is former Bureau of Land Management field office manager and U.S. Forest Service district ranger for the Saguache district field office. He retired from the Forest Service in 2007. Goodwin is the son of former UAWCD member and long-time board chairman Denzel Goodwin.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
Pueblo: Drinking water passes state tests
June 16, 2009
From The Pueblo Chieftain:
Pueblo’s drinking water surpassed all federal and state standards for water quality, according to a new report by the Pueblo Board of Water Works. A synopsis of the report is available on the Web site and will be mailed to all customers in this month’s bill. The report describes efforts by the Pueblo water board to monitor for a broad range of potential contaminants, including water quality data, sources of water supply and steps taken to treat the water. The report looks at drinking water testing in 2008, listing tests for bacteria, arsenic, barium, chromium, fluoride, nitrates and selenium. In a press release, the water board noted the level for selenium should have been reported as 5 parts per billion, not million, which is well below the standard of 50 ppb.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):
Colorado City wants to add a membrane filtration system to its Cold Springs supply, groundwater which is currently simply chlorinated, said District Manager David Valdez. The district is under a state compliance order to install filtration by Jan. 31, to use the well, which supplies water to about 120 of the 900 taps on the system. Most of the supply for Colorado City comes from Greenhorn Creek and Lake Beckwith. Since the stimulus funds are designed for “shovel-ready” projects, Colorado City is scrambling to meet deadlines. The grant will mainly pay for the filtration system hardware, while Colorado City will pick up engineering and installation costs, Valdez said. “We were fortunate enough to have started the project before we even knew about the stimulus money,” Valdez said.
Colorado City also would participate in a separate grant to the town of Rye. Rye is seeking $1.97 million to tie into the Colorado City sewer system, rather than continue using a lagoon system.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
Fort Morgan Water Advisory Board recommends single rate
June 15, 2009
From The Fort Morgan Times:
City officials asked the water board for opinions and feedback on several water-related issues Thursday.
Among the topics discussed were commercial/industrial water rates, improvements to the city water system, options for an emergency backup water source and long-term debt in the city water fund.
City officials also presented the water board with information on the cost to the city of the Northern Integrated Supply Project, including scenarios outlining the annual debt payments for that project if paid off over 20 years and over 30 years.
City Manager Pat Merrill told the board he was looking for input, opinions and suggestions regarding each of the issues on the agenda. The discussion of commercial/industrial water rates took up about half of the nearly two-hour session.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
Montezuma County: Dolores River Festival
June 15, 2009
Here’s a recap of the Dolores River Festival, from TJ Holmes writing for the Dolores Star via the Cortez Journal. From the article:
The free raft rides proved a popular offering again, with high demand. More than 200 groups went down the river from Riverside Park to Joe Rowell Park with some 25 volunteers acting as guides, helping with put-in and take-out and driving shuttles. “It went really smoothly, and we had a lot of dedicated volunteers helping with the raft ride activities,” Gans said. “It’s a really intensive activity to offer, but we are committed to offering that as a river festival. I think the families really enjoyed the rides this year.”
The fun and wild water competitive kayak races had about 10 participants with prizes awarded to the top three finishers in each category.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
Western Colorado Congress looking for road home
June 15, 2009
From the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel (Le Roy Standish):
The WCC is reeling from financial cutbacks, has seen several changes in directors in the last couple years, is having its tactics questioned by many in the community, and in December was tossed from the Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce. The circumstances have combined to cause some members to question whether the organization should continue in its current format.
Western Governors Association Annual Meeting recap
June 15, 2009
Here’s a recap of yesterday’s sessions at the Western Governors Association Annual Meeting, from Mike Stark writing for the Associated Press. From the article:
Sunday’s main discussion, which included Canadian officials and experts from the Middle East and Australia, focused on managing water amid changing climate conditions. Although many of the controversies in the West center around urbanization, natural resources and energy development, water — and often the lack of it — comes up again and again. “Water is connected to all those things,” said panelist Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute, an environmental think tank based in Oakland, Calif. Gleick said there’s evidence of intensified water disputes, ecosystem collapse in some places and a population growth that’s driving a sometimes-fractured water management system. States can no longer rely on simply building more storage capacity, which can be expensive and “politically challenging,” he said. The West needs to consider other supply options such as rainwater, use of treated wastewater and desalination plants, Gleick said. Climate change — which will alter precipitation and the timing of mountain snow melt — also needs to be incorporated into all water management decisions, he said.
Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter said the region needs to do more to protect the water that’s already available.
“Conservation has to become an ethic in the West,” he said.
Precipitation news
June 14, 2009
From the Denver Post:
Northwest of Brush, 2 1/2 inches of rain fell within an hour, triggering a flash-flood warning for several Morgan County towns. “Heavy rain fell in the area near Weldona, and there were county roads and low-lying areas under several feet of water,” said Kyle Fredin, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Boulder.
H.B. 09-1303: Admin Mineral Development Water Wells
June 13, 2009
Governor Ritter signed H.B. 09-1303 (pdf) on June 2. Here’s a report from Randy Woock writing for The Trinidad Times Independent. From the article:
HB 1303 allows the state engineer to approve alternates to augmentation plans for CBM wells that withdraw waters considered tributary and that impact an “over-appropriated” stream for a period extending from March 31, 2010 to Dec. 31, 2012 in order to, “…provide sufficient time to integrate (CBM) wells into the water court adjudication process.”
The state engineer is allowed to approve the “temporary operation of a (CBM) well that withdraws tributary ground water” if several conditions are met that include providing written notification of the request for the approval of the substitute water plan to all parties on the substitute water supply plan notification list, after which the parties have 30 days to file comments with the state engineer.
From the Wet Mountain Tribune (Nora Drenner):
The Round Mountain Water and Sanitation District continues negotiations with the Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District regarding leasing some 20 acre feet of water from the RMW-owned Johnson Ranch to the UAWCD. A brief discussion regarding the matter took place during RMW’s regular board of directors’ meeting on June 4. At that time, chairman Darrell Niles said 20-acre-feet is an insignificant amount of water. Vice-chair Chris Haga agreed and he compared 20-acre-feet of water on the Johnson Ranch to one cup of water. Additionally, Haga estimated there was some 490-acre-feet of consumptive use water on the Johnson Ranch. RMW purchased the 320-acre ranch located south of Westcliffe in 2000 for the purpose of acquiring its water rights.
Energy policy — nuclear: Montrose County Planning Commission weighing permit for Piñon Ridge uranium mill
June 13, 2009
From the Cortez Journal (Joe Hanel):
The Montrose County Planning Commission delayed its decision on a special use permit for Energy Fuels Inc., which wants to build the Piñon Ridge uranium mill 12 miles west of Naturita in the Paradox Valley. Commissioners favored the mill, but they needed more time to craft language for the permit. The commission will make its decision July 1…
The mill would have effects far beyond the remote valley. It would be the first new American uranium mill in decades, and it would offer a convenient place to process ore from Colorado’s shuttered uranium mines. “The advantage of having this mill in this area is, because there are a lot of uranium mines around us, it’s a relatively short haul to the mill,” said Frank Filas, environmental manager for Energy Fuels. However, Filas also said Energy Fuels wants to process waste from other facilities, like water treatment plants, in addition to uranium ore. Most of Colorado’s uranium mines have shut down, and the mill’s local proponents hope it would lead to a new mining era.
From The International Desalination & Water Reuse Quarterly:
[Western Municipal Water District, Riverside, California] completed extensive facility testing of the fixed-bed biological treatment (FXB) process in late 2008. The district and Carollo have received provisional approval from the California Department of Public Health to use FXB to remove nitrate from drinking water.
A key benefit discovered during testing is the ability to remove multiple contaminants from the water supply. In addition to removing nitrate, the FXB process destroys perchlorate and volatile organic compounds (VOC).
While existing nitrate treatment processes such as ion-exchange, reverse-osmosis and electrodialysis-reversal remove nitrate effectively, each creates a nitrate-laden concentrate waste requiring treatment and disposal. The FXB process converts nitrate to harmless byproducts such as nitrogen gas, thereby also eliminating the need for nitrate-waste handling, making this technology sustainable.
Other benefits include competitive operating cost and highly efficient water recovery.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
EPA moves another $25 million to Colorado water projects
June 13, 2009
Here’s a release from the Environmental Protection Agency:
Release date: 06/12/2009
Contact Information: Diane Sanelli, 303-312-7822; Laura Niles, 303-312-6281
(Denver, Colo. – June 12, 2009) In a move that stands to create jobs, boost local economies, improve aging water infrastructure and protect human health and the environment for the people in the State of Colorado, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded more than $25 million, part of a planned $31 million total, to the Colorado Water Resources and Power Development Authority. This new infusion of money provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will help the state and local governments finance many of the overdue improvements to wastewater projects that are essential to protecting public health and the environment across the state.
“EPA is pleased to provide $25 million in Recovery Act funds for much needed improvements to Colorado’s water infrastructure that will benefit the state for decades to come,” said Carol Rushin, Acting Regional Administrator. “This funding will protect public health and improve water quality while creating hundreds of jobs in Colorado.”
The Recovery Act funds will go to the state’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund program. The Clean Water State Revolving Fund program provides low interest loans for water quality protection projects for wastewater treatment, non-point source pollution control, and watershed and estuary management. An unprecedented $4 billion dollars will be awarded to fund wastewater infrastructure projects across the country under the Recovery Act in the form of low interest loans, principal forgiveness and grants. At least 20% of the funds provided under the Recovery Act are to be used for green infrastructure, water and energy efficiency improvements and other environmentally innovative projects.
Since the Clean Water State Revolving Fund program began in 1987, EPA has awarded more than $26 billion in grants, which states have turned into $69 billion of financial assistance for water quality projects. The revolving nature of the program ensures water quality projects will be funded for generations to come. President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) on February 17, 2009 and has directed that the Recovery Act be implemented with unprecedented transparency and accountability. To that end, the American people can see how every dollar is being invested at Recovery.gov.
Information on EPA’s implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 in Colorado, visit http://www.epa.gov/region8/eparecovery/.
Information on the Clean Water State Revolving Fund program, visit http://www.epa.gov/owm/cwfinance/cwsrf/
Rio Grande Basin: No curtailments on the ditches
June 13, 2009
From the Valley Courier (Ruth Heide):
…[The] San Luis Valley’s summer rains have created a rare occurrence – zero curtailment on irrigators along the Rio Grande and Conejos River systems. Division of Water Resources Division Engineer for Division 3 Craig Cotten explained on Thursday that the division is currently not cutting irrigators short because sufficient water is flowing downstream to meet the Rio Grande Compact obligations to New Mexico and Texas.
He said the June forecast from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) actually rose 5,000 acre feet from May. NRCS is now predicting 590,000 acre feet on the Rio Grande this year. That is slightly below average which is about 650,000 acre feet.
Of that amount, the Valley will be obligated to send downstream 158,400 acre feet of water, or 27 percent. “That’s what we have to deliver to the state line from the Rio Grande portion,” Cotten explained during a well rules advisory meeting in Alamosa on Thursday.“That’s what we have to deliver to the state line from the Rio Grande portion,” Cotten explained during a well rules advisory meeting in Alamosa on Thursday. The Rio Grande does not have to send 27 percent downstream right now, however, because the Rio Grande delivered 100 percent through the winter, sent more water downstream during the runoff period and is experiencing good return flows all the way through the system. Cotten said the Rio Grande would only need to send 8 percent downstream currently to meet its Rio Grande Compact obligation. “Our current curtailment on the Rio Grande is effectively zero. We do have a curtailment on our daily sheet but we add back some water, make some adjustments, so it is effectively zero on the curtailment.”
The same is true on the Conejos River system, Cotten said. The NRCS forecast for the Conejos system is 345,000 acre feet, up 15,000 acre feet from last month. The obligation to downstream states from that total is 143,200 acre feet or 42 percent. The current delivery target is 16 percent but because of the amount of water in the system the water division is not curtailing irrigators on the Conejos system “which is kind of an unusual situation that we don’t have curtailment actually occurring on either one of the rivers right now,” Cotten said.
The Conejos system peaked the first part of May, and the Rio Grande peaked around May 8, about three weeks earlier than normal.
“We are significantly lower right now at this time of year than we usually are,” Cotten said. Saguache Creek peaked the end of May which is about normal, Cotten added. He said that might indicate the northern part of the Valley had less dust on the snow. Kerber Creek near Villa Grove peaked almost exactly on target the end of May, Cotten said. “We are dropping off that peak pretty hard,” he added.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
