U.S. Bureau of Reclamation manual for fighting invasive species

From email from Reclamation (Peter Soeth):

Reclamation Develops Equipment Inspection and Cleaning Manual to Prevent Spread of Invasive Species

The Bureau of Reclamation has developed and released an Equipment Inspection and Cleaning Manual to help prevent the spread of invasive species through contaminated equipment use. This manual provides recommendations for inspection and cleaning of vehicles and equipment as a prevention tool to limit the spread of invasive species.

“This manual will help equipment operators gain a better understanding of how invasive plants and animals are spread by contaminated equipment into new locations,” said Reclamation Invasive Species Program Coordinator and co-author Joe DiVittorio. “This manual has broad applications for many organizations and agencies.”

The manual is organized to present equipment inspection techniques, equipment cleaning methods, and finally the identification of invasive biology and habitats of some of the common invasive species that are of potentially high consequence to Reclamation. Examples include quagga and zebra mussels, purple loosestrife, giant salvinia, eurasian watermilfoil, and hydrilla. These and many other invasive species can be inadvertently introduced into new sites on contaminated equipment.

Not all types of equipment are described in the manual, but a process is presented to guide field personnel through general inspection and cleaning decisions for any equipment type.

This manual was developed with the assistance of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

To obtain a copy of the manual, please visit www.usbr.gov/pps.

Media Contact: Peter Soeth, psoeth@usbr.gov, 303-445-3615

More invasive species coverage here.

Save the Poudre joins Waterkeeper Alliance

Below is a release from Save the Poudre (Gary Wockner):

The battle to Save The Cache la Poudre River of northern Colorado was bolstered this week by two important announcements. First, the Save The Poudre Coalition’s proposal to start a “Poudre Waterkeeper” was accepted by the Waterkeeper Alliance, a growing worldwide alliance of 192 local water preservation organizations founded and directed by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. The Alliance, based in New York, helps local communities stand up for their right to clean water and for wise and equitable use of water resources.

Second, to help jump-start Save The Poudre’s new status as the “Poudre Waterkeeper,” New Belgium Brewing of Fort Collins donated $40,000 to ensure the Save The Poudre’s continued success. New Belgium has an active philanthropy program committed to improving the health of the natural environment and inspiring people to joyously embrace sustainable choices.

“We are proud to have this new Poudre Waterkeeper and its Save The Poudre Coalition join our ranks,” said Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Waterkeeper Alliance President. “And we are proud to support the fight to protect and restore the beautiful Cache la Poudre River.”

“The Save the Poudre Coalition is doing excellent work,” said Jenn Orgolini, Sustainability Director of New Belgium Brewing. “We want this Poudre Waterkeeper to grow and thrive as it works to protect this great river that flows through Fort Collins right in front of our brewery.”

“The citizens of northern Colorado are extremely fortunate,” said Gary Wockner of the Save The Poudre Coalition. “The Waterkeeper Alliance is a visionary and effective group, and New Belgium Brewing is a visionary and extremely generous company. The battle to save the Poudre is growing stronger every day.”

Attention is increasingly being focused on the Poudre River by regional, statewide, and national interests, as well as by the Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The proposed dams on the Poudre represent the next big phase of dam building in the American Southwest — the Poudre’s outcome may foreshadow the future of many of the Southwest’s rivers.

“The environmental community is taking a hard stand here in Colorado because if we can save the Poudre, we can likely save other Southwest rivers,” said Gary Wockner. “If we lose the Poudre, we could lose them all.”

More coverage from the Fort Collins Coloradoan (Bobby Magill).

More Cache la Poudre River coverage here and here.

Arkansas Valley: Highline Ditch shareholders meeting recap

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

High Line shareholders Monday agreed to Aurora’s request for more engineering on the ditch that sold Aurora water in a lease agreement to speed the city’s recovery from the 2002 drought. The decision came after a long day of re-examining the past deal with Aurora, complaints from shareholders that they are not being kept informed and debates about the merits of forming a leasing company vs. joining the Super Ditch. “We want to know if we should begin working on the engineering to move forward to get a permanent water right to lease to Aurora or others,” said Tom Simpson, Aurora engineering supervisor for the Arkansas Valley. “Do the shareholders want to move forward?” About five hours later, shareholders voted to allow Aurora to continue the engineering studies that will make future water deals easier.

Aurora and the High Line Canal jointly filed for an exchange water right in 2005 after a two-year lease program that was deemed successful by all involved. Aurora was able to replenish its badly depleted reservoirs, while High Line farmers had an instant source of income after a couple of tough farming years. The exchange right, however, still would require a substitute water supply plan from the state Division of Water Resources. Aurora wants to get started on a change of use decree in water court because it would save time in the future…

Simpson said the 2008 agreement is merely a framework and does not obligate shareholders. In fact, it benefits High Line by providing a $15,000-$25,000 annual maintenance payment. In the past two years, High Line has taken the payment by leasing water from Aurora for prices of $5-$10 per acre-foot. “We did not intend to say that anyone has to lease to Aurora rather than anyone else,” Simpson said. Aurora also has had preliminary discussions with the board about long-term leases in the future. The city is limited by a 2003 agreement with the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District about how much water it can lease from the Arkansas Valley.

High Line is also exploring forming its own water leasing company, Superintendent Dan Henrichs said, in explaining a $70,000 grant from the Colorado Water Conservation Board. The canal wants to spend $30,000 of that toward setting up a company, and $40,000 to study water quality at the point on the river near its headgate. The idea would be to build a pipeline on land the canal owns on the north side of the river to serve customers in northern El Paso County or the South Platte River basin, Henrichs said. Other ditches could be brought into the plan, which might not materialize for 25 years, Henrichs said…

One board member candidly expressed his dismay over the afternoon’s arguments: “I’m disappointed,” said Vernon John Proctor. “I thought we were going to have a meeting about what was best for the High Line Canal Co., not talk about the Super Ditch and the Lower Ark.”

More coverage of the meeting from Chris Woodka writing for The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:

The biggest immediate problem facing the 87-mile-long ditch in Pueblo and Otero counties includes a stretch of canal that has washed out in recent years. If the canal were to break during irrigation season, it could mean three months without water for 23,000 acres of farmland.

The ditch company also had to take out a loan to build a new caretaker’s home at Boone and spend down reserves to repair another house in Manzanola. Those are the type of routine concerns large ditches traditionally face. But much of Superintendent Dan Henrichs’ time is spent outside the routine jobs, attending regional or state water meetings on behalf of the High Line board. He also is developing a project that eventually could lead to a program to sell water through leases outside the ditch.

In 2008, Henrichs applied for a $325,000 state grant to fund steps that lead to a leasing program, a future pipeline north and water quality studies. The ditch company was awarded $70,000 for part of the studies by the Colorado Water Conservation Board. “The board’s thinking in applying for the grant was maximizing the value of our water,” the board’s president, Stan Fedde, told shareholders who questioned why the canal company was moving in that direction…

Many farmers are older, and may be looking to retire. Selling water at higher prices is a way to pay off debts or may be the closest thing they have to a 401(k) plan. That’s played out in different ways throughout the valley in the past few years:

Most of the remaining shares on the Rocky Ford Ditch were sold to Aurora, which bought half of the ditch in the 1980s. Aurora and Colorado Springs bought the vast majority of the Colorado Canal in the 1980s as well.
The Fort Lyon Canal agreed to allow High Plains A&M (now Pure Cycle) to move water from the canal as long as it was done in rotation. High Plains bought about 20 percent of the ditch.
Nearly half of farms on the Amity Canal were purchased by the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association in order to use the water in future power projects.
The Pueblo Board of Water Works bought 27 percent of shares on the Bessemer Ditch for future water use.

The High Line was faced with the same pressures during the drought and many shareholders were looking at selling. Instead, they held on to their water rights by selling water to Aurora under a lease agreement…

The arrangement with Aurora has had other benefits for the ditch, other than an infusion of cash that paid down debt, bought new equipment and allowed repairs on farms. Aurora improved structures on the ditch and built an augmentation station that will allow future leases. Henrichs pointed out that Aurora has helped High Line by providing crews to burn ditches when weeds became a problem. Shareholders Monday also recognized the value of Aurora’s engineering studies of the canal, voting to give the city permission to develop more studies toward a 2005 exchange case and Aurora’s plans for an upcoming water court case to change the use of High Line water. The Aurora lease agreement also opened the door for other cooperative ventures. The High Line wants to draw in other canals, at the ditch-board level, to sell water. Meanwhile, the Super Ditch has formed with shareholders from seven canals and an agreement in hand to enter a long-term lease with Pikes Peak Regional Water Authority in 2011.

More Arkansas River Basin coverage here.

Cañon City scores $200,000 from Great Outdoors Colorado for whitewater park

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Tracy Harmon):

Local boaters teamed up in 2007 with the Canon City Chamber of Commerce to start the process of fundraising for the Whitewater Kayak and Recreation Park, affectionately dubbed WKRP-Canon City. The effort got an ample boost in March 2008 when City Council voted to accept a $25,000 grant from the Colorado Water Conservation Board. Total cost of the project is estimated to be about $375,000. The project is planned for a section of the Arkansas River that runs along Centennial Park, also known as Duck Park, roughly between the Fourth Street Viaduct and Second Street.

Currently, the water running by the park is flat and the banks are steep, so the banks will need to be reinforced to allow gentle sloping river access for everyone. Wading pools will be added to encourage children who want to cool off in the summer without fear of deep, swift water. Put-in and take-out ramps plus play holes would be added for boaters such as kayakers, canoeists and rafters, with the use of strategically placed rocks. The water park will be an ideal place for kayakers to learn the sport and boost their confidence by getting a feel for the water. “The $200,000 is enough, with all the money raised (during the past two years) to proceed, plus we have had a donation of stone for the banks,” said Steve Rabe, Canon City administrator, who applied for the grant.

If all goes as planned, Rabe hopes to put out bid requests by the end of the year.

More whitewater coverage here.

S. 1777: Good Samaritan Cleanup of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act of 2009

This video about Good Samaritan cleanups has been making the rounds in the blogosphere. Click through and watch it. It takes about 6 minutes.

More S. 1777 coverage here.

Snowpack news

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Matt Hildner):

Wolf Creek Ski Area reported 21 inches of new snow during the 24 hours up to 2 p.m [Sunday]…Creede and South Fork, were expected to get anywhere from 6 to 12 inches of snow by 11 p.m. Sunday.

EPA’s ruling on Davis-Bacon Act requirements for stimulus dough rankles Colorado communities

Davis-Bacon Act prevailing wage requirements are discussed in this report from Charles Ashby writing for the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. From the article:

After Congress and President Barack Obama passed and signed an appropriations bill in October for federal stimulus money aimed at helping local communities put people back to work, the EPA determined projects would have to comply with the federal Davis-Bacon Act of 1931. That requires governments using federal money to pay prevailing wages for construction workers, which are generally higher than regular wages. To make matters worse for the communities, the EPA ruled the federal stimulus money being used not only applied to future projects, but also ones that were under way before the law was signed.

As a result, communities such as Fruita and Glenwood Springs will have to come up with additional money to pay the higher wages. “We’ve been having to do a lot of scrambling,” [Fruita Mayor Ken Henry] said. “This is the first time in 21 years that this act has applied. This impacts communities directly, and as far as we’re concerned, this is nothing more than a $1.3 million tax on Fruita.”

The EPA ruling forced the Colorado Water Resources and Power Development Authority last month to delay issuing millions of dollars worth of bonds to pay for 23 projects in the state, including 10 on the Western Slope, Executive Director Mike Brod said. Brod said the authority is trying to work with each local community to figure out a solution for their specific projects. “A lot of them are saying they didn’t sign up for this,” Brod said. “We had gone through the process of getting them approved and working on the financing itself to get the loan agreement closed, and that’s where things got hung up. It took about a month for us to receive final guidance from the EPA … and this is the way it came out.”

More infrastructure coverage here.

Upper Arkansas Valley: 799 acre geothermal lease to be on BLM auction February 11

From the Associated Press via The Denver Post:

A 799-acre parcel with subsurface federal mineral rights is expected to be offered for geothermal development in Chaffee County, west of Buena Vista. The parcel had been held back from the last sale in November. It would be the first [oil and gas] auction to include geothermal leasing [in Colorado].

More geothermal coverage here.

Lamar: City Council awards $5 million water system improvement contract

From The Lamar Ledger:

The special session was held because of unusual time constraints resulting from the financing of the project. The city was recently informed that it would receive funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for the project. To qualify for the funding, the project needed to be awarded and a contract in place by the end of 2009. By awarding the contract on Tuesday, the council has the ability to approve the contract for construction of phase two of the project within the appropriate time frame mandated by ARRA regulations.

The portion of the project awarded Tuesday includes the installation of a 24 inch transmission line, connections to the existing water system, and construction of bypass piping around the valve house and existing treatment building. Tezak’s bid was the lowest received by the city, at $1,213,487.49, when bids were opened on Dec. 3. The new 24 inch transmission line is intended to serve as the city’s primary line from the water storage facility and provide redundancy to the system. Currently the system is served by a single 24 inch transmission line that is several decades old. The new line will allow for repairs to be made to the system without halting service to the whole city. The construction of bypass piping around the valve house and existing treatment building is included in the project because the two facilities are slated to be replaced during a separate phase of the system improvement project. Currently there is no bypass piping in place.

More infrastructure coverage here .

Dolores River restoration project underway in Dolores

From the Cortez Journal (TJ Holmes):

Bill Coughlin, owner of Western Stream Works based in Ridgway, and Danny Bankston contracted with the U.S. Forest Service out of the Dolores Public Lands Office to complete a stream restoration project, part of a comprehensive plan that started with a Colorado Department of Transportation and forest service project to plant willows and improve parking at the Dolores River-Lost Canyon Creek confluence in 2006. “This is not an erosion problem, but what could we do to enhance the asset,” Coughlin said last week in the river bed. “It’s a continuing effort of the forest service to improve the area for recreation.” The Army Corps of Engineers, Colorado Division of Wildlife, Montezuma County and the town of Dolores also are partners in the project.

The project’s goals are to encourage the river to flow along the north side of the channel for rafting and to create additional wetland habitat, Coughlin said. “Our goal is to make (the river) look like we were never there, so it’s not overly contrived,” he said. The lines of boulders – called “vein arms” – being placed by Bankston might look natural, but they serve a specific purpose. They will keep the water rolling away from the bank, especially the southern bank, and following the path of least resistance along the northern bank. Smaller rocks and “fines” – very small rocks and sandy soil from the bed – will be deposited on the boulders in a process known as “chinking, just like a log cabin,” Coughlin said. The river will deposit its own fines over time, especially during high runoff. For the trout, holes will be dug behind the boulders. “We’re working with the river, not against it,” Coughlin said. “This is fine tuning, replicating what nature does. My goal is to make it look like we were never here. That’s the real magic.” By next spring’s runoff, the work will look even more natural, he said. Both the fishery and recreational opportunities will improve. The division of wildlife supports the project from that standpoint, Coughlin said, and much of the work that makes good fish habitat – eddies and rapids and holes – is fun for kayakers too. The weather may have curtailed planting willow trees and other stream-side shrubs this year, but Coughlin hopes to do some follow-up planting in the spring, perhaps with a group of science students from Dolores Middle and High schools…

The beach at the confluence will be preserved as part of what the Dolores Public Lands Office has re-named Wagner-Rotary Park in honor of Bill Wagner and the section of river from the Fourth Street bridge to the confluence generally known as Rotary Park, said Penny Wu, recreation specialist at the office. “We’ll protect the beach and place some rocks to prevent people from driving up the river,” Coughlin said. “We’ll also protect and improve the take-out to mitigate erosion.” In addition to placing the boulders to help direct the river flow, work to improve fish habitat and planting vegetation, Coughlin has plans to place more flat boulders at the beach area of the confluence to enhance the area for visitors. The work is formally called fluvial geomorphology, which means simply “the science of rivers,” Coughlin said. He has spent 20 years in the field of hydrology and said the fairly young field is always changing. The project ultimately “will help with low flow and help control (the water) at high flow, and it’s a good opportunity to create fish habitat,” he said.

Wu stopped by the river to observe the process and while there spotted four bald eagles and a red-tailed hawk soaring above Dolores.

More Dolores River coverage here.

Snowpack news

From the Cortez Journal (Kimberly Benedict):

2009 precipitation levels through November stood at 7.87 inches, only 59 percent of the 13.21 inches normally received in the area, according to Jim Andrus, the National Weather Service’s cooperative weather observer in Cortez. The early winter storm helped the situation, providing almost 80 percent of the precipitation normally received in December, Andrus said…

“As far a snowpack, we are looking like we are sitting at 119 percent for the day (Thursday),” Preston said. “That is 19 percent above where we normally are. That is what matters to us the most, is how much water is in that snowpack up there.” The district measures snowpack at five snowpack telemetry – or SNOTEL – sites located at El Diente Peak southwest of Telluride, Lizard Head Pass between Rico and Telluride, Lone Cone south of Norwood, Scotch Creek near Rico, and Sharkstooth Peak northeast of Mancos. The Sharkstooth station is not figured into the average because it has not been in operation long enough to build an average, according to Preston. “We get real time readings of the snowpack to see where we are at,” Preston said. “We don’t get too serious until January. The winter is just shaping up.”[...]

“It is looking much better now than it did a week ago,” Preston said, referring to the snow-water equivalent levels. Those levels, which measure the inches of water snow would produce if it melted, help determine the impact of snowpack on reservoir levels…

“As of Nov. 30, we had active capacity of 104,000 acre feet (in McPhee),” Preston said. “So we are down by about 124,000 acre feet. That is about 26,000 acre feet less than where we were this time last year.” The lower levels in the reservoir are the result of early pulls from reserve waters and arid summer conditions. “We were already pulling storage by the first of June this summer,” Preston said. “Then we had a very dry summer.” Water levels at both Groundhog and Narraguinnep reservoirs look relatively normal for this time of year, according to Brad Reed, water master for Montezuma Valley Irrigation Co. “We are very close to normal,” Reed said. “Maybe a little behind on Narraguinnep, but there is no major concern.” Narraguinnep currently stands at 8,659 acre-feet, and Groundhog is at 14,200 acre-feet. Though the early winter storm eased dry conditions, Preston cautioned that the season is still in its infancy. “It is pretty early in the year to tell how things will go,” he said. “We are off to a promising start, but we have a long ways to go. We need snowpack that is going to produce at least another 155,000 in inflow just to meet our obligations.” A runoff of that magnitude is well within the realm of possibility, according to Preston. Runoff for 2009 produced 260,000 acre-feet. Runoff in a dry year can be much worse. Preston noted that the dry year of 2002 produced only 48,000 acre-feet of runoff.

Lower Dolores River Plan Working Group meeting December 14

From the Cortez Journal (Kimberly Benedict):

The Lower Dolores River Plan Working Group will meet at 5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 14, at the Lewis-Arriola Community Center, 21176 County Road S, to kick-off the recommendation and brainstorming phase. The group will meet again Jan. 19, Feb. 16 and March 15. The intention is to hand recommendations to the Dolores Public Lands Office in April.

More from the article:

Created to examine alternatives to a Wild and Scenic River designation for the Dolores River, the group spent the past year identifying and brainstorming around the plethora of issues involved in river protection. “What we have done the last year is a really intensive education process with the group around the whole area,” said Marsha Porter-Norton, facilitator of the Dolores River Dialogue. “If we are going to ask people to come up with recommendations for the future, we felt it was important that they were really steeped in knowledge.”

The group focused on the five primary reaches of the Dolores River covered by the planning area and then examined the “Outstandingly Remarkable Values” within each reach. “Through a grant that we have, we had a person gather every conceivable piece of information related to the ORV in each reach,” Porter-Norton said. “We looked at it from a 20,000 foot level and then from the ground level.” The identified ORVs along the Lower Dolores include archaeology/cultural resources, scenery, geology, hiking in Bull Canyon and Coyote Wash, rafting, roundtail chub, plants, and the canyon treefrog. The Dolores Public Lands Office posed a series of questions to the group relating to each ORV. The group was then divided into small groups that brainstormed tools, strategies and recommendations for each question. Some issues have garnered a good deal of consensus, and others have been harder to address. “Nothing in this process is easy,” Porter-Norton said. “We are taking some of the issues where I think there is a good amount of consensus and starting there. For the next six months we are going to delve into the landscape and water protection issues. That is where the alternative to the Wild and Scenic designation comes in.” The group has been charged with the task of determining if the river and surrounding area should keep the Wild and Scenic designation or if there is an alternative protection mechanism…

The working group comprises 58 members who represent a wide range of stakeholder positions. From public land managers to property owners, water managers to rafters and rafting companies, U.S. Bureau of Land Management officers to oil and gas company representatives, the group has a diverse range of values. Despite that, the group has not allowed differing opinions to stand in the way of progress, Porter-Norton said. “I have to say, speaking very personally, this group is fabulous,” she said. “You have people who have very different views, in some cases, who have been willing and able to engage in learning. They are really able to talk about things and disagree in a very productive way.”

Fallout from the demise of Colorado Springs’ stormwater fund

From The Colorado Springs Gazette (Daniel Chaćon):

…city officials say is abundantly clear is that without the enterprise, there is no longer a funding source to pay for improvements to the 2-mile Templeton Gap Floodway, which is actually a levee. That will force hundreds, if not thousands, of nearby property owners with federally-backed mortgages to buy flood insurance. Collectively, annual insurance premiums for those property owners could reach about $3 million, according to city government estimates. “I’ve tried my best to circumvent that and prevent that, but it looks like that’s going to happen,” City Councilman Scott Hente, whose district includes the floodway, said Tuesday after his colleagues voted 5-4 to abolish the enterprise at the end of this year. “I’m sorry for that,” Hente added…

A two-year phaseout would have allowed the enterprise to complete projects under construction and also add capacity to the floodway, which protects more than 3,000 properties and 5,000 buildings from flooding. The floodway starts just east of Union Boulevard and runs west to Monument Creek between Fillmore Street and Austin Bluffs Parkway. The added capacity is needed to gain certification from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which sped up an effort to digitize its maps after Hurricane Katrina broke several levees in New Orleans. That effort put the Templeton Gap Floodway under scrutiny, and many properties that hadn’t been previously identified as being at risk of flooding are now. In September, the enterprise notified property owners affected by the floodway that it planned to add capacity to the levee…

[city spokeswoman Mary Scott] said no other source of money has been identified to pay for the work that had been planned for the floodway through the Stormwater Enterprise. “It’s likely that project is not going to be done,” she said. Scott also said the enterprise is still trying to figure out how to develop an automated process for refunds as well as how to collect from delinquent property owners.

More stormwater coverage here.

Southern Delivery System: Colorado Springs Utilities submits application to Fountain Creek Watershed Flood Control and Greenway District

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

“We’re very proud that we have reduced the wetlands impacts to one-quarter acre, and that we will add 12 new acres of wetlands on Clear Springs Ranch,” said Keith Riley, SDS planning and permit manager. “This is an environmentally responsible project. The citizens advisory committee of the district reviewed the proposal Friday. Last week, the technical advisory committee looked at the same presentation. The district board will consider it in January…

The Fountain Creek district has authority over part of the pipeline’s path where it crosses Fountain Creek and will make recommendations to El Paso County commissioners…

There have been discussions, however, that other El Paso County water users might use it to move water uphill from the Arkansas River. “Do you see it as a regional opportunity?” asked Jay Winner, general manager of the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District and a representative from the Arkansas Basin Roundtable to the Interbasin Compact Committee. “Not beyond Monument Hill,” Riley quickly replied…

Ross Vincent of the Sierra Club asked about the adaptive management plan, which is mentioned in Reclamation’s environmental impact statement as a way to mitigate potential impacts on Fountain Creek. “That will be wrapped up in the contract negotiations,” Riley said. “It would be helpful to have that in hand,” Vincent said.

More coverage of Friday’s meeting from Chris Woodka writing for The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:

Water quality and standards for development on Fountain Creek are important issues that cannot be abandoned, a committee dedicated to improvement of the creek told Southern Delivery System officials Friday. “The discussions have focused on water volume, but no one’s talking about water quality,” said Ross Vincent of the Sierra Club. “The demise of the stormwater enterprise re-raises the question.”[...]

Vincent also was concerned about the opportunity for public comment on Colorado Springs plans to dredge Fountain Creek through Pueblo. “Is there a public process for review?” Vincent asked Keith Riley, SDS planning and permit manager. Riley said SDS officials will be meeting with Dennis Maroney, Pueblo stormwater director, next week to review the dredging program. “We’ll be identifying high spots to determine where dredging will occur,” Riley said. “We want to be sure we’re doing the right project.” Pueblo has partnered with Colorado Springs, the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District and various state and federal agencies to use a continuous flow dredging collector to remove bedload sediment from the channel through Pueblo. The project also will analyze the material being removed and consider alternative means of dredging the channel, Riley said.

Maroney had his own questions about whether the city would complete the drainage criteria manual now that the stormwater enterprise is ending. The manual would provide standards for new development in terms of impacts to Fountain Creek and its tributaries. Holding developers to those standards is part of Pueblo County conditions for SDS. “You need the drainage criteria manual,” Maroney said. “If you don’t have it, it’s like going bear hunting with a 30.06 and only having the ammunition for a .22.” Colorado Springs developer Kevin Walker, another member of the committee, said developers have a keen interest in seeing the manual developed and noted that Fountain already has bought into the concept of using it as a regional tool. “The development community and the building industry know that the manual has to be completed,” Walker said. “The political and business interests (of Colorado Springs) are obliged to get to the finish line.”[...]

…another $500,000 grant to develop a mini-dam, wetlands and detention pond near Pueblo’s North Side Kmart is part of this year’s Natural Resources Conservation Service budget, Jay Winner, general manager of the Lower Ark District, reported at the meeting. The project was first envisioned by Maroney following a flood of a nearby area and a breach of an old railroad berm as a way to siphon off flows in small floods. It was approved in the same package of federal legislation that will grant the Arkansas Valley Conduit $5 million this year.

More Fountain Creek coverage here and here.

S. 796 Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2009: U.S. Senator Bennet signs on as co-sponsor

From the Associated Press via The Denver Post:

The Colorado Democrat said Thursday that he’s joining Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., to reform rules covering the mining of gold, copper, uranium and other minerals. The bill would assess royalties on hard-rock mining on public land for the first time at rates of 2 percent to 5 percent. The proposal also would eliminate the ability to buy public land for mining for as little as $2.50 an acre. It would require reviewing whether some public land should be off-limits to development.

More S. 796 coverage here.

El Niño bulking up

From the Associated Press via The Denver Post:

The El Niño climate phenomenon has strengthened and is expected to last into spring, potentially affecting weather around the globe for the next few months, the government said Thursday…

Sea-surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific were about 3 degrees Fahrenheit above normal in November, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.

Computer models used to forecast climate do not all agree, but the agency said it seems likely the conditions will strengthen. Potential impacts through February, NOAA said, include:

• Above-average precipitation for the southern tier of the United States, with below-average precipitation in the Pacific Northwest and the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys.

• Below-average snowfall and above-average temperatures across the northern tier of states, except New England, and lower-than-average temperatures in the Southeast.

Pueblo: Wastewater treatment plant moving to ultraviolet disinfection

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

Pueblo’s sewer plant, the James R. DiIorio Water Reclamation Facility, was built in 1987, and treats about 11 million gallons per day. It’s already past the end of its design life – 20 years – and parts of the system are being retrofitted to meet new requirements for ammonia removal. The plant has a capacity of 19 million gallons per day and provides treatment for the city of Pueblo, as well as St. Charles Mesa, Blende and Salt Creek sanitation districts. It also accepts water from septic tanks collected throughout Pueblo County. Last week’s discharge of about 250,000 gallons of unchlorinated treated effluent followed a release of nearly 500,000 gallons of overchlorinated sewage in 2007, and both problems would have been alleviated if an ultraviolet treatment system were in place, said Gene Michael, Pueblo wastewater director. “It would reduce the likelihood of those situations,” Michael said.

The problem is finding the money to build the $4 million system. A federal stimulus grant this year will fund the solar array to power the UV system, which is really the city’s final step in a series of upgrades that has been in the works for the past three years. Pueblo ratepayers have seen roughly 25 percent rate increases since 2006 designed to help pay for both upgrades to the sewer plant and to repair aging sewer lines throughout town. The city spent $800,000 in 2008 and $1 million this year in upgrading lines, and plans to spend a similar amount next year, Michael said. Priorities are determined by video inspection of the lines to look for potential breaks. When a line breaks, it can cost the city $100,000 per block and $7,000 per manhole to repair. The city has about 467 miles of mains, two-thirds of which are more than 50 years old.

But the needs are at the sewer plant, where a total of $26.5 million is needed to bring it up to date, Michael said. “We’ve broken it down into five or six pieces,” he said. “We’re not increasing the capacity of the plant at all with that $26.5 million. Actually, what we’re doing is maintaining the current capacity.” The city is planning to go to bid in January on a dewatering system that will lower groundwater levels around the sewer plant, which sits on Stockyard Road near the Arkansas River. At the same time, it will look at improvements at the airport industrial park lift station electrical system, Michael said. The biggest part of the project will be an ammonia removal system, which is needed to meet stricter water quality standards. It will be divided into two steps…

The final part of the project will be the UV system, which could go out to bid in April or May.

More wastewater coverage here.

Cloud seeding update

Here’s a look at cloud seeding efforts worldwide from the Associated Press via The New York Times. From the article:

Faced with water shortages, growing populations and the threat that climate change could make matters worse, governments around the globe have increasingly turned to cloud seeding in an attempt to wring more rain and snow from the sky. But the efforts are threatened by budget cuts in states struggling to begin an economic recovery and by critics who insist the technique is unproven and might pose a threat to the environment. ”When there is a drought in a particular country, they start looking at alternative sources of freshwater, and cloudy air is one source,” said Duncan Axisa, a scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., who supports expanding cloud-seeding research.

Government agencies and utilities from California to North Dakota spend an estimated $15 million a year on cloud seeding, and the number of projects has jumped by nearly a third in the last decade. But spending in the United States is far lower than in many other countries. China spends an estimated $100 million a year on cloud-seeding efforts that include using anti-aircraft guns and rocket launchers to blast the sky with silver iodide. ”What’s going on in the U.S. is tiny,” said Arlen Huggins, an associate research scientist at the Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nev. ”There’s more being done outside the U.S. than here.” Other countries conducting cloud-seeding research include Australia, France, Greece, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Venezuela.

In the U.S., utilities that run hydroelectric dams are among the most active cloud seeders. They say it is a cost-effective way to increase limited water supplies by 10 percent or more. Cloud seeding is also used in Texas and the Midwest to make hail smaller, reducing crop damage…

Colorado has doubled its state and local spending on cloud seeding over the last 10 years to about $700,000 a year. In 2005, Wyoming lawmakers committed nearly $9 million to a five-year project to determine whether the technology works. Cloud-seeding supporters say federal research funding would not only validate the system but lead to improvements in techniques. ”We want to chip away at changes in climate change now and do a good job at augmenting our precipitation now,” said Joe Busto, who sits on the North American Interstate Weather Modification Council, a group of regulators from 10 states organized to promote cloud seeding.

More cloud seeding coverage here and here.

ASARCO parent Grupo Mexico ponies up $1.79 billion for mining cleanup

From the Environmental News Service:

ASARCO LLC is a mining, smelting, and refining company based in Tucson, Arizona that mines and processes primarily copper. Parent corporation Grupo Mexico is providing the $1.79 billion to resolve the ASARCO’s environmental liabilities from operations that contaminated land, water and wildlife resources on federal, state, tribal and private land in 19 states. “Through this historic settlement, the American public is compensated for the damage and loss of natural resources resulting from ASARCO’s past mining, smelting and refining operations,” said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. “Were it not for this agreement, these injured resources would either remain impaired for future generations or require taxpayer expenditures to achieve environmental restoration.” The money from environmental settlements in the bankruptcy will be used to pay for past and future costs incurred by federal and state agencies at the more than 80 sites contaminated by mining operations in 19 states, said federal officials…

The contaminated Superfund sites are in Arizona, Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and Washington.

More superfund coverage here.

Interior Secretary Salazar calls for more high flows through the Grand Canyon

From National Parks Traveller (Kurt Repanshek):

The secretary, in Copenhagen to attend the global climate change conference, made his comments Thursday via video to the Colorado River Water Users Association, which is meeting in Las Vegas.

“We must find a way to protect one of the world’s most treasured landscapes – the Grand Canyon – while meeting water and clean energy needs in the face of climate change,” Secretary Salazar said.

“Today, I am directing the development of a protocol for conducting additional High Flow Experiments at the (Glen Canyon) Dam. These experimental high flows [like the one in 2008] send sediment downstream to rebuild sandbars, beaches and backwaters. The rebuilt areas provide key wildlife habitat, enhance the aquatic food base, protect archeological sites, and create additional camping opportunities in the canyon.”

More instream flow coverage here.

Hoover Dam: Quaggas in the pipes

From The New York Times (Scott Streater):

The organisms, which grow to about [20 millimetres], are clogging water lines that are used to cool the 17 massive hydropower turbines at Hoover Dam and have already forced dam operators to temporarily shut down the power plant that supplies electricity to 1.6 million people in southern Nevada, Arizona and California.

The mussels have caused similar problems at the downstream Davis Dam in Lake Mohave and Parker Dam in Lake Havasu, both of which provide electricity for thousands of people in Arizona and California. The mussels have also threatened to clog water intake lines in Lake Mead operated by the Southern Nevada Water System that supply water to more than 2 million people in the Las Vegas area.

“We’re very concerned,” said Fred Nibling, a Reclamation biologist in Denver who is helping lead agency efforts to combat the mussel invasion…

So the bureau has applied to U.S. EPA for an exemption waiver that would allow it to use an experimental pesticide that contains the freshwater bacteria Pseudomonas fluorescens, which in laboratory tests has shown great promise to kill quagga mussels, and their invasive cousins zebra mussels, without harming other organisms.

More invasive species coverage here.

South Platte Basin Roundtable meeting December 17

The next meeting of the roundtable is December 17 in Loveland. Here’s the agenda (pdf) via Natalie Stevens at the City of Greeley Water Department.

More IBCC — roundtables coverage here.

Rico: Geothermal Academy December 12

From The Telluride Watch:

Colorado School of Mines Professor Professor Masami Nakagawa comes to Rico Saturday, Dec. 12, for a “Geothermal Academy Kickoff in Rico,” Rico Mayor Barbara Betts reported this week. The event, essentially a forum for announcing the creation of a Geothermal Academy in Rico, and a discussion of the Rico area’s overall geothermal potential – begins at 9 a.m. in the Rico Courthouse, with a break for lunch, and ends at 4 p.m. Topics include Ground Source Heat Pumps and Civil Applications; Direct Use and Small Power Generation; National Renewal Energy Laboratory Geothermal Program; Renewable Energy Policy; San Miguel Power and a roundtable discussion/wrap-up.

More geothermal coverage here and here.

Cortez: 2010 budget includes funding microhydroelectric plant

From the Cortez Journal (Steve Grazier):

Additionally, Cortez plans to complete construction of a micro-hydroelectric plant at its water treatment plant. Construction of the hydroelectric plant is funded by a $500,000 grant and approximately $1.4 million in loan funds.

More hydroelectric coverage here and here.

Colorado Springs City Council abolishes stormwater enterprise with 5-4 vote

From The Colorado Springs Gazette (Daniel Chaćon):

The council had voted 5-4 to phase the enterprise out over two years after the Nov. 3 passage of ballot issue 300, but Councilman Bernie Herpin changed his mind. The city-owned agency is getting ready to mail the final batch of bills for the last quarter of 2009, and city officials are expecting property owners to pay whatever they owe. “For those who have not paid, the city will pursue collections, whether that’s through liens on property or through collections agencies,” Mayor Lionel Rivera said. “The $1.7 million that’s still owed the city, we’re not just going to wave our hands and say it’s going to go away.”

More stormwater coverage here.