From Yahoo! (Joe Stone):
Interest in the location is motivated in part by Colorado’s mandated goal of generating 30 percent of its power from renewable resources by 2020. Another motivating factor is new technology that has lowered the
temperature threshold at which geothermal power generation becomes feasible. The new technology — already in use at Chena Hot Springs in Alaska and Thermo, Utah — works like an air conditioner in reverse. Instead of using a refrigerant to cool air, it uses hot water to vaporize the refrigerant, which then turns turbines attached to electrical generators. Once the heat is transferred from the water to the refrigerant, the water is returned to the underground reservoir, maintaining existing water levels…Henderson said the feasibility of the project is unknown without drilling deep wells to obtain data on the underlying geothermal reservoir. Henderson hopes to find temperatures of 250 degrees in the deep exploratory wells, but the project will also need to prove “no damage to water quality, quantity or temperature.” Otherwise, the Colorado Division of Water Resources will not issue a permit for production, said Henderson. He believes that tapping the geothermal resource at depths greater than 2,000 feet will prevent any damage to the shallow aquifer that feeds local wells and hot springs.
Steamboat Springs: Yampa River Water Festival recap
May 31, 2010
From Steamboat Today (Joel Reichenberger):
Steamboaters Luke Farny and Karsten Thompson tied for first place in the juniors rodeo, while 16-year-old Denver boater JP Griffith cut through the morning’s slalom course to win that competition…
Action was intense at Charlie’s Hole in downtown Steamboat Springs on the Yampa River for the second consecutive day. Saturday was about area veterans plying their trade on the water, but Sunday was about the children. They shined. Nearly a dozen kayakers took part, top performers ranging in age from 8 to 16. Farny stood out with his ride in the finals. He landed a kick flip as an entry move, then hung in front of the wave, spinning and twisting in the surf for nearly his entire allotted 90-second ride time. When he finally washed out, a second before a whistle signaled his time was over, he was able to paddle to shore with a wide smile.
More whitewater coverage here.
From the Broomfield Enterprise:
The DOE wants to demolish several dams on the site that hold surface water in retention ponds. Breaching the dams will allow water to flow and restore the wetlands and riparian habitat.
Local communities, including Broomfield, oppose the plan…
Comments will be accepted through June 1. They can be e-mailed to rfinfo@lm.doe.gov or mailed to Rocky Flats EA Comments, 11025 Dover St., Suite 1000, Westminster, CO 80021. For more information, call 720-377-9672.
Here’s the link (pdf) to the draft version of the DOE`s environmental assessment.
More South Platte River Basin coverage here.
From The Durango Herald (Dale Rodebaugh):
The 640 commitments gathered in a month – each backed by a deposit of $500 – are encouraging, Mae Morley and Gene Bradley said last week in separate interviews. But nothing concrete will be known until engineers finish a feasibility study, they said. “I’m fifth generation out here,” said Morley, a resident of unincorporated Breen. “The commitments show true need and desire because very few people have abundant well water that is drinkable. There are wells with bad water and there are dry holes. We want drinkable water.” There are an estimated 1,300 property owners and 930 residences in the targeted area, most of them clustered along the La Plata River and Colorado Highway 140 from Breen to Redmesa. Except for a lucky few residents like Morley who has well water good enough to drink (her brother who lives a mile away fills water jugs at her place), well water is used only for bathing and washing dishes and clothes. Potable water is purchased in town or at the Marvel spring.
More San Juan Basin coverage here.
Tamarisk control: Tamarisk consumptive use is on a par with native cottonwoods and willows
May 31, 2010
From The Durango Herald (Dale Rodebaugh):
…decades and millions of dollars of eradication projects later, a report released April 28 says that conventional wisdom had it all wrong. Tamarisk was getting a bad rap – it doesn’t use any more water than the native species it crowds out – cottonwood and willows. The report, done jointly by the U.S. Geological Survey, the Forest Service and the Bureau of Reclamation, contains no new research. Rather, it’s a review and compilation of research dating back half a century. “The report is a review of the science starting in the 1960s,” said David Merritt, a riparian plant ecologist with the Forest Service in Fort Collins. The review found the premise that tamarisk was a water hog just didn’t wash, Merritt said.
Eradication efforts worked from the assumption that if tamarisk were removed there would be more water for other users, including plant species, wildlife, livestock and humans. “They weren’t able to quantify any real water savings by removing tamarisk,” Merritt said. “In certain cases, apparent (water) increases disappeared when vegetation came back…
There is relatively little tamarisk around Durango but it flourishes along the banks of the Animas, La Plata and San Juan rivers at the New Mexico line, La Plata County Weed Manager Rod Cook said. In Montezuma County where tamarisk is more abundant, a leaf beetle is munching tamarisk to death. The beetle is believed to have migrated to Montezuma County from Utah or from a beetle release four years ago on the Dolores River. Merritt said tamarisk peters out at around 7,000 feet elevation. Durango is at 6,512 feet elevation.
From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):
“They appear to me to be very weak,” said Ross Vincent, president of the local Sierra Club chapter. “My impression is that they fall far short of the protection that is needed. The language is fuzzy and does not require much of anything.” The Sierra Club and the Rocky Mountain Environmental Labor Coalition have continued to question the Bureau of Reclamation’s environmental impact statement’s adequacy and to raise questions about the impact SDS will have on Fountain Creek…
The problem, as Vincent sees it, is that water-quality conditions spelled out in Reclamation’s proposed contract require a determination by the Colorado Department of Public HealthandEnvironment that SDS is causing “significant adverse effects” before any action is taken. The requirements talk about “elevated concentrations” of selenium, E. coli and sulfates attributed to SDS. “What triggers it?” Vincent said. “We all know there are elevated concentrations now, so any increase at all would be a violation. My guess is the CDPHE would not reach a formal determination, so in effect there is no procedure.”
Vincent disagrees with Reclamation’s adaptive management plan as the way to handle unexpected changes in water quality or quantity due to SDS. “The Bureau of Reclamation is passing the buck to other agencies for its responsibility to protect water quality,” Vincent said.
I drove down Clear Creek Canyon from Idaho Springs yesterday and the creek was boiling. It’s runoff time in earnest now. The Golden gage is showing 878 cfs this morning.
Here’s a report from Joey Bunch writing for The Denver Post. From the article:
Rivers were running at more than twice their historic mean, and the Eagle River below Gypsum and the Arkansas River near Parkdale were nearing records…
Flows on the Poudre were nearly three times faster than normal for the date. “I’m afraid we may not have reached the high-flow period yet,” said Heidi Koontz, spokeswoman for the U.S. Geological Survey in Colorado “Typically, the high-flow period comes in the middle of June.”[...]
In southern Colorado, the National Weather Service issued a flood warning Sunday afternoon for low-lying areas in the Cañon City area, as the Arkansas River and tributaries became gorged with runoff. The city of Boulder issued a bulletin Sunday morning urging caution, with Barker Reservoir by Nederland expected to spill heavily into Boulder Creek during the next few days. Boulder Creek was flowing at 120 cubic feet per second Sunday, but as the spill begins, flows could spike as high as 420. “A flow of 300 to 400 cfs is considered dangerous for swimming and wading,” the city warned in its bulletin…
Brenda Worley, owner of Colorado River Guides in Yampa, said the Colorado and Eagle rivers were a study in contrasts. She operates tours on both. The Colorado River is regulated by dams, meaning it rarely gets too mild or too wild, and the season can last until August. The Eagle is fed by snowmelt, which means frigid temperatures and gushing flows in June, Worley said. “We may be lucky to still have water by the Fourth of July,” she said, “but it may be pretty fast between then and now.”
Flags for Memorial Day
May 30, 2010
Mrs. Gulch’s flower gardens are in their glory for the holiday. Check out her white iris, Miner’s rose, Austrian Copper rose along with some blue iris.
Here’s the release from the United States Geological Service:
More than 20 percent of untreated water samples from 932 public wells across the nation contained at least one contaminant at levels of potential health concern, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey
About 105 million people — or more than one-third of the nation’s population — receive their drinking water from one of the 140,000 public water systems across the United States that rely on groundwater pumped from public wells
The USGS study focused primarily on source (untreated) water collected from public wells before treatment or blending rather than the finished (treated) drinking water that water utilities deliver to their customers.
“By focusing primarily on source-water quality, and by testing for many contaminants that are not regulated in drinking water, this USGS study complements the extensive monitoring of public water systems that is routinely conducted for regulatory and compliance purposes by federal, state and local drinking-water programs,” said Matthew C. Larsen, USGS Associate Director for Water. “Findings assist water utility managers and regulators in making decisions about future monitoring needs and drinking-water issues.”
Findings showed that naturally occurring contaminants, such as radon and arsenic, accounted for about three-quarters of contaminant concentrations greater than human-health benchmarks in untreated source water. Naturally occurring contaminants are mostly derived from the natural geologic materials that make up the aquifers from which well water is withdrawn.
Man-made contaminants were also found in untreated water sampled from the public wells, including herbicides, insecticides, solvents, disinfection by-products, nitrate, and gasoline chemicals. Man-made contaminants accounted for about one-quarter of contaminant concentrations greater than human-health benchmarks, but were detected in 64 percent of the samples, predominantly in samples from unconfined aquifers.
“Detections of contaminants do not necessarily indicate a concern for human health because USGS analytical methods can detect many contaminants at concentrations that are 100-fold to 1,000-fold lower than human-health benchmarks,” said lead scientist Patricia Toccalino. “Assessing contaminants in these small amounts helps to track emerging issues in our water resources and to identify contaminants that may warrant inclusion in future monitoring.”
Scientists tested water samples for 337 properties and chemical contaminants, including nutrients, radionuclides, trace elements, pesticides, solvents, gasoline hydrocarbons, disinfection by-products and manufacturing additives. This study did not assess pharmaceuticals or hormones.
Most (279) of the contaminants analyzed in this study are not federally regulated in finished drinking water under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
The USGS also sampled paired source and finished (treated) water from a smaller subset of 94 public wells. Findings showed that many man-made organic contaminants detected in source water generally were detected in finished water at similar concentrations. Organic contaminants detected in both treated and source water typically were detected at concentrations well below human-health benchmarks, however.
Additionally, the study shows that contaminants found in public wells usually co-occurred with other contaminants as mixtures. Mixtures can be a concern because the total combined toxicity of contaminants in water may be greater than that of any single contaminant. Mixtures of contaminants with concentrations approaching benchmarks were found in 84 percent of wells, but mixtures of contaminants above health benchmarks were found less frequently, in 4 percent of wells.
This USGS study identifies which contaminant mixtures may be of most concern in groundwater used for public-water supply and can help human-health researchers to target and prioritize toxicity assessments of contaminant mixtures. The USGS report identifies the need for continued research because relatively little is known about the potential health effects of most mixtures of contaminants.
Wells included in this study are located in 41 states and withdraw water from parts of 30 regionally extensive aquifers, which constitute about one-half of the principal aquifers used for water supply in the United States.
Human-health benchmarks used in this study include U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Maximum Contaminant Levels for regulated contaminants and USGS Health-Based Screening Levels for unregulated contaminants, which are non-enforceable guidelines developed by the USGS in collaboration with the EPA and other water partners.
Treated drinking water from public wells is regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Water utilities, however, are not required to treat water for unregulated contaminants. The EPA uses USGS information on the occurrence of unregulated contaminants to identify contaminants that may require drinking-water regulation in the future.
This study and additional information about public wells can be found on the Quality of Water from Public-Supply Wells in the United States website.
People served by public water systems can obtain information about their drinking-water quality from their water supplier. Selected water suppliers provide an annual water-quality report; some reports are available on EPA’s Consumer Confidence Reports (CRR) website.
Companion USGS studies on the transport of contaminants to public supply wells are online. In addition, a comparable study on the quality of water in domestic wells is online.
More water pollution coverage here.
Colorado Springs Utilities board approves entering into water supply contracts with other area providers
May 30, 2010
From The Tri-Lakes Tribune (Nicole Chillino):
After discussing the policy change for about a year-and-a-half, the utilities board approved an agreement that permits the utilities provider to, with approval, enter into contracts with other water purveyors to lease, store, treat and transport water through its system to entities, according to the May 19 agenda. The price for tapping into Colorado Springs’ system would be paid by the entity connecting to it and there would be a premium paid on top of the cost of providing the water. “The concept is any additional cost would be born by the entity that is causing that,” said Gary Bostrom, the utility provider’s water resource manager.
Donala Water and Sanitation District General Manager Dana Duthie attended the meeting at which the regional cooperation was approved as a representative of the Pikes Peak Regional Water Authority. He said the authority endorses the Utilities Policy Advisory Committee’s recommendations for the item. “We think it establishes a basis for collaboration that will definitely benefit everybody,” he said.
San Luis Valley: With the plan for Subdistrict No. 1 approved the next step is submitting the rules to water court
May 30, 2010
From The Pueblo Chieftain (Matt Hildner):
The rules would help govern how the Engineer’s Office regulates the subdistrict, which is made up of groundwater users in the north-central part of the valley who will tax themselves to buy replacement water for pumping that injures senior surface water rights and to fallow ground in an effort to restore aquifer levels. The rules would also apply to groundwater irrigators who are not part of a subdistrict…
The effective date of the rules also will be pushed back to 2012.
The other pending hurdle for the draft rules will come when the advisory committee gets a look at the response functions of the Rio Grande Decision Support System, a computer program designed to model the flow of the valley’s groundwater. That system may be used to help the Engineer’s Office determine where injuries from pumping will occur and from which wells, but the draft rules allow the office to use other means when it’s determined that reliance on the computer model would be inappropriate.
Runoff news
May 30, 2010
From the Fort Collins Coloradoan (Trevor Hughes):
The [Poudre] river, as measured at the mouth of the Poudre Canyon, was below the 128-year average for the past few days but jumped above it Friday. The flow rose as high as 1,874 cubic feet per second, or cfs, on Friday; the average discharge for May 28 is about 1,500 cfs.
From The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel:
Flows in the Gunnison River through the Black Canyon and the Gunnison Gorge have dropped to around 650 cubic feet per second and will stay there for the time being, reported the Bureau last week. That’s a bit off from the 800 cfs estimated earlier for summer flows but those estimates were made before western Colorado’s version of the African Sirocco blew hot and hotter over the past week. Last week’s wind storms did more than muss your hairstyle. Snowpacks retreated faster than your 401(k) and the searing wind made a lot of that snow simply disappear. Sublimate, in the scientific terms, which means it doesn’t make the runoff but simply enters the atmosphere.
From the Associated Press via the Vail Daily:
In northern Colorado, the Cache la Poudre River was running at 1,874 cubic feet per second Friday, well above the 128-year average discharge for that date of about 1,500 cfs.
Frisco: Ten Mile One Mile June 12-13
May 29, 2010
From the Summit Daily News (Bryce Evans):
What: Frisco kayak competition
When: June 12-13
Details: Night trick competition on June 12, followed by kayak rodeo (2-4 p.m., June 13) and kayak race (4:30 p.m., June 13).
More info: Contact Matti Wade of Ten Mile Creek Kayaks at (970) 668-9294
More whitewater coverage here.
From the Glenwood Springs Post Independent (Kevin Keller):
Stand-up paddlers from the Roaring Fork Valley will compete with athletes from as far away as Hawaii. MacArthur said they are expecting about 35 competitors this year. Event promoter Paul Tefft said the event is truly one-of-a-kind. “It’s new, different, and unique,” he said. “The sport is evolving as we speak. My favorite event is the surfing, it’s the most action packed. There are a bunch of new moves, and it’s evolving at a rapid pace.” This year’s champion will be crowned after paddlers compete in three separate events on the Colorado River: A down river race, a new event called Supercross, and the surfing contest on the wave at the whitewater park, the competition’s website said. There are four divisions in the championship: men, women, youth male and youth female…
The race begins at 9:30 a.m. at Two Rivers Park. The paddlers will begin with a mass start at the park and race about six miles downriver to the finish at South Canyon. Supercross starts at 11:30 a.m., adjacent to Two Rivers Park. The event is a race similar to the Winter Olympic snowboard event boardercross. Competitors line up at the launch site, paddle upriver around the first flag, then go into the main current, with one more upriver flag to cross, according to the competition’s website…
The final event is a surfing contest with two or three one-minute rides per competitor, depending on number of competitors. The surfing begins at 2:30 p.m. at the whitewater park and is judged on a point system, with points being awarded for different types of moves. Wilmott said that surfing here is quite different from surfing on the ocean. “Surfing a wave that never ends is harder than it looks,” Wilmott said. “I think the best way to describe it is that the ocean is three-dimensional and the river is five-dimensional.” The competitors will then head back to Two Rivers Park for the awards ceremony, trophy presentation to the overall champions, and some celebration. Registration forms and information are available online at www.whitewatersupchampionship.com. Registration payment can be made in person at Two Rivers Park on May 30 from 5 to 7 p.m.
More whitewater coverage here.
From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):
“The Bureau of Reclamation must not award any contract without first demanding that the stormwater enterprise be re-instituted,” state Rep. Sal Pace, D-Pueblo, said. “We in Pueblo must have that assurance before SDS is given a contract in Lake Pueblo.” In April, Pace called for a new environmental analysis of SDS in light of Colorado Springs City Council’s decision to abolish the stormwater enterprise last year. Pace was unable to attend the first negotiating session for SDS this week because of a family emergency, but said his stance has not changed. “If the stormwater enterprise was deemed so important in these environmental studies by Reclamation and Colorado Springs officials when promoting SDS, then there must be serious consequences upon its demise,” Pace wrote in the letter.
Colorado Springs attempted to head off controversy over the issue in the opening round of negotiations for federal SDS contracts, even though the issue wasn’t raised by the Bureau of Reclamation. “Colorado Springs’ stormwater-control measures for new development are totally independent from the stormwater enterprise and will remain unchanged,” SDS Project Director John Fredell said. Reclamation’s environmental impact statement concluded that SDS return flows would have a small impact on storm flows, Fredell said…
Pueblo County, in its comments on the environmental impact statement by attorney Ray Petros, told Reclamation additional environmental studies would be needed if Colorado Springs eliminated its stormwater enterprise. Reclamation answered Pueblo county’s concerns with the environmental impact statement by saying the stormwater enterprise appeared to be a reasonably foreseeable action, so was included as part of the cumulative effects analysis. “Implementation of the Colorado Springs stormwater enterprise has purposes that are independent of the SDS Project and is not considered a mitigation measure,” Reclamation stated in the reply.
From the Associated Press via The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel:
The BLM says a renewable energy company has nominated two areas covering about 14 square miles. Some of the land overlaps habitat for Gunnison sage grouse and Canada lynx. The company’s name wasn’t released. The BLM will analyze possible environmental impacts before deciding if leases should go forward. No public lands in Colorado have been leased for geothermal energy development yet.
From the Cortez Journal (Kimberly Benedict):
The spill, which began at low levels Monday, was expected to reach raftable flows near 800 cubic feet per second by noon Wednesday. “The reservoir is near full,” said Mike Preston, general manager of the Dolores Water Conservancy. “We are on for rafting flows of 800 cfs through Friday. We’re anticipating that we are going to be able to extend rafting into the weekend, although we may have to start ramping down flow Sunday night or some point during the weekend.”[...]
“For a while the irrigation demand had overtaken the inflow of the river, but now that we are near full and warming up we are going to have some water to spill. We just don’t know how much.”[...]
“We started with a reservoir elevation that was lower by over 30,000 feet as compared to last year,” Preston said. “We were filling a bigger hole, and we didn’t have the early warm weather. Fierce winds during the past few weeks also impacted river flows. High winds speed the evaporation of high altitude snow and dry the soil, forcing water into the ground rather than rivers. “Every year is different,” Preston said. “That is what I’m learning. In the good year, like 2008, we’re going to be spilling over a long period of time. A year like this, we don’t know what is up there and how fast it is going to come down.” The Upper Dolores is flowing above 1,500 cfs into McPhee. Upper flows should continue into early June. Up-to-date release information is available at www.doloreswater.com/releases.htm.
More Dolores River watershed coverage here and here.
Meanwhile, the Avon whitewater park is open according to a report from the Snowmass Sun. From the article:
Avon’s whitewater park is open and the rapids are flowing perfectly for surfing and play time. The Eagle River is currently flowing at approximately 1,080 cfs.
More whitewater coverage here.
From Steamboat Today (Mike Lawrence):
The city of Steamboat Springs’ Parks, Open Space and Recreational Services Department has closed some sections of the Yampa River Core Trail because of seasonal high water. As runoff-fueled flows surge and abate in local waterways, additional closures and trail detours could occur.
The Colorado Water Quality Control Commission has scheduled a rulemaking hearing in Denver on June 7
May 28, 2010
From The Crested Butte News (Mike Horn):
The majority of the revisions to Regulation No. 31 are being proposed by the Water Quality Control Division, with the Colorado Mining Association and the Colorado Wastewater Utility Council submitting additional proposals. The proposed revisions include changes to criteria for, among others, dissolved oxygen, E. coli, and molybdenum. Temporary modifications of standards and anti-degradation to protect high-quality waters are also on the docket, as is adoption of new provisions authorizing variances to water quality standards in limited circumstances.
More Colorado Water Quality Control Commission coverage here.
Here’s Part I of Bill Hudson’s series PAWSD Makes an Apology, Of Sorts. From the article:
Last night, the Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District board and staff made a lengthy presentation for the benefit of the Archuleta Board of County Commissioners. The meeting had been requested by the BoCC, and was destined, I think, to set Archuleta County on a new path. Either the BoCC and PAWSD would enter into a dialog about the proposed Dry Gulch Reservoir and begin to work collaboratively in deciding the future of the county — or the BoCC would begin to exercise its statutory oversight powers, and start intervening in the water district’s financial decisions.
Here’s Part II, Part III and Part IV. More Pagosa Springs coverage here and here.
It’s been a long time coming but the rules designed to protect senior rights holders in the San Luis Valley from groundwater pumping (along with idling 40,000 acres of irrigated farmland) received Judge O. John Kuenhold’s blessing in a ruling released yesterday. The plan is an alternative to state imposed regulations. Here’s a report from Matt Hildner writing for The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:
Should it make it through an anticipated appeal to the state Supreme Court, the plan for Subdistrict No. 1 would take in roughly 174,000 acres of irrigated farmland and 3,000 irrigation wells. The plan would institute a tax on its members to pay for replacement water to compensate senior surface water users harmed by depletions exceeding 50 acre-feet per year. It also would use those proceeds to retire at least 40,000 acres over a 10-year period to restore the unconfined aquifer, a move the ruling called, “an important and courageous milestone in water development in this state.” The unconfined aquifer is the shallower of the valley’s two main bodies of groundwater and the court has found that both are connected in some degree to the area’s surface streams.
David Robbins, the lead attorney for Subdistrict No. 1, was heartened by the ruling. He pointed specifically to the judge’s decision that replacements wouldn’t go into effect until 2012. The extra year will give the subdistrict time to collect sufficient funds to meet its water replacement obligations…
The objectors gained some consolation when the judge ruled that the subdistrict must replace past depletions from well pumping, which can have an effect on surface streams for up to 20 years after the pumping has taken place. Evidence at the trial pegged the amount of injury from past depletions to amount to 48,993 acre feet through 2028. The court rejected proposals from supporters that compensation for past depletions go back only to 2005, noting that senior surface water users have gone four decades without having their rights fully and fairly protected. “This is not the time for a half-step that would be viewed by many as simply another delay tactic,” the ruling stated…
The plan would rely on the Rio Grande Decision Support System, a computer modeling system, to determine both future and past impacts from pumping. Should water users object to any components of the plan from year to year or of the Engineer Office’s handling of the plan, the court would retain jurisdiction to hear their complaints.
From email from Peter Roessmann (Western Resource Advocates):
FYI, the New York Times reprinted an article published in Land Letter about the Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area’s proposed instream flow right. As you know, the CWCB voted last Thursday to initiate work on a state ISF for the wilderness to preclude the need for federal intervention. A group of organizations working on this resolution issued a statement last Thursday afternoon about the CWCB’s vote (pdf).
Here’s an excerpt from the New York Times (Phil Taylor):
In a decision hailed by environmental groups and supported by BLM, the Colorado Water Conservation Board last week advanced an unconventional plan that would be one of the first variable water rights ever granted in the state. The plan — modeled after a proposal BLM pitched to the board earlier this year — would protect the seasonally changing flows in the canyon while balancing the needs of upstream landowners who depend on the same source of water to graze cattle. While typical in-stream water rights in Colorado assign fixed flow rates for specific periods of time, the Dominguez proposal would allocate a fixed amount of water for upstream users and send all remaining water — regardless of volume — to Big Dominguez and Little Dominguez creeks. “The board’s decision is great for Colorado,” said Bart Miller, water program director at Boulder-based Western Resource Advocates. “Declaring an intent to appropriate water is the first, most important step in protecting streams in the Dominguez Canyon Wilderness that sustain the area’s beauty, wildlife and recreational value. These streams are the lifeblood of this very special place.” Barring any significant opposition, the Water Conservation Board could finalize the proposal at its July 20 hearing, triggering a formal water rights filing before a state water court.
The proposal would be the first in the state to ensure flows for a federal wilderness area, said Steve Smith, assistant regional director for the Wilderness Society in Colorado. “I’m delighted that we were able to team up with water developers and local governments to craft the federal legislation [creating Dominguez] in the first place,” he said. “It directed the BLM to negotiate with the state over a water right for the wilderness.” If finalized, the water right would be owned by the state and would eliminate the need for the Interior Department to declare its own water right — a politically contentious move in water-strapped Western states.
More instream flow coverage here.
Cedaredge: Water rates to go up
May 27, 2010
From the Delta County Independent (Bob Borchardt)
With Resolution 13-2010, the monthly base rate for domestic water users was increased from $16.50 to $21 for up to 10,000 gallons usage per month. It also established a new monthly charge — a capital replacement fee — of $4, and maintained the current monthly $4 capital improvement fee and $8 debt reduction fee. Out-of-town users also will pay a $10 monthly surcharge. The total base monthly charge for in-town users will be $37 per month, effective July 1. Out-of-town users will pay $47 per month. According to Cedaredge town administrator Kathleen Sickles, those charges, when added together, will reflect an $8.50 per month increase on water users monthly statements, starting with the August billing.
More infrastructure coverage here.
Here’s the release from the Environmental Protection Agency (Charles Glass):
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is initiating a rulemaking to better protect the environment and public health from the harmful effects of sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) and basement backups. In many cities, SSOs and basement backups occur because of blockages, broken pipes and excessive water flowing into the pipes. SSOs present environmental and health problems because they discharge untreated wastewater that contains bacteria, viruses, suspended solids, toxics, trash and other pollutants into waterways. These overflows may also contribute to beach closures, shellfish bed closures, contamination of drinking water supplies and other environmental and health concerns.
Infrastructure issues were discussed at the Coming Together for Clean Water Conference held by EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson on April 15, 2010. The agency plans to address these issues as part of its efforts to protect public health and revitalize local waterways.
EPA is considering two possible modifications to existing regulations: (1) establishing standard National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit conditions for publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) permits that specifically address sanitary sewer collection systems and SSOs; and (2) clarifying the regulatory framework for applying NPDES permit conditions to municipal satellite collection systems. Municipal satellite collection systems are sanitary sewers owned or operated by a municipality that conveys wastewater to a POTW operated by a different municipality. As a part of this effort, the agency is also considering whether to address long-standing questions about peak wet weather flows at municipal wastewater treatment plants to allow for a holistic, integrated approach to reducing SSOs while at the same time addressing peak flows at POTWs.
To help the agency make decisions on this proposed rulemaking, EPA will hold public listening sessions and the public can submit written comments. EPA will accept written comments on the potential rule until 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.
More information on sanitary sewer overflows, the potential rule and a schedule of the upcoming listening sessions: http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/home.cfm?program_id=4
More wastewater coverage here.
Runoff news: Dillon Reservoir is spilling
May 27, 2010
From the Sky-Hi Daily News (Julie Sutor):
Water from Dillon Reservoir began flowing through the morning glory spillway into the Lower Blue River at 5 a.m. Tuesday. Water spills through the “glory hole” when the reservoir’s water level reaches its full elevation of 9,017 feet. Water also flows through the waterworks and into the Blue River from the bottom of the dam. The spillway ensures water never flows over the top of the dam. Outflows into the Lower Blue reached 235 cubic feet per second (cfs) Tuesday, with 220 of that coming from the bottom of the dam. As the snowpack continues to melt, the percentage of water coming from the top of the reservoir, via the spillway, will increase. Outflows into the Lower Blue are forecast to peak at 1,100 cfs on June 9. Inflows are forecast to peak at 1,300 cfs on June 9.
Cañon City: New Arkansas River whitewater parks open for business — Royal Gorge Whitewater Festival June 25-26
May 27, 2010
From The Colorado Springs Gazette (Andrew Wineke):
The park, which was officially opened earlier this month, was humorously dubbed “WKRP in Cañon City” (if you’re too young to get the joke, google it) — the acronym stands for Whitewater Kayak and Recreation Park.
“I’ve always thought that we needed a whitewater park,” said Will Colon, co-owner of Raft Masters in Cañon City. “We’ve always let the river run through the city and never really used it.” About three years ago, Colon decided to do something about it. He raised money and brought in experts, pitched the idea to city leaders and pretty soon, WKRP was under way. With a $200,000 grant from Great Outdoors Colorado and $200,000 more in local cash and in-kind contributions, an excavator began laying rock in the riverbed in January between Depot and Centennial parks, around the Fourth Street viaduct.
The core of the park is a pair of man-made waves, dubbed Flytrap and Nessman, where giant concrete blocks were placed in the river and form frothing piles of foam as the Arkansas crashes over them. Kayakers and rafters, and potentially the occasional surfer or boogie boarder, can play in the waves, surfing and cartwheeling and spinning. For rafters and kayakers finishing a Royal Gorge trip, the waves will be a final hit before taking out…
June 25 and 26, the park will host the Royal Gorge Whitewater Festival — a week after the Fibark festival in Salida, the state’s largest. Colon hopes to add more waves to the park and extend the bank improvements upstream. He also hopes the park won’t be just a summertime attraction. “Ideally, we want a wave that will work in the wintertime,” Colon said. “We’re in the banana belt, we have good weather in the winter.”
More whitewater coverage here.
