From the Aspen Daily News (Andrew Travers):
The seven-member board is spending a little under $100,000 to hire a consultant to study the Roaring Fork’s streamflow from the Salvation Ditch through Aspen to where it meets Castle Creek. Due to diversions, that most visible bend in the river is often quite low in the summertime. The study will assess what levels of flow are healthy for the Roaring Fork’s ecosystem year-round.
On the Fryingpan, near Basalt, the board is asking for bids from contractors to assess the economic impact the river has on the midvalley. Officials haven’t yet put a ballpark price on that study, Pitkin County attorney John Ely said. They’re seeking an all-encompassing view of the river economy — taking into account not only tourist spending on rafting, fishing and recreation, but also its toll on real estate prices, and how a flowing river may affect home sales.
Those are the first two on-the-ground projects for the board, which was founded with a promise to maintain and improve water quality and quantity, riparian habitats, and protect county water rights from Front Range diversions. The Roaring Fork and Fryingpan projects emerged after the board did a cursory analysis of all rivers and streams in the county.
Aspinall Unit update
July 22, 2010
From email from Reclamation (Dan Crabtree):
The most recent Colorado Basin River Forecast Center April through July runoff forecast is 495,000 ac-ft., down 25,000 ac-ft from the July 1st forecast. As dry as things have been, the final number is more likely to end up around 487,000 ac-ft. (Remember, the May 1st forecast was 560,000 ac-ft). In order to maintain storage and extend decent flows through the summer, releases from the Aspinall Unit will be reduced by 50 cfs tomorrow, July 22nd. Flows in the Black Canyon and Gunnison Gorge will then be about 600 cfs and, depending on hydrology, will be maintained through September. Flows will be further reduced to 500 cfs sometime in October and carry through December. At this time, Reclamation projects an end of December Blue Mesa elevation of 7488.6, which is 1.4 feet below the normal December target. Please contact Dan Crabtree at 970-248-0652 or reply to this email with questions.
As a reminder, the next Aspinall Operations Meeting will be held on Thursday, September 2nd in the Elk Creek Visitor Center on Blue Mesa Reservoir, starting at 1:00 p.m. We will be discussing past and future operations, as well as other activities within the Gunnison Basin.
More Aspinall Unit coverage here.
CWCB: July board meeting recap
July 22, 2010
Update: From The Mountain Mail (Joe Stone):
Highlights of the board’s second day in Salida included a presentation about the new “Guidebook of Best Practices for Municipal Water Conservation in Colorado,” a tool to help water providers implement effective water conservation measures. Brenda O’brien, project manager for Colorado WaterWise, said the board-funded guidebook will be available by the end of the month and can help conserve significant amounts of water, up to 63 percent for outdoor residential use, for example…
Board members also
• heard a report about the benefits of the Community Rating System, which rewards communities for flood mitigation measures;
• received an update on passive water conservation, which is expected to reduce water use in the Arkansas Basin by up to 39,400 acre-feet per year by 2050;
• heard a report about reallocation of water storage in Chatfield reservoir;
• received an update about potential wild and scenic rivers designations;
• heard updates on several cases;
• convened an executive session for the attorney general’s report and legal briefing.
Board members will meet again Sept. 14-15 in Grand Junction in conjunction with the Colorado River District Water Seminar on Sept. 16.
From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):
Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District Executive Director Jim Broderick updated the CWCB on the status of the Arkansas Valley Conduit. The board has approved a $60 million loan toward the $300 million project. The conduit received a $5 million appropriation this year and could get as much as $6 million next year, “Thank you for that approval. Without that, there would be no federal appropriation,” Broderick said…
In another matter, the board approved a $33,600 grant toward a $42,000 study by the Southeastern Water Conservancy District of how water flows are managed in the Upper Arkansas River. The study will be done by Paul Flack, a former hydrologist for Colorado State Parks, who is now a consultant. It grew out of a meeting last year among Upper Arkansas stakeholders who disagreed about how water is moved during certain times of year…
The board also:
-Looked at progress on a decision support system for the Arkansas Valley, which will provide information on cumulative impacts of water projects.
- Received a presentation on the Arkansas Basin Roundtable’s needs assessment from Jay Winner, general manger of the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District.
-Heard an update on the Upper Arkansas Conservancy District’s data collection system, which added gauges on streams and at reservoirs.
- Looked at the Upper Ark district’s water basin study.
- Received a progress report on the Arkansas Basin Data Collection and Assessment that has grown out of more than a decade of studies by Colorado State University.
More coverage from Chris Woodka writing for The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:
The board approved a list of prequalified loans — but not the actual loans — that included a plan to rehabilitate the Cucharas Reservoir Dam. John McKowen, who has purchased three-fourths of the Huerfano-Cucharas Ditch, wants to rebuild the dam in Huerfano County in order to restore irrigation on farmland in Pueblo County. About 500 acres of farmland is growing dryland wheat, irrigated wheat and corn under a pilot project this year and, McKowen eventually intends to put 10,000 acres back into production. “We’ve spent about $4 million so far,” McKowen said. The dam was restricted in 1988 after a breach was discovered. The existing reservoir was engineered to hold 50,000 acre-feet of water. It is the largest reservoir in the state under restriction…
Reed Dils, the Arkansas River basin representative on the CWCB, asked whether other uses of water are being anticipated, such as creating home sites on the shores of the reservoir. “Nothing like that is planned,” McKowen said. “It’s never going to be a permanent reservoir.”[...]
State Engineer Dick Wolfe raised several questions about water rights and the ability to fill the reservoir.
McKowen acknowledged his direct flow rights are junior, but the storage right is relatively senior, dating back to the early 1900s.
More CWCB coverage here.
Buena Vista: Supply options discussed by town board
July 22, 2010
From The Chaffee County Times (Kathy Davis):
Town engineer Rachel Friedman said the town has 2,270 available taps. There are 1,490 existing taps, leaving 780 additional taps the town’s existing water rights can support, she said. The town has a commitment of an additional 500 taps for infill on town lots. The projected number of taps needed for proposed subdivisions and other proposed development is 976 taps. The total projected demand is approximately 1,476 taps. Friedman said the average water usage is 400 gallons per tap per day. This is a high average, she said. In some places, the average usage is 200 gallons per tap per day…
Regarding new water sources, the town has been measuring for a dry-up on 63 acres in the big meadow on Crossman Avenue. The dry-up is required by the water court decree for the town to convert Leesmaugh Ditch agriculture water rights to municipal use. If the town completes the dry-up of the meadow, it could get an additional 120 to 200 taps, town engineer Patricia Flood said. A maximum dry-up of the meadow could take another two years, she said. Trustee Jerry Steinauer asked if there were a way to hasten the dry up. Drains could be installed, Flood said.
Also discussed was an exchange of water proposed by the John Cogswell, developer of the Villages at Cottonwood Meadows, a proposed subdivision in the meadow on Crossman Avenue. Town administrator Sue Boyd said it would require Cogswell’s commitment to paying the fees for analysis of the exchange…
The town needs to think about additional sources of supply to meet needs, Covell said. The town’s water master plan recommends acquisition of additional water from a new well on the Arkansas River. Other recommended sources would be from the town’s well, well #3, and the purchase of additional water rights.
More infrastructure coverage here.
CWCB: Sterling Ranch rainwater catchments project first to be approved under HB 09-1129
July 22, 2010
Update: From INDT (John Rebchook):
The Colorado Water Conservation Board voted unanimously on Wednesday to name the 3,400-acre Sterling Ranch as the state’s first rainwater harvesting pilot project. Sterling Ranch’s innovative water conservation plan currently calls for using just one-third the water traditionally required in Douglas County—without relying on rainwater collection. With the rainwater pilot designation, Sterling Ranch will develop a new water source to be used for outside irrigation that could result in even more water supply savings. “We are very excited about this pilot project,” said Geoff Blakeslee, chairman of the Colorado Water Conservation Board, at the board meeting held in Salida…
Sterling Ranch estimates that at least half of the community’s outdoor irrigation demand can be met by capturing rainwater from storm drainage systems and rooftops in underground storage tanks or retention ponds. After being collected, it can be recycled to water the community’s lawns, gardens and open space.
From the Denver Business Journal (Paula Moore):
The proposed, $4.3 billion Sterling Ranch community in Douglas County will get the state’s first rainwater harvesting pilot project, ranch developers said Wednesday. The Colorado Water Conservation Board in Salida unanimously picked Sterling Ranch, which includes 3,400 acres, to have one of 10 such projects. The ranch will collect rainwater, from storm drainage systems and rooftops, and keep it in underground storage tanks or retention ponds. The water will be recycled for lawns, gardens and open space at the community. “This is a giant leap forward for water conservation,” Harold Smethills, principal at Sterling Ranch LLC and the project’s managing director, said in a statement. “It combines forward-thinking rainwater harvesting with Sterling Ranch’s vision for innovative water conservation…
The rainwater pilot project is part of the 2009 Colorado Legislature’s House Bill 1129, signed into law by Gov. Bill Ritter last June. The legislation permits 10 rainwater collection systems to be developed.
More conservation coverage here.
From the Valley Courier (Ruth Heide):
Colorado Division of Water Resources Division III Engineer Craig Cotten announced a zero curtailment for irrigators on both Rio Grande and Conejos River systems beginning Wednesday, primarily because no water is flowing and the state’s obligation to downstream states has been adjusted accordingly. He said he has lowered the projected annual index for the Rio Grande to 530,000 acre feet, 5,000 less than the projection at the beginning of this month and considerably less than the 575,000-acre-foot June 1 forecast. Of the new 530,000-acre-foot projection, the Rio Grande must deliver 137,200 acre feet or about 27 percent to downstream states through the Rio Grande Compact. The Rio Grande has already delivered nearly 100,000 acre feet to downstream states, and the additional required delivery will likely be met through current return flows, Closed Basin Project water and winter flows in November and December, Cotten said. “So we won’t need much at all during the irrigation season,” he said.
Cotten also decreased by 5,000 acre feet the projected annual index on the Conejos River system, which is now forecast at 290,000 acre feet. At the beginning of June the forecast was 315,000 acre feet. Of the 290,000 acre feet projected annual index, the Conejos River system must deliver 102,200 acre feet downstream, or about 35 percent. The river will have no problem meeting that requirement. In fact, it will likely over deliver this year, Cotten said. “We don’t need anything through the rest of the irrigation season to the bottom end of the Conejos,” he said. “However, that is also anticipating we are going to get 2,800 acre feet out of the Closed Basin Project.”[...]
Cotten explained that stream flows on the Rio Grande and Conejos were tracking average until about June 10, when they dropped significantly. “It just cratered, dropped real hard and we are continuing to drop,” he said. On the Conejos River system, he said, “We are significantly below our average stream flows on almost all of our gauging stations right now.” He said the low river levels are an indication of the lack of precipitation the Valley has received so far this summer.
From the Summit County Citizens Voice (Bob Berwyn):
As of July 19, about 375 cubic feet per second were being diverted under the Continental Divide to the South Platte drainage. “It’s been really hot in Denver,” said water resource project manager Dave Bennett, “Demand is up.” Bennett said about 800 acre feet of water so far have been withdrawn from Dillon Reservoir, leaving it a few inches shy of its highest elevation…
Little said about 109 cfs is flowing out through the dam and into the Lower Blue, still well above the minimum 50 cfs level set by state rules to protect trout. The total combined inflow for all the Blue River and all its tributaries flowing into the reservoir was only 177 cfs on July 19. Blue River water commissioner Scott Hummer said most local streams, notably the Snake River, are flowing near historic lows after the snowpack quickly vanished in June. Making an educated guess, Hummer said some local streams could drop to the levels of the historic drought in 2002, when some streams reached all-time record low flows.
The good news is that all the reservoirs in the state are full or nearly full, giving water managers a buffer to work with…
Summer rains in the Denver area could reduce the demand for water from Dillon Reservoir, Bennett said, explaining that operations of the Roberts Tunnel are weather-dependent. Cool, wet weather in Denver could lead to a reduction in diversions through the tunnel.
From The Colorado Springs Gazette (Eileen Welsome):
“We’re seeing movement and I’m encouraged by that,” John Fredell, SDS project manager, said during a presentation Wednesday at the monthly meeting of the Utilities Board. The municipally-owned utility and the federal government have held three public negotiation sessions this summer on the contracts needed for the 62-mile pipeline, which will transport water north from the reservoir to Colorado Springs. During the sessions, CSU’s negotiating team has succeeded in whittling the roughly $200 million that the Bureau has been demanding to about $82 million. Utilities contends that’s still too much and would like to see the figure decline by another $40 million or so. The next round of talks are scheduled for late August…
Mike Collins, the leader for Reclamation’s negotiating team, said through a spokesperson that he also was hopeful. “While we have not yet reached agreement on all of the proposals exchanged in the last session, I am optimistic that agreement can be reached.”[...]
During the most recent round of talks, Reclamation suggested charging the utility $41.56 per acre foot of water for the excess capacity storage contracts. By contrast, CSU argued that it should be charged $25.31 per acre foot…The two sides also disagree about other costs, including an agreement that would enable the utility to do “paper” exchanges of water held in the reservoir with water in other facilities, as well as how much credit the Utility should receive for building a $30 million outlet in the damn that will transport water to the SDS pipeline and can be used by other water providers.
Update: From the Fort Collins Coloradoan (Bobby Magill):
The same day Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District officials said they wouldn’t print anymore “Save the Poudre, Store it in Glade” bumper stickers after environmentalists cried foul, Northern Water announced Friday that the Western Slope’s largest coalition of local governments, Club 20, threw its support behind Glade Reservoir.
From The Denver Post (Monte Whaley):
The Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District recently printed 500 bumper stickers that read: “Save the Poudre: Store it in Glade.” The bumper stickers were produced for about $2.50 each, paid for by the 15 cities and water districts funding the reservoir project, said district spokesman Brian Werner…
Waterkeeper Alliance sent a cease-and-desist letter Wednesday to the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, saying “Save the Poudre” is a protected trade name. It was registered by Save the Poudre: Poudre Waterkeeper with the state and should not be used by the district, said Gary Wockner, director of Save the Poudre. “We’ve been using the name for four years on our website, press releases and printed literature. We’re the only ‘Save the Poudre’ in the world, and we’ve recently filed for service-mark protection with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office,” Wockner said. “That this public agency stole our name and is using it against us is reprehensible.”
More Northern Integrated Supply Project coverage here and here.
I am a Western person
July 21, 2010
It’s been a while since I published one of Justice Greg Hobbs’ poems. Here you go:
I AM A WESTERN PERSON
I am a Western person
educated to yellow cactus
flowers and snow
white peaks,California to Colorado,
Alaska to New Mexico,
shaped for beneficial use
born to a higher purpose,We are visitors,
lifetime visitors,
shaped for beneficial use
born to a higher purpose
Reprinted, with permission, from Colorado Mother of Rivers: Water Poems by Justice Greg Hobbs. Click here to order the book from the Colorado Foundation for Water Education.
Here’s a background piece about the relationship between the Hasan Family Foundation and Scott McInnis from the Associated Press (Steven K. Paulson) via The Durango Herald. From the article:
Hasan says he was expecting Scott McInnis to work full-time for two years writing and lecturing on solutions for Colorado’s protracted drought, but McInnis delivered only a few speeches and submitted plagiarized essays before bailing out after only a month’s work to go to join a high-priced Denver law firm. “I looked at the grant sheet and realized that no amount of time had been specified for him to be working. I thought it breached our understanding, but it was a legally binding document,” Hasan said.
McInnis gave the foundation records that showed he gave a speech on Sept. 30, 2005, at the Colorado River Water Seminar in Grand Junction titled “Washington in the Rear View Mirror.” He also gave four other keynote addresses to the Delta Chamber of Commerce, the Davinci Institute in Denver, the Denver Rotary Club and the Colorado Mining Association, along with several television interviews…
Hasan said he became concerned about Colorado’s water problems while driving to monthly clinics on the Eastern Plains and added it to his agenda, even though it wasn’t part of the original mission. Seeme Hasan hired McInnis, whom she called “the most knowledgeable person in the state when it comes to federal and state laws regarding water and land issues.” Instead of solutions, the foundation says it got 59 pages of folksy “Musings on Water” interspersed with history and facts plagiarized from a 1984 essay written by state Supreme Court Justice Gregory Hobbs, a nationally recognized water expert…
Hasan said his wife read the papers when McInnis turned them in and determined they were unpublishable, but Hasan said he was legally bound to pay McInnis because of the loose wording of the grant letter…
Hasan said he already had friends in the White House and in Congress when he hired McInnis to write the essays and didn’t need his help. “I’ve never gone to Congress for anything. The government can’t do anything for you, it can only get in the way,” he said.
More election coverage from Ashley Keesis-Wood writing for the Windsor Beacon. From the article:
Windsorite Aaron Lore, who stopped by the Main Street Grill to chat with McInnis, said one of his concerns was the environment. “What’s your position on in-situ mining?” he asked McInnis. In-situ mining is the process being proposed by PowerTech to extract uranium from more than 5,700 acres of land near Nunn. McInnis said he comes from a mining area in Colorado, and is generally a pro-mining and pro-jobs guy. “I’m not sure about the specifics of this project,” he said. “But I will look into it.”
More coverage from Westword (Michael Roberts):
[Monday], Scott McInnis made his first public appearance — at Adams State College in Alamosa — since word of his plagiarism problems broke. But according to Channel 7′s John Ferrugia, who was there, McInnis treated a subsequent interview like a game of dodge ball, repeatedly declining to answer direct questions about his now-infamous “Musings on Water” or the assertion from old family friend turned under-the-bus-tossee Rolly Fischer that he’s been lying…
It’s been widely reported that none of the attendees at [Monday's] campaign event asked about plagiarism. But assuming that means the public in general doesn’t care about the topic may be a leap too far. “We were told in an e-mail back-and-forth that McInnis would be answering no questions about the Rolly issue,” Ferrugia says. “He would only be answering questions about farming issues.”
More 2010 Colorado elections coverage here.
From The Denver Post (Bruce Finley):
The researchers testing these tactics say some seem to work and, if proved, could save tens of millions of dollars by protecting western hydropower and water delivery facilities against the proliferating Eurasian quagga and zebra mussels. “Once the mussels are there, this would help control them,” said U.S. Bureau of Reclamation mussel program coordinator Leonard Willett, who this week was supervising tests at dams along the lower Colorado River.
Lab tests of the poison are “very promising,” he said. It contains Pseudomonas fluorescens — derived from a bacterium that destroys mussels but apparently not fish. The Environmental Protection Agency has been asked to issue an emergency permit allowing open-water tests…
One tactic involves installing underwater UV-ray devices on pipelines. Mussels inside pipes respond to sudden, intense ultraviolet light by closing up, rendering them unable to attach. Testing of underwater cylinders that emit pulses of energy and discourage mussels from attaching is underway at Colorado’s Leadville Fish Hatchery. Teflon-like coatings also are being tested. And, while quagga and zebra mussels have no natural predator in the United States, researchers are exploring the possibility that a type of sunfish, if introduced, could devour mussels…
This year, the mussels’ spread in Colorado has indeed slowed. A suspected colonization of Blue Mesa Reservoir, west of Gunnison, was not confirmed. Mussels in Pueblo Reservoir and others appear to be somewhat contained, perhaps due to periodic colder temperatures that inhibit breeding, Hosler said. “In Colorado, for right now,” she said, “it looks like we’re winning.”
More Pseudomonas fluorescens coverage here. More invasive species coverage here.
Here’s a report on the study I linked to yesterday, from Bobby Magill writing for the Fort Collins Coloradoan. From the article:
Larimer County’s water supplies – and those of most of the state’s mountain counties – are at little risk of diminishing in the face of climate change because Northern Colorado could see more precipitation as the Earth warms, not less…
Some of the most devastating effects on water supplies will be felt up and down the Great Plains, including Weld County and Denver, according to the report…
Climate change might pose moderate to extreme risk to water supplies in Jackson, Mesa, Delta, Montrose, Montezuma, La Plata, Alamosa, Rio Grande, Moffat and Saguache counties in addition to those in the Eastern Plains, according to the report. The study’s lead author, Tetra Tech principal engineer Sujoy Roy, said Tuesday that Colorado’s Eastern Plains are at high risk of seeing their water diminish by mid-century because of the region’s heavy use of groundwater, which could begin to dry up…
Larimer County is expected to see more precipitation as temperatures rise, lowering the risk to the county’s water supplies, Roy said.
More coverage from Chris Woodka writing for The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:
In particular, Pueblo County, the Lower Arkansas Valley and Eastern Plains are among the areas to be hardest hit if temperatures increase and water supply dwindles, as predicted by 16 varying climate models. A report by Tetra Tech for the Natural Resources Defense Council used publicly available databases and a set of models from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to evaluate the risk posed by climate change…
The report mirrors concerns the Colorado Water Conservation Board has been dealing with in statewide water supply, but puts into focus the impacts that would be anticipated strictly in terms of water demand for agriculture. The report looks at climate and takes other changes, such as growth or the export of existing water supplies into account, said Sujoy Roy, principal engineer and lead report author. “The goal of the analysis is to identify regions where potential stresses, and the need to do something about them, may be the greatest,” Roy said.
More coverage from USA Today. From the article:
High-risk areas include parts of Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. The rising risk results from decreases in precipitation, based on 16 leading climate models, and increases in water demand, based on current growth trends. The report says water demand is projected to increase by as much as 12.3% between 2000 and 2050. “This analysis shows climate change will take a serious toll on water supplies throughout the country in the coming decades,” said Dan Lashof, director of NRDC’s Climate Center, adding that the only real solution is “meaningful legislation” by Congress to reduce global warming.
Fryingpan-Arkansas Project update: Ruedi releases for the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program start today
July 20, 2010
From email from Reclamation (Kara Lamb):
As we discussed in our public meeting last week, today we began releasing water for the Upper Colorado Endangered Fish Recovery Program. Our first change occurred at 1 p.m. when we bumped up 30 cfs to 195 at the Ruedi gage. Our second increase is happening now at 5 p.m. We are increasing by 65 cfs to a total of 260 cfs at the Ruedi gage.
More endangered species coverage here.
Interbasin Compact Committee June meeting recap
July 20, 2010
From email from the Interbasin Compact Committee (Alex Davis):
Thank you for your participation at the June IBCC meeting. I think it was a very positive meeting, and I hope that you did as well. This email is a follow-up to the IBCC meeting, including workgroup assignments and responsibilities. Attached are the minutes from the meeting and a list of the reports that are complete, in draft form, or in process.
At the IBCC meeting, several members volunteered to serve on one or more subcommittees to help further refine our thinking and/or draft options to help move us forward. The work of these subcommittees will lay the foundation for the discussion at our August meeting, and it is important that IBCC members participate in them fully. Participation in the subcommittees is still open, and anyone who wants to volunteer for one or more committees should do that. We also want to encourage those who were not in attendance at the June meeting to sign up for one or more of these subcommittees. (In particular, this would be Eric Kuhn, Stan Cazier, and Bill Trampe. If any of you have questions, please call me, Jennifer Gimbel, or Jacob Bornstein.)
Given the short timeframe that exists for the IBCC to finalize its work on these issues prior to submitting a report to the next governor, it is my understanding that IBCC members will either actively participate as a subcommittee member or respect the work of the subcommittee and its recommendations to the IBCC. CWCB staff will be working with each subcommittee organizer to set up meetings and identify any additional needs each group might have. Please let Jacob Bornstein (Jacob.bornstein@state.co.us) and Viola Bralish (viola.bralish@state.co.us) know if you would like to participate on one or more of the subcommittees and you are not already listed below. Subcommittees will begin planning meetings in the next week or so, so please let us know if you want to join one or more subcommittees by close of business on Monday, July 19th.
NEW SUPPLY SUBCOMMITTEE
Purpose:Develop draft guidelines or principles for new supply development. The results of this work will be discussed at the August IBCC meeting.
Members:
* Alex Davis (Organizer)
* Heather Bergman (Facilitator)
* Melinda Kassen
* Taylor Hawes
* Mark Pifher
* T. Wright Dickinson
* Steve Harris
* Peter Nichols
* Carlyle Currier
* Jennifer GimbelIDENTIFIED PROJECTS & PROCESSES SUBCOMMITTEE
Purpose:Hold an informal workshop to explore the “lessons learned” and obstacles to IPPs. CWCB staff will help the group gather existing summaries of IPP successes and challenges, and the group will examine these for cross-cutting challenges and opportunities. The group will focus on identifying specific ways to overcome the identified challenges. In its June meeting the IBCC concluded that it is not the role of roundtables, the IBCC, or the state to support or reject specific IPPs. However, there is a significant role for these entities to help overcome the many barriers to implementing the IPPs and to more broadly define the overall yield each basin needs from their IPPs.
Members:
* Jennifer Gimbel (Organizer)
* Carl Trick
* Alex Davis
* Eric Wilkinson
* Melinda Kassen
* Wayne VanderschuereCONSERVATION SUBCOMMITTEE
Purpose:Review Water Conservation Best Practices Guidebook and Conservation Strategy to create broad policy statements based on the results of the BMP Guidebook. If the task group feels it is appropriate and can make progress, they will also discuss options for better quantitative measure of conservation. In its June meeting the IBCC concluded that the task group will focus on the ability of utilities to adopt and implement best management practices rather than percent reductions.
Members:
* Wayne Vanderschuere (Organizer)
* Jay Winner
* Jeff Devere
* Taylor HawesCWCB STAFF NEXT STEPS:
1. Identified Projects & Processes:
a. CWCB will draft a one-page document regarding the IBCC’s view of the State’s role in IPPs. This will be edited/finalized by the IBCC subcommittee on IPPs.
b. CWCB staff will help the subcommittee gather existing summaries of IPP successes and challenges for the subcommittee to examine these for cross-cutting challenges and opportunities.
2. Nonconsumptive:
a. CWCB will send out summary of existing efforts and progress on nonconsumptive uses at the basin roundtables by the end of July
b. CWCB staff will rewrite the nonconsumptive one-page summary, including the summary of existing efforts above. Staff will complete this by the end of July as well.
3. Alternative Agricultural Transfer Methods:The existing Task Force addressing ag transfer methods will distribute a summary of options to IBCC members by the end of July
4. Conservation:CWCB staff will send IBCC members the final “Colorado Statewide Water Conservation Best Practices Guidebook” prior to the next IBCC meeting.
5. Land Use:CWCB staff previously sent a link to the density memo and report Linking Land Use Planning and Water Supply Planning (email sent 6/18/2010). Staff would be happy to resend this document to anyone who needs it upon request.
Thank you for your continued dedication to this process; I think we have a real opportunity to move this particular ‘ball’ forward, and I look forward to working with you.
More IBCC — basin roundtables coverage here.
From PRNewswire:
Over 1,100 U.S. counties— more than one-third of all counties in the lower 48 states — now face higher risks of water shortages by mid-century as the result of global warming and more than 400 of these counties will be at extremely high risk for water shortages, based on estimates from a new report by Tetra Tech for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
The report uses publicly available water use data across the United States and climate projections from a set of models used in recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) work to evaluate withdrawals related to renewable water supply. The report finds that 14 states face an extreme or high risk to water sustainability, or are likely to see limitations on water availability as demand exceeds supply by 2050. These areas include parts of Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. In particular, in the Great Plains and Southwest United States, water sustainability is at extreme risk.
The more than 400 counties identified as being at greatest risk in the report reflects a 14-times increase from previous estimates. For a look at county- and state-specific maps detailing the report findings (including a Google Earth map), go to http://www.nrdc.org/globalWarming/watersustainability/ and http://rd.tetratech.com/climatechange/projects/nrdc_climate.asp.
Click on the thumbnail graphic above and check out the counties over the Ogallala Aquifer and the Green River Basin. The Green River Basin is where Aaron Million and the Colorado-Wyoming Coalition are in a race for transmountain water. They want it for the Front Range.
Here’s the link to the article. Here’s the NRDC’s climate change website
NIDIS Weekly Climate, Water and Drought Assessment Summary of the Upper Colorado River Basin
July 20, 2010
Click here for Henry Reges’ notes from the Tuesday, July 13 meeting.
CWCB: Water Availability Task Force meeting recap
July 20, 2010
Below are my notes from yesterday’s meeting:
Flood potential
No one gave a report on flooding potential.
Announcements
Taryn Hutchins-Cabibi said that the Colorado River Water Availability Study closes Wednesday. The CWCB will only consider comments in written form. Submit them to Ray Alvarado at the CWCB.
The public comment period for the statewide drought plan opens on Friday, July 23. They will accept comments until August 20. All materials will be available on the CWCB website on Friday.
State drought plan
Ms. Hutchins-Cabibi informed the group about the status of the statewide drought plan and some of the methodology used. She went into detail about their vulnerability assessment. She says that this was the first vulnerability assessment that she knows about that incorporates climate change. She detailed the timeline for the plan:
1. Incorporate written comments and finalize plan — September 14
2. Colorado Water Conservation Board approval — September 14
3. Submit to Colorado Department of Emergency Management so the plan can be included in the State Hazard Mitigation Plan– late September
4. Adoption by Governor Ritter and submittal to the Federal Emergency Management Agency — late 2010
State Climatologist’s report
Wendy Ryan said that June was the warmest in Colorado since the state started keeping records in 1895. Precipitation for June varied from dry in southwestern Colorado and the Rio Grande Basin to above average precipitation for the northeastern plains. Precipitation for the water year is above average for most of the state with some exceptions such as El Paso County.
Grand Lake is having a, “very dry year,” she said. They are tracking below the driest year on record.
Grand Junction is experiencing below average precipitation as is Montrose. Mesa Verde is a little below average, Del Norte is average, Pueblo is above average, Burlington is way above average, Akron is average and Fort Collins and Boulder are above average.
She said that the U.S. Drought Monitor is showing D0 (abnormally dry) in parts of the San Juans, San Luis Valley and the upper Colorado River Basin.
NRCS
Mike Gillespie said that his report would focused on precipitation since there is no snow left.
The Yampa and White River basins have been quite dry and that is the story so far for July. Reservoir storage is at 109% of average.
The Colorado Basin is coming in at 90% of average precipitation. After tracking just below average for most of the year things dried out in June and July, he said. Reservoir storage is at 113% of average and 99% of capacity.
The South Platte Basin is showing 91% of average precipitation and had average precipitation for June. Reservoir storage is 107% of average.
The Gunnison Basin is tracking at 91% of average precipitation for the water year and has been tracking below average for the year. They’ve seen two and a half months of below average making them, “quite dry,” he said. Reservoir storage is 104% of average.
In the southwest corner of the state the San Miguel, Dolores and San Juan basins precipitation is, “almost a flat line so far,” and things are, “beginning to lag quite a bit,” he said. They’ve been below average for precipitation for 3-4 months. Reservoir storage is sitting at 109% of average.
In the Rio Grande Basin the precipitation for the water year is 90% of average. They are experiencing a, “drying trend as well,” Gillespie said. Reservoir Storage is at 81% of average.
The Arkansas Basin has seen several months of below average precipitation and is sitting at 84% of average. Reservoir storage is 101% of average.
So the statewide figures are: 90% of average precipitation; reservoir storage at 106%; and a, “drying trend going into the summer months,” according to Gillespie.
More CWCB coverage here.
Update: From the Valley Courier (Ruth Heide):
During his [McInnis] previous tenure in public service he sat on natural resource committees at both the state and national levels, he said…
He criticized state legislative measures that took money away from the Colorado Water Conservation Board and Branding Board. He said those funds should be used for the projects for which those boards were set up, not to supplement other programs in the general fund…
When asked how the state could address projected water shortfalls in the future without drying up massive amounts of agricultural land, McInnis said agriculture is essential to the health of this state, and rather than dry up ag lands to provide water for future growth, Colorado needs to look at alternatives. He suggested additional water storage and pointed to a doctoral student’s project that proposes to draw water from the Flaming Gorge through Wyoming to the Front Range. “That’s the kind of answer that’s going to be our future,” he said. He said the cost of such a project might run $5 billion, but the cost could be spread over time. “It’s an investment we must make,” he said.
From The Pueblo Chieftain (Matt Hildner):
While none of the 180 in attendance at the conference publicly questioned McInnis about the ["Musings on Water" - gate], he did get asked about water. He said it was critical for the state to find more water storage to supply the Front Range with water. “You can’t dry up farmland,” he said. “There are other options.” McInnis has backed Northern Integrated Supply Project, which would cost $426 million, build storage near Fort Collins, and prevent the dry-up of roughly 25,000 acres, according to its designers.
He also backed the proposal from Aaron Million to pump water from Flaming Gorge Reservoir on the Utah-Wyoming border back to the Front Range. He noted that the project’s $4 billion price tag was an investment of the same magnitude of Denver International Airport.
From TPMDC.com (Eric Lach):
When given a list of other potential candidates, 64 percent of GOP voters picked another candidate. When asked who they thought would make the “strongest Republican gubernatorial candidate,” McInnis came in second with 19%. The top vote getter: ex-Rep. Tom Tancredo, with 29%. Of the 1,181 registered voters contacted last Thursday, 73% had heard about the plagiarism story. Thirty-seven percent of GOP voters think McInnis should drop out.
More 2010 Colorado elections coverage here.
Colorado-Big Thompson Project update
July 19, 2010
From email from Reclamation (Kara Lamb):
With the recent heat, we are finally starting to see a dip in the elevations at Horsetooth and Carter reservoirs.
Today, Horsetooth is releasing about 360 cfs to water users (agricultural, city and industrial users). About 164 cfs is coming into the reservoir. It has started to go down and is at an elevation today of 5425. It will reach 5424 by tomorrow and will continue going down.
The pump to Carter went off in the middle of the night last night. Carter is approximately one foot below full at an elevation of 5758. With the heat, it is likely demand out of Carter will come up, too, and we’ll start to see the elevation there start to go down as well.
We are making deliveries down the Big Thompson River and along the canals. As we run water through the project, we are seeing regular fluctuation at both Pinewood and Flatiron reservoirs as we generate hydro-electric power at Pole Hill, Flatiron and the Big Thompson power plants. If you are visiting either Flatiron or Pinewood, please keep the fluctuating nature of the reservoirs in mind. In particular, please remember there is no boating, wading, swimming, etc. of any kind allowed in Flatiron. It goes up and down too much and has strong currents.
Those near Lake Estes will see the elevation creep up at Estes slightly. Releases from Olympus Dam to the Big Thompson River have remained around 125 cfs for the past week and are anticipated to stay at that rate for a while, weather depending, of course.
More Colorado-Big Thompson coverage here.
From the Valley Courier (Ruth Heide):
The Rio Grande Water Conservation District, Rio Grande Water Users Association, Conejos Water Conservancy District, State Engineer, and Farming Technology Corporation filed Supporters’ Motion to Amend Decree on July 8. The following day, the senior water users filed notices of appeal to Colorado’s higher courts in two closely associated water and civil cases.
The senior water users’ attorneys contended in their appeals that the amended plan, and the judge’s conditions regarding its approval, still did not provide enough protections for senior water rights. They contended that injury would continue to occur to senior water rights as long as wells were allowed to pump within the sub-district area without state curtailment. They stated that such pumping constituted out of priority depletions. They also questioned whether the water management plan was complete, comprehensive and detailed enough and whether it complied with Senate Bill 04-222 and Colorado law…
Objectors also questioned whether the trial court erred in:
• determining that the plan of water management need not contain sufficient terms and conditions for the trial court to determine “no injury” to other water rights as a result;
• delegating to the sub-district and state and division engineers the authority to determine “annual replacement plans” to replace depletions from sub-district well pumping;
• deferring a finding regarding whether the plan of water management will result in injury to other water rights and instead relying on retained jurisdiction over the plan;
• approving the use of response function, a method for determining water injuries;
• determining that a plan of water management may use a reduction in the amount of water consumed by native vegetation to increase the quantity of water available to be pumped by sub-district wells;
• not requiring the sub-district to prove ownership or control over sufficient legally available replacement water to cover depletions from pumping sub-district wells;
• allowing the sub-district to utilize the water rights subject to the decrees referred to in Case Nos. 06CV64 and 07CW52 as the “recharge decrees” and in approving the quantification of fully consumable water in estimating ground water depletions;
• finding that the sub-district’s proposed use of Closed Basin Project water is not prohibited;
• allowing a 50 acre foot per year lower limit for the determination of injurious depletions and in allowing the replacement of injurious depletions in subsequent years;
• not adopting, rejecting, or referring back the plan of water management to the sub-district (the judge had referred the plan back to the sub-district board of managers once before);
• not affording objectors the opportunity to propose specific terms and conditions to the plan of water management;
• not requiring the sub-district to replace all injurious depletions, including ongoing depletions resulting from past pumping of sub-district wells, until the year 2012;
• approving Appendix 4 (budget and accounting plan) and Appendix 5 (operational timelines) of the plan of water management;
• determining the sub-district may contract with the owners of any non- sub-district wells.
• finding that individual plans of augmentation in Water Division 3 are not presently possible and cannot be completed with any engineering validity;
• finding that the calculation of the Surface Water Credit in Appendix 2 of the plan of water management is reasonable and supported by the record;
• finding that the amended plan of water management’s change in timing for removing land from irrigation to effectuate further recovery of the unconfined aquifer to a sustainable condition is lawful.
Northern Integrated Supply Project: The Town of Frederick is solidly on board with the project
July 19, 2010
From the Carbon Valley Farmer & Miner (Emily Dougherty):
The town’s sole source of water for potable water system is the Colorado Big Thompson (CB-T) project, which Frederick officials say they have outgrown, especially considering the projection that few CB-T units will be available on the open market beyond 2015…
“After studying many options and consulting true experts related to water issues, we firmly believe that NISP is the best choice available for Frederick and that it will prove to be a great benefit for all economic and social sectors of Northern Colorado,” Frederick mayor pro-term Tony Carey said in a letter in support of the NISP…
Carey went on to say that the town’s current water supplies are barely meeting the area’s needs and that if NISP is not approved, “Frederick and other participants will be forced to look at acquiring agricultural water rights to meet future demands,” he wrote…
the town strongly prefers to implement the NISP plans for Glade Reservoir and the South Platte Water Conservation Project, and to also work with the Larimer and Weld and the New Cache La Poudre irrigation companies to improve their operations rather than buying water rights that would negatively impact them.
Here’s a recap of last week’s rally by supporters of the project where 200 or so showed up, from Monte Whaley writing for The Denver Post. From the article:
At one point, Weld County Commissioner Sean Conway led the throng with shouts of “NISP now” before sending them out to spread the gospel of the Northern Integrated Supply Project.”You go and send that message about how much we need this,” Conway said, rallying the troops from inside a barn at Anderson Farms, northwest of Erie…
The go-ahead for NISP rests largely in the hands of the Army Corps of Engineers, which released a draft environmental-impact statement for the project in 2008. But the corps decided to do a supplemental study after critics said the original failed to answer critical questions, including the extent of the environmental damage the dams may cause. The supplemental report should be completed and released by next summer, said Brian Werner, spokesman for the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District…
Don Korrey — who works 800 acres of corn and alfalfa northeast of Sterling — said NISP is desperately needed to preserve water that otherwise would flow out of the plains and into cities. “Any storage anywhere will help farmers everywhere,” Korrey said. “It’s obvious cities are asking for more water rights, and if they keep doing that, our water will be depleted and their goes our livelihoods.”
More Northern Integrated Supply Project coverage here and here.
Middle Park Land Trust Fraser River restoration project protects a quarter-mile corridor
July 19, 2010
From the Sky-Hi Daily News (Reid Armstrong):
The easement, which was recorded June 23, will protect for perpetuity some 17 riparian acres on property owned by Eric and Kathy Pietz. Another 70 acres on the neighboring Devil’s Thumb Ranch, which was placed into a conservation easement between 2007 and 2008, completes the corridor. “This is something we’d been working on for several years,” said Cindy Southway of Conservation Assistance who helped guide the project. The conservation easement wasn’t part of the original plan for the quarter-mile river corridor, which has been completely restored in the last two years through a wetlands mitigation project funded by Rendezvous…
The property didn’t always have a rich wetlands habitat. Two years ago, that 600 foot stretch of river was 75 feet wide, shallow, steep and was considered to be very poor fish habitat. In fact, said project manager Geoff Elliott of Grand Environmental Services, satellite photos indicate that section of river might have been straightened at some point to help transport logs through the Fraser Flats down to the lumber mill in Tabernash…
Elliott said that he spent three years studying the Fraser River in different places, determining what features helped create a healthy river. He took along a fishing guide who showed him the best fishing holes in the area, and Elliott studied their geometry and then recreated them in the restoration project. The project, which was funded entirely by Rendezvous as part of its development permit with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, involved creating multiple bends in the river and adding features to improve fish habitat and water quality, such as pocket and shallow rapids and spots where the river will actually spill out of its banks and feed the wetlands…
The project more than doubled the length of the river, creating an ‘M’ out of what had once been an ‘I,’ and narrowed the channel down to 35-45 feet, allowing the water to flow deeper and cooler. Elliott said that two years after the completion of construction along that section of river, willow and other riparian plants along the river banks are thriving and the wetlands are growing. Within just one year, the river had been recolonized by the bugs that are the backbone of hearty fishery habitat — stone flies, water beetles and worms among other. And now, there are even signs of brown trout spawning in the new habitat.
Update: From The Denver Post (Karen Crummy):
Do I look like I’m going anywhere? These boots are made for walking, and I’m ready to fight,” [McInnis] said to The Post, looking down at his brown cowboy boots.
He also addressed again the controversy surrounding articles he submitted to the Hasan Foundation as original works but which included whole pages and passages that were similar to or copied directly from a 1984 essay by now-Colorado Supreme Court Justice Gregory Hobbs.
“It was an obvious mistake. I stood up, took responsibility and moved on,” McInnis said.
Update: From The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel (Denny Herzog)
But there’s a seriousness to it, too. Plagiarism, particularly to those of us who have made careers out of dealing with the written word, is not to be taken lightly. Yet that’s exactly the way McInnis dealt with it, at least early on. Shortly after the story broke, he said if it were not an election year, it wouldn’t be an issue. The implication was that only in an election year would such a minor transgression be such a big deal. Sorry Scott, but theft, and that’s what plagiarism is, is a big deal, even in years when you’re not on the ballot.
From NewsFirst5.com (James Amos):
Dr. Malik Hasan, who helped establish the Hasan Family Foundation, says the board was hoping to get recommendations on how to deal with Colorado’s drought when it commissioned the essays from former U.S. Rep. Scott McInnis in 2005. Hasan says he was disappointed when McInnis took a job in a law firm and turned in reports that were unpublishable, but there was nothing he could do about it.
From The Denver Post (Mike Littwin):
As I’m writing this column, the most relevant questions are all about the McInnis campaign death watch, now on high alert. The terms of the debate have changed from whether McInnis can still win after his “Musings on Water”-gate scandal to how long McInnis can survive. There’s an Aug. 10 primary date against Dan Maes — who, to this point, has offered up no known credentials for the job — and then there’s the November race against Democrat John Hickenlooper, who has pulled ahead in the latest polling. Still, I don’t expect McInnis to quit because he is Scott McInnis, who is far too stubborn to quit. Just look at the latest news. McInnis says he’s paying back the $300,000 that he took — and I mean took in the best way — from the Hasan Family Foundation for the plagiarized articles highlighting his water-law expertise. The real scandal is that he was paid that kind of money for his, uh, musings at all, original or otherwise. But if McInnis were going to quit the race, why wouldn’t he just keep the money, which is a lot of cash even by lawyer- lobbyist standards? The quitting, at this writing, has been limited to three McInnis senior staffers. You don’t have to wonder why they left the campaign. They were either shocked by McInnis’ behavior, particularly in regard to ex-pal Rolly Fischer, or they may have just noticed that the campaign bus, with its incriminating tire marks, has left the station.
More 2010 Colorado elections coverage here.
Arkansas Valley Conduit: Will Reclamation place too high a financial burden on the project?
July 19, 2010
From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):
The Southeastern Colorado Water Conservation District is watching the current proceedings with interest, and the implications of the [Southern Delivery System] outcome for the district were frequently mentioned during two days of negotiations last week.
“Do you remain comfortable charging less for out-of-district users than for those of us in the district?” David Robbins, an attorney for Colorado Springs, asked Mike Collins, area manager for Reclamation at one point. Robbins referred to a 2007 storage contract with Aurora that amounts to $46 per acre-foot in 2011 vs. proposals that have ranged from $50-100 per acre-foot for SDS.
Collins replied, after a barrage of questions and a day of banter, that Reclamation from now on would use a “negotiated market” method of determining contract prices in the Arkansas Valley. That is a change from past contracts based on cost of service that Collins discounted as “snapshots in time.”[...]
The rate Colorado Springs eventually reaches in SDS — right now, it’s expected to come down between $25 and $40 — will also provide revenues to repay the costs of the conduit under a 2009 law. Even the low end fits into the projections made by federal staff on the repayment strategy, Broderick said. “I’m not seeing this as having much impact on the funding of the conduit,” he said.
