Energy policy coalbed methane: Aguilar town council hears presentation about coalbed methane well produced water

From The Trinidad Times (Randy Woock):

A presentation at the town council meeting on the water monitoring had been arranged, Pioneer’s Senior Public Relations Advisor, Karen Brown, told the meeting’s attendees, “So you all could hear more about what it is we do to protect the water that is coming off of the discharges CBM production…the intent (of the presentation) is to open the discussion, provide some information about how Pioneer is approaching this, that we want to approach it from a scientific perspective and have documentation to prove that, in fact, water is, in fact, within its permit limits.”

Pioneer has been discharging around the Apishapa River since 2005, though none of its four outfalls are on the Apishapa River’s mainstem. Pioneer is currently discharging at a rate of 1.8 acre-feet of water, or 600,000 gallons, per day. Pioneer has about 2,450 wells in the basin. The National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit it has applied for, according to Pioneer’s senior energy environmental advisor, Gerald Jacob, would allow for a maximum surface discharge amount of 999,999 gallons per day.

The discharge permitting process begins with the preparation of a draft permit, of which are considered possible impacts of the proposed discharge levels, measured against the water quality standards as adopted by the Water Quality Control Commission. The standards consider variables like effluent limits based on in-stream water quality, the quality and types of expected effluents coming from the discharge facility and as well as impacts on the stream at extreme low-flow periods…

The three monitoring stations deployed on the Apishapa River — at Lisonbee, Eichler and Nations — were placed and are monitored by the Norwest Corporation, a environmental consulting firm specializing in hydrology. Norwest’s stations monitor in 15-minute intervals water levels and salinity at their deployment points, as well as conducting flow measurements and water quality sampling every two weeks. Processed data and the resultant charts are uploaded to the website, apishapawatershed.org, after several weeks, though each station also contains a direct display that updates every minute. “I really encourage you to use the website, and if you’re concerned and you want to keep track of stuff…we post all the lab data results, we’re comparing it to what we’re finding in the stream…it’s a really useful tool,” Hyrdrologist Angela Welch of Norwest said. “We really are trying to help you guys out by protecting your assets, which is your stream.”

More coalbed methane here and here.

Wiggins: The town has received approval from the USDA for $5.5 million loan and grant package

From The Fort Morgan Times (Dan Barker):

…[The approval is] good news, and the even better news is that the $5.5 million package comes as 60 percent loan and 40 percent grant, said Mayor Mike Bates. That means rather than an estimated $90 or so cost for household water bills, the average water bill will go up to closer to $60, he said. The current charge is $35.

Wiggins has seen its current well levels dropping for years now, and the water quality has deteriorated to the point that infants are not supposed to consume the water. The plan is to pipe water from a well northwest of the town, where the water table is still clear and plentiful…

The next step is to build ponds to hold augmentation water from the shares of the Weldon Valley Ditch Co. the town owns, and other construction will begin in the spring, he said. He said he hopes to have the new water running in Wiggins next fall, Bates said. The money for the loan and grant come from American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus funding, he said.

More Wiggins coverage here and here.

Energy policy — hydroelectric: Aspen city council plans 60 days of mediation efforts to allow more time for input on proposed hydroelectric plant

From the Aspen Daily News (Curtis Wackerle):

At the Sept. 13 City Council meeting on the hydro plant, council members held off on making a decision to advance the project, which would tap the waters of Castle and Maroon creeks to generate electricity. Instead, council followed a suggestion made by Tim McFlynn, a local professional mediator, and Ruthie Brown, chair of the Pitkin County Healthy Rivers and Streams board, to spend at least 30 days working with people on both sides of the hydropower issue in a mediation context.

“Because new voices seem to be emerging every day sounding an alarm that there may be potential unintended consequences or collateral damage to these two creeks or other interests of citizens here.” McFlynn told council on Sept. 13 that up to 60 days is needed so environmentalists and residents, as well as experts in relevant disciplines and a neutral facilitator with a lot of experience in water and energy matters can address the issues surrounding the project…

It’s unclear just how public the process will be, however, as McFlynn and Brown, who have volunteered to plan and convene the mediation and meeting, are working with outside experts and private citizens. The idea is to get everybody in the same room, including people with concerns about the project’s economics, noise and environmental effects, together with an experienced mediator. Experts also will be brought in to analyze data available in the public realm about the project.

“Pre-meetings” with some concerned people already are underway. Much of the proceedings are not expected to take place in public. Some private citizens are considering legal action against the city if the hydro plant is approved.

More hydroelectric coverage here and here.

2010 Colorado elections: Do voters remember Referendum A?

Covering Colorado’s proposed Referendum A in 2003 was the real starting point for Coyote Gulch. I had been blogging since 2002, mostly about state and local politics, but the water issue focus was due to the referendum.

At the same time I was buying a second home down in Montezuma County. When I talked to locals in Mesa Verde country about the referendum the quick answer was, “Water Grab.” There wasn’t much discussion but there was a lot of mistrust expressed about the politicians up in Denver and their plans. Many thought the referendum was a cover up for funding for the “Big Straw” that would move water from the Colorado River on the Utah border and dump it in the headwaters above the Front Range to feed more unbridled growth.

In his column in today’s Denver Post Ed Quillen looks back at some of the politicians that supported the referendum and what happened to them in their electoral careers. He writes:

Jane Norton, then the lieutenant governor, was a Referendum A supporter. And she lost the Republican primary for U.S. Senate. However, also on the supporter list was the fellow she lost to: “Ken Buck, Hensel Phelps Construction Company, Weld County.” I look forward to hearing him explain why he deserves to represent Colorado after he supported a big-spending big-government boondoggle that two-thirds of us opposed.

More 2010 Colorado elections coverage here. More Referendum A coverage here.

Telluride Institute’s Watershed Education Program overview

From The Telluride Daily Planet (Matthew Beaudin):

The program offers classes throughout the San Miguel’s watershed, from Telluride’s landmarks (Bridal Veil, etc.) to an ecosystem camping trip on the San Miguel. “That is totally the mission of the watershed program: to being our communities together. We like to call it our ribbon of green. We all share that,” said Laura Kudo, the WEP’s director. “We really try and have it be as local and as central to our watershed as we can. I think that’s the biggest thing that sets us apart.”

The WEP is a non-profit, place-based program that utilizes local resources, experts, talents and surroundings to enable teachers throughout the San Miguel River Watershed (Telluride, Norwood, Nucla/Naturita and Paradox) to get students outside on full-day or overnight field trips. The program provides a very real environmental science curriculum supplement that’s based on Colorado education standards and offers the chance for students to move from desk to a classroom of the living watershed.

The watershed makes up about a 1 million acre basin in which the water starts at more than 14,000 feet and cascades all the way to Dolores’ red rock canyons at 5,000 feet in elevation. Of that 1 million acres, more than 60 percent is public land. The watershed isn’t without its perils, however: The dry, lofty, fragile ecosystem is home to one of the fastest growing areas on the Colorado Plateau…

One trip this fall toured nearly the entire river’s strech of the watershed and included a history and water usage talk by Bridal Veil Plant operator Eric Jacobson, a Nature Conservancy talk by Peter Mueller at Keystone Gorge, a Keystone Gorge hike with San Miguel Parks Director Rich Hamilton, a Deep Creek history talk with Dan Collins, a Down Valley Park ecological talk with Hamilton and a program put on by the Rimrock Historical Mining Museum in Naturita. It ended with a splash at the confluence of the Dolores and San Miguel rivers. Other trips on the agenda include a field trip with the Paradox Valley Charter School 5th and 6th grades supplementing a Patterns in Nature unit, another watershed tour with the Telluride Mountain School’s 3rd and 4th grades and a full watershed tour with the Norwood 6th grade.

More education coverage here.

Raw water operations: Remote supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA)

Here’s a look at a SCADA installation down in Texas from Peter Polson writing for Water World. From the article:

To eliminate the site visits, LCRA leveraged a cellular data solution with broad coverage that can reach across its water distribution network. At critical junctions in the water network, LCRA has installed automated data loggers that dynamically track water flow. LCRA uses a cellular gateway, connected to each data logger via a serial connection, to access meter data. The data is sent to a central office to be analyzed for water flow tracking and predictive analysis to identify potential issues.

With no wireline power to most of the remote locations, LCRA relies on a small solar panel to run each site. The cellular gateway requires approximately 50mA while idle and no more than 200mA for transmissions. The data logger has similar power requirements. A power budget spreadsheet has helped LCRA calculate that a typical deployment can run reliably with a 20-watt solar panel. To ensure 24 hour monitoring, the authority uses a 20-amp battery for nighttime power.

Most water network deployments covering large geographic areas include a mix of multiple cellular carriers, enabling IT managers to ensure sufficient network coverage at every remote location. LCRA, however, was able to select one national carrier with a network large enough to provide adequate coverage. Knowing that each data logger generated logs every 15 minutes, totaling 10KB each day, they purchased a cost-effective metered data plan that met their monthly needs.

“The intelligent cellular gateways that we have deployed are incredibly reliable,” said Andy Verrett, senior systems technician at LCRA. “We have had no connectivity problems to speak of. Although we experience occasional outages due to the data logger, the cellular equipment is rock solid.”

Each cellular gateway is equipped with a static IP address from the cellular carrier, allowing managers and engineers in the central office to query the data logger or cellular gateway at any time for status reports or to change configuration parameters.

LCRA has not needed special cellular antennas or amplifiers to ensure reliability connectivity. However, remote locations with a weak signal that is unreliable for cell phone calls can often still provide cellular data dependably by using a higher-gain antenna or, in some cases, an inexpensive cellular amplifier. Experienced systems integrators can help customers identify the proper accessories for a particular deployment scenario.

Overall, LCRA has found the solution to be effective and dependable, with no connectivity problems to date.

The data logger, intelligent cellular gateway, battery, and solar panel are mounted on a pole with an unobstructed view of the sun in the southern sky. The logger and gateway are then secured inside a plastic enclosure built to NEMA 4 standards for protection from moisture and dust. Mounted out of reach on the pole, the enclosure is protected from vandalism. Because all of the equipment is designed to withstand broad temperature ranges, no heating or cooling systems are needed. Even on a hot Texas day, the equipment performs consistently.

More infrastructure coverage here.

State to provide $900,000 for mitigation of damage to public water system infrastructure from Fourmile Canyon fire

From the Boulder Daily Camera:

The money comes from the Water Quality Improvement Fund, which is supported by the collection of civil penalties for violations of the Water Quality Control Act. The grant funds are available for repairing public water system infrastructure damaged or destroyed by wildfire, assisting public water systems experiencing operational difficulties due to runoff from storms in burned watersheds, and for watershed restoration and protection projects in burned areas. Any government agency or non-profit group working on behalf of a government agency can apply for a share of the money through Oct. 15.

The city of Boulder, however, issued a statement Sept. 17 saying Boulder’s water reservoirs and pipeline intakes in the Boulder Creek Basin are located west of the Fourmile Fire burn area are at a higher elevation. Any ash and sediment washing into Boulder Creek from the wildfire area would be below the major water sources that run into Barker Reservoir and the Silver Lake Watershed reservoirs. The drainage basins affected by the Fourmile Fire do not drain into Boulder Reservoir.

More Boulder Creek coverage here.

2010 Colorado elections: Proposition 101, Amendment 60 and Amendment 61

From the Boulder Daily Camera (Heath Urie):

Combined, the effects of Amendments 60 and 61, along with Proposition 101, could mean the need for between $26 million and $54 million in cuts to Boulder’s budget within the next four years. Brautigam is working on creating a detailed plan for exactly where those cuts would come from, but in general, they would likely mean reduced hours of city services and more layoffs.

Amendment 60 would amend the state constitution to impose restrictions on the collection of property taxes, require government entities to pay property taxes and make other tax-related changes. Boulder’s finance office believes that, if the measure is approved, the city budget could be hit with an additional $7.6 million to $32.2 million deficit. To make up the difference, the city could be forced to increase water rates by up to 104 percent, according to city estimates.

Amendment 61 would change the way that Colorado governments are allowed to take on debt. State borrowing would be prohibited, and local governments would require voter approval to borrow any money. Boulder’s finance officials estimate that measure could have the biggest impact on the city’s open-space fund. Based on current projections, the fund would face a reduction of about $2.5 million in 2012 when several large leases pay off. Open space would probably have to take on additional cuts over six years, ranging from $1 million to $1.7 million a year. Because Amendment 61 would limit debt repayment to 10 years, the city would need to pay about $445,000 more per year, per $10 million worth of debt, officials estimate.

Proposition 101 is a statutory change that would reduce vehicle taxes and fees, telecommunication service taxes and the state income tax. Boulder officials estimate that measure would reduce the city’s annual budget by $6.2 million in 2011 and $7.9 million by 2014.

More 2010 Colorado elections coverage here.

Brush: City council approves wastewater fee hike

From the Brush News-Tribune (Jesse Chaney):

Approved during a regular council meeting Monday evening, the resolution amending the fees will raise the city’s base wastewater rate from $4.20 to $5 and the price per ET unit from $27 to $37. An ET unit is equal to 20,000 gallons of water used per quarter. Brush Finance Officer Joanne Gosselink said any customers that use a significant amount of water will see an increase of more than $10.80 per month. She can be reached at 970-842-5001 to calculate the impact of the increase on individual customers, she said. The new rates will take effect Nov. 1. “I sure wish there was a way to avoid this, but I don’t see any other solutions,” said Councilman Chuck Schonberger.

Brush Administrator Monty Torres said the council had raised wastewater fees in the past, and the new fee hike was anticipated. With the funds collected from the past fee increase, he said, the city was able to make a down payment of $1.6 million on the new wastewater plant.

More wastewater coverage here.

Fountain Creek: The Fountain Creek Watershed Flood Control and Greenway District board hears flood study pitch from the USGS

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

A proposal for the $570,000 study was presented to the Fountain Creek Watershed Flood Control and Greenway District board last week, and will build on previous studies to develop strategies for managing flows on Fountain Creek. “These models would evaluate the volume of water and the timing,” [David Mau, of the Pueblo U.S. Geological Survey office] said. “We’ll look at what’s needed to avoid overtopping the levees through Pueblo…It’s not the type of consulting engineering report that’s going to tell you how to design and build structures. It doesn’t deal with water rights. It just tells you what the hydrologic model looks like.” That most likely would mean studying diversions into side detention ponds and projects on tributaries, Mau said.

But the model would be capable of looking at a dam on the mainstem of Fountain Creek, part of the Army Corps of Engineers’ original recommendation to protect Pueblo after the 1965 flood. It also could look at alternatives such as diversion structures that could move part of the peak flow into Chico basin to the east. “Once we get it calibrated, the model is capable of doing that,” Mau said.

The Fountain Creek board is deliberating whether to partner with USGS in the study, using money from Colorado Springs Utilities under the 1041 agreement with Pueblo County.

More Fountain Creek coverage here and here.

Southern Delivery System: Colorado Springs Utilities plans a trip to the bond market this week to the tune of $180 million

From the Colorado Springs Independent (Pam Zubeck):

Colorado Springs Utilities plans to market $180 million in bonds this week to help fund the Southern Delivery System pipeline, the New York Times reported. That’s part of the roughly $800 million project cost, which, when financing costs are added over the project’s 40-year life, will cost ratepayers $2.3 billion.

More Southern Delivery System coverage here and here.

Boulder: Benzene and naphthalene found in groundwater under city

From the Boulder Daily Camera (Heath Urie):

Officials say they don’t think the benzene and naphthalene — common industrial agents — are threatening the city’s drinking water, but they are investigating how and when the chemicals seeped into the groundwater at 1717 15th St. They are looking into whether the site’s history as a coal gasification plant in the early 1900s, or its more recent use as a dry cleaner business, are possible causes of the contamination. Most experts are already pointing to the old gas plant as the likely culprit, which could mean the chemicals have existed underground for decades. Regardless of the source of the potentially dangerous compounds, Xcel Energy and the city of Boulder have agreed to share the cost of a $30,000 study into the surrounding groundwater as well as the costs of a possible cleanup effort.

More water pollution coverage here.

Oak Creek: Boil order

From Steamboat today (Zach Fridell):

The leak that cut off water service for town residents for about four hours late Saturday and early Sunday, and that has residents boiling water before consumption through this af ternoon, was yet another manifestation of aging water infrastructure in a town that is in the process of getting a new water tank to avoid problems like that encountered this weekend…

The town is using Colorado Department of Local Affairs grant money to start building a new water storage tank on the hillside above town, next to the old tank. The new storage tank will hold 240,000 gallons. After it’s complete, Oak Creek will renovate the existing concrete tank to ultimately double the town’s current storage capacity. With the new tank in place, the town will have about 24 hours of water available for emergencies, even on high-usage days.

More infrastructure coverage here.

Arkansas River Basin: Pueblo Board of Water Works opposes Woodmoor’s change of use application

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

Bill Paddock, water attorney for the Pueblo board, said the case needed to proceed to Division 2 Water Court Judge Dennis Maes immediately, rather than settling through stipulations before a referee. “This is the kind of case we need to move forward to the judge,” Paddock said during the [attornery's conference Monday]…

The Pueblo water board said the supply for Woodmoor’s exchange plan is too uncertain to settle through typical stipulation agreements, and the case is speculative since Woodmoor does not yet control the supply of water it intends to move, said Alan Hamel, executive director of the Pueblo water board.
“We have to protect our Pueblo flow program,” Hamel said…

Woodmoor proposes to move water rights from the Holbrook, High Line and Excelsior ditches in Pueblo and Otero counties to homes in northern El Paso County. While it has contracts to purchase agricultural water rights, they have not been decreed as a source for a municipal substitute supply and there is no evidence that the change will occur.

The Colorado Supreme Court also has a pending case, City of Boulder et al. v. City and County of Broomfield, that could put new limits on municipal exchange applications, Paddock said.

Woodmoor submitted an engineering report last week, but Paddock and Steve Leonhardt, attorney for the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District, said it was not sufficient to determine if Woodmoor’s exchange plan would work or is legal. “I’m concerned that virtually everything in this case is framed in the hypothetical,” Leonhardt said. “It’s very difficult to respond to the engineering in these circumstances.”[...]

Division I Water Court Judge Roger Klein sided last year with Broomfield in awarding an exchange decree even though the city did not own the water supply it proposed to use. Broomfield argued it had more flexibility as a government entity in complying with the anti-speculation doctrine. Boulder and Centennial opposed the case saying Broomfield had not proved it either owned the water supply or provided evidence that it “can and will” acquire the supply. Several Arkansas River basin groups, including the Pueblo water board, Southeastern district, Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District, Pueblo West and Colorado Springs, entered that case on Broomfield’s side. All have exchange decrees pending that could be affected by the Broomfield decision. Oral arguments in the case begin today.

More Arkansas River Basin coverage here.

CWCB: Water Availability Task Force

Below are my notes from today’s meeting:

Taryn Hutchins-Cabibi announced that the state drought plan is finished and was approved 2 weeks ago by the Colorado Water Conservation Board (along with the flood mitigation plan). The documents have been forwarded to the Colorado Division of Emergency Management for approval then on to Governor Ritter.

Ms. Hutchins-Cabibi reported also that the task force is looking for a mechanism to bring long-term forecasts back into the agenda.

State Climatologist’s Report

Nolan Doesken reported that the temperature for the last couple of months has been, “cheating more and more on the warm side,” and that, “for most of the state the summer has been warm.”

In September Colorado saw a, “drying out to the point of no precipitation in some areas,” he said.

The Southwestern Monsoon, “Doesn’t always cover the whole state, Doesken added, but, “Overall for the water year we’re seeing a near average water year through August.”

Grand Lake, “will not have its driest year on record,” after all, according to Doesken, but it is close. He added that he wonders how the location of the weather station is affecting readings and are they still representative of the area at that site.

Karen Rademacher from the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District echoed the concern saying that, “We’re not seeing the same situation,” in Grand County. In fact, she said, if, “we have anywhere near a normal snowpack Lake Granby will spill next year.”

Montrose has had near average precipitation for the water year. Mesa Verde has seen average precipitation as well thanks to a good monsoon season. The Rio Grande Basin will end the year below average.

Burlington however has experienced the second “extraordinarily wet year,” in a row, he said. They’ve received 25 inches this water year and 20 inches last water year. This dovetails with a short report from the Colorado Department of Agriculture representative (I didn’t catch his name) saying that it has been a fantastic year for agriculture on the eastern plains.

Fort Collins should end up right at the long-term average for precipitation, according to Doesken. Boulder will have an above average water year with a, “very dry ending,” he said. He showed last week’s U.S. Drought Monitor which is showing an, “expansion of dry areas,” in northern Colorado.

Natural Resources Conservation Service report

I thought we were going to get a very short report when Mike Gillespie started his presentation by saying that there is, “still no snow to report.” He did however have a report on precipitation totals, trends and reservoir storage from around the state.

The Yampa-White precipitation is sitting at 92% of average. The Upper Colorado River Basin reservoir storage is at 92% of the long term average, he said, adding that they are, “going into the new water year in good shape.”

In the South Platte Basin precipitation is at 92% of average and reservoir storage is 112% of average which is 98% of the total in water year 2009. The basin is, “going into the new water year in good shape as well,” he said.

Down in southwestern Colorado they have a long way to go to get back to average after a, “couple of below average water years back to back,” but reservoir storage is, “slightly above average,” according to Gillespie.

The Rio Grande basin needed a good monsoon to get to precipitation up to 93% of average while reservoir storage is 84% of average. The Arkansas Basin precipitation stands at 90% of average and reservoir storage is 94% of average, he said.

Statewide water year precipitation is 92% and will not improve since, “September has definitely been a dry month,” said Gillespie. Statewide reservoir storage is 103% of average.

Lake Powell and Lake Mead

Just for grins the task force likes to keep an eye on the two big reservoirs on the Colorado River downstream from the “Rooftop of America”. Ms. Hutchins-Cabibi reported that Lake Powell is sitting at 65% of capacity while Lake Mead is at 39% of capacity and dropping. The system is at 56% of capacity which is, “slightly lower that last year at this time.”

More CWCB coverage here.

Fryingpan-Arkansas Project update

From email from Reclamation (Kara Lamb):

Later this afternoon, Monday September 27, we will drop the release from Ruedi Reservoir to the Fryingpan River by 50 cfs. That will put flows in the ‘Pan by the Ruedi Dam gage at about 165 cfs.

More Fryingpan-Arkansas Project coverage here.

Trout Unlimited volunteer awards

Congratulations to Sharon Lance of Centennial, the winner of Trout Unlimited’s top volunteer honor recently. Here’s the post from their weblog. They write:

During her 20-year involvement in TU, Lance has held numerous volunteer leadership positions, including president of the Cutthroat Chapter, located in suburban Denver. She has served as Colorado Trout Unlimited’s treasurer, vice president and president. She has, for the last five years, served as a trustee on TU’s board of trustees…

… [Lance] was a driving force in creating Colorado Trout Unlimited’s River Conservation and Fly Fishing Youth Camp, a camp that teaches conservation and fly fishing to children ages 14 to 18. She was instrumental in bringing the Trout in the Classroom program to Colorado, an educational curriculum that teaches children about trout and conservation by having students raise trout in their classrooms.

Here’s the full list of volunteer awards.

CWCB: Alternative Agricultural Water Transfer Grant Program

From email from the Colorado Water Conservation Board:

The Colorado Water Conservation Board is pleased to announce an additional round of grant funding under the Alternative Agricultural Water Transfer Grant Program. The purpose of this grant program is to advance various agricultural transfer methods as alternatives to permanent agricultural dry-up, including but not limited to: interruptible water supply agreements, long-term agricultural land fallowing, and water banks.

At its meeting on September 15th, the CWCB approved the program’s criteria and guidelines intended to provide guidance to those interested in applying for grant funds. Approved projects should provide usable and transferable information that will increase our understanding of how to successfully design transfer programs that provide a long-term, reliable water supply while sustaining meaningful agricultural production. The grant program was initiated in 2007 and to-date, the CWCB has awarded $1.5 million in grants to further alternative methods to the permanent dry up of irrigated lands. While these projects are still underway, valuable findings have been made. The project sponsors have identified areas where more work may be necessary before alternative transfer methods are more fully accepted by irrigators and cities. It is expected that these monies should fund projects that build upon work performed in the initial funding round. It should be emphasized that projects throughout the State of Colorado are eligible for funding whereas the first round of grant funding was limited to projects located within the Arkansas and South Plate river basins. An overview of the program, the criteria and guidelines and the grant application can be found on the CWCB website at: http://cwcb.state.co.us/LoansGrants/alternative-agricultural-water-transfer-methods-grants.

The Board has $1.5 million available for grants and will consider applications at its January 25-26, 2011 meeting. Applications must be delivered to the CWCB offices no later than November 26, 2010.

For more information about this program, please contact Todd Doherty at 303-866-3441 x 3210.

Arkansas Valley Conduit update

From the La Junta Tribune Democrat (Bette McFarren):

[Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District Manager Jim Broderick] and his staff have figured out a financial model which will be affordable for the “Big Eight” participants: La Junta, Lamar, Las Animas, Rocky Ford, May Valley, Fowler, St. Charles Mesa, and Crowley County Water Association and also all other conduit participants. “It’s better than I thought it would be,” said Joe Kelley, director of [La Junta] water and waste water…

This year the master contract participants and the conduit project agreed to share expenses for the Environmental Impact Study, saving money for both entities. The study is in progress and will be completed by December 2012. The expected date for the conduit project to be online is 2021, said Broderick. This is very close to the payoff date for La Junta’s reverse osmosis plant, 2023, which will free up money for operation and maintenance. Water from the conduit will be much freer from contaminants than the water presently processed, saving on the plant operation and maintenance costs, plus providing better water to the city.

More Arkansas Valley Conduit coverage here and here.

Elevated Nitrogen and Phosphorus Still Widespread in Much of the Nation’s Streams and Groundwater

Here’s the release from the United States Geological Survey.

Elevated concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus, nutrients that can negatively impact aquatic ecosystems and human health, have remained the same or increased in many streams and aquifers across the Nation since the early 1990’s, according to a new national study by the U.S. Geological Survey.

“This USGS report provides the most comprehensive national-scale assessment to date of nitrogen and phosphorus in our streams and groundwater,” said Marcia McNutt, USGS Director. “For years we have known that these same nutrients in high concentrations have resulted in ‘dead zones’ when they reach our estuaries, such as during the spring at the mouth of the Mississippi, and now we have improved science-based explanations of when, where, and how elevated concentrations reach our streams and aquifers and affect aquatic life and the quality of our drinking water.”

“Despite major Federal, State and local efforts and expenditures to control sources and movement of nutrients within our Nation’s watersheds, national-scale progress was not evident in this assessment, which is based on thousands of measurements and hundreds of studies across the country from the 1990’s and early 2000’s,” said Matthew C. Larsen, USGS Associate Director for Water.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, nutrient pollution has consistently ranked as one of the top three causes of degradation in U.S. streams and rivers for decades.

USGS findings show that widespread concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus remain two to ten times greater than levels recommended by the EPA to protect aquatic life. Most often, these elevated levels were found in agricultural and urban streams. These findings show that continued reductions in nutrient sources and implementation of land-management strategies for reducing nutrient delivery to streams are needed to meet EPA recommended levels in most regions.

Nutrients occur naturally in water and are needed for plant growth and productive aquatic ecosystems; however, in high concentrations nutrients often result in the growth of large amounts of algae and other nuisance plants in streams, lakes and estuaries. The decay of these plants and algae can cause areas of low dissolved oxygen, known as hypoxic, or “dead,” zones that stress or kill aquatic life. Some forms of algae release toxins that can result in health concerns.

The study also found that nitrate is a continuing human-health concern in many shallow aquifers across the Nation that are sources of drinking water. In agricultural areas, more than one in five shallow, private wells contained nitrate at levels above the EPA drinking water standard. The quality and safety of water from private wells—which are a source of drinking water for about 40 million people—are not regulated by the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act and are the responsibility of the homeowner.

Because nitrate can persist in groundwater for years and even decades, nitrate concentrations are likely to increase in aquifers used for public drinking-water supplies during at least the next decade, as shallow groundwater with high nutrient concentrations moves downward into deeper aquifers.

“Strategies designed to reduce nutrient inputs on the land will improve the quality of water in near-surface parts of aquifers; however, decades may pass before quality improves in deeper parts of the aquifer, which serve as major sources for public-supply wells,” said Neil Dubrovsky, USGS hydrologist and lead scientist on this study. “Unfortunately, similar time delays for improvements are expected for streams that receive substantial inputs of groundwater”

A variety of sources can contribute nutrients to surface and groundwater, such as wastewater and industrial discharges, fertilizer and manure applications to agricultural land, runoff from urban areas, and atmospheric sources. USGS findings show that nutrient sources and resulting concentrations vary across the Nation. For example, concentrations of nitrogen generally are highest in agricultural streams in the Northeast, Midwest, and the Northwest, which have some of the most intense applications of fertilizer and manure in the Nation.

Differences in concentrations across the Nation also are due to natural features and human activities. For example, concentrations of nitrogen in streams draining parts of the agricultural Midwest are increased by contributions from artificial subsurface tile drains that are used to promote rapid dewatering of poorly drained soils. Conversely, concentrations of nitrate in streams draining parts of the Southeast appear to dissipate faster as a result of enhanced natural removal processes in soils and streams.

“This nationwide assessment of sources and natural and human factors that control how nutrients enter our streams and groundwater helps decision-makers anticipate where watersheds are most vulnerable to contamination and set priorities and management actions in different geographic regions of the country,” said Dubrovsky.

More water pollution coverage here.

Energy policy — nuclear: Health effects of the Lincoln Park/Cotter Mill superfund site public meeting recap

From the Cañon City Daily Record (Rachel Alexander):

Representatives from ATSDR’s Atlanta and Denver offices were in Cañon City to meet with members of the public about the assessment. Teresa Fowler, environmental health scientist and one of the authors of the document said the agency used data gathered during the last 30 years by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the Environmental Protection Agency, Cotter and Colorado Citizens Against ToxicWaste.

Fowler and her co-author, Michael Brooks, senior health physicist, looked at various pathways of contamination, including groundwater, local produce, sediment, soil, surface water and air. The officials explained their findings and answered citizens’ questions about the document and the process. “The main point is, if they have a private well in the contamination area, the water should not be used domestically,” Fowler said. She said as a precaution, the water should not be used to water vegetables either.

The agency made four main conclusions in the document:

— Drinking water for many years from contaminated private wells could have harmed people’s health. ATSDR recommends people do not use contaminated well water for household use.

— Accidentally eating or touching soil and sediment near the Cotter Mill property or in Lincoln Park will not harm people’s health. However, ATSDR cannot make conclusions about soils near Cotter Mill if the properties closest to the facility are developed for residential or other non-industrial uses in the future.

— Residents should limit their use of contaminated well water to irrigate their vegetables. Exposure to molybdenum through locally-grown vegetables irrigated with private well water is not thought to be at levels that would harm people’s health; however as a precaution the vegetables should be thoroughly cleaned prior to eating them. Residents who eat many locally-grown fruits and vegetables could be at higher risk for arsenic exposure. This exposure is thought to be a regional concern.

— Air emissions of particle-bound radionuclides have not resulted in exposures to the public at levels that could cause health effects.

More coverage from Rachel Alexander writing for the Cañon City Daily Record. From the article:

Colorado Citizens Against ToxicWaste has filed a lawsuit in Denver District Court against the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment over the amount of the surety of Cotter Uranium Mill. The suit charges that the radiation control regulators within the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment ignored state law, including requirements of the Uranium Processing Accountability Act, which Gov. Bill Ritter signed into law in June.

More nuclear coverage here and here.

A strong La Niña is expected influence the weather over the next 3 months

From the Summit County Citizen’s Voice (Bob Berwyn):

The temperature outlook for October is for increased chances of below-normal temperatures for parts of the northwest and for the entire West Coast in general. Chances are increasing for above-average temperatures in parts of the Southwest and the southern Rockies across the Great Plains to the Great Lakes region and New England. An increased chance of above-average October precipitation is forecast for the northwest, Montana, parts of Wyoming, the Dakotas and western Minnesota, as well as for the Gulf Coast and Atlantic Coast states. Below-average precipitation is favored from California across the Southwest to the Southern Rockies to the Great Lakes, the middle Mississippi Valley and sections of the Ohio Valley and Tennessee.

In the 90-day outlook, the National Weather Service said La Niña increases the chances for above average temperatures from the Southwest into west Texas and much of the eastern U.S. except in the Southeast. Lower than average temperatures can be expected along the West Coast because of the persistence of below-average sea surface temperatures in the Pacific. Below average temperatures can also be expected in Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, the northern Rockies and extending eastward into the northern Plains and the western Great Lakes. Those same areas will generally see increased chances for above-normal precipitation.

Energy policy — oil shale: Western Resource Advocates release report on Utah’s oil shale and tar sands efforts

Peter Roessmann from Western Resource Advocates sent this link to their report on Utah’s moves into tar sands and oil shale development in email. From the summary:

At first blush, it is easy to fall for the seductive picture painted by tar sands and oil shale supporters. As some describe it, the United States possesses an untapped and unimaginably large reservoir of oil, laced in bitumen deposits or encased in rock and buried on federal lands around the vast Green River formation in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming.

The numbers seem staggering: It is estimated that Utah tar sands may contain 11 billion bar- rels of oil.2 Estimates of U.S. oil shale reserves range from a half a trillion barrels to more than 1.5 trillion barrels of oil. These resourc- es, the argument goes, would be sufficient to power our country for centuries, and, if developed, would allow us to thumb our nose at Venezuelan dictators and Middle Eastern oil cartels. Right under our feet, these “unconventional fuel” boosters tell us, the United States government controls the means to lower the price of oil on world markets, eliminate our dependency on foreign oil, and send the “peak oil” prophets packing.

It is a seductive thought, isn’t it?

Unfortunately, as the cautionary adage goes, “If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.” The more we research tar sands and oil shale, the more apparent it is that due to the relatively small amount of fuel that could be developed, these energy sources would not decrease in any measurable way our dependence on foreign fuel. Utahns, however, would pay an unacceptable price to pursue a commercial unconventional fuels industry that is still wildly speculative. Before any piecemeal approaches are considered, the cumulative, life-cycle effects of pursuing this industry should be evaluated — including water use, energy use, land disturbance, and the uncertain prospects of reclaiming the mining and processing sites.

Both tar sands and oil shale development present overwhelming challenges and drawbacks. For starters, there are not eleven billion barrels of oil under Utah’s rocky high desert soil. For tar sands, the raw material is a hard mixture of clay and bitumen that needs significant processing to become liquid fuel. In the case of oil shale, there are quadrillions of tons of rock under the desert that, in theory, could be heated (using lots of energy) and transformed into a murky liq- uid called kerogen, which still is not oil. Kerogen could then be upgraded and refined (using more energy) into something we could put in our cars, trucks, and airplanes. The laws of physics tell us that it will require a substantial amount of energy to transform tar sands or oil shale into a fuel that can be used in a car or truck. Any technology to do this would be unavoidably and unacceptably wasteful.

Another inescapable problem posed by commercial tar sands and oil shale development in Utah is the amount of water required to produce oil from bitumen or rock. In Utah, water is without a doubt the most precious — and limited — natural resource. As Don Christiansen, general manager of the Central Utah Water Conservancy District, says on page 20 of this report, “You just can’t get along without water. The human body just will not go on without water. It will go on without oil.”

More coverage from The Salt Lake Tribune (Brandon Loomis). From the article:

The Boulder, Colo.-based legal and policy group commissioned a Boston University geographer to analyze the energy return on investment for oil shale. He determined that most research indicates that, at best, making fuel from the rock would generate twice the energy content of what it takes to produce. That compares to a 20-to-1 ratio or better for petroleum.

More oil shale coverage here and here.

‘Big Thompson River Revival’ recap

From the Loveland Reporter-Herald (Sarah Bultema):

[Alan] Leger was one of as many as 200 volunteers who got their hands dirty for the waterway Saturday during the annual Big Thompson River Revival. Hosted by the city of Loveland and the Big Thompson Watershed Forum, the event called on community members to spruce up the river from Wilson Avenue to U.S. 287, while also teaching them the importance of keeping it clean. “It’s about cleaning up and revival and having fun,” said Zack Shelley, program director of the Big Thompson Watershed Forum.

As one of two cleanup events held each year, the revival is important in keeping the water safe, as well as the creatures that live in it, Shelley said. Metals and other materials left in the river can leach into the water, making it toxic to fish and other aquatic species…

Pesticides and fertilizers from lawns, oil drippings on driveways and even pets’ poop can wash into storm drains, which often run unfiltered into the Big Thompson River. “Whatever you’re doing in the community can affect our waterways,” said Joe Chaplin, the storm-water quality specialist with the city.

More Big Thompson watershed coverage here.

Dust on snow

From the Summit County Citizens Voice (Bob Berwyn):

Reducing dust deposition could help boost the Colorado River’s yield, but that would mean changing land-use patterns and human disturbances in the southwestern desert regions, according to Brad Udall, director of the Western Water Assessment. “By cutting down on dust we could restore some of the lost flow, which is critical as the Southwestern climate warms,” Udall said.

Snow dusted with dark particles absorbs a greater fraction of the Sun’s rays and melts faster than white snow, said Jeffrey Deems, who does research for the Western Water Assessment and the National Snow and Ice Data Center. Earlier snowmelt then lets the growing season of snow-covered vegetation start earlier, resulting in more water lost through evaporation and transpiration, Deems said said. That leaves less water for the Colorado River, which supplies water to more than 27 million people in seven states and two countries.

Heavy dust coatings on the snowpack are a relatively recent phenomenon. Since the mid-1800s onwards, human activities, such as livestock grazing and road building, have disturbed the desert soil and broken up the soil crust that curbs wind erosion. Winds then whip up the desert dust — from northwest New Mexico, northeast Arizona, and southern Utah — and drop it on downwind on the mountains that feed the Colorado’s headwaters.

More coverage the Fort Collins Coloradoan (Bobby Magill):

With climate change factored in, the Colorado River could see a reduction in flow of up to 25 percent by 2050, said study co-author Brad Udall, director of the Western Water Assessment, a joint program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and CU’s Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences.

Each year, dust is carried by strong winds from Southwest deserts and deposited onto the snowy slopes of the Rockies. Much of that dust is seen in the San Juan Mountains, but some makes it as far northeast as the northern Front Range, Udall said Tuesday. Mountain snow can appear red or look like cinnamon toast after a dust storm, and it can easily be seen from an airplane…

The study, he said, does not directly address how the river’s flow will be decreased by climate change, but global warming is expected to dry and warm the region and reduce the Colorado River’s flow by up to 20 percent. That should be a concern to people living along the Front Range, because much of their water supply comes from the Colorado River Basin, he said. The loss of Colorado River flow and future development in the Front Range urban corridor are intrinsically linked, he said.

The study was published in the Sept. 20 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and was paid for by the National Science Foundation, NASA and the Western Water Assessment.