Water supply safety

Here’s Part One of Dr. Joseph Mercola’s series Toxic Water running in the Pagosa Daily Post. It’s a nice in-depth look at drinking water supplies. From the article:

In other words, it’s typically the disinfection byproducts – not chlorine – that are responsible for the potential toxic effects of chlorinated water. Some of the more dangerous DBPs created from the chlorination of water include trihalomethanes (THMs) and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). These chlorine byproducts can trigger the production of free radicals in your body.

Here are some of the more dangerous chlorination byproducts and their associated suspected side effects:

Trihalomethanes (THMs):

- Cause cancer in laboratory animals
- Trigger the production of free radicals in your body

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs):

- Lead to central nervous system depression and drowsiness
- Can irritate skin and mucous membranes

More water treatment coverage here.

Colorado River District: Public radio stations team up for water issues series of reports

From the Colorado River District website:

KDNK Community Radio and Aspen Public Radio team up to bring listeners an in-depth series looking at the threats to the region’s water. Reporters from the two stations examine how population growth, climate change, the loss of agricultural land, developments and the energy industry all put strains on Colorado’s limited resource.

Click through for the links to the audio presentations.

More Colorado water coverage here and here.

Colorado River Basin: Secretary Salazar is heading to Mexico to talk water

From the Las Vegas Review Journal (Henry Brean):

In a speech on Friday in Las Vegas , Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said he will travel to Mexico on Sunday to discuss the international water agreement and other issues. “We have high hopes. We’ll know more within a very few short days,” he said. The details have not been finalized, but the concept is for Mexico to store some of its Colorado River allocation in Lake Mead for use in future years, temporarily lifting the water level in the drought-stricken reservoir. Right now, Mexico can’t take its full share of water from the river because of a 7.2 magnitude quake that struck Mexicali on April 4, damaging canals and reservoirs that supply the vast agricultural area just south of the California border…

Salazar said the expected agreement with Mexico would benefit the U.S. by keeping additional water in storage “so we can help address lake levels at Lake Mead.”

What’s the transit loss down there?

More Colorado River basin coverage here and here.

Energy policy — nuclear: Sheep Mountain Alliance report on the proposed Piñon Ridge uranium mill

I was able to snag a copy of the report along with a copy of Dennis O’Leary’s comments from Hillary White the director of the Sheep Mountain Alliance.

More nuclear coverage here and here. More Piñon Ridge mill coverage here.

Precipitation news

From The Pueblo Chieftain:

An expected widespread snowstorm for Colorado hit the hardest in the southern half of the state Thursday in the San Juan Mountains. Wolf Creek Ski Area there reported 9 inches of snow had fallen by midafternoon…In the Upper Arkansas River Valley, the Monarch Pass area was hardest hit by the winter storm Thursday. Snowfall measured between 3 inches and 8 inches on Monarch Pass, but nearby Salida did not have any measurable snow…In Custer County, about an inch of snow was reported at the airport and just a bit of snow was reported in the East Hills area…A weather spotter in the Cuchara area said 2 to 3 inches of fluffy snow fell throughout the day Thursday. In nearby La Veta, about 2 inches of snow fell.

Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District lawsuit against the Bureau of Reclamation over Aurora long-term storage contract ‘administratively closed’

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

U.S. District Court Phillip Brimmer on Wednesday “administratively closed” a lawsuit by the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District against the Bureau of Reclamation for issuing Aurora a 40-year contract in 2007 to store and exchange water at Lake Pueblo…

“What this means is that the case can be opened for cause if Aurora is not abiding by its agreement with the Lower Ark,” said Jay Winner, general manager. “I think we have tied their hands.”

“I think the agreement is in place, the judge’s action doesn’t change the obligations of Aurora to follow the agreement,” said Mark Pifher, director of Aurora Water. Pifher said Aurora is committed to living up to all of the provisions of its agreement with the Lower Ark district. The agreement, reached in 2009, asked the judge to stay the case for two years while Lower Ark and Aurora, among other things, worked for federal legislation to allow Aurora to use the Fry-Ark Project…

In the most recent report to the court, lawyers for the two sides indicated Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., agreed to look at legislation. Since then, Udall has made it clear he would not support any legislation unless there is agreement from all members of the Colorado congressional delegation and all parties involved. That could involve as many as 11 separate entities and the Bureau of Reclamation, which were engaged in talks prior to the lawsuit.

“The decision takes the pressure off getting the federal legislation done,” Winner said. “It also gives us the opportunity to educate people that what we are doing is about keeping other people out of the valley.” The agreement with Aurora enlists the city’s support of Lower Ark programs in the Arkansas Valley that keeps other cities in the Northern part of the state from using Fry-Ark facilities to move water out of the Arkansas Valley.

More Fryingpan-Arkansas Project coverage here and here.

Arkansas Valley Super Ditch update

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

“We’ve still got a long ways to go, because there’s a lot of legal stuff,” said Super Ditch President John Schweizer. “There is a lot of paperwork and permits involved, but it all looks very promising.”[...]

Super Ditch delayed its signup date to Feb. 15 at the request of the High Line board in order to give shareholders on all seven ditches time to consider the pros and cons of signing on.

High Line shareholders also approved a feasibility study that would allow the ditch company to buy shares that are for sale. “It might be a way to help young farmers get a start,” [Superintendent Dan Henrichs] said.

More than 80 percent of those on the Fort Lyon Canal have returned cards saying they are interested in participating in Super Ditch contracts. Dale Mauch, a former Fort Lyon president who represents the canal on Super Ditch, said there are many frustrations that have been expressed by farmers, and more are interested in participating in a water leasing program. “The groundswell of Super Ditch is gaining momentum,” Mauch said. “It’s a way to deal with all these issues we’re facing.”[...]

The Lower Ark district is paying for the legal and engineering fees to jump-start Super Ditch, and is sponsoring the compliance plan for the irrigation rules to reduce the costs to farmers. On behalf of the Super Ditch, the Lower Ark sent out packets asking 2,000 shareholders on the seven ditch systems if they are interested in the program and has received more than 600 positive replies with some replies from each ditch.

More Arkansas Valley Super Ditch coverage here and here.

Energy policy — hydroelectric: Colorado State University, Applegate Group Collaborate on State Grant to Investigate Hydropower in Irrigation Canals

Here’s the release from Colorado State University (Emily Narvaes Wilmsen):

Three million acres of irrigated land in Colorado could be an untapped source of hydropower and a revenue source for irrigation companies.

A Colorado State University engineering professor is collaborating with an engineering firm, Applegate Group Inc., to review the potential power that could be generated by “low-head” turbines in irrigation canals.

Lindsay George, water resource engineer in the Glenwood Springs offices of Applegate, and Dan Zimmerle, a research scientist and adjunct mechanical engineering professor at Colorado State, received a $50,000 grant this year from the Colorado Department of Agriculture to study canals in Colorado. The grant is part of the Advancing Colorado’s Renewable Energy (ACRE) Program to promote energy-related projects beneficial to Colorado’s agriculture industry.

Water in irrigation canals moves fast enough to produce anywhere from 100 kilowatts to two megawatts of power. Two megawatts of power is enough energy to supply power to about 850 typical homes.

In the study, the researchers are examining turbines that could generate power from an elevation drop in an irrigation channel of five feet to 30 feet such as water diversion structures or chutes. They’re also investigating how to connect that power to the traditional electric grid.

Zimmerle and George are now conducting an inventory of irrigation canals in Colorado and surveying roughly 250 ditch companies and individual ditch operators around the state. The survey is available to ditch operators at http://www.applegategroup.com/news/low-head-hydropower-survey-available.

Zimmerle will speak about the project on Feb. 16 in Berthoud at a full-day workshop, “Low Head Hydroelectric Opportunities for Ditch and Reservoir Companies,” sponsored by the Ditch and Reservoir Company Alliance. DARCA is a resource for networking, information exchange and advocacy among mutual ditch and reservoir companies throughout Colorado.

“DARCA is very much interested in projects that will enhance the financial viability of its member ditch companies,” Executive Director John McKenzie said. “The introduction of these types of distributed power projects will help develop additional revenue streams for Colorado ditch companies.”

“That type of infrastructure allows for the potential of low-head hydropower,” Zimmerle said. “There are extensive irrigation systems in Colorado, so we’re identifying where hydropower could be applied in those irrigation channels.
“A large part of the cost for small generating plants is the cost of running a distribution line to generating plants,” he said. “There are good places in the irrigation system that will generate significant amounts of power. But we need to explore this issue with utilities – the approval process, interconnection standards and potential revenue.”

Hydropower generated from irrigation ditches is known as low-head hydropower or hydrokinetic power – what the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) defines as projects that “generate electricity from waves or directly from the flow of water in ocean currents, tides or inland waterways.”

Interest is growing in that type of power because technology is improving, George said: “FERC has a Memorandum of Understanding with the state of Colorado to streamline the permitting process for low-impact hydropower projects in existing canals.

“Hydrokinetic turbines produce a small amount of power and are going to be practical in certain situations,” she said. “With our study, we expect to report a total amount of power that could be produced using low-head and hydrokinetic turbines in our irrigation canals that should help irrigation districts in planning their projects.

“New low-head technologies have potential at sites previously considered unfeasible for hydro development because of a lack of significant elevation drop,” George said. “Irrigation canal drop and check structures, as well as existing diversion dams and outflows, may provide the drop necessary to implement these new low-head hydro technologies.”
Applegate Group, with offices in Denver and Glenwood Springs, is an engineering and consulting firm with expertise in water planning, water rights engineering, water policy and development of water infrastructure.

More hydroelectric coverage here and here.

Moffat Collection System Project: CDOW impact report

From the Greeley Gazette (Mike Bauman):

Ken Kehmeier, [CDOW] senior aquatic biologist for the Platte River Basin, told commissioners that Denver Water’s Moffat Firming project would result in reduced stream flows and increased temperatures in the Williams Fork, Fraser and Upper Colorado River systems. According to Kehmeier, the lower flows would increase sedimentation in the affected reaches of these rivers and reduce their ability to support aquatic insects and fish life.

On the East Slope, the additional diversions would send more water through the Moffat Tunnel, down South Boulder Creek and into an enlarged Gross Reservoir in Boulder County, Kehmeier said. The project would create a larger reservoir for recreation, however, longer periods of high flows in South Boulder Creek above Gross Reservoir would reduce its ability to support trout and other aquatic wildlife, he said…

Kehmeier noted that Denver Water could opt to divert an additional 16,000 acre feet, mainly through Roberts Tunnel and South Platte basin through the southern part of its system without getting a new federal permit. That would likely cause significant impacts to Dillon Reservoir and the high-value trout fishery along the South Platte River, Kehmeier said, and it would not give the Wildlife Commission an opportunity to negotiate mitigation for the increased diversions.

More Moffat Collection System Project coverage here and here.

Energy policy — nuclear: The Sheep Mountain Alliance plans to deliver an environmental analysis of the proposed Piñon Ridge mill to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment today

From The Telluride Daily Planet (Matthew Beaudin):

Hilary White, Sheep Mountain Alliance’s executive director, faulted Energy Fuels, the company hoping to build the mill, for sidestepping concerns. “I think that they probably took more time on some parts of the application than others,” she said, claiming issues such as worst-case scenarios and air transport of toxic dust were ignored. “They shrugged them off. … The application was incomplete when they first completed it, and it continues to be incomplete. The state should deny it on those grounds, as well as others.”

Fraink Filas, who speaks on behalf of Energy Fuels and is the environmental manager there, had yet to see the report and thus could not comment.

[Stratus Consulting of Boulder, Colorado] found fault in the application in several main areas: water supply, waste containment and management and unmapped plans for dealing with future problems at the mill site. It’s estimated that the mill will require 144 gallons of water per minute. The only nearby sources for water are the San Miguel River and the Chinle-Moenkopi aquifer beneath the site, which is estimated to put out 100-175 gallons per minute under an “optimistic” projection, according to the report. “We do not believe that Energy Fuels and their contractor… have adequately addressed questions of water supply over the proposed 40-year mill life,” it reads…

Stratus and others are also worried that the ponds, which are required to be lined, may leak into groundwater beneath the site. Energy Fuels has said it would monitor the ponds for leakage with devices and install netting and equipment to keep birds from getting into the ponds. “Given the history of other mine sites, we believe that Energy Fuels should plan for contaminant releases to surface drainages and groundwater and include multiple control measures as part of the permitting process,” the report reads.

The consultants also faulted Energy Fuels, and the mining industry as a whole, on a failure to address future and unseen problems and plan for remediation. “Energy Fuels and its contractors presented a plan with an engineered solution for all aspects of the milling process. Impoundments will be lined, the ground surface will be graded, it will be a zero discharge facility, and after 40 years, they will implement their closeout plan and walk away,” the report reads. “They have assumed that these engineered solutions are failsafe and that no additional contingency planning is necessary.”

More nuclear coverage here and here.

The Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area scores $425,000 from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment for restoration work

From The Mountain Mail (Cailey McDermott):

The project is designed to reduce the sediment in the river, improve river health and fishery imports. “Probably when all is said and done, it will cost close to $1 million,” Rob White recreation area park manger said. Additional financing will be from Colorado state parks, he said. Construction is set to start in the spring at Hecla Junction recreation site. White is hopeful work will be finished by fall. Hecla Junction was chosen because it’s an area of heavy recreational use and it received back-to-back flash floods in 2006 and 2007, White said. “The floods cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage. We want to make the site more sustainable,” White said. Tom Waters, area assistant park manager, said focus of spring construction will be to remove sediments from the river so they can be measured and examined. It will create detention ponds where sediment is captured before reaching the river.

More Arkansas River basin coverage here.

Durango: Winter maintenance for Smelter Rapid

From The Durango Herald (Garrett Andrews):

Track hoes in the middle of the Animas River at Santa Rita Park were performing winter maintenance on rock formations Monday, capitalizing on the 180 cubic feet per second flow of the Animas, which can run at several thousand cfs in the spring. The work, overseen by the city’s Animas River Task Force and funded by Durango Whitewater, should wrap up by the end of the week. The excavators are replacing dislodged boulders moved during monsoons and high flows over the last two years. Monday, Miguel Montoya of Spriggs Excavation of Durango was trying not to kick up silt while refashioning a river run that churns heavily in high water…

Durango Whitewater received a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and raised $14,000 to fund the project. Spriggs donated the track hoe and Montoya’s services. Wolf Creek Ski Corp. also donated a track hoe and operator.

More whitewater coverage here.

Tamarisk control: The Tamarisk Coalition scores $25,000 from Xcel

From the Grand Junction Free Press:

The Tamarisk Coalition will be accepting $25,000 from the Xcel Energy Foundation for the continued restoration activities at Watson Island 9 a.m., Thursday, Dec. 16, at the Western Colorado Botanical Gardens. The Tamarisk Coalition will be using these funds in partnership with the City of Grand Junction, Western Colorado Math and Science Center, Mesa State College, the Botanical Gardens, and the Western Colorado Conservation Corps to reach the ecological objectives for this site which include replacing invasive plant species with native plants to benefit wildlife habitat.

More Tamarisk control coverage here and here.

Southern Delivery System: Colorado Water Quality Control Division 401 certification challenge recap

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

The Colorado Water Control Commission, which oversees the division, heard testimony on the appeal of the certification at an all-day meeting Tuesday. The commission did not reach a decision, choosing to consider some points in executive session and deferring discussion and a ruling to a meeting at a later date. The case apparently is the first time a Section 401 certification has been appealed in Colorado…

Rather than set numeric standards for selenium, sulfates and E. coli levels that will increase as a result of SDS, the state chose instead to allow monitoring and cooperative action outlined in the adaptive management plan, Barth said. “There was no analysis done, and everything was based on a gut feeling,” Barth said in summarizing an eight-hour deposition of John Hranac, the state employee primarily involved with the Section 401 certification…

Barth continued to hammer on his point that there need to be specific limits on discharges because the streams already are impaired. Barth also said the state failed to look at how increased sanitary sewer and stormwater flows that will result from SDS will affect water quality on Fountain Creek and in the Arkansas River. The state ignored the demise of a stormwater enterprise that was used in the EIS adaptive management plan, he said. The division also didn’t take into account the high number of violations of water quality laws Colorado Springs has had over the past 12 years, he added. “There have been repeated violations that resulted in fines from the division and from federal courts,” Barth said, pointing out that some of the sewer line breaks were a direct result of lines crossing channels that washed out during floods. “Now you add more water? It’s putting more flame on the fire.” Barth, along with the coalition’s attorney Susan Eckert, asked the commission to either deny certification or remand the decision to the water quality division to develop numeric standards and analyze growth as a part of the process.

Colorado Springs argued that the scope of the certification is narrowly defined as a step toward a Section 404 permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that would allow digging and dredging in Fountain Creek and the Arkansas River. “The pipeline and treatment plants (in SDS) do not include any discharges,” said Jennifer Hunt, an attorney for Colorado Springs…

During questioning by Colorado Springs Utilities’ attorney David Robbins, SDS Project Director John Fredell said growth will occur with or without SDS, and that the project has other purposes — including providing redundancy of water delivery systems, reliability of service and development of water rights. Annette Quill, the state’s attorney, argued the adaptive management plan is enforceable, and defended the division staff as using their “best professional judgment,” not a gut reaction, to make the decision to certify SDS. The state favored the adaptive management plan rather than a strict limit on contaminants, said Steve Gunderson, director of the Water Quality Control Division. “An adaptive management program made sense, because you could study this thing to death and still not be conclusive,” Gunderson said. “Fountain Creek involves as much scrutiny as any basin in the state, and we’re definitely going to be involved.”

More coverage from The Colorado Springs Gazette (R. Scott Rappold):

State regulators Tuesday delayed a decision until next month on a dispute involving Colorado Springs Utilities’ Southern Delivery System water pipeline. The group Rocky Mountain Environmental Labor Coalition and Pueblo County District Attorney Bill Thiebaut have challenged a water-quality certification obtained by Utilities in April.

More Southern Delivery System coverage here and here.

Snowpack news

From the Summit Daily News (Janice Kurbjun):

As of mid-December, the Colorado River Basin snowpack is up more than 67 percent compared to last year, information from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service Division shows. Compared to average figures for the basin, which includes the Blue River watershed and extends to western Colorado, the snowpack is up about 25 percent above average for this time of year. For all SNOTEL sites in Summit County (areas where the division has automatic snow survey equipment installed), last year’s mid-December snowpack was well below average, but this year the situation has reversed. Copper Mountain’s SNOTEL average is to have snow with the liquid equivalent of 4 inches. As of Dec. 13, the snow water equivalent is at 7.4 inches…

[NRCS spokesman Mike Gillespie] said the Upper Rio Grande Basin is at 43 percent of average and the San Miguel, Dolores, Animas and San Juan River basins are at 71 percent of average.

USDA Requests Proposals for Water and Land Conservation Projects

Here’s the release from the U.S. Department of Agriculture:

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced USDA is seeking proposals for projects that will bring partners together to help farmers, ranchers and private nonindustrial forest landowners implement beneficial water and land conservation practices.

“Farmers, ranchers and owners of forest land play pivotal roles in protecting and enhancing natural resources,” Vilsack said. “Our goal is to support projects that will improve the health of the natural resources on their land and bring the environmental and economic benefits of conservation to their local communities.”

The requirements for submitting project proposals for the Agricultural Water Enhancement Program (AWEP) and the Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative (CCPI) can be viewed at www.regulations.gov. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will provide financial and technical assistance to eligible producers in approved project areas.

Through AWEP, NRCS provides support for projects that conserve and improve water quality, use irrigation water efficiently, mitigate the effects of drought and climate change and take other actions that benefit water resources. NRCS enters into partnership agreements with federally recognized Indian Tribes, state and local units of government, agricultural and forestland associations, and nongovernmental organizations to help landowners plan and implement conservation practices in designated project areas.

Twenty-eight projects approved for AWEP in fiscal year (FY) 2010 are supporting water conservation efforts in 9 states. For example, in central Colorado, satellite and Internet technology funded through AWEP allows farmers to monitor water-use data in real-time. This information helps them decide how much water to use on their crops, when to apply irrigation water and what type of irrigation equipment will work best for their operations.

Through CCPI, NRCS and partners assist producers in implementing conservation practices on agricultural and nonindustrial private forest lands. NRCS leverages financial and technical assistance with partners’ resources to install soil erosion practices, manage grazing lands, improve forestlands, establish cover crops, reduce on-farm energy usage and other conservation measures. CCPI is open to federally recognized Tribes, state and local units of government, producer associations, farmer cooperatives, institutions of higher education and nongovernmental organizations that work with producers.

Twenty-six projects in 14 states were approved for CCPI in FY 2010. NRCS and Trout Unlimited in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley are using CCPI to restore brook trout habitat and improve water quality in the Chesapeake Bay. The goal is to install nearly 26,000 feet of fencing to prevent livestock from entering streams within the bay’s watershed. This action is expected to improve nearly 10 miles of stream habitat. The project also will restore 20 acres of streamside vegetation to keep pollutants from entering waterways and stabilize soils on 2 miles of stream banks to prevent sediment from clogging waterways downstream.

Proposals for AWEP and CCPI projects must be received by NRCS by January 31, 2011. Visit www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/awep and www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/ccpi web pages to learn more.

2010 represents the 75th year of NRCS “helping people help the land.” Since its inception in 1935, NRCS has advanced a unique partnership with state and local governments and private landowners delivering conservation based on specific, local conservation needs, while accommodating state and national interests.

More conservation coverage here.

Thirsty Energy, Scarce Water: Interdependent Security Challenges

This in-depth look from the Journal of Energy Security (Steven Solomon) starts out saying:

From the invention of the waterwheel 2,000 years ago, to the modern, coal-burning steam engine that powered the 18th century Industrial Revolution, and the giant, multipurpose hydropower-irrigation-flood control dams pioneered at Hoover that helped transform 20th century global civilization, water and energy have been coupled in a matrimony of ever-deepening interdependence. Today their marriage interweaves so inextricably through the spinal nexus of 21st century infrastructures that achieving energy security depends critically upon freshwater sufficiency—and water security turns upon ample, and increasing amounts, of affordable energy.

Click through and read the whole thing. Thanks to Loretta Lohman for the link.

Here’s the link to his book.

More energy policy coverage here.

Southern Delivery System: Rocky Mountain Environmental Labor Coalition challenge to the project’s 401 certification is today

From The Colorado Springs Gazette (Daniel Chaćon):

“We have asked in our papers that the commission set aside the certification or remand it, which means send it back to the Water Quality Control Division for further review based on the various issues we’ve raised,” Susan Eckert, a Littleton-based attorney representing the Rocky Mountain Environmental Labor Coalition, said Monday. The coalition, which describes itself as a non-profit dedicated to the protection of the environment and worker interests in the Rocky Mountain region, filed the appeal along with [Pueblo County District Attorney Bill Thiebaut] in June. Among their assertions is that SDS, as presently configured, will not comply with all applicable state water quality requirements.

[Colorado Springs] Utilities spokeswoman Janet Rummel said SDS has “extensive mitigation requirements” that “fully address” the issues cited in the appeal.

More Southern Delivery System coverage here and here.

Moffat Collection System Project and Windy Gap Firming Project update

From KUNC (Kirk Siegler):

Over the years, Denver Water has built four trans-mountain diversions, five canals and 16 reservoirs to serve its 1.3 million customers. Northern Water relies on 110 miles worth of canals and even a tunnel beneath Rocky Mountain National Park to pump western slope water to its 13 reservoirs. Both agencies have pending projects to expand this footprint…

“This project allows us to take the water that we are currently entitled to take under the Windy Gap Project,” says Jeff Drager, Northern Water’s project manager overseeing the Windy Gap Firming Project. He says making the water more “firm,” or more reliable, means the water customers along the northern Front Range will be able to count on that water year in and year out…

These concerns set the backdrop of a State Wildlife Commission meeting on the two water projects last week in Colorado Springs. A relatively-unknown state law requires the commission to sign off on mitigation plans for water projects like these, which get passed on to federal regulators who have the final say on any proposal. “The number one concern of the Grand County Commissioners, and they said to say this very loudly, is to protect the aquatic environment,” said attorney Barbara Green, who represents the Grand County Commission. “That is their number one concern about these two projects.”[...]

Division of Wildlife biologist Ken Kehmeier said from 1985 to 2010, lower flows have led to some uninvited visitors, wiping out two mayfly and six stone fly insects that trout depend on. “We have chironomids and some muelids that are now dominant groups in some of these areas, these two species are generally indicators of water quality problems,” Kehmeier said. Which could have implications for all of us. So officials with Denver and Northern water say they’re working together to ensure that their projects’ impacts will be negligible.

Northern’s Jeff Drager says his agency’s plans could actually help the river, by carefully taking less water during dry months, and allowing more to flow down the western slope during peak runoff periods.

More Moffat Collection System coverage here and here. More Windy Gap coverage here and here.

2010 Colorado election transition: Hickenlooper is looking at IBCC recommendations

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Patrick Malone):

…Gov.-elect John Hickenlooper said he is receptive to adopting water-efficiency standards for state agencies and departments…

“That’s what we did in the city,” Hickenlooper said. “We started asking, ‘Who uses large amounts of water in our city government that we could talk to first?’ ’’ Hickenlooper said that was a change that he implemented as mayor of Denver, and it worked. A chart generated by Denver Water showed that between 1990 and last year Denver reduced its water consumption considerably. Most of the water efficiency was achieved between 2000 and 2010. Hickenlooper became mayor in 2003. At its peak, Denver was devouring more than 220 gallons per person per day. As of last year, that measure had declined to 145 gallons…

“In some of these big issues, like water, I think you have to look at every agency in state government and ask everybody, ‘How are you going to cut your water consumption by 15 or 20 percent?’ ”

More 2010 Colorado elections coverage here.

La Niña/snowpack update

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

Chances of snow [for Pueblo County and the Arkansas Valley] are 10 percent to 40 percent Wednesday through Friday, but the 10-day forecast is calling for below normal precipitation…

Most of the storms that have moved through the country for the last four months have missed Pueblo as a strong La Nina — cooling of the Pacific Ocean — continues. Storms tend to move further north, as last weekend’s pounding of the Midwest illustrates.

Snowpack in the mountains is spotty as well. North of Leadville, more than 3 feet of snow remains at Fremont Pass, according to Natural Resources Conservation Service Snotel tracking. But elsewhere in the Arkansas River basin, snow is sparse. At St. Elmo, southwest of Buena Vista, about 17 inches were reported Monday. Further south and east, the snow pack thins out. On Pikes Peak, where traces of white can be seen, only about 2 inches is measured at the NRCS site. At Hayden Pass near Villa Grove, only 1 inch was reported. Cooper and Monarch ski areas both reported a base of 34 inches with 7 inches of new snow over the weekend, while Wolf Creek Pass only has a 27-inch base with no new snow. The Arkansas River basin is at 76 percent of normal for snowpack, as measured by snow water equivalent, while the Rio Grande basin was at 54 percent as of Monday.

From The Denver Post (Kieran Nicholson):

While winter weather has a firm grip on the northern and central Colorado mountains, Denver and the Front Range remain mild and dry, a pattern unlikely to change in a hurry. Several Colorado ski resorts are boasting of early-season bases already measuring 40 inches and deeper, but Denver has seen just a “trace” amount of precipitation for the month of December so far…

“This pattern doesn’t change too much over the next 10 days,” said Bernie Meier, a meteorologist and spokesman with the National Weather Service in Boulder.Denver and the Front Range may get “a little light precipitation here and there, but nothing significant.”

Drought/snowpack news

Bump and update: Here’s the latest snowpack map from the NRCS.

From the Fort Collins Coloradoan (Bobby Magill):

The federal Climate Prediction Center has classified most of Larimer County, including the foothills, and all of eastern Colorado as experiencing a moderate drought. Some areas of Colorado, including Pueblo, Otero, Crowley, Kiowa, Bent and Prowers counties, are in a severe drought.

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

The latest release of the U.S. Drought Monitor shows severe drought conditions along the entire Lower Arkansas Valley east of Pueblo and abnormally dry conditions in the Rio Grande basin. Most areas have not seen appreciable rain since midsummer.

Meanwhile, the Western part of the state is showing above average snowfall early in the season, with some areas showing 150 percent of average for moisture since October, according to the State Water Availability Task Force. A strong La Nina pattern — cooling over the Pacific Ocean — has pushed storm systems to the north, leaving Southern Colorado drier than usual. Snowpack in the Rio Grande basin is the lowest in the state at 77 percent of average, while the Arkansas River basin is at 89 percent, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The good news for Arkansas Basin water users is that the Upper Colorado River basin is at 142 percent. Arkansas River water users rely on imports of water from across the Continental Divide for about one-fourth of the total supply of water each year. Overall, snowpack is at 123 percent of average and the state’s water supply is at 103 percent of average, the task force reported…

Water storage levels throughout the state remain high, the task force reported last week. Reservoir levels in the Arkansas River basin are slightly above average.

Here’s the December 2010 Drought Update from the Colorado Department of Natural Resources (Taryn Huthcins-Cabibi/Veva Deheza). Here’s the executive summary:

Following a warm and dry September and October throughout much of the state, November saw conditions improve in some regions and deteriorate in others. The Rio Grande and Eastern Plains have received little to no precipitation in November and continue to experience moderate to severe drought conditions. The four corners region also remains dry, but has yet to be classified as experiencing drought conditions. Conversely, the northwest portion of the state experienced good precipitation in November alleviating previously dry conditions. Reservoir storage remains strong across most of the state with five of the eight major basins near or above average.

- The eastern plains of Colorado have received below normal precipitation in November and remain below normal for the 2010 water year, which began in October. Much of Northwestern Colorado has seen average precipitation in November helping to ease dryness from the late summer and early fall.

- Recent storms have alleviated dry conditions in The Yampa White Basin. This basin is now at 149% of average for the water year and has a snowpack 129% of average.

- Statewide snowpack is 103% of average. Individually, four of the eight basins are well above 100% of average snow water equivalent. The North Platte has the highest percent of average snow pack at 142%, the Colorado, Yampa/White and South Platte sit at 130%, 129%, and 116% of average, respectively.

- The San Miguel/Dolores and the Rio Grande River Basin remain well below normal for snow pack with 67% and 56% of average. Conditions in the southwest portion of the state will be closely monitored over the coming weeks for emerging drought conditions.

- According to the U.S. Drought Monitor 59% of the state is now experiencing D0, D1 or D2 status, which represents abnormally dry, drought moderate and drought severe conditions respectively. The drought conditions that have covered the eastern plains of the state throughout the fall have continued to deteriorate with D0, D1 and D2 covering much of Colorado east of the divide.

- The December 1st traditional SWSI values range from -1.8 in the Rio Grande Basin to +3.9 in the Yampa/ White/ North Platte Basin.1 The Gunnison and Arkansas basins are both near normal at +0.1 and +0.3 respectively. The Colorado and South Platte are both showing strong positive values at +2.6 and +2.0. The dry conditions in the San Juan/Animas/Dolores/San Miguel are illustrated by a SWSI value of -1.4. The traditional SWSI values are partly influenced by reservoir storage and may not fully represent conditions in the region; the revised SWSI values were not available for this month.

Middle Colorado River Partnership update

From the Glenwood Springs Post Independent (John Stroud):

Glenwood Springs City Council recently committed $3,650 in matching funds and will send a formal letter of support for the federal 319 Watershed Planning Grant. The city will also provide in-kind support for the project. Garfield County commissioners have lent their support to the partnership as well, and the Battlement Mesa Metro District board of directors recently approved $1,000 in matching funds, according to Clark Anderson, facilitator for the new Middle Colorado River Watershed Partnership.

Various stakeholders began meeting in September to explore the idea of forming a watershed group to go after the grant opportunity, Anderson explained. “More than 50 people from different agencies, businesses, organizations and the general public came together to discuss the potential value in forming a ‘watershed partnership,’ as well as what needs or issues it might address, how it might operate and what benefits might be realized for different stakeholders,” according to a summary of the project provided to City Council earlier this month. The partnership was formed to collaborate and share information about the watershed, and provide a unified voice to protect and enhance water quality, reliability and the overall health of the stretch of Colorado River between Glenwood Springs and DeBeque. Until now, this was one of the few stretches of river in the state without a watershed group. The focus of the watershed plan will be on its health and management and educating residents of its values. The effort has brought together a wide range of interests, including representatives of the natural gas industry whose activities are prominent in the region…

The grant application is to be submitted this week. The steering committee’s monthly meetings are open to the public and include periodic educational seminars on topics of interest. The next meeting will be at 8:30 a.m. Jan. 14 at the Garfield School District Re-2 building in Rifle.

More Colorado River basin coverage here.

Southwestern Colorado Water Conservancy District board meeting recap

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

“We’re running into an issue of timing and trying to keep the contracts we have [for the Arkansas Valley Conduit] on schedule,” Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District Executive Director Jim Broderick told his board Thursday…

However, actual engineering for the conduit has slowed down, as Southeastern works to complete the EIS as quickly as possible. The goal is to finish the study within two years, Broderick said.

Broderick also thanked Colorado Springs Utilities for making engineering models of river operations available for the EIS.

Meanwhile, the district is preparing agreements for consideration by each of the more than 40 participants in the conduit. Those could be ready by the end of the year, depending on whether the funding picture clears up.

More Arkansas Valley Conduit coverage here and here.

Southern Delivery System: The Colorado Water Quality Control Commission will hear Fountain Creek water quality objections Tuesday

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

The Water Quality Control Commission will meet Tuesday in Denver on an appeal by the Rocky Mountain Environmental Labor Coalition and [Pueblo District Attorney Bill Thiebaut] of certification issued to Colorado Springs Utilities and its SDS partners under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act. The state Water Quality Control Division certified SDS, a project that would build a pipeline from Pueblo Dam to serve Colorado Springs, Security, Fountain and Pueblo West. The permit was issued earlier this year, and is necessary for a separate permit by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that allows construction of a pipeline across Fountain Creek.

“The division has, in effect, done nothing more than simply rubber-stamp the prior proceedings of the federal and local agencies that reviewed the SDS project under other programs,” said Joe Santarella, attorney for the coalition.

Here’s an interesting side story from Chris Woodka writing for The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:

Colorado Springs Utilities approached former Pueblo County Commissioner John Klomp shortly after his final term ended in 2005 to promote the Southern Delivery System.

He turned them down.

The information was included in a disclosure statement by Klomp, who is now a member of the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission, as the commission prepares to hear an appeal of SDS certification under Section 401 of the federal Clean Water Act.

Meanwhile the Fountain Creek Watershed Flood Control and Greenway District board heard a proposal for a regional stormwater authority in the Fountain Creek watershed. Here’s a report from Chris Woodka writing for The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:

The board is reviewing the proposal by Summit Economics, a firm that has done Colorado, national and global economic research since 1981. Senior partners include Dave Bamberger, Tom Binnings, Paul Rochette, Mike Anderson and Tucker Hart Adams.

They propose a $37,500 project that would include interviews with key people and development of alternatives to provide funding for needed stormwater control projects. The main results would be to develop a stormwater funding that would meet state and federal regulations at a minimal cost to property owners. It would protect infrastructure in both incorporated and unincorporated areas of El Paso County. At the same time, a sustainable source of funds for both water quality and recreation on Fountain Creek would be identified.

The proposal is pegged on the decision last year by the Colorado Springs City Council to eliminate a stormwater enterprise that was integral to the environmental impact study by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the Pueblo County 1041 permit for the Southern Delivery System.

More Southern Delivery System coverage here and here.