From The Pueblo Chieftain (Matt Hildner):
The adjustment, which came in part because of a high-elevation snowpack that eluded runoff forecasts, means irrigation ditches on the Rio Grande and Conejos rivers will face increased curtailments. Between now and October, the state will have to send 24,000 acre-feet downstream on the Rio Grande and another 17,000 acre-feet will have to come from the Conejos, Division Engineer Craig Cotten said Tuesday. Irrigation ditches on the Rio Grande will face a 22 percent curtailment, a 16 percent increase from June 1. Ditches on the Conejos will have a 46 percent curtailment, up from 13 percent June 1.
This year differed from the prior two runoff seasons when stream flows fell sharply after peak runoff occurred. “It started dropping at about the time that we anticipated it dropping but it didn’t drop nearly as fast,” Cotten said…
While this year’s runoff remained below average, water managers were expecting even less water in the stream system and a smaller compact requirement. State water officials typically base their runoff on a number of factors, including the 10 snow gauges the Natural Resources Conservation Service has set up in the mountains above the Conejos and Rio Grande. This year’s snowpack included heavy pockets at elevations above those gauges, Cotten said.
More Rio Grande River basin coverage here.
From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):
A new agreement that removes Aurora’s connection with federal legislation that would look at enlarging Lake Pueblo was approved Wednesday by the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District. The Aurora City Council would have to approve the agreement to put it into place. The agreement would end any further attempts by the Lower Ark district to challenge Aurora’s 2007 contract with the Bureau of Reclamation. the district sued Reclamation in federal court shortly after the contract was awarded…
Under the new agreement with the Lower Ark district, Aurora would support federal legislation to enlarge Turquoise Lake and Lake Pueblo without its previous insistence on including provisions that allow Aurora to use Fry-Ark facilities. The new agreement also would require Aurora to support using its payments on the contract to help fund the Arkansas Valley Conduit.
More Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District coverage here.
Here’s the link to the full report from the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade. The user interface is very clumsy. Here’s the executive summary:
Colorado Blueprint: A bottom-up approach to economic development
Since Jan. 11, 2011, the Hickenlooper Administration has engaged more than 5,000 Coloradans from all 64 counties in developing a comprehensive and collaborative approach to economic development. A state team composed of representatives of a dozen state agencies and statewide organizations traveled more than 6,000 miles to gather input from every corner, valley and plain that makes up Colorado.
Every county put together a summary expressing the needs, priorities, vision, strengths and weaknesses of its local economy. These county summaries were rolled up into 14 regional statements. Based on the county and regional input, we identified the following six focus areas to promote economic development in Colorado:
I. Create a Business-Friendly Environment
o Coloradans deserve a government that is responsive to their concerns and priorities, is frugal with their tax dollars and promotes economic development. That means knowing when to regulate, how to regulate, and when to get out of the way. This is one of the important roles of government. To this end, the Hickenlooper Administration is focused on the Three E’s of good government: efficiency, effectiveness and elegance.
II. Recruit, Grow and Retain Businesses
o Colorado is a great place to do business. Through more targeted marketing of the state, as well as increased coordination within the economic development community, Colorado is poised for economic growth. It is also important to build on existing successes, such as the Sustainable Main Streets pilot program championed by the Department of Local Affairs, as we work to ensure economic vitality in communities and on main streets in every corner of Colorado.
III. Increase Access to Capital
o Every county and region expressed the need for capital formation and increased access to capital, whether that takes the form of debt financing, equity investment or access to grants – and often all three. The state is expanding current venture and angel capital programs, while also designing a new cash collateral program to support businesses trying to get operating loans.
IV. Create and Market a Stronger Colorado Brand
o Colorado is one of the best states to live in or visit, being a premier place to work, play, explore and conduct business. Together, people across Colorado can define a vision for how we preserve and enhance the Colorado Advantage. A common brand and vision for all of Colorado will provide a strong foundation for increasing Colorado’s market share in overnight visitors, relocating companies and direct investment—both on a nationally and globally.
V. Educate and Train the Workforce of the Future
o One of Colorado’s key economic drivers—and selling points to potential business–is a highly-educated population and world-class institutions of higher education. To maintain and grow this globally competitive workforce, we need a strong and coordinated education system, including workforce, that leverages the boot-strapping “can-do” attitude of all Coloradans.
VI. Cultivate Innovation and Technology
o There is a strong spirit of innovation found around Colorado, with bright and adventurous people making discoveries and working to make new ideas thrive. Most regions of the state require improved communications technologies, including broadband, as a foundation of economic development and innovation.
This is not a comprehensive collection of all-encompassing end-goals for all of Colorado, but rather a first set of achievable objectives to undertake together. It is a working document, which means plans and partner names may change as we work to ensure that the benefits balance or outweigh the costs of implementing an initiative. We need public engagement and analysis, especially on the actions undertaken to “move the needle” in these six focus areas. We want to continue to update and adapt this Blueprint through sustained conversations about what Colorado’s economy should look like in the future. Together we can achieve measurable progress on our initiatives, and build the momentum needed to drive economic recovery.
We are committed to collaboration. We will return to every region four times in the next three years (every nine months) to evaluate and celebrate measurable progress on state, regional and county work plans. As we hit targets, we will desire new goals for the upcoming nine months. Through these feedback loops, state and local leaders will maintain open lines of communication and become better partners in supporting entrepreneurship and job creation across Colorado.
Special Note: During the “bottom-up” process, we captured thousands of valuable inputs and comments across a wide range of topics. A significant number of these comments and priorities will live at a local or regional level, where they can gain maturity and momentum and possibly be elevated to the Blueprint at a later date.
More coverage from the Northern Colorado Business Report. From the article:
The Weld-Larimer goal statement included similar business-related focus areas as the statewide plan but also included a goal to “develop, preserve and enhance water storage and delivery options in the region.”
That goal was later objected to by the Fort Collins city council, which wrote a letter to the governor’s office expressing the city’s nonsupport for the goal based on its reservations about the proposed Northern Integrated Supply Project that would include Glade Reservoir.
The NISP project, proposed by Berthoud-based Northern Water, is currently under review by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The Colorado Blueprint will continue to be updated over time and Hickenlooper administration officials said they intend to re-evaluate the plan every nine months to measure progress on its goals.
More coverage from Patrick Malone writing for The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:
“There are 100 different things people say they need,” Hickenlooper said. “We’ve distilled it down to six things. We can’t do 100 things. Six things we can do.” He said the “Colorado Blueprint” sets a course for the state’s economic recovery by focusing on the most pressing economic development challenges identified by Colorado residents…
The plan was culled from dozens of public meetings throughout the state that began in January. Each of the state’s 64 counties offered a plan, which gelled into 14 regional plans. Some county and regional plans targeted specific job-creation numbers and reductions in joblessness, a level of specificity that does not appear in the state plan.
“I think what you’re asking us for is to pull a number out of a hat,” Hickenlooper said. The governor said finite goals such as those reflected in some county and regional plans would have doomed the state plan to constantly shoot at a moving target. “The economy is so complex,” Hickenlooper said. “If you look back over the last four years at every economic prediction that the top economists have used it’s probably about half as reliable as the seven-day weather forecast.”[...]
The backdrop for Hickenlooper’s speech was the site of TAXI and Freight, a revitalized business park that has undergone a metamorphosis in the past two years from a taxicab and trucking yard into the cradle of Colorado’s creative class. Office fronts are glass garage doors more commonly found at radiator shops. Inside them, employees in their 20s and 30s toil in T-shirts and shorts. Bicycles, ping-pong tables and foosball tables adorn the offices and provide pastimes during breaks. Building angles are sharp with vivid trim and paint just weathered enough to make the park contemporary chic. Businesses at the park may look like recreation centers to the untrained eye, but they produce highly advanced microchips, manufacture research microscopes, offer intricate Web design and sell fine art…
“One of the things that surprised me in rural Colorado — both in mountain towns and on the Eastern Plains — was that innovation and technology are part of their everyday language and their everyday life,” Hickenlooper said. “Until you’ve spent a day with a dryland farmer in Southeast Colorado and see how innovative they have to be to make a profit out of very difficult landscape, you haven’t seen anything about innovation.”
More coverage from Patrick Malone writing for The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:
“The local communities, as they push through their own recoveries, are still going to be focused on their own objectives as they stated in their own local summaries,” [Dwayne Romero, executive director of the Governor’s Office of Information and Technology] said. For Pueblo County. those objectives are increasing primary jobs with an emphasis on manufacturing, increasing the flow of tourism dollars, supporting existing industries and small businesses to expand, promoting Pueblo as a regional health care destination, developing a leadership counsel to enhance the agriculture economy and expanding offerings at Colorado State University-Pueblo and Pueblo Community College to produce graduates whose skills appeal to innovative employers that might want to relocate to Pueblo…
The lawmakers [Sal Pace/Keith Swerdfeger] also agree that expanded graduate, engineering and hospitality offerings at CSU-Pueblo and forging a dual-credit relationship between the university and the community college are longer-term goals, but vital parts of the city’s economic future.
Protecting water throughout the Arkansas Valley will be imperative if Pueblo County is to attain its goal of promoting agriculture, Swerdfeger said.
From The Greeley Tribune (Eric Brown):
After discussing various issues Monday afternoon and into Tuesday morning, representatives of the organization’s wildlife and environment, water, specialty agriculture, crops and animal agriculture committees each outlined the county, state and federal policies that sit atop their watch lists.
Giving the water committee’s final report, John Stroh of Walsenburg in Huerfano County – the committee’s chairperson – said he wanted legislators to address special water districts, fight against the United Nations’ Agenda 21 Wildlands Project plans that could prevent diverting snowmelt in certain areas of Colorado’s mountains for usable water, and look into giving the Colorado Division of Water Resources more flexibility.
Stroh further explained that the privately owned special water districts “seem unregulated” and don’t give users a voice in what happens with the water.
“There just apparently isn’t much oversight. It seems like a good business plan,” Stroh said with sarcastic laugh. “Maybe I’ll do the same thing.”
Stroh said the United Nations’ Agenda 21 Wildlands Project would turn portions of Colorado’s mountain areas into an “uninhabited wilderness area.”
“If that were to happen, which means we would lose access to that water, that could really affect our ability to farm,” he said. “We’re really quite concerned about it.”
Regarding the Colorado Department of Water Resources, Stroh said the office’s lack of flexibility is the reason Colorado is sending its water surplus to neighboring states that are getting more than their allotted amount.
“You have the South Platte River, where we now have over-watered aquifers full and flooding basements, and yet there are still wells shut off and can’t be pumped,” Stroh said. “It’s the prime example of where more flexibility for our state’s engineer could do us a lot of good.”
More Colorado water coverage here.
From the Arapahoe County Board of County Commissioners via the Centennial Citizen:
The Arapahoe County Board of County Commissioners recently appointed five citizens to serve on the newly-expanded Arapahoe County Water and Wastewater Authority Board of Directors.
ACWWA is a water and wastewater authority responsible for the day-to-day operation of providing water and sanitary sewer services to its customers in a roughly eight-square mile area located in central Arapahoe County and a small portion of northern Douglas and Elbert counties.
Serving in their capacity as the Board of Directors for the Arapahoe County Water and Wastewater Public Improvement District, the Commissioners expanded the ACWWA Board of Directors to nine members from its current seven-member board.The Commissioners appointed the following citizens to serve on the ACWWA Board for staggered, one-to three-year terms:
- Mikkel R. Anderson, an executive with the International Risk Group.
- Steven H. Davis, developer/investor with Community Builders Inc.
- Linda Lehrer, president of Sierra Consulting, who served on the ACWWA Board from 2007– 2009.
- Geri G. Santos-Rach, a Medical Billing Analyst for IMED, who previously worked for the Colorado Public Utilities Commission until she retired in 2009.
- Dr. Phyllis R. Thomas, Utility Application Specialist with Phyllis Thomas Consulting.
In April, the commissioners requested applications from citizens interested in serving on the ACWWA Board of Directors. The County received 16 applications and the Commissioners conducted interviews with seven candidates before making its appointment.
“We want to thank all the citizens who took the time to apply for these positions and for their interest in helping to shape their community,” said Commissioner Rod Bockenfeld, who serves as Board Chairman.
“The citizens we appointed today bring a good balance of expertise and knowledge to the ACWWA Board of Directors.”
For more information about the Arapahoe County Water and Wastewater Authority, visit their web site at www.arapahoewater.org.
There’s always a back story or two in any big water court case. Here’s a report from Karen Crummy and Eric Gorski writing for The Denver Post. From the article:
It’s going to be hard to plan for the future,” said Len Pettinger, 76, who farms 500 acres near Brighton. “We’re already living day to day. I guess now we starve to death.”
A Denver Post investigation into the union of two public water districts and shareholders in the Farmers Reservoir and Irrigation Co. and two related systems found that those who held the farmers’ fate in their hands took significant risks, appeared to gain personally and professionally from the arrangement, and failed to accept an out-of-court settlement that could have saved the farmers, some of whom will lose half their water.
More South Platte River basin coverage here.
CWCB: July 2011 Drought Update
July 19, 2011
Click here to download the presentations from last week’s meeting. Click on the thumbnail graphic to the right for a map of Colorado precipitation for July 1-11, 2011 from the historians at the Colorado Climate Center.
From email from the Colorado Water Conservation Board (Ben Wade):
The next scheduled meeting for the Water Availability Task Force is August 17, 2011 at the Colorado Division of Wildlife Headquarters, 6060 Broadway, Denver, CO.
Wastewater: Colorado Springs Utilities is using a UV array to disinfect effluent prior to releases into Fountain Creek
July 19, 2011
From The Colorado Springs Gazette (John Schroyer)
[Colorado Springs Utilities] had been using UV to help purify wastewater at its J.D. Phillips treatment plant, on the north side of Colorado Springs, since the plant was built in 2007. And the 540-bulb UV purification system there has been working “extremely well,” said plant superintendent William Hoyt.
So Utilities took the next step and built an even bigger UV array in its Las Vegas Street plant, almost twice the size of the one at the Phillips plant. The new 972-bulb system at the plant near Interstate 25 and South Nevada Avenue took a year to construct. The system began operating on Jan. 5, and since then, UV lights have treated an average of 30 million gallons of Colorado Springs wastewater per day, all of which leaves the plant cleaner than ever before. “What we’re putting into the creek, it has less bacteria in it than the creek does,” said Dean Cohrs, the plant’s interim operations supervisor. Specifically, the UV system kills far more E. coli, as per the new regulations, than chemicals ever did…
One of the biggest benefits of the UV purification process for both plants is that it’s astonishingly simple. Water flows into one of three channels at the end of the treatment process, churns in chambers illuminated by five-foot-long ultraviolet lightbulbs, and after a few seconds, is pumped out…
…the enterprise spent just under $13 million for the new UV array, which officials say is well worth the cost because it’s quicker, more environmentally friendly, and safer for employees.
More wastewater coverage here.
Reclamation is taking bids for four ponds to serve the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program
July 19, 2011
From NBC11News.com (Cecile Juliette):
Sheer, who works for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, says by Federal Law, the organization is required to protect and recover endangered species. Through the recovery program, biologists are trying to build ponds to aid the recovery of these fish. They are raised from hatchlins at the hatchery, then once they reach a certain size, they will be moved to the ponds at Horsethief Canyon, where their health and numbers will be monitored. Scheer says many of these fish are found only through the river system of Colorado, and serve many environmental roles. He says the health of these fish reflects the health of the river. Fish Culturist Mike Gross says his relatives have told stories about the Pikeminnow and Razorback. He says his uncle would go down to the river and pitchfork large Pikeminnows, then feed them to his pigs. They were also a staple for hungry families.
He says the Upper Colorado Recovery Program, and the 24 Road Hatchery have already had success. “Since this facility came online, we have stocked well over a quarter million Razorback Suckers into the Colorado Riverand it’s tributaries.”
Brent Uilenberg with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation says, “The goal is to have the 4 Colorado River fish species that are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act de-listed by 2023.” The contract to build the ponds at Horsethief Canyon is open to bidders. It was first offered to HUD contractors, then open to all bidders. The hatchery is operated by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and runs on nearly 100 percent recycled water provided by Ute Water.
Rio Grande Roundtable meeting recap: Flaming Gorge pipeline could take the pressure off the San Luis Valley
July 19, 2011
From the Valley Courier (Ruth Heide):
…the Flaming Gorge proposal and others like it that would bring water into Colorado from other areas could significantly affect the San Luis Valley because the Valley would not be such a target for water export schemes if other sources could be found.
Valley water expert Steve Vandiver recently reported to the water group, the Rio Grande Roundtable, that a task force is looking into the Flaming Gorge proposal as a future water source for Colorado…
He said this would be a fairly aggressive, expensive project, which is one of two or three projects that would bring outside water to the Front Range. The Flaming Gorge project has been estimated at $2-4 billion for construction, possibly through a private/public venture. The customers of such an expensive venture would have to be municipalities who could afford the water, Vandiver said. He said he understood the estimated output from the Flaming Gorge could be 175,000-300,000 acre feet of water annually…
Vandiver said it is important for the Valley water users to have “a place at the table” in discussions about future water sources such as the Flaming Gorge proposal to prevent ag land here from becoming a target for water acquisition, as it has on the Front Range. If one of these proposals [CWCB new supply concepts] such as the Flaming Gorge does not pan out, the “easy pickings” for water acquisition will be agricultural land with water rights, Vandiver said. “There’s a bigger picture this roundtable needs to be involved in and needs to consider,” Vandiver said. “Think about what our role in that could and should be.”[...]
He said IBCC statewide funds will help pay for the Flaming Gorge task force, but he and Smith believe it might be a good move for the Rio Grande Basin roundtable to put in some money from its account as well. Smith will talk to the roundtable group in August about funding somewhere in the range of $5,000 from the basin to help with the task force.
More Flaming Gorge Task Force coverage here.
Aspinall Unit update: 2,800 cfs in the Gunnison River through Black Canyon and the Gunnison Gorge
July 19, 2011
From email from Reclamation (Erik Knight):
After 2 weeks of steady inflow to the Aspinall Unit the forecast has finally come true – inflows to the Unit actually decreased over this past weekend. Blue Mesa Reservoir has filled to within 0.2 feet of full but the decrease in the side inflows has caused the elevation in Crystal Reservoir to drop significantly. Therefore releases at Crystal Reservoir will be decreased by a total of 600 cfs over the next 3 days. Flows will decrease 200 cfs a day, starting today, July 18th, and ending on Wednesday, July 20th. This should bring flows in the Gunnison River through the Black Canyon down to 2800 cfs by early Wednesday.
More Aspinall Unit coverage here.
From email from Reclamation (Kara Lamb):
The releases out of Green Mountain dam to the lower Blue River will be lowered to 2,550 CFS after 4 PM today [July 18].
More Colorado-Big Thompson Project coverage here.
Runoff news: Horsetooth Reservoir is almost full
July 19, 2011
From the Fort Collins Coloradoan (Bobby Magill):
“Everybody’s just jazzed,” said Glen Werth, owner of Inlet Bay Marina on Horsetooth Reservoir. “The water levels are fabulous. Our rental business is fantastic. We have a lot of big boats, big groups.”
Brimming with water, Horsetooth Reservoir is expected to completely fill this week for the first time since 2004. “We do think Horsetooth is going to continue to rise,” said U.S. Bureau of Reclamation spokeswoman Kara Lamb. “We’re going to get pretty close to full.”
On Friday, Horsetooth Reservoir’s surface elevation was 5,425.25 feet above sea level, lower than its peak in 2010, when it hit 5,427 feet, said Brian Werner, spokesman for the Northern Colorado Water Conservation District. Horsetooth Reservoir’s full pool level is 5,430 feet. “By the end of next week, we will have Horsetooth full,” Werner said Friday.
The reservoirs are full here mostly because of the long, sustained runoff season from an abnormally large snowpack in the mountains. Werner said Northern Water’s forecasters say this year’s robust runoff is a “once-in-a-lifetime” event. “We’re smiling,” Werner said. “This is almost an ideal runoff year. We talk about this all the time and it never happens.” The runoff from the mountain snowmelt is expected to extend into August, which is nearly unheard of, he said.
Recent rains mean irrigators haven’t had to take water from the reservoir, allowing it to continue to rise. The Bureau of Reclamation has stopped taking water deliveries from the Colorado River through the Adams Tunnel, Lamb said.
More Colorado-Big Thompson Project coverage here.
From the Glenwood Springs Post Independent (Janice Kurbjin):
A sustained high water season on rivers in and around Summit County is coming to a close, and that means less juggling for local outfitters. “It was a challenge, for sure,” Arkansas Valley Adventures owner Duke Bradford said. AVA, like other companies, transferred trips based on flows to put ages and abilities on appropriate stretches. Someone who booked a Brown’s Canyon trip in the Arkansas River Valley may have gotten short notice that they’d now be running the more consistent Blue River, though it still ran quickly, about an hour north in Silverthorne…
“If you came to run whitewater, it’ll go down as one of the best whitewater seasons ever,” Bradford said, explaining that cooler temperatures helped sustain what many thought would be a sharp, severe spike in flows. Then, when the snowpack expired, rain and downstream water calls came. The high water lasted about six weeks…,/p>
Performance Tours and AVA have been back on the Numbers and Royal Gorge for about five days. And other trips are mostly back to normal minimum ages, with the exception of a still-high Clear Creek.
From the Fort Collins Coloradoan (Bobby Magill):
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said its environmental review of entrepreneur Aaron Million’s 550-mile water pipeline project was dead in the water before Million could terminate the study himself. Million said Friday he terminated the environmental review of his Regional Watershed Supply Project, but the Army Corps on Thursday canceled the $3 million review itself after Million re-purposed the project, said Rena Brand, the Army Corps’ regulatory official overseeing the review.
How much of the Army Corps’ work was wasted is unknown, Brand said. “It is unclear how information we’ve gathered and analyzed would be used,” she said…
Brand said Million did not respond “in an appropriate manner” by his July 5 deadline, despite telling the Coloradoan in June that he planned to do so. “We had a phone call from one of his team members the day before the deadline asking for more time,” Brand said. The Corps specifically asked Million to let them know by the deadline how he intended to resume the EIS, he said…
Million said Monday his team asked for several more days in order to finalize the permit application with FERC…
“I think the Corps recognized that this is a project that is not ripe for primetime,” said Stacy Tellinghuisen, a water policy analyst for pipeline critic Western Resource Advocates in Boulder. “FERC hopefully will see the same.”
From the Associated Press via The Pueblo Chieftain:
The Army Corps had canceled the $3 million review itself on Thursday after Million changed the project’s purpose, Rena Brand, the Army Corps’ official overseeing the review, told The Fort Collins Coloradoan. The Corps spent two years on the Million-financed Environmental Impact Study of the 550-mile pipeline, which would take about 250,000 acre-feet of water annually from the Green River at Flaming Gorge Reservoir, pump it over the Continental Divide and deliver it via Fort Collins to Colorado’s Front Range…
Million had asked the Army Corps in April to suspend the environmental review for 60 days to give him time to decide the project’s future. Brand said Million did not respond ‘‘in an appropriate manner’’ by his July 5 deadline. “We had a phone call from one of his team members the day before the deadline asking for more time,” Brand said. Without a response, Brand said, the Army Corps told Million on Thursday it had terminated the study because the project’s purpose is “uncertain.”
Coyote Gulch outage
July 16, 2011
I’m on deadline at Colorado Central Magazine. I’ll see you Tuesday morning.
I’ve been blushing since I received the email yesterday. It’s great to be recognized for my work. Thanks. Here’s the link to Coyote Gulch’s conservation RSS feed and the link to the conservation category as well.
From email from Seametrics (Charles Sipe):
I wanted to let you know that Coyote Gulch was named to The Top 25 Water Conservation Blogs at http://www.seametrics.com/blog/top-water-conservation-blogs/ based on your great water conservation content and recommendations from other water conservation blogs.
We are Seametrics, a water flow measurement company that helps farmers, water utilities departments, and manufacturers to reduce water consumption. Water conservation is an important part of our company mission.
More conservation coverage here.
From the Fort Collins Coloradoan (Bobby Magill):
“We do think Horsetooth is going to continue to rise,” said U.S. Bureau of Reclamation spokeswoman Kara Lamb. “We’re going to get pretty close to full.” With the sustained runoff season this year because of the mountains’ uncommonly tremendous snowpack and a steady march of rainstorms across the mountains recently, the Bureau of Reclamation has stopped taking water deliveries from the Colorado River through the Adams Tunnel, she said Thursday.
The snowmelt and rain have allowed junior water rights for the Colorado-Big Thompson Project east of the Continental Divide to come into priority, allowing local reservoirs to fill…,/p>
Farmers who have rights to Horsetooth Reservoir water haven’t been taking much of it because recent rainfall has prevented them from needing it, she said…
Carter Lake near Loveland already filled once this year, but the Bureau of Reclamation drew it down and now it’s starting to fill again, she said.
From the Valley Courier (Ruth Heide):
Meeting with members of the Valley-wide water group, the Rio Grande Roundtable, on Tuesday, Colorado Division of Water Resources Division 3 Engineer Craig Cotten described the unexpected turn of events on the river. “It’s kind of a strange situation. It’s kind of a strange year,” Cotten said.
For the last several years the Valley’s rivers that satisfy the Rio Grande Compact have peaked earlier than usual, so this year when the snowpack registered below normal, less water was expected, Cotten explained. “We thought we weren’t going to have that much water. Here it comes now,” Cotten said. He said just in the last 24 hours (before the Tuesday meeting) rains had bumped up the rivers in the Valley…
One of the places his office had to “go from here” was to increase the annual forecasted flow on both the Rio Grande and Conejos River systems, which means more water must now be delivered downstream during the irrigation season to meet Rio Grande Compact obligations. And that means higher curtailments on ditch diversions for irrigators. The annual forecasted flow for the Rio Grande at Del Norte is now 535,000 acre feet, of which the state will owe 138,900 acre feet, or 22 percent, to downstream states, according to Cotten…
To reach Colorado’s new obligation to downstream states through the Rio Grande Compact, 22 percent of the flows during the rest of the irrigation season will have to be sent downriver. “So we have got a 22 percent curtailment on the Rio Grande right now,” he said.
The curtailment on the Conejos River system is even higher. The forecasted annual flows on the Conejos increased to an estimated 254,000 acre feet, of which 72,000 acre feet would be required downstream to meet the Rio Grande Compact. That equates to a 40-percent curtailment, Cotten said…
Cotten said the gauging station on Sangre de Cristo Creek by Fort Garland is registering significantly lower than average flows – “still very significantly below average.” The gauging station on Saguache Creek is also reflecting “significantly lower than average” flows. “We haven’t gotten anywhere close to our average on Saguache Creek,” Cotten said.
From The Pueblo Chieftain:
Flow levels on the Arkansas River are beginning to decline within the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area and advisories have been lifted for two sections of river, The Numbers and the Royal Gorge. An advisory remains for Pine Creek. Flows below Buena Vista were at 2,600 cubic feet per second Friday and dropping after several weeks of high runoff.
Energy policy — hydroelectric: Wagon Wheel Ranch above Creede flips the switch on their shiny new 310 kw generation plant
July 16, 2011
From The Pueblo Chieftain (Matt Hildner):
The $1.3 million project at the Humphreys family’s Wagon Wheel Ranch will supply electricity to the grid through the San Luis Valley Rural Electric Cooperative and, state leaders hope, spur more development of small-scale hydropower. Project leader and family member Ruth Brown oversaw the project and thanked a long list of government officials, engineers, contractors and family members during a ceremony at the ranch, which sits roughly 12 miles south of town…
[Project leader and family member Ruth Brown] said picking up the larger project became possible when state lawmakers passed a renewable energy standard in 2006. Because of that bill, the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association can claim renewable energy credits when the ranch’s power comes on the grid. She also was aided by a $300,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture…
[Gary Boring, who supervised the construction for Moltz Constructors of Cody, Wyo] said one of the biggest challenges for his company, which works on dams and hydropower projects throughout the West, was developing the siphon that draws water from the reservoir’s surface then sends it down a 650-foot penstock to the generator. “This really hasn’t been done before,” Boring said. “That’s been one of the big challenges on the job is keeping that siphon going and keeping air out of the penstock.”
Despite heavy winters in the area, Boring said a bubbler system would keep the intake from icing over. He said the only limitations on the project would come in the form of a poor water year.
Aurora: Homestake Reservoir will be closed to the public and drained this fall for three year maintenance project
July 16, 2011
Here’s the release from Aurora Water (Greg Baker):
The Homestake Dam and Reservoir in Eagle and Pitkin Counties, Colorado, will be undergoing scheduled maintenance in 2012 and 2013 that will impact recreational users of the facilities. The work involves regular, but necessary maintenance to help safeguard a valuable resource and ensure its viability for years to come. Homestake Reservoir, completed in 1968, is operated jointly by Colorado Springs Utilities and Aurora Water under the Homestake Water Project. To ensure the public’s safety during construction activity, access to the reservoir and the dam will be restricted during this maintenance period.
“We understand that this area is a popular recreational amenity, and we ask for your patience and understanding as we work as expeditiously as possible,” stated Greg Baker, spokesperson for the Homestake Project. “The construction season in the mountains is short, so we will make every attempt to be efficient with our time.”
Starting in September 2011, admittance to Homestake Reservoir will be closed below the East Fork Trailhead, just prior to the dam access road on Homestake Road. The top five feet of the dam crest will be removed to accommodate the large equipment needed for this project. Upon completion of the maintenance work in late 2013, the dam crest will be restored to its original height.
The bridge on Homestake Road immediately beyond the turnoff from Highway 24 will be replaced between October and December 2011. A temporary bridge will be in place to accommodate local traffic. Traffic will be directed to this detour, so it is recommended that visitors watch for traffic signs and be alert.
In 2012, the reservoir will be drained to accommodate repairs to the gate and intake structure for the Homestake Tunnel, which carries the water from Homestake to Turquoise Lake in Lake County. Natural flows to Homestake Creek will be maintained during this time. The U.S. Forest Service, in cooperation with a variety of partner groups, will be performing restoration and enhancement work, including fish habitat improvement, hazard tree removal, and campsite rehabilitation along Homestake Creek downstream from the reservoir.
From 2012 to 2013, milling and paving will occur on the dam’s asphalt face. Asphalt faced dams, while common in Europe, are unique in the U.S. Since the facing was first installed in 1968, it is almost 45 years of age and is due for a replacement.
Water collection in the reservoir will begin again in April 2013, though how long it will take to refill Homestake will depend on snowpack and runoff conditions. Restoration work around the dam should be completed in 2014, with full public access being restored by spring of that year.
Both Colorado Springs Utilities and Aurora Water will carefully monitor their other water sources to ensure that adequate supplies are available to meet customer demand. Aurora Water will maximize its storage in the Arkansas and South Platte basins, as well as utilize its recently completed Prairie Waters system. Colorado Springs Utilities does not anticipate impacts to its ability to deliver water to customers during the construction phase. During construction, and as needed, Colorado Springs Utilities will bring its share of Homestake Reservoir storage through the Homestake Tunnel to East Slope storage facilities.
Updates and notices on the Homestake Dam and Reservoir maintenance and repair project will be posted on websites of both Aurora Water (https://www.auroragov.org/Homestake) or Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU.org).
More coverage from the Aurora Sentinel (Sara Castellanos):
The reservoir will be drained for repairs to the gate and intake structure for the Homestake Tunnel, which carries the water from the reservoir to Turquoise Lake in Lake County. Contractors will replace the asphalt facing on the dam, which is 45 years old. “Homestake has an asphalt faced dam which is unusual here but very common in Europe,” Baker said. “It makes it a little more difficult to find qualified contractors for.” While this work is done, the U.S. Forest Service will work on fish habitat improvements, removal of hazardous trees and campsite rehabilitation in the area…
The total cost of construction of the renovations is $35.5 million, with Aurora paying $17.5 million over four years and Colorado Springs paying the second half. Money to fund the project will come out of Aurora Water’s operating budget…
While Homestake is offline, the city will continue collecting water from Prairie Waters, the drought-hardening project that came online last year. “Now that we have Prairie Waters online, it’s about the equivalent of what we take out of Homestake,” Baker said.
Boulder: The city has embarked on an $8.1 million 18 month project for wastewater treatment plant imprvovements
July 16, 2011
From the Boulder Daily Camera (Heath Urie):
The project, which is now underway, will upgrade several critical components of the plant at 75th Street and Jay Road that turns the city’s raw sewage into water that’s clean enough to discharge into Boulder Creek. The work will include three separate projects.
One will convert the facility to use an ultra-violet sterilizer instead of chlorine gas. “The gas chlorine system is the single greatest danger at the wastewater treatment plant,” said Douglas Sullivan, the city’s utilities project manager…
Sullivan said upgrading the system to no longer rely on the chemical is the department’s “No. 1 priority.” The total cost of the new system is about $3.5 million…
A second project will upgrade the headworks at the plant. Headworks carry all of the raw sewage into the plant. The headworks contain screening devices that remove large debris from the sewage, and system that remove grit and rags. Those systems are now about 30 years old, and need to be replaced…
The third project will upgrade two large, cylindrical tanks that act as the stomachs of the wastewater plant. Known as the digester tanks, the devices heat and mix sewage to create solid waste “cake” that is sent to agricultural lands in east Adams County. The $1.6 million of upgrades will install a new mixing system that will help meet federal safety standards.
More wastewater coverage here.
From the La Junta Tribune-Democrat:
“I’m grateful the USDA is making assistance available to more affected Colorado farmers and ranchers,” [Colorado Senator Mark Udall] said. “This will help our agricultural producers offset some of the heavy losses they’ve experienced because of the drought and spring freezes.”
Counties designated agricultural disaster areas due to drought this year: Bent, Chaffee, Custer, Fremont, Huerfano, Kiowa, Las Animas, Prowers and Pueblo counties, including surrounding Alamosa, Baca, Cheyenne, Costilla, Crowley, El Paso, Gunnison, Lake, Lincoln, Otero, Park, Pitkin, Saguache and Teller counties.
Because of their proximity to and possible losses due to primary drought designations in New Mexico, Archuleta, Baca, Conejos, Costilla and Las Animas counties also became eligible for drought-related assistance.
Additional resources were made available to counties affected by the spring freezes that occurred April 28 through May 1: Fremont County was designated as a primary county, but eligibility extends to the surrounding counties of Chaffee, Custer, El Paso, Park, Pueblo, Saguache and Teller.
From The Pueblo Chieftain (Patrick Malone):
“Drought impacts are resulting in the loss of native grass, mixed forage, cool season grasses and alfalfa throughout the San Luis Valley in south-central Colorado,” Hickenlooper wrote in the letter. “Losses are greatest to cool season grasses reaching 75 percent. The availability of surface water has resulted in many producers having to abandon alfalfa irrigation completely.”
A second letter sought disaster assistance for Delta, Montrose and Mesa counties on the Western Slope, where fruit producers were stung by a freeze in late April and early May. Some producers there suffered losses of 95 percent of their apples and other fruits.
Brighton: City council raises water rates
July 16, 2011
From the Brighton Standard Blade (Kevin Denke):
City council members gave their unanimous, albeit begrudging, initial approval July 5 to an ordinance that will increase fixed water rates as well as consumptive water user rates. Under the proposed changes, the fixed water charge would change from $6.36 to $7.86 a month, the sewer charge would go from $2.15 a month to $5.40 a month. A new $1.75 storm drainage charge would also be added. In regards to water consumption rates, a water user would see an increase from $3.78 per 1,000 gallons of water to $3.93 per 1,000 gallons of water and an increase from $3.77 per 1,000 gallons to $3.92 per 1,000 in the sewer utility charge…
City utilities director Jim Landeck took city councilors on a visual tour of the city’s aging infrastructure that prompted the proposed increases. He said much of the water and sewer pipelines in the older area of Brighton have more than began to show their age, bursting at a moment’s notice and leaving residents without water during emergency repairs. Landeck pegged some pipes as close to 100 years old. “These pipelines that have been in the ground now for almost 100 years are showing considerable signs of corrosion,” Landeck said…
The proposed increases, which the city says are the first substantial water and sewer rate increases in 13 years, brought concern from city council members including Ward 2 councilman Rex Bell. He said he worried about the impact it would have on residents of his ward but he worried more about the long-term effect of doing nothing…
The ordinance is scheduled for final consideration at the July 19 city council meeting with the fixed rate changes to take place after Aug. 1. Water consumption rates would take effect Oct. 1.
More infrastructure coverage here.
From the Fort Collins Coloradoan (Bobby Magill):
Fort Collins entrepreneur Aaron Million said Friday he is terminating the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ environmental re-view of the Regional Watershed Supply Project and transferring that review to another federal agency that regulates hydro-power projects. The agency switch could reduce the environmental review and permitting time for the project from more than seven years to about two and a half years, he said…
Million envisions the pipeline generating more than 1,000 megawatts of hydroelectric power as it tumbles from Laramie to Fort Collins – the primary reason the federal agency conducting the environmental review of the project had to be switched, Million said. He said he plans to submit a permit application for the pipeline to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, next week and officially terminate the Army Corps’ review of the project at the same time…
FERC spokeswoman Celeste Miller said Friday she did not know what conversations Million has had with the agency about the feasibility of FERC reviewing the pipeline proposal. She said she does not know if it is possible for FERC to complete its environmental review of the pipeline in two and a half years. “There is no way to know at this point,” she said. “We have nothing before us. We have nothing to look at.”
More coverage from Chris Woodka writing for The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:
“We’ll be able to move a lot of the work from the Corps study over. The project and analysis will remain the same,” Million said. “The time line will shorten dramatically.” The Corps process would have taken at least five more years, even though the study began in 2008. Million said he expects the FERC process for his proposal to be done in a short time because of the groundwork that already has been done.
Million is following a model chosen by Utah in 2008 for a $1 billion pipeline from Lake Powell to serve water users in that state. Utah applied through the FERC to address the hydropower aspects of its pipeline, but concerns of other federal agencies are addressed through the process. The entire process is expected to be completed in 2012, according to the Utah Division of Water Resources website. Million’s proposed pipeline would generate about 70 megawatts of power in-line, and has the potential for 500 to 1,000 megawatts of pump-back storage generation, he said…
Million’s project faced opposition under the Corps proposal from some counties in Wyoming and regional environmental groups. They plan to oppose a FERC proposal, as well.
From email from Western Resource Advocates (Peter Roessmann):
Aaron Million, proponent of the Regional Watershed Supply Project, or “Million Project” has announced that he will switch permitting agencies from the Army Corps of Engineers to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), in hopes of expediting the permitting process. The FERC environmental review, however, should be just as rigorous as the Corps’ review – this is essential for protecting all stakeholders’ interests in Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah.
Western Resource Advocates has the following statements:
- “The FERC environmental review is not just switching horses in mid-stream, it starts the NEPA process over again. Stakeholders in Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado deserve the opportunity to weigh in on the “new” form of the project. We expect whatever agency takes a close look at the proposal will reveal Million’s empty promise that the project could generate hydroelectric power—it will be net power user.”
- “Today, the Million project is no closer to delivering water to Coloradoans than it was two years ago. It’s time for water providers to focus on real solutions that can meet Colorado’s future water needs. This is yet another example of why the proposal is not-ready-for-prime-time, and why Colorado should not establish a “task force” to pursue a similar project.”
- “Million is now taking FERC on the same snipe hunt he’s led the Corps on for two years. Coloradoans should be outraged at this wasteful use of limited resources.”
From the Summit County Citizens Voice:
Million has been touting the pipeline for many years , but it’s not clear if the project is viable financially, or if it could deliver as much water as promised. Several regional and state groups have taken early looks at the proposal, but as yet, nobody has stepped forth to fully claim and embrace the long-distance pipeline. In making the switch, Million may be aiming at presenting the pipeline as an energy project, but conservation advocates pointed up that, even with a hydropower component, the pipeline would use more energy than it produces.
Wiggins: The town has attracted interest from 26 contractors for the upgrade to the finished water supply system
July 16, 2011
From The Fort Morgan Times (Dan Barker):
…26 contractors came to town Wednesday to attend a pre-bid meeting and find out specifications, Tim Holbrook of Industrial Facilities Engineering, which is overseeing the project, told the Wiggins Town Council that night. Plans for the project were finally approved by the USDA and other agencies, and the project can begin construction, he said. The construction will have four components and contractors can bid on one, more or all of them, Holbrook said. Those include a new membrane treatment system, a 7.3 mile pipeline, two 20-acre augmentation ponds and two new water supply wells…
Contractors can ask questions until July 22, and bids are due Aug. 3 at 1 p.m. Holbrook said he expects even more contractors to bid before the period is over…
Meanwhile, work continues on changing the water rights the town owns from agricultural use to municipal use. A first step is to obtain approval of the change from the Weldon Valley Ditch Co., of which the water rights is a part, and that is underway, Holbrook said. Wiggins must also receive approval from the Colorado State Engineer`s Office, and that is expected in the next few months, he said. That will allow the town to start pumping water when construction is done, even if there are still water court proceedings.
From The Aspen Times (Andre Salvali):
Lauren McDonell, environmental initiatives program manager for the city of Aspen, explained the plan to four [Aspen's Open Space and Trails Board] members before their vote and said that geothermal energy could be another way for the community to reduce its carbon footprint. “If we’re sitting on top of a clean, renewable, carbon-free source of energy, I think we have a responsibility to explore it,” she said. “It could help us decrease our dependence on fossil fuels, and help us address climate change in Aspen. So it’s kind of an exciting opportunity.”[...]
The city likely will start the test well in late September, drilling up to 1,000 feet below the surface of the parking lot. If answers can be obtained at a shallower depth, the city won’t need to drill any deeper, she said. The nearby Roaring Fork River won’t be affected, McDonell said. The parking lot is located within the Prockter Open Space, which is why permission from the city’s Open Space and Trails Board was needed. The test site is simply that, McDonell said, explaining that it’s unlikely to be used as a production area should the city move forward with a geothermal energy project. However, it could be used for future monitoring and tests…
The project is expected to take 30 to 45 days, McDonell said. Noise from the test site will be kept at or below 55 decibels, the limit stipulated in a city ordinance based on the time of day and area of town…
According to a city news release, the test site lies just west of old silver mine workings. The project won’t disturb any heavy metal deposits in the area. “We wanted to pick a site that is city-owned and as close to old mine workings as possible without being in them,” consultant John Kaufman said in a prepared statement. “We are looking to find out the temperature of the water, the water chemistry, like if it is hard water or alkaline and we hope not to find heavy metals in the water,” he said, adding that historical evidence suggests Aspen miners more than a century ago encountered hot water as they worked.
More coverage from Andrew Travers writing for the Aspen Daily News. From the article:
The board voted 4-0 for the drilling project, following a brief presentation by Lauren McDonnell of the city’s Canary Initiative, which is spearheading the initiative…
Board member Charlie Eckart asked how many truckloads of dirt and rocks would be produced from drilling. Just one every three to four days during drilling, McDonnell said. All the board members encouraged her to continue communicating proactively with neighbors about noise and other impacts from the test.
The city held a neighborhood meeting on Monday seeking feedback on the geothermal project from adjacent homeowners. Twelve neighbors attended that meeting. None attended Thursday’s meeting to oppose or support the project…
McDonnell will now begin searching for a drilling company to do the work. The contract for drilling will be subject to City Council approval later this summer. Drilling is scheduled to take place in mid- to late-September, McDonnell told the open space board. The parking lot will be closed up to 45 days during drilling and the subsequent testing of the hole…
Based on a 2008 geothermal feasibility study, the temperature of local underground water ranges in temperature from 90 to 140 degrees. To heat or cool buildings with geothermal energy, 100-degree water is required. To generate electricity, the city would need water of at least 220 degrees.
More coverage from Andrew Travers writing for the Aspen Daily News. From the article:
The potential of tapping local renewable energy sources like geothermal has drawn support from the city’s Canary Initiative, which aims to reduce local greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent before 2050. Geothermal energy taps the consistent temperatures below ground to heat or cool interiors above ground. “We’re excited that if we find the geothermal potential we’re talking about, it could be enough for heating and cooling buildings in Aspen with a local clean energy source,” said Lauren McDonnell, director of the Canary program…
If the Prockter test site is successful, McDonnell said, the city would drill a second test well on another public site before actually tapping any geothermal energy…
The city’s hopes for geothermal resources are based largely on historical accounts from 19th century silver miners in Aspen. “The miners encountered very hot, uncomfortable conditions in the mines here,” Kaufman said. That anecdotal evidence led the city to conduct a feasibility study for local geothermal in 2008, which found the temperature of underground water in Aspen ranged from 90 to 140 degrees. Drilling for geothermal, however, will avoid the vast network of mining tunnels below Aspen, Kaufman said, because they are not structurally sound.
