Energy policy — oil and gas: Produced Water Development LLC is hoping to provide a new water source in the water short South Platte River basin

From the Northern Colorado Business Report (Steve Porter):

It’s estimated that 90 percent of the liquid brought up through drilling is ‘produced’ water while only 10 percent is oil. Until recently, that produced water has been seen as a waste product and a liability to oil and gas drilling companies, with some of the vast quantities simply reinjected back into the ground in geologically sealed wells. But there’s a company that’s aiming to take that waste product and turn it into a valuable commodity.

Produced Water Development LLC is a spinoff company of Fort Collins-based Stewart Environmental. The company is partnering with Houston-based Energy Water Solutions to marry SE’s filtering technology with EWS’ sales and marketing to create a new water resource in the always-thirsty West…

The water used for fracking must be fresh, cleaned of the inorganic salts, hydrocarbons, solids, metals, dissolved gases, bacteria and other living organisms found in produced water. Oil and gas companies can have their own produced water cleaned with the devices patented by Produced Water Development and reuse it for their fracking operations. But even if there’s too much water to reuse for their own purposes, the produced water can be sold and recycled for agricultural, industrial, even municipal drinking uses…

“Every drop of water in Colorado is spoken for,” [Dave Stewart, founder of Stewart Environmental and Produced Water Development LLC] said. “This is the only new resource for water now, and the last thing we should do is pump it down a well.” Stewart said the recently patented technology can clean produced water to the point that it can be consumed by animals and humans. “We can actually take (all contaminants) out,” he said. “We can discharge to a cold-water fishery and not have an issue.”[...]

Under Produced Water’s business plan, oil and gas companies would lease a filtering plant from the company. The date of the installation of the first filtering device into the field has not yet been confirmed, said Shasha, who notes that oil and gas companies still have a learning curve before they start lining up to use the new technology.

More oil and gas coverage here and here.

Colorado State University Water Expert Publishes Book to Help Private Industry Tackle Public Projects

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

Neil Grigg has written a dozen books in his 30 years at Colorado State University, but his most recent is the first directed at industry’s growing role in public water infrastructure projects.

“Water Finance: Public Responsibilities and Private Opportunities,” published by Wiley, focuses on creating public/private partnerships within the water industry.

“We’ve got so many unmet infrastructure needs and water needs in the country,” Grigg said. “It’s hard to convince people to invest in these, and the government’s having a hard time all the time. The action is going to shift to the private sector.”

As an example, he pointed to the Colorado Department of Transportation, which is seeking private companies to improve congestion along the I-70 corridor.

“The government doesn’t have enough money to expand the highway, but if a private sector company can offer some way to solve the problem without raising tax money, you’ve got a win-win deal,” he said.

Closer to home in Fort Collins, industry, education and government officials have formed the Colorado Water Innovation Cluster to share information and collaborate on water-related projects. The cluster highlights the region’s water capabilities and addresses workforce gaps. The collaboration helps to identify new market opportunities, he said.

“There are a lot of opportunities for private companies to develop products and services for the water industry,” Grigg said. “The water industry is very diluted. It’s got a lot of small parts.”

Grigg is a civil engineering professor and renowned water resources engineering consultant who has been at Colorado State since 1967. He is an expert in Colorado’s water history, drought management, government water resources planning, Western water management issues and water system infrastructure engineering.

Among his other books is “Colorado’s Water: Science and Management, History and Politics,” a book that presents long-range views about Colorado’s water issues, including drought. He has authored or co-authored about 200 publications and several other books about water resources engineering and infrastructure.

Researchers have sustainably produced hydrogen gas, a potential source of clean energy, using only water and bacteria

From Science Magazine (Sid Perkins):

Hydrogen may be the ultimate clean fuel because burning it—in chemical terms, reacting it with oxygen—yields only water vapor. Previously, researchers have produced hydrogen gas in microbial-powered, batterylike fuel cells, but only when they supplemented the energy produced by the bacteria with electrical energy from external sources—such as that obtained from renewable sources or burning fossil fuels, says Bruce Logan, an environmental engineer at Pennsylvania State University, University Park. Also, by using devices that contain large stretches of permeable membranes that separate salt water from fresh, scientists have tapped the voltage difference that exists between them. But those devices create only a voltage difference; they don’t generate the electrical current required to produce hydrogen, Logan notes. Hydrogen atoms are formed in such devices only when electrons flow into a fluid where they can combine with hydrogen ions; those atoms in turn combine with each other to create hydrogen gas.

Now, Logan and Penn State environmental engineer Younggy Kim report online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that they’ve done something no other team has: They’ve successfully combined the two types of devices to generate hydrogen without any external sources of energy whatsoever. The prototype device contains two small chambers—one holding the bacteria and their nutrients, the other holding salty water where the hydrogen was produced—that are separated by five stacked cells through which the researchers circulated fresh water and salt water. Together, these stacked cells generated between 0.5 and 0.6 volts—enough, the researchers say, to enable hydrogen production in the microbial fuel cell, in which bacteria feed on acetate compounds.

For each 30 milliliters of sodium acetate solution provided for the bacteria, the device generated between 21 and 26 milliliters of hydrogen gas over the course of a day. Admittedly, this is a small volume, about four times the amount of fuel in a disposable lighter, but it’s enough to prove that the hydrogen-generating concept works in the lab, the researchers contend. Although the equipment needed to produce the hydrogen is expensive, the device needs no external source of energy—and therefore no greenhouse gases are generated during the process.

‘Colorado Water 2012′ scores $25,000 from the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

The Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District allocated $25,000 Wednesday to help with the Colorado Water 2012 initiative in the Arkansas River basin.

The initiative is an effort by the state’s water community to commemorate several events, including the 50th anniversary of the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project, and the 75th anniversary of the Colorado Big-Thompson Project, which led to the formation of the Colorado Water Conservation Board, Colorado River Conservation District and Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District…

The Lower Ark board intends to stay involved for the planning of Colorado Water 2012 as a way to promote its mission of keeping water in the Arkansas River basin. [Perry Cabot, a research scientist with Colorado State University Extension] outlined a broad approach that builds on activities in the state and in the valley to celebrate water next year. For example, it will tie into the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District’s plans to mark the 50th anniversary of Fry-Ark and the Arkansas River Basin Water Forum in Leadville next spring. There are other water education programs being initiated by CSU Extension as well.

More Colorado Water 2012 coverage here.

The City of Boulder is betting on drier and hotter conditions in the future when planning their raw water supply infrastructure

From the Colorado Independent (David O. Williams):

Boulder officials are now fast-tracking funding for water infrastructure projects, including a new water pipeline that will give the city more options for potential water sources and a dam rehabilitation project to enhance the city’s water storage capacity.

Boulder and all of Colorado just experienced the hottest August ever, according to NOAA. So did five other states – New Mexico, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma and Arizona – and the average temperature in the United States in August was 3 degrees Fahrenheit higher that the long-term average between 1901 and 2000. Precipitation nationwide was .29 inches below the long-term average.

These statistics will no doubt provide ammo for supporters of two ballot questions in Boulder’s Nov. 1 municipal election asking voters to essentially approve a new municipal electrical utility. Proponents of the plan to kick Xcel Energy to the curb say the state’s largest utility is not shedding coal-fired power quickly enough.

More than half the electricity used in Boulder is generated by burning coal, which spews twice as much carbon dioxide as natural gas and up to 100 percent more CO2 than alternative energy sources like wind and solar. CO2 is the main component of greenhouse gases blamed for climate change, and Boulder officials have a goal of reducing those emissions to 1990 levels by 2012.

Here’s the link to a new climate change study from the City of Boulder and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association that assesses the vulnerability of the city’s water supply to climate change.

More infrastructure coverage here.

Glen Canyon Institute road show stop in Aspen September 27

From email from the Glen Canyon Institute:

Please join us on Tuesday, September 27th for a special presentation at the Aspen Center For Environmental Studies. The presentation will feature the stunning film, Resurrection: Glen Canyon and a New Vision for the American West, along with a reading from author Bruce Berger.

Photographer James Kay and journalist Annette McGivney document the reemergence of Glen Canyon in the ground-breaking film Resurrection: Glen Canyon and a New Vision for the American West. By combining historical video clips of Glen Canyon before the dam along with more than 100 images from the book of the same title, this beautiful film showcases the remarkable reemerging canyons of the Glen while providing a hopeful message for the future of the West and its rivers.

Author Bruce Berger will read from his book There Was a River, where he recounts the last known trip down Glen Canyon before it was dammed.

The event will be held:

Tuesday, September 27th, at 6:00 pm
Aspen Center for Environmental Studies
100 Puppy Smith Street
Aspen, CO 81611

More Colorado River basin coverage here.

2011 Colorado State Engineer’s Forum: Colorado Water — How Can Our State Agencies Cooperate?

From email from the State Engineer’s Office (Pat McDermott):

The State Engineer’s Forum will be held in South Fork, CO at the Biggins Restaurant – formerly the Hungry Logger

Friday, September 30, 2011 (the Public is Invited to Attend)

State Engineer’s Forum “Colorado Water – How Can Our State Agencies Cooperate” from 8:30 a.m. to approximately 3:00 p.m. will feature keynote speaker Mike King, Director of Colorado Department of Natural Resources.

This forum will include speakers from State agencies that regulate, administer, or own water in Colorado. Invited agencies include the Division of Parks and Wildlife, Colorado Water Conservation Board, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, Colorado State Land Board, Office of the Attorney General, and the Division of Water Resources.

Registration begins at 8:00 a.m. and your registration fee includes a delicious Mexican food buffet-style lunch.

Question and Answer session with Dick Wolfe, State Engineer and Director of the Division of Water Resources.

Please attend! This forum provides an opportunity for you to learn about how your State agencies regulate water.

Click here for their information form. Registration closes Monday, September 26.

Meeker Wenschhof hydroelectric project is ‘among the first’ to receive a permit under FERC’s new streamlined process

Here’s the release from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission:

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) today approved the construction of a hydroelectric project in Colorado, the first issued since FERC and the state of Colorado signed an agreement last year to simplify procedures for the development of small-scale hydropower projects. As a result of the streamlined procedures, the approval of today’s project was completed in two months.

The Meeker Wenschhof hydroelectric project, to be located on an existing irrigation pipeline near the town of Meeker in Rio Blanco County, would consist of a powerhouse containing one generating unit with an installed capacity of 23 kilowatts and an average annual generation of 100,000 kilowatt hours. FERC approved the project in a two-month time span.

In signing the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Colorado in August 2010, FERC said it had seen rising interest among entities seeking to develop small, low-impact hydropower projects. Federal surveys have identified several hundred potential small hydropower projects of smaller than 5 megawatts (MW) in Colorado with a combined capacity of more than 1,400 MW. These projects have the potential to make a significant contribution to meeting Colorado’s energy needs while helping to satisfy Colorado’s new Renewable Energy Standard and create related business opportunities.

“Small hydro is a renewable resource that has tremendous potential,” FERC Chairman Jon Wellinghoff said. “FERC and Colorado have shown their commitment to moving these projects forward knowing that, ultimately, it will benefit consumers and help create jobs. It’s a win-win for everyone.”

The MOU signed by FERC and Colorado agreed to the following:

- Colorado will develop a pilot program to test options for simplifying and streamlining procedures for authorizing conduit exemptions and small 5MW or less exemption projects while ensuring environmental safeguards;
- Colorado and FERC will identify a single point of contact for implementation of the pilot program;
-Both parties will hold quarterly teleconferences to discuss the development and implementation of the pilot program;
-Both parties will share and make publicly available all relevant economic, environmental, and technical data.
- FERC will waive certain consultation requirements when all relevant resources agencies agree to do so.

More hydroelectric coverage here and here.

Water for People: Donate to Drink $2M Challenge

Click here to make a donation. From the website:

To you, getting a drink of water is easy. Turn on your faucet and get a refreshing drink. To one in seven people worldwide, that’s impossible. Getting water is back-breaking, life-threatening work. Every. Single. Day.

They can’t drink, so neither can you. Until you donate.

Reclamation Seeks Comments on Requirements for Water Project Feasibility Studies

Here’s the release from Reclamation (Peter Soeth):

The Bureau of Reclamation is seeking public comment on the draft directive and standard for feasibility studies to formulate, evaluate and select project plans for implementation. These updated guidelines establish the responsibilities, requirements and procedures for performing detailed planning studies, including feasibility studies conducted for the purpose of recommending congressional action, including approval, authorization, or appropriations, in accordance with Executive Order 12322.

The requirements in this draft directive and standards provide direction for conducting feasibility level water resource planning studies that are consistent with the Economic and Environmental Principles and Guidelines for Water and Related Resources Implementation Studies, commonly referred to as P&G’s.

Changes to the directive and standard include:

- An extended definition of “feasibility level” to establish general expectations for data collection, technical and scientific analysis, design and cost-estimating.
- An independent review facilitated by Reclamation’s Office of Policy and Administration. This policy review process is modeled on existing procedures for DEC reviews and Title XVI feasibility study reviews.
- Criteria for considering and analyzing climate change impacts as directed by Secretarial Order 3289.

The draft directive and standard is available for review at: http://www.usbr.gov/recman/drafts/cmp09-02webdraft.pdf.

Comments or questions may be directed to Chris Perry at cperry@usbr.gov. Comments must be received by Reclamation by 5 PM on October 21, 2011.

More Reclamation coverage here.

Green Mountain Reservoir operations update: 500 cfs in the Blue River below the dam by Friday

From email from Reclamation (Kara Lamb):

After the weekly conference call yesterday, it was determined that releases from Green Mountain would increase. We have been releasing about 400 cfs for some time. The change will put 500 cfs in the lower Blue River. The first change was today a 9 a.m. We bumped up 50 cfs. Currently, 450 is being released to the Lower Blue. Tomorrow, Friday, we will bump up another 50 cfs around 8 a.m. By lunch, there should be 500 cfs in the river. This increase will help provide water to the critical habitat of the endangered fish of the Colorado River.

More Colorado-Big Thompson Project coverage here.

Wastewater: The Windsor Town Board approves borrowing $3.2 million loan for new headworks and lift station

From the Windsor Beacon (Ashley Keesis-Wood):

Upgrades to the plant, combined with a new headworks and lift station, are the next big project on tap for the Town of Windsor. The Windsor Town B approved an ordinance on Sept. 12 allowing the town to take out a $3.2 million loan from Colorado Water and Power Authority at a low interest rate to pay for the project. “This loan would address the needs out at the Great Western Industrial Park and the projected population growth,” Windsor Town Attorney Ian McCargar said…

“With this loan, we will not have to raise our existing sewer rates,” Windsor Finance Director Dean Moyer said.

More wastewater coverage here.

Homestake Reservoir is closed until October 2013

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

The closure means that no water will be brought over through the Homestake pipeline into Turquoise Lake next year, as work is conducted on the gate. The gate is located in the middle of the reservoir. That should not have a significant effect on the operations of either Aurora and Colorado Springs in the Arkansas River basin. Both utilities have high water storage levels. Homestake accounts for about 15 percent of Aurora’s storage and 10 percent of Colorado Springs’ storage.

“We were 90 percent full as of last week, and we’ll be bringing more water over to keep Spinney, Aurora and Quincy reservoirs more full than usual,” [Greg Baker, spokesman for Aurora Water] said.

Aurora has a 2-3 year supply of water in storage and will rely on its newly completed Prairie Waters Project to fully reuse as much water as possible. Aurora also will be managing its Arkansas Valley water — from rights purchased when farms were dried up in Otero, Crowley and Lake counties — more closely, Baker said…

For Colorado Springs, the situation is different. It relies heavily on the Colorado River basin for the majority of its water, but has sources other than Homestake, including Twin Lakes, the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project and the Blue River diversion. Homestake provides about 14 percent of the annual supply. “We’ll try to bring over water from Homestake when we are able, but, yes, we expect it to be drawn down for a year,” [Gary Bostrom, chief of water services for Colorado Springs Utilities] said.

More Homestake Reservoir coverage here.

The Two Rivers Water Company scores 500 acre-feet per year of irrigation supplies from the Pueblo Board of Water Works

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

The Two Rivers Water Co., started by Denver businessman John McKowen and managed by Gary Barber, chairman of the Arkansas Basin Roundtable, is renovating the Cucharas Reservoir dam, which has been under safety restrictions for the past 24 years. The lease will generate nearly $100,000 per year of revenue for the water board for 500 acre-feet per year. The water will be delivered to the confluence of the Huerfano River at the Arkansas River, where Two Rivers will exchange it upstream…

During many years, such as this one, precipitation in the Huerfano-Cucharas watershed is not sufficient to fill the reservoir to meet the conditions of the ditch’s water rights. Cucharas Reservoir was built in the early 1900s to meet irrigation needs by storing water during wet years. The dam breached in 1987 and storage has been restricted since that time. After repairing the existing dam, Two Rivers plans to build a new dam in the rugged canyon just downstream…

The lease with the water board is for $196.54 an acre-foot, which is lower than the board water sales under municipal and industrial leases, but higher than the water board receives on spot leases to agriculture. The lease would increase at the same rate paid by Pueblo customers.

More Pueblo Board of Water Works coverage here.

San Miguel River: The CWCB approved an instream flow right last week

Here’s the release from Western Resource Advocates:

The San Miguel River has been victim to the effects of human development and water diversions to the point where the river’s health is a concern. But last week, with the help of expert testimony provided by WRA, the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) approved a significant instream flow water right for the San Miguel. This right would keep enough water in a stretch of the river to prevent the decline of fish and plant species and protect the river from future diversions.

Beginning high in the alpine environment of San Juan Mountains above Telluride, and ending in the desert at its confluence with the Dolores River, the San Miguel River is still largely free-flowing. It is also extremely important to the rural and resort economies of the communities through which it flows.

The river supports healthy populations of three fish species whose numbers are decreasing elsewhere in the basin: the roundtail chub, flannelmouth sucker and bluehead sucker. The river is also important for several globally imperiled plant species.

WRA’s testimony was key to supporting and shoring-up a CWCB staff recommendation which was strongly contested by several opposing parties. The CWCB’s approval is a tremendous victory, though the instream flow water right must be approved by a water court prior to being implemented. This win builds on WRA’s tradition of securing healthy water flows for the West’s most special waterways.

WRA also represented The Wilderness Society, and received assistance from the Sheep Mountain Alliance and noted fish biologist John Woodling in making its case before the Board. Congratulations to WRA’s water team, especially Rob Harris and Laura Belanger.

Centennial: Good planning has the city ready to meet short-term supply needs

From the Highlands Ranch Herald (Chris Michlewicz):

Whether it was securing an agreement with the city of Englewood in 1980 to store 4,000 acre-feet of water in McLellan Reservoir or the recent discovery of a mutual benefit in loaning out some underused infrastructure to Castle Pines, the Centennial Water and Sanitation District has gradually tightened its grasp on what will only become a hotter commodity as the years pass…

Years of planning and a decision to shift from its reliance on groundwater from the Denver Basin, Denver-Arapahoe and Laramie-Fox Hills aquifers have put Centennial Water on a track that is much different than other providers in the region. But because the district is not openly touting its fortunate position, it is sometimes lumped in with other districts. Incorrect information and rumors have given some customers a wrong impression. Hendrick says it drives him nuts to hear that some believe Highlands Ranch is entirely on groundwater. “Nothing could be further from the truth,” said Sherry Eppers, community relations manager for the district.

Between McLellan and the South Platte Reservoir, there is 10,000 acre-feet of raw water storage capacity exclusively for Highlands Ranch users. Centennial Water also helped build a 400-acre-foot reservoir in Park County that has been in operation for two years. Surface water rights for Plum Creek came with the initial purchase of the ranch in 1979, but leaders have been actively seeking and developing other sources for several years…

Centennial Water continues to become involved in new endeavors, including the reallocation project that could nearly double the capacity at Chatfield Reservoir within a few years.
The district, which is part of the South Metro Water Supply Authority, is also a potential participant in the WISE program, which if approved will funnel 100,000 acre-feet of reclaimed water from Denver and Aurora to the south metro suburbs over a 10-year period…

Centennial Water wants to continue reducing its groundwater use; it takes 10 percent of the groundwater it’s entitled to, and has used only surface water over the last four years because of wetter seasons. It has even replenished some of the water it has removed from the aquifers over the years. “We’ve recharged 14,000 acre-feet over the last 20 years,” Hendrick said. “That has reduced the drain on the aquifers.”

More South Platte River basin coverage here.

The El Paso County Commissioners public work session about regulations is trying to find the sweet spot for county rules

The sweet spot is somewhere between not regulating anything above what the state of Colorado does and enough regulation to protect local interests. Here’s a report from Debbie Kelley writing for The Colorado Springs Gazette. From the article:

“We can’t make somebody drill and we can’t keep them from drilling. I’m not wanting to run them through the wringer, but I think our regulations need to reflect the realities of the law and focus on the areas where the state is not regulating,” Commissioner Dennis Hisey said at Thursday’s work session.

But it will take months of additional public hearings, staff presentations and meetings with state officials before commissioners establish rules for natural resource exploration and extraction in the county.

Commissioners and some county staff will tour a working rig on Oct. 3; commissioners haven’t decided where yet. And at least two more work sessions will be held; the next is Sept. 29, following the board’s regular meeting at 27 E. Vermijo Ave.

That session will continue what county staff presented Thursday: an exhaustive analysis of 29 potential areas of regulation and how other Colorado cities and counties are addressing them…

Hisey said he doesn’t advocate “maximum extent” in every regulation, “but if the state’s not regulating to the best interests of our local interests and comfort level, we need to.” Commission chairwoman Amy Lathen said her priorities are to protect water supplies and quality and charge operators for road impacts.

More oil and gas coverage here and here.

Aurora water comes out on top (again) in a regional taste test this week at annual conference of the Rocky Mountain Section of the American Water Works Association

From The Denver Post:

It was the second time in three years Aurora Water has come away with the top spot. “We employ state-of-the-art treatment technology and have a staff dedicated to providing some of the highest quality water around,” Mark Pifher, director of Aurora Water, said in a statement. “It’s a testament to the hard work of our employees when our water comes out on top in a comparative taste-test.”

More water treatment coverage here and here.

Colorado State University to Help Aurora Water, Schools with Free Rain Gauges in Training Program that Makes Science Fun

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

Colorado State University climatologists, working in tandem with Aurora Water, will offer a free training session on monitoring precipitation to benefit Aurora schools on Wednesday, Sept. 28.

The training session, which is open to the public, will be 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the Community Room at the Aurora Central Library, 14949 E. Alameda Ave., Aurora. Reservations are recommended by calling Noah Newman at (970) 491-8545.

The training program is sponsored by the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network, or CoCoRaHS, which is a volunteer program now boasting 15,000 volunteers across the country. Colorado State University State Climatologist Nolan Doesken created the program in 1997 to help scientists obtain more localized rain measurements after a devastating flood hit Fort Collins.

Aurora Water has sponsored seven rain gauges for local schools. Additional fundraising efforts have been ongoing, and teachers from other area schools who pre-register and attend this training session are eligible for a free rain gauge for their school.

Participants will learn how the National Weather Service measures precipitation and why it is important for weather and climate scientists across the country. Volunteers will learn to contribute their own precipitation data that will benefit local communities and scientists.

White River Forest project is indentifying fens in the forest with an eye towards preservation of the resource

From The Aspen Times (Heather McGregor):

Most grasses, shrubs and trees on Earth are rooted in soil that dries out enough between storms to allow oxygen to reach their roots. Fen species must be able to live rooted in a saturated, chilled, low-nutrient tangle of roots and slowly decaying plant material. Fens tend to occur in basins, around open water ponds, or on gentle slopes with blocked drainage. And fens form very, very slowly. A fen in the Rockies will accumulate peat at the rate of 3.5 to 18 inches per 1,000 years, [Forest botanist John Proctor] said. “Because the accumulation of peat in fens is so slow, these ecosystems are essentially irreplaceable,” he said. “Fens are relics from the glacial past. Many are more than 6,000 years old.”[...]

Fens filter and hold clean water, serving as high country reservoirs that help keep streams flowing past the runoff season. They also store high levels of carbon, helping to offset climate change. Fens also contain a climatological record of pollen, plant and insect species that can give scientists a view into the past, much like glacial ice cores…

Now that possible fens have been located in more than 5,500 sites across the 2.3-million-acre national forest, Proctor has started what will be a long process of ground-truth field surveys. Not all these areas will turn out to actually be fens. Some will be more ordinary wetlands, open ponds or meadows. Proctor worked this summer with two Forest Service technicians and a biologist with Colorado State University’s Colorado Natural Heritage Program to visit 25 possible fens. The team focused on sites that are outside wilderness areas and close to roads in the forest. This subset of possible fens would be at the highest risk for damage from development, visitation or motorized use. The ground-truth work continues this fall with biology students from the Colorado Mountain College Leadville campus. All but one of the summer’s 25 sites turned out to be high quality fens. “We’re on the right track,” Proctor said. “The only place it didn’t play out was on Middle Thompson.”[...]

On Independence Pass, the Warren Lakes area will be the site of an effort this fall to restore fens that were badly damaged in the 1930s by peat mining. The work will attempt to stop up the channels cut in the peat so the fen can fill up with water again. The hope is that once the fen is fully saturated, the peat will begin to gradually fill back in…

The overall goal for surveying and repair projects is to protect and preserve the forest’s fens as reservoirs of clean water and rare plants, and as a glimpse into the glacial past.

More restoration coverage here.

Energy policy — oil and gas: The Sierra Club presents ‘What the frack?’ in Fort Collins on Saturday

From The Greeley Tribune:

The Sierra Club will present “What the Frack?,” a program about hydraulic fracturing used in the oil and gas industry, from 7-9 p.m. Saturday in Fort Collins.

The event will be at the Fort Collins Brewery, 1020 E. Lincoln Ave. The program will address how hydraulic fracturing, known as “fracking,” affects Larimer and Weld counties. The method of resource extraction uses high-pressure water and chemicals to release oil and gas from shale deposits deep underground.

The free event will include free beer and food. The guest speaker will be Wes Wilson, an official retired from the Environmental Protection Agency. Wilson is featured in the documentary, “Gasland,” which explores the subject of fracking.

More oil and gas coverage here.

‘Future Horizons for Irrigated Agriculture’ tour recap: Greeley and other Weld County Communities are gearing up for population growth

Here’s an in-depth look at efforts by northern Colorado cities to water the expected growth in population from The Greeley Tribune. Click through and read the whole article and check out the photo gallery. Here’s an excerpt:

Water storage for the future is viewed as so vital to the northern Front Range that the 15 participating municipalities and water districts of the Northern Integrated Supply Project, or NISP, have spent about $10 million during the past seven years just to plan and analyze the endeavor. But there is no guarantee that NISP — a project that includes the construction of two new reservoirs in northern Colorado — will ever take shape. The federal government continues to analyze the Environmental Impact Statement…

Jon Monson, director of the city of Greeley’s Water and Sewer Department, said the city’s current supply will meet the needs of the community for only 25 more years, maybe less. In preparation, Greeley officials want to expand the Milton Seaman Reservoir, one of six high-mountain reservoirs from which the city draws its water. The reservoir holds about 5,000 acre-feet of water, and the proposed project calls for it to be expanded more than 10-fold to 53,000 acre-feet. The expansion would allow Greeley to pull 7,800 acre-feet of water off the reservoir annually, up from the 750 acre-feet it can pull now. Greeley uses about 45,000 acre-feet of water per year; demand is expected to grow to about 65,000 acre-feet by 2050. After initiating efforts in 2004, the draft Environmental Impact Statement for the project is expected by 2013, and a final EIS is expected by 2015. Afterward, construction would take two years and filling the reservoir could take another five to 10 years…

Another water storage effort is The Windy Gap Firming Project. The 25-year-old Windy Gap Project near Granby diverts water from the Colorado River to the Front Range via the Colorado-Big Thompson Project on a space-available basis. According to Monson, during wet years when water is available for Windy Gap diversions, Lake Granby is often full with little or no space for the water. During dry years, the water right can be too junior to come into priority, so no water is available to pump. Greeley is allotted 4,400 acre-feet of water annually from the Windy Gap Project, but that supply hasn’t always been available. The Windy Gap Firming Project was proposed to ensure reliable future deliveries. Nine other municipalities, including Evans, participates in the project, along with the Central Weld County Water District and two other districts. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is expected to publish the final Environmental Impact Statement for the Windy Gap Firming Project in November.

More Colorado Foundation for Water Education coverage here.

South Arkansas River: Fish habitat, riparian habitat and water quality improvement landowner meetings scheduled

From the Salida Citizen:

Landowner meetings will be at the Chaffee County Fairgrounds on Thursday, September 22nd at 5:30pm and Sunday, September 25th at 3:00pm. In attendance will be representatives from Trout Unlimited and the [Land Trust of the Upper Arkansas], a meeting facilitator, and aquatic experts. Snacks and beverages will be provided. To insure adequate handouts and materials please register by calling the Land Trust office at 719-539-7700 or emailing sawc@ltua.org.

More restoration coverage here.

NIDIS Weekly Climate, Water and Drought Assessment Summary of the Upper Colorado River Basin and Colorado Drought Status Briefing

Here’s the link to the presentations from September 13. Click on the thumbnail graphic to the right for the precipitation roundup.

More Colorado River basin coverage here.

Castle Rock: Three water providers show up at public meeting to pitch solutions to the city’s long-term supply needs

From the Castle Rock News Press (Rhonda Moore):

Years after launching an effort to plan for a long-term source of renewable water, Castle Rock put out an invitation to hear from water providers that might be able to compete with the Water, Infrastructure and Supply Efficiency program, long touted as the solution to meet the needs of Castle Rock and several south-metro area municipalities.

Among the water providers that submitted bids were Renew Strategies, headed by former Gov. Bill Owens; Stillwater Resources, which acts as a broker to match providers with municipalities like Castle Rock; and United Water, which serves public water districts such as the East Cherry Creek Valley Water and Sanitation District and the South Adams County Water District.

WISE, a project from the South Metro Water Supply Authority, was not among the providers that responded to the request for proposal. WISE has long aimed to buy its water from Aurora and Denver and store it in the Rueter-Hess reservoir. The Army Core of Engineers earlier this year notified Rueter-Hess officials that the plan violates a provision of the reservoir’s federal permit, and town councils from Aurora and Denver have yet to approve a proposal for the WISE project.

The responses included a proposal from Renew Strategies to acquire underground water from the Lost Creek Basin for between $23,000 and $24,000 per acre foot, plus infrastructure costs of up to $75 million; Stillwater’s option to purchase 4,000 acre feet of Boxelder farm water rights for about $21,000 per acre foot; and United Water’s proposal to sell South Platte surface water to Castle Rock for $23,850 per acre foot, which includes about $9 million in infrastructure costs.

More Denver Basin aquifer system coverage here.