Castle Rock: The town council awards contract for new water treatment plant

Here’s the release from the Town of Castle Rock:

Town Council recently awarded a construction contract to Moltz Construction, Inc., Salida, Colo., who will begin construction of the Plum Creek Water Purification Facility next month.

Castle Rock Water owns water rights that date back to the 1860s. Part of the Town’s long-term water strategy is to start tapping into more of those rights to enhance the current water supply.

Plum Creek Water Purification Facility will enable the Town to collect and treat that water, which will provide a renewable and sustainable supply for the Town. Renewable water sources include water rights on East and West Plum Creek; reclaimable water discharged to East Plum Creek; lawn irrigation return flows; and future imported surface water.

When this facility begins operation in 2013, the Town will essentially transition from a mostly nonrenewable water supply to 35 to 40 percent renewable water.

The water purification facility will have an initial treatment capacity of four million gallons per day and will be expandable to 12 million gallons per day in the future. The average Castle Rock household uses an average of 400 gallons per day, which means this facility will produce enough water to supply 10,000 homes per day.

The project is being funded through existing certificates of participation. The Water Department budgeted $22.6 million for the entire project, including wells and pipelines.

This facility comprises just one component of the Town’s Legacy Water Projects – the goal of which is to transition the Town to 75 percent renewable water by the time it is built out. All of the Town’s water currently comes from nonrenewable wells.

There are two other major components to Legacy Waters:

•The purchase of water storage space in Rueter-Hess Reservoir, which will open next year near Parker
•A partnership with a long-term water provider to purchase future water resources

Construction of the Plum Creek Water Purification Facility is planned to be complete by March 2013. For more information, go to CRgov.com/pure.

Aspen geothermal test is on now that a drilling contractor is on board

From The Aspen Daily News (Andrew Travers):

The temporary drilling will be on the gravel parking lot for the city-owned Prockter Open Space, beside the Roaring Fork River and across Neale Avenue from Heron Park.

The city finalized an agreement with a driller for the site this week…

The final contract also allows for a drill-site footprint of about 3,500 square feet, up from the original bid’s estimate of about 400 square feet of surface infrastructure. The well itself is expected to be just 6 to 8 inches wide. The drill hole will be up to 1,000 feet deep…

Work is scheduled to take place between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. In all, the project will take 19 to 31 days, including testing, with actual drilling taking place on eight to 10 of those days…

Based on a 2008 geothermal feasibility study, the temperature of local underground water ranges 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 geothermal coverage here and here.

Durango: Voters are being asked to approve $4 million in debt to purchase water from the Animas-La Plata project

From The Durango Herald (Dale Rodebaugh):

As it stands, the city can store 60 million gallons of water (180 acre-feet) – a seven-day supply. In peak season, daily use is 9.5 million gallons, counting irrigation. The purchase of 3,800 acre-feet from the A-LP, as it’s known, would make 1,900 acre-feet available for consumption. Only half of any A-LP water may be used annually. The other half must remain in Lake Nighthorse, the reservoir southwest of Durango…

The cost of 3,800 acre-feet is about $6.2 million. The city has paid $1 million and has $1.2 million available from a surplus in its water fund. The $4 million balance would be borrowed. Durango paid the $1 million in 2005 in anticipation of buying A-LP water, city Director of Public Works Jack Rogers said Friday. It was cheaper to install the needed plumbing at the A-LP pumping plant while it was being built than retrofitting, he said. If the city can borrow from the Colorado Water Resources and Power Development Authority, the rate would be 1.95 percent for 20 years, a total cost of almost $5 million. Debt service would be funded from water rates and plant investment fees (charged to new development).

Homeowners pay from $2.12 to $2.78 per 1,000 gallons depending on consumption. No increase in water rates is planned for 2012.

More Animas-La Plata Project coverage here and here.

Pueblo: Action 22′s ‘Southern Colorado Summit’ October 26

Here’s the agenda for the event from the Action 22 website:

Action 22 is holding its Southern Colorado Water Summit on Wednesday, October 26, at CSU-Pueblo Occhiato Student Center Ballroom, 2200 N. Bonforte Blvd., Pueblo. Great information on the gap between water supply and demand will be provided along with what the future will look like considering compact calls and potential water projects.

More coverage from The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

The Action 22 summit will be from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Oct. 26 in the Colorado State University-Pueblo Student Center. Action 22 is a volunteer organization representing cities, counties, businesses and organizations in Southern Colorado.

The keynote luncheon speaker will be Chris Woodka, a Pueblo Chieftain editor and reporter who specializes in water issues. He will talk about his adventures in reporting on Fountain Creek issues.

More education coverage here.

Denver: Water Marketing –The Essentials of Buying and Selling Water Rights December, 8-9

From email from the CLE International:

The conference promises to keep participants current on issues surrounding the buying and selling of water rights in Colorado. The conference will be at the Grand Hyatt in Denver. Download the conference brochure or visit CLE International for more information or to register.

More water law coverage here.

CSU to present six week non-credit adult education course — ‘Whiskey’s For Drinking; Water is for Fighting: The Social Organization of Water in Colorado’, starting October 26

From email from Colorado State University:

The non-credit adult education water organization course at CSU addresses how a succession of conflicts were each resolved by self governing organizations: On the irrigation ditches (mutual companies, irrigation districts); among ditches on the rivers (State Engineers Office); how supplemental supplies were organized via water exchanges; trans-mountain imports (mutuals and Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District); groundwater use (4 varieties of augmentation organization); incorporation of a federal endangered species agenda (Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska and the U.S. Department of Interior); and finally, the Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP) will be reviewed along with alternatives. Find more information here.

The Save the Colorado River Fund donates $170,000 for restoration efforts in 2011

Here’s the release from Save the Colorado (be careful clicking on the link at work):

For the second year, the Save the Colorado River Campaign Fund has made donations to 15 environmental groups up and down the basin – from Denver to Las Vegas to San Diego – to help protect and restore the Colorado River. This year’s funding mostly focuses on efforts to promote and enhance water conservation in municipalities throughout the basin. The river’s water supplies are being stretched thin, and the river itself has been stretched beyond the breaking point – although 2011 was a historic year for the amount of runoff in the basin, the Colorado River’s 5 trillion gallons of water were once again drained completely out and never reached the Sea of Cortez in Mexico. (Here’s a photo of the bone dry Colorado River Delta where it no longer meets the Sea.)

“Everyone in the Colorado River basin needs to conserve more water,” said Gary Wockner, Coordinator for the Save the Colorado River Campaign. “These environmental groups are doing an excellent job at educating the public and policymakers about the need for more water conservation so that people and businesses, as well as the river itself, can thrive in the future.”

Environmental groups that received grants included the groups below in the geographic area noted:

- Bonneville Environmental Foundation (Basin-wide)
- Aspen Global Change Institute/Pete McBride (Basin-wide)
- Citizens for Dixie’s Future (Southern Utah)
- Colorado Environmental Coalition (Colorado)
- Living Rivers (Moab, Utah)
- Great Basin Water Network (Las Vegas, Nevada)
- San Diego Coastkeeper (San Diego, California)
- Sonoran Institute (Colorado River Delta/Mexico)
- Earthjustice (Basin-wide)
- Sheep Mountain Alliance (Southwest Colorado)
- Gila Conservation Coalition (New Mexico)
- Grand Canyon Youth (Grand Canyon Area of Utah/Arizona)
- Trout Unlimited (Colorado)
- Glen Canyon Institute (Glen Canyon Area of Utah/Arizona)
- Grand Canyon Trust (Grand Canyon Area of Utah/Arizona)

Of note, renowned filmmaker Pete McBride received support to promote his new documentary film about the Colorado River, “Chasing Water,” (see trailer) which in the last few weeks has received awards including “Best Documentary” at The Clearwater Film Festival and “Best in Category” at the CINE International Film Festival as well as being a finalist in several upcoming film festivals. (To request a showing of the film at a group or meeting, contact Pete at PeteMcBride.com.)

The Save the Colorado River Campaign is led by New Belgium Brewing of Fort Collins, Colorado. The Campaign Fund is further supported by donations from Patagonia, Clif Bar & Company, Kenney Brothers Foundation, Teva, National Geographic, Environment Now, and The Environment Foundation. Save the Colorado is a Fund of the Community Foundation of Northern Colorado, a 501c3 charitable organization.

More Colorado River basin coverage here.

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

Here’s the link to the summaries from the Colorado Climate Center. Click on the thumbnail graphic to the right for the precipitation summary.

Paonia: The Colorado Water Trust is holding their ‘Water on the Land workshop’ November 9

Here’s the announcement from the Colorado Water Trust via the Delta County Independent:

Colorado Water Trust, a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring and protecting streamflows in Colorado, will be offering the Water on the Land Workshop in Paonia on Wednesday, Nov. 9.

The workshop will be conducted from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Community Room at Paonia Town Hall, 214 Grand Avenue.

This full-day workshop is packed with information about basic Colorado water law, instream flow transactions, and the state’s Instream Flow Program.

Anyone interested in water is welcome to come learn about the tools available to restore instream flows or to ask questions about Colorado water and conservation. Registration is free but required; space is limited. Please call (720) 570-2897 or e-mail chartman@coloradowatertrust.org to register.

More from the CWT website:

Colorado Water Trust is traveling the state to present Water on the Land—a full-day workshop packed with information about basic Colorado water law, instream flow transactions, and the state’s Instream Flow Program. With generous support from Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) and the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB), as well as local sponsors, the workshops are free and open to the public. Scheduled workshops are listed below, but check back regularly as we continue to add to the list. Five workshops will be offered throughout 2011.

For more information or to register for a workshop, call 720-570-2897 or email admin(at)coloradowatertrust.org.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011 Paonia

Rio Grande River basin: Conejos River irrigators will shut down on October 20 to meet Rio Grande Compact requirements

From the Valley Courier (Ruth Heide):

Because more water flowed through the Conejos River system this year than was originally forecasted, more must be delivered downstream to New Mexico and Texas to satisfy Rio Grande Compact obligations. To meet that compact obligation before the end of the year, irrigators must shut off their water early this year. The presumptive ending date for the irrigation season in the Rio Grande Basin (the Valley) is November 1. This year on the Conejos, the season will end on October 20…

[Colorado Division of Water Resources Division Engineer for Division 3 Craig Cotten] had recommended the early or middle part of next week for the shut-off time and said that would give his office time to notify the public. He said even if the irrigation season had ended yesterday, the compact obligation still might come up short this year. Cotten said the only alternative would be to end the year with a debt to downstream states, but the debt would have to be paid next year, and next year may not provide a more generous water supply than this year. He said going to debt is allowed but not recommended…

Cotten said the annual forecast on the Conejos River system is now 255,000 acre feet, up 5,000 acre feet from the month before. “We don’t know where the water is coming from sometimes,” he said…

Of the 255,000 projected annual index on the Conejos, 78,400 acre feet must be delivered downstream. From Oct. 8-31, 5,800 acre feet must be delivered, which would require an 85 percent curtailment on irrigators, Cotten explained. Irrigators have been under a 50-percent curtailment on the Conejos system since September 20…

Lawrence Gallegos, who owns water rights on one of the oldest ditches in the state, asked if the Valley’s aquifer was depleted further this year. Cotten said the Rio Grande Water Conservation District’s monitoring system in the central part of the Valley indicated a significant drop in the unconfined aquifer this year, in fact even slightly lower than the 2002 drought year levels. “Actually the aquifer is lower than it ever has been before,” Cotten said. He said if the aquifer dropped in the central part of the Valley, it undoubtedly dropped in the southern part of the Valley as well.

More Rio Grande River basin coverage here.

Aurora: Prairie Waters adds 10,000 acre-feet of supply to treated water supply system over the last year or so

From the Aurora Sentinel (Sara Castellanos):

“The process from day one has cranked out excellent water,” said Kevin Linder, Binney’s plant supervisor. The facility, with its massive pumps and state-of-the-art machinery, has processed and treated “downstream” water from the South Platte River and Aurora Reservoir as part of the drought-hardening Prairie Waters project. The water is collected from river-bank wells a few miles below the point where treated sewage water is poured back into the Platte. The project broke ground in July 2007 and came online in October 2010 with the goal of collecting water from the South Platte River in Brighton and delivering it to the city through a 34-mile-long, uphill pipeline. Prairie Waters has increased Aurora’s water supply by about 20 percent and delivered 10,000 acre-feet of water over the past year…

The project came to fruition because city officials realized they had reusable return rights in the South Platte River that they weren’t taking advantage of. Reusable return rights allow the city to reclaim water that has been used already. The city has owned those reusable return rights for decades, but until now, there was no mechanism in place to return the water directly from the South Platte River to the city.

More Prairie Waters coverage here and here.

The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission honors John Fetcher’s conservation legacy

Here’s the release from PWC:

The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission honored the legacy of local rancher John Fetcher, a water visionary who was instrumental in the creation of Steamboat Lake and Stagecoach Reservoir State Parks, during its monthly meeting Thursday in Steamboat Springs.

Fetcher’s son, Jay, was presented with a partnership award from Colorado Parks and Wildlife Director Rick Cables while a number of family friends and local dignitaries observed from the audience.

“As you all know, Steamboat Lake and Stagecoach Reservoir State Parks play a vital role in the quality of life in the Yampa Valley,” said Cables. “We are very proud to manage these properties and the many others that benefit this part of the state.”

John Fetcher, who also helped develop the Yamcola Reservoir on the Yampa headwaters in the late 1970s, served as the manager of the Upper Yampa Valley Water Conservancy District from its formation in 1966 to his death at age 97 in 2009.

In the early 1960s, Fetcher was approached by Colorado Game Fish and Parks, who asked him to consider building a lake in the Hahn’s Peak Basin. Steamboat Lake, which inundated 70 percent of the cattle ranch that Fetcher and his brother purchased in 1949, filled during its first snowmelt season. Fetcher paddled across the new lake on a surfboard to attend the dedication.

“Those of you who knew my dad knew his passion for water,” Jay Fetcher said. “He had a vision that this land was worth more as a recreational asset than for agriculture and he was right.”

During the late 1980s, Fetcher played a leading role in the creation of Stagecoach Reservoir, which joined Steamboat Lake as a fixture in the region’s recreational economy. Fetcher, who grew up in Chicago and learned to ski in Switzerland, also left his mark in the design of safer ski-jumping hills and is credited with helping to bring Steamboat Springs Resort into the modern age. His name is enshrined in the Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame.

The partnership award was presented to the Fetcher family “in recognition of our outstanding partnership and your family’s dedicated service to the people of the Yampa River Valley.”

More coverage from Lynn Ackert writing for the Examiner. From the article:

Fetcher’s son, Jay, was presented with a partnership award from Colorado Parks and Wildlife Director Rick Cables while a number of family friends and local dignitaries observed from the audience…

In the early 1960s, Fetcher was approached by Colorado Game Fish and Parks, who asked him to consider building a lake in the Hahn’s Peak Basin. Steamboat Lake, which inundated 70 percent of the cattle ranch that Fetcher and his brother purchased in 1949, filled during its first snowmelt season. Fetcher paddled across the new lake on a surfboard to attend the dedication.

More Yampa River basin coverage here and here.

The Castle Rock town council hears the pitch from the WISE partners touting the project as a long-term source to replace non-renewable groundwater

From the Parker Chronicle (Rhonda Moore):

Aurora Mayor Ed Tauer made the opening remarks to introduce the team that presented the Water Infrastructure and Supply Efficiency proposal, the last of four bids submitted to the town of Castle Rock. The WISE proposal is a partnership between the Denver and Aurora water departments and the South Metro Water Supply Authority, a co-op of 15 Douglas and Arapahoe county metro districts and municipalities. The authority, which includes the towns of Castle Rock and Parker, has been working since 2008 with Denver and Aurora to draft the WISE proposal, touted as a financial boon for Aurora Water and a first-of-its kind regional water partnership for the Front Range…

The presentation was made before a joint meeting between the town’s utilities commission and Castle Rock town council, which will eventually make the decision on which provider reaps the benefits of an investment worth millions in the town’s long-term water future…

If Castle Rock opts to go with WISE, it will be a permanent agreement and water will be delivered to a master meter. The authority’s cooperating agencies will be responsible for delivery of water from the master meter to their respective customers. The estimated cost to Castle Rock residents to complete that cycle is expected to be upwards of $200 million, said Ron Redd, Castle Rock utilities director and executive director of the South Metro Water Supply Authority. The final estimate will be assessed when the town’s utilities department compares the bids on the table for council recommendation, he said, and it is possible the town could ask voters for a tax increase to finance the long-term water plan. The cost of water purchased in the WISE plan will vary from year to year, depending on rates determined by Denver and Aurora. Water rates will be based on a calculation that compares to that used to calculate cost to the providers’ existing customers, said Mark Pifher, director of Aurora Water…

“Both Denver and Aurora are longtime commitments. We’ll be here a long time,” Pifher said. “You’ll know where to find us 50 years from now if you have a problem under the contract. When you look at WISE, it’s the quintessential conservation project, it maximizes the efficient use of resources we already have.”[...]

Town councilmembers asked the utilities department to arrange public hearings to gauge input from the community before making its decision. Town staff plans to meet in the coming weeks to decide on the next steps and timelines for bringing the water provider information to residents, said Kim Mutchler, Castle Rock spokeswoman.

More coverage of the WISE project from Sara Castellanos writing for the Aurora Sentinel. From the article:

Aurora struck a tenative deal Oct. 4 that will grant water to 15 water providers in Douglas and Arapahoe counties in times when Aurora has excess, and that will likely be most of the time. Aurora Water Spokesman Greg Baker said the proposal is momentous. “What makes it historic is the fact that you had all these entities and they came to a consensus on how to solve an issue of this scale,” Baker said.

Aurora Water, Denver Water and the South Metro Water Supply Authority — which represents 15 water providers in Douglas and Arapahoe counties — formed a partnership that will provide the southern metro water authority with at least 5,000 acre-feet of water per year by June 2013 and at least 10,000 acre-feet per year by 2020. The amount of water delivered annually could eventually equal up to 60,000 acre-feet per year. Denver Water will also be able to access its unused water supplies in the South Platte River to make it available to water entities in the water authority or use the same infrastructure to use the water in Denver for emergency use. Denver Water can also provide 3,000 acre-feet of water currently allocated to DIA. The partnership is dubbed WISE, Water Infrastructure and Supply Efficiency.

The partnership is crucial for the authority, which has historically been mostly reliant on groundwater and deepwater nonrenewable aquifers. The aquifers, and wells, are hundreds of feet deep into the ground and extract water as old as the glacial period, Baker said. It takes decades and sometimes even centuries for the water to replenish, Baker said…

Aurora will receive a substantial revenue stream from the deal — equal to a net revenue of about $10 million per year after 2020. The water authority is paying for a $20-million expansion to Prairie Waters slated for completion by 2020, and they are leasing the water at a rate of $5.38 per thousand gallons, which is more than the $5.27 that Aurora residents pay for water rates. The deal will benefit Aurora residents in that their water rates will remain stable, Baker said.

More WISE project coverage here.

Wiggins: The town council is navigating through water court, USDA loans and buying water rights to bolster raw water supplies

From The Fort Morgan Times (Dan Barker):

The current plan to build a pipeline from a well site northwest of town and augmentation ponds north of town is still the least expensive option, [Tim Holbrook of Industrial Facilities Engineering, which is organizing the project] said. Wiggins still has to buy more water to make the plan work, but the town council met in a lengthy executive session to instruct its water attorneys to continue working to purchase some water. An offer has been made on nine more shares of water, and town officials are waiting on a response, Rogers said. That should mean that the town has the 240 acre feet of water it uses annually. Officials expect a contract to be signed in the next couple of weeks, said Miranda Larsen-Funk of LeonardRice Engineers Inc.

The USDA funding includes the money to buy these new water rights, Holbrook said. The USDA wants to see that contract before the project can continue, but that extra water would be included when the whole case goes to water court, he said. That means the town would have use of the water under a temporary water plan while the case goes through the court…

Another major concern was whether the water the town has purchased will be changed from agricultural use to municipal use. Some worried that all this effort would come to nothing if the water court decided against it. The best legal opinions say that the water use will be changed and Wiggins will be able to use the water, Holbrook said…

Council members have worked to make sure that the costs were kept down in order to impact households and businesses the least possible while buying the most water rights the town could, Bates noted. It looks like the base rate will rise from about $49 a month now to $90 a month once the town is paying off the loan, which is considerably less expensive than it once seemed it would be, he said.

More Wiggins coverage here.

South Platte Forum (October 19-20): Tom Cech to receive the ‘Friends of the South Platte Award’

Here’s the release from the forum organizers via the Sterling Journal Advocate:

The 22nd annual South Platte River Forum will be held Wednesday, Oct. 19, and Thursday, Oct. 20, at the Plaza Conference Center, 1900 Ken Pratt Blvd., Longmont.

The forum, “Making River Music,” will examine issues such as lower basin groundwater, water economics, energy and its relation to water use, water conservation and water transfers in the South Platte basin. The forum strives to provide an avenue for a timely, multidisciplinary exchange of information and ideas important to resource management in the basin.

Day one of the forum will include an update by John Stulp, water adviser to Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, followed by a panel focused on results of the statewide water supply inventory. The keynote luncheon on Oct. 19 will be “A View from Around the State: Global Negotiations,” by Jim Lochhead of Denver Water. The Friends of the South Platte Award will be presented to Tom Cech, former executive director of the Central Colorado Water Conservancy District.
The afternoon will include a session on economics, which will include discussion on how to finance Colorado’s water future and align it with the values of the population.

Day two of the forum includes several presentations on water conservation. The keynote speaker on Thursday will be Bill Ritter from CSU’s Center for New Energy Economy. The afternoon will focus on different sources of energy from within the South Platte Basin and include discussions on oil and gas exploration, hydraulic fracturing as well as hydropower.

The South Platte River begins high in the Colorado mountains near Fairplay. It flows through Denver and continues eastward into Nebraska, joining the North Platte River near the town of North Platte, Neb.

The South Platte Forum is sponsored by Tetra Tech, Colorado State University Extension, Aurora Water, Denver Water, Northern Water, Parker Water and Sanitation District, St. Vrain and Left Hand Water Conservancy District, Colorado Water Institute, Metro Wastewater Reclamation District, Colorado Division of Wildlife, Deere and Ault Consultants, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Geological Survey.

Registration is available at the door for $115 per person. For a schedule of events, visit southplatteforum.org or contact Jennifer Brown at (402) 960-3670 or Jennifer@jjbrown.com.

More South Platte River basin coverage here.

Neil Grigg: ‘Must we be so conflicted that our decisions are made by federal officials, which was the case when the Two Forks project was vetoed?’

CSU professor, Neil Grigg, has penned a guest column about the potential solutions to Colorado’s future water supply gap for The Denver Post. Here’s an excerpt:

Colorado will need much more water to prosper in the future…

What kind of management system will be best? First-in-time, first-in-right will stay with us, but what else is needed to provide the water while protecting our great environment? Must we be so conflicted that our decisions are made by federal officials, which was the case when the Two Forks project was vetoed?[...]

When flexibility can be added to water systems, innovative schemes to change water uses to meet needs come out of the woodwork. Cities, special districts, irrigators, and private businesses are involved in these schemes. They involve public institutions but they also involve private parties and resemble the public-private partnerships (PPPs) that are popular around the world. A PPP is an arrangement where private sector interests can be offered an attractive opportunity to partner with the government to meet a public need…

All kinds of PPP are available for water issues. They range from outright purchases like privatization of facilities to small-scale cooperative projects such as a utility contracting out part of its maintenance to a private company. The PPP that is most unique to Colorado is commodity water, or water that can be bought, sold, and traded as needed. Colorado’s system of water rights makes it hard to do this, but this flexibility is what we need. More flexible management of water helps it to move to its highest-valued uses. Highest-valued means from society’s point of view, not only when someone can pay high prices for this precious resource…

What is required is a good way to trade water — both long-term water rights and short-term uses of surplus water. There is no way to avoid government regulation because environmental needs, and what some call the water commons, require water but there is no identified paying customer.

Meanwhile, here’s a column about Colorado’s future water needs from Jeff Evans writing for the Grand Junction Free Press. Here’s an excerpt:

Colorado water shortages in the future are expected to occur due to increasing pressure and demands from four primary areas of use: population and municipal growth, recreation and the environment, agriculture, and the energy sector. Estimating future demands in all of these areas is difficult at best. Adding to these uncertainties are drought and climate change, and competition with downstream states.

Colorado is considered a headwater state with snow and rain generated in the mountains flowing to large areas of downstream use. The Colorado River belongs to seven states. The 1922 River Compact allocated a portion of available water to Colorado. Historically, 85% to 95% of the states’ water consumption has gone to agriculture use. With Colorado population expected to double by 2050, municipal demands alone are going to increase dramatically, shifting water use to cities and the businesses that support them.

Tourism, a vital component of our economy, also requires water for its future. And it’s not just river and snow sports at issue. The hunting and fishing industry brings in more than $10 billion annually to the state. All these sectors require plentiful surface water with clean, undisturbed lakes and watersheds. How can we protect the viability of our lakes, streams, and rivers? This will become a serious issue in the decades to come.

What will happen to our water supply due to climate uncertainty? A warming climate doesn’t necessarily mean less water, but it does mean that more water will be consumed. As temperatures rise, both plants and humans will require more water. Crops will need more water, too. For the agricultural sector on the Western Slope, decisions will have to be made about the importance of protecting this resource.

Agriculture not only produces essential foods, but provides stewardship of our wild, rural areas. It is an integral part of protecting our natural resources. Agricultural lands support the largest share of our wildlife in open spaces of well-irrigated fields and become habitat for animals and creatures of all kinds.

In the energy sector, oil and gas development each requires high water usage. The Department of Energy estimates that development of western oil shale resources will require significant amounts of water, from 1 to 3 barrels of water per barrel of oil produced. At 2.5 million barrels per day production, this results in water use of 105 to 315 million gallons of water consumption per day (42 gallons per barrel).

More water law coverage here.

Results of a $42,000 study of Upper Arkansas River streamflows show the need for increased communication and more storage

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

Those conclusions are the result of a $42,000 study of the Upper Arkansas River by Paul Flack, a former hydrologist for the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation area, who was contracted last year under a grant sponsored by the Southeastern Colorado and Upper Arkansas water conservancy districts. Flack shared some conclusions of his study Wednesday with the Arkansas Basin Roundtable, saying there is a need for all of the users who are concerned about flows in the upper basin to get together to reach solutions. In addition, about 20,000 acre-feet of new reservoir storage is needed to meet all the needs.

The Upper Arkansas has, for years, become a complicated operation as water users have tried to balance releases from Turquoise and Twin Lakes and levels in Lake Pueblo with flows for recreation and fish.

Flows also have to be kept in check below Turquoise in the Lake Fork watershed to avoid disturbing old mine tailings that could leach heavy metals into the Arkansas River…

Chaffee County recreational in-channel diversion rights, which support boat courses in Buena Vista and Salida, are problematic because they depend on other river operations…

Flows in the river to meet the needs of fish, a component of a 20-year-old voluntary flow agreement among several agencies, could be a potential source of conflict. “The fishing flow can be in opposition to the needs of the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project,” Flack said.

At Lake Pueblo, Flack looked at the possibility of changing the timing of spring releases for if-and-when or winter water storage accounts. “There could be significant water savings, up to thousands of acre-feet,” he said. “But, there would be a ripple effect upstream.”[...]

Adding 20,000 acre-feet of storage is needed to smoothly operate the increasingly complex river system. Planning should involve those affected, and not just with phone calls to Reclamation in an emergency, Flack said.

More Arkansas River basin coverage here.

Clear Creek watershed: Cotter Corp promises to clean up discharges from the Schwartzwalder mine

From The Denver Post (Bruce Finley):

“Whatever the courts tell us to do, we will do,” Cotter president Amory Quinn said in a telephone interview from San Diego. “We will follow the letter of the law. If they demand we pump and treat, I guess we will pump and treat.” He did not commit to a timetable for that cleanup, though a creek-diversion pipe around the mine should be done by Jan. 31…

“We look forward to seeing Cotter’s plans and financial warranties for complying with the board orders,” Division of Reclamation Mining and Safety director Loretta Pineda said. Denver District Court Judge Robert Hyatt recently ruled in favor of state mining regulators in one of two lawsuits Cotter filed challenging orders to clean up the Schwartzwalder mine. That decision clears the way for removal of contaminated mine water and the posting of sufficient bond money to protect Ralston Creek, which flows into a Denver drinking-water-supply reservoir.

A decision is expected soon on Cotter’s second lawsuit, which challenges Colorado’s ability to enforce orders. Colorado Department of Natural Resources officials say this decision will help define what the state can do when companies defy legally valid orders.

On Wednesday, Quinn pointed out that Cotter has installed a sump system along Ralston Creek, below the mine. This apparently has reduced the concentrations of uranium entering the creek. Data provided by state officials shows readings ranging from 713 parts per billion in February to 39 in June. In July, the most recent reading available, the level had increased to 89 parts per billion. The state limit is 30 parts per billion. “We’re making that standard periodically,” Quinn said. But low flows in the creek during dry months, he said, result in uranium concentrations that are higher.

More nuclear coverage here and here.

The Cherokee Metropolitan District is buying the Sundance Ranch in northern El Paso County for 1,000 acre-feet of non-renewable Denver Basin aquifer system water

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

The Cherokee Metropolitan District on Tuesday chose to buy Denver Basin aquifers water rights from the Sundance Ranch in northern El Paso County from the Greenland Basin Pipeline Co. Cherokee will build the pipeline from the ranch, which is roughly 15 miles to the north. The water rights, pipeline and storage for the project will cost about $19.5 million for an annual yield of about 1,000 acre-feet…

A proposal by GP Water, which wants to build a 150-mile pipeline from Lamar to serve the Front Range with treated water, was put on hold but not totally rejected, said Sean Chambers, manager of the Cherokee district. GP Water, a Littleton company associated with C&A Holding Co., proposed a short-term water supply from wells near the Elizabeth area in Elbert County as a short-term solution for Cherokee. Water from the Lamar pipeline would be used to meet greater needs in the future.

“We need to know we wouldn’t be the only ones signing up,” Chambers said. “Forty years is a long term for encumbrance of debt, and we didn’t want to be the only ones at the table.”[...]

The purchase of the Sundance Ranch should tide Cherokee over for 10 years, the term of the bonds that will finance the project, he added. During that time, the district plans to look at its other options, which include the Southern Delivery System now being built by Colorado Springs, and the Lamar pipeline. There could be other possible sources of a new water supply as well — the district recently reviewed eight different proposals before deciding on the Sundance Ranch purchase…

Cherokee wants time to get a better idea of the dry-year yield of the Lamar ditch and sort out issues with the Arkansas River Compact associated with GP’s plan to build the Lamar pipeline, Chambers said. The compact between Colorado and Kansas has a provision against moving water out of the region unless it can be proved that it would cause no depletion in state-line flows.

More Cherokee Metropolitan District coverage here.

Broomfield: The city is asking for input for their conservation plan

From the Broomfield Enterprise (Joe Rubino):

A draft of the plan is available for public review through Dec. 1, and comments are being sought on the plan during that period. The new plan is the first update to the water conservation policies since 1996, though water use has since been addressed in other policies, including the 2005 Comprehensive Plan…

In the plan, the city laid out four action steps it hopes will create the greatest changes in water usage. The steps were created after a review of ongoing conservation efforts, and were spurred by measures the city was required to consider under state statute.

The four steps are:

Realize the full potential of the reuse system. The reuse system supplies approximately 2,400 acre-feet of water and is projected to produce an annual yield of approximately 6,500 acre-feet at build-out, which for the reuse system, is projected to be 2040.

Realize savings from supply-side and demand-side conservation activities over the next 10 years.

Focus selected conservation measures and programs on areas where there are the greatest potential savings. Based on the findings, the focus should be residential use and irrigation.

Continue to work to reduce peak-season and peak-day demands.

“The keystone of Broomfield’s water conservation efforts is the water reuse system,” according to the executive summary of the plan,

The reuse system provides non-potable water for irrigation, Schnoor said. The system recaptures water for second use, which is processed and treated at the wastewater treatment plant.

Right now, Schnoor said the system features 36 miles of pipeline and provides water to 469 acres of public land. If the city chooses to build it to its proposed maximum capacity, more than doubling it’s output, it could supply about 25 percent of the city’s total water needs.

More conservation coverage here.

The Arkansas Basin Roundtable approves a $739,000 grant request for the City of Trinidad’s North Lake Dam rehabilitation project

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

The roundtable sent a $739,000 grant request to the Colorado Water Conservation Board. The money comes out of a mineral severance tax fund designated to meet the urban water gap projected by the Statewide Water Supply Initiative. The CWCB has final say on the grant. The reservoir is the primary source for the city of Trinidad, and also benefits the surrounding area, said Utility Superintendent James Fernandez…

Trinidad has spent $847,000 to design and build a new concrete outlet works and drain, but engineers estimate another $1.8 million is needed to reinforce the dam and rebuild the spillway. The city also has applied for a $739,000 low-interest construction loan from the CWCB and will put $369,000 into the project…

In other action, the roundtable:

- Elected officers: Chairman, Gary Barber; vice chairman, Jim Broderick and vice chairwoman, SeEtta Moss; recorder, Terry Scanga; Interbasin Compact Committee representatives, Danielson and Jay Winner, with Broderick as alternate.

- Heard a presentation on the CWCB’s portfolio tool, which projects how much of the state’s future water supply would be filled by current projects, urban conservation or reuse, new projects and agricultural transfers. CWCB staffer Todd Doherty said the goal of other roundtables in the state is to minimize the dry-up of agriculture to fill future needs.

- Considered potential appointments to the Flaming Gorge task force, which will look at issues associated with either of two proposals to construct a pipeline from Green River in Wyoming to Colorado’s Front Range. Several roundtable members made the point that the task force would provide a template on how to deal with future state projects, and would not endorse a Flaming Gorge project.

More IBCC–basin roundtables coverage here.

Longmont: South Platte Forum Explores Issues Surrounding South Platte River

Here’s a release about the shindig next week in Longmont, from Colorado State University (Jim Beers):

The 22nd annual South Platte River Forum will be held Wednesday, Oct. 19, and Thursday, Oct. 20, at the Plaza Conference Center, 1900 Ken Pratt Blvd., Longmont. The forum, “Making River Music,” will examine issues such as lower basin groundwater, water economics, energy and its relation to water use, water conservation and water transfers in the South Platte basin. The forum strives to provide an avenue for a timely, multidisciplinary exchange of information and ideas important to resource management in the basin.
Day one of the forum will include an update by John Stulp, water advisor to Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, followed by a panel focused on results of the statewide water supply inventory. The keynote luncheon on Oct. 19 will be “A View from Around the State: Global Negotiations,” by Jim Lochhead of Denver Water. The Friends of the South Platte Award will be presented to Tom Cech, former executive director of the Central Colorado Water Conservancy District.
The afternoon will include a session on economics which will include discussion on how to finance Colorado’s water future and align it with the values of the population.

Day two of the forum includes several presentations on water conservation. The keynote speaker on Thursday will be Bill Ritter from CSU’s Center for New Energy Economy. The afternoon will focus on different sources of energy from within the South Platte Basin and include discussions on oil and gas exploration, hydraulic fracturing as well as hydropower.

The South Platte River begins high in the Colorado mountains near Fairplay. It flows through Denver and continues eastward into Nebraska, joining the North Platte River near the town of North Platte, Neb.

The South Platte Forum is sponsored by Tetra Tech, Colorado State University Extension, Aurora Water, Denver Water, Northern Water, Parker Water and Sanitation District, St. Vrain and Left Hand Water Conservancy District, Colorado Water Institute, Metro Wastewater Reclamation District, Colorado Division of Wildlife, Deere and Ault Consultants, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Geological Survey.

Registration is available at the door for $115 per person. For a schedule of events, visit www.southplatteforum.org or contact Jennifer Brown at (402) 960-3670 or Jennifer@jjbrown.com.

Fryingpan-Arkansas Project update: 247 cfs in the Fryingpan River below Ruedi Reservoir

From email from Reclamation (Kara Lamb):

A couple things to update you on today [ed. October 12].

First, releases from Ruedi Dam for the Recovery Program on the Colorado River end this Saturday, October 15. As a result, we will be scaling back releases from Ruedi to the Fryingpan over the next few days. Today, around noon, we will cut releases back by 50 cfs. We are currently releasing about 297 cfs. This will put the Fryingpan below the dam closer to 247 cfs.

Second, if you missed our public open house last night in El Jebel, [here are] copies of our display boards. We are currently collecting public comment on the draft Environmental Assessment for the water user’s contribution of 10825 acre-feet of water to the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program. One of the overall impacts of these contracts and agreements will be a slight reduction in the amount of water released from Ruedi Reservoir for endangered fish every year. If you would like to submit a written comment, please do so by mailing or e-mailing it to the attention of Lucy Maldonado at:

Bureau of Reclamation
11056 W. County Road 18E
Loveland, Colorado 80537

or lmaldonado@usbr.gov.

More Fryingpan-Arkansas Project coverage here.

Green Mountain Reservoir operations update: 750 cfs in the Lower Blue River below the dam

From email from Reclamation (Kara Lamb):

If you’ve been out on the Lower Blue this morning [ed. October 12], you probably noticed that it’s running a little lower than yesterday. That is because this morning around 6:30, we dropped releases from Green mountain Dam by about 50 cfs. Currently, there is 850 cfs flowing below the dam. We will be making additional changes today. We will drop again at noon today, by 50 cfs, putting the Lower Blue around 800 cfs. Then around 5 p.m. today, we will drop another 50 cfs. By the end of the day, releases from Green Mountain Dam to the Lower Blue will be around 750 cfs.

The reason for the change is two fold: the 15-Mile Reach of critical habitat for endangered fish no longer needs additional water and the Shoshone Plant has some maintenance work. Reduction in flows will help both projects.

More Colorado-Big Thompson coverage here.

Aspinall Unit update: 600 cfs in the Black Canyon next week — target level for the brown trout spawn

From email from Reclamation (Erik Knight):

As per normal fall reservoir operations, releases from the Aspinall Unit will be decreased over the next few weeks in response to the seasonal shutdown of the Gunnison Tunnel and the brown trout spawn. Gunnison Tunnel diversions were decreased by 100 cfs yesterday so releases from Crystal will follow this and make an additional 100 cfs reduction today, October 11th. This total reduction of 200 cfs will bring Crystal releases down to 1600 cfs and flows in the Gunnison River through the Black Canyon down to 850 cfs by the end of today. This year’s river target level for the brown trout spawn will be 600 cfs which will be reached sometime within the next week.

More Aspinall Unit coverage here.