Windsor: Potable water plan forecasts shortfall

From the Windsor Beacon (Ashley Keesis-Wood):

The town had commissioned a potable water master plan at the beginning of the year, and [Clear Water Solutions] was chosen to create that document, which is intended to act as a guide in future water acquisition decisions. “The upshot is that build out, with all the water dedication planned on being taken into account, you’ll have a gap of about 8,731 acre-feet of water,” [Steve Nguyen, President of Clear Water Solutions] said.

Currently, the town relies on the Colorado Big Thompson (CBT) project for all its water needs. “Because of caps put into place on CBT to allow smaller communities to purchase water rights in CBT, you are not able to purchase any more CBT rights on the open market,” Nguyen said. “You can still accept them through dedication as projects are developed.”

The town is one of the participants in the North Integrated Supply Project (NISP), and Nguyen said that is a good project, which will help diversify the town’s portfolio. But, it won’t be enough. “You’ll need to make sure you have other sources, including the upcoming Windy Gap project or the Water Supply and Storage Company water,” Nguyen said. “We recommend you initiate discussions with those groups.”

More Windsor coverage here and here.

Denver Water: Public hearing in Summit County for proposed Moffat Collection System Project

Update:

Here’s the release from Denver Water. There are four meetings starting Tuesday in Boulder:

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will hold four Public Hearings on the Draft EIS. At each location, Denver Water will hold an Open House from 4 to 6 p.m. The Public Hearings begin at 6 p.m.:

Tues., Dec. 1 — Boulder Country Club, 7350 Clubhouse Road, Boulder, CO 80301
Wed., Dec. 2 — Inn at Silver Creek, 62927 U.S. Highway 40, Granby, CO 80446
Thurs., Dec. 3 — Doubletree Hotel, 3203 Quebec Street, Denver, CO 80207
Tues., Dec. 8 — Keystone Conference Center, 0633 Tennis Club Road, Keystone, CO 80435

From the Summit Daily News (Bob Berwyn):

As described in a draft environmental study, the Moffat Collection System project in Grand County would also have impacts on flows on the Blue River. Flows in the Blue River at its confluence with the Colorado River could be cut by as much as 4,800 acre feet annually, about 2 percent of the river’s flow, according to figures released by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the draft study. Denver Water project manager Travis Bray said those figures apply when at full build-out of Denver Water’s existing system, and with the Moffat Tunnel on-line. Under the new configuration of diversions that would result from the Moffat Tunnel project, Denver Water would take between 4,000 and 5,000 acre feet of additional water from Dillon Reservoir each year. Bray said the draft study shows there would only be a negligible long-term impact to boating and no impact to fisheries in the Blue River…

Although 2 percent doesn’t sound like much, peak flows are important for the river’s ecosystem, said Becky Long, water caucus organizer with the Colorado Environmental Coalition. “If the project goes forward, the Blue River would see reduced flows in the summer months during wet and average years,” she said. The peak flows in wet years help flush sediment out of the river, create new habitat and support rafting and kayaking, she said.

The main focus of the project is on increased diversions from the Fraser River, but conservation groups are concerned about overall effects on the entire Upper Colorado ecosystem. They advocated for the Summit County hearing when the draft study was released a few weeks ago. Long said the Corps was responding to requests from Summit County residents by scheduling the local hearing…

Conservation groups have identified several broad environmental goals that should be included in the project’s mitigation plan, including:

— Adequate baseline flows in the Fraser throughout the year to sustain fisheries and recreation.

— Sustained peak flows at key times of the year to mimic a natural flow regime and ensure the health and resilience of the river.

— Aggressive urban water conservation and efficiency measures to save more water, such as incentives for homeowners to replace Kentucky bluegrass with drought-tolerant landscaping. More than half of residential water use goes to watering lawns.

— Ongoing monitoring of the river’s health and a mitigation plan with the flexibility to adapt to changing conditions…

A summary of the draft environmental impact statement is online at: https://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/html/od-tl/eis/moffat.deis.vol1.exec-summary.pdf (pdf)

Here’s the public meeting information:

What: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hearing
When: December 8 —Open House: 4 p.m.; public hearing begins at 6 p.m.
Where: Keystone Conference Center (0633 Tennis Club Road, Keystone)

More Denver Water coverage here.

Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District: Regional water pool should be online next season

From The Greeley Tribune (Bill Jackson):

Municipal and industrial water users may have another source of water next year when a regional water pool program proposed by the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District comes online. Brad Wind, deputy manager of the operations division for Northern, said the regional pool was first approved by the district’s board of directors in 2003, but this year has been the first year when sufficient carryover water will be available to offer the pool in 2010. The main reason the carry over is available is because of an abnormally wet spring and summer. For example, Greeley has received 18.5 inches of precipitation this year at the University of Northern Colorado, which is more than 5 inches more than the long-term average. In some areas of Northern’s boundaries, that has been doubled or even tripled in some cases. Wind, speaking at Northern’s recent annual fall water users meeting in Loveland, said the pool will be implemented in years when the district has at least 200,000 acre-feet of water in reserve. The pool will be limited to a maximum of 62,000 acre-feet each year. For 2010, it is expected there will be 37,000 acre-feet available, he said. An acre-foot is enough water to supply two families with a year’s supply of water. That water will be made available on a competitive lease basis and will be open to any qualified water user within Northern’s eight-county district…

Wind said ownership of Colorado-Big Thompson water has changed through the years. The largest transmountain water diversion in the state was built between 1938 and 1957. Originally, it was intended to provide a supplemental supply of irrigation water to farmers in northern Colorado by bringing water over the Continental Divide from the Colorado River, but now it provides supplemental water to 30 cities and towns as well. Currently, about 65 percent of the units of C-BT are owned by municipal and industrial users. “As time goes on, the water portfolios of municipalities is more robust,” Wind said, noting the demand for that water for municipalities is spread out over a longer time than that still used for irrigation of farmland. So the board began to think about ways to better optimize things and the regional pool became a reality. “The objective is to better optimize things between those who get the water and those who manage water,” Wind said. The result, he added, “will be more flexibility for those who use that water.”

More NCWCD coverage here.

Green Mountain releases

From email from Reclamation (Kara Lamb):

A Grand County contractor, working on the county’s Streamflow Management Plan, will be collecting data along the Blue River below Green Mountain Reservoir under multiple flow regimes. In order to accommodate this data collection it will be necessary to maintain the reservoir release at 200 cfs on Wednesday and Thursday and then 400 cfs on Friday and Saturday. The release rate will be ramped down to 200 cfs by Sunday evening.

More Blue River watershed coverage here.

Colorado-Big Thompson Project update

From email from Reclamation (Kara Lamb):

First and foremost, the water year on the C-BT is about to wrap up. Halloween is the last day of the 2009 water year for C-BT. That means that some water users are taking the last of their water from the project. Last week, when releases from Olympus Dam to the Big Thompson River increased and when Horsetooth releases out of Horsetooth Dam suddenly increased, it was because water users were taking their last shares of water. Those draws dropped the elevations at Horsetooth and Pinewood. Today, Pinewood is on its way back up and will continue rising through the weekend. Also, we are currently pumping water to Carter Lake, which is also slowly rising–water users are still taking water from Carter. Releases to the Big Thompson have dropped off and will drop again tonight to about 50 cfs in the canyon. That is an average flow for this time of year. Horsetooth is currently at an elevation of 5379. About 50 cfs is flowing to Horestooth. However, demands out of the Big Thompson River have dropped off, at least for the weekend, which means beginning tomorrow morning, we can increase flows to Horsetooth by another 50 cfs. This will level out the current draw of water from Horsetooth, holding the elevation close to 5379, at least for the weekend.

There remains the possibility that water users will call for the very last of their water the last week of the water year. So, it is possible that delivery via the Big Thompson River, or via Horsetooth Reservoir, will be required one more time before the water year closes. If that is the case, late next week we could see flows in the Big T increase, or see an increase in water going out of Horsetooth. Either way, I will keep you posted.

More Colorado-Big Thompson coverage here.

Sue Harrison appointed to Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District board of directors

From The Fort Morgan Times:

[Harrison] will serve out the remaining year of Wright’s term as one of three Boulder County representatives on the board…

Harrison has 30 years of experience as an environmental attorney, including 25 years as a Boulder assistant city attorney. She recently retired from that position and is in private practice. Her extensive background includes serving as chair of the Colorado Water Quality Commission and as an attorney with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Colorado Attorney General’s Office. “I’m excited to be involved with the water issues facing Northern Water,” Harrison said. “There are many challenges facing the Front Range, including the provision of water for cities and agriculture in a responsible, environmentally sensitive manner.”

In addition to Harrison, three current board members were reappointed to four-year terms. Les Williams, who is retiring as the executive director of the St. Vrain and Left Hand Water Conservancy District, will begin his sixth term representing Boulder County on the board. Bill Emslie, an engineer with the Platte River Power Authority, will begin his second term representing Larimer County. John Rusch represents Morgan and Washington counties and will begin his second term.

Here’s the release. More NCWCD coverage here.

Estes Park: Alpine Anglers meeting October 15 to feature impacts of transmountain diversions

From the Estes Park Trail Gazette:

Ken Neubecker, president of Colorado Trout Unlimited, will speak Thursday on the impact of water diversions from the upper Colorado River. “More than half of the water of the upper Colorado is already diverted to the Front Range for agricultural and municipal use,” said Neubecker. “Now two new projects could take almost half of what remains.” But as conservation, government and business interests in Grand County geared up for a protracted fight, water developers Denver Water and Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District agreed to work with local agencies to find ways to meet the water needs of the Front Range while minimizing the impact on wildlife and recreation on the Colorado and Fraser Rivers. Neubecker will speak about the situation at the Alpine Anglers` monthly meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15 in the Hondius Room of the Estes Park Public Library. The public is invited.

More transmountain/transbasin diversions coverage here.

Larimer County: Invasive mussels update

Larimer County inspections have led to the decontamination of 54 boats. Three of the boats had mussels attached. Here’s a report from Pamela Dickman writing for the Loveland Reporter Herald. From the article:

Larimer County started the inspections in mid-April with a $300,000 grant from the Colorado Division of Wildlife. Inspectors, on duty seven days a week, checked 55,571 boats through Wednesday. Of those, they believed 109 were high-risk because they had been on infested waters, seemed overly dirty or had water or plants onboard. Half of those, 54, were decontaminated because inspectors believed, after a closer look, that they were more risky…

“It’s a long, tedious process,” said Dan Rieves, visitor services manager for the Larimer County Department of Natural Resources. “The cure is exposure to hot water under pressure. They power-wash the boat, for lack of better terminology.”[...]

Now that the busiest boating season is over, inspectors will be at Carter and Horsetooth only on weekends during October. That means boaters can hit the water only on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays after their vessels have been inspected. At Boyd Lake State Park, inspectors will be on duty from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day through October, and from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily in November, according to the park’s Web site.

More invasive mussels coverage here and here.

Horsetooth Reservoir update

From email from Reclamation (Kara Lamb):

[September 17], we are sitting at an elevation of about 5391. At this time, all boat ramps are still in the water. We have about 85 cfs going out of the reservoir. This means it has slowed the drop of the reservoir’s elevation. Earlier this week, the water level was going down about 2/3 of a foot a day. By this afternoon, it is dropping only very slightly.

Because we do not have any water coming into Horsetooth at this time, the water elevation is being determined by what is going out. Currently, the Horsetooth Feeder Canal (the canal that brings water in) is undergoing some regular fall maintenance. That work will be done the last weekend of September. We will be able to start bringing a little bit of water to Horestooth at that time, but not very much because there are still water demands downstream on the Big Thompson River.

Earlier this week, we projected that the reservoir will hit an elevation of 5385 by the last weekend of this month. If water demands return to around 400 cfs coming out of the reservoir, that will likely be the case. At 5385, the Satanka boat ramp and the southern-most ramp in South Bay are out of the water. The large six-lane boat ramp in South Bay, however, should be useable well into October.

More Colorado-Big Thompson coverage here and here.

Horsetooth Reservoir operations update

From email from Reclamation (Kara Lamb):

Today, Horsetooth Reservoir is sitting at an elevation of 5400 feet. To put some perspective on this, looking back about 20-years, our average elevation at Horsetooth this time of year is usually around 5385.

Right now, we are sending just over 200 cfs into Horsetooth. About 354 cfs is going out. This is a relatively slow draw on the reservoir. If demands remain about the same, I anticipate we will see an elevation in the mid-upper 5390s for Labor Day weekend. That should be plenty of water for all boat ramps.

More Colorado-Big Thompson Project coverage here and here.

Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program: Grand County’s efforts

From the Sky-Hi Daily News:

Starting Sept. 1 to Sept. 15, the county seeks to augment the river by 45 cfs…Grand County-paid pumping would supply another 30 cfs from Sept. 16 through Sept. 30, another 20 cfs Oct. 1-15 and additional 10 cfs Oct. 16-30. That would leave 321 acre-feet of water carried over for release in 2010, according to county officials.

More endangered species coverage here and here.

Windy Gap Firming Project not without its detractors

Here’s a joint release from Clean Water Action, Fort Collins Audubon Society, Sierra Club PCG, Colorado Environmental Coalition, Environment Colorado and Western Resource Advocates. From the release:

WGFP engages the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Water Act, the Federal Water Supply Act, and the Endangered Species Act. Because of this engagement with federal environmental laws, the process is likely to be long, expensive, and high risk. Specifically, such engagements often boil down to a yes/no permitting decision after years and millions of dollars have already been spent. Additionally, any farmer, city, oil shale company, county, water district, organization, or member of the public can challenge these decisions, thus resulting in potentially more time and expense. Consider examining recent water-supply examples where delay, expense, and conflict have occurred: Two Forks (Colorado), Animas La Plata (Colorado), and King Williams Reservoir (Virginia). Alternatives to WGFP that are less time-consuming, expensive, and risky should be immediately investigated and implemented.

WGFP participants, including PRPA and Fort Collins, should be aware that the WGFP water right is a junior right that is junior to many of the oil shale rights placed on this same Colorado River water.

More Windy Gap coverage here and here.

Runoff news: Lake Granby at highest level in years

From the Sky-Hi Daily News (Tonya Bina):

At present, the lake is at an elevation of 8,276 feet, or about 4 feet (about 29,000 acre feet) from being full, according to Noble Underbrink, department manager of the Farr Pumping Plant of Lake Granby. The last time the reservoir was in that range was in 2000. Prior to that, the lake was close to or above that level each year. “This puts us back to normal since the perceived drought of 2001,” Underbrink said. In years since, the lake elevation was about 10 feet below where it is now, a level that can make a drastic difference to reservoir shores. Precipitation on the Front Range where water is delivered from Lake Granby, he added, decreased the need to draw water. The plant is pumping water at night to maintain elevation levels in Grand Lake; meanwhile Lake Granby remains stable, fluctuating by about 100th of 1 foot. Underbrink said he doesn’t expect Lake Granby to spill this year, unless there is an abundance of rain during the remainder of the summer. The last time the reservoir was completely full was in 1998.

From The Mountain Mail (Christopher Kolomitz):

It reached 3,250 cubic feet per second in Salida Monday and flow of about 3,500 cfs was recorded downriver. Heat, sun angle, rain and need to move water owned by municipalities and irrigation companies to downstream reservoirs are reasons behind the increase, officials said. It’s the second flow peak on the river since runoff began in early May. May 23 the river reached about 2,700 cfs in Salida. Flow was below 1,500 cfs around June 12 and has been on a steady climb since. The most recent big increase started June 26 when river flow at the Salida gauge jumped from 2,250 cfs to almost 3,000 cfs. “It’s a pretty unusual situation to have two significant peaks 30 days apart,” Greg Felt, owner of Ark Anglers and a member of the Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District board of directors said Monday…

Twin Lakes Reservoir is 90 percent full and Turquoise Reservoir is 98 percent full. Both reservoirs are in Lake County and water owners are looking downriver to Pueblo Reservoir which is 67 percent full for more space…

[Linda Hopkins, hydrologic technician with the Bureau of Reclamation] said the 54,000 acre feet of canal company storage in Twin Lakes is full…

Monday 439 cfs was being moved from the West Slope through the Boustead Tunnel into Turquoise Reservoir. The Bureau of Reclamation which operates the tunnel, collection systems and reservoirs, is moving 250 cfs into Pueblo Reservoir, Hopkins said. Felt noted it’s been raining in the high country and at lower elevations, leading to an increase of 200-300 cfs.

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

Up until this week, river flows were up 30-40 percent above natural levels because of releases from accounts in reservoirs. Those releases are being cut back this week as transmountain flows slow, Vaughan said. “Basically, everyone’s moving water to where they have space,” Vaughan said. The Fry-Ark Project has moved about 81,000 acre-feet through the Boustead Tunnel this year, far exceeding projections of about 54,000 acre-feet – close to average – in May. There were three peaks to the runoff and frequent storms added to snowpack or runoff during the last two months. The tunnel is still carrying about 200 acre-feet per day, but Reclamation is cutting off its releases from Twin Lakes today because there should be adequate storage space in that reservoir and Turquoise Lake, [Roy Vaughan, manager of the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project for Reclamation] said. The runoff also came two weeks early in May, in the middle of a dry stretch…

[Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District] Total allocations will be about 65,500 acre-feet, which is based on the total amount brought over less transit loss, evaporation and balancing accounts with the Twin Lakes Canal & Reservoir Co. The committee will look at a staff proposal to allocate another 19,000 acre-feet to agriculture and municipal users, on top of 29,500 acre-feet already allocated. “We’re going to be able to fill everyone’s allocations, if they still want the water,” Hamilton said, explaining the additional water could arrive too late to use it this season for some irrigators. The allocations come with a small price tag, $7 an acre-foot for agricultural users, and has to be used within certain time frames that have been shortened by the late delivery. The district also has repaid the Pueblo Board of Water Works loan of 5,000 acre-feet to cover 2008 shortfalls.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District tour recap, NISP rally

Here’s a recap of a recent tour of the northern Front Range set up by the NCWCD, from Shari Phiel writing for the Berthoud Recorder. From the article:

While much of the water used in the northern Front Range areas originates along the western slope, the canals, reservoirs and pumping stations find along the eastern slope are critical to delivering our water. These facilities include Carter Lake, Horsetooth Reservoir, Flatiron Reservoir and the proposed Chimney Hollow and Glade Reservoir projects. “If you look at where the demands for water are in Colorado, both in terms of agriculture and in terms of municipal and industrial use, and you look at where the water’s located in Colorado, we’re just opposite of what we should be,” said Eric Wilkinson, general manager for the NCWCD.

Meanwhile, here’s a report from Tuesday’s rally for the Northern Integrated Supply Project, from Jamie Folsom writing for the Berthoud Recorder. From the article:

“Wouldn’t this have been a time to fill a reservoir?” asked former Colorado Agriculture Commissioner Don Ament, alluding to the overflowing creeks and ponds that dot the landscape. He and others noted the excess water will head downstream to surrounding states this year. They support storing the water to ensure it would be available for future, drier years.

More coverage from the Loveland Reporter Herald (Pamela Dickman):

The message, sown strongly by speaker after speaker Tuesday, was that the water project, which would be managed by Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, is essential to the survival of agriculture — one of the main industries in the region. Without the reservoir to store water for growing cities and towns, that burden would fall onto water currently set aside for agriculture — and farm acres would dry up, hitting the economy and local food supply, according to area farmers and spokesmen for farm agencies.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here.

Colorado-Big Thompson update

From email from Reclamation (Kara Lamb):

Just a quick update before the Fourth of July Holiday Weekend. We are starting to get back, almost, to more normal operations after the peak of what turned out to be a very late snowmelt run-off season. High run-off peaked last weekend and we have been adjusting the Colorado-Big Thompson Project accordingly.

With the majority of the snowmelt behind us, releases from Olympus Dam to the Big Thompson River have returned to about 125 cfs. Lake Estes is also on the rise. Currently it is at an elevation of 7471 and will probably go up a little more tonight. It should stay up through the weekend.

Pinewood has been experiencing some fluctuations as we move water on downstream through the project. It dropped pretty significantly today–to an elevation of about 6565–but is now on its way back up. It will be up–a handful of feet down from full–for the Holiday weekend. But expect it to start dropping again top of next week. Then we will refill it. As we move water through the project, Pinewood will see fluctuation like this, this summer.

Meanwhile, a little more water is coming into Carter and Horsetooth Reservoirs. Carter is at an elevation of 5747 and Horsetooth at just under 5420–both pretty full. They will remain at or near those elevations through the Holiday weekend.

From email from Reclamation (Kara Lamb):

[Thursday] afternoon, we are reducing releases from Ruedi Dam to the Fryingpan River. As you have probably noticed, we have been reducing releases throughout the week. The snowmelt run-off has peaked, the peak has passed, and we are responding accordingly. As of this evening, flows in the Fryingpan should be right around 300 cfs. They should stay at that level through the weekend.

From email from Reclamation (Kara Lamb):

Earlier this week, we were able to scale back releases from Green Mountain Reservoir to the Lower Blue to under 2000 cfs. But all that changed today with a localized rain storm. We are back up to about 2680 cfs. We have been increasing releases all afternoon in response to the storm.

Because we are working with the weather, I have no prediction for the weekend. We are anticipating releases to stay at this level or perhaps go a little higher, but depending on Mother Nature, those plans could change. As always, I advise to please check the gage before you head up to the Lower Blue. And please keep in mind that we could make changes while you are on the water this weekend.

From email from Reclamation (Dan Crabtree):

Inflow to the Aspinall Unit has finally decreased to levels at which we can begin to slowly reduce releases from Crystal Reservoir. This evening (Wednesday) releases from Crystal will be reduced by 200 cfs and another 200 cfs will be cut Thursday morning. This will bring flows in the Black Canyon and Gunnison Gorge to about 2,700 cfs. No further release changes are anticipated through the Holiday Weekend.

Pourdre River watershed: Corps of Engineers is doing a basin wide review of water projects in conjunction with NISP EIS

From the Fort Collins Coloradoan (Kevin Duggan):

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which would be responsible for issuing permits for Glade as well as proposed expansions of Halligan and Seaman reservoirs, is weighing the environmental impacts all of the projects could have on the river before allowing construction of the pipeline’s remaining segments. The Corps is analyzing the combined effects of the projects as part of environmental impact statement, or EIS, studies for Glade and the Halligan-Seaman projects, said Chandler Peter, a project manager with the agency.

At issue is how depletion of the river caused by the projects would affect the river’s resources, including its fisheries, riparian areas, recreation and morphology, Peter said. “We need to understand the cumulative effects of these projects and determine what mitigation and operational conditions would be needed to minimize those impacts,” he said.

Click through and read the whole piece. He’ll bring you up to date on Greeley’s new pipeline.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here.

Northern Integrated Supply Project: 300 rally for project

From the Fort Collins Coloradoan (Kevin Duggan):

About 300 people attended the rally sponsored by the Colorado Farm Bureau and the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, which has proposed building Glade as part of the Northern Inte-grated Supply Project, or NISP.

A series of politicians and representatives of farm associations told the crowd that without the water-storage provided by the Colorado-Big Thompson Project, which includes Horsetooth Reservoir, Weld County wouldn’t be one of the top agricultural producers in the country and the region wouldn’t enjoy such a high quality of life.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

Broomfield: Annual tests passed with flying colors

From the Broomfield Enterprise (Michael Davidson):

Broomfield’s water continues to exceed standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency. The city has never violated a standard or even had to warn residents to boil water, Coufal said. “We don’t get in the news very much. That’s a good thing,” he said…The city’s water now comes from Carter Lake near Berthoud, with additional supplies coming from Denver’s water system…Cryptosporidium and giardi are the microbes the lab watches for now. Exposure to either one can cause severe gastrointestinal distress, diarrhea and dehydration.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

Colorado-Big Thompson Project: Reservoir status

From email from Reclamation (Michael Odle):

- Estes Powerplant will have 250 acre-feet of water available for power generation on Friday. That is an increase of 50 acre-feet from previous days.

- The Adams Tunnel diversion od 200 cfs will continue until tomorrow night. That means that the Marys Powerplant will have water available for power generation the entire day tomorrow.
- Olympus Tunnel flow will continue set at 500 cfs tomorrow.
- The Dille Tunnel flow will be adjusted to 68 cfs tomorrow morning.
- The Big Thompson Powerplant flow will be increased to 394 cfs tomorrow morning.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here.

Grand County: ‘State of the River’

Here’s a recap of the recent “State of the River” meeting put on by the Colorado River District in Grand County, from Tonya Bina writing for the Sky-Hi Daily News: From the article:

On May 1, the Upper Colorado showed 90 percent to 109 percent of average, according to Bob Steger, manager of raw water supply for Denver Water. During that same time period in the South Platte Basin, where Denver obtains half of its water in an average year, the water table showed 70 percent to 89 percent of average. The more water available on the South Platte, [Mike Eytel, water resources specialist for the Colorado River District] explained, the less pressure to divert West Slope water…

Quota-setting for the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District was a gamble this year with a dry spell leading up to an April 1 quota date, according to Jeff Drager, deputy manager of Northern Water. Northern settled on an 80 percent quota. A 100 percent quota means each owner of one C-BT unit gets one acre foot — the higher the quota, the more East Slope water is supplemented by C-BT water…

Lake Granby, which when full amounts to about 539,000 acre-feet, was sitting at 283,835 acre feet on May 1. “We think that later this year in November it will be at about 400,000,” Drager said. “We are in better shape this year over last year because we’ve had more water stored in our East Slope reservoirs because of some work done on Carter Lake,” he said. Where Lake Granby is roughly 35 feet down at present, it’s expected to raise 15-20 feet — about 15 feet from full level — in July.

To take part in Shadow Mountain Reservoir and Grand Lake water-quality management, Northern plans to shut down C-BT-Adams Tunnel flows from July 31 to August 13 this year, during which water clarity studies are likely to take place. Drager said two weeks was as long as Northern could comply with shutting down C-BT operations due to power-generation constraints on the system.

“I am going to advocate that we agree to a more robust monitoring program for the two weeks stop-pump period and ask for a six-week period, two weeks preceding and two weeks following,” said Grand County Water Quality Specialist Katherine Morris. Grand County is part of a multi-agency group bound to investigate clarity problems in the C-BT system. “I think that’s a remarkable opportunity to learn of the effects of pumping and diverting water on water quality in Grand Lake and Shadow Mountain Reservoir,” she said.

Plans at Windy Gap are to pump 23,000 acre-feet this year, Drager said. Since May 11, both pumps have been in full swing, pumping 365 cfs at Windy Gap. Last year, Windy Gap pumped 30,000 acre feet…

…several other pressing water topics were explored during the meeting, such as: The Division of Wildlife’s newly adopted boat inspections program to stop the spread of zebra and quagga mussels; the Bureau of Land Management’s Wild and Scenic eligibility that includes a section of the Colorado River starting at Windy Gap, Muddy Creek below Wolford, Troublesome Creek, Rabbit Ears Creek, Kinney Creek and Sulphur Gulch; a nearly completed Upper Colorado Watershed Assessment — a study that identifies the area’s most critical watersheds that are main sources of drinking water vulnerable to wildfire damage; and the Upper Colorado Endangered Fish Recovery federal mandate in which the West Slope may need to ante up at least $8 million for its participation by 2012.

Grand County: No Colorado-Big Thompson stimulus dough for water quality

From the Sky-Hi Daily News (Tonya Bina):

Stimulus money granted to the Colorado-Big Thompson project will not be used to study water quality in Grand County’s Three Lakes, according to a May 1 letter to the county from Bureau of Reclamation Area Manager Michael Collins. The BuRec informed Grand County officials that it is unable to fulfill the county’s request. The county had asked that about $100,000 or more out of a $14 million stimulus grant be directed to a Colorado Big Thompson Project study that would launch finding a solution to Grand Lake’s water-clarity problems.

Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame: W.D. Farr honored as inaugural inductee

From the Greeley Tribune:

He was one of 12 people to be nominated by fellow cattle feeders to receive the honor, according to a news release issued Friday. Farr was a pioneer rancher, visionary, water expert, banker and was considered by many to be a true statesman, having served in several capacities under three presidents on the international level. Farr, who died in August 2007, also was president of the Greeley Water Board for 39 of its first 40 years and his water vision was legendary. He, along with Charles Hansen, publisher of the Greeley Tribune, and a handful of others, worked tirelessly to get the Colorado-Big Thompson built. That project brings a supplemental water supply to eight northeast Colorado counties from the Western Slope, a project Farr often called a second Poudre River for northern Colorado.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

Ruedi and Horsetooth reservoirs update

Update From email from Reclamation (Kara Lamb):

You probably noticed in my message last night regarding our Annual Ruedi Operations public meeting, the day and date did not match up. My apologies. I’ll try again: Our Annual Ruedi Operations public meeting will be Thursday, May 21, in the Basalt Town Hall. It will start at 7 p.m. I hope to see you then!

From email from Reclamation (Kara Lamb):

Tomorrow, we will be reducing the release from Ruedi Dam to the Fryingpan River by 50 cfs. This will put around 172 cfs in the ‘Pan by the afternoon. Also, we are getting ready for our annual Ruedi Operations Public Meeting. We will hold it on Thursday, May 22 at the Basalt Town Hall. The meeting will start at 7 p.m.

From email from Reclamtion (Kara Lamb):

…we are continuing to send about 480 cfs to Horsetooth Reservoir. That will continue for a while. Today, the reservoir is at a water elevation of 5412 and climbing steadily.

Denver Water, Northern and Grand County agree to cooperate on instream flows

Denver Water (Moffat Collection System), the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District (Colorado-Big Thompson Project and Windy Gap Project) and Grand County have struck a deal to cooperate on instream flows in the Upper Colorado River. Here’s a report from Mark Jaffee writing for the Denver Post. From the article:

The agreement among Grand County, Denver Water and the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District aims to balance Front Range demands with more flow for the Upper Colorado River basin. The deal also is expected to smooth the progress of plans for two new water projects to bring 16 billion gallons of water from Grand County to the Front Range…

Diversions of water are a sore point with Grand County officials. Pipelines and tunnels already move about 60 percent of the county’s waters across the Continental Divide to serve towns and cities from Fort Collins to Littleton. As a result, flows are often low in the Fraser and Colorado rivers in summer, which threatens the county’s $18 million-a-year recreation economy…

In all, Denver Water and Northern are committed to keep 5,800 acre-feet of water on the Western Slope…

The plan will be bolstered by coordinated releases of another 5,400 acre-feet to the Colorado River from Lake Granby. This is water supplied by Front Range diverters — including Aurora Water and Colorado Springs — to meet a requirement to protect endangered fish species at Grand Junction.

“It’s all a more comprehensive approach to managing the river,” said Mely Whiting, an attorney with Trout Unlimited. “Just getting Denver Water and Northern to coordinate is a big step.”

After negotiating with Grand County and environmental groups for a year, Denver Water and the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District have made promises to protect stream flows and water supplies on the Western Slope. They include:

• Denver Water will allow 1,000 acre-feet of water to head down the Fraser River annually, instead of diverting it to Denver.

• Denver Water will release 1,000 acre-feet every year from Williams Fork Reservoir, near Parshall, into the Fraser River.

• Northern will guarantee 2,300 acre-feet to the Middle Park Water Conservancy District, Kremmling, every year. The district now sometimes receives only 800 acre-feet.

• Northern and Denver Water will provide $8 million to improve wastewater treatment plants and stream habitats in the county.

• Northern will slow its draw of water during the annual Gore Canyon Race week in Kremmling to improve rafting and boating conditions.

• Denver Water will release some water into the river system from irrigation ditches it owns.

More coverage from the Sky-Hi Daily News (Tonya Bina):

“This is a history-setting occurrence,” stated Grand County Manager Lurline Underbrink Curran, referring to a meeting last Thursday during which Northern and Denver representatives rolled out a list of compromises that when added up, equates to at least 11,200 acre-feet of water that could be left in Grand County rivers, to be released as needed on an annual basis…

Northern and Denver Water are under the watchful eye of West Slope water users as they work to achieve permitting on two separate projects that would firm up water rights to allow more water to be taken from both the Fraser and Colorado rivers. Already, Northern has gone through its Draft Environmental Impact Statement public comment period for the Windy Gap Firming Project, and Denver is about to release its draft statement for the Moffat firming project. In comments on Northern’s DEIS in December, the Environmental Protection Agency came out against the project’s assessment, saying the environmental impact statement failed to weigh “secondary and cumulative effects of this and other reasonably foreseeable water projects within the Upper Colorado River Basin.” The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers should “hold the (Northern) permit in abeyance,” the EPA letter read…

…the offerings still needs to be weighed against the county’s stream management plan — now in it’s third phase — to see how what is being offered satisfies Grand County’s stream and river needs identified in the plan, according to Underbrink Curran…

Among offers, Denver Water’s willingness to give up 1,000 acre feet of annual firm yield that would normally be delivered to the East Slope is considered rare. “We’ve been very careful in all the things that we’ve done to preserve our yield because it’s very important to us,” Little said. “Yield replacement on the East Slope goes anywhere from $12,000 to $20,000 dollars an acre foot,” he said. “But In this instance, we thought of Grand County’s environmental issues.”[...]

Water and sanitation district representatives, town board members, ditch shareholders, members of the ag community and others are taking the time to digest Northern and Denver’s offer — at the same time commending them for producing it. “I think that this is a paradigm shift in the relations between the East Slope water diverters and the West Slope,” said Kirk Klancke, manager of the Winter Park West Water and Sanitation District. Even so, there’s more work to be done, he said. “I would like to see the flushing flows well defined where they are not mentioned specifically in this proposal.”[...]

What Northern and Denver are offering:

• 1,000 acre-feet of firm annual yield from Fraser River Collection System
• 1,000 acre-feet annual release from Williams Fork Reservoir resulting from Fraser System bypass
• Denver Water would only take bypass water after restricting all lawn watering in Denver
• Curtail or reduce diversions in August to minimize temperature impacts to river life
• 3,000 acre-feet annually to the Middle Park Water Conservancy District
• Grand County may store 1,500 acre-feet of late-season free water in Granby Reservoir using the Windy Gap pumping facility. Denver to pay half of pumping costs shared with Grand County
• Cooperate with Grand County on the timing of releases of 5,412 acre-feet stored in Lake Granby for endangered fish recovery near Grand Junction, as part of the federal “Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program”
• Provide $6 million in improvements to the three largest wastewater facilities in Grand County to reduce discharge of nutrients to Grand County streams and lakes
• Provide $2 million for river restorations to improve aquatic habitats
• Contribute an estimated $200,000 to develop a viable cutthroat trout fishery in Grand County
• Northern offers to modify operations to lessen the impact on Granby Reservoir levels
• Provide lands for wildlife habitats, open space and/or public fishing accesses
• Curtail diversions during the Gore Canyon Race weekend each year
• Operate Big Lake Ditch, the Vail Ditch, Rich Ditch and Hammond No. 1 Ditch water in a way that enhances the Colorado and Fraser rivers.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here, here, here and here.

Colorado-Big Thompson Project scores $14 million in stimulus dough

From the Sky-Hi Daily News (Tonya Bina):

Grand County is asking that $100,000 to $200,000 of the C-BT stimulus money be spared, according to an April 23 letter the county manager sent to the Bureau’s eastern Colorado area manager. The money is needed for an appraisal plan, the county’s letter states, which might become the first step toward a solution to Grand Lake’s water quality problems. County officials have called the lake’s water quality “an environmental disaster that needs to be fixed.” In recent years, Grand County has taken the stance that water delivery through the lake, a natural lake made part of the C-BT system about 70 years ago when the system was approved, is degrading the lake’s clarity. “We would respectfully ask that within the $14 million funding allowance, the Bureau might be able to divert up to $200,000 of this funding to begin the appraisal process,” County Manager Lurline Underbrink Curran wrote. The Bureau has told county officials the agency could start the process without congressional go-ahead, but due to budget timing, the Bureau’s first opportunity to assign needed funds would be in 2012.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.