Colorado River District grant program

From email from the Colorado River District (Martha Moore):

Beginning December 1, 2009, the Colorado River District will be accepting grant applications for projects that protect, enhance or develop water resources in their 15-county area within the Colorado River Basin; this includes all tributary watershed areas in Colorado, except the San Juan River basin.

Water resource projects eligible for grant funding should meet one or more of the following objectives:

Development of a new water supply;
Improvement of an existing system;
Improvement of instream water quality;
Increased water use efficiency;
Sediment reduction;
Implementation of watershed management actions; and/or
Tamarisk control

Past successful projects have included the construction of new storage, the enlargement of existing facilities, the rehabilitation of non-functioning or restricted structures, both small and large-scale water efficiency measures, tamarisk removal and other watershed actions. In addition, proposals that enable water to be supplied to areas previously short are eligible and encouraged. Projects that utilize pre-1922 water rights will be given ranking priority.

Eligible applicants can receive up to a maximum of $150,000 (or 25% of the total project cost whichever is less) for their water supply projects. The total grant pool for 2010 is $250,000. The application deadline is Jan. 29, 2010.

More Colorado River Basin coverage here.

Republican River Basin: Senator Bennet and Representative Markey broker a deal to expand the CREP program in Washington and Lincoln counties

From the High Plains Journal:

The agreement allows the U.S. Department of Agriculture to increase enrollment in the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program from 35,000 to 70,000 acres and add areas of Washington and Lincoln counties. CREP allows water rights to be permanently retired: the once-irrigated farmland must be put into a grass habitat for 15 years, after which it may be used for grazing or dry land farming. “This will take acres out of production, yet it shows producers will do their part to help rural Colorado as a whole, not just themselves,” said Greg Larson of Haxtun. Larson is a farmer, vice president of the Republican River Conservation District, and secretary-treasurer of Colorado Corn Growers Association. “We are helping to preserve the aquifer and the basin, overall.”

Roaring Fork Watershed Plan update

From The Sopris Sun (Jeremy Heiman):

Organizers of a recent series of public meetings soliciting input for the Roaring Fork Watershed Plan say those meetings were successful. “It’s really been valuable to get the input of people who haven’t been immersed in this for years,” said Mark Fuller, director of the Ruedi Water and Power Authority, the main sponsor of the watershed plan…

Fuller said attendance and participation was pretty consistent up and down the valley. He said people who showed up for the meetings have shown a lot of concern about the impacts of development, and especially about the health of the fishery in the river and its tributaries…

The Roaring Fork Watershed Plan is “an opportunity for interested stakeholders to help set the direction for long-term management of the Roaring Fork Watershed’s water resources,” states a document associated with the plan. The “State of the Roaring Fork Watershed Report,” represents Phase I of the two-part effort. It examines regional water management; surface and groundwater quantity; water quality; the quality of riparian and instream habitat; the potential effects of climate change; and the effects of diversion of Western Slope water to Front Range cities. Phase II of the project entails the drafting and distribution of the watershed plan itself, including public meetings on the issues facing the subwatersheds of the Roaring Fork. The creation of a plan to direct the management of water in the Roaring Fork drainage dovetails with an initiative begun in 2002 by the Colorado Water Conservation Board to conduct a basin-by-basin study of the state’s water supply and demand over the coming 30 years. Colorado’s population was 4.3 million in 2000. It is expected to balloon to 7.1 million by 2030. When it is complete, the Roaring Fork Watershed Plan will be integrated by authorities representing the Colorado River basin into an assessment of the water needs for the entire basin. It will have the ability to influence how the state manages water in the region until 2030.

More Roaring Fork watershed coverage here and here.

Cutthroat Chapter of Trout Unlimited Annual Conservation Auction November 17

From Colorado Trout Unlimited:

The Cutthroat Chapter of Trout Unlimited will hold its Annual Conservation Auction on Tuesday, November 17. The doors will open at 6:30 pm. Admission is free. The event will help raise funds for the chapter’s conservation activities such as Cheeseman Canyon trail maintenance, help fund a graduate fellowship at Colorado State University Department of Fish Biology and Wildlife, and the chapter’s stream improvement activities. More than 150 items will be available for bid through a silent auction and a traditional verbal auction. Items to auctioned include fishing trips, fishing equipment, professionally tied flies, art items, and much more. The event will be held at Terrace Gardens, 13065 East Briarwood Avenue in Englewood (just south of Arapahoe Road, 2 miles east of I-25). Please contact Bill Richards at 303-909-1375 or go to www.cutthroatctu.org for more information or directions.

More conservation coverage here.

Elkhead Valley: 617 acres put into conservation easement

From the Steamboat Pilot & Today (Brandon Gee):

The Routt County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved spending $250,000 to help conserve more than 600 acres in West Routt County’s Elkhead Valley. The money comes from the county’s Purchase of Develop ment Rights program. The Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricul tural Land Trust will hold the conservation easement on 617 acres of the Howe Ranch on Routt County Road 56 north of Hayden…

The Howe Ranch includes irrigated hay meadows, riparian areas along Calf Creek and sage-dominated rangelands, according to a news release, which states that the ranch also provides important habitat for species including elk, deer, pronghorn, black bear, mountain lion, bobcat, fox, sandhill cranes, greater sage grouse and Columbian sharp-tail grouse…

The PDR program is funded by a 1.5-mill property tax approved in 2006, nine years after the program first was approved for a 10-year period. The 2006 renewal is good for 20 years…

To date, the PDR program has completed 24 projects protecting 14,670 acres at a cost of more than $6 million. Six more projects totaling 3,219 acres are under negotiation.

More conservation easement coverage here and here.

Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District to test conservation easement valuation

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

The value of the water used on farms can increase exponentially if its use is changed to municipal or industrial, creating a dilemma for assessors, headaches for property owners and trouble for conservation easement sponsors in the past. So the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District will present a test case to the state Division of Real Estate by claiming conservation easements on properties it owns on four ditch systems – the Bessemer Ditch, High Line Canal, Rocky Ford Ditch and Holbrook Canal. The easements are among nine the Lower Ark board voted to complete on Wednesday, bringing the total held by the district to about 60 easements. The district will present the ditch properties with easements that tie the water rights to the land, yet allow part of the water from those rights to be sold on an annual basis – or leased. The concept is central to the Super Ditch, a water leasing program supported by the district. It will also get two appraisals on each property in an attempt to determine the value of the water, and then ask the Division of Real Estate to verify the value of water, said Executive Director Jay Winner.

Because the district owns the properties, there won’t be the same liability a private landowner would face with any tax credits claimed in the transaction. The State Department of Revenue and Internal Revenue Service have raised questions about easements in Colorado in recent years, after many property owners took advantage of state tax laws meant to encourage easements. A state commission was set up and is working to certify trusts and governments that hold easements.

More conservation easement coverage here.

Colorado Water Trust

Here’s a shout out for Amy Beattie and the Colorado Water Trust, from Chris Woodka writing for The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:

Since state laws differ, trusts in other states operate under slightly different rules. In Colorado, a 1973 change in water law made the CWCB the only agency that could hold an in-stream water right or a right solely to maintain lake levels. Other water rights must be put to a beneficial use like municipal, industrial or agricultural rights. The state can do that by appropriating water, acquiring existing water rights or adopting policies that protect flows. New rights appropriated by the state are junior to most other rights on a stream. Flow protection usually requires court decrees to prevent injury to other rights.

Acquiring rights would yield the best results, but the problem in the past is that valuable senior water rights had to be donated to the state, without compensation, [Colorado Water Trust Director Amy Beattie] said. The trust acquires some rights, although its revenue sources are limited to grants or donations. It also works with land trusts or other conservation agencies to incorporate water rights into planning, Beattie said. “The Colorado Water Trust acts as a broker. It pays for rights to be donated,” she said Last year, the state Legislature set up two CWCB funds as a way to acquire senior rights. One is a $1 million appropriation for general water rights. Another $500,000 was set aside specially in a species conservation trust fund. “We collaborate with the CWCB,” Beattie said. “We pull from a whole menu of approaches to fix critically water-short stream reaches.”

More conservation easement 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.

CWCB: Lower Blanco restoration update

From the Pagosa Sun (Randi Pierce):

The Lower Blanco Property Owners Association, working with Riverbend Engineering, was awarded $150,000 from the Colorado Water Conservation Board to move forward with the 2010 phase of the restoration…

The current phase, the fifth, according to Chris Pitcher of Riverbend Engineering, is slated to be complete by the end of October. The project focuses on habitat enhancement through the use of habitat rocks and rock structures in a 1.6-mile section of the river. LBPOA President Bob Hemenger said the group hopes to accomplish more in the current phase than originally planned, extending it past the current proposed completion date since the funding is available. Also planned during the current phase is the planting of native woody, riparian vegetation in flood plain areas. “This phase will improve river morphology by creating flood plain benches and adjusting the channel width,” Pitcher said. The rock formations and flood plain area work will also serve to slow down the river through narrowing and deepening of channels to alleviate possible flood issues on adjacent properties, while protecting the integrity of the river’s banks. “The purpose of the project is to restore aquatic life function that was lost,” Pitcher said…

Diminished fish and wildlife habitat, as well as changing overall dynamics of the river, affected portions of the Lower Blanco starting in 1971, when the Chama River diversion was opened, removing about 70 percent of the Blanco’s water to be sent to New Mexico. The restoration project began in 1997 and, after a hiatus, picked up again two years ago with the hiring of Riverbend. It aims to ultimately restore a nine-mile section of the Lower Blanco. The previous four phases combined have completed about five miles.

More restoration coverage here.

Conservation and urban water providers

Here’s a look at water planning and conservation, from Chris Woodka writing for The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:

While the Colorado Water Conservation Board is looking at several ways to increase or share water supplies, cutting back on urban demand also will be a factor as part of the mix of strategies. “There really needs to be an effort to meld land-use planning into the availability of water,” Reed Dils, who represents the Arkansas River basin on the CWCB, said earlier this year in a discussion on urban conservation. “We’re just doing it piecemeal.”

Some of those pieces are coming together within Colorado, however, as urban use decreases and studies look at how to get by on even less water per person. The most noticeable effect has been the decline of use by individual water users in the cities since the drought in 2002. In some cases, it has been caused by continued restrictions and higher rates, although some cities, like Denver, have waged large education campaigns…

Last year, the Pueblo Board of Water Works found users are consistently watering their lawns less – outside watering accounts for about two-thirds of Puebloans’ water use. Surveys show customers are in favor of more conservation measures on the household level. Peak demand days were lower this year as a result, and it appears metered water sales might bring in less revenue than projected this year…

Meanwhile there are some communities being planned in a way that reduces water use, while allowing storm flows off new development to return to rivers in a more natural way, reducing the worst effects of minor floods and improving water quality. Two of those in Colorado were part of a recent study by Western Resource Advocates, a group that works for wise use of water, among other environmental causes. A neighborhood being developed at the former Stapleton airport site is being developed at a higher density than traditional suburbs – about 12 units per acre. That will allow for wetlands and improved drainage throughout the 12,000-unit development. About one-quarter of the homes have been built, and are selling well. The design of Stapleton houses, both inside and out results in a savings of water of about 40 percent per capita, according to the report. A proposed 3,000-acre, 12,500-unit development in Douglas County called Sterling Ranch is targeting supplying the needs of five households per acre-foot of water, almost twice the efficiency of nearby development…

Colorado State University-Fort Collins is studying how to recycle graywater – the product of sinks, showers and washing machines – directly on-site for irrigation and flushing toilets. Researchers are also studying how much water savings can be obtained from rainfall harvesting, reuse, conservation and graywater use.

More conservation coverage here.

Greenway Foundation

Here’s a background piece about Jeff Shoemaker, the director of the Greenway Foundation from Susan Dugan writing for The Washington Park Profile.

More South Platte Basin coverage here.

Hermosa Creek: Prime cutthroat habitat

From The Durango Herald (Paul Shepard):

The Hermosa Creek basin has two outstandingly remarkable values: recreation, and fish and wildlife. Virtually all outdoor recreation activities are allowed including mountain biking, hunting, fishing, camping, off-roading, horses, hiking, climbing, kayaking, skiing, snowshoeing and recreational vehicles. The basin also supports local agriculture with grazing allotments. To build on the outstandingly remarkable value of fish and wildlife, the Colorado River cutthroat trout reintroduction program is under way, with the Division of Wildlife working with the Forest Service…

Hermosa Creek is considered to be the top location in Colorado because it meets the criteria needed for success, including a waterfall on the East Fork to act as a barrier. If a waterfall is not available, a man-made one must be built. The barriers are needed to keep invasive trout from moving upstream and compromising the native-only populations. Barriers cannot be built just anywhere. Available geologic features must include sufficient gradient and a pinch-point. Additionally, a road must be near for equipment and stocking trucks. Such a road exists in Hermosa Park…

Nearly two decades ago, the Forest Service began this process by acquiring Purgatory Flats on the East Fork of Hermosa via a land swap. In 1991, the Division of Wildlife turned this reach into a cutthroat-only fishery above Sig Creek falls. Two years ago, a man-made barrier was built on the main stem at Hotel Draw, and the reintroduction is ongoing. Once the main stem is completed, this will create two separate populations. Thus far, the cutthroat reintroduction program is considered to be a success. However, the ultimate goal is to connect these two populations, allowing for movement between drainages and promoting population diversity. The Hermosa Park private parcel is the limiting factor to complete success. This is because the confluence of these two sections resides on this private property and is out of the jurisdiction of the Forest Service…

Two years ago, Hermosa Creek received the designation of “Outstanding Waters” by the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission. The creek has such high water quality that, by law, it can’t be compromised. Hermosa Creek is the only stream in Colorado with this designation outside of a national park or wilderness area. Also, the Hermosa Creek watershed is Colorado’s largest unprotected roadless area. Literally tens of thousands of acres are so pristine, they are eligible for wilderness designation. And all this is little more than a half hour’s drive from Durango. However, the Hermosa Park private parcel sits right in the middle of this amazing open space. In an open and public workgroup formed in 2008, unrelated to the land swap issues, a consensus values statement for the Hermosa basin was articulated as: The Hermosa Creek area is exceptional because it is a large, intact (unfragmented) natural watershed containing diverse ecosystems, including fish, plants and wildlife over a broad elevation range, and supports a variety of uses, including recreation and grazing, in the vicinity of a large town.

This diverse working group – ocs.fortlewis.edu/riverprotection/Hermosa – sees the value of an intact watershed and recognizes the special and unique characteristics of the Hermosa Creek area.

More Hermosa Creek watershed coverage here.

Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust scores $1 million for Rio Grande corridor conservation easements

From the South Fork Tines:

The newly awarded funds will be used over the coming year to complete two important conservation easements on the Rio Grande river corridor. The federal dollars also serve as matching funds to previous awards from the Great Outdoors Colorado Trust Fund (GOCO), the Colorado Division of Wildlife’s Habitat Partnership Program, The Nature Conservancy, Mineral County, the Rio Grande Water Conservation District, and other local and regional supporters. With generous donations from the participating landowners, the NAWCA award will help achieve more than $12 million in conservation value on critical river ranches. These projects are part of the overall Rio Grande Initiative, a project led by RiGHT, along with key partners The Nature Conservancy and Ducks Unlimited, to conserve the ranches, important wildlife habitat and scenic beauty of the Rio Grande. A portion of the NAWCA award will also fund improved water delivery infrastructure on the Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge, which includes an important reach of the Rio Grande and senior water rights that provide vital habitat for waterfowl and migrating birds.

More conservation easement coverage here.

Telluride: ‘High and dry’ demonstration garden requires no supplemental water

From The Telluride Watch (Martinique Davis):

[The] special High and Dry Garden [is] sponsored by Colorado State University Cooperative Extension in Norwood. Located along the east end of Telluride’s River Trail, the garden features plants carefully chosen to demonstrate one seemingly difficult achievement – to have a beautiful garden at high altitude that doesn’t require watering. Started last summer and still developing, Telluride’s demonstration garden is the first High and Dry garden of its kind on the Western Slope (with the exception of a similar demonstration garden outside Norwood’s CSU Extension office). It isn’t chock-full of showy plants with massive, colorful blooms. Rather, the plants selected for this garden a more practical side of high-altitude horticulture, since they are all considered “water-wise,” or “xeric.” In other words, this garden was designed and planted to exist on Telluride’s precipitation alone. Despite having no requirements for supplemental water, the High and Dry Garden is far from austere. Plants like serviceberry, French sage, penstemon, primrose, and geranium dot the raised bed, offering bursts of color and interesting shapes amid the gray gravel mulch – also intentionally chosen because effectiveness over wood chips at reducing water evaporation. A red gravel path cuts through the middle of the garden, providing color contrast to the gray mulch and a raised vantage point to examine the intricacies of water wise gardening.

More conservation coverage here.

Intelligent use of water film competition

From the dscriber:

We tip our hat to Mark E. Petersen of Boulder who was this afternoon awarded a place in the finals of the Intelligent Use of Water Film Competition for 2009. The film, “More or Less,” outlines the hapless plight of a water waster who’s transported to a strange land where environmental transgressions are dealt with harshly, as his film (here) highlights.

To see Mark’s and the others’ films, go to www.iuowfilm.com.

Great Outdoors Colorado and the San Luis Valley

From the Valley Courier (Ruth Heide):

During the 15-year history of one of the recipients of lottery ticket sales, Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO), the Valley has received $28 million for a variety of projects ranging from Creede Recreation Park on one end of the Valley to Costilla County open space on the other…

Saguache County’s share of GOCO funds during that time tops the Valley list at more than $8 million followed by more than $5 million each in Alamosa and Rio Grande Counties, $1.3 million in Costilla County, more than $400,000 in Conejos County and nearly $230,000 in Mineral County.

Projects have included: Hooper Park; Zapata Falls; South Side Community Park in Alamosa; King Ranch Preservation Project; Twin Lakes Trail; Manassa Fairgrounds; Antonito Public Park; Sanford Park; Romeo Sports Complex; Will Stegar Project in Costilla County; Sierra Grande Playground Project; El Parque-A Village Park in San Luis; Fort Garland Community Park; Costilla Open Space; Creede Recreation Park; Wright Ranch Preservation Project; Creede Skate Park; Wolf Creek Pass Project; River Valley Ranch; McNeil Ranch; Del Norte Area Trails Master Plan; Natural Wonders of the San Luis Valley Play Park in Monte Vista; South Fork Rio Grande Park; Native Aquatic Species Facility; Saguache County Closed Basin Biological Inventory; Crestone Peak Trail; Irby Ranch; and Center Park.

Some projects such as the Hooper Town Park received less than $10,000 while others like the Costilla County Open Space project topped half a million.

More conservation coverage here.

Iliff: Colorado State University to hold Limited Irrigation Field Day September 22

From The Holyoke Enterprise:

Colorado State University (CSU) is hosting a Limited Irrigation Field Day Tuesday, Sept. 22 from 10 a.m. to noon one mile east of Iliff. This field day is open to all interested in learning more about practical research information regarding farming with limited irrigation resources. The research is sponsored by CSU and Parker Water and Sanitation District. The Lower South Platte Irrigation Research and Demonstration Project is now in its third year of study…

The program includes field plot tours with researchers showing their work on limited water cropping systems. Annual field crops shown in the research include corn, surgarbeet, canola, wheat and soybean. Two perennial crops are being studied as well: alfalfa and 15 grass species and varieties. A talk is included on the CSU weather station and public access to current data.

More conservation coverage here.

University of Nebraska – Lincoln: New spreadsheet for evaluating irrigation efficiency

From The Fence Post:

The new tool will help irrigators calculate the amount of money they could save by improving the efficiency of their system, said Tom Dorn, Lancaster County Extension educator, who developed the tool. Irrigators need to determine whether the pumping plant uses more energy than the Nebraska pumping plant performance criteria suggest it should, Dorn said. “To do that, all irrigators need to do is enter data from irrigation records into the online spreadsheet,” Dorn said. The spreadsheet is available at http://lancaster.unl.edu/ag/crops/Long_Term_Pump.xls.

More infrastructure coverage here.

Routt County: Board of Commissioners approves $400,000 for Elkhead Ranch conservation easement

From the Steamboat Pilot & Today (Brandon Gee):

The Routt County Board of Commissioners approved spending $400,000 of taxpayer funds to help place 645 acres of the 3,950-acre Elkhead Ranch under a conservation easement to be held by the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust. The easement is the third phase of an effort to protect the entire ranch. The easement lands include grazing pastures, hay fields, portions of Elkhead Creek, meadows, trees and wetlands. According to a news release, Elkhead Ranch “provides important habitat for numerous wildlife species including elk, deer, pronghorn, black bear, mountain lion, bobcat, fox, sandhill cranes, Columbian sharp-tail grouse and greater sage grouse.”[...]

[Elkhead Ranch owner Heather Stirling] is contributing about two-thirds of the easement’s value, which means she is not being reimbursed for about 66 percent of the property value lost by placing it in a conservation easement. “This is not only beautiful land and prime agricultural land,” County Commissioner Diane Mitsch Bush told Stirling, “but your contribution is over the top, in my opinion.” Some have criticized the program for spending taxpayer money on remote lands that will remain under private ownership. Roundtree rejected those criticisms and also noted that this project and others are highly visible from public roads and public lands. Visibility is one criteria the PDR board uses to evaluate a project, but not the only one, Roundtree said.

More conservation easements coverage here and here.

Pikes Peak Regional Water Authority is preaching conservation

From The Tri-Lakes Tribune (Nicole Chillino):

At its Aug. 19 meeting, the authority’s board of directors discussed water conservation in response to a recent letter written by six major Front Range water providers to the Colorado Water Conservation Board and Interbasin Compact Committee which addressed several topics related to filling Colorado’s “water supply gap.”

“Right now, nobody’s worried about conservation because it’s been raining,” said Dana Duthie, general manager of Donala Water and Sanitation District.

Most water providers in the authority, however, rely on non-renewable aquifer water, which is unaffected by rain. Duthie added, water rationing will become more attractive to consumers when rates start going up. Water rates will have to be raised by two to four times what they are now for that to work, said Monument Public Works Director Rich Landreth.

More conservation coverage here.

Farm Service Agency: Financial assistance and business planning loans available

From the Valley Courier:

Farm Ownership Loans may be used to purchase a farm, enlarge an existing farm, construct new farm buildings and/or improve structures, pay closing costs, and promote soil and water conservation and protection. Eligible applicants may obtain direct loans up to a maximum indebtedness of $300,000. Maximum indebtedness for guaranteed loans is $1,094,000 (amount adjusted annually for inflation). The maximum repayment term is 40 years for both direct and guaranteed farm ownership loans.

Farm Operating Loans may be used for normal operating expenses, machinery and equipment, real estate repairs, and refinancing debt. Eligible applicants may obtain direct loans for up to a maximum indebtedness of $300,000, and guaranteed loans for up to a maximum indebtedness of $1,094,000 (amount adjusted annually for inflation).

Colorado Springs Utilities’ Conservation and Environmental Center and Xeriscape Demonstration Garden

From The Colorado Springs Gazette (Kristina Iodice):

On the third Tuesday of each month through September, Colorado Springs Utilities’ Conservation and Environmental Center and Xeriscape Demonstration Garden hosts an open house, complete with displays, tours and classes. Classes are free. The next open house, focusing on energy and water conservation, will be 4 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the center, 2855 Mesa Road. In addition to a scheduled class, volunteers and staff will be on hand to answer questions. The scheduled class will cover low- to no-cost ways for homeowners to save money. Utilities experts will offer ways to save energy and water — and thus money — by discussing heating and air conditioning systems, water heaters, appliances, insulation, windows and water use.

More conservation coverage here.

Colorado’s water future dependent on new transmountain diversions?

The Colorado Department of Natural Resources is looking at four pipeline concepts and two agricultural fallowing and dry up concepts as possible solutions to watering the unbridled growth along the Front Range. Here’s a report, from Bruce Finley writing for The Denver Post, about the pipeline plans from Flaming Gorge and the Green River proposed by the Colorado-Wyoming Coalition and the Million Resource Group. From the article:

Colorado municipal water suppliers are in discussions with their Wyoming counterparts exploring the feasibility. Separately, a private entrepreneur’s proposal to build a pipeline is under federal review. Colorado government officials — who have met with both contingents and are talking with Wyoming officials — recently included the “Flaming Gorge concept” among four options for diverting Western Slope water to the Front Range…

Huge hurdles remain, including financing and Colorado’s and Wyoming’s obligations to downriver states under an interstate compact. Conservationists object to the potential environmental impact of withdrawing the water…

The pipeline concept originated with entrepreneur Aaron Million and his Million Conservation Resource Group. In 2008, the group applied for a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which regulates construction in waterways and wetlands. An environmental review has begun, and engineers are sifting through a deluge of public comments, said Rena Brand, regulatory specialist for the agency. “The majority of letters are against it” and “push for the idea of conserving more along the Front Range,” Brand said. Federal wildlife officials are among those questioning possible impacts on endangered species and migratory birds…

Million must provide a list of likely customers by January to establish a need for the pipeline, Brand said. Last week, Million said that “ongoing negotiations with 20-plus” potential customers in Wyoming and Colorado “are going well.” He declined to name them. The project could be done in five years, he said. He wasn’t invited to the municipal suppliers’ discussions at a country club, a slight he calls unfortunate. “The lack of collaboration is problematic. It was the private sector that developed the water in the West” before federal agencies got involved, he said. “This is a return to the historical development of water resources, using the efficiency of the private sector to get things accomplished.”

Meanwhile, the municipal suppliers’ group was to continue discussions in Wyoming this week. They are close to formalizing a coalition, Jaeger said. He declined to name participants.

Colorado’s top natural resources officials say they’ve talked with Million and Jaeger. The state’s emerging strategies for meeting projected demand — which include conservation, the re-use of water and rethinking low-density versus high-density growth — assume that importing some water between river basins will be necessary, said Harris Sherman, executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. “Whether it is a public or a private project, it must incorporate public benefits,” Sherman said. “Sometimes it’s easier to incorporate public benefits with a public project, because the sponsoring entity is the public, and it will be focussed on public benefits. But it’s not impossible for a private project to incorporate a wide variety of public benefits. “

More Flaming Gorge pipeline coverage here and here. Colorado-Wyoming Coalition coverage here.

South Boulder Creek: Water for instream flow to be part of Gross Reservoir expansion?

Here’s a look at a proposal to add 5,000 acre-feet or so to Denver Water’s expansion of Gross Reservoir for instream flow in South Boulder Creek, from Clay Evans writing for the Boulder Daily Camera. From the article:

Denver Water authorities are pursuing permission to draw even more water from the Fraser River to nearly triple the storage in Gross Reservoir. While that will put a much bigger “straw” into the Fraser — and, of course, the Colorado — some are asking that the plan be slightly expanded to provide much-needed water for South Boulder Creek.

The cities of Boulder and Lafayette and Trout Unlimited, the national conservation organization with an office in Boulder, aren’t exactly thrilled with the idea of further allocating water from the Fraser. But if it’s going to happen, as most expect it will, they’d like to see 5,000 acre-feet of storage added to the proposed 72,000-acre-feet expansion and use it to ensure adequate winter flow in South Boulder Creek. “It’s a stream that needs help,” said Drew Peternell of Trout Unlimited.

The problem, as always, is how to pay for it all. The additional storage for South Boulder Creek would cost around $8 million. Lafayette, Boulder and Denver have said they’d help fill the pitcher, but not enough to top off the project, according to Denver Water.

More instream flow coverage here.

Here’s a release from Denver Water via YourHub.com:

This summer’s wet weather has many people shutting off their lawn sprinklers to take advantage of what Mother Nature is offering, and Denver Water couldn’t be happier. Customers are using less water this year compared to recent years, but that’s prompted some to ask what it means for the utility’s revenues.

In March 2009, Denver Water reduced its operating budget by 12 percent and adjusted its 2009 revenue expectations downward by 5 percent to respond to the downturn in the economy. However, due to the unusually wet weather, the utility anticipates an additional $16.4 million – or 8 percent – less revenue than expected for the year, which will be covered by reserves the utility maintains for seasonal variations.

“We aggressively encourage conservation and wise water use and plan our budget accordingly,” said Chips Barry, manager of Denver Water. “Our customers continue to do a great job using water efficiently, so we expected water usage to be down because of our conservation plan. However, we’ve had an unexpectedly wet summer, and as a result, actual water use through July is even lower – about 18 percent less than we anticipated compared to recent years. Our financial planning routinely factors in variables like Denver’s weather, so a single year of extra precipitation doesn’t force us to do anything out of the ordinary.”

Denver Water’s rates are based on mostly fixed costs for infrastructure and on operating expenses that don’t change if water use fluctuates. While it is too early to know what Denver Water’s rates will be for 2010, the utility says customers can expect rate increases over the next 10 years to upgrade, repair and maintain its 2,650 miles of pipe and aging infrastructure – some of which is more than 100 years old. The public agency is not funded by taxes, but instead is funded by water rates and new tap fees (also called system development charges).

“In the long-term, we are planning for customers to become more efficient and use less water in the future,” said Barry. “We live in a dry climate and are glad to see customers taking advantage of the rain and not watering. Ten years ago, we wouldn’t have seen this type of response in rainy weather. Conservation is critical to having a reliable water supply in the future.”

Denver Water proudly serves high-quality water and promotes its efficient use to 1.3 million people in the city of Denver and many surrounding suburbs. Established in 1918 as a nonpolitical municipal agency independent of city government, it is Colorado’s oldest and largest water utility.

More Denver Water coverage here.

CU installs dual-flushing toilets for water conservation

From the Boulder Daily Camera (Brittany Anas):

Partly because of the conservative flushing, CU’s Boulder campus has gone from using 412 million gallons a year to 290 million gallons a year since 2003, said Dave Newport, director of CU’s Environmental Center. During that same time, the school’s building space has grown 12 percent, he said.

More conservation coverage here.