Avon: Town Council approves water rate hike
October 28, 2009
From the Vail Daily (Sarah Mausolf):
The Upper Eagle Regional Water Authority had asked for permission for a $3.91 increase to the monthly water bill for homes 3,000 square feet or smaller, and more for larger homes…
The water bill increase applies to the base fee for water use, and would equate to $3.91 per month per single family equivalent. The proposal also includes the Arrowhead, Eagle-Vail, Edwards, Berry Creek and Beaver Creek metropolitan districts.
More infrastructure here.
Vail Valley: Waterwise Wednesday
October 26, 2009
Upper Eagle Regional Water Authority looking for rate hike
October 14, 2009
From the Vail Daily (Sarah Mausolf):
The hike would amount to an extra $3.91 per month in the water bill for a home 3,000 square feet or smaller, and more for bigger homes, said Becky Bultemeier, customer and financial services manager for the Eagle River Water and Sanitation District. Avon isn’t the only place facing the proposed water bill increases. It would apply to all areas the water authority serves, including the Arrowhead, Eagle-Vail, Edwards, Berry Creek and Beaver Creek metropolitan districts, Bultemeier said. The water authority had been hoping to get consent from those areas before formally voting on the change Oct. 22, she said.
More infrastructure coverage here.
Eagle: Brush Creek restoration
October 11, 2009
From the Vail Daily (Pam Boyd):
This summer, Brush Creek was the focus of attention. Eagle Open Space Coordinator Bill Heicher said the work included stream bank stabilization to prevent erosion. “The stream enhancement work, when it is done, you can’t tell that people have been in there with heavy equipment,” said Heicher. The idea is to create a better mix of pools and riffles, which in turn makes a better environment for fish. Riffles are more shallow areas where water ripples over rocks. Riffles are important to overall stream heath because they create oxygen in the water and keep water temperatures cool. Pools are deeper areas where fish congregate and where they winter. Both conditions are vital and ideally they alternate along a stream course. By bringing in the heavy equipment, the project was able to achieve that condition. “It improved the integrity of the stream. It makes Brush Creek function better,” said Heicher.
More restoration coverage here.
Red Cliff turns dirt for new wastewater plant
October 4, 2009
From the Vail Daily (Edward Stoner):
Red Cliff Ramon Montoya and Colorado Department of Local Affairs Executive Director Susan Kirkpatrick wielded golden shovels in the official ceremony. Construction on the plant began this week and is expected to be completed in August 2010…The project has been over 20 years in the making, Montoya said. The overall project, which includes a collections system, costs $5.6 million. The project received $3.2 million in federal stimulus funds as well as $800,000 from a State and Tribal Assistance Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and $500,000 from a Department of Local Affairs Energy and Mineral Impact grant.
More wastewater coverage here.
Red Cliff scores $2 million for treatment plant
August 29, 2009
From the Vail Daily (Edward Stoner):
The town has been awarded $2 million in federal stimulus funds for the $5.6 million project. The existing plant should have been replaced some 25 years ago, said Mayor Ramon Montoya. “This has been a five-year process in the making,” Montoya said. “It’s great that we’re going to, per our guidelines, begin construction prior to Sept. 30.”
More infrastructure coverage here.
Pueblo Board of Water Works board meeting recap
August 19, 2009
The PBOWW finished up the sale of the Columbine Ditch and approved a 3.2 percent rate hike this week. Here’s a report from Chris Woodka writing for The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:
The 3.2-percent rate hike will raise a little more than $1 million to pay debt service on $23 million in bonds, said Seth Clayton, finance division manager. “We will be coming back in November for another increase to cover our normal operations,” Clayton told the board. Clayton estimated the total increase for 2010 would be about 8 to 9 percent, with another 6 to 8 percent in 2011. That’s lower than initial projections of 10 percent each year…
“Nobody in the community is in favor of a rate increase,” President Nick Gradisar said. “But the people I talk to are in favor of what we are doing on the Bessemer.” The bonds would be issued Oct. 22…
The Columbine sale would close Sept. 21. Columbine Ditch is on Fremont Pass 13 miles north of Leadville and brings water to the Arkansas River from the Eagle River basin. Climax needs the water because it lost a water court claim to Denver Water and plans to expand in the future, said Bud O’Hara, water resources division manager. The agreement also would keep Aurora from objecting in the eventual change of use case for the Bessemer Ditch shares, and would also take the Pueblo water board out of the change of diversion case associated with the Columbine. The Columbine water already is available for all uses under the water board’s decree, so it will not require a change of use decree…
The water board is now looking at 67 contracts for a total of 5,339 shares at $10,150 each, with another 10.5 shares pending on the Bessemer Ditch, Hamel said. There are about 20,000 shares on the ditch. The water board plans to spend about $60 million, and will begin closing contracts in September using funds already in the water development fund and from lease revenue.
Eagle County: Brush Creek enhancement project enters final phase
August 17, 2009
From the Vail Daily:
The intent of the project is to improve stream health from the upper Sylvan Lake Road bridge to the upper end of the Eagle Ranch development boundary, about 8,300 feet. The project is coordinated jointly by the Eagle Ranch Wildlife Committee, town of Eagle and the Colorado Division of Wildlife under permit from the Army Corps of Engineers. Funding for the project comes from the Eagle Ranch Wildlife Trust Fund and Scott Skelton, an adjacent property owner. The project involves using mechanical equipment to construct gravel bars, pools and riffles, as well as stabilize eroding stream banks. “The work uses well established practices that improve stream health and fish habitat for spawning, feeding, resting and wintering,” said Eagle Open Space Coordinator Bill Heicher. “The work is planned on portions of the stream on town open space, along with land where adjacent property owners have agreed to allow in-stream and bank work on their property.”
Red Cliff: Where’s the stimulus dough?
June 20, 2009
From the Vail Daily:
Tom Johnson, Eagle County’s facilities director, said he’s 98 percent sure Red Cliff is going to get $2 million in federal stimulus to help fix its wastewater treatment plant. “It looks pretty positive, there’s just a couple of small hurdles,” Johnson said.
From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):
The sale for $30.48 million would transfer ownership of the ditch 13 miles north of Leadville to Ginn Development for use in its Battle Mountain development near Minturn. The sale won’t be complete for more than two months, however, since Aurora has the opportunity to match terms of the contract within the next 60 days under a 1997 agreement with the Pueblo water board. “We haven’t seen the contract, so I don’t know what we’ll do,” said Mark Pifher, director of Aurora water.
There are still conditions that must be met, including the approval of the Pueblo City Council of the sale of a water right. The water board must also complete its contracts to buy 5,000 shares of the Bessemer Irrigating Ditch Co., or about one-quarter of the ditch that flows from Pueblo Dam through Pueblo and irrigates farms on the St. Charles Mesa. The Columbine contract also provides for continued, limited use of the Columbine Ditch during drought years during the next 25 years. The water board would be able to use up to 250 acre-feet in two of every 10 years. The ditch would otherwise yield 1,300 acre-feet per year. The Bessemer shares could yield as much as 7,500 acre-feet per year.
Pueblo Board of Water Works to meet Thursday to finalize contract for sale of Columbine Ditch
May 24, 2009
From the Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):
Ginn Development, which plans to build Battle Mountain Ski Resort near Minturn, bid $30.48 million for the ditch in February. The bid was accepted by the water board. Ginn indicated in its bid that it would pay the full amount as soon as a contract is finalized. The city of Aurora bid less for the ditch, but will have 60 days to match the offer in the final contract under an earlier agreement signed with the Pueblo water board. Ginn and the water board have agreed on terms for the purchase and barring any unforeseen changes in the next week should be able to sign a contract, said Alan Hamel, executive director of the water board…
The Columbine Ditch was constructed 13 miles north of Leadville on Fremont Pass in 1931 to bring agricultural water into the Arkansas Valley from the Eagle River basin. The Pueblo water board purchased it in 1953. The ditch would yield about 1,300 acre-feet annually under limits in water court decrees, although its average yield to date has been 1,700 acre-feet per year. The amount of water that can be brought over is limited by 20- and 60-year caps. The water also comes mainly during the spring, and must be stored in order to be used by Pueblo. Ginn would be able to use the water rights within the Eagle River basin.
Here’s a recap of this week’s meeting of the Chaffee County Board of Commissioners regarding Nestlé Waters North America’s Chaffee County Project, from Joe Stone writing for The Mountain Mail):
The fifth marathon hearing regarding permit requests from Nestlé Waters recessed at 11 p.m. Tuesday with participants setting 1 p.m. May 21 for continuation in a location to be determined…
After future hearings are officially closed, commissioners will have 60 days to reach a decision regarding issuance of the Nestlé permits…
Consultants for Nestlé and Chaffee County attended the meeting and addressed eight areas of concern regarding the special land use and 1041 permit applications: economic impacts, groundwater impacts, water rights, wetland impacts, traffic concerns, air quality impacts, visual impacts and planning document consistencies. Analysis provided Tuesday by THK Associates of Aurora clarified economic impacts of the project, indicating several benefits to the county, including $2.3 million in total wages for project labor and $4.8 million for materials. The only items contracted outside the county would be specialized work, such as directional drilling to route a pipeline under the Arkansas River. It would add $2.4 million in assessed property value, generating more than $18,000 in property taxes for 2010 and more than $500,000 during the next 30 years. THK analysis projected annual tax payments of more than $8,000 for Chaffee County Fire Protection District, $5,000 for Northern Chaffee County Library District, $2,500 for Salida Hospital District and about $1,000 for Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District. In addition to a $500,000 community endowment, Nestlé committed to an annual giving program and reimbursement of extraordinary county expenditures not covered by tax payments.
Representing Nestlé, Steve Sims, former senior water counsel for the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, clarified questions associated with Nestlé’ proposed lease of Aurora water for augmentation. Sims stressed the Aurora water would come from the Colorado River Basin and would be augmented upstream from the Nestlé project site. A plan proposed by Salida and Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District would have relied upon augmenting water downstream from the site, creating in-stream flow issues and other concerns. Sims reported, “Aurora’s water portfolio includes 52,000 acre-feet and will increase to 100,000 acre-feet in 2010 when their Prairie Waters project comes online.” Given the small percentage of Aurora water leased by Nestlé, Sims said drought-year worries are unfounded and emphasized the plan would be strictly controlled by Colorado Water Court. Sims noted Chaffee County agricultural rights are senior to the Aurora rights and could not be affected by the augmentation plan.
Martina Wilkinson explained the Nestlé traffic study in detail indicating uphill truck traffic isn’t associated with wrecks between Johnson Village and Trout Creek Pass summit. In fact, she said, wildlife and excessive downhill speed create most crashes in the corridor.
Gore Creek: Restoration project wins award
May 8, 2009
From the Vail Daily:
A Colorado Department of Transportation project that cleaned sediment and sand from the Black Gore Creek area on the west side of Vail Pass along I-70 in Vail, Colorado has received three recent honors.
The 2009 CDOT Environmental Process Award was received Feb. 24 in Denver. The next accolade, presented in Avon on March 20, was the Max Rollefson Award of Merit from the Colorado-Wyoming Chapter of the American Fisheries Society.
The third award, also presented in Avon on March 20, included a water fountain and a plaque of appreciation from the Black Gore Creek Steering Committee, comprised of local governmental representatives, nonprofit organizations, and regulatory agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
The project, conducted in the fall of 2008 in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service, cleaned out and reconstructed the “catchment basin” originally constructed in the 1970s when I-70 was built over Vail Pass. The reconstruction improved the condition of the “Basin of Last Resort,” as the catchment basin is known. About 2,400 truckloads of sediment were removed from the area. Project staff began noting fish in the water soon after flows were restored.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
Runoff news
May 3, 2009
Here’s an update on runoff conditions in the Eagle River valley from the Vail Daily (Chris Outcalt):
Runoff of the winter snowpack has already started and will continue through May. Water levels in the area usually peak around the end of May or beginning of June, and most kayakers are probably eagerly awaiting the runoff, said Sean Glackin, owner of Alpine Quest Sports in Edwards…
People are already paddling spots of the Eagle River by Dowd Junction and taking advantage of the whitewater park in Avon, Glackin said. Some beginners are putting in at spots around State Bridge, he said…
Vail Mountain had more than 400 inches of snow this season and snowpack levels in the valley are about average, said Mark Gillespie, snow supervisor for the Natural Resource Conservation Service.
More coveage from the Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):
Above Lake Pueblo, the Arkansas River has remained near normal levels, even though some of the snowpack already is melting. Below the dam, the river has increased to late spring conditions already as downstream canals are emptying winter water and Fryingpan-Arkansas Project accounts, said Steve Witte, Water Division 2 engineer.
“Winter water or carry-over winter water is going to the Catlin, Oxford, High Line and Holbrook ditches,” Witte said. “They might have wanted to wait, but they’re in a use it or lose it situation.” Under court decreed rules, the ditches had until midnight Thursday to empty carry-over accounts, which temporarily swelled the Arkansas River to about 1,400 cubic feet per second at Avondale for several days this week, well above the median average of 881 cfs for this time of year. Meanwhile, the Bessemer Ditch was releasing water it had stored in Fry-Ark accounts, according to the daily report by the Division of Water Resources. Farmers need the water – Southeastern Colorado is still in a mild drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor – but ran more than they might have to empty accounts. Some April showers alleviated the drought’s impact to some extent, and precipitation is close to average levels…
Lake Pueblo levels have been dropping in recent weeks as the flows out exceed the natural inflow. The Bureau of Reclamation, which operates the Fry-Ark Project, stopped running additional water above Pueblo last month because there is now adequate space in Turquoise and Twin Lakes for the water expected to be brought over from the Western Slope. Reclamation will revise its forecast of imports in the near future, and is expecting more than the average of 52,000 acre-feet, but less than the 77,500 acre-feet expected in April, said Roy Vaughan, Fry-Ark Project manager. “We’ve lost some of the snowpack since the April forecast,” Vaughan said.
Statewide, the snowpack was at 94 percent of average Thursday, largely because of dry conditions in the Southwest region and Gunnison River basin. The Upper Colorado, South Platte and Arkansas River basins are all slightly above average.
Whitewater sports starting up
April 29, 2009
From 9News.com (Matt Renoux):
In a matter of days, the rafting season will officially be under way in Colorado and rafting companies have already started preparing for customers…Rafters are optimistic this summer. They say even in a recession business should be good thanks to a strong and slowly melting snowpack in the high country. “The snowpack is great this season we’re looking at right above 100 percent of average on the Arkansas River,” [Campy Campton the owner of Kodi Rafting] said.
From the Vail Daily:
Avon, Colorado’s whitewater park is open and water is running at a good level for surfing…The Whitewater Park was constructed in 2006 and modifications and restoration continued through 2007. With the great snow season this year, the park promises to offer lots of fun throughout the spring and summer for boaters.
Runoff news
April 27, 2009
From the Vail Daily: “The flow of the Eagle River near Minturn rose from 83 cubic feet per second on April 20 to 307 cubic feet per second Monday, according to measurements from the Eagle River Water and Sanitation District. The historic average since 1990 for this time of year is about 139 cubic feet per second…There was 26.4 inches of ’snow water equivalent’ on the mountain. The historic average for this time of year is about 23.7 inches.”
From the Vail Daily:
Officials from Colorado’s Western Slope will gather in Eagle in Colorado’s Vail Valley on Thursday to discuss some of the state’s water supply.
The workshop will start at 9 a.m., Thursday and run until 12:30 p.m. The day will include presentations from officials that deal with problems involving water in the county and region and an overview of basic laws related to water.
Groups that will be at the workshop include the Colorado River Water Conservation District, Upper Eagle Regional Water Authority, Eagle River Water and Sanitation District, Northwest Colorado Council of Governments and the Office of the State Engineer.
The workshop is open to the public and the full agenda for the meeting is available at www.eaglecounty.us. For more information about the meeting, contact County Attorney Bryan Treu at 970-328-8685 or bryan.treu@eaglecounty.us
From the Vail Daily (Lauren Glendenning): “The Avon Town Council is one step closer to building an innovative system that would use wastewater to heat town streets and the Avon Recreation Center, but members still worry about kinks in agreements with the Eagle River Water and Sanitation District. The council voted to approve three documents at its Tuesday meeting that would also need approval by the water district. The council also added provisions in an effort to protect the project after a lot of back-and-forth negotiating with the water district in recent months…
“The Avon Heat Recovery Project would use the heat from Avon Wastewater Treatment Plant effluent to heat town streets and the Avon Recreation Center.”
Avon: Waterwise Wednesday
March 21, 2009
From the Vail Daily: “The number of brown trout in the Eagle River in Avon has dropped since 2005 and the health of a once badly polluted stretch near Minturn in Colorado’s Vail Valley is again in question. “The Eagle River may be a reflection of the national economy, a time for troubled waters,” said Dr. John Woodling, who has spent many years studying the river. Woodling will talk about the changes to the river at the next Waterwise Wednesday session at 5 p.m., Wednesday at the Avon library.”
Eagle makes summer watering rules mandatory
February 28, 2009
From the Vail Daily: “In a unanimous vote, the Eagle Town Board changed its long-term voluntary summer yard watering schedule from a voluntary program to a mandatory one. There were two primary reasons for the change — to ensure adequate stream flow in Brush Creek and to address capacity issues at the town’s water treatment plant. The normal watering restrictions in the new town ordinance are identical to the existing town program. The schedule calls for house addresses that end in an even number to water on even-numbered days and house addresses that end in an odd number to water on odd-numbered days. Lawn watering is prohibited between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. daily…
“In addition to the regular rules, the new water ordinance includes provisions for drought. A Stage II restriction will come into play on years when the snowpack is determined to be less than 80 percent of normal on April 1. At this point there will be restriction for spas, swimming pools and washing vehicles. During an extremely dry year such as 2002 or 1977, a Stage III restriction will be enacted that will cut back lawn watering to a maximum of two days per week.”
