‘The IBCC and the nine Basin Roundtables have embarked on a scenario planning and adaptive management process’ — John Stulp

The IBCC report to state legislators is hot off the press. You can download a copy from the Colorado Water Conservation Board website. Here’s Director Stulp’s introduction:

I am happy to report that 2012 has been a busy and productive year for the Interbasin Compact Process. In last year’s report, we highlighted the completion of SWSI 2010 and nine basin reports. Over the course of the last year, the IBCC and the nine Basin Roundtables have embarked on a scenario planning and adaptive management process.There is general agreement that to meet the State’s future municipal and industrial demands while protecting our agricultural, environmental and recreational values, there are no easy solutions and we need to pursue all types of projects and methods to meet these needs. Four major sources of water supply have been identified as solutions for meeting Colorado’s future water demands:

 Municipal and Industrial Conservation
 Agricultural Transfers
 New Supply Development
 Implementation of Water Providers’ Projects (IPPs)

To ensure grassroots input in developing statewide solutions, each roundtable was asked to develop one or more statewide portfolios (different combinations of strategies to address future M&I demands) using the portfolio and tradeoff tool. With nearly 40 portfolios developed by the Basin Roundtables, the IBCC recognizes that we must plan for a variety of possible futures and is now considering how the various portfolios perform under 5 different scenarios. Through the process with the Roundtables and the IBCC, I have been extremely impressed with the substantive conversations that have occurred within and amongst members of the Roundtables, IBCC and others. In March, the Basin Roundtable Summit was a tremendous success where over 300 participants shared ideas and perspectives on the process. Many Roundtables are currently having meaningful conversations with other roundtables on the topic of municipal water conservation and how this important “leg of the stool” can be used to help meet Colorado’s water supply Gap.

In the near future, we will begin working closely with the Basin Roundtables to begin the development of basin plans. This effort will continue to refine each basin’s consumptive and nonconsumptive needs, available water supplies, and develop in-basin projects and methods to meet their water supply gaps. Staff is currently working with the Basin Roundtables to encourage strategic implementation of projects through the use of funding sources such as the CWCB loan program, the WSRA program, and several CWCB grant programs for nonconsumptive projects.

The CWCB is on a 6-year planning cycle for assessing Colorado’s long-term consumptive and nonconsumptive water needs with a scheduled update to SWSI in 2016. In addition, the Governor asked that a State Water Plan be developed based on scenario/portfolio work, SWSI, and the work associated with both short-term and long-term projects and methods. This effort will be a partnership between the CWCB, the IBCC, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the Basin Roundtables, and other stakeholders who come together as a state to collaboratively address Colorado’s water supply challenges. Key components of SWSI 2016 and the State Water Plan will include the following:

 Adoption and implementation of the SWSI 2010 recommendations work plan.
 Evaluation of the SWSI 2016 approach and methodology —including the methodology for future gap calculations —with the involvement of the CWCB, IBCC, and the Basin Roundtables
 Closing the existing consumptive and nonconsumptive water supply gaps through the implementation of both short-term and long-term projects and methods identified by the Basin Roundtables.

Another key component of SWSI 2016 and the State Water Plan will be a focus on how we can collaboratively address implementation elements that will be needed to address our future water supply needs and challenges. Using an adaptive management plan approach will allow for a flexible implementation plan that addresses future uncertainties. The scenario planning effort being led by the IBCC will be utilized to develop the adaptive management plan. The drought impacts we have seen across Colorado this year sends a strong message of how important strategic water planning is to protect our economy and citizens. This report summarizes the work and countless hours invested by staff and the citizens throughout the state that serve on the IBCC and Basin Roundtables.

The CWCB has also released their Water Supply Reserve Account Annual Report. From the report:

Water Supply Reserve Account projects have been approved across the entire state [click on the thumbnail graphic for the map]. The WSRA Criteria and Guidelines split the Account into Basin and Statewide Funds. Each Basin Account has received $1,662,829 to date.

More IBCC — basin roundtables coverage here.

‘I think they [developers] should guarantee 200 years worth of water’ — Paul Ransford

From The Aspen Times (Paul Anderson):

The state is already challenged to provide enough water for current residents and also provide for new growth and development in Front Range cities. Urban planners are now beginning to look long term at water consumption by requiring developers to ensure water supplies a century or more into the future.

“I think they should guarantee 200 years worth of water,” says [Ken Ransford, a water expert with the Colorado Basin Roundtable], who believes that the availability of water is a critical issue if Colorado is to have a sustainable future. Ransford is looking that far ahead because of sobering tree ring studies that forecast a dry future.

The New York Times published a bold headline on August 12: “Hundred-Year Forecast: Drought.” The article describes how tree ring evidence in the American West reveals fluctuating patterns of rain and snowfall.

Since about 1980 the West has seen high moisture levels. According to tree rings, this is a spike that hasn’t been seen since the age of Christ 2000 years ago. The West has been enjoying a very wet 30 years, at least compared with historic droughts, but all that is sure to change if the tree rings speak the truth.

“How will we adapt to a rise in population and a drop of water levels?” asks Ransford. Not only have Westerners become habituated to having plenty of water, we have not looked very seriously at the eventuality of considerable shortfalls.

One solution is to dewater farms and ranches in favor of other, higher paying water users, like subdivisions in urban growth areas where developers are better able to afford high water prices than farmers and ranchers.

The implications are dire if water becomes extremely expensive and agriculture is unable to compete with other water customers. Food production will become more distant and more likely done by agribusiness.

Cool, clear water will become one of our most precious commodities, as it certainly has for some Missouri Heights homeowners. This most essential element of life will be channeled more and more into large population areas, dewatering our rivers and streams on the Western Slope.

Ransford advocates for water efficiency rather than dewatering traditional agriculture and riparian ecosystems, but political support and vision for that option is lacking. It will be up to the public, he says, to come up to speed on water issues and support the least disruptive solutions to reduced supplies in the future.

Perhaps we water users should all start singing “Cool, Clear Water” in a plaintive Western chorus.

More infrastructure coverage here.

Glenwood Springs: The next meeting of the Flaming Gorge Task Force is October 30

Here’s the agenda for the meeting.

More Flaming Gorge Task Force coverage here.

Colorado River: Say hello to the Grand Valley Riparian Restoration Collaborative #coriver

From the Grand Junction Free Press (Shannon Hatch):

The Tamarisk Coalition is excited to announce the formation of a new partnership to protect and improve habitat along rivers and streams in the Grand Valley of western Colorado.

Participants in this partnership include: Mesa County, City of Grand Junction, Town of Palisade, City of Fruita, Grand Junction Audubon, Colorado Riverfront Commission, Water Center at Colorado Mesa University, US Fish & Wildlife Service, Colorado Parks & Wildlife, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Colorado Watershed Assembly, Mesa Land Trust, Clifton Sanitation District, Western Colorado Conservation Corps, Bureau of Land Management, US Bureau of Reclamation, and private landowners.

Although it is still in its infancy, the Grand Valley Riparian Restoration Collaborative (GVRRC), as it is informally being called, already has a number of projects on tap for the coming year. Thanks to generous funding from the Colorado Basin Roundtable and Statewide Water Supply Reserve Account, administered by the Colorado Water Conservation Board, the GVRRC will be implementing five on-the-ground projects in 2013…

Specific on-the-ground projects that the collaborative will be working on in 2013 include:

• Bank stabilization and revegetation work at Riverbend Park in Palisade.

• Cottonwood fencing from beaver predation and wildlife browsing at the Ela Preserve, managed by Grand Valley Audubon.

• Tamarisk and Russian olive removal, secondary weed treatment, and revegetation at several different areas, including the Jarvis Property, Watson Island, and Las Colonias Park, owned by City of Grand Junction; Redlands Parkway property, managed by Mesa County and the City of Grand Junction; and Connected Lakes State Park, managed by Colorado Parks & Wildlife…

More information about the collaborative can be found at the following website:
https://sites.google.com/a/tamariskcoalition.org/grand-valley-riparian-restoration-collaborative/
.

More restoration/reclamation coverage here.

The Sangre de Cristo Acequia Association scores a $100,000 grant from the Rio Grande Basin Roundtable

From the Valley Courier (Ruth Heide):

If the Colorado Water Conservation Board concurs, $90,000 will come from statewide funds and $10,000 from the local basin roundtable funds. Coupled with matching funds, the project is estimated to cost about $116,100.

Joe Gallegos, who presented the request to the roundtable group on Tuesday, said the actual costs might be less than the current estimate. For example, he said the $2,000 estimate for dewatering may not be necessary.

The biggest portion of the project cost, budgeted at $66,000, is the concrete work.

Gallegos and Nicole Langley, project coordinator, explained why the project is necessary and how it fits into funding criteria. Langley said this structural project meets criteria for funding from the local and statewide water accounts.

“It cures a very serious flooding problem,” she added.

Gallegos said when the ditch headgate is replaced, the ditch will be able to handle a greater volume of water, so flooding risks will be reduced.

Gallegos said the Culebra Creek Watershed, of which the Vallejos Creek Ditch is a part, irrigates 23,000 acres over 36 square miles. It serves 83 acequia organizations and 228 families.

The Vallejos Ditch is very old, Gallegos explained. It was named after Antonio Vallejos in 1848.

The current diversion structure was built in 1965, he added, and it has deteriorated over the years. Concrete is falling apart and the gates are almost inoperable. The result is sediment build up and flooding. A great deal of debris has clogged the ditch so that its carrying capacity is only 70 percent, Gallegos explained.

More IBCC — basin roundtables coverage here.

CWCB approves funding for projects in the Gunnison and Colorado River basins #coriver

From the Grand Junction Free Press (Hannah Holm):

COLORADO BASIN
• Grand Valley Riparian Restoration Collaborative Project: The Grand Junction-based Tamarisk Coalition is sponsoring this project, which seeks to comprehensively restore the Colorado River corridor in Mesa County. The project will replace invasive plant species with native vegetation in order to improve habitat for wildlife and fish species. These actions will also improve river access and recreational opportunities. The CWCB approved $250,000 in Water Supply Reserve Account funding for the project; total project costs are expected to total almost $430,000.

• Tenmile Creek Restoration Project: This project, sponsored by the Blue River Watershed Group, seeks to enhance floodplain connectivity, habitat quality, scenery, and wetlands function along Tenmile Creek, near the Copper Mountain Ski Area. This area has been impacted for decades by mining, timbering, ski area development, railroad and highway construction. The project will increase sinuosity and length in the stream channel, increase pool habitat and cover for fish, and increase the total area of vegetated wetlands. It will also create a vegetated buffer between the stream and State Highway 91, reducing stream sedimentation and flood damage to the highway. The CWCB approved $350,000 in Water Supply Reserve Account funds for the project, which is expected to cost a total of $620,000.

• Colorado River Restoration and Conservation Projects: This project, sponsored by the Eagle River Watershed Council, will create baseline information about the stretch of the Colorado River that flows through Eagle County, which has been little studied. The project will prioritize rehabilitation strategies and assess recreational impacts in order to guide recreation to the most suitable sites on the river. The CWCB approved $110,000 in WSRA funding for the $196,501 project.

• Crystal River Watershed – Assessment and Design of Restoration Projects: This project, sponsored by the Roaring Fork Conservancy, will develop a comprehensive restoration plan for the Coal Basin, Coal Creek road corridor, and the Coal Creek/Crystal River confluence area. This area is heavily impacted by historic coal mining. The restoration plan will include the design and prioritization of projects to improve the connection of the channel to the floodplain, restore floodplain function at the Coal Creek/Crystal River confluence area, improve overall riparian and instream habitat and reduce sediment and total iron delivery to the Crystal River from Coal Creek. WSRA funds approved for this project totaled $317,073; total project costs are expected to exceed $500,000.

GUNNISON BASIN
• Relief Ditch Diversion Modification Construction: Trout Unlimited is sponsoring this project, which will replace a pushup dam on the Gunnison River east of Delta with permanent diversion, equip the ditch with a modern head gate, and rehabilitate the eroded riverbanks at the diversion point. The project will reduce fish loss in the canal, reduce sedimentation from eroding banks, improve the management of the Relief Ditch, and restore impaired habitat. The CWCB approved $50,000 in Water Supply Reserve Account funds for this project. Total project costs are expected to exceed $900,000.

• Gunnison River System Assessment and Restoration Project: This project, sponsored by the City of Gunnison and Colorado Parks & Wildlife, will collect detailed data along a heavily used stretch of the Gunnison River near Gunnison and then develop and implement projects to improve the river channel’s function. Intended project benefits include improved fishery health, water quality, access to irrigation water and recreational user experiences. The project was approved for $220,000 in WSRA funds. The total project budget is $292,600.

More Colorado River Basin coverage here. More Gunnison River Basin coverage here.

The Water Center at Colorado Mesa University newsletter is hot off the press

Click here to read it.

More Colorado River Basin coverage here and here.

Colorado River Basin: ‘Basin leaders hope to create an understanding of…the range of water left to develop’ — Jim Pokrandt

Here’s the latest installment of the Valley Courier’s Colorado Water 2012 series. Jim Pokrandt (Colorado River District) gives an update on the efforts of the Colorado Basin Roundtable. Here’s an excerpt:

the Colorado Basin Roundtable is watching and waiting for the results of the Colorado Water Availability Study, and for that matter, the Bureau of Reclamation’s Colorado Basin Study, the state’s compact administration study and the multi-party study of a West Slope Water Bank.

Basin leaders hope they create an understanding of:

• the range of water left to develop,

• the variables that could be caused by climate change and long-term drought,

• what methods that could be employed to forestall the day of compact administration and

• what compact administration might look like.

Leaders believe that if they can develop this body of knowledge, they can develop a better understanding of the risks associated with future water development…

Denver Water and 39 West Slope entities in the Colorado River mainstem negotiated the Colorado River Cooperative Agreement to open the door for the Moffat Project, which still must be permitted. In return for taking more water from the peak of the hydrograph, Denver offered significant funding for environmental projects, environmental water during low-flow times and consumptive water for the West Slope.

Northern Water (through its Municipal Subdistrict) is attempting to reach a similarly styled agreement with the West Slope to facilitate its project. Nothing is final, but it is worth noting that there could be a new paradigm being developed that goes a long way toward balancing consumptive and nonconsumptive needs.

More IBCC — basin roundtables coverage here.

Drought news: Fall rainfall totals in the San Luis Valley disappoint

From the Valley Courier (Ruth Heide):

The gauging station at Culebra Creek, outside of San Luis, has recorded water levels below 2002 drought levels for most of the summer…

Where the Rio Grande’s annual forecast was 415,000 acre feet last month, it is now 410,000 acre feet, Cotten reported to the Rio Grande Roundtable, which met in San Luis on Tuesday. Cotten said the forecast has gone down about every month this year. The 410,000-acre feet flow for the Rio Grande this year is 63 percent of the long-term average, Cotten added.

Although Colorado is still delivering some water downstream, its obligation on the Rio Grande is currently zero, so there are no curtailments on the irrigators along the Rio Grande.

The same is true for the Conejos River system, the other main contributor to the state’s Rio Grande Compact. The annual forecast on the Conejos River system is about 180,000 acre feet, or 55 percent of the long-term average, with zero curtailments made at this point and zero obligations required downstream…

Cotten also shared results of Allen Davey’s longitudinal unconfined aquifer study, which reflect a decrease of more than a million acre feet since 1976 to the present. Roundtable member Steve Vandiver said the latest figure is 1.2 million.

When asked if his office has been seeing a large number of applications for replacement wells because of the drought, Cotten said many people had already redrilled their domestic wells to deeper depths in 2002 and 2003 so his office is not seeing that many requests this year. He has had requests to redrill irrigation wells to deeper levels, which his office is objecting to, he said…

IBCC: Should Colorado take a more active role in the Flaming Gorge Pipeline?

Here’s the meeting summary from email from Heather Bergman. Here’s an excerpt:

After the last meeting, Jacob Bornstein and Tim Murrell conducted research on state involvement in water projects in Colorado and other states in West. Jacob and Tim presented information to Committee members regarding the role of the following states in existing and future new supply projects: Arizona, California, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming. Following the Committee members’ discussion about this presentation, they considered the pros and cons of the State of Colorado having a role in a potential Flaming Gorge project. This information was provided as research only and was not intended as support for a particular type of state role in a water project in Colorado…

Based on Committee members’ discussion regarding potential options for a State role in water storage projects, most of the group agreed that the State is currently doing well with its overall involvement in water project planning, development, and implementation. However, Committee members discussed potential expansions or improvements that could be made to the State’s function in the areas of leadership, research, and coordinating efforts related to new water projects in Colorado. Several other ideas for how the State could improve its role in water projects emerged during the Committee’s discussion…

More Flaming Gorge Task Force coverage here.

Can the Flaming Gorge pipeline save ag and water Colorado’s burgeoning population?

Here’s the latest installment of the Valley Courier’s Colorado Water 2012 series, written by Eric Hecox. He is exploring the benefits of the Flaming Gorge pipeline, originally conceived by Aaron Million, now in the gunsights of the Colorado-Wyoming Coalition. Here’s an excerpt:

One potential new water project, the Flaming Gorge Pipeline, is being discussed and analyzed for its feasibility. The newly formed Basin Roundtable Project Exploration Committee is taking a closer look at this pipeline project. Simultaneously to this process, both public and private groups are investigating the potential of the project to meet present and future water demands. The Colorado/Wyoming Coalition, a public organization comprised of water and municipal entities in Colorado and Wyoming that could receive water from the pipeline if it is built, is conducting a feasibility study. A private developer, Aaron Millions, is also examining the project.

The Basin Roundtable Project Exploration Committee has identified three areas of focus related to the Flaming Gorge Pipeline: explore interests and issues related to a possible Flaming Gorge water supply project; gather and analyze current information about the potential impacts of such a project; and explore what additional work or activities would be needed to address the issues and interests.

The committee itself is a pilot project, created to assess the effectiveness of roundtable-based collaborations to explore water supply projects and issues. While the committee is focused on the Flaming Gorge project, it will also evaluate and track ideas and issues that emerge that can be applied to other potential water supply projects. The committee’s purpose is to gather information and explore ideas. It will not make recommendations about whether or not to build the Flaming Gorge Pipeline.

The Colorado/Wyoming Coalition is also analyzing the feasibility of the project. Established in 2010, the coalition is a joint collaboration between Colorado and Wyoming entities. The Colorado entities are: Douglas County, South Metro Water Supply Authority, Parker Water and Sanitation District, Town of Castle Rock and Pikes Peak Regional Water Authority. The Wyoming entities are: City of Cheyenne, City of Torrington and Laramie County…

The Colorado/Wyoming Coalition is committed to a transparent examination of the Flaming Gorge Project. The coalition will complete the study, develop information, and engage in discussions with supporters as well as with skeptics and opponents.

Meeting Colorado’s water needs undoubtedly necessitates developing new water projects. The Flaming Gorge Pipeline project appears promising, however there is much work to be done including an objective examination of the project and open discussions among interested parties. Colorado has a robust water supply planning process and it is encouraging that, through this process and through project proponents, potential solutions to Colorado’s water shortage are emerging.

More Flaming Gorge Pipeline coverage here and here.

Glenwood Springs: The next meeting of the Colorado River Roundtable is Monday #coriver

Here’s the link to the meeting notice. Here’s the link to the agenda.

More IBCC — basin roundtables coverage here.

‘We’re still looking for no-regret or low-regret planning [for new supplies]‘ — John Stulp

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

While some are becoming impatient with scenario planning for future state water needs, it’s still the best way to head off troubles down the road, the governor’s water adviser said this week.

“We’re still looking for no-regret or low-regret planning, so that regardless of what the future holds we’re doing what we should be doing today,” said John Stulp, who advises Gov. John Hickenlooper on water issues. Stulp also chairs the Interbasin Compact Committee, formed with basin roundtables in 2005 to resolve statewide water conflicts.

At last week’s meeting of the Arkansas Basin Roundtable, the representatives to the IBCC reported there had not been much progress made on the scenario front. Basically, the five scenarios range from a hot and crowded future to a slow-growth model in which weather follows historic patterns.

More IBCC — basin roundtables coverage here.

Drought news: Rio Grande River Basin — Record drawdown of San Luis valley aquifer

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Matt Hildner):

The irrigation season in the San Luis Valley is limping to a close with low stream flows and a record drop in the area’s most heavily used groundwater aquifer. Craig Cotten, the state’s division engineer for the valley, said Tuesday that stream flows on the two biggest rivers in the area have dropped to near 2002 levels. That was tempered by the fact that rivers ran much higher this spring. “We had significantly more stream runoff this year than we did in 2002,” Cotten told the Rio Grande Basin Roundtable.

The Arkansas Basin Roundtable is hoping to assemble a coordinated model of the river

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

A stream of studies is feeding into what could become a coordinated water database for the Arkansas River in Colorado. But the process is slow, expensive and filled with sometimes conflicting information about how the river performs.

The Arkansas Basin Roundtable last week reviewed ongoing studies that have grown from discussions by the roundtable since 2005. The studies look at technical, legal and policy questions surrounding agricultural water transfers, and include pilot projects on the Super Ditch and conservation easements. “The next step is to look at imported flows versus native flows and see how they interact,” Barber said. “There are several models, but they don’t talk to each other.”

More from the meeting, from Chris Woodka writing for The Pueblo Chieftain:

There’s nothing like a drought year to stir up questions about whether water is being managed properly. A routine discussion about the voluntary flow program for the Upper Arkansas River erupted into a debate about water storage policy at the Arkansas Basin Roundtable meeting Wednesday.

“We lost an opportunity to store water upstream because we were waiting for this magical date,” said Reed Dils, talking about the flow program he helped start more than 20 years ago. Flows could have been altered because of drought forecasts earlier this year, said Dils, Chaffee County’s director on the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District, which helps set storage policy.

More coverage from Chris Woodka writing for The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:

The Arkansas Basin Roundtable this week looked at moving ahead with an agriculture values study being coordinated by James Pritchett, an economics professor at CSU-Fort Collins.

Past studies have tied farm revenue to acreage or looked at hypothetical irrigation patterns if more water were available. The new study will look at real-world conditions and possibilities for the Arkansas River basin in particular, said Gary Barber, chairman of the roundtable.

The first part of the study will look at identifying the current market and hydrological conditions associated with irrigated agriculture, explained Perry Cabot, of the Colorado Water Institute, a research arm of CSU-Fort Collins. It then will move into looking at the broader value of water in agriculture and develop a baseline. Finally, the project will estimate the larger value of water to the regional economy.

More IBCC — basin roundtables coverage here.

Greeley: The next Interbasin Compact Committee meeting is September 11

Here’s the link to the notice. Here’s the link to the agenda.

More IBCC — basin roundtables coverage here.

Denver: The Metro Roundtable is meeting September 12

Here’s the link to the notice. Here’s the link to the agenda.

More IBCC — basin roundtables coverage here.

CWCB: Statewide Drought Conference September 19-20

From the Sky-Hi Daily News:

The Colorado Water Conservation Board is holding a two-day drought conference with discussion themed around “Building a Drought Resilient Economy through Innovation.” The conference, September 19 and 20 at the History Colorado Center in Denver, will highlight the research and experiences of professionals working in regions and economies impacted by drought. Participants will share new and innovative approaches to drought preparedness across various industries and sectors. The conference will also present information on what drought may look like under future climate change conditions.

Colorado Governer John Hickenlooper will be speaking at the event as well as Mike King, executive director for the Department of natural Resources in the state of Colorado, and Jennifer L. Gimbel, Colorado Water Conservation Board director.

More CWCB coverage here.

Flaming Gorge Task Force meeting recap: Concern that Colorado does not have the ‘courage’ to build projects

Here’s a recap of the recent Flaming Gorge Task Force meeting, from Chris Woodka writing for The Pueblo Chieftain. Click through and read the whole article. Here’s an excerpt:

“I’m left with the feeling that other states have the courage to embark on water projects. We don’t have that,” said Mike Gibson, president of Colorado Water Congress and manager of the San Luis Valley Conservancy District.

The task force reviewed projects that other Western states have undertaken — including California’s state water project, started in late 1950s, and a $19 billion project to manage demands in the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta; Arizona’s water bank program and Central Arizona Project; and Utah’s proposal to build a $1 billion Lake Powell pipeline similar to the Flaming Gorge proposal…

…the state lacks a water plan and unlike other states, has no way to centrally plan projects or allocate water.

More Flaming Gorge Task Force coverage here and <a href="

IBCC: ‘We are still working to define the concept [non-consumptive needs]‘ — Jennifer Bock

From The Grand Junction Free Press (Jennifer Bock):

In 2008 the Black Canyon decree assigned minimum and peak flows to the National Park, and flows for endangered species and whitewater parks have also influenced our state’s water landscape for decades. Yet, when the Colorado Water for the 21st Century Act asked each basin roundtable to assess their “non-consumptive needs” — water for the environment and for recreation rather than consumptive uses — there was more than a little confusion and today, as the roundtables attempt to fund non-consumptive projects, we are still working to define the concept.

The Gunnison Basin Roundtable completed its non-consumptive needs assessment last summer, and detailed ongoing projects that provide water for the environment as well as planned projects. In early May, the non-consumptive subcommittee of the Gunnison Basin Roundtable met in Hotchkiss to hear from proponents of non-consumptive projects and discuss what kinds of projects should receive funding.

At the Roundtable’s June meeting in Gunnison, it approved funding for two key non-consumptive projects: A project co-sponsored by the City of Gunnison and the Division of Parks and Wildlife to restore riparian habitat on the Gunnison River near the City of Gunnison, and a project sponsored by Trout Unlimited to redesign a diversion structure on the Gunnison River below its confluence with the North Fork.

One important note is that both projects have non-environmental benefits as well as environmental benefits. A 2011 study of the riparian corridor through the City of Gunnison found that a healthy riparian zone would facilitate recharge of the aquifer and aid late season flows. The Trout Unlimited project on the lower Gunnison will not only provide a more efficient diversion structure for irrigators, but will also rehabilitate the eroded riverbanks and restore impaired habitat along the Gunnison River.

More IBCC — basin roundtables coverage here and here.

Salida: Flaming Gorge Task Force meeting Tuesday

Click here for a copy of the agenda. Thanks to Heather Bergman for sending it along in email.

More Flaming Gorge Task Force coverage here.

Chatfield Reallocation Project: Reservoir expansion = Smart bottom-up, community-wide public policy?

Here’s a guest column in support of the Chatfield Reallocation Project written by Randy Knutson and Rick McLoud running in The Denver Post. Here’s an excerpt:

Chatfield is a common-sense solution that will help bring locally grown produce to Colorado citizens, provide greater sustainability for domestic water supplies, and stabilize South Platte stream flows through the metro area.

Expanding the reservoir is an example of smart bottom-up, community-wide public policy. It is indeed rare that the suburbs, agricultural interests and the environmental community agree on anything, let alone a water project. Chatfield is that model. For over six years, stakeholders from all of these groups and more have been talking with the state and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in a transparent and open process. Supporters and opponents have been involved in these meetings since the beginning. And in June 2012, the corps conducted three packed public hearings, from Gilcrest to the Dakota Hogback, where citizens shared their views of the project.

That’s why groups as diverse as Trout Unlimited, The Sierra Club, The Greenway Foundation and Western Resource Advocates have joined the members of our bipartisan Colorado congressional delegation to back this project in support of farmers, families and the environment.

Click here to view a letter of support from the Gunnison Basin Roundtable.

The Greeley Tribune editorial board has come out in favor of the project as well. They write:

Water storage projects are never easy. Public support can be splintered; permitting can take years; environmental concerns frequently surface; they are expensive. You’ll never hear anyone say that a water storage proposal is a slam dunk. But from where we sit, the proposed expansion of Chatfield Reservoir southwest of Littleton is at least an uncontested lay-up, and we’re hoping the project wins quick approval of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

More Chatfield Reservoir coverage here and here.

Western Slope interests are, ‘better off at the table than on the menu’ — Bill Trampe

Here’s a profile of Rancher and water wonk, Bill Trampe, written by Jennifer Bock running in the Grand Junction Free Press. From the article:

Although water is probably more essential to his livelihood than many of us in the Gunnison Basin, Trampe admits that his philosophy on keeping water in the Gunnison Basin has changed over the years.

When Arapahoe County proposed the Union Park project, Trampe recalls that the local sentiment was “not one drop” and no one dared stray from that strict line in the sand.

Today, Trampe thinks that Western Slope interests are “better off at the table than on the menu” when it comes to talking to the Front Range and others about West Slope water. Trampe’s philosophy is tied to real life experience: He has spent the last seven years negotiating with the Front Range to develop the Colorado River Water Cooperative Agreement.

Perhaps characteristic of a rancher’s outlook, Trampe is both hopeful and frustrated when it comes to resolving Colorado’s water disputes.

He believes, as many do, that big, transmountain water projects simply won’t be able to provide enough firm yield to satisfy Front Range interests. In statewide water planning discussions, Trampe has been a proponent of addressing this problem through risk management — the idea that the state must have a comprehensive way to evaluate and guard against the potential consequences of failing to meet water delivery obligations to downstream states as it considers new diversions out of the Colorado River Basin.

More Gunnison River Basin coverage here and here.

Arkansas Basin Roundtable: CWCB grant workshop in Pueblo tomorrow

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

The Arkansas Basin Roundtable has scheduled a Water Supply Reserve Account grant workshop at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Colorado State University-Pueblo Occhiato Student Center.

The roundtable group will hold a meeting before the workshop. That meet is set for 12:30 p.m.

The Colorado Water Conservation Board and CDM Smith consultants will explain the procedures and review and approval processes for obtaining and managing a grant. Grants are funded by state mineral severance taxes.

More IBCC — basin roundtables coverage here.

The Metro Roundtable is on board with the Chatfield Reallocation Project

Here’s the resolution of support:

More Chatfield Reservoir coverage here and here. More IBCC — basin roundtables coverage here.