From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

“If we don’t defeat these initiatives, those uneducated about water will take control and irrigated agriculture will cease to be important,” said Rep. Jerry Sonnenberg, D-Sterling…

The [Colorado Water Congress] has opposed two initiatives by Richard Hamilton of Fairplay and his attorney Phil Doe of Littleton. Those measures seek to supplant constitutional provisions that form the basis for Colorado’s prior appropriation doctrine and replace it with a public trust doctrine. The CWC has hired attorney Steve Leonhardt to fight the ballot initiatives during the early stages and has received support of other water groups, such as the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District, in its effort. The CWC plans to appeal the state title board’s approval of ballot measures 3 and 45 because they include multiple subjects in violation of Colorado law, Leonhardt said…

Rep. Randy Fischer, D-Fort Collins, said more education of the state’s population about water issues is needed to defeat such ballot measures.

More coverage of the CWC annual convention from Chris Woodka writing for The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:

“The good news is that Colorado is coming out of the recession. It’s slow. It’s hard, but it’s there,” said Sen. Mary Hodge, D-Brighton, chairwoman of the Joint Budget Committee. The state has siphoned $200 million in mineral severance funds meant for water projects to bolster the general fund since 2008.

This has the potential to damage water availability in the future as more projects are backlogged. “We need something to show our grandchildren about our investment in water in Colorado,” said Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village…

“Without water, we have limited jobs and growth,” [State Representative Jerry Sonnenberg] said. “We have water leaving the state beyond our compact obligations. Water storage has to be a priority.”

More 2012 Colorado legislation coverage here.

From The Greeley Tribune (Eric Brown) via The Fence Post:

“We’ve had some snow recently that’s helped us rebound a bit, but we’re still a ways behind … and nowhere near where we were a year ago,” [State Climatologist Nolan Doesken] said, reflecting back to the winter and spring of 2011, when snowpack numbers were well above normal. As Doesken explained, most of the snowfall in the mountains doesn’t come until March and April. Last year, it wasn’t until the second week of April that the heavy snowfall came, he said during his presentation Wednesday. But the persisting La Niña weather patterns make it tough for forecasters to predict big snows this spring, he added. La Niña patterns traditionally result in dry weather, even bringing on drought in some areas — as it did in Texas this past year…

While much of the state has seen some improvement during the month of January, the South Platte River has taken a step backward, with its snowpack 19 percent below average Wednesday after it was 15 percent below average on Jan. 1…

While some farmers can depend on that stored water to irrigate their crops later this year, dry weather could cause problems for dryland wheat farmers and others who plant crops that don’t use irrigation.

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

La Veta serves about 800 residents and uses 209 acre-feet of water annually, on average. Its two reservoirs hold a combined 350 acre-feet. The town, located southwest of Walsenburg, already has a hefty debt from replacing water mains, so the 3 percent, 30-year loan from the Colorado Water Conservation Board is very welcome, [Rob Saint Peter] said…

The North Lake reservoir was built in the 1940s and holds about 80 acre-feet, but is deeper than the South Lake reservoir that holds 270 acre-feet. The state engineer put restrictions on North Lake that have kept it drawn down by 2 1/2 feet…

The CWCB also heard updates:

- On a $1.18 million loan to the Two Rivers Water Co. for rehabilitation of Orlando Reservoir.

- On a $9 million loan to Penrose for the purchase and storage of water rights from the Goodwin Ranch.

- On a $1.3 million renovation of the Las Animas Consolidated Ditch extension diversion on the Arkansas River. Xcel Energy owns most of the water rights, but the CWCB provided a $260,000 loan to the remaining shareholders of two ditch companies to complete the roller-compacted concrete intake.

More CWCB coverage here.

From the Associated Press (Catharine Tsai) via The Columbus Republic:

Colorado’s Legislature has authorized paying $36 million to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for its share of 10,460 acre-feet of water, plus interest on construction costs. But the interest has been building, and the $36 million likely won’t cover everything Colorado owes.

The tribes had proposed that Colorado allow its share of water to revert back to the tribes, which weren’t assessed for construction. The tribes would then sell the water back to the state at what they say would be a much lower price than what the state would pay the bureau…

However, after two years of talking with tribal representatives, the Colorado Water Conservation Board has directed its staff to move forward on contract talks with the Bureau of Reclamation, board director Jennifer Gimbel said.

Gimbel said the board took the tribes’ proposal “very seriously.” However some board members questioned whether outside parties would challenge the proposal in court. Though legislators have already approved $36 million for project water, some board members also questioned how willing legislators would be in future years to spend on Animas-La Plata project water.

If you’re interested in Native American issues in the Colorado River Basin please think about attending Colorado College’s State of the Rockies Speakers Series Monday night. The theme for the shindig is, “Unheard Voices of the Colorado River Basin: Bringing Mexico and Native American Tribes to the Table.” It should be a hoot, every presentation in the series so far has been.

More Animas-La Plata Project coverage here and here.

Here’s the link to the video announcement. Here’s a report from YourHub.com via The Denver Post. From the article:

The year 2012 is a big, wet milestone for water in Colorado. In a state almost entirely defined as desert or semidesert, 2012 is a milestone anniversary for many of the organizations and policies that protect our precious water resources.

Colorado Water 2012 started as an idea to celebrate these milestones. It has since grown into an unprecedented statewide celebration of water, its uses and its value. By celebrating these anniversaries collectively we hope to increase awareness about the importance of Colorado’s water resources.

Colorado Water 2012 launches with Governor Hickenlooper’s declaration of 2012 as the Year of Water at the Colorado Water Congress being held on January 25-27. Understanding the importance of water to the economic and social prosperity of our state, Governor Hickenlooper is supporting Colorado Water 2012 by officially declaring 2012 the ‘Year of Water’. See the video announcement http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtPVc7ASzPE.

Colorado Water 2012 is organizing several activities throughout the year including: Water 2012 Book Club: Featuring Colorado authors: Peter McBride, Jonathan Waterman, Craig Childs, Will Hobbs, Greg Hobbs, George Sibley and Patty Limerick, Library and Museum Displays scheduled yearlong and statewide, K-12 lesson plans and poetry contests, Higher education social networking events, and a traveling speaker presentation covering water challenges and successes in Colorado.

Click here to go to Your Water Colorado Blog for updates and to take part in the conversation.

Here’s the latest installment from the weekly Water 2012 series from the Valley Courier (Allen Davey). The article is a primer on the hydrology of the San Luis Valley. Here’s an excerpt:

Precipitation on the Valley floor is approximately seven inches per year…

The geological formation of the Valley has provided high mountain ranges around its edges that receive significant snow in the winter which then melts and flows together with water from summer rains into the Valley through streams and rivers. These mountains form a watershed of approximately 4,700 square miles. Water from these streams is then diverted by ditches and canals which provide irrigation water to crops on the floor of the Valley. Most of the streamflow is derived from snowmelt and averages about 1,500,000 acre-feet per year…

The San Luis Valley is located within a geologic feature called the Rio Grande rift. This rift can be visualized as a trough probably resulting from the earth’s crust pulling apart resulting in stress faulting and down dropping of a block of the crust. This several 1,000 foot deep trough extends in a nearly north-south direction generally along the center of the Valley.

Through the erosional process over millions of years in the nearby mountains, this trough has been largely filled with sand, gravel and clay layers. It is likely that many of the clay layers were formed through a soil evolutionary process with a large part of the process occurring at the bottom of a lake that covered the Valley floor. In 1822 trapper Jacob Fowler wrote in his journal of the probability of a lake, similarly in 1910 C.E. Siebenthal studied the Valley and described evidence of a historic lake, and finally U.S. Geological Survey investigators in 2007 published a report concerning ancient Lake Alamosa. The combination of erosional material filling this rift trough and Lake Alamosa’s existence created a very large aquifer system into which wells were drilled beginning in the 1880’s.

More Colorado Water 2012 coverage here.

Here’s the release from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (Warren Smith):

The Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Division of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment today issued additional orders to Suncor Energy (USA) Inc. as the company works to clean up a release of petroleum products from its Commerce City refinery.

The new order responds to liquid hydrocarbons from petroleum contamination detected on the water table at the southwest corner of Suncor’s Plant 1, near the Suncor property boundary with Republic Paperboard Co., 5501 Brighton Blvd in Commerce City.

“We are concerned that the petroleum contamination may begin to move from the Suncor property to the Denver Metro Wastewater Reclamation District property in a second location,” said Walter Avramenko, leader of the Hazardous Waste Corrective Action Unit. “We also want to prevent contamination of the Burlington Ditch and impacts to indoor air quality at Republic Paperboard. We can’t afford to wait for the problem to emerge, and we believe that something must be done immediately to slow and reverse what we suspect may be happening under this section of Suncor’s property.”

The department ordered Suncor to perform the following interim measures by the specified deadlines:

Suncor must immediately begin securing access and sampling indoor air in all Republic Paperboard Co. buildings to determine indoor air quality, comparing test results to the department’s action levels for workers including, but not limited to, benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene and xylenes. Suncor also must collect outdoor air samples to help distinguish between vapors coming from contaminated groundwater and vapors in the outside air.

If indoor air samples exceed worker action levels and are determined to come from contaminated groundwater, Suncor Energy must install a mitigation system on any affected buildings within seven days. All the buildings on the Republic Paperboard property must be sampled and, if necessary, mitigated by Feb. 29. Suncor also must report air sampling results and mitigation status to the department by that date. Suncor must inventory and sample all water taps used by employees in Republic Paperboard buildings for drinking, cooking, washing and bathing and report the results to the department by Feb. 29. Suncor also must submit detailed information about Republic Paperboard’s water distribution system to the department by that date.

Suncor must immediately begin a quick-turnaround field investigation of groundwater beneath Republic Paperboard property and the south end of the Burlington Ditch slurry wall (an underground wall designed to intercept groundwater flow) to verify that contamination has not migrated around, under or into the ditch. Results are due to the department by Jan. 31.

Suncor must immediately begin a long-term groundwater investigation beneath Republic Paperboard property and the Burlington Ditch slurry wall to determine whether additional steps are needed to contain contamination on Suncor property, and to determine if contamination is affecting the Burlington Ditch or Republic Paperboard. This investigation will require Suncor to install new, permanent monitoring wells. Suncor must submit laboratory results to the department by March 16.

Suncor must begin evaluating options for extending the southern end of the Burlington Ditch slurry wall to prevent contamination from migrating under the ditch. Suncor must submit a proposal to the department by March 16.

The Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Division is coordinating with the department’s Water Quality Control Division, the Environmental Protection Agency, Tri- County Health Department, Denver Water and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Previous orders remain in effect, including those requiring water sampling in Sand Creek and South Platte River. Suncor is responsible for cleaning up the effects of releases from its refinery regardless of how far downstream they extend.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment will continue to update the public as the situation changes and additional orders refining the cleanup operation are issued.

Here’s the release from Governor Hickenlooper’s office:

Gov. John Hickenlooper has asked U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to provide drought assistance to Lincoln County.

“Farmers and ranchers have seen winter wheat wither due to lack of precipitation beginning in October 2011 and continuing into this year,” Hickenlooper wrote in a letter to Vilsack. “Winter wheat production is estimated to be reduced by 36 percent, and native grass pastures are producing 40 percent less forage for livestock.”

The drought declaration, if approved, would allow farmers and ranchers to apply for emergency loans if they are unable to obtain credit elsewhere.

From the Denver Business Journal (Cathy Proctor):

“In relative terms, the amount of water used for hydraulic fracturing is a very small percentage of the water that’s used in the state of Colorado — most of it is used for agriculture,” said David Neslin, the director of the Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission, which regulates industry activities in the state.

The report — “Water Source and Demand for the Hydraulic Fracturing of Oil and Gas Wells in Colorado from 2010 through 2015,” available for download here — cautioned that predicting water use related to oil and gas operations is difficult.

More oil and gas coverage here and here.

Here’s the release from the Rural Commnunity Assistance Corporation:

Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC) announces the initiation of its Household Water Well System Loan program for homeowners in rural areas of Colorado and Utah. The program makes 1 percent interest loans available to homeowners in rural areas to construct, refurbish or replace a household water well system. The program provides low-cost financing to homeowners that rely on well water as their primary access to clean, reliable drinking water.

RCAC was awarded funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Utilities Service, to develop the water well loan program. The program offers loans of up to $11,000 for a term of up to 20 years. Applicants must own and occupy the home being improved or be purchasing the home. The program cannot be used as a substitute for an existing community water system and cannot pay for plumbing or septic tank repair.

Applications for a Household Water Well System Loan are accepted throughout the year on a first come, first served basis. Household income may not exceed $49,793 for Colorado and $46,711 for Utah.

Anyone with interest or questions should contact: Josh Griff, RCAC loan officer, by telephone at 720/898-9463 or by e-mail at jgriff@rcac.org.

Founded in 1978, RCAC provides a wide range of community development services for rural Native American communities, agricultural workers and community-based organizations in 13 Western states. RCAC has strong core services and expertise in housing, environmental infrastructure (water, wastewater and solid waste), leadership training, economic development and financing. To find out more about RCAC’s services, visit www.rcac.org/doc.aspx?82.

Thanks to The Chaffee County Times for the heads up.

More infrastructure coverage here.

Here’s the release from the University of California at Berkeley (Robert Sanders):

Wetland restoration is a billion-dollar-a-year industry in the United States that aims to create ecosystems similar to those that disappeared over the past century. But a new analysis of restoration projects shows that restored wetlands seldom reach the quality of a natural wetland.

“Once you degrade a wetland, it doesn’t recover its normal assemblage of plants or its rich stores of organic soil carbon, which both affect natural cycles of water and nutrients, for many years,” said David Moreno-Mateos, a University of California, Berkeley, postdoctoral fellow. “Even after 100 years, the restored wetland is still different from what was there before, and it may never recover.”

Moreno-Mateos’s analysis calls into question a common mitigation strategy exploited by land developers: create a new wetland to replace a wetland that will be destroyed and the land put to other uses. At a time of accelerated climate change caused by increased carbon entering the atmosphere, carbon storage in wetlands is increasingly important, he said.

“Wetlands accumulate a lot of carbon, so when you dry up a wetland for agricultural use or to build houses, you are just pouring this carbon into the atmosphere,” he said. “If we keep degrading or destroying wetlands, for example through the use of mitigation banks, it is going to take centuries to recover the carbon we are losing.”

The study showed that wetlands tend to recover most slowly if they are in cold regions, if they are small – less than 100 contiguous hectares, or 250 acres, in area – or if they are disconnected from the ebb and flood of tides or river flows.

“These context dependencies aren’t necessarily surprising, but this paper quantifies them in ways that could guide decisions about restoration, or about whether to damage wetlands in the first place,” said coauthor Mary Power, UC Berkeley professor of integrative biology.

Moreno-Mateos, Power and their colleagues will publish their analysis in the Jan. 24 issue of PLoS (Public Library of Science) Biology.

Wetlands provide many societal benefits, Moreno-Mateos noted, such as biodiversity conservation, fish production, water purification, erosion control and carbon storage.

He found, however, that restored wetlands contained about 23 percent less carbon than untouched wetlands, while the variety of native plants was 26 percent lower, on average, after 50 to 100 years of restoration. While restored wetlands may look superficially similar – and the animal and insect populations may be similar, too – the plants take much longer to return to normal and establish the carbon resources in the soil that make for a healthy ecosystem.

Moreno-Mateos noted that numerous studies have shown that specific wetlands recover slowly, but his meta-analysis “might be a proof that this is happening in most wetlands.”

“To prevent this, preserve the wetland, don’t degrade the wetland,” he said.

Moreno-Mateos, who obtained his Ph.D. while studying wetland restoration in Spain, conducted a meta-analysis of 124 wetland studies monitoring work at 621 wetlands around the world and comparing them with natural wetlands. Nearly 80 percent were in the United States and some were restored more than 100 years ago, reflecting of a long-standing American interest in restoration and a common belief that it’s possible to essentially recreate destroyed wetlands. Half of all wetlands in North America, Europe, China and Australia were lost during the 20th century, he said.

Though Moreno-Mateos found that, on average, restored wetlands are 25 percent less productive than natural wetlands, there was much variation. For example, wetlands in boreal and cold temperate forests tend to recover more slowly than do warm wetlands. One review of wetland restoration projects in New York state, for example, found that “after 55 years, barely 50 percent of the organic matter had accumulated on average in all these wetlands” compared to what was there before, he said.

“Current thinking holds that many ecosystems just reach an alternative state that is different, and you never will recover the original,” he said.

In future studies, he will explore whether the slower carbon accumulation is due to a slow recovery of the native plant community or invasion by non-native plants.

Coauthors with Moreno-Mateos and Power are Francisco A. Comin of the Department of Conservation of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Restoration at the Pyrenean Institute of Ecology in Zaragoza, Spain; and Roxana Yockteng of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, France. Moreno-Mateos recently accepted a position as the restoration fellow at Stanford University’s Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve.

The work was supported by the Spanish Ministry for Innovation and Science, the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology and the National Center for Earth Surface Dynamics of the U.S. National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center.

More restoration coverage here.

From The Durango Herald (Joe Hanel):

[Senator Ellen Roberts] got senators to agree to her Senate Joint Resolution 4, which points out the dangers of spending down the accounts Colorado uses to build pipelines, repair dams and increase the size of reservoirs. The resolution simply states that the Legislature “should avoid future diversions” of money set aside for water projects…

But legislators are unlikely to heed their own warning. Gov. John Hickenlooper’s 2012-13 budget calls for another $33.9 million transfer out of the water account, and no serious effort has emerged among legislators to block the transfer.

More 2012 Colorado legislation coverage here.

I’m packing up the bicycle for the trip to the Denver Tech Center for the first day of the CWC annual convention. I’ll try to post from the convention. Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (@CoyoteGulch) for updates during the next three days.

From the Vail Daily:

Allen Best, a former Vail-area journalist, will speak at the Eagle River Watershed Council’s Water Wise at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Route 6 Café in Eagle-Vail. His topic is “Deciphering the Science: One Journalist’s Take on Climate Change and Water in the West.”

More education coverage here.

Here’s the release from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Justyn Hock/Steve McCall):

After nearly two years of cooperative efforts, Reclamation has released a blueprint for selenium control in the lower Gunnison River Basin of western Colorado, on behalf of Selenium Management Program partners. In addition to defining the selenium issues, the document describes a series of cooperative efforts to improve water quality while ensuring water security, environmental compliance, and regulatory certainty for water users in the Gunnison Basin.

When implemented, the SMP will benefit local water users and regional economies by protecting existing and future water uses through improvements to irrigation system infrastructure and on-farm irrigation practices that also reduce selenium. The program also attempts to expand efforts to control selenium from non-agricultural sources and improve scientific understanding of how selenium is released, how it moves, and where it ends up.

Carol DeAngelis, Reclamation’s Western Colorado Area Manager said, “The release of the final SMP Formulation Document is an important step that will lead to the reduction of selenium in the Gunnison Basin. It gives us a road map for how program partners will work together to put into practice what we learn about selenium and reduce selenium concentrations in our rivers.”

Selenium is a naturally-occurring trace element found in Mancos Shale. When water comes in contact with these soils it can mobilize the selenium, flushing it into streams and rivers. Selenium concentrations in the lower Gunnison River, downstream in the lower Colorado River, and some of their tributaries currently exceed levels that are deemed safe for sensitive aquatic life, including endangered fish species set by the Colorado Water Quality Control Division.

The program document is available at the website below, under the ‘Documents’ tab. For more information about the SMP visit the SMP website at www.usbr.gov/uc/wcao/progact/smp.

More Gunnison River basin coverage here.

Here’s the release from Governor Mead’s office (Renny MacKay):

Governor Matt Mead sent a letter to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency saying that the State of Wyoming still has not received a response to questions raised by scientists and engineers working for the State. Governor Mead said a response would provide clarifications to draft report findings from two test wells drilled near Pavillion, Wyoming.

Governor Mead wrote that the majority of the State’s questions remain outstanding. “I ask you to work with me to ensure that the EPA responds to the remaining questions and requests for information as quickly as possible. The response is necessary to conduct a complete analysis and interpretation of the data and findings contained in the report. Those responses will clarify information for both the public and the peer panel as they review and comment on the report.”

Governor Mead pointed out that the public comment period on the draft report ends in less than two weeks and without a full response from the EPA and time to assimilate that response it will be difficult to comment. “Therefore, I request that EPA, in addition to posting its responses to the questions on its Pavillion webpage now, also extend the public comment period for an additional 30 days from the date requested information is publicly provided. This extension will provide the public and the peer panel opportunity to review additional information provided by EPA’s response and to consider it in their comments,” Governor Mead wrote.

“Both Wyoming and the EPA should have a common goal of an unbiased, scientifically supportable finding open to the public. I believe providing answers and information, making these available to the public and the peer review panel, and extending the comment period accordingly are the best ways to accomplish this,” Governor Mead wrote to Administrator Jackson.

More oil and gas coverage here and here.

From email from the Water Center at Colorado Mesa University:

Water Course 2/9, 2/16, 2/23, 6-9pm

To reserve your spot & make sure we have materials for you, please sign up as soon as possible. Sponsorship opportunities are also available; benefits include the opportunity to place a handout in the course packets.

COURSE OVERVIEW
Feb 9: Water Law & Roles of Local Managers
Feb 16: Water Supply & Planning
Feb 23: Water Quality (including a panel on nutrient rulemaking)

LOCATION, TIME & DETAILS
All sessions will be held at Ute Water (22 Road & H 1/4) from 6pm – 9pm.
For complete details, visit the Water Course page here.

More education coverage here.

From 9News.com (Jeffrey Wolf):

…the council decided to push off a decision on a moratorium for another month to discuss the issue further. Another vote on whether to move ahead with the six-month moratorium will happen on Feb. 27. The state received an application by Texas-based Hilcorp to begin fracking at a well near Tower Road and 96th Avenue. It would be the first well in Commerce City if it goes through…

The state’s rules regarding oil and gas development trump local control, but Hilcorp would still need to get a conditional-use permit from the county…

If Hilcorp does not get a conditional use permit from the county, yet meets all the requirements to get one, the attorney representing Hilcorp says the company might take legal action.

From The Denver Post (Monte Whaley):

The city also set up a committee to specifically examine fracking and its implications.

Several residents argued that the city needed the six-month suspension of fracking to further study the implications of oil and gas drilling.

However, [Councilman Jim Bensen] warned that an oil company could ignore the moratorium and start fracking activity within the city because state law supercedes any local restrictions. That could land the city in court, fighting an expensive legal battle with the oil company and the state, he said.

More oil and gas coverage here and here.

Click on the thumbnail graphic to view yesterday’s snowpack map from the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

From The Denver Post (Joey Bunch/Tom McGhee):

With 17 inches, Silverton Mountain was the greatest beneficiary from the weather system that rolled into Colorado Saturday and out on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. Telluride ski area reported 16 inches, Crested Butte got 15 inches and Steamboat Springs recorded 13 inches, according to weather data.

From the American Water Works Association:

For a Senate hearing on Dec. 13, AWWA, the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies and the Water Environment Federation submitted a jointly prepared written statement laying out concerns about the state revolving fund (SRF) program and urging Congress to pass a Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act.

The hearing on water infrastructure by the Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife addressed the US Environmental Protection Agency’s SRF program. Among those providing oral testimony were James Hanlon, director of the office of wastewater management at USEPA; Gregory DiLoreto, president-elect of the American Society of Civil Engineers; and Van Richey, president and CEO, American Cast Iron Pipe Co.

Here’s the joint statement (Tom Curtis/Dan Hartnett/Tim Williams):

The American Water Works Association (AWWA), Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) and the Water Environment Federation (WEF) commend the Senate Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife for addressing the challenges and opportunities surrounding our nation’s water infrastructure. High-quality drinking water and wastewater systems are essential to public health, business, and quality of life in the United States. Our organizations and others have documented that our water and wastewater infrastructure is aging and that many communities must begin to increase their levels of investment in the repair and rehabilitation of water infrastructure now in order to protect public health and safety, business continuity and economic viability and to maintain environmental standards. The tenets outlined in this paper provide a path toward truly sustainable water infrastructure for all Americans.

AWWA, AMWA and WEF have long believed that Americans are best served by water systems that are self sustaining through rates and other local charges. However, we recognize that at present, some communities need assistance due to hardship or special economic circumstances. There are also times when communities must access large amounts of funding in a short time period to address major water infrastructure needs. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s latest estimates for needed investment in drinking water and wastewater infrastructure shows that more than $500 billion must be invested through 2028 to maintain our current levels of service. And that only includes projects that would be eligible for state revolving loan fund projects (SRF). According to the US Conference of Mayors, more than 95 percent of water infrastructure funding is historically provided by state and local sources.

In addition to the vital role water infrastructure plays in local economic growth and even sustainability, water infrastructure has significant impacts on the nation’s economy. The U.S. Department of Commerce has estimated that every additional dollar invested in drinking water or wastewater sector results in an increase in revenue for all industries of $2.62. Furthermore, the Department estimates that every additional job in the water sector creates 3.68 jobs in the national economy.

The primary federal role in water infrastructure is one of leadership. Among other things, that role includes demonstrating and encouraging:

• Utility use of modern asset management tools and full-cost pricing;

• Use of rate structures that accommodate low and fixed-income customers as much as
practical;

• Adoption of green technologies and approaches such as water and energy conservation, water reuse, and innovative stormwater management;

• Use of cost-saving watershed and regional strategies, such as system consolidation, regional management, and cooperative approaches among water, wastewater, and highway agencies within a region; and

• Use of advanced procurement and project delivery methods.

However, there is also an important role for the federal government in lowering the cost of capital for water and wastewater investments. Almost 70 percent of American communities use bonds to finance local infrastructure. They pay billions of dollars in interest costs each year. Lowering the cost of borrowing for water and wastewater infrastructure is an important way to leverage local funding and help America rebuild and rehabilitate our aging water infrastructure.

A Novel Approach: The Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act

To lower the cost of infrastructure investments and to increase the availability of lower-cost capital, AWWA, AMWA and WEF urge Congress to enact a “Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovations Act” (WIFIA), modeled after the successful Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovations Act (commonly called TIFIA). Such a mechanism could lower the cost of capital for water utilities while having no or little effect on the federal budget deficit. WIFIA would access funds from the U.S. Treasury at Treasury rates and use those funds to support loans and other credit mechanisms for water projects. Such loans would be repaid to the Authority – and thence to the Treasury – with interest.

The Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovations Act would:

• Provide for loans, loan guarantees, and other credit support for large water infrastructure projects and those with national or regional importance. Communities undertaking these projects often find it difficult or impossible to access SRF loans in meaningful amounts, due in part to inadequate capitalization of the SRFs.

• Reduce the cost of leveraging for SRF programs by lending to them directly. WIFIA could lend to those SRF wishing to leverage their capitalization grants at the lowest possible interest rates. This would allow SRFs to make more loans and would increase their ability to offer special assistance to hardship communities if they chose to do so. Currently, about 27 states leverage their SRF programs on the bond markets. WIFIA loans to an SRF would offer another mechanism to accomplish the same goal and make such a practice more attractive to additional states.

WIFIA should enable projects and state SRFs to obtain financing with no more burden than going to traditional credit markets through a streamlined review and application process. Fitch Ratings, a top credit rating agency, calculates that the historical default rate on water bonds is 0.04 percent. Indeed, water service providers are among the most creditworthy and fiscally responsible borrowers in the United States. Moreover, those states that leverage their SRF programs all have AAA or AA bond ratings and no history of defaults, placing them among the strongest credits in the country. Consequently, WIFIA – because it involves loans that are repaid – involves minimal risks and minimal long-term costs to the federal government…

The SRF Program

It is also important for the federal government to continue to directly capitalize state revolving funds, which can be used to both broadly lower the costs of water infrastructure investment and to address the needs of communities in hardship or special circumstances. AWWA, AMWA and WEF propose several enhancements to the State Revolving Fund programs to allow them to better serve our communities:

• Continue support for SRF capitalization. Despite growing needs and the implementation of new drinking water regulations, overall federal investment in the SRF programs has decreased significantly in recent years. We ask that Congress carefully consider the broad and important economic and public health benefits that flow from each dollar of support for the SRF programs.

• Provide states with flexibility in using SRF funds. This should include the ability to address the special needs of hardship communities they identify. This flexibility should also include the ability to use state procurement processes and standards that minimize process and administrative “burdens” for grant recipients and for states themselves.

• Eliminate arbitrage restrictions. Allow SRF programs that issue bonds to keep arbitrage earnings on their invested funds to the extent such earnings are used to support additional investment in water infrastructure. Based on historical market rates, this would provide $200-400 million per year in additional funds for water and wastewater investment.

• Streamline the SRF application. Provide incentives to streamline the SRF loan review process. It can take almost a year to obtain an SRF loan. This deters many communities from using the SRF, and leads them to issue higher-cost municipal bonds instead. Due to the revolving nature of the Fund, increasing the pace of awards through streamlining will help increase the revolving flow of funds, allowing even more projects to get built, and so on into the future.

Americans can be proud of the progress we have made in protecting public health and the environment through past investment in water infrastructure, but we risk a reversal of that progress unless significant new investments are made in our aging water and wastewater systems. AWWA, AMWA, and WEF greatly appreciate your leadership on this issue and we look forward to working with you and other members of the committee in the months ahead to develop bi-partisan, sustainable solutions to the water infrastructure challenges that the country faces.

More infrastructure coverage here.

Here’s a look at the wastewater treatment plant that came online in 2006 from Reid Wright writing for the Cortez Journal. Click through and read the whole article. Here’s an excerpt:

At the head works of the Cortez Sanitation District’s sewer treatment plant, Jay Conner pulls back a metal hatch, revealing a trench through which the raw sewage sloshes — fresh from the district’s more than 60 miles of pipes serving many of the Cortez area’s more than 8,400 people. “We’re on the front line,” Conner said of the plant and its workers. “It’s probably one of the best environmental protections you can have.”

The trench was covered by panels after neighbors complained of the smell. A rake and auger system picks out larger debris and garbage, all of which is taken to its rightful home in the county landfill. Too much garbage, such as plastic wrappers and feminine hygiene products can gum up the plant’s pumps, Conner said. These items should be thrown in the garbage.

A second process removes smaller items, such as rocks, sand and eggshells. The gritty mixture also contains a fair amount of corn.

Petroleum products, paint, paint thinners, herbicides and kitchen grease are also harmful to the system, Conner said, and should not be dumped down the drain.

More wastewater coverage here and here.

Click here to go to the Colorado Water 2012 blog post about last Tuesday’s shindig. They’re running the video.

More Colorado Water 2012 coverage here.

Click on the thumbnail graphic to the right for the SPOT map of their location.

From email from Jon Pushkin (Pushkin Public Relations):

Just a quick update. Will and Zak are nearly at the end of their four-month, Source to Sea journey down the Colorado River. You can see their new videos and photos here: http://coloradosourcetosea.coloradocollege.edu/[...]

The final two programs in the speaker series: On January 30 the program will look at how water issues are impacting the Native American and Mexican communities. On Feb. 6 the program will feature Harris Sherman talking about the impact of deforestation in the region: http://www2.coloradocollege.edu/stateoftherockies/speakerseries.html

More Colorado River basin coverage here.

Here’s the release from Denver Water (Stacy Chesney):

Cheesman Reservoir is closed to visitors until July 1, 2012, as Denver Water completes essential upgrades to the dam, which was built in 1905. Upper and lower Gill Trail remains open to hikers who want to access Cheesman Canyon.

The reservoir has been closed to visitors since Jan. 1, 2010. During the first phase of the project, crews completed upgrades to valves inside the dam hundreds of feet below the reservoir’s surface. Denver Water hoped to have the reservoir reopened this spring, but the second phase of the project — removing the original valves from inside the dam — requires extensive rock excavation that is more challenging than anticipated.

Cheesman Dam is more than 100 years old and is considered the “workhorse” of Denver’s supply system. The underwater valves were installed when the dam was first completed in 1905, and more were added in and the late 1920s.

More Denver Water coverage here.

From email from the Colorado Water Conservation Board (Ben Wade):

Attached is the January 2012 Drought Update which is a summary of the information presented at the Water Availability Task Force Meeting onJanuary 18, 2012. All of the presentations from the meeting can be found on the CWCB website…

The next Water Availability Task Force Meeting is scheduled on February 16 from 9:30a-11:30a at the Colorado Parks & Wildlife Headquaters, 6060 Broadway, Denver, CO in the Bighorn Room.

More CWCB coverage here.

From The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel (Dennis Webb):

Hydraulic fracturing of oil and gas used consumed than a tenth of a percent of water used in Colorado in 2010, a new report shows.That amount could increase by about 4,800 acre-feet in 2015 from 13,900 acre-feet in 2010, but that still would represent just a little more than a tenth of a percent of the state total, according to the study, prepared by Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission staff with the help of the state Division of Water Resources.

The Commerce City council plans a vote on a six month moratorium on hydraulic fracturing tonight. Here’s a report from Monte Whaley writing for The Denver Post. From the article:

The city also set up a committee to specifically examine fracking and its implications. The committee’s recommendations are expected to be considered at tonight’s [6:30 PM] meeting. The meeting will be held at the Commerce City Council chambers at 7887 East 60th Ave. The council building is located just west of Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.

More oil and gas coverage here and here.