From The Durango Herald:
The public is invited to “Verde Fest – the Four Corners Sustainability Fair” from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 15 in the Cortez City Park. The fair will feature booths on green building, eco-products, renewable energy, natural health and more. There also will be children’s activities, films, speakers, demonstrations, live music and local foods. No admission will be charged.
More Coyote Gulch Montezuma County coverage here.
From Fox21.com:
Stone, who fishes Aurora Reservoir with unwavering devotion, said he never set out to break any records on what he thought was just another typical morning at his favorite fishing hole. “I’ve been coming out to Aurora Reservoir pretty much every weekend, rain or shine, since 2003,” said Stone. “That morning I planned on fishing for trout and walleye but never expected to catch a catfish, much less anything of that size.”
From Clean Water Action:
Today, Clean Water Action applauds passage of the Clean Water Restoration Act in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee by a vote of 12 – 7. Clean Water Action also supports the efforts of the committee to meet the needs of agriculture, while going a long way toward restoring the historic protections of the Clean Water Act. “This vote is a strong rejection of the Bush Administration’s “No Protection Policy” that threatened the drinking water sources for at least 110 million people,” said Clean Water Action President John DeCock.
More Coyote Gulch S. 787 coverage here.
Here’s a release about an art show at Sargent Studio titled “The value of our water,” from The Cherry Creek News. From the article:
Sargent Studio presents “The Value of Our Water”, an art show that shares visions and creative descriptions of water and its value as a natural resource. The show is currently running and will continue through August 15th at 910Arts, 910 Santa Fe Drive in Denver’s Art District on Santa Fe. The public is invited to share this unique celebration of water during First Friday August 7th, 2009 and during regular gallery hours Tuesday-Friday 11-6 and Saturday 12-4.
The show was curated by environmental artist Rik Sargent who has moved into a studio in the 910Arts community to create and share the sculpting of a large monumental bronze sculpture commissioned for the City of Denver. A scale model of the sculpture entitled “One World, One Waters” is on display along with the creations fourteen invited artists of various disciplines. “Together, these artists’ experiences create a single event which celebrates water education.” says Rik, “Value comes from the use of water in the creation of artwork or from water as the inspiration. Either way, it lends to the discussion of our use and respect for the natural resource of water.” The large version of Rik’s sculpture-in-progress can also be viewed by the public in his adjacent studio.
Other highlights of the show include fun installations and found object scuptures by Tim Flynn and rich impressionist oil paintings by Lyudmila Agrich. The additional talented participants include Don Burge, Shane Duerksen, Michael Keen, Gayla Lemke, Andrea Li, Nick Baldridge, Brianna Martray, Dennis Pendleton, Jan Steinhauser and Joshua Wiener.
This show also honors the good works of Denver Water, The Nature conservancy, Project WET, Project Learning Tree, and the Colorado Association Of Environmental Education.
A Douglas County development — Sterling Ranch near Chatfield Reservoir — hopes to incorporate rainwater catchments into the design. Here’s a report from Andrew Simons writing for The Denver Post. From the article:
[Harold Smethills the major investor of Sterling Ranch] hopes Sterling Ranch will be one of 10 pilot residential developments to get statehouse approval for a rainwater collection system for use in the development. The rest of the rain that falls along the Front Range “is lost through evaporation” or is absorbed by native plants, such as field grasses, Smethills says…
Within the development, Smethills plans to install systems that will capture, store and recycle rainwater. These systems, Smethills says, will reduce the development’s consumption of municipal water by 50 percent…
For example, Sterling Ranch planners will install tanks underneath street roundabouts. Roads in the development will be constructed so rainwater will flow into the roundabouts. “This process utilizes tributary water in average or better rainfall years supplemented with storage and Denver Basin water in drought years,” according to the Sterling Ranch website. “This plan maximizes natural stream flows, traditional water storage, and by using the Denver Basin, we will dramatically reduce the water losses from evaporation while ensuring a dependable supply.”
Other water storage systems could include roof capture, where water is directed from a roof through a special gutter system and stored in a tank at the home. According to a study done by Headwaters Corp., a typical residential system where water is stored underground would run about $10,000 to $15,000…
In June, Gov. Bill Ritter signed HB 1129 into law. Getting permits won’t be easy. Prospective pilot projects must ensure water that’s captured in a neighborhood would not otherwise go into streams.
More Coyote Gulch 2009 legislative session coverage here.