Day: February 4, 2010

SB 10-027, HB 10-1006 and SB 10-052

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From The Yuma Pioneer (Marianne Goodland):

[SB 10-27:] Concerning a Fine For the Unauthorized Diversion of Surface Water] (pdf) is sponsored by Sen. Paula Sandoval, D-Denver and Rep. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango. The committee approved the bill unanimously on January 28 and sent it to the Senate Appropriations Committee for further action. The bill would impose the same fine for illegal diversion of surface water as is in place for illegal diversion of ground water. In a recent interview, Roberts said she and Sandoval were asked to carry the bill by the Attorney General in part to help resolve an issue that went through the courts last year…

Dick Wolfe, state engineer and director of the Division of Water Resources, told this reporter he typically sees between six and 10 complaints per year about illegal surface water diversion and about the same number for illegal ground water diversions. Most surface water complaints arise from situations where the person diverting the water has no water rights at all. The rest come from excess diversions of surface water. Wolfe said most complaints originate in the Arkansas River Basin area, in southeastern Colorado, or in the South Platte River Basin, which covers northeastern Colorado and the Denver metro area. “There is a perception that there is an inequity on enforcement,” Wolfe told the committee last week. “We have relatively good compliance and relatively few violations.”[…]

[[SB 10-052: Concerning the Ability of the Groundwater Commission to Alter the Boundaries of a Designated Groundwater Basin] (pdf), which would make it clear that a final permit for ground water wells in a designated basin is final, sailed through the Senate last week without opposition and is on its way to the House. The bill got final approval from the Senate on January 28 on a 35-0 vote.

Sen. Greg Brophy, R-Wray, is the bill’s sponsor. He told the Senate during debate Tuesday that the agriculture committee, which approved the bill on January 21, had heard from bankers, farmers and community leaders on the necessity for “the surety this bill represents. It’s an important part of everyone’s balance sheets and portfolios.”

While the bill had little opposition in its trip through the Senate, it may face more in the House. Mark Lengel of Burlington, who opposed SB 52 at the January 21 hearing, said he would take his fight to the House and wouldn’t be alone. Lengel said his family has had surface water rights for more than 100 years…

The Division of Water Resources could be spared some of the budget cuts and layoffs anticipated for 2010-11, under a bill approved on January 26 by the House Agriculture, Livestock and Natural Resources Committee. [HB 10-1006: Fund Water Resources Tier 1 Operational] (pdf) was recommended by an interim Water Resources Review Committee that met during the summer. Under the bill the division would receive up to 5 percent of monies from an operational account in the Department of Natural Resources that is funded by severance taxes (taxes generally paid by oil and gas companies to “sever” resources from the land). Bill sponsor Rep. Kathleen Curry, I-Gunnison, told the committee she was trying to find a different source of funding for the division, which is heavily reliant on state general fund dollars…

“My main goal is to make sure the division does not lay off water commissioners, and we shouldn’t have to do that when there are cash funds available in the department,” [State Representative Kathleen Curry] said. The budget cut ordered for the division would eliminate six positions, which Curry said might include water commissioners who inspect wells, issue shut-down orders and collect water and diversion data.

More 2010 Colorado legislation coverage here.

CWCB acquires water for instream flow use on Washington Gulch and the Slate River

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Here’s the release (I couldn’t find a link online):

The Colorado Water Conservation Board approved the acquisition of 5.45 cubic feet per second of water under the Breem Ditch water right for instream flow use in Washington Gulch and the Slate River, two highly visible water-short streams in Gunnison County.

The Breem Ditch water acquisition is the result of a unique, collaborative approach by the CWCB, the Colorado Water Trust, the Skyland Metropolitan District, Verzuh Ranch, Inc., a local development company owned by Billy Joe Lacy and Dan Dow. The CWCB approved the transaction at its January meeting in Denver. “This is a great example of the benefits CWCB’s Water Acquisition Program can provide to our state’s streams through creative partnerships with water users,” said CWCB Director Jennifer Gimbel.

Despite sometimes water-plentiful summers, irrigation demand would often dry up Washington Gulch completely by the middle of July and significantly deplete Slate River flows as well. This transaction will allow Washington Gulch to flow year-round, even during dry summers, and will help fix flow shortages to the Slate River.

After use in the river, the water will be used in Skyland Metropolitan District’s system, which from 2002 to 2004 – Colorado’s most severe recent drought period – was in danger of impairment.

The CWCB will protect the water decreed to the Breem Ditch through the state’s Instream Flow Program on Washington Gulch and about two miles of the Slate River below the confluence with Washington Gulch.

The CWCB is the only entity in the state that can hold instream water rights to preserve and improve the natural environment to a reasonable degree. Under its Water Acquisition Program, the CWCB can acquire water from willing water rights owners by donation, purchase, lease or other arrangement to include in the Instream Flow Program.

The CWCB purchased a portion of the water using funds authorized in 2008 for instream flow water acquisitions, and the Colorado Water Trust donated a portion of the water.

Additional information on the CWCB’s Water Acquisition Program is available on the CWCB web site: http://cwcb.state.co.us/StreamAndLake/WaterAcquisitions/

More CWCB coverage here.

Colorado-Big Thompson update

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From email from Reclamation (Kara Lamb, February 1, 2010):

It’s that time of year when we begin moving water east to start filling both Horsetooth and Carter reservoirs. For the past several weeks, we’ve been pumping water up to Carter while Larimer County has worked on some recreational improvements at Horsetooth. Currently, Carter is sitting at a water level elevation of 5746 feet—about 13 vertical feet down from full. It should remain at the elevation for a while.

Horsetooth has been rising very slowly over the last several weeks while the recreation work has been going on. We are currently at an elevation of 5384–about 30 feet down from our average fill elevation of 5414.

Today, we turned the pump to Carter off in order to begin sending more water to Horsetooth. Approximately 460 cfs is now going to Horsetooth. Those watching the reservoir water level should notice a sharper rate of increase by the end of the day, tomorrow.

More Colorado-Big Thompson coverage here and here.

HB 10-1159 clears the House Agriculture Committee

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From The Pueblo Chieftain (Patrick Malone):

Opponents said Rep. Sal Pace’s proposed law to mitigate economic and ecological impacts of originating communities in water transfers duplicates processes already in place, but the bill passed through committee by a 9-4 vote. Urban water interests and some agricultural voices offered the criticisms Wednesday during a House Agriculture Committee meeting of HB1159, offered by Pace, D-Pueblo…

“There are economic effects when water leaves a community, and there are ecological effects when water leaves a community. There are staggering effects on a community when water leaves it,” Pace said. The inspiration for the bill, Pace said, rests in Southern Colorado history. “The primary need for this bill is the dry-up that occurred in Crowley County in the 1970s,” Pace said, when agriculture was thriving, but the Twin Lakes Canal was sold. “Today, economically Crowley County has the highest poverty rate in the state and the lowest income per capita in the state,” Pace said.

Representatives of the Denver and Aurora water boards, the North Sterling Irrigation District, the South Platte Water Conservancy District and the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District said the water roundtables created by the Legislature five years ago do an ample job of bringing stakeholders together to address economic and ecological impacts of water transfers. Combined with state and federal rules on ecology and laws that give recourse to water rights owners harmed by transfers, the groups said Pace’s concerns in the bill are already addressed. Water lawyer Peggy Montano called the portion of Pace’s bill that sends unresolved mitigation agreements to water court “planting a litigation garden for the future.”[…]

Jay Winner of the Lower Arkansas Conservancy District, said that group supports the bill. “I think it’s productive to start out with a cooperative relationship,” between originators or destinations of water that’s transferred, he said. Winner said the current water transfer checks and balances work well, and called Pace’s proposal “a parallel course” that in tandem with present protocols could improve them.

Chris Treese, representing the Colorado River District, said the bill would compel parties involved in negotiating water transfers to work out differences that otherwise might never be resolved.

More 2010 Colorado legislation coverage here.

Colorado Springs’ sewer improvements as part of its commitment to Pueblo County in 2009 total $9 million

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From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

The largest expenditure reported by Colorado Springs was $7.7 million to inspect and rehabilitate sanitary sewer pipes less than 10 inches in diameter. About 20.5 miles of pipe were repaired or rehabilitated under this year’s program.

Other expenditures included:

Repair of 131 manholes at a cost of $413,000.
Repair or enlargement of 3,741 feet of pipelines greater than 10 inches in diameter.

The inspections and repairs reduce the risk of sewer spills or overflows, the report states.

Meanwhile the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission is stirring up controversy with their plans to possibly list Fountain Creek as only seasonally impaired for E.coli and delist it for selenium, according to Chris Woodka writing for The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:

If approved, that would remove some limits on effluent put into Fountain Creek and further harm water quality, say groups opposing the move. “Their position is that the waterway will always accept more effluent,” said Joe Santarella, attorney for the Rocky Mountain Environmental Labor Coalition and Sierra Club. “There is no incentive for dischargers to meet TMDL limits.”

TMDL — total maximum daily load — on any pollutant is a standard adapted under Section 303(d) of the federal Clean Water Act to ensure that levels in an impaired stream do not become worse. The state’s action would relax the need for sewer dischargers to meet such levels, Santarella said. “State regulation has rendered the 303(d) process meaningless,” he said.

Pueblo District Attorney Bill Thiebaut is joining the environmental groups in opposing the state Division of Water Quality Control recommendations on Fountain Creek.

The Water Quality Control Commission will have a hearing on recommendations on streams statewide beginning at 9:30 a.m. Monday at state Department of Public Health and Environment offices, 4300 Cherry Creek Drive South, Denver…

The data used to make the determination show that overall, Fountain Creek E. coli is just below year-round levels for E. coli impairment, but reaches double the acceptable level from May to October. After challenges to the methodology, the division revised the seasonal limits to January to October on the reach above Pueblo instead. “The WQCD fails to explain what would be accomplished by eliminating two months (November and December) from the current annual impairment listing. In fact, nothing beneficial would be accomplished. Instead, the WQCD’s proposal would only confuse the general public and pose a risk to public health,” John Barth, Thiebaut’s attorney, noted in comments to the commission.

Colorado Springs Utilities attorney Richard Griffith supports the initial state recommendations, arguing recreation is not likely to occur during the winter months. “Utilities supports the seasonal listing methodology because recreation is most likely to occur during the warmer months of the year and impairment evaluation of E. coli data limited to those months can reveal impairment which may not be evident when calculated on an annual basis,” Griffith said.

In its comments, the Environmental Protection Agency supports seasonal limits, but warned against increases of flow. “EPA believes that it would be unwise to allow any new or increased discharges outside of the seasonal window (whatever season that is determined to be) that would result in the attainment in the E. coli standard,” said Karl Hermann, of the Region 8 water quality unit…

The state also is ignoring a Colorado State University-Pueblo study of how living plants along Fountain Creek absorb pollutants because it is still in progress. That could be the crux of future water quality problems on Fountain Creek, Vincent said.

More Southern Delivery System coverage here and here. More Fountain Creek coverage here and here.

Cortez: City council approves $525,000 loan application for water treatment plant upgrades

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From the Cortez Journal (Steve Grazier):

City Manager Jay Harrington said the loan amount, which is not to exceed $525,000, with the Colorado Water Resources and Power Development Authority – via the newly formed Cortez Water Enterprise – is tapped for improvements at the older water treatment plant. “Basically, we’re looking at funds to replace the old filter media (system),” Harrington said. “It’s a pretty aged section.”

An existing 22-year-old multimedia filter plant that has a lifespan of 15 years needs a major overhaul, Harrington said. The facility is located just north of Cortez at 27999 County Road N. The loan with the state comes with a 2 percent interest rate and is a 20-year agreement, Harrington said. Upgrades to structure include installing six multimedia filter-to-waste valves, repairing a backwash system and updating operating software and filter-control instruments to improve surface wash, according to the city’s water plant superintendent, Bruce Smart…

Work at the water treatment facility likely will begin this spring and conclude in October or November, Smart said. The upgrade project is scheduled to go to bid next week.

More water treatment coverage here.

La Plata-Archuleta Water District to allow residents to opt out of new district

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From The Durango Herald (Dale Rodebaugh):

“This isn’t new,” water district president Dick Lunsford said by telephone. “This is the third chance people have had to drop out.” The first chance was before a hearing of La Plata County commissioners. The second opportunity was before a court hearing, Lunsford said. The latest mailing doesn’t go to all residents because some homeowners already have removed their property from the district. “We’re trying to be fair,” Lunsford said. “Some people may not need water now, but they could come back in later without a penalty.” The deadline for returning the [opt out] letter is March 15, he said…

District board members could schedule a mill-levy election, perhaps in May, to fund the district, Lunsford said. The levy would be 5 mills on assessed valuation, he said. The district in September postponed a November election because of anti-tax sentiment and the weak economy. A brochure distributed by the district last year estimated the property tax on a $250,000 house would be $8.25 a month or $99 a year. The district won a $400,000 grant from the Colorado Water Conservation Board last September to further develop the project. Harris Water Engineering of Durango is working on a district master plan.

More infrastructure coverage here.

Energy policy — coalbed methane: Landowners mulling filing for water rights after industry filings surface

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Here’s a call to arms of sort from the Director of the San Juan Basin Citizens Alliance, Megan Graham, via The Durango Herald. She is recommending that landowners get educated quickly about filing for water rights under their land now that the oil and gas operators in the area are filing for decrees as a result of the new rules for coalbed methane produced water from the State Engineer. From the article:

The map defining the two, issued by the state engineer’s office, has raised some questions in that it was based heavily on input from industry. But what has gotten even more attention is a blizzard of water-rights filings by industry on the water in question: rights that would trump those of the overlying surface owners who had not previously sought their own adjudicated water right. The nuances of this scenario are many, and landowners on whose property these rights have been filed understandably are full of questions about what the filings mean for their water and land.

There are larger questions, too, about what the industry is up to. Seeking legal, and arguably unnecessary, claim to thousands of acre-feet of water – albeit often brackish and of questionable use – without permission of the overlying landowner is hardly neighborly, and raises eyebrows at the very least. It also raises a number of legal issues that will be keeping water attorneys busy for the next several months, at a minimum. And that leaves aside, for the moment, the question of augmentation plans for the water deemed to be tributary.

In the meantime, though, landowners who received notice of a water-rights filing – tributary or nontributary – would be wise to educate themselves about what is at stake in their particular circumstance. Those with an adjudicated right or a ditch right, for example, might take a different course of action than someone who has no property rights to the water in question.

There are a number of options on how to proceed, and determining the best one requires diligence and access to knowledgeable resources. Fortunately, there are many of these available to help sort through this inherently murky situation.

More coalbed methane coverage here and here.

Salida: Greater Arkansas River Nature Association to host Sense of Place Program on weather in the Upper Arkansas Valley February 8

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From the Salida Citizen:

Clouds and the weather is the topic of GARNA’s next Our Sense of Place program on Monday, February 8. Dr. Stanley L. Barnes will lead a presentation on what it takes for clouds in the Upper Arkansas Valley to form, the role of water vapor and its source, and why some clouds move with the winds and others do not…The program will begin at 7:00 PM at the Salida Community Center, 3rd and F Streets. The cost is free for GARNA members and $5 for non-members. Please call GARNA at 719-539-5106 for more information.

More education coverage here.

Snowpack news: Blue River watershed at 71% of average

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From the Summit Daily News (Robert Allen):

With less snowfall this winter, snowpack for the end of January is about 71 percent of average in the local Blue River Basin area, according to data from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. The Colorado River headwaters region runoff forecasts range from about 65 to 75 percent of normal, said Mike Gillespie, snow survey supervisor with the Conservation Service…

He said El Niño is likely to blame for this winter’s weather patterns. “Those January storms were pretty much a classic pattern for what we expect (with an El Niño system) that really pounds California, Arizona and New Mexico,” Gillespie. “We get lucky in the San Juans, but it doesn’t really get north of there.”

But the situation could be worse if reservoir levels weren’t as high. At the end of December 2009, the Dillon Reservoir level was 107 percent of average, according to the NRCS website at www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov.

More snowpack news from Bill Jackson writing for The Greeley Tribune. From the article:

Statewide, water content of the snowpack was 86 percent of average and 73 percent of last year’s snowpack totals, according to Allen Green, state conservationist. The increased totals across southern Colorado were essentially offset by the decreases in percentage across the central and northern basins, Green said in a press release. That has resulted in the same statewide snowpack percentage for two consecutive months.

More coverage from The Denver Post (Yesenia Robles):

According to the latest snowpack report from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Colorado basins were at 86 percent of average as of Monday. The percentage is the lowest since 2003.
Catching up to average snowpack levels becomes more of a longshot each month. “We need 125 percent of average snowfall for the next 2½ months,” said Mike Gillespie, snow-survey supervisor with the NRCS…

The basins need more than 30 inches each month to catch up. Snowpack levels are below average in every Colorado river basin. Only the San Juan, Animas and Dolores basins are close to average levels…

Gillespie blamed the El Niño weather pattern. “Typically, storm tracks enter further south, mostly into Arizona and New Mexico,” Gillespie said. He said snowpack levels in those states are being reported in some areas up to 300 percent of average. Another trend during El Niño years is to see a few big storms later in the season that make up for the dry months of winter. “During this kind of a year, it’s very typical,” Gillespie said. “In 2003, also an El Niño year, we saw the blizzard of March 2003 that brought many feet of snow in Denver. It caught us up to average.”

La Junta: Lower Arkansas Watershed Input Forum

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Here’s a release from the National Resources Conservation Service via the La Junta Tribune Democrat:

The Lower Arkansas Watershed is a partner of the Natural Resources Conservation Service and is working with the agency to host the 2010 Lower Arkansas Watershed Conservation Input Forum. The meeting will be from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 23, at Otero Junior College in the Student Center banquet room. The Student Center is at 2001 San Juan Ave. (west entrance). The handicapped entrance is at 5 Western Ave. (east entrance).

This meeting is designed to provide participants the opportunity to help guide and make recommendations regarding NRCS assistance with some of the most pressing natural resource concerns within the community through its technical and financial programs and activities. Don’t miss this important opportunity to contribute to the conversation as the wise use and conservation of our natural resources is everyone’s responsibility and is critical to sustaining and enhancing the quality of life enjoyed in the community. “It’s vital that citizens and partners of NRCS help guide and provide input to the agency to help ensure its programs and activities reflect and help support the needs of local natural resource concerns,” says Leroy Brase, president of the Lower Arkansas Watershed Association.

For information contact John Knapp, NRCS area conservationist in La Junta at john.knapp@co.usda.gov, or by calling (719) 384-5408, extension 106. Call (719) 384-5408, extension 3, by Thursday, Feb. 18, to RSVP so that organizers have numbers for lunch.

More Arkansas River Basin coverage here.