Day: February 27, 2010

Monte Vista: City council approves water rights option purchase

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From The Monte Vista Journal (Dianne James):

The Monte Vista City Council on Thursday, Feb. 18, approved the purchase of an option to buy water rights from Sun Peaks corporation…

This equates as the 384.5 historic “consumption use” allocated to use (net water available to use). The Anderson Ditch up to 189 acre-feet of acquisiion/yield. Van Wormer told the council how the ditches’ volumes vary at different times of the year, going “up and down seasonally.” The current depletions are the amount of water pumped out of the aquifer for use by the city. “Because there is no ditch water running during January, February and March, the current depletions of 6.1 acre feet we use for municipal use, and we don’t have this ditch water to act as a replacement” the city is in deficit of 6.1 acre-feet, which equals about 10 months of deficit…

“We’re actually buying about 300 acre-feet from Sun Peaks.” He couldn’t guarantee that the price of water would not go up. Price per acre-foot, he said, was less than appraised value, speculating the ‘floor’ on costs in the Valley might be lower. No contract, by the other party, was signed. However, Van Wormer said that the water rights holder, rather than sell them to another party, wants to sell it to Monte Vista. The option to buy takes the water rights out of the market, locking them up until Monte Vista can get the finances in place to purchase them.

More Rio Grande River Basin coverage here.

Brighton adds UV disinfection to Greensand Drinking Water Facility

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From the Brighton Standard Blade (Gene Sears):

According to Brighton spokeswoman Jodie Carroll, the city received about $1.4 million to install the UV disinfection system that will provide 34,000 Brighton residents with long-term, improved protection from bacteria, pathogens and other drinking water contaminants. Ultraviolet disinfection uses light to destroy pathogens, and their ability to reproduce, without treatment chemicals or large, expensive infrastructure. In an arid state such as Colorado, it is essential that water systems fully utilize sources with variable water quality to provide safe and affordable drinking water to the public. “We look forward to the Greensand plant beginning operations this spring with the improved water treatment system in place,” said Brighton Mayor Dick McLean. “Looking back about 20 years ago, we were compelled to recommend other drinking sources for pregnant women and children under the age of one because of our water quality. Today, we have excellent and safe water in our distribution system. The funding and jobs stimulus provided by the Recovery Act are leveraging upgrades which will even further reduce the risk of harmful microorganisms and other contaminants to our residents.”

More water treatment coverage here.

Snowpack news: Will Dillon Reservoir fill this year?

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From the Summit County Citizens Voice (Bob Berwyn):

Last weekend’s storm boosted the Colorado River Basin snowpack from 75 percent up to 81 percent, but Denver Water managers said they’re still not sure if Dillon Reservoir will fill to capacity this spring…

For now, reservoir storage is in far better shape than it was in 2002, a landmark year that brought unprecedented modern-era drought to Colorado. Since then, Denver Water and other Front Range providers have rethought their operating plans to maintain more reserve storage for the worst-case scenarios.

Reclamation praises Orchard City Irrigation’s management of Fruit Growers Reservoir

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From the Delta County Indpendent (Hank Lohmeyer):

Dan Crabtree, a BuRec official in Grand Junction, said that in addition to the agency being satisfied with OCID’s management, the reservoir “is in good shape.” His comments came during the OCID annual meeting that was held on Jan. 30 at Orchard City Town Hall.

The District also has moved forward with maintenance initiatives on its system in the last year. A badly corroded valve body and water bypass assembly that is part of the dam was completely rebuilt at a cost of $10,500. Mike Thomas, board president, reported that irrigators’ water shrink (the amount of water lost to the ditch system “leakage”) had been cut by half in parts of the OCID irrigation system. Last year, 42 water carrying weirs and flumes were either adjusted or replaced cutting the amount of water lost, Thomas said. Of those 42, four were on the Fogg Ditch and 38 were on the Butte Ditch. Thomas reported that the OCID’s new online system for water monitoring, water use reporting, and other information “is working really well.” The system is designed to track District water information and user data on a daily basis. “It is running with about 95 percent accuracy,” Thomas said…

In other business at the OCID’s annual meeting, the water commissioner’s office reported that Fruitgrowers Reservoir was filling at 26 to 27 acre feet per day, and was at that time on track to fill by the end of February.

More Gunnison River Basin coverage here.