Day: October 31, 2010

North Fork of the Gunnison River ‘River Watch’ group update

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From the Delta County Independent (Ann Santo):

Because no baseline water quality data existed on the North Fork of the Gunnison River and its tributaries, River Watch began monitoring in 2001 with the support of the North Fork River Improvement Association (NFRIA) and the Colorado Water Quality Control Division (CWQCD). Over the past 10 years, more than 40 individuals have volunteered their Wednesdays to go out and monitor, come rain or shine, or snow. The volunteers include biochemists, farmers, teachers and retirees, and they all have different reasons for getting involved.

Phil Johnson of Paonia has been an NFRIA River Watch volunteer since it began. He said, “I look forward to River Watch every month . . . It gives me a chance to do something I wouldn’t normally get to do, out in the field and then in the lab. Also, it’s really good company.”

Bob Halley, a Cedaredge farmer, likes the technical and political aspects of water monitoring. “Monitoring programs that collect data for the long-term are essential,” he said. “Other monitoring programs are not capable of getting into specific areas with enough detail. A program like ours really helps fill that gap.”

Meanwhile, from the Delta County Independent:

Whether you have a PhD in water chemistry, or are just interested in learning about water quality in the North Fork River, NFRIA-WSERC Conservation Center wants you to participate in the first ever North Fork Water Quality Monitoring Committee meeting. The meeting will be held at the Paonia Public Library at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 4…

The purpose of this first meeting is to get you acquainted with the three water monitoring programs going on in the valley, and the 10 years of water quality data NFRIA volunteers have already collected. Things to be discussed in this meeting and at future meetings might include: Why and where are we monitoring? What questions would we like to answer with our monitoring? Do we need to change or add to our current monitoring programs? How are we using our monitoring data? How should we use it?

Email sarah@coloradowater.org or call 527-5307 x203 if you plan to attend the meeting, or would like to be included in future meetings.

More Gunnison River Basin coverage here.

Partners Sign Gunnison Basin Selenium Management Program Memorandum of Understanding

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

Reclamation announced today that a Memorandum of Understanding to form a Selenium Management Program in the Gunnison Basin was signed by federal and non-federal partners. The SMP is being formed based on the 2009 Gunnison River Basin Programmatic Biological Opinion released from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The PBO identifies a selenium issue in the lower Gunnison Basin and states “the ongoing operation of irrigation projects and other water uses in the basin will continue to contribute selenium to the Gunnison and Colorado Rivers at levels that adversely affect the endangered fishes and their designated critical habitat.”

Selenium is a naturally occurring element that is required by all life at low concentrations. However, higher selenium concentration in streams and lakes can lead to reduced reproduction and deformities in fish and in waterfowl. Locally, selenium comes from the Mancos shale where it is picked up by water seeping from canals and ponds, and percolating through soils beneath irrigated fields and lawns. “Signing the MOU is important because it fulfills the first major milestone required by the PBO” said Carol DeAngelis, Reclamation’s Western Colorado Area Office manager. “The partners in the MOU have agreed to work together to find ways to reduce selenium in the Gunnison Basin.”

The goal of the SMP is to reduce adverse effects of selenium on endangered fish species in the Gunnison and Colorado rivers. This goal will be achieved by incorporating and accelerating ongoing irrigation system improvement efforts and other programs in the Uncompahgre Valley and other portions of the lower Gunnison River Basin to reduce the amount of selenium in the river.

Partners of the MOU include: Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, Bureau of Land Management, Natural Resource Conservation Service, the Colorado Water Conservation Board, Colorado River Water Conservation District, Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District, and the Uncompahgre Valley Water Users Association.

More Gunnison River basin coverage here.

Pagosa Springs: Town officials are chasing USDA grant funds for new wastewater treatment plant

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Here’s a look at the complicated financing web that the town of Pagosa Springs in trying to spin to fund their new wastewater treatement plant from, Jim McQuiggin writing for the Pagosa Sun). Here’s an excerpt:

In early 2010, the town’s fortunes changed. Personnel changes at the USDA created a friendlier environment for the [Pagosa Springs Sanitation and General Improvement District] and it was suggested that the board take a second bite at the apple. Submitting preliminary paperwork to the USDA last spring, both Mitchem and PSSGID Supervisor Phil Starks presented an optimistic picture to the board. Given details of a report that was seemingly positive as far as its potential return on investment, the board gave Mitchem and Starks the green light to renew the pursuit of USDA funding. Mitchem could not say how much money the USDA might provide for the new facility. When asked if the funding would meet the almost $6 million price tag previously estimated for the project, Mitchem responded, “The real answer is, we don’t know yet and we won’t know yet.”

More wastewater coverage here and here.

San Luis Valley: Rio Grande River erosion mitigation project update

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From The Pueblo Chieftain (Matt Hildner):

Heather Messick, an employee of the project, said it is designed to stabilize the river’s banks and stem erosion, which increases sediment in the river. More sediment can alter the river’s channel, heat up water temperatures to the detriment of fish and change the riparian habitat as the river eats more of its unstable banks. Gone are banks that resembled cliff faces and stood as high as 14 feet over the river in spots. In their place are sloping banks that gradually push back to the flood plain.

The project also includes a series of rock barbs that jut into the river channel. The piles of rock push the river’s current into the center of the channel and away from the banks. It’s expected they will keep the banks in place until willows can spread.

The shrubs carry an added benefit of being the primary habitat for the southwestern willow flycatcher, an endangered species that makes its home along rivers in six other Southwestern states.

Unlike much of the Arkansas Valley, tamarisk invasion is not a threat to the exposed banks. Messick said researchers aren’t entirely sure why the invasive plant hasn’t taken root in the San Luis Valley, but hypotheses range from the valley’s cooler temperature to its higher altitude.

More Rio Grande River basin coverage here.