Day: November 14, 2010

Gore Creek: Lower numbers for macroinvertebrates due to urbanization?

From the Vail Daily (Sarah Mausolf):

A recent study revealed certain bugs are disappearing in the East Vail stretch of the stream. The bugs present in low numbers — certain mayflies, stoneflies and caddisflies — are especially sensitive to the effects of urbanization, said David Rees, a bug expert processing the study data. And their absence is a sign that something is damaging this popular trout-fishing stream, which runs through a tourist town that prides itself on its natural beauty. “A large portion of our economy depends on this perception that this is a pristine area,” said Lin Brooks, assistant general manager for the Eagle River Water and Sanitation District.

Something has been causing a change in the stream’s macroinvertebrates, the tiny bugs that live in the rocks, Rees said. There are fewer types of bugs overall than one expects to see in a mountain stream, Rees said. While some bugs are dwindling, others are more plentiful then normal, he said. Midges and worms, which are less sensitive to environmental stress, are abundant. “Whenever we see this change in the composition, it’s an indication there’s stress,” he said…

John Woodling, a retired fish biologist familiar with the stream, agrees [highway] sand is a likely culprit. The sand settles over the rocks and fills up the space where the bugs live, he said. Although CDOT has been working to contain the sand, there is still plenty left on the hillside, he said…

Brooks said the water district plans to investigate other theories, too. One holds that fertilizers and lawn chemicals are hurting the creek…

Another theory claims road gunk that washes into the stream has been changing its makeup…

The state is coming up with new regulations for the nutrients wastewater treatment plants discharge, Brooks said. The water district volunteered to do the study to help explore the complex relationship between nutrients and river health, she said. Researchers collected samples at 18 locations along Gore Creek and the Eagle River in fall 2008 and spring 2009, Brooks said. They are still processing the results of samples they took in fall 2010, she said. Brooks expects The Colorado Water Quality Control Division to come out with new rules for nutrient discharge by June 2011. It could cost the water district $10 million to $20 million to remodel the local treatment plants to comply with the regulations, she said.

More Eagle River watershed coverage here and here.

Flaming Gorge pipeline: Opposition to the transmountain diversion project grows

Say hello to the temporary home for OurDamWater.org. They’re online to spread the word against the Million Resources Group’s plans to build a pipeline from the Green River in Southwest Wyoming to Colorado’s Front Range and points south. Thanks to CBS4Denver.com for the link.

More Flaming Gorge pipeline coverage here and here.

Vail Valley water education programs: Sixth-graders November 17 and 18, everyone else November 22

From the Vail Daily:

Sundance Water Company will join Minturn Middle School’s sixth grade science teachers Nov. 17 and 18 to help educate students and their parents about water.

Students will learn about the importance of drinking water, the water cycle, and how humans can affect the water we drink. They will also participate in testing water from all over the valley.

Parents and others are welcome to attend a free viewing of the documentary “Tapped,” sponsored by Sundance, the Eagle River Watershed Council and the Vilar Performing Arts Center Nov. 22 at 6 p.m. The documentary will be followed by a question-and-answer session with Kinetico water professionals. Donations will be accepted and all proceeds will go toward the school’s science department.

In addition, Sundance will donate 5 percent of all sales from Nov. 18 through Dec. 31.

To learn more, call 970-977-0292, e-mail scott@KineticoRM.com or go to http://www.KineticoRM.com.

More education coverage here.

Arkansas Valley seep ditch curtailment update

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

“Our intent is not to administer the law in a way that puts people out of business, but we have to administer water rights,” Wolfe said. “When the governor (Bill Ritter) asked me to take this job, I told him I would uphold the constitution, knowing that it would affect people’s livelihoods.”

At the time, in 2007, the state was dealing with compact issues on the Republican River and a water rights dispute in the South Platte basin that had the effect of shutting down many high-volume irrigation wells. The state also was looking at irrigation consumptive use rules that affected the Arkansas River Compact. Those rules will go into effect Jan. 1, and will require irrigators to account for surface-water improvements such as sprinklers, drip irrigation and ditch lining. Wolfe said more than a year of meetings helped the state explain its position to farmers and modify the rules to make them less onerous. He said he hopes to achieve the same results by having his staff meet with those affected by the seep ditch rules…

Seep ditches sprang up to use return flows — water that runs off fields and is not used to grow crops — from larger irrigation systems. As a result, they generally have decreed water rights that are junior to mutual irrigation ditches. The state says those rights must be curtailed until downstream senior rights are satisfied. Seep ditch owners say they have used the water for decades — 100 years or more in some cases — without complaint from the downstream ditches. More than 40 farms are at risk. They say the water was never available before it was claimed in seep ditch rights, and would have never made it back to the stream, anyway. Therefore, they argue, any downstream call should be regarded as a futile call — legally available, but unable to be physically delivered. The water rights of downstream owners have been filled at the expense of other rights upstream that are senior to the seep ditch rights, said Steve Witte, Water Division 2 engineer. Witte admitted the seep ditch rights have never been enforced by him or his predecessors. He said that’s a mistake, and farmers who have used the water have benefitted at the expense of others.

More Arkansas River basin coverage here.

Senator Udall intends to sponsor legislation next year authorizing Aurora to use Fryingpan-Arkansas facilities to move water out of the Arkansas Basin

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

The information was included in a report by attorneys for Aurora and the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District filed late Friday in the Denver U.S. District Court. The report says Udall has agreed to circulate draft legislation along the lines of past attempts to change federal law to allow Aurora to use Fry-Ark storage and exchange contracts to move water from farms dried up in Lake, Crowley and Otero counties into its South Platte collection system. “Senator Udall indicated that he intends to circulate draft legislation in the next Congress so that the congressional delegation can reach consensus on language that will implement the settlement agreement,” wrote attorneys Stuart Somach, for Aurora, and Peter Nichols, for the Lower Ark, in the joint filing.

The legislation is expected to be much the same as language included in earlier versions of the Preferred Storage Options Plan, a provision of a 2003 agreement with the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District, and in the 2004 intergovernmental agreement among Pueblo, the Pueblo water board, Colorado Springs, Fountain, the Southeastern district and Aurora…

The report indicates that if Congress has not enacted legislation by May 13, 2011 — the two-year anniversary of the settlement agreement [In 2009, the Lower Ark and Aurora reached a settlement that included additional concessions by Aurora and placed a stay on the case for two years. Among the provisions was new federal legislation that cleared Aurora to use the Fry-Ark project.] — Aurora and the Lower Ark will provide an amended settlement agreement recommending administrative closure of the case that preserves the right to reopen the case. Periodic status reports also would be included.

More Fryingpan-Arkansas Project coverage here and here.