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More education coverage here.
Day: May 25, 2013
Western Resource Advocates: Historic Protection Approved for San Miguel River
Here’s the release from Western Resource Advocates (Jason Bane):
A major portion of the San Miguel River will be permanently protected under a precedent-setting water right after a Colorado Water Court ruling this week. In a ruling signed on May 20, the Water Court for Division 4 ruled in favor of an application for “in-stream flow” (ISF) protection that permanently safeguards a large section of the San Miguel River west of Montrose, Colo. The protection was sought by the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB), and Western Resource Advocates and The Wilderness Society intervened in support of the Board’s application.
“The San Miguel River is one of the last relatively free-flowing rivers in Colorado, and this water right will help ensure that it stays that way for generations to come,” said Rob Harris, Senior Water Attorney with Western Resource Advocates (WRA) and the lead counsel representing WRA and The Wilderness Society. “The Colorado Water Conservation Board recognized early on that this is an incredibly significant protection, and the Board did a great job of working with a diverse community to negotiate an outcome that is truly in the best interests of both the surrounding area and the entire state.”
The Water Court for Division 4 approved the dedication of an in-stream flow protection of up to 325 cfs (cubic feet per second), which amounts to one of the largest river protections in the history of the state—exceeded only by similar protections afforded the much-larger Colorado River (A typical ISF protection accounts for less than 10 cfs). The San Miguel ISF recognizes the importance of keeping water ‘in the stream’ to benefit the natural environment. Healthy rivers also benefit recreation, local communities, and the economy.
“We’re pleased to secure permanent protection for this scenic river in Colorado’s Red Rock Canyon country,” said Harris. “This really is a tremendous accomplishment, and we are incredibly proud to have played a part in the process.”
The CWCB and the Colorado Attorney General’s office amicably concluded negotiations that satisfied nearly every interested party to the case, including the Board of County Commissioners of Montrose County and Tri- State Generation and Transmission Association. Barring an appeal of the Water Court ruling to the Colorado Supreme Court, the May 20th decision concludes a process that began with an ISF application on Oct. 31, 2011.
The location of the San Miguel River protection is west of Montrose, near the town of Nucla.
Conservation Colorado: State Water Plan Taking Shape
Click here for the discussion from Conservation Colorado. Here’s an excerpt:
We believe the plan shows the potential to shape Colorado’s water future. Having a single focused plan will put all Coloradans on the same page and foster better collaboration and coordination between the state, local communities, and other water users.
More CWCB coverage here.
The One World One Water Center May newsletter is hot off the press
Low streamflows are endangering the survival of the Rio Grande River cutthroat trout #COdrought
From the Summit County Citizens Voice (Bob Berwyn):
Some of southern Colorado’s Rio Grande cutthroat trout are likely living on the edge of the climate cliff and will have a hard time surviving as global temperatures rise.
Flows are already very low in many streams where the rare fish live, so even a small change in flow could push some populations into the abyss. The long-term global warming forecast by most climate models could render many mainstem, connecting habitats unsuitable for the fish, which survive best in a narrow temperature range, according to a new study by U.S. Geological Survey scientists.
Rio Grande cutthroat trout now live in only about 12 percent of its historical habitat, as non-native fish introductions, water diversions and other impacts degraded the species’ habitat in the past few decades. Most of the sampled streams with Rio Grande cutthroat trout have base flows of less than 1 cubic foot per second, making them vulnerable to drought.
More endangered/threatened species coverage here.
Say hello to the ‘Our Colorado River’ website from Colorado Trout Unlimited #ColoradoRiver
Here’s the release from Colorado Trout Unlimited (Richard van Gytenbeek/Stephanie Scott):
Trout Unlimited launches “Our Colorado River” to unite water users on river health
TU encourages West Slope river stakeholders to collaborate on conservation, water management
(Grand Junction)— For the overtapped Colorado River to meet a variety of needs, from agriculture to recreation, West Slope water users need to start rowing in the same direction.
That’s the message of a new outreach effort—“Our Colorado River”—launched today by sportsmen’s group Trout Unlimited, which is encouraging Colorado River stakeholders to work together to find innovative water planning and river conservation solutions.
The upper Colorado River is the lifeblood of the West Slope of Colorado. The Colorado River mainstem, along with major tributaries such as the Yampa, White, Dolores and Gunnison, nourish everything that happens on the West slope: agriculture, recreation, tourism, and related businesses. But the Colorado River faces a host of increasing pressures, from drought and diversions to industrial and municipal growth. Many experts believe that Colorado will face serious challenges in meeting water needs, while preserving river habitat and wildlife.
“West Slope water users need to realize our common stake in preserving the river’s health and vitality,” said Richard Van Gytenbeek, Colorado River basin coordinator for Trout Unlimited. “From farms and ranches, to recreation and tourism and towns and cities—the West Slope economy depends on a healthy Colorado River.”
In western Colorado, noted Van Gytenbeek, water from the Colorado River basin irrigates pasture on about 9,000 farms and ranches—operations that produce animals and crops with an economic impact of $1 billion annually. Similarly, West Slope recreation and tourism industries depend heavily on the Colorado and its tributaries to support rafting, fishing, kayaking, camping and other activities. Recreation is a huge and growing business in Colorado, generating in excess of $9 billion per year to the West Slope economy.
“Together, the agriculture and recreation sectors comprise western Colorado’s largest economic engine—an engine that runs on water. Without healthy rivers, the economic future of the West Slope looks bleak,” said Van Gytenbeek, who is taking this conservation message on the road with a series of presentations to West Slope communities and groups.
As part of the “Our Colorado River” effort, Trout Unlimited also unveiled a new website, http://www.OurCoRiver.com, which highlights the need for collaboration and features a gallery of “Voices of the Colorado River”—multimedia profiles of diverse West Slope water users, from fishing guides to ranchers to vineyard owners, who talk about their personal connection to the Colorado River and the need to protect river health.
TU is also asking West Slope residents to support a set of “core values and actions” needed to meet the river challenges ahead:
1) Cooperation, Not Conflict: Work together to ensure the Colorado River is able to meet our diverse needs, from agriculture to recreation and tourism. Cooperation is the key to sustaining our present and growing our future.
2) Protect Our Quality of Life: Maintain our open spaces through a vigorous agricultural sector and ensure that our rivers and streams are flowing and healthy.
3) Modernize irrigation: Upgrade our aging irrigation infrastructure systems to make them more productive, economical, and habitat-friendly.
4) Innovative Management: Explore new ways to meet our water supply needs through innovative conservation and management practices.
5) Keep Our Rivers at Home: Leave water in its home basins and oppose new, river-damaging transbasin diversions of water from the Colorado River to the Front Range.
TU is urging West Slope residents to endorse these principles at http://www.OurCoRiver.com to build support for common goals and actions to protect the Colorado River.
“We think most West Slope residents will embrace these commonsense ideas as ways to meet our water needs,” said Stephanie Scott, outreach coordinator for Colorado TU. “The alternative—fighting and every water user for himself—is a prescription for disaster.”
Scott stressed that West Slope users have a lot to gain by working cooperatively to meet water supplies and maintain healthy rivers and streams. She pointed to several recent TU projects with ranchers and irrigators in the Colorado River basin that benefit agriculture while ensuring healthy rivers. For example, TU recently completed several restoration projects in the Gunnison River, including an overhaul of the old Relief Ditch dam, an imposing diversion that posed a hazard for both boaters and fish. TU and partners worked with a local irrigation ditch company to modernize the Relief Ditch diversion to improve water management while enhancing boater safety and fish passage.
“There are many of these pragmatic, win-win opportunities out there,” said Scott.
As another example, TU and its partners worked with a landowner on the Yampa River to construct a fence that benefits both a fishery and cattle operation. “The ranch wants to run cows and maximize the trout fishery.
So we helped build a riparian fence that gives the ranch manager more control over access to the river and streamside pasture,” said Brian Hodge, TU’s project coordinator for the Yampa-White Basin.
“These kinds of pragmatic, collaborative projects will help keep the Colorado basin healthy and able to sustain our economy, amid a range of increasing demands and impacts,” said Van Gytenbeek. “We’re all in this boat together.”
To learn more about TU’s “Our Colorado River” effort, contact Van Gytenbeek at (307) 690-1267, or go to http://www.OurCoRiver.com.
Colorado-Big Thompson Project update: Granby Reservoir is 50 feet from full #ColoradoRiver
From email from Reclamation (Kara Lamb):
It’s Memorial Day weekend and time to kick off my annual communications about run-off.
Some of you might have noticed that we saw some peaking run-off at Willow Creek last week. Inflows to the reservoir were over 900 cfs. As a result, releases from the dam were bumped up to about 450 cfs on May 16th. They did not stay at that level for long.
Going into Memorial Day weekend, inflows from snow melt are anticipated to peak at about 700 cfs. Releases have been adjusted to around 100 cfs as we continue to store behind the dam. We do not plan to increase releases until the reservoir fills or we see much larger peak inflows.
Meanwhile at Granby Reservoir, we continue to release around 70 cfs. The reservoir is at a water level elevation of 8230.5–about 50 vertical feet down from full and the storage content is a little less than half full. The reservoir has started filling with some run-off flows already, bumping up ten feet in elevation over the past couple of weeks. We are anticipating seeing the reservoir water level rise another 20 feet as run-off continues.
From email from Reclamation (Kara Lamb):
It’s Memorial Day weekend! That means it’s time for my annual kick-off e-mail for the run-off and recreation season across the Colorado-Big Thompson Project.
We’re starting to see some run-off come from melting snow right on time for Memorial Day weekend. On the east slope of the C-BT that means we’re seeing snow that melts up in Rocky Mt. Natl. Park during the day run down the rivers, making it to Lake Estes late at night.
To manage the inflows to Estes at night, tonight, May 24 around midnight, we’ll bump up our releases from Olympus Dam to the Big Thompson River to about 250 cfs. The 250 cfs will likely remain in place throughout the holiday weekend.
Lake Estes is at typical water elevation levels for this time of year, fluctuating daily with power generation.
Project water being brought through the Adams Tunnel to Estes moves on to the C-BT’s southern power arm where it is used to generate hydro-electric power at three power plants. Pinewood Reservoir, which sits between two of those plants, is also at typical water elevation levels for this time of year, fluctuating daily with power generation. Likewise, Flatiron Reservoir is also fluctuating daily, as is normal. Those visiting Pinewood and Flatiron for the holiday weekend should be mindful of the daily fluctuations in water levels and please remember that there is NO swimming or boating of any kind in Flatiron.
The pump to Carter Lake has been turned off. Carter is ready for the weekend, sitting about 90% full with a water level elevation of 5748 feet.
Because we are generating hydro-power, the Big Thompson power plant at the mouth of the Big Thompson Canyon by the Dam Store will be running this weekend. Visitors to the area and downstream will notice about 400 cfs being discharged from the plant to the Big Thompson River. To learn more about Reclamation’s hydro-power program, visit here or here.
When the Big T plant goes on, flows to Horsetooth Reservoir will be cut back by about half. Beginning this weekend, around 175 cfs will continue to flow into Horsetooth. Currently, the reservoir is at an elevation of 5414, which is its average starting water level elevation for the recreation season and about 16 feet down from full. The water elevation is still rising.
Fryingpan-Arkansas Project operations update: There will be some water for the Voluntary Flow Program
From email from Reclamation (Kara Lamb):
Just a quick Memorial Day weekend update on Ruedi Reservoir.
Those of you who joined us for the State of the River meeting last night heard our projection that while we might get close, we do not anticipate filling Ruedi all the way to the top this year. However, we did catch up in portions of our snow pack in the upper reaches of the Fryingpan Basin with the late season snows.
Currently, Ruedi is at a water level elevation of about 7729 feet and rising. We are releasing about 110 cfs from the reservoir to the lower Fryingpan River. The Rocky Fork creek is starting to see some run-off, also, and is contributing an additional 10 or so cfs to the ‘Pan.
The Upper Colorado River Recovery Program and its reservoir operating partners announced today that they will not be employing the Coordinated Reservoirs Operations plan. That means, this run-off season we will not see by-passed inflows from Ruedi Reservoir for the endangered fish program.
From email from Reclamation (Kara Lamb):
Just a quick update about the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project reservoirs as we move into the Memorial Day weekend.
We are starting to see some run-off come into the West Slope Collection System, up above Ruedi Reservoir and Basalt, Colo. As a result, we are diverting and sending water through the Boustead Tunnel to Turquoise Reservoir. The reservoir is currently only about 30% full, but it has started to rise. Today alone it has gained just over a foot in water level elevation. At this time, we are not running water from Turquoise down to the Mt. Elbert Power Plant.
We have been generating power at the Mt. Elbert Power Plant and seeing some water come into Twin Lakes Reservoir. As a result, Twin is just over 60% full. Like Turquoise, we expect to see its water level rise with snow melt run-off.
Further downstream on the Arkansas, Pueblo Reservoir is currently about half full. That is slightly below average for this time of year, but still plenty of water for weekend recreation.
And, as most of you have probably already heard, there will be some water available for the Voluntary Flow Program this summer, thanks to the late season snows.
Chaffee County continues hearing 1041 regulations for geothermal exploration and production efforts
From The Mountain Mail (James Redmond):
Area residents expressed concerns during a public hearing Tuesday about the amount of regulation Chaffee County’s proposed geothermal 1041 regulations would impose.
The draft 1041 regulations would create a special permit-driven process that gives the county some power to regulate use of geothermal resources for commercial production of electricity, Dennis Giese, Chaffee County commissioner, said. Some residents feared that too little regulation in parts of the draft would leave the county open to adverse situations. The county should protect itself, Melanie Roth, Buena Vista, said.
One section of the draft regulations requires the applicant to submit “documentation of the applicant’s financial and technical capability to develop and operate the proposed project, including a description of the applicant’s experience developing and operating similar projects.”
The commissioners discussed removing or changing the language. “Why is that our business?” Giese asked.
The consultant the county hired to draft the regulations, Barbra Green, partner at Sullivan Green Seavy LLC, said a company may come in and start geothermal electricity production that it cannot finish. If the business then just leaves the county or goes bankrupt, the county could end up having to clean up the project and restore the land.
“I would rather have a pool (of money) or bond to reclaim the land,” Commissioner Frank Holman said.
Whether the county addresses the issue by requiring the applicant to prove feasibility or with a bond, the commissioners should work up front to protect the county, Roth said.
Commissioners also discussed how the draft language could regulate geothermal exploration drilling. At a May 7 work session commissioners gave direction to explore language that would require, subject to some regulations, an activity notice from the county for exploration drilling, Green said. The state engineer’s office applies regulations to the drilling of exploration holes.
Cheryl Brown-Kovacic, representing the League of Women Voters of Chaffee County, said the county should have regulations for all phases of geothermal development, including exploration.“I have some concerns with no permitting required for exploration,” Syd Schieren, Salida, said.
The regulations should have clear language defining and separating exploration and exploration drilling from production drilling, Green said.
However, during the public comment period, some speakers expressed concerns that the draft overregulated.
“After having read (the) draft regulations, we don’t need them,” John “Hank” Held, principal of Mt. Princeton Geothermal LLC, said. The regulations proposed in the draft duplicate state and federal regulations and “are overly restrictive,” he said.
Held said he thinks he has already missed the drilling season for this year, so the commissioners should take their time to make sure they get the regulations right.The commissioners made a motion to hold the next public hearing on the draft geothermal 1041 regulations during their July 2 meeting. Commissioner Dave Potts said he would like to have the Chaffee County Planning Commission review the draft before the next hearing. Green said she should have the next version of the draft finished by June 21.
Drought/runoff news: Arkansas River Basin reservoirs are at the bottom of the storage pack #COdrought
From The Mountain Mail (Joe Stone):
While recent weather patterns have helped improve Colorado snowpack levels and streamflow forecasts, the entire state continues to experience some level of drought, and reservoir levels remain low. Information presented at the May 16 Governor’s Water Availability Task Force meeting shows improvement in northern Colorado.
However, most of the state continues to experience severe drought conditions, and “the southern part of the state has seen conditions deteriorate over the last month.”
Mage Hultstrand, assistant snow survey supervisor with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, reported Arkansas River Basin reservoir levels are the lowest in the state: 52 percent of average and 17 percent of capacity. In neighboring basins, Hultstrand reported reservoir levels of 54 percent of average in the Rio Grande Basin and 88 percent of average in the Gunnison Basin. Statewide reservoir storage is at 74 percent of average, she said, compared to 112 percent of average in May 2012.
Hultstrand said snowpack peaked in the Arkansas Basin at 73 percent of average while the Rio Grande Basin peaked at 68 percent and the Gunnison Basin at 76 percent. Hultstrand reported NRCS streamflow projections of 68 percent of average for the Arkansas River at Salida with lower percentages for other parts of the basin:
60 percent for the Arkansas River at Pueblo Reservoir inflow. 40 percent for the Huerfano River near Redwing. 33 percent for the Cucharas River near La Veta. 30 percent for Purgatoire River at Trinidad Lake inflow. Streamflow forecasts indicate below-average spring streamflows across the state with the lowest forecasts in the Rio Grande Basin, ranging from 24 to 54 percent of normal, Hultstrand said.
Given below-average reservoir storage and low streamflow forecasts, a report from the State Engineer’s Office reported negative Surface Water Supply Index values across the state.
Additionally, Gov. John Hickenlooper activated the Municipal Impact Task Force in May in response to dry conditions and below-average reservoir storage.
Click here for the Colorado Reservoir Storage Graph for end of April 2013 from the Natural Resources Conservation Service.