Day: December 12, 2013
NOAA: National Overview – November 2013
Click here to go to the website.
John Wesley Powell at his desk—same desk used by the USGS Director today
#TBT John Wesley Powell at his desk—same desk used by the #USGS Director today. http://t.co/dlzFx1sJxh #science pic.twitter.com/8oG5ghSRbq
— USGS (@USGS) December 12, 2013
Cortez: Some sewer rates skyrocket
From the Cortez Journal (Tobie Baker):
Cortez City Manager Shane Hale said municipal leaders have been meeting with CSD officials to fully understand the impacts new rates would have on city facilities.
“Preliminarily, it looks as though the majority of city buildings will be assessed with exorbitant increases, ranging from four to eight times what the city currently pays for this service,” Hale said.
The most dramatic increases will be felt at the recreation center, where the sewer rates would increase from an average of $93 per month to $762 per month. City Hall, Cortez Police Department, municipal pool and city service center are all projected to see rates increase four-fold.
“From our standpoint, these increases are excessive,” Hale said.
Current sewer rates for the city and other businesses are based on actual metered water usage. City Hall currently uses 3,000 to 4,000 gallons per month of water, approximately half what a single family home is presumed to use.
“The bill for City Hall will go from $29 a month to a proposed $116 per month, or four times what a single family home pays,” Hale said.
Taxpayers would be responsible for picking up the city sewer tab, with total annual municipal sewer collections increasing from $27,600 in 2013 to $52,500 in 2014, according to CSD budget forecasts.
CSD’s new proposed sewer fees would be billed starting Jan. 1. Commercial and municipal rates would be determined based on six different classifications, with a majority of the new rates based on square footage. Hotel charges, however, are linked to the number of units, the hospital is related to the number of beds, and schools and day cares are subject to student capacity. And new rates for the Cortez Journal will be determined based on the number of employees.
CSD officials have indicated that each business type is awarded a Single Family Equivalency (SFE) ratio based on American Water Works Association guidelines. The SFE ratio is then multiplied by the square footage, number of employees or number of beds, for example, which is then multiplied by $30 to determine the business’s monthly sewer rate.
According to CSD budget figures, annual sewer collections from area schools are also expected to nearly double starting next year. CSD officials project the school district’s annual rates will increase from $19,200 in 2013 to $37,920 in 2014…
New residential sewer rates, including single-family residences, duplexes, apartments and mobile homes, contain a flat $30 monthly sewer fee without regard to the number of occupants.
Under the new rate structure, a 10,000-square-foot warehouse would pay $12 per month for sewer; a 1,000-square-foot beauty salon, $51 per month; a 200-seat movie theater, $18 per month; a 5,000-square-foot nursing home, $216 per month; a five-bay self-serve car wash and a 25-space RV park with full hookups, $300 per month; a 5,000-square-foot restaurant or bar, $364.50 per month; a 50-unit hotel with restaurant, $1,035 per month; a 50-unit hotel without a restaurant, $720 per month; and a 1,000-square-foot laundry mat, $357 per month.
Arkansas Basin Roundtable recap: Identifying critical watersheds should be part of the #COWaterPlan
From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):
Fires and floods have emphasized the need to protect watersheds in Colorado and should be incorporated into state water planning. The Arkansas Basin Roundtable, which is drafting its piece of the state water plan, discussed how to evaluate which watersheds are most critical and how to prevent damage from drought, insects and fire at its meeting Wednesday.
“The question we’re trying to answer is how do you expedite permitting and how do you come up with a common technical platform,” said Gary Barber, chairman of the roundtable.
Forest fires in the last two years have damaged critical watersheds in the Colorado Springs, Canon City and Walsenburg areas. Grassland fires have created other problems in the Lower Arkansas Valley as well. Fires increase the severity of flooding and increase levels of contaminants in the water.
Some watersheds may deserve higher priority because cities and farms rely on them for water supply, he said. Barber suggested the roundtable use the same sort of method it employed for recreation and environmental uses by breaking the watershed into small units and analyzing each. By having priorities in place, it will be easier to “invite” federal and state agencies to participate in programs to improve watershed health, Barber said. Using watershed models also would help in protecting from threats that arise in other basins, such as fires that top a ridge or spruce beetles that are blown by winds from one area to another.
“All of these ecological processes don’t care about which basin they’re in,” said SeEtta Moss, of the Arkansas Valley Audubon Society.
More coverage from Chris Woodka writing for The Pueblo Chieftain:
State water interests are chipping in to keep federal snow surveys in operation, but say the measurements should remain a federal responsibility. The Arkansas Basin Roundtable Wednesday agreed to ask the state to fund this year’s snow course measurements by the Natural Resources Conservation Service in the Arkansas River watershed, about $8,500. Funds come through the portion of the Water Supply Reserve Account dedicated to the Arkansas River basin. Other roundtables and water agencies such as Denver Water are providing similar funding, about $80,000 statewide.
The snow course measurements have been made since the 1930s in some places and pre-date more technological methods such as Snotel. They rely on physical measurement of snow depth to provide ground truth to automated methods. Because they are labor-intensive, the federal government has indicated they would be phased out.
“Basically, they hike in and measure the snow,” said Terry Scanga, general manager of the Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District. “I think these snow courses are important to our basin.”
Other roundtable members supported funding the snow course readings this year, but said they should remain a federal responsibility. They agreed to back efforts to restore funding to the program.
“This is a statewide problem caused by Congress,” said Reed Dils, of Buena Vista and a former member of the Colorado Water Conservation Board. “The value of Snotel readings far exceeds the cost…These long-term programs where the federal government is a partner are important.”
U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Colo., and U.S. Sens. Mark Udall, D-Colo., and Michael Bennet, D-Colo., last month wrote a letter to the Agriculture Department urging continuation of snow measurement programs. Such programs help water suppliers plan for spring runoff.
More IBCC — Basin Roundtables coverage here and here. More Colorado Water Plan coverage here.
Weekly Climate, Water and Drought Assessment of the Upper #ColoradoRiver Basin
Click here to read the December 10 assessment from NIDIS via the Colorado Climate Center website.
Water demands grow on both sides of the Continental Divide — Aspen Journalism #ColoradoRiver #COWaterPlan
This is the kind of water story @CoyoteGulch readers lap up: http://t.co/L56Nrf0zhu
— Aspen Journalism (@AspenJournalism) December 12, 2013
Here’s a recap of the December 4 IBCC meeting in Golden, from Aspen Journalism (Allen Best). Click through and read the whole thing. Here’s an excerpt:
Many of the members of Colorado’s Interbasin Compact Committee, or IBCC, risked icy roads and snowy weather to get to their state-level water meeting in Golden on December 4. And when they got there – to talk about water for the state’s growing population – they didn’t find the going any easier…
The IBCC includes representatives from the state’s nine river basin roundtables. And as it convened, it did so knowing the Colorado River Basin Roundtable had just drawn a line on the Continental Divide in a position paper, telling the IBCC that “new transmountain diversions projects, if any, should be the very last ‘tool’ out of the box.’”
“Everybody knows the new supply will come from the Colorado River basin, except those of us in the Colorado River basin,” Stan Cazier of Grand County, who represents the Colorado River Basin Roundtable, told the other members of the IBCC.
Today, nearly three-quarters of the water in the upper Colorado River is sent east before the river reaches the Grand County seat in Hot Sulphur Springs. In all, 450,000 acre-feet to 600,000 acre-feet of water is moved each year from the Western Slope to cities along the Front Range and farms on the eastern plains.
But faced with a growing population, representatives of water interests on the Front Range want to plan for additional diversions, or “new supply,” from the Western Slope. Still in doubt is whether that water is available…
Taylor Hawes, Colorado River Program director for The Nature Conservancy…wants conservation and efficiency fully explored before additional water projects are considered.
“It’s premature to talk about a big project on the Western Slope, because we don’t know what problem we’re solving,” said Hawes, who is one of the governor’s appointees on the IBCC to represent environmental viewpoints. “Depending upon the problem, the solution may look different.”
More IBCC — basin roundtables coverage here and here. More Colorado Water Plan coverage here
Secretary Jewell to speak at the #ColoradoRiver Water Users Association 2013 Annual Conference on Friday
From the Public News Service (Troy Wilde):
U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell will address the future of the Colorado River at a meeting in Las Vegas Friday. Jewell is scheduled to speak at the Colorado River Water Users Association 2013 Annual Conference at Caesars Palace.
Scott Huntley, public information manager with Southern Nevada Water Authority, says those at the conference are working together to address an ongoing water shortage. “Unless the states on the river cooperate there is really no chance of being able to weather droughts or shortages such as we have been facing – or potentially could face in the future, near future,” he explains.
From Inland News Today:
Water watchers say the drought is beginning its 14th year. And, the consequences for Southern California are looming.
Those attending a conference of Colorado River water users in Las Vegas were warned Wednesday that shortages could appear as soon as 2017.
Much of Southern California relies on Colorado River water. Spokesman Bob Muir of the Metropolitan Water District says supplies were impacted in 2003.
“Our Colorado River water supplies were almost cut in half. Since then, we’ve been investing money to refill the aqueduct that was left half-empty. The reason supplies were cut off was because it was the beginning of the drought,” Muir said.
Experts say that changes in water management will be stepped up unless there’s a sustained improvement in rain and snowfall.
Say hello to the Open Water Foundation — Open Data. Open Software. Open Decisions.
Click here to go to the Open Water Foundation website. Here’s the overview from the website:
The Open Water Foundation (OWF) is a nonprofit social enterprise that is working to provide an open source software platform to help organizations make better decisions about water. With increasing population, demand for water is increasing, resulting in negative impacts. In particular, water issues in the Western United States and other arid regions increasingly will influence decisions about the economy, environment, and society. There has been increased communication and collaboration among water interests and there is an opportunity to extend this spirit of collaboration to software development.
OWF was formed to apply an open source software business model to water resource software, so that organizations have well maintained tools to address important water problems. Every organization wants to base decisions on data and science yet it is cost prohibitive for any one organization to develop the needed software tools. Government funding and research has produced useful software, but with budget and staffing issues, we cannot rely on government agencies or short-term investment to develop and maintain software tools.
Instead, OWF is leading the effort to collaboratively develop, enhance, and maintain open source water resource software tools, to the benefit of government, universities, consultants, nonprofits, and the public. Our vision is of:
* Collaboration – OWF will work with anyone to solve water/technology issues and make those solutions available
* Transparency – as a nonprofit using an open source business model, we are demonstrating that open access to data and technology ultimately lead to a greater understanding of problems and sound decisions
* Neutrality – OWF provides a neutral space for collaboration, focusing on shared interests rather than competition
* Efficiency – with ongoing focus on water resource software solutions, OWF understands technology issues and can efficiently direct resources to projects
* Agility – by establishing relationships with a diverse network of organizations, we seek to respond as quickly as possible, and we use agile software development approaches
* Cost-effectiveness – by pooling the financial resources of our customers as applied to open source tools, we leverage solutions and benefit everyone
* Sustainability – OWF acts as a steward for open source water resources software for the long term. It is our mission.
* Innovation – OWF leads in open innovation for all of the above reasons and because it is our culture
The OWF was incorporated in April 2013 with the support of the nonprofit Rocky Mountain Innosphere (Innosphere) incubator. We also are a member of the nonprofit Colorado Water Innovation Cluster (CWIC).
We are early in our journey, are very busy, and will continue to tell our story over the next few months as we enhance this website and continue to grow.