Day: June 29, 2016

#Runoff news: Streamflow declining in the Arkansas River

Arkansas River at Parkdale gage March 1 through June 29, 2016 via the USGS.
Arkansas River at Parkdale gage March 1 through June 29, 2016 via the USGS.

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

The Arkansas River is rolling back into place as the runoff season winds down.

Snowpack piled up in late April and temperatures stayed cool in May, piling up a decent snowpack. Hot weather during most of June contributed to higher than average flows for the entire month. But that came to an end this week, as river levels at Parkdale and Avondale again hit the median mark.

Flows at Parkdale were 1,760 cubic feet per second and falling Tuesday, slightly below average. At Avondale, flows dropped to 2,000 cfs, just about normal. That’s about half of what they were two weeks ago.

Those numbers are still good for the rafting industry upstream and for farmers downstream.

The Arkansas River Outfitters Association calls the flows “ideal” on its website, saying the flows provide a combination of whitewater and technical rafting. The Royal Gorge is still rated high in intensity.

Downstream, the priority call date is 1890 or 1893, which provides water to most of the larger canals. Some canals are also releasing water which had been stored in Lake Pueblo to boost flows.

The Fryingpan-Arkansas Project, which provides supplemental water for farms and cities, has brought over about 51,000 acre-feet so far from the Western Slope. That’s about three-quarters of the total that is expected to eventually be brought into the Arkansas River basin.

Flows in the Boustead Tunnel, which brings water into Turquoise Lake near Leadville, have dropped, but are expected to bump up again on Friday, according to the Bureau of Reclamation. The amount of water that can be brought through the tunnel is tied to river levels in the Roaring Fork River basin.

Durango councilors vote to continue fluoride dosing

Calcium fluoride
Calcium fluoride

From The Durango Herald (Mary Shinn):

The Durango City Council decided Tuesday fluoride will remain in the city’s drinking water.

Public health arguments that fluoridated water helps protect those with limited access to dental care seemed to sway councilors…

The question deadlocked the city’s Utilities Commission, so that advisory board did not have a united position to present, but the commission’s chairman, John Ballew, and San Juan Basin Health Department Executive Director Liane Jollon both spoke in favor of fluoride…

The Utilities Commission has been exploring fluoridation in drinking water since fall. The board heard presentations from residents who want to see fluoridation ended and from health officials who tout widespread fluoridation as a public health victory.

@CWCB_DNR: June 2016 #Drought Update

Colorado Drought Monitor June 21, 2016.
Colorado Drought Monitor June 21, 2016.

Here’s the release from the Colorado Water Conservation Board (Taryn Finnessey, Tracy Kosloff):

While the state experienced below average temperatures in May, June has brought well above average temperatures and mostly dry conditions. Prolonged high temperatures have resulted in a rapid melt off of mountain snowpack. The forecast for the next two weeks shows continued warm temperatures on the Western Slope and better chances for precipitation statewide. The long term CPC forecast indicates a warm summer with no clear indication of wet or dry conditions going into monsoon season. Wildfire season is expected to be average for the state this year.

  • Statewide water year-to-date mountain precipitation as reported from NRCS is at 100 percent of normal as of June 21st.
  • Reservoir storage statewide remains above normal at 108 percent. The Arkansas basin has the highest storage levels in the state at 116 percent of average; the Upper Rio Grande has the lowest storage levels at 79 percent. All other basins are near or above normal.
  • The Surface Water Supply Index (SWSI) as of June 21st is near or above average across the majority of the state. At this time of year the index reflects reservoir storage and streamflow forecasts; June 1st forecasts were near normal to above normal in the northern half of the state and normal to slightly below normal in the southern half of the state.
  • According to the long term experimental forecast discussion, El Nino conditions have dissipated, but La Nina conditions have yet to develop. Should La Nina conditions emerge and continue into winter, a record high Pacific Decadal Oscillation would decrease its impact and would not necessarily foretell drought conditions for the state.
  • Agricultural producers are experiencing a decent year so far with harvest in the Southeast part of the state underway and producing good yields, wet conditions in the northeast may result in a delayed harvest. The corn yield is expected to high, but low commodity prices are presenting challenges for producers.
  • Water providers all reported good storage levels and are not anticipating any mandatory watering restrictions this season.

    • Weekly Climate, Water and #Drought Assessment of the Upper #ColoradoRiver Basin #COriver

    Upper Colorado River Basin month to date precipitation through June 25, 2016 via the Colorado Climate Center.
    Upper Colorado River Basin month to date precipitation through June 25, 2016 via the Colorado Climate Center.

    Click here to read the current assessment. Click here to go to the NIDIS website hosted by the Colorado Climate Center.

    Aurora to bump water rates

    Water infrastructure as sidewalk art
    Water infrastructure as sidewalk art

    From The Aurora Sentinel (Rachel Sapin):

    Aurora Water is looking to implement 3-percent increases in water rates every other year beginning in 2017 and going through 2021.

    At a study session June 27, Aurora Water presented its financial plan, including the incremental rate increase proposal, to Aurora City Council members as part of an informational session.

    Aurora residents haven’t seen a rate increase since 2010, but Aurora Water says it needs the increase in order to meet its continual goal of being able to supply 50,000 new residents on top of the 350,000 plus that make up Colorado’s third-largest city.

    Following the meeting, Aurora Water spokesman Greg Baker said the city is still looking into specifically how the rate increase will be implemented. Baker said the increase is needed due to rising costs in chemicals, electricity and personnel since 2010.

    In 2013, the city lowered most water tap fees, reducing the cost to connect new homes to the city’s water system by about $8,000.

    City officials at the time asked that the water rates be lowered in part to keep Aurora competitive with other metro-area water providers, which they said were affecting the number of housing construction starts.

    Aurora Water operates as an enterprise fund with its infrastructure and services being supported through water rates and connection fees that are set on a “cost of service” basis.

    Later in the evening, council members approved Aurora Water refinancing $550 million in debt, the savings to be used to help pay for additions and improvements to Aurora’s large and complex water system…

    City officials, already eyeing three future reservoirs to grow Aurora’s water storage system, appear to be close to buying land for the future Wild Horse Reservoir in Park County. Lisa Darling, Aurora Water’s South Platte Basin program manager, said at a meeting in April that reservoir is likely to be designed and completed by 2022.

    According to city documents, Wild Horse would provide the city with 32,400 acre-feet of water storage. The city is expected to complete the purchase and sale contract for the sea-horse-shaped reservoir by August of this year. Aurora Water officials say the project will cost the city $92 million to build out.

    @RockiesProject and @EcoFlight1 survey #GoldKingMine and #AnimasRiver

    On April 7, 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed adding the “Bonita Peak Mining District” to the National Priorities List, making it eligible for Superfund. Forty-eight mine portals and tailings piles are “under consideration” to be included. The Gold King Mine will almost certainly be on the final list, as will the nearby American Tunnel. The Mayflower Mill #4 tailings repository, just outside Silverton, is another likely candidate, given that it appears to be leaching large quantities of metals into the Animas River. What Superfund will entail for the area beyond that, and when the actual cleanup will begin, remains unclear. Eric Baker
    On April 7, 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed adding the “Bonita Peak Mining District” to the National Priorities List, making it eligible for Superfund. Forty-eight mine portals and tailings piles are “under consideration” to be included. The Gold King Mine will almost certainly be on the final list, as will the nearby American Tunnel. The Mayflower Mill #4 tailings repository, just outside Silverton, is another likely candidate, given that it appears to be leaching large quantities of metals into the Animas River. What Superfund will entail for the area beyond that, and when the actual cleanup will begin, remains unclear.
    Eric Baker

    From The Durango Herald (Jessica Pace):

    An annual Colorado College project focusing on issues affecting the Rocky Mountain West is turning its spotlight on the governance of Western water, including the Animas River.

    On Monday morning, several student researchers and staff with the State of the Rockies Project took a flight from Durango to survey from above the Gladstone area and Gold King Mine, just north of Silverton…

    Below the Gold King, passengers could see another pock in the mountainside – a temporary treatment facility catching drainage from the mine.

    “I was struck by the scale of it,” said Emelie Frojen, a Colorado College senior. “It’s amazing how small one mine is compared to the scale of the damage.”

    The group will meet this week with officials to learn about the Animas-La Plata Project and the U.S. Forest Service’s plans for managing the Hermosa Creek area, and will attend an Animas River Stakeholders Group meeting.

    “We try to make complex issues more digestible,” Brendan Boepple, assistant project director, said of the State of the Rockies Project, which produces an annual report on its focus of study.