Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program update

Here’s an update on the efforts by Front Range and west slope water providers to provide the necessary water to further the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program, from Tonya Bina writing for the Sky-Hi Daily News. From the article:

The Colorado River District has taken on the role of fundraising organizer, asking town boards and water districts to contribute money so the West Slope complies to a federal fish recovery program. A pledge, said Daniel Birch of the Colorado River District to Granby and Grand Lake town boards last week, would help the West Slope meet its first obligation of National Environmental Policy Act permitting. The West Slope and East Slope are sharing the cost of $550,000 as each enters the process. Colorado River District fundraising on behalf of the West Slope already has raised just more than $200,000 in commitments. The River District approached 40 water users in the Grand Valley into Summit and Eagle counties…

As part of the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program, East and West Slope diverters committed to supplying 10,825 acre-feet of water in late summer, evenly split among the two regions. As a temporary solution, Denver Water has been releasing flows from Williams Fork Reservoir to comply; meanwhile, the Colorado River Water Conservation District has been releasing from Wolford Mountain Reservoir for the West Slope’s share. By the end of 2009, however, stakeholders must arrive at a more permanent solution mandated in the program.

Negotiations have led to supplying half of the 10,825 acre-feet out of Granby Reservoir sourced from the Northern Water Conservancy District’s Red Top Ditch Shares (about a $17 million solution) for the East Slope’s share. The other half would come out of Ruedi Reservoir near Basalt for the West Slope’s share. The plan also includes using excess storage capacity in the Green Mountain Reservoir. Contracting with the federal government to have water shepherded from Ruedi to the critical section of the Colorado could cost West Slope water users about $8 million, according to the Colorado River District. For this reason, the district is working on legislation it plans to introduce to Congress, asking for forgiveness of that cost…

Both the Towns of Grand Lake and Granby agreed to consider the $5,000 while crafting next year’s budget, a process starting in August. Grand County Water and Sanitation No.1 and the Winter Park West Water and Sanitation District have also made commitments, according to Birch.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here.

Uncompahgre River: Second annual Ridgway River Festival

From the Ouray News:

The Watershed Education tent was operated by the Uncompahgre Watershed Planning Partnership, Mountain Studies Institute and Southwest Conservation Corps (all non-profits). They gave out valuable information on initiatives to protect and restore our local waterways, while the silent auction raised money to benefit service projects along the Uncompahgre river corridor.

Festival participants lined the Uncompahgre to watch the day’s exciting river events.

The Mosaic Community Project (MCP), a local not for profit organization, organized the river festival as a free community event.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

Halligan Reservoir Expansion project: Fort Collins’ council weighing environmental impact

From the Fort Collins Coloradoan (Kevin Duggan):

some City Council members said Tuesday they want to make sure the proposed expansion, which would increase the reservoir’s capacity more than six times, meets city needs without causing excessive environmental harm…

Council members received an update on the project, which has been in various stages of planning for 20 years. The expansion would provide the city with enough water to serve its population at “build out” and provide protection against drought, officials say. The project would expand the reservoir from 6,500 acre feet to 40,000 acre feet. An acre foot of water is enough to meet the annual needs of two or three urban households. Partners with Fort Collins in the Halligan project are North Poudre Irrigation Co., North Weld County Water District, Fort Collins-Loveland Water District and the East Larimer Water District. The estimated cost of the project is $60 million. The city’s share would be $21 million.

Greeley has proposed expanding its nearby Seaman Reservoir from 5,000 to 53,000 acre feet. The Halligan-Seaman projects are being reviewed by the Army Corps of Engineers through a single environmental impact statement process.

If permitted by the Corps late next year, the enlarged Halligan could be operational by 2015.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

Montezuma County: Water treatment plant expansion 90% complete

From the Cortez Journal (Kristen Plank):

The project, which began roughly one year ago, is expanding the plant. Officials at MWC have employed their own workers to install a new pump station and add larger pumps. This upgrade will allow the facility to pump to the higher service areas, like Summit Ridge, said Mike Bauer, manager at MWC. “Our pumps are getting close to their capacity,” Bauer said, noting the capacity runs at 4 million gallons of water per day. “So what we are doing is getting larger pumps (for the plant). We’re also adding some new backwash pumps, which are used to clean the filters.” The cost for phase one has been approximately $1.4 million. No loans have been taken out to pay for the first part of the project, Bauer said…

Montezuma Water Co. provides rural water to three counties, including Montezuma, Dolores and parts of San Miguel. The water treatment plant provides a relatively unique way of filtering water. Microsand is injected into the system, which then rapidly cleans out the “heavy organics,” Bauer said. This process, which extends the life of the water treatment filters, is becoming more and more popular at other water treatment facilities.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

Colorado Division of Water Resources: Colorado’s WellView Web

Say hello to Colorado’s WellView Web brought to you by the Colorado Division of Water Resources.

Thanks to The Mountain Mail (Ron Sering) for the link.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

S. 787, Clean Water Restoration Act

From The Durango Telegraph:

The tides appear to be turning against hardrock mining. This week, a breakthrough step was taken by the U.S. Senate on reforming the 1872 mining law and protecting the Colorado landscape. In addition, the Environmental Protection Agency has been ordered to develop rules that will ensure mining companies will again never dodge environmental cleanup in the future. Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., chaired a Tuesday hearing on mining reform in the U.S. Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee. The session marks the first time federal mining reform legislation has been introduced in both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate since 1993. In recent years, hardrock mining soared throughout the nation with uranium claims alone jumping 239 percent from 2003-09. Meanwhile, the 1872 mining law places the development of hardrock minerals as the best use of public lands, often creating irrational public land use decisions. Threats to communities are just one of the reasons why 20 state legislators and county commissioners in 11 counties submitted letters to Sen. Udall supporting strong mining reform. “A lot has changed since 1872. The West is settled, and agriculture, tourism and outdoor recreation are primary economic drivers for mountain towns,” said Colorado Sen. Gail Schwartz. “We need sensible mining policy. Colorado has taken steps toward reform.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

S. 1417 and H.R.3123, Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel Remediation Act of 2009

Senator Udall and Representative Lamborn have companion bills in the congress to grease the wheels of pumping from above the collapse in the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel. Here’s a report from Ann E. Wibbenmeyer writing for the Leadville Herald Democrat. From the article:

Two bills have been introduced in this current legislative session. Lamborn introduced H.R.3123 and Udall introduced S.1417. Just like federal legislation introduced last year during the state of emergency, these are companion bills clarifying BOR responsibility for the tunnel and the water inside. Last year, the bill introduced in the Senate by former Senator Ken Salazar was halted by opposition from the BOR. The bill introduced jointly by the Congressman Udall and Congressman Lamborn made it to a vote in the House of Representatives. “The clock ran out,” said Udall about the lack of movement on this bill after the vote sent the bill to the Senate. The election loomed and the senate had a lot on its plate, and the bill was introduced rather late, he added.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here.

Republican River Basin: Colorado will ask for vote on compliance pipeline at annual meeting of the Republican River Compact Administration August 11-12

From The Yuma Pioneer (Tony Rayl):

RRCA’s annual meeting will be August 11-12 in Lincoln, Nebraska. If the pipeline is voted down, Colorado will begin the arbitration process. Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas have been holding closed door negotiations on the pipeline for months. Colorado called for a special meeting in late April, at which point Kansas and Nebraska each indicated there still were issues to resolve. That meeting was continued, and negotiations have done the same. [Peter Ampe with the Colorado Attorney General’s Office] told the RRWCD Board that Colorado has a revised proposal before the RRCA.

The RRWCD is not privy to the details due to confidentiality rules.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here.

Runoff news: Lake Granby at highest level in years

From the Sky-Hi Daily News (Tonya Bina):

At present, the lake is at an elevation of 8,276 feet, or about 4 feet (about 29,000 acre feet) from being full, according to Noble Underbrink, department manager of the Farr Pumping Plant of Lake Granby. The last time the reservoir was in that range was in 2000. Prior to that, the lake was close to or above that level each year. “This puts us back to normal since the perceived drought of 2001,” Underbrink said. In years since, the lake elevation was about 10 feet below where it is now, a level that can make a drastic difference to reservoir shores. Precipitation on the Front Range where water is delivered from Lake Granby, he added, decreased the need to draw water. The plant is pumping water at night to maintain elevation levels in Grand Lake; meanwhile Lake Granby remains stable, fluctuating by about 100th of 1 foot. Underbrink said he doesn’t expect Lake Granby to spill this year, unless there is an abundance of rain during the remainder of the summer. The last time the reservoir was completely full was in 1998.

From The Mountain Mail (Christopher Kolomitz):

It reached 3,250 cubic feet per second in Salida Monday and flow of about 3,500 cfs was recorded downriver. Heat, sun angle, rain and need to move water owned by municipalities and irrigation companies to downstream reservoirs are reasons behind the increase, officials said. It’s the second flow peak on the river since runoff began in early May. May 23 the river reached about 2,700 cfs in Salida. Flow was below 1,500 cfs around June 12 and has been on a steady climb since. The most recent big increase started June 26 when river flow at the Salida gauge jumped from 2,250 cfs to almost 3,000 cfs. “It’s a pretty unusual situation to have two significant peaks 30 days apart,” Greg Felt, owner of Ark Anglers and a member of the Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District board of directors said Monday…

Twin Lakes Reservoir is 90 percent full and Turquoise Reservoir is 98 percent full. Both reservoirs are in Lake County and water owners are looking downriver to Pueblo Reservoir which is 67 percent full for more space…

[Linda Hopkins, hydrologic technician with the Bureau of Reclamation] said the 54,000 acre feet of canal company storage in Twin Lakes is full…

Monday 439 cfs was being moved from the West Slope through the Boustead Tunnel into Turquoise Reservoir. The Bureau of Reclamation which operates the tunnel, collection systems and reservoirs, is moving 250 cfs into Pueblo Reservoir, Hopkins said. Felt noted it’s been raining in the high country and at lower elevations, leading to an increase of 200-300 cfs.

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

Up until this week, river flows were up 30-40 percent above natural levels because of releases from accounts in reservoirs. Those releases are being cut back this week as transmountain flows slow, Vaughan said. “Basically, everyone’s moving water to where they have space,” Vaughan said. The Fry-Ark Project has moved about 81,000 acre-feet through the Boustead Tunnel this year, far exceeding projections of about 54,000 acre-feet – close to average – in May. There were three peaks to the runoff and frequent storms added to snowpack or runoff during the last two months. The tunnel is still carrying about 200 acre-feet per day, but Reclamation is cutting off its releases from Twin Lakes today because there should be adequate storage space in that reservoir and Turquoise Lake, [Roy Vaughan, manager of the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project for Reclamation] said. The runoff also came two weeks early in May, in the middle of a dry stretch…

[Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District] Total allocations will be about 65,500 acre-feet, which is based on the total amount brought over less transit loss, evaporation and balancing accounts with the Twin Lakes Canal & Reservoir Co. The committee will look at a staff proposal to allocate another 19,000 acre-feet to agriculture and municipal users, on top of 29,500 acre-feet already allocated. “We’re going to be able to fill everyone’s allocations, if they still want the water,” Hamilton said, explaining the additional water could arrive too late to use it this season for some irrigators. The allocations come with a small price tag, $7 an acre-foot for agricultural users, and has to be used within certain time frames that have been shortened by the late delivery. The district also has repaid the Pueblo Board of Water Works loan of 5,000 acre-feet to cover 2008 shortfalls.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

Durango: Lake Durango Water Authority closes on Lake Durango Water Company sale

From The Durango Herald (Dale Rodebaugh):

The sale of troubled Lake Durango Water Co. to the Lake Durango Water Authority for $2.45 million closed Wednesday, ending years of controversy over the quantity and quality of water and the number of customers served. The utility serves the Durango West I and II subdivisions along U.S. Highway 160 west of Durango, and the Shenandoah, Rafter J and Trappers Crossing developments along Wildcat Canyon Road (County Road 141) – 1,435 taps in all. Lake Durango is fed by the Pine Ridge Ditch off La Plata River…

Durango attorney Bud Smith, who represents the water authority, said the sale price covered $1.75 million for the land and $700,000 for the treatment plant, pipelines and other related equipment.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

President Obama nominates Marcia McNutt to lead the USGS

From The Stanford Daily (Emily Zheng):

President Obama announced last week that he will nominate Marcia McNutt, professor of geophysics at Stanford, as the next director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and science advisor to the Secretary of the Interior. “Marcia is a strong and experienced leader and a great scientist, and she understands the breath of issues that the USGS deals with,” said Pamela Matson, dean of the School of Earth Sciences. “She’s a perfect choice.”[…]

A member of the University’s faculty for over 20 years, McNutt has worked in the past with the USGS at its Menlo Park branch on earthquake studies, in particular regarding quake prediction. She has also been the president and chief executive officer of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) since 1997.

Ogallala Aquifer: USGS warns of gradual increase of contaminants

Here’s a release from the USGS via CBS7.com (Midland/Odessa):

Water produced by the High Plains aquifer, which provides water to eight states, is generally acceptable for human consumption, irrigation, and livestock watering, according to a U.S. Geological Survey study highlighted at the summer meeting of the Western States Water Council in Park City, Utah.

The study warns, however, that heavy use of water for irrigation and public supply and leakage down inactive irrigation wells are resulting in long-term gradual increases in concentrations of contaminants such as nitrate and dissolved solids from the water table to deeper parts of the aquifer where drinking-water wells are screened.

“This increase in contaminant concentrations over time has important implications for the long-term sustainability of the High Plains aquifer as a source of drinking water,” said lead author of the USGS study, Dr. Jason Gurdak. “Once contaminated, the aquifer is unlikely to be remediated quickly because of slow rates of contaminant degradation and slow groundwater travel times in the aquifer; deep water in some parts of the aquifer is about 10,000 years old.”

The High Plains aquifer, also known as the Ogallala aquifer, is the Nation’s most heavily used groundwater resource. The majority is used for irrigation, but nearly two million people also depend on the aquifer as a source of drinking water. The eight states that use water from the High Plains aquifer include Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. Nebraska hosts the largest segment and square mileage of the water source.

USGS scientists analyzed water for more than 180 chemical compounds and physical properties in about 300 private domestic wells, 70 public-supply wells, 50 irrigation wells, and 160 shallow monitoring wells sampled between 1999 and 2004. The study also assessed the transport of water and contaminants from land surface to the water table and deeper zones used for supply, to predict changes in concentrations over time.

Currently, water quality is generally acceptable for drinking. More than 85 percent of the 370 wells used for drinking met federal drinking-water standards. Nitrate, which is derived mostly from human sources such as fertilizer applications, was greater than the federal drinking-water standard of 10 parts per million in about six percent of the drinking-water wells. None of the pesticides or volatile organic compounds detected exceeded drinking-water standards.

”Most of the contaminants that exceeded drinking-water standards were of natural origin such as arsenic, dissolved solids, fluoride, iron, and manganese,” Gurdak said.

The report, “Water Quality in the High Plains Aquifer, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming, 1999–2004,” U.S. Geological Survey Circular 2009-1337, is available online at pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1337/.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here.

South Fork: Get to know South Fork Water

From The South Fork Times (Stan Moyer):

Residents and business owners in the South Fork area are facing a definite need to make decisions about water use and methods of supply in the relatively near future, according to several experts in the field who made presentations to an estimated fifty to sixty attending a “Get to Know South Fork Water” meeting at the Community Center on Highway 149 the evening of Monday, July 13. Although it would be nice to say, the issues discussed at the get-together promoted by Town Manager Todd Wright are not simple. The free handouts alone available at the meeting total 34 pages of detailed information from the Colorado Division of Water Resources, the San Luis Valley Water Conservancy District, and the District Court, Water Division No. 3, State of Colorado…

No political stand absolutely dictating one solution or another to South Fork future water supply problems was made by experts Mike Gibson, Manager of the San Luis Valley Water Conservancy District, headquartered in Alamosa, along with other presenters seemed to emphasize that the town needs to have either a large, centralized water system or a smaller alternative system to ensure that the town has a water supply at a reasonable cost in the near future. Estimates for a residential water bill ranged from $44 to $84 a month, as an average figure, depending on the size of the water distribution system.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

Energy policy — oil and gas: Evaporation pond complex in Delta County draws crowd to meeting

From the Delta County Independent (Hank Lohmeyer):

A public information forum held at the Bill Heddles Recreation Center last week and jointly sponsored by Delta County Economic Development (DCED, the former DADI) and the Western Slope Environmental Research Council (WSERC) held the prospect of softening some of Delta County’s rancorous disagreements over development and land use issues. Calling the event an “historic joining of hands of the two groups,” session moderator Tom Huerkamp said that he hoped a new sense of cooperation between the business development community and the environmental group could result. Delta County Economic Development and WSERC came together to host the forum and provide information on the proposed Wells Gulch Evap, Inc., non-hazardous solid waste disposal facility in remote western Delta County. Key design and operational details of Wells Gulch Evap’s plans have already been covered in detail by the DCI in a previous article (July 1, page 1A). Last week’s session at Heddles was intended to provide a face-to-face forum for exchange of information and views between county residents with environmental concerns and company officials who are working to address them.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

Fountain Creek watershed: Conservation easements key to protecting the riparian environment

Here’s a recap of an event last week sponsored by conservation groups on Fountain Creek, from Chris Woodka writing for The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:

Unfortunately, development in Colorado is heaviest along the sides of those streams, called riparian areas, and is putting pressure on the most productive wild environments in the state. “Whatever you’ve been doing here is great,” Rondeau told Ann Hanna, who like her late husband, Kirk, has continued to put the environment first in running the ranch on Fountain Creek. “It is a lot different than the river looks in Colorado Springs.” Despite a few invasive salt cedars, there are both large and small cottonwoods and a thick mix of undergrowth near the creek on the Hanna Ranch. On the ground were signs of all sorts of wildlife moving through the area. Bugs were everywhere. Those are all good signs, since species diversity in Colorado is highest among riparian corridors…

“These riparian zones face the greatest pressure,” Rondeau said. That is amply illustrated on the Hanna Ranch, located halfway between Colorado Springs and Pueblo in El Paso County. Once it was a sprawling spread that stretched from the foothills of Pikes Peak to the short-grass prairie and Tepee Buttes – volcanic vents that were part of the ocean floor in the ancient past. In the 1960s, the ranch was split by Interstate 25. Much of it was sold to Colorado Springs, which uses some of the land for the Ray Nixon Power Plant. The Clear Springs Ranch, on the west side of Fountain Creek, was a wildlife viewing area badly damaged by the 1999 flood and Colorado Springs Utilities plans to rejuvenate it as part of the corridor master plan with a fish diversion, trail, wetlands. camping areas and ponds. Hanna has kept the ranch going and continues to train hunter and jumper horses. She is working on a conservation easement that will set aside about 460 acres along Fountain Creek with Great Outdoors Colorado purchasing the development rights. “It was a struggle just to keep the ranch,” Hanna said. Her relatives, Jay Frost and Ferris Frost, own an adjacent ranch, which already has a 900-acre conservation easement.

Meanwhile, development edges ever closer. Pikes Peak International Raceway is due west. Trains barrel through several times a day. Power corridors, toll roads, extensions of city streets, more power plants, gravel pits and wastewater treatment plants have all been proposed for the area in recent years. The Southern Delivery System pipeline will cut through the ranch at some point, although no one’s quite sure where yet, and that’s the least of worries for Hanna. “At least it will be underground when it’s done,” she said…

“The Hannas and the Frosts, like a lot of families, have worked with conservation trusts very fiercely trying to protect their ranches,” said Dan Pike, executive director of Colorado Open Lands, which has obtained a $4.7 million legacy grant from GOCo for its Peak to Prairie program. Its partners include the Nature Conservancy, the Conservation Fund, Colorado Conservation Trust, the Trust for Public Land and Conserving Land for People, which collectively have formed Keep it Colorado. Pike said the public funds available for protecting ranches pale when compared to the money available for development…

Overall, about 114,000 acres in a 2.2 million-acre area have been preserved at a cost of $32.69 million, about two-thirds funded by public funds. The goal of the project is not to stop or even curtail development, but to preserve enough land to maintain wildlife corridors and encourage strategic planning, Pike said. The short-grass prairie, like most riparian environments, is not greatly respected by the public, Rondeau said. “It’s under-known, under-conserved and under-appreciated. No other ecosystem is as converted to other uses as our grassland,” Rondeau said. “Ninety percent is privately owned. You can’t buy it all; that would be ridiculous. We want to work with the people who own it to preserve it.”

More coverage from R. Scott Rappold writing for The Colorado Springs Gazette:

…the Peak to Prairie program, which uses lottery funds and private donations to buy easements, has preserved 114,773 acres of prairie in the Pikes Peak region. That now includes 460 acres of the Hanna Ranch, which county property records show covers more than 4,200 acres.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

Rio Grande Basin: Cottonwood Creek desecrated?

From the Center Post Dispatch (Teresa L. Benns):

Baca Grande property owner Terrell Tucker filed a civil lawsuit last August over construction of dams on Cottonwood Creek running through the Baca Grande Subdivision and now is considering a class action suit. According to Tucker, the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) now apparently admits there was a violation of the Clean Water Act violation last year when a 75-foot long, 18-foot wide road was constructed on property owned by Chuck and Esther Grant adjacent to Tucker’s property. The almost seven-foot deep road was built by dredging an estimated 330 tons of earth from Cottonwood Creek, which runs through Tucker’s property and that of his neighbors, the Mathesons. Tucker and other property owners protested at that time that they had not been properly notified concerning the variance to construct the dam. Later another culvert was erected on Lot 183 in the subdivision.

The Mathesons and Tucker last year described the creek as “desecrated” by the road construction, noting that frogs, toads, lizards, ducks and other wildlife species have been adversely impacted by the dredging and the placement of the culvert. Tucker said the original POA covenants were established to, “preserve the natural environment and to encourage the protection of environmentally sensitive areas such as wetlands, wildlife corridors and stream beds.”

More Coyote Gulch coverage of the Rio Grande Basin here.

Pipeline from Bailey to Conifer: 1041 permit slowing project

From The Fairplay Flume:

The plans were delayed due to the company needing a Park County Special Use 1041 permit, according to Conifer Water LLC Managing Partner John McMichael. McMichael told the Center of Colorado Water Conservancy District board members at their July meeting that construction of the pipeline will begin in November if the company obtains the Park County 1041 permit by then. The Park County 1041 permit application has been completed but not yet filed with Park County. McMichael said obtaining additional funding partners should be completed in July. Then the application and the $25,000 fee would be submitted.

The company plans on taking 3.9 cubic feet per second of water out of the North Fork of the South Platte at a diversion point in Bailey. That water is not part of Bailey Water and Sanitation District’s decreed water rights.

McMichael said the company is negotiating with the Bailey Water and Sanitation District to become a wastewater customer. The tap fee would be enough for the district to build a new state of the art treatment facility to process wastewater, similar to the one at the new Safeway-anchored Conifer Town Center, McMichael said.

He estimated a new facility would cost about $3.5 million to treat 500,000 gallons of wastewater per day…

At the Center of Colorado Water Conservancy District meeting, McMichael said that Conifer Water did not plan to obtain water rights but would use its customers’ water rights and augmentation plans. The company would only service water and sanitation districts as customers. McMichael said the goal is to get districts off water wells as a source of water and use surface water instead. Each district would remove solids from the wastewater, and any final treatment needed would be accomplished at the new Bailey wastewater treatment plant…

McMichael said the company would need to construct a water storage tank somewhere along the 13.3-mile route as well as lift stations for eight-inch diameter water and sewer pipelines. The company is currently considering land on Richmond Hill for a storage tank. A construction permit would be needed from Jefferson County for the storage tank. Burke McHugh, chief executive officer for Conifer Water, said the initial money needed for the project was estimated at $24 million. Of that, $18 million would be obtained through debt and $6 million from the company. He did not say whether the money would be obtained through loans, bonds or certificates of participation (a type of municipal bond often used to finance capital improvement projects or equipment). McHugh said the project was a 15- to 30-year plan. “In the long run, it will be better than adding new wells (to serve developments),” McHugh said…

Will-O-Wisp Metro District President Rick Angelica said the district had told McMichael that it was not interested for several reasons. First the district had plenty of water, including surface water. The district had no interest in spending money to change its water source, discharge point and water augmentation plan in water court. It has no intention of giving the control of its water rights and augmentation plan to a for-profit company. Lastly, the contract Conifer Water offered the district would increase the cost of providing water and sewer to district customers six to ten times over Will-O-Wisp’s current cost. “I told them ‘You’re about five years too late’,” Angelica told The Flume.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

Mesa County: Water supply systems

Here’s a short primer with details for water supply in Mesa County, from Michelle Will writing for The Grand Junction Daily Sentinal. From the article:

Here in the Grand Valley, we rely on snowpack for our water storage and supply. If you live in Mesa County, the water providers are the city of Grand Junction, Clifton Water District, the town of Palisade and the Ute Water Conservancy District. Although these water providers all serve residents of the Grand Valley, even their source waters can vary.

• The city of Grand Junction’s source water comes from Juniata Reservoir, the Kannah Creek Basin, the North Fork of Kannah Creek and Purdy Mesa Reservoir, all of which store runoff from the forests on Grand Mesa.

• The Clifton Water District’s sources are tributaries that flow into the Colorado River, including the Blue River, the Eagle River and the Roaring Fork River.

• The town of Palisade’s source water comes from Cottonwood Creek, Kruzen Springs, Rapid Creek and Cabin Reservoir, all on Grand Mesa. Approximately 25 springs contribute to the town’s water supply.

• Ute Water’s source is snowmelt surface water on the north-facing slopes of Grand Mesa. More specifically, the water travels from Coon Creek, Mesa Creek, Plateau Creek and Rapid Creek, as well as the Jerry Creek Reservoirs. Ute Water also can supplement its water sources with diversions from the Colorado River.

Most people don’t realize that a large part of all the lakes, rivers, creeks and streams located on Grand Mesa constitute a majority of the Mesa County water provider’s watershed. For additional information on where your water comes from, contact your individual water provider.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

Susan’s purse-making caddisfly: Scott Hoffman Black ‘We sure feel that if any animal deserves it, it’s this one.’

From The Fairplay Flume (Danny Ramey):

The Susan’s purse-making caddisfly (Ochrotrichia susanae) is found in just two places – Trout Creek Spring in Chaffee County and High Creek Fen in Park County.

The High Creek Fen is made up of 1,147 acres of wetland in western Park County, about 8.5 miles south of Fairplay. It is primarily owned by The Nature Conservancy and the Colorado State Land Board, as well as private landowners, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

An EPA document tied to the petition states that the Susan’s purse-making caddisfly is a small, hairy, brown caddisfly in the family Hydroptilidae. and adult forewings are 2 millimeters, or 0.08 inches, in length.

The rarity of the Susan’s purse-making caddisfly was one of the main factors motivating the petition, said Scott Hoffman Black, the executive director of the Xerces Society. “When you’re an animal that lives in only two places, if one of those places is destroyed, you’re in trouble,” he said. The petition also cited threats such as grazing animals, logging, roadbuilding, fires, water use, and camping and hiking as dangerous to the caddisfly and its habitat, said Gelatt. Along with its rarity, the Susan’s purse-making caddisfly should be put on the list because of its importance to its ecosystem, said Black. It is not only a vital part of the food chain but also a good indicator of how the ecosystem is doing. “When you see that they [the caddisflies] are declining, the ecosystem isn’t doing well,” said Black.

With the petition approved, the process will now move into the status review phase. During this phase, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will begin examining whether or not the Susan’s purse-making caddisfly requires protection under the Endangered Species Act. A 60-day public comment period began on July 8, to receive feedback from both scientific experts and normal citizens. The period will end on Sept. 7, said Gelatt.

Once the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has researched the threats to the caddisfly, it will receive one of three designations, said Diane Katzenberger, a spokesperson for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The first is that the threats to the caddisfly do not warrant a place on the list, which would end the process. It could also be found that the threats warrant a place on the list for the caddisfly. At that point, work on a proposal would begin. Finally, it could also be found that while a place on the list is warranted, it could be “precluded by listing actions of higher priority,” said Katzenberger. If that happened, the caddisfly would be put on a candidate list.

Black is confident that the caddisfly will find its way onto the endangered species list. “We sure feel that if any animal deserves it, it’s this one,” he said.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

Durango: New stormwater regulations in the offing?

From The Durango Herald (Shane Benjamin):

On Friday, the city held a public meeting at the Durango Community Recreation Center to discuss the proposed changes. About 45 people attended, including contractors and a representative from the Colorado Department of Public Health’s Water Quality Control Division, which is charged with monitoring water quality and control throughout the state. The Planning Department is expected to vote on the proposed changes at its regular meeting July 27. The proposed changes will then go to the City Council for consideration…

The proposed revisions to the city code help clarify the permitting process and largely reflect the state’s permitting standards, Holton said.

The most notable changes include:

•The implementation of a fine structure for violations. The city is proposing a $250 fine per violation, per site visit. That amount can be increased up to $1,000 for subsequent violations or noncompliance.

•As it is now, property owners are required to have a stormwater permit. But property owners are often ignorant of stormwater requirements or don’t live here and can’t monitor mitigation practices. So the city proposes allowing contractors to obtain the permits.

•As it is now, construction on lots a half-acre in size or larger requires a stormwater permit. The city proposes increasing the lot size to one acre.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

Arkansas Valley: Tamarisk control

Officials are getting ready to release tamarisk leaf beetles in several areas in the Arkansas River Valley next week with hope that the critters will establish well and control tamarisk. Here’s a report from Chris Woodka writing for The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:

The beetle Ñ technically, diorhabda carinulata Ñ was released in Utah several years ago and migrated into Colorado. It is thriving in every river basin on the Western Slope, but has been slow to take hold in the Arkansas Valley, which is the most heavily infected region of the state when it comes to the invasive trees. This week, thousands of beetles were harvested along the Dolores River in the Southwest corner of the state for release next week on Fountain Creek and other tributaries, and at Boone, Fowler, Rocky Ford, Two Buttes, Granada and Holly.

Bean and his staff will also be checking up on beetles that have established themselves on Beaver Creek in Fremont County. There is also a small population established below Pueblo Dam as the result of another strain of beetles from western China tested by the Bureau of Reclamation several years ago. “There are already major efforts to remove tamarisk in the Arkansas Valley, and the beetles are a supplement to those other efforts,” Bean said. Some theories speculated that the beetles, from Kazakhstan, would have trouble thriving at lower latitudes. Kazakhstan lies entirely above the 40th parallel, while Colorado is further south, resulting in fewer hours of daylight during the summer months. Still, in the Dolores basin, there are millions of beetles that have knocked back thousands of acres of tamarisk. The beetles have also decimated tamarisk in the Colorado, Green and Yampa basins, Bean said…

One of the reasons for next week’s releases will be to track how well the beetles can establish themselves in the Arkansas River basin…

The beetles will eat the leaves – and more importantly the flowers which contain seeds – of the older tamarisk as well. This makes them an effective biocontrol for the trees, but not a way to eliminate tamarisk altogether, Bean said. “In the long run, if they’re established in the basin, we’ll have a background population that will keep tamarisk under control,” Bean said.

More coverage from the Ag Journal (David Vickers):

[Dr. Dan Bean, the state’s top expert in using insects to control invasive plant species like tamarisk] manages the Colorado State Department of Agriculture’s Plant Industry Division Insectary at Palisade. He spent three days, July 7-9, working along the Apishipa and Purgatoire rivers in Las Animas County to release beetles that will devour tamarisk, also known as salt cedar. Patty Knupp, a private land and wildlife biologist, said 1,000 beetles were released July 7 in two locations along Chacuco Creek, a tributary of the Purgatoire River. On July 8, four more releases of beetles were conducted along the Purgatoire River and two releases were made on the Apishipa River. Then, on July 9, the tamarisk eating beetles were released on the main stem of the Arkansas River near Fowler…

Ants and Asian ladybugs are natural predators of tamarisk beetles and can be particularly tough on a population.
“We’ve found that the beetles don’t do especially well below the 38th parallel,” she noted. “The number of daylight hours have an impact on whether they flourish.” But there have been some fairly significant success stories, especially with aerial application of herbicide. Since 2005, more than 2,000 acres along the Apishipa River drainage have been sprayed.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here.

Creede: Town Board moves to annex part of Willow Creek floodplain

Here’s an update on actions up in Creede to restore the floodplain between the town and the Rio Grande, from Matt Hildner writing for The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:

The board adopted a land-use plan and agreed to a memorandum of understanding with the property’s owners. The agreement with Creede Resources, which owns 156 acres south of town, was approved unanimously and calls for the company to request annexation for 94 acres of flood plain by Oct. 1 and submit an application to the Colorado Voluntary Cleanup and Redevelopment Program.

The floodplain – a 1.5-mile stretch between Creede and the creek’s confluence with the Rio Grande that greets visitors as they enter the town on Colorado 149 – has been left largely barren and incapable of naturally restoring itself after nearly a century of mining in the former boomtown. While the Willow Creek Reclamation Committee and, more recently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, have tackled cleanup of the mining district north of town, the floodplain has been largely untouched with the exception of the southwestern corner that was reclaimed for the Mineral County Fairgrounds. “It’s been a long time getting to this point,” Mayor Rex Shepperd said. The land-use plan adopted by the city calls for leaving most of the floodplain as open space suitable for parks, trails and recreation.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

Coyote Gulch outage

I’ve got a deadline at Colorado Central Magazine. I’ll see you on Saturday.

Fountain Creek Watershed Flood Control and Greenway District

Here’s a look at the shiny new Fountain Creek Watershed Flood Control and Greenway District, from Chris Woodka writing for The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:

“The district was created faster than any of us anticipated, so we are experiencing growing pains,” said Cole Emmons, assistant El Paso County attorney. “This group plays a role, particularly when it comes to land use, very akin to a planning commission.”

That brought immediate questions from members of the committee, most of whom have met for years in a similar role as part of efforts to improve Fountain Creek, about what its basis for making decisions should be. “Do we need a public hearing process to adopt land-use regulations?” asked Kim Headley, Pueblo County planning director. “The board adopted the Fountain Creek Vision Task Force strategic plan and the Army Corps of Engineers plan. Are they the foundation for our decisions?” asked Dennis Maroney, Pueblo stormwater director. “We need to clarify what the true limits of our jurisdiction are in reality, or the two cities could meet at the county line and this district could go away,” said Duane Greenwood, Fountain planning director. “That’s not the intent of the state law.”

More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here.

EPA announces $27 million for Colorado water infrastructure projects

Here’s a release from the Environmental Protection Agency:

In a move that stands to create jobs, boost local economies, improve aging water infrastructure and protect human health and the environment for the people of Colorado, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded $ 27,481,600 to the Colorado Water Resources and Power Development Authority. This new infusion of money provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will help the state and local governments finance many of the overdue improvements to water projects that are essential to protecting public health and the environment across the state.

“EPA is pleased to provide more than $27 million in Recovery Act funds for much needed improvements to Colorado’s water infrastructure that will benefit the state for decades to come,” said Carol Rushin, EPA’s Acting Regional Administrator in Denver. “This funding will protect public health and improve water quality while creating hundreds of jobs in Colorado.”

The Recovery Act funds will go to the State’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program. The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program provides low-interest loans for drinking water systems to finance infrastructure improvements. The program also emphasizes providing funds to small and disadvantaged communities and to programs that encourage pollution prevention as a tool for ensuring safe drinking water. An unprecedented $2 billion dollars will be awarded to fund drinking water infrastructure projects across the country under the Recovery Act in the form of low-interest loans, principal forgiveness and grants.

At least 20 percent of the funds provided under the Recovery Act are to be used for green infrastructure, water and energy efficiency improvements and other environmentally innovative projects. EPA expects to provide this portion, nearly $7 million, to Colorado within the next few weeks, bringing the total amount awarded for drinking water infrastructure projects in the state to $34,352,000.

Since the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program began in 1997, EPA has awarded more than $8 billion in grants, which states have turned into $15 billion of financial assistance to fund drinking water projects. The revolving nature of the program ensures drinking water projects will be funded for generations to come.

EPA is also awarding $317,100 in Recovery Act funds for Water Quality Management Planning (WQMP) in Colorado. Planning is an important step in EPA’s goal to improve water quality in America’s lakes, rivers and streams. WQMP grants support a broad range of activities, such as setting standards, monitoring the quality of the water, developing plans to restore polluted waters, and identifying ways to protect healthy waters from becoming polluted. States are also encouraged to use these funds for more innovative planning activities, such as developing plans to adapt to climate change, analyzing trends in water availability and use, and creating low-impact development programs. Grants are awarded to state agencies and some of the funds can be awarded to regional and interstate planning organizations.

President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) on February 17, 2009 and has directed that the Recovery Act be implemented with unprecedented transparency and accountability. To that end, the American people can see how every dollar is being invested at Recovery.gov.

Information on EPA’s implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, visit http://www.epa.gov/recovery

Information on the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program visit http://www.epa.gov/safewater/dwsrf/

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

President Obama nominates Jonathan Jarvis to lead U.S. National Park Service

From the Jackson Hole News & Guide (Cory Hatch):

Conservationists and National Park Service veterans alike have hailed President Barack Obama’s pick for Park Service director as a visionary who will protect resources while reaching out to a younger generation. Obama announced the nomination of Jonathan Jarvis on Friday.

Over his 30-year career, Jarvis worked his way up the ranks from a seasonal ranger to director of the agency’s Pacific West Region. If confirmed, Jarvis would follow Bush appointee Mary Bomar. The nomination comes as the Park Service faces challenges that include a multibillion-dollar maintenance backlog and operational budget shortfalls. Divisive issues such as the appropriate role of snowmobiles in Yellowstone and the regulation of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon also face him.

S.796, Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2009

From MineWeb (Dorothy Kosich):

As environmental special interests congratulated themselves for U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s declaration Tuesday that mining law reform is a top priority for the Obama Administration, lost among the rhetoric and news coverage was Salazar’s equally important declaration. “In my view, our own security depends on maintaining a viable domestic mining industry,” Salazar told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Tuesday. “Minerals are also needed to support development of renewable energy,” he added. Nevertheless, Salazar remained firm in his belief the U.S. mining industry must come to grips with meaningful reform of the 1872 Mining Law, patent reform, and addressing the environmental consequences of modern mining practices “in meaningful and substantive ways.” “In addition, the American taxpayer should receive a fair return for the extraction of these valuable resources and should expect the federal government to develop a reliable process providing for the cleanup and restoration of lands where the responsible party is unable or unavailable to do so, including a Good Samaritan provision,” he advised. Salazar speaks from first-hand experience as much of his Colorado regulatory career was devoted to overseeing and/or participation in the cleanup of the Summitville Mine Superfund site in his state.

Here’s the full text of Secretary Salazar’s statement yesterday:

Introduction

Thank you, Chairman Bingaman, Senator Murkowski, and Members of the Committee. I am here today to discuss with you reform of the General Mining Law of 1872, a complex matter and one that engenders passionate views. Along with most of you, I have spent much time working on various aspects of such reform. I am committed to working with you to develop legislation that will accomplish the following: provide industry with the regulatory certainty needed to make the investments that produce mineral resources vital to our economy; provide a fair return to the public for mining activities that occur on public lands; protect the environment; and result in the cleanup of abandoned mines.

Balance – Energy Development

Before I turn to Mining Law reform, I want to thank the Committee for its work in reporting bipartisan energy legislation. I look forward to working with the Members of the Committee in the days ahead to address the challenges of energy and climate change.

The last time I appeared before the Committee, I spoke about President Obama’s agenda for energy development on the public lands and the Outer Continental Shelf. While we have a lot of work ahead of us on that front, we have made great strides at the Department under our existing authorities as key steps on a comprehensive energy plan for the Nation. We are balancing the responsible development of conventional energy sources, while protecting our treasured landscapes, wildlife, and cultural resources, with the accelerated development of clean energy from renewable domestic sources.

With regard to conventional resources, since January the Department has offered more than 2.3 million acres on our public lands for oil and gas development in 17 lease sales, with over 780,000 of those acres going under lease and attracting more than $60 million in bonus bids and fees. We have plans for another 20 sales in the next six months, onshore.

Concerning the Outer Continental Shelf, during the third week in March, I traveled to New Orleans with the Minerals Management Service to attend the Central Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sale 208, which attracted over $700 million in high bids, with 70 companies submitting 476 bids on 348 tracts comprising over 1.9 million acres offshore the States of Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

On the matter relating to oil shale, we will announce a second round of research, development, and demonstration leases in Colorado and Utah in the near future.

We continue working on a plan for the Outer Continental Shelf. I extended the public comment period on the Draft Proposed 5-year Plan produced by the previous Administration until September 21, 2009. At that time I also requested from Departmental scientists a report that detailed conventional and renewable offshore energy resources and identified where information gaps exist. I held regional meetings with interested stakeholders to review the findings of that report and gather input on where and how we should proceed with offshore energy development. I also crafted an agreement with Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Wellinghoff clarifying jurisdictional responsibilities for our respective agencies for leasing and licensing renewable energy projects on the OCS, which will help facilitate the development of wind, solar, wave, tidal and ocean current energy sources. Several weeks ago I announced the issuance of five exploratory leases for renewable energy production offshore of New Jersey and Delaware.

We are also moving rapidly to implement the President’s renewable energy strategy onshore. During the last week in June the Senate Majority Leader Reid and I announced a plan to expedite development of solar energy projects on BLM lands in six western states. The two dozen Solar Energy Study Areas will be evaluated for their environmental and resource suitability for large-scale solar energy production, providing a more efficient process for permitting and siting, and could ultimately generate nearly 100,000 megawatts of solar electricity.

Balance – Mining Reform

Balance is also an important concept as we discuss reform of the Mining Law of 1872. While the responsible development of our mineral resources is critical to both our economy and our environment, this statute has not been updated in 137 years. In those years, much has changed. As I previously noted, it is time to ensure a fair return to the public for mining activities that occur on public lands and to address the cleanup of abandoned mines. We must find an approach to modernize this law and ensure that development occurs in a manner consistent with the needs of mining and the protection of the public, our public lands, and water resources. It is time to make reform of the Mining Law part of our agenda of responsible resource development.

Much has been said about the role the General Mining Law of 1872 played in settling the western United States, how it provided an opportunity for any citizen of the country to explore public domain lands for valuable minerals, to stake a claim if the mineral could be extracted at a profit, and to patent the claim. Numerous commodities are mined, under the authority of the General Mining Law, to provide the raw materials essential for the manufacturing and building industries. According to the BLM, the 5-year average for new mining claims staked annually under the law is approximately 76,000, with a current total number of claims at nearly 400,000. These claims generated almost $60 million in federal revenue– mostly from the fees collected by BLM — in fiscal year 2008.

Our domestic gold mining industry alone directly or indirectly creates more than 66,000 jobs and nearly $2 billion in earnings annually. The United States is the second largest producer of gold and copper in the world, and the leading producer of beryllium, gypsum, and molybdenum. In my view, our own security depends on maintaining a viable domestic mining industry. Metals and minerals are also needed to support development of renewable energy.

As the United States Senate undertakes reform of the 1872 Mining Law, patent reform, and the environmental consequences of modern mining practices must be addressed in meaningful and substantive ways. In addition, the American taxpayer should receive a fair return for the extraction of these valuable resources and should expect the federal government to develop a reliable process providing for the cleanup and restoration of lands where the responsible party is unable or unavailable to do so, including a Good Samaritan provision.

Conclusion

Thank you again, Mr. Chairman, for giving me the opportunity to present you the Administration’s thoughts on this important topic. We look forward to working with the Committee and all interested parties as this process moves forward.

South Platte River: High flows this spring are helping with recovery

From The Denver Post (Karl Licis):

n a year of abundant rainfall on the heels of a decent winter snowpack, river flows up and down the South Platte have been above the long-term average. Below brimful Cheesman Reservoir, the volume approached 800 cubic feet per second the past few weeks, but has been gradually receding. The higher flows are expected to benefit the river and its fishery, and some of their effects may already be evident…

…after the Schoonover and Hayman wildfires in 2002. Rain in the burned areas produced a series of flash floods and caused extensive erosion. Untold tons of sand, gravel and other sediment were washed into the river. Massive deposits of unstable gravel settled out along the river bottom, filling in many of the pools, riffles and deep runs that gave the river its character and were vital to the fishery. Both the river’s productivity and fishing appeal were greatly diminished, but at last the South Platte has begun to heal itself…

Though the process may be slow, higher flows, including the recent surge, continue to scour sediment deposits from the river bottom. “We have the evidence that they’ve helped push a lot of sediment downstream from Schoon-over (Gulch, in Cheesman Canyon) downstream to about Trumbull,” Spohn said. “The higher flows have benefited the river above Deckers, but below Trumbull, where the river loses some gradient, we’re still seeing sediment depositing.”[…]

Elevenmile Canyon on Tuesday was flowing around 175 cubic feet per second…Flows in the “dream stream” segment of the South Platte had come down to about 146 cfs on Tuesday…[the Fryingpan] River…has been flowing around 220 cfs…[the] Blue River below Dillon Dam has been flowing around 700 cfs and continues to drop…[the] Poudre River…has dropped and cleared, and was flowing at 750 cfs at the canyon mouth on Tuesday.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

New reservoir for Pueblo West?

From The Pueblo Chieftain (James Amos):

Most of the district’s water comes from Twin Lakes, a project that brings water from the western side of the Continental Divide. Pueblo West already leases space in Lake Pueblo, but its water there can be dumped if the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation needs the space for other water.

[Tom Mullans, attorney for the Pueblo West Metropolitan District] said the proposed reservoir is located near the Arkansas River in a side canyon. The roughly 3,800 acres of land is owned by a limited liability corporation. The Pueblo West board voted to give notice of its intent to buy the land, the first step in both beginning the process of negotiating with the owner and getting access to the land to study it. If the land is suitable for a reservoir but a deal can’t be reached with the owner, Pueblo West may condemn the land and forcibly buy it. Steve Harrison, Pueblo West’s director of utilities, said the site may hold about 20,000 acre-feet of water. That would be much more than the roughly 9,000 acre-feet the district leases each year in Lake Pueblo. The proposed reservoir may take more than a decade to acquire and build.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

Ruedi Reservoir update

From email from Reclamation (Kara Lamb):

Tonight at 6 p.m. we will scale releases from Ruedi Dam to the Fryingpan River back some more. As snowmelt runoff continues to drop, so have our releases. Starting this evening, flows in the Fryingpan should be around 190 cfs. Meanwhile, we are storing a little bit more water in the reservoir. We are just about full with a water level elevation of 7765.

Silverton: New mercury monitoring gear

From The Durango Herald (Dale Rodebaugh):

The monitor – atop an 8-foot-high platform – consists of a glass jar enclosed in a metal box, the roof of which retracts when a sensor detects precipitation. The sensor notes when it stops raining or snowing and the roof slides back to protect the jar from contaminants. Hydrochloric acid in the jar binds with the mercury to prevent it from evaporating. The jars are collected weekly and sent to Frontier GeoSciences in Seattle for analysis.

“After the mercury study by the Mountain Studies Institute in 2007 and 2008, we felt we should take a closer look,” [Bureau of Land Management hydrologist Kelly Palmer] said. “After all, we’re charged with protecting the pristine quality of Class 1 airsheds such as Mesa Verde and the Weminuche Wilderness.” Scientists suspect the main source of mercury is power plants in the Four Corners.

Over time, data on weekly and total mercury accumulation will give scientists a good picture of the situation in the San Juan Mountains and allow them to compare results with 120 similar sites in the country, including two in Alaska, Palmer said…

Later this summer, the Environmental Protection Agency will install an apparatus next to the mercury monitor to measure gaseous mercury, an airborne form of mercury that reacts rapidly with precipitation or particulate matter and can be deposited in wet or dry form. Roger Claybrooke, a meteorologist with the NADP, and a half-dozen BLM and Forest Service seasonal employees did the hands-on work June 30. In addition to installing the mercury monitor, they replaced an old rain gauge on a separate platform a few yards away. A third platform holds a monitor that measures sulfur, nitrogen and organic content in precipitation. The Claybrooke team also wired the instruments on the three stations to talk to one another. The rain gauge data should correlate with that of the mercury monitor on the amount of precipitation and when it fell.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here.

Southern Delivery System: Pueblo County Commissioner Jeff Chostner speaks out on Pueblo West and the Pueblo Flow program

From The Pueblo Chieftain (James Amos):

Chostner told the Pueblo Rotary 43 group on Monday that when the county debated a permit for the pipeline, Colorado Springs was negotiating on behalf of all the pipeline participants. That means the city was speaking for Pueblo West as well as itself, Fountain and Security. “They have a contract that basically established an agency relationship, like a real estate agency,” he said. Pueblo West didn’t complain until March, Chostner said, which was years into the negotiations and debate about the pipeline. Saying that Colorado Springs had originally wanted to reroute almost all the water in the river through the pipeline, Chostner said Colorado Springs agreed to the flow program to preserve some of the river as it flows through Pueblo. Pueblo West can’t think that a dry riverbed between Lake Pueblo and the confluence with Fountain Creek can be acceptable to anyone, he said. Even Pueblo West residents use the river and trail beside it for recreation.

The commissioner, one of three who represent Pueblo County, said Pueblo West wouldn’t have to give up much water. The district has about 4,600 acre-feet of water a year and would have to give up only 20-30 acre-feet most years. That could increase to 100-125 acre-feet a year, he said, under certain conditions. But he said that isn’t much compared with the 1,500 acre-feet being given up by Colorado Springs.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here.

Aurora (along with the Climax molybdenum mine) to buy Columbine Ditch

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

Aurora City Council Monday gave the green light for the deal, which would match an offer of $30.48 million from Ginn Development for a private ski resort at Minturn. The council’s action was final because a waiver of reconsideration was included in the initial motion. Pueblo City Council Monday approved the sale on first reading, a requirement under the city charter any time an asset is sold. Council’s final approval will be on the July 27 agenda.

Aurora was able to match the offer because of a clause in a 1997 lease agreement with the Pueblo water board that gave it a right of first refusal if Pueblo sold any of its transmountain water rights. The contract specifies that only water brought into the Arkansas Valley from the Western Slope can be used in the Aurora leases. “Aurora’s concern was that if we sold any of our assets we would not have the ability to supply water for the lease,” said Alan Hamel, executive director of the Pueblo water board. “At the time we had no plans to sell any assets.”[…]

Aurora and Climax formed a partnership called the Fremont Pass Ditch Co., with Aurora controlling two-thirds of the company and holding an option to buy the entire Columbine Ditch in the future, said spokesman Greg Baker. Aurora earlier bid $30.5 million on the Columbine, but wanted to spread out payments over five years. The city reallocated its resources to offer the full amount this year, as Ginn Development had in its bid. “This is high-quality mountain water, and you don’t see that for sale too often,” Baker said. “The fact that it comes into the basin above Twin Lakes makes it perfect for us.” Since the Arkansas River does not flow directly into Twin Lakes – where Aurora removes water from the Arkansas Valley through the Otero Pipeline and Pumping Station – Aurora would have to exchange water from the Columbine Ditch into its accounts. But the exchange opportunities are greater near the headwaters and Aurora has other ways to use the water in the Arkansas Valley, Baker said.

Climax mine, owned by Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., is located on Fremont Pass and could use the water directly. Last year, the company said it is still revamping the mine with the intention of reopening, but timing could be delayed by a weak economy.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here.

Arvada: Stormwater utility update

Here’s a look at Arvada’s stormwater utility, including some insight into using GIS to measure impervious areas, from Jeff Liedtke and Sandra McDonald writing for WaterWorld.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

Aurora city council to decide fate of Columbine Ditch

From The Denver Post (Carlos Illescas):

Developer Bobby Ginn had entered a contract with the Pueblo water board to purchase 1,337 acre-feet of water from the Columbine Ditch near Leadville. But Aurora has a right-of-first refusal, and the city is partnering with the Climax molybdenum mine to purchase the water for a total of $30.4 million, said Greg Baker, spokesman for Aurora Water. Climax will pay about a third of that…

Paul Fanning, spokesman for the Pueblo Board of Water Works, said he had not yet heard of Aurora’s intentions to purchase the water. He said that when Ginn signed a contract to purchase the water, Aurora had 60 days to match it. “I know Aurora has been working on it,” Fanning said. “But until that happens, we have an accepted approved contract with the Ginn organization.”

More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here.

1000 posts on WordPress

The post below is number one thousand since I came over here to WordPress. WordPress is good, productive, software.

It’s appropriate that the thousandth post here would be about wastewater since I spent so many years at Denver Wastewater. I’ve switched careers recently and now I’m at the upstream end of a house.

Thanks to all you water nuts that read Coyote Gulch my hits are way up over the old Radio Userland weblog.

Fruita: City Council moves on funding new wastewater treatment plant

From the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel (Le Roy Standish):

on Tuesday, funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act were tapped to help get construction going on the wastewater treatment plant, 1480 U.S. Highway 6&50. The federal dollars are making a low-interest — 3.5 percent — loan of $5 million available to Fruita, which will allow construction to start as the 2013 deadline to have the new plant online looms. “This is the single largest construction project in the history of Fruita and it is mandated by the federal government,” Fruita Mayor Ken Henry said. The low-interest loan is being provided by the Colorado Water Resources and Power Development Authority. An injection of stimulus money from Washington is allowing the authority to offer the low-rate loan, said City Manager Clint Kinney…

The longer-term loan will be in the neighborhood of $25 million and have a 2 1/2 percent interest rate, Kinney said. Before the influx of stimulus money, the interest rate was close to 5 percent, he said.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

Precipitation (storage) news: San Juan River seeing increased flows

From The Durango Herald:

[Wednesday, July 8] Declining river flows in the San Juan Basin are leading the Bureau of Reclamation to increase water releases from Navajo Reservoir to 800 cubic feet per second…The increase goes into effect today at 4 a.m…”We’re releasing what’s required for irrigation,” about 610 cubic feet per second, [Vallecito Reservoir Superintendent Hal Pierce] said. Lemon Reservoir was releasing water at 175 cubic feet per second Tuesday.

From the Cortez Journal (Kristen Plank):

McPhee Reservoir is sitting at an active capacity of 217,000 acre-feet, with a maximum capacity of 229,000 acre-feet. The result is an approximate 12,000 acre-feet decrease, or an almost 3-foot drop in elevation, said Mike Preston, general manager of the Dolores Water Conservancy District…

In June, McPhee sat completely full until the 10th. Last year, the reservoir stayed full until July 19. “The reservoir did not stay full as long (this year) because we didn’t have the snowpack that we did in 2008,” Preston said. “But since the water usage was more moderate because of the cool, cloudy weather, we are only about six days ahead of where we were in 2008.”[…]

“The good news is that we filled this year for the second year in a row,” Preston said. “We are in good shape to meet all of our allocations for 2009…

Jackson Gulch Reservoir is also in good shape for the season, said Mancos Water Conservancy District Superintendent Gary Kennedy. The reservoir’s active capacity sits at 10,000 acre-feet and is roughly 200 acre-feet from full now. The reservoir was very close to full for July 4, which Kennedy said is unusual for this time of year.

Colorado Weed Awareness Week July 12-18

From the Craig Daily Press:

Gov. Bill Ritter declared this week as Colorado Weed Awareness Week in an effort to raise awareness about the issue. “Noxious weeds threaten the integrity of Colorado’s lands,” said Kelly Uhing, Colorado state weed coordinator. “Together, we can effectively and appropriately control weed infestations and minimize the threat weeds pose to agriculture, Colorado’s natural heritage and our quality of life.”

There are 71 weeds on Colorado’s noxious weed list. The most aggressive and widespread weeds are Canada thistle, field bindweed, leafy spurge, Russian knapweed and yellow toadflax…

To protect Colorado’s lands, the Colorado Department of Agriculture has helped communities form partnerships and coordinate weed management activities. Uhing also has distributed $350,000 in grants each year to assist counties, municipalities and others in their weed management efforts. Moffat County recently received a grant to pay for 85 percent of the cost to hire a two-man crew to eradicate yellow starthistle, a weed that is particularly poisonous to horses. For more information on CDA’s noxious weed management program, including photos and lists of noxious weeds, visit http://www.colorado.gov/ag/csd.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

CWCB: July 21-22 meeting in Crested Butte

From email from the Colorado Water Conservation Board:

The Colorado Water Conservation Board is meeting on July 21-22, 2009, at the Elevation Resort, 500 Gothic Road, Crested Butte, Colorado. The agenda is now available on the CWCB website. CWCB Staff memos and other materials will be available July 17, on our website. The meeting will be “streamed” via the internet through the CWCB’s website. Click on the “Listen to the meeting LIVE!” link, found on our home page…If you need more information about this Board meeting, please contact Lisa Barr at lisa.barr@state.co.us.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

Pueblo Board of Water Works is trying to work out the details to finance Bessemer Ditch water rights acquisitions

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Dennis Darrow):

Nick Gradisar [board chair], addressing the Greater Pueblo Chamber of Commerce’s monthly luncheon at the Pueblo Convention Center, said the utility is considering a combination of rate hikes, outside water leases and the sale of Pueblo’s interest in the Columbine Ditch on the Western Slope. The increase in local water rates could amount to 10 percent a year for two years, Gradisar said. The extra revenue would go toward repaying a $22 million bond issue the utility is considering as the last piece needed to finance the deal.

The water board recognizes the hardship an overall 20 percent rate hike could cause on low- and fixed-income homeowners in particular, Gradisar said. To further emphasize his point, he shared census statistics about Pueblo’s high poverty rates and low household income levels. Accordingly, the board welcomes public feedback on how to possibly limit the rate hikes, particularly for low-income people, Gradisar said. One idea he wants studied is a so-called “lifeline” discount rate that some utilities charge their poorest customers, Gradisar said…

Overall, though, the board views the rate hike is justified by the long-term value of the water the utility would acquire, Gradisar said. The deal would keep the Bessemer water at home, lessen the utility’s reliance on Western Slope water and aid the recruitment of businesses, Gradisar said. Also, local water rates are currently among the lowest in the state and other communities such as Colorado Springs are spending at even higher levels to strengthen their water resources for the next half-century, Gradisar said…

The rate hike would be in addition to the utility’s continued reliance on water leases and also the sale of the Columbine Ditch, Gradisar said. The ditch sale – either to the city of Aurora or, if that city declines, to a Minturn resort developer – is expected to generate about half of the needed money for the deal, or about $30 million cash, he said. On water leases, Gradisar said the lease program, including a lease deal with Aurora that is the target of criticism by some in Pueblo, currently makes up a significant portion – about 19 percent – of the utility’s current revenues. If not in place, local water rates would need to rise another 19 percent to keep the books balanced, he said. One Aurora lease that nets $550,000 a year is set to expire by 2011.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here.

Durango: City is moving to get a voice on Animas-La Plata board

The city of Durango is hoping to get a voice on the governing board for the Animas-La Plata project. Here’s a report from Dale Rodebaugh writing for the Durango Herald. From the article:

In addition to helping craft decisions as the Animas-La Plata Project moves forward, the city also wants a say in other projects involving the river. “It makes sense because Durango has invested significant money to have enough Animas River water to operate a whitewater boat park at Smelter Rapid,” Mayor Leigh Meigs said Friday. “We need to be at the table.” Meigs was speaking about a 2007 negotiated settlement signed by water court judge Gregory Lyman that ended three years of wrangling between Durango and 50 other water users or interested parties and averted a trial.

As for A-LP, in 2005, the city put up slightly more than $1 million to cover the installation of equipment that will transfer A-LP water to a city treatment facility. The city share of construction costs was estimated at $5 million…

City Manager Ron LeBlanc said a seat on the water district board is necessary in order to plan confidently. “We need to protect water interests of 16,000 residents and up to 19,000 visitors daily who ride the train or come to town to bank,” LeBlanc said. “Since water district board members aren’t elected, the city has no guarantees. We’re used to electing representatives.” Durango also is scheduled to annex the property on which the A-LP pumping plant sits. The pumping plant, located on the banks of the Animas a short distance downstream of Smelter Rapid, draws water from the river for Lake Nighthorse, the human-made reservoir over the ridge from Bodo Industrial Park.

As matters now stand, Durango can’t count on having a designated seat on the water district board. The district has three zones – the outlying Shenandoah and Rafter J subdivisions (three seats), the so-called Dryside around Breen and Marvel (seven seats) and incorporated Durango (five seats). The five Durango members are residents of the city but don’t speak for it. Bob Wolff is chairman of the water district board, a resident of Durango and a member of the city’s water commission, said Barry Spear, legal counsel for the water district. Wolff knows city positions well, but doesn’t represent it, Spear said…

Otherwise, statutes governing board membership don’t allow for special-interest appointments, Spear said. When there is a vacancy, the opening is advertised for 30 days and anyone who owns property and has lived for a minimum of one year in a district may apply. Judge Lyman considers applicants on the basis of knowledge of and/or participation in water issues, Spear said. An applicant backed by City Council wouldn’t automatically be accepted or rejected for either reason, he said. A case in point: One of the seven Dryside board members has moved out of the area. Applications to replace him will be accepted until July 26. Interested parties, however, must meet all requirements, which include being a resident of the district.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here.

Log Lane Village: Water and sewer rates to rise

From the Fort Morgan Times (John La Porte):

Members of the town’s board of trustees said Wednesday that while funds were sufficient to keep up with payments on loans on the systems, more reserves are needed to have money available when repairs are needed. Currently the monthly base rates are $60 for water and $45 for sewer; owners of vacant homes pay a $25 monthly fee for fire protection, said Town Clerk Kim Alva. “We don’t have that rainy day fund,” said town attorney Bo Chapin…

With the age of the town’s pipes, money should be set aside for maintenance and replacement, said board member Martha Manion. Five valves in the water system are not operational, and any leaks in areas controlled by them would mean shutting water off all over town for repairs, said board member Chuck Lakatos. A reserve fund could be established for pipe and valve repair and replacement, salaries for town staff and outside contractors and repairs to streets when pipe work is finished, Hotchkiss said.

23rd Annual Poudre River Festival recap

Here’s a recap of the festival from Molly Armbrister writing for the Fort Collins Coloradoan. From the article:

Families with young children, Colorado State University students and senior citizens turned out to enjoy the water and sunshine, along with picnic cuisine provided by Avogadro’s Number and music by the river. Gary Kimsey, a founder of Friends of the Poudre, the organization that sponsored the festival, said, “It’s a day to celebrate the river.” Friends of the Poudre is Colorado’s oldest river-protection nonprofit group and also sponsors the Poudre River Ball in the fall to raise money and awareness for its cause.

Save the Poudre hosted a booth at the event to provide information about its mission to oppose the proposed Glade Reservoir. The Poudre Paddlers, a canoe and kayak club, also had a booth, while the city of Fort Collins had a booth highlighting the natural areas surrounding the city. Musical acts Slim Pickens, The Horsetooth Mountain Rangers and Chuck Pyle were also at the event to add to the festivity. Still, the main attraction of the day was the river itself, providing cool refreshment through swimming, rafting and tubing.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here.

Surf’s Up

I’m a land-based mammal and do not kayak. However this video from Charles Newcomb (via the Salida Citizen) may change my ways.

Northern Integrated Supply Project and Windy Gap Firming Project update

From the Loveland Reporter Herald:

McInnis, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, sent a letter Friday in support of the project to the Larimer and Weld county commissioners and to the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District…

Last week, more than 200 people attended a rally in support of the project on a Weld County farm. They said the project would relieve pressure on farmers to sell their water, thereby preserving farmland. McInnis agrees, according to his letter, which says the reservoir project would prevent a “buy and dry” atmosphere that could turn Northern Colorado into a dust bowl.

Meanwhile, here’s an update on the proposed Glade and Chimney Hollow reservoirs from Shari Phiel writing for the Berthoud Recorder. From the article:

Despite the economic downturn, Colorado — and especially the Front Range — will continue to grow, creating greater and greater demand for water. But, of course, there is only so much water available through the C-BT. In response to this demand, the [Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District] has proposed two separate reservoir projects. One being the Windy Gap Firming Project which would create Chimney Hollow Reservoir and the other is the Northern Integrated Supply Project which would create Glade Reservoir through the construction of dams in both valleys.

Jeff Drager, project manager for the proposed Chimney Hollow Reservoir, says the project is needed to provide for more storage during wet years when Lake Granby is often full. “If the Colorado-Big Thompson is full or if the Adams tunnel is full of water … there’s no room to put Windy Gap water in and that’s turned out to be a bit of a constraint over the last 20-some years of operation.” Per the NCWCD, Chimney Hollow would only use the same Colorado River water rights granted in the 1960s and 70s, and is expected to deliver a “firm annual yield” of up to 30,000 acre feet of water by 2010 at a cost of $270 million. The dam would be constructed just west of Carter Lake.

The other, and certainly more controversial project, is the NISP project and construction of 170,000 acre-foot Glade Reservoir. The NISP project is expected to bring 40,000 acre feet of water to 15 communities “without drying up the Poudre River or our agricultural communities,” says the NCWCD. The water district also sees the project as the answer to the question of how to meet the demand for more water without drying up either the Poudre River or agricultural lands in the process. The NISP project plan includes construction of Glade Reservoir, which will require relocating nearly seven miles of U.S. Highway 287, a pumping facility, a pipeline to deliver water for exchange with two irrigation companies, and necessary improvements to an existing canal to fill the reservoir. Water woud be diverted from the Poudre River north into Glade Reservoir. Total cost for the entire NISP project is anticipated to reach $426 million.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here.

Energy policy — geothermal: Upper Ark looks at proposed development near Buena Vista

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

Mount Princeton Geothermal LLC is investigating whether a $30 million-$40 million, 10-megawatt geothermal electric generating system could be built in the Chalk Creek area…

Envisioned are up to six production wells that would remove heated water from the ground, convert some of the heat energy to electric power and return cooled water to the same aquifer from which it is remove through four reinjection wells, said Fred Henderson, chief scientist for the project. “We still have to spend millions of dollars to see if the project is possible,” Henderson said…

There are roughly 500 homes in the area, and one of those residents, Steve Glover, an engineer, made a presentation to the Upper Ark board Thursday with his concerns about the proposal. “These fissures could go down 10,000-15,000 feet. If they model it wrong, then what are we stuck with?” Glover said. Glover also asked the Upper Ark board whether it could intervene with the Division of Water Resources in determining whether water used in the project – up to 23,000 acre-feet a year would circulate through the plumbing of a geothermal plant – is tributary to the Arkansas River basin…

The state’s role is to issue a well permit, but only after determining that the water does not impact existing water rights. “The application for a well permit would trigger the state engineer’s involvement,” said Julianne Woldridge, the Upper Ark’s water attorney…

It’s not known whether the project is possible because of the nature of the aquifer in the Buena Vista area. Formed by geologic uplift, the underground structure of rock is a spider’s web of intersecting fissures, Henderson said, overlapping his fingers at diagonal angles to illustrate the point.

The idea of a geothermal electric plant is to take water out of the ground at 2,000-3,000 feet, where it is near boiling temperatures, and use it to run a turbine and generator. The cooled water must then be re-injected into the same aquifer. There are questions about whether the water would need to be injected higher, lower or at the same depth in the aquifer, as well as where on the surface the injection wells should be located. Henderson said the first determination of whether deep production well sites are connected to injection well sites can only be determined for sure by deep drilling, which is scheduled to begin later this year as the third phase of the Mount Princeton project.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here.

Custer County: Review of Upper Ark’s augmentation plan for county on tap

From the Wet Mountain Tribune (Nora Drenner):

The county commissioners are hiring a water attorney to review the proposed water augmentation plan the Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District filed in court late last month. The commissioners have also decided to file an objection to the proposal, which if approved, would bring a blanket water augmentation plan to Custer County. The attorney wasn’t identified…

All three commissioners—Lynn Attebery, Jim Austin and Carole Custer—said they did not necessarily think the proposed water augmentation plan was a bad one, however, it was in the best interest of the county to have it reviewed by an independent expert. Also, in order to stay in the loop during the water court process, said Austin, it was necessary to file a written objection to the plan. Attebery and Custer agreed.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

Estes Park: Water quality report available on town website, water quality passes with flying colors

From the Estes Park Trail (Kate Rushch):

The Water Quality Report is available on the Town’s website at http://www.estes.org/lightpower/waterdefault.aspx. Copies are also available at the following locations: Town Hall at 170 MacGregor Avenue; Town of Estes Park Water Department at 577 Elm Road; Estes Park Medical Center at 555 Prospect Avenue; Larimer County Health Department at 1601 Brodie Avenue.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

Wiggins: Town council approves design and engineering funds along with update of master plan

From The Fort Morgan Times (Dan Barker):

[Council] approved a contract for Industrial Facilities Engineering Inc. to do an update on design work in order to have the engineering needed to apply for federal and state grants and loans; decided to hire a water lawyer; and have a contract in hand to buy a well site for the project. IFE Operations Manager Tim Holbrook said his company had done a water system master plan for Wiggins in 2006, but it will cost $17,000 to do an update to the plan for the specific Wiggins Water Project. Everyone is agreed that grants are better than loans by governmental agencies, but the town can make applications for various types of funding, he said. One route is to ask the state Department of Local Affairs for a grant from severance taxes, and the town should learn if that will happen in the next three months, Holbrook said. The town can also apply to the USDA Rural Development program, the Colorado Department of Health and Environment, the Colorado Water Conservation Board and the Colorado Water Resources and Power Development Authority, he said.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

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