Day: October 6, 2010

Windy Gap Firming Project: Colorado Division of Wildlife public meeting October 13

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From IStockAnalyst.com:

Bob Streeter and David Brougham, commissioners with the Colorado Division of Wildlife, will hear public comments next week on the proposed Windy Gap Firming Project, which is proposed west of Loveland. The meeting will be 6:30-8:30 p.m. Oct. 13 at Thomas McKee Building at The Ranch in Loveland. The Windy Gap Firming Project is a new, 90,000 acre-foot Chimney Hollow Reservoir that would be built west of Carter Lake. The Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District is the management agency of the project, which is being paid for by Broomfield, Greeley, Longmont, Lafayette, Louisville, Loveland, Erie, Evans, Fort Lupton, Superior, the Central Weld County Water District, the Little Thompson Water District and the Platte River Power Authority.

More Windy Gap Firming Project coverage here and here.

Interbasin Compact Committee August 30 meeting final notes

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Here are the final notes from the August 30 meeting of the Interbasin Compact Committee.

More IBCC — basin roundtables coverage here.

NIDIS Weekly Climate, Water and Drought Assessment Summary of the Upper Colorado River Basin

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Here are Henry Reges’ notes from yesterday’s webinar. Highlights: Drought in the western part of the South Platte Basin along the Front Range; Warm and dry weather for the next 30 days across Colorado, Utah and Wyoming; Some relief in sight for southwestern Colorado over the next week.

Energy policy — oil and gas: Garfield County gauges resident’s opinions of exploration and production

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From the Grand Junction Free Press (John Colson):

The study, called CARES (Community Action for Responsible Environmental Solutions) focused on residents’ awareness of, and concerns about, “any environmental factors that may have a bad impact on human health, or have an impact on the natural world that is bad in the long term for human health and the environments in which people live,” according to an executive summary of the study’s findings. The contractor of the study, Royce Arbour Inc. of Boulder, invited 150 people who made up a cross section of county residents, although only 71 of those ultimately participated, said Royce Arbour President Diana Smith. She explained that the survey was not intended to be a statistical look at “how many people felt this way, and how many others felt that way,” but was meant to produce a snapshot of opinions regarding environmental health in the county.

The full report, which was paid for with a $100,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, can be viewed on the county’s website, at http://www.garfield-county.com/Index.aspx?page=1304…

Concerns about health hazards posed by the natural-gas drilling industry followed, with exposure to benzene from gas wells drilled near homes at No. 5. Benzene is known to cause cancer in humans, and is one of a number of chemicals associated with gas drilling activities. Up next were “chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing of natural gas wells” and the potential of that process contaminating soil, groundwater and drinking water supplies. Hydraulic fracturing, or “frac’ing,” involves the injection of vast amounts of water, sand and chemicals into a well bore to break up deep layers of rock and free up trapped oil and gas reserves to flow to the surface. At No. 7, the respondents noted that “pollution of Colorado River water, used for human consumption, may occur if drilling takes place too close to the river.”

More oil and gas coverage here and here.

Restoration project on the Rio Grande through Alamosa

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From the Valley Courier (Julia Wilson):

“The river was broken into small sections and a study that included hydrologic, capacity and floodplain, geomorphology, riparian habitat, and diversion structure analyses were made of each section,” [Mike Gibson, manager of the San Luis Valley Water Conservancy District] said. “Local planning issues were taken into consideration and integrated into the studies. Then the consulting team doing the study and the technical advisory committee were ready to prioritize projects.”[…]

Gibson said the information from the study gave guidance on how to restore the health of the river and provided seven goals:

• Maintaining and/or improving the quality of the water in the Rio Grande River is the first goal set out in the restoration plan.

• Have stream flows mimic a natural stream flow in rivers.

• Implement diversion structures to encourage the best use of the river.

* Protect the channel and 100-year floodplain.

• Maintain or enhance the river for recreational use.

• Lead local groups that support the project in best use improvements.

• Seek funding from state, federal and grant sources.

The projects along the river are all aimed at improving the way the river functions, he said. There will be multiple benefits from the work being done on the local stretch of the Rio Grande River. These benefits include stabilized stream banks, reduced erosion and sediment loading, reconfigured channel, re-establishment of native vegetation (willows), and an improved stream flow.

More Rio Grande River basin coverage here.

Yuma: Water rates going up

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From The Yuma Pioneer (Tony Rayl):

Following a long discussion, the Yuma City Council unanimously approved the first reading of the ordinance setting a new water rate. In keeping with councilmen’s wishes (led by Dan Baucke) to minimize the impact on those on fixed income, the basic rate is being increased only 50 cents, to $8.50 per month for up to 5,000 gallons. The charge for each additional 1,000 gallons per month is going up from 85 cents to $1.25…

Several potential projects are driving rate increase, including a new SCADA system, which controls the water and sewer systems, replacing aging water lines and fire hydrants, and improvements to the water wells and towers, among other potential projects. The extra revenue, which is expected to be about $77,000 annually, will provide reserves for those projects, according to the city, as well as paying about $24,000 from the Water Enterprise to the Electric Enterprise for the electricity used to pump the wells. Even with the increase, the city’s water rates still will be half the average of other northeast Colorado communities.

More infrastructure coverage here.

Restoration: Flushing flows from Windy Gap Reservoir and Lake Granby for Upper Colorado River to begin today

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From the Sky-Hi Daily News:

The increased flows are designed to restore channel conditions favorable to trout after an August silt removal project by Windy Gap’s owner, Northern Water’s Municipal Subdistrict. The project required lowering the reservoir’s level, which increased sediment flow into the river below the dam. Biologists predict a “flushing flow” beginning Wednesday morning will assist in clearing sediment prior to the brown trout spawn in mid-October.

“Despite taking numerous precautions to minimize the amount of sediment moving downstream of Windy Gap during the silt removal project, some did make its way down,” said Northern Water General Manager Eric Wilkinson. “We’re happy that we have the water available to help improve trout habitat.”

Beginning Wednesday morning, releases from the dam will increase the river’s flow to 450 cubic feet per second. Outflow from the dam will then be stepped down through Friday, returning the river to normal seasonal levels. The Colorado River near Parshall is currently running at approximately 190 cfs.

More restoration coverage here.

2010 Colorado elections: Proposition 101, Amendment 60 and Amendment 61

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From The Durango Herald (Joe Hanel):

Proposition 101 would do much more than put FASTER in reverse. It would cut auto-registration fees to almost nothing, cut the state income tax by nearly 25 percent and eliminate almost all telephone fees and taxes. “The total impact of 101 on the state budget, in a word, it’s devastating,” said Carol Hedges of the Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute.

The state income-tax rate now stands at 4.63 percent. Proposition 101 would cut it to 4.5 percent, with 0.1 percent drops every year personal income grows by a certain amount until the tax rate hits 3.5 percent. When fully implemented, Coloradans’ state income tax bills would be nearly a quarter lower than they are now. That translates to $1.2 billion that is currently used for schools, prisons, courts and health care going to tax cuts instead, Hedges said. The first year’s cuts would total at least $130 million in a state budget that is already more than $1 billion in the hole. Local school districts would lose millions of dollars just from the lower car ownership taxes, according to the Bell Policy Center, a left-leaning group…

An average vehicle owner in La Plata County pays $82.06 in ownership taxes per year, plus license fees of $55.70. Proposition 101 knocks the tax down to $1 for used cars or $2 for new cars. License fees would be cut to $10. The county’s three school districts now get $2.7 million from the fee. Under 101, they would share just $39,000. La Plata County’s government would lose more than $1.7 million, and special districts such as fire departments would lose nearly $1.3 million, according to the Bell Policy Center. Archuleta County School District 50-Jt would lose more than $500,000, and Montezuma County’s three school districts would share a loss of more than $1.5 million.

Rick Reiter, head of Coloradans for Responsible Reform, chided the sponsors of Proposition 101 and its companion amendments, 60 and 61, for not consulting with anyone at the Legislature, business groups or budget experts before they wrote their proposals. “They just sit in a room. They create this stuff as if it’s magic dust,” Reiter said at a Grand Junction debate on Sept. 11. Reiter leads a coalition the size of which the state has rarely seen – school advocates, liberal groups, Republican leaders, chambers of commerce, water utility boards across the state. The coalition has put together a $5.7 million budget to fight the three measures.

More coverage from Charlotte Burroughs writing for the Cañon City Daily Record. From the article:

“On 60 and 101, we’re projected to take about $131,000 hit the first year,” said finance officer Sonny Barnes during the Florence City Council meeting Monday. “That’s also based on interpretation on Amendment 60, which talks about organizations that have ‘deBruced.’ It depends on if we have to just ratchet down going into next year.” The numbers may change if the city has to go backwards, based on when the city actually “deBruced.” “If we have to go backwards ….., we’re looking at an additional $90,000,” Barnes said.

More 2010 Colorado elections coverage here.

Colorado Division of Water Resources retools to make sure that the ‘primary obligations’ are covered

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From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

The division is also largely funded from the state’s general fund, which has been hit hard by the recession that began in 2007 — causing all state agencies to scramble in filling a $4.4 billion funding gap. That gap is expected to continue next year. The state so far has met the gap by using federal stimulus funds, cash reserves, new fees and by shaving personnel costs. Hiring freezes, furloughs, suspension of raises and retirement fund contribution changes have all played a part.

The water resources division also has eliminated eight positions since 2009, which along with the other statewide budget measures reduced its expenses by more than $1 million annually. “We have the resources to take care of our primary obligations, but it has put some projects on back burner,” Wolfe said. “We went to restructuring, because it’s going to be some time before we get those resources back.”

Some water commissioner slots are vacant, but the most critical ones in the Arkansas and South Platte river basins are filled “Water commissioners are our highest priority, along with dam safety and hydrographers,” Wolfe said. “We’ve had to prioritize internally what those positions are. Some positions are in a holding pattern.”

The division has made more information available online, which reduces the walk-in traffic and staff time in dealing with questions, Wolfe said. The impacts for 2011 aren’t fully known yet, but Wolfe believes another lean year is ahead.

More coverage from Chris Woodka writing for The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:

Today, the [satellite] network of state-operated gauges has grown tenfold, and their importance continues to grow both to the state and other water interests. “The most important thing is that we are able to take real-time information from the Internet,” State Engineer Dick Wolfe said. “That aids us in compact compliance throughout the state, administering water rights and assisting the Colorado Water Conservation Board with in-stream flow rights.”

The state operates 518 gauges, and the U.S. Geological Survey another 384 in Colorado. About 94 percent of the gauges are on streams, with a few monitoring reservoir levels. That number is up from 52 state and 98 USGS gauges in 1985. “We’re responsible for making sure the data coming in are accurate and reliable,” said Tom Ley, who heads the satellite monitoring branch of the state engineer’s office, at a forum in Salida last week.

The information is widely used, both by the Division of Water Resources staff, which administers water rights throughout the state and the public. Last year, there were more than 4.6 million page views at the website maintained by the state, which provides access to all of the gauges. The information includes raw data, detailed graphs or tables and tools for customized analysis. The system also can alert water users when critical levels are reached at any of the measuring stations, Ley said. In addition to the satellite readings, a statewide staff of 29 maintains the gauges, makes 4,000 streamflow measurements annually to make sure readings are accurate and keeps the information available online. Ley said it takes at least $7,500 annually — almost $4 million total — to operate each gauge, including the staff time. Most of the funding comes from the state general fund, although some of the money comes from dedicated cash funds.