Denver waterways Weir Gulch, Harvard Gulch S. Platte R. get attention — The Denver Post

Michael Bouchard (Denver Parks and Recreation) with details about planned recreational development along the river through Denver

From The Denver Post (Joe Vaccarelli):

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the city of Denver and other local agencies will be spending the next few years exploring ways to improve the South Platte River, Harvard Gulch and Weir Gulch as part of a comprehensive plan for the waterways.

The Urban Waterways Restoration Study will look into improving the ecosystem, reduce flood risk and adding recreational opportunities at all three sites. The South Platte will be studied between Sixth and 58th avenues.

“It’s a huge coordinated effort,” said Selena Klosowski, project manager for the Urban Waterways Restoration Study with Denver Public Works.

Weir Gulch runs into the South Platte River and generally ranges from 10th Avenue to Jewell Avenue and west to Alameda Parkway. The Harvard Gulch watershed is bounded by the South Platte to the west, Interstate 25 to the east and Evans Avenue to Mansfield Avenue.

Other local entities involved with the study include the Colorado Water Conservation Board and the Urban Drainage and Flood Control District.

Residents will have an opportunity to learn more about the study and give feedback at three upcoming meetings. Three more meetings are coming in the fall, and another one in the spring of 2016. All meetings will have translators present for non-English speakers. The study should be complete by spring or early summer 2017.

More restoration/reclamation coverage here.

Circle of Blue: Our @waltonwater annual pricing survey of 30 US cities is out

#WaterNews: Our @waltonwater's annual #water pricing survey of 30 U.S. cities is out! http://t.co/Iy5PhXTe6A pic.twitter.com/BysTgwHXKk

— Circle of Blue (@circleofblue) April 23, 2015

#Drought news (Part 2): Last week’s storminess helps the South Platte Basin drought picture (drought free)

US Drought Monitor April 21, 2015

West Drought Monitor April 21, 2015

Colorado Drought Monitor April 21, 2015

Click here to go to the US Drought Monitor website. Here’s an excerpt:

Summary

During the past 7-days, moderate to heavy rain (generally 0.5-3.0 inches, locally greater) fell across portions of the Southeast, the Gulf Coast, the Great Plains, and the Ohio Valley. These areas of precipitation occurred in proximity to several slow-moving/stationary fronts and mid-level troughs. By far the heaviest precipitation totals were observed near the Gulf Coast, where numerous coastal counties from southeastern Texas to the extreme western Florida Panhandle received 5-10 inches during the past week. Precipitation amounts were generally light (0.5-inch or less) in the interior Pacific Northwest, the Southwest and the northern Plains…

The Plains

In North Dakota, light rain fell during the past 7-days, offsetting further deterioration of conditions. Temperatures also fell significantly (below freezing in some areas), keeping evaporation rates low. In South Dakota, only slight adjustments were made to the drought depiction. In north-central South Dakota, moderate drought (D1) was extended slightly northward into Walworth and Edmunds Counties. In southeastern South Dakota, moderate drought (D1) was expanded slightly southward to include eastern Hutchinson, central Turner, and northern Lincoln Counties. Most other areas of the state received enough rain this past week (a quarter-inch to an inch) to offset additional deterioration of conditions, but not enough to justify improvements. In the southern portion of the Nebraska Panhandle and nearby southeastern Wyoming, abnormal dryness (D0) was eliminated due to a recent storm system that produced about 2 inches of precipitation (liquid equivalent), much of which fell as wet snow. The region is finally beginning to experience spring green-up. The improved conditions also warranted the removal of abnormal dryness (D0) in the northern Laramie Range in southeastern Wyoming. During the past week in the Sand hills region of north-central Nebraska, 2-4 inch rainfall surpluses and good soil moisture infiltration prompted a 1-category improvement to the depiction. In northeastern Nebraska, despite receiving decent moisture over the past 2 weeks, significant deficits still linger at the 30-, 60-, and 90-day time periods. Therefore, the depiction remains unchanged in this area, pending reassessment next week. In Kansas, respectable rains (mostly 0.5-2.0 inches, locally greater) helped to offset any additional degradation. Surface water supplies are still low, and runoff is minimal. No alteration was made to the Kansas drought depiction this week.

The southern Great Plains also experienced a mix of both improvements and degradations. In Oklahoma, 1-category degradations were made in the western Panhandle, as only 1.0-1.5 inches of rain fell during the past 30-days. There were reports of dust storms and dead dryland wheat across much of this area. In west-central Oklahoma, a swath of 4-8 inch rains prompted a 1-category improvement from about Roger Mills County northeastward to Major County. In extreme northeastern and northwestern Roger Mills County, and most of adjacent Ellis County, no good runoff rains were reported, suggesting status quo for those areas. In Texas, widespread 1-category improvements were made to the drought depiction after recent rain fell over many areas that needed it. Stream flows are improving in southern and south-central Texas, and there is continued reservoir improvement in the Dallas area. In the Panhandle region, some of the wheat crop is expected to be salvaged, but it is unlikely the crop will return to normal…

The West

Moderate precipitation (0.5-2.0 inches, liquid equivalent) fell in much of the Upper Colorado River Basin this past week, though not enough to greatly improve snowpack or stream flows. This region will be monitored for possible improvements next week. In parts of northeastern Colorado, where 1-3 inches of rain have fallen so far this April, 1-category upgrades were made. This includes Cheyenne County in extreme eastern Colorado, and near the northern border with Wyoming. In southern New Mexico, moderate drought (D1) was removed from southwestern Chavez and all of Otero Counties due to good moisture conditions. The Pecos River Valley is doing well on the eastern side of the state, with full reservoirs and commencement of irrigation. Conditions are not as promising though for the Rio Grande Valley.

In northeastern California, exceptional drought (D4) was expanded across the northern Sierras this week, while in northern Modoc County, a one-category improvement (from D4 to D3) was rendered to the depiction to more accurately reflect local conditions. In east-central California near Yosemite National Park, the average surface elevation of Mono Lake stood at 6378.9 feet, as of April 15th. This is the lowest surface elevation of the lake since early 1996. The target elevation is 6391 feet. For the past two weeks, extreme to exceptional drought (D3-D4) covered two-thirds of California. In northern Nevada, a one-category degradation was made to northwestern Elko County, while in southwestern Montana, small improvements were made to the drought depiction in Gallatin County.

In Washington state, record/near-record low snowpack supports the expansion of moderate drought (D1) across the northern Cascades, and the introduction of moderate drought in northeastern Washington…

Looking Ahead

For the ensuing 5-day period, April 23-27, northern New England, portions of Georgia and Alabama, and southern Florida are expected to receive 1.0-1.5 inches of precipitation, which would help in the mitigation of existing dryness/drought. Up to about 2 inches of rain is forecast for the easternmost portions of the drought region in both Oklahoma and Texas, during this period. Light precipitation (0.25-inch or less) is anticipated for most of the Dakotas and upper Mississippi Valley, though western South Dakota is expected to receive 1.0-1.5 inches of rain. Between 1.0-1.5 inches of precipitation (liquid equivalent) is predicted for parts of the West.

For the 6-10 day period, April 28-May 2, there are enhanced odds of near- to below-median precipitation across most of the contiguous U.S. Odds favor above-median rainfall from the central and eastern Gulf Coast region northeastward across the Southeast, mid-Atlantic, and southeastern New England.

Snowpack news: “Snowpack still low in Colorado; Lake Powell inflows below average” — Hannah Holm #ColoradoRiver

Arkansas River Basin High/Low graph April 22, 2015 via the NRCS

Upper Colorado River Basin High/Low graph April 22, 2015 via the NRCS

Gunnison River Basin High/Low graph April 22, 2015 via the NRCS

Laramie and North Platte Basin High/Low graph April 22, 2015 via the NRCS

Upper Rio Grande River Basin High/Low graph April 22, 2015 via the NRCS

San Miguel, Dolores, Animas, and San Juan Basin High/Low graph April 22, 2015 via the NRCS

South Platte River Basin High/Low graph April 22, 2015 via the NRCS

Yampa and White Basin High/Low graph April 22, 2015 via the NRCS

From the Grand Junction Free Press (Hannah Holm):

Last week’s storms, which snarled Interstate 70 and (briefly) turned Grand Valley trails to sticky mud, calmed fears of an early start to wildfire season; but it didn’t significantly improve the regional water supply picture.

April 20 snowpack levels in western Colorado ranged from 40 percent of average in the Southwestern basins to 71 percent in the Colorado Basin. The statewide snowpack was at 61 percent of average. The South Platte Basin snowpack, upstream from Colorado’s most populated areas, got the biggest bump out of the storms and reached 94 percent of average. Statewide, the total amount of water in the snow that has fallen since the 2015 water year began on October 1, 2014 (as opposed to snowpack at this moment in time) was a little less than 80 percent of normal.

As mediocre as Colorado’s snowpack is, it’s in better shape than the snowpack in most of the rest of the West. Eastern Utah is down to just four percent of normal, with no basin in the state above 50 percent.

Unsurprisingly, forecast inflows into Lake Powell are significantly below average. The Bureau of Reclamation forecast released April 20 predicted inflows of just 6.832 million acre feet, or 63 percent of normal, for the full 2015 water year.

At the same time, the total forecast releases from Lake Powell to Lake Mead, under operating criteria agreed to several years ago by the states that share the river, are expected to be between 8.23 and 9.0 million acre feet.

So Lake Powell, which is currently 45-percent full, will certainly not be getting any fuller this year. Lake Mead is 39-percent full, and total Colorado River Basin storage is 48-percent full, up one percentage point from last year. [ed. emphasis mine]

The U.S. Drought Monitor predicts that the next three months are likely to be wetter than average for the four-corners states, and that the relatively mild drought (compared to California) over most of Western Colorado is likely to improve. Farther to the South and West, however, drought conditions are expected to persist or intensify.

This year, due to good storage levels, we probably won’t see severe water shortages in Colorado; and downstream, Lake Mead is likely to get just enough water to prevent a formal shortage declaration, which would lead to reduced water deliveries to some Arizona farmers.

But the troubling long-term picture in the Colorado River Basin as a whole is not improving, and another year like this one will lead to those formal shortage declarations in the Lower Basin, as well as drop Lake Powell closer to the minimum level at which it can generate power.

This regional context is important to keep in mind as Colorado’s water leaders continue their work to complete a statewide water plan. The East Slope as well as the West Slope relies heavily on water from the Colorado River Basin, and both current and future uses of this water could be impacted if water storage levels drop much lower.

This is part of a series of articles coordinated by the Water Center at Colorado Mesa University in cooperation with the Colorado and Gunnison Basin Roundtables to raise awareness about water needs, uses and policies in our region. To learn more about the basin roundtables and statewide water planning, and to let the roundtables know what you think, go to http://www.coloradomesa.edu/WaterCenter. You can also find the Water Center on Facebook at http://Facebook.com/WaterCenter.CMU or Twitter at http://Twitter.com/WaterCenterCMU.

#Drought news: “Blob of warm Pacific water threatens ecosystem, may intensify drought” — CNN

Blob of warm Pacific water threatens ecosystem, may intensify drought http://t.co/YmISxS7IKQ

— WillSarni (@will_sarni) April 22, 2015

From CNN (Steve Almasy, Dave Hennen and Jennifer Gray):

A University of Washington climate scientist and his associates have been studying the blob — a huge area of unusually warm water in the Pacific — for months.

“In the fall of 2013 and early 2014 we started to notice a big, almost circular mass of water that just didn’t cool off as much as it usually did, so by spring of 2014 it was warmer than we had ever seen it for that time of year,” said Nick Bond, who works at the Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean in Seattle, Washington.

Bond, who gave the blob its name, said it was 1,000 miles long, 1,000 miles wide and 100 yards deep in 2014 — and it has grown this year.

And it’s not the only one; there are two others that emerged in 2014, Nate Mantua of the Southwest Fisheries Science Center — part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) — said in September. One is in the Bering Sea and the other is off the coast of Southern California.

Waters in the blob have been warmer by about 5.5 degrees, a significant rise.

Persistent pressure

A recent set of studies published in Geophysical Research Letters by Bond’s group points to a high-pressure ridge over the West Coast that has calmed ocean waters for two winters. The result was more heat staying in the water because storms didn’t kick up and help cool the surface water.

“The warmer temperatures we see now aren’t due to more heating, but less winter cooling,” a recent news release from the University of Washington announcing the studies said. The university has worked with NOAA on the research.

According to New Scientist magazine, some marine species are exploring the warmer waters, leading some fish to migrate hundreds of miles from their normal habitats.

The magazine cited fisherman and wildlife officials in Alaska who have seen skipjack tuna and thresher sharks.

Pygmy killer whales have been spotted off the coast of Washington.

“I’ve never seen some of these species here before,” Bill Peterson of the Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle told the New Scientist.

And he was worried about the adult Pacific salmon that normally feed on tiny crustaceans and other food sources that are not around in the same numbers off the coast of the Pacific Northwest.

“They had nothing to eat,” he told the magazine of last year’s conditions in the blob. It appears that food has moved to cooler waters.

In January, Bond told the Chinook Observer in Long Beach, Washington, that his concern is for very young salmon that are still upstream.

“In particular, the year class that would be going to sea next spring,” he said.

NOAA said in a news release last month that California sea lion pups have been found extremely underweight and dying, possibly because of an ocean with fewer things to eat.

“We have been seeing emaciated or dehydrated sea lions show up on beaches,” Justin Greenman, assistant stranding coordinator for NOAA on the West Coast, told CNN.

The numbers are overwhelming facilities that care for the stranded sea lions, most of whom are pups, local officials said.

Record number of sea lion pups stranded in California

Warmer water, less snow

The blob also is affecting life on land. For the past few years, that persistent ridge of high pressure has kept the West dry and warm, exacerbating the drought in California, Oregon and Washington.

One of the primary problems is small snow accumulation in the mountains.

In early April, officials measured the snowpack in California at a time when it should be the highest. This year it hit an all-time low at 1.4 inches of water content in the snow, just 5% of the annual average. The previous low for April 1 had been 25% in 1977 and 2014. (pdf)

Gov. Jerry Brown, in announcing water restrictions the same day, stood on a patch of dry, brown grass in the Sierra Nevada mountains that is usually blanketed by up to 5 feet of snow.

Low California snowpack ushers mandatory water restrictions

The heat has caused rising air, which can lead to conditions that produce more thunderstorms. With warmer air in California, areas at higher elevations that usually see snow have seen rain instead. That has led to the lower snowpack and helped compound the drought. The storms also mean more lightning and more wildfires.

And the blob affects people on other areas of the country.

That same persistent jet stream pattern has allowed cold air to spill into much of the Midwest and East.

This stuck pattern has led to the record cold and snow in the Midwest and Northeast over the last two seasons with record snows we have seen in Boston and Detroit, and the most snow we have seen in decades for cities such as Chicago.

Still a mystery

The weather pattern is confusing the experts.

There are some that think it might be a Pacific Decadal Oscillation, a long-lasting El Nino-like pattern in the Pacific.

Dennis Hartmann, a professor of atmospheric science at the University of Washington, doesn’t believe the answer is clear.

“I don’t think we know …” he said in the university’s news release. “Maybe it will go away quickly and we won’t talk about it anymore, but if it persists for a third year, then we’ll know something really unusual is going on.”

From The Produce News (Kathleen Thomas Gaspar):

With an ongoing drought a major factor in the San Luis Valley’s potato industry, planting this coming season could be down between 8 and 10 percent from last year’s 55,000 acres.

Jim Ehrlich, executive director of the Colorado Potato Administrative Committee based on Monte Vista, told The Produce News in mid-April he had “no way of knowing” going into planting, but he said given circumstances he looks for it to be down.

“It could be between 50,000 and 52,000 acres, but right now we just don’t know,” Ehrlich said. Acreage in 2014 was bumped up from the previous year’s 49,700 acres, and Colorado’s largest potato production area saw an overall better growing season. Summer hail hit just under 4,000 acres, but nonetheless shipments year-to-date for March 2015 were up from the previous year.

US Drought Monitor April 15, 2015

West Drought Monitor April 15, 2015

Colorado Drought Monitor April 15, 2015

Arkansas River Basin Water Forum recap: “We like our chances better with a strategy” — James Eklund #COWaterPlan

Colorado Water Plan website screen shot November 1, 2013

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

A state water plan may not prevent a crisis, but it would give the state a way to better deal with it.

“We like our chances better with a strategy,” said James Eklund, executive director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board. “We’ve got a path forward.”

Eklund addressed about 150 people who attended the opening day of the Arkansas River Basin Water Forum at Pueblo Community College.

The state will spend most of this year putting the finishing touches on a water plan to be presented to Gov. John Hickenlooper on Dec. 10. Eklund has spent the last 20 months talking to water groups throughout the state about what the plan does and how it will be used. Most recently, the state’s basin roundtables wrapped up basin implementation plans that feed into the final document.

Actually, it won’t be “final.”

Eklund called it “opensource policymaking,” meaning anyone with a smartphone or computer can logon (http://coloradowaterplan.com) and comment at any time.

California and Texas voters approved bond issues for $7.5 billion and $2 billion by 2-1 margins, largely because they had water plans in place, Eklund said.

“We’ve got to determine water priorities more aggressively than in the past,” he said. “The state will not pick winners or losers, but will be able to prioritize regional projects, like we do now for transportation.”

The plan also will connect state policies on water, ending current trends that put water quality in one “silo” (Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment) and quantity in another (Division of Water Resources).

“The Arkansas basin is a poster child for how you do this work,” Eklund said. “We need you to comment and help on the plan. We need to make sure our house is in order and that we’re unified as a state.”

The plan has to be flexible enough to meet the needs of a state that is expected to see its population double in 50 years. During his presentations, Eklund likes to show a picture of his own dour-faced great-greatgrandparents, whom he jokes would want no part of a water plan.

But times change.

“We’re living with the water policies our grandparents gave us, but we’re designing policies for our grandchildren,” Eklund said. “When people go home to be with their kids, they have to realize it’s not something you can take for granted. You have to plan for it.”

More Colorado Water Plan coverage here.

Increasing consciousness: Arizona’s investment in water education

Rio Grande National Forest federal reserved water right decree a “huge success story” — The Pueblo Chieftain

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Matt Hildner):

Few things heighten the blood pressure of water users like a federal reserved water right.

Around the American West they’ve been used to secure water supplies for Indian reservations, national parks and other federal lands, occasionally overturning the pecking order defined in water law by the maxim “first in time, first in right.”

But local water users in the San Luis Valley have spent the last couple of months urging the Rio Grande National Forest to protect one that’s believed to be the only one of its kind ever granted to an entire national forest.

“It’s a huge success story, not only for the federal agency, but for the water users in the San Luis Valley,” said Travis Smith, who represents the region on the Colorado Water Conservation Board.

Local groups and forest officials spent more than two decades negotiating the decree that protects in-stream flows on the 1.9 million-acre national forest before hammering out an agreement in 2000.

The decree established 303 quantification points on the headwaters of streams and rivers in the eastern San Juan and La Garita mountains and the northern Sangre de Cristos.

Each quantification point includes minimum high flows and maximum high flows that vary depending on the time of year.

The in-stream flows, which don’t involve the removal or consumption of any water, are designed to protect stream function and fish habitat.

The decree also gave forest officials the right to an unspecified amount for fighting fires.

But the upcoming revision of the forest’s management plan has prompted the federal agency to examine its existing management practices — including those for water — and collect public opinion on whether change is needed.

The plan-revision process is expected to last four years, but U.S. Forest Service officials want the feedback before they begin devising management alternatives later this year.

Toward that end, the Rio Grande Basin Roundtable, a 21-member panel representing users from around the valley, voted earlier this month to submit comments calling for the decree to stay the same.

The Rio Grande Water Conservation District followed with a similar vote Tuesday.

Such consensus would have seemed unlikely in the 1970s when the Forest Service began seeking federal reserved rights for in-stream flows at water courts around the state.

The trials for those efforts in the South Platte and Arkansas river basins were sprawling affairs with each ending up in the Colorado Supreme Court before being sent back to their respective trial courts.

Neither water court, in the end, granted in-stream-flow rights to the national forests in those basins.

And, initially, there was plenty of opposition in the Rio Grande Basin as 35 parties filed objections to the Forest Service’s filing.

Steve Vandiver is director of the Rio Grande Water Conservation District but he was involved in negotiations for the Rio Grande’s decree as the division engineer at the time.

He said the lack of development in the headwaters of the Rio Grande compared to other river basins made it much easier to reach a deal.

“If you look at the other basins, there’s a lot of private ground in and above the forest,” he said. “If you’re Vail, or you’re Aspen or Copper Mountain, you don’t want a dedicated flow below you that has to be met every day.”

The decree signed by Judge Robert Ogburn mirrors Vandiver’s point, noting that there are only four large reservoirs and 181 other water rights located on or upstream of Forest Service lands.

Still, local water organizations secured important concessions in the decree.

The priority date for the forest’s water right was pegged at 1999, even though the lands covered by the decree were brought into the national forest between 1902 and 1938.

Another point in the agreement holds that if the Forest Service impeded on the exercise of other water rights or increased its stream flows through the use of its land-use authority, the decree could be reopened.

Jim Webb, who served as forest supervisor for the Rio Grande at the time of the decree, credited Vandiver and other local water leaders at the time for being forward thinking. “There was a high degree of trust,” he told The Chieftain in a phone interview.

Moreover, he said the failed efforts by American Water Development Inc. and Stockman’s Water Co. to take water out of the valley made water managers more amenable to locking down in-stream flows on the forest.

He, like Vandiver, wants the decree left untouched, adding that there’s no unclaimed water left on the forest to increase the in-stream flows or become available for downstream users.

He also doesn’t want to see anyone mess with the decree because of the impact it would have on the forest’s relationships with its neighbors in the valley.

“Politically, it would be a bomb,” he said.

More Rio Grande River Basin coverage here.

Happy Earth Day!

Happy #EarthDay2015! USGS has outlined critical issues facing our planet & projects underway http://t.co/n1YFndZ8f0 pic.twitter.com/XUQDjeI9OM

— USGS (@USGS) April 22, 2015

Happy #EarthDay ! Learn to debunk climate myths with our free online course http://t.co/IFv5fMl42P @denial101x pic.twitter.com/daYSZBiYGk

— Keah Schuenemann (@keah88) April 22, 2015

We have only one planet 🌍 #EarthDay2015
Todos los días son el #DiaDeLaTierra 🌳
Cuidemos el planeta ¡SÓLO tenemos UNO! pic.twitter.com/i6ncHUbtrU

— Isaac Vega (@isaacBIOvega) April 22, 2015

“There is no greater threat to our planet than #climatechange,” #Obama to #Florida #EarthDay. http://t.co/2KkAFJgeS7 pic.twitter.com/wn8j4uPh2b

— COLab, the Colorado News Collaborative (@colabnewsco) April 22, 2015

Earth Day, 45 years later http://t.co/7suYZzV14V via @denverpost & Kathleen Wells & Phil Nelson

— David McGimpsey (@DTM1993) April 22, 2015

Why you and your kids should care about the drought in California

‘Earth League’ scientists call for moral leadership on climate

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

Upper Colorado River Basin precipitation April 1 thru April 19, 2015 via the Colorado Climate Center

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

Snowpack news: Recent storm delights late-season powder-hounds

Westwide SNOTEL snow water equivalent as a percent of normal

Arkansas River Basin High/Low Graph April 21, 2015 via the NRCS

Upper Colorado River Basin High/Low Graph April 21, 2015 via the NRCS

Gunnison River Basin High/Low Graph April 21, 2015 via the NRCS

Laramie and North Platte Basin High/Low Graph April 21, 2015 via the NRCS

Upper Rio Grande River Basin High/Low Graph April 21, 2015 via the NRCS

San Miguel, Dolores, Animas, and San Juan Basin High/Low Graph April 21, 2015 via the NRCS

South Platte River Basin High/Low Graph April 21, 2015 via the NRCS

Yampa and White Basin High/Low Graph April 21, 2015 via the NRCS

From the Examiner:

A cut-off low pressure storm returned the Rocky Mountains to winter this past week. Skiers and snowboarders flocked to the the ski areas that were still open and to their local backcountry slopes to enjoy the ridiculous amounts of snow that fell. Snowbird, Utah reported 42 inches from April 15 to 16 while the resorts of Loveland, Arapahoe Basin, and Winter Park received 32, 25, and 20 inches respectively…

Colorado’s snowpack not only contributes water for municipal, industrial, and agricultural uses but supports millions of dollars in tourism with non-consumptive uses like whitewater rafting, fly-fishing, and more. The state hosted around 500,000 rafters last year but likely won’t meet those numbers again this year. The smaller snowpack this year will reduce flows in the river, and how long the rivers are are able to be rafted. However, many reservoirs statewide are near capacity, which will help dam-released rivers keep their flows throughout the summer.

Before this storm, the Colorado snowpack was at 65% of average. While this storm dropped incredible amounts of snow, it did not make a huge impact on the state of Colorado’s snowpack. The snowpack still sits around 65% of average but is being dragged down by an incredibly dry winter in the southern portion of the state. The Upper Rio Grande Basin is currently sitting at 38% of average while the San Miguel, Dolores, Animas, and San Juan Basin is sitting at 41% of average. This is in comparison to the South Platte River Basin, which is sitting at 95% of average. The snowpack current report can be viewed here. Many industries vital to Colorado, and the West’s, identity and economic survival are dependent upon the winter precipitation their mountains receive. While this storm has bolstered the meager snowpack, it will only serve as a bandage on the severed artery that is the West’s water woes.

From The Mountain Mail (Marcus Hill):

In Colorado April often brings snow rather than rain showers, and Mother Nature dealt Salida a heavy dose of it Thursday and Friday, causing power outages, cancellations and other problems.

The snow caused the city to eclipse its average precipitation for the month in just 2 days. April’s average is 1.18 inches. The storm last week resulted in 1.24 inches of precipitation.

Snow began falling Thursday evening, with large flakes wetting the streets but failing to stick. As the night waned, the streets froze and snow began to stick. The snow continued through Friday morning, accumulating up to 2 feet in some areas.

From the Glenwood Springs Post Independent:

The snowstorm last weekend didn’t boost the snowpack in the Roaring Fork River basin up to average, but it added some much-needed moisture to most areas monitored by the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service.

The snowpack at the headwaters of the Roaring Fork River east of Aspen didn’t change much despite the pounding at Aspen Mountain, according to the conservation service’s Snotel weather measuring station near Grizzly Reservoir. The snowpack was at 92 percent of the average established between 1981 and 2010 as of April 16 and remained that way Monday, after the storm moved on. There was the equivalent of 14.6 inches of water in the snowpack as of Monday. The average for the date is 15.7 inches.

It was a different story at the headwaters of the Fryingpan and Crystal Rivers. Up the Fryingpan, the Ivanhoe station increased from 92 percent of average snowpack on April 16 to 107 percent Monday. The snow-water equivalent is 14.2 inches.

The Kiln site in the Fryingpan Valley went from 25 percent of average snowpack before the storm to 43 percent after. The Nast site, which is at the lowest elevation of the three weather stations in the Fryingpan, went from no snowpack to 57 percent of average. It had a snow-water equivalent of 0.8 inches.

The snowpack picture in the Crystal River Valley went from bleak to only slightly better with the storm. The snowpack at Schofield Pass went from 61 percent of average to 64 percent. The snow-water equivalent at that high elevation weather station was 20.9 inches.

McClure Pass went from no snowpack to 13 percent of average. There is only 1.8 inches of snow-water equivalent at the site.

North Lost Trail outside of Marble was only slightly better. It went from 14 percent of average snowpack to 35 percent with a snow-water equivalent of 4.1 inches.

Rain and snow showers are in Aspen’s forecast for the next few days, but it’s going to be too little, too late to help the snowpack. In an average year, the snowpack builds until reaching a peak in early to mid-April. Dry conditions throughout the winter and warm temperatures through the spring ate up the snowpack early.

Southern Delivery System: Closing arguments expected to conclude today in Walker Ranch lawsuit

Southern Delivery System route map -- Graphic / Reclamation — Southern Delivery System route map — Graphic / Reclamation

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

Closing arguments are expected to wrap up sometime today in a jury trial to determine the value of the Southern Delivery System easement across Walker Ranches in Pueblo County.

Expert witnesses for Colorado Springs testified Tuesday, the seventh day of the trial.

Attorneys for both sides indicated the testimony would wrap up soon and they were preparing to present closing arguments today. After that, the jury will begin its deliberations.

Court records indicate Gary Walker was offered $100,000 for easements on a 150-foot wide strip 5.5 miles long through Walker Ranches in northern Pueblo County. Colorado Springs, which is building SDS, also paid Walker $720,000 to relocate cattle during three years of construction.

Construction on SDS began in 2011, and includes 50 miles of underground pipeline 66 inches in diameter in Pueblo and El Paso counties. The final phase of construction in Pueblo County is the Juniper Pump Station being built near Pueblo Dam.

Walker claims the choice of pipeline route has contributed to erosion and diminished the value of his land. His court records claim SDS has caused $25 million worth of impact on his ranches, which total 65,000 acres. He’s also claiming damages under Pueblo County’s 1041 permit for SDS, which protects landowners from out-of-pocket expenses and requires Colorado Springs to use eminent domain only as a last resort.

District Judge Jill Mattoon is presiding over the trial.

More Southern Delivery System coverage here.

2015 Colorado legislation: SB15-212 scheduled for hearing today in Senate Ag committee #coleg

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

A bill that would allow flood water to be stored regardless of the impact on water rights would not affect a proposal to build flood control structures on Fountain Creek.

The district is looking at building a dam or several detention ponds on Fountain Creek. It has no interest in getting blanket authority under [Senate Bill 15-212 (Storm Water Facilities Not Injure Water Rights)], which is moving slowly through the Legislature.

The Fountain Creek Watershed Flood Control and Greenway District board has taken a neutral position on the legislation, and would not interrupt its study of flood control and water rights even if SB212 passes, said Larry Small, executive director.

“We have no intention to infringe on water rights,” Small said Tuesday. “We live and operate in this basin, and whatever we do has to be mutually beneficial.”

Small was speaking to a technical committee Tuesday studying how water rights can be protected while constructing flood control structures on Fountain Creek.

The Denver Urban Drainage District and other water interests are pushing SB212, which is scheduled to be heard today in the Senate agriculture committee.

Farmers in the Lower Arkansas Valley are interested because of its impact on junior water rights. Several testified last week against the bill. The Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District offered amendments to the bill that would exempt Fountain Creek or the Arkansas River basin from the bill.

“Once again, it looks like the Legislature wants to put all the mitigation for these projects on the backs of farmers,” said Jay Winner, general manager of the Lower Ark district.

It also was suggested that fire mitigation basins, which are needed in areas such as Colorado Springs to deal with the aftermath of large wildfires, be allowed but to postpone action on flood control basins.

The state of Kansas also wrote an April 10 letter to Mike King, director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, and Dick Wolfe saying the [bill] could have a negative impact on the Arkansas River Compact. It said a proposed notification system is not sufficient to protect its interests.

Small said that it might not be possible to move the legislation this year, since it would face more of a challenge in the House and the Legislature is set to adjourn on May 6.

More 2015 Colorado legislation coverage here.

@WQD_Colorado: Earth Day everyday! We keep Colorado’s water safe, clean and sustainable

https://twitter.com/WQCD_Colorado/status/590644303489343488

When it comes to saving water, Denver Zoo is a roaring success

One Of The World’s Driest Cities Is Reviving Its 1,000-Year-Old Water Infrastructure

One Of The World's Driest Cities Is Reviving Its 1,000-Year-Old Water Infrastructure http://t.co/fFeQtqFJMm

— WillSarni (@will_sarni) April 21, 2015

From Ancient-Origins.net (April Holloway):

Peru has been facing a severe water crisis as chronic problems, such as polluted water supplies, and environmental change combine to undermine the water security of the entire country. However, a new plan has been put forward by Lima’s water utility company, Sedapal, to revive an ancient network of stone canals that were built by the Wari culture as early as 500 AD, in order to supply the population with clean, unpolluted water.

Peru’s highly populated arid Pacific coast depends on water from glacial melt to compensate for the region’s lack of rainfall, but Peru’s glaciers have been retreating at a rapid and increasing rate, leaving many areas without adequate access to water. Lima’s failing public water system has been unable to address the problem, and privatization has been the preferred formula of the government for fixing the deficiencies – a move that is widely unpopular with the majority of the Peruvian people.

All that may be about to change, as Lima’s water utility company has decided to look to the ancient past for solutions to the modern-day problems.

New Scientist reports that “researchers have discovered that the most cost-effective way is to revive a system of ancient stone canals, known locally as amunas, that were built in the Andes by the Wari culture between AD 500 and 1000, centuries before the rise of the Incas”.

The Wari (Spanish: Huari) civilization flourished in the Andean highlands and forged a complex society widely regarded today as ancient Peru’s first empire. Their Andean capital, Huari, became one of the world’s great cities of the time. Relatively little is known about the Wari because no written record remains, although thousands of archaeological sites reveal much about their lives, including the fact that they were great urban planners.

The Wari built an advanced water conservation system that captured mountain water during the rainy season via canals. The canals transported the water to places where it could feed into springs further down the mountain, in order to maintain the flow of the rivers during the dry season.

The ancient canals left by the Wari are in a state of disrepair, but Condesan, a Lima-based non-governmental organization, has said that re-grouting the amunas with cement would allow them to resume their original purpose.

Old canal of Wari culture photo via Ancient-Origins.net

What are you waiting for? Register for the AWRA Colorado Section Annual Symposium, May 1

future ahead concept — Graphic via PowerHouse360.com

From email from the AWRA Colorado Section:

The AWRA Colorado Symposium will be Friday, May 1st, and early registration has been extended to Wednesday, April 22. Registration fees will go up after the 22nd.

The theme of our symposium this year is Colorado 20/20…Clearly Seeing our Future; A look at the near-future water challenges we face and potential solutions. One of our greatest hurdles as water managers is to prioritize our efforts to solve the short-term issues, while not losing focus on the long-term objectives. This year’s symposium will feature presentations on the near-term issues we will grapple with as a State, and that will be the cornerstone for solving the long-term water needs of the future.

The Symposium agenda is available on our website:
http://www.awracolorado.org/2015-symposium-agenda/,
and you can also register on our website:
http://www.awracolorado.org/events/annual-symposium-2/.

Please join us for an exciting day that will include networking opportunities; speakers from academia, government, and the private sector; a silent auction packed with water-related gifts for all; and not one but three keynote speakers that will feature talks on the Central Arizona Project, a historical perspective on the State Water Plan, and a travelogue presentation on international water and cultural resources.

Happy Earth Day

https://twitter.com/wallacejnichols/status/590537885566119936

Aspinall Unit operations meeting Thursday #ColoradoRiver

From email from Reclamation (Erik Knight):

The next Aspinall Unit Operations meeting will be held this Thursday, April 23rd, at the Western Colorado Area Office in Grand Junction, starting at 1 PM.

The address of the WCAO is 445 West Gunnison Ave, Suite #221

More Aspinall Unit coverage here.

Snowpack/runoff news

westwidesnotel04202015 — Westwide SNOTEL snow water equivalent as a percent of normal April 20, 2015 via the NRCS

From KUNC (Jackie Fortier):

Recent snowstorms have pushed Colorado’s snowpack up to 62 percent of normal. But according to experts, those storms didn’t provide relief to the driest areas in the southern half of the state.

“The San Miguel, Dolores, Animas and San Juan basins are the lowest,” said Brian Domonkos, a hydrologist with the Colorado Snow Survey Program. The mountains where the Rio Grande River originates in Southern Colorado are only at 38 percent of normal, “and they saw very little help in the terms of snowpack from this storm.”

On the flip side, the South Platte River basin, which provides water for Denver and the northern Front Range saw the most moisture. The storm that moved in April 15 and lasted for days brought more than 40 inches of snow in some parts of northern Larimer county.

“The better basins in the state are the South Platte and the Arkansas,” he said. “In terms of moisture this storm seems to have benefited the South Platte the most. They had about 2.4 inches of snow water equivalent come from this storm mainly because it was an upslope storm and that’s where the highest mountains are.”

Recent snow, cool temps slowed #runoff. #EagleRiver at Avon at 106% of normal; snow at headwaters holding. pic.twitter.com/wnOypXtpKU

— Eagle River Water (@VailCOwater) April 21, 2015

These precipitation accumulation graphs were presented by the State Climatologist: http://t.co/Co8nsozuNd pic.twitter.com/ZJXC89iMol

— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder) April 20, 2015

Tackling Colorado fracking issues requires ongoing dialogue

Standing on the Shoulders of Colorado’s Water Leaders

Cortez plans to install 3,000 smart water meters this summer

From The Cortez Journal (Jessica Gonzalez):

Funding is in place for the City of Cortez to embark on a $1.2 million replacement of more than 3,000 manually read water meters with automated meters.

Mayor Karen Sheek and City Council approved loan and grant funds from the Colorado Water Conservation Board at the April 14 council meeting.

Through this project, the city intends to replace its current meters with automated meter readers, which use radios to collect data via a drive-by or a fixed-base receiver on every metered account in the city’s system.

The project is being funded through $250,000 in grants from the CWCB and the Department of Local Affairs, $350,000 from the city’s fund balance and $850,000 loan from the CWCB. Once bids are opened in mid-May, there will be a more precise picture of exactly how much the city will need to borrow via loan funding, said Phil Johnson, director of Public Works. It’s likely to be less than the $850,000 total…

The Public Works Department contends that the replacement project will bring the water meter system into the future with more streamlined billing and data management. It also says that it encourages conservation by providing users with more accurate water-consumption information…

After the bid period in mid-May, work is expected to begin early summer. The entire system is expected to be on automatic meters by October…

The Public Works Department will be providing regular updates on the project on the City of Cortez website, he noted, but stressed that it’s a necessary change in a time where water conservation is crucial.

“It’s a step into the future going to help us run our operation more effectively and it’s an efficient tool to help Cortez save water,” he said.

More infrastructure coverage here.

No watering restrictions for Broomfield

From the Broomfield Enterprise (Megan Quinn):

Despite a dry March, Broomfield will not impose summer water restrictions this year after learning it will receive its typical allocation from its main water supplier.

The Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District last week announced it would provide users their typical amount of water from the Colorado-Big Thompson Project, because the storage reservoir is more full than normal. The district typically allocates about 70 percent of its supply for water users unless resources are limited. Last year, the allocation was 60 percent.

That means Broomfield residents won’t have to scrimp on water this summer, but officials are still asking residents to use only what they need…

Broomfield gets more than half of its water supply from the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, and the rest from Denver Water and the Windy Gap project. All three rely on mountain snowpack.

Water runoff from snowpack is a major indicator of how much water there will be for cities in the coming year.

Even though precipitation was just 21 percent of average in March, Northern Water’s overall water supplies are much higher than normal, said spokesman Brian Werner.

C-BT, which provides water for Broomfield and 32 other cities and towns, was “at an all-time high” for April 1, and other local storage reservoirs were above normal, Werner said.

On top of that, a large snowstorm on Thursday dumped more moisture in the high country, which “will help slow down the melt and keep us in good shape,” he said…

In Broomfield, single-family residential users account for 56 percent of total water use, according to the city’s 2013 water rate study.

Park Services Superintendent Gary Schnoor said Broomfield also is monitoring its water use. Conserving water is just as important for Broomfield as it is for its residents, especially because the parks department uses the most water of any department in Broomfield.

To conserve and reuse that water, about half of Broomfield’s parks, about 553 acres, are watered with reclaimed water.

“We pay per 1,000 gallons, just like you do at home. It’s one of our big budget items,” he said.

Caleb Davis, an irrigation systems coordinator for the city, said the dry March weather meant employees had to start watering parks a little earlier than usual.

Rain and snow can help save the city’s water supply. Last year, Broomfield used 380 million gallons of water on the parks and landscape.

Worst case, the parks department could use up to 500 million gallons during the driest years, Davis said.

Ute Water hopes to lease 12,000 acre-feet of water stored in Ruedi for endangered fish

Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program

From The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel (Gary Harmon):

Aspen and Pitkin County officials are raising questions about plans to send more water from Ruedi Reservoir down the Colorado River to benefit endangered fish.

The water is owned by the Ute Water Conservancy District, which purchased 12,000 acre feet of Ruedi water in 2012, in anticipation of growth and as a backstop for its more than 80,000 customers and others in the Grand Valley should Grand Mesa supplies dry up in a drought year.

With no need for Ruedi water this year, Ute approached the Colorado Water Conservation Board about leasing the water to benefit four endangered species of fish in the Colorado — a project that the state agency is considering.

“This is Ute trying to do something for the environment,” Ute General Manager Larry Clever said on Friday.

Aspen and Pitkin County officials, however, have questions about the deal and have asked the conservation board to explain it in a meeting Tuesday in Carbondale.

Aspen and Pitkin county officials want to know more about how the lease would affect the level of the reservoir, electricity generation for Aspen, and the Fryingpan River angling industry below Ruedi Dam, among other concerns.

Ute paid $15.5 million for the unclaimed water in Ruedi and, Clever said, can call it down the river anytime it wishes.

“We knew there would be outrage at the Aspen Yacht Club” when Ute told the water conservation board that water for the fish might be available if needed, Clever said.

“You know why they’re against it,” Clever said. “If I pull water out (of Ruedi), the Aspen Yacht Club wouldn’t be able to float so well.”

There’s more to it than that, said Mark Fuller, director of the Ruedi Water and Power Authority.

“We’ve worked for years with the Bureau of Reclamation and Fish and Wildlife Service to handle releases in a way that is compatible with the recreational use on the river, and that’s worked out fairly well under normal circumstances,” Fuller said.

“Depending how these supplemental releases get managed, that could all go out the window.”

The Ruedi Water and Power Authority supplies electricity generated at Ruedi Dam to Aspen and other communities. Fluctuating levels in the Fryingpan River also could make it impossible for flycasters to wade into the Gold Medal waters, officials noted.

Releasing Ute’s water from Ruedi would have another benefit, Clever said.

“My goal was to put the water in Lake Powell,” which some fear could drop so low as to hinder electricity generation at Glen Canyon Dam.

That could require the Bureau of Reclamation to take action to lower Upper Colorado River reservoirs to maintain the dam’s generating capacity.

“If I can put water in Powell, the whole upper basin is in better shape,” Clever said.

Generating capacity at Ruedi also weighs on his mind, Fuller said. “We would like to be able to work in a proactive and synergistic relationship on how to make different pots of water work together so the Fryingpan doesn’t just become a flume,” Pitkin County Commissioner Rachel Richards said.

The water conservation board remains interested in reaching a deal with Ute.

“We applaud Ute Water’s willingness to work with us on an approach benefiting a recovery program that helps water users throughout the Colorado River Basin,” CWCB Director James Eklund said in an email. “We’re all connected throughout Colorado by our most precious natural resource as demonstrated by this important recovery program.”

More endangered/threatened species coverage here.

Snowpack/runoff news: The melt-out continues in the Arkansas Basin

Westwide Snotel snow water equivalent as a percent of normal April 19, 2015 via the NRCS

Arkansas River Basin High/Low graph April 19, 2015 via the NRCS

Upper Colorado River Basin High/Low graph April 19, 2015 via the NRCS

Gunnison River Basin High/Low graph April 19, 2015 via the NRCS

Laramie and North Platte Basin High/Low graph April 19, 2015 via the NRCS

Upper Rio Grande River Basin High/Low graph April 19, 2015 via the NRCS

San Miguel, Dolores, Animas, and San Juan Basin High/Low graph April 19, 2015 via the NRCS

South Platte River Basin High/Low graph April 19, 2015 via the NRCS

Yampa and White Basin High/Low graph April 19, 2015 via the NRCS

From Steamboat Today (Tom Ross):

The month of March was particularly concerning to the hydrologists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric’s Administration’s Colorado River Basin Forecast Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

“On March 2, we were very optimistic a storm would come through, but it just didn’t pan out,” Paul Miller, a senior hydrologist with the Forecast Center, said during an April 7 webinar attended remotely by more than 30 interested people from across the Colorado Basin. “March was very, very dry except for portions of the eastern Green (River Basin) and the tip of the Colorado headwaters. Especially in the Great Basin, you can see that Utah is well below average.”

But the story of this year’s water supply in the Intermountain West really lies in the uncommonly mild March temperatures that have caused what snowpack there is to melt at a time when snowpack should have been growing, Miller said.

“Our temperatures have been record-breaking, the warmest on record in Utah and Salt Lake City,” he said. “The whole region has been well, well, well above average the entire winter season. Because of the early melt, we’re seeing high (streamflow) values well before runoff season. It’s just indicative of snow melting too early.”[…]

In Steamboat Springs, 13 miles and 3,500 feet in elevation from one of the most productive snowpack sites along the Continental Divide, there were 18 days in March when afternoon temperatures exceeded 50 degrees and nine of those were warmer than 60 degrees. Thanks to the wet summer of 2014, reservoirs here are sure to fill, but river flows will be below average.

The Salt Lake Tribune reported April 7 that the snowpack in the majority of the Utah’s watersheds was under 50 percent, and farmers were confronted with decisions about whether to plant water intensive grain, or switch to crops that need less water. That same week, the Arizona Daily Sun in Flagstaff published a story about a new subdivision where shallow wells had been tapped out, and residents were removing grass lawns in favor of artificial lawns.

NOHRSC observed snowfall analysis from recent storm, big totals for the FR mountains! http://t.co/jtVgqYZ92l #cowx pic.twitter.com/CuL3fjlXsJ

— Brendan Heberton (@BrendansWeather) April 20, 2015

From The Colorado Springs Gazette (Ryan Maye Handy):

…in southern Colorado, the weekend storm was not enough to counteract snowmelt that has already begun in the Arkansas River Basin, where the snowpack is well below normal and water managers face constant drought.

“It (the Arkansas Basin) picked up about 2 feet of snow from this event on average,” said Kathleen Torgerson, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Pueblo. “So it was a good amount of precipitation. It just didn’t surpass the melting that occurred before that.”

The wintry weather may stall the arrival of a true spring, but the moisture is welcome in Colorado, where most river basins are facing below normal snowpack levels. While the mountains along the northern Front Range saw the most snow, south-central Colorado and the Western Slope continue to lose ground in the battle for snowpack as the spring runoff season overtakes the snow season.

By April, most of Colorado’s basin have passed their peak snowfall periods, and snow has begun to melt, according to an April drought update from the Colorado Water Conservation Board. The South Platte River Basin, which encompasses most of the Colorado’s northern Front Range, benefited the most from the storm – as of Sunday, snow measurements put the basin at 95 percent of normal, up from 87 in early April. But the Arkansas River Basin, home to Colorado Springs and the southeastern Front Range, went down from 80 percent of normal in early April to 77 percent as of Sunday. The Western Slope basins saw the steepest decline, dropping from more than 50 percent to numbers in the 30s.

GarCo urges West Slope water summit — Glenwood Springs Post Independent #COWaterPlan

Colorado transmountain diversions via the State Engineer's office — Colorado transmountain diversions via the State Engineer’s office

From the Glenwood Springs Post Independent (John Stroud):

Garfield County proposes to host a summit among Western Slope water interests in an effort to present a “united voice” on the prospect of new transmountain diversions, and how that would be stated in the forthcoming Colorado Water Plan.

County Commission Chairman John Martin suggested the summit during a presentation Tuesday by Louis Meyer, author of the draft Colorado River Basin Implementation Plan that emerged from a series of basin roundtable meetings last year and has been presented as part of the larger statewide plan.

Seven-point draft conceptual agreement framework for negotiations on a future transmountain diversion screen shot December 18, 2014 via Aspen Journalism

Meyer said the seven-point conceptual framework put forward by the state’s Interbasin Compact Committee (IBCC) for inclusion in the water plan has taken the focus away from the work done by the nine basin roundtables.

He expressed grave concerns that the proposed framework for negotiating future projects to divert more water from the West Slope basins, primarily the Colorado, to the Front Range, is even ready for inclusion in the plan.

The proposed framework “lacks specificity, and is very ambiguous,” Meyer said. “And I don’t think the public has been adequately engaged in drafting these seven points.”

It was an opinion shared around the room for the most part Tuesday, during a county commissioners work session that was attended by numerous ranchers and those with recreational and conservation interests who have been part of the roundtable process.

“It’s time to get everyone together and put all of this on the table … and present a united voice from the Western Slope to the draft” water plan, Martin said, offering for Garfield County to host a summit meeting sometime in the coming weeks.

“It’s important that we all work together and to have some unified agreement, so that the governor will take heed,” Martin said…

Meyer said there are problems with each of the seven points in the IBCC proposal, namely that it assumes the Colorado River Basin has more water to give for the purpose of accommodating growth in the Front Range metro areas.

“In my travels, there is not any more water to develop in the Colorado Basin,” Meyer said, noting that existing diversions already result in low river flow issues and shortages for agriculture water users on the Western Slope.

The proposed use of “triggers” in wetter years to determine when water can be diverted, as well as measures to protect agriculture, the environment and recreation interests “sound good on paper,” Meyer said. But those points still need a lot of work, he said.

Some of those who attended the Tuesday meeting said the continued effort to keep new water diversions among the possibilities seems to throw out one of the key elements of the water plan, conservation.

“This whole thing grew out of our need to plan for the future,” said Barb Andre of Basalt.

“But I have a question about the word ‘need,’ and I don’t think we’re looking at the differences between wants and needs as much as we could,” she said. “It begins to look like the word ‘need’ is being misused here.”

Dave Merritt, who sits as Garfield County’s representative on the Colorado River Water Conservation District board, said the framework being proposed is just a concept that can still be negotiated.

He warned against making strong statements about whether the Front Range areas, and the state as a whole, should be allowed to grow or not by limiting water usage…

County Commissioner Mike Samson said the Front Range already gets enough West Slope water and needs to find other sources for its future water needs.

“I’ll reiterate what I’ve said before, we not only have no more water to give, they’ve taken too much already from the Western Slope and downstream states,” Samson said, also referring to it as a “needs versus wants” issue.

More Colorado Water Plan coverage here.

La Junta sewer rates to increase January 1, 2016

From the La Junta Tribune-Democrat (Candi Hill):

The La Junta Utilities Board approved a resolution Tuesday that sets new sewer rates for La Junta customers. The rates go into effect Jan. 1, 2016.

The per-month rates are as follows:

Residential Rates — $42.37

Residential West Side Rates (all residential units used as commercial rentals) – $64
Commercial/Municipal/Industrial/Large Customer Rates (all non-residential customers) – $59.21 … unless adjusted. For current commercial users, the adjusted charge shall be computed using the 12-month average water consumption from January through December of the prior year. Commercial accounts will be adjusted annually. A new commercial or industrial account shall be charged a sewer rate of $120 until the annual rate can be established using three months’ usage.

The commercial, municipal, industrial and large customer sewer rate is calculated as follows – Over 7,000 gallons: $3.50/1,000 gallons

Commercial West Side Rates – $89

The commercial West Side Sewer rate is calculated as follows – Over 7,000 gallons: $5.20/1,000 gallons
The minimum rate regardless of water use of residential, multi-dwelling, mobile home and commercial units will be $42.37 per month beginning Jan. 1, 2016.

The rate increase ties in with the city’s process of obtaining a loan to improve the city’s wastewater facilities. City Attorney Phil Malouff said the people who are going to purchase the bonds for the up to $14.2 million loan want to know there’s a minimum amount of revenue coming in from customers. These rates will establish that minimum amount of cash flow. The city has an obligation under the loan agreement and the bond, according to a resolution authorizing City Council to approve the loan, to constitute a revenue obligation of the city payable solely from the pledged property of the wastewater enterprise fund and will not create a debt or indebtedness of the city.

More infrastructure coverage here.

Arkansas River Basin water forum Wednesday

Arkansas River Basin -- Graphic via the Colorado Geological Survey — Arkansas River Basin — Graphic via the Colorado Geological Survey

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

The Arkansas River Basin water forum will be held this week in the Fortino Ballroom of the student center at Pueblo Community College.

The conference opens at 8 a.m. Wednesday, with keynote speaker James Eklund, director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board. At 11:15 a.m., the Bob Appel Friend of the Arkansas Award will be presented.

A tour of Pueblo Dam is scheduled from 3-6 p.m.

Thursday’s discussions will focus on Fountain Creek, headwaters and climate issues.

“The Law Without Scholarship Would Build A Boat to Float a Waterless Sea,” April 9-10, 2015 #hobbsdu

The Faculty, D.U. Water Law Review Symposium, “The Law Without Scholarship Would Build A Boat to Float a Waterless Sea,” April 9-10, 2015

Convener Emily Dowd
“Bring our young people in, let the Four Corners shine on them!”

John Fielder
“Call Yampa, White, the Rio Grande, San Juan, the Platte, the Arkansas.”

Marty Katz
“Fit crafts require skilled navigators and the whole great ocean to venture in.”

Allison Eid and Nancy Rice
“Kindness and respect being firm and resolute when it’s time for decision.”

Abigail Adams
“The right to vote maturing to pair equality and opportunity.”

Troy Eid and Patricio Serna
“Give wise counsel freely to another, stir the leaven into good and edible fry bread.”

Lucy Marsh
“Enjoin the law, heal, forgive, breathe in wisdom’s simple undying spirit.”

Sarah Krakoff
“Nothing’s written but isn’t once and future increment.”

Tom Romero
“In the music of this stream we can hear our people talking to us.”

Susan Schulten
“Lincoln didn’t crave a fight to make it right, but couldn’t short for standing tall, “all created equal” meant all his might.”

Patty Limerick
“Find the tipping point within the argument.”

Ken and Ruth Wright
“A wheeling condor can see the stepping waters spring, amidst a starburst. Climb from the earth’s center, circle on circle.”

Fred Cheever
“The state of being free is founded on the land itself.”

Amy Beatie and David Robbins
“Many tributaries flow from the mountains, all would head for the sea.”

Sandi Zellmer
“Whatever possessory interests we might assert, the land, the air, the waters own us.”

Jean Dubofsky and Alex Martinez
“What it means to govern is to unite, no more perfect than each of us might see. Possibilities are numbered in the generations.”

Mike Bender
“Recall the direction we are travelling is not linear. Never, exactly, has the world moved as any individual thought it could or should.”

Greg and Bobbie Hobbs
“Into the canopy, the turn of Nature’s day, the rule of love.”

Photos by Christopher Ainscough. Quotes from Greg Hobbs, Volume 18/Special Poetry Issue/Spring 2015, University of Denver Water Law Review.

Snowpack/runoff news: A beautiful upslope storm for the South Platte Basin