Click here for all the inside skinny and to register:
Join us for a celebration fundraiser for the Colorado Healthy Rivers Fund (CHRF). CHRF grants money to on-the-ground projects that contribute to cleaner water, healthier wildlife habitat, improved recreation and vibrant local economies throughout our state. The Colorado Healthy Rivers Fund has granted funding for more than 80 projects statewide. See some of our Past Project Highlights.
Here’s an interview with Ted Kennedy, a U.S. Geological Survey aquatic biologist from Gary Pitzer and the Water Education Foundation. Click through and read the whole article. Here’s an excerpt:
Water means life for all the Grand Canyon’s inhabitants, including the many varieties of insects that are a foundation of the ecosystem’s food web. But hydropower operations upstream on the Colorado River at Glen Canyon Dam, in Northern Arizona near the Utah border, disrupt the natural pace of insect reproduction as the river rises and falls, sometimes dramatically. Eggs deposited at the river’s edge are often left high and dry and their loss directly affects available food for endangered fish such as the humpback chub.
Ted Kennedy, a U.S. Geological Survey aquatic biologist, led a recently concluded experimental flow that is raising optimism that the decline in insects such as midges, blackflies, mayflies and caddisflies can be reversed. Conducted under the long-term, comprehensive plan for Glen Canyon Dam management during the next 20 years, the experimental flow is expected to help determine dam operations and actions that could improve conditions and minimize adverse impacts on natural, recreational and cultural resources downstream.
Western Water spoke with Kennedy about the experiment, what he learned and where it may lead. The transcript has been lightly edited for space and clarity.
From Inside Climate News (Marianne Lavelle):
It’s a bold move in a state that’s already seeing the devastation that comes with climate change, including heat waves, droughts, wildfires and sea level rise.
California solidified its role as a world leader on climate action as Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation on Monday to shift the state to 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2045.
The legislation is one of the crowning environmental achievements of Brown’s administration, which ends in January, and comes on the cusp of a Global Climate Action Summit that he is hosting in San Francisco beginning Sept.12.
In a summer when California has been fighting record wildfires while facing off against the Trump administration’s attempts to rollback climate policies, the state’s Democratic-controlled legislature sought to double down on its commitment to shift away from fossil fuels. Last year’s attempt to pass the legislation fell short. This year, it made it.
“After a grueling year it has finally passed,” state Sen. Kevin de León, the Los Angeles Democrat who sponsored the measure, wrote on Twitter on Aug. 28 after the Assembly voted. De León, who is challenging fellow Democrat Sen. Dianne Feinstein for her U.S. Senate seat in November, was in the Assembly chamber to help round up the final votes.
“Our state will remain a climate change leader,” he said.
Click here to go to the website. Click here to register.
…we are excited to share with you some of the topics that will be explored at the conference:
Women in Water Environmental Justice Stream Health Agriculture Conflict Resolution in the South Platte Basin 5 Year Anniversary – 2013 Flood Recovery Update & More!
Click here for all the inside skinny and to register:
On October 23, 2018 Grand Valley Water Users Association is providing an opportunity for West Slope agricultural producers and irrigation providers to hear directly from water officials concerning current and upcoming policy issues that will impact the future of water management and agriculture on the western slope. Please see the attached agenda to see the complete list of confirmed influential decision makers who will be joining us. At the top of the list is Amy Haas, the new Director of the Upper Colorado River Commission, who will share an Upper Basin perspective. Ms. Haas will be followed by representatives from the State of Colorado and some of our regional Water Conservation District Managers. Between the two perspectives Eric Kuhn will provide an update on the Basin Risk Study III and the potential implications of the results.
We hope you can join us for this unique opportunity to hear from a very well informed group of water community professionals who have the tough task of hammering out solutions to ever increasing pressures on Colorado River water supplies in Colorado and the Upper Basin. The solutions that are created and implemented will affect us all.
Our focus is on agricultural water users. So Irrigation District, Association, Ditch Company, and agricultural organization managers, staff, boards of directors, members, and stockholders are all welcome. Farmers and ranchers are particularly welcome.
You can find a complete agenda here.
Please register no later than October 15 to let us know you are coming, and spread the word.
Thanks and we hope see you on October 23.
Mark Harris, General Manger
Grand Valley Water Users AssociationLuke Gingerich, P.E
J-U-B Engineers
Grand Valley Water Users Association Conserved Consumptive Use Pilot Project
From The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel (Katie Langford):
Grand Junction residents saved nearly 18.5 million gallons of water since mandatory outdoor water restrictions started in August, according to city officials.
The savings are based on water use estimates for last year, said city Water Services Manager Mark Ritterbush.
An average day of water use in August was 8.1 million gallons in 2017, and that’s decreased by about 14 to 15 percent since water restrictions went into place on Aug. 22, saving approximately 1.2 million gallons a day…
The biggest drop in water use came immediately after the restrictions went into effect, which also happened to be the day that Grand Junction saw a massive rainstorm.
The storm dropped .91 inches of rain on Grand Junction over the span of just a few hours on the evening of Aug. 21, according to the National Weather Service.
City water use dropped from 8.1 million gallons on Aug. 21 to approximately 5.1 million on Aug. 23.
Ritterbush said it’s typical to see a significant drop in water use after a rainstorm.
Grand Junction City Councilor Chris Kennedy said he’s pleased with the savings and has not heard any pushback from residents over the restrictions…
Current restrictions mean city water customers are limited to twice-weekly outdoor watering through September, which drops to once-a-week outdoor watering in October.