Day: May 3, 2021

Amid #drought, Interstate Stream Commission seeks federal support — #NewMexico Political Report

New Mexico Drought Monitor April 20, 2021.

From The New Mexico Political Report (Hannah Grover):

As much of New Mexico faces exceptional drought conditions, the Interstate Stream Commission authorized its chairman to ask the Department of Interior for financial support.

The commission approved delegating that authority to commission chairman during its meeting on Friday.

The chairman will work with State Engineer John D’Antonio to request funding for both long-term and short-term drought relief.

The short-term relief could be something like assistance for farmers, said ISC Director Rolf Schmidt-Peterson…

Low water flow in rivers

The major water basins in the state are experiencing low flows in rivers.

The Upper Colorado River Basin had 89 percent of normal snowpack this year, but the back-to-back years of drought left the soil dry. This led to more of the runoff soaking into the ground rather than flowing downstream, according to the staff report at the start of the meeting. This has left flows in the San Juan, Animas and La Plata rivers at 50 percent of the historic average during March and April.

Meanwhile, the Gila and San Francisco rivers are flowing at 5 to 21 percent of the historic average for March and April.

The headwater tributaries of the Pecos River were flowing at 39 to 47 percent of average during the time period from October to March, according to information from the New Mexico Drought Taskforce. In the Canadian River Basin, the headwater tributaries were flowing at 18 to 67 percent of average.

During the October to March time period, the Rio Grande streamflow upstream of Albuquerque ranged from 35 to 67 percent of average, according to the drought taskforce report…

The Rio Grande Compact is preventing New Mexico from storing water in reservoirs built after 1929 because of the low levels and the state currently owes water from the Rio Grande to downstream users.

Meanwhile, water users in the Pecos River basin will be relying on augmentation wells this year.

Reservoirs below capacity

As streamflow in much of the state is well below average, the reservoirs have dropped.

Ute Reservoir near Logan is at 65 percent capacity, leaving community boat docks on dry land and needing to be shut down. Other reservoirs in the Canadian River Basin aren’t faring any better. Eagle Nest Reservoir is at 43 percent capacity and Conchas Reservoir is at 23 percent capacity.

Meanwhile, in the northwest portion of the state, Navajo Reservoir is 62 percent full. Because of the low amount of water in Navajo Reservoir, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is not having the spring peak release this year that is usually done to clear out the channel and improve habitat for endangered fish like the Colorado pikeminnow.

Slight increase in #Colorado’s #drought conditions — The Kiowa County Press

From The Kiowa County Press (Chris Sorensen):

One week after Colorado saw the first drought-free area in the state since mid-2020, drought worsened for part of the state according to the latest report from the National Drought Mitigation Center.

The change came in northwest Colorado, where much of Rio Blanco County, and smaller areas in Moffat and Garfield counties slipped from extreme drought into exceptional conditions. Recent higher temperatures – occasionally reaching 80 degrees – along with little moisture over the past week, contributed to the decline. The area also saw red flag warnings for high fire danger.

Much of western Colorado has been in extreme and exceptional drought since late summer.

Colorado Drought Monitor one week change map ending April 27, 2021.

The remainder of the state remained stable for the week, though late-week moisture may show some additional improvements in the next report. Northeast Colorado received rain during the week, with portions of Logan and Phillips counties falling under flood warnings as late as Thursday morning. There were a few reports of as much as 11 inches of rain in parts of those counties, which contributed to flooding that damaged local roads and closed Highway 59 at one point…

Colorado Drought Monitor April 27, 2021.

USDA statistics rate more than half of the topsoil short or very short of moisture in Colorado (57%), Montana (57%), and Wyoming (55%), and nearly two-thirds or more so rated in South Dakota (62%) and North Dakota (80%). In Colorado, 32 percent of the winter wheat crop was rated in poor to very poor condition. Several Colorado communities were asked to voluntarily conserve water.

Overall, one percent of the state is drought-free, with an additional 10 percent in abnormally dry conditions, both unchanged from the previous week. Moderate and severe drought were also unchanged at 29 and 28 percent, respectively. Extreme and exceptional conditions swapped, with extreme drought falling to 15 percent from 17, while exceptional drought increased to 17 percent from 15 in the prior week.

Water treatment plants that will remove ‘forever chemicals’ from El Paso County water nearing completion — The #ColoradoSprings Gazette #PFAS

From The Colorado Springs Gazette (Mary Shinn):

Three new water treatment plants in Fountain, Security and Widefield needed to remove toxic “forever chemicals” from the groundwater, carrying a heavy price tag of $41 million, are nearing completion.

The plant in Widefield was finished in February, the Security plant is expected to be operational this week and the Fountain plant is expected to be complete in June, following a pause in construction that lasted more than a month, officials with each district said.

Construction of the Fountain plant was halted because the supplier of critical piping for the plant could not provide it, said Dan Blankenship, utilities director for Fountain, adding that the supplier’s work was delayed by the coronavirus. In a written statement the Air Force Civil Engineer Center said work on the $7 million plant in Fountain is expected to resume May 3. The other two plants are expected to cost a combined $34 million, the statement said.

The Air Force is paying for the water treatment plants that will remove per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from groundwater because investigations showed the contamination came from Peterson Air Force Base, where firefighters used a foam rich in one of those compounds for decades to put out aircraft fires…

Widefield aquifer via the Colorado Water Institute.

Water providers stopped using the groundwater after the contamination was discovered in 2015 and 2016, and studies are still ongoing to learn about the long-term health consequences of the contamination. The compounds’ ability to stay in the body led to their nickname “forever chemicals.”

Encouraging results from one of the studies conducted by the Colorado School of Public Health and Colorado School of Mines showed that the amount of chemicals in blood samples taken from 53 exposed residents dropped from 2018 to 2019, according to a presentation of results. The median level of the chemical most closely associated with firefighting foam dropped 50% in the participants, results showed…

The new treatment plants are meant to protect the public from additional exposure to the chemicals and allow the districts in some cases to return to using a key water source.

In Security, the new plant was tested in December, and water samples showed it was removing problematic chemicals down to undetectable levels, said Roy Heald, general manager of the Security Water and Sanitation Districts.

#COVID19’s impact on Southern #Colorado rafting was rough, but not as bad as expected — The #Pueblo Chieftan

Recreational vehicle: Photo: Brent Gardner-Smith/Aspen Journalism

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Tracy Harmon):

It’s hard to imagine, but for some rafting company owners, COVID concerns did not decimate business last summer. In his 10 years at the helm of Rocky Mountain Outdoor Center, owner Brandon Slate has never been as busy as he was last summer despite the global pandemic.

“Last year (in the spring) phones were not ringing at all and we ended up having the busiest season since I’ve been running the company,” Slate said. “It was crazy.”

Andy Neinas, Echo Canyon River Expeditions owner, said he is ready to put the challenging year of 2020 behind him and focus on the upcoming summer season. It was the restaurant portion of his business and the high costs of transporting customers to the river that hurt his bottom line…

According to the Colorado River Outfitters Association’s annual report, the late start to the rafting season was compounded by the health regulations which forced rafting companies to run at partial capacities…

“Reduced rafting participation is reflected in the 2020 economic impact on the state’s economy,” the report reads. “Due to high unemployment, the downturn in travel and reduced discretionary spending, this report reflects the significant impacts our industry encountered.

“However, outfitters displayed resiliency and adaptability in an unprecedented environment.”

Overall number of rafters taking to Colorado waterways totaled 430,175 last summer, a reduction of 112,230 customers or a nearly 21% decline. On the Arkansas River, the impact was not as stark.

There were 182,005 rafting clients boating the Arkansas in 2020, down just 8,241 customers or 4.3% less when compared to 190,246 rafters in 2019.

The statewide economic impact for commercial rafting in 2020 was $148. 7 million, compared to a 2019 impact of $184.9 million. Although there was a $26.2 million difference, the numbers were “much more robust than anticipated,” according to the report.

In the Arkansas River Valley, rafting brought $24.5 million in direct expenditures to rafting companies in 2020, down just $1.3 million from 2019’s $25.8 million. All totaled, the economic impact of rafting — when other expenditures such as lodging, restaurant, dining and gasoline sales are figured in — was $62.9 million to the area in 2020, down $3.1 million for 2019.