The Fountain Creek Watershed, Flood Control and Greenway District reviewed the Corridor Master Plan at Friday’s meeting

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

The district Friday reviewed the progress of the newly completed Fountain Creek Corridor Master Plan and an El Paso County stormwater study. In addition, the district suggested areawide flood plain regulations developed by Colorado Springs and reviewed a U.S. Geological Survey study of the impact of building a dam or a series of dams on Fountain Creek. It also looked at a more immediate plan by communities throughout the watershed to apply for a $7.5 Great Outdoors Colorado grant that would support 20 separate projects. The district is still developing the application.

While the master plan is done, the others are at various stages of development and acceptance in communities throughout the watershed. And, although those in the district have been involved for years with the creation of plans, there are worries that the communities they represent know little about the work they have been doing. For instance, a recent press release about the completion of the master plan was published by only The Pueblo Chieftain, and some members of the public weren’t sure how it fits in…

In presenting the master plan, Kevin Shanks of THK Associates said it is heavy on demonstration projects that bring people to Fountain Creek rather than treat it simply as a polluted waterway prone to flooding. “If people can come out and enjoy it, they will be more receptive to a mill levy later on,” Shanks said. “I have a strong feeling that people need to be out there now.”

The district has delayed asking for a mill levy — the 2009 legislation that created it allows for up to 5 mills, but initially would look at much less than that — because of the economy. Voters would have to approve the tax, and the board wants something to show before asking for a tax…

Not everyone was happy about the discussion of only small flood control projects and recreational improvements, particularly landowners whose property was damaged during last month’s flooding. “Someday, someone has got to do something to keep the water from flooding and doing us all in,” said Jane Rhodes, who owns farmland on Fountain Creek in Pueblo County. “Every time, it’s everywhere else but us. There are no detention ponds or reservoirs.”

Meanwhile, the Union Pacific Railroad has removed the deck of an abandoned trestle across the creek near Pueblo but the piers remain. Here’s a report from Chris Woodka writing for The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:

The Union Pacific Railroad hired contractors to remove iron deck supports from the bridge. The job was completed last week. “The railroad did not commit to removing the piers, but the trusses were a flood issue,” said Scott Hobson, assistant city manager for community development. “It would look better with the piers removed, but we need to look at options to remove them. For the short term, we were able to take the trusses down.”

The piers are 50-60 feet apart and collected piles of trees and debris during last month’s elevated creek levels — the U.S. Geological Survey called it a 10-year flood event. Large logs moved through the openings under the bridge, but there is still potential for large amounts of material to collect during a heavier flood, Hobson acknowledged.

More Fountain Creek coverage here and here.

Southeast Metro Stormwater Authority celebrates fifth anniversary

Here’s the release from the SEMSWA via the Englewood Herald. From the release:

The Southeast Metro Stormwater Authority has celebrated its fifth anniversary of operations in the southeast Metro Denver area. SEMSWA, formed by a five-party intergovernmental agreement signed in September 2006, is responsible for stormwater management in the City of Centennial and the urbanized unincorporated portion of Arapahoe County. The authority was formed to provide a funding mechanism for the planning, construction and maintenance of drainage and flood control facilities, and to comply with federal environmental regulation to protect and enhance water quality in neighborhood greenways, flowing creeks and Cherry Creek Reservoir.

More stormwater coverage here.

The Fountain Creek Watershed, Flood Control and Greenway District is awaiting a stormwater assessment and management study due in December

From the Colorado Springs Independent (Pam Zubeck):

That September deluge provided the latest evidence of the need to control stormwater runoff. The question is how, considering the backlog of projects in the Springs alone amounts to as much as $500 million, and efforts to collect the now-defunct stormwater fee have been a nightmare.

[Larry Small, manager of the district] believes the first step is overseeing a study to identify the region’s drainage costs and funding options. It’s funded by Colorado Springs Utilities ($20,000), El Paso County ($10,000) and the Pikes Peak Regional Water Authority ($7,500), a coalition of water users outside the city. “I think we have to get this study put together first,” Small says, “and then get the governments together in the region and say, ‘How do we want to tackle this, and how do we tell people the benefits?'”[…]

Small says the study will quantify costs regionally (including Pueblo County), report timeframes for building projects, and suggest funding mechanisms, such as a stormwater authority that might rely on property taxes over a wide area, possibly two counties…

Lisa Ross, the city’s acting stormwater manager, says the EPA is getting tougher on pollutants and monitoring. She encourages flood-control projects such as detention ponds that allow pollutants to drop out of the water before flowing to creeks…

Stormwater has always been a loser. In 2005, City Council, in part to placate Pueblo, formed the Stormwater Enterprise and followed in 2007 with fees levied on all property owners. Many refused to pay the “rain tax,” and the city has had trouble collecting since. The enterprise was dismantled in 2009. Collection letters, court judgments and “till taps,” wherein deputies seize money from businesses in satisfaction of court orders have only brought ill will.

More stormwater coverage here.

The Fountain Creek Corridor Restoration Master Plan is hot off the press from the Fountain Creek Watershed Flood Control and Greenway District

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

The plan builds on past studies of Fountain Creek by recommending specific actions and strategies for reaches south of Colorado Springs to the confluence with the Arkansas River in Pueblo. The plan includes the 100-year floodplain for about 46 miles of the creek. The plan is the completion of efforts to improve Fountain Creek that began in 2007 with negotiations between Colorado Springs and the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District. The Fountain Creek district signed a partnership with those entities in 2009 to complete the plan…

A total of $1 million has been spent on the plan, which was financed equally by Colorado Springs and the Lower Ark district. THK Associates was the primary contractor. “This plan defines the elements that are included in a healthy reach of the creek versus an unhealthy reach of the creek,” said Larry Small, executive director of the Fountain Creek district. “The plan establishes a series of restoration techniques, including conservation, that are intended to be the toolbox of techniques used as a part of revitalizing Fountain Creek.”

The plan notes that most of the land in the unincorporated areas along Fountain Creek is privately owned, and generally healthy. The problem areas in Fountain and Pueblo, on mostly public land, receive the most attention. To improve the health of the stream, the plan recommends bank restoration, side detention ponds, wetlands and removal of invasive species that choke out other vegetation. The plan also seeks ways to connect communities to Fountain Creek to treat it as an asset rather than a problem…

The U.S. Geological Survey, in connection with the district, is studying the impact of a dam or series of dams on Fountain Creek. Results from that study are expected next year.

Comments on the corridor master plan may be made to fountainck dist@aol.com.

More Fountain Creek coverage here and here.

The Ute Mountain Ute Indian Tribe is taking over water quality monitoring on their reservation

Here’s the release from the Environmental Protection Agency (George Parrish/Richard Mylott/Colin Larrick/Scott Clow):

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved the Water Quality Standards for the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe with Reservation lands in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. The Tribe submitted its Water Quality Standards to EPA earlier this year for review and an approval determination under the Clean Water Act. The Tribe’s standards will be implemented for all Clean Water Act purposes, including issuing and enforcing discharge permits for Reservation surface waters.

Water Quality Standards are the cornerstone of State and Tribal water quality management programs established under the Clean Water Act. These standards define the goals for specific waterbodies by designating their uses, setting criteria to protect those uses, and establishing provisions such as anti-degradation policies to protect waterbodies from pollutants.

The Ute Mountain Ute received program authority from EPA for Water Quality Standards in 2005, and submitted their standards in 2011. EPA has determined that the Tribe’s standards are consistent with the requirements of the Clean Water Act. The approved standards will be used by the Tribe to assess the health of aquatic ecosystems, identify water quality problems, and target and prioritize remediation and restoration projects.

EPA’s approval of the Tribe’s Water Quality Standards is the latest step forward for a tribal water quality program that has been working to protect Reservation waters for over 20 years. The Tribe is currently working collaboratively with surrounding states and federal agencies on a broad range of water quality issues. These include recovery efforts for endangered aquatic species, reducing pollution from mining, irrigated agriculture and livestock, and protecting culturally significant resources.

Out of 46 tribes nationally that have received the authority to establish Water Quality Standards, the Ute Mountain Ute becomes the 37th tribe with EPA-approved standards.

The Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservation includes lands in southwestern Colorado, northwestern New Mexico and southeastern Utah, straddling much of the arid four corners area. Major Reservation waterbodies include the San Juan and Mancos Rivers, and McElmo Creek. The Reservation’s population includes approximately 2,100 enrolled members and its largest community, Towaoc, Colo., serves as the Tribal Government seat. The local economy consists mainly of ranching and farming, oil and gas production, and a tourism trade showcasing western landscapes, natural history and cultural sites.

The Tribe maintains a copy of its Water Quality Standards on its website: http://www.utemountainuteenvironmental.org/index.cfm/water-quality/surface-water/surface-water-quality-standards/

The Tribal Environmental Program website: http://www.utemountainuteenvironmental.org/

For more information on Water Quality Standards and the Clean Water Act visit: http://water.epa.gov/scitech/swguidance/standards/index.cfm

More coverage from The Durango Herald:

The newly approved rules will be used for issuing and enforcing discharge permits for surface waters on the Ute Mountain Ute reservation, which straddles three states and much of the Four Corners. They also will protect specific water bodies, including McElmo Creek and the San Juan and Mancos rivers, on the reservation.

The move is the latest in the tribe’s 20-year effort to protect its reservation waters, and officials said it is among other crucial collaborations to protect endangered species, reduce mining pollution, provide irrigation and protect water resources.

More San Juan River basin coverage here and here.

Brush: The city council sets priorities, completion of the wastewater treatment plant, purchasing water rights, conservation and stormwater improvements are on the list

From the Brush News Tribune (Iva Kay Horner):

At Monday night’s meeting of the council, City Administrator Monty Torres presented the list, with the top priority for council targeted at completing the wastewater treatment facility. “We’re well underway with that project and expect it to be completed in the next 12 months,” Torres commented.

Also on the list is to continue improving water resources and upgrading of the water distribution system, with Torres further explaining that council consider, when given the opportunity, of purchasing water rights or shares if it will benefit the city. Along the same lines, the administrator noted that officials also continue with water conservation…

Listed at number five on the list is storm water improvements with the downtown area at the top of the list. “There are five areas in the city that have pretty significant flooding but the top priority is downtown where we are enlarging the water lines. We also are looking at the storm water pond,” the city administrator stated.

Here’s a post from last February that has been getting a lot of traffic on Coyote Gulch, Brush wastewater treatment plant construction update.

More South Platte River basin coverage here.

Fountain Creek: Colorado appeals court rules that the Pueblo District Attorney is not authorized to sue Colorado Springs for pollution under the Clean Water Act

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

The decision by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals nixes Thiebaut’s intention to sue the city again for discharging pollutants from its sewage system into the creek. Thiebaut said, however, his 2005 lawsuit, under the federal clean water law, prompted Colorado Springs to improve its sewage system, which discharges into the creek. “It is important to take stock of what this suit has accomplished for our community,” Thiebaut said. “No one has ever stood up against Colorado Springs on behalf of Pueblo before this suit was filed.”[…]

Thiebaut said Wednesday his lawsuit “woke up Colorado Springs to the fact that they would no longer get away with their shoddy practices and cheap stream crossings. “To avoid the full power of the court, they began to spend a lot of money to clean up their act, improving their sewage treatment system and stream crossings — and they need to do even more,” he said…

The Denver-based appeals court’s 3-0 decision said Thiebaut had conceded he, as an individual citizen, was entitled to have sued Colorado Springs under the federal water law. He chose, instead, to sue in his official capacity as district attorney. The appeals court agreed with [U.S. District Court judge, Walker Miller, who threw out Thiebaut’s lawsuit in 2007] that the Colorado law which outlines the duties of district attorneys does not give them authority to sue under the Clean Water Act.

Here’s the order from Leagle.com.

More coverage from Associated Press via The Durango Herald:

Thiebaut’s lawsuit in 2005 argued that discharges of sewage between 1998 and 2007 were violating the Clean Water Act, hurting Fountain Creek and affecting Pueblo County’s economy. His lawsuit sought civil penalties. On Wednesday, a three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with a district court that found Thiebaut couldn’t file a citizen Clean Water Act lawsuit in his official capacity. Thiebaut said his office was reviewing the ruling before deciding what’s next…

The Sierra Club also sued over the spills. A judge fined the utility $35,500 to settle the Sierra Club’s claims.

Colorado Springs Utilities’ pipes cross creeks dozens of times, leaving them somewhat at risk in times of rainstorms, utility spokesman Steve Berry said. He said that since 2004, before Thiebaut sued, the municipal utility has invested more than $147 million in improving its wastewater collection system, which he said is now among the best-performing systems in the state. It expects to have spent $250 million by 2018, he said.

More Fountain Creek coverage here and here.

Colorado Springs Utilities has a new design for retention ponds, they hope to save $64 million in the Jimmy Camp Creek drainage

From The Colorado Springs Gazette (John Schroyer):

Colorado Springs would save an estimated $64 million on construction expenses for stormwater retention ponds in the Jimmy Camp Creek watershed, under a new design compiled by the city engineer’s office.

The plan, outlined in a manual that must be approved by City Council by next May, would direct homebuilders to include a series of smaller retention ponds for stormwater runoff as they develop subdivisions, retail parks and the like…

Currently, stormwater runoff is controlled by dozens of much larger ponds, each of which covers about 45 acres. The problem is that with such large bodies of water, it’s hard to prevent large-scale erosion and watershed flooding. With smaller ponds, both of those problems are significantly reduced, said Dan Bare, senior civil engineer for the city.

The ponds — which are basically small dams — trap storm and spring runoff and moderates the flow of the water into local tributaries, such as Fountain Creek, to prevent flooding and erosion as much as possible. The smaller ponds would range from five to 10 acres, and would be much less obtrusive, Bare said during a presentation to city employees on Sept. 15. And because the smaller ponds are easier to maintain, require smaller channels and wouldn’t have to absorb as much runoff all at once as the larger ponds, the city would save millions in capital costs as Colorado Springs grows.

More stormwater coverage here.

Anticipated retirements to fuel need for approximately 2,775 new operators over the next five years in a four county area including Boulder

From the Boulder Daily Camera (Amy Bounds):

The Boulder High class is part of the “Get Into Water” project through the Boulder Valley School District’s Lifelong Learning Program, in conjunction with the Rocky Mountain Section of American Water Works Association and the Colorado Workforce Development Council.

Along with the Boulder High class, two classes are offered this fall through Boulder Valley’s fee-based adult education program — Water Foundations and Wastewater Collection. Scholarships for the adult classes are available through Boulder County Workforce.

The idea, organizers said, is to connect adults with well-paying jobs and fill an industry need. Within the next five years, 25 percent of the water operators in a four-county area that includes Boulder County are expected to retire, opening up about 2,775 jobs.

Boulder High students who take the Water Foundations class this semester and a water distribution class next semester are eligible to take a state certification test. If they pass, they’re qualified for entry-level jobs…

The class covers water source, treatment and distribution, along with water regulations, storm water and water conservation with an emphasis on local water information, history and issues. The class will visit area water sources and treatment plants, along with hearing directly from those who work in Boulder’s water industry.

More water treatment coverage here.

Work begins on Clark Reservoir enlargement

From the North Forty News (Cherry Sokoloski):

The project is part of Phase I of the Boxelder Basin Regional Stormwater Authority project, designed to reduce flooding along Boxelder Creek. Three ponds, each several acres in size, will be built. When they are finished, likely early this month, dredging of Clark Reservoir will begin. The dredge pump will pump water-laden sediment into the ponds, where sediment will separate from the water and settle to the bottom. The water will then be pumped into the Inlet Canal and returned to Clark Reservoir. Dredging is scheduled to be completed by late November, according to authority manager Rex Burns.

More stormwater coverage here.

Denver: Sanitary sewer and stormwater rates go up

From The Denver Post (Caitlin Gibbons):

The rate hike, effective July 1, reflects the pass-through cost of the Metro Wastewater Reclamation District facility being built near Brighton and the cost of maintaining city sewer lines…

Mix said this is the city’s first sewer-rate hike since 1995. But it won’t be the last: Sewer rates will increase by 15 percent in 2012 and by 10 percent in 2013, and each year thereafter based on the Consumer Price Index. About 59 percent of the average Denver sewer bill is paid to Metro. The rest is used to maintain the sewer system for collecting and transporting waste from homes and businesses to Metro for processing.

Metro’s bill to Denver increased by about 34 percent, utility spokesman Steve Frank said. The city will pay Metro about $45 million this year. Frank said Denver’s bill went up “because of the amount of water and how heavily polluted the water is.”[…]

Denver Wastewater — managed by the city’s Public Works department — is increasing storm-drainage rates by 20 percent.

More infrastructure coverage here.

Fort Morgan: City council will likely form committee to explore funding for stormwater projects

From The Fort Morgan Times (Jenni Grubbs):

At their regular meeting next week, Fort Morgan City Council members likely will establish an ad hoc committee to study and put together some sort of financing mechanism for city voters to consider for dealing with financing stormwater infrastructure. That was what came out of the discussion the council members had Tuesday night about how to pay for needed stormwater system upgrades, as well as system maintenance. Several months ago, the members of the Fort Morgan City Council listed the stormwater system improvements as a major need for the city at their brainstorming session. Studies are currently underway by outside design contractors for the northwest and south quadrants of the city, and public meetings have been held to discuss the findings and possible plans. Those studies have made it clear to council that millions of dollars would be needed for long-term infrastructure upgrades that would alleviate all storm-related flooding in the city…

Current estimates have the total cost of infrastructure projects at around $50 million. The very preliminary cost estimates Curtis has received from the contractor for the big version of the possible northwest quadrant project was $3 million to $6 million. Figures weren`t known on a possible south quadrant project…

They settled on the idea of creating an ad hoc committee that likely will include council members and citizens to study the issue in-depth and create a plan of action, possibly including a ballot issue or ballot issues for a 2012 general election. The issue of creating a study committee will likely be on the agenda next week as a regular item.

More stormwater coverage here and here.

Southern Delivery System update: Construction starting in earnest this summer

From The Denver Post (Bruce Finley):

Construction crews this week began work on the $2.3 billion Southern Delivery System. It is designed to pump water uphill and north from Pueblo Reservoir — through a 62-mile pipeline — to sustain Colorado Springs, which owns the rights to the river water, and other growing Front Range cities. The cities embarked on this project because water supplies have emerged as a constraint on population growth.

CH2MHill project engineers and construction chiefs at Pueblo Reservoir this week re-channelled the river below the 240-foot-high dam using sandbags. They’re adjusting dam valves to dry an area so that digging crews can start laying the pipeline without relying on expensive underwater divers. Three 15,000-horsepower pumps are to propel the water through a pressurized 66-inch-diameter steel pipeline. Moving water to the planned end points — two 30,000 acre-foot reservoirs to be built east of Colorado Springs — requires an elevation gain of 1,600 feet…

The Pueblo Reservoir, built in 1975, holds 357,000 acre-feet of water, and the diversion is expected to lower the average water level by about six feet…

Meanwhile, the $50 million for cleaning and restoration of Fountain Creek could enable new recreation, reservoirs and fishing, [Pueblo County Commissioner John Cordova said. “We could have trout,” he said…

Environmental groups “are generally satisfied,” as long as Colorado Springs live up to its commitments to ensure appropriate water levels in the Arkansas River above and below the reservoir, Trout Unlimited water project director Drew Peternell said.
Huge amounts of energy required to pump water uphill, however, looms as “a greenhouse gas issue,” Peternell said. “We’d encourage them to consider renewable sources” of electricity, he said.

More Southern Delivery System coverage here and here.

Fort Morgan: Stormwater issues meeting May 25

From The Fort Morgan Times:

The city will hold a neighborhood meeting next week to tell residents about some of the findings and possible alternatives for the Northwest Quadrant storm drainage problems. The meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 25, at the Fort Morgan School District Support Center, 715 W. Platte Ave. City officials and representatives from the engineering firm Short Elliott Hendrickson will be there to share the findings of the detailed study and analyses, as well as possible/feasible options in moving forward.

More Morgan County coverage here.

The Town of Victor turns dirt on $500,000 storm drainage project

From the Pikes Peak Courier View (Norma Engelberg):

Using a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant from the state, $25,000 from the Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mining Co. and $25,000 more from the city, the work will divert runoff through large underground pipes out of the downtown toward Wilson Creek, near the Victor Gold Bowl, eventually draining into the Arkansas River. “It comes from the state but most of the funding is actually federal,” said Victor Councilmember Mike Wallace. “We’re going to catch the runoff outside the downtown and run it through pipes. Burying those pipes will give the city new curbs, gutters, sidewalks and asphalt. We’re almost as excited about that as we are about the drainage work.”[…]

City and contract crews have been working on the drainage project for several weeks but the official ground breaking was April 19. Work will start at 4th Street and Diamond Avenue, continue down Diamond to 3rd, then along 3rd to Victor Avenue, culminating at Victor and 1st Street. Besides the initial runoff collection point, there will be additional surface water inlets will be installed along the route.

More stormwater coverage here and here.

Fort Collins: Proposed floodplain rules update

From the Fort Collins Coloradoan (Kevin Duggan):

The latest proposal from city stormwater officials for upgrading the regulations — allowing non-residential development in the floodplain as long as it has “no adverse impact” on other properties — might be the solution sought by riverside property owners who hope to develop their land, she said. Or it may create a regulatory environment in which development would become cost prohibitive because of the need for engineering studies to show no harm would come from a project, she said. Mitigation efforts needed to prevent water from one property going to another during a flood event, such as channeling the river, could be too costly except for the largest and wealthiest developers, she said.

More Stormwater coverage here.

Pueblo: Stormwater seminar January 27

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

The city will host a seminar on stormwater discharges from 8 to 11 a.m. Jan. 27 at the Pueblo Convention Center. The seminar intends to answer questions from the business sector, contractors and developers about the city’s stormwater system, and cover ordinances, best management practices and maintaining construction sites and private homes. “If it’s not stormwater, it does not belong in the system. Rainwater and snowmelt are two examples of stormwater,

More stormwater coverage here.

Fort Morgan flooding discussion

From The Fort Morgan Times (John La Porte):

Residents of the Eighth Avenue area near Main Street blame flooding in the last two years at least partially on the downtown improvement project completed in the summer of 2009. The project has moved a flooding problem from downtown to Eighth, some residents said at a meeting called by city officials Wednesday to discuss the flooding and try to reassure residents that they were working on a solution.

And while city engineer Brad Curtis acknowledged that runoff from the downtown area “didn`t help” the long-standing flooding situation on Eighth, Scott Bryan of the city council pointed out that the area had not seen in a long time rainstorms like it has seen the last two years. Bryan, who owns a cleaning and service business, said that flooding problems in Fort Morgan are not isolated to Eighth. He said he and his workers pump out 50 to 60 houses after every big storm. He has had the business since 1995, he said, and has not seen anything to compare with the storms of the last two years.

More stormwater coverage here.

Pueblo: Stormwater seminar January 27

From KKTV.com (Jason Aubry):

The seminar will be held at the Pueblo Convention Center’s Fortino Grand Hall A. It starts at 8:00 a.m. and run until 11:00 a.m. with the intent of answering question from the business sector, contractors and developers regarding storm water discharges that end up draining downstream.

More stormwater coverage here and here.

Southern Delivery System: Colorado Water Quality Control Division 401 certification challenge recap

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

The Colorado Water Control Commission, which oversees the division, heard testimony on the appeal of the certification at an all-day meeting Tuesday. The commission did not reach a decision, choosing to consider some points in executive session and deferring discussion and a ruling to a meeting at a later date. The case apparently is the first time a Section 401 certification has been appealed in Colorado…

Rather than set numeric standards for selenium, sulfates and E. coli levels that will increase as a result of SDS, the state chose instead to allow monitoring and cooperative action outlined in the adaptive management plan, Barth said. “There was no analysis done, and everything was based on a gut feeling,” Barth said in summarizing an eight-hour deposition of John Hranac, the state employee primarily involved with the Section 401 certification…

Barth continued to hammer on his point that there need to be specific limits on discharges because the streams already are impaired. Barth also said the state failed to look at how increased sanitary sewer and stormwater flows that will result from SDS will affect water quality on Fountain Creek and in the Arkansas River. The state ignored the demise of a stormwater enterprise that was used in the EIS adaptive management plan, he said. The division also didn’t take into account the high number of violations of water quality laws Colorado Springs has had over the past 12 years, he added. “There have been repeated violations that resulted in fines from the division and from federal courts,” Barth said, pointing out that some of the sewer line breaks were a direct result of lines crossing channels that washed out during floods. “Now you add more water? It’s putting more flame on the fire.” Barth, along with the coalition’s attorney Susan Eckert, asked the commission to either deny certification or remand the decision to the water quality division to develop numeric standards and analyze growth as a part of the process.

Colorado Springs argued that the scope of the certification is narrowly defined as a step toward a Section 404 permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that would allow digging and dredging in Fountain Creek and the Arkansas River. “The pipeline and treatment plants (in SDS) do not include any discharges,” said Jennifer Hunt, an attorney for Colorado Springs…

During questioning by Colorado Springs Utilities’ attorney David Robbins, SDS Project Director John Fredell said growth will occur with or without SDS, and that the project has other purposes — including providing redundancy of water delivery systems, reliability of service and development of water rights. Annette Quill, the state’s attorney, argued the adaptive management plan is enforceable, and defended the division staff as using their “best professional judgment,” not a gut reaction, to make the decision to certify SDS. The state favored the adaptive management plan rather than a strict limit on contaminants, said Steve Gunderson, director of the Water Quality Control Division. “An adaptive management program made sense, because you could study this thing to death and still not be conclusive,” Gunderson said. “Fountain Creek involves as much scrutiny as any basin in the state, and we’re definitely going to be involved.”

More coverage from The Colorado Springs Gazette (R. Scott Rappold):

State regulators Tuesday delayed a decision until next month on a dispute involving Colorado Springs Utilities’ Southern Delivery System water pipeline. The group Rocky Mountain Environmental Labor Coalition and Pueblo County District Attorney Bill Thiebaut have challenged a water-quality certification obtained by Utilities in April.

More Southern Delivery System coverage here and here.

Southern Delivery System: Rocky Mountain Environmental Labor Coalition challenge to the project’s 401 certification is today

From The Colorado Springs Gazette (Daniel Chaćon):

“We have asked in our papers that the commission set aside the certification or remand it, which means send it back to the Water Quality Control Division for further review based on the various issues we’ve raised,” Susan Eckert, a Littleton-based attorney representing the Rocky Mountain Environmental Labor Coalition, said Monday. The coalition, which describes itself as a non-profit dedicated to the protection of the environment and worker interests in the Rocky Mountain region, filed the appeal along with [Pueblo County District Attorney Bill Thiebaut] in June. Among their assertions is that SDS, as presently configured, will not comply with all applicable state water quality requirements.

[Colorado Springs] Utilities spokeswoman Janet Rummel said SDS has “extensive mitigation requirements” that “fully address” the issues cited in the appeal.

More Southern Delivery System coverage here and here.

Southern Delivery System: The Colorado Water Quality Control Commission will hear Fountain Creek water quality objections Tuesday

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

The Water Quality Control Commission will meet Tuesday in Denver on an appeal by the Rocky Mountain Environmental Labor Coalition and [Pueblo District Attorney Bill Thiebaut] of certification issued to Colorado Springs Utilities and its SDS partners under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act. The state Water Quality Control Division certified SDS, a project that would build a pipeline from Pueblo Dam to serve Colorado Springs, Security, Fountain and Pueblo West. The permit was issued earlier this year, and is necessary for a separate permit by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that allows construction of a pipeline across Fountain Creek.

“The division has, in effect, done nothing more than simply rubber-stamp the prior proceedings of the federal and local agencies that reviewed the SDS project under other programs,” said Joe Santarella, attorney for the coalition.

Here’s an interesting side story from Chris Woodka writing for The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:

Colorado Springs Utilities approached former Pueblo County Commissioner John Klomp shortly after his final term ended in 2005 to promote the Southern Delivery System.

He turned them down.

The information was included in a disclosure statement by Klomp, who is now a member of the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission, as the commission prepares to hear an appeal of SDS certification under Section 401 of the federal Clean Water Act.

Meanwhile the Fountain Creek Watershed Flood Control and Greenway District board heard a proposal for a regional stormwater authority in the Fountain Creek watershed. Here’s a report from Chris Woodka writing for The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:

The board is reviewing the proposal by Summit Economics, a firm that has done Colorado, national and global economic research since 1981. Senior partners include Dave Bamberger, Tom Binnings, Paul Rochette, Mike Anderson and Tucker Hart Adams.

They propose a $37,500 project that would include interviews with key people and development of alternatives to provide funding for needed stormwater control projects. The main results would be to develop a stormwater funding that would meet state and federal regulations at a minimal cost to property owners. It would protect infrastructure in both incorporated and unincorporated areas of El Paso County. At the same time, a sustainable source of funds for both water quality and recreation on Fountain Creek would be identified.

The proposal is pegged on the decision last year by the Colorado Springs City Council to eliminate a stormwater enterprise that was integral to the environmental impact study by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the Pueblo County 1041 permit for the Southern Delivery System.

More Southern Delivery System coverage here and here.

Wellington: Boxelder basin floodplain update

From the North Forty News (Cherry Sokoloski):

Phase I of the project, which will enlarge Clark Reservoir and widen the Inlet Canal flowing into the reservoir, should be mostly complete by the end of 2011, according to Larimer County engineer Martina Wilkinson. The $4 million project will be bid out in two separate contracts, she said…

When Phase I is complete, more than 200 homes in Wellington plus Eyestone Elementary and Wellington Middle School will no longer be in the Boxelder floodplain. The requirement for flood insurance in that area will “go away” once floodplain maps are revised, Wilkinson said, likely sometime in 2012.

On Dec. 16 at 10 a.m., the county commissioners will hold a work session to discuss Boxelder fees and boundaries.

More stormwater coverage here and here.

Colorado Springs: Stormwater projects update

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

The city plans to eat up the last of its stormwater funds generated from 2007-09 to finish up one project and meet its requirements for Environmental Protection Agency and Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment stormwater permits through next year.
Then, it will have to look to its general fund to meet the permit costs.

Colorado Springs will spend only one-fifth of what it would have generated if the stormwater enterprise were still in place, and has nothing left for capital projects. City Council eliminated the enterprise nearly one year ago.

The news rankled Pueblo political and environmental leaders, who say Colorado Springs told the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and Pueblo County commissioners the stormwater enterprise would help deal with growth issues created by the Southern Delivery System. “They consistently mentioned the stormwater enterprise and the $70 million in critical projects it would address,” said state Rep. Sal Pace, D-Pueblo, who protested unsuccessfully to Reclamation when the enterprise was dissolved. “It really appears Colorado Springs is not meeting their obligations under the Pueblo County 1041 permit as well.”[…]

In a memo presented to Council Monday, city staff reported there are only enough funds to partially cover next year’s projected stormwater costs.
The city only spent $26.5 million to deal with six of the highest priorities on a $300 million list of backlogged projects, $66 million of which were called critical. Of that, $5.6 million came from grants and partnerships. “No dedicated funding or engineering staff are projected to be budgeted in 2011 for stormwater capital improvement projects,” the memo states. Stormwater maintenance projects have been turned over to the the city street department, which will mainly respond to citizen complaints about structures that are not working properly, according to the staff report.

More stormwater coverage here.

Arkansas Valley: Colorado Water Supply Reserve Account distribution recap

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

In 2006, SB179 had created the Water Supply Reserve Account, and the roundtables were being asked to bring forward projects that would use money to identify water needs, evaluate available water supplies or build projects. There weren’t hard-and-fast guidelines and proposals had to pass muster of the Colorado Water Conservation Board. Three proposals moved ahead that day: the Arkansas Valley Conduit, tamarisk removal and a study of recharge in the Upper Black Squirrel Aquifer in El Paso County. Since then, more than $4 million has been brought into the Arkansas River basin for 21 water projects or activities through the roundtable. The Rio Grande basin also has received about $4 million Like a snowball, those funds have leveraged more money as they were spent. Statewide, $26 million in grants from the account have been matched by $50 million from other sources…

BASIN BENEFITS

Since 2007, the Arkansas River Basin has received more than $4 million from a state fund established in 2006 to fund water activities. Projects include:

2007

Arkansas Valley Conduit, $200,000
Tamarisk control, $50,000
Upper Black Squirrel recharge, $45,200
Groundwater conference, $24,721
Fountain Creek Vision Task Force, $75,000
Round Mountain Water District, $120,000
Lower Ark Rotational Fallowing, $150,000

2008

Upper Big Sandy water balance, $45,000
Transfers subcommittee, $23,860
Las Animas water, $300,000
Zebra mussels, Lake Pueblo, $1 million
Colorado State University basinwide investigation, $600,000
Zero liquid discharge (reverse-osmosis brine), $725,000
Upper Ark water monitoring devices, $285,000

2009

Headwaters diversion improvements, $58,000
Non-consumptive needs quantification, $148,975
Fountain Creek sediment removal demonstration, $225,000
Groundwater policy, aquifer storage and recovery, $225,000

2010

Upper Arkansas water balance, $190,000
Fountain Creek flathead chub study, $35,000
Flaming Gorge Task Force study, $40,000

More IBCC — basin roundtables coverage here.

H2O Joe takes a ride through the storm drain

Here’s an instructional video from the City of Boulder that teaches about the storm sewer system.

Thanks to Loretta Lohman for the link.

More education coverage here.

Pueblo: Fountain Creek flood mitigation project groundbreaking ceremony tomorrow

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

U.S. Rep. John Salazar, D-Colo., will be on hand for the groundbreaking of a $1 million flood mitigation at 3 p.m. Monday at the site of a side detention pond in Pueblo near Colorado 47 and Dillon Road.

The area, behind the North Side Walmart, is a site that captured some flood water during a major 2007 thunderstorm after an embankment failed. There were damaging floods in a nearby neighborhood that might have been alleviated if the flood detention pond was in place, city officials said at the time. “This project is a demonstration of the tremendous benefits that can be delivered to Fountain Creek when people work together,” Salazar said. “It’s refreshing to see a group create a vision, devise a plan and carry it out. I look forward to continuing my support of collaborative efforts to restore this watershed.”

More Fountain Creek coverage here and here.

Fort Collins: The city council is soliciting public comment on new floodplain rules

From the Fort Collins Coloradoan (Kevin Duggan):

The proposed changes stem from a shift in the stormwater utilities’ mission and an emphasis on public safety and protecting lives and property, said Jon Haukass, water engineering and field services manager with Fort Collins Utilities.

Current standards allow for some building within the river’s 100-year floodplain. A 100-year flood is defined as an event that has a 1 percent chance of happening in a given year.

Regulatory options under consideration include setting stricter standards for how much new construction may affect flows in the event of a flood and prohibiting all new construction in the floodplain.

Staff members and the city’s water board support the option of not allowing new structures or extensive remodeling of buildings in the 100-year floodplain, Haukass said.

More stormwater coverage here and here.

The Highlands Ranch Metropolitan District Board is looking at implementing a stormwater fee

From the Highlands Ranch Herald:

Federal and state regulations for municipal stormwater systems have redefined the responsibilities associated with owning and maintaining facilities such as surface drainages, detention and water quality management ponds, and storms sewers and culverts. As the permit holder under the Clean Water Act, the metro district is responsible for public education and outreach, as well as participation.

Money from Centennial Water and Sanitation District, developers and the Urban Drainage and Flood Control District have for years helped fund the initial stormwater management projects in Highlands Ranch. However, the long-range plan for stormwater infrastructure, including capital and maintenance costs, requires approximately $30 million over the next 30 years. It is anticipated that UDFCD will continue to partner with the district, but will require matching funds for capital projects. “It is important that the metro district identify a reliable funding source to allow us to stabilize the channels in our natural open space lands and meet our requirements as the holder of the Clean Water Act permit,” a press release from the district says.

Metro district staff will conduct a public workshop at 6 p.m. Sept. 1 at the district office at South Broadway and Plaza Drive to explain the financial implications and the alternatives.

Those with questions should visit http://www.highlandsranch.org or contact director of public works Jeff Case at jcase@highlandsranch.org or at 303-791-0430.

More stormwater coverage here and here.

Wellington: Stormy seas for project designed to convey stormwater in Indian Creek

From the North Forty News (JoAn Bjarko):

A property owner along the creek, Elizabeth Kaufman, has hired a Windsor law firm to challenge conclusions of the project’s engineers. Kaufman contends the idea that Indian Creek can adequately carry floodwater to a proposed new Edson Reservoir southeast of Wellington is not substantiated by adequate engineering studies. “Basically they’re flushing the toilet west to east,” Kaufman said of the stormwater project…

The Boxelder stormwater project has been in the works for several years, with Larimer County, Wellington and Fort Collins cooperating to find a way to remove federal floodplain designation from numerous properties in Wellington and along the I-25 corridor. The three governments formed a stormwater authority to oversee the project and received a federal grant of nearly $3 million to build Phase I…

“We see peak discharges at Indian Creek going down, not up,” said Martina Wilkinson, a civil engineer with the county.

The project still has to undergo further study by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. “It’s our intent to demonstrate the project doesn’t adversely affect downstream property,” Peterson said.

More stormwater coverage here and here.

Stormwater: Veteran Fort Collins planner says, ‘Mother Nature has the last at bat.’

From the Fort Collins Coloradoan (Kevin Duggan):

The ability to protect the community from flooding has improved over the years, but a big storm still “kind of touches a button,” he said. “It’s that public safety element,” he said. “You don’t forget it.” Smith, 60, retired Friday after 33 years with the city. He plans to stay in the community but also wants to travel.

Smith’s retirement is a loss for the city, said Brian Janonis, executive director of Fort Collins Utilities. Smith helped build the stormwater “from scratch,” he said…

Much has changed in the utility and the city over the years, Smith said. Stormwater planning now emphasizes “green” systems incorporating retention ponds that serve as open space when not collecting runoff. But uncertainty is still part of the trade. The Spring Creek Flood of 1997 proved “Mother Nature has the last at bat,” Smith said.

More stormwater coverage here.

Wet Mountain Valley: Westcliffe and Silver Cliff stormwater project gets Westcliffe Board of Trustees approval

From the Wet Mountain Tribune (Nora Drenner):

Following the public hearing, by a six to one vote, the Westcliffe trustees voted to move forward with the proposed project. Cascarelli was the lone no vote. [Westcliffe trustee Joe Cascarelli] was also the lone no vote to approve resolution 6-2010 appointing Squire as the certifying official for an environmental assessment as required by DOLA for the proposed stormwater drainage project.

More Custer County coverage here.

Aurora: Middle school students project promotes fish-friendly car washing

Here’s the release from the Federal Way News:

Federal Way’s Fish Friendly Car Wash Program has long served as a model for other local communities. But earlier this year, the City was surprised to learn that the program’s reach had extended several states away.

With help from the City’s water quality specialist Hollie Shilley, fourth-graders at Indian Ridge Elementary in Aurora, Colo., are poised to receive national attention for their efforts to educate people on the negative impact that car washing can have on natural waterways.

The students knew that residential car washing—and charity car wash events in particular—often sends large volumes of waste wash water down storm drains, creating one of the biggest sources of surface water pollution. In April, they took these ideas and developed them into an entry for Project Citizen, an education program sponsored by the Center for Civic Education and the National Conference of State Legislatures.

An Internet search for background information brought up Federal Way’s program and Shilley’s name.

Shilley was excited to help. She explained that car wash kits divert wash water from the storm drain into the sanitary sewer, and she provided step-by-step photo instructions and a video about how to set up and use the kit. She also helped the students locate a source for the kits and shared examples of Federal Way’s educational materials.

The students embraced the idea of implementing a similar program in their own community and brainstormed other creative ways to make a difference.

They asked Colorado legislators for an official state day to recognize the role of commercial car washes in preventing stormwater pollution and developed an accompanying slogan, “Don’t wash our future down the drain!”

They also created an educational brochure, surveyed local car dealerships to learn about their carwashing practices, and wrote to the CEO of Subaru, asking that a commercial showing a couple washing a car in their driveway be remade to portray more environmentally friendly actions.

In May, they presented their project at the Project Citizen event in Denver. They ended up winning the top prize and will represent Colorado at the National Project Citizen Showcase later this month in Louisville, Kentucky.

“I am proud to have been able to help the students at Indian Ridge Elementary,” Shilley said. “It’s great when young kids get rewarded for their hard work and determination, and I hope it will encourage them to keep working to make a difference in their community and watershed. We congratulate them wish them the best of luck at the national event.”

More stormwater coverage here.

Larimer County: Coal Creek Flood Mitigation Project update

From the North Forty News (JoAn Bjarko):

Residents from the Indian Creek drainage east of Interstate 25 turned out for a June 15 open house sponsored by the Larimer County Engineering Department. Area residents were invited to look at the latest plans to reduce potential flooding in the region and to offer comments. Phase I of the Boxelder Regional Stormwater Improvement Project is called the Coal Creek Flood Mitigation Project. Coal Creek and Indian Creek are tributaries of Boxelder Creek.

Criticism of a three-government plan to reduce the region’s 100-year floodplain dates back more than a year to when local residents found out they would be assessed annual fees to pay for the work. The first phase, estimated to cost $3.9 million, will get $2.9 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In June, residents near Indian Creek contended that the first project, for which they are being assessed a fee, has no benefit for them and may even aggravate flooding conditions. Fees for rural residential properties in the Boxelder Basin have been set by the county between $62 and $97 per year, depending on the size of the property. Wellington town residents and Fort Collins city residents are also paying into the fund through monthly stormwater fees.

More stormwater coverage here.

Denver Water: Dredging project for Strontia Springs Reservoir will close Waterton Canyon for a year

Here’s the release from Denver Water (Stacy Chesney):

Denver Water’s Strontia Springs Reservoir contains more than one million cubic yards of sediment — a result of forest fires and subsequent intense rains over the years. Increased sediment creates reservoir operational challenges and causes water quality issues that impact the functions of the Foothills and Marston water treatment plants. As a result, a Denver Water contractor will dredge the reservoir to remove at least 625,000 cubic yards of sediment — enough to fill the football field at Invesco to a height of more than 200 feet.

This large-scale project will require heavy machinery and equipment. To ensure the safety of those who recreate in the area, Waterton Canyon will be closed to the public for a number of months in 2010 and 2011 while the majority of the work takes place.

Waterton Canyon will be closed as follows:

* Monday, Aug. 2, 2010 until Sunday, Dec. 3, 2010
* Monday, Feb. 28, 2011 until Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011

Neither the parking lot at the canyon’s entrance nor the canyon will be accessible during the closure. Some contractor activity will precede this date but there will be flaggers to caution the public during July.

Access to The Colorado Trail (CT) from Waterton Canyon also will be closed during these times. The next closest access to CT Segment 1 is via the Indian Creek Trailhead on CO Hwy 67, 10.5 miles west of Sedalia (see http://www.ColoradoTrail.org).

“We understand that Waterton Canyon is a very popular recreation site for people of all ages, and we know some will be inconvenienced by this closure,” said Neil Sperandeo, manager of recreation for Denver Water. “When the full scope of the project was completed, it was determined it would be unsafe to leave the canyon open during construction. We hope to make the canyon even better for recreation when it reopens in 2012.”

For questions related to recreation, e-mail recreation@denverwater.org.

More Denver Water coverage here.

Brush: New stormwater fees go into effect in July

From the Brush News-Tribune (Jesse Chaney):

Effective July 1, the Brush storm-water fee will increase by an additional three cents per month for each linear foot of property that touches a public street equipped with a curb and gutter.
The Brush City Council unanimously approved a motion on Monday to increase the rate from 13 to 16 cents per linear foot. The city will use the extra fees to help repair parts of the city’s storm-water system, said Brush Administrator Monty Torres. The system is failing in several parts of town, he said, and the downtown area is currently the city’s top priority. Torres said the downtown storm-water system replacement project is expected to cost about $1.5 million.

More stormwater coverage here.

Aspen: City Council toughens stormwater regulations

From the Aspen Daily News (Curtis Wackerle):

The “Urban Runoff Management Plan” lays out minimum standards and recommended practices for development and redevelopment projects. The manual is part of the city’s program to remove sediments and pollutants from stormwater runoff before the runoff reaches local rivers. Sediments and pollutants are often added to runoff as it crosses pavement, rooftops and other hard surfaces…

City policy outlined in the manual operates on a sliding scale: The more impervious — impenetrable by water — surface area on a site, the more water that has to be detained on site in a vault, settling pond, rain garden or by some other method. On-site detention allows sediments and pollutants in runoff to settle before the water flows into the city’s stormwater collection system. Green space on a site — either grass, vegetation of green roofs, all of which reduce actual runoff — offsets the amount of water that has to be detained, under the new guidelines. The manual also recommends pervious or modular paving, which employs large blocks with gaps in between that allow water to infiltrate the ground.

Previous city stormwater guidelines were focused on large rain events, Barker said. The new manual shifts the focus to smaller rain events, which make up the majority of rain in Aspen, and are most troublesome from a runoff perspective since the first bit of rain collects the most pollutants. The project also loosens rules for projects that result in less than 1,000 square feet of new impervious area. Before, any project with more than 200 square feet of disturbance had to hire a professional engineer to do a grading study. That requirement has now been eliminated for projects with less than 1,000 square feet of disturbance.

More stormwater coverage here and here.

Colorado Springs City Council and Springs’ Issue 300 supporters are arguing about how to draw down the $1.4 million enterprise fund escrow

From The Colorado Springs Gazette (Eileen Welsome):

Rivera argues that the City Charter, not Issue 300, is the guiding document that determines where CSU’s surpluses go. And the charter states that any surplus from CSU can be appropriated to the city’s general fund. “The charter overrules Issue 300,” Rivera said in an interview Tuesday, adding that payments to the city from other enterprises, such as the airport, are being phased out as required by the new ordinance. The City Council is expected to vote on what to do with Utilities’ $1.4 million later this month.

Issue 300, sponsored by anti-tax advocate Douglas Bruce, instructed the city to phase out payments in lieu of taxes to the city’s general fund from its enterprises over an eight-year period starting in 2010. As a consequence, Utilities was instructed to hold back one-eighth, or nearly $4 million, of the estimated $31.7 million in funds scheduled to flow into the general fund in 2010 and place it in an escrow account. As of the end of April, the money in the escrow account amounted to $1.4 million, said Terri Velasquez, the city’s chief financial officer.

More stormwater coverage here.

Brush: Stormwater fees to rise?

From the Brush News-Tribune via The Fort Morgan Times (Jesse Chaney):

The Brush City Council will consider a resolution Monday that would raise storm-water fees by an additional three cents per month for each linear foot of property that touches a public street equipped with a curb and gutter. If approved, the storm-water rate would increase from 13 to 16 cents per linear foot. The new rate would take effect July 1.

More stormwater coverage here.

Southern Delivery System: State Representative Sal Pace wants Reclamation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate project in light of Colorado Springs’ dissoulution of their stormwater enterprise

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

State Rep. Sal Pace, D-Pueblo, has asked the Bureau of Reclamation, Army Corps of Engineers and Environmental Protection Agency to develop supplemental environmental studies to determine the impact of SDS without the assumption that stormwater flows would be restricted to current conditions. “This had to happen before the process is closed,” Pace said, when asked about the timing of the letter.

In the letter, Pace uses a quote from Colorado Springs Mayor Lionel Rivera, which appeared in The Pueblo Chieftain in 2005 when the stormwater enterprise was created and again late last year after the stormwater enterprise was ended following interpretation of a ballot question in November: “We’re looking at a population of 900,000 in 35 years,” Rivera said. “If we’re not willing to address stormwater today, I don’t think it’s fair to ask others in the region to endorse the Southern Delivery System.”

More Southern Delivery System coverage here and here.

Longmont: City is turning dirt on Lykins Gulch stormwater project

From the Longmont Times-Call (Rachel Carter):

If a 100-year flood were to hit the city, water would rush down Lykins Gulch, slam into the small ditch under Airport Road, run over the street and flood most of the land between Airport Road and Hover Street…construction finally began last month to reroute Lykins Gulch north to Golden Ponds. Crews also will build a new section of trail from Airport Road to the St. Vrain Greenway at Golden Ponds, and realign Rogers Road so it meets up with the west side of Airport Road, where the Air Care Colorado testing center is located.

More stormwater coverage here and here.

Logan County Water Water Conservancy District: Pawnee Creek Flood Control Project

From the Sterling Journal Advocate (Judy Debus):

The Logan County Water Conservancy District (LCWCD) has initiated planning work for its Pawnee Creek Flood Control Project according to a press release from Shane Miller, director. The district has retained W.W. Wheeler and Associates, Inc. to provide professional engineering services for the project. The first phase of work involves development of a comprehensive hydrology model of the Pawnee Creek watershed, data collection and review, facilitation of stakeholder meetings, and preparation of a Phase I report according to Miller. The Phase 1 report should be available by the end of the year, Miller said.

Pawnee Creek is a large, uncontrolled watershed that drains more than 645 square miles from Pawnee Buttes to its confluence with the South Platte River near Atwood. Pawnee Creek is generally dry and its channel is more than a mile wide in many places, but the creek narrows near Atwood to a more confined channel that is susceptible to major flooding. The Pawnee Creek watershed has produced extreme floods about every 30 years and the last major flood occurred in 1997.

More stormwater coverage here and here.

Boxelder Regional Stormwater Authority puts moratorium on fees for some areas upstream of regional reservoirs

From The North Forty News (Cherry Sokoloski):

Discussions about the Boxelder Regional Stormwater Authority have been contentious over the past few months, with many property owners complaining about being included in the fee area. At a Feb. 11 meeting, the authority agreed to a moratorium on fees for properties upstream of regional reservoirs while the boundary issue is being resolved. They set Dec. 31 as the end date for the moratorium. According to county engineer Mark Peterson, fees will be waived for properties upstream of the following reservoirs: Windsor Reservoir #8, #8 Annex, Elder, North Gray, South Gray, Clark and Indian. Larimer County’s payment to the authority will be less because of the waived fees. Larry Lorentzen, who represents Wellington on the authority board, clarified that the authority will not go back later and collect the waived fees.

The commissioners and [authority manager Rex Burns] agreed that upstream reservoirs within the fee area provide considerable mitigation of stormwater flows, so properties that drain into these reservoirs should be removed from the fee area. Also, they said, properties north of County Road 70, which were not included in the original fee area, need to be looked at again. However, the board refused to recommend boundary changes until the issue can be studied further…

If the authority does decide to recommend boundary changes, Larimer County, Fort Collins and Wellington would need to approve an amendment to the intergovernmental agreement that created the authority.

More stormwater coverage here and here.

Colorado Springs stormwater strategy update

Even with the demise of the Colorado Springs stormwater enterprise the city is still planning to implement promises they made regarding the Fountain Creek watershed. Here’s a report from Chris Woodka writing for The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:

A project started in 2009 is looking at revising policies for construction within the watershed to develop methods that will reduce erosion and sedimentation, the risk of flooding and improve water quality and aesthetics on Fountain Creek. It would build on previous efforts by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Vision Task Force, and the results could be applied to other communities throughout the watershed. “Other communities are looking at it, and we’ve invited them into the discussion,” said Dan Bare, a senior civil engineer assigned to the task. “The goal is to establish a standard we can all live with.”

Former Pueblo Stormwater Director Dennis Maroney, now a Pueblo consultant, called the development of the standards the most important step Colorado Springs could take toward improving Fountain Creek. The first phase of the effort, gathering information, has been completed. The political turmoil has stalled the next two phases, analyzing data and writing new policies, Bare said. “The plan has remained the same, but the schedule has been delayed due to the budget uncertainties the city has been experiencing,” Bare said…

Bare is in the process of setting up work groups that will begin looking at different sets of issues in order to determine the best policies or practices for minimizing damage to Fountain Creek. Writing and implementing the manual could take up to two years, Bare said. Documents posted on the Web site identify population growth, increased impervious surfaces, more water use, more runoff, floodplain encroachment and increased pollutant loading in Colorado Springs as the main contributors to problems on Fountain Creek. The effects include damage to property and infrastructure like highway bridges or pipelines. Public health, safety and welfare issues, loss of habitat and water quality issues also are listed as effects.

More stormwater coverage here.

EPA proposes new federal standards for farm and urban runoff in Florida

From the Associated Press (Brian Skoloff) via The Denver Post:

Friday’s proposed rules mark the first time the EPA plans to force numeric limits of so-called nutrient runoff on any state. A handful of other states, at the urging of the agency, have already acted to set their own standards. The remainder have vague limits on waste and fertilizer pollution, while some are in the process of developing their own numeric limits. “It’s actually pretty good,” said David Guest, an attorney for Earthjustice, which represented environmental groups in the lawsuit, including the Sierra Club, Florida Wildlife Federation and others. While noting the standards “aren’t as stringent as we’d like,” Guest called it “a huge leap forward in getting effective controls on sewage, fertilizer and animal manure.” “This is the beginning of a very serious effort nationwide, and Florida is going to be a model,” he said.

More stormwater coverage here.

Fountain Creek: CWQCC weighing removing impairment status on two sections

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

The Colorado Water Quality Control Commission will consider recommendations by the state Water Quality Control Division to remove impairment status on two sections of Fountain Creek for selenium and arsenic. The division also is recommending E. coli impairment designation only during summer months.

“We’re convinced that if the commission simply accepts the division’s proposed changes in the impairment rules – the likely path of least resistance for the commission – our collective efforts to achieve clean water in Fountain Creek will suffer a serious setback,” said Ross Vincent, of the Sangre de Cristo chapter of the Sierra Club. The Sierra Club and the Rocky Mountain Environmental Labor Coalition filed a joint pre-hearing statement Tuesday asking the commission not to remove the designations.

A similar statement opposing the changes was filed Wednesday by Pueblo District Attorney Bill Thiebaut, supporting the environmental group’s position and adding that there is no “statement of basis” for removing the stricter designations from Fountain Creek.

The impairment designation creates a higher standard for discharging treated effluent into Fountain Creek under Section 303(d) of the federal Clean Water Act. Currently, sewer plants in El Paso County are permitted to discharge nearly 100 million gallons per day into the Fountain Creek watershed – a number that could increase by 60 percent in the next 40 years.

More Fountain Creek coverage here and here.

Fountain Creek Watershed Flood Control and Greenway District director will use regional approach to managing the watershed

From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):

“Not just locally, but in the West, people are recognizing that the watershed is an integral unit,” Barber said Tuesday. “I’ve been chasing this longer than a lot of folks realize. . . . This job is about being in the community and listening to the concerns people have.”Barber, 55, will become the director of the Fountain Creek Watershed Flood Control and Greenway District later this month. The district board that approved his hiring in December is expected to finalize contract details at its Jan. 22 meeting.

Barber is a Colorado Springs real estate and water rights broker who has plunged neck-deep into Arkansas Valley water issues in the past decade. As an agent for El Paso County water interests, he participated in discussions that identified future needs as part of the Colorado Water Conservation Board’s Statewide Water Supply Initiative. Barber was instrumental in helping to form the district as part of the Vision Task Force. He chairs the Arkansas Basin Roundtable, formed in 2005 to hash out disputes. Barber has been a staunch promoter of studying how storing water underground can offset the depletion of the Denver Basin aquifers. He was also part of the Colorado Springs task force that led to the formation of a stormwater enterprise in 2005, which was discontinued late last year after voters approved Doug Bruce’s Issue 300.

His efforts are not always regionally focused. In 2008, he unsuccessfully tried to corner more than half of the shares of the Bessemer Ditch on behalf of his El Paso County clients. Those same interests funded a study of pipelines that would move water from the Lower Arkansas Valley to El Paso County…

Back in 2006, Barber said: “If we don’t use water efficiently, we have no business asking for more water.” He still stands by that and he’ll include flood control and water quality in the list of things that need to be done on Fountain Creek as well…

…the flood of 1999 – where he remembers 9 inches of rain falling in Manitou Springs in three days – that led to the current effort to improve Fountain Creek. The ’99 spring storm led to a cooperative effort of communities along the creek and the Army Corps of Engineers developing a watershed study, completed just last year. That effort, along with the Vision Task Force and an agreement between Colorado Springs and the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District, became the base for information the Fountain Creek district will use as it tries to improve the waterway. “The best strategy I’ve heard is to get some demonstration projects on the ground, like the confluence park in Pueblo, to show what it looks like to aggressively improve Fountain Creek,” Barber said. “A lot depends on what we do in the last two years…

He sees mutual benefit for El Paso County and its neighbors – Pueblo, Canon City, the Lower Ark Valley and even Pinon Canyon – in working together on projects of common interest in the future. “I hope we wind up a community of interest, especially as an economic base,” Barber said. “For our own quality of life, we need to see ourselves as all being in it together. More awareness of that will be more effective than having the stormwater police come around.”

More Fountain Creek watershed coverage here and here.

EPA to Hold Public Listening Sessions on Potential Stormwater Rule

Here’s the release from the Environmental Protection Agency:

Release date: 01/05/2010

Contact Information: Enesta Jones (MEDIA ONLY), Jones.enesta@epa.gov, 202-564-7873, 202-564-4355, Jonathan Angier (PUBLIC INQUIRIES), angier.Jonathan@epa.gov, 202-564-0729

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold five listening sessions to provide information to the public about a potential rule to strengthen stormwater regulations and to establish a comprehensive program to reduce stormwater from new development and redevelopment. These potential regulations would help to reduce stormwater discharges that can harm water quality into nearby waterways.

EPA seeks input on the following preliminary regulatory considerations: expand the area subject to federal stormwater regulations; establish specific requirements to control stormwater discharges from new development and redevelopment; develop a single set of consistent stormwater requirements for all municipal separate storm sewer systems; require those sewer systems to address stormwater discharges in areas of existing development through retrofitting the sewer system or drainage area with improved stormwater control measures; and explore specific stormwater provisions to protect sensitive areas.

The sessions will be held:

January 19, 2010, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at EPA Region 5 Office, 77 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago
January 20, 2010, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at EPA Region 9 Office, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, Calif.
January 25, 2010, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at EPA Region 8 Office, 1595 Wynkoop Street, Denver, Colo. [ed. emphasis mine]
January 26, 2010, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at EPA Region 6 Office, 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 1200 Dallas, Texas
January 28, 2010, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at EPA HQ Office, Ariel Rios Building, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, D.C.

The public can register by going to the Web site below. EPA will accept written comments on the preliminary rulemaking considerations until February 26, 2010.

More information on listening sessions, the potential rule and instructions for submitting written comments: http://www.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater/rulemaking

More stormwater coverage here.

Colorado Springs: Stormwater enterprise demise leaves $82 million worth of projects to compete for general fund dough

From the Colorado Springs Independent (J. Adrian Stanley and Pam Zubeck):

Stormwater Enterprise manager Ken Sampley unfolds a large budget graph labeled “DRAFT” in big gray letters. He circles one total: $66,145,000. That was the estimated cost in 2006 of completing Stormwater’s 26 top-priority drainage projects. He circles another number: $82,790,676. The estimated cost for completing the same 26 projects in 2009 dollars.

Stormwater began work in 2007, with a backlog of more than $300 million in projects. So far, Stormwater hasn’t put much of a dent in that. “We never got to the point where we even got close to our $60 million,” Sampley says. “If we can’t get close to the $60 million, why even worry about the next couple hundred million?” On average, Stormwater collected $16 million a year in fees, and spent about $8 million annually on capital projects, leveraging the money where possible. The rest went to other needs: In 2009, over $4 million was spent on maintenance and another $1.7 million to maintain mandated federal water quality standards. The rest was sucked up by engineering, planning studies and administrative costs. Over three years, fees produced just $22.5 million for projects. Stormwater leveraged that to nearly $30 million but still finished less than a third of those top-priority projects.

One project that Stormwater won’t complete has certain consequences. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has said it will declare a northeast section as a 100-year floodplain if repairs and updates aren’t made to the Templeton Gap levee. The floodplain area contains more than 3,000 properties and 5,000 structures. With no Stormwater funds, the Templeton Gap project, which could cost up to $6 million, won’t get done, and most lenders will require property owners within the plain to buy flood insurance. While Stormwater fees cost a single family home $25.80 to $163.80 a year, flood insurance will cost many times that amount. Councilor Scott Hente has fought hard to keep his constituents from paying those big insurance premiums. After 300 passed, he wanted to keep Stormwater fees for at least two years, so Templeton Gap could be completed. But he was in the minority. And his fighting spirit on the issue was tempered when he found out a majority of the floodplain residents voted for 300. “You’re saving yourself a few bucks a year,” Hente says with astonishment, “to incur the luxury of spending $1,000 a year on flood insurance.”[…]

With no fees, the city will have to fork over money for emergency stormwater repairs. It’ll also have to pay for a federally mandated basic stormwater program costing about $1.75 million a year. If the city doesn’t pay, it could face fines of up to $27,500 per day for each water quality-degrading “incident” from the Environmental Protection Agency, plus an additional $10,000 in daily civil fines from the state. If an incident isn’t properly reported or is deliberate, the state can also levy criminal fines of up to $25,000 a day. But the death of Stormwater grieves none so much as Utilities. It loses a crucial partner in controlling rainwater runoff, which eventually makes its way to Fountain Creek — the lightning rod in the city gaining approval for its Southern Delivery System.

More stormwater coverage here.

Colorado Springs: Stormwater utility spent $1.6 million on equipment

From The Colorado Springs Gazette (Daniel Chacón):

The soon-to-be-annihilated Colorado Springs Stormwater Enterprise has spent more than $1.6 million on trucks, trailers, mowers and other pieces of equipment since it was created in 2005, according to documents obtained under an open-records request…

With the looming demise of the enterprise, there have been questions about the fate of the enterprise-owned equipment. “These vehicles will be used in 2010 during the phase out of the program,” Scott said recently. “We will be doing a reduced maintenance program so we will be using the equipment required to perform the maintenance, we will also be working on the in-progress and pending (capital improvement) projects, etc. We have not yet identified what will happen with the vehicles in late 2010.”

More stormwater coverage here.

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