Colorado Water
Here's an article from the Denver Post about how the feds are interpreting and enforcing the Clean Water Act [August 12, 2004, "Feds ditch 'isolated' water"]. From the article, "(Doug) Benevento (executive director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment), however, acknowledges that there is no state program that protects prairie potholes, 'playa' lakes or other small, isolated wetlands critical to wildlife habitat. According to Ducks Unlimited, the new policy leaves between 50 and 96 percent of prairie potholes in the Central Flyway unprotected, as well as 95 to 100 percent of the temporary playa lakes of Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas. The Association of State Wetland Managers estimates that 30 to 60 percent of all wetlands, or 30 million to 60 million acres, are at risk under the new policy."
Denver Water may hit customers hard for conserving, according to the Rocky Mountain News [August 12, 2004, "Denver Water rates may rise 8%"]. From the article, "But, an overall rate proposal of 8 percent a year through 2009, with the impact on customer bills, will be presented Aug. 25, said Kerry Kuykendoll, manager of rate administration. 'Even if customers continue to conserve, they are going to see higher bills,' Kuykendoll said. But, he said the size of the bills will depend on how much they conserve. In past years, the average annual rate increase has been 3.5 percent. It's not that conserving water is bad - especially in a drought - but it's meant less income was available to pay the costs for running a system that serves more than a million people, he said. In fact, Denver Water's customers have used 35 percent less water than normal this summer, said Ed Pokorney, Denver Water's planning chief. And, officials said, while the average residential customer paid $263 for water in 2001, the cost had fallen to $235 in 2003 - a drop of $28." Here's the coverage from the Denver Post.
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