Saturday, May 27, 2006

Metro Wastewater Gold Award Trans World News: " Advanced Circuits, the country's leading source for quick-turn printed circuit boards, announced today it was awarded a Gold Award from the Metro Wastewater Reclamation District (MWRD) of Colorado for the third time. "The Gold Award signifies 100 percent compliance with pretreatment requirements and a demonstrated commitment to environmental excellence. Advanced Circuits, and the 14 other winners, are distinguishing themselves as environmentally cautious, going above and beyond regulatory requirements. By doing so, they demand less of the Metro District's Pretreatment Program and set a good example for others. "Advanced Circuits is being recognized for its continual efforts to minimize pollution and waste through the transportation of spent materials to off-site locations for recycling. Additionally, Advanced Circuits drums up spent copper etchant solution, collects excess copper panel frames and waste pieces for off-site reclamation. The company also installed a new pumice scrubber system to reduce the amount of corrosive chemistry used to prep circuit boards for subsequent chemical processing steps and a new etcher, which will reduce ammonia emissions." "colorado water" 10:42:35 AM

HB 1400 From today's Rocky Mountain News: "Another bill blessed by the governor sets in place a historical water compact...HB 1400 sets up the state's first charter for interbasin water compacts. Supporters say the charter provides a road map to end Colorado's water wars by considering the needs of users across the state - from anglers and rafters, to urban dwellers along the Front Range, to farmers on the Eastern Plains." Past HB 1400 coverage from Coyote Gulch. "colorado water" 10:36:20 AM

Colorado River and drought Here's an article from the Los Angeles Times with perspective on the history of droughts along the Colorado River. They write, "A new study of tree ring records in the Colorado River basin reaffirms that one of the West's most important water sources is no stranger to severe drought. Analyzing tree cores that reflect how wet or dry the climate was, scientists reconstructed the Colorado River's flow from 1490 to 1997. During that period, they found evidence of as many as eight severe droughts that lasted five consecutive years. In a dry spell from 1844 through 1848, the average Colorado flow was even less than during the drought that gripped the basin recently and left some of its biggest reservoirs half empty. The recent drought 'is not without precedence,' researchers wrote. 'Overall these analyses demonstrate that severe, sustained droughts are a defining feature' of the Upper Colorado, which supplies most of the river's water... "Eric Kuhn, general manager of the Colorado River Water Conservation District in Colorado, said politicians are still relying too much on the unusually wet records of the 1900s in shaping water policy. 'The study gives you a good indication that the past wasn't exactly like the 1900s, and they ought to be very, very cautious' in predicting future water levels, Kuhn said." More coverage from LiveScience.com. They write, "A new study comparing the most recent drought in the Southwest United States with other dry periods going back 508 years confirms worries that water shortages will become more common and severe. Agreements to allocate water from the Colorado River were made in 1922, during an historically wet period. More water was allocated than is actually available now, scientists say. Not all of the allocated water is actually used yet. But during a drought from 2000 to 2004, some reservoirs in the Southwest dropped to less than half full and water restrictions became common in many areas before the drought ended abruptly. Expect worse." "colorado water" 10:28:33 AM

PSOP: Bashed in the political rapids Pueblo Chieftain: "A water storage bill that earlier this year looked like it might navigate rough water instead got bashed in political rapids and ended up stranded on the rocks last week. The two men who invested the most time trying to keep the legislation afloat remain far apart in their viewpoints, even about why the Preferred Storage Options Plan has, so far, failed. Wally Stealey said he would accept nothing less than full agreement from all parties until his term as president of the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District ended in April. He lays the blame squarely on Colorado Springs for backing away from negotiations with the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy when things aren't going their way. 'They (Colorado Springs) run around saying the Lower Ark is not negotiating in good faith. That's just a damn lie,' Stealey said... "Harold Miskel, chairman of the Southeastern PSOP committee, said the Lower Ark stopped the 2004 PSOP bill, opened the current round of negotiations and should work to wrap up talks as quickly as possible. Miskel, a consultant for Colorado Springs, said the Lower Ark is using the negotiations as a lever for its other objectives not directly related to PSOP. 'It's hard for me to say that anyone is negotiating in good faith,' said Miskel, who has distanced himself from the negotiations. 'They need to come to closure and make a deal.'... "David Robbins, a Denver water attorney representing Colorado Springs, and Brett Gracely, water resource planning supervisor, argued the bill should look at 'other socioeconomic or environmental impacts or changes.' Robbins said pressures other than the loss of water have battered the rural economy. Stealey was adamant at the meeting, and remains adamant, that the study should look at how water development has affected the valley. 'We need an adequate study, not a partial study,' Stealey said. Part of the problem with PSOP as it stands is that it mainly benefits Colorado Springs, Stealey said. 'Where do the smaller communities get the money to pay for this?' Stealey asked. 'The expansion is dictated by the big interests in the valley.'" "Colorado Water" 10:22:57 AM

Burning up and going dry The Colorado River basin, in Colorado, is still holding it's own against the drought that has again descended on the rest of the state. They're rafting the Roaring Fork and the Colorado through Glenwood Canyon is high enough to have the locals grinning ear to ear. Meanwhile, according to the Longmont Daily Times-Call, eastern Colorado is getting set to burn up and go dry. From the article, " Earlier this spring, anticipating plentiful water supplies this year, area farmers planted heavily. Now, with recent unseasonably warm and dry weather dramatically reducing the amount of irrigation water available, they are watching some of their crops struggle. Two months ago, experts were lauding the heavy winter snowfall and predicting adequate, if not bountiful, supplies of water. But an April and May in which barely any rain fell, combined with high temperatures and winds, has left farmers struggling to irrigate those crops... "Last year, April yielded higher than normal precipitation, with a total 2.45 inches falling during the month in the Denver-Boulder area, according to National Weather Service data. This year, only 0.67 inches fell in April, well below the monthly average of 1.93 inches. And the dry trend hasn't abated this month. Through May 25, precipitation for the month was 0.43 inches, well below the 1.93-inch average, although slightly improved from the 0.38 inches that fell through this time last year. Compounding the lack of moisture, May's average daily temperature to date is 10 degrees hotter than normal, according to the weather service... "Normally, there's enough rain and moisture in the ground for the plants to sprout without assistance. Sugar beets, for instance, aren't usually irrigated until June, because enough rain falls in April and May to get them growing. While the amount varies per crop, it usually takes about 3 acre-feet of water, from both rain and reservoirs, to irrigate 1 acre of land. One acre-foot is 325,851 gallons, roughly enough to supply all water needs for a family of five for a year. "Longmont city officials are also keeping a close eye on snowpack levels. While the city has more than enough water for the year, this year[base ']s runoff can be stored for use in subsequent years in reservoirs such as Ralph Price at Button Rock, Union and Burch Lake. The city has already offered to lease some of its excess water to local farmers and is considering offering more, depending on how the levels pan out further into the summer... "The Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, which provides water from the Western Slope to Front Range farmers and cities, also is paying close attention to how the snow is melting. The NCWCD set this year's quota for that water, delivered through the Colorado-Big Thomson project, at 80 percent, meaning that anyone entitled to 1 acre-foot of water will get 0.8 of an acre-foot. Because NCWCD is meant to be a supplemental, not primary, supply for farmers, the district traditionally tries to provide more water in dry years because there are fewer other sources, said Jill Boyd, a spokes-woman for the agency." Fire season is hitting early in the southwest part of the state, according to the Durango Herald. They write, "The Black Ridge Fire south of Durango has scorched 530 acres and was 65 percent contained Friday. It was the largest of three fires burning Friday in Colorado. Erratic winds and dry fuel caused short-range spotting on the Black Ridge blaze, but firefighters were able to catch the spot fires before they made long runs. The number of homes threatened was reduced from 12 to two. Containment means that there is a bulldozer or hand line around the perimeter of the fire. Once there is a line all the way around the fire, firefighters will spend several days "mopping up" - which means checking for hot spots within the perimeter. When they feel there is no danger of the fire escaping, then it will be called controlled. The estimated cost of fighting the fire was $156,598 as of Thursday evening. Officials did not estimate when it would be fully contained and controlled. "A 'red flag warning' - issued when the risk of large or dangerous fires is high - was issued for all of western Colorado and eastern Utah. The warning remains in effect until 6 a.m. Sunday. Clouds are expected to move into the area today, which will lower temperatures and bring winds. No precipitation is expected with the incoming front." So how are we doing over here in the dry part of the state? From today's Rocky Mountain News, "In many areas of the state, most of this year's wildland fires have been caused by lightning, but along the Front Range, the story is different. 'On the Front Range, as of April, when Gov. Owens did his pre-season fire briefing ... we had had 73 fires, and 71 of them were human-caused, [according to Polly White, spokeswoman for the Colorado Office of Emergency Management]." "colorado water" 9:51:56 AM

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