Coyote Gulch

Monday, December 31, 2007

iPhone
First post from my shiny new iPhone.
8:02:02 PM

Iraq
The Moderate Voice: "In helping Turkey target Kurdish guerrillas in Northern Iraq, is America betraying the very people that helped them take down Saddam when Turkey refused to do so? According to this statement by the Kurdistan Democratic Alliance published in Norther Iraq's Kurdish Media, 'The U.S.-E.U. alliance with Turkey goes against human dignity, democracy, human Rights and social justice. Yet, both the U.S. and E.U. consider themselves as defenders of these ideals.'"
"2008 pres"
7:11:49 AM

Colorado: Growth and sustainable water supplies

Observers on the rainy side of Colorado always keep their eyes on the Front Range, looking for new plans to divert water over the Great Divide, to fuel unbridled growth. Here's an article about Colorado's projected population growth, from The Durango Herald. They write:

More than 4.7 million people live in Colorado today. By 2035, an additional 3 million people are expected to move here. And there are no plans to make sure they all have water. That's because cities and counties decide how and where to grow. Water providers don't have veto power over growth. They just look for more water to serve the newcomers. But a small number of water experts is starting to speak up about growth.

The problem became apparent in 2003, with the release of a report by the Statewide Water Supply Initiative, or SWSI. Water people pronounce it SWAH-sea. The initiative predicted that current or planned water projects could handle only 80 percent of the new urban growth by 2030. The missing 20 percent became known in the water business as The Gap. Many cities are counting on farmers to sell their water rights, according to the SWSI report. Rural residents complain the practice is killing the farm economy...

Most water managers are reluctant to tell county commissioners how to plan for growth. "If you're not a municipality, you really don't have land-use control," said Eric Wilkinson, general manager of NCWCD. Eric Kuhn, head of the Colorado River Water Conservation District, voiced his frustration in August at a Colorado Water Congress meeting. The water supply should be part of the debate about foreign immigration, Kuhn said. "It's obvious that issue isn't being discussed and we're not connecting all the dots. As water managers, we're not supposed to, but that issue has to be discussed at the general government level," he said. But water managers have to start talking about it, too, said [Jenny] Russell, the Telluride attorney who represents Southwest Colorado on the Interbasin Compact Committee. "How is it that you're allowed to grow until you come to a (water) deficit?" she said. "Water providers have always been told, 'Keep your hands off.' I think the time has come to change that, because all of Colorado is growing." But water managers don't have legal control over land use. Russell thinks it will take an act of the Legislature to either require or encourage cities to match their land-use plans to their water supplies...

Locally, La Plata and Montezuma counties are expected to grow at least 75 percent by 2035. The population of the Four Corners will double, to 160,000 people by 2035, according to the state demographer. In Durango, more than 100 construction projects are under way or expected to be built within city limits. Together, the projects could add as many as 4,400 new housing units in the city in the next 10 to 20 years. Public Works Director Jack Rogers said the city has adequate water rights for its growth plans, and future water supplies will be more secure once the Animas-La Plata Project is finished...

On a tour of Northwest Colorado in August, Sen. Jack Taylor pointed to several planned subdivisions west of Steamboat Springs - 2,000 home sites here, 2,400 there. Three-acre patches on the banks of the Yampa River are selling for $5 million, he said. "When you start adding it up, where's the water going to come from for all these home sites?" said Taylor, R-Steamboat Springs. Others say there's room - and water - for 3 million new Coloradans. "Colorado can handle that kind of growth, but it is going to come through smart management of our water supply," said U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar. Harris Sherman, director of the state Department of Natural Resources, expanded on the idea. "We can handle another 3 million people, but it will involve serious tradeoffs," Sherman said. Those tradeoffs include a loss of farmland, and less water in the rivers for fish, recreation and scenic beauty. Water managers, counties and the state have to do a better job of helping each other understand the constraints, Sherman said. "We need to be more realistic about where these future water resources will come from," he said...

In 1970, Douglas County was a rural spread south of Denver with about 8,500 people, much less than the population of Montezuma County at the time. Thirty years later, it had 175,000 people - more than twice as many as every county in Southwest Colorado combined. Its population nearly tripled in the 1990s, when it routinely made the list of America's fastest-growing counties. Douglas County wasn't alone. The Front Range's population doubled from 1970 to 2000. Almost 4 million people live there today. Many of the new suburbs south of Denver rely on groundwater, which is being depleted a little more every year. This rattles water managers like Kuhn. At a Water Congress meeting in August, Kuhn railed against "Baja Denver" and said the construction of suburbs without a sustainable water supply will be remembered as a historic failure of Colorado's leaders. The consequences will be felt far away from the Front Range, Kuhn said in an interview. "You don't build hundreds of thousands of homes ... and then shut them off when it comes to a dry period," he said. City and county leaders have to do whatever it takes to look for water. And there's just one place left to find it, Kuhn said. "Western Slope agriculture. That's it."[...]
"colorado water"
6:55:36 AM

Del Norte delays approval for water for Mesa Vista sub-division

From The Del Norte Prospector, "Town water for the Mesa Vista subdivision, also known as Twin Pines, is still awaiting ap-proval. At the last regular Del Norte Town Board meeting, the town clerk voiced concerns regarding water issues with the subdivision and the board discussed the steps that need to be taken to protect the town. Red McCombs and Bob Honts have asked lease water from the town until adjudication of their wells could be changed to domestic use. Town Attorney Gene Farish suggested that the town start off with a letter of intent that shows it is interested, but which wouldn't obligate the town until the issue could be extensively examined. Farish also suggested that a town water augmentation plan be in place before any such leases were considered."

Thanks to SLV Dweller for the link.
"colorado water"
6:40:14 AM

Denver Direct: Analysis of Lowry Landfill Industrial Waste Surcharge Permit

Denver Direct is working through the industrial waste surcharge (IWS) permit granted by the Metropolitan Reclamation District to the Lowry Landfill Super Fund Site . IWS permits are issued by the district so that entities have the option to pay the district to treat certain pollutants that would normally require pre-treatment facilities at the location. Pre-treatment facilities can be expensive for businesses to install. Since the pollutants are not found in normal sewage discharge the Metro District charges extra for their removal. Normal sewage charges are based on water consumption during winter months and the assumption that only certain waste products will be present. The Metro District maintains a discharge permit with the EPA and is required to remove most chemical, pharmaceuticals, etc. before releasing effluent into the South Platte.

It should be interesting to read their analysis. No, really.
"colorado water"
6:34:32 AM

? for President?
Juan Cole: "McClatchy has a new Iowa poll out, taken Dec. 26-28. It shows that there was no spike among Iowa voters in concern for international affairs or terrorism in the wake of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan. The poll shows that Mitt Romney has a significant lead, 27% to 23% for former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, whose momentum has slowed, and that Huckabee has lost ground even among evangelicals as the spotlight has been put on him. This is a really small poll, of 400 Democrats and 400 Republicans, with a massive plus or minus margin of error, of 5%. So I don't think Edwards' one-point lead in this poll means much. But that the race is tight is obvious enough."

Political Wire: "A new American Research Group poll in New Hampshire finds the Democratic presidential race tightening and the Republican race deadlocked. Among Democrats, Sen. Hillary Clinton leads with 31% followed by Sen. Barack Obama at 27% and John Edwards at 21%. The poll has a margin of error of 4 points. In the Republican race, Mitt Romney and Sen. John McCain remain tied at 30%, followed by Mike Huckabee at 11%, Rudy Giuliani at 9% and Rep. Ron Paul at 7%."

Pollster.com: "Voters in the early primary states are making up their minds, or at least picking a candidate when pollsters call. For all that has been written about how unsettled the races in both parties have been, we are now seeing a clear decline in the rate of "don't know" answers to the vote question. Interestingly, that trend is clear in the earliest primary/caucus states, but only faintly visible if at all for the nation as a whole. This is further evidence that early state voters really do pay more attention and move to a choice sooner than the nation as a whole. Looming election days concentrate the mind apparently."

Politcal Wire: "For the first time all year, Sen. John McCain leads a national Rasmussen tracking poll for the Republican presidential nomination. Nonetheless, his lead of 17% is not statistically significant since his rivals are all within the poll's margin of error. Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee are just a point behind at 16% and Rudy Giuliani is two points back at 15%. Slightly off the pace, but still within five points of McCain, is Fred Thompson at 12%. In the hypothetical national primary, it's a statistical tie among five candidates."
"2008 pres"
6:20:30 AM

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