Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Iraq The Cherry Creek News: "U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.) today used his time as ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee hearing on the U.S. Dept. of Defense budget to challenge the department to maintain fiscal discipline for the ongoing military costs incurred by U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and pressed them for additional details about future war funding." "2008 pres" 6:40:05 PM

? for President? Andrew Sullivan: "Rasmussen nationally: For the first time, Obama leads." Captain's Quarters: "Last week, the Hillary Clinton campaign argued that the month of February would belong to Barack Obama, and that they would focus on Texas and Ohio. After making a change in leadership in the campaign and watching the lopsided delegate split in Virginia and Maryland, Team Hillary has changed direction. Now they will fight for delegates in Wisconsin instead of ceding the state to Obama." Daily Kos: "Wow. McCain has hitched his wagon to the Iraq debacle and there ain't no turning back. 'Speaking to reporters in Richmond, VA last night, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) attacked 'anyone' who points out that he is "fine" with keeping U.S. troops in Iraq for 100 or more years. 'Anyone who worries about how long we're in Iraq does not understand the military and does not understand war,' said McCain." Victor Davis Hanson: "For McCain to win in this current anti-incumbent, anti-Republican climate of war and economic uncertainty, everything will have to break right -- the base will have to make a choice for the better, not the best, alternative and soon cool the rhetoric; the VP choice will have to be inspired; independents and moderates will have to be convinced that McCain's unique life-story and national security fides trump all else; and he will have to wage an effective campaign, hope his opponents don't, and trust that Iraq will continue to improve while the economy is stabilized." "2008 pres" 6:25:20 PM

War on terror Talking Points Memo: "It appears that waterboarding and Republican presidential ambitions may have collided today in the Senate. At issue is a Democratic measure that would restrict the CIA to using those interrogation methods listed in the Army Field Manual. In other words, it would bar the CIA from employing so-called 'enhanced interrogation' techniques." More: Republicans were expected to use a parliamentary procedure today that would have blocked the measure by requiring a 60-vote minimum to proceed. But here's where it gets interesting. Presumptive Republican nominee John McCain opposes waterboarding, which would have put him in the position of voting with the Democrats and against the President on this measure, perhaps giving the Dems the 60 votes necessary to proceed. So the Republicans scuttled that planned parliamentary maneuver, and the full bill went to a vote a little while ago, barely passing, 51-45. Notably, McCain voted against the bill. One would expect that his publicly stated reason for opposing it will be something other than the anti-waterboarding provision. The GOP thinking may be that it's better to have the bill pass and the President veto it, than have the current Republican nominee and the President so publicly at odds. That sets up an interesting situation when and if a veto override is attempted. But with the two-thirds vote required for an override seemingly out of reach, McCain's vote may be less crucial. "2008 pres" 6:09:23 PM

Iraq Juan Cole: "The Daily Star summarizes reports coming out of Iraq that the Speaker of the House is threatening to dissolve parliament. Iraq's legislature has been deadlocked for months over the budget and also setting a date for badly needed provincial elections. It is likely a hollow threat, but the Iraqi constitution does state, 'The Council of Representatives may be dissolved by a one-third vote of the Council or on requests of both the Prime Minister and the President.' Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani says he has those votes. "The passage of the budget has been held up by demands of the Kurds that the Kurdistan Regional Authority receive 17% of national income, which many Arab MPs think is excessive. The proportion is based on Kurdish estimates of their proportion of the Iraqi population, estimates that are disputed. Some say they are willing to compromise on 14.5 % for the Kurds. Arab delegates also resent Kurdish demands that they pay for the Peshmerga security forces of the Kurdistan Regional Authority, which rejects federal troops ever setting foot on its soil." "2008 pres" 7:03:35 AM

? for President? Political Wire: "new Strategic Vision poll in Wisconsin shows Sen. Barack Obama edging Sen. Hillary Clinton, 45% to 41%, one week from the state's primary. Among Republicans, Sen. John McCain leads Mike Huckabee, 45% to 27%." "2008 pres" 7:01:26 AM

Potomac Primaries Rocky Mountain News: "Barack Obama powered past Hillary Rodham Clinton in the race for Democratic convention delegates tonight on a night of triumph sweetened with outsized primary victories in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. 'Tonight we're on our way,' Obama told cheering supporters in Madison, Wis. 'But we know how much further we have to go on,' he added, celebrating eight straight victories over Clinton, the former first lady now struggling in a race she once commanded. The Associated Press count of delegates showed Obama with 1,186. Clinton had 1,181, falling behind for the first time since the campaign began. Neither was close to the 2,025 needed to win the nomination. His victories were by large margins -- he was gaining about 75 percent of the vote in the nation's capital and nearly two-thirds in Virginia. He had 62 percent of the vote in early Maryland returns. By contrast, Clinton was attempting to retool her campaign in the midst of a losing streak. Her deputy campaign manager resigned, the second high-level departure in as many days." Rocky Mountain News: "Though some political wonks thought Virginia was Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's best hope of at least slowing Obama's momentum on Tuesday night, the commonwealth's contest wasn't even close...With double-digit victories in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia, Sen. Barack Obama extended his recent winning streak, took over the lead in pledged delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Denver, and took a significant step toward becoming the first African-American man to win his party's presidential nomination...Virginia has undergone a major demographic shift since the segregated '60s, including explosive growth in the northern tip of the state near Washington, D.C. With the population changes, plus the addition of more military, high tech and financial sector jobs, some say it more closely resembles a Mid-Atlantic state like Maryland than other states of the old Southern Confederacy." Captain's Quarters: "In the end, the Mike Huckabee surge in Virginia fell far short of victory. John McCain swept the Potomac Primaries last night, winning by nine in Virginia and winning among conservatives in Maryland. The delegate count now makes his nomination inevitable." The Cherry Creek News: "Has the race for the Democratic presidential nomination tilted seriously in favor of Barrack Obama? That's the question tonight, as the Illinois Senator stormed to victories over Hillary Clinton. With the Clinton campaign reeling with staff turnover and fundraising woes, Obama is piling up votes and delegates. Obama beat Clinton in all three Democratic 'Potomac primaries' in Maryland, Virginia, District of Columbia. John McCain scores similar trifecta over Mike Huckabee on GOP ballots." Daily Kos: "Barack Obama didn't just beat Hillary in Virginia. He didn't just get more votes than John McCain. In 'red' Virginia, Obama got 142,000 more votes than all the Republicans put together. And that was with Hillary Clinton taking 100,000 more votes than John McCain. He kicked butt, took names, and did it with both hands tied behind his back. Oh, and in Maryland, with 40% of the vote in, Hillary is beating all Republicans put together while losing by 27%. You could probably limit Democrats to only left-handed voters, or red-haired voters, or left-handed red-haired voters whose names start with 'Q,' and the Republicans would still be in trouble." "2008 pres" 6:53:12 AM

Plan for Blue River below Green Mountain Reservoir? Here's an update on planning efforts for the lower Blue River below Green Mountain Reservoir from The Sky-Hi Daily News. From the article: After two years of behind-the-scenes work, key stakeholders along the Lower Blue north of Green Mountain Reservoir want public input on the best way to control use for the 15-mile river corridor. The reach extends north from the reservoir to the confluence with the Colorado River near Kremmling. Recreational users, private landowners along the river, the Bureau of Land Management, the Forest Service, the Colorado Division of Wildlife, the Bureau of Reclamation and Summit and Grand counties all have a stake in the outcome of the planning effort. The corridor is home to river otters, elk, moose, deer, mountain lions, bobcats, trout black bears, golden eagles and noetropical migratory birds. Growing use by raf ters, kayakers and anglers is affecting natural resources and the user experience, said County Commissioner Tom Long. He identified overcrowding, competition among user groups, trespassers and access points as key issues. Recreation has already had detrimental impacts to natural resources and created conflicts with private landowners, according to the draft management plan up for review. At times, a steady stream of boaters in the river is negatively affecting anglers along the banks, some stakeholders said during a recent meeting. Private land accounts for about 70 percent of the riverbed and banks along the reach. The draft plan suggests that private landowners are carrying an undue burden when it comes to investing in management of the corridor. Private landowners have restored 7.5 miles of fish habitat in the river by restoring side channels and oxbows, and recreating natural riparian and wetland areas from agricultural land. Those efforts have increased fish production on the private lands from 30-70 pounds per acre to 200 to 300 pounds per acre... Potential management options for the canyon include a permit system and seasonal restrictions on different activities. But the land managers and property owners who have been developing the draft plan won't finalize any options until they've heard from interested citizens. The draft version of the plan includes a complex graph showing streamflows and critical times for different types of wildlife, including trout spawning season, bald eagle nesting times and river otter mating and birthing seasons. That matrix is intended to provide baseline data on how to preserve both the natural resources and the recreational experience. The canyon holds and outstanding fishery, habitat for many other land and bird species and provides opportunities for fishing, kayaking and nature-watching. In the end, it might boil down to what sort of restrictions the public will accept in order to preserve those values, said outgoing Dillon District Ranger Rick Newton. The goal is to develop a collective management approach, perhaps designating a river manager to implement the management plan, once it's adopted, Newton said. "colorado water" 6:46:33 AM

CSU pipeline project under Garden of the Gods Here's a look at construction of a new Colorado Springs Utilities pipeline under the Garden of the Gods from Water News Online From the article: Imagine standing below a geological rock formation that is so stunning it bears the name, Garden of the Gods. With that in mind, envision having to construct a water pipeline across this national landmark without disturbing its beauty or alarming the citizens who admire it on a daily basis. Caretakers are so particular about the delicate environment of the park that they cut the grass with a team of horses pulling a sickle. Once upon a time officers of Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) stood under these skyward jutting rocks and decided the only way to cross it, and keep everyone happy, would be with a horizontal bore. While under tight regulations that limit the use of heavy equipment on the park, CSU is in the process of a 2,700-foot bore, installing 12[per thou]DIPS 3408 SDR-9 CP Performance series 4000 high-density polyethylene (HDPE). The line will provide potable water to a subdivision and provide increased fire flow protection to an expanding community. Pipeline construction in many cases is an eyesore to communities and traditional open trench methods would be impossible for this project. While being good caretakers of their Garden of the Gods, the forward thinking city officials of CSU have joined together and are embracing new technologies for the water department that have been in use in the gas department for years. By doing this, CSU is also becoming a model of study for other municipalities who are in search of potable water applications that are long-term investments, environmentally safe, leak free and more affordable upon installation... "What makes this project unique is that we are using HDPE as it was designed to be used," said Madore. "Most of the time, PE is just used where there is a high chance for failure of conventional materials, like a river bore or highway crossing. This is because PE is tough and flexible and with butt-fused joints, there is little chance of separation upon pull back when boring. HDPE has piggy backed its way into the municipal market on the back of directional drilling." "When CSU brought us in, there experience with conventional materials told them to bolt straight lengths in between mechanical fittings," continued Madore. "After explaining that we could fuse everything together and eliminate half the fittings, all the joint restrains, thrust blocking and possible leak paths, they were now seeing a much more cost effective and long term leak free system. The logic behind it all is simple. If you can put it together and then take it apart mechanically, sooner or later it will leak. With fusion you are leak free as long as the material remains in service." For this project, reducing tees instead of swivel tees for the hydrant extensions were used as well as fusion fittings wherever possible. The only mechanical fittings that were used were at the valve connections. "What makes this job shine is that they are taking advantage of all of the benefits of PE and using it in the entire system to make it a fool-proof system," said Madore. For the fire hydrant selection, the city used a Mueller AquaGrip PE 12 x 6 reducing-tee. It was fused inline, then a valve was installed between the main and the fire hydrant using a Mueller AquaGrip fitting, which is a stab-compression style fitting that attaches to the bottom of the fire hydrant with out the use of internal stiffeners. The biggest advantage of PE besides its long life expectancy is its heat-fused joints that make the pipe a single homogenous pipeline. Joints in traditional piping materials are the biggest source of leakage. They are also the pathway for contaminates to enter the pipe system. Since this pipeline will only have gasketed joints where it transitions to other piping systems, the chance for leaks or infiltration is practically eliminated. In fact, the 2,700-foot bore alone has eliminated 135 joints when compared to traditional piping materials using 20-foot sections of pipe. CSU used McElroy Manufacturing's TracStar No.412 fusion machine to join the pipe together. The TracStar is mounted on a mobile track system, which makes it an all-terrain machine. It is powered by a diesel engine and was used to pull the pipe out on the location with little disturbance to the terrain. Pal Brown CSU construction supervisor was in charge of all the fusion and was impressed with how the machine was able to transition between out of ditch and in ditch fusion. "Pull one pin and add the extension hoses and we were in business," said Brown. The bores were completed with a great amount of difficulty as a lot of rocks were encountered. An American Augers Model DD4 was used, "which is quite the little workhorse," said Brown. It was needed on this job because more rocks than solid soil were encountered. "colorado water" 6:35:40 AM

Twilight for Bonny Reservoir? [SB 08-028] Here's an update on the situation at Bonny Reservoir from The Denver Post. From the article: Scratch one possible solution from the list of alternatives that might save Bonny Reservoir from becoming Colorado's largest, and most embarrassing, mudhole. Squelching a rumor traveling through wildlife circles, the top Kansas water official said Monday his state will not offer a quick-fix remedy of the Bonny dilemma by forgiving the annual water loss caused by evaporation. "Our primary interest is in getting our share of water allocated under the compact," said Dave Barfield, chief engineer of water resources for the Kansas Department of Agriculture... This water skirmish has other, equally severe consequences for Colorado sportsmen. The Division of Wildlife warm-water fish hatchery near Wray also is at risk in a companion dispute that pits longstanding rights to surface water against farmers who pump irrigation water from wells inside the river basin. It is a ticklish matter, this thing of recreation vs. corn. No one wants to see the crops and livelihood of farmers dry up; the same applies to a valuable fish hatchery that produces 40 percent of the state's warm-water fish and would cost an estimated $30 million to replicate -- provided an adequate replacement site existed... The Colorado Wildlife Commission last week began exploring ways to secure water for the Wray hatchery -- located on Chief Creek, a tributary of the North Fork of the Republican -- without disrupting local agricultural wells. The wildlife agency owns a senior surface right in the drainage, but might acquire well water from outside the compact compliance zone, which covers 3 miles either side of the river corridor. Meanwhile, hearings are scheduled Thursday in the Colorado General Assembly on SB 28, a bill that would require DOW and state parks to surrender their storage rights in Bonny. The measure also suggests a conduit to deliver South Republican water past the reservoir, ensuring that it would go dry, except for puddling from occasional rainstorms. Sponsored by Sen. Greg Brophy and Rep. Cory Gardner, the intent of the farm-friendly bill is to remove Bonny entirely from the equation to facilitate maximum water delivery, thus sparing as many irrigation wells as possible... Thus Colorado finds itself at groundwater zero, with legislators debating a bill that would doom a reservoir that is both a key fishery and the only resting place for migrating waterfowl between the South Platte and Arkansas rivers. DOW officials estimate a salvage operation for Bonny's sportfish will be conducted this spring. From there, its all water down the drain. More Coyote Gulch coverage here. "colorado water" 6:19:19 AM

Climax Mine moving toward re-opening From The Denver Post, "Construction on some facilities, including a water-treatment center, is complete at the Climax molybdenum mine, scheduled to reopen in 2010. In addition, more than 150 antiquated buildings from the old operation have been razed and removed, said Kurt Keskimaki, general manager of the Climax operation...When the mine reopens, Keskimaki estimates, it will employee 350 people. A majority of workers will be recruited from the area around Leadville, including Chaffee, Lake and Summit counties. Production assessments estimate that the mine could produce 30 million pounds of molybdenum each year through open-pit mining." "colorado water" 6:12:19 AM

Lake Mead problems? Here's an alarmist view of water in the Southwestern U.S. from the AP. They write: Researchers at San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography said Tuesday the West's largest storage reservoir faces increasing threats from human-induced climate change, growing populations and natural forces like drought and evaporation. There is a 50 percent chance Lake Mead will run dry by 2021 and a 10 percent chance it will run out of usable water by 2014, if the region's drought deepens and water use climbs, the researchers said. "We were stunned at the magnitude of the problem and how fast it was coming at us," said marine physicist Tim Barnett. "Make no mistake, this water problem is not a scientific abstraction but rather one that will impact each and every one of us that live in the Southwest." Currently, Lake Mead -- located in Nevada and Arizona -- is half-full, as is Lake Powell. Both lakes help manage water resources for more than 25 million people in seven states. Researchers said that if Lake Mead water levels drop below 1,000 feet, Nevada would lose access to all its river allocation, Arizona would lose much of the water that flows through the Central Arizona Project Canal, and power production would cease before the lake level reached bottom. More coverage from The San Diego Union-Tribune. From the article: Colorado River reservoirs that serve 20 million people in the Southwest could essentially run out of water in 13 years based on current climate and water-use trends, researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography said yesterday. That would jolt San Diego County, which relies heavily on the Lake Powell-Lake Mead system for water. Several million people across the Southwest also get hydroelectric power from the reservoir's dams, which the scientists said may suffer an "abrupt drop" in production in about 10 years if reservoir levels continue to fall. Major industries - from tourism to biotech - would be affected by such a shortage, which already is starting to force changes. A large marina on Lake Mead recently was forced to move its floating docks to deeper water. This latest warning could escalate pressure for more conservation, either voluntary or mandatory, several water experts suggest. The report is the first in a peer-reviewed journal to pin a date on when the river's water level would drop so low that reservoir water could no longer be drawn by gravity, said authors Tim Barnett and David Pierce, scientists at Scripps, which is part of the University of California San Diego. The paper was accepted for publication by the American Geophysical Union, an international society of Earth and space scientists... "Based on the assumptions that (Barnett and Pierce) made, I certainly don't disagree with this conclusion," said Terry Fulp, operations manager of the Lower Colorado River for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Fulp added a caveat: Long-term changes in river flows can't be predicted precisely, so the Scripps calculation could be off by several years. The Lake Mead-Lake Powell system includes the stretch of the Colorado River in northern Arizona. Aqueducts carry the water from the river to cities such as Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Diego. The system is at about half-capacity because of a recent string of dry years. "It's pretty dramatic...From month to month, there is a noticeably bigger white band (of rock and sand) and you can see more islands popping out of the water," said Krystyna Stave, an environmental studies professor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. Pierce and Barnett approached future river flows based on probability of certain events. They gave a 10 percent chance that functional storage in Mead and Powell reservoirs will be gone by 2013 and a 50 percent chance that it will disappear by 2021. They said there's a 50 percent chance that the minimum power-production levels in both lakes will be reached in 2017, based on current trends. Martin Hoerling, a meteorologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Boulder, Colo., said the Scripps report offered the most specific projection that he has seen about the river's looming crisis. He also emphasized the inherent uncertainties in predicting precipitation, but said "the science is unanimous" that Colorado River flows will shrink in coming decades. The Scripps report "should catch attention because climate change is real and it needs to be part of the dialogue about how we manage the water resources," Hoerling said. Barnett and Pierce touched on possible solutions, many of which already are being tried across the region. Those include increased calls for conservation, new guidelines for managing river water and numerous attempts to tap potential supplies such as the Pacific Ocean and aquifers. "We are all planning to deal with less water from the Colorado River," said Ken Weinberg, a top official at the San Diego County Water Authority. Concerns on the Colorado River have been heightened by legal complications to moving water from Southern California's other major water source, the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. This year, the region's farmers have had supplies cut by 30 percent. Despite problems, numbers released yesterday by the San Diego County Water Authority show that the county set a record high for water use in 2007. While per-capita use has remained relatively flat over the past two decades, the growing population keeps nudging the total demand up. Several water managers in San Diego County said the region's conservation push in recent months doesn't appear to be saving the targeted amount of water - about 10 percent. "The public isn't believing that we have as much of a constraint as we really do...They turn on the tap and there is plenty there," said Bud Irvin, board president of the Santa Fe Irrigation District in North County. The county water authority mainly has relied on stories in local media and word of mouth to spread the conservation message. But it's working on a plan that's likely to include a big increase in paid advertising. No budget has been proposed. Jim Barrett, director of public utilities for the city of San Diego, is among the many local water managers convinced that mandatory rationing is unnecessary. "We don't want to excite people needlessly in anticipation there might be a problem later," Barrett said. Rationing would be difficult to fairly impose, he said, because an across-the-board reduction would punish households and businesses that have already started to save. "colorado water" "colorado water" 5:50:18 AM

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