Coyote Gulch

Friday, February 15, 2008

? for U.S. Senate?
The Cherry Creek News: "Mark Udall says he expects this year's Senate race to be one of the top two in the country, as he and Republican Bob Schaffer both pursue the Senate seat being left open by Wayne Allard. Neither man faces significant opposition within their own parties. A former director of Colorado's Outward Bound school, Udall has always seemed cut from a different cloth than most politicians, more comfortable in Gore-Tex than worsted wool. A member of the West's only political royalty, the Udall family, which has three members of Congress, from Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona, and a former Secretary of the Interior to its credit, Udall is more everyman than political prince. Mark Udall says he expects this year's Senate race to be one of the top two in the country, as he and Republican Bob Schaffer both pursue the Senate seat being left open by Wayne Allard. Neither man faces significant opposition within their own parties."
"denver 2008"
7:09:57 AM

Southern Delivery System

Customers of Colorado Springs utilities may cringe at the news that their rates may climb by 126% by 2015 due to building the Southern Delivery System and increased maintenance and operation costs reports The Colorado Springs Gazette. From the article:

Residential water rates in Colorado Springs will more than double by 2015 to pay for a city project to pipe water from Pueblo Reservoir, according to a Bureau of Reclamation study. Colorado Springs' partners in the pipeline project, Fountain and Security, would see their rates rise 63 percent and 171 percent, respectively. The forecast is in documents the bureau released recently ahead of the Southern Delivery System's long-awaited draft Environmental Impact Statement...

Because the city wants to store water it already owns in Pueblo Reservoir, the project needs approval from the bureau, which operates the reservoir. The city wants a 40-year storage contract, and the federal contract process requires an environmental impact analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act. A draft of that study, started five years ago, will be released Feb. 29. Perhaps as important as the rate information is the lack of red flags in the bureau's analysis, contained in 2,300 pages of technical records. Bureau scientists combed through seven alternatives and gauged their impact on soil, wetlands, aquatic life, water quality and wildlife and didn't note any major obstacles, Colorado Springs Utilities officials said. "My take after reading all these technical reports is that I didn't see anything that was unacceptable or surprising or shocking," Keith Riley, Utilities' project planning and permitting manager, said Thursday.

Springs Utilities plans to mitigate destruction of wetlands by building new, larger wetlands in the Fountain Creek corridor, Riley said. If Utilities officials' take is correct, it would mean the way is clear to build any of the seven alternatives the bureau studied. That's important because opposition in Pueblo could force the city to abandon its preferred approach and build a pipeline that avoids Pueblo County, drawing water from the Arkansas River in Fremont County instead...

The Springs' first choice is to pump water from the reservoir across Pueblo County to a plant on the city's northeast side. It's the cheapest option, at $1.1 billion; other choices would cost up to $1.2 billion. Under the preferred option, the bureau's report said residential water rates in Colorado Springs would increase 126 percent to $693 annually, or $57.75 a month, by 2015 -- up from $307, or $26 a month. Rates would surge to $933 annually, or $77.75 per month, by 2025. Utilities officials said rates then would level off and perhaps decline as construction work wrapped up. The bureau's report doesn't include commercial and industrial rates forecasts. "It's a fairly significant increase, but we note that's through 2015," said Bill Cherrier, Utilities financial services general manager. "It's coming in over time so it's gradual, rather than a steep shock." Cherrier said the rate increase isn't all attributable to the pipeline project -- only about $3.25 per month. The rest will pay for operations and maintenance citywide, he said.

Under the Fremont County alternative, rates would go up by 155 percent by 2015, to $783 annually, or $65.25 a month. By 2025, rates would hit $917 annually, or $76.40 a month. Utilities officials said Springs residential rates today are among the lowest in the state. Only Denver and Pueblo are lower, and both are on a major waterway. Fountain Utilities Director Larry Patterson said that despite rate increases, Southern Delivery is a good deal: "We are growing at such a rate due to Fort Carson expansion that SDS remains one of the more economic options for us." The Draft Environmental Impact Statement's release will be followed by a 60-day comment period during which bureau officials will host public meetings in six locations. The final environmental impact statement is expected in late 2008, and a record of decision, in early 2009. Utilities plans to begin construction in 2009 and is talking with pipe manufacturers. The line would deliver its first water in mid-2012, Fredell said. In 2017, the new northeast treatment plant would be expanded and Jimmy Camp Creek Reservoir on the city's northeast side would be built. So far, the city has spent $71.4 million on SDS.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
"colorado water"
7:06:51 AM

Snowpack news

Here's a look at snowpack in Northern Colorado from The Fort Collins Coloradoan. From the article:

Snowpack, which measures water content in snowfall, at Joe Wright Reservoir near Cameron Pass is at 115 percent of average as of Feb. 1, said Mike Gillespie, snow survey supervisor for Natural Resources Conservation Service. Snowpack in the South Platte River Basin, which includes the Poudre watershed, was 111 percent of average Thursday morning. Still, based on February's predictions, Poudre River runoff is expected to be 10 percent below average. Last year it was 25 percent below average, Gillespie said. Water enthusiasts know that February is too early to tell how the water conditions will be in the spring. "The weather changes constantly," Armfield said. "There's never a guarantee with the snowpack. We're always excited, but we'll take it as it comes." March and April snow will matter greatly to keeping runoff near average, Gillespie said.

More snowpack news from The Boulder Daily Camera. From the article:

Snowpack in the South Platte River Basin, which includes Boulder County, was 111 percent of average Thursday. But that number could change in the next two months, which tend to be the biggest moisture makers for the Front Range. The Boulder Creek Basin was 88 percent of aver-age on Feb. 1, and local water managers will watch closely to determine any water-usage limits for the summer. "The first readings we really start paying attention to are the ones from February," said Carol Ellinghouse, Boulder's water resource manager. "But our snowiest months are March and April, so we still have a ways to go."[...]

Some parts of Colorado, especially the southwestern mountains, have been hammered with snow. Wolf Creek Pass has received 441 inches this season, and Crested Butte has received 305 inches. Closer to the Front Range, 225 inches have fallen on Breckenridge and Loveland. But Colorado's northeastern mountains haven't been hit as hard, which is why the South Platte basin trails almost all other major basins in the percentage of average snowpack. The Rio Grande is highest, at 169 percent of average, and the Arkansas River drainage is at 167 percent.
"colorado water"
6:49:06 AM

Northern Integrated Supply Project: Draft EIS

From The Fort Collins Coloradoan, "The release of a draft environmental impact study for the Northern Integrated Supply Project, which would include construction of Glade Reservoir north of Fort Collins, is projected for early April. A 90-day period for public review of the document and to take comments will follow, officials with the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District said Thursday."

Fort Morgan is debating their participation in the NISP according to The Fort Morgan Times. From the article:

The Fort Morgan City Council has not yet voted on whether or not to pay the $36 million to be a part of the Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP) but could do so without the public. While NISP is included in the water conservation plan the council approved Tuesday evening, it was only in a section which spoke about possible future plans, said Fort Morgan Mayor Jack Darnell. He was prompted to make the statement after fort Morgan resident Dennis Hall asked the council if the public would ever have a chance to vote on the city's involvement in NISP. Darnell said that since the water department is an enterprise, not specifically funded by taxes, the council could vote to approve a share in NISP without taking it to the public, although it could go to a vote. That has not been decided yet. The water conservation plan is a document required by the Water Conservation Act of 2004. It is supposed to detail what the city is doing to save water, with certain requirements built in by the law, said Utilities Director Gary Dreessen.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here.
"colorado water"
6:44:47 AM

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