Coyote Gulch

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Crested Butte: Fixing water losses in municipal system

Here's an update on Crested Butte's water system problems, from The Crested Butte News. They write:

The municipal water system is more than a bit leaky and thousands of gallons of water go missing from the system every day. The town staff is working on trying to fix the problem but they admit it is a constant battle. "Ideally, in most town water systems, having less than a 10 percent water loss is considered acceptable," explained Crested Butte water system supervisor David Jelinek. "While we don't have specific figures for the amount lost in Crested Butte, we are in the process of collecting that data and we know it is significantly more than 10 percent." Water losses are measured from the water that is treated minus the water that is metered. However, in Crested Butte, not everything is even metered. When the fire department releases water from hydrants to fill the trucks or test the system, that water isn't measured. Nor is the water used in the town cemetery, for example. The town simply has not prioritized 100 percent metering in the past.

"We are just starting to focus on compiling the water loss data," Jelinek reported. "We don't know exact numbers but we know it is a lot. We are working to compile good, valid data and figure out how to remedy the situation. You have to remember we have a very short season in the summer to work on it." Jelinek and new Crested Butte public works director Rodney Due have prioritized the leakage situation. "We had a professional leak survey done last week and while we don't have solid numbers, we feel that the primary leaks are in the service lines between the town's water main and the houses," said Jelinek.

The Crested Butte water system starts with Coal Creek, where water is diverted to fill up a pond above the water treatment plant. The water then flows to the treatment plant and into a couple of 25,000-gallon clear wells. The water is then stored primarily in a 500,000-gallon underground storage reservoir, where gravity takes over and feeds the distribution system into the taps of houses and businesses all over town. If Coal Creek is the hose and the water treatment plant and reservoir the bucket, then the distribution system is the holes in the Crested Butte bucket. And there are a lot of holes in the system. July and August are the highest water-use months in Crested Butte. Right now, approximately 725,000 gallons per day are put through the system. Even at a modest 10 percent leakage rate, that is more than 72,000 gallons of missing water a day, and that is on the extreme low end of any estimate.

The water consumption number rises in mid-summer to about 800,000 gallons a day. "We don't even have enough storage for one day and that is another priority," Jelinek said.
"colorado water"
8:30:39 AM

Eastern Colorado slipping back into drought?

Eastern Colorado is slipping back into drought. Here's a report about the Pikes Peak area from The Colorado Springs Gazette. They write: "Forecasts that June would produce a normal amount of rain and compensate for an almost complete lack of rain in the first half of the year fell short by 1.82 inches. Half the month's 0.52 inches fell in a 24-hour period straddling June 19 and 20, according to the National Weather Service...Since January, the region has soaked up 2.86 inches, far below the normal 8.04 inches for midway through the year."
"colorado water"
8:16:43 AM

Rio Grande National Forest: Happy 100th Birthday

Happy 100th birthday to the Rio Grande National Forest. From an article in The Valley Courier:

On July 1, 1908 1.2 million acres of forest, including Cochetopa National Forest and the eastern San Juan mountains, consolidated to create the Rio Grande National Forest. "We've been pieced together over the years," said [Public Affairs Officer Michael Blakeman]...

The Rio Grande National Forest Service continues to manage logging in the forest, grazing on range lands and recreation. The forest also provides clean water. Blakeman said nationwide national forests provide the headwaters for 20% of water. Priorities and methods have changed over the years. "We've learned a lot. We've made our share of mistakes managing the land but we've learned from it," said Blakeman. He said they now have a better understanding of ecology and have transformed their responses to logging and grazing accordingly. The forest service's responsibilities have changed as automobiles have brought tourists to the mountains and ATVs and motorcycles have filled the trails. Blakeman said they receive pressure from all sides, from loggers requesting more lenience on cutting rules to environmental groups pushing for more stringent conservation requirements.
"colorado water"
8:10:35 AM

California Gulch: ASARCO and Newmont

Here's a report about ASARCO and Newmont's $20.5 million settlement with Colorado over the California Gulch Superfund site, from The Leadville Herald Democrat. From the article:

The money will be paid by ASARCO, $10 million, and Resurrection/Newmont, $10.5 million. This money will be put in a trust to be administered by state and federal natural-resource trustees for projects within the Superfund site...

Trustees will review project applications for the use of this money, projects that could turn contaminated land into parks, open space, trails or other similar projects, according to Nate Strauch, communications director for Suthers...

This money could be used for the 11-mile reach of the Arkansas River in the southern end of the county or for the total water-quality improvement of the entire site, for example. California Gulch has been a Superfund site since September of 1983, and was divided into 12 geographical areas. Only three of these areas have been deleted from the site. There is a 30-day comment period on the decree before the final decision is made in U.S. District Court.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
"colorado water"
7:49:10 AM

Park County snowfall for 2007-2008

Here's an article about snowfall up in Park County this last winter and how it compares to the historical averages, from The Fairplay Flume. From the article:

Bailey recorded a total of 103.6 inches of snow this past winter, and that was a hefty 35 percent higher than the average of 76.82 inches over the 70 years starting with the winter of 1938-1939. That was the 15th-highest amount of snow in that 70 year period...

In Grant, 117.4 inches of snow fell this past winter, compared to the 131.3 inches received last year. This year's snow was 23 percent higher than the 45-year average, according to the NWS. Grant saw the highest snowfalls in February and March; 23.5 inches of snow fell in February and 19.6 in March...

Fairplay posted 108.1 inches of snow in the winter of 2007-2008, which was 19 percent higher than average...

Of the five measuring locations analyzed in Park County, Lake George was the only one with a lower-than-average snowfall for the winter of 2007-2008. The 40 inches of snow recorded there was 29 percent lower than the 56.7 average that had been recorded over the past 48 years, to 1960-1961, by the National Weather Service...

Snowfall in the winter of 2007-2008 at Antero was a whopping 55 percent higher than the average of 47 inches during the 47 years extending back to 1961-1962. In 2007-2008 Antero recorded the sixth-most snowfall it has had in those 47 years...
"colorado water"
7:43:56 AM

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