Sunday, August 17, 2008

Climate Change: The earth is a beautifully complex system Here's the latest ad from We. Thanks to grist for the link. "cc" 9:30:05 AM

Zebra mussel update From The Pueblo Chieftain: "The Bureau of Reclamation is continuing to test for zebra or quagga mussels in mountain lakes, but so far has found no evidence of either mussels or veligers, the larval stage. 'We've been running tests at Twin Lakes, Turquoise Lake and Ruedi Reservoir, but so far they have all come back negative,' said Kara Lamb, Reclamation public affairs officer. 'Those tests will be ongoing at the upper lakes.'" More Coyote Gulch coverage here. "colorado water" 9:19:57 AM

Arkansas Basin Roundtable Here's a recap of Wednesday's meeting of the Arkansas Basin Roundtable, from The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article: The Arkansas Basin Roundtable Wednesday heard presentations on Aurora's water operations in the valley, an effort to control tamarisk and a Grand County stream management plan, while planning for future presentations on topics like El Paso County water needs, Arkansas River management, coal bed methane and pine beetles. The education of roundtable members has been an ongoing process since nine basin roundtable groups were formed by the state Legislature in 2005. While the roundtable also has forwarded more than $2 million in water project applications to the state, there has been some turnover of members and much of the official meeting time has been dedicated to water education... The roundtables are linked by the Interbasin Compact Committee, which is engaged in developing a 50-year vision for state water issues, but has not met since May. Meanwhile, the Arkansas Basin Roundtable is in the process of wrapping up reports on consumptive use needs, nonconsumptive use needs and guidelines for water transfers. Next month, the roundtable expects to ponder the Colorado Water Conservation Board's plan for developing a decision support system for the valley, which would provide common data for making water decisions. During this month's meeting, Roundtable Chairman Gary Barber asked members to identify perceived information gaps... "Since the biggest water gap is in northern El Paso County, we need to hear more," said Alan Hamel, executive director of the Pueblo Board of Water Works. In a moment of taking stock, other members wanted to learn more about how ditch companies work, pine beetles, heavy metal leaching in Lake County and the history of water development in the Arkansas Valley. And the seemingly taboo topic of finding ways of bringing more water from the Western Slope. "We know water is short," said Bent County Commissioner Tom Wallace, saying the core issue for the roundtable remains preventing dry-up of farms with ag-to-urban transfers. "What are we doing about keeping Colorado River water in our state?"[...] Mark Pifher, deputy director of Aurora Water, explained the city east of Denver gets 26 percent of its water from the Arkansas Valley through rights it has purchased or leases it has executed. Pifher said Aurora has paid millions of dollars, entered numerous agreements and worked to mitigate its impact on the valley. He also explained how the $750 million Prairie Waters Project is important to the Arkansas Valley since it allows Aurora to reuse water it imports. Jean Van Pelt, conservation outreach coordinator for the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District, explained an invasive plants plan that incorporates work by various agencies to map, remove and revegetate tamarisk in the Arkansas Valley. About 69 percent of the state's infestation of tamarisk is in the Arkansas Valley, and roundtable members voiced support for directing a bigger share of state and federal funding at the problem here. Caroline Bradford, a Grand County water consultant, reviewed a streamflow management plan meant to protect flows within the county, which is the headwaters for the Colorado River. About 80 percent of the water rights in the county are owned by Denver or the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, which both are looking at reservoir firming projects. More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here. "colorado water" 8:41:09 AM

Fountain Creek management Here's an update on the proposed Fountain Creek Authority, from The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article: The funding committee of the Fountain Creek Vision Task Force met Friday to hash out details of how the proposed authority could be formed, agreeing to a timetable that could lead to state legislation next year to create an authority. Final approval of the plan must be made by a consensus committee, which will meet Sept. 5. If the authority is created, it would still require a vote by El Paso and Pueblo counties to participate in and fund it... Gary Barber, of the El Paso County Water Authority suggested making a slight change in the state law that established the Denver Authority after the 1965 flood on the South Platte River. Although El Paso County has more than five times the tax base, the two counties would have equal representation on the authority. The committee is talking about a new intergovernmental agreement between El Paso and Pueblo counties to develop the structure of the authority. Barber suggested the authority would primarily be responsible for improvements along the Fountain Creek corridor, and to a lesser degree within tributaries - almost all of which are in El Paso County. A subcommittee made up of Barber, El Paso County Commissioner Sallie Clark, Pueblo County Commissioner Jeff Chostner and Sal Pace, the unopposed Democratic candidate for House District 46, will meet on the makeup of the authority board prior to the Sept. 5 meeting... Ross Vincent, who represents the Sierra Club, questioned the heavily weighted role of government in the proposal. Vincent is concerned because Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Fountain and several sanitation districts on Fountain Creek fought a Colorado Water Quality Control Division proposal for tougher water quality standards on Fountain Creek in July. "They were saying Fountain Creek is hopelessly polluted," Vincent said. "A lot of people were angry." Vincent convinced the local chapter of the Sierra Club to continue working with the task force, saying the cities in the group should have brought up the issue in water quality committee meetings of the task force. Vincent, who wrote a letter in protest of the change of designation, only learned the issue would be before the Water Quality Control Commission about a week before a hearing... The committee again wrestled with the question of setting up an authority for Fountain Creek which would create a tax over two entire counties, even though the 932-square-mile Fountain Creek watershed covers only part of each county. The committee has, in the past, agreed there are benefits to improving Fountain Creek that benefit the vast majority of people in both counties, such as creating a recreational amenity, preventing bridges from washing out and improving water quality. Clark added that the tax base of a strictly drawn river corridor district would not generate enough money to fund any meaningful project... Dennis Maroney, stormwater director for Pueblo's Stormwater Utility, said the authority should also look at the Arkansas River downstream of the Fountain Creek confluence. In Pueblo County, sedimentation in that reach of river has already created issues for Avondale's water supply and represents an obstacle for Pueblo's sewer treatment outfall. "You look at that section of river and it's choked with sediment," Maroney said. Others on the committee said the focus has to be on Fountain Creek. "You take care of Fountain and the other problems go away," said Jay Winner, general manager of the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District, which is working on a Fountain Creek Master Plan with Colorado Springs and a water quality study with Colorado State University-Pueblo. Also, from The Pueblo Chieftain: "Funding for a study of a dam or series of dams on Fountain Creek is unlikely in this year's federal budget. U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., was successful in pushing a resolution authorizing the Army Corps of Engineers to begin studying Fountain Creek dams in May. The resolution was approved in the Senate environment and public works committee, but did not include funding." More Coyote Gulch coverage here. "colorado water" 8:31:34 AM

Supply news From The Lamar Ledger: "The city's water treatment system is about to get an overhaul. Following the completion of a master water plan last fall, the city council directed efforts to explore the revamping of several major areas of the water treatment and storage system. At Monday's council meeting, the first steps to making the overhaul a reality were taken. Water Resource Manager Doug Montgomery presented three items to the council for approval concerning the project. The master water plan, compiled by The Engineering Company (TEC) out of the front range, listed multiple items as critical needs including the tank piping, the water treatment plant and the valve house. The treating and distribution system have been in place for over 40 years said Montgomery." From The Tri-Lakes Tribune: "'If we can't solve this groundwater problem, we're going to be out of water,' said Pikes Peak Regional Water Authority Manager Gary Barber. He added, the area is in need of a solution that will involve connecting with a river, which is unfortunate given the fact Monument is about as far away from a river as any other area in Colorado." More from the article: The town is a member of the Pikes Peak Regional Water Authority, an organization created to look at conservation, efficiency and renewable water for authority members. Other members include Palmer Lake, Triview Metropolitan District, Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District, Donala Water and Sanitation District, the city of Fountain and Cherokee Metropolitan District. Together, the entities have been discussing options for attaining and storing water from a renewable source. Their efforts have given the water purveyors several possibilities. The authority has managed to create memorandums of understanding with Brush Hollow Reservoir, located northwest of Penrose, and Stonewall Springs, located east of Pueblo, for possible future storage plans, Barber said. In the authority's water infrastructure planning study, the water providers found ways to connect the northern members, Barber said. The price tag for the project is estimated at between $15 million and $21 million. A pipeline to tap the area into an undetermined future renewable water source for the area is expected to cost up to $1 billion to construct, but the authority might have options to finance the structure over a longer period than a traditional bond would allow, he said... "Monument is going to have to decide who its allies are," [Barber] said. It may be that it makes more sense for Monument to work with Fountain since Monument Creek flows into Fountain Creek and take a watershed approach to the situation than for the Town to work with one of its neighbors. For the time being, Monument's independent endeavor consists of purchasing water, something Landreth said the town is already behind in doing. The action will not only help the town obtain more water, it will also benefit the Town politically when it works to obtain a renewable water source. Here's a recap of the election to establish the La Plata Archuletta Water District, from The Pine River Times. From the article: La Plata County now has a rural water district. Eligible electors approved forming the district Tuesday with 481 yes votes to 449 no votes. This tally includes provisional votes that were determined to be valid, according to Dick Lunceford, who led the effort to bring the water district to a vote. He said 31 provisional ballots were cast, and 10 were determined to be valid. Seven of those were yes votes... Gregg Johnson won the only contested board seat with 287 votes, versus 212 for Kent Curtis. Those don't include the 10 qualified provisional ballots, Lunceford said. Other unopposed candidates for the new five-member board are Patty Dressel and Bob Beebe. The first board meeting will be Monday at 10 a.m. at 954 E. Second Ave. in Durango, the office of water engineer Steve Harris. He has been involved in efforts to create a rural water system since the Pine River Irrigation District board first started proposing it in the mid 1990s. The board faces a long agenda for its first meeting. More Coyote Gulch coverage here. "colorado water" 8:17:41 AM

Energy policy: Oil Shale Here's an update on oil shale production from The Denver Post. From the article: But a series of interviews with analysts, oil producers and local officials shows that the increasingly politicized debate hides as much as it illuminates. On one hand, there is little doubt among experts that Shell's technology represents a breakthrough. It's a fundamentally different approach from the one that guided the failed efforts of Exxon here in the 1980s, producing an unconventional hydrocarbon -- technically a form of synthetic oil -- that is higher in quality and concentration even than conventional oil. (Consider the fact that the recovery rate in Shell's experiment was 62 percent, compared with 25 percent for the average conventional oil field.) On the other hand, the technology is in such early development that there is no realistic chance it will impact oil supplies (and thus prices) for at least 15 years, according to oil-company officials and analysts, putting it on the far side of other options such as offshore drilling and plug-in hybrid cars. It's also possible the technology simply won't pan out... The furthest along among several companies exploring "in situ" extraction of oil shale, Shell concedes that it doesn't know if its model will work on a commercial scale. Although company officials have tested all the processes' various parts, they have yet to put them together in a single experiment, including the improbable-sounding combination of massive heaters with an underground ice wall to protect groundwater. The tests so far "proved to us our core technology. It didn't prove we can scale it up to a commercial level. That's Beyond that, analysts say the debate is missing a key attribute that makes the risks of mismanagement enormous: The sheer concentration of the resource is unlike just about anything else in the world. At its richest point, the shale could yield an astounding 2 million barrels of oil per acre... But it also means that one small area -- the Piceance Basin between Rifle and Meeker -- could contain one of the biggest resource-extraction projects the country has ever seen, with the potential of highly concentrated impacts on air, water and the environment. Full-scale commercial production would probably mean several new electricity plants on the Western Slope, as well as new refineries. Thousands of additional workers would reshape communities. The amount of water required by the process would shift regional supplies from supporting agriculture to supporting industry, according to a 2007 analysis by the Bureau of Land Management. "My concern is that they aren't recognizing how geographically compact the oil-shale resource is. There is this idea that there's 800 billion barrels of recoverable resource, but about half of that is in the Piceance Basin," said James Bartis, a national oil-shale expert at the Rand Corp., a California-based think tank. "This is sort of frightening, because you could really mess things up here. You get the wrong people . . . all of the sudden you're choking on the air quality in a Class 1 (pristine) area," Bartis said... But the biggest impact may be on water. Rand estimates that it would take three barrels of water to produce one barrel of shale oil. Although that's significantly less than the amount of water needed to produce a barrel of ethanol, the water would come from the relatively scarce resources of the semi-arid Western Slope, some of which also feeds the Front Range. As Shell and other companies snap up conditional water rights in the region, the Front Range Water Users Council -- a group of water boards that serves the state's major cities -- formally requested an extension of the leasing regulation moratorium, believing, according to a letter to Congress, that the "development of oil shale in Colorado could significantly affect the Council's ability to serve existing customers and the future growth projected for the Front Range of Colorado."[...] "Even though the benefits of oil shale are nationwide in terms of the impact on overall oil prices, the environmental impacts of oil shale are almost 100 percent Colorado," said Bartis, the Rand expert. But Bartis' biggest concern is that in a rush to nail down formal leasing regulations, the Bush administration is potentially giving away at fire-sale prices what may turn out to be among the biggest oil resources on the continent. Bartis said the royalty structure in the draft regulations is based partly on the experimental nature of the technology. If the Department of Interior waited until that technology was more proven -- and thus the value of a potentially lucrative resource more fixed -- the federal government could justifiably ask for a larger share in bonus payments and royalties. Here's a look at 212 Resources' process for recycling water in energy production, including hopefully oil shale, from The Deseret News. From the article: Funded to the tune of up to $250 million by GE Energy Financial Services, a Midway-based company called 212 Resources claims it can "dramatically" reduce the amount of water that a shale or sands operation will need with a technology 212 says it has already proven in commercial natural gas fields. The company's process of recycling dirty water, using a mobile "pod" at the drilling or mining site, is described by 212's Robert Waits as a "viable, large-scale solution to the 'water issue."' Any number of companies could end up using 212's technology, which Waits said was pitched recently in Alberta, home to rich supplies of oil sands. It's also being used in Wyoming's natural gas fields. "We wanted to prove ourselves in gas fields," Waits said. "We've set about doing a good job on that." Waits said one of his company's mobile pods can be built in about six months and that it requires a generator, with some emissions if the site is remote or doesn't have easy access to an electric grid. Beyond that, he added, there are no emissions from 212's "closed-loop" process of heating used water, which creates distilled water and a salty solid waste that Waits said can be injected deep underground and safely away from aquifers. Their process also produces a petroleum product that 212 turns around and sells. "We're substantially reducing anything that has to be disposed of," Waits said, noting that their methods also greatly reduce the need for water trucks, thereby reducing tailpipe emissions and airborne particulates from dust on dirt roads... "Do we have a technology that exists today that does not require a lot of water?" asked Lawson LeGate, senior regional representative of the Sierra Club's Utah chapter. He hasn't seen it, yet. Colorado-based Western Resource Advocates' Peter Rossman is waiting for science and technology to prove -- and not just in a laboratory -- that large-scale shale oil operations will not siphon the area dry or contaminate groundwater sources. More Coyote Gulch coverage here. "cc" 7:56:26 AM

Yampa River Here's a look at the Yampa River, some of its history along with comments on the whitewater rafting industry in Colorado, from The Denver Post. From the article: Of the nearly 300 miles the Yampa River travels from its origin in the Flat Tops of northwestern Colorado, the most famous by far are the final 46. There, the mature Rocky Mountain river dives deep into a 2,500-foot cut to carve a spectacular canyon through the heart of Dinosaur National Monument on the Colorado-Utah border. With wild flows rolling past sheer sandstone cliffs, stunning slickrock walls and towering hoodoo formations, the silt-laden waterway dons a new cloak of adventure and discovery that draws thousands annually. But that wasn't always the case. "colorado water" 7:43:07 AM

A beautiful rain Denver and the surrounding area experienced a beautiful two day rain this week. Click on the thumbnail to get a larger view of the 3-day precipitation map from the Urban Drainage and Flood Control District. White dots are show precipitation less than 1", yellow - 1" to 3" and red - greater than 3". Cherry Creek, the South Platte River and Clear Creek were all roiling yesterday afternoon. The new flood control project at the edge of Denver near the Franklin St. bridge was working as expected as well. Instead of the flood waters backing up from the bridge and Denver Water's pipeline there was 6-8 feet of clearance. Here's an update from The Loveland Reporter-Herald. Farmers are celebrating according to The Greeley Tribune. "colorado water" 7:36:30 AM

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