| |
|
Saturday, October 11, 2008
|
|
Here's Part I and Part II of The Pagosa Daily Post's series "The Problem with a Ten Year Lease."
From the article:
The Council and the audience were in basic agreement on one point: that the Town's geothermal water rights -- 450 GPM to be used for "municipal use associated with geothermal heating" -- could be a potent source of economic well-being in the Town's future. The Council, as a whole, seemed to feel confident that the Springs Resort can single-handedly provide that economic benefit. The audience, as a whole, seemed to feel that a long-term lease of 400 GPM to a single business entity -- out of a total water right of 450 GPM -- was imprudent.
More coverage from The Pagosa Sun:
Addressing the Pagosa Springs Town Council Tuesday night, Marsha Preuit, representing the Spa Motel, echoed a sentiment shared by several members of the audience who also stood up before council: "Proceed with caution." The matter of discussion -- and some contention -- was the proposed lease of geothermal water, effluent from the town geothermal system, to the Springs Resort. With details of the draft lease agreement presented at the meeting, citizens speaking before the board voiced concerns regarding the amount of water at stake, the length of time, and what the town would be charging for the water. Although not a 50-year lease (which would violate the Town Charter), the draft agreement offers multiple 10-year leases to the Springs Resort as well as stipulations for lease renewals. The agreement would give the Springs Resort 400 gallons per minute (GPM) after the water's use in the town system.
Former town manager Mark Garcia, speaking before the board for the first time since resigning his post in late-April, said that considering the current energy crisis and with the emphasis on the development of alternative energy technologies, "I think it's premature to estimate a value on geothermal resources."[...]
One issue not raised in council was a missing section of the agreement dealing with new technologies. Previous drafts of the agreement allowed the town to renegotiate the lease should new energy technologies develop and, therefore, change the town's approach to geothermal water usage. According to town sanitation and geothermal water supervisor Phil Starks, "Nobody really knows why, but somehow that got changed." Starks did say, however, that the technology stipulation would be added back into future drafts of the agreement.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
"colorado water"
7:49:22 AM 
|
|
Climate change was the theme at the third day of the "Governors Conference on Drought Management and Climate Risk" according to The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:
Scientists can say with certainty that droughts will occur. Where, when and for how long are still questions no one can answer. In Colorado, where specific studies are few, climate change could make the effects of those droughts worse because of higher temperatures, even as seasonal changes increase overall demand for water. "A lot of studies for Colorado have not been done," said Joseph Barsugli, a University of Colorado researcher who helped draft a state report on climate change presented at a drought conference this week. "With climate change, you can't assume the past will be a guide." In pulling together the report, the authors looked at what is happening on a global scale and applied what is known about the Western United States to Colorado...
The most striking fact about Colorado is an increase in temperature of 2 degrees Fahrenheit in the past 30 years. Scientists aren't sure whether the increase is directly connected to the 1-degree increase in the American West attributed to man-made emissions of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide. The effects of global warming on Colorado are expressed as ranges in the report because the impacts are uncertain, said Susan Solomon, senior scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. She is a team leader for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore in 2007. "Colorado is not one of the places we can be confident of the impacts," Solomon said. Places like Southern Africa and the Mediterranean will definitely see severely warmer and drier weather, but Colorado may not even follow the general trends of the Western United States, she explained...
The IPCC attributes most global warming to human activities and the United States has been the worst offender when it comes to carbon dioxide emissions, Solomon said. As other nations develop, they could contribute more, but Solomon tries not to be pessimistic because of the experience with the ozone hole over Antarctica in the 1980s. She helped develop the research that linked the problem to fluorocarbons produced by aerosols. Within a decade after the problem was acknowledged, the use of fluorocarbons worldwide was reduced to an acceptable level after their use was prohibited by international treaty in 1987.
Similar action could change human actions that are contributing to global warming, which she showed has exceeded historic bounds going back 10,000 years. Some of the problems may not show up within the lifetimes of many alive today. "I'm concerned about the legacy," Solomon said. "This generation is making decisions that will change the geography of the planet. We have to make the decision about whether we want that to happen."
There is a smaller historic record to consider in Colorado when looking at the weather and the climate. Human records go back only to 1871, with reliable records for outlying areas dating back to the late 1880s, when Colorado formed a weather service - merged into the National Weather Service that formed soon after, said Nolan Doesken, state climatologist. "So, after 120 years, what do we know? We live at a high elevation in the mid-latitudes, which makes the weather dry, and wild," Doesken said. "There's lots of sunshine and low humidity, which makes people want to live here, but also leads to drought."
More coverage of the conference, from The Pueblo Chieftain:
The influx of millions of people into Colorado over the next 40 years will have more of an impact on demand for municipal water than changes brought on by a longer growing season. That's the conclusion reached by Gordon McCurry, senior scientist for CDM engineering. McCurry is working on a study for the Interbasin Compact Committee and statewide roundtables looking at how climate change will affect both municipal and agricultural demand. The preliminary results for municipal demand were shared Friday at a conference looking at drought and climate change. "Climate change models have a lot of uncertainty," McCurry said. "We don't have it nailed down yet." One of the most solid predictions, however, is the likelihood of a longer growing season in the future. That will have some consequences for cities, if use of bluegrass at current levels continues.
McCurry's study found about a 40,000 acre-foot increase in water demand statewide just from the earlier spring and higher temperatures expected by the year 2050. That pales in comparison to more than 630,000 acre-feet that will be needed to supply an additional 2.8 million people by the year 2030, according to the Statewide Water Supply Initiative. "It suggests to me that population growth will have a stronger influence than climate change on water demand," McCurry said.
Climate change could, however, reduce water availability, although there are no clear trends on the total amount of precipitation Colorado can expect in the future. McCurry's study also did not take into account the impact of conservation or changes in urban landscape patterns on demand for water. It showed the amount of water used - called evapotranspiration - by bluegrass already in place would increase by about 9 percent by 2050. McCurry said the use of water by alfalfa currently planted would increase by 20 percent over that time, with more growing days and higher temperatures averaging 2-5 degrees higher than currently seen...
A big concern has been the Colorado River basin, which has seen its driest decade since a seven-state compact was signed in 1922. Although the states worked out a plan to share shortages and surpluses last year - primarily by allocating water between Lake Mead and Lake Powell - the agreement runs through 2025. After that, if conditions change, Colorado River users in Colorado might face a call from downstream states, said Ted Kowalski, program manager for the CWCB. That could mean less water for transmountain diversions that provide water to most major cities on the Front Range...
In Colorado, the time is now to begin looking at how a possible shortfall would be managed, Kowalski said. The Southwest and Colorado River conservation districts are looking at a water banking agreement that would connect willing buyers and sellers within Colorado, for instance...
Zeke Williams, a lawyer who specializes in environmental law, said climate change could also have an impact on National Environmental Policy Act decisions. NEPA is a process that provides for disclosure of impacts of projects that have a federal role. It has become a powerful tool not because of any regulatory powers, but because it forces issues to be considered, Williams said. "It makes you look before you leap," Williams said. Already, climate change has been a factor in several court challenges to NEPA decisions, including cases involving coal mining and automobile fuel efficiency ratings. Williams said there would almost certainly be more cases in the future.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
"colorado water"
6:57:10 AM
|
|
|
© Copyright 2009 John Orr.
Last update: 3/15/09; 2:42:36 PM.
|
|
|
