Colorado Water
The City of Aurora has decided to impose watering restrictions starting May 1st, according to the Denver Post [April 13, 2004, "Aurora adopts watering limits that start May 1"]. Next up, Denver. Denver Water meets today to discuss restrictions.
Here's a story from the Rocky Mountain News about the effect of the recent moisture [April 14, 2004, "Rain, snowstorms fall short"]. From the article, "After weekend snowstorms dumped more than 18 inches of snow in the foothills, the statewide snowpack jumped to 76 percent of average, compared with the 65 percent mark registered April 1. Mountain snowpacks are tracked closely in Colorado because they provide about 80 percent of the state's annual supplies of fresh water. The recent snowstorms could boost runoff forecasts - critical indicators of new water - by 5 percent to 10 percent, according to Mike Gillespie, snow survey supervisor for the Natural Resource Conservation Service.But mountain snows have registered below average for seven consecutive winters, Gillespie said."
"The Colorado River was designated Tuesday as the nation's Most Endangered River for 2004 by American Rivers, a Washington, D.C., conservation group," according to an article from the Rocky [April 14, 2004, "Colorado River labeled most endangered in U.S."]. From the article, "One of the chief concerns is the Atlas Uranium Mill located on the banks of the Colorado River near Moab that leaks 60,000 gallons of radioactive waste into the groundwater, which in turn seeps into the river daily, according to American Rivers. Problems downstream include human waste reaching the river from towns in California and Arizona where people use septic tanks that overflow, allowing nitrates to seep into the ground water and into the river. In Henderson, Nev., the toxic chemical ammonium perchlorate is getting into the river from a former military facility, the group said."
6:37:25 AM 
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