 Colorado Water
Here's a story from the Denver Post about how volunteers are trained to observe and track rainfall [July 6, 20004, "Tracking precious moisture Program enlists citizen observers to tally rain, snow"]. Here's the link if you want to volunteer.
Lake Powell has been saving Colorado by delivering enough water to satisfy downriver calls from Utah, Nevada, California, and Arizona. The reservoir may go dry by 2009 and it's already low enough to effect the delivery of hydroelectric power, according to the Denver Post [July 5, 2004, "Drought draining power"]. From the article, "If Glen Canyon Dam's output is cut completely, '(our) power could be priced out of the market,' warned WAPA's Brad Warren. And still Lake Powell continues to fall. Last winter's meager snows were expected to yield only half the average runoff to the Colorado River, continuing a trend that started with the onset of drought in 2000. Powell is so low that federal hydrologists estimate there is a 20 percent chance that drought could eliminate hydropower within five years. A repeat of the disastrous 2002 drought year - or even two more marginally better years like 2004 - could interrupt electric generation even sooner...Some environmental groups, such as Living Rivers of Salt Lake City, believe a more cost- effective way to recover the four endangered fish is to decommission the Glen Canyon Dam once drought drains the lake behind it. They believe the region has entered a drier climate regime that was much more common in the past. Owen Lammers, the group's executive director, chafes at the description of dam's hydropower as clean, cheap energy. 'That ignores the tremendous impact the dam has had on Grand Canyon and Glen Canyon,' Lammers said. Lammers said it is likely that Lake Powell will take many years to refill - if it refills at all. That will reduce electric revenues in perpetuity and put pressure on federal officials to divert money from projects meant to repair the damage caused by plugging up the river."
Anyone for a float through Glen Canyon in 2010? Hite will rise again! 
Groundwater is also an issue here in Colorado. Here's an article from the Cortez Journal about a recent EPA decision on frac'ing wells that produce methane gas.
Aurora is looking to double it's water supply by novel means. Under Colorado water law, water transferred from one basin of origin to another, can be used to extinction, according to the Rocky Mountain News [July 5, 2004, "Aurora to double water supply"].
6:05:03 PM 
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