Sunday, August 14, 2005

Animas-La Plata Construction of the dam for the Animas-La Plata project started last week, according to the Denver Post [August 13, 2005, "A-LP dam's "promise" begins to take shape"]. From the article, "Just two miles south of town Friday morning, a big truck growled and whined its way across Ridges Basin and dumped the first load of clay where a dam will rise 275 feet to hold back the waters of the future Lake Nighthorse...More than 100 invited guests attended a celebration held by the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute tribes to mark the start of construction of the A-LP's single biggest feature, the dam. It was a day decades in the making." If you've been conserving water since the recent drought started you'll be happy to hear that Denver Water is planning to raise your rates to make up for a shortfall in revenues. Here's a story from the Rocky Mountain News [August 8, 2005, "8% water-rate hike may be floated"]. From the article, "Denver Water is eyeing an 8 percent rate increase for 2006 that's designed to help the agency cope with an ongoing, drought-related drop in revenue. The utility, the state's largest municipal water provider, enacted a similar rate increase for 2005 to help offset an $11 million cash shortfall. It has also cut $14.7 million from its budget and tapped its cash reserves, according to Finance Director David LaFrance." Category: Colorado Water 10:59:22 AM     Referendums C and D Here's the link (pdf) to the endorsement of Referendums C and D by the Colorado Water Conservation District. They write, "The Board of Directors of the Colorado River Water Conservation District put its unanimous support behind two ballot measures up for voter approval this November. Referenda C and D are supported by the Board as reasonable and responsible measures to address the state's current fiscal troubles and prevent further erosion of state programs, including those affecting water management and water quality. Noting that 'water rights are only as good as their administration,' the Board expressed its concern over the more than $1 billion in state budget cuts from 2001to 2003 and the effect it has had on state agencies that administer water resources and are in charge of ensuring the quality of the water we consume. The combination of earlier voter-approved measures, state legislative actions and economic conditions has conspired to create Colorado's current budget crisis." Mt Virtus: "The luxury campaign for C & D has struck the proverbial iceberg, and the forward compartments are filling with frigid ocean water. So when do the supporters start scrambling for the lifeboats?" Category: Denver November 2005 Election 9:09:12 AM     Wringing Water From the Rocks Don't forget the next lecture in the series Wringing Water from the Rocks Tuesday night. The topic is Water Administration & Allocation with Justice Greg Hobbs of the Colorado Supreme Court and Eric Kuhn, General Manager of the Colorado River Water Conservation District. This should be a hoot for everyone involved. Coyote Gulch will be interested in using water to "extinction" and mitigation for basins where water is removed. I'm sure there will be a lot of talk about HB 1177 also known as the Colorado Water for the 21st Century Act. Category: Colorado Water 8:52:26 AM

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