Winter snowpack is looking good, according to the Denver Post [December 2, 2005, "North packing in the snow"]. From the article, "Early snowpack measurements show Colorado overall is at 84 percent of normal, with the northern half of the state blessed with snow and the southern half seeking more. Southwest Colorado, which gloried in snow last year after years of drought, came in Thursday as the state's driest area, with the Upper Rio Grande basin at 23 percent of average and the San Miguel-Dolores-Animas- San Juan basin at 28 percent. The Upper Colorado River basin, home to many of the state's ski resorts, recorded a whopping 123 percent of the 30-year average. The South Platte basin, which provides roughly half of Denver Water's supply, was at a healthy 118 percent."
Here's a short article about Castle Rock's plans for a sustainable water supply from today's Denver Post [December 2, 2005, "Castle Rock to unveil water plan"]. In a nutshell, raise fees and join Parker building Rueter-Hess reservoir.
The Pueblo Chieftain is reporting on two new appointees to the roundtable for the Arkansas River Basin. The roundtables are the result of HB 1177 passed earlier this year. From the article, "Two veteran water professionals were chosen Thursday to represent the Arkansas River Basin on a statewide committee looking at issues connected with moving water from one basin to another. Alan Hamel, Pueblo Board of Water Works Executive Director, and Jeris Danielson, a consultant and a former state engineer, were elected by the Arkansas Basin Roundtable to serve on the state Interbasin Compact Committee...'The reason we're here is that giant sucking chest wound we call Denver,' Danielson said. 'As a state, we need to come together to talk about how we develop the only water we have left: the Western Slope.'"
Montrose Daily Press: "...Klaus Wolter, a climatologist at the University of Colorado, said a shift in the Pacific Ocean's tropical waters could bring drought conditions back to southern Colorado and northern New Mexico. When the water warms, called an El Nino because it appears near Christmas, generally storms move south, hitting the southern Rockies. When the water cools, called a La Nina, storms generally hit the northern Rocky Mountain region. Wolter said he started seeing a shift back to a La Nina weather pattern earlier this summer. The region saw El Nino weather from 1997 to 1999 and a La Nina from 1998 to 2000 and an El Nino trend over the last few years."
Here are some details about the new Colorado Springs storm water authority from the Colorado Springs Independent. They write, "It took crumbling concrete drains, snapping sewage pipes and possibly the death of two boys this summer to convince City Council last week to approve a solution to the city's woeful flood control system. Next fall, residents, businesses, government buildings and churches will start paying for more than $300 million in storm system repairs through a fee that will generate around $21 million a year. The average household will pay an estimated $7.50 a month. The measure passed by a 7 to 2 vote. Several Council members rejected the idea that the fee, which will be calculated based on the number of square feet of impermeable surface on a property, constitutes a tax."
Category: Colorado Water
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