Friday, December 16, 2005

Southern Delivery System Here's an editorial from the Pueblo Chieftain on the subject of moving Colorado Springs' lawsuit over the Southern Delivery System to Pueblo County. They write, "That suit was an obvious pre-emptive move on the part of Colorado Springs, which wants to build a giant water pipeline from Pueblo Reservoir north 43 miles to Colorado Springs. Pueblo County commissioners, in an effort to make sure residents here are protected, updated this county's 1041 land-use regulations, so called for the number of the bill which created county authority for such protections statewide... "Digging up land for the pipeline would be only part of the damages of the Southern Delivery System, however. Resulting huge increases in return flows down Fountain Creek, plus increased stormwater runoff, would portend even more environmental and property damages as the Fountain flows through Pueblo County." Category: Colorado Water 6:09:30 AM     Fountain Creek and growth Growth is providing uncertainty for planning solutions on Fountain Creek, according to the Pueblo Chieftain. They write, "El Paso County growth is making it more difficult to solve problems on Fountain Creek and it will take more cooperation to make a breakthrough, those at a forum on Thursday agreed...The group invited Colorado Springs Utilities representatives to share their viewpoint of problems on Fountain Creek that have resulted in two lawsuits and potential difficulties for the proposed Southern Delivery System in recent months. Colorado Springs also is forming a stormwater enterprise and raising its sewer rates 19 percent next year to deal with problems... "Bill Alt, a Pueblo County landowner on Fountain Creek, advocated building more detention ponds along the creek to reduce flows...Detention ponds, drop structures to slow flows and better planning will be part of the stormwater utility, McCormick said. He could not give specifics, but said other city officials would be able to provide more specific information. Chief Executive Officer Jerry Forte is scheduled to speak to the group next month." Category: Colorado Water 6:01:44 AM     Colorado River Water Users Association Annual Meeting Here's a short report from Las Vegas and the Colorado River Water Users Association annual meeting via the Rocky Mountain News ["December 16, 2005, "Inaction vexes water expert"]. From the article, "Western water providers, long isolated from thorny growth debates, must manage water and population pressure together or face voter initiatives that seek to regulate both, a prominent Arizona water official said Thursday...new rain and snowfall models show the river's supplies becoming increasingly strained by population growth. Already some 25 million people in the West rely on the Colorado River. But new streamflow studies indicate the river doesn't generate as much water as was once thought. Reservoirs such as Lake Mead and Lake Powell, built to store and manage the scarce resource, are likely to drop more each year because of the demands of a growing population, even if the current drought ends." Here's another story about the annual meeting from the Salt Lake City Tribune. They write, "Supply and demand are becoming increasingly out of whack where the Colorado River is concerned. Cities such as Phoenix and Las Vegas continue to expand at a mind-boggling rate, adding thousands of new residents every month. But the amount of water the river delivers in a given year - around 15 million acre-feet - remains unchanging and finite. Given that growing discrepancy, some are now calling for a new paradigm in approaching growth issues in the region. Essentially, an attorney and a law professor told the Colorado River Water Users Association conference on Thursday, that the time may have arrived to label these and other Western boomtowns 'mature communities' that need stabilization and enhancement - as opposed to continued immigration from the outside. " Category: Colorado Water 5:46:18 AM

© Copyright 2008 John Orr. Last update: 9/5/08; 4:37:29 PM.