Saturday, January 21, 2006

Great Outdoors Colorado funding for whitewater parks Great Outdoors Colorado is seeking public input to draft rules for funding whitewater parks, according to The Mountain Mail. From the article, "Board members of lottery-funded Great Outdoors Colorado are seeking public comment on conditions it has drafted regarding funding for whitewater parks. "The constitutional amendment creating GOCO in 1992, Article XXVII of the Colorado Constitution, states GOCO cannot effect Colorado water law, but provides no specific guidelines regarding whitewater parks. Therefore, GOCO board members agreed this form of outdoor recreation is eligible to receive GOCO Lottery grants. To date, GOCO officials have received requests to fund 15 such projects and have awarded grants in Lyons, Pueblo, Palisade, Salida and Buena Vista. Conditions have been drafted by GOCO members to eliminate confusion related to the stage the project must be in to receive a grant. Board members suggest proper park design and engineering have to be presented in an application to be awarded a grant. However, the grant will not be paid until all appropriate permits for the park are in place... "Proposed conditions, detailed here, are consistent with those for all local government projects and are not more stringent for whitewater parks: Applicants must be able to indicate strong local partnerships with the local government and the local community; Applicants must be able to demonstrate the water park will have sufficient water for public use of the park to be sustained for at least 25 years, demonstrating how the facility can be used in various water flow situations; Applicants should provide evidence of proper park design and engineering as part of the application. Before release of funds, all design and engineering drawings should be stamped and approved by a certified engineer, consistent with state requirements; If funding is awarded, all appropriate permits should be in place and documentation of such permits should be provided before GOCO funds are released... "Public comments will be accepted until Jan. 30 via fax at (303) 863-7517, e-mail at wpiccone@goco.org or regular mail at 1600 Broadway, Suite 1650, Denver, CO 80202. Comments will be considered at a GOCO local government committee meeting at 10 a.m. Feb. 16 at 1600 Broadway, Suite 590 in Denver." Category: Colorado Water 8:49:36 AM     Rotational Crop Management Bill - HB1124 Here's an article from the Fort Morgan Times dealing with HB1124 - The Rotational Crop Management Bill. They write, "A Brighton legislator says she is trying to prevent the permanent dry-up of irrigated farmland with her bill before the Colorado Legislature that would allow farmers to lease or sell water they save by fallowing land or rotating crops. "'What is happening now is if a city wants to buy up the water from a farmer, they buy it all, including the land,' said Democrat Rep. Mary Hodge. 'That drives people out of the community, takes the kids out of school and closes the John Deere dealerships...' "Hodge said her proposal has more permanence than substitute water supply plans, which allow loans of water from farms to cities for any three years out of 10... "Under the bill, a crop rotation management would be administered for three years by the state engineer's office before it would have to be approved by the water court... "The Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, which covers all of the South Platte River valley to the Nebraska border, supports Hodge's bill, but with stronger incentives for entering into crop rotation management contracts. "NCWCD lobbyist Julie McKenna said she would like the bill amended to allow five-year agreements before getting a final decree in water court." Category: Colorado Water 8:37:05 AM     Reservoir levels on the Arkansas River Here's an article from the Pueblo Chieftain with details about the Arkansas River snowpack and reservoir levels. They write, "Reservoir levels as of this week in the Arkansas River Basin. The numbers for the four largest reservoirs are listed, while the total number includes numerous smaller reservoirs. Reservoir: John Martin Reservoir - 7%; Lake Pueblo - 49%; Twin Lakes - 77%; Turquoise Lake - 66%; Total - 47.6%." Category: Colorado Water 8:21:38 AM

© Copyright 2006 John Orr. Last update: 12/29/06; 11:01:38 AM.