Thursday, May 25, 2006

Polar ice melting Blogger News Network: "NASA scientists, working with 10 years of satellite data, find a dramatic thinning of ice around the edges of Greenland, and Antarctica too. Using satellite technology and various measurements, NASA scientists confirm the earth is melting at both poles. In the north, at the Arctic, the melting of Greenland's three-kilometer thick ice sheet had been expected, though not as dramatically as it is now happening. But in the south, many believed the far more massive ice sheets covering Antarctica would increase in the 21st century. That's not so, according to the NASA observations and data. Despite increasing snowfall, Antarctica's ice sheets are shrinking." The article has links to a satellite photo animation showing the loss of ice at both poles (Real Media). Category: Colorado Water 6:05:18 AM     Peter Binney: Just not enough water to go around The city of Aurora is looking for a water lease for 2007, according to the Pueblo Chieftain. From the article, "Aurora most likely will attempt to put together a water lease in the Arkansas Valley for 2007, as its supplies are dwindling under prolonged drought. 'Over the next three or four weeks, we'll be looking at the options we have available,' said Aurora Utilities Director Peter Binney. Aurora owns nearly all of the Rocky Ford Ditch, part of the Colorado Canal and some shares in Twin Lakes, but has had to rely on leases or agricultural water in dry years to meet its quota from the Arkansas Valley. It also has long-term lease and trade agreements with the Pueblo Board of Water Works, and temporary storage and exchange contracts with the Bureau of Reclamation. In 2004 and 2005, Aurora leased water from the High Line Canal, which irrigates about 24,000 acres in Pueblo and Otero Counties. Aurora paid more than $8 million, while Colorado Springs paid $2.2 million in a program that yielded more than 15,000 acre-feet of water... "Under a 2003 intergovernmental agreement with the Southeastern Colorado and Upper Arkansas water conservancy districts, Aurora is limited to leasing water three years out of 10, if certain conditions are met. Binney maintains that the previous High Line lease does not count against the limit because it was finalized prior to the IGA. One condition is that Aurora's reservoir levels drop below 60 percent. Aurora now has 61 percent of its storage filled, but Binney expects that to drop to 40 percent by early next year. Aurora gets most of its water supply from storage... "Binney, who was appointed this week to the state Interbasin Compact Committee, said he was appointed to the group because of his experience with ag-to-urban leases. He said communities have to develop more cooperative arrangements to deal with water shortages. 'A lot of practices were put into place over the last 20 years,' Binney said. 'What we're seeing now is there's just not enough water to go around.'" A water official that tells the truth - rare. Category: Colorado Water 5:56:28 AM

© Copyright 2006 John Orr. Last update: 12/29/06; 11:40:50 AM.