Tuesday, July 4, 2006

Smarter water users Residents of the Front Range are getting smarter about water and conservation, according to the Pueblo Chieftain. From the article, "People will support water conservation if they see it as an investment, but are wary of side effects like higher water rates and increased growth, a Denver pollster reports. 'Clearly the public understands water is a finite resource that's in short supply and there should be limits on its use,' said Floyd Ciruli. "His Denver public opinion firm, Ciruli Associates, recently polled residents of Castle Rock and Douglas County on water supply and conservation issues. Coupled with another poll by Denver Water, the results show a shift in attitude from complacency in the 1990s to a flurry of statewide action following the drought of 2002. Ciruli presented the results of the polls at a conservation workshop in Pueblo last week. The Great Western Institute, the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District, Colorado WaterWise Council and Western Resource Advocates sponsored the workshop... "The poll showed: More than 60 percent of Metro area residents recognize the area is still in a drought; Two-thirds of residents have attempted some form of water conservation, while a fifth claim significant reductions in water use; While social responsibility is an important motivation for conserving water, perception of drought, the desire not to run out of water and the high cost of water are the major motivators for water conservation. "In the Douglas County and Castle Rock polls, 97 percent of respondents agreed that new developments must have adequate water. Likewise, 77 percent said lawns for new homes should be limited. In Denver, 71 percent thought there should be limits on lawns. Respondents did not want to increase rates in order to conserve, even though that was listed as one of the primary motivations for water conservation... "One example of the new way of thinking is Southeastern[base ']s 2003 agreement with Aurora, which limits exports from the Arkansas Valley to Aurora water supplies and conservation measures. Parker, in developing its 50-year water plan, factored in 20 percent more reuse (groundwater recharge) and 20 percent more conservation, Ciruli said. Reuse - creating a drinking supply from wastewater return flows - is still a tough political issue. While about half of Douglas County and Castle Rock respondents agreed that reuse should be a source of drinking water, only one-third of Denver respondents supported the idea." Category: Colorado Water 10:35:42 AM     Who's drying up this week? Everyone around Denver is talking about (and hoping for) the possible early monsoon season for eastern Colorado. Rain has been hard to come by. The last two days we've seen scattered heavy storms but nothing much in North Denver for instance. Here's a report on the current drought, from the Fort Collins Coloradoan. From the article, "The continuing hot, dry weather could bring devastated crops and financial ruin for some farmers north of Fort Collins. Farmers who rely on water from the North Poudre Irrigation Co. for their fields have been told supplies are likely to be cut off around Aug. 1 unless there's a break in the weather and rain starts to fall. The company does not appear able to meet the per-share allocation of water it projected for shareholders in spring, said operations manager Steve Smith. The unusually warm and windy spring depleted the snowpack in the mountains faster than expected and sucked moisture from the ground. The news is potentially devastating for farmers, said Dale Sipes, who works on four 160-acre farms in the Wellington area. Without water to finish the growing season, the crops are going to 'shrivel up and die,' he said... "The frustration of local farmers is compounded by the lack of water-use restrictions in the city of Fort Collins, said Jo Ann Blehm, owner of a 320-acre farm off County Road 70. The city is the largest shareholder in North Poudre. It leased water to farmers at the beginning of the irrigation season, but it appears the company will not be able to deliver it. 'There are no (watering) restrictions in Fort Collins, but some of us our going to lose our crops,' she said. Sipes said he doesn't expect to get a refund on what he spent to lease water from the city, even if it's not delivered. Mike Smith, general manager of Fort Collins Utilities, said renting shares of water always carries risk. The amount appropriated to a share depends on the availability of water. He added there is no connection between the city's water usage, which is expected to be about 28,000 acre-feet this year, and North Poudre's supply and delivery problems, he said. The city has multiple sources of water, Smith said. Even with the dry weather, the city has enough water to get through the year." Flows in the Arkansas River are holding up much better than expected, according to the Pueblo Chieftain. From the article, "River flows are dropping in the Arkansas Valley, but not as fast as anticipated. 'I really don't know where all this water's coming from,' said Tom Musgrove, Pueblo manager for the Bureau of Reclamation. Reclamation, along with the Pueblo Board of Water Works, supplements flows on the Upper Arkansas River for the rafting industry during the summer months. The river is No. 1 in the world for commercial outfitters, but does not have the natural flows to support peak rafting conditions in many years. 'I thought we'd have to start running supplemental flows by July 1, but the river's holding up,' Musgrove said. 'We got some good rains over the weekend.' The flow program is expected to kick in by the end of this week, he said. Rainfall is all that will keep the river going the rest of the year, as nearly all of the snowpack in the high country has melted.. "A global La Nina weather pattern earlier this year sent rain and snow north of Southern Colorado, but it has broken. Forecasters are predicting average rainfall and warmer temperatures for the rest of the year. Still, the entire Arkansas River basin is in severe to extreme drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, an interagency weather-tracking system. The region is still suffering from five years of below-average moisture, with many areas under fire bans and some water restrictions in place... "So far, 57,000 acre-feet of a projected 59,600 acre-feet of water has been brought over from the Hunter-Fryingpan collection system above Aspen through the Boustead Tunnel into Turquoise Lake. That means Reclamation will be able to meet all Fryingpan-Arkansas allocations for the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District Ñ about 44,000 acre-feet. There will be no second allocation this year, Musgrove said." Category: Colorado Water 10:28:04 AM

© Copyright 2006 John Orr. Last update: 12/29/06; 11:54:37 AM.