Thursday, August 10, 2006

Green streets Water News Weekly: "Imagine a flowerpot filled with marbles glued together. Pour water over the top, and watch the water trickle through to the bottom. "That's how the streets in a new development in South Salem will work to eliminate stormwater runoff. "The 'green streets' are just another part of the environmentally conscious Pringle Creek Community development, where 180 homes are planned on a 32-acre property. Only 10 percent of the normal runoff from roofs, sidewalks and patios will make it to Pringle Creek. "The development's streets will be soaking up water instead of moving it away. "'Ninety percent of the rainwater that falls on Pringle Creek Community will be returned to the aquifer,' said developer Don Myers of Sustainable Development Inc. 'This is a wonderful way to manage rainwater.' "The key to green streets runs contrary to typical road building, in which the goal is to push water away from the road quickly. The traditional surface is slick to repel water, curbs direct the water along edges of streets and deep gutters capture it just before it is dumped in a waterway. "'All rainwater hits the road, runs to the curb and goes somewhere,' said Chuck Gregory of W & H Pacific, which created the asphalt mix. 'As long as the water is not in the street or the driveway, people don't care where it goes.' "Green streets are narrower to eliminate unnecessary pavement. The porous asphalt soaks in the rain, where it drains to the soil below. Large swaths of land -- called bioswales -- next to the roads will be planted with grasses, bushes and mosses that absorb water and filter contaminants, such as oil that leaks from cars." Category: Colorado Water 7:22:12 PM     Making news with new analysis of ocean-floor sediments Science Blog: "For the second time in as many months, the IODP Arctic Coring Expedition (ACEX) is making news with new analysis of ocean-floor sediments. In the Aug. 10 issue of Nature, an article authored by several of the expedition scientists summarizes their findings: more evidence that the Arctic was extremely warm, unusually wet, and ice-free up to the time the last massive amounts of greenhouse gases were released into the Earth's atmosphere - a period calculated to have occurred 55 million years ago, and known as the Paleocene/Eocene thermal maximum, or PETM. "Researchers have long recognized that a massive release of greenhouse gases, probably carbon dioxide or methane, occurred during the PETM. Surface temperatures also rose in many places by as much as 15 degrees Fahrenheit in the (relative) geological instant of about 100,000 years. "Arctic sediment samples were largely unavailable until 2004, when ACEX scientists recovered the first deep-ocean sediment samples from beneath the ice-laden waters near the North Pole. ACEX, only the second scientific expedition to be conducted by the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (established in late 2003), recovered 339 meters of subseafloor sediment samples." Meanwhile another Science Blog report is hoping that ocean sediment can be used for storing carbon dioxide. From the article, "Deep-sea sediments could provide a virtually unlimited and permanent reservoir for carbon dioxide, the gas that has been a primary driver of global climate change in recent decades, according to a team of scientists that includes a professor from MIT. The researchers estimate that seafloor sediments within U.S. territory are vast enough to store the nation's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for thousands of years to come." Category: 2008 Presidential Election 7:16:04 PM     Blue River Pumpback The Blue River pumpback project is heating up, according to the Summit Daily News. From the article, "Blue River pumpback negotiations intensified Tuesday, as local lodge owner Tom Gleason suggested that the Summit County commissioners are delaying approval for the project at the expense of residents and businesses who can't hook up to sewer facilities unless the project goes forward. Several other locals also spoke in favor of the $10 million project at a public hearing, touting the potential benefits of the pumpback, which would carry Blue River water from Farmer's Korner back up to Breckenridge... "At issue is county approval for the sanitation district's plan to build a roadside pipeline from the Farmer's Korner water treatment plan and pump up to 17 cfs of water back upstream. The pumpback could boost flows during the winter, when parts of the river dry up completely, especially during snowmaking season. Water from the project could also help the sanitation district meet strict water quality standards. The county and the sanitation district agree that the project offers significant public benefits during the winter. But they have been unable to finalize an agreement that would govern summer operations, when upstream users could potentially divert the water. The county wants to maintain its review authority for summer operations under its 1041 powers, established by state statute to regulate areas of state interest. The 'unintended consequences' of the pumpback could include harm to downstream water users in the Lower Blue, for example. A pending application by Colorado Springs (which diverts from the headwaters of the Blue River) shows there is a risk that other parties could take advantage of the increased flows from the pumpback, with potential impacts to downstream users, said Barney White, the county's water attorney... "Under the proposal, as outlined by White, the district would 'agree without qualifications' that the county has jurisdiction over future uses of the pumpback as they relate to water supply purposes. Use of the pumpback water for water quality purposes (the sanitation district will eventually need the water to meet Clean Water Act limits) would be set aside as a separate issue, with neither side conceding on the issue of jurisdiction. Riordan said that could be an acceptable compromise, but said the definition of 'water supply' usage would have to be clearly defined. The district board will also discuss the possible solution at its next board meeting." Category: Colorado Water 5:43:50 AM     Fishing for a native-stocked river Here's an article about the program for endangered fish species in the Yampa River from the Craig Daily Press. From the article, "During the past three years of shocking fish to remove nonnative species from the Yampa River, only two of the endangered Colorado pikeminnow have been spotted upriver from Craig, said Sam Finney with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The goal of many of the speakers at Monday's community update held by the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program is to see that number increase. Established in 1988, the recovery program is attempting to replenish the upper Colorado River basin, including the Yampa River, with humpback chub, bonytail, Colorado pikeminnow and razorback sucker. The area from Craig to the Dinosaur National Monument is considered critical habitat for the recovery of the four species of fish, once found in abundance in the Colorado, Yampa and Green rivers... "In the past three years, 4,000 pike have been removed from the river and relocated, Nelson said. About the same number of bass has also been taken out of the Yampa River. Pike are being relocated to the pond at Loudy-Simpson Park, and bass were being taken to Elkhead Reservoir until the failure of the outlet screen in spring 2006... "Nelson said that there are 43 species of nonnative fish in the upper basin of the Colorado River, and the plans are to only remove bass and pike at this point. While the recovery program has them stocking squawfish in the Colorado, they have not yet stocked the Yampa with the endangered species. The process of removing pike from the Yampa River seems to be working, Nelson said. In 2004, Fish and Wildlife staff were finding 13 pike per mile, compared to eight pike per mile this year. The target goal is to reach three pike per mile, Nelson said." Category: Colorado Water 5:36:01 AM

© Copyright 2006 John Orr. Last update: 12/29/06; 12:02:51 PM.