Thursday, October 5, 2006

A Creative Planning Collaborative for Sustainable Communities Colorado Rural Development Council: "A Creative Planning Collaborative for Sustainable Communities, Adam's Mark Hotel, Denver, CO, October 19-21, 2006, Register now at www.placematters.org. 9:31:30 PM     Warm water surging into Arctic Science Blog: "Scientists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks International Arctic Research Center this fall documented that recent surges of warm water from the North Atlantic Ocean continue to pulse into the Arctic Ocean and are moving toward Alaska and the Canadian Basin. "Scientists made the observations this fall during an oceanographic cruise aboard the Russian icebreaker Kapitan Dranitsyn as part of the Nansen and Amundsen Basins Observational Systems program. Information gathered by the NABOS program, as well as from other international programs, has shown that, during the last decade, the movement of warm water into the Arctic Ocean has increased. And the readings from this fall's cruise show unprecedented warmth in some areas." Category: 2008 Presidential Election 9:23:57 PM     Big Bang wonks win Nobel for physics Science Blog: "Dr. John C. Mather of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center has won the 2006 Nobel Prize for Physics, awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Mather shares the prize with George F. Smoot of the University of California for their collaborative work on understanding the Big Bang.. "Mather and Smoot analyzed data from NASA's Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE), which studied the pattern of radiation from the first few instants after the universe was formed. In 1992, the COBE team announced that they had mapped the primordial hot and cold spots in the cosmic microwave background radiation. These spots are related to the gravitational field in the early universe, only instants after the Big Bang, and are the seeds for the giant clusters of galaxies that stretch hundreds of millions of light years across the universe." 8:59:16 PM     Update on Rueter-Hess Reservoir Rueter-Hess reservoir (morphing into Super Rueter) may be online by 2010, according to the Rocky Mountain News. From the article, "An expanded Rueter-Hess Reservoir, seen as a long- term solution to Douglas County's growing water problems, could be completed by 2010. An update on the reservoir's progress was delivered Wednesday at the first annual Douglas County Water Summit, where dozens of officials came together to discuss plans for future water use. The original 16,200 acre-feet reservoir was approved to serve the needs of Parker, said Parker Water and Sanitation District board chair Mark Lewis. The expansion, which would add $80 million to the cost, would quadruple the reservoir's capacity to approximately 72,000 acre-feet and allow three additional communities - Castle Rock, Castle Pines North and Stonegate - to benefit. Parker Water hopes to have the reservoir, including the expansion, completed by 2009 and filled by 2010, Lewis said. Lewis told the crowd that construction of the original reservoir is on schedule, noting that the dam was completed last month... "Parker Water began construction on the original reservoir three miles southwest of Parker in 2004, but within a year applied for a permit to expand it. The approval of the permit, which is still under review by the Army Corps of Engineers, would come as good news to residents of Douglas County, where underground water sources are being depleted." Category: Colorado Water 6:31:29 AM     South Metro water summit Mayor Hickenlooper spoke yesterday about the water problems facing the South Metro area, according to the Denver Post. From the article, "If south metro's water supply continues to fall, the area's growth engine will stall and take the statewide economy down with it, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and other leaders said at a water summit in Douglas County on Wednesday. The group said south metro is a symbol of Colorado's prosperity, and solving the area's long- term water needs is critical to its future... "Rivals for growth and water seemed eager Wednesday to set aside squabbles and hammer out affordable regional initiatives to find renewable water to fuel the region's continued growth. Hickenlooper told the summit of more than 150 elected leaders, water managers and private citizens that south metro water issues are important to Denver. 'If Douglas County runs out of water and has to suspend building permits, and that gets into Time or Newsweek, (then) that affects the value of every home and business in our region,' Hickenlooper said. "Much of south metro pumps from ancient aquifers that are dwindling by 30 feet a year, making water increasingly expensive to pump as it runs out. Studies predict severe shortages in less than 20 years, if pumping trends continue unabated. South metro residents will see higher water bills as their utilities purchase, pump and store water. Meanwhile, the region's population is expected to double to more than 400,000 by 2040. The summit included a series of historical perspectives, motivational speeches and updates about water initiatives, all focused on building a team to tackle future water needs." Category: Colorado Water 6:20:45 AM     Jeffco: Mountain groundwater overlay district? Denver Post: "In the foothills, there's only so much water to go around. Jefferson County officials have been studying for more than three years how best to ensure not only the quantity of water in its mountainous areas but the quality of water. A proposed 'mountain groundwater overlay district' - which the county planning commission began considering Wednesday night - would require proof of sufficient well water or water storage before a building permit is issued or a rezoning is granted. The district would include land above 6,400 feet elevation and west of the Dakota Hogback, the fastest-growing area of the county and home to about 67,000 people. Mountain wells draw water from fractures in rock, a less- reliable source than aquifers on the plains... "The rezoning process would require an aquifer pump test and a hydrogeologic report - which could add thousands of dollars to the cost of building. Robert Longenbaugh, a water engineer for 45 years including in the state engineer's office, advised county staff on the proposal. Until the draft is cleaned up and good criteria are set, he said, 'these regulations are not necessarily needed for the administration of water.' Mountain residents disagree about plans for the district... "The district won't do anything to promote public health, Tonsing said, won't save or provide more water and won't promote safety or general welfare. Others argued the district is needed to help address critical water problems... "About 40 percent of Bear Mountain's 190 homes have had serious water problems, he said, including some homeowners drilling their third wells up to 1,100 feet deep. Since May, Mary and Jordan Gibbs have been traveling every two days from Indian Hills to buy 200 gallons of water at 3 cents a gallon from the Evergreen Metro District's water station in Kittredge." Category: Colorado Water 6:14:39 AM     Arctic sea ice decline EarthTimes.org: "Continually decreasing sea ice in the Arctic Ocean prompted a group of researchers yesterday to warn that this Polar region may have no sea ice by 2060. Measurements taken by satellite indicated that the sea surface area covered by ice floes was at its minimum in 29 years, a result of global melting. A team of scientists from the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) made the observation. Team leader and senior researcher at NSIDC, Mark Serreze believes the phenomenon is linked with the rapid rate of global warming. The researcher suggested it could also be the result of a self-perpetuating warming cycle. "By covering much of the northernmost ocean, sea ice works like insulation preventing the sea water from warming up. The ice reflects much of the sunlight which would otherwise heat up the sea water. Seasonal temperature changes affect the extent of sea surface covered by these ice bodies. In summers, it is usually the lowest, with the ice floes melting down to their minimum around mid-September. The thermal expansion and runoff from melting icebergs and glaciers contribute to the rising sea levels. The decline in sea ice mass would be recovered during winters, under normal circumstances. However, the entire Arctic mass of sea ice has been on a long-term decline, reaching new lows every summer." Category: 2008 Presidential Election 5:59:00 AM     Summit County wet for a change Here's a report on Summit County's hydrological year (October 2005 - September 2006) which has been one of the wettest on record, according to the Summit Daily News. From the article, "While most people celebrate the new year Jan. 1, water wonks begin their tabulations Oct. 1, based on the hydrological cycle. And for local weather watchers, the span from 2005 to 2006 ended up as one of the wettest years on record, certainly in recent memory. 'It's probably one of the all-time top ten,' said Rick Bly, who reports daily and monthly precipitation totals from his Breckenridge gauge to the National Weather Service. A skein of wet months continued in September with 2.32 inches of precipitation, 59 percent above the average 1.46 inches. Bly's stats go back more than 100 years. The 17 inches of snow that fell last month also made it the fifth-snowiest September on record, Bly said. For the year, Bly tallied 27.35 inches of precipitation (rain and melted snow), more than 25 percent above the average 20.6 inches... "The new hydrological year starts out with what is historically the driest month of the year, although there can be wild variations in snowfall in October. Average precipitation for the month is 1.25 inches, with 11.8 inches of snow. The wettest October on record was 1892, with 4.1 inches; the driest-ever in 1952 with .05 inches. October can bring significant snowfall, too. The all-time record was in 1969, with 64.5 inches. 2005 also brought above-average snowfall, with 20.5 inches, setting the tone for a snowy winter." Category: Colorado Water 5:43:21 AM

© Copyright 2006 John Orr. Last update: 12/29/06; 12:17:07 PM.