Tuesday, February 27, 2007

La Nina may soon arrive NOAA: "On the heels of El Niño, its opposite, La Niña may soon arrive." More Coyote Gulch coverage here. Category: Colorado Water 5:52:03 PM     Water shortage on the Colorado in 5 years? Scientists are predicting water shortages earlier on the Colorado River, according to Arizona Central. From the article, "Scientists and public officials fear water from the Colorado River will run short more quickly than previously predicted because of booming population growth and drought. There's a 10 percent chance of shortages in four to five years, and a 25 percent chance the river will run short between 2020 and 2025, according to two prominent water officials in Arizona. 'I have no doubt that within the next five to 10 years, we will be in a shortage,' said David Modeer, Tucson Water's director and a member of the three-county board that manages the Central Arizona Project, which diverts water from the Colorado River to Arizona... "Originally, scientists who conducted a 1995 federal study predicted states would lose no more than 3 percent of their river supplies even in the worst drought year. Instead, in the time since the study, Lake Powell and Lake Mead carried less water than had been predicted for the worst possible drought, users took more water than expected, and the river's flow was weaker than expected. Ben Harding, an engineer and one of the authors of the 1995 study, said the Colorado River's woes are a "system drought," caused by the huge scale of the Colorado's reservoir system that 25 million people rely on for water, and by population growth that has come to rely on it." Category: Colorado Water 6:11:32 AM     Whitewater Courses and Parks 2007: Catch the New Wave WetDawg: "The second international conference on the development of engineered whitewater courses, Whitewater Courses and Parks 2007: Catch the New Wave, will convene April 18-20, 2007 at Wisp Resort in McHenry, MD. Hosted by the Paddlesports Industry Association and The Shimoda Group along with Adventure Sports Center International (ASCI) and Frostburg State University, the conference promotes professional development and networking for individuals involved in the field of recreational whitewater courses." Category: Colorado Water 6:04:55 AM     HB 1036 HB 07-1036 [pdf]: Concerning Restrictions on the Ability of Governmental Bodies to Acquire Specified Water Rights through the Exercise of the Power of Eminent Domain is the subject of this article from the Telluride Watch. From the article, "With a little help from Western Slope Democrats, a northeastern Colorado Republican lawmaker is advancing his bill to prohibit government entities from using their power of eminent domain to condemn water rights. The House voted 33-30 Friday to give preliminary approval to House Bill 1036, sponsored by Rep. Jerry Sonnenberg of Sterling. He said the two missing members -- including Rep. Bernie Buescher, D-Grand Junction -- are expected to support the bill when a final House vote is taken this week... "The measure is strongly opposed by the Denver Water Board and the Colorado Municipal League, whose lobbyists contend the power of municipalities to obtain water rights through condemnation is protected by the state constitution. 'A vote for this bill is a vote for violating the constitution,' said Rep. Randy Fisher, D-Fort Collins, who noted the bill also is opposed by the Colorado Water Congress. 'Eminent domain is seen as a safety net for unforeseen circumstances. This bill leaves (government entities) with no flexibility.' Sonnenberg countered that the constitution's reference to the use of eminent domain was related to the infrastructure needed to convey water, such as ditches and drainages. 'It doesn't say anything about the water right itself,' he said. 'When that was challenged by home rule cities, the court said you can't have water works without water rights so they can condemn for water rights. It was an expansion by the judiciary of what the constitutional says.' Sonnenberg then amended his bill to state specifically that 'water works shall not be construed to include appropriated water rights.'[...] "Telluride's representative in the House, Republican Ray Rose of Montrose, also supported the bill. 'We're not talking about a gallon of water out of the Colorado River but very broad condemnation rights that could supersede such things as the (Colorado) River Compact,' Rose said. 'If we allow this to happen, it will be a free-for-all for water in Colorado.' Rep. Al White, R-Winter Park, said Colorado needed to be proactive to head off future water wars. 'I can envision a time in 20 years when the terms of fallowing and leasing contracts are over and a farmer says, 'I want my water back,' White said. 'That's when the municipality will come in with condemnation.' [State Representative Kathleen] Curry reacted strongly when Fisher claimed that 'powerful interests on the Eastern Slope are going to get that water one way or another.' 'If that is true and that is their attitude, that reinforces the need for this bill,' Curry said. 'Governments have other options. They don't have to take water rights in a hostile action.'" Category: Colorado Water 5:56:54 AM     Energy policy: Oil shale development Western Slope officials are trying to estimate the impact of large scale oil shale operations on the water supply, according to the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. From the article, "If private companies are pulling commercial-grade petroleum from Colorado, they might have to do it using more water than the Western Slope population now uses, one interpretation of data suggests. The Colorado River Basin Roundtable is trying to get a handle on the amount of water that could be needed for development of oil shale deposits in Colorado, the richest of which lie between the Colorado and Green rivers in the northwest corner of the state. A federal official has said that production of oil shale could begin by 2015 and at the most ambitious of estimates, could be pumping out 2.5 million barrels of petroleum a day by 2035. Based on Rand Corp. estimates that 100,000 barrels of oil a year require 23,500 acre-feet of water, oil shale could demand 365,000 acre-feet of water a year. That poses the question of whether Colorado has enough water to develop its oil shale reserves, said John Redifer, chairman of the Colorado Water Conservation Board, who lamented the uncertainty of any figures surrounding water use by oil shale." Category: Colorado Water 5:43:21 AM

© Copyright 2007 John Orr. Last update: 3/1/07; 6:57:35 AM.