Thursday, March 8, 2007

Barr Lake Milton Reservoir watershed plan Here's an article about Barr Lake and the recently completed plan for it's management released by the Barr Lake and Milton Reservoir Watershed Association from the Brighton Standard Blade. From the article, "An organization with vested interest in the quality of water in these reservoirs, however, hopes it can spark change. The group's latest brainchild, its members hope, will be the roadmap to reaching a higher level of water quality in the watershed. The Barr/Milton watershed begins at Chatfield Reservoir and covers most of the Denver metropolitan area and portions of six counties, stretching north and east over 850 square miles. Water quality problems include high nutrients, excessive algae growth, and high pH. Quality of water is poor enough that the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment included both Barr Lake and Milton Reservoir on the state's list of impaired waters in 2004. That is of concern to many water users in the area, especially as water in Barr Lake and Milton Reservoir is used more and more for drinking and domestic purposes... "Annual algae blooms in July are the greatest problems from high nutrient levels in Barr Lake, said Scott Roush, park manager for Barr Lake State Park since April 2006. Nitrogen and phosphorus -- from fertilizers applied to crops, farm animals, wastewater treatment plants and urban runoff -- spur overgrowth of algae, which prevents sunlight from entering the water and can cause fish kills to occur... "The current watershed plan and more information about the group can be found at www.barr-milton.org. The plan will receive updates from year-to-year and comments are still being accepted. They should be sent to Wood at 303-404-2944 ext. 13." More Coyote Gulch coverage here. Category: Colorado Water 7:08:22 AM     Black Gore Creek meeting From the Vail Daily News (free registration required), "The Black Gore Creek Steering Committee will meet Friday from 9:30 a.m. to noon at the Eagle County Health Service District Building in Edwards to receive public comments on a proposed plan for keep sand and other sediment of Black Gore Creek on Vail Pass...For more information or to RSVP to the meeting, contact Maria Pastore at 827-5406 or Pastore@EagleRiverWatershedCouncil.org." Category: Colorado Water 6:55:51 AM     Draft Drought plan for Colorado River The Colorado River Drought Plan is available for public review, according to the Deseret News. From the article, "Six years of drought have dropped the Colorado River reservoirs of Lake Mead and Lake Powell to their lowest level in nearly 100 years of recorded history, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. A plan that would help the federal agency coordinate water delivery during such extreme shortages at the two reservoirs is now ready for public review. The draft environmental-impact statement poses four possible action alternatives, plus a no-action choice. Bureau staff, five federal agencies, water-rights stakeholders, environmental organizations and other interested parties assisted in drafting the plan... "The primary purpose of developing the drought guidelines is to improve management of the Colorado River by considering trade-offs between frequency and magnitude of any reductions in water supply. The plan developers also wanted to consider the effects of water storage in the two reservoirs on supply, power production, recreation and other environmental resources. And the planners aimed to provide the Lower Division states a greater degree of predictability when it comes to water delivery during a drought, as well as additional methods of storage and delivery of the water supplies in Lake Mead. Copies of the Draft EIS are available at the Bureau of Reclamation's Web Site at usbr.gov/lc/region/programs/strategies.html. [ed. the link is not working this morning] The public review period for the document ends April 30, 2007. A public hearing on the plan is scheduled April 5 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Hilton Salt Lake City Center, 255 S. West Temple." Update: Here's the correct link for the draft plan, Development of Lower Colorado River Basin Shortage Guidelines & Coordinated Management Strategies for Lakes Powell and Mead Under Low Reservoir Conditions. Thanks to Nancy Perkins from the Deseret News. Category: Colorado Water 6:45:56 AM     Arkansas Valley Conduit Here's an update on the Arkansas Valley Conduit, from the Pueblo Chieftain. From the article, "After six years and more than $840,000 in expenses, supporters of the Arkansas Valley Conduit are concentrating efforts on passing federal legislation that would authorize federal funding for the project... "Legislation sponsored by U.S. Sens. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., and Ken Salazar, D-Colo., and Reps. John Salazar, D-Colo., and Marilyn Musgrave, R-Colo., would provide 80 percent federal funding. The Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District is shifting gears this year, after learning federal funding to help develop a preliminary design won[base ']t be available until at least 2008. Most of this year's budget will be put into lobbying Congress to pass legislation and to solidify support within the Arkansas Valley... "Last year, the conduit committee spent $300,000, much of it toward a study that quantified water and financial resources available to the conduit. The efforts paid off when the Southeastern district was able to secure a $60.6 million loan from the Colorado Water Conservation Board to pay the local cost share if the 80-20 legislation is passed. [Southeastern President Bill Long] said the legislation, as written last year, actually provides for a 20 percent local payback, but said the CWCB loan served as evidence to Congress that the project enjoys widespread support in Colorado." Category: Colorado Water 6:33:01 AM     Snowpack Here's a report on the Colorado snowpack from the Pueblo Chieftain. They write, "Colorado's weather and snowpack returned to a more normal pattern during February, according to snowpack reports compiled by the Natural Resources Conservation Service Snotel service. Improvements were measured across Northwestern Colorado during February, while the high percentages previously measured east of the Continental Divide have moderated somewhat. "In the Arkansas Valley, the March 1 snowpack was 102 percent of the long-term average, but 116 percent of last year's total on the date. Statewide, snowpack totals are now 92 percent of average, up slightly from the 91 percent of average measured last month. But they do represent a slight improvement from 2006 -- 105 percent of last year's readings on this date, according to Allen Green, state conservationist with the NRCS. Although snowpack percentages improved across all of Western Colorado during February, the Yampa and White River Basins in Northwestern Colorado improved the most. As the storm track shifted to a more northwesterly flow during the month, the snowpack in that portion of the state improved , to 84 percent of average on March 1, from 68 percent of average on February 1. Meanwhile, for the second month in a row, snowpack percentages decreased in the South Platte and Arkansas River basins. Although the South Platte basin remains above average and is the highest in the state, snowpack percentages decreased to the current levels of 111 percent of average, from 128 percent of average measured on Jan. 1... "March is the last critical month for winter snowfall, so water managers across the state are keeping a close eye on conditions which will dictate water supply conditions for the summer. For most of the state, runoff predictions for the spring and summer months have remained below average, as jointly forecast by the NRCS and the National Weather Service. Below average runoff is forecast throughout the Western Slope this year, ranging from 70 percent to 85 percent of average across the major basins of Northwestern and Southwestern Colorado, to just slightly below average throughout most of the Colorado River basin. East of the Continental Divide, streamflow forecasts range from near average to above average. These conditions have created the best water supply conditions across eastern Colorado since 2003, when a March blizzard brought a record snowfall to Eastern Colorado. In a typical year, Colorado reaches its maximum snowpack in early April, and as much as 80 percent of the state's surface water originates from the melting winter snowpack. Reservoir storage statewide is at 96 percent of average and 99 percent of last year's figure. In the Arkansas Valley, reservoir storage is still only 80 percent of the long-term average, but that's 124 percent of last year's figures." Category: Colorado Water 6:26:53 AM     Well water testing public meeting in Colorado Springs The Colorado Department of Agriculture is hosting a public meeting Monday night to discuss the safety of well water in El Paso County, according to the Colorado Springs Gazette. From the article, "Tests on a sampling of El Paso County wells show most rural residents have safe drinking water, state officials said Wednesday. Last fall, the Colorado Department of Agriculture tested 49 wells across the county, finding a slight problem in just one well, located south of Calhan. 'Everything came out pretty clean. We didn't have any issues to look at,' said Karl Mauch of the Colorado Department of Agriculture's groundwater protection program. The results will be presented at a public meeting Monday night. "Compared to other counties in the state, El Paso County fared well, Mauch said. Scientists were especially interested in pesticide and nitrate levels. Nitrates, which come from fertilizer, pose big problems in areas such as Weld County and the San Luis Valley, Mauch said, but not in the El Paso County wells the state tested. Only one well, south of Calhan near Ellicott and Yoder, registered nitrate levels slightly above the Environmental Protection Agency limit of 10 parts per million. That well had 11.5 ppm, Mauch said. High levels of nitrates can cause methemoglobinemia or 'blue baby syndrome,' a potentially fatal disease that leads to reduced oxygen levels in an infant's blood. Mauch declined to give the location of the well to protect the owner's privacy, he said... "The districts include Monument, Palmer Lake, Fountain, the 5,300-home Cherokee Metropolitan District in the Cimarron Hills area and the 2,000-home Woodmen Hills Metropolitan District in Falcon. The wells tap into a variety of sources, from Denver Basin aquifers in the northern part of the county to Brackett Creek southeast of Peyton. All tests were voluntary. In addition to nitrate levels, officials also tested well water for 47 pesticides, but they didn't detect any pesticide amounts above what the federal government allows, Mauch said... "For private-well owners interested in testing their water, the Colorado State University Extension office offers a program that for $20 will check water samples for hardness, alkalinity, sodium and more, extension office director Gary Hall said... "Public meeting to discuss El Paso County well-water testing results -- 7 p.m. Monday, Colorado State University Cooperative Extension Office, 305 S. Union Blvd. For more information: Gary Hall, 636-8934." Category: Colorado Water 6:20:05 AM     Glade Reservoir? Here's an article about Professor LeRoy Poff's work on the effects of dams on rivers in the U.S, from the Fort Collins Coloradoan. From the article, "As more dams pop up across the country, rivers are losing their ecological diversity, according to a new study from Colorado State University. The study, conducted by associate biology professor LeRoy Poff, examines how the 75,000 dams across the country have affected river ecosystems on a national level. 'Dams, on a large scale, are reducing diversity of river types,' Poff said. Before dams were common, river ecosystems reflected local climate and conditions, he said. But since then, rivers that were once very distinct now are growing more similar... "More regulated conditions have allowed non-native species, such as bass in the Colorado River, to establish themselves in areas that were once uninhabitable to them. The study comes as the results of an environmental impact study of Glade Reservoir, an off-stream reservoir proposed just inside the mouth of the Poudre Canyon, are pending. Less water coming from the river could lead to the further concentration of pollutants in the river as it flows through town as well as harm the natural river ecosystem, said Fort Collins environmentalist Phil Cafaro. The lower the flow, the less the pollutants are flushed from the system, Cafaro said, and there are existing concerns about the concentration of pollutants in the river. High water flows not only help flush pollutants from the river, it also cleans the river and make it healthier for fish and other species that live in the river, Poff said, by increasing oxygen levels in the water. There have been fish die-offs in some areas, he said, because the oxygen levels were depleted. Less water would not only mean fewer trees and less growth along the river, he said, but would also reduce habitats for wildlife. "Cottonwood stands are not replenishing themselves because of low water flow, Poff said, and other trees less suited for the terrain, such as elm, are popping up. The reservoir is part of the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District's Northern Integrated Supply Project, which seeks to increase the quantity and reliability of water for municipalities and water districts in Northern Colorado." More Coyote Gulch coverage of Professor Poff's study here and more on Glade Reservoir here. Category: Colorado Water 6:08:16 AM

© Copyright 2007 John Orr. Last update: 4/1/07; 9:41:56 AM.