Friday, June 15, 2007

Green Mountain releases From email from the Bureau of Reclamation (Kara Lamb): "As of this morning, we are bumping up incrementally every couple of hours. The schedule will continue in to tomorrow, as well...By Friday afternoon, flows in the Lower Blue should be around 900 cfs." Category: Colorado Water 7:44:57 AM     Arkansas River Basin Roundtable recap Anglers are jumping into talks about managing storage and stream flows on the Arkansas River, according to The Mountain Mail. From the article: Doug Krieger, Colorado Division of Wildlife senior aquatic biologist on the Arkansas River, Wednesday discussed qualities making a man-made body of water great for fishing. He spoke during a meeting of the Arkansas Basin Roundtable at the Chaffee County Fairgrounds. Krieger urged dam and reservoir builders to start thinking about fishing when creating water storage vessels. He acknowledged the primary purpose of the vessels is to provide irrigation water for farmers and municipal water for growing Colorado municipalities. "There are some aspects we know about fisheries we should consider when we are trying to diversify benefits we can get out of these projects," Krieger said... Based on research commissioned by the Colorado Division of Wildlife in 2004, Krieger said the sport of fishing attracts about 6 million visitors to Colorado annually - about half of skiing, the biggest tourist attraction. Anglers from out of state spend an average of $141 a day in Colorado, he said, while in-state anglers spend $17 a day. Almost 70 percent of anglers use flat bodies of water - 75 percent of which are man-made reservoirs - rather than rivers, he added. "(Reservoirs) provide good habitat to work with in terms of providing a fishery," Krieger said. As water managers push for government approval to build new reservoirs and enlarge existing ones on the Arkansas River, Krieger said there are several design and function considerations to take into account addressing needs of fishermen. Maximizing shorelines is one of the most important, he said. "Shorelines are really where it's at in terms of fisheries," he said. "That's where fish are feeding, that's where they are spawning." Another consideration is the depth and shape of the reservoir. Water bodies have photic zones where light penetrates and supports life, and aphotic zones where depth is too great for light penetration. Maximizing photic zones is a good rule of thumb to create lively fisheries, he said. After a reservoir is built, fishing can be taken into account during daily and seasonal operations. The amount of time water remains in a reservoir, placement of the outlet pipe, timing of releases and waterline fluctuations can all be managed to maximize fish health and angler access. Category: Colorado Water 6:49:36 AM     South Metro Water Supply Authority master plan The Southeast Business Partnership is lauding the South Metro Water Supply Authority's new Regional Water Master Plan [pdf], according to YourHub.com. From the article: The Southeast Business Partnership (SEBP) heralded the adoption of a regional water master plan by the South Metro Water Supply Authority (SMWSA), a regional water entity that plans, develops and sources renewable water for Douglas and Arapahoe Counties. SEBP also recognized the positive impacts the plan's adoption will have on the region's continued economic development opportunities. SMWSA's plan comes on the heels of a comprehensive effort on the part of south metro business and community leaders, including the Southeast Business Partnership, aimed at building the area's economic competitiveness and maintaining and improving the standard of living for the families living there. "The adoption of a comprehensive plan aimed at increasing the availability of sustainable water supplies is a crucial step in the evolution of economic opportunities in the south metro area," said John Lay, president of the Southeast Business Partnership. "We look forward to working with the South Metro Water Supply Authority as it implements this groundbreaking strategy. Category: Colorado Water 6:42:00 AM

© Copyright 2007 John Orr. Last update: 6/30/07; 9:41:44 AM.