Monday, December 3, 2007

Septage disposal From The Telluride Daily Planet, "Cronk believes he knows exactly what to blame for the earlier discrepancy. 'Illegal dumping,' he said. 'I can't imagine that the quantity (of waste) has gone down. We are the only permitted facility in this area. The West Montrose Sanitation District takes in septage also, so we talked to them and added up figures from both places, and the numbers are still under what was dumped before we got into this business.'" Thanks to The Water Information Program for the link. More Coyote Gulch coverage here. Category: Colorado Water 6:28:02 PM     Great Outdoors Colorado Legacy Grants GOCo is divvying up another round of funds, according to Politics West. From the article: The Colorado Lottery will deliver a $57 million jackpot to protect more than 138,000 acres of land in the state for future generations, Gov. Bill Ritter said today. The money, in the form of Legacy Grants drawn from lottery proceeds, will sponsor 15 projects to expand urban greenbelts, provide wildlife habitat and scenic views. The new corridors funded, and the amount each will receive are the Northeast Greenway project, sponsored by Adams County $5.25 million; the South Platte Greenway project, sponsored by Arapahoe County, $5.25 million; the Fountain Creek corridor in El Paso, Pueblo, Lincoln and Crowley counties, $4.75 million; the Rio Grande River corridor in the San Luis Valley, $7.38 million; the Crystal watershed in Pitkin, Garfield and Gunnison counties, $5 million; and the Upper San Juan watershed in Archuleta and Mineral counties, $4.15 million. Category: Colorado Water 6:22:18 PM     Law of the Rio Grande Don't miss the Law of the Rio Grande conference on January 24 - 25, 2008 at the Hyatt Regency, Albuquerque, New Mexico. The conference sponsored by CLE International. Also on tap is a Conservation Easements Super Seminar in Denver on January 12th. Thanks to The Water Information Program for the link. Category: Colorado Water 6:48:10 AM     Cortez Sanitation to contain odors The City of Cortez plans to build structures around some facilities for odor control, according to The Cortez Journal. From the article: District Manager Jay Conner said he hopes to have a metal structure over the grit building and head works by next summer, before the weather heats up and intensifies odors again. He estimates the building will cost about $100,000, not including costs for contracted labor and air-scrubbing equipment. "This building, with proper air maintenance, will take care of the problem," Conner said during the district board's special meeting Monday. The district has struggled with the nuisance since the summer of 2006, when Conner received a complaint from Glade Park's manager, and added chlorine to the system to minimize odors. When that didn't work, he switched to a $30,000 bioxide system, with the chemical itself costing another $35,000 a year, he said. As cooler weather arrived, the problem was kept at bay. But when temperatures rise in hot weather, the smell comes back in full force, generating more complaints from the trailer park's residents. The problem stems from waste moving too slowly through the plant at its lift station. The station pumps waste through pipes, but if there is not enough flow to push water quickly and control odors, the waste becomes septic and generates foul-smelling hydrogen sulfide. During an interview in July, Conner said he received only occasional complaints until summer 2006. "We've never had to do anything to keep it under control," he said. Hydrogen sulfide can be deadly at high concentrations. Levels of 50 parts per million can cause eye and tissue damage, with 700 ppm causing rapid loss of consciousness and 1,000 ppm resulting in instant death. Twenty ppm causes nose and eye irritation. Category: Colorado Water 6:17:30 AM     Breckenridge: Town and developer move to protect Cucumber Gulch Officials in Breckenridge are keeping a close eye on construction detention ponds in the area hoping to protect the Cucumber Gulch wetlands area, according to The Summit Daily News (free registration required). From the article: Breckenridge town officials and the developers of Peak 7's future base area are monitoring the construction site's detention ponds to make sure run-off water from the construction is being collected properly. Town staff and officials with Grand Timber and Vail Resorts Development Company, who are partnering on the Peak 7 development, met on Nov. 12 to discuss the concerns after Town staff found one detention pond was allowing too much water to escape due to silt build-up. The Town was concerned that if the problem persisted, run-off water from the construction could reach the nearby Cucumber Gulch, a protected wetland area, said Peter Grosshuesch, director of community development...Iskenderian said VRDC expects the agreed-on procedures will solve the overflowing problem, "but if it doesn't, we'll do what it takes," he said. More Coyote Gulch coverage here. Category: Colorado Water 6:03:24 AM     Colorado snowpack report From TheDenverChannel.com, "Overall, the state remains way behind average in many areas. Wolf Creek ski resort got 36 inches in the past two days, but the area remains 99 inches behind average. The National Weather Service said a snow-reporting site near Wolf Creek picked up 40 inches. The federal snowpack report Sunday said river basins in Colorado ranged from a high of 92 percent of the 30-year average in the San Miguel-Dolores-Animas-San Juan basin to 59 percent in the Yampa-White River basin. The South Platte basin, a major supplier of water to the Front Range, was 68 percent." Category: Colorado Water 5:52:01 AM

© Copyright 2008 John Orr. Last update: 1/1/08; 1:03:58 PM.