Coyote Gulch's Colorado Water
The health of our waters is the principal measure of how we live on the land. -- Luna Leopold



































































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Wednesday, January 9, 2008
 

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Colorado looked to be returning to drought conditions last November but some good moisture in December pushed the snowpack up towards normal. Here's an article about the current moisture picture from Colorado State University. They write:

Enough snow fell on Colorado in the last five weeks of 2007 to avert dangerously dry conditions that were once again emerging, said Nolan Doesken, state climatologist and senior research associate at Colorado State University. Most of the state received significant moisture from December storms. After the snow, much of the state also experienced subzero temperatures, making this the coldest December since the early 1990s for much of the state, according to initial reports from Colorado State's volunteer precipitation monitoring network and the National Weather Service. Mountain snowpack levels that had gotten off to a very slow start this winter have now climbed to near average for this time of year in the northern mountains of Colorado and to more than 140 percent of average in the southern mountains based on data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service. The recent storm that clobbered the California Sierras also dropped several feet of new snow in the mountains of southwestern Colorado...

Some December weather highlights from around Colorado:

- In the southwestern part of the state, the area including Durango, Cortez and Pagosa Springs benefited from an average of 5 inches of moisture contained largely in rain and wets snows at elevations below 9,000 feet.

- Grand Junction received more than 2 inches of precipitation in a two-week period in December and experienced temperatures that were more than 3 degrees below average for the month.

- The Gunnison River valley experienced temperatures in the minus 20s on several occasions. Snow accumulation there is now well above average.

- The Upper Colorado region from Glenwood Springs to the Continental Divide received moisture that's 103 percent of average.

- Northwestern Colorado, which was very dry last winter, received generous snowfall since mid-December. The water content in the snowpack remains slightly below average at 95 percent.

- The South Platte region from Fairplay to the Wyoming border has been cold and windy with snowpack recently improving to 98 percent of average.

- One of the coldest spots in the state was Antero Reservoir south of Fairplay in South Park with 13 days of minus 20 degrees or colder. The coldest day was Dec. 16 with minus 37 degrees.

In general, the eastern Plains are benefiting from some moisture from snow cover, giving the region above-average precipitation - although still below last year's record levels, Doesken said. Kit Carson County in east-central Colorado, which includes Burlington, received three or four times the average amount of moisture content it normally receives in December. "It's really a picture of optimism, considering that the forecast calls for a greater likelihood for warmer and drier than average conditions resulting from La Nina conditions in the tropical Pacific," Doesken said. "So far, where it was predicted to be driest is where some of the wettest weather has occurred."

More precipitation news from The Pueblo Chieftain. They write:

...the relatively heavy snowpack now could be offset by warm, dry conditions in late spring, said Nolan Doesken, state climatologist. "La Nina is still in place, and in forecasting, the odds are that it will stay warm and dry," Doesken said...

While the early snowpack is important, it is not a good indicator for water supply in the later spring. "It's not as reliable as the late season snowpack," Doesken said. "While it feels good to have the additional moisture, there's always the chance that the snowpack will go away." Doesken said the cool, wet springs once accepted as typical for Colorado have been absent since 1999, a trend many scientists associate with climate change. It's been difficult to outguess Mother Nature in recent years. The 2002 drought came on suddenly. When 2006 rolled around, it looked like a repeat performance, until a wet spring and summer brought above-average moisture to the Arkansas Valley. Early last year, many parts of the valley were covered in several feet of snow for a month. "The tendency has been for the springs to be warm and dry and not as great a contributor to runoff," Doesken said. "It's the March, April and sometimes early May accumulation that adds to the supply. It may be that is the exception, not the rule."

River basins in Colorado are generally above average following a large storm this week. The Rio Grande and Arkansas River basins are significantly above average. Basin % of average: Rio Grande 164%; Dolores-San Juan 158%; Arkansas 146%; Gunnison 143%; Upper Colorado 117%; South Platte 97%; North Platte 95%; Yampa-White 94%

Category: Colorado Water
6:21:23 AM    


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Coyote Gulch works for the Wastewater Management Divsion in Denver. We can talk for hours about sewers and treatment since they're just darn interesting subjects. Here's a article from My Fox Colorado about a bryozoan, or "moss animal," discovered in a sewer up north of town. Who says nothing cool lives in sewers? They have several photos from the crew that televised the line where the critter was found. From the article:

The discovery was made in a pipe near the intersection of 76th and Pecos. Ferguson and his partner Mike Parker asked the Colorado Division of Wildlife to look into the creature, because in 20 years of sewer work, they had never seen anything like it before. An aquatic specialist from the DOW confirmed that what the camera had discovered was actually a Bryozoan, a primitive life form that, as a species, is over 350 million years old. The Bryozoans are collections of smaller organisms that filter food out of the water supply, and they are an extremely primitive "animal" life form. Bryozoans aren't harmful, although they can occasionally clog water pipes.

Category: Colorado Water
6:04:54 AM    


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The Colorado Oil and Gas Commission played to a full house up in Weld County this week, according to The Greeley Tribune (free registration required). From the article:

Hundreds from across the region voiced their concerns Tuesday night over proposed rules they believe could severely delay oil and gas permitting, which could encumber the industry and leave landowners strapped for cash. The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission hosted an overflowing meeting Tuesday night at the Weld County Planning Building Department, 918 10th St. in Greeley, to get input about proposed new permitting regulations that would allow input from a variety of sources, including environmental and health agencies. Opponents claim adding such layers to the permitting will add months to the development of new well sites, which could lead to shortcomings in supplies of natural gas and oil. Landowners relying royalty payments also could be hurt, they said. Weld County Commissioner Douglas Rademacher said the proposed extra regulations and the facet of another legislative body controlling land use -- especially in Weld County -- was not beneficial to those involved. "I probably disagree with 80 percent of what they're proposing because I truly believe it's gonna cripple the industry," Rademacher said. "We will probably do a formal response as far as the county in the next coming weeks because we need to respond to this."[...]

The rules stated in the pre-draft proposal come as a response to two house bills passed last year mandating the adoption of the rules. The first, House Bill 1298, deals largely with the conservation of Colorado's wildlife and habitat while HB1341 takes into consideration the protection of public health, safety and the environment. David Neslin, acting director of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, said that the need for the new regulations came as the state experienced rapid development and population growth while permits surged for oil and natural gas wells. The new regulations, he said, could help better manage the energy economy and help the environment. Neslin said that all feedback would be taken into consideration as the pre-draft proposal for the rules are revised. The commission is facing an April 1 deadline to comply with the new legislation, which could be extended to July. "I understand the concern people have and, as I mentioned, the objective here is not to limit oil and gas production, it's not to reduce oil and gas production." Neslin said at Tuesday's hearing. "It's to ensure that that production occurs in a way that's also balanced with other resources and other assets like wildlife like air and water quality and so on."

"[Colorado Oil and Gas Association] seems to be upset because they weren't allowed to draft the rules themselves," Neslin said. "I've told them I just think that's inappropriate." For more information or to submit comments: http://oil-gas.state.co.us.

In other oil and gas news U.S. Senator Ken Salazar and U.S. Representative John Salazar are teaming up on proposed legislation for developing the Roan Plateau, according to The Aspen Daily News (free registration required). From the article:

Brothers and fellow legislators Ken and John Salazar jointly announced plans on Tuesday for a legislative package intended to put in place new protections for the Roan Plateau that were recommended by Gov. Bill Ritter. Those recommendations go farther than current federal plans, which open up much of the surface of the Roan to natural gas drilling. They fall short, however, of the total drilling ban that many environmentalists and some nearby communities have sought. "The Roan Plateau is a very special and unique place for us here in Colorado," said Sen. Ken Salazar, who like his brother, Rep. John Salazar, is a Democrat. "It's one of the most diverse wildlife habitats that we have in the state. ... It's a very special place and it's one of those special places we need to protect. It also has significant gas resources that have been known to exist for a long time." The legislative package, which is also being proposed by Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo., calls for protecting from drill rigs about 15,000 more acres on top of the Roan Plateau than the current Bureau of Land Management plan recommends. Those additional acres were recommended last month by Ritter, a Democrat, to further protect areas of environmental concern. "I will not allow the Western Slope or any part of our state to become a sacrificial zone for oil and gas development," Sen. Salazar said.

The package also calls for reversing a Bush administration measure to reduce the state's share of oil and gas leasing revenues from 50 percent to 48 percent. And it calls for transferring excess dollars in the Anvil Points oil shale trust fund - expected to amount to more than $40 million - back to Garfield and Rio Blanco counties for land and water conservation efforts and to address roads impacted by the energy industry. The trust fund was created to mitigate previous oil shale impacts in the Naval Oil Shale Reserve, which includes the Roan Plateau. It currently has about $80 million. The legislators said the package would likely be included in another bill in the upcoming legislative session to improve its chances of success. "We're going to have to find a vehicle to move it forward as quickly as possible," Rep. Salazar said. "I don't think as a stand alone we're going to be able to get the support we need."

Category: 2008 Presidential Election
5:47:57 AM    


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Tax and land incentives are typically used by cities to lure new businesses. A lower cost water supply has been added to the mix of incentives for Leprino foods by the city of Greeley in an attempt to lure a new cheese factory, according to The Greeley Tribune (free registration required). From the article:

The Greeley City Council approved a special taxing district for the Western Sugar Cooperative site in east Greeley Tuesday, where Denver-based Leprino Foods Co. has expressed interest in building a mozzarella cheese plant. Leprino -- the world's largest mozzarella cheese producer -- provides mozzarella cheese to companies such as Domino's Pizza and Pizza Hut and has nine plants in the United States, and two in the United Kingdom.

The Council also approved water-based incentives for the plant, which would allow Leprino to pay significantly less to secure the water it would use at the plant by buying water rights directly from Greeley instead of having to purchase Colorado Big Thompson water from the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District. If Leprino were to buy CBT water, it would cost $12,700 per acre foot instead of the $4,500 per acre foot Greeley would charge. Greeley bought the water rights ahead of demand when water was cheaper, and Jon Monson, director of water and sewer for Greeley, said the incentive basically amounts to paying Greeley residents back for the water. The water incentive does not bind Leprino to build its factory in Greeley, and would only take effect if Leprino decides to open a factory at the site. Leprino officials have said they are still looking at sites in Kansas and another site in northern Colorado to locate the plant, though they won't say where in northern Colorado. They also say any decision on the plant won't come for a couple of months.

Category: Colorado Water
5:41:29 AM    


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La Junta is joining with Pueblo and Pueblo West in acquiring ditch shares with plans to lease the water back to farmers with an eye towards keeping the water in the Arkansas Valley, according to The Pueblo Chieftain. They're buying the farms outright, as Parker has done up in Logan County. The plan is to lease the water back to farmers. From the article:

La Junta has purchased four farms on the Holbrook Canal with plans to lease back the land and irrigation water to willing farmers. La Junta Water Superintendent Joe Kelley calls the idea a "reverse interruptible supply" that would give the city use of the water in three years out of 10, while helping to keep the local agricultural economy alive. The city would use the water in the driest of years. "You've got to look at it as a water project with an economic development twist," Kelley said Tuesday.

La Junta purchased four farms that have about 900 shares of the Holbrook Canal. The city has options on another 170 shares, for a total of about 6.5 percent of the canal's more than 16,000 shares. In total, the city will have spent $2 million for the land and water, a little more than the agricultural price of the water, but probably less than its long-term municipal value.

La Junta will give farmers the use of the water and land in at least seven years of every 10, and the farmers in return would pay the equivalent of property taxes on the land. Farmers also will agree not to grow alfalfa, since land must be completely dried up if the city decides to use the water. "The intent is to keep the water on the land as long as someone wants to farm it," Kelley said. "We already have the commitment of farmers to use the water on the land." La Junta has been using some water from the Holbrook Canal, for augmentation of its wells, for three years. The city still must complete engineering studies and apply for a decree in water court. The city has more than 3,000 taps, about 80 percent residential, and has probably lost population since the 2000 census reported 7,600 people in the city. The concept of an interruptible supply, where farmers provide cities with water in drought years, has emerged in statewide discussions about meeting a projected gap in municipal supplies. However, few true interruptible supply plans have actually developed in Colorado...

The concept underpins the Super Ditch plan promoted by the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District, in which farmers would voluntarily fallow land in order to lease water to customers, including cities. The La Junta plan differs from the Super Ditch, in that the city would own the farms, making it similar to the Pueblo Board of Water Works and Pueblo West attempt to purchase shares on the Bessemer Ditch. La Junta, however, does want to purchase a controlling interest in the Holbrook Canal, and would not have the need or resources to accomplish that. Holbrook officials embraced the sale when it was first announced in 2005, saying it was a good way to keep water in the canal. Since the canal is north of the Arkansas River, La Junta cannot directly use its flows. Instead, the city uses the Holbrook water to augment flows in the river depleted by its well pumping. "The Holbrook works well for La Junta," Kelley said. "It's close to the community and it's got some storage. By buying the land and keeping it in farming, it's a reverse interruptible supply."

More Coyote Gulch coverage of the Super Ditch here.

Category: Colorado Water
5:30:46 AM    



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