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



































































Urban Drainage and Flood Control District
















































































































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Thursday, January 24, 2008
 

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Thursday's General Session #1 featured Governor Ritter. Ritter underscored his commitment to a forward looking water policy for the state. Water is a scarce resource and we must recognized that climate change is happening, he said. He named the key strategic areas that he sees for the state including water quality, infrastructure, secure supply, reuse and conservation. We think that pretty much covers it. The South Platte River Basin Task Force was his first effort around water, he said. He mentioned that there is no silver bullet that will solve problems along the river but since agriculture is the state's 3rd largest economic driver it needs to be protected and nurtured. That being said the task force made headway and we'll see legislation designed to help this year, he said.

He hopes to find agreement amongst the states (Colorado, Nebraska and Kanas) in the Republican Basin this year. He cited a $60 million loan from the Colorado Water Conservation Board as part of the solution for the basin.

Ritter wants to make sure that his administration and the state legislature, "Maintains the state's ability to develop resources," going forward. He said that his quest for, "creative forward looking solutions, involving communities...is not just rhetoric." He's looking for the type of industry that can sustain Colorado's economy in the 21st century.

When asked about the potential to raise Colorado's severence tax on extractive industries he said that the, "conversation is alive and well," and that discussions are underway for a 2008 ballot issue that will be acceptable to the voters. Colorado charges far less that other states when you factor in the tax credit for severance taxes against business property taxes. The Gallagher amendment does cause businesses problems if they don't grow in step with population, he said. He mentioned that Gallagher, TABOR and Amendment 23 need to refined down to the best aspects of each and put before the voters as a package, something that is hard to do with the constitutional requirement for one issue for each ballot question.

Category: Colorado Water
7:07:26 PM    


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Here's a story about the zebra mussels found in Lake Pueblo, from The Mountain Mail. From the article:

"The mussels probably won't move upstream," Doug Krieger, Colorado Division of Wildlife senior aquatic biologist for the southwest region, said Tuesday. "Concern is how to prevent them from being moved from one place to another."[...]

Zebra mussels can live in cold water of the Upper Arkansas River Valley, Krieger reported. "Our water falls within the chemical, temperature and other environmental factors where the mussel is found." Zebra mussels pose no known threat to human health. However, biologists are worried they may cause ecological shifts in lakes they invade, with consequences to vertebrate and invertebrate species. Mussels feed primarily on algae, filtering water through a siphon. They consume large quantities of micrroscopic plants and animals that form the base of the food web. Removal of significant amounts of phytoplankton from water can cause a shift in native species and disrupt ecological balance in a lake or other waterway. The mussel has few natural predators. "Some fish species, suckers and pan fish, will feed on them, but there is such a rapid increase in numbers that predation doesn't keep up," Krieger said.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

Category: Colorado Water
6:11:57 AM    


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The Sterling water system is out of compliance for uranium in their water and is being forced to look at building a reverse osmosis plant in the next 3-5 years, according to The Sterling Journal Advocate. From the article:

The city of Sterling is facing another water crisis, as the state health department has again declared Sterling to be in violation of updated water quality standards for uranium content in city water. The uranium levels for Sterling, according to mayor Dan Jones, have not changed. The acceptable maximum contaminant level (MCL) is what changed. The city has an average uranium MCL of 43 micrograms per liter. The allowable MCL limit is 30 micrograms per liter.

City manager Joe Kiolbasa said in Tuesday night's council meeting that the bigger issue is that the city needs to consider a water purification system. He said an updated system needs to be considered within the next three to five years. One consideration that has been suggested is a reverse osmosis system for the city. Reverse osmosis would remove the trihalomethanes and uranium from drinking water. "They are pricy," Kiolbasa said of water purification systems, "so water prices will continue to go up." Jones said uranium is a result of granite erosion in the mountains. Uranium content in Logan County is consistent, he said, and city residents should expect violations to be issued until a water purification system can be installed...

Kiolbasa said that health department officials told the city a resident would have to consume two liters of water high in trihalomethanes every day for 70 years to increase the risk of cancer minimally. He said he asked if the agency could put that in writing. In late 2007, the city of Sterling was issued a warning about the public water system. Trihalmethanes, a byproduct of water purification, was reported to exceed government standards. The test was done in August, and submitted to the city in November. A warning was issued by the city, as required by the state health department. However, the understanding by the city, based on the health department notice, is that most residents would have nothing to worry about. The exceptions are the residents who have health issues such as compromised immune systems. In December 2007, city officials again met with the Water Quality Control Division of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. This meeting ended with news no better than was announced several weeks earlier. The city is now in violation of the uranium limits as set by the state. In the notice, the health department cautions residents to seek an alternative source of drinking water "because of the high levels of uranium." According to the press release, consumption of high amounts of uranium can increase the chances of cancer or kidney toxicity.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

Category: Colorado Water
6:05:57 AM    


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On Wednesday the Colorado Water Conservation Board approved a grant for the proposed "Super Ditch" system, according to The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:

A $150,000 grant for a proposed land fallowing, water lease management program, known as "Super Ditch" got unanimous approval Wednesday from the Colorado Water Conservation Board...

The Lower Ark district has spent more than $600,000 so far on legal, economic and engineering analyses in hopes of encouraging irrigators to form the district. The Lower Ark also has pledged to run interference for the Super Ditch for state water plans and water court cases that will be needed to make the program work, and has talked to some water providers about the possibility of long-term contracts. Ultimately, the water rights shareholders of seven canal companies would control the Super Ditch, however. Shareholders would join on a voluntary basis. The $150,000 grant is made available through the water supply reserve account, which is generated through mineral severance taxes. It will be matched with $68,000 in funding from the Lower Ark district. There were a few technical questions from the CWCB about the Super Ditch, but no opposition...

The clear sailing at the state level came after a somewhat rockier ride through the Arkansas Basin Roundtable, which last year passed the grant application, with three dissenting votes. The roundtable is part of a system that makes recommendations to the state board. A letter of objection from Terry Scanga, executive director of the Upper Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District, raised 18 points about the Lower Ark program and how it fits in with the purposes of the state fund. The concerns raised by Scanga generally ask how leasing water - a one-time sale of water that does not change water rights - will prevent open market water sales, as stated in the program's purpose of need. The proposed Super Ditch sets up a right of first refusal if participants choose to sell and that could actually diminish the value of the water, Scanga wrote. The comments led to a lukewarm response from CWCB staff, who gave no recommendation to the board. However, after discussion, many of the objections were cleared up and the grant passed. The scope of the grant was carefully written to work on four tasks, and does not include water court or administrative water supply plan actions. The grant will be used to develop a detailed analysis of the water lease market, look at water storage options, provide further technical assistance for ditch companies and analyze potential injury to other water rights.

The CWCB approved two other Arkansas River basin projects: $45,000 for a groundwater study of the Big Sandy designated groundwater basin northeast of Colorado Springs, and $24,000 to fund the activities of a water transfer policy committee formed by the roundtable.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

Category: Colorado Water
5:55:56 AM    



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