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Tuesday, April 15, 2008
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Environment News Network: "At a prison on the East coast of Africa, in-mates are pioneering a sanitation project that is working with nature to neutralize human wastes.
The initiative, involving the development of a wetland to purify sewage, is expected to cost a fraction of the price of high-tech treatments while also triggering scores of environmental, economic and social benefits.
"Apart from wastewater management, the project is to assess using the wetland- filtered water for irrigation and fish farming giving prisoners a new source of protein or sold to local markets, alternative livelihoods.
"Part of the so-called 'black wastewater' with high concentrations of human waste will also be used for the production of biogas."
Category: Colorado Water
10:34:34 PM 
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Reclamation has extended the comment period for Colorado Springs' proposed Southern Delivery System. Here's a report from The Pueblo Chieftain:
The deadline for comments on the draft environmental impact statement for the proposed Southern Delivery System has been extended by 45 days. The Bureau of Reclamation, under pressure by two members of Congress, as well as environmental and labor groups, extended the deadline Monday. The new deadline is June 13, Kara Lamb, public information officer for Reclamation, announced Monday. Those who asked for the extension were pleased, citing the complexities of the document...
"They did the right thing, but 60 days would have been better," said Ross Vincent, senior consultant for the Sierra Club, one of the 15 environmental and labor groups that sent a letter asking for an extension last week. "That would give you another two weeks to work with it." The groups usually are unable to work full time on their responses to SDS, and often are using nights and weekends to sift through the 500-page report, 3,000 pages of technical documents and numerous background reports that are referenced in the reports, Vincent explained. "They've spent two or three years putting this together, and we're supposed to absorb it in a couple of months," Vincent said. "I think what we're seeing is a choice between a quick finding in the EIS, or a good one. Reclamation needs to understand that NEPA (the National Environmental Policy Act) is not just about feeding information to the agency." U.S. Rep. John Salazar, D-Colo., who along with Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo., asked for the extension, applauded the decision as well. "I am pleased the Bureau has heard my request, and those from across the Pueblo area who shared my concerns," Salazar said. "I believed an extension was necessary to give the public more time to learn about a very serious issue, one which could potentially have major impacts on the flows in Fountain Creek." Salazar also has asked the bureau to participate in a meeting to hear concerns about the draft EIS...
Vincent said a town hall meeting is necessary. "It is essential to the public to hear what their friends and neighbors are saying," Vincent said. "It's not just about the agency and Reclamation knows it."
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
Category: Colorado Water
6:47:58 AM
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From The Fort Collins Coloradoan: "Larimer County officials are preparing to review the draft environmental impact statement, or EIS, for the Windy Gap Firming Project that is expected to be released next month. The project calls for building Chimney Hollow Reservoir west of Carter Lake that would hold 90,000 acre feet of water. The reservoir would be built on land purchased by the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District and Larimer County in 2004 from Hewlett-Packard Co. for $7.8 million. The county-owned portion would be used for open space and recreation. Once the draft EIS is released, a 90-day comment period will follow during which the county will review the document. If the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation permits the project it would be further reviewed by the county as part of its planning process. If the project is approved, reservoir construction could begin in 2011. It could be open for recreation in 2015 or 2016."
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
Category: Colorado Water
6:32:08 AM
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Here's a report on the snowpack in Northern Colorado from The Fort Collins Coloradoan. From the article: "Snow pack in the Cache la Poudre River basin is at 106 percent of the 30-year average, which means runoff is expected to be just about average, according to Northern Water. In comparison, snow pack in the Upper Colorado basin above Breckenridge is at 121 percent, with runoff in the Blue River expected to hit about 127 percent of average."
More coverage from The Denver Post. They write:
State officials say it's still too early to predict the runoff levels that typically crest in late May and early June. A state flood task force is scheduled to discuss the potential for stream flooding at a meeting today in Denver. Although some parts of the mountains have snow piled up at 150 percent of average, the biggest determining factor will be how quickly and consistently temperatures climb. A warm March in the southwestern part of the state has diminished the flood danger there, while a particularly snowy month has raised the hazards in the northern mountains, said Mike Gillespie, the snow-survey supervisor for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service. Some mountain communities are stockpiling sandbags and other emergency supplies in case streams overflow, and officials are reminding property owners that they must have federal flood insurance at least 30 days before it becomes effective.
More coverage from The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:
The April 1 forecast for the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project, which diverts water into the valley from the Fryingpan River drainage in the Roaring Fork basin, was 109,000 acre-feet, but there have been a couple of feet of new snow in the past two weeks. The Fry-Ark Project is limited to importing 120,000 acre-feet. The Fry-Ark Project brings water through the Boustead Tunnel into Turquoise Lake, which is still being drawn down in anticipation of spring runoff. Turquoise currently has about 45,500 acre-feet of water in storage, leaving room for about 84,000. Twin Lakes, is at 101,000 acre-feet, which leaves room for 50,000 acre-feet, but only a small part of that is Fry-Ark Storage.
The Twin Lakes Reservoir and Canal Co., whose largest shareholders are Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Aurora and Pueblo West, is looking at similar high levels for imports. Lake Pueblo is nearly full at 254,500 acre-feet, but has the capacity to temporarily hold 93,000 acre-feet of flood water. Witte said the plan is not to get in a situation where that has to be used. "We would attempt to bypass all inflow up to 6,000 cubic feet per second at the Avondale gauge," Witte said. "In the event that John Martin would fill and spill, then Lake Pueblo would begin storing East Slope water under the Fry-Ark Project." John Martin has a capacity of 343,900 acre-feet of capacity for conservation and recreation and is currently storing only 64,600 acre-feet. "I think we'll start seeing increased snowmelt this week," Witte said. "Historically, we're at that point in time where the snowpack starts to decline."
Category: Colorado Water
6:29:03 AM
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© Copyright
2008
John Orr.
Last update:
5/1/08; 7:42:44 AM.
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