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Wednesday, April 16, 2008
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From The Pueblo Chieftain: "Meetings are scheduled in the Arkansas River and Rio Grande basins to compare water quality data in anticipation of new water quality standards for the basins. The next hearing for water quality standards in the basins by the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission will be in 2012. The state health department, in partnership with the Colorado Water Quality Monitoring Council, the Colorado Watershed Network and others, is sponsoring the workshops. The goal is to bring together groups in the basin to share water quality studies and create an interactive map. So far, training has been completed in the Colorado, Gunnison, and South Platte basins. Workshops are planned in Alamosa, April 21; Salida, April 22; Pueblo, April 23; and Rocky Ford, April 24. The workshops are all-day events, free and breakfast and lunch will be served. For more information, visit the Web site, or contact Sarah Sauter, 303-291-7388, sarah@coloradowatershed.org."
Category: Colorado Water
5:43:49 PM 
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From The Pueblo Chieftain: "State Engineer Dick Wolfe will be the keynote speaker at the Arkansas River Basin Water Forum April 30-May 1 in Westcliffe. The annual event brings together water users from throughout the Arkansas River basin to discuss issues of concern. This year, the event will be at the Hermit Basin Lodge in Westcliffe. On April 30, following Wolfe's talk in the morning session, there will be panel discussions on the Interbasin Compact Committee and Arkansas Basin Roundtable progress; and on land trusts and conservation easements. In the afternoon session, speakers will give an update on weather patterns, talk about aquifer recharge and recovery and look at the effects of urbanization on streams. A field trip will look at local mining and historical sites. On May 1, conservancy district leaders will give updates on their activities and a panel will discuss stormwater issues. For information, call 719-539-5106 or visit the Web site."
Category: Colorado Water
5:38:56 PM
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Here's an update on the Avondale treatment plant, from The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:
A new water treatment facility that will allow Avondale to handle a larger population is about 90 percent complete, members of the Pueblo Chemical Depot Restoration Advisory Board were told Monday night. The Army is paying for the two 500 gallon-per-minute activated charcoal water purifiers that will remove contaminants in the groundwater flowing from the depot. Two other 250-gallon-per-minute units are already in use, said Chris Pulskamp an environmental engineer for the Army. Water passes through each of the units in sequence but Pulskamp said they could be used separately, as can the two new units. The Army agreed to install the additional equipment because Avondale officials indicated they need more treatment capacity to handle growth. The town also has its own water treatment process to remove iron and purify the well water it relies on.
Category: Colorado Water
7:31:42 AM
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From Paddling Instructor: "The Conservation Alliance sent checks totaling $450,000 to 17 organizations working to protect wild places throughout North America. The donations marked the Alliance's first disbursal of funding for 2008, and represent the largest single funding round in the organization's history. This round brings total giving to $6.5 million since the organization's founding in 1989. By a vote of the group's 155 member companies, The Conservation Alliance made donations to [2 Colorado] grassroots conservation organizations as follows, by organization, location and amount: Colorado Wild (Durango, CO) $ 20,000; Colorado Mountain Club (Carbondale, CO) $ 20,000."
Category: Colorado Water
7:20:09 AM
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Here's a look at the Clean Water Restoration Act currently being bandied about in Congress, from The Denver Post. They write:
With climate change, global warming solutions and their impacts on America's waters as backdrop, Congress this month is taking a serious look at our pre-eminent water quality law - the Clean Water Act. For 31 years, the Clean Water Act protected all of the nation's waters-as Congress intended. But in 2003 the Bush administration gave in to polluter pressure and brazenly redefined the meaning of water, putting nearly 60 percent of the country's streams at risk. This means that 68 percent of Colorado's streams fell off the federal Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) map for protection under the Clean Water Act's programs. This happened through a bureaucratic device called a 'guidance," when the EPA instructed federal environmental law enforcers to back off from holding many polluters accountable. If the water they pollute happens to be a stream or river that doesn't flow year-round or directly into a bigger stream or river that can be navigated it may no longer be protected. That describes many of Colorado's isolated high mountain rivulets, which may trickle into montane wetland systems or isolated bogs which are the cradle for much of our mountain wildlife.
On April 16, a key congressional committee will take up the proposed Clean Water Restoration Act, a bipartisan bill authored by Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., and co-sponsored by Rep. Diana DeGette. Hanging in the balance at this hearing before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee-the first ever on the bill itself-are safeguards to drinking water sources for more than 111 million Americans, including more than 3.5 million Coloradans. The U.S. Senate held a hearing on the bill April 9...
The critical question before Congress is this: What do we mean when we say we want to keep ALL of our nation's water clean? Some would like to allow pollution to be dumped directly into all but the largest bodies of water. This means going against basic knowledge of how water - and pollution - moves through streams, wetlands, lakes and rivers. It also means going against what we know about the important roles healthy streams, wetlands, lakes and rivers play to help prevent flooding, filter pollutants and protect us against drought. All of these important functions will become even more critical as we are faced with the impacts of global warming. We know that increased temperatures and sea level rise will alter the water cycle, causing instances of both too much and not enough water - flooding and drought. The solution is simple. The Clean Water Restoration Act clarifies that Congress intended the Clean Water Act to protect ALL of our nation's waters. Given that water quantity and quality challenges new and old are front and center this spring, now is the time to get our clean water house in order and pass the Clean Water Restoration Act.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here.
Category: Colorado Water
7:11:12 AM
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© Copyright
2008
John Orr.
Last update:
5/1/08; 7:43:12 AM.
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