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Tuesday, June 24, 2008
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The state engineer is digging around in the augmentation garden up in Boulder, according to The Greeley Tribune. From the article:
Anyway, it seems Boulder has been remiss -- for several years, it might be added -- in returning water to Boulder Creek from one of its gravel pits, as is required under state law. Boulder has argued that the pit was constructed before the law came into effect, but there's way too much evidence the pit has been in place since the early 1980s and cannot be grandfathered into the law. The so-called Arapaho pit is close to where Boulder Creek and South Boulder Creek converge and is now in open space owned by the city. Under state law, Boulder is required to replace evaporative loss from the pit back to Boulder Creek, one of the tributaries of the South Platte River. That evaporative loss? Fifty to 60 acre feet. Every year. The city has not replaced that water for at least the past 10 years. Maybe longer...
Dick Wolfe and his office, the division of water resources, have been very active of late on this exact case. In fact, Boulder officials, after some cajoling from Wolfe's office, have agreed to file a substitute replacement plan for the loss of evaporative water from the pit. That came after the city tried just about everything to get around the law, then realized that might not be the smartest thing to do. Wolfe said the city has until the end of July to file the plan with his office. He said that under state law, any gravel pit that stores groundwater is considered a well and as a well, it must be augmented or have a substitute water plan approved. The state figures that for every surface acre of water, one to two acre feet is lost to evaporation per year.
Thanks to Colorado's Little Water War for the link.
Category: Colorado Water
6:18:33 PM 
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Best water line of the day so far, "Conservative government destroys Atlanta like Gen. Sherman never could: The colossal mismanagement of water in Georgia has produced an urban crisis with no clear solution other than a return to smart government." -- Rick Perlstein (via AlterNet).
Category: 2008 Presidential Election
6:02:58 PM
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From The World Meteorological Organization: "La Niña conditions prevailed throughout May 2008, but the event gradually weakened from its peak in February. The recent weeks have seen a more rapid decay, indicating a possible conclusion to the event. Near-neutral conditions are considered the most likely outcome for the middle part of the year and shortly thereafter. For the second half of the year, the chance of an El Niño developing is small, but it cannot be ruled out. In such circumstances, near-neutral conditions should be considered the most likely outcome for the second half of 2008."
Category: Colorado Water
5:36:40 PM
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From email from Reclamation (Peter Soeth):
The Bureau of Reclamation will host two informational meetings to
discuss the Risk Assessment of the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel on July 1, 2008, in Leadville, Colorado. At the meetings, Reclamation will present information from the findings of the Risk Assessment that has been ongoing since November 2007, and will answer questions from the public.
The two meetings will be held at 1 pm and 7 pm in the Ballroom at the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum, 120 W 9th Street, Leadville, Colo. Information at the meetings will be available in English and Spanish.
For more information on the Informational Meetings, please contact Peter Soeth at 303-445-3615 or psoeth@do.usbr.gov. For more information on the LMDT, please visit http://www.usbr.gov/gp.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here.
Category: Colorado Water
6:01:22 AM
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From "Colorado's current and future water policy will be the topic of discussion at a water forum set for 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Wednesday, at the Avon Public Library...The discussion will be led by longtime local water advocates, including Chuck Ogilby, Ken Neubecker, Rick Sackbauer and Mike McHugh. "Water is everybody's business," said Bradford, "Sure, it can seem complicated -- but water is too important to the future of life in Colorado to leave the conversation up to somebody else." Pizza will be served in the Avon Library Courtyard at 5 p.m. The discussion begins at 5:30 p.m."
Category: Colorado Water
5:47:20 AM
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From The Summit Daily News: "Increasing demand and problems with a treatment plant have forced Rifle to impose watering restrictions for the first time. Residents may water only on every other day from 6 p.m. to 9 a.m., starting Monday. City Manager John Hier says no date has been set for the restrictions to be lifted."
Category: Colorado Water
5:38:47 AM
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Here's an update on Douglas Bruce's attempt to overhaul Colorado Springs' stormwater and other enterprises from The Colorado Springs Gazette. From the article:
Two proposed ballot measures designed to overhaul the city's enterprises would deal an "absolutely crushing blow to our ability to provide services," City Manager Penelope Culbreth-Graft told the Colorado Springs City Council on Monday. A city financial analysis of the proposals, advanced by tax-cutter Douglas Bruce for the Nov. 4 election, concluded they would wipe out $212 million in general fund revenues over the 10-year phase-out while saving residents $12 in the first year and gradually rising to $127. In the first year, the measures would reduce revenues by $3.5 million; by year 10, the reduction would total $40.5 million, roughly equal to this year's Fire Department budget.
Bruce disagreed the city couldn't survive without what he termed an illegal tax for stormwater projects. "They're just flailing around out of desperation because these petitions will win in a landslide because people are fed up with the deceit and incompetence of council," Bruce told The Gazette.
Bruce submitted signatures last week to qualify the measures for the ballot The first would phase out enterprise payments to the city in 10 or fewer years with the savings passed on to citizens. The second would make all fees for enterprises voluntary. Enterprises would have to operate like the golf courses - if you want to play golf, you pay for a round and play. Both measures are aimed at the Stormwater Enterprise, created in 2005 and for which the city began collecting mandatory fees from property owners last year...
Budget Director Lisa Bigelow warned that axing the stormwater fee, which generates $16 million a year, would handicap the city's progress on $300 million in needed drainage projects. "If we eliminate this enterprise, it means increased risk to our citizens and public and private property due to flooding events," she said. It also would jeopardize Colorado Springs' dealings with Pueblo on the Southern Delivery System that would bring water from Pueblo Reservoir, she said. That's because the city has vowed to control runoff into Fountain Creek, a sore spot with Pueblo residents. Vice Mayor Larry Small said that without the stormwater fee, the city might fall out of compliance with federal water quality guidelines, resulting in huge fines. "It wasn't something we dreamed up to have interesting projects to work on," he said. "It's something that's required to be done to meet EPA regulations."[...]
Bruce lashed out in an interview with The Gazette, saying $3.5 million amounts to 1 percent of the city's total budget including enterprises. "It just means a slower rate of increase," he said. "Only in government does that mean a cut."
Category: Colorado Water
5:35:24 AM
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From TheStar.com: "Already, [James Hansen] said, the world's safe level of atmospheric carbon dioxide has been exceeded. Yet, in the 20 years since he first testified, no major U.S. law restricting greenhouse gas emissions has been passed, 21 new coal-fired generating units have been built at power plants in this country and total U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide have climbed by about 18 per cent."
More from the article:
Yesterday, Hansen warned of greater forest fire risk in Canada, the extinction of polar and alpine species, danger to the coral reefs and the ocean life that depends on them because of carbon dioxide in the oceans, and refugees from melting ice sheets in Greenland and the western Antarctic. He called for a phase-out of all coal-burning power plants by 2030 except those in which carbon dioxide is captured and buried and he called for a carbon tax on coal, oil and gas. The tax, he said, should be returned in full to the public - not used by government - in equal amounts for each adult and a half-share for children, deposited directly into bank accounts or credited to debit cards. Such a non-regressive tax, Hansen says, will spur low and middle-income people to limit their tax while profligate users will pay for their excesses. He also accused corporate America of a "greenwash" in which their environmentally friendly words are not backed by actions and he supported criminal charges against CEOs of corporations such as ExxonMobil who are smart enough to know the situation but are intent on continuing their fossil fuel ways. "When their descendants look back on them, they should not to be able to pretend that they didn't know,'" Hansen said. "They do know."
Category: Climate Change News
5:19:39 AM
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© Copyright
2008
John Orr.
Last update:
7/1/08; 8:09:36 AM.
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