Monday, July 14, 2008

Aspinall Unit update From email from Reclamation (Dan Crabtree): "The Uncompahgre Valley Water Users will be diverting an additional 100 cfs through the Gunnison Tunnel starting tomorrow, July 15th. After the change, the tunnel will be diverting slightly over 1,000 cfs resulting in flows through the Black Canyon and Gunnison Gorge in the 1,000 cfs range as well ." Category: Colorado Water 5:35:53 PM     Restoration project on the Eagle River From The Vail Daily: "Restoration work will begin this summer on a warm, wide and shallow stretch of the Eagle River in Edwards, an area notoriously inhospitable to fish...The shallowness, along with the absence of trees on the river's edge, leads to high water temperatures and low amounts of dissolved oxygen, which aren't good for trout. The Eagle River Watershed Council, a nonprofit river advocacy group, has raised enough money -- about $1.5 million -- to rehabilitate this area and make it look like it did more than 100 years ago. Work will begin shortly after Labor Day. Most of the money came from a National Resource Damage Fund, which was created to restore stretches of the Eagle River affected directly or indirectly by pollution from the Eagle Mine." More from the article: The big goals are to make the river deeper, cooler and faster running. So called "bars" of gravel, cobbles and boulders will be installed on alternating sides of the river bank, which tightens the width and forces water to flow more heavily on the opposite side, creating deeper stretches of water and decreasing the temperature. "That same amount of water is pushed to one side, back and fourth. This will create sort of a meandering effect," said Julie Ash, a water resource engineer with Walsh Environmental and the project manager. Sediment would then more easily wash downstream, especially during "low-flow" times of year when there isn't much water. Insects won't be smothered, whirling disease won't be a problem, and trout will have a more vibrant and comfortable places to live and spawn... This spring, the project will involve planting a lot of trees, such as willows and cottonwood. Trees provide shade, which cools the water and helps the fish. Having trees nearby also helps jump-start the food chain. Thanks to restoringrivers for the link. Restoration of the Eagle River has met with many successes. More Coyote Gulch coverage here. Category: Colorado Water 5:28:25 PM     Eastern plains slipping into drought? Colorado's eastern plains are slipping back into drought. Here's a report from The Colorado Springs Gazette. They write: We're about an inch of precipitation below normal for July - and 6.02 inches below normal for the year... It's the fourth-driest year on record so far for Denver, with 3.26 inches of precipitation at Denver International Airport. That's less than half an inch behind the driest period between January and July - 1930. Records have been kept since 1872. Conditions are more dire on the southeastern plains. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, much of Baca County and the southeastern part of Prowers County have extreme to exceptional drought conditions. Drought conditions are severe in the eastern parts of Kiowa, Bent and Las Animas counties. Soil moisture in the mountains and high valleys is near average, a benefit of plenty of snow last winter. In Colorado Springs, the driest year on record was in 1939, with 6.07 inches of precipitation. Second-driest was 1934 at 7.47 inches, with third in 2002 at 7.84 inches. "We are on par to rival that," [Bill Fortune, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Pueblo] said, "but still have six months." Category: Colorado Water 6:21:03 AM     Central Colorado Water Conservancy District Summer Bus Tour From The Greeley Tribune (via iStockAnalyst): "The third annual Central Colorado Water Conservancy District's Summer Bus Tour will be Aug. 7. The tour is scheduled from 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. and will view the site of the proposed Glade Reservoir northwest of Fort Collins. Following that, the tour will visit Colorado State University's Agricultural Research Development and Education Center, followed by the Poudre Learning Center in west Greeley. The final stop will be at the Nissen In-Place Storage Project. Lunch will be provided. Seating is limited and reservations may be made at (970) 330-4540 or by e-mail to kparker@ccwcd.org. Reservations are due by Thursday." Category: Colorado Water 6:11:21 AM

© Copyright 2008 John Orr. Last update: 8/1/08; 10:59:23 AM.