Monday, July 23, 2007

Water policy Carnivores are dancing in the woods around the Sandy River. According to this article from The Oregonian, "The end begins Tuesday for Marmot Dam. After a ceremonial first crack, workers will blast, hammer, drill and saw until the end of September to crumble the 47-foot-high concrete wall down to the bed of the Sandy River. A temporary dam, built to divert water during the demolition, will stay in place upstream until storms breach it this fall. Only then will threatened salmon and steelhead gain unobstructed access to the Sandy for the first time in 95 years." Category: 2008 Presidential Election 6:25:18 PM     The West and the presidential election From today's Denver Post, "This is supposed to be the presidential election that puts the Rocky Mountain West on the political map. So far, though, the hype has been more talk than walk. Lacking the deep pockets found in California and on the East Coast, the national prominence of the two big primary states, Iowa and New Hampshire, and the electoral heft of Florida, the Interior West has not exactly been a revolving door for candidates in the past few months." Category: 2008 Presidential Election 7:20:24 AM     Glade Reservoir? Here's an article about opposition to the proposed Glade Reservoir from 9News.com. They write: A poster taped to many storefronts in Fort Collins is really grabbing people's attention. On it, there's a line of bare-skinned bathers wading in the cold water of the Poudre River. Each person is holding up a sign and on each sign there's a letter. Together, those letters create the message, "Save the Poudre." "People love the poster," says Todd Simmons, publisher and editor of Wolverine Farm Publishing in Fort Collins. Still, Simmons wants people to take notice not just of the nudity, but also of the message. He thinks the Poudre River, which runs through the heart of Fort Collins, is being threatened by the proposed Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP), which includes the construction of an off-channel reservoir called Glade... Simmons claims the move will significantly lower the water level and "flat line" the river. As part of a grassroots movement to prevent the construction of Glade, Simmons isn't alone in that belief. "By depleting those peak flows, you change the nature of the river itself," says Bryan Simpson, media relations director for New Belgium Brewing Company in Fort Collins, "It will certainly affect the quality of life and the environment and ecosystem (along the river)." Simpson tapped New Belgium's marketing muscle to put together the publicity campaign that includes that attention-grabbing poster. He has also ventured off on his own to create a documentary on the issue. It's called, "Drop by Drop."[...] [Nicole Seltzer, spokesperson for the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District (NCWCD)] says Glade will only take water from the Poudre two out of every five years and in the years when it does take water, she says it will only be during May and June. Simmons tells people limiting growth and conserving water, both in municipalities and out on the farms, would end the argument by taking away the need for Glade. More Coyote Gulch coverage here. Category: Colorado Water 7:09:33 AM     Rifle water treatment plant offline until Thursday Rifle residents are being told to conserve water until Thursday while their treatment plant undergoes maintenance, according to The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. From the article: Residents have been urged to not water their lawns and gardens in Rifle until Thursday. City officials want to keep enough water in the system for drinking and firefighting needs while emergency repairs are made at the main wastewater treatment plant. City Utilities Director Charlie Stevens said high demand this summer, combined with increased silt in Colorado River water, has plugged settling basin pipes at the city's Graham Mesa water plant. "We've had to really push the plant this summer," he said. "We cleaned everything out in May and hoped we could get through the summer, but it's just been too hot." The plant will be taken offline Tuesday for repairs and put back online late Wednesday. It should return to peak operation Thursday, Stevens said. Meanwhile customers of the Little Thompson Water District and the Central Colorado Water District are still under a conservation advisement after last Friday's explosion, according to MyFox Colorado. From the article: Residents receiving water from either the Little Thompson Water District or the Central Weld County Water District are being asked to limit their water use to essential purposes only until district staff can get the damaged facility back in operation. This includes all outdoor watering. The explosion that occurred on Friday morning, July 20, caused one of the two filter plants that provide treated water to residents in portions of Boulder, Weld and Larimer counties to be shut down. Officials have been in the plant all weekend and are currently working to bring it back into service as soon as possible. The water treatment facility currently available is only able to process enough water to meet the needs of Little Thompson and Central Weld customers for inside use only. Officials are also asking residents to conserve water in any manner that they can to help the districts get through this critical period. Category: Colorado Water 6:53:24 AM

© Copyright 2007 John Orr. Last update: 8/1/07; 8:16:07 AM.