|
|
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
|
|
| |
From The Denver Business Journal: "Denver Water's board will decide Sept. 24 whether to raise water bills by $19 to $33 a year for residential customers, depending on if they live in the city or the suburbs...The agency needs to raise an extra $18.5 million in 2009 to cover rising costs for maintaining and improving its water system, Denver Water said in a statement Tuesday. Other projects in 2009 include the replacement and rehabilitation of aging infrastructure, Hayman Fire watershed recovery work, potential enlargement of Gross Reservoir and expanding conservation education, rebates and incentive programs, the utility said. Increasing water rates will close that gap, the utility said, since it doesn't receive any tax dollars. Under the current proposal for 2009, reviewed by the Denver Water board last week, Denver residential customers would see their bills increase by about $19.14 a year, on average. Suburban residential customers served by Denver Water would see an increase of $33.12 per year, on average."
Category: Colorado Water
5:55:10 PM 
|
|
Here's an article about a recent study of zebra mussels, from The Denver Post. From the article:
Dreaded, invasive zebra and quagga mussels are more likely to be found in dammed lakes than natural ones, according to a new study. The dammed lakes, the research found, provide an ideal habitat for the foreign, nuisance species -- and they have higher boating activity. Lakes closest to impoundments are at greater risk because of "jumping" boats to a new body of water, said the study, co authored by Pieter Johnson, a University of Colorado at Boulder assistant biology professor. The study was published this week in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.
"These dams act as stepping stones creating corridors for the invaders to make jumps -- often jumps into natural lakes," Johnson said. "The more impounds you put on the landscape, the more you create these hub habitats." Dammed lakes are a good environment because invasive species can withstand and even thrive with the changing water levels. Researchers compiled data from more than 5,000 water bodies in the Laurentian Great Lakes region for five different invaders: zebra mussel, spiny water fleas, rainbow smelt, rusty crayfish and the plant Eurasian watermilfoil. In some cases, invaders were 300 times more likely to be found in lakes with impoundments versus natural ones, the study said...
The Aurora Water Board considered closing Twin Lakes and Turquoise Lake -- which are owned by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation -- to ensure invasive species don't infest the waters. "We've expressed concerns about the potential of invasive species (being introduced) into those lakes," said Alan Ward, a water-resources specialist for the Pueblo water board, which has contracts with the Bureau of Reclamation to store water at those lakes. "We are still a little concerned that we haven't closed that loop," he said. "We just want to make sure those reservoirs aren't at risk."
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
Category: Colorado Water
6:14:01 AM
|
|
It looks like Fort Collins will take a formal stand against Glade Reservoir and the proposed Northern Integrated Supply Project, according to The Fort Collins Coloradoan. From the article:
The City Council tonight will consider a resolution opposing the project as it is described and proposed because of its potential impacts on the city and the Poudre River. The resolution also directs city staff to submit a set of comments highlighting deficiencies in a draft Environmental Impact Statement for NISP to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which released the document April 30. The deadline to comment on the document is Sept. 13. An extensive review of the draft [EIS] by city staff and consultants found numerous problems with its analysis, methodology and conclusions, said John Stokes, director of natural resources for the city. "The bottom line is the draft EIS does not adequately address the environmental impacts of this project, which is what it was supposed to do," Stokes said...
The city's comments on the document focus in three overarching themes, Stokes said: source water quality, wastewater treatment and environmental impacts. If water is piped from Glade to Horsetooth Reservoir, which is possible under the proposal, degraded water quality in Horsetooth would require the city to invest in expensive upgrades to its treatment facilities, according to the staff report. Reduced flows in the river might also require the city to upgrade it wastewater-treatment facilities. "Right now, it wouldn't make sense for the city to support something that could end up costing it hundreds of millions of dollars and cause extensive environmental problems along the river," Stokes said. The draft EIS also does not adequately look at the impact reduced river flows would have on vegetation and wildlife, according to the report. It also does not weigh the economic impact on the city of reducing river flows. Issues raised by the city, environmental groups and other government agencies will be addressed by Corps officials after the comment period ends, Peter said. Some information in the draft EIS already is being reanalyzed based on comments from entities such as the Environmental Protection Agency, he said.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here.
Category: Colorado Water
6:05:46 AM
|
|
|
|
© Copyright
2008
John Orr.
Last update:
10/1/08; 6:30:20 AM.
|
|
|
