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Monday, September 22, 2008
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Here's a recap of last week's Colorado River District Annual Water Seminar, from The Steamboat Pilot & Today. From the article:
Birch is the deputy general manager of the river district and formerly the manager of the Mount Werner Water District in Steamboat Springs. He has participated with members of Northwest Colorado water roundtables in a study of the potential water needs of a re-emerging oil shale industry in the region. The Piceance Basin in Western Colorado has the potential to yield 1 trillion barrels of oil and for every barrel of oil, the industry might require as much as 1.5 barrels of water, Birch told his audience. Bottom line: The nation's hunger for more oil someday could swallow all of Colorado's remaining undeveloped water under the Colorado River Compact of 1922. "Oil shale is the 800-pound gorilla," Birch said, adding that the power demand associated with shale -- whether from coal or natural gas-fired power plants -- represents an enormous demand for water.
New technologies for extracting oil from the shale deposits in Northwest Colorado and neighboring states still have a long way to go before they are proven to be economically feasible, Birch stressed. And the projections being developed by his group are based on assumptions. But he wants the region to have some basis for anticipating the future.
One option to help Colorado manage its way through a compact call, being explored by the Colorado River District and its counterparts at the Southwestern Water Conservation District, is voluntary participation in a water bank. Peter Fleming, general counsel of the Colorado River District, said a water bank would comprise some fraction of water rights that pre-date the 1922 compact and consequently, were not taken into consideration when water was divvied up between the upper and lower basin states. The water districts might solicit those water owners and offer the regular payments just to participate in the water bank. Then, in future years, when Colorado could face curtailment of its consumption under a compact call, the owners would be paid more money for releasing water needed by users in different parts of the state.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here.
Category: Colorado Water
6:57:06 PM 
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From The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel: "The Colorado Water Conservation Board is considering a policy that would allow it to work in partnership with water-rights holders in exchange for ownership of some water rights. The idea, board director Jennifer Gimbel said, is to allow the board to hold some water rights for public purposes, not least of them the possibility of dealing with a call from downstream states in the event of a drought...
"The policy, if enacted, would allow the board to acquire water rights in several ways. The hypothetical instance cited by Redifer and Gimbel was a small dam that needs repair. Its owners, however, can't afford to do the work, so the board would step in and complete repairs in exchange for some or all of the water rights. Those rights would then be applied to what are termed nonconsumptive uses, such as recreational or environmental uses in which the water remains in the stream...
"The idea amounts to a 'water-management partnership,' Gimbel said, and it sprang from the way the board worked to accommodate the expansion of Elkhead Reservoir. In that case, the board put money into reservoir improvement in exchange for having water set aside for endangered species downstream, she said. 'That's the kind of thing we have in mind,' she said. The board is to consider the policy in October."
Category: Colorado Water
6:46:35 PM
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From The Glenwood Springs Post Independent: "With the sun shining and the whitewater roaring, a couple of hundred people gathered on Sunday morning at the Glenwood Springs Whitewater Park for the Throw Down Show Down. They came from all around including Glenwood Springs and bordering states like Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming. Only in operation for a half year, the Glenwood Springs Whitewater Park has garnered so much acclaim in its short existence that the U.S. Freestyle Kayak committee immediately decided to host the 2009 U.S. Kayak Freestyle Team Trials here in Glenwood Springs."
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
Category: Colorado Water
6:31:00 PM
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From The Pueblo Chieftain: "The Southeastern Colorado Water Conservation District wants to have more of a role in the upkeep of the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project. "In the past, we did not look at operations and maintenance in great depth, and now we are," Executive Director Jim Broderick told the Southeastern board Thursday.
"While Southeastern oversees water allocations from the Fry-Ark Project, the Bureau of Reclamation operates the dams, diversions and other structures associated with the project. The major purpose of the Fry-Ark project is to bring water from the Western Slope for use in the Arkansas River basin. This year, operations and maintenance for the Fry-Ark Project total about $2 million. Many of the projects are multiyear tasks, however. Projects anywhere from two to six years out are included in Reclamation's work plan, and the district is gaining more input into what projects are most important to them...
"Projects in this year's budget include work on Ruedi, Twin Lakes, Turquoise and Pueblo dams and reservoirs, the Boustead Tunnel, the Mt. Elbert Conduit, and the Western Slope collection system. About $200,000 is budgeted for security costs, as well. "
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
Category: Colorado Water
6:24:16 PM
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New West: "As the leaves begin to turn here in Missoula, New West offers you one last taste of summer with the announcement of the H20graphy Contest winners. We received 162 water-centric photos from across the West and, after much deliberation, narrowed them down to the top four. We hope you like them as much as we do."
Category: Colorado Water
6:20:15 PM
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Here's a look at the Ciruli and Associates Northern Integrated Supply Project poll through the eyes of The Fort Morgan Times. From the article:
A survey of registered voters in Weld and Larimer counties shows strong support for the Northern Integrated Supply Project...
Fort Morgan's potential investment in NSIP would exceed $30 million if the project is approved and the city commits to being a part of it. The survey results released last week encompassed a random sampling of active registered voters in Weld and Larimer counties -- 500 such voters in Larimer County and 33 in Weld County. It was conducted by Ciruli and Associates between Aug. 8 and Aug. 14, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percent for the Larimer County sample and 5.7 percent for the Weld County figures, according to a news release from the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, which is spearheading NISP. According to the release, 81 percent of the Weld County residents surveyed support NISP, as do 63 percent of those polled in Larimer County. Fort Collins residents support NISP by a nearly 2-to-1 margin, the release said. The Fort Collins City Council, however, recently voted 6-1 in favor of a resolution opposing the project. In addition, 73 percent of Larimer County residents and 82 percent of those in Weld County agree with the cooperative regional approach to water-supply planning that NISP employs, according to the release. The survey showed 87 percent of Weld County voters surveyed, and 73 percent of those surveyed in Larimer County, believe water conservation is important but that conservation alone cannot provide water for future growth and recurring droughts, and that more water storage is needed...
The survey showed 93 percent of Larimer County voters surveyed and 98 percent of Weld County participants agree that maintaining agricultural open space and the farm economy is important to the area, and they do not support the drying up of agriculture to provide water to cities, the release said.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here, here and here.
Category: Colorado Water
5:57:31 PM
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Here's the link to the information about a conference call tomorrow discussing oil shale development, from News Blaze. They write:
OIL SHALE: What is it and how will it impact the West?
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 1:00 EDT
Expiration of oil shale development moratorium would imperil water supplies, wildlife, and global warming efforts in the West.
WHAT: Reporter briefing on congressional action to allow oil shale development on vast areas of the American west.
WHEN: Tuesday, September 23, 1:00 p.m. (EDT), 10:00 a.m. (PDT)
WHERE: (800) 791-2345, conference code 58280#
WHO: Speakers include...
Susan Daggett, Denver Water Board Commissioner
Kathleen Kelly, former Colorado State Rep. and rancher on the Western slope
Craig Thompson, NWF board member, sportsman from the heart of oil shale country
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
Category: Climate Change News
5:49:44 PM
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From The AP: "The Environmental Protection Agency has decided there's no need to rid drinking water of a toxic rocket fuel ingredient that has fouled public water supplies around the country.
EPA reached the conclusion in a draft regulatory document not yet made public but reviewed Monday by The Associated Press. The ingredient, perchlorate, has been found in at least 395 sites in 35 states at levels high enough to interfere with thyroid function and pose developmental health risks, particularly for babies and fetuses, according to some scientists. The EPA document says that mandating a clean-up level for perchlorate would not result in a 'meaningful opportunity for health risk reduction for persons served by public-water systems.'"
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
Category: Colorado Water
5:25:22 PM
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© Copyright
2008
John Orr.
Last update:
10/1/08; 6:44:57 AM.
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