Coyote Gulch's Colorado Water
The health of our waters is the principal measure of how we live on the land. -- Luna Leopold













































































































































































































































































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Tuesday, September 30, 2008
 

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Here's an update on the bill winding its way through congress that includes some dough for the Mancos Project, from The Cortez Journal. From the article:

The United States House of Representatives passed a critical bill Monday regarding a rehabilitation project for the Jackson Gulch Reservoir. The bill, titled the Jackson Gulch Rehabilitation and Repair Act of 2007, will allow funding repairs for the Jackson Gulch Reservoir feeder canal, a main water supplier into the Mancos Valley. The canal is nearly 60 years old and is in need of rehabilitation. "It serves the entire Mancos Valley, the Mesa Verde National Park and is the backup supply for the town of Mancos," Gary Kennedy said, superintendent for the Mancos Water Conservancy District (MWCD).

The reservoir provides irrigation water for over 13,000 acres, from residential, commercial and agricultural consumers. According to Kennedy, there are 2,500 - 2,800 people who receive water from the Mancos water district. MWCD board members have been traveling to and from Washington, D.C. for the past five years, Kennedy said, in order to secure a federal cost-share for the rehabilitation project. U.S. Rep. John Salazar, D-Colo., has been winding his own way through Washington to get this bill passed. "He introduced the bill in 2007 and it has been in the works for nearly two years now, (with Salazar) working on the committee process and building support," said Salazar spokesperson Eric Wortman.

Kennedy and Salazar hope to get the bill passed in this year's session due to the reservoir having exceeded it's life expectancy since it was built in 1949, under President Roosevelt's authorization. In a speech delivered Monday, Congressman Salazar explained the need for expediency in passing this bill. "Congress is faced with a simple decision," Salazar said. "Tackle the problem of rehabilitation for $8 million today or wait for a catastrophic failure and face a $30 million price tag for replacement tomorrow."

The most dangerous time of the year for the canals are the fall and spring, when the reservoir fills with melting snow, according to Kennedy. He explains that concrete "box flumes" and earthen sections of the canal will be replaced with a type of lining system to keep the structure together. There are two miles of canal that need to be rehabilitated, roughly half of the total canal mileage. "Before we can do all of that, we have to rebuild 2,000 feet of the road to that canal," Kennedy said, referring to the construction maintenance road that goes up to the canal. "It slid off the hill 50 years ago and we are putting it back in place as we speak."

More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here.

Category: Colorado Water
7:24:30 PM    


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From The Mountain Mail: "Habitat improvement near the headwaters of the South Arkansas River began Sept. 22 and will continue into October, closing U.S. Forest Service Road 221 to public use. U.S. Forest Service fisheries biologist Philip Gaines said Wednesday the closure will prevent dump truck versus passenger vehicle incidents. Purpose of the project is to improve fishing and benefit wildlife."

More from the article:

Work includes sediment removal from bottoms of beaver ponds east of Monarch Park Campground. "We will dip the ponds out to 5 feet - the depth trout need to survive the winter," Gaines said. Ponds don't freeze that deep. Water, most dense at 39.2 degrees, is actually warmer on the bottom during the winter, Greg Policky, Colorado Division of Wildlife, aquatic biologist said. "As long as there is some flow in the water there will be micro habitats under the ice, or we wouldn't have any fish," Policky said. Popular with campground guests, the ponds are habitat for brook trout and water fowl. Improvements are a cooperative project involving the U.S. Forest Service, Colorado Division of Wildlife and Colorado Department of Transportation. About 40 trucks per day, each loaded with 10 tons of sediment, are dumping near the Madonna Mine about a mile east. Silt eroded from shoulders on U.S. 50, Gaines said. Although CDOT personnel battle to prevent erosion, sediment is washed into the creek. Sediment has filled three beaver ponds and threatens to fill others...

Division personnel used a department track-hoe to dredge the ponds. Cost estimate for four tandem dump trucks, two loaders, fuel and other items is $6,000 a week, Shank said. Dredging projects such as this can cost more than $100,000, Policky estimated.

Category: Colorado Water
6:33:29 PM    


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From email from Reclamation (Dan Crabtree): "Releases from Crystal Dam will be reduced by 250 cfs through two changes on Thursday, October 2nd to accommodate the Colorado Division of Wildlife annual trout census work on the Gunnison River below the tunnel. After the change, releases from Crystal will be about 1,650 cfs and flow in the Black Canyon and Gunnison Gorge will be about 800 cfs. Flows through the Canyon and Gorge will remain at this level through mid October at which time Reclamation may reduce releases again in anticipation of the Brown trout spawn. However, over the coming month, Crystal releases will match possible changes in Gunnison Tunnel diversions."

Category: Colorado Water
6:22:55 PM    


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The GOAT: "Yesterday, the BLM issued leases for natural gas drilling on the Roan Plateau. The leases were auctioned off about six weeks ago for a record-breaking $114 million. Environmental groups, hunters, anglers and Colorado politicians, including Governor Bill Ritter, opposed the BLM's management plans, advocating for stronger protections on the unique and beautiful sanctuary in western Colorado. Opponents of the BLM's plan filed more than 15,000 protests, but they were dismissed by the Department of Interior.

"A coalition of 10 environmental groups filed a lawsuit, seeking to overturn the BLM's management plan. In the meantime, they are seeking a temporary federal injunction to block the leases until there is some resolution to the legal challenge."

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

Category: Colorado Water
6:07:50 PM    


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Many Coloradans already think that the feds have too much oversight of state water supplies as it is. Now we have this story from Water Online:

Committee on Science and Technology Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN) recently introduced H.R. 6997 a bill to create a national Water Initiative. The Initiative will coordinate and support federal water research, education, and technology transfer activities to address changes in water use, supply, and demand in the U.S. It includes support to increase water supply through greater efficiency and conservation. This legislation will help to engage stakeholders at all levels of government, academia, and industry to create a national strategy to ensure adequate water for the 21st century and beyond.

"Sound water management is essential if we are to meet the water needs of municipalities, industry, agriculture, recreation, and power," said Gordon. "A new commitment is necessary to ensure that the United States can meet the water challenges over the next twenty years and onward."

In the United States, over 50,000 water utilities withdraw approximately 40 billion gallons of water per day from the nation's resources, to supply water for domestic consumption, industry, and other uses. When severe water shortages occur, the economic effect can be substantial. According to a 2000 report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, eight water shortages from drought or heat waves each resulted in $1 billion or more in monetary losses over the past 20 years. Thirty-nine states are expected to experience droughts in the next five years.

Category: Colorado Water
6:01:33 PM    


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Here's an update on the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District's lawsuit against Reclamation over the Aurora long-term "if and when" contract for storage in Lake Pueblo, from The Mountain Mail. From the article:

A U.S. District judge Thursday refused requests to throw out a lawsuit seeking to nullify a federal contract allowing Aurora to store water in Pueblo Reservoir. Judge Edward Nottingham denied requests of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and Aurora to dismiss the case. He allowed two of four claims in the suit to proceed to the next stage of litigation...

A key aspect of the case revolves around the issue of intended purpose of the Frying Pan-Arkansas Project. The project is a system used since 1975 to deliver water to the Arkansas River Valley for agricultural and municipal purposes. Five dams and reservoirs are part of the project which diverts water from the Colorado West Slope. They include Ruedi Dam and reservoir on the Western Slope in addition to Eastern Slope vessels including Sugar Loaf Dam and Turquoise Lake, Mount Elbert Forebay Dam and reservoir, Twin Lakes Dam and reservoir and Pueblo Dam and reservoir.

Lower Arkansas district official contend they have an interest in the contract because the district signed a letter of intent to lease water to Pikes Peak Regional Water Authority and is engaged in discussions with other water users...

The district alleges it will be harmed by the Aurora plan because, among other reasons, the district and other water users in the lower valley won't know if they will have sufficient water to plant crop land. First claim for relief by the lawsuit seeks a judge's ruling the contract is not authorized by federal law. Defendants contend the district lacked "standing," legal right to bring the suit. Nottingham disagreed and allowed the claim to remain. The second district claim for relief seeks a judge's ruling that the bureau violated a law requiring congressional approval of modifications to a reservoir project which "would seriously affect the purposes for which the project was authorized." The Fry-Ark project was authorized by federal law. Defendants contend the water district lacked standing and "failed to state a claim upon which relief may be granted." The judge disagreed and allowed the second claim to remain in the suit. Third claim in the suite alleged the bureau violated a law by approving the contact without the secretary of the Interior Department making findings the contract serves the purpose of the Fry-Ark project. The Interior Department is the parent agency of the bureau. Nottingham ruled actions of the secretary, under the law, "are unreviewable" by a judge and threw out that claim. The fourth claim by the district alleged the bureau violated an environmental law by, among other reasons, failing to prepare an environmental impact statement. Defendants contended water district lacked standing to bring claims "because its alleged injuries are not within the 'zone of interest' protected by the law." The judge agreed and dismissed that part of the suit. Narrowing of the lawsuit by Nottingham allows the case to move to the next litigation stage. That stage could result in a decision regarding the lawsuit, but may require at least a year.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

Category: Colorado Water
6:15:16 AM    


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Here's an update on the discovery of more quagga and zebra mussel veligers in Grand County lakes, from The Sky-Hi Daily News. From the article:

Results from an independent laboratory confirm that both zebra and quagga mussels are present in Grand Lake, while only quagga mussels have been found at Willow Creek, Shadow Mountain and Lake Granby, according to the Colorado Division of Wildlife. Quagga mussel larvae were discovered in Lake Granby earlier this summer. Shadow Mountain and Willow Creek reservoirs, as well as Grand Lake, are physically connected to Lake Granby. Identified by a microscopic analysis of water samples, the larvae was confirmed as invasive mussels by DNA testing...

"Zebra Mussel densities have been reported to be over 700,000 individuals per square meter in some facilities in the Great Lakes area," states the 100th Meridian Initiative Web site, the aim of which is to help stop the spread of invasive species (http://www.100thmeridian.org/zebras.asp). "Monitoring and control of Zebra and Quagga Mussels costs millions of dollars annually."[...]

"There is no known control method," said Invasive Species Coordinator for the Division of Wildlife Elizabeth Brown. But there does exist a small sliver of hope for the Colorado Big Thompson lakes. It's still a big question mark whether the mussels will be able to achieve large densities of adults, Brown said. "We truthfully don't know how these species are going to behave in Colorado," she said. "They've never been found in waters like this before anywhere in the United States. We don't know if they can sustain a population here." The species can live as deep as 300 feet. So, whether a reproducing population already exists somewhere in the four lakes is also still unknown, she said. Calcium is needed for maturing mussels to grow shells. Against the mussels' favor, high-elevation lakes do not contain a lot of calcium. On top of that, cold high-country lake temperatures could result in short breeding seasons. "We're hoping they do not achieve high reproductive success because the habitat is not conducive," Brown said. Brown added that adult mussels are not likely to survive in the upper Colorado River because they tend to avoid moving water.

Quagga and zebra mussel veligers have been found in Lake Pueblo, according to The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:

Apprehension about potential damage from mussels in Lake Pueblo went up a couple of notches over the weekend after the state confirmed quaggas as well as zebras are in the water. Quagga mussel veligers - the larval stage of the invasive species - were confirmed late last week by both the Bureau of Reclamation and the Colorado Division of Wildlife from water samples taken from Lake Pueblo last summer. The finding is worse news than when zebra mussels were found in January, since quaggas live in deeper water, can breed in a wider range of water temperatures and are more aggressive. "I think it's bad news for those of us who take our supply from Lake Pueblo," said Alan Hamel, executive director of the Pueblo Board of Water Works. "We are continuing testing to see where it will and won't be a problem.[per thou]

Lake Pueblo directly supplies water both to Pueblo and the Fountain Valley Authority in El Paso County. It also has outlets for the Division of Wildlife Fish Hatchery and the Bessemer Ditch, as well as a river outlet that sends water downstream. The Pueblo water board has included a $600,000 item in its draft budget to beef up the pressure dissipation vault, where raw water enters the city's treatment system, said Don Colalancia, water quality manager. In addition to adding screens, a two-story building will improve access to the lines for maintenance. The water board is also working with Xcel Energy, which receives raw water through a separate system for its Comanche Power Plant...

The upgrade to the vault will mean installing a large screening system to a bypass line, so that three lines are available for water intake instead of the two current lines, Colalancia explained. That will allow the water board to shut down any of the pipes to remove mussels that attach themselves to the screens. In the past, Asian clams, another invasive species, have caused minor problems with the screens when they washed in from lower elevations in the reservoir. Zebra or quagga mussels actually attach themselves to the screens and can clog the system. Finding veligers in a lake or reservoir is almost always an indication that the population of zebras and quaggas will explode within a few years. Each adult female can produce up to 1 million larvae - each about the width of a hair - per year. Young zebra and quagga mussels look like black pepper and can attach themselves to surfaces. Colorado State Parks has been looking for them on boats entering or leaving Lake Pueblo since April, but so far none have turned up. During two weekend events - a trash pickup and a Boy Scout service project looking at shoreline rocks, only one suspicious sample was found.

More Coyote Gulch coverage here.

Category: Colorado Water
5:59:25 AM    


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From The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel: "The 20-year, $120 million cleanup of the old Uravan mill site along the San Miguel River in western Montrose County was completed Monday."

More from the article:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency certified completion of the cleanup and was preparing to hand over management of the site to the Department of Energy, said Rebecca Thomas, Uravan site manager for the EPA. The cleanup eliminated threat to surface and groundwater from the 680-acre site that dates back to the beginning of the nuclear age. The cleanup removed more than 13 million cubic yards of mill tailings, evaporation-pond precipitates, water-treatment sludge, contaminated soil and debris from more than 50 major mill structures on the site. The wastes are contained in four on-site disposal cells, which also contain wastes from a nearby abandoned mill in Gateway and tailings from the Naturita mill site. More than 380 million gallons of contaminated liquid were treated in the cleanup. State and federal agencies worked with Umetco, a subsidiary of Dow Chemical, which operated the site since 1984. Umetco cooperated with the cleanup and went the extra step of accepting additional wastes into the containment cells...

In all, Umetco likely paid more than $120 million for the cleanup, but the full amount might never be known, Thomas said. The evaporation ponds, once visible from Colorado Highway 141, no longer can be seen because of cleanup and revegetation, Deckler said. Umetco has donated 140 acres and a building to the Rimrock Historical Society to house a museum about history of uranium mining and milling in the area, Thomas said. Federal jurisdiction over the site will be transferred to the Energy Department, which will monitor the repositories and other aspects of the cleanup. Even though the cleanup is done, the job of monitoring is not, [Jeff Deckler] said. "We'll keep watching that site pretty much forever," he said.

More coverage from The EPA. They write:

Uravan, a former uranium and vanadium mine and processing site located along the San Miguel River in western Montrose County, had long been contaminated with radioactive residues, metals, and other inorganic materials. The 680-acre site dates to the dawn of the atomic age, and its closing coincides with renewed interest in uranium mining and milling in the area. Umetco, a subsidiary of Dow Chemical, has operated the facility since 1984. "The final completion of this massive and challenging cleanup reflects a successful partnership among Umetco, the State of Colorado, and EPA," said EPA's Acting Regional Administrator, Carol Rushin. "We have achieved several key goals at the Uravan site. Wastes have been removed and safely contained, the area has been restored, and the threat of impacts to the San Miguel River has been eliminated. In addition, a portion of the area will be dedicated as a campground and a museum focused on the history of uranium mining in Colorado."

Today's announcement brings final closure to a cleanup effort that removed more than 13 million cubic yards of mill tailings, evaporation pond precipitates, water treatment sludge, contaminated soil, and debris from more than 50 major mill structures on the site. These wastes were collected and disposed of in four on-site disposal cells. The cells also contain wastes from a nearby abandoned mill in Gateway, Colorado, and mill tailings from the Naturita millsite. In addition, more than 380 million gallons of contaminated liquid collected from seepage containment and groundwater extraction systems were treated at the mill site. The cleanup cost more than $120 million. The Uravan mill site was designated a Superfund site in 1986 and cleanup took place from 1987 to 2007. Cleanup work was performed by Umetco, with oversight from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and EPA. The site and surrounding area will be used in the future for recreation and as wildlife habitat. A portion of the site will be transferred to the Department of Energy for long-term management...

The Uravan facility is located along the San Miguel River in Montrose County, Colorado, southwest of Grand Junction on State Highway 141. The site is characterized by an arid climate, sparse vegetation, and rugged topography. Historic mining and milling at Uravan included the production of radium, vanadium and uranium. The site was contaminated by radioactive residues resulting from the processing of vanadium- and uranium-containing ores from the early 1900s through the mid-1980s. From the time Uravan began operating in the 1920s until it was shut down, the mill processed over ten million tons of uranium-vanadium ore. During this time, operations produced in excess of ten million tons of tailings, 38 million gallons of waste liquid residue, and other milling wastes containing radioactive materials, metals, and inorganic contaminants. Materials produced at the site were used for various purposes. An early mill on the site provided radium for Madam Curie's research efforts. In 1942, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built facilities to process uranium in Uravan and during the 1940s the mill processed uranium for the Manhattan Project. Later, uranium produced from the Uravan mill was used to fuel nuclear power plants. The mill shut down in 1984.

For more information, including EPA's site close-out report, visit: http://www.epa.gov/Region8/superfund/co/uravan/

More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here.

Category: Colorado Water
5:52:04 AM    



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