Although portions of this report are used on occasion in Colorado Central Magazine, we do not publish the full report there, as we do on this website. It is prepared by Steve Glazer of Crested Butte and is distributed early each month via an email list. To subscribe to that list, email to <listserv@lists.sierraclub.org> with SUBSCRIBE RMC-CONS-WATER as the message.
Please note that this is an archive, and some links may no longer function.
Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) reports Upper Basin reservoirs total around 44% of live storage capacity, with Lake Powell at 38%, Navajo Reservoir 55%, Blue Mesa 61%, Flaming Gorge 72%, and Fontenelle 84%. BOR is also drafting an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the operation of three of these reservoirs as it relates to requirements of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). They reported that dry soil moisture has kept Lake Powell inflows around 50% of average, while precipitation has been about 85% of average. BOR's computed natural flow data estimates that average inflows for 2000-04 have totaled only 9.9 Maf, compared to 11.4 Maf for 1931-35, and 10.2 Maf for 1953-56. Of note, in September of 1999, Lake Powell was full and flood flows on the Colorado River were reaching Mexico. There hasn't been an above average month on inflows since. While October 2004 storms have brought a lot of water, it has fallen mostly in the Great Basin.
-The Colorado Supreme Court's refusal to get involved in a suit over federal water rights in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park further delays any decision as to who owns water on public land. Grand Junction Sentinel; Nov. 11 <http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/epaper/editions/wednesday/11_10_Gunnison_edit.html;COXnetJSessionID=BTXyJNDnaRxxyPNV8wM9vpkc5l22iQ229WDMfG6obVU22cDRlYRe!-1882818891?urac=n&urvf=11001917307560.7128638256637564>
River conservation groups from Colorado, Montana and Utah are lobbying their state and congressional officials for funding to create a coalition to protect their rivers and watersheds. Denver Rocky Mountain News; Nov. 8 <http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_3312910,00.html>
Construction began this week on the pumping plant for western Colorado's Animas-La Plata Project, a $500 million reservoir and irrigation project that will provide water to tribes in Colorado and New Mexico. Durango Herald; Nov. 17 <http://durangoherald.com/asp-bin/article_generation.asp?article_type=news&article_path=/news/04/news041116_1.htm>
Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., put a measure into the federal spending bill that will cover the cost overruns on the federal Animas-La Plata water project and keep the costs from being passed on to water users. Farmington Daily Times; Nov. 29 <http://www.daily-times.com/artman/publish/sunday/article_15461.shtml>
Colorado water officials finalized a precedent-setting study that concluded the state will need 53 percent more water by 2030, and they prepared for the study's second phase: what to do about it. Denver Rocky Mountain News; Nov. 18 <http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_3336391,00.html>
Colorado residents, irrigators and city officials should hope the latest water study in Colorado results in more than a $2.8 million reason for more hand-wringing. Denver Post; Nov. 21 <http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~417~2544115,00.html>
Cooperative weather, early snows and an optimistic forecast has Front Range Colorado water officials tentatively saying the five-year drought may be easing. Denver Rocky Mountain News; Nov. 24 <http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_3351121,00.html>
The theory that snowpack fuels spring runoff and provides 80 percent of Colorado's water supply is under attack by new findings that runoff is actually old groundwater forced out of alpine aquifers by spring runoff. Boulder Daily Camera; Nov. 8 <http://www1.dailycamera.com/bdc/buffzone_news/article/0,1713,BDC_2448_3312900,00.html>
A federal climate researcher said historically warmer waters in the northern Atlantic spell drought for the West, and the current nine-year warm spell shows no signs of fading. Denver Rocky Mountain News; Nov. 9 <http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_3315030,00.html>
The study of fish in water downstream from Front Range water treatment plants showed abnormal reproductive organs and could have far-ranging implications in water-poor, people-rich Colorado. Vail Daily News; Nov. 12 <http://www.vaildaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041111/NEWS/111110013>
Tough and tiny snails that threaten to crowd out native species by hogging all the food have shown up in a Colorado creek for the first time, state wildlife biologists said Tuesday. <http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=446>
With oil and gas revenues flowing into New Mexico's coffers, Gov. Bill Richardson and state lawmakers are hoping to take $200 million off the top to fund water and other priority projects. Farmington Daily Times; Nov. 12 <http://www.daily-times.com/artman/publish/article_15179.shtml>
Santa Fe County's rule that water supplies must be in place before developments are approved is a good one and commissioners should flush any attempt to get it rescinded. Santa Fe New Mexican; 11/12 <http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/6580.html>
Much of Wyoming is slowly coming out of its five-year drought; the northeast portion of the state is the exception. Casper Star-Tribune; Nov. 30 <http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2004/11/30/news/wyoming/9f937b5ba7cb0d3187256f5b0070ff08.txt>
Experts are predicting a banner water year for Utah, based on early storms that have boosted snowpack to more than 90 percent of average. Deseret News; Nov. 30 <http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,595108928,00.html>
The long-awaited draft environmental impact study of what to do with 12 million tons of radioactive uranium ore tailings piled next to the Colorado River near Moab contains a mystery: What does the Department of Energy believe is the best solution? <http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=353>
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation officials plan to release 45,000 cfs of water from Glen Canyon Dam in hopes of flushing sediment built up by recent rains to help restore native fish species and rebuild beaches. Salt Lake Tribune; Nov. 15 <http://www.sltrib.com/ci_2453885> <http://www.sltrib.com/ci_2469872>
Results of the dumping 224,000 acre-feet of water from Lake Powell through the Grand Canyon won't be known for awhile, but preliminary signs of new sandbars are making researchers hopeful the big flush will improve habitat for native fish species. Salt Lake Tribune; Nov. 28 <http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_2475618>
Lake Powell is dropping by a foot every four days, thanks to ongoing drought in the West -- and many enviros couldn't be happier about it. Veteran conservation leader David Brower called the completion of Glen Canyon dam in 1963, and the subsequent drowning of the canyon and its many side canyons to create Lake Powell, the greatest disappointment of his life. Since then, many activists have been arguing, futilely, for the draining of the reservoir. But what activism hasn't been able to accomplish, Mother Nature is. Since 1999, Lake Powell has lost more than 60 percent of its water, dropping 129 feet. Where there was once 250 square miles of flat water there are now 131, and as the lake recedes, plants and wildlife are returning and many side canyons are becoming accessible by foot. Most hydrologists agree that, short of a massive and unexpected series of rainy years, the lake will never be back to its former levels. <http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3533>
More than 60 percent of Arizonans want to block more rural development unless there's a proven water supply, according to a poll. Arizona Daily Sun; 11/4 <http://www.azdailysun.com/non_sec/nav_includes/story.cfm?storyID=97199>
Some good recommendations spewed out of Arizona's Town Hall on water; some of the best are basing development decisions on available water and increasing funding for water-conservation education. Arizona Republic; Nov. 7 <http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/1107sun1-07.html>
Arizona lawmakers have been siphoning off funding and resources for the state's water agency and they must now take extreme measures to keep the agency afloat. Arizona Republic; Nov. 14 <http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/1114sun2-14.html>
Congress gave final approval to the biggest settlement of Indian water claims in history, giving Arizona tribes half the Colorado River water originally set aside for Phoenix and Tucson and allowing the tribes to lease it back to the cities. Arizona Republic; Nov. 18 <http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/1118indianwater18.html>
A landmark tribal water settlement protects Arizona communities and farmers from future claims on their water, and in one case, tripled a city's share of Colorado River water. Arizona Republic; Nov. 19 <http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/1119indianwaterfolo19.html>
Federal managers will flush the Colorado River downstream from Glen Canyon Dam from Sunday through Thursday in another test designed to rebuild Grand Canyon beaches. USA Today; Nov. 19 <http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20041119/a_grandcanyon19.art.htm>
Lake Mead could see a 2 1/2-foot increase in water levels when federal officials release water from Glen Canyon Dam in their effort to restore Grand Canyon habitat. Las Vegas Review-Journal; Nov. 19 <http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Nov-19-Fri-2004/news/25303232.html>
Not a drop of water will be wasted in federal officials' flush of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon: Total releases to downstream states will remain the same but the knowledge could prove valuable. Arizona Republic; Nov. 24 <http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/1124wed1-24.html>
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed a $2 billion fund to help protect California and Oregon vernal pools - shallow, seasonal ponds that provide habitat for an array of unique species and are particularly susceptible to development. Washington Post; 11/19/2004 <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A62075-2004Nov19.html?sub=AR>
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told his resource director to study the possibility of removing the dam in Yosemite National Park's Hetch Hetchy Valley, a dream of environmentalists but the source of drinking water for 2.4 million San Francisco-area residents. LA Times; Nov. 15 <http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-hetch12nov12,1,1871766.story?coll=la-headlines-california>
California Central Valley farmers want to pump more water from the San Joaquin-Sacramento river delta to fulfill their water rights, but environmentalists said it would reverse decades of ecosystem restoration. Idaho Falls Post Register (AP); Dec. 1 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/pr.califwater.html>
The Rio Grande river that divides Texas from northern Mexico is a source of myth and legend -- and also, sadly, a source of modern-day cautionary tales. Devastated by drought, irrigation demands, and invasive plant species, it ran dry before reaching its destination at the Gulf of Mexico for the first time in 2001. "Rio Grande," a new book of essays and excerpts, tells the river's story and details its woes. <http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3738>
The number of chinook salmon returning to breed in Oregon's Klamath river this fall is only about one-third of last year, reflecting the effects of low water in 2000 and 2001. Scientists say that low water during the spring and summer migration killed 100,000 to 300,000 juvenile chinook in 2000 and tens of thousand in 2001. Salmon fishermen are worried that declining Klamath salmon returns will force reduced ocean harvest from central Oregon to San Francisco. "It all comes down to too little water at a time fish need it in the river system," said Glen Spain of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations. "That I lay to the doorstep of the Bureau of Reclamation for cutting off flows in the river and producing what was an artificial drought for several years running." Casper Star-Tribune; Nov. 11 <http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2004/11/11/news/regional/3151a7332f667bf287256f49000cb1e8.txt>
In a victory for clean water, salmon, and taxpayers, a federal court ordered the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the second time in as many years to delay a risky $2.7 million project to dredge the lower Snake River. The court found the Corps' plan posed serious risks to imperiled salmon and steelhead. The ruling precludes the Corps from dredging during the winter of 2004-05 as planned. <http://www.earthjustice.org/news/display.html?ID=924>
The Bush administration proposed cutting critical habitat designations for salmon by 80 percent, eliminating large areas already covered by the Northwest Forest Plan and limiting protections to streams where salmon already live. Portland Oregonian; Dec. 1 <http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/front_page/1101906292101830.xml>
The Bush administration ruled Tuesday that eight dams on the Snake and Columbia Rivers will stay in place, and that there are other ways to protect the 11 endangered species of salmon and steelhead. New York Times; Dec. 1 <http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/01/politics/01fish.html?oref=login>
Congress passed a bill to settle the Nez Perce Tribe's claim to nearly all the water in the Snake River by giving the Idaho tribe rights to 50,000 acre-feet of Clearwater River water and $80 million cash. Casper Star-Tribune (AP); Nov. 23 <http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2004/11/23/news/regional/cdbf54339d56c37287256f53008390ae.txt>
Congress passed the historic settlement of Nez Perce tribal water rights by tacking the measure onto the appropriations bill, an effort aided by Idaho's delegation and the defeat of South Dakota Democrat Sen. Tom Daschle. Twin Falls Times News; Nov. 24 <http://www.magicvalley.com/news/editorials/index.asp?StoryID=1687>
While borders have squeezed the tribe from without, the tribe's own growth has squeezed it from within. Today, there are 111 tribal residents, over half of them under 20 years old. The tribe's birthrate is more than double the state average. But because space for housing is limited by steep hillsides and wetlands, as many as four families cram into a single house. To make matters worse, the river may have become more violent in recent decades due to logging and riverbank armoring. Large-scale clear-cutting on the land east of the reservation reached its peak in the 1970s. With fewer trees to absorb rainfall and fewer logjams upriver, the river's flow has accelerated, increasing erosion and flooding. In 1995, Jefferson County workers halted erosion of the river's north bank across from the reservation, by installing a wall of large rocks that the tribe says steered the river directly toward the tribal settlement. <http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=15108>
For the Northern Cheyenne, it's about defending a special resource and the border of their reservation. For an energy development firm, it's about business. And for Montana's governor, it's about protecting the state's financial interests and assets, which she insists include the bed of the Tongue River. <http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=478>
In a move that's brazen even under Bush administration standards, the Interior Department is proposing to revamp dam licensing procedures essentially shuting all parties out of the process, except for the hydroelectric companies. Washington Post; Nov. 15 <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50184-2004Nov14.html?sub=AR>
- Regulating land use practices near streams can significantly reduce the run-off of sediment and other pollutants into water bodies. Joel Russell examines how a system of "overlay zones" can help protect stream corridors, lakeshores, and watersheds. <http://www.plannersweb.com/192free.pdf>
- Water shortages used to be thought of as a strictly Western problem. But planners are now realizing that water scarcity can become a concern just about anywhere. David Stauffer looks at the growing importance of water in local planning. <http://www.plannersweb.com/wfiles/w134.html>
North Dakota state and county officials criticized a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' plan to spray vegetation and create more sandbars in the Missouri River in North Dakota to produce more habitat for two bird species. Billings Gazette (AP); Nov. 30 <http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2004/11/30/build/state/75-sandbar.inc>
A three-inch fingerling fished out of Dogue Creek, 15 miles south of DC, at the beginning of October indicates that the snakehead is reproducing in local waters that are beloved by bass fishermen. Two years ago the federal government outlawed the importing of the northern snakehead, a delicacy in Chinese and Thai cuisine that goes by names like mudfish. But the fish, which can grow to several feet, is resilient. It can breathe air and survive out of water for a prolonged period. And it has the ability, when young, to wriggle through mud overland from one body of water to another. <http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/03/national/03snakehead.html>
Each day, the trawlers come back, alive with giant bass, mackerel and squirming eels, at the end of a food chain that links family dinner tables to poisons in the sea. <http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=408>
Mountain glaciers, which act as the world's water towers, are shrinking at ever faster rates, threatening the livelihoods of millions of people and the future of countless species, a scientist said. <http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=407>
Montenegro's parliament opened a debate on a contentious government plan to build a huge dam that would flood the Tara Canyon, a popular tourist destination that is part of a UNESCO world heritage site. <http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=445>
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