Although portions of this report are used on occasion in Colorado Central Magazine, we do not publish the full report there, as we do on this website.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.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) 2003 Annual Data Report, volumes 1 and 2 are available online at the URL below. Data reports from 1995 through 2002 are also available at this site. The reports contain streamflow, water-quality, precipitation, meteorological, groundwater levels, reservoir contents, and selected special studies data for stations operated by the USGS. Streamflow data from selected Colorado Division of Water Resources stations are also reported. <http://co.water.usgs.gov/Pubs/index.html> - DataReport
Six more waterways should be added to the state's list of polluted waters for which cleanup plans are required, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has decided. The EPA order overrules a decision by Colorado's Water Quality Control Commission to exclude the stretches from its 2004 list, adopted in March. With the six additions, there would be 123 streams on the list, the longest since Colorado began tracking such problems in 1989. The additions are still subject to public comment and would not become official until at least October. The new segments include an 11-mile stretch of Bear Creek, which provides drinking water to Genesee, Evergreen, Kittredge and Morrison and parts of unincorporated Jefferson County. Two major fish kills occurred in the creek in 2000 and 2002. Environmentalists blamed the deaths on low flows and high temperatures -- problems most likely linked to drought, demands on its water and the treated sewage discharged to the creek. <http://www.9news.com/acm_news.aspx?OSGNAME=KUSA&IKOBJECTID=252b6186-0abe-421a-01b9-71520deb9a2a&TEMPLATEID=0c76dce6-ac1f-02d8-0047-c589c01ca7bf>
In a notice in the 7/6/04 Federal Register, the Forest issued a final directive creating a categorical exclusion from National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements of special use permit renewals when there are no changes in the scope or intensity of the activities proposed. [There is no consensus on how to interpret this directive. To Colorado officials this means that forest managers may no longer have to prepare an Environmental Assessment or an Environmental Impact Statement when re-issuing a special use permit. If this interpretation is correct, impacts created with the initial issuance of permits may never be assessed.] The Colorado Water Conservation Board will be holding a workshop on this topic and the Interim Directive on the Ditch Bill at its meeting in Alamosa, CO on 9/14.
Denver Water customers are conserving water so successfully that the company plans to raise rates for the third time this year. Denver Post; Aug. 6 <http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~23447~2317227,00.html>
Water providers in the South Platte Basin have begun meetings to decide how to divvy up 20,600 af of an increased conservation pool based on new flood control criteria from a study being conducted by the Army Corps. The original entities that have been a part of this project, Denver Water, Division of Wildlife, Colorado State Parks, Castle Rock, Central Colorado Water Conservancy District and Mt. Carbon WCD have been joined in these discussions by Littleton, Arapahoe County, Douglas County, Parker Water and Sanitation District, Ken Caryl West Ranch Water District, Roxborough Park Metro District, Aurora, Thornton, and Castle Pines District. Options to achieve that storage space are: a 3.5 foot parapet/wave wall, increase outlet works releases from 5,000 cfs to 7,000 cfs, a site-specific antecendent flood study that is a 40% PMF (probable maximum flood) rather than the existing 50% PMF and enlarge the spillway by 100'.
Warming water temperatures in the central equatorial Pacific last month may indicate the start of a new El Nino. <http://www.enn.com/news/2004-08-06/s_26404.asp>
Experts worry that water-hungry cities offering higher prices for farmers' water will increase the pace of farm loss; the state has lost an average of 90,000 acres of farmland a year over the past decade. Denver Post; July 11 <http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~53~2263830,00.html>
Colorado's Front Range cities must use treated sewage for some of their municipal water needs and save potable water for drinking, according to experts at a regional conference. Denver Rocky Mountain News; July 30 <http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_3075336,00.html>
Growth on both sides of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado has drawn down the state's share of the Colorado River, and five years of drought have decreased supplies even further, intensifying competition for what water is left. Arizona Republic; July 25 <http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0722colorado-drought.html>
Glen Canyon Dam on Arizona's Lake Powell provides $100 million of hydropower to Colorado's Front Range cities, but if the water level continues to drop the reservoir could dry up by 2009. Denver Post; July 5 <http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~53~2253451,00.html>
If the West's hydroelectric dams are taken off line by drought, the area will see spiking oil and gas prices, increased air pollution from coal-fired plants and less confidence in reliability of regional power grids. Denver Post; July 11 <http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~417~2260905,00.html> <http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_3052335,00.html>
Denver Water officials acknowledged that the utility is dumping 432,000 gallons of water a day from two 30-inch water mains near Denver International Airport because so few users exist on the lines that the water becomes stale and must be dumped. Denver Rocky Mountain News; July 23 <http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_3058426,00.html>
Secretary of Interior Gale Norton said Saturday that water issues were at the top of her agency's list but it is up to state and local governments to find ways to avoid water shortages. Santa Fe New Mexican (AP); July 25
A New Mexico judge said any San Juan Basin water right holder can join the New Mexico-United States lawsuit, and both the state engineer and Navajo Nation officials objected. Farmington Daily Times; July 27 <http://www.daily-times.com/artman/publish/article_12940.shtml>
Farmington city officials said the proposed Navajo Nation Water Settlement allocates all available water and does not allow for increased future use, but they agreed the plan provides an element of certainty to San Juan Basin water rights. Farmington Daily Times; July 29 <http://www.daily-times.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=460&num=12982>
Navajo leaders said the tribe has compromised much for a deal in which it would give up 44 percent of its claim to water in the San Juan Basin in exchange for $1 billion in federal funds to build water-supply infrastructure. Farmington Daily Times; Aug. 3 <http://www.daily-times.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=465&num=13077>
Phelps Dodge Mining Co. lost 20 acre-feet of water it wanted to transfer to the village of Pecos and may lose 2,200 acre-feet more under a judge's ruling that said the company had failed to use its water rights. Santa Fe New Mexican; July 7 <http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/1568.html>
An Albuquerque water district will hire 400 goats in a test project to clear water-sucking salt cedar (Tamarisk) and other invasive species from the district's waterways. Albuquerque Tribune; July 15 <http://www.abqtrib.com/archives/news04/071404_news_goats.shtml>
Albuquerque is close to Mayor Martin Chavez' goal, set in 1994, of reducing city water consumption by 30 percent. Albuquerque Tribune; July 30 <http://www.abqtrib.com/archives/news04/072904_news_water.shtml>
Albuquerque has cut its use of its underlying aquifer from 42 billion gallons a year in 1995 to 36 billion gallons in 2003, but big problems still loom, including a mass buckling of the metro land mass. Albuquerque Alibi; 7/29 <http://alibi.com/editorial/section_display.php?di=2004-07-22&scn=feature#8715>
The National Science Foundation's (NSF) Center for Sustainability of Semi-Arid Hydrology and Riparian Areas (SAHRA) is funding research along the Rio Grande on surface and ground water interactions and drought. They are studying the ground water system that supports the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge north of Socorro and south of Albuquerque. Using a computer model, they have postulated the current low Rio Grande flows may be a function not only of the current drought, but the 1950s drought, which in the context of the paleo-climate record was one of the worst. The aquifer recharge from mountain rain and snow moves slowly, over a period of decades, down gradient. Assuming a 50-year wet climate cycle, followed by a drought that cut precipitation 50%, the model of the Rio Grande eventually showed a drop in base flows. After 50 years, that dry cycle showed up in the river. Agricultural and urban development of the aquifer near the foothills could have much the same effect. (Dallas-Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, July 6) <http://www.sahra.arizona.edu/>
In urban areas of Utah, the lawns are green and water flows easily from taps, but farmers across the state are out of irrigation water and three counties have declared a drought emergency. First in a series. Salt Lake Tribune; 7/26 <http://www.sltrib.com/ci_2381403>
Utah's chief water czar, D. Larry Anderson, says the 80 percent of the state's water supply allocated to agriculture gives Utah plenty of cushion during the current drought, but as subdivisions replace alfalfa fields the next drought could spell disaster. Second in a series. Salt Lake Tribune; July 26 <http://www.sltrib.com/ci_2383162>
The major party candidates for Utah governor are doing Utahns a favor by reminding them they use a great deal of water and pay very little for it, and that that may change in the future, no matter who wins. Salt Lake Tribune; July 28 <http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_2383664>
"Wildlife officials may begin removing carp from Utah Lake as early as next spring in an effort to save endangered June sucker populations," according to the Associated Press, 7/12. Conservation biologists with the June Sucker Recovery Implementation Program say that the large carp population is devastating the population of endangered fish. Removing the carp would allow aquatic plants to regenerate, providing habitat for young fish and aquatic bugs, which would increase the diversity of bird species and improve the entire ecosystem.
The misguided effort to rename Lake Powell to Glen Canyon Reservoir is an ill-disguised effort to acclimate the public to the idea of draining the lake. Arizona Daily Sun; July 22 <http://www.azdailysun.com/non_sec/nav_includes/story.cfm?storyID=91045>
Nevada has been hit hardest of the Colorado River Basin states by the five-year drought and Las Vegas has imposed an array of water restrictions, but two decades of unbridled growth has pushed the state to the edge of its share of Colorado River water. Arizona Republic; 7/25 <http://www.azcentral.com/specials/special06/articles/0722colorado-conflict.html>
The proposed $2 billion network of pipeline to bring water across rural Nevada to Las Vegas will be the state's largest public works project since Hoover Dam, and portends the future of water in the West. USA Today; July 28 <http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20040728/6402717s.htm>
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said its $150 million plan to plant mesquite, cottonwood and willow trees along Arizona's Santa Cruz and Rillito rivers will not restore water to the rivers pumped dry after World War II. Arizona Daily Star; July 29 <http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/dailystar/32051.php>
Deconstruction of the defunct Matilija Dam on southern California's Ventura River will restore endangered steelhead and allow natural beach replenishment. Local, regional, and national conservation groups support the necessary and beneficial project, and will review specific details in voluminous documents now available. <http://www.amrivers.org/index.php?module=HyperContent&func=display&cid=2873>
The California State Senate "has blocked Gov. Schwarzenegger's first appointment to the California Fish and Game Commission after she voted to delay plans to protect the state's rare coho salmon as an endangered species," said the Los Angeles Times, 7/1. Marilyn Hendrickson, who owns a fishing tackle manufacturing company, is currently serving as an interim commissioner. Hendrickson voted "against the recommendations of state biologists to add Northern California coho to the state's list of threatened and endangered species." The vote angered lawmakers on the Senate Environmental Quality Committee who stated that there "is no scientific basis for further delay on this matter." Wild coho salmon, which have dropped from 250,000 to 5,000 statewide, are threatened by habitat degradation on north coast streams, irrigation diversions and logging.
"Concerned about imperiled fish in the Russian River and water storage levels in Lake Mendocino, Sonoma County officials are seeking permission to reduce river flows this summer" according to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, 7/2. State and federal environmental agencies say that cutting river flows this summer "would provide a cooler, more stable supply of water in the reservoir that could be released in the fall during chinook salmon spawning runs."
The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upholds a plan to restore the Trinity River "ordered in 2000 by then-Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt" reducing water to California farmers and hydroelectric plants. <http://www.enn.com/news/2004-07-15/s_25870.asp>
U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials said the designation of critical habitat in the Nevada headwaters and 38 miles of the Jarbidge River in Owyhee County in Idaho are aimed at restoring bull trout numbers until there are between 250 to 1,000 spawning fish. Twin Falls Times News; 7/28 <http://www.magicvalley.com/news/localstate/index.asp?StoryID=11151>
"The federal agency responsible for protecting endangered salmon has approved a move to boost power production at Columbia and Snake river dams this summer, a proposal vigorously opposed by fishing and conservation groups that say the dams will become more deadly for young salmon," according to the Oregonian, 7/3. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries approved the plan by the Bonneville Power Administration to reduce spills over the dams, claiming that "offsetting measures proposed by dam operators are likely to compensate for any additional salmon killed going through power-generating turbines." Conservation and fishing organizations say "the plan makes salmon runs too dependent on large-scale barging and trucking of fish past dams" and contend "the offsetting measures will not make up for the tens of thousands of young salmon that will be lost."
Fishing businesses and conservation groups joined with Indian tribes to ask a federal court to stop the government from cutting the amount of water spilled past Columbia Basin dams this summer. The spill is critical to aid migrating salmon and steelhead past the dams. In deciding to reduce spill, the federal government has rejected repeated scientific recommendations by state and tribal groups and its own joint fisheries agencies to continue spilling this water, and rejected a proposal from energy and salmon advocates that would have saved Northwest ratepayers more money while providing salmon the spill they need to pass dams safely. With this action, the groups contend the agencies' final decision violates the law, sound science, and good public policy. <http://www.earthjustice.org/news/display.html?ID=870>
In issuing the restraining order, the judge said, "the long-term health of the species outweighed the short-term financial gain for ratepayers." <http://www.cbbulletin.com/Free/21073.aspx>
The Corps of Engineers asked the Ninth Circuit to overturn an injunction issued by U.S. District Court Judge James Redden to protect young salmon migrating down the Columbia and Snake Rivers in August. The agency's decision to fight this ruling is a slap in the face to fishing communities, native American tribes, and conservationists as well as everyone else that has worked to restore wild salmon in the Columbia and Snake Rivers. More than that, it reflects a determination to put a small amount of money--perhaps a dime a month off residential electric bills--ahead of restoring sustainable wild salmon runs. This approach serves a very narrow set of river user interests and ignores the broad determination of the people of the Northwest to bring sustainable wild salmon runs back to their rivers. <http://www.earthjustice.org/news/display.html?ID=881>
"Idaho Power Co.'s efforts to avoid costly additional studies of the environmental impacts of its Hells Canyon dams were thwarted this week by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)," said the Idaho Statesman, 7/3. FERC told Idaho Power that it "must complete 14 new studies to be included in the company's relicensing application" to assess the affect of the Hells Canyon dams on "downstream aquatic and terrestrial resources, including salmon, along with other environmental resources, primarily as a result of the project's regulation of approximately one million acre-feet of water annually." Conservation and fishing organizations and the Nez Perce Tribe have requested that the power company also do additional studies on fish passage.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved licenses for five Idaho Power dams on the Snake River despite environmentalists' objections the dams threaten the Bliss Rapids snail. Idaho Statesman; July 29 <http://www.idahostatesman.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040729/NEWS02/407290319/1029/NEWS06>
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced "two species of fish at the heart of battles over water in the Klamath Basin will remain on the endangered species list, but their protected status will undergo a comprehensive review," according to the Associated Press, 7/21. The agency said that the petition to delist the species, submitted two years ago, "did not contain any persuasive new information." FWS will conduct a five-year status review of the Lost River sucker and shortnosed sucker, to assemble new information and evaluate whether the fish still need to be protected under the Endangered Species Act. "The service is determine to restore the Klamath sucker population to a viable condition, while meeting the needs of the tribes that rely on the sucker for important cultural benefits and on the local economy," said Steve Thompson, manager of Fish and Wildlife's California/Nevada Operations Office.
"Portland General Electric (PGE), the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation, state and federal agencies, local governments and more than 20 conservation groups have pledged to restore ocean-running chinook salmon and steelhead to the Metolius, the Crooked and the upper Deschutes rivers -- where they have not spawned since the last wild fish migrated to sea in 1968," said the Oregonian, 7/13. The agreement proposes the construction of a massive underwater tower behind the Pelton-Round Butte dam on the Deschutes River to regulate water and allow fish passage downstream. The cost will be split by PGE and the tribes, and PGE will be given a 50-year license for the dam, allowing it to spread the costs out. The groups, which negotiated over almost 20 months, have unanimously praised the plan. Federal officials "are calling the negotiations a national model for avoiding conflicts and costly, drawn-out legal battles over the future of aging hydroelectric dams." <http://www.amrivers.org/2868.html> <http://www.gristmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=2694>
Montana's Environmental Quality Council's proposal to impose a water-user fee to help underwrite final resolution of water rights in the state will help get the process begun in 1979 on the move. Missoulian; July 29 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/miss.waterfee072904.html>
Residents and local officials hope new wells and a 220-mile pipeline could bring potable water to a string of towns across central Montana. Great Falls Tribune; Aug. 3 <http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20040803/localnews/967870.html>
Conservationists announced today they would continue their court fight to restore the Missouri River, save its endangered species, and create new economic opportunities for riverfront communities. The groups will appeal a district court's approval of the Bush administration's management plan for the Missouri River. <http://amriversaction.ctsg.com/ctt.asp?u=2940&l=44991>
About 2,400 one-year-old endangered pallid sturgeon from the Garrison Dam National Fish Hatchery are being released in the Missouri River in Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri, reports the Aberdeen (SD) American News, Associated Press, 7/9. The fish, known for its bony plates and its reptile-like body, can grow to 100 pounds, a length of 6 feet and live 60 years. Its ancestors swam with the dinosaurs, but it has been on the endangered species list since 1990, after dams built along the Missouri River changed its habitat. Males reach maturity in about seven years, while females take up to 20 years. It is unknown whether or not previously released sturgeon are reproducing in the wild.
Written by American Rivers and International Rivers Network, this report provides stakeholders and decision-makers with an overview of low-impact and non-structural alternatives to dams. <http://www.amrivers.org/index.php?module=HyperContent&func=display&cid=2838>
Experts warned that B.C.'s coastal forests are suffering from the most extreme drought and fire risk since 1580. Toronto Globe and Mail; July 7 <http://www.globeandmail.ca/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040707.wxdrou0707/BNStory/Front/>
About 400 scientists, government officials and water managers met in Lethbridge to discuss water scarcity in the 21st century. Calgary Herald; July 15 <http://www.canada.com/calgary/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=83dc9644-5174-4672-909a-a81317e6ef20>
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated critical habitat for 11 freshwater mussels in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee covering 1,093 miles of streams and rivers, reports the Capitol Report. Three of the species -- the fine-lined pocketbook, orange-nacre mucket and Alabama moccasinshell -- were listed as threatened. Eight species -- the Coosa moccasinshell, ovate clubshell, southern clubshell, dark pigtoe, southern pigtoe, triangular kidneyshell, upland combshell and southern acornshell -- were listed as endangered. The recovery of these 11 mussels is unlikely in the near future due to the extent of their decline and the degree of fragmentation and isolation of their habitats. Therefore, the Service has concluded that all 26 units are essential to the conservation of these species and have identified no areas where the benefits of exclusion outweigh the benefits of this designation.
Officials from U.S. states and Canadian provinces abutting the five Great Lakes released a draft agreement Monday that would set standards and procedures governing any proposed diversion from the world's largest surface freshwater system. It would also provide for conservation measures for current use. <http://www.enn.com/news/2004-07-20/s_25997.asp>
A storm is brewing in China as drought-plagued regions accuse each other of stealing clouds for rain-seeding. <http://www.enn.com/news/2004-07-15/s_25857.asp>
The EPA finding that the method of coalbed methane extraction called fracturing does not contaminate groundwater is based on secondhand research and raises more questions than it answered. Durango Herald; July 5 <http://durangoherald.com/asp-bin/article_generation.asp?article_type=opin&article_path=/opinion/opin040705.htm>
The Rio Grande does not pose a toxic threat to human or aquatic life, according to a study prompted by unconfirmed fears about the safety of the water. <http://www.enn.com/news/2004-07-07/s_25620.asp>
Fish from lakes and reservoirs sampled by federal researchers were contaminated with mercury, and most exceeded federal exposure limits for young children and women of childbearing age, according to a study by an environmental advocacy coalition. <http://www.enn.com/news/2004-08-04/s_26373.asp>
In what is believed to be the first case of Americans suing a Canadian company under U.S. Superfund law, a tribe is demanding that the owner of a huge smelter north of the border comply with environmental laws in cleaning up waste dumped for decades in the Columbia River. <http://www.enn.com/news/2004-07-23/s_26140.asp>
The number of days that beaches closed or posted warnings because of pollution rose sharply in 2003 due to more rainfall, increased monitoring, and tougher standards, an environmental group said. <http://www.enn.com/news/2004-08-06/s_26402.asp>
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA) Fisheries finalized new regulations establishing what the agencies say [under the guise of] is a more efficient approach to ensure protection of threatened and endangered species as part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's approval process for pesticides. Under the new process, the EPA will be required to consult with the USFWS and other federal agencies only if its own "risk assessment methodology" shows that a pesticide might "adversely affect" a listed species or its critical habitat. The previous policy required the EPA to consult with USFWS and NOAA Fisheries over potential impacts from pesticides on listed species. Agency officials say the new regulations were developed following a comprehensive scientific review of EPA's risk assessment methodology. <http://www.cbbulletin.com/Free/21066.aspx>
Conservation and fishing groups threatened legal action against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, calling slipshod the agency's process for determining whether pesticides affect salmon and steelhead survival. The groups, represented by Earthjustice, sent the EPA a 60-day notice of intent to sue the EPA unless alleged violations of the Endangered Species Act are remedied. The notice accuses the federal agency of erroneously concluding that a set of pesticides and active ingredient certifications have "no effect" or are "not likely to adversely affect" ESA listed Pacific salmon and steelhead. <http://www.earthjustice.org/news/documents/7-04/NOAA_fisheries_non_compliance.pdf>
Idaho's Coeur d'Alene Tribe pledged $5 million to help keep its namesake lake clean, a challenge to state and federal governments to match the money and keep the lake off the Superfund list. Spokane Spokesman-Review; 8/4 <http://www.spokesmanreview.com/idaho/topstory.asp?ID=19062>
Restoring about 2.4 million acres of the Florida Everglades is costing more than expected, federal and state overseers told a House subcommittee Thursday. The initial $1.1 billion estimate for two of the first major projects now approaches $1.6 billion. <http://www.enn.com/news/2004-07-23/s_26135.asp>
-- Iraq has received US$1 billion to spend on its water system, but the day when every household will have clean water is years away, the official in charge of the project said. <http://www.enn.com/news/2004-07-22/s_26092.asp>
A U.S.-based mining company denied accusations that its gold mining operations in Central Indonesia contaminated a nearby bay, causing the deaths of 30 people from mercury poisoning. <http://www.enn.com/news/2004-07-22/s_26091.asp>
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