Article by John Orr
Water – October 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine
General Mining Law of 1872
Congress has it’s eyes on a revamp of the General Mining Law of 1872. One of the reasons is the cost of land under the act — $5 per acre with no royalties. Another is that it reduces backcountry access due to closures from mining firms worried about liability claims. The act gives federal officials little leeway to deny mining claims
Mining on Mount Emmons near Crested Butte is cited by many who want to overhaul the act. In 2004 the Bureau of Land Management sold 155 acres of U.S. Forest Service land to Phelps Dodge for $875 — well below the going price of land in the resort area. The sale stirred a hornet’s nest of opposition.
Proponents of reform are looking for royalty payments and regulations to protect water quality, access and recreation. The boom in uranium mining in Colorado is unsettling for those who want to change the act. Colorado is third in the nation, behind New Mexico and Wyoming, in uranium reserves. The Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety reports 35 permitted uranium mining projects and 28 prospecting permits in eight Colorado counties, including Fremont County.
Mining claims on federal land have increased 239% since 2003. Most of these are in the West. In addition to uranium, gold and copper are driving mining activity. Numerous new mining claims have been filed in the state, including the mountainous region between Leadville and Fairplay.
Colorado Water Congress summer meeting
Steamboat Springs was the host city for the Colorado Water Congress’s annual summer meeting. Water suppliers, government officials, scientists and consultants focused on water management and climate change.
The effects of climate change on water quality and supply were primary topics. In the West, 80% of the annual drinking water supply comes from snowmelt, and warmer temperatures can induce algae blooms in reservoirs. Warming can also set the stage for larger, more destructive forest fires leading to increased reservoir sedimentation. Increased storm intensity could cause sewer overflows, which would hurt stream water quality. Reduced snowpack would impact skiing. Earlier runoff could lead to flood control and water supply problems. Increased sedimentation would harm fisheries.
Water officials have mixed opinions on the strategy to deal with climate change. Most agree that warming is happening and are looking at their operations hoping to anticipate demands on the systems that most of us depend on. One attendee asked, “Do you plan for the average, or do you plan for the unacceptable.” Frank Kugel of the Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District is pretty sure that what is available now may not be available as the century marches on.
U.S. Senator Ken Salazar keynoted the Thursday session. He touted conservation as a key to dealing with climate change. He hopes that Colorado will soon be able to determine how much water is left in the Colorado River system because there is much disagreement on that issue.
Kathleen Curry, state representative from Gunnison, also attended the conference. According to her, next year will be a big water year in the Colorado legislature. Issues in the bullseye include water quality and wastewater treatment as well as new and expanded water storage projects.
One item that is near and dear to Central Colorado is a Western Slope availability study to quantify how much water is available in the Colorado River. This includes the Gunnison River.
The study needs to happen before Aaron Million or the Northern Water Conservancy move on their plans to pipe more water to the Front Range. Some Western Colorado water officials favor looking at all the streams as a whole, not just the main stem, when calculating undeveloped Colorado River water in the state. Curry plans to increase the dough allocated to the study above the $500,000 allocated this year.
San Luis Valley Conservation Reserve
A new CREP, a federal conservation program, is in the planning stages in the area of the first groundwater management subdistrict of the Rio Grande Water Conservation District. The program is designed to reduce pumping on the river. Tim Davis is the consultant hired by The Rio Grande Headwaters Restoration Project to design the program. Under the agreement some participants will take land out of agricultural production for 15 years while other land will be permanently removed from irrigation.
The fallowing will be compensated, although the numbers are not known at this time. It is hoped that the CREP will be online next spring. Since the USDA (80%) and a non-federal match (20%) will be paid to participants, they will be able to avoid the fate of other farmers around the state who have had their groundwater wells shut down without compensation.
Ruedi Reservoir News
Ruedi Reservoir, part of the Fryingpan-Arkansas project, has been in the news recently. Some officials were hoping to use water from the reservoir to flush mud from the Fryingpan and Roaring Fork. The mud accumulated after a flash flood stormed down Seven Castles Creek in early August. And the extra sediment load, which is working it’s way into the spaces between pebbles and rocks, is not good for aquatic insects. The sediment smothers insects and their eggs, and can effect other instream residents, too, including trout — thereby diminishing the fishery.
At the August 30th meeting there was an agreement to wait for the spring runoff. Tim O’Keefe from the Roaring Fork Conservancy said they favored waiting and treating the situation in a way that reflected what would happen if the Fryingpan was free-flowing. Natural flow at this time of year would never get to 800 cfs for the time interval required to move the mud. The conservancy made the choice after consulting with numerous scientists.
Ruedi Reservoir water is also the target of the Colorado River District. They’re hoping for a contract to market water to third parties. The proposed uses include municipal, domestic, industrial and agricultural. The district hopes to use the water for its obligations under the Upper Colorado Endangered Fish Program until they find customers for the contracted water. The public review and comment period is open until November 9th. Contact Reclamation’s Great Plains office for a copy of the draft contract.
Short Takes
Congratulations to San Luis Valley farmers Paul and Ernie New. Their solar electrical generation project came on line recently. They plan to use their credits from Xcel to power irrigation to bring more farmland into production in areas that are not normally irrigated by pivot sprinklers.
Late summer rains delayed the start of construction of a fish-friendly diversion structure for the Gunnison River just upstream of town.
On November 6th Fremont County voters will get a chance to vote on joining the Upper Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District.
Governor Ritter got conned into talking about water in a recent interview. His water policy includes water sharing and multiple uses such as fallowing agreements between cities and farmers. Storage is big on his list as is conservation and recycling.
It’s been a good year for stream flow into the Aspinall unit. Late season inflows are enabling 1,000 cfs to the Uncompahgre Valley Water Users. Trout are doing backflips over the 1,000 cfs expected through the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.
Due to the summer monsoon and a decent winter snowpack in the Arkansas River Basin some reservoirs are in good shape going into the fall. Turquoise Lake and Twin Lakes are full, while Pueblo reservoir is at about half.
Clear Creek Reservoir has been drawn down to around 40 acre feet and will remain at that level until the Pueblo Board of Water Works completes repairs to hydraulic lines and gates. The gates were installed in 1909 and the hydraulic lines in 1970.
Florence is wrapping up a deal for part of the Union Ditch hoping to be able to convert ditch shares to municipal supply. They’ve been in water court for eight years. The Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District and the Pueblo Board of Water Works are watching closely hoping to keep the shares with their 1861 priority in the basin.
The Colorado Water Conservation Board has issued a rare call on some junior water users on the Slate River in order to protect the riparian environment.
The USDA has determined that there is at least one positive aspect of greenhouse gas emissions — some areas could experience large increases in groundwater recharges.
It looks like the Center for Biological Diversity is going to court with the Department of Interior for political interference with 55 endangered species in 28 states.
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John Orr follows water issues at www.coyotegulch.net.
