HYDROLOGIC CONDITIONS
October had an above-average amount of precipitation and snowpack (around 140%). But, due to dry soil moisture content, little runoff from this is projected. The just-completed water year had an unregulated inflow to the Colorado River Basin of 62% of average, with reservoir storage at 83% of average.
BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNISON WATER RIGHTS TO BE QUANTIFIED
The National Park Service has recently announced its intention to quantify its federal reserved rights for the national park before the end of this year. These rights date back to 1933 when the monument was first designated. The monument was upgraded to a national park this year.
This is a very complex issue since the Aspinall Unit (Blue Mesa, Marrow Point and Crystal reservoirs) was built upstream of the park in the mid ’60s and whose water rights have been controlling the flows through the Black Canyon ever since. The water rights case is likely to take years to settle since there are many competing interests asserting how the water stored in the Aspinall Unit should be managed, including the US Fish and Wildlife Service which needs flows to help recover endangered fish in the lower Gunnison River. Water users with rights junior to 1933 are concerned their historic use of water might be curtailed by “reoperation” of the Aspinall Unit.
INSTREAM APPROPRIATIONS
The Colorado Water Conservation Board held a well-attended stakeholders meeting to discuss instream water rights filings for recreational uses. The focus of the discussion was flows being filed on for kayaking courses and fish ladders. Unlike rafting, kayakers use short stretches of stream to perform technical maneuvers.
The meeting was divided into three parts. Water parks were described and discussed as an emerging recreational use of water. There was also a discussion about how many stakeholders don’t want recreational flows to be relegated to second-class status by having restrictions put on their appropriation. Finally, CWCB members and other state officials discussed how these rights might be abused in the future and suggested some changes in the law might be needed. They are particularly concerned that state-line filings might not be in the public interest if they curtail the state’s ability to fully utilize its compact allocations. [I commented that a public interest review of all water rights filings would be welcomed.]
The Board was asked to hold more meetings to solicit input from stakeholders outside the metropolitan area that aren’t able to attend daytime meetings in Denver. The Board will discuss the issue again at its November meeting.
DROUGHT MANAGEMENT
The Bureau of Reclamation recently hosted a workshop on drought. Reclamation indicated that future federal drought activities will focus on preparation and mitigation as opposed to relief. Commissioner Eluid Martinez recognized the efforts of the western governors in creating a Western Drought Coordination Council – involving states, tribes, federal agencies and local groups. Martinez noted that upstream storage got us through this year’s drought in many parts of the West, but unless we get a significant snowpack this winter, water supplies next summer will be very short.
The National Drought Policy Commission recently released its report which can be found at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/drought/.
Among the conclusions of the report is that effective drought plans should consider the allocation of water to meet the need to protect the environment as well as to meet immediate human needs. Proactive mitigation activities such as water conservation, science-based forest management, reuse of wastewater, desalination, pricing strategies, and the identification of back-up water supplies-when initiated before emergency-can reduce vulnerability to drought events.
The recommendations of the report favor preparedness over insurance, insurance over relief, and incentives over regulation. The goals of the national drought policy are to incorporate planning, implementation of plans and proactive mitigation measures, risk management, resource stewardship, environmental considerations, and public education as key elements to drought management.
FIRE FIGHTING SLURRY KILLS FISH
The red fire-retardant dropped from airplanes to fight recent fires on the front range this past fire season contains sodium ferrocyanide and ammonia and is toxic to some aquatic life when exposed to sunlight. A USGS study has shown the toxicity increases 100-fold when UV rays contact the substance. Federal procurement officers have instructed the manufacturer to produce a fire retardant that does not contain sodium ferrocyanide by 2004, when the Forest Service takes bids to replenish their supplies. As a precaution to protect public health, steps have been taken to divert runoff from the Eldorado fire from entering the Moffat Treatment Plant which is used to treat part of Denver’s municipal water supply.
FRONT RANGE MUNICIPAL WATER COSTS CONTINUE TO RISE
The Colorado-Big Thompson (CBT) transmountain diversion project primarily provides irrigation water for northeastern Colorado, but it also provides drinking water for several front range cities including Boulder, Fort Collins, Greeley and Broomfield. In 1995, units of CBT water were selling for $2,000. The current purchase price for CBT ranges from $12-17,000 per unit and is expected to increase up to $50,000 in 20 years.
DISTRICT WANTS TO ENLARGE TWO RESERVOIRS
The Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District has taken initial steps to enlarge Pueblo and Turquoise reservoirs. These two reservoirs are components of the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project which currently diverts 69,000 af of western slope water for 9 front range counties. The plan includes enlarging Turquoise Reservoir, at the headwaters of the Arkansas River, by 19,000 af and enlarging Pueblo Reservoir by 54,000 af. The estimated cost of these enlargements is $90 million. The need for these enlargements is based on projections of the population doubling within the District during the next 40 years. Congress will need to separately authorize a study of the feasibility study needed and the enlargement.
RESERVOIR IN STEAMBOAT SPRINGS TO BE REPLACED WITH A PARK
Spring Creek Reservoir, built in 1903, is being breached because of dam safety concerns. The parks department wants to build a park with a pond in its place. Bids have gone out, but the park may not be completed for several years since there is no money for it in 2001 budget.
SOUTH BOULDER CREEK POSES DANGER IN 100-YEAR FLOOD
Neighborhoods have been allowed to be develop in the path of flood waters because water flows in the event of a 100-year flood were misjudged, endangering more than 4,000 people. As many as 1,310 structures could be inundated.
Efforts to correct the problem pit the city and county on one side against the Board of Regents of the University of Colorado on the other. Options include building a flood storage reservoir, enlarging culverts that carry the creek under roads and deepening or rechanneling South Boulder Creek.
COLORADO HOG FARM CLOSES AMID OWNER’S ALLEGATIONS OF RANK POLITICS
Colorado’s largest commercial hog farm and a routine violator of state environmental laws has closed, and its owner has vowed to fight state regulations he says were pushed by the billionaire next door. Denver Post; Oct. 19
DRAFT GUIDELINES FOR MANAGEMENT OF ONSITE/DECENTRALIZED WASTEWATER SYSTEMS
EPA has developed draft voluntary management guidelines for onsite wastewater systems, such as septic systems, that can be adapted for local conditions. The draft guidelines were developed with input from the public and private sectors stakeholders in response to recurring onsite system failures and associated public health and water resource risks. The guidelines describe a series of five progressive management tiers and key program elements for each tier. The tiers range from programs that maintain simple system inventories and provide basic information on maintenance to programs that own, operate, and manage systems in a manner similar to centralized sewage treatment plants. Local communities can use the guidelines to develop a program tailored to local conditions, adjusting for water resource sensitivities, the types of systems in use, system densities, and the availability of operation/maintenance services. EPA will be taking public comment for 60 days. For a fact sheet on the draft guidelines and additional information, visit http://www.epa.gov/owm/decent/whatsnew.htm
The guidelines can be found at http://www.epa.gov/owm/smallc/guidelines.htm>
UNDER FUNDING LEADS TO LAWSUIT
The USFWS finds itself in court once again after a coalition of five groups lead by the Center for Biological Diversity sued them over their failure to list the Colorado River cutthroat trout “in a timely manner” says the Salt Lake Tribune 10/18. After years of congressional budget cuts and under funding, the agency claims that it just doesn’t “have the people and money to get the job done.” Once abundant in mountain streams throughout the upper Colorado basin, the groups worry that continued delays will further imperil the species which has been reduced to “less than 5% of its historic range” and remains under continued threat from livestock, water diversions and “introduction of non-native trout.”
NO SURPLUS FOR COLORADO DELTA
Conservation groups are protesting a likely decision by the Bureau of Reclamation to declare “surplus conditions” in the Colorado River basin for the year 2001 says Southwest Rivers 10/30. The proposed declaration comes even though this year’s water flows are 62% of normal and reservoirs such as Lake Mead are only at 83% of average capacity and will be made to satisfy water demands by lower basin states CA and NV that exceed their legal allotments. Should drought conditions continue next year the declared surplus would substantially “reduce the amount of water reaching the river’s imperiled delta,” 95% of whose wetlands have already been destroyed imperiling species such as the Vaquita porpoise, Totoba fish and Southwestern willow flycatcher.
WATER HOGS ON THE SIDELINES FOR COLORADO LAWSUIT
A federal judge has ruled that “eight AZ, CA, and NV water development and agribusiness” agencies can not be interveners in a historic international lawsuit over management of the lower Colorado Rivers say GREEN sources 10/26.
The lawsuit charges the Bureau of Reclamation with diverting and damming so much water that the ecologically sensitive wetlands and riparian environment at the Colorado’s mouth are in danger of being destroyed.
ON ANOTHER FRONT, NEW MOMENTUM ON DELTA RESTORATION
There has been significant activity to focus attention on addressing the long-ignored environmental needs of the Colorado River Delta. The Department of Interior convened a meeting last month inviting the seven basin states, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and other federal agencies and departments, including EPA and the State Department.
There was general agreement that the delta is a significant ecological component of the river system. It was also acknowledge that there are some data gaps that need to filled with more scientific studies. There needs to be some clarification on the legal tools available for environmental protection of the delta ecosystems. And, there are significant opportunities available to help improve the plight of endangered species.
A plan came out of the meeting to pursue the development of an “environmental minute” to be added to the Treaty with Mexico that could outline procedures for cooperation to address environmental needs along the border of the two countries. It is hoped that a meeting can be scheduled early next year to initiate the Joint Declaration between the Department of the Interior (DOI) and the Secretariat of Environment, Natural Resources, and Fisheries (SEMARNAP) of the United Mexican States to Enhance Cooperation in the Colorado River Delta
ARIZONA TRIBE MAY HOLD WATER RIGHTS THAT CITIES WILL NEED
Arizona’s Gila River Tribe is about to settle the largest water-rights claim in Arizona history, which will likely make it one of the key brokers of future water supplies for Arizona’s sprawling cities. Arizona Republic; Oct. 19 http://www.arizonarepublic.com/opinions/articles/1019thur1-19A.html>
DISAPPEARING ARIZONA FROGS INDICATE BIGGER ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
A zoologist who annually counts frogs along an Arizona creek has watched the number drop from 2,385 in 1978 to three last year. Amphibians are an early warning system in the ecological balance, scientists say, and the alarm is blaring. Arizona Daily Star; Nov. 2
OPINION: RIO GRANDE MINNOW SUIT SHOULD BE SETTLED IN PUBLIC FORUM
Control of Rio Grande River water will dictate the future of humans and wildlife in New Mexico, and the court should not let-much less order-a handful of insiders decide that control in secrecy. Albuquerque Journal; Oct. 18
NAVAJO, HOPI PONDER WISDOM OF WATER CONTRACT WITH PEABODY COAL
The Hopi and Navajo have sold water from the aquifer underlying their reservations to Peabody Coal for its slurry pipeline since 1970. But now, with reservation populations threatening to explode and crucial springs already drying up, some members say the water is key to the tribes’ existence. Navajo-Hopi Observer; Oct. 18
BULL TROUT THREATENED BY DAM RENOVATION
Plans to renovate water release valves at Arrowrock Dam, near Boise ID, could risk serious harm to threatened bull trout in the Boise River says the Idaho Statesman 11/2. All of the alternatives require draining the reservoir which would have a “profound impact on the fish” and “release large amounts of sediment” into the river. Renovating the dam, which provides irrigation water, “has a huge potential for bad things to occur.”
SALMON RACE EXTINCTION TO ADAPT
Scientists have found that salmon can “adapt to new environments with surprising speed,” perhaps as quickly as “13 generations or about 60 years” says the Tacoma News Tribune 10/20. By comparison, insects “can take 100 to 200 generations” to form divergent populations. While the salmon’s adaptability is a strong plus for recovery efforts, the large number of salmon runs that have been “wiped out” and the many “in critical condition clearly show that habitat destruction has been too severe and too fast for the fish to handle.”
GOVERNORS CRITICIZE SALMON PLAN
Northwest governors have challenged the federal plan to help restore native salmon runs. Idaho’s report says the requirement for more natural river flows has no substantiated benefit and the plan fails to consider impacts on irrigation. Environmental News Network (Tri-City Herald); Oct. 16. http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news-story.asp?date=101700&ID=s866968&cat=section.regional>
STEELHEAD LISTING REDUX
A federal judge has ruled that the NMFS was “arbitrary and capricious” in not listing steelhead trout populations in northern California and southern Oregon says Greenwire 11/6.
According to the decision in a lawsuit argued by Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund on the behalf of several regional conservation groups, the NMFS “relied on state recovery plans that were insufficient, unenforceable and in some cases never implemented.”
ENGINEERED SALMON FIRST OF GENETICALLY ALTERED ANIMALS ON AMERICAN MENU
The FDA is considering approval for genetically altered salmon that grow faster on less feed, the first animals genetically engineered for America’s dinner tables. Washington Post; Oct. 17 http://www.sltrib.com/10162000/utah/33799.htm> http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4616-2000Oct13.html>,
IDAHO BOARD SETS OUT TO PROVE STREAM-PROTECTION LAW
An Idaho board has recommended added state protection for the Selway and Middle Fork of the Salmon rivers, a step toward fulfilling a 1989 law, but environmentalists say it won’t be the precedent they had hoped. Idaho Statesman; Oct. 19
“QUEST TO RESTORE HETCH HETCHY”
The S.F. Examiner reports 10/12 that “John Muir’s spiritual heirs have never been reconciled to the loss of a valley,” Hetch Hetchy, which “rivaled” Yosemite in beauty and ecological importance and now a new group Restore Hetch Hetchy is proposing “the demolition of the [O’Shaughnessy] dam by 2013” as the first step in restoring the valley. With dam removal a hot topic in California and other areas across the country the group is reviving an idea proposed by then Interior Secretary Donald Hodel in 1987.
PUMPING SCHEME SUCKS
Federal and state agencies are “fast tracking” a scheme “to drain up to 652 billion gallons of water” from the aquifer below the Mojave National Preserve says ENS 10/23. The project, which stands to make “half a billion dollars” for its backers, could have a devastating impact on the plants and animals in the fragile desert environment including the threatened desert tortoise and bighorn sheep.
According to the Sierra Club, the plan to pump 50 billion gallons of groundwater annually will “suck dry this aquifer that has supported desert life for millennia.”
STILLWATER NWR GETS RIGHTS
After a 4 year battle with local officials, the Nevada State Engineer has approved the transfer of “water rights of 3,000 acre feet” yearly to Stillwater NWR and its ecologically important Lahontan Valley wetlands says ENS 10/25.
Although the additional water is limited this year, it will substantially improve habitat conditions for migrating birds next year.
THIS BUDS FOR THE FISH
Anheuser-Busch has “decided to remove hundreds of its cattle from fragile Sierra Nevada meadows” in the Golden Trout wilderness says the San Jose Mercury News 10/24. The high meadows “contain the last habitat for California’s state fish, the Volcano Creek golden trout, which Trout Unlimited has just petitioned to list under the ESA due to “threats from invasive fish and grazing.”
OREGON SENATORS JOIN TO LAUNCH LEGISLATION TO RESTORE THE ROGUE RIVER
Oregon Senators Gordon Smith and Ron Wyden introduced a bill to resolve the longstanding controversy over Savage Rapids Dam on the Rogue River.
Their legislation would remove the aging irrigation dam near Grants Pass, and replace with it with new pumps. Removing it is the single biggest step that can be taken to restore the river and it’s endangered salmon and steelhead.
Savage Rapids Dam, built in 1921 by the Grants Pass Irrigation District (GPID), has a history of controversy over the harm it causes to the Rogue’s salmon and steelhead trout. Conservation and sportfishing industry groups, including WaterWatch, Trout Unlimited, and the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, have long sought to reach an agreement with GPID on the dam’s removal. Faced with rising costs of litigation, the risk of losing one-third of its water, and mechanical failures, GPID patrons strongly supported dam removal in a January vote. Since then GPID officials and members of the conservation and business community have been cooperatively working with Oregon’s congressional delegation on legislation that would keep the irrigation district in business while removing the dam and restoring the river.
The bill provides $13.5 million for removal of the dam and installation of a pumping facility to meet GPID’s water needs. The Bureau of Reclamation will monitor and repair any flaws in the pumping facility for five years. GPID is to be paid $3.7 million for the dam, which will assist the District in covering electricity costs. The bill also provides for $2.5 million for riparian and fishery enhancements, and $2.5 million for recreational enhancements for the local region.
State and local governments will share part of the cost for these enhancements.
IT’S BACK, THE GARRISON DIVERSION LITE
The Senate has passed S 623, The Dakota Water Resources Act. S. Rpt. 106-203 which is smaller version of legislation to expand the controversial Garrison Diversion project in North Dakota. The smaller version of the bill now costs only $630 million from the $770 million approved by the Senate Energy committee and would provide irrigation and drinking water to North Dakota communities. Although the revised version of the bill contains changes to calm Canada’s concerns about the possible transmission of exotic species that could damage the Hudson Bay watershed, and removes language linking authorization of a natural resources trust fund to construction of unrelated features of the project it still is opposed by many environmental groups and states in the lower Missouri watershed.
GEORGIA DAM FIGHTERS
Georgia River Network has produced a manual targeted to aid citizen groups wishing to fight the construction of small dams in Georgia. The information provided by the document may be useful to anyone interested in fighting small dams in any state. By small dams, we are referring to municipal, water supply and industrial dams that are permitted under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. This manual walks you through the process of researching and understanding a proposed dam, building an opposition strategy, becoming a voice in the permitting process, and making your voice heard. www.garivers.org/dammanual>
GENE BANKING LAST RESORT FOR WILD ATLANTIC SALMON?
A Canadian scientist contends that “gene banking” may be the only way to save wild Atlantic salmon from a “full-scale disaster” caused by acid rain on Nova Scotia’s eastern shore says the Bangor Daily News 10/25. “More than half” of the province’s 65 rivers are too acidic for salmon and only 13 can support naturally reproducing salmon which have been reduced to “refuge populations.”
MONTANA’S STREAM ACCESS LAW A HOT ISSUE IN GUBERNATORIAL RACE
Montana’s 16-year-old stream access law, which allows public access to the state’s waterways, is being legally challenged by a foundation with ties to Judy Martz’s campaign-a fact Democratic candidate Mark O’Keefe has capitalized on. Missoula Independent; Oct. 30
WETLANDS CASE A WATERSHED IN FEDERAL CONTROL OVER LAND USE
The U.S. Supreme Court has taken up one of this year’s most important cases, whether the federal Clean Water Act applies to protect wetland habitat for migratory birds from a proposed landfill isolated from major rivers and lakes. If so, it’s a major expansion of federal authority; if not, it’s another big chance for conservatives to shape policy. Christian Science Monitor; Oct. 31 http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/2000/10/31/text/p1s1.html>
AMPHIBIAN DECLINE LINKED TO POLLUTION
A new University of New Hampshire study 11/6 “demonstrates that environmental contaminants could be the leading cause of frog deformities and declining amphibian populations.” The new research shows that the deformities are tied to “irregular levels of hormones” that regulate growth and development.
Amphibians are “particularly susceptible” to chemical contaminants from sewage, pulp mill effluents, agricultural runoff, and petroleum from bilge water and boat engines.
EPA REVISES HUMAN HEALTH METHODOLOGY FOR WATER QUALITY STANDARDS
To better protect public health and provide cleaner water nationwide, EPA is updating scientific guidelines that will result in stronger, more protective water quality standards. On November 3, EPA revised its methodology for developing water quality criteria. States and authorized tribes use EPA’s published criteria in setting water quality standards, but may also use the methodology to develop their own criteria. The revisions incorporate significant scientific advances in key areas such as cancer and non-cancer risk assessments, exposure assessments, and bioaccumulation in fish. EPA, states, and tribes will use the new guidelines to update existing water quality criteria in the future. The revised methodology and additional information can be found at http://www.epa.gov/ost/humanhealth/.
TAILINGS SPILL AT CHINESE ZINC MINE KILLS 15; 100 REPORTED MISSING
The Associated Press reports that a tailings heap collapsed in southern China, unleashing a mudslide that engulfed houses and workers’ dormitories. The spill killed at least 15 people and left more than 100 others missing, according to the Beijing Morning Post and a company spokesman. More than 50 other people were injured in the landslide, which occurred at a zinc mine in Guangxi province’s Nandan county. An embankment of sand and mine waste collapsed suddenly, releasing a 6-foot-high wave of waste water, mud, and stones that destroyed or buried more than 100 houses. The landslide also engulfed three worker’s dormitories belonging to the Hua Xi Group Copper Mine Company, said a company spokesman. He said that the embankment belonged to a private ore-processing factory and that it was constructed shoddily of woven sandbags that cracked easily. He also accused Nandan government mine authorities of lax enforcement of safety laws. There is no word on the cause of the collapse. Source: Associated Press, 15 kill, 100 missing in China landslide, October 20, 2000.
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