Colorado Central Magazine - The monthly magazine for powder hounds

BUREAU OF RECLAMATION ANNOUNCES STUDY OF ASPINALL OPERATIONS

A notice in the Federal Register (Volume 69, number 13, page 2943-2945) expresses the intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and schedules scoping meetings for 2/24 in Gunnison (at the fairgrounds), 2/25 in Delta, (Middle School), and 2/25 in Grand Junction (Mesa State, Liff Auditorium). All meetings will be from 6:30-9 pm. The EIS is to evaluate the effects of operational changes for the Aspinall Unit related to flow recommendations in compliance with the Endangered Species Act. Scoping is an early process for determining the issues to be addressed and suggesting alternatives related to the proposed Federal action. Reclamation is asking that scoping comments be submitted by 3/15. We can expect the EIS process to take 3-4 years to complete.

RECLAMATION RELEASES DRAFT EIS FOR PLATTE RIVER

The report evaluates 4 alternative management plans for restoring flows to assist in the recovery and protection of the whooping crane, Interior least tern, piping plover and pallid sturgeon. The plans require the cooperation of Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska. <http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~53~1910659,00.html The draft EIS>

can be reviewed at <http://www.platteriver.org/library/DEIS/MASTER%20CHAPTER%201%20(final).pdf>

BUSH BUDGET TO INCLUDE FUNDS TO HELP GUARANTEE WESTERN WATER SUPPLIES

President Bush’s budget will include $21 million for western water projects, including the Interior Department’s Water 2025 project intended to foster conservation and water-marketing. Santa Fe New Mexican (AP); Jan. 27 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=13351>

COLORADO’S ESTIMATED WATER DEMAND HUGE BUT NOT UNEXPECTED, STUDY SAYS

Colorado’s growth will push its water needs 60 percent higher in the next quarter-century, according to a still-unfinished study, with most of the new demand along the Front Range. Denver Rocky Mountain News; Jan. 29 <http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~53~1921368,00.html> <http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_2612829,00.html>

FLORIDA WATER DECISION COULD WASH OVER INTO COLORADO

If the U.S. Supreme Court decides water suppliers must first treat the water diverted from another drainage, Denver and Colorado Springs residents could see huge rate increases; the court would do well to keep its decision narrow. Denver Post; Jan. 12 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=13064>

LUCKY SNOW ISN’T SUBSTITUTE FOR COLORADO WATER PLANNING

Denver and the Front Range can’t let one lucky season of adequate snow lull it into a false confidence about water supplies. Denver Post; Jan. 20 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=13220>

SOUTH METRO STUDY

The south metro area (of Denver) should implement measures aimed at reducing the volume of its ground water withdrawals by expanding conservation, maximizing water reuse, and by importing renewable surface water through a “conjunctive use” plan, according to a summary of the South Metro Water Supply Study that was released recently. A key recommendation of the study is for the South Metro water providers to work with Denver Water and the Colorado River Water Conservation District to pursue a conjunctive use alternative that would reduce the draw on the aquifer system by an estimated 1 million acre- feet and provide an annual average of 19,000 acre- feet of renewable water yield to the South Metro area.

COLORADO WATER PLANNERS SAY DROUGHT’S NOT OVER

Colorado water experts will advise state officials to plan for another dry spring and summer, prepare for a third year of water restrictions and hope for another miraculous spring blizzard. Denver Rocky Mountain News; Jan. 21 <http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_2592439,00.html>

WATER TAP FEES CLOSING DOORS TO DENVER HOUSING MARKET

In new suburban areas such as Broomfield, outside Denver’s metro area, the cost of tying into a water system has gone from $9,241 in 1998 to nearly $20,000 in 2003, driving the cost of a home out of reach to many. Rocky Mountain News; Jan. 19 <http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_2587283,00.html>

COLORADO BILL WOULD CREATE REGIONAL WATER AUTHORITY

Rep. Matt Smith, R-Grand Junction, proposed a bill that unites water districts with the fastest-growing populations in the south metro area of Denver into one regional authority, saying it would ease the negotiation process with Western Slope water providers. Denver Rocky Mountain News; Jan. 16 <http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/legislature/article/0,1299,DRMN_37_2580588,00.html>

COLORADO POWER PLANT’S POWER LIES IN CONTROL OF THE RIVER

Downstream Colorado cities are fearful of what may happen if the Shoshone Power Plant shuts down for two months this summer, drying up the Colorado River and forcing cities to pay more to treat water. <http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/newsfd/auto/feed/news/2004/02/01/1075645722.26609.6869.5274.html>

APPEALS COURT RULES AGAINST TAKING WATER FOR ENDANGERED NEW MEXICO MINNOW

A federal appeals court overturned its prior ruling and said water from New Mexico’s San Juan-Chama project can’t be usurped for the endangered silvery minnow. The 10th Circuit’s action ends the current push by some of the parties and others to seek first a reconsideration of the issue by the entire set of 10th Circuit judges, and then possibly Supreme Court review. Santa Fe New Mexican; Jan. 6 <http://www.santafenewmexican.com/main.asp?FromHome=1&TypeID=1&ArticleID=38266&SectionID=2&SubSectionID=7>

NEW MEXICO WATER PLAN UNDERSCORES WORK YET TO BE DONE

New Mexico officials released their statewide water plan, although 80 percent of water rights are still unadjudicated and talks with 22 Indian tribes have only begun. Santa Fe New Mexican; Jan. 9 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=13009>

CREATING A WATER RESERVE IN N.M. A BEGUILING NOTION

New Mexico legislators would be wise to adopt Think New Mexico’s idea to use the state’s severance-tax bonding capacity to buy a pool of water rights to be held in trust to fulfill interstate compact obligations or to meet environmental requirements. Santa Fe New Mexican; 1/19 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=13190>

STUDY TRIES TO EASE OVERDRAFT OF NEW MEXICO WATER TABLE

A preliminary plan to cut the Albuquerque area’s 18 billion-gallons-a-year overuse of ground water includes measures such as thinning vegetation along the river and pumping in desalinated water. Santa Fe New Mexican (AP); Jan. 14 <http://www.santafenewmexican.com/main.asp?FromHome=1&TypeID=1&ArticleID=38726&SectionID=2&SubSectionID=7>

SANTA FE FIGHTS TO KEEP USING NEW WELLS

The city drilled four new wells last year under an emergency permit while a water-treatment plant was renovated, but it could lose access to the wells when the treatment plant goes back online. Santa Fe New Mexican; Jan. 16 <http://www.santafenewmexican.com/main.asp?FromHome=1&TypeID=1&ArticleID=38827&SectionID=2&SubSectionID=6>

NEW MEXICO BILL WOULD RAISE PRICE OF WATER TO FUND NEW PROJECTS

Backed by experts who said water is too cheap, a New Mexico legislator introduced a bill to charge irrigators another $2 per acre-foot and domestic users an additional $25 per acre-foot. Farmington Daily Times; Jan. 28 <http://www.daily-times.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=267&num=8068>

NAVAJOS SAY THEY WERE LEFT OUT OF NEW MEXICO WATER DEAL

Navajo tribal members complained they were left out of negotiations to settle tribal water claims in the San Juan Basin and given too little time to comment on the deal that resulted. Farmington Daily Times; Jan. 8 <http://www.daily-times.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=239&num=7384>

NEW MEXICO SENATOR SAYS INDIAN WATER TALKS MUST INCLUDE NON-NATIVES

New Mexico’s Senate majority leader is pushing a measure to allow the participation of non-Indians in negotiations toward a settlement of Navajo water claims. Farmington Daily Times; Jan. 27 <http://www.daily-times.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=266&num=8031>

NAVAJOS OBJECT TO LAST-MINUTE ADDITION OF NON-INDIAN VOICES IN WATER TALKS

Navajo tribal officials objected to a bill introduced into the state Legislature that would allow non-Indians to participate in a settlement of tribal water claims in the San Juan basin. Farmington Daily Times; Jan. 28 <http://www.daily-times.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=267&num=8069>

ELECTROFISHING

Electrofishing has a valuable sampling technique in North America for over half a century and involves a very dynamic and complex mix of physics, physiology, and behavior. New hypotheses have been advanced regarding “power transfer” to fish and the epileptic nature of their responses to electric fields. Fishery researchers and managers in the Colorado River Basin, and elsewhere, are particularly concerned about the harmful effects of electrofishing on fish, especially endangered species. Although often not externally obvious or fatal, spinal injuries and associated hemorrhages sometimes have been documented in over 50% of fish examined internally. Such injuries can occur anywhere in the electrofishing field at or above the intensity threshold for twitch. Other harmful effects, such as bleeding at gills or vent and excessive physiological stress, are also of concern. Mortality, usually by asphyxiation, is a common result of excessive exposure to tetanizing intensities. And, electrofishing over spawning grounds can harm embryos. A recent report on the topic, “Electrofishing and Its Harmful Effects on Fish” by Darrel Snyder (USGS/BRD/ITR–2003-0002. 149 p.), can be viewed and downloaded from <http://www.fort.usgs.gov/products/publications/>

NEIGHBORS’ DRY WELLS SPARK OPPOSITION TO WYOMING METHANE DEVELOPMENT

Residents near Sheridan, Wyo., whose water wells have gone dry after coalbed methane development nearby, are among those asking BLM officials for more thorough review of pending permits. Billings Gazette; Jan. 30 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=13444>

JUDGE RULES GOVERNMENT MUST PAY FOR WITHHELD WATER

In a case that could have substantial implications for enforcement of the Endangered Species Act, a federal judge ruled recently that the U.S. government must pay California irrigators some $14 million for water it withheld from them during an early 1990s drought in the state. The water was held back in order to maintain river and stream flows sufficient to protect two endangered fish species. The ruling builds on an earlier decision by the same judge that the withholding amounted to a property taking under the U.S. Constitution, which means the property owners (in this case, irrigators) must be compensated. Since water supplies in arid Southern California (and the Southwest generally) are perpetually short of demand, this decision means that any move to restrict flows to the region’s irrigation districts amounts to a property taking of enormous value. The case’s prosecutor argued that the government will simply find other, less economically damaging ways to protect species; enviros, on the other hand, said that the decision more or less screws endangered fish. <http://www.gristmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=1929>

RECOVERY PLAN OUT FOR RAREST U.S. TROUT

The government is proposing a recovery plan for “the rarest trout in America” that might include poisoning a stretch of Sierra Nevada creek in an attempt to rid the threatened fish of nonnative competitors. The Paiute cutthroat trout is native only to part of upper Silver King Creek, which flows into the Carson River south of Lake Tahoe in California’s remote Alpine County. In cooperation with the California Department of Fish and Game, the federal service wants to rid an 11-mile lower section of the creek of other fish so the Paiute cutthroat can return there. The poison that would be used, Rotenone, is particularly controversial in the Sierra Nevada because the state has used it unsuccessfully in four past attacks on nonnative fish. <http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Fish-Poison.html>

DURAN APPOINTED USIBWC COMMISSIONER

President Bush has appointed Arturo Q. Duran as United States Commissioner to the International Boundary and Water Commission, United States and Mexico. As Commissioner, Duran serves as agency head of the U.S. Section (USIBWC), directing activities in twelve offices. Prior to his appointment to the Commission, Duran served as General Manager of the Lower Valley Water District in Clint, Texas from 2000 until 2003. He also worked as a Manager and Environmental Coordinator with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). While at EPA, he coordinated the development and implementation of U.S. and Mexico border infrastructure and environmental programs.

MEXICO MAKES BIG PAYMENT OF WATER

For the first time in a decade, Mexico has not only m

Western Water Report: February 3, 2004

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.