HYDROLOGY
Record breaking high temperatures have persisted over Colorado in the latter part of May. This very warm weather has resulted in substantial late May snowmelt and runoff. Some streamflow gages are recording record high flows for this time of year. Even though river flows are quite high in the basin right now, drought conditions continue in the Colorado River Basin. River flows will likely drop dramatically in mid-June. Total unregulated inflow to Lake Powell for water year 2003 will likely be about 60 percent of average, according to the Bureau of Reclamation.
WATER 2025
On May 2, Interior Secretary Gale Norton announced an Administration proposal to concentrate existing federal financial and technical resources in key western watersheds to address chronic water supply problems to prevent crises and conflict. Four key tools for proactive management are: (1) conservation, efficiency and market improvements; (2) collaboration; (3) technology; and (4) raising interagency cooperation, while removing institutional barriers. Six principles are listed: (1) recognize and respect state, tribal, and federal water rights, contracts, and interstate compacts or decrees of the United States Supreme Court that allocate the right to use water; (2) maintain and modernize existing water facilities so they will continue to provide water and power; (3) enhance water conservation, use efficiency, and resource monitoring to allow existing water supplies to be used more effectively; (4) use collaborative approaches and market-based transfers to minimize conflicts; (5) improve water treatment technology, such as desalination, to increase supplies; and (6) get more benefits from existing water supply facilities to meet existing and emerging needs. Federal officials are holding 9 meetings across the West to engage farmers, environmentalists, water managers and others in this collaborative initiative. The meetings will be: Denver – June 6, Phoenix – July 8, Las Vegas – July 9, Sacramento – July 10, Salt Lake City – July 16, Boise, Idaho – July 17, Billings, Mont. – July 29, Albuquerque, N.M. – Aug. 12, Austin, Texas – Aug. 14. More information can be found at <http://www.doi.gov/water2025>
RECREATIONAL FLOWS
Colorado Supreme Court, by a 3-3 vote, recognizes recreational right to water. The Court has ruled that three Colorado towns can use state-governed rivers for their whitewater-kayaking courses, a legal acknowledgement that recreation is a legitimate use of water. The decision is another step in an evolution of water use policy in the West that increasingly recognizes how water can produce environmental and recreational benefits and not just provide hydration for livestock and irrigation for crops. Denver Rocky Mountain News; 5/20 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=8775> <http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~33~1429589,00.html>
COLORADO WATER PIPELINE STUDY WILL DETAIL THREE POSSIBLE ROUTES
A study of the proposed “Big Straw” that would suck Colorado River water from the Utah border back over the divide to Front Range reservoirs will examine a northern, middle and southern route. Denver Rocky Mountain News; May 20 <http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_1974516,00.html>
COLORADO SPRINGS’ PIPELINE FIRST OF MANY WATER PROJECTS
Colorado Front Range cities are building pipelines and expanding reservoirs this summer, beginning with Colorado Springs’ 45-mile, $900 million project. Denver Rocky Mountain News; May 27 <http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_1991736,00.html>
WATER CONSERVATION STARTS AT HOME
Drought-parched areas may look skyward for help from Mother Nature, but how well the United States copes with water shortages depends on down-to-earth conservators: homeowners. <http://www.enn.com/news/2003-05-14/s_4278.asp>
COLORADO CONCERN TURNS FROM DROUGHT TO FLOODS
An abnormally wet spring on top of a season of forest fires have Colorado officials worrying about floods instead of drought. Denver Post; May 13 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=8641>
DENVER RESERVOIRS FILLING AGAIN
Denver’s reservoirs could reach 88 percent capacity by July 1, with diligent conservation by consumers and a little cooperation from the weather. Denver Post; May 14 <http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~53~1389027,00.html>
DROUGHT FAR FROM OVER IN MOST OF WEST
Much of the West will enter its fifth year of extreme drought, and temperatures are already soaring above normal for this time of year. New York Times; June 2 <http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/02/national/02DROU.html>
COLORADO CITY OFFICIALS WANT A SAY IN GAS WELLS IN THEIR WATERSHED
City officials in Grand Junction, Colo., want the authority to review natural gas wells proposed in the city’s watershed, saying BLM officials won’t apply environmental regulations as strictly as the city would. Grand Junction Sentinel; 5/16 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=8718>
SOUTH DENVER PLAN WOULD ‘BANK’ WATER IN AQUIFER
A plan said to be the key to growth south of Denver would inject water into the aquifer during seasons of plenty and pump it out again during drought. Denver Business Journal; May 13 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=8643>
COMMUNITY DEFEATED, URANIUM MILL OFF THE HOOK
The town of Cañnon City thought it won a case against Cotter Uranium Corp. until receiving extremely disappointing news last month. A federal appeals court threw out all the verdicts, which would have held the company responsible for tailing ponds that leaked, causing contaminated water to flow downhill to nearby neighborhoods. The town is now fighting to stop Cotter’s plans to import toxic waste from other states for processing. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17655-2003May5.html>
PULSE TO SPUR SILVERY MINNOW SPAWNING
For two days last month, a pulse of water has been released into the middle Rio Grande in hopes of encouraging the Rio Grande silvery minnow to spawn says the USFWS 5/15. The minnow’s spawning is stimulated by a number of factors including the length of the day, increase in water temperature, and surges that coincide with the spring snow melt. Because of the drought, this year’s surge came from a water release from a reservoir. Last year flows were also increased artificially in mid-May which successfully resulted in a large number of eggs being released.
ENDANGERED MINNOW MAY UPSET ALBUQUERQUE WATER PLANS
Albuquerque will rely on Rio Grande water by 2006, but a court ruling on the endangered silvery minnow could not only derail those plans but shift legal priorities for federal dams throughout the West. Christian Science Monitor; May 21 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=8812>
SANTA FÉ NEEDS A MIX OF SOLUTIONS FOR COMING WATER CRISIS, REPORT SAYS A new state-funded report said Santa Fé will have to cut growth or take water from irrigators to meet demand for water that is expected to double by 2060. Santa Fé New Mexican; May 5 <http://www.santafenewmexican.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=6&ArticleID=26853> <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=8600>
SANTA F&EACUTE; SUBDIVISION WILL SUE CITY OVER WATER RULES, DEVELOPERS SAY
The developers of a luxury subdivision that draws its water from a Santa Fe city wellfield said they will drop negotiations and sue to avoid the same restrictions on water use in effect in the city. Santa Fé New Mexican; May 23 <http://www.santafenewmexican.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=6&ArticleID=27708>
NEW MEXICO STUDY SAYS WATER IS TOO CHEAP
Two University of New Mexico professors’ study says the price of water is too low in the arid West to encourage conservation; they suggest it fluctuate according to supply, as do electricity and natural gas rates. Albuquerque Tribune; May 28 <http://www.abqtrib.com/archives/news03/052703_news_wtrcost.shtml>
PARK SERVICE TO ALLOW JET SKIS ON LAKE POWELL, LAKE MEAD
The National Park Service released a draft management plan that allows personal watercraft on most of Lake Powell, which follows a similar plan for Lake Mead. The Service will lift its temporary ban on both lakes until the plans are finalized. Salt Lake Tribune; 5/8 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=8554>
FLAGSTAFF AQUIFER ENTICING BUT RISKY
Flagstaff sits on far more water than it can use, but tapping the deep aquifer would be expensive and environmentally costly, experts say. Arizona Daily Sun; May 11 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=8614>
DROUGHT EXPERTS SAY NOT TO UNDERESTIMATE SEVERITY OF EFFECTS
Conferees at the Southwest Drought Summit in Flagstaff warned that drought may last longer and be more severe than predicted, and range and habitat may take longer to recover. Santa Fé New Mexican; May 14 <http://www.santafenewmexican.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=6&ArticleID=27301>
CHEYENNE EYES PURCHASE OF CONTAMINATED AQUIFER
Cheyenne city officials are considering buying a 17,000-acre ranch to drill wells that would supply the city’s municipal water system, but the aquifer is contaminated with trichloroethylene from a former missile site. Casper Star-Tribune; May 22 <http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2003/05/21/news/wyoming/0a105128da0f9838c13bca5620c6445f.txt>
WATER MAY LIMIT LAS VEGAS’ GROWTH
Some experts say limited water supplies eventually will curb parts of the West’s explosive growth, and there is evidence it may begin in Las Vegas. USA Today; May 30 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=8960>
ARIZONA TRIBE TO DEVELOP RIVER WALK
Arizona’s Gila River Indian Community plans a series of establishments along a half-mile of man-made riverfront in Phoenix, modeled after a similar attraction in San Antonio. Arizona Republic; 5/28 <http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/0528gilariver28.html>
TASK FORCE WILL DRAW UP STATEWIDE DROUGHT PLAN
Arizona’s Drought Task Force is expected to draw up plans to help communities deal with droughts, map out water sources to fight fires and develop a statewide plan to deal with water emergencies within the next year. <http://regulus.azstarnet.com/hourlyupdate/nightnews_story.php?id=15>
NAVAJO CLAIM TO COLORADO RIVER ADDS ANOTHER KNOT
States and regional water agencies are moving to join the Navajo Nation’s suit to claim a share of Colorado River water, a claim that could reshape use of the river in California, Arizona and Nevada. Boulder Daily Camera (Los Angeles Times); May 27 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=8883>
SALTON SEA HOLDS THE KEY TO WATER POLITICS IN CALIFORNIA
Throughout the high-stakes poker game that coastal cities and a giant irrigation district have been playing for the past seven years in the California desert, with a rich pot of Colorado River water the prize, the Salton Sea has been a peripheral presence, like a high-roller’s mistress standing just outside the glare of the lights. <http://www.enn.com/news/2003-05-23/s_4495.asp>
MEXICAN POWER PLANTS UNDER-STUDIED
The U.S. Department of Energy acted illegally when it found that two Mexican power plants would not have a significant impact on the air and water quality in the border region between northwestern Mexico and Southern California, a federal judge in San Diego ruled. That ruling calls into question the legitimacy of U.S. permits granted to the power companies to build cross-border transmission lines and could prevent the plants from exporting electricity to California this summer as planned. It could also bode ill for plans by energy companies to build as many as 20 other power plants in Mexico to sell electricity to the U.S. Environmentalists and human-health advocates in the region welcomed the ruling, which found that the Bush administration’s cursory review of the plants did not adequately consider the potential environmental impact. Environmentalists contend that these impacts include increased salinity in the Salton Sea and emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, particulate matter, and ammonia. <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=1091>
DISPUTE OVER WATER RIGHTS THREATENS DELTA
Mexico implored the United States not to cut the flow of Colorado River water in retaliation for this country’s water debt in the Rio Grande region, saying such a move would harm efforts to save the environmentally sensitive upper Gulf of California. <http://www.enn.com/news/2003-05-23/s_4585.asp>
THE RIVER HAS STOPPED
For the first time since the 1950’s, the Rio Grande has stopped flowing in Big Bend National Park. The river is now a series of isolated pools separated by dry white gravel with no flow. You can walk across without getting your shoe soles wet. Joe_Sirotnak@nps.gov NM Water, 5/9
ALIEN SPECIES CAN HARM ENVI
Western Water Report: June 2, 2003
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.
HYDROLOGY
Record breaking high temperatures have persisted over Colorado in the latter part of May. This very warm weather has resulted in substantial late May snowmelt and runoff. Some streamflow gages are recording record high flows for this time of year. Even though river flows are quite high in the basin right now, drought conditions continue in the Colorado River Basin. River flows will likely drop dramatically in mid-June. Total unregulated inflow to Lake Powell for water year 2003 will likely be about 60 percent of average, according to the Bureau of Reclamation.
WATER 2025
On May 2, Interior Secretary Gale Norton announced an Administration proposal to concentrate existing federal financial and technical resources in key western watersheds to address chronic water supply problems to prevent crises and conflict. Four key tools for proactive management are: (1) conservation, efficiency and market improvements; (2) collaboration; (3) technology; and (4) raising interagency cooperation, while removing institutional barriers. Six principles are listed: (1) recognize and respect state, tribal, and federal water rights, contracts, and interstate compacts or decrees of the United States Supreme Court that allocate the right to use water; (2) maintain and modernize existing water facilities so they will continue to provide water and power; (3) enhance water conservation, use efficiency, and resource monitoring to allow existing water supplies to be used more effectively; (4) use collaborative approaches and market-based transfers to minimize conflicts; (5) improve water treatment technology, such as desalination, to increase supplies; and (6) get more benefits from existing water supply facilities to meet existing and emerging needs. Federal officials are holding 9 meetings across the West to engage farmers, environmentalists, water managers and others in this collaborative initiative. The meetings will be: Denver – June 6, Phoenix – July 8, Las Vegas – July 9, Sacramento – July 10, Salt Lake City – July 16, Boise, Idaho – July 17, Billings, Mont. – July 29, Albuquerque, N.M. – Aug. 12, Austin, Texas – Aug. 14. More information can be found at <http://www.doi.gov/water2025>
RECREATIONAL FLOWS
Colorado Supreme Court, by a 3-3 vote, recognizes recreational right to water. The Court has ruled that three Colorado towns can use state-governed rivers for their whitewater-kayaking courses, a legal acknowledgement that recreation is a legitimate use of water. The decision is another step in an evolution of water use policy in the West that increasingly recognizes how water can produce environmental and recreational benefits and not just provide hydration for livestock and irrigation for crops. Denver Rocky Mountain News; 5/20 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=8775> <http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~33~1429589,00.html>
COLORADO WATER PIPELINE STUDY WILL DETAIL THREE POSSIBLE ROUTES
A study of the proposed “Big Straw” that would suck Colorado River water from the Utah border back over the divide to Front Range reservoirs will examine a northern, middle and southern route. Denver Rocky Mountain News; May 20 <http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_1974516,00.html>
COLORADO SPRINGS’ PIPELINE FIRST OF MANY WATER PROJECTS
Colorado Front Range cities are building pipelines and expanding reservoirs this summer, beginning with Colorado Springs’ 45-mile, $900 million project. Denver Rocky Mountain News; May 27 <http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_1991736,00.html>
WATER CONSERVATION STARTS AT HOME
Drought-parched areas may look skyward for help from Mother Nature, but how well the United States copes with water shortages depends on down-to-earth conservators: homeowners. <http://www.enn.com/news/2003-05-14/s_4278.asp>
COLORADO CONCERN TURNS FROM DROUGHT TO FLOODS
An abnormally wet spring on top of a season of forest fires have Colorado officials worrying about floods instead of drought. Denver Post; May 13 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=8641>
DENVER RESERVOIRS FILLING AGAIN
Denver’s reservoirs could reach 88 percent capacity by July 1, with diligent conservation by consumers and a little cooperation from the weather. Denver Post; May 14 <http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~53~1389027,00.html>
DROUGHT FAR FROM OVER IN MOST OF WEST
Much of the West will enter its fifth year of extreme drought, and temperatures are already soaring above normal for this time of year. New York Times; June 2 <http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/02/national/02DROU.html>
COLORADO CITY OFFICIALS WANT A SAY IN GAS WELLS IN THEIR WATERSHED
City officials in Grand Junction, Colo., want the authority to review natural gas wells proposed in the city’s watershed, saying BLM officials won’t apply environmental regulations as strictly as the city would. Grand Junction Sentinel; 5/16 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=8718>
SOUTH DENVER PLAN WOULD ‘BANK’ WATER IN AQUIFER
A plan said to be the key to growth south of Denver would inject water into the aquifer during seasons of plenty and pump it out again during drought. Denver Business Journal; May 13 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=8643>
COMMUNITY DEFEATED, URANIUM MILL OFF THE HOOK
The town of Cañnon City thought it won a case against Cotter Uranium Corp. until receiving extremely disappointing news last month. A federal appeals court threw out all the verdicts, which would have held the company responsible for tailing ponds that leaked, causing contaminated water to flow downhill to nearby neighborhoods. The town is now fighting to stop Cotter’s plans to import toxic waste from other states for processing. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17655-2003May5.html>
PULSE TO SPUR SILVERY MINNOW SPAWNING
For two days last month, a pulse of water has been released into the middle Rio Grande in hopes of encouraging the Rio Grande silvery minnow to spawn says the USFWS 5/15. The minnow’s spawning is stimulated by a number of factors including the length of the day, increase in water temperature, and surges that coincide with the spring snow melt. Because of the drought, this year’s surge came from a water release from a reservoir. Last year flows were also increased artificially in mid-May which successfully resulted in a large number of eggs being released.
ENDANGERED MINNOW MAY UPSET ALBUQUERQUE WATER PLANS
Albuquerque will rely on Rio Grande water by 2006, but a court ruling on the endangered silvery minnow could not only derail those plans but shift legal priorities for federal dams throughout the West. Christian Science Monitor; May 21 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=8812>
SANTA FÉ NEEDS A MIX OF SOLUTIONS FOR COMING WATER CRISIS, REPORT SAYS A new state-funded report said Santa Fé will have to cut growth or take water from irrigators to meet demand for water that is expected to double by 2060. Santa Fé New Mexican; May 5 <http://www.santafenewmexican.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=6&ArticleID=26853> <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=8600>
SANTA F&EACUTE; SUBDIVISION WILL SUE CITY OVER WATER RULES, DEVELOPERS SAY
The developers of a luxury subdivision that draws its water from a Santa Fe city wellfield said they will drop negotiations and sue to avoid the same restrictions on water use in effect in the city. Santa Fé New Mexican; May 23 <http://www.santafenewmexican.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=6&ArticleID=27708>
NEW MEXICO STUDY SAYS WATER IS TOO CHEAP
Two University of New Mexico professors’ study says the price of water is too low in the arid West to encourage conservation; they suggest it fluctuate according to supply, as do electricity and natural gas rates. Albuquerque Tribune; May 28 <http://www.abqtrib.com/archives/news03/052703_news_wtrcost.shtml>
PARK SERVICE TO ALLOW JET SKIS ON LAKE POWELL, LAKE MEAD
The National Park Service released a draft management plan that allows personal watercraft on most of Lake Powell, which follows a similar plan for Lake Mead. The Service will lift its temporary ban on both lakes until the plans are finalized. Salt Lake Tribune; 5/8 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=8554>
FLAGSTAFF AQUIFER ENTICING BUT RISKY
Flagstaff sits on far more water than it can use, but tapping the deep aquifer would be expensive and environmentally costly, experts say. Arizona Daily Sun; May 11 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=8614>
DROUGHT EXPERTS SAY NOT TO UNDERESTIMATE SEVERITY OF EFFECTS
Conferees at the Southwest Drought Summit in Flagstaff warned that drought may last longer and be more severe than predicted, and range and habitat may take longer to recover. Santa Fé New Mexican; May 14 <http://www.santafenewmexican.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=6&ArticleID=27301>
CHEYENNE EYES PURCHASE OF CONTAMINATED AQUIFER
Cheyenne city officials are considering buying a 17,000-acre ranch to drill wells that would supply the city’s municipal water system, but the aquifer is contaminated with trichloroethylene from a former missile site. Casper Star-Tribune; May 22 <http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2003/05/21/news/wyoming/0a105128da0f9838c13bca5620c6445f.txt>
WATER MAY LIMIT LAS VEGAS’ GROWTH
Some experts say limited water supplies eventually will curb parts of the West’s explosive growth, and there is evidence it may begin in Las Vegas. USA Today; May 30 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=8960>
ARIZONA TRIBE TO DEVELOP RIVER WALK
Arizona’s Gila River Indian Community plans a series of establishments along a half-mile of man-made riverfront in Phoenix, modeled after a similar attraction in San Antonio. Arizona Republic; 5/28 <http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/0528gilariver28.html>
TASK FORCE WILL DRAW UP STATEWIDE DROUGHT PLAN
Arizona’s Drought Task Force is expected to draw up plans to help communities deal with droughts, map out water sources to fight fires and develop a statewide plan to deal with water emergencies within the next year. <http://regulus.azstarnet.com/hourlyupdate/nightnews_story.php?id=15>
NAVAJO CLAIM TO COLORADO RIVER ADDS ANOTHER KNOT
States and regional water agencies are moving to join the Navajo Nation’s suit to claim a share of Colorado River water, a claim that could reshape use of the river in California, Arizona and Nevada. Boulder Daily Camera (Los Angeles Times); May 27 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=8883>
SALTON SEA HOLDS THE KEY TO WATER POLITICS IN CALIFORNIA
Throughout the high-stakes poker game that coastal cities and a giant irrigation district have been playing for the past seven years in the California desert, with a rich pot of Colorado River water the prize, the Salton Sea has been a peripheral presence, like a high-roller’s mistress standing just outside the glare of the lights. <http://www.enn.com/news/2003-05-23/s_4495.asp>
MEXICAN POWER PLANTS UNDER-STUDIED
The U.S. Department of Energy acted illegally when it found that two Mexican power plants would not have a significant impact on the air and water quality in the border region between northwestern Mexico and Southern California, a federal judge in San Diego ruled. That ruling calls into question the legitimacy of U.S. permits granted to the power companies to build cross-border transmission lines and could prevent the plants from exporting electricity to California this summer as planned. It could also bode ill for plans by energy companies to build as many as 20 other power plants in Mexico to sell electricity to the U.S. Environmentalists and human-health advocates in the region welcomed the ruling, which found that the Bush administration’s cursory review of the plants did not adequately consider the potential environmental impact. Environmentalists contend that these impacts include increased salinity in the Salton Sea and emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, particulate matter, and ammonia. <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=1091>
DISPUTE OVER WATER RIGHTS THREATENS DELTA
Mexico implored the United States not to cut the flow of Colorado River water in retaliation for this country’s water debt in the Rio Grande region, saying such a move would harm efforts to save the environmentally sensitive upper Gulf of California. <http://www.enn.com/news/2003-05-23/s_4585.asp>
THE RIVER HAS STOPPED
For the first time since the 1950’s, the Rio Grande has stopped flowing in Big Bend National Park. The river is now a series of isolated pools separated by dry white gravel with no flow. You can walk across without getting your shoe soles wet. Joe_Sirotnak@nps.gov NM Water, 5/9