HYDROLOGIC CONDITIONS
The snow water equivalent averages continue to improve in most basins throughout Colorado: The Gunnison River Basin is at 90%; Upper Colorado River Basin is 95%; South Platte is 98%; Laramie, North Platte is 101%; Yampa, White is 98%; Arkansas is 91%; Rio Grande is 60%; and San Miguel, Dolores, Animas and San Juan is 77%.
WATER COSTS FOR NEW DEVELOPMENTS RISE
In March, water rates in the area hit a record-high level to $14,000 for a unit of Colorado Big Thompson water, more than doubling from last month. Brian Werner, Spokesman for the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District explained that the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy has no determination on the price of water; it is highly dependent on the market. “This is a classic example of Economics 101, the supply is down while the demand is up,” said Werner.
While the price of water is at a high right now, many water holders are jumping on the opportunity to sell. There have been at least 38 water transfers in March. Werner stated, “Now, water is [virtually] more valuable than the land. Another problem is that other water holders are not willing to sell. Instead they are waiting to see how high it will go.”
What is the impact of these higher water costs for residents along the Front Range? One of results will be an increased tap fee for new developments. So far, Louisville and Erie are looking to increase fees when new homes tap municipal water supplies. The Town Board in Erie will consider raising tap fee from $9,500 to $16,000.
Louisville’s current fee is $13,000, which could also increase.
According the Boulder County’s Growth Watch, nearly 5000 new homes were built in Boulder County in 1998, or roughly 12,000 new residents, which is 70 percent more growth than was estimated the year previously.
For more information about water issues and prices, check the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District’s site at http://www.ncwcd.org .
INSTREAM FLOW INJURY WITH MITIGATION?
A landowner is asking the CWCB to accept mitigation for permission to injure an instream flow in Trout Creek, a tributary to the Rio Grande River near Creede, CO.
In an effort to create refugia for trout in Caster Ditch and Caster Pond, the applicant expanded diversions without knowing he was reducing flows in Trout Creek below the state’s instream flow right.
The applicant also made significant habitat improvements to the affected segments of Trout Creek.
The applicant’s proposal is founded on the premise that the Board can legally protect a flow less than the amount to which it is currently decreed, as provided in the Board’s Rule 9.43. The Board adopted this rule prior to the Snowmass Creek Case and the passage of Senate Bill 64. The Snowmass Case determined that the Board can not legally protect a flow less than the fully decreed amount without going through a modification procedure in water court. Under Rule 9.43, after two public meetings, the Board can act on the application. The Board will be discussing the issue again at its May meeting in Alamosa.
HOMESTAKE II
Studies are under way to determine whether a pump-back project at Ruedi Reservoir might be a cheaper and environmentally friendlier way to provide Aurora and Colorado Springs with water they were seeking from the Homestake II transmountain water project.
Additional studies will focus on fishery issues on the Fryingpan River.
RECOVERY PROGRAM
MAINSTEM – As part of the 15-Mile Reach Biological Opinion, the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) is conducting a study of facilities in Water Division 5. The objectives of the study are: (1) to determine what flexibility exists to operate projects in a manner that will enhance spring peak flows for the benefit of the endangered fish recovery program; and (2) to evaluate what opportunities exist to provide additional water to augment late season flows in the 15-Mile Reach. The projects being studied in detail include:
* An off-channel reservoir below Shoshone on Roan Creek.
* An on-channel “flushing” reservoir below Shoshone, but at the upper end of the critical habitat near Rifle (affectionately referred to as “Big Flush” Reservoir).
* A reservoir above Shoshone, possibly on Ranch Creek in Grand County.
* A detailed look at Colorado-Big Thompson power operations.
* Expansion of the existing coordinated reservoir operations efforts, this will include a review of Shoshone operations.
* A no-diversion-to-storage week that would be coordinated with the 15 Mile Reach peak and coupled with an “insurance” pool that would be used to offset impacts to project yields.
RECOVERY PROGRAM
GUNNISON – The Recovery team is scheduled to complete a Biological Opinion between now and 2002. Tom Pitts, the waterusers’ representative on the team, gave a broad overview of the Program to representatives of numerous water and municipal entities.
An additional presentation to the public is scheduled in the Upper Gunnison Basin on 5/24 in the Aspinall Conference Center at 1:30 pm.
The US Fish & Wildlife Service has finally issued draft flow recommendations to benefit endangered fishes in the Gunnison River.
This report will be discussed in Grand Junction along with Aspinall Unit operations for the coming runoff season and summer on 4/20.
RECOVERY PROGRAM
YAMPA – There are a number of challenges that remain to be solved:
* Non-native fish controls: Controlling non-native fish species may be the single most important objective of the Recovery Program. The Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) has prepared a draft Yampa River management plan. Removing non-native fishes will have to be offset by specific programs to provide other sport fishing opportunities.
* The River District will be participating with the Recovery Program on a project to design and install a fish screen on Elkhead Reservoir.
* The water management plan needs additional work. The River District staff is not yet convinced that the Service will, in the long run, only need 3,00 to 4,000 a.f. of augmentation water.
COLORADO WATER CONSERVATION BOARD DOINGS
The CWCB elected Lew Entz, representing the Rio Grande Basin, as chair and Harold Miskel, from Colorado Springs representing the Arkansas River, as vice chair. New basin representatives were a appointed by Gov. Owens. They are Keith Catlin for the Gunnison, Eric Wilkenson for the South Platte, and Bob Burr was reappointed for the North Platte. Director of the Dept. of Agriculture, Don Ament, described the 3-state Cooperative Agreement (CO, WY, and NE) as a “federal water grab.”
WEATHER MODIFICATION
There were two active programs this past winter. The Vail and Beaver Creek project operated from ground-based generators from 11/1/99 to 1/31/00. There were a total of 22 storm systems and 34 operational days, releasing 16,925 grams of silver oxide. The Telluride area generators operated for a total of 35 days, releasing 7,696 grams.
TRANSMOUNTAIN DIVERSION
A new group called Colorado Water Partnership is proposing to have the CWCB build a water project on the Western Slope for the purpose of diverting 120,000 af to the Front Range In response, the Colorado River Water Conservation Board adopted a new policy affirming its opposition to any new projects accomplished without a demonstration of need and accomplished only with the acceptance and involvement and to the mutual benefit of West Slope interests. [It is peculiar that this group is moving forward without first determining there are water rights for the project.]
STREAM DYNAMICS
There will be a workshop on stream dynamics in Montrose on June 17. The workshop will include speakers on geomorphology, aquatic biology, hydrology, stream restoration and water quality. The workshop will include a field trip. There will be a modest fee to cover the cost of materials. For more information, contact Mike Baker at or 979 248-0637.
RIO GRANDE BASIN HOME TO RARE AND REFRESHING WATER PACT
Ranchers and federal officials have signed agreements that protect both national forest and private claims to water in Colorado’s San Luis Valley. Such accord is rare in water disputes, and it settles a 21-year-old lawsuit. The Forest Service is accepting a 1999 priority date for its federal reserved rights in the Rio Grande National Forest. Denver Post; March 17
MINE CLEANUP PROCEEDS BUT RIVER STILL LANGUISHES
Cleanup efforts at the abandoned Summitville Mine in CO have made significant progress, “but much work remains before the Alamosa River returns to life if ever,” says the Pueblo Chieftan 3/10. Owners of the huge open-pit gold mine declared bankruptcy in 1992, abandoned the site and left the local community with an expensive cleanup, which has totaled $150 million so far, and a dead river system. Since then, contaminants leaving the mine site have been reduced by 80% but continued pollution is preventing “the re-establishment of a thriving fish population.”
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK WOULD SAVE THE WATER
The tallest sand dunes in the hemisphere are in Colorado’s San Luis Valley, but it’s the remarkable aquifer below that unites ranchers and environmentalists to make the area a national park. Christian Science Monitor; March 22
“COMPLETE CARNAGE” LINKED TO MILL TAILINGS – The Atlas mine mill tailings pile near Moab, UT has been linked to ammonia levels in the Colorado River “several hundred times higher” than state water quality standards and 8 times that considered lethal to fish, says the Desert News 4/4. The “toxic sediments are stirred up” by wave action, compounded by “wakes from sightseeing boats” and can reach levels where “every single fish that swims into that part of the river dies.” A $300 million cleanup is being pushed to protect endangered and threatened fish and “down-river water users in Nevada, Arizona and California.”
SAVE LAKE POWELL, DRAIN IT
Competing rallies on each side of the Glen Canyon Dam highlighted the International Day Against Dams on 3/14. Support from local businesses and recreationists who pump $100 million into the local economy out-numbered anti dam demonstrators 650 to 150 according to local estimates. According to the Glen Canyon Action Network, the lake is filling with silt and fouled by garbage and pollution from the 2 million annual visitors. Restoring a natural flow would make 100 million gallons of water, lost from “evaporation and seepage,” available annually to users and the environment in the water starved lower Colorado, reported GCAN. Spokesmen for GCAN also said, the local economy would also greatly benefit from “the largest restoration project ever,” and the recreational opportunities available in a restored Glen Canyon.
CALIFORNIA’S 4.4 PLAN AND SURPLUS
The other six basin states are concerned about enforcement issues if California is not able to comply with its requirement to reduce its consumption of the Colorado River to 4.4 maf. California is seeking an addition 200,000 af/y of surplus for groundwater storage during the next 15 years. Projected use of the Colorado River by California in 2000 is 5.22 maf. In response to the proposal by environmental groups for surplus criteria, Dept. of Interior is saying that they do not have discretion to provide environmental flows.
EPA SEEKS ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR 2001 WATER PROGRAMS
In the upcoming 2001 fiscal year, water projects may receive more funding as the EPA has proposed to devote more of its $9.5 billion budget on water programs. Specific areas would include spending $495 million for Clean Water state grants, $50 million for the Great Lakes, and $50 million to address polluted runoff. Funds will be available for storm water pollution control, wetlands restoration, and remediation of contaminated sediment. (From EPA’s Waternews, March 2000.)
FEDERAL COURT ISSUES LANDMARK TMDL DECISION
WASHINGTON — For the first time, a federal judge has upheld the EPA’s long-standing interpretation and practice that the EPA and states have the authority to identify which U.S. waterways are polluted by runoff from urban areas, agriculture and timber harvesting — “nonpoint sources” of pollution – and to identify the maximum amount of pollutants that may enter these waterways.
“This important decision allows us to build on our successes of completing the task of cleaning our nation’s waters,” said EPA Administrator Carol Browner. “The Clinton-Gore Administration has made delivering clean, safe water to all Americans a priority in our efforts to ensure greater protection for the environment in communities across the country.”
The March 30 opinion by U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco affirms the comprehensive scope of the Clean Water Act’s Total Maximum Daily Load program. In the first decision to squarely address the issue, Judge Alsup found that Congress intended to include nonpoint source pollution in the Clean Water Act’s water quality standards program, and he noted that nonpoint source pollution is the dominant water quality problem in the United States today.
“The court has affirmed a strong tool for restoring America’s rivers and cleaning up pollution, regardless of its source,” said Lois Schiffer, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment Division of the Justice Department.
MAY IS AMERICAN WETLANDS MONTH
The month of May has been designated as American Wetlands Month, a project that was launched nine years ago by the Terrene Institute to encourage public participation in wetland conservation. Starting this year, the Izack Walton League has been chosen to head the month-long event and its associated annual activities. The League will host a national conference May 16-18, 2001 in Orlando, Fla., to share ideas about wetland education, restoration, conservation, international issues and other topics. The Communities Working for Wetlands conference will include special celebrations of the 10th Anniversary of American Wetlands Month and the 15th Anniversary of the North America Waterfowl Management Plan – an international agreement to protect and restore wetlands and other important waterfowl habitat.
Contact Save Our Streams at (800) BUG-IWLA (284-4952) or for more information about wetlands and the 2001 Communities Working for Wetlands conference, and for local activity ideas, posters, books, videos and other tools to help you learn more about wetlands and celebrate American Wetlands Month.
PUBLIC RESPONSE TO DAM QUESTION OVERWHELMING
Possible breaching of the Snake River dams has stirred unprecedented public involvement with some 9,000 attending recently completed hearings and another 30,000 commenting by other means, says the Spokane, WA Spokesman-Review 3/17. Another round of hearings are scheduled for later this year when the Army Corps of Engineers makes its recommendation on dam breaching and the NMFS releases its expected “biological opinion” on the effects of dams on endangered species in the Columbia and Snake Rivers. Ultimately, it is up to Congress to approve and fund any dam breaching.
INFERIOR HATCHERY SALMON INCREASE THE RISK TO NATIVE RUNS
The answer to dwindling salmon numbers has always been to build more hatcheries. But a growing contingent says hatchery fish are genetically inferior and further endanger native salmon. Others say a fish is a fish, and hatchery salmon should be counted along with the natives, removing endangered species status for many runs.
Spokesman-Review; March 27. “We have serious doubts about whether the salmon crisis is real. It’s almost a fraud on the public.” — Dean Boyer of the Washington Farm Bureau, arguing that hatchery-raised salmon should be counted along with native salmon, which would eliminate endangered species status for many runs.
NEW ARMY CORPS NATIONWIDE PERMITS
On 9 March 2000, the Corps published a notice in Part III of the Federal Register (65 FR 12818 – 12899) announcing the issuance of five new Nationwide Permits (NWPs), the modification of six existing NWPs, the modification of nine NWP general conditions, and the adoption of two new NWP general conditions. These NWPs are activity-specific and authorize certain activities in non-tidal waters of the United States that have minimal adverse effects on the aquatic environment. The new NWP general conditions limit the use of certain NWPs in designated critical resource waters and waters of the United States within 100-year floodplains.
After the publication of this Federal Register notice, Corps districts will begin finalizing their regional conditions for the new and modified NWPs. Regional conditions will provide additional protection for the aquatic environment, by ensuring that the NWPs authorize only those activities with minimal adverse effects on the aquatic environment. Regional conditions will help ensure protection of high value waters within the District.
The publication of this Federal Register notice also begins a 90 day process for States and Tribes to make their Section 401 water quality certification and Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) consistency determination decisions. The 401/CZMA decisions must be made within 90 days of publication of the 9 March 2000 Federal Register. At the end of this 90 day period, the new and modified NWPs and Corps regional conditions will become effective on 7 June 2000.
The new permits only allow wetlands destruction of up to 1 acre for any activity and provides significant protection of wetlands in the 100-year floodplain. This is a step forward from the 3 acre threshold. Additionally, the Corps must be notified if any activity is to destroy more than 1/10 of an acre, reduced from the previous one-third acre standard.
The package also includes national conditions that would exclude NWPs from being granted in most floodplains, and in critical resource waters. The new Nationwide Permits have been published on the web. The site is: http://www.usace.army.mi./inet/functions/cw/cecwo/reg/
CORPS ACCUSED OF MANIPULATING NAVIGATION STUDY
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has spent over seven years and $50 million investigating the costs and benefits of expanding the locks and dams on the Upper Mississippi River. The Corps’ mandate was to assess whether the transportation savings from longer locks exceeds the construction, operation and maintenance, and environmental costs. Agribusiness leaders have strongly advocated for an expansion of the Mississippi River locks, stating that doing so will increase farmer income, benefit rural communities, improve our balance of trade, and “feed the world.” Environmental organizations contest that the locks are a corporate subsidy, provide no benefit to farmers, and have serious adverse effects on wildlife habitat. A Corps economist whistle blower alleges that the Corps illegally manipulated data in order to justify construction.
CONGRESS TRIES TO CREATE A LOOPHOLE FOR FORESTRY SPECIAL INTERESTS
Bills have been introduced in both the House and Senate to exempt silviculture activities from the Clean Water Act’s NDPES and stormwater provisions. In the House, Rep. Sandlin (D-TX) introduced H.R. 3609. In the Senate, Senator Lambert-Lincoln (D-AR) introduced S.2041. and Sen. Hutchison introduced S. 2139. Text of all bills can be found online at http://thomas.loc.gov.
In a nutshell, the bills would create a statutory exemption for forestry activities from the Clean Water Act’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting requirements. The bills would circumvent an EPA proposal (part of the package of rules on the Total Maximum Daily Load program) designed to ensure that the forestry industry do their fair share to clean up the nation’s polluted rivers, lakes and coastal waters.
MINE TAILINGS DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN
Even minor flooding of a “tailings blighted floodplain,” on Montana’s upper Clark Fork River could poison the river downstream with toxic heavy metals, says The Montana Standard, Butte 3/14. An EPA expert contends that because of a 1908 flood and “over-grazing by cattle,” the river has already lost much of its vegetation, has a very destabilized stream bank and could “come apart very easily.” Environmentalists want cows removed from riparian areas, and efforts to immediately re-establish “a heavy growth of willows, lush tall grasses, and wetlands” to withstand a hundred- year flood.
RELICENSING OF CLARK FORK DAMS PROVIDES NEEDED LESSONS
Avista Corp. of Spokane received 45-year license renewals for two hydroelectric dams on Montana’s Clark Fork River with a minimum of fuss and amid the praise of environmentalists. Maybe those lessons can be applied elsewhere. Spokesman-Review; March 13
JUDGE UPHOLDS LIMITS ON MINING WASTE DUMPED INTO IDAHO RIVER
A federal judge has rejected three mining companies’ suit to raise the amount of heavy metals they dump into the South Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River. Spokesman-Review; March 17
HANFORD’S LEAKING TRITIUM HEADED FOR COLUMBIA RIVER
Some of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation’s most toxic compounds are leaking into the ground water, and radioactive tritium could reach the Columbia River in as little as three-and-a-half years. Los Angeles Times; March 12
AQUIFER CARRYING PLUTONIUM FROM UNDER NEVADA NUCLEAR SITE
Contaminated ground water is moving away from the Nevada Test Site faster than scientists predicted, but no one knows how big the radioactive plumes are or how fast they’re moving. NY Times; March 21
NEVADA TOWN WANTS TO KEEP DRINKING ITS ARSENIC-TAINTED WATER
The aquifer beneath Fallon, Nev., has arsenic levels far higher than federal standards, but nobody seems to be sick and few want to spend millions on purification systems. It’s a scene likely to become common after next January, when the EPA further reduces arsenic limits and thousands of communities will be out of compliance. Salt Lake Tribune (AP); March 30
RESEARCHERS FIND DRUGS IN AQUIFERS
Studies are finding minute but widespread amounts of caffeine, beauty products, antibiotics and other household chemicals in ground water, contaminants that apparently pass unaffected through sewage-treatment plants. Synthetic estrogens are suspected in a growing number of deformed fish found downstream of plant outlets. Sacramento Bee; March 28
CLEANUP OF WORLD’S WORST WATER AIN’T CHEAP
Cleaning up the toxic water at CA’s abandoned Iron Mountain copper mine, the most acidic water in the world, has reached “$200 million so far, with no end in sight,” says AP 3/30. The mountain, is honeycombed with “miles of tunnels and huge caverns,” and “sits at the top” of the Sacramento River system, a major spawning ground for several species of endangered and threatened salmon. The mine’s original owners are bankrupt and the company hired to do the cleanup now says that “restoring the mine to safe, useful land isn’t a possibility.”
ANOTHER EURO-MINE ENVIRO-DISASTER
The Romanian government has threatened to close scofflaw mines after another toxic waste pond ruptured and sent “a wave of zinc-and lead-laden waters into the Vaser River, says AP 3/12. Besides the Vaser, the Viseu and parts of the Tisza River, which had been spared cyanide contamination from last months disaster, had “dangerous levels of zinc, iron and lead.” Heavy-metal pollution which settles into the river beds has longer lasting impacts than cyanide because of the potential for bioaccumulation.
EURO-MINE CONTAMINATION SPREADS
About 20,000 tons of heavy metal contamination from another Romanian toxic waste spill is spreading to rivers in Hungary, Slovakia, and the Ukraine says AP 3/14.
Officials are now worried about long-term damage as the “metals sink into riverbed undergrowth eaten by fish.” Officials worry because accumulated poisons can cause health problems five years after the contaminated fish is eaten.
DREDGING THREATENS SAVANNAH REFUGE
Environmental groups are in court to stop a plan to dredge and deepen Savannah, GA’s harbor, says the Atlanta Journal-Constitution 3/15. The lawsuit contends that deepening the harbor would allow “saltwater to creep higher up the Savannah River,” and inundate freshwater marshes “crucial to wildlife” in the 26,000 acre Savannah NWR.
WESTERVILLE, Ohio, March 16 -/E-Wire/– At the heart of the plot of Erin Brockovich — a new movie released Friday, March 17, and starring Julia Roberts — is the true story of a small community’s struggle with contamination of its ground water, air, and soil by hazardous waste. CONTACT: Julie Shaw of National Ground Water Association, 800-551-7379, ext. 554, Web site: http://www.ngwa.org/ Also visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/March00/16March0003.html
RESOURCES
NEW WATER RESOURCE LIST-SERVE
The Water Forum is a free and open forum for discussion of water resources issues, including groundwater, surface water, drinking water, wastewater, and other relevant water resource topics. The list is moderated by Ken Bannister, founder of Groundwater-Digest, currently the world’s largest groundwater discussion forum. To join this group, visit http://www.egroups.com/list/waterforum/info.html
DECOMMISSIONING
Friends of the Rivers of California has released a report on dam removal titled “Rivers Reborn – Removing Dams and Restoring Rivers in California.” The 20-page report identifies the two-dozen dams around the state that have been considered for removal or decommissioning. The report is available on Friends of the Rivers’ web site at http://www.friendsoftheriver.org.
GUIDE TO TMDLs – Clean Water Network member and Tulane Law Professor Oliver A. Houck, one of the country’s leading experts in water quality law, has written the definitive guide to TMDLs The Clean Water Act TMDL Program: Law, Policy, and Implementation. The book is published by the Environmental Law Institute and is being offered to CWN members for a discounted price of $29.95. To order: call 1-800-433-5120, Order# 3780ISBN:0-911937-99-4.
THE WORLD’S WATER site, www.worldwater.org, of the Pacific Institute has been substantially re-designed and substantial amounts of new information has been added, including the Table of Contents and introductory chapter for “The World’s Water 2000-2001 (Island Press 2000) the second volume by the Institute’s Peter Gleick on critical water issues. This edition includes chapters on global water use projections, international river basins, the complex connections between water and food production, desalination, wastewater treatment and reuse, and the legal issues associated with claim to a human right to water. The site also includes a vast array of data on freshwater issues, including total renewable freshwater supplies by country, national desalination capacities, and estimates of global mortality an morbidity associated with water-related diseases.
EVENTS
April 17-19, 2000: San Diego, CA National Watershed Outreach Conference. Sponsored by US EPA, Univ. of CA, CES, and the County of San Diego Watershed Working Group. The conference will focus on ways of spreading your watershed message. There will be workshops, platform presentations, discussion sessions, and field trips that include tools for evaluating outreach successes, approaches to reaching nontraditional audiences, creating partnerships to meet watershed goals, linking outreach and enforcement, etc. For more information, visit www.epa.gov/watershed/outreach/events/ or contact Jerry Bock, US EPA, Region 9, (415)744-1966 or Stacie Craddock, US EPA Headquarters, (202)260-3788.
June 3-11, 2000
This week is proclaimed as the official Rivers 2000 week. Go out and get involved in river and stream cleanups, canoeing, river walks, or any other activities to show your appreciation for rivers.
July 26-28, 2000
Colorado Water Workshop, Western State College, Gunnison, Colorado.
Celebrating its 25th anniversary, this year’s theme is “Clean and Flowing Water.” The Colorado Constitution guarantees that the right to divert shall never be denied, but recent developments in water quality, instream uses, and federal flow requirements are making new demands on our water resources. How do these demands fit into Colorado’s prior appropriation system? Can Colorado water law protect historic uses and meet the water demands of the 21st century?
Join us at the Colorado Water Workshop for an update on the new TMDL rules and other upcoming water quality issues. We’ll also explore demands for stream flows and discuss federal reserved rights and bypass flows. What impacts can we expect for water users and suppliers?
For more information: Lucy High, Director 970-641-8766, E-mail: water@western.edu Website: www.waterinfo.org/workshop.html
