Colorado River advocates rally in Denver

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Diversions on the tributary streams of the Upper Colorado River leave little water for fish.

EPA evaluation supports claims that new diversions will push the already ailing Colorado River toward the brink

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — Colorado River advocates will once again rally in downtown Denver today, hoping to persuade Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper to take another look at a plan to divert yet-more water from the already severely depleted Upper Colorado.

The rally, set for 11 a.m.on the Capitol steps, comes just a week after the EPA weighed in on Northern Water’s Windy Gap Firming Project, which would divert even more water from Colorado River through a tunnel to the northern Front Range.

At issue is an environmental study for the project prepared by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. While the study outlines mitigation measures that go beyond what’s been done in previous transmountain diversions, the EPA and conservation advocates don’t think it’s enough. First and foremost, a bypass is needed to ensure healthy flows below the diversion, along with more robust flushing flows and monitoring. (more…)

Filed under: biodiversity, Colorado, Environment, rivers, Summit County news, water | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

West: Regional water outlook still uncertain

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Water in the desert. PHOTO COURTESY U.S. BUREAU OF RECLAMATION.

 

Colorado River Basin snowpack at about 77 percent of average as of early February

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Low season flows into Lake Powell have been near normal in recent weeks, with the Colorado River delivering about 356,000 acre feet (99 percent of average) during January, leaving the reservoir about 63 feet below full pool.

With the overall snowpack in the Upper Colorado Basin at about 77 percent of average and the long-term weather outlook uncertain, water managers aren’t sure how the runoff season will go.

For now, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s water supply forecast for April through July is predicting an inflow of about 5 million acre feet, which is about 71 percent of average — but that outlook comes with a caveat: “At this time of year however, there is a high level of uncertainty in hydrologic forecasts and the annual release volume from Glen Canyon Dam in WY2012 will ultimately be based on the actual inflows that occur during 2012 rather than this Water Supply forecast,” the USBR wrote in the monthly update. (more…)

Filed under: climate and weather, Colorado, Environment, rivers, Summit County news, water | Tagged: , , , , | 3 Comments »

Colorado River Basin a lab for federal water programs

Posted on December 20, 2011 by Bob Berwyn

The Colorado River delta, photographed from a NASA satellite.

Sustainability of regional water supplies at stake

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — A federal focus on water issues and climate change is paying dividends in the Colorado River Basin, where, under the WaterSMART program, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has made 15 grants to various organizations to improve water and energy efficiency and to develop climate-change analysis tools.

Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Water and Science Anne Castle discussed the WaterSMART efforts last week at the annual Colorado River Water Users Association Conference.

A recent WaterSMART report is online at www.usbr.gov/watersmart. It highlights scientific efforts underway in the Colorado River Basin such as the USGS Water Census, the newly formed Southwest Climate Science Center, established by the USGS at the University of Arizona, and Reclamation’s ongoing Basin Supply and Demand Study. (more…)

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Water: Near-record inflows boost Lake Powell by 50 feet

Posted on August 13, 2011 by Bob Berwyn

2011 could turn out to be the second-best year ever for Lake Powell inflows

This Landsat 5 image from a NASA satellite shows Lake Powell on Aug. 6 2010. Click on the image to visit a NASA Earth Observatory website that documents the year-to-year changes in Lake Powell.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Flooding in the high country in early spring and summer may have been a nuisance for some, but in the big picture, it helped push Colorado River inflows into Lake Powell to near record levels. At times, Powell was rising at the rate of about 12 inches per day, bringing the water level up by 50 feet for the runoff season so far.

The Bureau of Reclamation reported that July inflow along totaled about 4.5 million acre feet (278 percent of average), the second-best year since Glen Canyon Dam was completed in 1963. Only 1995 was wetter, with a total inflow of 4.41 million acre feet in July. Total inflows for the runoff season, April through July, reached 12.9 million acre feet, which is 162 percent of average. June inflow was even higher, totaling 5.4 million acre feet. (more…)

Filed under: climate and weather, Colorado, Environment, rivers, Snow and weather, Summit County news, water | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Western water supplies will take big climate change hit

Posted on April 27, 2011 by Bob Berwyn

Western water resources are at risk from climate change, according to a new report from the Bureau of Reclamation.

BuRec report says higher temps, changes to runoff likely under most climate change scenarios

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Water supplies in the western United States could be hit hard by projected global warming impacts, including temperature increases of 5 to 7 degrees across the region, according to the Department of Interior, which this week released a new report assessing how climate change could affect water operations, hydropower, flood control, and fish and wildlife.

The report to Congress was prepared by the Bureau of Reclamation and represents the first consistent and coordinated assessment of risks to future water supplies across eight major Reclamation river basins, including the Colorado, Rio Grande and Missouri river basins.

The report forecasts an 8 to 20 percent decrease in average annual stream flow in several river basins, including the Colorado, the Rio Grande, and the San Joaquin. Big changes in the timing and volume of spring runoff are likely to have impacts on agriculture and hydropower operations. (more…)

Filed under: climate and weather, Colorado, Environment, global warming, water | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Water: Is the Upper Colorado River Basin still in a drought?

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Bob Berwyn

Lake Powell in a NASA satellite view.

Lake Powell only half-full as of late March

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — During the past few months we’ve been reporting extensively on Summit County’s snowpack, which has been above average for the entire winter. Official stats in Breckenridge show that precipitation has been above normal five months in a row, and Denver Water officials say they expect a healthy spring runoff to fill Dillon Reservoir sometime in June.

But it’s important to remember that the West’s plumbing system operates on a much larger scale than the Blue River Basin. One of the best ways to get a feel for the overall water situation is to take a look at what’s happening at Lake Powell, the linchpin of the Colorado River Basin storage and distribution system.

As of late March, Lake Powell was just slightly more than half full, according to the Bureau of Reclamation, which pointed out in a March 25 web update that the Upper Colorado River Basin (upstream of Lake Powell) “continues to experience a protracted multi-year drought.” (more…)

Filed under: climate and weather, Environment, global warming, rivers, seasons, Snow and weather, water | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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