PAWSD fees stir debate

Pagosa Springs Sun By Chuck McGuire

When another man questioned why PAWSD growth projections and anticipated Dry Gulch Reservoir costs were so much higher than those of the town or state, Schmidt explained that state growth projections over the past decade were off by 40 percent. He also discounted the accuracy of town and state reservoir studies, claiming they considered only the cost of building a new dam and not a related treatment plant and delivery systems.

Pagosa Realtor Mike Heraty asked why the PAWSD board seems unable to justify costs connected to developing Dry Gulch. He continued, by suggesting PAWSD “went around voters” while borrowing $11.2 million to buy land for the future impoundment.

As Wessels took offense to Heraty’s comments, then attempted to explain how voters will yet decide the eventual size and total cost of the reservoir, Heraty illustrated his frustration by leaving the room.

http://www.pagosasun.com/frontpage.htm#Anchor-PAWSD-47857

Denver Water Board extends olive branch to West Slope

By Tonya BinaSky-Hi Daily News May 8, 2008

    Denver Water may be owning up to the impacts its water diversions have had on Grand County water sources.

    At the State of the River meeting hosted by the Colorado River District in Granby on Tuesday, Denver Water Manager Chips Barry commented the water supplier is working to “mitigate the past” as it takes care of the future.

    The statement comes as Denver Water seeks to develop 18,000 acre-feet per year of new water to Denver users by developing a Moffat collection system.

http://www.skyhidailynews.com/article/20080508/NEWS/630773938

DENTRY: Nature lovers ride to rescue

The Rocky

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

A cavalry made up of sportsmen, conservation groups and San Luis Valley residents have charged to the rescue of public lands along the upper Rio Grande just days before those lands were to be sacrificed to energy development.

Sportsmen's groups joining the battle included Trout Unlimited, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, the Colorado Wildlife Federation and the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. The latter described the protests as "a blistering wave of criticism."

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/may/07/dentry-nature-lovers-ride-to-rescue/

Dils gets top award from river forum

By CHRIS WOODKATHE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

WESTCLIFFE - Newly minted Colorado Water Conservation Board member Reed Dils was honored by Arkansas Valley water users Wednesday for his years of work on water and conservation issues.

Dils was elected by the Arkansas Basin Roundtable as its recreational representative in late 2005, was a founding member of Collegiate Peaks Anglers Chapter of Trout Unlimited and represented his own and other river rafting companies when whitewater experiences were a fledgling industry for the Arkansas River. In the mid-1980s, he was involved in the formation of the Arkansas River Headwaters Recreation Area, and subsequently helped to develop the voluntary flow program for the Upper Arkansas River in 1990.

http://www.chieftain.com/articles/2008/05/02/news/region/doc481ab4122821a071104051.txt

Especially this year, the Gunnison River deserves a spring cleaning

GJ Sentinel Guest Column from TU's Colorado Water Project Director, Drew Peternell: This spring, for the first time in more than a decade, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has an opportunity to provide the Gunnison River with a large flushing flow like those that occurred periodically prior to the construction of Blue Mesa, Morrow Point and Crystal reservoirs.

Thanks to the most significant snowpack in the Gunnison Basin in years, the bureau — the agency that manages the Aspinall Unit, as the three reservoirs are known — should have ample water to release a large flushing flow this spring to re-create more natural conditions downstream in the Gunnison River.

http://www.gjsentinel.com/search/content/news/opinion/stories/2008/05/04/050408_Peternell_col.html

DOW to sample fish in Parachute Creek

Phillip YatesGlenwood Springs correspondent Aspen, CO Colorado April 30, 2008

Ken Neubecker, president of Colorado Trout Unlimited, said the DOW's efforts to sample the fish population in Parachute Creek was a good idea, especially in light of sediment allegations raised by the Colorado Attorney General.

http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20080430/NEWS/460094699

Bringing back trout

By Luke Morin Longmont Times-Call

“Man, while trying to meet his own basic needs of food and water, has devastated that river,” said Chuck Howard, a member of St. Vrain Anglers. “Slowly, over time, you change the character.”

So when Boulder County began making progress in negotiations with private landowners that promised future access to the long-restricted area, St. Vrain Anglers — a local chapter of the angling and activist group Trout Unlimited — decided to take action.

http://www.timescall.com/outdoors/outdoors-story.asp?ID=8190

Last Call for Tom Burke

In Burke’s final meeting as wildlife commission chair, commissioners debate what to do about zebra mussels...

By DAVE BUCHANAN The Daily Sentinel Saturday, May 03, 2008

http://www.gjsentinel.com/hp/content/sports/stories/2008/05/03/050408_OUT_column_WWW.html

Shell makes run on water

By Steve Lipsher - The Denver Post - 05/04/2008

"In its quest to melt oil out of western Colorado's shale, Royal Dutch Shell has been buying up land and water rights in anticipation of what is likely to be a thirsty new industry.

Some officials, however, worry that the demands of the oil-shale industry could drain every drop of the region's remaining water.... "

http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_9138674

Peak Water: Aquifers and Rivers Are Running Dry. How Three Regions Are Coping

Wired Magazine - by Matthew Power - 4/21/08 "Water has been a serious issue in the developing world for so long that dire reports of shortages in Cairo or Karachi barely register. But the scarcity of freshwater is no longer a problem restricted to poor countries. Shortages are reaching crisis proportions in even the most highly developed regions, and they're quickly becoming commonplace in our own backyard, from the bleached-white bathtub ring around the Southwest's half-empty Lake Mead to the parched state of Georgia, where the governor prays for rain...."

http://www.wired.com/science/planetearth/magazine/16-05/ff_peakwater?currentPage=all