Part 3: The Fry-Ark Project

 By George Sibley

In 1948, after six years of study and planning, it finally happened: the Bureau of Reclamation released plans for a big project to bring water from the Gunnison River Basin through Central Colorado to the Arkansas River Basin. A really big project – exceeding the fondest dreams of Arkansas Basin water users – the “Gunnison-Arkansas Project” proposed transferring 600,000 acre-feet of water through the Continental Divide. That was twice as big as the Colorado-Big Thompson Project up north, moving West Slope water to the South Platte Basin. Read the rest of this article

By George Sibley

Part I: The “Political Infrastructure” for Trans-mountain Diversion

Driving down U.S. 24 from Leadville to Buena Vista, along the Arkansas River that carved the valley, you don’t have the feeling of traveling past a man-made waterworks. It is in fact a beautiful stretch of river that looks quite “natural.”

You have to know what you are looking for to see the waterworks – for example, between Granite and Buena Vista, looking up on the hillsides across the river, you’ll see a barnlike industrial structure – a pumping plant, pulling water from the river and pushing it through the mountains to another natural-looking waterworks across Trout Creek Pass, in the South Platte River tributaries. Read the rest of this article

By Hal Walter

The sobering test results indicating our well water contains high levels of lead and nitrates, as well as E. coli and coliform bacteria, raised more questions than answers.

While lead seemed the most alarming concern, nitrates were another puzzle. Generally nitrates are found in areas where high levels of chemical fertilizers are used in agriculture. They also can be present as a by-product of bacteria.

But the presence of bacteria itself was also a puzzle. Over the years we have tested for bacteria several times. All of the previous bacteria tests were negative. Read the rest of this article

By Hal Walter

When you buy a home in the mountains, there’s the notion you’re on top of the world, the food chain and even the watershed.

You drill a well into the ground and out pours clear, sparkling “Rocky Mountain Spring Water.” Snowmelt filtered through ancient stone. That sort of thing. There’s a certain irony when someone who analyzes the ingredients list on just about anything he eats doesn’t even question what might be in the water. But that’s what happened here. Read the rest of this article

by John Orr

State Representative Curry’s bill: What a Long Strange Trip It’s Been

State Representative Kathleen Curry’s bill, HB 10-1188, was designed to clarify the rights of outfitters on Colorado streams that have been traditionally used for rafting. The original bill meant to allow portages during high water and the right to float certain reaches around the state.

After the state house approved the bill by a margin of 40-25 – on pretty much a party-line vote – opponents dug in and started lobbying the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. They were hoping to keep the bill bottled up in the committee and avoid a floor vote. Read the rest of this article

by John Orr

2010 Colorado legislative session

Gunnison County’s State Representative Kathleen Curry — who recently declared as an independent after winning her seat in the state house as a Democrat — plans to introduce a bill that would allow rafting companies and others to float through private property without being subject to trespassing charges from landowners. Her bill would clear up the current ambiguity in state statutes. According to the Colorado Independent the bill would “allow licensed outfitters to not only raft, kayak or fish on rivers and streams crossing private property, but also make contact with the riverbank without trespassing.” Outfitters would be limited to incidental contact and portaging necessary for safety reasons — say to portage around a bridge during high water. Meal stops or bathroom breaks would still be trespassing. Read the rest of this article

by John Orr

Creede hydroelectric project

It makes sense to generate electricity with water and gravity where possible. Hydroelectric power is clean and as reliable as the water supply. Near Creede the A.E. Humphrey Ranch is going to get a shiny new hydroelectric plant for the dam there. Owner Ruthie Brown is ponying up over $900,000 in loans and federal stimulus dough to retrofit the dam her great grandfather constructed 90 years ago, according to a report from The Aspen Times.

Read the rest of this article

To the Editor:

I saw the rainwater collecting note (August 2009, p. 19); it’s a bit unclear, so I’m offering clarification. I’ve even heard realtors express shock that it’s been illegal all along (damn, sigh…), but you’re right—this is the first time it’s legal, if the process is followed. Read the rest of this article

by John Orr

Nestlé Waters Chaffee County Project

As we go to press the Chaffee County Commissioners have yet to issue or deny Nestlé Waters a permit to build their pipeline, pumphouse and loading facilities to truck water from the Hagen Spring out of basin to Denver. The company bottles spring water under the brand name Arrowhead and has a facility for doing so down in the flatlands. The plan is to run tanker trucks over Trout Creek Pass, across South Park, over Kenosha Pass down U.S. 285 to the Denver Metro area. Read the rest of this article

by George Sibley

Colorado’s “Water for the Future Act” is now going into its fifth year. Is it working?

Well, I am betting that most Coloradans who read that paragraph will say, “Huh?” “Colorado’s what?” This could be taken as a measure of the extent to which the “Water for the Future” process is not working, not yet anyway – in part because it involves “water”, which we are all aware of needing, but which we have all been sort of psychologized to tune out on when someone brings up the technical, legal or legislative underpinnings of our water systems. “That’s too complex for us citizens to understand.” Read the rest of this article

By John Orr

Nestlé Waters’ Chaffee County project update

Most Colorado Central readers already know about Nestlé Waters North America’s plans to export water out of the Arkansas River Basin — from springs they’ve purchased near Nathrop — to their bottling plant in Denver. Nestlé plans to restore the area around the springs (Bighorn Spring and Hagen Spring), drill a couple of supply wells in the shallow aquifer, build two pump houses and pipe the water five miles to a new loading station along U.S. 285 near Johnson Village. Read the rest of this article

By Carl Hiaasen

(Originally published in the March 8, 2009 edition of the Miami Herald)

You probably thought there was a serious water shortage in Florida.

It’s why we’re spending billions to repair and repurify the Everglades, right? It’s why we’re not supposed to run our lawn sprinklers more than once or twice a week. Read the rest of this article

Article by John Orr

Water – February 2009 – Colorado Central Magazine

New advisory committee proposed to help regulate SLV water usage

Around the middle of December State Engineer Dick Wolfe let San Luis Valley irrigators know that he was planning to appoint an advisory committee to help draft rules that will govern groundwater use from the valley’s shallow aquifer. The rules are supposed to “protect senior water rights, prevent unreasonable underground water level declines, maintain sustainable underground water supplies and encourage the use of groundwater management subdistricts in Water Division 3.” Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Water – February 2009 – Colorado Central Magazine

Chaffee County is now considering plans by Nestlé, the global food-products company based in Switzerland, to haul mountain spring water in trucks to Denver for bottling under the company’s Arrowhead brand. Read the rest of this article

Article by John Orr

Water – January 2009 – Colorado Central Magazine

Fryingpan-Arkansas Project debt

The Fryingpan-Arkansas project affects the Arkansas River from stem to stern in Colorado. It moves water from the headwaters of the Fryingpan River under the Great Divide through the Boustead Tunnel to satisfy some of the agricultural needs in the Lower Arkansas Valley and to slake the thirst of Coloradans south of Monument Divide. The project’s facilities are also used for storage for water moved out of basin. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Water – January 2009 – Colorado Central Magazine

A district judge’s decision to uphold the expansion election for the Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District has been appealed.

At issue is a mail-in election held in 2006 wherein voters in eastern Frémont County, and a small portion of El Paso County voted to join the conservancy district. The election was required because the district collects a property tax. An area joining the district would thus see a tax increase, and a provision in Colorado’s constitution — the TABOR Amendment — requires voter approval of tax increases. Read the rest of this article

Article by John Orr

Water – December 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

RGWCD – Special Improvement District No. 1

The management plan for the Rio Grande Water Conservation District’s Special Improvement District (Subdistrict) No. 1 was on trial during late October and early November; and on December 16th, Division Three Water Court Judge O. John Kuenhold plans to hear closing arguments in the case. Read the rest of this article

Article by John Orr

Water – November 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

Drought management and climate risk

In October Governor Ritter hosted the “Governor’s Conference on Managing Drought and Climate Risk” in Denver. According to the Rocky Mountain News, attendees were treated to information on historical droughts along with predictions about the effects of climate change on future water supplies. Read the rest of this article

Article by John Orr

Water – October 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel

This past June — with the release of their LMDT risk assessment — Reclamation threw the Environmental Protection Agency under the bus over the possibility of a catastrophic blowout of water and debris. Readers may remember that a November 2007 letter from the EPA to Reclamation was the basis for the Lake County Commissioner’s local disaster declaration. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Water – October 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

Even though the Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District put misleading information on the ballot, last year’s expansion election was valid, a district judge has ruled.

The ruling came from District Judge David Thorson of Frémont County on Sept. 15, in response to a suit filed by Ivan Widom of Cañon City and Mark Emmer of Salida. Read the rest of this article

Column by John Orr

Water – September 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

Great Sand Dunes National Park water right

In August, Division Three Water Court Judge O. John Kuenhold signed the decree for a water right for the Great Sand Dunes National Park. The decree was the final piece of the puzzle in converting the former Great Sand Dunes National Monument to a national park. Read the rest of this article

Article by John Orr

Water – August 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel

The relief well for the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel came on line late in June. Peter Soeth from Reclamation said, “The plant is now treating between 2000 and 2100 gallons per minute,” combined flow from the LMDT and the relief well. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Water – July 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

We’ve looked at the drawbacks. But perhaps it’s time for Salida residents to consider the possible benefits from exporting mountain spring water from Chaffee County.

Nestlé is a multi-national food products company, and one of its products is Arrowhead bottled water. Nestlé has proposed to take 0.3 cubic feet per second (cfs or cusec) from the Hagen Spring near Nathrop, and haul it to a bottling plant in Denver. Read the rest of this article

Column by John Orr

Water – July 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

James Tingle Reservoir

Colorado is blessed with a water supply system that has grown up around the annual snowfall, unlike other states which rely on groundwater or rainfall. Our mountain ranges act as reservoirs during the winter, storing snowfall (most years). Read the rest of this article

Letter from Phil Doe

Water – July 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

Editors:

As valuable as I find John Orr’s monthly water updates, I find his discussion of HB 08-1161 far too sanguine. The legislation requires uranium miners to clean up ground water that might become polluted from their operations. Orr states that the citizens of Park County “should feel a little more at ease with the project” since as one of the bill’s sponsors said, “If companies … are true to their word that they can do this without affecting groundwater, they should have no difficulty with this bill.” Read the rest of this article

Article by John Orr

Water – June 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

2008 water legislation in review

Water and Stream Flow

In May HB 08-1280 passed both houses by large margins. Although it’s rare, every so often the legislature passes a water bill that almost everyone regards as needed and beneficial. Now, water rights owners who lease water to the Colorado Water Conservation Board to buttress stream flow won’t be risking their water rights. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Water – June 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

There are frequently proposals to take water out of Central Colorado. Usually, though, the scheme involves a complex array of trnsfers of points of diversion, estimates of the consumptive use involved, more estimates involving transport losses, and other considerations that keep water lawyers and engineers gainfully employed. Read the rest of this article

Column by John Orr

Water – May 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel Update

Since the disaster declaration for the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel, it’s been learned that the actual cause of the rising water in the mine pool could be the result of a combination of factors including a collapse in the LMDT, increased precipitation over the last few years, and groundwater intrusion. Read the rest of this article

Article by Dan Fitzgerald

Water – May 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

IT’S BEEN WEEKS since a drop of rain has fallen in Tucson, but Brad Lancaster’s backyard vegetable gardens and fruit trees are thriving. By collecting and storing the rain that falls on his property, Brad harvests about 45,000 gallons annually from his modest home and 1/8 acre lot. As Brad shows me his pomegranate, olive, orange, and white sapote (a banana-like fruit) trees, it’s easy to forget that Arizona, like much of the West, is a desert. Read the rest of this article

Article by Marcia Darnell

Water – May 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

“Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink”

– Samuel Taylor Coleridge

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Read the rest of this article

Article by John Orr

Water – April 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

San Luis Valley Water News

Climate change and its possible effects on local water supplies were the topic at a recent meeting of the Rio Grande Roundtable. Scientists still can’t predict how global warming will impact local conditions, but featured speaker, Jason Vogel from Stratus Consulting in Boulder, said earlier snowmelt peak flows are expected. And that will influence how water supplies are managed, including the timing for drawing down and filling reservoirs, and flood control considerations. Read the rest of this article

Article by John Orr

Water – March 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

General Assembly water bill update

Every legislative session Colorado’s lawmakers take a stab at passing new water legislation. This year is no different. So far three bills have been shelved. Read the rest of this article

Column by John Orr

Water – February 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

San Luis Valley groundwater

Water watchers in the San Luis Valley have had a lot to keep them busy lately. The State Supreme Court heard arguments about the state engineer’s confined aquifer rules and now everyone is waiting for a ruling. The rules mandate that those pumping from the confined aquifer are required to replace withdrawals with an equal amount of water. Read the rest of this article

Column by John Orr

Water – January 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

Arkansas and South Platte Roundtables Combined Meeting

The Arkansas, South Platte and Metro roundtables recently held a combined meeting. Harris Sherman, the Director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, was the keynote speaker. He is now a cheerleader for the roundtable process after overcoming his skepticism earlier in the year. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Water – January 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

The 2007 election that added a portion of El Paso County and eastern Frémont County to the Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District has been contested with a filing at the District Court in Cañon City.

Before the election, the water conservancy district comprised all of Chaffee and Custer counties, western Frémont County, and a sliver of Saguache County along Silver Creek in the Marshall Pass area. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Allen Best

Water – January 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

It may not be the sort of thing that a town would put on its “Hello Visitors” welcoming sign, but for the record, Montezuma has water pipes that go 11 feet into the ground.

The one-time mining town, located in Summit County, near the Keystone and Arapaho Basin ski areas, is at more than 10,200 feet in elevation. Engineer Joe Kracum of Glenwood Springs says frostline in most mountain towns goes only 3 to 4 feet deep, but it’s wise to put water lines down 8 to 10 feet. In Montezuma, they’re going just a bit deeper. Read the rest of this article

Column by John Mattingly

Water – December 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

When the subject of Colorado water rights comes up, one of the first things that comes to mind is, “First in use, first in right,” or the legal principle of Vested Rights. While this principle articulates the First Commandment of the Doctrine of Prior Appropriation, the Second Commandment is, “Better upstream with a shovel than downstream with a water right,” or the case-law principle of Optimum/Maximum Utilization. Read the rest of this article

Article by John Orr

Water – December 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

Rising Water in the Leadville Mining District

Water levels are rising in the Leadville Mining District and officials are hoping to get a handle on the cause and find a solution. At this point, a collapse of the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel appears to be the probable cause. But finding a solution is complicated by the mix of local, state and federal agencies involved with the Superfund cleanup site. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Water – December 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

Central Colorado’s favorite water bogeyman, the City of Aurora just east of Denver, commissioned a study by the University of Colorado, which examined water-use data from 10,000 households in that growing city of 300,000 residents. Read the rest of this article

Column by John Orr

Water – November 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

Groundwater

Groundwater is on everyone’s radar recently. Over in Colorado Springs the Arkansas Basin Roundtable sponsored a two day conference on recharge, which included sessions on water law, successful recharge efforts, groundwater science and engineering as well as on impediments to recharge efforts. Attendees even got a chance to hear state legislators and their views on recharge. Read the rest of this article

Article by John Orr

Water – October 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

General Mining Law of 1872

Congress has it’s eyes on a revamp of the General Mining Law of 1872. One of the reasons is the cost of land under the act — $5 per acre with no royalties. Another is that it reduces backcountry access due to closures from mining firms worried about liability claims. The act gives federal officials little leeway to deny mining claims Read the rest of this article

Essay by Phil Doe

Water – October 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

The Old West Moves East

When I was a boy, my farm town used to put on a show called a greased-pig contest. A young pig would be greased up and set free in a watered down arena. To the delight of townspeople, the local kids would climb inside the arena and attempt to catch the pig, which they would soon learn was smarter, faster, and slicker than they’d ever expected. Read the rest of this article

Column by John Orr

Water – September 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

Rio Grande Basin Roundtable

At a recent meeting of the Rio Grande Roundtable, the Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust requested $1.5 million in funding from the Colorado Water Conservation Board. They’re hoping to preserve 26,000 acres of private land along the river for future generations. The funding will be used to match funds from the Great Outdoors Colorado Legacy Grant program. Read the rest of this article

Column by John Mattingly

Water – August 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

WATER! WATER!

IN THE SAN LUIS VALLEY, yelling WATER! is almost like yelling FIRE! in a crowded theater. Valley people have a history of getting excited when there is talk of exporting Valley water to Colorado’s Front Range, or worse, to Las Vegas and California. Read the rest of this article

Article by John Orr

Water – August 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

Arkansas River Basin Roundtable

The July meeting of the Arkansas River Basin Roundtable was held in Poncha Springs. The meeting, normally held in Pueblo, was moved to increase attendance from and better represent the upper basin. The Colorado Water for the 21st Century Act set up roundtables for each of the major river basins in Colorado (with one extra for the Metro Denver area). Read the rest of this article