Colorado River
March 14, 2010--Research: Water imports no shield against drought (Pueblo Chieftain)
Simply bringing water from the Colorado River to the Arkansas River basin in Colorado does not improve protection against drought. The surprising finding was shared last week at the Arkansas Basin Roundtable by climate researchers from Western Water Assessment, a hybrid agency that combines Nation Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and University of Colorado resources.
March 12, 2010--Upper Colorado River Basin snowpack second lowest since 1992 (Sky Hi Daily News)
As a result of decent storm activity during the third weekend of February, snowpacks in the Upper Colorado River Basin improved slightly from 72 percent of average last month to 79 percent of average on March 1. This is the second lowest March 1 snowpack percentage the basin has seen going all the way back to 1992. Only March 1, 2002, with 68 percent of average snowpacks, was lower.
March 10, 2010--West Slope questions Denver Water plan (Summit Citizens)
Local officials said Tuesday that a draft environmental study for a major Denver Water project is incomplete and doesn’t accurately reflect potential impacts in Summit County. At issue is Denver Water’s plan to expand its Moffat Collection system in Grand County.
February 19, 2010--Low spring runoff, low flood threat in forecast (Grand Junction Sentinel)
The Colorado River isn’t expected to swell in water volume as much as normal during the upcoming spring runoff, according to a National Weather Service forecast. Also, flood potential because of melting snow is not high for now for most of western Colorado and eastern Utah, according to the agency’s spring flood and water resources outlook.
February 9, 2010--Study: Gains from flooding Grand Canyon short-lived (Durango Herald)
Maintaining sandbars crucial to wildlife in the Grand Canyon would require more frequent high water flows from Glen Canyon Dam that coincide with natural flooding of Colorado River tributaries, a U.S. Geological Survey scientist said last week.
February 4, 2010--Spring runoff expected to be below average (Aspen Daily News)
This winter’s below average snowfall, as one might expect, indicates there could be a low runoff this spring. “The outlook for runoff in the Upper Colorado, North Platte, Yampa, White and South Platte rivers continues to call for well below average flows,” said Allen Green, state conservationist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, a department of the U.S.
January 30, 2010--Water study provides tool, but no crystal ball (Pueblo Chieftain)
Colorado may have 900,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water left to develop. Or it may have nothing. While some general trends are apparent, a new study can't pin down the exact conditions 30 or 60 years from now, but it gives planners better tools.
January 27, 2010--High stakes snow speculation: Gauging our water future (Crested Butte News)
As of January 25, the snow-water equivalent totals for the Gunnison River Basin were at 97 percent of average, according to data from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). The Gunnison Basin stretches over 8,000 square miles of western Colorado, extending from the Continental Divide to the confluence of the Gunnison and Colorado Rivers near Grand Junction.
January 19, 2010--Colorado optimistic California ruling won't hurt water deal (Boulder Daily Camera)
Colorado water officials are optimistic that a California court ruling invalidating a conservation plan won't derail agreements affecting seven Western states. Dick Wolfe, director of the Colorado Division of Water Resources, said Tuesday that water officials have shown a "collective will" to overcome obstacles.
January 18, 2010--CU-Boulder law school studies possible reforms to Colorado River management (Boulder Daily Camera)
It's become increasingly clear that the demands put on the Colorado River by the seven thirsty states in its basin are not sustainable. A complex web of treaties, compacts, laws and court decisions govern who can use the once-mighty river's water and when.
