Rep. Ellen Roberts advanced her bill to slap fines on people who illegally use water. Roberts, R-Durango, is carrying Senate Bill 27 on behalf of Attorney General John Suthers. The bill puts a $500 per day fine on people who illegally divert surface water. It matches the fine that is already in place for people illegally using groundwater.

A bill that opponents say would undermine senior water rights first died, then was resurrected and gained preliminary approval in the House on Tuesday. Sponsored in the House by Rep. Kathleen Curry, U-Gunnison, SB52 seeks to honor already permitted wells in the event that the Colorado Ground Water Commission redraws boundaries of the state's eight existing designated groundwater basins.

Why are some wells contaminated and some are not? All wells are not equally vulnerable to contamination because of differences in three factors: the general aquifer chemistry, groundwater age, and paths within aquifer systems that allow water and contaminants to reach a well.

Sometime this century, the disappearing groundwater along Colorado’s Front Range is going to be a huge story. Water providers who have done their jobs will be able to witness this slow-motion train wreck from afar, safe in the knowledge that their customers have nothing to worry about. Those who are content with pumping water out of the ground ultimately will suffer.

State water stewards have continued to permit groundwater pumping south of Denver, despite data and near universal agreement that underground water levels are falling and the resource is being depleted.

A New Mexico State University researcher is using tree planting to help arid, impoverished regions in the Four Corners region and Africa. Mick O'Neill, the superintendent of New Mexico State University's Agricultural Science Center in Farmington, researched hybrid poplar trees to see which clones will grow best using drip irrigation in the arid region.

A company that wants to mine uranium in Weld County claims that proposed state rules on protecting groundwater might be illegal. Powertech USA also questions the legality of allowing public comments on setting rules that cover issues such as groundwater quality and mine reclamation. The company argues the proposed rules are too broad.

The state Legislature finished with one piece of a multi-part water package Tuesday when the Assembly approved a bill mandating a statewide drop in per capita water use. Lawmakers were headed for another long night, with the Assembly expected to take up several other measures approved by the Senate in a midnight session Monday, including a massive water bond.