Dry Gulch case: back to water court

By Chuck McGuire

PagosaSUN.com staff

In its most recent appeal, TU argued that the districts’ revised figures were still not in line with credible future water use projections and amounted to speculation. In Monday’s decision, the high court unanimously agreed, finding insufficient evidence to support the quantities of water Lyman awarded, either in direct flow rights or storage.

In its decree, the Supreme Court ruled that the 23,500-acre-foot size approved by the water court is based on “speculative claims, at least in part.”

In response, TU insists that, “Unless the Pagosa districts can now demonstrate a ‘substantial probability’ that a reservoir of that size is needed to meet future needs, the water court must reduce the amount of their claimed water.”

TU went on to say, “We’re ready to talk with the Pagosa Springs stakeholders and craft a solution that meets a range of valid needs, including municipal growth, agriculture and recreation and wildlife. But any solution has to be based on credible, substantiated numbers about future water supply and needs.”

http://www.pagosasun.com/archives/2009/11november/110509/pg1drygulch.html

PAWSD Dry Gulch Plan Rejected by Supreme Court

Pagosa Daily Post

The Colorado Supreme Court today handed down a decision that reinforced the principle that Colorado municipalities must base water projects on clearly demonstrated and credible projections of future need.
 
In the case, Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District and San Juan Water Conservancy District v. Trout Unlimited, the Court ruled that Pagosa area water districts had not sufficiently demonstrated a need for the amount of water they claimed for the proposed Dry Gulch Reservoir, based on projected population growth and water availability over a 50-year planning period.
 
“The Supreme Court reaffirmed today that it will not tolerate public utilities speculating in water,” said Drew Peternell, director of  TU’s Colorado Water Project, who argued the case before the state’s highest court. “This is a victory for reality-based water planning.”

http://www.pagosadailypost.com/news/13636/PAWSD_Dry_Gulch_Plan_Rejected_by_Supreme_Court/

Trout Unlimited: Upper Colorado ‘on the brink’

By Bob Berwyn
summit daily news

SUMMIT COUNTY — Increased diversions from the Fraser River, in Grand County, could put the entire Upper Colorado ecosystem at risk, a coalition of environmental groups warned Friday.

“We’re really nervous. The rivers are only so resilient,” said David Nickum, director of Colorado Trout Unlimited. “You can’t talk about these systems in isolation,” he said, referring to a Denver Water proposal to take more water out of the Fraser River and across the Continental Divide.

“Multiple water diversions have pushed the Fraser River to the brink of collapse,” said Kirk Klancke, president of the Colorado Headwaters Chapter of TU, based in Grand County. “This is a river on life support.”

Nickum and Klancke were referring to a draft environmental study on the Fraser River project. The conservation groups said they’ve already been talking with Denver Water, and that the utility is open to discussing the issues. The draft study was released by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Friday.

http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20091102/NEWS/911019987/1078&ParentProfile=1055

Upper Colorado River an ‘Ecosystem on the Brink,’ says Trout Unlimited

Ski-Hi Daily News

“We have already met with Denver Water’s staff, and they seem open to discussing some of these concepts,” said Mely Whiting, Legal Counsel for Trout Unlimited’s Colorado Water Project. “We hope the Denver Water Board seizes this opportunity to create a legacy, where water development and environmental protections can go hand in hand.”

 “Front Range residents must recognize the connection between our water use and the health of our rivers and streams, fisheries and wildlife habitat,” said David Nickum, executive director of Colorado Trout Unlimited. “We can’t continue to take and take from these rivers without accounting for our impacts. The glass is not even half full—it’s almost drained dry.”

http://www.skyhidailynews.com/article/20091102/NEWS/911029998/1079&ParentProfile=1067

Colorado cities eyeing Wyoming water

by DP Opinion on August 20, 2009

Re: “Thirsty cities eye Wyo. water,” Aug. 16 news story.

In your article, Parker water manager Frank Jaeger asserted that “We’re going to have to have more water. It’s going to have to be imported.” Jaeger called the scheme to pipe water 500 miles from Flaming Gorge Reservoir across Wyoming to the Front Range the “least intrusive of anything you could do.”

The truth is, a pipeline of this magnitude would be highly intrusive and damaging to the natural environment, depleting flows in the Green River and destroying habitat for the world-famous trout fishery below the reservoir and for the endangered warm-water fish species farther downstream. Moreover, the monetary and energy costs of building the project and pumping water 500 miles to the Front Range would be staggering.

There are better options. Smart water strategies — like water conservation, reuse, small-scale storage, aquifer recharge and water sharing arrangements — carry a fraction of the cost and environmental impact of transbasin pipelines. Together, these smart strategies would eliminate the need for a Flaming Gorge pipeline or other costly and environmentally damaging transbasin diversion.

Drew Peternell, Boulder

The writer is director of Trout Unlimited’s Colorado Water Project.

http://blogs.denverpost.com/eletters/2009/08/20/colorado-cities-eyeing-wyoming-water-2-letters/

Saving South Boulder Creek

Daily Camera

By Clay Evans
Tuesday, August 11, 2009

The cities of Boulder and Lafayette and Trout Unlimited, the national conservation organization with an office in Boulder, aren’t exactly thrilled with the idea of further allocating water from the Fraser. But if it’s going to happen, as most expect it will, they’d like to see 5,000 acre-feet of storage added to the proposed 72,000-acre-feet expansion and use it to ensure adequate winter flow in South Boulder Creek.

“It’s a stream that needs help,” said Drew Peternell of Trout Unlimited.

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2009/aug/11/saving-south-boulder-creek/

Colorado & Western Water Project Notes

We had a great WWP staff retreat in Wyoming, with: a guest presentation on how the media in the Rockies report on climate change and water; a field trip and slide shows of WY restore/reconnect projects; good discussions about strategic issues as well as upcoming grant applications and reports; a cancelled telemetry tagging opportunity due to high, muddy water conditions (which also meant “challenging” fishing that resulted in two rods broken); and inspiring camaraderie with hard working folks who love their jobs.

WWP staff on tour led by WY Water Project Manager Cory Toye

 

We attended and spoke at the Natural Resources Law Center’s Annual water law conference.

The Denver Post published an oped commentary by the WWP Director about why the Clean Water Restoration Act matters for Colorado: http://www.denverpost.com/guestcommentary/ci_12736157

We have been working several other conservation groups on an analysis of the gap between water supply and demand on Colorado’s Front Range. We hope to offer an alternative to a future, additional diversion of water from Colorado’s Western Slope.

The water judge referred Shell’s water rights application to a water referee to preside over preliminary, informal proceedings in the case. The first status conference before the referee will be held mid July.

TU’s Dry Gulch oral argument to the Colorado Supreme Court was held in June. We await a decision from the Court.

Scoping comments on the forthcoming environmental impact statement for Aaron Million’s proposed Flaming Gorge Pipeline project are due to the Army Corps of Engineers at the end of July.

We are performing an analysis of barriers to Colorado River cutthroat trout in the Yampa basin. An aerial survey of barriers was made last week, identifying nearly 400 potential barriers. The next phase of the effort is to narrow our focus to a more workable number of barriers and then perform ground-level surveys.

Reservoir project reaching final stages

 

MINERAL COUNTY — The San Luis Valley Irrigation District (SLVID) is anticipating moving its Rio Grande Reservoir expansion project into the final design stage by “late fall or early 2010,” according to SLVID Supervisor Travis Smith.
The district is currently consulting with the Colorado Division of Water Resources, the District 20 Water Commissioners, the Rio Grande Water Users Association, the Nature Conservancy and Trout Unlimited on the expansion project.

http://www.mineralcountyminer.com/V2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=72&story_id=779

Colorado & Western Water Project Staff Notes

May 2009

We are working with several other conservation groups on an analysis of the gap between water supply and demand on Colorado’s Front Range. We hope to offer an alternative to a future, additional diversion of water from Colorado’s Western Slope.

The Colorado Water Project (CWP) continues to evaluate and or monitor the progress of several Environmental Impact Statements for various water development projects around the state such as the Windy Gap Firming, Denver Moffat Expansion, and Northern Integrated Supply Project.

The CWP staff continues to provide environmental perspective on several large cooperative endeavors including the Halligan Seaman Shared Vision Plan and the Colorado River Wild and Scenic Management Plan Alternative. The CWP staff has been working with state and local governments, water providers and other environmental groups to draft an Upper Colorado River Wild and Scenic Management Plan Alternative (MPA). Most recently, the east slope water users unilaterally developed a proposal for flow guides on the Colorado River between Kremmling and State Bridge, Colorado. CWP staff and west slope water users are in the process of evaluating the east slope water user’s proposal.

On May 7, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation operators made the first release in a new flow regime that is expected to help restore the Gunnison River canyon ecosystem and return it to a more natural state. Water releases from the Aspinall Unit will increase each day until reaching a peak flow of about 6,000 cfs in the Black Canyon on May 13, after which the releases will begin to drop until leveling off at approximately 1,900 cfs in the Black Canyon and Gunnison Gorge on May 21. Among other benefits, the higher flows will help flush out sediment deposits that have caused whirling disease and other problems for trout, clear out encroaching vegetation and woody debris, and help maintain the river channel.

Heavy spring snows delayed the start of the field season in Colorado. CWP staff had hoped to get out prior to the start of runoff to work with Colorado Division of Wildlife and Colorado Water Conservation Board staffs installing several pressure transducers in West Prong Slater Creek to monitor flows above and below diversion structures. This field work is now scheduled for mid-June. The results of this effort will be used to help establish the instream flow requirements of this Colorado River cutthroat trout stream. The results will also be used to evaluate the potential value of an instream flow donation and/or acquisition on this stream.

CWP staff plans to perform an analysis of barriers to Colorado River cutthroat trout in the Yampa basin. The analysis will provide a roadmap for future barrier removal work in the basin to reconnect cutthroat habitat.

Black Canyon awash in water-rights victory

By Mark Jaffe
The Denver Post

MONTROSE — A roaring white arc of water cascading over the Crystal Dam and into Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park on Wednesday was a sign of victory.

The National Park Service has been fighting for water rights for parks across the West for nearly 40 years.

“Whether it is a geyser at Yellowstone or the water that shapes and stabilizes Colorado’s Great Sand Dunes, water is vital for the parks,” said Bart Miller, an attorney with Western Resource Advocates in Boulder.

The Park Service already has won water rights for 25 parks in nine Western states, the last two for Colorado’s Black Canyon and Great Sand Dunes. Eight more agreements are being negotiated.

It took 36 years and Colorado’s biggest water-rights battle — with two court cases, more than 300 letters of opposition and 45 different parties in the final negotiations — for the canyon to get its water.

Hydropower agencies, ranchers, a Front Range suburban water supplier, conservation groups and federal agencies all were at the table.

“In the end we struck a balance,” said Trout Unlimited attorney Drew Peternell. “Nobody got everything, but everybody got something.”

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_12373597