The plan says Colorado will continue the slow but steady transformation of moving water from agriculture — by far the largest water user — to cities, with nearly 14,000 acres of irrigated land expected to be urbanized, one-third of that in the Grand Valley.
Category: Water
Reporting on water and rivers in the Roaring Fork and upper Colorado river basins.
Race is on for Colorado River basin states to conserve before feds take action
The actions taken in the 2022 Drought Response Operations Plan will add about 1 million acre-feet, or 16 feet of elevation, to Lake Powell. But these actions are not enough.
Declining levels at Lake Powell increase risk to humpback chub downstream
The problem from which all others stem, including the changing fish communities, and the reason Powell is so low in the first place is the climate-change-driven supply-demand imbalance, Schmidt said.
Early peak runoff for Western Slope rivers
For several locations — the Roaring Fork at Glenwood, the Crystal, the San Miguel and the Colorado at Cameo — the peak came so early that it was outside the window of what’s considered normal.
Pitkin County agrees to fund ditch piping project
But to complete the final 3,600 feet, the ditch company is turning to public sources of money because they say the project will have the public benefit of keeping between 0.5 and 1 additional cubic feet per second of water in Hunter Creek.
Marble quarry must build bridge, culvert and improve stream for Clean Water Act violation
The mining company said the Army Corps required them to choose compensatory mitigation that was “in-kind” to the impacts on Yule Creek and as close as possible to the affected area.
Stream management planning watered down by agriculture
That divisiveness reveals the tension between traditional water users like agricultural producers, who take water out of the rivers, and recreational and environmental water advocates, whose goal is to keep water in the river.
Lawmakers suspend attempt at legislative fix for water speculation
Still, the threat from out-of-state, urban interests loomed large at Thursday’s hearing.
Spring runoff forecast looks better than last two years
But even though things on the whole are better than the previous two years, the lingering effects of drought means reservoirs are depleted and may take several seasons to rebound.
Glenwood Springs secures water right for whitewater parks
Cities have long dictated water policy, even as river recreation represents a growing segment of the state’s economy.