The move also comes with a water rate increase for those who use the most water: Customers in Tier III will see a 50% rate increase and Tier IV will see their rates increase 125%.
Category: Water
Our water desk, staffed by Heather Sackett, produces the most authoritative reporting available on Roaring Fork and upper Colorado river basin water policy and politics.
Flexible pool of water could be key to protect Lake Powell
There isn’t a way to physically move water upstream, but according to WRA, water could be transferred between reservoirs through adjustments to dam releases and careful accounting.
Fish out of water
As flows plummet, fish could become stranded in pools that are disconnected from the rest of the river, and program managers say they will try to prevent fish from using that stretch of river during times when flows are predicted to be at their lowest.
River District proposes actions to address drought
They are also asking the board to sign off on a system of prioritizing water use sectors: municipal and domestic needs over agriculture.
March heat wave fueled worst end-of-winter snowpack on record
Light said she has been hearing from water users about how early they have had to turn their ditches on to irrigate their fields – some the weekend of March 21 – due to the meager snowpack and record-high temperatures.
Denver Water, Xcel enact plan to ease shortages
As part of the agreement, Denver Water will make available to entities on the Western Slope 10% of the water it is able to divert as a result of the call reduction.
Upper Basin states test methods to fill Powell pool
Colorado still does not seem to have the policies in place to implement a large-scale, traditional conservation program in the near future.
Aspen activist wants ‘rights of nature’ for the Roaring Fork River
A handful of Colorado communities have passed resolutions that give rights to local waterways: Grand Lake to its namesake body of water, Ridgway to the Uncompahgre River and most recently, Durango to the Animas River.
Colorado River crisis fails to force deal from states
And if the states can’t reach an agreement by then, the federal government will impose its own management rules, doling out cutbacks that could trigger lawsuits from the states but would not go far enough to prevent the system from crashing.
West Divide proposes backup water plan for Crystal River
West Divide representatives have said they are not interested in a large storage project and are committed to maintaining the free-flowing nature of one of Colorado’s last undammed rivers.
