The study also says maintaining a water-level elevation above 7,470 feet might help minimize the occurrence of these blooms.
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.
Posted inWater
States repeat talking points with little progress on deal as Colorado River crisis deepens
A question looming over this week’s conference was: Will the federal government step in?
Posted inWater
December water forecast a sobering backdrop to Colorado River conference
The high-stakes fourth tool — which water managers across the basin are counting on to rescue reservoirs, set a new management paradigm and provide long-term stability to the system — is new guidelines for how the reservoirs will be operated and shortages shared after 2026.
Posted inWater
Conservation studies’ findings have lessons for water managers
But as climate change continues to fuel shortages, makes a mockery of century-old agreements and pushes Colorado River management into crisis mode, the Upper Basin can no longer avoid scrutiny about how it uses water.
Posted inWater
State ramps up water measurement on Western Slope
The push for more-accurate measurement comes at a time when there is increasing competition for dwindling water supplies, as well as growing pressure on the Colorado River’s Upper Basin states (Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming) to conserve water.
Posted inWater
State water board votes yes on Shoshone
The CWCB’s decision was a blow to Front Range water providers, who objected to the River District’s having a say over how to manage the water rights, even though they supported the overall goal of protecting flows for the environment.
Posted inWater
No deal on Colorado River
Over the past few months, the positions of two of the states — Colorado and Arizona — have emerged as one of the main sources of disagreement.
Posted inWater
Protecting the peak on the Crystal
A “peaking” instream-flow water right would keep in the stream all of the water not claimed by someone else during years with high spring runoff, thereby maintaining these periodic floods, which are essential for growing new cottonwoods.
Posted inEnvironment
Snowmass Village’s wilderness water source poses unique wildfire risk
“There are some quite vulnerable systems in the Roaring Fork Valley — Snowmass being at the very top of that list — that really need some advance planning,” said a senior hydrologist with Wright Water Engineers.
Posted inWater
Boaters, anglers want clarity around public access to Colorado’s streams
The issue of stream access highlights a basic tension in Colorado’s laws and values: Are rivers just another category of property that can be privately owned and fenced off?