Credit: Heather Sackett/Aspen Journalism. Credit: Heather Sackett/Aspen Journalism
Recently at Aspen Journalism, our Water Desk was doing what it does best, bringing you sophisticated and accessible coverage that gets to the heart of how we manage our most critical resource.
Water Desk Editor Heather Sackett’s latest file, “Stream management planning watered down by agriculture,” is an in-depth look at how the mandate coming out of the 2015 Colorado Water Plan to give greater weight to the ecological and recreational needs of a river is playing out.
That plan calls for the creation of stream management plans throughout the state to evaluate the ecological conditions of local rivers, and try to address the gap between how much water is in the stream and how much is needed for a healthy environment and a good recreational experience.
A recent report from the nonprofit River Network found that too often, these goals are watered down as the plans take into account the needs of so-called consumptive uses.
According to some in the environmental community, it is necessary to bring to the table the agricultural and municipal entities that make up the majority of consumptive use. Perhaps that kind of attitude will lay the groundwork for future policies that will leave more water in the river, benefiting non-consumptive uses, or at least that’s the hope.
The story includes a focused look at one local stream management planning effort, from the Middle Colorado Watershed Council, that produced a handful of environment-focused action items among 55 total recommendations. That plan also brought in the area’s water conservation districts, which led to an agricultural water use analysis that provided an inventory — and recommendations for upgrades — on 59 irrigation ditches. We covered that process in February, noting that those ditch inventories, which outline potential improvement projects, are kept from public view, despite their existence relying on public funding.
Also in this edition of The Roundup, Tracking the Curve has Pitkin County’s new COVID-19 case incidence rate falling back into low territory, while the Data Dashboard notes the tripling in Crystal River streamflows over the last week.
Thank you for reading and supporting Aspen Journalism.
With gratitude,
— Curtis Wackerle, editor and executive director
Stream management planning watered down by agriculture
Flow targets for the environment, recreation lacking
By Heather Sackett | May 7, 2022
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.
Data dashboard: Local streamflows on the rise as snowpack shrinks
Lake Powell’s elevation has gained more than four inches since last week. Better air quality reported in Aspen.
By Laurine Lassalle | May 10, 2022
• Irrigation season has begun in the upper valley.
• Snowpack at Indy Pass is at 52.6% of average. That’s down from 73.9% last week.
Tracking the Curve
Documenting COVID-19 in Pitkin, Eagle and Garfield counties
By Laurine Lassalle | May 10, 2022
Pitkin County’s new-case incidence dropped from 132 per 100,000 on May 2 to about 40 on May 9. It now has the lowest positivity rate in the tri-county region at 3%.
Garfield, Eagle county commissioners, residents support modest improvements to Cottonwood Pass, but not a new interstate
“As federal and state officials consider options for improving Cottonwood Pass, Jeffryes and her neighbors fear wider lanes and paving may forever alter their bucolic mountain valley straddling the Eagle-Garfield county line.”
Source: coloradosun.com | Read more
Aspen City Council supports STR tax question on November ballot
“On June 7, staff will ask Council to narrow down the purpose of the tax and also provide more input on other details. In the meantime, the city will notify the county of their interest in placing a question on November’s ballot.”
Source: aspendailynews.com | Read more
Eldorado Canyon State Park will soon require timed-entry reservations on weekends
“Reservations will not be required for visitors who arrive by bicycle or a free shuttle service that is provided by Boulder County in cooperation with CPW. The reservation system for motorists will begin operation sometime in July.”
Source: denverpost.com | Read more
Will massive Western wildfires leave more or less water in rivers?
“‘We were surprised to learn that following fire the amount of stored snowpack is significantly reduced,’ Gleason said. ‘The amount of total snow stored is less and it’s melting earlier.’ What’s more, she said, those post-fire effects last for 10 to 15 years.”
Source: coloradosun.com | Read more
Water shortages on Colorado River could eventually hit California, Arizona warns
“Federal projections show Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the country’s two largest reservoirs, will keep on declining in the coming months, reaching a shortage level likely to trigger larger water cuts in 2023 for Arizona, Nevada and Mexico — and which could also eventually force similar reductions in California.”
Source: latimes.com | Read more
Water situation worsens in southern Colorado
“The NRCS says dust-on-snow storms contributed to rapid melting primarily in southern mountains and lower-altitude sites. In the San Juan Mountains, snow containing 10 inches of water melted in the Wolf Creek area last month. Lizard Head Pass outside Telluride lost 10.7 inches of snow water equivalent in April, melting out completely by Tuesday, three weeks earlier than normal, according to a recent update from the National Integrated Drought Information System.”
Source: gjsentinel.com | Read more
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