The governor’s proposal calls for leadership change, a dozen new positions and adding $5 million to fund state water plan grants
Jerd Smith
Fresh Water News
Email: jerd@wateredco.org Twitter: @jerd_smith
Posted inClimate, Environment, News
River ecologists are eager to show how beavers are critical to improving watersheds in the West
Beavers, known for their work ethic, tenacity and sometimes destructive instincts, are making a comeback in the worlds of science and water as researchers look for natural ways to restore rivers and wetlands and improve the health of drought-stressed aquifers. “The concept of beavers and their ability to restore streams is not new,” said Sarah […]
Posted inClimate, Environment, News, Water
14 Front Range cities coordinate to warn of water shortages in alarmingly dry year
As drought conditions intensify across Colorado, at least 14 cities in the Denver metro area say they will join forces to warn residents of looming water shortages and the need to cut back use this spring. Denver Water’s Jason Finehout said a metro drought coordination effort would help ensure a consistent message on reducing water […]
Posted inColoradans, Energy, Environment, Growth, Water, Wildfire
Squeezed by two megafires: Northern Water’s race to save Grand Lake
Craig Friar and Steve Anderson had seen wildfires smolder and flare before. But they had never seen one run. Until Oct. 21, when the East Troublesome fire sprinted 17 miles in less than three hours, threatening to engulf communities and giving these Northern Water staffers and others just hours to decide how best to move […]
Posted inClimate, Environment, News, Outdoors
Colorado activates municipal drought response for second time ever as water forecast worsens
The state of Colorado has activated the municipal portion of its emergency drought plan for only the second time in history as several cities say they need to prepare for what is almost certainly going to be a dangerously dry 2021. Last summer, the state formally activated the agricultural portion of the plan, calling on […]
Posted inNews
As pandemic hammers its finances, Vail pulls out of state cloud seeding program
Vail Resorts Inc., one of the largest financial contributors to Colorado’s cloud seeding program, has dropped out this year, leaving a major hole in the program’s budget. Cloud seeding is a practice in which silver iodide pellets are sprayed into storm clouds in an effort to trigger more snowfall and ultimately, in the spring, more […]
Posted inClimate, Environment, News
These hay fields may know something we don’t: How to save the Colorado River
Grand County rancher Paul Bruchez stands in a hay field near Kremmling, holding a small tuft of hay between his fingertips, twirling it back and forth, seeing how quickly it disintegrates after a summer without water. The plant, known as timothy, feeds thousands of cattle here in the Upper Colorado River Basin. This hay species […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, Growth, News, Outdoors, Politics and Government
Proposal to shrink Holy Cross Wilderness, increase water storage draws hundreds of comments
Forty years after the Holy Cross Wilderness Area was created, an early effort to explore tapping its water supplies has generated more than 500 comments to the U.S. Forest Service. Aurora and Colorado Springs, which own and operate the only reservoir in the area, Homestake I, hope to demonstrate that they can divert more water from […]
Posted inEnvironment, Growth, News, Politics and Government, Water
Water crisis looms if Colorado fails to meet its legal obligations to other states, study warns
Water sufficient for more than 1 million homes on the Front Range could be lost and thousands of acres of farmland on the Western Slope and Eastern Plains could go dry if the state can’t supply enough water from the drought-stricken Colorado River to downstream states as it is legally required to do, according to […]