GRAND COUNTY — In the middle of 300 acres of picturesque hay meadows just north of Kremmling, not far from the headwaters of the Colorado River, a metal pillar surrounded by fencing rises 10 feet from the ground. It looks something like a miniature cellphone tower with various technical instruments and antennas jutting out at […]
Colorado Water Conservation Board
Posted inClimate, Environment, News, Water
A Colorado town nearly ran out of drinking water. Experts say it’s a window into the future.
DOVE CREEK — Running out of drinking water was once unthinkable for Dove Creek, a 600-person town in southwest Colorado. Not anymore. A two-decade drought and years of poor snowpack in the San Juan Mountains have depleted McPhee Reservoir. A canal that delivers water to Dove Creek and growers nearby was shut down months early […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Economy, News, Outdoors, Water
The water supply of the San Luis Valley faces pressure as never before
They all remember when the San Luis Valley brimmed with water. South of San Luis, Ronda Lobato raced the rising floodwaters in San Francisco Creek every spring to fill sandbags that protected her grandparents’ farm. North of Center, potato farmer Sheldon Rockey faced so much spring mud that he had to learn to extract his […]
Posted inClimate, Environment, Water
It wasn’t just I-70 that suffered after Glenwood Canyon slides. The Colorado River took a blow, too.
When a mud and rock slide buried one of the more important highways in the West on July 29, the dramatic gridlock became a statewide spectator sport. That same historic rock slide, at the same moment, blocked off the most important river in the West. After decades of fierce arguments over damming up more of […]
Posted inClimate, Coloradans, Economy, Environment, News, Outdoors, Water
Colorado’s Water Plan has made progress toward ensuring supply, but the work’s far from done
By Sarah Kuta, Fresh Water News In the five years since Colorado’s Water Plan took effect, the state has awarded nearly $500 million in loans and grants for water projects, cities have enacted strict drought plans, communities have written nearly two dozen locally based stream-restoration plans and crews have been hard at work on improving […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Why Colorado is losing the water war
The Colorado River is under stress today due to rising temperatures and declining streamflows, as described in a Dec. 13 Colorado Sun opinion essay by Russell George and John Stulp. The other cause, seldom mentioned, is a water war among seven states, Mexico and the federal government — a war Colorado has been losing. The […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Colorado’s intensifying drought conditions call for urgent collaboration
Without a doubt, 2020 has been hot and dry in Colorado. The entire state and its nearly 5.8 million residents are living in drought conditions as evidenced by the record-breaking fire season, low river flows and shrinking water supplies. The entire Colorado River Basin within Colorado is experiencing “extreme” or “exceptional” drought, according to the […]
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 inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Protecting rivers is key to preparing Colorado for wildfires
Contrary to the common phrase, fire and water actually do mix – and there’s often a direct connection between the two. This year in particular, wildfires have gripped Colorado with historic magnitude. And while we often think of property damage and air quality as the most immediate consequences of severe wildfire, rivers and drinking water […]
Posted inEnvironment, News, Outdoors, Wildfire
Scouring soil, sowing seeds and spending millions for wildfire recovery in Glenwood Canyon
GLENWOOD SPRINGS — The Grizzly Creek Fire was not even 10% contained. Jumbo jets still were dousing flames as firefighting teams from across the country scrambled to protect Glenwood Springs and a critical watershed above the Colorado River. And teams of scientists were in Glenwood Canyon, too, battling alongside firefighters. Those hydrologists, biologists, geologists, archaeologists […]