Highlights from UCRBWF

The 9th annual Upper Colorado River Basin Water Forum was held on November 13-14 at the Colorado Mesa University (CMU) in Grand Junction, CO. This year’s theme was “Tools for Adaptation.” The two-day conference consistently provides an outstanding overview of the multidisciplinary issues concerning conflicting interests in the region. Some of the diverse presenters and attendees (like students, professionals, and retirees) discussed topics including agriculture, energy, engineering, fishing, forests, law, management, parks, policy, politics, recreation, science, timber, tribal rights, and urban demands.

The general theme seemed to be that the upper basin states of Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico are not using their full share of water as determined by the 1922 compact while the lower basin states of Arizona, California, and Nevada are using too much of their allotment. Overall, the Colorado River provides water to over 40 million people as well as food (or animal feed) to much of the United States and abroad. There is a treaty with Mexico to provide water as well as numerous tribal nations have made water rights settlements. The system of prior appropriation means who legally applied first gets the senior rights which includes California, many urban systems, and agriculture. The junior rights went to Arizona, tribes, and environmental uses. This is becoming really bad news to the four million people in the Phoenix area who will struggle to find adequate replacement for their water supply, as well as tribal people who are unable to build and use available supplies, and wildlife depending on adequate stream flow.

The river system has been overallocated, meaning more people claim rights to water than is available, creating more demand for groundwater especially during severe droughts. Supreme Court cases have been fought over state water rights and the 7 state compact agreement will need to be renegotiated or face federal intervention to preserve required lake levels for hydroelectric power generation. Some speakers described using the courts to resolve issues as high-stakes gambling. Ironically, to fund the Colorado Water Plan voters approved sports betting! Please see my original comments on the CWP submitted over four years ago.

To reach beyond conflicts, many presenters demonstrated positive results by creating collaborative partnerships. I’m most impressed with non-profit efforts by The Nature Conservancy, Trout Unlimited, and the Colorado Water Trust. Here is a link to the abstracts with biographies of the speakers.

So for some more highlights, here are a few essential notes:

• The US Geological Survey in 1916 got the science correct to forecast limited water supplies but the US Bureau of Reclamation’s incorrect oversupply predictions were used in the 1922 Compact with 7 states

• The two dammed reservoirs (Powell and Mead) account for loss due to evaporation of 1,000,000 acre-feet which is about 6% of the total supply

• Municipal water suppliers and industries are increasing efficient uses of water

• Tribal advocates for spiritual nature of water essential for sustainability over commodity mentality

• Northwestern New Mexico is building $1.1 billion dollar water supply for Navajo Nation and other tribes

• Southeastern New Mexico boom in shale gas uses 60,000 acre-feet of fresh water yet produces 100,000 acre-feet of waste brine solutions so new applications for water rights by industry are being put on hold with the new Governor over the past year

• Closing coal-fired power plants affects tribal incomes that will need compensation

• Population growth is largest in southwestern U.S. which cannot support resource demands

• Industry wants water banking and new aquifer storage and recovery systems

• Over use of surface water - groundwater causing ground subsidence in many areas

• Alternative Transfer Mechanisms are an alternative to “buy and dry” when housing developments are build on ranches to negotiate deals with multiple stakeholders

• Excessive outdoor water users need more utility and community enforcement

• Direct potable reuse is being adopted in several states to recycle water supplies

• Two book authors gave terrific keynote presentations: Eric Kuhn and Zak Podmore

• Colorado River water gets reused 17 times as it flows downstream

• A politician claims grazing is good for forests

• A US Geological Survey scientist states grazing causes 50% increase in sedimentation and that soil crusts are easily damaged and hard to restore

• River water supply forecasting is done by 15 federal centers including CBRFC

• The National Water Model v. 2 needs upgrading by federal agencies with support from big tech companies

• The National Water Map is one related product by USGS

• Training is available with the Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies

• There is an ag water conference in Loveland, CO on December 2-3

• Augmented stream flow and management plans can keep rivers flowing

I’m grateful to the organizers and participants for this great educational forum!

Poster and Tour of Colorado River Park

The annual Upper Colorado River Basin Water Forum at CMU included my poster presentation of Las Colonias Park discussing the history of the uranium mill cleanup and development of the park. Here is a link to all the abstracts. The City of Grand Junction managers provided a tour of the park developments which are rapidly expanding to include new business construction focused on the recreation industry.

Here is a link to the previous blog after attending a concert at the amphitheater and the abstract for the poster presentation:

Las Colonias Park along the Colorado River in Grand Junction, CO: Transformation of a Radioactive-Hazardous Waste Dump to the City’s Premier Business-Recreational River Park

By Bill Dam

Many people associated with public-private organizations over several decades can be thanked for the cleanup and creation of Las Colonias Park. The site is located due south of Grand Junction’s downtown along the Colorado River and Riverside Parkway. The multi-use site includes an amphitheater for concerts, business park offices, picnic areas, gardens, bike path, restroom facilities, river access and more. A river park along a side channel of the Colorado River is being constructed for use by kids, kayakers, and stand-up boarders.

City of Grand Junction employees took great care to preserve the history of the site by including signs at the park in collaboration with Colorado Mesa University (CMU). According to the CMU history project, “Above all, the story of Las Colonias Park is the story of different people coming together to form communities. From the Spanish and Ute traders to the Hispanic migrants who built lives and homes on its banks to the more recent community-wide efforts to restore and preserve the riverfront, this stretch of land has been a convergence point for people and culture. After nearly 30 years of work, the land is poised to enter into a new era as a developed city park, but it is important that its history not be forgotten in the transition. The history of the Old Spanish Trail, the sugar beet industry, the uranium years, and the remediation and restoration of the land are all vital to the story of Grand Junction: these themes demonstrate both the various cultures and the economic changes that have shaped the Grand Valley.”

In 1950, the Climax uranium mill began operating to produce yellowcake uranium resulting in the byproduct of over two million tons of waste tailings. The uranium mill operated for about 20 years and then became an auto junk yard mixed with low-level radioactive waste. The State of Colorado began in the early 1970’s to deal with radioactive mill tailings that became used in concrete construction as the mill had offered “free sand.” In 1978, the U.S. Congress passed the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) and the program identified over 4,000 vicinity properties around the Grand Junction area that needed radon-radium mitigation. Department of Energy (DOE) built a new disposal site to remove the tailings away from the Colorado River.

After site remediation in 1994, the land was vacant for 20 years until the City obtained many sources of funding to enable redevelopment. Park construction occurred in phases including the Phase 2 amphitheater project with DOE providing federal permit reviews and a grant to support redevelopment of the former mill processing site as well as interpretive historical signs.

Transformation of Las Colonias Park was a grassroots effort by citizens with the Lions Club and many other organizations. Cleanup and redevelopment grew out of conflicts and collaborations between local, state, and federal agencies. A new wave of businesses, people attending concerts, as well as accessing the Colorado River are discovering the renewed beauty of Las Colonias Park.

A tour of Las Colonias Park is planned for Thursday, November 14 at 3:30 pm. Tour leaders include:

Trent Prall, City of Grand Junction Public Works Director, trentonp@gjcity.org

Ken Sherbenou, City of Grand Junction Parks and Recreation Director, gjparksandrec@gjcity.org

Bio: Bill Dam worked for the U.S. Department of Energy in Grand Junction, CO from 2012 to 2019 and recently retired from federal service to enjoy consulting and teaching. He served DOE as a site manager of many sites, including Las Colonias Park, as well as working on a variety of uranium mining and milling contaminated sites. Overall, he worked 25 years for four federal agencies and has over 10 years environmental consulting experience. He formed his consulting company Conserve & Prosper LLC to promote sustainability emphasizing energy and water conservation. Contact Bill at info@conserve-prosper.com

Update from the 7th Annual Upper Colorado River Basin Forum at Colorado Mesa University

Is there enough water available in the Colorado River Basin (CRB) to meet all our current and future needs and obligations? According to my synthesis of information from the 7th Annual Upper Colorado River Basin Forum on November 1-2, 2017, consider this:

·         Currently about 40 million people depend on CRB water for agriculture, domestic, and recreational supplies

·         The 1922 compact with 7 states overestimated supplies so now the CRB is overallocated

·         The federal government (Bureau of Reclamation) requires adequate reservoir levels for hydroelectric generation and could override the 1922 compact

·         States are developing Drought Contingency Plans with improved efficiencies increasing supply

·         Efficient applications of drip irrigation and native plants are encouraged but not yet required

·         A US treaty with Mexico attempts to deliver some water that historically flowed to the ocean

·         Farmers consume about 90% of CRB water and have some of the oldest priority water rights

·         Some farmers are reluctant to conserve in fear of losing water rights and money

·         Colorado water law of beneficial use makes the “use-it or lose-it” mentality illegal

·         In Colorado, about 70% of water originates in the Western Slope with only 30% of the population while 30% of the water originates in the Eastern Slope (including Denver) with 70% of the population

·         Denver’s population is expected to double in roughly 30 years so demand is increasing

·         Trans-mountain diversions and priority water rights can allow the Eastern Slope to take much more than current amounts

·         Wyoming is building new reservoirs (“water banking”) on the Green River

·         In New Mexico, the Elephant Butte reservoir near Albuquerque almost went dry during recent droughts which had to be channelized and loses 250,000 acre-feet to evaporation when at capacity

·         Most vegetables in US are grown in the Imperial Valley of California using CRB water

·         The recent 5-year drought resulted in many farms going dry (crops were fallowed)

·         Beyond CRB for human consumption, recreationists (boating, fishing, etc.) demand more supply

·         The climate is changing and resulting in more variability making long term predictions difficult

So is there enough water available in the Colorado River Basin (CRB) to meet all our current and future needs and obligations? I would say currently no and optimistically with significant changes in the amounts of water that we consume there is the potential for saying yes.  

The forum provided great examples of techniques to measure and forecast water supplies. I suggested to the organizers for next year that additional consideration be given to water quality that is degrading or improving depending on many factors.

In summary, the Upper CRB Forum organized by Colorado Mesa University provides an incredibly valuable exchange of information in a non-confrontational environment that seeks to improve our understanding of the world we live in and how we can become better stewards of our environment.