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Weekly water roundup: Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel, Obama and climate change, Snowfall outlook
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Photo: Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel - USBR
Here's a look back at the week in water:
Lake County Commissioners lift disaster declaration for Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel
Last week the Lake County Commissioners surrendered to the reality of the science and lifted their state of emergency declaration for the Leaville Mine Drainage Tunnel and the possibility of a catastrophic blowout. The original declaration was set in motion by the unfounded alarmism contained in a November 2007 letter from the Environmental Protection Agency in Denver.
Readers may recall the grandstanding by politicians, the unwarranted blame for the EPA, Reclamation and the Colorado Department of Health and Environment. Ed Qullen wrote in the Denver Post that the situation was a, "failure of the federal government." There was no failure -- and as we've learned since -- there was little or no possibility of a blowout taking out the Reclamation treatment plant and part of the trailer park below it. National headlines warned of 3 billion gallons of water flooding the Arkasnas Valley and polluting all the way to Pueblo Reservoir.
The EPA and Reclamation did implement much of the preferred option for the operable unit #6 for the California Gulch superfund site. This consisted of an enlarged well above the blockage in the LMDT and a pipeline to the treatment plant. The Leadville Herald-Democrat reported this week that the pumping seems to be working. Water levels have dropped 17 feet in the tunnel since October 2007.
The residents of the Village at East Fork -- those folks that were living with the threat of a wall of water, rocks and mine waste blasting through their neighborhood -- should be sleeping more soundly these days.
Colorado issues mercury monitoring regulations
Acknowledging the need for the EPA to issue regional and national mercury monitoring regulations Colorado on Thursday issued new regulations to measure the amount of mercury gushing from the biggest state power plants. The new requirements from the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division will kick off monitoring on January 1st.
Aurora defends long-term contract with Reclamation
Aurora was in court fighting one of the opponents of the city's long-term contract with Reclamation on Friday. They're claiming that Arkansas Native, LLC would not suffer harm if the contract for storage in Lake Pueblo is allowed to go forward.
Various Arkansas Valley interests are fighting the contract. The hope is to prevent Reclamation from using the facilities of the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project to move water out of basin, arguing that doing so was not part of the authorizing legislation.
2008 Rocky Mountain Regional Forester award
Congratulations to hydrologist Carl Chambers, the Clear Creek Watershed Foundation and the James Creek Watershed Initiative. They all scored a 2008 Rocky Mountain Regional Forester award last week.
Weak La Nina in the Pacific
Klaus Wolter -- a climate researcher at the University of Colorado and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Western Water Assessment team -- updated water watchers on the state of the Pacific Ocean surface water temperatures this week. He's seeing a weak La Nina building. La Nina often portends dry conditions in southern Colorado but good snowfall in the northern mountains.
EPA knocks environmental effects of Northern Integrated Supply Project
The EPA was in the news this week. Their comments on the proposed Northern Integrated Supply Project and the effects on the Poudre River if Glade Reservoir and Galeton Reservoir are built cheered opponents of the storage projects. The EPA stated that NISP will, "will have substantial and unacceptable impacts to aquatic resources of national importance," according to Save the Poudre.
Pipeline plans for El Paso County
The Pikes Peak Water Authority is looking hard a building a pipeline -- at a cost of a billion dollars or so -- from the Arkansas River to the northern edge of El Paso County. Costs are estimated at $24,000 to $28,000 per acre-foot delivered. The area needs a sustainable supply to replace the fossil water they're currently dependent on from the Denver Basin aquifer system.
Best line of the week
"The science is beyond dispute and the facts are clear." -- President-Elect Barack Obama in a statement to the Global Climate Summit on Tuesday.
Who will lead Interior?
Senator Salazar told the Denver Post this week that he had not been offered the job at Interior.
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