Southwestern Water Conservation District New Board Appointments
After nearly 11 years of service on the board of the Southwestern Water Conservation District, three of those years as president, Bob Wolff was not reappointed by the La Plata County commissioners. At their February 2021 board meeting the SWCD passed a resolution that praised Wolff’s years of service not only to the organization, but many others in the community as well. Bob was instrumental in many major efforts, including settlement of the ALP Water Rights in Case No. 13CW3011 and consistent advocacy for the protection of West Slope water rights, to name a few. Bob’s commitment to his community also extended statewide and across the larger Colorado River Basin through service on the boards of the Colorado Water Resources & Power Development Authority and the Colorado River Water Users Association. The Board of Directors of the Southwestern Water Conservation District expressed its deepest gratitude and appreciation for Bob Wolff’s legacy of protecting southwestern Colorado water user needs with passionate dedication to our communities.
 Jenny Russell takes the helm as president of the SWCD board. Russell was appointed by San Miguel County and has been a Director on the Board since 2014. She has long played an active role in regional water discussions, and was a member of the Southwest Basins Roundtable and sat on its sub-committee for non-consumptive uses. Previously, she represented the Southwest Basin on the Interbasin Compact Committee.
Currently, Ms. Russell practices law at Russell & Pieterse, LLC. Her past and present representation of water clients around the state includes water districts, developers, realtors, golf course owners, large and small landowners, ranchers and farmers, and large and small municipalities.
Don Schwindt takes the position of vice-president of the board  and was appointed by Montezuma County. He has been a Director on the Board since 2017. Don has been active in the water business since 1980, serving locally on the boards of both Montezuma Valley Irrigation Company and the Dolores Water Conservancy District, and is still an active DWCD board member.
 Charlie Smith takes the position of Secretary-Treasurer. Charlie was appointed by San Juan County and has been a Director on the Board since 2017. He is currently the General Manager of the Lake Durango Water Authority and a director of the Pine Ridge Ditch Company.
Amy Huff Local water attorney, was appointed by La Plata County to the district as a new board member. Huff has been practicing water law for 18 years, the majority of which has been in Southwest Colorado where water issues abound, exacerbated by drought, increasing demand and tricky multi-state compacts.
For more information on Southwestern Water Conservation District click here.
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SW Basin Roundtable Roundup
By Elaine Chick - WIP/PEPO Liaison
Roundtable Update
The Southwest Basin Roundtable is currently working on the first update to the 2015 Basin Implementation Plan (BIP). The BIP describes the Roundtable’s goals, strategies, and objectives as they relate to Southwest Colorado’s current water supply needs while planning for future water needs that may be impacted by climate change, population growth, urbanization, or other drivers in the future. The Roundtable encourages and supports maintaining a balance between a vibrant agricultural sector and healthy streams to support environmental, educational and recreational values. The multiple-basin area of the Southwest is extremely diverse and is experiencing changing with demographics and climate challenges. The BIP update process will continue through this summer, with the draft 2021 BIP available for public review this fall. To get involved, please visit the Roundtable’s website or reach out to the local expert team working on the document.
January 28 - Roundtable Meeting Highlights
Officer Reports
Celene Hawkins gave an update from the CWCB board meeting and mentioned a few of the topics that were discussed, which included a funding update and Colorado River matters. There was a workshop on the Poudre River instream flow augmentation project that was approved at the board meeting. There were actions on instream flows in several divisions. The instream flow rule making took place and there were discussions on an important policy about review of conservation easements. Not much news on the funding landscape, there is a stimulus package related to wildfire impacts that is still being discussed with the legislature.
PEPO Liaison Report
Elaine Chick, PEPO Liaison to the SW Basins Roundtable, talked about the 2020 Education Action Plan. PEPO funds, as well as funds provided by the Water Information Program, were put towards an educational video on Colorado’s SW Basin that focuses on watershed/river health, forest health, agriculture and recreation and the interdependence they share and contribute to each other. The video was previewed to all. The video is available to the public, schools, water managers, available to use for presentations. Elaine encouraged everyone to watch and share the video. It can be viewed on the Water Information Program website main page: https://waterinfo.org/
The PEPO 2021 Education Action Plan will be updated this year and Elaine requested that a PEPO workgroup be created to work together on the EAP. Roundtable members who volunteered to form the workgroup are Gigi Richard – Four Corners Water Center, Gretchen Rank – Mancos Conservation District, Ed Tolen – SW Basins Roundtable Chair, Val Valentine, Becky Guilliams – Teacher/Future Farmers of America and Carrie Lile – Harris Water Engineering.
The next Statewide PEPO meeting was Feb. 22.
We are Water Program
A presentation was given about the We Are Water Program by Ann Gold – Director, Education & Outreach at the CIRES group and Patty Montano – Manager of We are Water Project from
University Colorado Boulder. This is a project pulling together communities across the Four Corners region to share their stories around water and provide opportunities for informal science learning. The project is library focused which is often the place where science learning can happen, especially in smaller communities. Water, critical and scarce in the Four Corners region, connects diverse communities through our shared place and unique stories. Patty and Ann reviewed the project in detail, and after a needs assessment with diverse groups, they found what communities are interested in or concerned about. They are:
- Water conservation and scarcity
- Future of water in the region
- Water rights, access, availability
- Water quality
- Economic and environmental aspects
- Cultural and historical connection
Water is an important part of the social and economic fabric of our community. We need to treat it with respect and admiration.
There are five project components that they are working on: Travelling Exhibit; Water Stories and Images; Youth and Family Activities; Resources for Library Staff; and Learn about Water.
For more information on the project, you can go to their website at https://wearewater.colorado.edu/ or email: WeAreWater@Colorado.edu. Or email Anne Gold: anne.u.gold@colorado.edu or Patricia Montano: patricia.montano@colorado.edu.
CWCB Update – Sam Stein
CWCB Board meeting update from January 25 – 26, covered Demand Management and the DM phase 2 progress and Water Plan update were discussed amongst many other topics. CWCB offered a public Zoom - Colorado Water Plan Riverside Chat, and is posted on the CWCB YouTube channel if you missed it. There will be another one on June 8th. You can go here to register. The goal of the Riverside Chat is to provide an update on where things are at with the Water Plan and what it looks like going forward. Sam mentioned that Executive Director Becky Mitchell will be doing a virtual Roundtable tour and will be attending the SW Basin Roundtable meeting on April 22nd, and is looking forward to hearing about the progress being made on the BIP and Water Plan updates.
The Instream Flow workshop took place January 27th and is posted on the CWCB YouTube channel for viewing. The IBCC meeting took place February 23rd and the PEPO meeting took place February 22nd. The topics for the IBCC meeting were demand management, forest health, alternative transfer methods (ATM’s), finance and climate. You can watch past CWCB virtual board meetings here.
Basin Implementation Plan (BIP)
Carrie Lile and Stacy Beaugh, the local expert team working on the BIP, reported on the BIP update. The sub-committee has been working on reviewing the goals from the 2015 BIP and drafting an update to those goals. February’s sub-committee meeting will focus on reviewing those draft goals and then work on refining the measurable objectives, and creating new ones that may be short and long term. At the February 25th meeting the first draft of goals, strategies and major objectives will be presented to the general group, and are looking for feedback and participation from the Roundtable. The next phase is to start connecting the relationship of those goals, strategies and objectives to the Technical Update data and planning scenarios and how that works with the projects list, and how those will meet future gaps. The BIP will have two parts, volume 1 will be the new document with strategies and executive summary, and volume 2 will focus on a digital outreach document similar to story maps that would highlight success stories of IPP’s that have already been implemented.
Matt Lindberg with Brown and Caldwell gave an update on the Forest Health Study which came about from the June CWCB listening sessions that were put together to hear from people across the state on what their interests and thoughts were regarding where the focus of the Water Plan should be. Forest Health issues was a strong topic that came forward to focus on. It was suggested to identify a menu of items that consist of different potential strategies and actions that Roundtables could choose from that would be appropriate to each basin, and possibly a sub-set of these could be included into the BIP’s. It also serves to help identify a list of things that the CWCB could work on for incorporation into the Water Plan. Last July a framework was put together for a study that would help get to a point where they could produce that menu of strategies and activities and was distributed to each basin Roundtable to help create alignment.
This April there will be a workshop that all Roundtables and people across the state can listen in on to hear some of the refined strategies, activities and ideas and provide feedback. From that, a final list will be created and will be available to Roundtables in the May/June timeframe to hopefully get incorporated into their draft Basin Implementation Plans.
Colorado River Issues
There was a discussion regarding the NY Times article about investors making water a commodity. Water managers across the state met to discuss how best they can form a united front to stop Wall Street speculation on public water and drafted a response that ran in the Colorado Sun.
WSRF Funding Sub-committee
An update was provided by Mely Whiting. The sub-committee presented a set of recommendations to the Roundtable for changing the way that it funds the WSRF applications due to the reduction in the amount of funding that is available. The Roundtable adopted a number of those recommendations, as well as forming a sub-committee that will review all grant applications prior to being sent to the Roundtable. Those adopted recommendations have been put into the revised WSRF grant applications and have been put on the website for the public. The Roundtable will now only be accepting applications and award grants once a year. All applications were due March 1st, the Roundtable will hear all of the grant applications at the March 25th meeting and will make a decision in April.
WSRF Basin Fund Balance
WSRF Basin account has $443,251 in the account. If the projects that were approved back in November and are approved by CWCB at their March meeting, totaling $58,000, that amount would be subtracted and would leave the approximate total to the WSRA basin fund at $437,000.00.
Airborne Snow Observatory Lidar Flights & Advancing Seasonal Water Supply Forecasting
Lorna Kaatz from Denver Water and Emily Carbone from Northern Water gave a presentation on the Colorado Airborne Snow Observatories Expansion Plan.
Lorna Kaatz elaborated on the planning project to create an expansion plan for an Airborne Snow Observatory (ASO) throughout the state of Colorado. ASO combines three types of technology; aviation, on the airplanes there is a Lidar machine that measures the distance between two points for snow water equivalent, and a spectrometer that fills in the blanks, and then end up with 3-meter resolution snow depth. This is a new technology that can output high resolution snow depth on a scan that provides high accuracy information that cannot be seen from a SNOTEL. ASO provides accurate estimate of volume of water (in acre-feet) remaining in snowpack.
The question asked is, how can we build a sustainable Colorado ASO program that benefits as many water stakeholders as possible? The project goal is to develop and communicate a roadmap for creating a phased and sustainable ASO flight program in Colorado that would ultimately benefit multiple basins and a diverse group of water stakeholders. There are many questions that need answering that were put forth before the project can take flight. The approach is through co-production and analysis with the project planning team and a collaborative workgroup from across the state.
The ASO planning team are looking for funding through WSRF grants as well as in-kind contributions throughout all of the Roundtable basins.
A sidenote was presented by Ken Curtis of DWCD, that CWCB is funding a few ASO flights and an NCAR for hydro modeling in Southwestern Colorado. Due to limited funding, there will be a limited set of airborne satellite flights over a limited area.
For more information on this program, you can contact Laurna Kaatz at laurna.kaatz@denverwater.org; you can also click here to learn more about Airborne Snow Observatories.
Upcoming SW Basin Roundtable Meetings
March 25, 2021 – Roundtable BIP Update and WSRF Grant Review
April 22, 2021 – Regular Roundtable Meeting and WSRF Grant awards
May 27, 2021 – Roundtable BIP Update
June 24, 2021 – Roundtable BIP Update
July 22, 2021 – Regular Roundtable Meeting
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Gurley Reservoir Dam Still in Need of Repair
Gurley Reservoir, above Norwood, owned by the Farmers Water Development Co., has had a stability problem on its downstream slope involving a small slide since spring of 2019, and engineering work is needing to be done regarding a repair. It’s an earth dam built in 1961, and its reservoir’s normal storage capacity is 9,000 acre-feet.
“We are still able to run water in the reservoir, however it is restricted to 50%. We can run water through and store up to 50%. We are working on a one-year relief of that and it might go up a bit this year, but we don’t really know at this time,” stated Dave Alexander, President of Farmers Water Development Company. “Most of the engineering work is done, the engineering report has been sent to the dam inspector to be OK’d, once that is done, we will be on track to find some funding to get the repair done.”
The surface slip on the downstream side of the dam was about 5 feet deep. The issue that the dam inspector ran into was it had slid and got into the edge of an old surface slip that was repaired in 2012. This one was a little bit bigger and now it’s going to have to be a full repair.
There is a lot of engineering and testing before repairs can begin. Alexander mentioned that they are going to extend the outlet tube out 25 feet and redo the slope on the dam after they get the repair made. Another issue is the Gurley dam runs north and south, the wind comes from the west, the large amount of snow, coupled with the way the reservoir sits, made for a big drift on the back side of it and saturating the upper part of the area.
As far as restrictions to shareholders, Alexander stated they are still able to run water in the reservoir, however it is restricted to 50%, so that cuts back the supply to all the shareholders.
“It looks like we are going to have to pull the reservoir down, we are not exactly sure how far yet, before we can do any work on the downstream side. We are anticipating that by mid-august it should be down low enough that we can go and start repair,” he said.
Once the engineering comes back from the dam inspector, which they hope to have in a month or so, and as long as Farmers Water Development Co. are able to get the funding, the plan is to have repairs completed by the end of fall this year.
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Southwestern Water Conservation District Still Seeking Candidates for General Manager Position
The Southwestern Water Conservation District (“District”), based in Durango, Colorado, is seeking candidates for the General Manager position. The District was created by Colorado statute in 1941 to lead in the protection, conservation, use and development of the water of the San Juan and Dolores River basins for the welfare of the District, and to safeguard for Colorado all waters of the basin to which the state is entitled. The District encompasses all of La Plata, Montezuma, Archuleta, San Juan, San Miguel and Dolores counties and parts of Montrose, Hinsdale and Mineral counties. The District has a nine-member board of directors with an appointee from each board of county commissioners.
For full job description click here.
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Order Your Own Efficient Rain Barrel
4CORE is holding their annual Rain Barrel Group Buy again this year after having to skip it last year due to COVID. They require a minimum order to make the group buy happen, so feel free to share with anyone you think may be interested.
The complete rain barrel kit is offered at 50% off retail at $76 for one or $150 for two barrels. This price includes tax and shipping.
The pickup date is set for Saturday, May 1st at La Plata County Fairgrounds (towards the back of the fairgrounds near the equipment yard) from 9am-2pm. You must be present or send someone to pick up your barrels on that day.
To order, please email molly@fourcore.org to place or change your order and they will send a link to make your purchase once we've reached our minimum order. The deadline for placing your order is April 15th. You can find more information on their website at https://fourcore.org/water-conservation/.
4CORE serves Southwest Colorado by promoting resource conservation, energy efficiency and renewable energy through education and programs that strengthen the local economy and foster a healthy, sustainable environment. For more information on 4CORE services check out their website here.
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Colorado Water Plan Update Status
The Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) is currently working to update the Water Plan by first scoping that effort through a series of workshops, meetings and conversations. Learn more about the update by taking the survey below and exploring the information on this page including the five information sheets linked below. CWCB staff are currently taking in feedback from stakeholders in advance of the forthcoming update. In January 2021, the CWCB announced an early vision for how the update might look including a few concepts listed below:
- Action-focused: The original Water Plan was organized around nine objectives with goals set for varying deadlines ranging out to 2050. This update will keep the same values of the original plan, but re-orient them into four action areas: Vibrant Communities(External link), Robust Agriculture(External link), Thriving Watersheds(External link), and Resilient Planning(External link). Within these action areas, the plan will identify near-term steps (5-7 years) aimed at managing risks. These actions will collectively capture the spirit of the original Water Plan objectives, while offering clear, actionable steps to manage Colorado’s water wisely for the future.
- Line of sight: The original Water Plan offered critical actions and objectives along with the history and context necessary to set the stage for such an unprecedented planning effort. The vision for the update includes streamlining the report and making it easier to see the line of sight between our values, action areas, and in turn, the actions recommended to achieve our long term vision.
- Increasingly Accessible: While the original plan topped out at 540 pages, the update will include a two-volume format - one version concise and action-focused, and one version more explanatory of overarching concepts. Both Volume 1 and Volume 2 content will be available interactively online.
The update will build upon and streamline the 2015 Water Plan. It will not lose sight of our longstanding water issues, but will focus on new innovations, emerging challenges and actions that help address Colorado’s evolving water goals. The Water Plan update will move into the drafting phase in Summer 2021, and be finalized in 2022 after a robust public comment period.
Please visit engagecwcb.org to get involved in the update process and participate in upcoming workshops.
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Opportunity for Public Engagement in the
Colorado Water Plan
Upcoming Colorado Water Plan Workshops
April 06, 2021
Water Efficiency Workshop at AWWA Conservation Committee Meeting
For more information about this workshop please contact Kevin Reidy at kevin.reidy@state.co.us(External link).
April 07, 2021
Environment & Recreation Workshop
More information will be posted as it becomes available. For questions or more information, please contact Jojo La at jojo.la@state.co.us.
April 08, 2021
Forest Health Workshop
More information will be posted as it becomes available. For more information please contact Jojo La at jojo.la@state.co.us(External link).
April 14, 2021
Land Use Planning Workshop
More information will be posted when available. For questions, please contact Kevin Reidy at kevin.reidy@state.co.us(External link).
April 21 2021
Agricultural Viability and Food Supply Workshop
More information will be posted as it becomes available. Please contact Alex Funk (alexander.funk@state.co.us(External link)) with questions or to register.
May 05, 2021
Climate Change and Agriculture Workshop
More information will be posted as it becomes available. Please contact Alex Funk (alexander.funk@state.co.us(External link)) with questions or to register.
May 26, 2021
Irrigation Innovation Workshop
More information will be posted as it becomes available. For additional information or to register, please email Alex Funk at alexander.funk@state.co.us(External link).
June 08, 2021
Spring Listening Session
More information will be posted as it becomes available.
Share your thoughts in a feedback survey and register for upcoming workshops at engagecwcb.org.
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WaterSense Challenges Homeowners: Take 10 Minutes to Find and Fix a Leak this Week
WASHINGTON (March 15, 2021)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) WaterSense program and its partners are encouraging all Americans to participate in the 13th annual Fix a Leak Week, March 15 through 22, by taking 10 minutes to find and fix water leaks. Fixing household leaks conserves water to help preserve our vital water resources while saving households nearly 10 percent on water and sewer bills.
“The benefits of Fix a Leak Week are simple—with very little time and investment, Americans can save money on home utility bills while supporting local water resources,” said EPA Acting Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox.
Water leaks can cause the average American home to waste more than 10,000 gallons of water annually, or the amount of water needed to wash 270 loads of laundry. Below are some clues that can help you detect and fix leaks throughout your home:
- Check your utility bill. During the winter, if a family of four is using more than 12,000 gallons of water per month, it could be an indication of a leak.
- Read your water meter. Check your water meter—often near the curb in front of your home or in the basement—during a period when no water is being used. If the reading is not the same after two hours, you could have a leaky bathroom fixture or hose.
- Take a 10-minute toilet test. Put a few drops of food coloring into the tank at the back of your toilet and let it sit for 10 minutes. If color shows up in the bowl, you have a leak and should consider replacing your toilet flapper. Make sure to flush after to avoid staining.
- Replace leaky fixtures with WaterSense labeled products. Dripping faucets and leaky showerheads can often be fixed with a wrench or pipe tape, but if a fixture needs replacing, homeowners can look for the WaterSense label when selecting faucets, toilets, or showerheads. Products that have earned the WaterSense label are independently certified to use less water and perform as well or better than standard models.
Since 2006, the WaterSense program has helped to protect the nation's water supply by offering Americans simple ways to use less water with water-efficient products, homes, and services.
For more information about WaterSense and Fix a Leak Week, visit https://www.epa.gov/watersense/fix-leak-week.
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Zebra Mussels Found in Several Pet Stores
Do not flush moss balls or pour aquarium water down drains
Wyoming Game and Fish Department News
An invasive mussel that poses a serious threat to Wyoming’s natural resources and water systems has been found in a number of pet stores across the state. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has confirmed the presence of zebra mussels in a variety of moss balls, a product sold at many aquarium and pet supply stores. Game and Fish is urging anyone who has this product to carefully dispose of it and aquarium water immediately. Proper disposal is essential to help mitigate the potentially catastrophic effects mussels could have for the state.
Although this story came from Wyoming, we need to be very concerned here in Colorado and take the same precautions. Zebra mussels are an extremely destructive aquatic invasive species. Once they become established in reservoirs, lakes or even city water systems, they wreak havoc. They remove nutrients from water, clog pipes and waterways, damage boats and out-compete native mussels. Further, in many cases, zebra mussels are impossible to remove and could have costly impacts.
A moss ball is a popular tank decoration made of a green filamentous algae used to oxygenate the water. It’s important that anyone who has purchased a moss ball closely follow the recommended steps for disposal.
Do not flush the moss ball or pour aquarium water down any drains, toilets or into nearby water sources like a local pond or creek. These actions could spread zebra mussels throughout the water system.
Zebra mussels are striped, sized less than 2-inches. They attach to any hard surfaces such as metal, glass, plastic, stone, wood or rocks. They are extremely resistant to cold temperatures and many chemicals. Hot water is the most effective way to kill them and keep them from establishing.
To dispose:
- Remove any pets from the water and tank.
- Remove the moss ball, other plants and any water from the aquarium and put them into a heat-safe pot. Do not dispose of any water down the drain or toilet.
- Inspect the moss ball and tank for zebra mussels and if you find any contact your local Colorado Parks and Wildlife regional office.
- Boil the moss balls, plants and any water it’s been in contact with for at least five minutes
- Dispose of the moss ball and other plants in trash.
- Pour out the boiled water on a semi-permeable surface. That could be a houseplant or outside — like grass or soil — that is not located near standing water or a storm drain.
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