By Jerd Smith Water Education Colorado It’s a drought year, right? But back in April, Pueblo Reservoir in southeastern Colorado was so full of water it came within days of releasing the excess, also known as “spilling,” to make room for spring runoff. Spilling water is painful in a semi-arid state, in part because whomever … Continue reading Pueblo Reservoir faced releasing millions of gallons of water in April, but its fast-acting users averted a major spill
By Eric Hecox Meridian Metropolitan District, General Manager Reusing or recycling water in Colorado can be a tricky business. There are a number of factors that must be considered: whether your water can legally be reused; which method will be employed and at what scale your reuse program will operate. At Meridian Metropolitan District … Continue reading How a Water District South of Denver Reuses Every Single Drop
With Colorado’s population growing and the constant need for water, one would think that rural farmers and landowners would be positioned against the state’s larger municipalities. However, just the opposite is true in many cases, and the recent Larimer County-Broomfield Project is the perfect example. This project is the state’s first permanent agricultural-municipal alternative transfer … Continue reading Larimer County-Broomfield Pilot Project
The Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) is working to update the Statewide Water Supply Initiative (SWSI), a technical analysis of water supply and demand forecasts for a wide variety of water uses across the state. The data in previous SWSI studies has informed discussions among Colorado’s nine basin roundtables, and was incorporated into Colorado’s Water … Continue reading Statewide Water Supply Initiative Update
In spring 2016, tests showed that groundwater used for drinking in Security, Widefield and Fountain had been contaminated with high levels of perfluorinated compounds or (PFCs). PFCs are thought to have been released during firefighting drills at Peterson Air Force Base, north of Security-Widefield, between 1970 and 1990. Over the past year, to avoid contaminated … Continue reading Alternative Transfer Methods in Action
Agricultural runoff is a prominent source of excess nutrients in water sources, but this nonpoint source of water pollution can originate with excess fertilizer being used on urban landscapes as well. On April 13, 2017, the Colorado Foundation for Water Education was joined by Steve Lundt with the Barr Lake and Milton Reservoir Watershed Association … Continue reading Preventing Water Pollution Starts in Your Backyard
Each year brings warnings of drought and with it, the implementation of water conservation measures. How do climatologists know if a lack of precipitation is a drought indicator or simply part of the earth’s natural cycle? In a word: Data. Everything water related, including drought, begins with precipitation. Systematic weather reporting in Colorado began in … Continue reading A Single Drop
CFWE is blessed to have a diverse and helpful Board of Trustees. All 22 of them are committed to making CFWE the best water education organization in the state of Colorado, and I greatly appreciate their expertise and guidance. Its not surprising that they, like our staff, are a bunch of "water geeks" who spend … Continue reading Water Books from the Board of Trustees
The State of Colorado Coal CFWE's most recent Headwaters magazine on energy took a look at coal in Colorado. Writer Josh Zaffos interviewed Jack Ihle, Xcel Energy’s director of environmental policy about the switch from coal to natural gas... Even with the rush toward natural gas, the push for renewables, and potential carbon emissions regulations, … Continue reading The State of Colorado Coal
As those close to me know, I am a poor student of history. It’s not that I see no value in learning about the past (being “doomed to repeat it” and all) but most historical films or books don’t hold my attention. And this just makes me feel guilty. I am an educated woman of … Continue reading What I’m Reading: The Emerald Mile
