Author: JERD SMITH Fresh Water News
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Colorado approves airborne, high-tech measuring system for snow water
Colorado has approved a $1.9 million snow-measuring initiative based on NASA technology that will help communities across the state better measure and forecast how much water each winter’s mountain snowpack is likely to generate, using planes equipped with sophisticated measuring devices. The Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) has been testing the accuracy of the flight-based…
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Colorado’s age-old water doctrine pushed to the brink by drought
Editor’s Note: This story is a collaborative report by Fresh Water News working with nine other Colorado news outlets. In Evans, four miles south of Greeley, houses are shooting up. Once a quiet farm town, Evans is scrambling to come up with enough water to slake the thirst of hundreds of new homeowners, drawn here…
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$88 million state wildland fire mitigation effort seeks local input
With a new $88 million effort to restore and protect communities and water systems from wildfires, Colorado’s top natural resources executive is asking locals to come forward and let the state know which forested areas need to be thinned to reduce fuels as soon as possible. “We are one lightning strike, one drought year away…
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$88 million state wildland fire mitigation effort seeks local input
With a new $88 million effort to restore and protect communities and water systems from wildfires, Colorado’s top natural resources executive is asking locals to come forward and let the state know which forested areas need to be thinned to reduce fuels as soon as possible. “We are one lightning strike, one drought year away…
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Has the time for a Lake Powell ‘drought pool’ already come and gone?
The 96-degree heat has barely broken early on a September evening near Fruita. As the sun prepares to set, the ailing Colorado River moves thick and quiet next to Interstate 70, crawling across the Utah state line as it prepares to deliver billions of gallons of water to Lake Powell, 320 miles south. During this…
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Satellites, remote sensors study water saving impact of fallow hayfields
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Colorado’s high altitude hay meadows, a significant water user in the state, could be re-operated to yield more than 40 percent in water savings, according to a new report. The report is based on a major high tech research initiative to see if ranch-scale water…
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Western governors ask federal more help on forest health, climate change
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Western governors told top federal officials it was time to dramatically rework programs to help states recover from wildfires, thin overgrown, drought-ravaged forests, and protect mountain water systems. Governors representing 17 states gathered last week…
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Last summer’s massive wildfires bring heavy metals to this year’s spring runoff
Liz Roberts is digging into snow-soaked dirt just above the banks of Grizzly Creek in western Colorado. With bare fingers she sifts through the dark soil, looking for life amid the ruins of last summer’s devastating Grizzly Creek fire. When she finds tiny dormant roots, she smiles and exposes more soil to show visitors that…
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Coors Seltzer and Coca-Cola among businesses aiding key segment of drought-stressed Colorado River
A coalition of high-profile businesses, including Coors Seltzer and Coca-Cola as well as the nonprofit Colorado Water Trust have signed up to add additional water for fish, farmers and hydropower generation to a key segment of the drought-stressed Colorado River known as the 15-Mile Reach. This stream segment begins just east of Grand Junction and…