Therefore time to realize that
old illusions of limitless western water have got to be put to rest.
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Reading the following article it seems like the developer, Mr. Million is making it up as he goes along. Doesn’t sound too promising considering the incredible scope of this project. If he can’t even keep his ducks in a row now, what can we expect should the real digging and construction start? Sounds like a disaster in the making rather than a water rescue for the Eastern Slope.
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“Army Corps Says It Terminated Flaming Gorge Study”
July 18, 2011 5:06 PM
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) –===================================================
. . . the Army Corps canceled the $3 million review itself on Thursday after Million changed the project’s purpose, Rena Brand, the Army Corps’ official overseeing the review, told The Fort Collins Coloradoan.
The Corps spent two years on the Million-financed environmental impact study of the 550-mile pipeline, which would take about 250,000 acre-feet of water annually from the Green River at Flaming Gorge Reservoir, pump it over the Continental Divide and deliver it via Fort Collins to Colorado’s Front Range.
{...}
Million had asked the Army Corps in April to suspend the environmental review for 60 days to give him time to decide the project’s future. Brand said Million did not respond “in an appropriate manner” by his July 5 deadline. . .
Without a response, Brand said, the Army Corps told Million on Thursday it had terminated the study because the project’s purpose is “uncertain.”
Here’s an article that explains why Colorado River Water Conservation District General Manager Eric Kuhn believes this project is a very bad idea.
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Colorado water official blasts entrepreneur's Wyoming pipeline proposal
By JEFF GEARINO - Southwest Wyoming bureau, Trib.com | Posted: October 31, 2010
". . . A veteran Colorado engineer said last week his water conservation district worries there won't be enough excess water left to be taken out of the Green River system.===================================================
If the pipeline is approved, municipal and other entities in southwest Wyoming and western Colorado that rely on the Green River may not have enough water to meet their future recreation, tourism and industrial growth needs.
"There's just no water for Million for this project," Colorado River Water Conservation District General Manager Eric Kuhn told members of a local group opposing the pipeline project. . ."
Town Hall Meeting on the Flaming Gorge/ "Million" Pipeline
A telephone town hall meeting was held on Wednesday night, July 27th, and was attended by 7,400 members of the public. They came bearing questions and concerns about this controversial project. . .
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For an idea of the scope of this project look at this map.
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http://www.westernresourceadvocates.org/pipeline/million.gif
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Here’s a quick look at articles I’ve gleaned from Science Daily regarding the climatological reasons why the West and Southwest need to be preparing for drier conditions. The days of limitless water are over, we need to learn to make due with what we have.
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Prepare for Hotter and Drier Southwestern US, Climate Experts Urge
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100625101145.htm
ScienceDaily (June 28, 2010) — Two prominent climate experts, including one from the University of Arizona, are calling for a "no-regrets" strategy for planning for a hotter and drier western North America. Their advice: use water conservatively and continue developing ways to harness energy from the sun, wind and Earth.
Journal Reference:
Journal Reference:
J. Overpeck, B. Udall. Dry Times Ahead. Science, 2010; 328 (5986): 1642 DOI: 10.1126/science.1186591
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Ocean Conditions Likely to Reduce Colorado River Flows During This Winter's Drought
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101001144201.htm
ScienceDaily (Oct. 4, 2010) — The convergence in the coming year of three cyclical conditions affecting ocean temperatures and weather is likely to create unprecedented challenges for states that depend on water from the Colorado River, a new UCLA study suggests.
Journal Reference:
Journal Reference:
Abbie H. Tingstad, Glen M. MacDonald. Long-Term Relationships Between Ocean Variability and Water Resources in Northeastern Utah1. JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 2010; 46 (5): 987 DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00471.x
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Hot With Decades of Drought: Expectations for Southwestern United States
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101213151405.htm
ScienceDaily (Dec. 14, 2010) — An unprecedented combination of heat plus decades of drought could be in store for the Southwest sometime this century, suggests new research from a University of Arizona-led team. A 60-year drought like that of the 12th Century could be in our future.
Journal Reference:
Connie A. Woodhouse, David M. Meko, Glen M. Macdonald, Dave W. Stahle, and Edward R. Cook. Climate Change and Water in Southwestern North America Special Feature: A 1,200-year perspective of 21st century drought in southwestern North America. PNAS, December 13, 2010 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0911197107
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Southeastern U.S., With Exception of Florida, Likey to Have Serious Water Scarcity Issues
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101213184436.htm
ScienceDaily (Dec. 14, 2010) — Water scarcity in the western U.S. has long been an issue of concern. Now, a team of researchers studying freshwater sustainability in the U.S. have found that the Southeast, with the exception of Florida, does not have enough water capacity to meet its own needs.
Journal Reference:
Sabo, et al. Climate Change and Water in Southwestern North America Special Feature: Reclaiming freshwater sustainability in the Cadillac Desert. PNAS, December 13, 2010 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1009734108
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Drier Conditions Projected to Accelerate Dust Storms in the Southwest
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110225094940.htm
ScienceDaily (Feb. 28, 2011) — Drier conditions projected to result from climate change in the Southwest will likely reduce perennial vegetation cover and result in increased dust storm activity in the future, according to a new study by scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of California, Los Angeles.
Journal Reference:
S. M. Munson, J. Belnap, G. S. Okin. Responses of wind erosion to climate-induced vegetation changes on the Colorado Plateau. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2011; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1014947108
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US Sets Drought Monitor's 'Exceptional Drought' Record in July
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110801094735.htm
ScienceDaily (Aug. 2, 2011) — The percent of contiguous U.S. land area experiencing exceptional drought in July reached the highest levels in the history of the U.S. Drought Monitor, an official at the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln said.
Reference:
University of Nebraska-Lincoln (2011, August 2). US sets drought monitor's 'exceptional
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Future Of Western U.S. Water Supply Threatened By Climate Change
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090720163555.htm
ScienceDaily (July 21, 2009) — As the West warms, a drier Colorado River system could see as much as a one-in-two chance of fully depleting all of its reservoir storage by mid-century assuming current management practices continue on course, according to a new University of Colorado at Boulder study.
The study was conducted with support from the Western Water Assessment – a joint venture of CU-Boulder and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as well as and the Bureau of Reclamation.
Journal Reference:
Water Supply Risk on the Colorado River: Can Management Mitigate? Water Resources Research, (in press)
(Western Water Assessment – a joint venture - University of Colorado at Boulder, Bureau of Reclamation, NOAA, CIRES, CADSWES and AMEC Earth & Environmental Inc. of Boulder)
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Colorado River Streamflow History Reveals Megadrought Before 1490
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070517152428.htm
ScienceDaily (May 18, 2007) — An epic drought during the mid-1100s dwarfs any drought previously documented for a region that includes areas of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.
Reference:
Meko & Woodhouse, UA's Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research,
University of Arizona (2007, May 18). Colorado River Streamflow History Reveals Megadrought
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TIMES RUNNING OUT, PETITION MUST BY SIGNED BY SEPTEMBER 12th
For information on the petition visit:
“Ask The State Of Colorado To Protect The Green And Colorado Rivers, Say No To Flaming Gorge Pipeline”
http://www.change.org/petitions/ask-the-state-of-colorado-to-protect-the-green-and-colorado-rivers-say-no-to-flaming-gorge-pipeline
The following folks are involved in the petition and the struggle to stop this stupidity before it has a chance to do damage.
Colorado Conservation Organizations Requesting Your Help: American Rivers, American Whitewater, Clean Water Fund, Colorado Conservation Voters, Colorado Environmental Coalition, Colorado Whitewater Association, Earthjustice, Environment Colorado, Food and Water Watch, High Country Citizens’ Alliance, National Parks Conservation Association, Sierra Club - Rocky Mountain Chapter, Rocky Mountain Wild, Save the Colorado, Save the Poudre, Sheep Mountain Alliance, Western Resource Advocates
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me? I’m just a concerned citizen who hopes some of this might be helpful.
Sincerely, Peter Miesler
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