RBC I The Colorado River Water Conservation District board of directors approved a request to partially fund the permitting costs for a dam and reservoir project in northwest Colorado. The Rio Blanco Water Conservancy District asked the River District for $3 million over three years for federal and state permit[Read More…]
Tag: White River
County Beat: Oct. 28, 2021
RBC I Budget season is underway in Rio Blanco County. Combined decreases in projected revenue total $2.4 million, primarily from property taxes (-$685K) charges for service (-$311K) investment earnings (-$256K) capital grants and donations (-$1.1mil) and miscellaneous (-$35K). Despite projected decreases, overall budgeted revenues for 2022 are up slightly (about[Read More…]
White River Alliance members rev up their chainsaws
RBC I White River Alliance members created a loud chainsaw concert as they got to work felling, girdling, and applying herbicide to the fast spreading and thirsty invasive Russian olive as they worked to clear these invasive trees from another property in Meeker starting behind the Vet Clinic. One of[Read More…]
State of the River Part 4: Elk Creek Ranch develops best management practices for river health
RBC | “We care greatly about the river, and the entire valley. We feel like we’re good stewards of it,” said Brett Harvey, manager of Elk Creek Ranch (ECR) last week when discussing the health of the White River, and the persistent algae blooms of the last seven years. Having[Read More…]
LOOSE ENDS: What’s in a name?
MEEKER I This past weekend we celebrated Colorado Day marking 145 years of statehood. It got me thinking about how we all celebrate name days, birthdays, or special days as a part of our culture. I was not named until a few days after I was born, as my parents[Read More…]
State of the River: Part 3
Algae bloom effects cause frustration, uncertainty RBC I This week, the HT conducted interviews with Alden VandenBrink, manager of the Rio Blanco Water Conservancy District; Bob Tobin, a former USGS hydrologist and water quality expert; Dr. Bob Dorsett, White River Alliance member; and Callie Hendrickson, White River Conservancy District Executive[Read More…]
All about the White River Integrated Water Initiative
RBC I What is the natural “work” of the White River vs. what “work” we ask of the White River? Without the need to satisfy human requests of the river, the work of the river is to move water from the headwaters to its confluence with the Green River. We[Read More…]
State of the River: Part 1
RBC I Seven years since the first major algae bloom affected the White River, much is still unknown about what exactly causes the blooms, and by extension, how they can be remediated/mitigated in the future. The earliest report of significant algae blooms in the river, noted in the HT was[Read More…]
Are you wasting water?
Simple habit changes could save thousands of gallons of water RBC | It’s always a good idea to conserve water when you can, but with ongoing drought conditions in the county water conservation may become more of a requirement than an option. In June, Meeker’s Public Works Superintendent Russell Overton[Read More…]
SEEING GREEN …
Algae is apparent in the White River near the Texas Beach by Rangely, and is showing signs of increased growth. Recent oxygen saturation measurements indicate a large amount photosynthetic activity from the algae, which increase oxygen in the water during the day but sucks oxygen out of the water at[Read More…]
River flow near record low
RBC | “Every organization needs a Cassandra and an Eeyore, and I’m it,” is how Dr. Bob Dorsett pre-empted his presentation to the White River Alliance last week. He discussed conditions on the White River, covering subjects like snowpack, streamflow projections, long term precipitation trends and algae blooms. Dr. Dorsett[Read More…]
WHITE RIVER CLEAN UP …
Saturday, May 22 about 20 new and veteran members of the White River Alliance showed up to help clean around Lake Avery and all the way down to Circle Park in Meeker. Several bags of trash were picked up and the morning completed with lunch at Circle Park contributed by[Read More…]