Colorado: Big Straw vs. Little Straw
The drought is so bad in Colorado that legislators there have been considering a water transfer project, nicknamed the “Big Straw” project, that would move 400,000 acre-feet a year from eastern Colorado to the front range reservoirs that serve Denver. Meanwhile, a Colorado Senate Committee doubts the project would ever come to reality, which led them to cut $500,000 from the Big Straw study.
“I feel it’s more fantasy than anything else,” shared Sen. Terry Phillips (D-Louisville), a project opponent. “Putting men on the moon is far different than trying to make water flow uphill.”
However, there is an alternative called “Little Straw” project where water would be diverted from eastern Colorado to reservoirs in the Glenwood Springs area, then pumped to the Denver area.
Utah: Three Cities Require IA Certification for Contractors
According to the Utah Irrigation Association, three Utah cities – Sandy City, South Jordan and West Valley City – have enacted water efficient landscape ordinance that require landscape irrigation contractors to be certified by the Irrigation Assocation. Along with the Certified Irrigation Contractor requirement for all irrigation systems, they require commercial irrigation projects to pass a water audit by an IA Certified Landscape Irrigation Auditor.
The CLIA must be independent of the contractor, designer and owner or developer of the project. UIA says the CIC could eventually become a state-licensing requirement in Utah. These ordinances have integrated many of the IA’s Turf and Landscape Best Management Practices. As an example, the irrigation contractor must calculate the landscape water allowance, provide detailed landscape and irrigation plans and utilize minimum design standards set forth by the UIA. Commercial systems are required to have a minimum of 60 percent Distribution Uniformity for fixed sprayer systems and 70 percent DU for all rotor systems. The Sandy City ordinance can be viewed online as well.
Alabama, Florida, Georgia: “Cease Fire” on Water Rights Dispute
The governors of Alabama, Florida and Georgia have agreed to put a four-month hold on lawsuits while they try to find a solution to the long-standing feud over sharing the water from the Appalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river system. Bitter negations and lawsuits have been waging for years. Rather than seeding their representatives for additional bitter discussions at the negotiating table, the governors plan to work out a deal instead.
Water usage from the Atlanta area is at the heart of the battle, which draws a huge amount of water from the river system. A settlement was reached during January that would provide Atlanta more water to support its growth. However, the opposing states and federal hydropower customers think Atlanta should pay its fair share in exchange for water from Lake Lanier and the Chattahoochee.
These industry news segments were provided by the Irrigation Assocation.