BASIN News is an outreach effort of the Boulder Area
Sustainability Information Network, a partnership of various public and
private organizations in the Boulder area. BASIN News offers updates on
water and related environmental topics that are of interest to the local
community and does not necessarily reflect the views of any of its partners.
(See http://basin.org/adm/contributors.html for more on BASIN partners.)
In this issue we cover:
Wildfires
Impact Aquatic Habitat and Water Quality
 Wildfires
not only impact vegetation and land animals - including human beings and
their property - they can also trigger flooding and harm aquatic habitat
and water quality. During the fire itself, rapid and extreme increases
in water temperatures, lower water levels, and soil and ash polluting the
water make it impossible for fish to breathe. The use of slurry to fight
fires may also cause death in fish and amphibians and is a concern for
drinking water sources. (See sidebar)
Researchers studying the aftermath of the Walker
Ranch fire, which burned 1,100 acres on Boulder County open space in the
mountains west of Boulder in mid-September, are finding minimal damage
to fish and am- phibians in South Boulder Creek. Fresh water entering the
streams helped clean and dilute pollution.
A variety of interested groups have joined together
in mitigation efforts for the Walker Ranch fire. Representatives from almost
20 agencies met to discuss erosion control and water quality monitor- ing
of the damaged area.
For more information about mitigation efforts,
call Therese Glowacki, Boulder County Open Space, at (303) 441-3952.
The
Effects of UVB Radiation on the Toxicity of Fire-Fighting Chemicals
A new report published by the U.S. Geological Survey
examines the effect of sunlight on slurry used in fire fighting entering
waterways. Fire suppressant compounds like the red slurry that is dropped
onto wildfires are essential in stopping some otherwise uncontrollable
fires. However, such compounds do contain chemicals that are toxic to fish
and amphibians. Sunlight intensifies the toxicity of at least one chemical,
sodium ferrocyanide, in slurry. Even in slurry compounds without this chemical
there are still toxic levels of ammonia. Natural processes during a wildfire
also play a role in killing fish and amphibians. In the case of the Walker
Ranch fire, cloudy skies reduced the amount of sunlight striking dropped
slurry and low precipitation after the fire kept erosion minimal. The USGS
is working with the industry to find safer compositions that still suppress
fires.
To read the USGS slurry report, visit http://www.fs.fed.us/fire/aviation/retardant/USGS_report.htm
Spills
Contaminate Local Waterways
In July, 54 fish were found dead at the Coal Creek
Golf Course after chemicals were dumped into the creek which turned the
water white. The fish included various minnows such as white suckers, creek
chubs, stone rollers, and long nosed dace, ranging in length from 1 1/2
inches to 6 inches. The Colorado Division of Wildlife sought sanctions
against Lowe’s Hardware for dumping water - containing remnants of vinyl
tile flooring and mastic down the drain, which fed into the creek along
the golf course.
At the end of the summer, Clear Creek in Golden,
Colo. was damaged twice in a matter of weeks as Coors Brewing Company accidentally
discharged 2,500 barrels of Coors beer and wastewater into the creek killing
over 10,000 fish. About a week later, a Mesa Oil truck rolled over and
dumped 3,200 gallons of used oil into the creek harming more aquatic life.
A fourth spill incident occurred on Boulder Creek
in September. A chlorine spill was discovered between 28th Street and Foothills
Parkway, which killed 365 Brown Trout and 80 suckers. Walsh Environmental
Scientists and Engineers, an environmental firm hired by the city of Boulder,
discovered that the source of the fish kill originated from a pipe leaking
chlorine-rich water connected to the Scott Carpenter Swimming Pool, located
at 30th and Arapahoe. The leaked contents seeped through cracks in the
nearby pool maintenance building foundation and into the floor drain. The
Boulder County Health Department and the city's Public Works Water Quality
staff worked together to evaluate the impacts to the creek. Ned Williams,
Assistant Director of Public Works for Utilities stated, "It’s unfortunate
that a large number of fish were killed in this incident. However, there
is not any threat to public health or safety from this spill." A copy of
the Walsh report is available on the city Web site at http://www.ci.boulder.co.us/comm/pressrelease
These spills were costly for the aquatic life
as well as for the responsible parties. Phil Aragon of the Colorado Division
of Wildlife estimated that a fine would total $15,575, since according
to state law each fish can be worth up to $35. Citizens should be aware
that storm drains funnel directly into local waterways, therefore, hazardous
materials should be disposed of properly. A spill can violate water quality
regulations, health regulations, and wildlife regulations. Tina Youngwood
from the Colorado Division of Wildlife advises citizens to report spills
as soon as possible before contaminants travel downstream. Persons wanting
to report spills into Boulder's creeks should contact the Boulder Regional
Communications Center at 303-441-4444. For additional information about
water quality, call the city's water quality hotline at 303-441-4H2O or
go online at www.ci.boulder.co.us/publicworks.
Success at
Stockholm
This August, BASIN communications coordinator Mark
McCaffrey was among the 800 water quality experts gathered in Stockholm,
Sweden, for the 10th Annual Stockholm International Water Symposium.
At the conference, McCaffrey delivered a presentation
entitled: "BASIN.org: a case study on the use of information technology
in developing local water networks." The Symposium was organized by the
Stockholm International Water Institute (at http://www.siwi.org)
and Professor Malin Falkenmark a renown Swedish water scientist who for
decades has helped steer Sweden to take a lead in addressing the spectrum
of water-related issues around the globe.
During the various workshops and breakout sessions
participants had an opportunity to listen to presentations and participate
in discussions on a wide range of general topics– water efficiency and
effectiveness, balancing technical and social concerns, education and public
outreach, water security, and human rights issues.
Awards were given out to students working on water
projects. Ashley Mulroy of the United States was announced as the winner
of the Stockholm Junior Water Prize. Ashley, a student at the Linsly School
in Wheeling, W. Va., examined water quality of a local creek and discovered
that small amounts of chemicals, in this case antibiotics from the runoff
from livestock feedlots, can cause e coli bacteria to become resistant
to the drugs.
BASIN has recently been nominated for the 2001
Stockholm Water Prize that honors outstanding achievements that help protect
the world’s water resources. The winner will be announced on March 22,
2001, the United Nations World Water Day.
Colorado
Watershed Assembly
Over the summer, nearly 60 people representing 22
different watershed groups attended a meeting from Aug. 4 -5 about watershed
protection around the state. The River Network facilitated the meeting,
organized by Larry MacDonnell of the Stewardship Initiative (http://www.stewardshipinitiatives.com),
with support from the Environmental Protection Agency. The gathering discussed
ideas for statewide watershed organizing. Participants broke into groups
to brainstorm and discuss a series of questions. Many of the watershed
groups agreed on their goals and mission statements: to enhance watershed
health, to help create swimmable waters in Colorado, and to create a water
literate culture through environmental education. They also shared the
same obstacles such as lack of funding, lack of public support and political
barriers.
In voicing these common thoughts and concerns,
the groups identified certain advantages which a statewide entity could
bring. The overriding idea was that a statewide entity could improve networking
between the many watershed groups in Colorado, create a common voice, and
help provide a variety of resources.
The watershed assembly ended with commitment from
members from the different watershed groups to continue to work on a process
to create an entity to support watershed groups. A second assembly is scheduled
for February 2001 to start implementing a state-level organization. Contact
Larry MacDonnell at 303-545-6467 for more information.
News
from BASIN: Drought, Fire and Flood
From Oct. 23-31, BASIN hosted an on-line discussion
on the history of drought, fire and flood in the Boulder area. The forum
was geared at answering the questions: How much do you really know about
drought, fire and flood? How do each of these events impact one another?
How should communities prepare for these events? The forum included essays
from several local experts: Lee Rozaklis of Hydrosphere Inc put together
information about Extended Historical Stream Flows in the Boulder Creek
Watershed; Connie Woodhouse from NOAA Paleoclimatology Dept. included information
on tree ring studies; Donna Scott provided Water Quality Concerns from
the Walker Ranch Fire; and the state's office of emergency management posted
Colorado’s drought mitigation and response plan. Go to the Basin Web site
at www.basin.org to check out the results from the on-line seminar.
The BASIN Web site has also recently undergone
a major upgrade. Communications Coordinator, Mark McCaffrey, notes that
"developing the BASIN Web site has been a work in progress, and we’re very
grateful to the volunteers with the Boulder Community Network who have
been instrumental in developing the design of the site and helping maintain
and upgrade the content. We also appreciate the contributions of many local
writers who have shared their expertise with the community through BASIN
--Pete Palmer and Al Bartlett’s essays on sustainability, Joanna Sampson’s
piece on South Boulder Creek, and Elizabeth Black’s accounts of flash floods."
The Web site includes an online search engine and bibliography to help
users locate information within and beyond the BASIN Web site.
Water
Shortages Around the World
Over the next 25 years, the number of people facing
chronic or severe water shortages could increase from 505 million to more
than 3 billion, according to a report released this week by Population
Action International. The report stated that water shortages would be worst
in the Middle East and much of Africa. "These figures are an improvement
over what we thought would happen a decade ago," said PAI President Amy
Coen. She attributed the improvement to more family planning and the reduced
rate of population growth around the world. Still, the report's lead author,
Robert Engelman, hastened to point out that hundreds of millions of people
continue to lack access to family planning tools and basic health care.
"In many of the poor, developing countries, water
shortages could become a severe problem, writes Lester Brown, author of
"The world is running low on H20." Water tables are already falling on
every continent, thanks in large part to powerful pumping technology developed
in the last 50 years which allows humans to deplete aquifers faster than
they can be replenished by precipitation. Water shortages could turn into
food shortages, since it takes roughly 1,000 tons of water to produce one
ton of grain and far more water to produce meat. Brown argues that governments
can work to avert catastrophe by limiting population growth and raising
the price of water to encourage efficient use. Brown, who was the keynote
speaker at this year’s Stockholm International Water Symposium, offers
alerts on these and related issues via http://www.worldwatch.org/alerts
Information included in this newsletter was drawn
from BASIN, Boulder Daily Camera, city of Boulder’s Open Space Department,
Colorado Water Newsletter, EPA Homepage www.epa.gov, EPA’s Waternews, Grit
News, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the Northern Colorado
Water Conservancy District.
Invitation to participate
Would you like to help build BASIN? See the BASIN invitation at: http://bcn.boulder.co.us/basin/main/invitation.html
to get involved.
The BASIN team maintains a
list of specific tasks we are currently staffing. This will give you
an idea of some of the opportunities available. We also welcome folks with
their own ideas for the web site.
We'd love to have you.
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