Special Reports
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Item Open Access Alternative transfer methods in Colorado: status update, framework for continued support, and recommendations for CWCB action(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2020-08) Cabot, Perry E., author; Flynn, Nora E., author; Osborne, Blake, author; Waskom, Reagan M., author; Bovee, Brett, author; Brown, Dan, author; Gingerich, Luke, author; Colorado Water Center, publisherItem Open Access Where now with alternative transfer methods ATMs in Colorado?(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2017-04) Castle, Anne, author; Smith, MaryLou, author; Stulp, John, author; Udall, Brad, author; Waskom, Reagan, author; Colorado Water Institute, publisherItem Open Access The economics of irrigation in Colorado's Lower Arkansas River Valley(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2017-11) Osborn, Blake, author; Orlando, Anthony S., author; Hoag, Dana L., author; Gates, Timothy K., author; Valliant, James C., author; Colorado Water Institute, publisherItem Open Access Economic impact analysis and regional activity tool for alternative irrigated cropping in the San Luis Valley(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016-08) Hill, Rebecca, author; Pritchett, James, author; Colorado Water Institute, publisherItem Open Access Where are we now? Socio-ecological risks and community responses to oil and gas development in Colorado(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016) Boone, Karie, author; Laituri, Melinda, author; Colorado Water Institute, publisherColorado is the sixth largest gas-to-market producer in the nation, situating the state for substantial impact on energy resources at a national scale. The increase in pace and scale of oil and gas development over the last five to seven years can be attributed to technological advances in the process of hydraulic fracturing (HF) and horizontal drilling, favorable market prices, and an investment in long-term federally funded research aimed at nationalizing energy resources. However, the potential of multiple and contested risks related to HF have led to increases in community activism across Colorado. This report examines community responses to the increased pace and scale of oil and natural gas development in Pennsylvania and Colorado. Grassroots organizations and citizens are concerned with the potential air emissions, water use, economic, and socio-psychological risks associated with the energy development known as "fracking." An assessment of peer-reviewed literature on these potential risks is presented. Through a review of the most recent peer-reviewed scholarly research and government reports, this paper additionally examines the socio-ecological risks confronted in Pennsylvania and Colorado, and to a lesser extent Wyoming and Texas, as part of developing energy on a large scale. This section begins with a review of economic benefits and challenges of oil and gas development. Input-output models are an important tool for projecting economic impacts at multiple scales. However, much of the literature in this realm critiques the assumptions on which input-output models are based, including exclusion of environmental and social externalities as well as temporal aspects of resource-dependent economies. This is followed by an examination of Lifecycle Analyses (LCAs), the preferred methodological tool for scientists measuring air emissions. LCAs have the utility of not only documenting the full time span of natural gas emissions, but also providing policy-makers with a standard format for energy portfolio decision-making. A review of the research on socio-psychological health concerns and air emissions is provided. In addition to the full lifecycle studies, regional Health Impact Assessments (HIAs) have been carried out to measure the risk of air emissions near the site of extraction and the potential harm caused to nearby communities. The HIAs were carried out both on the Front Range and the Western Slope of Colorado. These quantitative-based studies are followed by a qualitative analysis of the everyday socio-psychological health impacts that accompany rapid environmental changes and industrialization of the rural countryside with oil and gas development. Residents recount their experiences with a changing social, environmental, and political landscape. In addition, this report reviews 20 studies that highlight the probable linkages between contamination of ground and surface waters with hydraulic fracturing activities. There is controversy and debate between university academics, industry, and hired consultancy firms over the validity of these linkages. One of these debates is examined, followed by a discussion of the contradictory and complicated contexts within which citizens and policy-makers must take action.Item Open Access SB14-195 report to the Colorado legislature South Platte phreatophyte study(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016-12-31) Norton, Andrew, author; Katz, Gabrielle, author; Eldeiry, Ahmed, author; Waskom, Reagan, author; Holtzer, Tom, author; Colorado Water Institute, publisherThis summary provides an overview of findings and recommendations related to effects of the 2013 flood on the riparian forest of the South Platte River in northeast Colorado.Item Open Access Case studies outlining challenges and opportunities for agricultural water conservation in the Colorado River basin(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016-06) Akhbari, Masih, author; Smith, MaryLou, author; Colorado Water Institute, publisherItem Open Access How diversion and beneficial use of water affect the value and measure of a water right: is "use it or lose it" an absolute?(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016-02) Waskom, Reagan, author; Rein, Kevin, author; Wolfe, Dick, author; Smith, MaryLou, author; Colorado Water Institute, publisherItem Open Access Data for improved water management in Colorado's Arkansas River basin: hydrological and water quality studies(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016-02) Gates,Timothy K., author; Steed, Gregory Hl, atuhor; Niemann, Jeffrey D., author; Labadie, John W., author; Colorado Water Institute, publisherColorado water law is complicated and can easily be misunderstood. In particular, the component of a water right that requires it be put to a beneficial use without waste can create confusion. It is a fact that wasteful water diversions and practices are not permissible under the state's water law. Unfortunately, this has led to the adoption of the misleading adage "Use It or Lose It." This document clarifies how the use or nonuse of a water right affects its value.Item Open Access Environment and Colorado: a handbook(Colorado State University. Libraries, 1973) Foss, Phillip O., editor; Colorado State University. Environmental Resources Center, publisherItem Open Access Colorado's water: climate, supply and drought(Colorado State University. Libraries, 1990) Colorado Water Resources Research Institute, authorItem Open Access Meeting Colorado's future water supply needs: opportunities and challenges associated with potential agricultural water conservation measures(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008-09) DeNatale, Kelly N., author; Doherty, Todd, author; Waskom, Reagan, author; Brown, Rick, author; Colorado Water Institute, Colorado State University, publisherItem Open Access Federal bureaucracy and locality: a case study of the Uncompahgre Valley Water Users' Association's management of its water commons(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010-04) Pratt, April, author; Colorado Water Institute, Colorado State University, publisherItem Open Access Quantification task, a description of agriculture production and water transfers in the Colorado River Basin: a report to the CRB Water Sharing Working Group and the Walton Family Foundation(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2011-01) Pritchett, James G., author; Colorado Water Institute, Colorado State University, publisherItem Open Access Agricultural/urban/environmental water sharing: innovative strategies for the Colorado River Basin and the West(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2011) Smith, MaryLou, author; Pritchett, James G., author; Colorado Water Institute, Colorado State University, publisherItem Open Access Public perceptions, preferences, and values for water in the west: a survey of western and Colorado residents(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2009-02) Pritchett, James G., author; Bright, Alan, author; Shortsleeve, Andrea, author; Thorvaldson, Jennifer, author; Bauder, Troy, author; Waskom, Reagan, author; Colorado Water Institute, Colorado State University, publisherItem Open Access Agricultural chemicals & groundwater protection in Colorado, 1990-2006(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2006) Bauder, Troy Allen, author; Waskom, Reagan, author; Wawrzynski, Rob, author; Mauch, Karl, author; Naugle, Greg, author; Colorado State University, Cooperative Extension, publisherItem Open Access Network analysis of raw water supplies under complex water rights and exchanges: documentation for program MODSIM3(Colorado State University. Libraries, 1984) Labadie, John W., author; Pineda, Andrew M., author; Bode, Dennis A., author; Colorado Water Resources Research Institute, publisherThe increasing complexity of water supply planning and management for municipalities such as Fort Collins requires use of computer models as an aid for City Staff and Water Board members. a generalized model called MODSIM3 is documented herein which allows a wide variety of water supply evaluations in a complex water rights structure that includes direct flow rights, storage rights, and water exchange possibilities with other users. MODSIM3 includes certain improvements over two earlier versions of MONSIM in being able to include both physical and accounting transfers of water for exchange purposes.Item Open Access Irrigation development potential in Colorado(Colorado State University. Libraries, 1977) Whittlesey, Norman K., author; Colorado State University. Environmental Resources Center, publisherThe primary purpose of this report is to project potential crop production levels for irrigated agriculture in Colorado. This report estimates the gains in water supply that could be achieved by improving the efficiency of water use on currently irrigated lands. For this purpose, improved irrigation management, ditch lining, and new irrigation systems were considered as means of increasing water use efficiency in agriculture. The state of Colorado was divided into eight regions for purposes of this study. These regions correspond to river subbasins within the state.Item Open Access 1990 floods in the U.S.: a descriptive report of flooding in the Southern States(Colorado State University. Libraries, 1990) Clark, John R., author; Colorado Water Resources Research Institute, publisherThe year of 1990 will be remembered by many in the southern United States as a record year for extreme rainfall and disastrous flooding events. People in Alabama and Georgia recall the floods of 1929 and 1961 as almost as significant. Residents in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas will speak of 1927, 1945 and 1989 as being memorable. The year 1990 is significant because rarely, if ever, have devastating rainfall and runoff events occupied so many people in so many states across our country for so long a time period. This report is a summary of information of these events, bringing together the causes, responses, first-hand impressions and commentary of the widespread flooding of 1990. It will introduce relationships observed between hydrologic and social influences apparent in these memorable and significant events. Data sources are made available in the library of the Colorado Water Resources Research Institute for in-depth review and further study.