Water For Energy: Challenges to Produced Water Reuse

The water required for oil and gas production is a hot topic in Colorado, and nationwide. We took a close look at it last fall in The Energy Issue of Headwaters magazine, exploring Colorado's energy mix, oil and gas drilling, and the water market for power and energy. And although, compared to state-wide water usage, …

The State of Colorado Coal

The State of Colorado Coal CFWE's most recent Headwaters magazine on energy took a look at coal in Colorado.  Writer Josh Zaffos interviewed Jack Ihle, Xcel Energy’s director of environmental policy about the switch from coal to natural gas... Even with the rush toward natural gas, the push for renewables, and potential carbon emissions regulations, …

Shoshone

This small hydroplant, tucked away behind I-70 in Glenwood Canyon can be hard to spot-- many drive right past without knowing its there-- but, thanks to its water right, Shoshone has a big impact. Listen to our latest show in the radio series Connecting to Drops to hear about the critical role Xcel Energy's Shoshone plays …

Hydraulic fracturing, water and Colorado

Hydraulic fracturing has become a contentious issue-- no one is arguing with that. As of election day, a mere two weeks ago, three Colorado cities approved bans or moratoriums on hydraulic fracturing-- Boulder, Fort Collins and Lafayette-- while Longmont had already established a ban and is being sued by the Colorado Oil and Gas Association. …

How the West Won Her Over

By Alicia Prescott, Development Director, CFWE Last Christmas, the time came to open up my gift from my husband. I was so excited I could hardly stand it. As I unwrapped the paper and looked in the box with anticipation, I reached down to pull out a small paper airplane, with a note that read …

Alarms Sound on the Shrinking Colorado River

We've seen, heard and gossiped about low flows through the Colorado River, from the designation of the river as 'endangered' in April to the Bureau of Reclamation's Colorado River Water Supply and Demand Study-- there's been a lot of big news on the river recently. Still, Friday's announcement by the Bureau of Reclamation about the …

Real-time water use and treatment dashboard

Wow! This time it's not your water, Colorado, it's Oberlin, Ohio's-- as displayed on this cool real-time online dashboard. And hey, it could be your water, if we created dashboards for Colorado's different regions. Although the Colorado Foundation for Water Education hasn't taken on such a project, it's a pretty great tool-- take a look …

Tour the Lower Colorado River Basin next week to learn about water issues

It’s been a dry year. Although late-spring snowfalls brought snowpack in the Upper Colorado River Basin to more than 100 percent of normal, the mighty Colorado River, with its headwaters in Colorado, is in high demand year after year. Limited water supply and growing populations place increased pressure on the river. To help Coloradans better …

Wasted Food or Water

As much as 50 percent of all food produced around the world is wasted, according to a report published last week by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Heartbreaking as it is to think of wasting food, the summary points out that: Wasting food means losing not only life-supporting nutrition but also precious resources, including land, …

Willing to pay more for water?

Are you willing to pay more for water? How much more? As reported yesterday in Forbes, a report released last week found that 75 percent of Americans were willing to pay more for water infrastructure that conserves energy and 70 percent were willing to pay more for water to ensure that all Americans have access …