On this episode of The Maverick Observer podcast, we are focusing on local issues in Colorado Springs and Monument. Local issues can affect you quicker and more personally than federal issues. Tim will discuss the strong mayor concept and how it’s going, and Katie will focus on water issues in Monument and the impact of more developments on this diminishing resource. We will end the show debating our favorite adult beverages and maybe introduce you to a new libation.
Resources:
- Colorado Springs Silver Rating with League of American Bicyclists – https://bikeleague.org/sites/default/files/bfareportcards/BFC_Spring_2021_ReportCard_Colorado_Springs_CO.pdf
- Denver Basin Aquifer System – https://www.usgs.gov/mission-areas/water-resources/science/denver-basin-aquifer-system
- The Associate Director of Hydrologic Studies at the USGS Colorado Water Science Center, Suzanne Paschke conducted a large-scale multidisciplinary study of groundwater availability in the Denver Basin Aquifer System. The study found, “Bedrock groundwater storage is being depleted in the Denver Basin. While the length of time over which this resource may be available is uncertain, the conclusions of this and other studies indicate that pumping from the Denver Basin bedrock aquifers is not indefinitely sustainable and that renewable water supplies will be needed in the future.” Some models showed the basin going dry in 50 years depending on growth and pumping.
- Groundwater Availability of the Denver Basin Aquifer System, Colorado – https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1770/
- Article by Shanna Lewis, KRCC, dated Jan. 19, 2022 – https://www.cpr.org/2022/01/19/Colorado-springs-water-denver-basin/
- “We had one well that was producing initially around a hundred gallons a minute. We’re lucky to get 40 gallons a minute out of it right now,” said Jessie Shaffer, who manages the Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District in the northern part of the county. “It’s really a diminishing return that you get on Denver Basin groundwater these days,” Shaffer said. “Every well you drill, you get less and less yield out of, and it takes more and more wells just to maintain your current level of water supply that you need to have in sufficient level to serve your community, which means more money, more capital improvement projects, and more costs, higher water rates.” — Colorado Public Radio