Martin and Wood Welcomes Two New Team Members!

The Martin and Wood team continues to grow! We’re excited to welcome Logan Burba as a Senior Water Resources Engineer and Isabel Whitehead as a Staff Engineer.

Logan Burba, P.E., joined Martin and Wood in 2023 with more than 15 years of experience on Colorado water projects. Logan’s experience includes water efficiency planning and implementation, drought response program development and planning, integrated water resources planning, engineering support on water rights applications and objections, and modeling to support complex water supply and demand challenges.

Isabel Whitehead, E.I., joined Martin and Wood in 2024 and has a passion for Colorado water issues. She provides technical support for projects related to water supply planning, water resources modeling, historical consumptive use analyses, water rights evaluations and analyses, water operations and accounting, and assists with mapping, data gathering, and research. She grew up in the Durango area and has experience working with developers, property owners, utilities, and municipalities.

Colorado Water Conditions

Thanks to the heavier snowfall this winter, about 45 percent of Colorado is free from drought and abnormally dry conditions and only about 8 percent of the state is experiencing severe, extreme or exceptional drought.

This is a dramatic improvement from October 2022 when 85 percent of Colorado was experiencing some degree of abnormally dry or drought conditions and 15 percent of the state was experiencing severe, extreme or exceptional drought.

Currently, as of March 1st, statewide reservoir storage is 77 percent of median.

Currently, as of March 9th, snowpack statewide is 120 percent of median.

Aspects of Turf Replacement

Pop Quiz: How does the Colorado Water Plan define non-functional turf?

A. Grass no one uses.

B. High-water-using turf where alternative landscaping types may reduce water use

C. Turf not needed to serve a human function, not in a yard, not on a sport field.

D. Turf whose only purpose is to lower air temperature

Answer: B

Bluegrass turf, and other cool-season groundcovers, have become a hot topic of conversation in the arid and semi-arid southwest. Traditionally cultivated in yards, parks, schools, and other areas across the United States, bluegrass turf has increasingly been excluded or reduced in southwest landscaping, and for good reason. In parts of Colorado, the irrigation requirement for bluegrass may be over twice the requirement for well-watered trees and a tough comparison with native plants that require no irrigation after establishment.   

With increasing concerns about the future of the Colorado River, the yield of other native water supplies, increasing demands due to population growth and development, and concerns that lawns are becoming more thirsty due to climate change, communities across the southwest have questioned whether bluegrass turf, particularly “non-functional turf” is a necessary part of their landscapes. The Colorado Water Plan defined non-functional turf as “high-water-using turf on slopes, in medians, or other locations where alternatives like low-water vegetation, mulch or hard-scapes may reduce water use”. Colorado efforts to reduce non-functional turf include House Bill 22-1151 and the Colorado Water Conservation Board’s (CWCB) related turf replacement program, which can provide funds for eligible entities to start or further support their own turf replacement programs.

Potential benefits of turf replacement include reduced irrigation requirements, lower use of fertilizers and harmful pesticides/herbicides, lower labor cost for mowing and maintenance, and increased biodiversity in the landscape. Potential downsides include the cost of replacing turf with higher-maintenance landscapes, although Colorado Springs has shown that replacing turf with low-maintenance native grasses can be a lower-cost solution long term with a one to five year return on investment.

Another potential downside of turf replacement may be an increase in the urban heat island effect. A study from the Desert Research Institute compared surface and air temperatures in bluegrass landscapes (high irrigation), oasis landscapes (moderate, targeted irrigation), and xeric landscapes (no irrigation). At the study site in Arizona, daytime and nighttime air temperatures were compared between these three landscape types. While the coolest nighttime air temperatures were measured in the bluegrass landscape (with the xeric and oasis landscapes having warmer temperatures), the coolest daytime air temperatures were actually measured in the oasis landscape, which used significantly less irrigation than the bluegrass landscape. The results from this study suggest that the urban heat island effect can be mitigated by replacing removed turf judiciously with lower water use plants (or even shade structures) that provide shade and cooling while using less water than turf.

Status of Large Colorado Reservoir Projects

Since the 1980s, the South Platte River basin has seen few new large storage reservoirs constructed. Therefore, it is significant that two large-scale storage projects are currently underway in the upper portions of the basin: the Chimney Hollow Reservoir Project (Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District) and the Gross Reservoir Expansion Project (Denver Water). Combined, these projects will add 167,000 acre-feet of storage in the basin.

Despite cold temperatures in January, concrete and grout operations continued at the Chimney Hollow dam. The Gross Reservoir expansion project has quarry operations and dam foundation preparation scheduled for 2023, and transportation safety improvements to Highway 72 and Gross Dam Road are also underway. Placement of concrete for the new, higher dam face at Gross Reservoir is not scheduled until 2024.

Work on Chimney Hollow Reservoir is expected to last until 2025, and work on the Gross Reservoir Expansion project is expected to last until 2027.

We're Hiring!

Engineers, scientists, and project managers — looking for your next great gig? Martin & Wood is growing and we need YOU to join our team!

Water sustains life on our planet — and our careers as well! As a member of Martin & Wood, you’ll get to work with other professionals that are passionate about western water challenges and collaborate with some of the best in the business. It’s a great team and a great opportunity. We can’t wait to hear from you.

Find out more on our Careers page!

Colorado Water Conditions September 2022

As of September 27, about 15 percent of Colorado is not experiencing drought or abnormally dry conditions while about 85 percent of Colorado is experiencing some degree of abnormally dry or drought conditions. More than 15 percent of the state is experiencing severe, extreme or exceptional drought.

This is an improvement from three months ago (late June 2021) and one year ago when nearly 99 percent and just over 87 percent of Colorado, respectively, were experiencing some degree of abnormally dry or drought conditions.

Currently, as of September 1st, statewide reservoir storage is 78 percent of median.

Keeping Water in Rivers and Streams

Pop Quiz: When did the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) begin appropriating water rights for instream flows and natural lake levels to preserve the natural environment?

a) 1950s b) 1960s c) 1970s d) 1980s

Answer: 1970s

Water is life. Literally. We learned growing up that water comprises roughly 60% of our bodies, covers roughly 70% of our planet and is a critical ecological staple needed to sustain life on Earth. (Or any other planet, for that matter.) The oceans hold nearly 97% of our planet’s water, meaning the other 3% is found in our lakes, rivers, streams, glaciers, and groundwater.

The people in Colorado have long understood the importance of fresh water. Coloradans have used various approaches over the years to keep and treasure the water in rivers and lakes and have implemented initiatives that help us use water more judiciously through conservation and efficiency measures. These are keys to success moving forward, particularly as population growth continues, more water is used, and more of us are enjoying water-based recreation.

At the state level, the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) began protecting water in rivers and lakes in the 1970s by obtaining natural lake level water rights on natural lakes and instream flow (ISF) water rights along streams. The water rights now cover close to 500 lakes and more than 1,700 streams over more than 9,700 miles. These rights are administered within the state’s water right priority system as a unique approach to preserve the natural environment within the constraints of Colorado’s Prior Appropriation water rights system.

Beyond statewide initiatives, since 2001, certain governmental and water management entities have had the ability to obtain recreational in-channel diversion (RICD) water rights, which provide a right for the stream flow necessary for a recreational experience in and on the water. More specifically, RICDs help provide water rights for in-channel flows during specified times of the year, for example, for non-motorized river recreation in areas like whitewater parks. These rights are providing for recreational use in many communities including Aspen, Avon, Buena Vista, Durango, Golden, Salida, Silverthorne, Steamboat Springs, and Vail. One of the most recently decreed RICD water rights belongs to Glenwood Springs.

The Colorado Water Trust has a program that allows an offset to annual water use through financial donations that are used to put water into Colorado’s rivers and streams. The myRiver Balance program begins with an offset of 60,000 gallons per year which is based on an average use of 5,000 gallons per month. Check your water bill to see how much water you’re using and also consider conversation and efficiency measures to reduce your water use.

We use water in multiple ways, including for our essential needs and recreation. The next time you’re enjoying a day on the water, you can consider what may be involved in preserving the view or flow impacting your activity.