Bluff Lake: An Urban Wildlife Refuge

Martin and Wood has the unique opportunity to work with Bluff Lake Nature Center, a nonprofit agency that owns and manages an urban wildlife refuge and outdoor classroom in Denver. The refuge is home to an abundance of animals and native flora, and it showcases a variety of habitats.

Each year, nearly 5,000 local school students visit Bluff Lake as part of its mission to foster environmental education and stewardship. Martin and Wood became aware of the Nature Center and its need for a reliable water supply. The Center includes Bluff Lake, a shallow 8-acre body of water. Bluff Lake’s water supply derives chiefly from two storm water drainage outfalls, and, as such, is intermittent. Since 2014, Martin and Wood has offered our expertise pro bono to ensure that the center remains preserved for generations to come.

“What strikes us about Bluff Lake is the sense of a peaceful island along Sand Creek,” says Joe Tom Wood, president and principal engineer for Martin and Wood. “It’s a sanctuary both to human beings and to wildlife in a busy area of new houses and industry.”  Getting involved and helping the center made for an easy decision, Wood says.


Sitting is the New Smoking

Michelle is taking a stand!

You may have seen the recent headlines: Sitting is as bad for you as smoking. A study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that adults who sat for more than six hours per day had up to a 40 percent greater risk of death over the next 15 years compared to those who sat for less than three hours a day.

Our very own Michelle Cunico Johnson, VP and Senior Hydrogeologist/Engineer, decided to do something about that. She switched to a standing desk, and she says she’s already noticed beneficial changes. “I’m more active throughout the day – pacing, fidgeting, stretching, and sometimes I’ll even do a few squats,” she says. Not to mention, her posture has improved and she’s better able to collaborate with her coworkers.

Michelle joins a long list of famous people who do their best work standing up. Among them:  Mark Zuckerberg, Sir Winston Churchill, Leonardo Da Vinci, Ernest Hemmingway, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson.

Want to join them? Here are a few tips for reducing your sit time:

1) Set a calendar alarm every 45 minutes, reminding you to stand up, walk around the office, get a drink of water, or stretch. Bonus: Regular breaks boost your focus and creativity too.

2) Conduct status meetings standing around the conference table. You’ll be more efficient and active.

3) Consider switching to your own standing desk. Do some research and try out various models, or you can raise your existing desk to standing height with cinder blocks.

Colorado Water Supply Conditions


We’re out of drought! As of August 4, 2015, only 2 percent of Colorado land is classified as “abnormally dry.” This is a significant improvement from one year ago, when more than 25 percent of Colorado was classified under drought conditions, including 1 percent that was in the “exceptional drought” category (the most severe) and an additional 13 percent was considered abnormally dry.
 
Today, the state is out of drought conditions.

 

What is the Super Ditch?

Contrary to the name, the Arkansas Valley Super Ditch is not a ditch at all. It’s an innovative water-leasing project that will preserve Colorado farmland while also providing municipalities and other entities with the water they need to grow and thrive.

The Catlin Canal Pilot Project was approved in January, and the first six months have been highly successful. The 10-year project involves the rotational fallowing of approximately 1,200 acres of irrigated land in the Arkansas River Basin to generate up to 500 acre-feet of water available for lease to three municipal participants. Seventy percent of each farm remains irrigated, making it a sustainable alternative to the previous “buy and dry” policies.

In the future, similar projects will be implemented throughout Colorado, striking a compromise that preserves both farming communities and municipalities that compete for the same water. 

Martin and Wood is providing the technical expertise on this project. Our work includes calculation of historical consumptive use, review of aerial photographs,  water rights accounting, projection of water supplies, maintenance of return flow obligations, implementation of a "Pay As You Go" strategy, and extensive coordination between water attorneys, state water officials, other water users in the Arkansas River Basin, and ditch company employees.

We’re excited to see the continued success of the pilot project and all the ways it will help Colorado’s water resource issues for generations to come.

 

Colorado Water Supply Conditions — June 5, 2015

Following May and early June’s precipitation, most of Colorado is out of drought conditions. Southwestern Colorado, in Water Divisions 3, 4, and 7, remains under moderate drought (D1) conditions. 

Drought Condition 

Color

Yellow

Pale Orange

Darker Orange

Red

Deep Red

White

Drought Condition

D0, Abnormally Dry

D1, Moderate Drought 

D2, Severe Drought 

D3, Extreme Drought 

D4, Exceptional Drought 

No Drought

 

Figure created by National Drought Mitigation Center, David Miskus. 

Drought conditions as of June 2, 2015. 

It's All Gone to the Dogs

According to several studies, having dogs in the workplace has been shown to reduce employee stress, increase job satisfaction, and encourage collaboration.  We can attest to these findings, and at any one day in the Martin and Wood office you are likely to be greeted by one or more of our cute furry friends. (Name of dogs from left to right: Henry, Copper, Trooper, Bo) 

Water Use Estimates and Colorado’s State Water Plan - October 2014

According to recent study for the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB), Colorado’s population has surpassed 5 million people and is expected to nearly double by 2050. The future population centers are expected to be in the metro areas of the Arkansas and South Platte Basins while the West Slope is expected to see the highest rate of population growth. Although the statewide municipal and industrial water usage rates have decreased by 18 percent since the Statewide Water Supply Initiative (SWSI) Phase 1 efforts, the increased populations are expected to cause water use to nearly double by 2050. There is an identified gap between the anticipated water supplies and the anticipated future water demands. In part because of concerns over Colorado’s projected growing demand for water, Colorado has undertaken development of the State Water Plan. 

 Through Colorado’s State Water Plan and the associated Basin Implementation Plan process, the water supply gap, among other concerns, is being addressed. Each of the nine Basin Roundtable groups (Arkansas, Colorado, Gunnison, Metro, North Platte, Rio Grande, South Platte, Southwest [San Juan and Dolores], and Yampa-White-Green) will have a Basin Implementation Plan - a less formal, working document identifying priorities and addressing concerns of the basin and including a list of Identified Projects and Processes (known as IPPs) which include storage projects and conservation measures. The State Water Plan, incorporating each Basin Implementation Plan, is scheduled to be sent to the governor in draft form in December 2014 and in final form in December 2015. The Basin Implementation Plans are going through their respective Roundtable Boards and were submitted to the CWCB in July, and additional sections of the Water Plan were released in September. The public comment deadlines vary for each component of the plan and continue into 2015. In 2014, comments will be considered until early November. The CWCB encourages interested parties to attend Roundtable meetings or submit comments through the Colorado Water Plan website. If you would like to discuss Colorado’s Water Plan, feel free to contact us.  

Sources: CWCB, State of Colorado 2050 Municipal & Industrial Water Use Projections, July 2010 and www.coloradowaterplan.com. 

Colorado Statewide Water Supply Conditions – October 2014

The overall water supply conditions in Colorado have improved over the last year. Nearly 70% of the state is completely out of drought conditions, and only one area in eastern Colorado remains classified as experiencing exceptional drought.  The Pueblo weather station remains below average for the water year and on a four-year time frame. Year-to-date precipitation at the mountain SNOTEL sites was at 103% of average into early September. Reservoir storage levels, statewide, at the end of August were at 100% of average (28% ahead of August 2013 levels). Generally storage levels are higher in the northern basins than in the southern basins (the South Platte is at 138% of average while the Upper Rio Grande is the lowest at 61% of average storage). 

Water Supply Conditions - Oct 2014.png

Sources: Governor's September 2014 Drought Update, National Drought Mitigation Center, USDA-NRCS 

Color    

Yellow

Light Brown

Orange

Red

Dark Red

Drought Condition 

D0 Abnormally Dry 

D1 Moderate Drought 

D2 Severe Drought 

D3 Extreme Drought 

D4 Exceptional Drought 

Figure created by National Drought Mitigation Center, Brian Fuchs.http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu