In this issue
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Social Media
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Careers
AWRA-CO posts new job opportunities to our Careers page. Check for new postings regularly. If you would like to send us your companies postings check our guide online.
AWRA-CO Winter 2021 Newsletter
2021 AWRA-CGWA Annual Symposium
April 26-28, 2021 Virtual Event
Early bird registration is now open with detailed program information coming soon!
Download the Symposium Flyer here.
Board Member Spotlights
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Spotlight for October Job Title:Water Resources Project Specialist Organization: Aurora Water AWRA Member for 2 years |
Spotlight for November Job Title:Water Resources Engineer Organization: DiNatale Water Consultants AWRA Member for 7 years |
Spotlight for December Job Title:Business Development Manager/Project Manager Organization: Johnson, Mirmiran, & Thompson, Inc. AWRA Member for 3 years |
Learn more about each of our incredible Board Member's on our blog.
Lunch Talk Recaps
October Lunch Talk - Algal Toxins: A Growing Problem
On October 27, 2020, Mindy May, the water quality coordinator for Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), gave a great presentation on algal toxins and the increased monitoring that is being done in Colorado. The first reports of algal toxins in the state was in June 2014 in the Cherry Creek Reservoir. When they received that call and did sampling, they found the Microcystin level was at 25mg/L. At this point in time there were no state standards for these levels. Flash forward to 2020 and the CDPHE has a site detailing the harmful nature of algal toxins and a site for historic testing results stating that the 2020 state toxin advisory level for Microsystin was 8mg/L. As there are 42 state parks and 220 state wildlife areas in the park the CPW is focusing on monitoring locations where human activity is interacting with water.
For people looking to recreate with the presence of blue-green algae the CPW is still allowing boating and fishing but no swimming or direct contact with water. If people or animals come in contact with the water they highly recommend showering off and washing any animals (highly recommended to keep animals away from water). The overall slogan at the CPW is "When in Doubt - Stay Out".
November Lunch Talk - Denver Water's Lead Reduction Program
On November 17th, 2020 Meg Trubee, manager of Denver Water's Government and Community Relations team, and Pam Williams, Community Relations Specialist with Denver Water’s Public Affairs division, discussed Denver Water's current Lead Reduction program. The program was approved in December 2019 by the Environmental Protection Agency and Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and has five main components: increasing the pH level of water to reduce lead and other metals in drinking water, creating a publicly accessible inventory of lead service lines, replacing lead service lines with copper lines within the Denver Water service area at no cost to the homeowner, providing water filter pitchers and replacement filters at no cost and having ongoing communication, outreach and education about the program and the goals and benchmarks. Denver Water is committed to delivering safe water to 1.4 million people in the metro area and more information about the Lead Reduction program can be found at https://www.denverwater.org/your-water/water-quality/lead.
January Lunch Talk
On January 26th Alison Keener, the GIS Analyst for the Colorado Division of Water Resources, and John Rodgers the HydroBase Coordinator at the Colorado Division of Water Resources shared the latest features that the Colorado's Decision Support Systems (CDSS) has to offer. CDSS is a collection of data-centric software tools for water management and analysis. You can find the CDSS online tools available at dwr.state.co.us/tools.
Missed a Past Lunch Talk?
As a reminder, members can access presentation materials and recordings of past lunch talks on our website in the member portal: https://awracolorado.org/
2021 Holiday Party
On January 7th, AWRA-CO hosted a virtual holiday party. Participants joined with their favorite drinks over video chat to catch up with colleagues and played a fun game of “Twas the Night before Christmas” Madlibs. The final outcome for the evenings Madlibs can be found here.
Renew Your Membership Today
MEMBER BENEFITS
- Support AWRA-Colorado Section Scholarship program.
- Enhanced members-only area on AWRA-Colorado website including access to recordings of past AWRA Lunch presentations, job postings, and AWRA-Colorado blog.
- Receipt of event invitations, newsletter, and other water industry news.
- Discounts and early access to annual symposium and other program fees.
- Annual holiday party and networking events with water industry students and professionals.
- Eligibility to vote in AWRA-Colorado elections and serve on committees.
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Corporate and Institutional Memberships also include recognition on the Annual Symposium Program.
If you have already renewed your membership this year, thank you!
SPONSORSHIP
Please consider sponsoring the AWRA Colorado this year and help make our work go that much further. Sponsorship information can be found at https://awracolorado.org/Sponsorship_Information.
Colorado Water History
Denver Water, the state’s oldest and largest water utility, was established in 1918 to ensure a stable water supply for the growing metropolis. Denver Water and other entities constructed engineering works to dam rivers and divert flow from the Western Slope across the Continental Divide to the Eastern Slope, despite opposition from western Colorado, which wanted water to remain in its rivers to support the area’s agriculture and future growth. The impact of these transmountain diversions became a point of contention, and western states battled among themselves over rivers born in the snows of Colorado.
The Colorado River Compact of 1922 resulted from negotiations led by Colorado attorney Delph Carpenter. This historic agreement prevented endless and paralyzing litigation by dividing the flow of the most important river in the American Southwest among states in the Colorado River Basin. It was the first time in U.S. history that more than three states negotiated an agreement among themselves to apportion the waters of a stream or river and remains a historic achievement.
Resource: https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/water-colorado#Water-
