August/September 2007 Volume 24, Issue 4 In This Issue: Septic Systems, Graywater and More on Water Quality Feature Article: Consumptive Loss from ISDS in the Mountain Environment Co-Sponsored by Colorado Water Resources Research Institute, Colorado State University Agricultural Experiment Station, Colorado State University Extension, and Colorado State Forest Service Table of Contents WATER RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS FEATURES Consumptive Loss from an Individual Sewage Disposal Editorial, Reagan Waskom 4 System in a Semi-Arid Mountain Environment – 1 by William Paul, Eileen Poeter, and Roy Laws Consumptive Use Estimates for Return Flows from 2 CWRRI Request for Proposal 10 Individual Sewage Disposal Systems – by Ralf Topper Colorado School of Mines Research Regarding 3 USGS Internship 12 Occurrence and Fate of Organic Wastewater Contaminants During Onsite Wastewater Treatment – 32nd Colorado Water Workshop Examines the Colorado by Kathleen Conn 27 River Long-Term Effects of Landscape Irrigation Using Colorado Foundation for Water Education 2007 15 Household Graywater – by Melanie Criswell and Larry 28 Roesner Rapid Detection of FRNA Bacteriophages and Their 29 Faculty Profile: Dr. Lawrence Goodridge 19 Use in Water Quality Assessment – by Lawrence D. Goodridge Upper Yampa Water Conservancy District Scholarship 33 Awarded 21 Building the Western Waters Digital Library: Phase Two - The Foundations of American Water Policy – 35 What’s New: Water Information by Dawn Bastian Water – and Whooping Crane – Information Flowing Research Awards 23 Upstream – by Patricia J. Rettig 36 Protecting Front Range Forest Watersheds from High- 2007-2008 Calendar 24 Severity Wildfires – by Dave Hessel and Dennis LeMaster 37 4 10 21 24 COLORADO WATER is a publication of the Colorado Water Resources Research Institute at Colorado State University. The scope of the newsletter is devoted to enhancing communication between Colorado water users and managers, and faculty at the research universities in the state. This newsletter is financed in part by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey, through the Colorado Water Resources Research Institute. The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the U.S. Department of the Interior, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute their endorsement by the United States Government. Director: Reagan Waskom; Office Manager: Nancy Grice Published by the Colorado Water Resources Research Institute • Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1033 Phone: (970) 491-6308 • FAX: (970) 491-1636 • E-mail: [email protected] Web Sites Colorado Water Resources Research Institute: http://cwrri.colostate.edu CSU Water Center: http://watercenter.colostate.edu Colorado Water Knowledge: http://waterknowledge.colostate.edu Cover Photo: Taylor Reservoir in Gunnison County filled by early July 2007 in spite of below-average snowpack. COLORADO WATER THE WATER CENTER OF COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2007 EDITORIAL Small Flows, Big Consequences by Reagan Waskom, Director, Colorado Water Resources Research Institute hat do high-altitude crop coefficients, septic system con- for reuse are starting Wsumptive use, post-pumping well depletions, Blaney-Criddle to be felt on the annual vs. Penman-Monteith ET calculations, and exempt wells all have hydrograph. It is when you in common? They were each at some time and place considered reach the margins of any relatively minor – small impacts that individually, if not negligible, developed resource that the were at least within the margin of error in the larger environment. small individual impacts These relatively small flows are now receiving serious consider- aggregate to reach a criti- ation and discussion in Colorado. Most notably at present, the cal mass – the death by a depletions and subsequent augmentation requirements of wells thousand small cuts, if you along the South Platte are the subject of a very intense conversa- will. The hard thing is to tion as Colorado Governor Bill Ritter’s appointed Task Force know when you will reach meets over the summer to seek a compromise that might avoid that point where small complete curtailment of hundreds of irrigation wells. things add up to something big and how to manage the system so this tipping point never occurs. The hydrologists, engineers, and legal minds of previous It is when you reach the margins of any generations understood this concept, and certainly they knew that eventually these small flows and small differences would someday developed resource that the small individual become significant. They, like us, were limited by the boundar- impacts aggregate to reach a critical mass – ies of their knowledge and vision. How can we avoid unintended consequences from cumulative impacts as Colorado strives for the death by a thousand small cuts, if you will. maximum beneficial use of our water resources to meet growing needs? The old adage, “Don’t sweat the small stuff,” is not useful guidance here. Meanwhile, the Basin Roundtables are raising old questions Scientific and scholarly research provides a partial solu- in new ways. The North Platte Roundtable wants more clarity on tion to this dilemma, particularly if the information reaches the high-altitude crop water coefficients. The South Platte Roundtable practitioner and is translated into action. In this issue of Colorado recently had a discussion on what was the “right” number for sep- Water, you will find a research report by Larry Roesner and his tic system consumptive use. As you will read in his article in this co-authors on graywater that was undertaken for the benefit of the edition of Colorado Water, Ralf Topper of the Colorado Geologic Water Environment Research Foundation and a study from the Survey looked into the literature for the South Platte Roundtable School of Mines on septic system water quality that was partially and found that the commonly held assumption that septic systems funded by the Colorado Water Resources Research Institute. Also are about 10% consumptive was reasonably close to past State included in this issue is an article from the Colorado State Forest Engineer Kuiper’s finding in 1974 that they were on average 12.3% Service, “Protecting Front Range Forest Watersheds from High- consumptive on an annual basis. Fortunately, Colorado School of Severity Wildfires,” written by Dave Hessel, Front Range Fuels Mines Professor Eileen Poeter has been studying this problem for Treatment Partnership, and Dennis LeMaster, Pinchot Institute for several years. Her recent graduate student Bill Paul found in his Conservation. This issue’s Faculty Profile is Larry Goodrich who is master’s thesis work that the 95% confidence range on the volume a new faculty member of CSU’s Department of Animal Sciences. of water available for potential recharge is 81.4 to 87.4% of the It is our mission at Colorado State University to extend water pumped into the home, with an observed average of 15.6% research-based information to the community of practicing water consumptive use. Do a few percentage points make a difference? professionals in Colorado and, hopefully, to have relevance and They might, particularly when you consider there are presently impact in the management process. To that end, we announce the over 600,000 onsite systems in operation in Colorado and that FY08 CWRRI water research funding competition, which is open 7,000 to 10,000 new systems are being installed each year. to faculty from all institutions of higher education in Colorado We are currently witnessing in Colorado what has been aptly (see page 2). We are very grateful to the Colorado Legislature and termed “cumulative impacts.” The depletive effect of one or even the individual representatives and senators who labored for water several wells on a river system or aquifer is negligible; the same is research funding and to those of you who supported this effort. true for septic systems and exempt wells. On the South Platte, we I welcome your input on water research needs for Colorado, and are starting to suspect that the widespread installation of center we will do our best to help find research faculty and agencies that pivot systems and the newly lined gravel pits for capturing water can address these needs. Colorado Water Resources Research Institute FY 008 Request for Proposals CLOSING DATE: SEPTEMBER 0, 007 Proposals are invited for the Colorado Water Resources Research Proposal Review Process Institute FY 2008 water research program. The Colorado Water Resources Research Institute (CWRRI) All proposals are due in the CWRRI office by September 20, is established under the federal Water Resources Research Act, as 2007, at 5:00 p.m. (MDT). Proposals will be peer-reviewed before final amended, and is authorized by the Colorado Legislature, most recently review and ranking by the CWRRI Advisory Committee for Water in 2006, under S.B. 06-183. At the federal level, CWRRI is one of 54 Research Policy. The general criteria used for proposal evaluation water institutes administered by the U.S. Geological Survey in the include: (1) scientific merit; (2) responsiveness to RFP; (3) qualifica- Department of Interior. Under Section 104(b) of the Water Resources tions of investigators; (4) originality of approach; (5) budget; and (6) Research Act, CWRRI is to “...plan, conduct, or otherwise arrange for extent to which Colorado water managers and users are collaborating. competent research...” that fosters the entry of new scientists into water resources fields, the preliminary exploration of new ideas that address Eligibility water problems or expand understanding of water and water-related phenomena, and disseminates research results to water managers and The competition is open to regular, full-time faculty at Colorado’s the public. The research program is open to faculty in any institution research universities. of higher education in Colorado that has “demonstrated capabilities for research, information dissemination, and graduate training ... to resolve State and regional water and related land problems.” Applications Not Eligible for Funding A. Applications for research on health effects involving human subjects.