Tag: environment
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Global heat stuck on high; scientists say August was Earth’s hottest month they’ve measured
WASHINGTON • Earth cooked to its hottest month on record in August, blowing far past a key climate threshold, due to the dangerous double whammy of human-caused climate change and a supersized El Nino, according to the European climate service Copernicus. August’s sizzle also helped push the globe and the United States to swelter through…
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Advisory lifted for John Martin Reservoir amid sewage spill
Colorado Parks and Wildlife lifted its recreation and water-contact advisory for the John Martin Reservoir on Friday after tests repeatedly showed E. coli levels were safe for recreation, according to a news release by the agency. The advisory was issued after 4.2 million gallons of untreated sewage spilled from the city of Pueblo into the…
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CPW expands water contact advisory as Pueblo sewage spill continues downstream
A 4.2 million gallon raw sewage spill into the Arkansas River in Pueblo a week ago prompted state officials to expand a water contact advisory on Wednesday, according to a news release by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. E. coli levels have continued to test significantly above safe levels downstream after the spill on Aug. 26…
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E. coli in Arkansas River up to 24 times above safe levels after Pueblo sewage spill
E. coli in the Arkansas River tested well above safe levels after a 4.2 million-gallon untreated sewage spill in Pueblo, tests by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment on Thursday and Friday showed. Samples collected several miles downstream of the Pueblo Wastewater Facility recorded over 2,400 colony-forming units (CFU) per 100 mL, above…
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Fat Marmot Week has a winner but the struggle for survival continues
The fattest marmot has been crowned. After three rounds of bracket-style voting and social media buzz, Dawn emerged victorious from Fat Marmot Week, which was hosted for the first time by Colorado’s Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory. Weighing in at 13 pounds, Dawn prevailed over G in a field of eight photographed in their chunky, pre-hibernation…
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Untreated sewage discharged into Arkansas River, impacting downstream communities
The city of Pueblo had an “unplanned” discharge of untreated sewage into the Arkansas River near Confluence Park on Thursday, according to a news release by the city. Crews were able to stop it by 11:45 a.m., possibly contaminating the area for the next 48 to 72 hours, Director of Wastewater Andra Ahrens stated in…
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife responds to 2 bear attacks, adding to increase in activity
Officials with Colorado Parks and Wildlife responded to two separate bear attacks across the state this week, adding to what officials described as a record number of bear reports this year. The two attacks occurred early Monday in Steamboat Springs and early Wednesday in Aspen. In the Steamboat incident, a woman reported that a bear…
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What does drought mean for fall colors in Colorado?
Think you’re seeing fall colors already in Colorado? Maybe think again. “It’s not really fall colors,” said Dan West, the entomologist and longtime leaf watcher with the Colorado State Forest Service who thinks he’s seen what you’ve seen. “You can’t really always tell the difference between fall colors and drought-stressed trees,” he explained. “It’s no…
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Fish salvage underway in Huerfano County reservoir to supply cities water amid drought
Colorado Parks and Wildlife declared an emergency public fish salvage for a reservoir in drought-ridden Huerfano County to increase depleted water supplies in Walsenburg and La Veta, the agency announced on Friday. In a news release, CPW officials stated those conditions made them realize the Daigre Reservoir’s “entire fishery” could be lost, prompting the emergency…
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The Aspen Acres fire has destroyed your home. When it comes to insurance, what’s next?
With 319 burned homes so far tallied, the Aspen Acres fire is the most destructive Colorado wildfire by homes lost since the Marshall fire in 2021. In the intervening half-decade, lessons learned have put a legislative focus on the Colorado insurance landscape for communities facing catastrophic losses. Some things have stayed the same, says United…