jerd smith

Editor at Fresh Water News, an independent news initiative of Water Education Colorado, overseeing water news coverage across Colorado and the American West.

[jerd smith @jerd_smith]

Colorado watershed advocates want homeowners to help in the fight to curb toxic algae blooms, known for shutting down lakes and swim beaches for days as the weather warms. It's all about making lawns P-free and that means no phosphorous-laced fertilizers. #freshwaternews

[Fresh Water News @Fresh_WaterNews]

Colorado is trying new tools, including P-Free lawns, to combat toxic algae. https://t.co/lZlnmnlcam
#freshwaternews #cowater @WaterEdCO

[jerd smith @jerd_smith]

West Slope officials are planning a major gathering to unite and help inspire Coloradans to begin protecting the state's watersheds from devastating wildfires. https://t.co/n6d78LGiCq

[jerd smith @jerd_smith]

When water utilities began working remotely to protect workers in the midst of COVID-19, hackers followed exposing problems in Colorado and elsewhere. Experts say utilities need to do more to protect operations. #cowater

https://t.co/iCwXjevK1t

[jerd smith @jerd_smith]

With five years on the job and nearly $500 million invested, the Colorado Water Plan has has brought people together across the state in ways no one thought could be done before. But it has no easy path forward. #cowater https://t.co/GXe8n6XBvd

[jerd smith @jerd_smith]

How Colorado’s congressional delegation helped their friends – and themselves – with leadership PACs in 2020 https://t.co/C4TuB9yvOP

[jerd smith @jerd_smith]

Colorado's new sports betting law got off to a rough start, but this newly legal brand of gambling is making a spectacular comeback. That's good news for the Colorado Water Plan, which receives a portion of the taxes the state collects on those bets. https://t.co/O2tVFWm27J

[jerd smith @jerd_smith]

Fourteen cities in the Denver metro area are creating a coordinated drought response group this spring in the face of what experts are predicting is going to be another alarmingly dry year. #cowater, https://t.co/wXwfpcNBCm

[jerd smith @jerd_smith]

The U.S. Forest Service says a decision on whether to grant a request for a geotechnical feasibility study on lands bordering the Holy Cross Wilderness is expected early this year. #coriver; #newsCOneeds, #cowater

[jerd smith @jerd_smith]

Coors Seltzer, Coke and other major corporations are stepping up to aid the Colorado River in a new, long-term partnership between Business for Water Stewardship and the Colorado Water Trust. #coriv, #cowater, #newsCOneeds

[jerd smith @jerd_smith]

Fires are water providers' worst nightmare. In October, when Northern Water found itself locked between the Cameron Peak and East Troublesome megafires, the race was on to save its system and the iconic Grand Lake from near disaster. #cowater, #coriver, #newsCOneeds

[jerd smith @jerd_smith]

Fresh Water News: A troubled Pueblo water company has left the State of Colorado on the hook for $1.4 million in loan delinquencies and unpaid bills, prompting the state to eye a rare foreclosure proceeding. #cowater https://t.co/0I78VKzKD3

[jerd smith @jerd_smith]

Colorado voters said yes to two major water tax initiatives, giving West Slope and Front Range communities access to millions in new cash for water programs. #coriver #cowater https://t.co/JCshX1raWw

[jerd smith @jerd_smith]

In a new analysis of residential water use by Fresh Water News, some cities are getting high marks, but statewide results indicate Colorado's efforts may be stalling out. #cowater #coriver https://t.co/k4M0kNvfkx

[jerd smith @jerd_smith]

A major water conservation program paying Colorado's West Slope ranchers to temporarily fallow their fields could cost more than $120 million, according to a new analysis. Some ranchers question whether that's enough. #cowater, #coriver https://t.co/rcKBnGFApF

[jerd smith @jerd_smith]

Colorado joined 12 other states this month, launching an array of new laws and regulations in an effort to stop water contamination caused by PFAS, the so-called "Forever Chemicals." Read more in this week's edition of Fresh Water News. https://t.co/mDi8sQ6VYm

[jerd smith @jerd_smith]

Top federal water managers issued warnings yesterday about the Colorado River and its chief storage vessels: lakes Powell and Mead. This year's drought has done even more to destabilize the system, they said. https://t.co/UMe7bXrHvY

[jerd smith @jerd_smith]

As battles over bottled water heat up, Nestlé wants Colorado's scenic Chaffee County to extend the company's permit to export spring water, sold under the Arrowhead brand. But local activists are objecting, saying it's time to "unbottle" the region.

https://t.co/ETeoFGVdUO

[jerd smith @jerd_smith]

Water shortages continue to haunt Colorado's Historic San Luis Valley. #cowater #riogrande https://t.co/jCT1mELsk7

[jerd smith @jerd_smith]

After receiving FERC approval of Gross Dam expansion last week, Denver Water drops its opposition to a 1041 review by Boulder County, saying it must move the project forward. #cowater #coriv https://t.co/uhjDUk2jJS