Environmental News
Environmental News from Boulder, Colorado
Here we go again #Boulderfire #BoulderCounty fails to get info out
Oct 29th
City and county phone lines are jammed. There is a fire burning in the foothills near canyon in Boulder.
So far the OEM, city nor county have gotten their butts out of bed to inform news media or public which was the case during the Four Mile fire. The daily camera is speculating. KGNU is asking questions as are we. Meanwhile smoke pours over Boulder and our public officials are slow to rise. Get the hell going. Twitter is abuzz with “whats gong on?
So far the OEM, city nor county have gotten their butts out of bed to inform news media or public which was the case during the Four Mile fire. The daily camera is speculating. KGNU is asking questions as are we. Meanwhile smoke pours over Boulder and our public officials are slow to rise. Get the hell going. Twitter is abuzz with “whats gong on?
Boulder facility goes ‘off the grid’ generating total power from non-fossil fuels for first time
Oct 29th
Less than two weeks after celebrating the implementation of solar photovoltaic panels just outside its gates, Boulder’s Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF) reached a new milestone, going “off the grid” completely for two and a half hours on Thursday, Oct. 28. Going “off the grid” means that all power necessary to operate the facility came from sources other than Xcel’s traditional fossil fuel supply.
In this case, Coordinator of Wastewater Treatment Chris Douville explained, the plant was able to draw all of the energy it needed, roughly 1,200 to 1,400 kilowatts at any given moment, from the solar array and from its two co-generation (co-gen) system engines. The co-gen engines capture and burn the gas that is coming off the anaerobic digester process tanks, using that gas to generate additional power instead of releasing it into the atmosphere. The solar system, when at its peak on Thursday, was generating close to 800 kilowatts.
Douville said the success was attributable to a combination of factors, including relatively low wastewater flows, less demand than usual, a clear solar day and cooler temperatures. Data captured at the plant shows the milestone was reached at 11:30 a.m. The plant did not start drawing power from the traditional source again until 2 p.m. Attached is a screen grab that shows the solar photovoltaic production for the day.
“This is a great example of what we can get to,” said David Driskell, executive director of Community Planning and Sustainability. “It shows it is possible to really change our energy mix, and that will have long-term economic and environmental benefits to us as a community.”
While going “off the grid” is impressive, the ultimate goal for the WWTF is for 50 percent or more of the facility’s power to come from alternative sources, over a monthly or annual basis, Douville said. The city hopes to meet this goal through a combination of energy efficiency efforts and maximizing its alternative supplies.
SOURCE: CITY OF BOULDER NEWS RELEASE
Weather Red Flag Warning! #Boulder Trees down all over Boulder
Oct 26th
Boulder Police department reports to Boulder Channel 1 news that trees are down all over Boulder. Community weather watchers say gust as high as 75mph in Table Mesa.
Red Flag Warning
URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 129 PM MDT TUE OCT 26 2010
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS
ARE EITHER OCCURRING OR IMMINENT. PLEASE ADVISE THE APPROPRIATE
OFFICIALS AND FIRE CREWS IN THE FIELD OF THIS RED FLAG WARNING.
COZ238>251-270100- /O.NEW.KBOU.FW.W.0016.101026T1929Z-101027T0100Z/ LARIMER COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/NORTHWEST WELD COUNTY- BOULDER AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES BELOW 6000 FEET/WEST BROOMFIELD COUNTY- NORTH DOUGLAS COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/DENVER/WEST ADAMS AND ARAPAHOE COUNTIES/EAST BROOMFIELD COUNTY- ELBERT/CENTRAL AND EAST DOUGLAS COUNTIES ABOVE 6000 FEET- NORTHEAST WELD COUNTY-CENTRAL AND SOUTH WELD COUNTY-MORGAN COUNTY- CENTRAL AND EAST ADAMS AND ARAPAHOE COUNTIES- NORTH AND NORTHEAST ELBERT COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/NORTH LINCOLN COUNTY- SOUTHEAST ELBERT COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/SOUTH LINCOLN COUNTY- LOGAN COUNTY-WASHINGTON COUNTY-SEDGWICK COUNTY-PHILLIPS COUNTY- 129 PM MDT TUE OCT 26 2010 ...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR GUSTY WINDS AND LOW HUMIDITY FOR FIRE WEATHER ZONES 238...239... 240...241...242...243...244...245...246...247...248...249... 250 AND 251... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM MDT THIS EVENING. * AFFECTED AREA...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 238...FORT COLLINS... HEREFORD...LOVELAND...NUNN...WEST PAWNEE GRASSLANDS...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 239...ARVADA...BOULDER...GOLDEN...LAKEWOOD... LONGMONT...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 240...AURORA...BRIGHTON...CITY OF DENVER...DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT...HIGHLANDS RANCH... LITTLETON...PARKER...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 241...CASTLE ROCK... ELBERT...FONDIS...KIOWA...LARKSPUR...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 242... BRIGGSDALE...EAST PAWNEE GRASSLANDS...GROVER...PAWNEE BUTTES...RAYMER...STONEHAM...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 243...EATON... FORT LUPTON...GREELEY...ROGGEN...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 244... BRUSH...FORT MORGAN...GOODRICH...WIGGINS...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 245...BENNETT...BYERS...DEER TRAIL...LEADER...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 246...AGATE...HUGO...LIMON...MATHESON...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 247...FORDER...KARVAL...KUTCH...PUNKIN CENTER...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 248...CROOK...MERINO...STERLING...PEETZ...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 249...AKRON...COPE...LAST CHANCE...OTIS...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 250...JULESBURG...OVID...SEDGWICK...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 251...AMHERST...HAXTUN...HOLYOKE. * TIMING...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE UNTIL EARLY THIS EVENING. * WIND...NORTHWEST 20 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS BETWEEN 40 AND 50 MPH. * HUMIDITY...AROUND 15 PERCENT. * IMPACTS...THE VERY WINDY CONDITIONS AND DRY FUELS WILL ALLOW ANY GRASS FIRES TO SPREAD RAPIDLY THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EITHER OCCURRING OR IMMINENT. PLEASE ADVISE THE APPROPRIATE OFFICIALS AND FIRE CREWS IN THE FIELD OF THIS RED FLAG WARNING. && BARJENBRUCH $$
