Wright Water Engineers, Inc.

Stacy Wilson (right) had a great time with her mom and sister at The Merry Wives of Windsor at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival. WWE has been a proud sponsor of CFS for five decades!

Riyah Halverson, daughter of WWE Billing & AR Specialist Tina Halverson and her husband, Rick, had her wish granted by the Make a Wish Foundation in August. After winning a 10-month fight against osteosarcoma, a kind of bone cancer, and managing a full-knee and bone replacement, forward-thinking Riyah requested, and was granted, a full-ride scholarship to the Aveda Institute cosmetology school in Denver. Riyah will attend Aveda next summer after she graduates from Erie High School, and Aveda will generously provide all Riyah’s supplies for the 11-month program. Riyah plans to follow up the cosmetology training with a degree in psychology. Congratulations go to Riyah and the Halverson family for getting through an extremely tough year and cheers to Riyah’s very bright future!
CBS News was on the scene and created this video: https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/video/make-a-wish-recipient-will-attend-cosmetology-school/?intcid=CNM-00-10abd1h .

Image: The Halverson family, Tina, Rayna, Riyah, Aliyah, and Rick.

Why are the Colorado and other Western Slope rivers so muddy right now? Because precipitation has been pretty good in Western Colorado this month, according to the CSU Colorado Climate Center!

Rachel Pittinger, P.E. and Jonah Howe, P.E. attended the 2024 Water Congress (CWC) Summer Conference at Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs last week. The conference featured discussion of green infrastructure for water quality management, and long-term renewable water for agriculture and municipal needs. Also highlighted were the vision, transition, and future plans of CWC. Several Professional, Outreach, Networking and Development (POND) activities, including a mountain bike ride at Stratton Open Space, were a success thanks to planning by Jonah and the POND committee!

Andrew Earles and Madison Gutekunst are excited to give the closing keynote address at the November IECA conference in Fort Collins! The address will be based on a paper on post-fire risks they coauthored with Natalie Collar. You can register here: https://whova.com/web/cOvchAwrSWqmauOiO72iIySHXjwhbKmqIij8Gt1LpSk%3D/

A Day in the Life of an Engineer: Jessica Egan and Ian Cowan observed construction site erosion and sediment control practices in Arvada, Colorado, this week.

WWE's Scott Schreiber participated in the Homestake Community Science Day on July 20. This full-day event provided hands-on exploration of wetlands in the Homestake Valley, near Minturn, which is home to incredible biodiversity, native flora and fauna, and numerous threatened species.

Community Science Day featured scientists from the Colorado Natural Heritage Program, naturalists from Walking Mountains Science Center, and other local experts like Scott. The event focused on a three-acre wetland area, where locals were taught to find, identify, and log many of the ecosystem’s more than 150 species. Scott’s role was to describe the impacts of a reservoir in a sensitive watershed and how it affects hydrology.

The educational event was sponsored by the Wilderness Workshop and Eagle River Coalition.

The 2024 Wild and Scenic Film Festival is coming up at the Vaudeville in Glenwood Springs on Sept. 26, 2024 and at the Ute Theater in Rifle on Sept. 28, 2024. Tickets to see these beautiful, independent films that inform and inspire people to take action are available from the Middle Colorado Watershed Council: https://www.midcowatershed.org/filmfest

Best wishes to WWE founder Ken Wright and his wife, Ruth, who are celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary today!
The pair were married on August 7, 1954, at Mirabel Palace in Salzburg, Austria, and honeymooned in the picturesque Village of Hallstadt in the Austrian Lake Country. They then flew to the Persian Gulf where they set up residency in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, while Ken worked as a construction engineer for Aramco.

You can read about these before and after photos in our latest issue of Currents, available here:
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5c095fd10dbda3420ebf8003/t/66b2ba2e139416577c011b33/1722989102935/7+July-Aug+2024+WWE+News.pdf

The annual cleanup of the Roaring Fork and Colorado Rivers last weekend, hosted by the City of Glenwood Springs River Commission, was a great success! Kudos to environmental restoration experts Wyston, Carver, and Scott Schreiber for their service to the community!

WWE’s Madison Gutekunst, P.E., is now a registered Technical Service Provider for the Natural Resources Conservation Service! NRCS is the United States Department of Agriculture’s primary private lands conservation agency. The agency has evaluated Madison’s skills, credentials, and work portfolio and has deemed her qualified to offer planning, design, and implementation services that meet NRCS criteria.

Farmers, ranchers, and others working with NRCS on conservation measures on their properties can now select Madison and WWE from a list of TSPs to provide engineering services in 42 areas of practice.

WWE’s Scott Schreiber is also a TSP.

One of our staff members recently visited South Point on the Island of Hawaii, also known as Kamāoʻa-Puʻuʻeo. It is the southernmost tip of Hawaii and, therefore, the United States. A local legend says, in this area, divers would use coconut shells to collect fresh, potable water that filtered through porous lava rock and emerged deep in the ocean.

Last night was Ware Malcomb's Pack to School event, where 1,008 backpacks were filled with school supplies for kids in our community. Ian Paton, Sally Kribs, and Diane Foster thank Jessica Johns for organizing this worthwhile event, and Jesse Carano for inviting WWE!

Congratulations go to our Victoria Hennon, who is now a Colorado-licensed Professional Engineer! Great job, Victoria!

Attention West-Slopers! Riverfest is coming up on August 3! Join WWE in cleaning up Three Mile Confluence—it's always fun and gratifying and the City provides food, beer, music, and SWAG!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/riverfest-2024-annual-cleanup-colorado-roaring-fork-rivers-tickets-920191195637?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=my-tickets&utm-share-source=my-tickets&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

Our amazing Senior Chemist Dr. Bob Weiner has developed a clear and interesting video on the chemical 6PPD and its relationship to water quality, salmon, and car tires.

https://youtu.be/V5z7zZeKWA8

Are you trout-curious? Trout Unlimited (TU) Chapter 008 is inviting folks in the Roaring Fork Valley to a picnic in Glenwood Springs featuring burgers, brats, hot dogs, sides, and cold beer.

TU members and those interested should bring their fishing rod, too!

Sunday, July 21, from 3 to 7 p.m. at Two Rivers Park in Glenwood Springs in the Riverside Shelter near the boat ramp.

WWE's Spencer Perry, Catherine Trowbridge, and Michael Ankner had a great time outrunning the heat at the Cherry Creek Race for the Watershed last weekend! They thank Cherry Creek Stewardship Partners, Southeast Metro Stormwater Authority, and SPLASH for putting together a fun event!

Scott Schreiber and Ian Paton had an awesome time at the Trout Unlimited Troutfest last week! Kudos to TU for their environmental stewardship and this well-organized event! Cheers to all who stopped by our table!

Did you know? Around the country, roughly 9 billion gallons of water are used on lawns every day. That is enough to fill over 13,500 Olympic-sized swimming pools!

In response to shockingly high irrigation rates, turf replacement is on the rise. Opting for a low-water garden can reduce water use rates by 50-75%. Furthermore, low-water gardens foster a healthy environment, reducing runoff and the use of chemical fertilizers. Additionally, one of the biggest perks is that low-water gardens require much less maintenance. Sounds like a win-win situation all around. Learn more here:

https://www.summitdaily.com/news/ask-eartha-do-gardens-require-more-care-than-lawns/

Come say hi to Scott Schreiber, Ian Paton, and others at WWE's booth at Troutfest at Coors Field on Saturday! We have some great SWAG! Registration is free here:

https://troutfestcolorado.com

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nKGyecCBAl333VwAqSjjTlb4jv06XuVG/view?usp=sharing

Water bills in Colorado are creeping up. Here’s an informative resource that offers ways to reduce your rates at home.
https://coloradosun.com/2024/06/13/colorado-water-bills-utilities/

Noelle Phares, Natalie Collar, and Rachel Pittinger gave a presentation on the Colorado River to a sold-out crowd at the Boulder Museum of Modern Art (BMoMA). They covered the river from the perspective of the artist (Noelle), the scientist (Natalie), and the water resources engineer (Rachel). Paintings of the Colorado River by Noelle Phares are on exhibit at BMoMA through September 2.

Where is Colorado River water going and what is it used for? Based on averages from the last couple decades, roughly 18% of Colorado River water is used for city and commercial needs, 19% is released by plants and soil as v***r through a process called evapotranspiration, 11% is released through ev***ration, and 52% is used for agricultural needs.

https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/water-wars/new-research-tracks-all-colorado-river-use-types-experts-expect-little-impact/75-8d7d6cca-bd41-4b7c-9e27-a1e2134154d8

Calling all morning hikers! The Garden of the Gods will hold an Early Bird Hike and Bike from 5-8 am on June 26. With entrances closed off to vehicles and motorized wheels, this event provides a peaceful environment for those looking to enjoy a serene morning. Early Bird Hikes are also scheduled on July 21, August 28, and September 25. Check it out at The Gazette.

https://gazette.com/life/outdoors/garden-of-the-gods-will-offer-rare-peace-and-quiet-for-upcoming-morning/article_0b5f844c-245f-11ef-a54c-cfa8750af0b9.html

We have another Durango-office spotting! With adorable Remi Lenhart in the foreground, left to right we have Pete Foster Hayes Lenhart, Elizabeth Knudsen, Trevor Downing, Katie Moody, Michael Lammarino, Carol Johnson, Patti Pinson, and Alyssa Lenhart.

Wetland Scientists are handy to have around! H2O Radio has an interesting podcast this week that includes the story of how wetland scientists studied soil samples from the various beaches in France to find a beach that would support the heavy equipment used for D-Day. https://h2oradio.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2db7ae937b730e3c9415e5286&id=593c8f1cbe&e=8e756419b4

Dangerously fast and high water from increased rainfall and winter snowmelt has prompted the City of Pueblo to restrict water activities on the Arkansas River—including canoeing, kayaking, and tubing. Be safe out there!

Summers are all about getting your boots dirty! WWE intern Aiden Ingenthron visited the post-construction Florida Canal Diversion Structure Rehabilitation project near Durango with water resources engineer Katie Moody, EIT, to inspect the site and vegetation establishment.