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On the calendar today …
- LEG HEARING: Assembly Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife beginning at 9am. Click here for more information.
- LEG HEARING: Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water beginning at 9am. Click here for more details.
- WEBINAR: Flowing Toward the Future: Water’s Role in Decarbonizing Southern California’s Electrical Grid from 10am to 11:30am. In this session, we will delve into the critical role that water management plays in supporting and advancing the decarbonization of our electrical grid. As the urgency to address climate change grows, understanding the intersection of water and energy becomes increasingly vital. This webinar will provide insights into innovative strategies and technologies that leverage water resources to create a more sustainable and resilient energy infrastructure. Click here to register.
In California water news today …
Stanford study shows where – and why – recharge is uplifting sunken ground
“New research reveals why some rivers in the San Joaquin Valley are causing the ground to uplift when others aren’t. The answer lies beneath the ground’s surface. A new study from scientists at Stanford University combines satellite data with airborne electromagnetic (AEM) flight data to see exactly what’s happening with recharged water from the Sierra Nevadas. The satellite process, called interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR,) bounces signals onto the ground which can read over time where ground has uplifted due to groundwater recharge. The data, from the wet year of 2017, shows water traveling through the valley underground uplifting the surface as it moves. But other areas didn’t see the same effect. … ” Read more from SJV Water.
PPIC: Policy brief: Drought and groundwater sustainability in California’s farming regions
“As the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) approaches its tenth anniversary, California is making progress towards implementation—but the 2020–22 drought shows that much work still lies ahead. Drought poses a particular challenge for SGMA compliance in many farming regions. Increased groundwater use keeps crops irrigated when surface water is scarce, but it can cause undesirable impacts such as dry wells, infrastructure damage from land subsidence (sinking lands), and increased rates of seawater intrusion. While SGMA allows some flexibility for extra groundwater pumping during droughts, it also requires local agencies to guard against these undesirable impacts. … ” Read more from the PPIC.
PPIC Fact Sheet: Agricultural land use in California
“Roughly 40 million acres—40% of California’s land—are used for agriculture. One-fifth of all working lands, or about 8.5 million acres, is used for irrigated crops, including a diverse mix of nuts, fruits, vegetables, grains, hay, and fiber. In addition, livestock grazing occurs on about 32 million acres of mostly non-irrigated rangeland—including 17 million acres of private lands and 15 million acres of federal lands. California’s irrigated crops use about 40% of the state’s water, or 80% of all water used by homes and businesses. They generate over $40 billion in farm revenue annually, and they supply large dairy and beef sectors, which generate more than $10 billion. … ” Read more from the PPIC.
Groundwater declines in the U.S. Southwest
“Record snowfall in recent years has not been enough to offset long-term drying conditions and increasing groundwater demands in the U.S. Southwest, according to a new analysis of NASA satellite data. Declining water levels in the Great Salt Lake and Lake Mead have been testaments to a megadrought afflicting western North America since 2000. But surface water only accounts for a fraction of the Great Basin watershed, which covers most of Nevada and large portions of California, Utah, and Oregon. Far more of the region’s water is underground. That has historically made it difficult to track the impact of droughts on the overall water content of the Great Basin. … ” Read more the NASA Earth Observatory.
California Forever releases water plan, but there are still some questions
“One of the biggest questions surrounding California Forever’s ambitious proposal to build a city from scratch in eastern Solano County is about water, where it will come from and whether the company’s plan can withstand the inevitable yearslong drought. Last week, the company released its long-awaited plan, outlining how it expects to provide water to a new city of 100,000 residents initially and that will eventually grow to serve 400,000 when it is fully built out. “This will be the most sustainable city on Earth,” Bronson Johnson, the company’s head of infrastructure and sustainability, said to KQED. “We are creating a diverse portfolio of water supplies. It’s what you need to manage through drought conditions and what you need to manage seasonally.” … ” Read more from KQED.
After two big rainfall seasons, a La Nina pattern may mean not so much this year
“Changes in ocean water temperatures indicate a La Nina pattern is forming. La Ninas can mean below average rainfall for our region, and can set the stage for drought conditions. It seems like just a few weeks ago, we were seeing day after day of rain in the Tri-Counties. The last two years brought big rainfall totals to the region, with water sources like Lake Cachuma full for the first time in years. But, climatologists say it looks like we aren’t going to be as lucky this upcoming rainfall season. “Two years of above normal rainfall, with a healthy El Nino last winter…it was pretty welcome, because we’d experienced almost two decades of drought,” said Dr. Bill Patzert. … ” Read more from KCLU.
Northern California thunderstorm, dry lightning threat peaks today
“Scattered thunderstorms are expected to continue across Central and Northern California on Tuesday as remnant moisture from Tropical Storm Alberto pushes northward across the state. The North Bay, East Bay and Sacramento Valley have the highest chances of thunderstorms during the morning and early afternoon, with the threat shifting northeastward to the Sierra Nevada by the evening. At least some activity is expected across Northern California, but pinpointing specific cities at risk is nearly impossible. Little to no rain is expected with these thunderstorms, meaning dry lightning and potential grass fire starts are a concern. Brief, erratic wind gusts are also possible with any storms. … ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
SEE ALSO:
- ‘Monsoonal moisture’ could cause thunderstorms over Sacramento Valley and Sierra. Here’s when, from the Sacramento Bee
- Hundreds of lightning strikes reported across California from tropical moisture, from SF Gate
Superior Court puts controversial Delta tunnel project on hold
“Late last week, the Sacramento County Superior Court stopped the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) from performing invasive investigatory geological work the agency deemed necessary before building the controversial Delta tunnel. This decision effectively shuts the project down until DWR complies with the law and the court’s order. The court’s action comes in response to a request by a broad group including Tribes, environmental and public interest nonprofits, recreational and commercial fishing interests, Sacramento and San Joaquin Counties, and other public agencies. … ” Read more from the SF Baykeeper.
Food for thought: Studying fish diets to inform management
“Studying fish diets opens a window into unseen interactions that sustain the aquatic world and shape the health of underwater ecosystems. Investigating a fish’s food preferences can reveal a wealth of information about its ecology; including predator-prey dynamics, how its dietary preferences may shift throughout its lifespan, and whether its diet and the food web in its habitat are changing in response to human development and climate change. By understanding a species’ diet, scientists can detect important ecosystem interactions and use that knowledge to develop improved management and conservation strategies. … ” Read more from FishBio.
Beavers reintroduced into Tule River for first time in decades: Tule River Tribe leads effort
“After years of work by the Tule River Tribe, a family of seven beavers has been released into the South Fork Tule River watershed on the Tule River Indian Reservation as part of a multi-year beaver reintroduction effort done in partnership with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Beavers play a critical role in the ecology and stewardship of the land, CDFW stated. They build dams that retain water on the landscape, extending seasonal flows, increasing summer baseflows, improving drought and wildfire resilience and better conserving the Tribe’s drinking water supply, of which about 80 percent comes from the Tule River watershed. The Tule River Reservation effectively deals with the issue of not having enough potable water year-round. … ” Read more from the Porterville Recorder.
SEE ALSO: Beaver dam analogues offer stormwater solution in Pennsylvania stream, from the Courthouse News Service
California Fish and Game Commission holds hybrid meeting
“At its June 19-20 meeting in Mammoth Lakes, the California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) acted on issues affecting a variety of California’s natural resources. The Commission approved several Private Land Management (PLM) areas for initial, five-year and annual plans. The Santa Catalina Island Conservancy was approved for its five-year renewal plan with an initial 500 deer tags to be issued for the 2024 hunting season. Upon written request in October, 250 additional deer tags may be issued, and an additional request of 250 deer tags may be submitted in December. More information on the PLM Program, including lists for hunters, contacts and applications, can be found at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW) PLM website. … ” Continue reading from the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Nation’s largest freshwater fish could be added to California’s threatened species list
“The largest freshwater fish in North America, which was once abundant in California’s major rivers and San Francisco Bay, has declined in numbers to a point that state officials will consider whether to protect the fish as a threatened species under the state’s Endangered Species Act. White sturgeon can grow to more than 10 feet long and spend much of their lives in San Francisco Bay, swimming upstream in rivers to spawn. Some white sturgeon are thought to live as long as a century. Recent population estimates indicate the fish have been struggling to survive in the face of multiple pressures. … ” Read more from the LA Times.
The federal government just acknowledged the harm its dams have caused Tribes. Here’s what it left out.
“The Biden administration released a report last week acknowledging “the historic, ongoing, and cumulative damage and injustices” that Columbia River dam construction caused Northwest tribal nations starting in the 20th century, including decimation of the salmon runs that Indigenous people were entitled to by government treaty. Across 73 pages, the report from the U.S. Department of the Interior concludes “the government afforded little, if any, consideration to the devastation the dams would bring to Tribal communities, including to their cultures, sacred sites, economies, and homes.” But here’s what’s not in the report: The injuries to Native people were not just an unforeseen byproduct of federal dam building. They were, in fact, taken into account at the time. And federal leaders considered that damage a good thing. … ” Continue reading from ProPublica.
Taking on toxic chemicals
“In a discussion with The Regulatory Review, a senior chemical regulation and food safety consultant Madeleine Bee offers her thoughts on recent changes to the regulation of chemical substances in California, emerging issues in food technology, and the evolving role of science in the lawmaking process. In September 2023, the California legislature passed a bill that would have banned the use of polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in household and industrial cleaners. Although PFAS are used in cleaning products to aid in functions such as aerosolization, they have been attributed to adverse health effects and are known to remain present in the environment for long periods of time. The bill banning the use of PFAS was vetoed by the California Governor, but it would have extended to many products that Californians interact with daily such as hair care, automotive maintenance, and cleaning supplies. Due to California’s large population size relative to the U.S., a ban on PFAS was projected to impact national supply chains. … ” Read more from the Regulatory Review.
Fueled by climate change, extreme wildfires have doubled in 20 years
“The frequency and magnitude of extreme wildfires around the globe has doubled in the past two decades due to climate change, according to a study released Monday. The analysis, published in the journal “Nature Ecology & Evolution,” focused on massive blazes that release vast amounts of energy from the volume of organic matter burned. Researchers pointed to the historic Australia fires of 2019 and 2020 as an example of blazes that were “unprecedented in their scale and intensity.” The six most extreme fire years have occurred since 2017, the study found. “It’s absolutely in keeping with what climate change is doing to fire weather around the world,” said lead author Calum Cunningham, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Tasmania in Australia. “Climate change is making fire weather more extreme and more frequent in a lot of the world.” … ” Read more from the Washington Post.
In commentary today …
Dr. Jeff Michael: Review of Delta Conveyance Project Benefit-Cost Analysis
“My complete review and discussion of the implications from the Department of Water Resource’s benefit-cost analysis of the $20 billion Delta Conveyance Project was published online this morning. California is in a cost of living crisis, so it is critical to examine the value of an enormous megaproject that be paid for through higher water bills. Beyond its cost, the DCP also has substantial environmental impacts for Delta communities and both endangered and commercially-valuable fish species. DWR’s consultant report falls far short of the objective analysis such an important issue requires. The executive summary of the review is below. The full report is about 30 pages … ” Continue reading from the Valley Economy blog.
SB 366: A necessary statewide target for water supply
State Senator Anna Caballero writes, “California’s climate policies stand out for their audacious ambition and goal-setting orientation. … Over and over again,targets and timelines are utilized to create clear and quantifiable ways to direct policy and resources to measure progress, to clean our air and fortify our natural lands. But, disappointingly, not to sustain our water supply. Unlike climate change, no statewide goal or target exists for a sustainable, clean water supply in California, to ensure service to our residents, businesses, and the environment. … That is why I introduced SB 366, which would fundamentally transform the state’s water management and provide a path to drought proof California’s water supply and ensure a sustainable water supply for cities and towns, agriculture, other industries, and the environment. … ” Read more from the OC Register.
In regional water news and commentary today …
NORTH COAST
BLM releases final conservation plan for NW California public lands
“Conservation advocates say a new Bureau of Land Management final Environmental Impact Statement takes positive steps toward developing a management plan to conserve public lands in Northwest California. The Northwest California Integrated Resource Management Plan will manage more than 380,000 acres in Butte, Humboldt, Mendocino, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama and Trinity counties for at least the next two decades. John Haschak, vice chair of the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors, said the plan will help protect both endangered habitat and at-risk communities from the impacts of climate change, including wildfire. “It provides some of the protections for some of these areas that are very sensitive, like Eden Valley, which is very environmentally fragile areas, and then also the Eel River. It’s a wild and scenic river, so just making sure that these are managed properly is very important,” he explained. … ” Read more from the Public News Service.
MOUNTAIN COUNTIES
Conservation ahead for PCWA customers due to PG&E delivery issue
“Customers served by Placer County Water Agency (PCWA) are urged to reduce their water use to help manage an ongoing water delivery problem caused by damaged Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) facilities. PG&E has run into several unanticipated schedule delays that have pushed their return of service date from June to July 30th, more than 50 days beyond the original estimate. The PCWA Board of Directors received an update from PG&E on the status of the repairs to their facilities last Thursday. PCWA staff then provided a report to the Board on what that means for its customers as a result; the further delay in repairs is significant enough to trigger immediate conservation measures until PG&E can complete the repair and water delivery is restored. … ” Read more from YubaNet.
Tahoe Conservancy awards $220,000 to support Washoe Tribal involvement in environmental planning, restoration at Tahoe
“At its meeting last week, the California Tahoe Conservancy Board awarded a $220,000 grant to help fund the creation of a new Lake Tahoe Basin liaison position for the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California. The Washoe Tribal Liaison position will help ensure meaningful Tribal participation in Basin land management decisions and actions. “As Tahoe’s original stewards, the Waší∙šiw, or Washoe people, were the first ecologists, biologists, hydrologists, botanists, and land managers for the Basin,” said Conservancy Board Chair Adam Acosta. “Restoring Tribal stewardship and incorporating the Tribe’s traditional ecological knowledge into land management will help the Conservancy and our Basin partners develop better projects to restore the Basin’s ecological resilience.” … ” Read more from the Sierra Sun.
Robot picks up trash on Tahoe beach with help from the community
“The beach-cleaning robot, BEBOT, conducted its first full beach clean up in North Lake Tahoe. It was joined by members of the community, in a friendly competition between human and machine. The robot, developed by ECO-CLEAN Solutions, is part of a widespread initiative by local organizations to rid Tahoe beaches of trash. As the wind blew, BEBOT took to the sand at Kings Beach in Lake Tahoe, its motor rumbling. Volunteers trickled onto the beach and signed up at the Keep Tahoe Blue pop up tent, before being handed a blue bag and grabbers so they could help the machine. … ” Read more from KUNR.
Plastic water bottle ban shows good results in South Lake Tahoe
“A ban on single-use plastic water bottles went into effect just over two months ago in South Lake Tahoe, and city leaders said they are pleasantly surprised at the results so far. “As far as I can tell, we are at or near 100% compliance for the businesses in town,” Sara Letton, Sustainability Coordinator for South Lake Tahoe, said. Letton said the community has been very receptive to the ban and there hasn’t been any pushback. The ordinance passed in 2022 and rolled out in two phases. The first ban went into effect in 2023 for city facilities and events, with the second ban going into effect in April 2024 for commercial vendors. … ” Read more from KCBS.
SACRAMENTO VALLEY
Controversial Capitol annex project would be exempt from environmental law under new bill
“California lawmakers plan to expedite construction for a $1.1 billion revamp of the state Capitol annex by exempting it from state environmental law. The state began demolition last year on a historic building connected to the capitol which houses the offices of the governor, state lawmakers, and their legions of staff. Courts have dinged the Department of General Services for failing to provide proper analysis of the project during its environmental review and for not providing the public an adequate chance to comment on its proposed design. A new trailer bill would circumvent those hurdles by exempting the project from the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, altogether. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee.
CENTRAL COAST
As Ventura Water project costs rise, city weighs rate increases
“As estimated costs for Ventura’s planned water recycling program mount, residents could see higher utility bills sooner than expected. The Ventura City Council on Tuesday will consider whether to initiate a new rate study for water and wastewater services this summer — a year earlier than planned. The proposal comes amid discussion of the latest cost projections for the massive VenturaWaterPure program. The project includes an advanced water purification facility and related infrastructure that will treat wastewater to drinking water standards, create a reliable new water supply and reduce discharges of effluent into the Santa Clara River estuary, officials say. … ” Read more from the Ventura County Star.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
Tehachapi: Water district approves budget, learns of court ruling and SWP allocation status
“Although Lake Oroville in northern California is still almost full with water flowing over the dam’s spillway, the Department of Water Resources has not increased State Water Project allocations since late April. “The 2024 Table ‘A’ allocation remains at 40%,” General Manager Tom Neisler told members of the Tehachapi-Cummings County Water District Board of Directors on June 19. “I am skeptical that we will see any significant increase in the allocation this year,” he added. “Even if DWR increases the allocation, it’s too late in the year for much beneficial use.” … ” Read more from the Tehachapi News.
Greenbriar CEO claims judge’s ruling in favor of water district will not stop Sage Ranch project
“Although a Sacramento County Superior Court judge on June 18 ruled in favor of Tehachapi-Cummings County Water District’s challenge to the city of Tehachapi’s environmental review for the proposed 995-unit Sage Ranch residential project, developer Jeff Ciachurski said in an email on Monday that the project is moving ahead. “The ruling does not stop the project,” he said. “The project is moving full speed ahead. We are completing the final loan documents with our lender.” Referencing page 18 of the 19-page ruling by Judge Stephen Acquisto, Ciachurski said, “Nothing in the writ shall limit or control in any way the discretion legally vested in the city.” … ” Read more from the Tehachapi News.
SAN DIEGO
New plan announced to collect data on Tijuana sewage to bolster more funding
“The yellow warning signs about sewage flowing from Tijuana, Mexico and into the Pacific Ocean have peppered the shorelines of Imperial Beach for more than two years. Mayor Paloma Aguirre is sick of it. Aguirre, who said she has been coughing for over a month due to the pollution, joined San Diego County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer on Monday to announce the latest plan to combat the health crisis. The two want to gather public data that can be used to obtain additional state and federal funding to fix a sewage problem that has existed for roughly 100 years. … ” Read more from Channel 10.
SEE ALSO: What health effects is Tijuana River sewage having on people? New policy introduced to find out, from NBC 7
Along the Colorado River …
SCOTUS ruling could impact Colo. River dispute
“The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to nix a settlement between Texas and New Mexico over the management of the Rio Grande River could have a sweeping impact on other interstate water disputes in the West, incentivizing states to avoid lawsuits that would cause the federal government to intervene, a Salt Lake City-based water attorney says. Such disputes include those involving the Colorado River, in which the Upper and Lower Basin states have submitted competing water conservation plans to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, notes Gage Zobell, a water law expert and partner at the international law firm Dorsey and Whitney. The high court’s 5-4 ruling on June 21 set aside a federal judge’s approval of a plan for how New Mexico, Texas and Colorado must share water from the Rio Grande, siding with the federal government’s complaint that the pact insufficiently addressed groundwater pumping in New Mexico. … ” Read more from the Western Farm Press.
Fixing the flawed Colorado River Compact
“On 24 November 1922, the Colorado River Commission officially allocated water rights to the seven U.S. states of the Colorado River Basin. The Colorado River Compact and subsequent agreements, collectively known as the Law of the River, eased years of dispute among these states, and they constitute a milestone in the history of the American West. The 1922 compact provided regulatory certainty for water management. It called for water to be stored and released as needed (most notably with the construction of Hoover Dam), thus supporting a robust era of reservoir building. The reservoirs, in turn, unleashed huge potential for electric power generation and stimulated economic growth throughout the West. The terms of the compact, however, were largely the product of development aspirations and political dealmaking, and they relied on optimistic estimations of the amount of water the river could supply that were not supported by existing surveys or science. One hundred years later, a lasting water shortage crisis has brought the governance structure outlined in the compact to its knees, and the effects reverberate far beyond the Colorado River Basin. … ” Read more from EOS.
Using less of the Colorado River takes a willing farmer and $45 million in federal funds
“Wyoming native Leslie Hagenstein lives on the ranch where she grew up and remembers her grandmother and father delivering milk in glass bottles from the family’s Mount Airy Dairy. The cottonwood-lined property, at the foot of the Wind River Mountains south of Pinedale, is not only home to Hagenstein, her older sister and their dogs, but to bald eagles and moose. But this summer, for the second year in a row, water from Pine Creek will not turn 600 acres of grass and alfalfa a lush green. On a blustery day in late March, Hagenstein stood in her fields, now brown and weed-choked, and explained why she cried after she chose to participate in a program that pays ranchers in the Upper Colorado River basin to leave their water in the river. … ” Read more from the WyoFile.
Groundwater in the Colorado River Basin will struggle to recover from warming temperatures, study shows
“A research study in the East River Basin, a small, mountainous river basin in western Colorado, shows that groundwater will fall in a warming climate — and it can take streams down with it. These streams, including the East River, carry water from their headwaters through tunnels, canals and pipes to homes, farms and businesses in the overstressed Colorado River Basin. Groundwater’s role in this process has often been overlooked: Most of the water in Colorado’s mountain streams comes from snowpack, and without a lot of data, it’s been assumed that groundwater is not really a huge player. That’s not the case, said Rosemary Carroll, the lead researcher on a groundwater study published in May in the academic journal, Nature Water. “Groundwater is there to buffer your dry water years,” Carroll said. “If you had no groundwater, you would have a system go dry.” … ” Read more from the Colorado Sun.
Western farmers’ water supply could be cut in half by the end of the century, report finds
“A new study shows just how much climate change is shrinking water supplies for Western farmers. But its authors also have some ideas of what they could do to adapt. Researchers at the Desert Research Institute found many farming communities in the West may see the amount of water they’ve been able to store in reservoirs cut in half by the end of the century. That’s because climate change is shriveling snowpacks and altering snowmelt patterns that farmers and ranchers rely on for irrigation. What’s more, expanding reservoir capacity to make up for water shortages will be difficult in a warming future with less snow, said Beatrice Gordon, the study’s lead author. … ” Read more from KUNC.
Commentary: Arizona will never solve its water issues until it changes this
Opinion columnist Joanna Allhands writes, “Arizona has diverse voices at its water negotiating table, and that’s a good thing. We get better policy when broad swaths of water users — including tribes and others that in past years have had muted voices — are actively involved. But the number of cooks in the kitchen, coupled with a political climate where water policy is being increasingly used as a partisan bludgeon, means we can’t keep negotiating in the same old ways. Consider this year, where major water bills were resurrected with changes in the waning hours of the legislative session, leaving basically no time for public comment or vetting. … ” Read more from Arizona Central.
Commentary: Arizona Republican bills were not real solutions to our water crisis
Sen. Priya Sundareshan (LD18) and Rep. Christopher Mathis (LD18) write, “This year, for the first time in decades, Democrats in the Legislature were hopeful that the Republican majority was willing to take Arizona’s water security seriously and strengthen our urban water supplies while addressing the free-for-all that is rural groundwater pumping. The state of our groundwater needs attention — desperately — as climate change is no longer a future fear but a reality we now live with daily. Yet, in the waning hours before we ended the 2024 legislative session, the Republican majority pushed through a number of measures that have raised significant alarms. If signed into law by Gov. Katie Hobbs, these bills would have led to even more unsustainable groundwater pumping and also put our urban water supplies in real jeopardy. … ” Read more from the Arizona Republic.
Hydropower users, environmentalists call for more options for smallmouth bass
“The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is taking public comment on a proposal to disrupt the spawning of a nonnative fish in the Grand Canyon by releasing spikes of cool water from Glen Canyon Dam. Many in the Colorado River community want a wider range of options. Smallmouth bass are a predatory fish that pose a threat to the native humpback chub. Previously federal water officials considered installing a physical barrier to stop the fish from slipping through the dam, but that wasn’t up for consideration in the recent proposal. Some want it back on the table. … ” Read more from KNAU.
Colorado Springs: Low Flow: As Colorado River basin runs dry, city pivots on water policy
“The Colorado River is the region’s main water source, but experts fear persistent drought related to climate change could close the spigot for many cities in the Western U.S., including Colorado Springs. Seventy percent of Colorado Springs’s water supply currently comes from the Colorado River. But with the basin’s reliability in question, the city is now looking to alternative sources like the Arkansas River. “Water is one of those things that has always been there…It’s really the one thing that we truly can’t live without,” said Travis Deal, CEO of Colorado Springs Utilities during his State of the Utility presentation on June 6. … ” Read more from the Colorado Springs Independent.
In national water news today …
Lead water pipes created a health disaster in Flint, but replacing them with cheaper plastic − as some cities are doing − carries hidden costs
“Flint, Michigan, made headlines in 2015 when tests revealed dangerously high lead levels in its drinking water. The city had switched its water supply to the Flint River a year earlier, and corrosive water had damaged aging lead pipes, exposing thousands of people to lead contamination. The EPA is now proposing to require the removal of lead pipes across the U.S. within 10 years. The agency has been silent, however, regarding what should replace lead. We study water policy and water chemistry, with a focus on plastics and emerging contaminants, as well as on equitable access to clean water. We see concerns with a popular replacement material for lead pipes: plastic. … ” Read more from The Conversation.
Rising sea levels will disrupt millions of Americans’ lives by 2050, study finds
“Sea level rise driven by global heating will disrupt the daily life of millions of Americans, as hundreds of homes, schools and government buildings face frequent and repeated flooding by 2050, a new study has found. Almost 1,100 critical infrastructure assets that sustain coastal communities will be at risk of monthly flooding by 2050, according to the new research by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). The vast majority of the assets – 934 of them – face the risk of flood disruption every other week, which could make some coastal neighborhoods unlivable within two to three decades. Almost 3 million people currently live in the 703 US coastal communities with critical infrastructure at risk of monthly disruptive flooding by 2050, including affordable and subsidized housing, wastewater treatment facilities, toxic industrial sites, power plants, fire stations, schools, kindergartens and hospitals. … ” Read more from The Guardian.
