DAILY DIGEST, 10/16: SF challenges EPA in Supreme Court over water pollution standards; Lack of consensus emerges as courts apply new WOTUS rule to ditches and canals; Land values plunge as groundwater law dims farm prospects; Expanded Salton Sea restoration project breaks ground; and more …


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On the calendar today …

  • CONFERENCE: Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay (RMP) from 9am to 4pm virtually and in person in Berkeley.  The meeting will feature updates on the science and management of emerging contaminants, nutrients, and microplastics. Lunch, snacks, and beverages will be provided.  Click here for more information and to register.
  • MEETING: State Water Resources Control Board beginning at 9am. Agenda items include Current Hydrologic Conditions and Response, and Consideration of a proposed Resolution regarding flow efforts in the Scott River and Shasta River watersheds.  Click here for the full agenda.
  • MEETING: CA Water Commission beginning at 9:30am. Agenda items include Water Storage Investment Program: Willow Springs Water Bank Conjunctive Use Project Progress Update, Consideration of Regulations for the Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (MWELO), and a State Water Project Briefing: Strategic Plan and Operations Update.  Click here for the full agenda.
  • EVENT: IRWD: Safety in Dams: Enriching IRWD’s Commitment to Safety by Incorporating Risk Informed Decision Making in the Syphon Dam and Santiago Creek Dam Improvement Projects from 11:30 am to 1:00pm in Irvine.  This presentation will provide a high-level summary of unique design methodologies that are incorporated into IRWD’s upcoming dam projects and its Dam Safety Program, while also explaining some key project features of the large-scale improvement projects. Once complete, Syphon Reservoir will store over 5,000 acre feet of recycled water to help meet seasonal demands and enhance local supplies. When the Santiago Creek Dam improvements are complete, Irvine Lake, which is formed by the dam, will regain its 28,000 acre feet capacity to store native runoff and further the resiliency for the region.  Click here to register.

In California water news today …

San Francisco challenges EPA in Supreme Court over water pollution standards

San Francisco Bay. Photo by Doc Searls

“The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case on Wednesday that environmentalists say could weaken the Clean Water Act. Surprisingly, it originates from what many consider one of the greenest cities in the nation: San Francisco.  In City and County of San Francisco v. Environmental Protection Agency, San Francisco is suing the EPA over what it calls unclear restrictions on the quantity of untreated sewage that can be released into local waterways.  San Francisco has argued that it cannot control the water quality in the ocean or the Bay and that being held accountable for it leaves the city vulnerable to unpredictable fines. The city and county are requesting the Supreme Court uphold the Clean Water Act, the 1972 law that governs water pollution, and ensure the EPA issues permits with clear instructions to prevent water pollution. … ”  Read more from KQED.

5 things to know about San Francisco’s Supreme Court fight against EPA

“In its first environmental case of the term, the Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday in a battle to push EPA to get more specific about the level of pollution a San Francisco wastewater treatment plant — and other facilities like it — can send into the nation’s waters.  The case pits the deep-blue city against the Biden administration and follows a string of recent cases in which the Supreme Court has struck down federal environmental protections and limited the rulemaking power of executive agencies.  “Given that the court has been so hostile towards EPA and environmental regulations generally — and the fact that they granted this case, which no one really expected them to do — I don’t think it portends very well” for the agency, said Robert Percival, director of the environmental law program at the University of Maryland. … ”  Read more from E&E News.

SEE ALSO: The Supreme Court’s next big chance to wreck the environment is here, commentary at Balls and Strikes

Lack of consensus emerges as courts apply new WOTUS rule to ditches and canals

“The limits to federal jurisdiction over “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) have continued to develop following the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, as federal district courts begin to vary in determining federal Clean Water Act jurisdiction over manmade ditches and canals.  A critical question, subject to extensive rulemaking and litigation over past decades, involves the extent to which manmade ditches and canals qualify as waters of the United States subject to federal regulation. In 2001, in Headwaters Inc. v. Talent Irrigation District, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal recognized manmade irrigation canals as WOTUS if water flowed, at least occasionally, through such features into natural streams. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took a consistent view, defining WOTUS to include drainage ditches, even with only intermittent flow, provided that they were tributary to a water of the United States and had perceptible ordinary high water marks. … ”  Read more from Somach Simmons & Dunn.

Land values plunge as groundwater law dims farm prospects

“The value of farmland in parts of the San Joaquin Valley, California’s agricultural heartland, has fallen rapidly this year as commodity prices lag and implementation of the state’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act casts a shadow on the future of farming in the region.  In 2014, when SGMA was adopted, the value of farmland without reliable surface water access began to decline. But within the past several months, those values have plummeted, according to appraisers, realtors and county assessors.  “It’s very dramatic,” said Janie Gatzman, owner of Gatzman Appraisal in Stanislaus County, who until last month served as president of the California chapter of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers.  Last month, Gatzman presented data based on hundreds of real estate transactions to congressional staff. Her analysis showed San Joaquin Valley vineyards and nut tree orchards had declined in value by 25% to 50% within the previous eight months. … ”  Read more from Ag Alert.

A mathematical approach to California’s water woes

“Severe drought and climate change have adversely affected groundwater aquifers globally, and an Illinois Institute of Technology researcher is working to help the state’s agriculture industry redistribute the dwindling natural resource.  Igor Cialenco, professor of applied mathematics, has earned a National Science Foundation grant along with Mike Ludkovski, professor of statistics and applied probability at University of California, Santa Barbara, to develop a mathematical solution to groundwater distribution.  “There is a real risk of exhausting groundwater supplies in parts of the world unless an equitable and adaptive water allocation mechanism is implemented—one that balances multiple objectives while preserving economic viability,” Cialenco says. “Until now, groundwater management has been extensively studied by resource economists, hydrologists, and environmental scientists, but there is no underpinning mathematical theory to describe desirable water allocations.” … ”  Read more from Illinois Tech.

Report: A modernizing water management system in California

“There have been significant efforts over the past several years to update and modernize California’s water rights system to adapt to an uncertain climate and address many of the challenges we have seen as the water rights priority system has been tested over the past decade.  Several years ago, we offered Observations on a Modern Water Rights System from our experiences and vantage in the Sacramento River Basin working with water right holders, conservation partners, and the State Water Board to practically implement the water rights system for multiple benefits during challenging and changing times. Since that time, we have been encouraged with the forward progress on implementing the water rights priority system during periods of scarcity–generally in droughts and the summer–when rivers are fully appropriated. As we look forward, we believe opportunities exist to make the water rights system work better for California during periods of availability–generally the fall and winter–for fish and wildlife, groundwater replenishment, and storing water in strategic locations for multiple uses when needed. … ”  Continue reading from the Northern California Water Association.

The promise and peril of water markets

“In a landmark report, the Global Commission on the Economics of Water recently identified water markets as a fundamental solution to the world’s escalating climate-driven water crisis. The logic is simple: When something is scarce, it becomes more valuable. By pricing water appropriately and creating markets to allocate water based on demand, we could promote more efficient use and incentivize conservation. Yet while the concept of water markets appears promising, Chile, Australia, the United States, and other countries’ experiences show that implementation can prove challenging. Water markets have been heralded for their ability to allocate water more efficiently. When individuals or organizations are allowed to trade water rights, water is allocated to those who value it most. In Chile, one of the first countries to implement a national water market, agricultural producers can purchase water from other regions or industries that have a surplus. Owing to this flexibility, the system allows for high-value crops to flourish even during droughts. … ”  Read more from Project Syndicate.

How atmospheric river forecast could change California’s water problem

“If California’s atmospheric river forecast proves true this winter, the state could have enough water to get through another dry summer.  Last winter, the West Coast faced a slew of atmospheric rivers that caused devastating floods and landslides. The storms also brought a deluge of rain that supplemented California lakes and rivers, helping to eliminate the state’s drought. Meteorologists are again predicting a wet winter for the West Coast, according to an AccuWeather report published Monday, with the forecast showing atmospheric rivers impacting northern, central and southern California over the winter. … ”  Read more from Newsweek.

A La Niña winter is coming. Here’s what that could mean for the US

“Fall is in full swing, but it’s not too soon to look ahead to winter, especially one that could feel considerably different than last year’s dominated by El Niño.  A weak La Niña is expected to develop ahead of the season and influence temperatures, precipitation, and by extension, even snow across the United States.  La Niña is a natural climate pattern that influences global weather marked by cooler than average ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific. The effects on weather are most pronounced during the winter months in the Northern Hemisphere and have a much weaker influence in the summer. … La Niña isn’t here yet, but has a 60% chance of emerging through November, according to the Climate Prediction Center. Once it arrives, it’ll stick around all winter and likely persist into at least early spring of next year.  … ”  Read more from CNN.

Newsom signs key agricultural bills, brings new regulations for Central Valley farmers

“Governor Gavin Newsom finalized decisions on key agricultural bills on Sept. 30, bringing a fresh wave of regulation to Central Valley farmers. Newsom signed 1,017 bills and vetoed 189. Of these bills, several with a direct impact on California agriculture were considered and many were signed by the governor.  Newsom signed Assembly Bill 460 into law which imposes higher penalties for violations of curtailment orders.  Introduced by Democratic Assemblymembers Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, AB 460 increases curtailment order violation fines up to $10,000 per day and $2,500 for each day in which a violation of a cease-and-desist order occurs. … While the Governor supported the bill to increase fines for diverting water, he vetoed a bill that would have increased surface and groundwater storage capacity. Senate Bill 366 — a bi-partisan bill introduced by Democratic Senator Anna Cabellero and co-authored by four Democratic and three Republican Legislators — would have been part of the 2028 update to the California Water Plan. … ”  Read more from Valley Ag Voice.

As solar booms in the California desert, locals feel ‘overburdened’

“For four hours, Mark Carrington sat quietly with his neighbors at the front of his county’s supervisors’ late August board meeting, waiting for his chance to speak.  They were there for the final agenda item: a vote from the county board of supervisors to approve Intersect Power’s Easley Solar Project, which would span 3,600 acres of private and public lands and generate up to 400 megawatts of solar energy and have 650 megawatts of battery storage capacity, enough energy for 253,000 California homes.  To attend the meeting, Carrington and his neighbors had driven more than two hours from their homes in Desert Center and Lake Tamarisk, unincorporated communities of Riverside County not far from Palm Springs, where solar farms stretch for miles along Interstate 10 in one of the densest areas of photovoltaic panel development in North America. … ”  Read more from Inside Climate News.

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In commentary today …

 The Supreme Court’s next big chance to wreck the environment is here

Molly Coleman, Executive Director at People’s Parity Project, writes, “Just over three months ago, the Supreme Court ended its 2023-24 term by dealing a crushing blow to the administrative state, issuing a series of rulings that will drastically impede the federal government’s ability to make people’s lives better. As of last week, the justices are back to work for another nine months of service to the Federalist Society’s agenda. This Wednesday, they’ll hear oral argument in San Francisco v. EPA, a challenge to the power of democratically accountable agency experts attempting to fulfill the EPA’s mission of protecting human health and the environment.  The basic dispute in San Francisco v. EPA arises from the question of how much junk can be legally dumped into waters protected by the Clean Water Act, which Congress passed in 1972. Most of the time, the answer is none, but there are exceptions: The law empowers the Environmental Protection Agency to issue permits via the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), which allows certain cities or businesses to discharge some amount of pollutants into specified bodies of water, under such conditions as the EPA sets forth. …”  Read more from Balls and Strikes.

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In regional water news and commentary today …

NORTH COAST

Mass bird deaths in botulism outbreak are linked to climate crisis

“An ongoing outbreak of botulism, a bacterial illness that causes muscle paralysis, has killed more than 94,000 birds at Tule Lake national wildlife refuge in northern California, the worst such outbreak at the lake ever recorded, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service.  Affected birds often cannot control their muscles and suffocate in the water, said biologist and ornithologist Teresa Wicks with Bird Alliance of Oregon, who works in the area. “It’s a very traumatic thing to see,” Wicks said.  Though local in scale, the outbreak and catastrophic die-off are tied to global problems including declining wetlands, increasing demand for limited water resources, hydrological diversions and a warming climate.  These kinds of outbreaks can happen around the world and the phenomenon seems to be on the rise, according to Andrew Farnsworth, a scientist at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology who studies bird migration. … ”  Read more from The Guardian.

Klamath River dam removal project finished; land restoration ongoing

“The removal of four hydroelectric plants and dams on the lower Klamath River in California and Oregon was recently completed, according to the Klamath River Renewal Corp., Hydro Review reported.  KRRC said Kiewit, the Omaha, Neb.-based dam removal contractor hired by KRRC, finished the required work along the river. Knight Piesold, headquartered in South Africa, was the civil prime design partner on the project.  Part of the Iron Gate cofferdam and a temporary river crossing at Copco No. 1 were left in place after the cofferdam breaches in September to provide access to the far side of the river so diversion infrastructure could be removed, Hydro Review reported.  River restoration and recovery will continue in the years ahead, KRRC said. It took ownership of the dams from Pacific Power in July 2021. … ”  Read more from Construction Dive.

Keystone coalition supports 19 collaborative water restoration projects

“Nineteen restoration and water efficiency projects have the mutual support of an “unlikely coalition” between Tribes and agricultural representatives.  The coalition, formed under the federal Klamath Basin Drought Resilience Keystone Initiative, brought together the Karuk, Yurok and Klamath Tribes to work with the Klamath Water Users Association (KWUA) to determine worthwhile projects to support and recommend to the Department of the Interior. A news release from the coalition lists wetland and fish habitat restoration, irrigation infrastructure improvements and means to improve water quality among the prospective projects.  “We are all trying to protect our jobs, our families and our way of life,” KWUA President Tracey Liskey said in the release. “Thats the thing farmers and fishermen, ranchers and Tribal members, all have in common.” … ”  Read more from the Herald & News.

SACRAMENTO VALLEY

Yuba Water issues $3 million in grants for Yuba entities

“The Yuba Water Agency Board of Directors Tuesday approved $3 million in grants for projects to evacuate storm water from Marysville, conserve water in the Yuba foothills, and reduce the impacts of illegal cannabis grows in the Yuba River watershed.  A $713,000 grant to Marysville will help replace three large flow pumps and an electric motor on a low-flow pump at the city’s 17th Street pump station near Highway 20, the Water Agency reported. The station collects stormwater from much of the city before pumping it back into the Yuba River channel and plays a key role in reducing flood risk for east Marysville during intense rain events. The city is planning the work to coincide with additional pump upgrades funded by a separate $275,000 grant from the Feather River Air Quality Management District to streamline improvements and reduce overhead costs. … ”  Read more from the Appeal Democrat.

SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY

Attorney general files friend-of-court brief in support of efforts to restore year-round water to the Kern River

“There’s been a welcome turn of events for Bring Back the Kern, the group that’s been trying to compel the city of Bakersfield to halt its ongoing, wholesale diversion of water from the Kern River.  California Attorney General Rob Bonta, along with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, has filed an amicus brief with an appeals court in support of the pro-flow plaintiffs.  Last year, a coalition of environmental groups, led by Bring Back the Kern and Water Audit California, were granted their motion for a preliminary injunction requiring the city of Bakersfield to cease its practice of completely drying up the Kern River — in violation, they say, of the California Fish and Game code. … ”  Read more from Channel 12.

SEE ALSO: Bonta joins lawsuit against Bakersfield over Kern River drying up, from the San Joaquin Valley Sun

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

At 90, this San Gabriel Mountains dam has stood the test of time. Now, it’s a landmark

“For Pasadena native John T. Morris, the practical majesty and history of the Morris Dam runs close to home, as his grandfather was its lead engineer.  “He was the founding general manager of the Pasadena Water Department and chief engineer,” Morris said of his grandfather, Samuel Brooks Morris. “He started in the mid-1920s, planning for the Pine Canyon Dam because he knew we would have to have a place to store water.”  Dedicated in May of 1934 by former President Herbert Hoover, a personal friend, it became known as the Morris Dam, situated in the San Gabriel Mountains above Azusa.  Marking its 90th anniversary, and celebrating its unique role and progressive design, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) will officially recognize it as a National Historical Civil Engineering Landmark, Wednesday, Oct. 16. … ”  Read more from the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

State, federal partners announce new funding to boost cleanup at L.A. County national monument

“Shortly after the 10-year anniversary of the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument being established, and just months after it was expanded by President Joe Biden, federal, state, tribal and local partners came together today to celebrate a $3.5 million investment to help improve access and water quality on the East Fork of the San Gabriel River, a key Southern California water source and recreational site within the national monument.  The federal funding will help the Watershed Conservation Authority, USDA Forest Service, tribes and community groups conduct trash-removal projects, create new walking trails and install additional restrooms, protecting a watershed that provides Los Angeles County with one-third of its water supply.  Through its Nonpoint Source Pollution Management Program, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provides funding to the State Water Resources Control Board to support California projects that reduce nonpoint source pollution. From this funding, the State Water Board awarded an initial $1.5 million grant for the San Gabriel project and is planning an additional $2 million investment over the next three years. … ”  Read more from the State Water Resources Control Board.

San Gabriel Mountains National Monument project gets boost to improve access and water quality

“Governor Gavin Newsom today highlighted a $3.5 million federal investment to improve access to the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and enhance a key Southern California water source that provides Los Angeles County with one-third of its water supply.  Federal, state, tribal and local partners celebrated the announcement today, which will support trash removal projects, create new walking trails and install additional restrooms on this popular stretch of the San Gabriel River used primarily for recreation by surrounding underserved communities.  The state this month marked the 10-year anniversary of the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, which was expanded by President Biden in May along with the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument.  This action increased protected lands in California by 130,000 acres. California has conserved more than 25% of its land to date and is on track to reach its 30×30 goal in collaboration with federal, state, tribal and community partners. … ”  Read more from the Office of the Governor.

Legislators, residents reiterate call for emergency declaration over landfill problems

“Castaic resident Jennifer Elkins said Tuesday she feels bad when she drops her daughter off at Live Oak Elementary, because she can smell the problems from Chiquita Canyon Landfill, and knows her daughter’s only option to play outside is amid the putrid stench from the nearby facility.  She was one of about 40 or so residents who gathered at Hasley Canyon Park on Quincy Street to express their frustration over what they say are the collective failures of the county, state and federal governments’ responses in adequately addressing their concerns over the more than yearlong problems.  The residents gathered in conjunction with a press conference held by Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo, D-Chatsworth, along with a representative from the office of Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Santa Clarita, to reiterate their bipartisan call for Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency surrounding the landfill, and for L.A. County to support such a declaration. … ”  Read more from The Signal.

An interview with Kelsey Kim: gender and everyday household water use in Los Angeles

“We spoke to graduate student researcher Kelsey Kim about her work on the groundbreaking “Gender and Everyday Household Water Use in Los Angeles” report.  The innovative study set out to examine the often-overlooked intersections of gender, race, class, and migration in shaping water use patterns across diverse Los Angeles neighborhoods. Through in-depth interviews, household observations, and creative water diaries, Kim and her team aimed to uncover how day-to-day realities and household activities reflect gendered labor, broader social dynamics, and challenge conventional understandings of urban water management.  Q: Your research team used a combination of in-home interviews, guided household observations, and water diaries to uncover gendered patterns in household water use. Can you elaborate on the challenges and benefits of this multi-method approach? … ” Read more from UCLA.

IMPERIAL/COACHELLA VALLEYS

State, federal officials break ground to Species Conservation Habitat project site

The Species Conservation Habitat Project is the first large-scale project of the state’s 10-year plan. It will create a network of ponds and wetlands that help to reduce dust emissions that impact air quality by inundating exposed lakebed, and it will provide important fish and bird habitat. Xavier Mascareñas / DWR

“The Salton Sea Management Program (SSMP) announced Tuesday the expansion of a restoration project at the south end of the Salton Sea that will help protect regional air quality and support wildlife.  Secretary for Natural Resources, Wade Crowfoot and Deputy Secretary Samantha Arthur alongside state and federal officials held a groundbreaking ceremony at the Species Conservation Habitat (SCH) project site.  The expansion of the SCH Project represents a multi-agency collaboration to address the ecological challenges facing the Salton Sea. The commitments made by the federal and state government, as well as from regional agencies, enabled the addition of 750 acres to the project’s footprint. This unprecedented support helps set the current project footprint at nearly 5,000 acres with the potential to expand to around 8,000 acres. … ”  Read more from the Imperial Valley Press.

Interior Department, State of California break ground on Salton Sea rehabilitation effort

“The Department of the Interior, the California Natural Resource Agency and other stakeholders today broke ground on the latest phase of the Salton Sea Species Conservation Habitat Project funded in part through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda.  The groundbreaking took place on the shores of the Salton Sea, California’s largest inland lake where the Bureau of Reclamation is investing $250 million through the Inflation Reduction Act over 5 years. The investment began in 2023 to expedite implementation of the state’s 10-year plan for dust suppression and aquatic restoration efforts while enabling urgent water conservation. This ongoing investment compliments an investment of more than $500 million in state funding. President Biden’s Investing in America agenda represents the largest investment in climate resilience in the nation’s history and provides much-needed resources to enhance Western communities’ resilience to drought and the effects of climate change. The Inflation Reduction Act includes an overall $550 million for domestic water supply projects and $4 billion for water conservation and management efforts in the Colorado River Basin and other areas experiencing similar levels of long-term drought. To date, Reclamation has announced 208 drought mitigation projects and 15 domestic water supply projects, totaling $2 billion. … ”  Read more from the Department of Interior.

SEE ALSO:  Expanded Salton Sea restoration project breaks ground, from the Office of the Governor

SAN DIEGO

Attorney files mass action lawsuit representing Imperial Beach residents

“A mass action lawsuit filed Tuesday by San Diego Attorney Brett Schreiber represents close to a dozen Imperial Beach residents who say their lives have been impacted by the ongoing sewage crisis.  Schrieber says he expects that number to grow well into the thousands. He’s accusing Veolia North America of negligence and recklessness.  “Despite having received millions of dollars from the federal government, Veolia has failed to prevent the pollution in our community,” said attorney Brett Schrieber during a press conference Tuesday. “We believe this catastrophe should have been prevented had Veolia had done their job.” … ”  Read more from Fox 5.

French wastewater treatment plant operator blasted over filth in Tijuana River

“Decades of neglect by a French company operating a federally funded wastewater treatment plant on the U.S.-Mexico border has led to billions of gallons of sewage and toxic chemicals in the Tijuana River, according to nearby residents who in a lawsuit decried the serious ecological and human health devastation.  The plant is supposed to treat wastewater from Tijuana and then dump it into the Pacific Ocean at Imperial Beach, California. But according to the residents, misconduct, reckless behavior and negligence — including not investing in or maintaining the sewage plant’s infrastructure — Veolia Water West Operating Services has discharged fecal bacteria, heavy metals and chemicals banned in the U.S. like DDT, benzidine, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) into the Tijuana River. … ”  Read more from the Courthouse News Service.

Time to evacuate the Tijuana River Valley?

“Supervisor Nora Vargas dropped a brow-raising notion at Voice of San Diego’s Politifest this year: San Diego County should be prepared to evacuate the polluted Tijuana River Valley.  “We’re not at that point right now, but I want to make sure that we’re ready if and when it were ever to happen,” Vargas said during a panel about whether the government could fix the Tijuana River sewage crisis.  At that point in the conversation between the five-member panel entitled, “Can the Government Fix the Tijuana River?” no one had brought up evacuations as a possible outcome of the decades-old Tijuana River sewage crisis. … ”  Read more from the Voice of San Diego.

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Along the Colorado River …

Evaporation is a big deal in the arid West. Scientists say we should stop measuring it like the 1950s

“On a hot August day, CU Boulder climatologist Peter Blanken and Ph.D. student Holly Roth cleaned a $50,000 weather station at the edge of Standley Lake to measure a phenomenon even grade schoolers know about: evaporation.  Evaporation is the natural process of liquid water turning into water vapor. As Colorado and Western states heat up, more water evaporates into the atmosphere, leaving less for irrigation and drinking water supplies. It’s a vicious feedback loop: Warmer, drier air triggers more evaporation, which creates warmer air, and so on.   “As the lake is warming, the atmosphere is warming, so the rate of evaporation will increase,” said Blanken, also a professor at the university. “We can’t fight that. It’s going to happen.”  Evaporation is a big deal because it eats into our declining water supply, at a time when the entire West is in a record mega-drought. The problem is that the tools historically used to measure evaporation are stuck in the 1900s.   “Better understanding [evaporation] as a whole, and how it varies in time and space, is a key need on the Colorado,” said the Desert Research Institute’s Chris Pearson, who studies high-tech techniques to measure evaporation. … ”  Read more from Colorado Public Radio.

A historic water settlement could ensure more water for Native people in the Southwest

“A third of the Navajo Nation population doesn’t have access to water on the reservation.Hauling bottled water is common.  So the Navajo Nation, along with the Hopi and San Juan Southern Paiute tribes, want the government to authorize the country’s largest Indian water rights settlement. It would provide water infrastructure to hundreds of thousands of indigenous people and also resolves water claims made by those tribes.  Navajo spokesperson Justin Ahasteen says settling this decades-long legal dispute will be a positive step forward for Native and non-native communities. … ”  Read more from KUNC.

A receding Lake Powell is bringing Colorado River rapids in Utah back to life

“There’s a lot of anxiety about climate change shrinking Lake Powell, but it also means whitewater rapids upstream have re-emerged. Thrillseekers can now run them for the first time since the 1960s.  At the bottom of a deep, red rock canyon in the desert southwest, the Colorado River is restoring itself, or at least a part of itself, even as climate change shrinks its volume. And that has river enthusiasts celebrating. Long-forgotten whitewater rapids are reemerging upstream. Reporter Luke Runyon set out to find more. … ”  Continue reading or listen at NPR.

Glen Canyon Dam faces deadpool

“In 1998, when I was in fourth grade, I joined a class field trip to Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado. But when we got to Cortez, the road was barricaded. Hours earlier, three men had stolen a water-tanker truck and killed a police officer before fleeing into the desert.  In his book Dead Run, writer Dan Schultz makes the case that the criminals were inspired by Edward Abbey’s 1975 novel, The Monkey Wrench Gang. The men were survivalists planning to turn the water truck into a mobile bomb, Schultz says. Their probable goal: To pack the tanker truck with explosives and blowup Glen Canyon Dam.  Back then, the idea of draining Lake Powell was a fringe idea, attractive to anti-government extremists and radical environmentalists. Those who advocated a legal decommissioning of the Glen Canyon Dam, including supporters of the Glen Canyon Institute in Salt Lake City, were often laughed out of the room. … ”  Read more from the Sierra Nevada Ally.

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About the Daily Digest: The Daily Digest is a collection of selected news articles, commentaries and editorials appearing in the mainstream press. Items are generally selected to follow the focus of the Notebook blog. The Daily Digest is published every weekday with a weekend edition posting on Sundays.