Water News Roundup – June 21, 2010

Las Vegas Sun: Supreme Court rules on Las Vegas water applications – It’s back to square one for the Southern Nevada Water Authority in its efforts to pump thousands of acre feet of water from rural Nevada to serve the Las Vegas area.

KSL:

Nevada high court withdraws water right ruling – The Nevada Supreme Court has withdrawn an earlier ruling in a key water rights case, giving new life to a proposal to build a massive pipeline to get water from the northeastern part of the state to Las Vegas.

Chevron says flush of Red Butte Creek appears to be successful – A flush of water rushed down Red Butte Creek in an effort to push any lingering oil residue downstream. Chevron pumped extra water into the creek Saturday afternoon.

Deseret News: Great Salt Lake had its day in Utah – Transport a northern Utahn from a hundred years ago to today, and he’d certainly be shocked by all our technology, as well as our hustle and bustle. He or she would also likely be surprised that many residents have never visited a Great Salt Lake beach or so much as dipped a toe in the briny waters of the lake.

Interesting article on water right pricing and how it is getting more expensive to buy water (via Aguanomics)

Water News Roundup – June 16, 2010

Deseret News: Jordan River access cut off for oil clean up – City officials have shut off public access to the Jordan River from 1700 South to 500 North as a result of cleanup efforts due to Saturday’s oil spill.

Salt Lake Tribune: Oil spotted in Great Salt Lake Wetlands –  Crude oil from the Red Butte Creek pipeline spill appears to have turned up in the Great Salt Lake wetlands.

Salt Lake Tribune – Editorial: Foiled by oil – Oil-soaked birds, a sheen on the water, stream banks painted with petroleum.

KCPW: Environmentalists consider lawsuit against Great Salt Lake Minerals – Several conservation groups are taking preliminary steps toward a lawsuit against the state for issuing a permit to a mineral extraction company that’s operated on Great Salt Lake for the past four decades.

I received this video from a friend of bank-side Red Butte Creek after the recent oil spill.  The contrast of the crude and beautiful 30” rainbow trout struggling and dying makes me incredibly sad.  I know it’s not the Gulf, but it’s our backyard.  I hope Chevron’s clean up is vigorous and is a long-term commitment to restoring the creek, the Jordan River and the Great Salt Lake wetlands affected by the spill.

Water News Roundup – June 14, 2010

Back from vacation and very well rested.  Moab was awesome and St. George even more beautiful than I remember.  So, what’s with all the boil orders of late?  There are so many short articles on boil orders that I’ve left them out of the roundup…  Here’s the rest.  Enjoy!

KSL:

LDS Church protests Snake Valley plan – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has joined hundreds to file a protest with the state of Nevada over a proposal to pump and pipe groundwater from the Snake Valley and surrounding areas to Las Vegas.

Morgan County officials watching Weber River closely – It certainly is a sight to see: an 18-wheeler crossing a small bridge with rushing water high enough to touch the bottom of the bridge.  Morgan County workers, though, say it’s not a problem.

2 dams on ‘Level 1 alert’ due to extremely full reservoirs – Utah’s reservoirs are suddenly bulging with water, and this week officials declared what’s called a Level One Alert for two dams on the Utah-Wyoming border.

Provo Daily Herald: Official: Oil spill hasn’t reach the Great Salt Lake yet – Emergency workers believe they have stopped a 21,000-gallon oil leak from reaching the environmentally sensitive Great Salt Lake, one of the West’s most important inland water bodies for migratory birds that use it as a place to rest, eat and breed.

Deseret News:

Mussel causes restrictions at Sand Hollow Reservoir – In an emergency action taken Thursday, the state wildlife board extended its lasso of boater-related restrictions over Sand Hollow Reservoir in order to control the infestation of invasive mussels.

Mormon church among protesters of Las Vegas water plan – Opponents of a controversial pipeline that would tap water from a shared Nevada/Utah aquifer and convey it to Las Vegas say more than 2,300 protests have been filed against the plan, including objections mounted by the Mormon church.

Rep. Jim Matheson and Mayor Ralph Becker testify in D.C. to expand watershed protection – While clean drinking water became a priority this week for Oakley and Lindon residents as they boiled water contaminated by floods, it’s always on the mind of Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah

Salt Lake Tribune:

Lake Powell Pipeline to water Las Vegas? – Second Congressional District challenger Claudia Wright this week raised the specter of a Las Vegas water grab via Utah’s own proposed Lake Powell pipeline, a puzzling possibility that she said residents of Utah’s Dixie have warned her about.

Lake is the only source of sulfate of potash – Lately there has been a lot of discussion about Great Salt Lake Minerals’ plans to expand our solar evaporation ponds in order to produce more sulfate of potash (SOP), an all-natural crop nutrient. But there is confusion about what SOP is, as well as what the expansion would provide.

Oil shale and the future – “The task is great. So is the need. And there is no time to lose.” – Exxon’s 1980 “White Paper”

Those stirring words concluded a 10-page document released in the early summer 30 years ago outlining Exxon’s grand plan to help solve the nation’s energy crisis of the 1970s.

SLC residents angry, sad over oil-fouled yards and waterways – [Resident’s] backyard serenity was destroyed this weekend when an underground Chevron pipeline ruptured just south of Red Butte Gardens, near the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, and leaked an estimated 21,000 gallons of oil into Red Butte Creek, that flowed to Liberty Park pond and the Jordan River.

Containment the goal of initial oil spill cleanup – Chevron is expected to unveil a cleanup plan this morning, after a day in which the company focused on containing an oil leak that fouled Red Butte Creek and Liberty Park pond, in hopes of keeping the toxic spill from reaching the Great Salt Lake.

KCPW: Becker says city investigation of oil spill underway – Now, the hope is that oil won’t reach the Great Salt Lake.  What’s being done to prevent that from happening, and who will hold Chevron’s feet to the fire to make sure the cleanup is fully completed and paid for?  KCPW’s Jeff Robinson spoke with Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker.

Water News Roundup – June 8, 2010

*** I’m headed for hot Moab for a bit of vacation tomorrow.  Water News will be back on Monday!**

Salt Lake Tribune:

Time to water, but just a little – OK, go ahead and water the lawn this week — but only once.  So advises the Utah Division of Water Resources, which posts a weekly lawn-watering guide at slowtheflow.org that is updated every Thursday.

Utah Lake Festival marks 6th year – Reed Price readily admits that Utah Lake doesn’t get the same respect as Utah’s other lakes.

High waters still threaten across Salt Lake County – From the backyard of his home on Canyonview Road, Jim Wilcox looked out over a rushing torrent of chocolate brown water that used to be little more, he said, than a “babbling brook.”

KSL: Officials confirm presence of Quagga mussels – Wildlife officials have confirmed the presence of quagga mussels in Sand Hollow Reservoir.

HCN:

One tough sucker – The razorback sucker evolved in a wild Colorado River. Now, humans are its biggest problem — and its only hope. (Article has a great video vignette on razorback sucker recovery efforts from biologist Abraham Karam’s point of view.)

Photo by Abraham Karam

A boring diagram – Las Vegas’ primary water supply — has been drawing down like a leaky tub over the past decade, thanks to prolonged drought in the Colorado River Basin.

Water News Roundup – May 24, 2010

Deseret News: Invasive quagga mussel found in Utah reservoir – State wildlife officers say divers have found what appears to be signs of the invasive quagga mussel in a Utah waterway.

Salt Lake Tribune:

Suspected quagga mussel found in S. Utah – The long-feared first case of an invasive, troublesome and costly exotic mussel is suspected at Sand Hollow Reservoir in southern Utah.

Thirsty farmers in Sanpete County may get dam soon – After nearly 80 years of hoping, bickering and legal challenges, farmers in northern Sanpete County are closer than ever to having water flow to their fields in the arid months of summer from a dammed creek high on the Wasatch Plateau.

Skip the sprinklers: rain will water for you this weekend – The bad news is that yet another spring weekend in Utah is likely to be wet. The good news: you still don’t need to start up the sprinkler system. (Check out the regional, weather-station/ET-based Weekly Lawn-Watering Guide!!)

St. George Spectrum: Water services expanding – The St. George City Council approved a bid for a $3.7 million water project Thursday that should improve water capacity and pressure on the south side of the city.

Provo Daily Herald: Pl. Grove needs $3M to pipe mountain runoff – A massive effort to pipe the Murdock Canal has left Pleasant Grove looking for ways to pay for its own $3 million pipeline.

Provo Daily Herald – Opinion: Another look at Utah Lake bridge plan – I am writing in response to the recent guest opinion by Howard Johnson (“Facts support need for Utah Lake bridge” in the May 17 edition of the Daily Herald).

I know I should be thrilled for our water supply, but dang it!! This is asking too much:

Water News Roundup for May 19th 2010

Last week I posted about taking care of sick kids, but this week it’s me!  *cough cough*  Hope this roundup finds you all well.  Don’t take your health for granted!

Last week I was able to meet Michael ‘the Aquadoc’ Campana at the AWRA Utah Section Conference.  He’s posted some additional analysis about one talk in particular given by State Senator Dennis Stowell on local groundwater management.  This also follows an article in High Country News I posted a few days ago.  David Zetland at Aquanomics has also re-posted on this topic.  It’s interesting that local governance of groundwater resources would garner such attention.  Here is Michael’s most recent review:

Waterwired: Unitization in Utah – Unitization in Utah? What could that be?

Last week I posted on the great time I had at a water conference in Utah (28 Hours in Utah…).  Prior to arriving in Salt Lake City I’d read a story in the 10 May 2010 issue of the High Country News (now requires a subscription to read) about the passage of a bill to allow the residents of southwestern Utah’s Escalante Valley to manage their own groundwater. At the conference I then heard a talk (via phone) by State Sen. Dennis Stowell (R), the main sponsor of SB 20, who told the story of the bill.

And now for the rest of the news…

Provo Daily Herald: Drinking water ordinance shelved so BYU can resolve concerns – An already overdue drinking water protection effort has been delayed another two weeks because of concerns expressed by Brigham Young University.

KSL: Experts warn of swift waters in rivers and streams – Search and rescue crews are warning people to be aware of high and fast-moving water in Utah’s rivers and streams. Warm days can quickly melt mountain snow, creating dangerous conditions.

Provo Daily Herald: Provo leaders raise power, water rates – It’s going to cost a little more to live in Provo — about $100 more over the next year.  The City Council on Tuesday approved increases in power and water rates beginning in July.

Water News Roundup – May 17, 2010

Happy Monday!  Loads of water news today.  When it rains it pours?

Provo Daily Herald:  Task force formed to discuss water access on private lands – There have been few issues in the past five years hotter than recreational access to water flowing over private property.

Provo Daily Herald – Opinion:  Facts support need for Utah Lake bridge – In the last few weeks there have been two news articles that state the bridge across Utah Lake is "a bad idea" and it is "not viable." People can have thoughts and beliefs, but not their own facts.

Salt Lake Tribune:

A new approach to the Great Salt Lake – Great Salt Lake Minerals Corp.’s expansion plan is moving forward so America’s farmers can continue to feed our country and help meet growing worldwide food needs.

Wyoming worried about Green River water grab – Wyoming has an unusual problem among the states in the Colorado River system: lots of water and, other than supporting some fine trout fishing, no way to put a significant amount of it to use.

Deseret News:  Comments sought on Gooseberry Narrows dam project – Envisioned 77 years ago as a way to supply water to northern Sanpete County residents, the proposed Gooseberry Narrows reservoir remains on the drawing board and a subject of bitter contention between two counties.

St. George Spectrum: Event highlights water education – A wet winter has water supplies looking good in Southern Utah, but water managers are reminding residents to do what they can to help those supplies last.

KCPW: Salt Lake County adopts stricter drinking water protections – Salt Lake County adopted a water source protection ordinance this week to beef up protections already in place and to comply with a new state law.

Water News Roundup – May 12, 2010

Ogden Standard Examiner: Keep propellers clean of invasive mussels – Boating season has returned to Utah, and along with it, concerns about a tiny critter that can do big damage if introduced into the state’s lakes and reservoirs.

St. George Spectrum: CICWCD looks to future needs – Although building in Iron County appears to have hit a standstill, the Central Iron County Water Conservancy District is taking a look into the future to assess water needs in the Cedar Basin.

Good-lookin’ drought monitor this past week:

Technorati Tags: CICWCD,Lake Powell Pipeline,Quagga mussels,mussels,invasive species

Water News Roundup – April 19, 2010

Salt Lake Tribune:

Reservoir expected to spur Kanab growth – The southern Utah town of Kanab, known for its red sandstone cliffs and mesas is getting a lake.  About 200 residents and dignitaries gathered Friday at a ranch house in the city’s outskirts and broke ground on an earthen dam that will create the Jackson Flat Reservoir.

Anglers prepare for new restrictions – New laws frequently create more questions than they answer. The Recreational Use of Public Water on Private Property law, more commonly known as HB141, is no different.

“There has been a lot of misinformation flying around. Some people think they can no longer fish streams on public land and that is just not true,” said Dean Mitchell, Outreach coordinator for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR).

The Spectrum: Conserving water – The Central Iron County Water Conservancy District is evaluating suggestions for water conservation made in a study by Montgomery, Watson and Harza, a consulting company that has been conducting studies on the Lake Powell Pipeline project.

KSL: Southern Nevada water director: comments weren’t meant personally – The director of the Southern Nevada Water Authority says her comments about Salt Lake City were not meant as an attack against the citizens of Utah.  Earlier this week, Pat Mulroy told television station KCVB in Las Vegas, “They can’t spell conservation in Salt Lake City.”

Deseret News: Bountiful arsenic finding spurs water study – Bountiful city officials are funding a groundwater study after tests of water from a well near a community landfill found increased levels of arsenic.

Technorati Tags: Arsenic,Bountiful City,CICWCD,Jackson Flat Reservoir,Kanab,Lake Powell Pipeline,Pat Mulroy,SNWA,Water Conservation

Water News Roundup – March 29, 2010

Salt Lake Tribune: Feds seek public input on rerouting river for June Suckers – With carp eradication under way, federal officials are looking to the next step to make Utah Lake more hospitable to June suckers.

Deseret News: Proposal for treated groundwater could affect Great Salt Lake – Bolstered by a four-year, $2 million study and more than two decades of planning, a project that aims to pipe the byproduct of treated groundwater to a bay at the Great Salt Lake is inching forward.

Scientific American: Awash in Awareness: Knowing a product’s “Water Footprint” may help consumers conserve H2O – If you think your morning cup of joe only has 12 ounces (35 centiliters) of water in it, you’re sorely mistaken—it has closer to 40 gallons (150 liters). Conservation scientists say it’s time consumers become aware of the quantity and source of water that goes into growing, manufacturing and shipping food.

Technorati Tags: Great Salt Lake,groundwater management,JSRIP,June sucker,Provo River,water footprint

Water News Roundup – March 24, 2010

KSL: Study says mercury in Great Salt Lake is global problem – Scientific studies are turning up answers to a baffling mystery about the Great Salt Lake. The new findings help explain why concentrations of toxic mercury in the lake are higher than anywhere else in the country.

Salt Lake Tribune: St. George, Provo-Orem growing fast – When it comes to growth, Utah is still whistlin’ Dixie, Coal Country is still singing the blues and the state, as a whole, is still humming lullabies.

Deseret News: Meetings set to explain groundwater treatment proposal – The first in a series of informational meetings about a proposal to pipe the treated byproducts of a groundwater cleanup project to the Great Salt Lake’s Gilbert Bay is scheduled for Wednesday.

Details about the meetings can be found on the DEQ’s website.

Also, Continue to celebrate World Water Week by increasing awareness!  There are some great articles and amazing photography on National Geographic’s website.

A concise info-graphic of water facts: 10 things you should know about water.

My fav: A photo collection of some of California’s water infrastructure that is at risk and downloadable water wallpaper! Ooo!

Technorati Tags: Gilbert Bay,Great Salt Lake,Groundwater,JVWCD,population growth,mercury

Happy World Water Day! March 23, 2010

The official kick-off for World Water Day was actually yesterday, but it’s supposed to last all week.  The UN describes the day as, “…celebrated annually on March 22, was established by the United Nations in 1992 and focuses attention on the world’s water crisis, as well as the solutions to address it.”  National Geographic is devoting their April 2010 issue to global water challenges and has made it free for download until April 2.  If you become a ‘fan’ on facebook of ITT Watermark, they will donate $1 to Mercy Corps, Water for People, and the China Women’s Development Foundation.  Water.org has more information about Water Week as well.

The local chapter of Water for People has opened registration for their 6th annual golf tournament and benefit on May 3.  Here’s a flyer for the event:  2010 WFP Golf Tournament Invitation.  If you register before Apr. 5th they will give you a 10% discount.  Don’t miss this chance to see water-buffaloes roaming the links! (Unless you were in St. George last week – then you’ve probably seen enough. :))

Finally, Boston.com has a smaller collection of the photos from the National Geographic issue.  They are really impressive.

Now for the news…

Salt Lake Tribune: EPA to issue stricter drinking water standards – The Environmental Protection Agency is tightening drinking water standards to impose stricter limits on four contaminants that can cause cancer.

Provo Daily Herald – Opinion: Land owners backed by legislature – Since the Conatser ruling in 2008, the Utah Legislature has struggled with balancing private property rights and recreation rights.

Technorati Tags: EPA,stream access,Water for People,World Water Day,water quality

Water News Roundup – March 11, 2010

Daily Herald:

Stalled no more, canal piping moves ahead – What is 126 inches tall, 21 miles long, weighs 32,000 tons, requires 131 miles of welding, and has peeved off an entire upscale Highland neighborhood?

Springville pipeline update – The intersection at 400 South and 400 East in Springville closed Tuesday, a week ahead of schedule, to make way for the ongoing Central Utah Water Conservancy District’s (CUWCD) pipeline project.

KSL:

Big pipeline to replace Provo Canal – A canal association plans to enclose an open ditch leaving Provo Canyon with a 21-mile pipeline to Salt Lake County.

Regulators OK disposal of wastewater into the Great Salt Lake – State regulators Wednesday gave a tentative “thumbs up” for disposal of contaminated water into the Great Salt Lake. A pipeline to get it there is already under construction.

Technorati Tags: CUWCD,Great Salt Lake,mining contamination,Provo Reservoir Canal,Provo Reservoir Canal Enclosure Project,PRWUA,Springville,wastewater disposal

Water News Roundup – March 1, 2010

My apologies for Thursday’s news roundup – I was attending a funeral and couldn’t quite make it back to the desktop.  Lots to catch up on because of that, as you can see…

Deseret News:

Utah has too little snow in the North and too much in the South – One of Utah’s most popular winter attractions — sleigh rides at the Hardware Ranch in Cache County — is shutting down early because there just hasn’t been enough winter. It illustrates how bad our snowpack is and the tough decisions water managers will have to make later this year.

Rainwater could legally be yours –  The rain drops collecting in the bucket on your back porch may soon be legally yours under a measure endorsed Thursday by a legislative committee.

SUU students’ project aims to help aquifer – A group of Southern Utah University students are working to maintain water levels in the Cedar Valley aquifer by accelerating the rate at which water percolates into the city’s underground aquifer.

Logan fined $10,000 for water violation – he city of Logan has been fined $10,000 after an employee dumped thousands of gallons of polluted water into a ditch.  U.S. Magistrate Judge Brooke Wells issued the fine after the city pleaded guilty Tuesday to violating the Clean Water Act.

Salt Lake Tribune:

What about the sports complex? – If the federal government declares a massive flood zone across the street, what does that mean for Salt Lake City’s planned 160-acre sports complex, which also abuts the Jordan River, but has no levee?

Environmental groups sue over lack of notice – The Friends of Great Salt Lake say they weren’t given enough notice to object to the Utah Lake Master Plan.

Canal safety bill evaporates – A bill that would require state water officials to inspect canals for safety risks and canal companies to make plans for repairs and improvements to reduce those risks faded away during a legislative committee meeting Wednesday.

Wet storm welcome but we need more – With most big storms missing the Wasatch Front this winter, water officials had to be happy about the storm that hit Wednesday night and dropped a heavy, wet snow into Thursday morning.

New York Times – Science: Rulings restrict Clean Water Act, Foiling EPA – Thousands of the nation’s largest water polluters are outside the Clean Water Act’s reach because the Supreme Court has left uncertain which waterways are protected by that law, according to interviews with regulators.

Technorati Tags: aquifer,canal legislation,canal regulation,EPA,FFSL,FOGSL,Jordan River sports complex,Logan City,snowpack,SUU,Utah Lake Master Plan,water forecast,Water Quality

Water News Roundup – February 18, 2010

Salt Lake Tribune:

Farmland conservation bill stalls – A bill to save some Utah farmland from development appears to be dead.

Utah water-sharing bill advances – A compromise bill on how to share water during emergency shortages met no resistance in a House committee Wednesday — quite a different response from when Rep. Kerry Gibson, R-Ogden, sponsored a sharing bill last year.

Deseret News: ‘Priority’ water use is the target of HB231 – Water for consumption, sanitation and fire suppression during times of a governor-declared emergency would have “priority” over other uses under a measure approved Wednesday in a legislative committee.

The Spectrum: City stands pat on water bill – The Cedar City Council decided against drafting a resolution dealing with whether to support Senate Bill 20 during its special action meeting Wednesday night.

Scientific American: EPA to staunch flood of stormwater runoff polluting U.S. waterways– Across the country, stormwater runoff hammers thousands of rivers, streams and lakes. Communities are left to struggle with the consequences of too much pavement and too little oversight. Now the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is gearing up to tighten federal stormwater rules that have been criticized by environmental groups and deemed ineffective by a national panel of researchers.

Technorati Tags: farmland conservation,priority water rights,runoff,stormwater regulation,urban growth,Utah Legislature 2010,Water Quality,Water Rights,water-sharing