Water News Roundup – August 24, 2010

Deseret News: Lake Powell ruled mussel free zone – The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources has officially ruled Lake Powell mussel-free three years after a false positive detection.

Salt Lake Tribune: West can lead the new energy economy – The West, with its wealth of wind, solar, geothermal and other clean, renewable energy resources, is poised to lead the nation toward a new energy future.

The Hill: EPA unveils strategy to modernize clean water programs – The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday floated a draft strategy to improve water quality nationwide, one that bluntly recognizes that today’s pollution sources are often difficult to target with traditional Clean Water Act controls.

New York Times – Science: Levels plummet in crucial reservoir – Water levels in Lake Mead, the Colorado River reservoir, fell sharply again this summer and are nearing an elevation that would set off the first-ever official water shortage on the river, The Arizona Republic reported last week.

Indian Point nuclear plant’s toll on river stirs debate – Just beneath the wind-stippled surface of the Hudson River here, huge pipes suck enough water into the Indian Point nuclear plant every second to fill three Olympic swimming pools.

Water News Roundup – July 15, 2010

KSL: Chevron cited for oil spill in Salt Lake City – State regulators have cited Chevron Corp. for a pipeline leak that spilled crude oil into a Salt Lake City creek.

Washington Post: EPA seeks comment on Denver fracking study – Natural gas industry groups on Tuesday urged the Environmental Protection Agency to limit the scope of an upcoming study on the effects of a natural gas extraction process known as fracking.

New York Times: May the best flusher win – What does the Grand Canyon have in common with the world’s largest toilet? They’re both stops on the Environmental Protection Agency’s latest promotional campaign, a “We’re for Water” cross-country road trip aimed at educating consumers about water-saving behavior and products certified through the agency’s WaterSense program.

Water News Roundup – May 6, 2010

Not much in the way of local water news today, so a few national tidbits instead.  Enjoy!

Washington Post: New EPA water infrastructure policy seeks to encourage smart growth – If you build it, they will come. And, if you don’t, they won’t.  Such is the thinking behind a policy released late last month by the Environmental Protection Agency that instructs states to adopt smart-growth principles in allocating the $3.3 billion in water infrastructure funding that the federal government doles out each year. States, it asserts, should prioritize projects that upgrade the drinking water and wastewater infrastructure in cities over projects intended to serve new developments on the suburban fringe.

Waterwired (NSFW? You decide…probably if you live/work in Utah ;)): Colorado River as the butt of many jokes

“Hope these folks are not upstream of a drinking water intake.

First, Kay craps out, now this! Rumor has it that David Zetland has the photo taken from the other riverbank and is checking its market value.

Seriously, check out SavetheColorado.org.“

(Really great maps of the Colorado on this site.)

On the Water Front Blog: A Bay-Delta photo tour

Technorati Tags: Bay Delta,EPA,water infrastructure,Water Funding,Colorado River

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 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 – January 19, 2010

Salt Lake Tribune:

Snake Valley pumping hard to monitor – The Southern Nevada Water Authority proposes pumping groundwater from five desert basins in the Great Basin, including Snake Valley on the Nevada-Utah border, and piping the water south to Las Vegas. Under the proposed water-sharing agreement for Snake Valley, a monitoring plan is offered as a mechanism to control excessive adverse impacts.

10 reasons not to give Utah water to Nevada – Utah’s tourism slogan is “Life Elevated.” Perfect irony, because what is most elevated in Utah is our air pollution — the worst in the country this week and hardly a boon to tourism.

N. Utah water outlook is dim but could brighten – As of this week, the water outlook in chilly northern Utah doesn’t look so hot.  On the other hand, southern Utah’s snowpack is above average and likely to stay that way until spring.

Storms could change the snowpack picture – Monday’s crowd at Solitude Mountain Resort lent credibility to ski area advertisements touting lift lines so short resort officials don’t even know how to spell “kroud.”

KCPW: State gathering public input on nuke plant water deal –  The Utah Division of Water Rights held a public meeting last night to gather input on a proposal that would allow the states first nuclear power plant to be built. Those opposed to the project say it will harm the Green River.  But Aaron Tilton, CEO of Blue Castle Holdings, which owns the project, says theyre misguided.

MSNBC:  EPA offers Florida water pollution limits – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday proposed the first numeric limits in the nation for farm and urban runoff polluting Florida’s waterways, limits supporters say could set precedent and lead to similar federal standards in other states.