Water News Roundup & Moratorium Edition

I am very sad to say this will be my last Water News in Utah update for a while.  I have been offered a job that likely won’t allow me to keep posting in a substantial way. I will leave the site up in the meantime however, since it has become a handy reference and news story archive. I hope you’ve enjoyed the water news round-up over the past year. I know I have, and I’ll be back if I can swing it. Thanks again for devoting time and energy to stay informed.

Salt Lake Tribune: Oil shale problems – In “Oil and water” (Forum, Aug. 14), Bill Johnson, Utah’s “community representative” for the U.S. Congressional Task Force on Strategic Unconventional Fuels, promotes oil shale development and says that there is enough water to uphold this industry because one study estimates that only about 1.7 barrels of water are needed to produce a barrel of shale oil.

Living history: Utah Lake carp provided food for the needy – Utah Lake was once a fabulous, rich fishery. George Washington Bean, a settler in Utah Valley, wrote that Ute tribes gathered at the lake “on account of the wonderful supply of fish moving up the stream from the Lake to their spawning grounds each spring.

KSL: Feds give $100,000 to help save June sucker in Utah Lake – The Federal Government has given the Central Utah Water Conservancy District $100,000 to rid Utah Lake of non-native fish.

St. George Spectrum: Water rate structure questioned – Water resources and the systems that make use of them shape the way a community develops and thrives, but Cedar City resident Doug Hall believes unless a new water rate structure is instituted by Cedar City Corporation, Festival City USA will no longer have cause for celebration.

The St. George Spectrum online edition requires a login.  I find it interesting that one of Cedar City’s water rate critics cites Washington County Water Conservancy District’s rate structure as a possible model for Cedar City.

Water News Roundup – June 29, 2010

Deseret News:

Dreams fulfilled despite spill – When 33,000 gallons of Colorado crude oil broke loose from a Chevron pipeline two weeks ago, it swept a path of havoc and destruction from the edge of scenic Red Butte Garden miles west to the Jordan River.

Provo River dam alterations allow June sucker to spawn farther upriver – When the Fort Field Diversion dam was built on the lower Provo River in the early 1900s, it was designed to rechannel some of the water for irrigation.

Water News Roundup – June 24, 2010

KSL:

Restored songbird habitats proving fruitful along Provo River – Some Utah songbirds lost their freedom, briefly, Wednesday. Bird experts captured them on the fly in an effort to figure out if they’re thriving or declining.

Water quality officials visit one-of-a-kind wastewater facility – You can golf, hike, or even ride horses in Eagle Mountain, but taking a tour of the waste water facility is something you won’t find in any tourism brochures. However, it’s exactly what workers with Utah’s Division of Water Quality wanted to do Wednesday morning.

Salt Lake Tribune: Utah Lake’s June sucker making rapid recovery – The removal of a Provo River dam is paying dividends for the endangered June sucker.  Biologists say the fish are taking advantage of an extra mile of spawning grounds above the Fort Field diversion dam.

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 18, 2010

The Spectrum:

Fish release rejuvenates species – The effort to re-establish populations of endangered fish species in the Virgin River continues, as wildlife officials released 2,500 Virgin River Chub into the water near Hurricane, on Tuesday.

Enoch discusses area water rights – The Enoch City Council met with Sen. Dennis Stowell, R-Dist. 28, and Rep. Evan Vickers, R-Dist. 72, Wednesday night to ask questions pertaining to legislation that could affect Enoch.

KSL: Saving rare fish may require moving mouth of river – Saving Utah’s endangered June sucker may require moving a river.  Federal officials this week announced they’re in the early stages of planning a project to shift the mouth of the Provo River as it flows into Utah Lake.

Here’s a related story that is fascinating.  Watch the video to see thousands of carp being pulled out of Utah Lake… awesome!  Plus, Reed Harris from the Division of Wildlife talks about the June Sucker Recovery Implementation Program.

Millions of unwanted carp removed from Utah Lake – For the past couple of years, a project has been underway to remove millions of unwanted carp from Utah Lake. The carp destroy the habitat for the June sucker, a rare and endangered fish.

Wall Street Journal: Midwest braces for floods – A massive snowpack in the Upper Midwest and along parts of the East Coast have set the stage for potential record floods in the coming weeks, possibly pushing back the planting season in the Farm Belt and prompting intense preparations to reinforce levees and draw down reservoirs.

Best Use of Colorful Vernacular goes to David Berg, "The river is going to look like a snake that swallowed a pig."

Technorati Tags: chub,endangered species,Enoch,flooding,June sucker,Provo River,Virgin river,carp,utah lake