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 – April 13, 2010

Salt Lake Tribune: Culture Vulture: City Creek’s promise begins to show – The reflecting pools weren’t reflecting much on Friday, as the winds bouncing between the twinned 10-story buildings of Richards Court churned up the water into a succession of waves.  In calmer weather, these reflecting pools will look up at the promised glory of City Creek Center, the massive shopping/office/residential complex The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is building in downtown Salt Lake City.  (Sean Means comments specifically on the water features that run throughout the new City Creek Redevelopment Project.  The water features installed as part of the ‘open space, green development’ plan are not an actual daylighting of the historic southern fork of City Creek, but they do show how water can be used to augment and beautify an urban setting.  It should be quite a nice place to visit.  The food court even has a Red Iguana III! WOOT!)

KCPW: Author, photographer, document reemergence of Glen Canyon – The construction of the Glen Canyon Dam to create Lake Powell in the 1960s monumentally changed the landmark on the Utah-Arizona border as it was flooded with water from the Colorado River.

Via Water Conserve and The Guardian: Shell fights shareholders’ campaign for oil sands review – A group of institutional investors, led by campaign group FairPensions, had tabled a special resolution ahead of the Anglo-Dutch company’s annual meeting next month. They want Shell to review the commercial and environmental viability of going ahead with its new projects in Canada’s boreal forests.

Technorati Tags: City Creek,Colorado River,Glen Canyon,oil/shale development,water aesthetics,water/energy nexus

Water News Roundup – March 30, 2010

Salt Lake Tribune:

Storm expected to hit Utah this week – Four-wheel drive fans participating in the annual Moab Jeep Safari usually don’t let a little bad weather keep them from exploring the trails surrounding the southeastern Utah recreational hotbed.

Brian McInerny’s STORM WATCH – 60 mph winds??? Oh my!!

Company seeks first U.S. oil sands project, in Utah – An energy company with government approvals to launch the first significant U.S. oil sands project is trying to raise money to build a plant in eastern Utah that would turn out 2,000 barrels of oil a day.

AWRA Blog: Dr. Rita Colwell awarded 2010 Stockholm water prize – Dr. Rita Colwell, a professor at the University of Maryland and at the Johns Hopkins University, has been awarded the 2010 Stockholm Water Prize.

The prize, awarded by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), is sometimes referred to as water’s Nobel Prize.

New York Times:

Of Water, Electricity and the Time of Day – Water accounts for an astonishing percentage of electricity use — 19 percent in California, for example — partly because of all the energy needed to pump it.

Can people be persuaded to change the hours that they use water, and thereby reduce their water utility’s electricity costs? A pilot study conducted last summer in Palm Desert, Calif., suggests that they can.

The Battle Over Bottled Water – Published in recognition of World Water Day, a video called The Story of Bottled Water, made its debut on YouTube this week, using animation and snappy narration to convey what its makers consider to be the evils of bottled water. (It comes from the same folks who produced ”The Story of Stuff” — an eco-themed viral video sensation from last year.)

Not missing a beat, the International Bottled Water Association, declared the new video to be sensational, and quickly posted its own minifilm, highlighting the sustainability practices of its members, which include major brands like Nestlé. (Who knew there was an International Bottled Water Association?)

Technorati Tags: bottled water,oil/shale development,precipitation,Rita Colwell,Stockholm water prize,water/energy nexus