Water News Roundup – July 26, 2010

Provo Daily Herald: Residents learn more about canal, trail project – Jackie Adamson says seeing plans for the $150 million Provo Reservoir Canal Enclosure Project is like watching a life-long dream come true.

Deseret News:

Most residents voice support for Murdock canal, trail plan – Few people pay attention to the “No Trespassing” sign that warns people off the maintenance road along the Murdock Canal.  Every day, walkers, runners and cyclists can be found using the dirt road, and no one stops them.

Safe drinking water a goal of Utah agencies, cities – Orders to boil water issued in two cities about a month apart this year highlighted an aspect of modern-day living most people take for granted — safe drinking water as close as the kitchen faucet.

KSL: Southern Utah officials help residents save water – Water officials in southern Utah are continuing a program that offers free irrigation system checks to residents so they can save water.

AWRA Blog: Evaluating sustainability of water demands in 2050 under climate change –Tetra Tech and the Natural Resources Defense Council have just released the report, Evaluating Sustainability of Projected Water Demands under Future Climate Change Scenarios.

St. George Spectrum (sub. required): The Slide Divide – A discussion that initially started out over a battle of water rights for a few individuals on Cedar Mountain has escalated to an issue that could affect all of Iron County and its taxpayers.

Water News Roundup – July 14, 2010

Provo Daily Herald: Canal project coming quickly – A major construction project will soon be having a big impact on north county cities.  The Interstate 15 rebuild? No, the other big effort getting under way in the region is the Provo Reservoir Canal Enclosure Project. Enclosing the waterway — a.k.a. the Murdock Canal — is a $15 million project that has been years in the making and involved a host of government agencies, including the U.S. Congress.

KSL: Public meetings kick off Murdock Canal project – A major construction project is about to get underway to enclose the Murdock Canal, the open waterway that carries water from Provo Canyon to the Point of the Mountain.  (Steve Cain, Facilities and Lands Manager for PRWUA, gets some serious facetime on KSL.  Usually they let you speak for about five seconds and then clip the take.  Steve manages to get in almost 30 seconds… go Steve!)

Ogden Standard Examiner: New reservoir ready to service two cities – A $3.2 million secondary water reservoir that becomes fully operational on Wednesday will save culinary water costs for two expanding north Davis cities.

KCPW: Lingering concerns dominate town hall meeting on oil spill – The second town hall meeting convened on the Red Butte Creek oil pipeline spill lasted more than three hours last night at Clayton Middle School in Salt Lake City.

Wall Street Journal: Water policy for NY power plants draws reliability concerns – Authorities in charge of the reliability of New York State’s power supply warn a policy to protect aquatic life could threaten the dependability of electricity supplies and increase air pollution.

Water News Roundup – July 8, 2010

Salt Lake Tribune:

Fluoridation battle rages on – Holliday Water won’t have to fluoridate its supply — at least for now.  Under a recent decision by the Utah Supreme Court, the water company will not have to fluoridate its supply, despite a 2000 Salt Lake County ordinance that requires fluoridation. The company argued that as a private corporation, it was exempt.

Detecting oil leaks – In coordination with local, state and federal officials, Chevron has made all the right moves in responding to last month’s oil pipeline leak in Salt Lake City.  Chevron and city crews were on scene quickly, equipment materializing out of nowhere. Within hours of the discovery, the leak was stanched and the cleanup launched.

Open house on Murdock canal plan –  The Provo River Water Users Association is sponsoring an open house to discuss plans to enclose the Murdock Canal in a pipe and create a trail system over the canal right-of-way. The open house is on July 13 at 6 p.m. at Orchard Elementary School, 800 E. 1035 North [in Orem].

Provo Daily Herald:  BYU contributes to digital water policy library – Brigham Young University’s Harold B. Lee Library is one of five research libraries that helped complete a content expansion project for the Western Waters Digital Library.  Founded in 2004, the library is an online public resource that provides information about water issues in the western United States.

High Country News:  Monkey wrenchers keep on keeping on – When the news spread last year about Tim DeChristopher’s impromptu act of civil disobedience in Utah, I thought: Somebody is finally reviving the lost art of environmental monkey-wrenching.

Stories about hydro-fracking and groundwater contamination…

Wyoming Trib: Monitoring wells nearing completion – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has almost finished drilling two monitoring wells to test for pollution in a central Wyoming community where residents suspect chemicals related to gas drilling have contaminated their well water… Area residents say chemicals related to a process called hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” may have polluted their wells. Fracking involves pumping water, sand and chemicals underground at high pressure to open fissures and improve the flow of oil or gas.

AWWA:  Fracking bill may face uphill battle – Democratic Reps. Diana DeGette, Maurice Hinchey and Jared Polis introduced a bill in June to reverse a 2005 measure excluding hydraulic fracturing, used to enhance extraction of oil and gas, from regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Water News Roundup – June 23, 2010

A perfect day for streamflow measurements in the morning!

Deseret News:

Open houses planned for Provo canal project – A series of three open houses is planned next month to explain the details of a $150 million project that will enclose the entire Provo Reservoir Canal.

Restoration project could pave the way for Jordan River Parkway Trail segment – Bikers, walkers and roller bladers may have to wait a few years, but action that could eventually pave the way for a new segment of the Jordan River Parkway Trail was launched Wednesday.

KCPW: Chevron reopens Red Butte pipeline – Chevron has reopened a 13.75 mile segment of pipeline that’s been shut down since it leaked 33,000 gallons, or about 800 barrels, of crude oil into Red Butte Creek earlier this month.

KSL:

Gasoline seeps into Emery county groundwater – For several weeks, residents in Ferron in Emery Countyhave complained of the smell of gasoline in their homes coming through their floor drains.

Lab results say pipeline effects diminishing, but still a danger – Utah water-quality officials say the toxic effects of a pipeline oil leak in a Salt Lake City creek are diminishing but still endanger aquatic life.

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 10, 2010

Lots of water news today with much of the press highlighting the Jordan River Basin Plan.  Here’s a recap of the Jordan River coverage, followed by other miscellaneous items.

Deseret News:  Jordan River Basin Plan out for comment – A comprehensive review of the Salt Lake Valley’s water resources identifies the need to make more efficient use of wastewater and to develop additional supplies.  Dennis Strong comments on this one.

Ogden Standard Examiner: Bear River to slake thirst, one of several steps to meet 2027’s larger population – New water supplies, including the Bear River, will be needed to quench the thirst of fast-growing suburbs around Salt Lake City in the coming decades, according to a state report released Tuesday.

KSL: New water supplies needed for Utah demand – A state report says new water supplies will be needed to quench the thirst of fast-growing suburbs around Salt Lake City in the coming decades.

ABC4 News: New water supplies needed for Utah demand – A state report says new water supplies will be needed to quench the thirst of fast-growing suburbs around Salt Lake City in the coming decades.

In other news…

Deseret News: Plans in place to enclose 100-year old Provo canal – A $150 million project to enclose all 21 miles of the Provo Reservoir Canal, also known as the Murdock Canal, in north Utah County will begin in October. (I was interested to read that CUWCD will now be receiving “8,000 square feet” of water and “50 cubic square feet” of conveyance capacity in exchange for their funding assistance… whoops!)

Salt Lake Tribune: 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.

Ogden Standard Examiner:

Canal construction and preventive maintenance in Weber Basin – Water users in Weber and Davis counties should not notice a change in their water supplies this week.  But behind the scenes, the way they are getting some of their water is much different from the usual.

Farmington to build bigger reservoir – City leaders are shifting their focus in an effort to upgrade the city’s water system.  With growth on the west side fueling the need for more water capacity, officials had originally budgeted funds to drill a test well in the 2009-10 fiscal year, but those plans have been changed.

The Spectrum: Worrisome water – Whenever there’s heavy rainfall like there was Tuesday, Gail and Lester Black usually do two things: work around the predictable flooding of their ranch and curse the city of Hurricane.

Technorati Tags: Farmington,flooding,Jordan River Basin,Jordan River Basin Plan,Murdock Canal,Provo Reservoir Canal,Provo Reservoir Canal Enclosure Project,WBWCD

Water News Roundup – March 9, 2010

Daily Herald – Opinion: Trailing indicators – Vigorous public debate has once again showed its effectiveness — this time in helping to clarify why it’s time to begin work on the Murdock Canal Trail.

Happy Groundwater Awareness Week!  (Mar. 7 – 13th) Didn’t even know there was such a thing until today, but it’s a great reminder to get your well tested and perform any preventive maintenance on your groundwater equipment.

Jordan River Basin Plan Released for Public Comment

Salt Lake City, Utah  –  A regional water plan for the Salt Lake Valley is now available.  The Utah Division of Water Resources has just released Jordan River Basin-Planning for the Future, which is the latest in the series of “Utah State Water Plan” reports.

The new report is a comprehensive review of the Salt Lake Valley’s water resources.  It discusses current supplies and uses and explores in-depth how future demands will be met.  “This report has been reviewed by the major water suppliers in the valley and is now ready to receive input from the public,” said Dennis Strong, Division Director.  “We believe the plan lays out a roadmap that will ensure the water needs of the valley are met in a way that is economically and socially responsible, and also protects the environment.”

The new report also addresses future population projections and associated water demands to 2060, water conservation goals and successes, innovative water management strategies, major water development projects, and water quality and environmental issues.

A public meeting to receive comment on the report is scheduled for 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, March 30, 2010, at the Department of Natural Resources, 1594 W. North Temple in Salt Lake City.  A copy of the report is available at the division’s web site:  www.water.utah.gov.  Printed copies can also be obtained by contacting the division.

The Division of Water Resources plans, conserves, develops and protects Utah’s water resources.

Technorati Tags: Groundwater,groundwater awareness,Murdock Canal,Provo Reservoir Canal,Provo Reservoir Canal Enclosure Project,Jordan River,Jordan River Basin Plan