Water News Roundup – August 23, 2010

Ogden Standard Examiner:

Morgan County says municipalities should handle water infrastructure – While county officials wait for the end of a water moratorium and the overdue publication of a water study, they are saying that municipalities should shoulder future responsibility for water infrastructure.

Farmington authorizes new city well – A project to drill for a new city well will move ahead, despite some second thoughts among city officials after hearing from local residents.

Salt Lake Tribune  – Editorial: Teachable moment – Eternal optimists were flummoxed by the Red Butte Creek oil spill. What good can possibly come from 33,600 gallons of crude pouring from a ruptured Chevron pipeline into the creek?

Las Vegas Sun: State reconsidering request to pump water from upstate – State Engineer Jason King has set new deadlines for handling the applications filed in 1989 to pump billions of gallons of water from rural Nevada to Las Vegas.

St. George Spectrum (requires sub.): Vegas water pipeline foes seek NV court hearing – Opponents of a proposed multibillion-dollar water pipeline from northeastern Nevada to Las Vegas are mounting a procedural challenge to a Nevada Supreme Court order sending the case to a state official for review.

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 – 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 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 – June 22, 2010

Salt Lake Tribune:  Oil flows again as probe points to why sensors failed – Black gold began flowing Monday through a mended canyon pipeline into Chevron’s refinery — and its coffers — even as a federal petroleum engineer pointed to a power surge as the likely reason sensors failed to detect the Red Butte Canyon oil spill.

KSL: Restoration project in the works for Jordan River – Officials will restore a section of the Jordan River to a more natural condition. Rocky Mountain Power gave its approval for the project along 550 yards of the river in West Jordan.

KCPW: Chevron spill impacting life in Red Butte Creek and beyond – Oil-soaked geese were one of the most visible signs of the Red Butte Creek pipeline spill, but it also affected what lives below the surface. KCPW’s Elizabeth Ziegler focuses on wildlife, in the first of a series on the spill.

Ogden Standard Examiner: Support sought for Jordan River plan – This summer, Davis County commissioners will be asked to financially support the creation of the Jordan River Commission, an agency designed to steward river development.

New York Times: A new panorama at the Hoover Dam – Generations of photo albums are filled with images of children squinting in front of the enormous canyon here, one of the greatest engineering feats in America’s history.

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)