Water News Roundup – April 26, 2010

Daily Herald:

Pipeline to bring 400 jobs, $235 million to local economy – As a massive project to pipe the Murdock Canal gets underway, officials are lauding the work as a boon to the local economy.

CUP pipeline construction will start this fall – Engineers for a 5-foot water pipeline project are looking for input from the public on where the pipeline should go.

Santaquin gets $7 million for water treatment plant – Representatives of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development stopped by to present Santaquin with a $7 million loan/grant for its forthcoming wastewater treatment plant.

Deseret News:  Bishop and Chaffetz join water fight in congress – A frontier proverb said that whiskey is for drinking, and water is for fighting over. Holding true to that, a big water fight broke out in Congress on Wednesday.

Salt Lake Tribune:

Official: Water deal is critical – A top Nevada water chief made a splash during a recent Las Vegas television interview, trash-talking Salt Lake City for being too bucolic, its residents for not being able to spell conservation and Utah Gov. Gary Herbert for not signing a contentious Snake Valley water-sharing agreement.

Back on the Green – Emmett Heath caught his first trout on the Green River below Flaming Gorge Reservoir before the dam was even completed.

Will we be ready when drought comes to stay? – In 1934, the driest year of the Dust Bowl, Big Cottonwood creek, which supplies almost 25 percent of Salt Lake Valley water, ran dry. In 1935, the year of Black Sunday, Utah Lake was empty.

Salt Lake Tribune – Editorial: Bridging Utah Lake – Leon Harward wants to build a 5.8 mile-long private toll bridge across Utah Lake. Because this project would alter the air and water quality in Utah County in multiple ways, the importance of an environmental assessment cannot be overstated. Yet this project will not be subject to a federal environmental impact statement.

Technorati Tags: Clean Water Act,Colorado River,CUP pipeline,drought,Green River,Murdock Canal,Pat Mulroy,provo reservoir enclosure project,Santaquin,Snake Valley,Utah Lake,Utah Lake bridge,water legislation,water treatment plant

Water News Roundup – Happy Earth Day!

KSL: Water capacity in Utah’s reservoirs declining for the first time – Utah is slowly losing its capacity to store water, even as our population keeps growing.  That’s the conclusion of a new report from the state. Some call it a slow-moving crisis that needs urgent attention.  In Utah, we are almost totally dependent on water stored in reservoirs. But for the first time since pioneer days, we’ve crossed a threshold: The total volume of our reservoirs is actually declining.

Salt Lake Tribune:  Bishop, Chaffetz rain criticism on water bill – Two Utah Republicans are leading a Western Congressional Caucus charge against a clean-water bill they say would give the federal government unprecedented power over water on private land, even mud puddles.  Utah’s 1st District Rep. Rob Bishop, who heads the caucus, ripped into the America’s Commitment to Clean Water Act, which was introduced Wednesday.

Technorati Tags: reservoir levels,reservoir sedimentation,reservoir storage,water legislation,Clean Water Act

Water News Roundup – March 2, 2010

Ogden Standard Examiner: House committee created to make recommendations on Great Salt Lake – A Utah House committee on Monday approved the creation of an official council to make recommendations on public policies that involve the Great Salt Lake.

KCPW:

Would advisory council for Great Salt Lake be enough? – Members of the Great Salt Lake Advisory Council convened by former Governor Jon Huntsman say Representative Ben Ferry’s bill to create a permanent council for the lake is a good first step.

Water rights discussions could be behind closed doors – Governmental negotiations on water rights could be held behind closed doors, under a bill passed by the Utah House of Representatives this morning.

Technorati Tags: Great Salt Lake,water legislation,Water Rights

Water News Roundup – February 2, 2010

eseret News: Great Salt Lake Bird Festival events announced – This year’s festival, held at the Legacy Events Center in Farmington, runs May 14-16 and will feature various birding tours with visitors coming from all over Utah to look for birds around northern Utah.

Salt Lake Tribune: Senate passes bill governing collection of rainwater – The Senate passed legislation Monday that would allow Utahns to legally set out a barrel to collect rainwater for use in their yards or gardens.  Current law prohibits the practice, because collecting the water could diminish the amount available to parties who hold rights to groundwater.

KUER: Today at 9 o’clock Diane Rehm will be talking about global water issues related to scarcity and security.  Here’s a description of her show.  We’ll add a link to the podcast (Windows Media Player) afterward. Have a great morning!

Environment: Global Water Security
Water is quickly replacing oil as our most valuable natural resource. Freshwater scarcity affects public health, national security and the global economy. A panel joins Diane to examine how control and distribution of water will affect future domestic and foreign policies.

GUESTS

Steven Solomon, journalist and author of the recently published “Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization” and “The Confidence Game.”