Water
|
|
|
| |
| |
 |
|
|
Water News and Opinion
Otters from Washington state to be released in N.M. river.
A joint effort between the U.S. Department of Agriculture's wildlife services, the New Mexico Game and Fish Department and the Taos Pueblo to return wild river otters to the Rio Grande River near Taos will take a step forward this weekend, when five adult otters from Washington state will be released into the wild. You may have to view an ad to read this article.
Albuquerque Journal; October 10, 2008
Montana biologist hopeful about fish population in Bighorn River.
Montana and Wyoming often tussle over flows in the Bighorn River, and this year's fish count in the river found fewer, smaller fish, but a biologist with Montana's fish and game department said he's hopeful in that last year, the survey found no younger fish.
Billings Gazette; October 10, 2008
Environmentalists say B.C. ski resort threatens steelhead.
The Garibaldi At Squamish, an upscale ski resort planned for the headwaters of the Brohm River, one of the most productive wild steelhead and salmon streams in British Columbia, threatens the integrity of the river, according to a report by former B.C. government steelhead biologist Pat Slaney.
Vancouver Sun; October 9, 2008
Endangered pupfish in Nevada make a comeback.
A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist said the agency counted 126 adult neon-blue pupfish this fall in a spring-fed cave in Nevada's Nye County, 34 more than counted last fall, giving the federal agency a glimmer of hope that the population of endangered tiny fish found only in that limestone cave may rebound.
Las Vegas Review Journal; October 9, 2008
Trout found again this year in rehabilitated Montana stream.
Silver Bow Creek near Butte had been contaminated with a century's worth of mining waste, but nine years of environmental remediation work in and around the Montana stream have helped bring it back to life; for the second year in a row, trout have been found swimming in the creek.
Montana Standard; October 8, 2008
Massive lands bill will protect hundreds of miles of rivers in the West.
If the U.S. Senate lives up to Majority Leader Harry Reid's promise given last week, a massive lands bill that would add 852.8 miles of rivers in Arizona, Idaho, Wyoming, Oregon and Massachusetts to the federal Wild and Scenic Rivers system, will come up for a vote in November.
Idaho Statesman; October 6, 2008
Utah geologist: Dry soil to blame for drop in Great Salt Lake levels.
Soil moisture in northern Utah this spring was at its lowest level in three or four years, and excess spring runoff may have been simply absorbed into the ground, never reaching the Great Salt Lake, where water levels are at their lowest level in four years.
Deseret News; October 6, 2008
McCain promises 'hands off" Colorado's water at Friday rally.
At a campaign rally in Pueblo on Friday, Republican presidential candidate John McCain said he would never push for renegotiation of the 1922 Colorado River Compact, an effort to allay concerns raised by a statement made in August by McCain indicating that he believed the seven-state deal should be reworked.
Denver Post; October 4, 2008
DOE signs off on water-treatment plant at Hanford complex.
The water-treatment plant designed by the Department of Energy to treat a contaminated plume of groundwater at the Hanford nuclear complex in Washington state will be the largest on the site, containing more than 50 wells and a $174-million pump and treat station.
Tri-City Herald; October 3, 2008
Utah water officials say state had a fairly good year.
Deep snows this past winter and normal rainfall made this past water year in Utah a good one, but a dry summer and autumn has reduced soil moisture levels and officials fear the dry soil will absorb most of next spring's runoff.
Salt Lake Tribune; October 3, 2008
Shell's oil-shale research quietly continues in Colorado.
Nearly all of the research work conducted by Shell on its experimental oil-shale research plot in Colorado southwest of Meeker takes place underground, but the oil company said it's been able to extract a lot of data about water levels and temperatures that it will use in developing technology to pull the oil from its rocky bed.
Grand Junction Sentinel; October 3, 2008
Protection of Utah fish focus of promised lawsuit.
The Confederated Tribe of Goshutes, along with the Great Basin chapter of Trout Unlimited and Wild Utah Project, said Southern Nevada Water Authority's plan to ship Snake Valley groundwater to Las Vegas puts the least chub, a small minnow found only in six places in Utah's Bonneville Basin, including three in the Snake Valley, in danger and gave notice to the Interior Department that they intend to file a lawsuit to force a review of the tiny fish's status.
Salt Lake Tribune; October 2, 2008
Utah adds 5 fishing spots to mercury warning list.
On Tuesday, the Utah wildlife and environment agencies revised its list of fish-consumption advisories due to mercury levels found in some species to add five new fishing spots. The article contains a graphic summarizing advisories in the state.
Salt Lake Tribune; October 1, 2008
Wyoming lawmakers consider bill to allow leasing water for fisheries.
The Wyoming Legislature's Joint Agriculture, State and Public Lands and Water Resources Interim Committee met Monday to discuss draft legislation that would allow private owners of water rights to lease those rights for up to 10 years to benefit trout populations.
Casper Star-Tribune; September 30, 2008
N.M. researcher works on use for energy-operations discharge water.
Richard N. Arnold, professor of Weed Science at New Mexico State University's Agricultural Science Center in Farmington, has been working with state and federal agencies to find species of grass that can tolerate high levels of salt so that discharge water from energy drilling operations can be used for agricultural purposes rather than being injected into deep aquifers as it is now disposed.
Farmington Daily Times; September 29, 2008
Washington state awards $4.5M for Wallula aquifer project.
The Washington state Department of Ecology awarded $46 million in grants to 18 projects across the state to help develop more water supplies, including a $4.5 million grant to a Boise paper mill in Wallula to pull water from the Columbia River during the winter, store in an aquifer and use the naturally cooled water for its operations.
Tri-City Herald; September 26, 2008
Beetles unleashed on thirsty invader in Arizona.
Tamarisk, or salt cedar, is a water guzzling plant that has taken over many riverbanks in the Southwest, and ecologists are using Diorhabda elongata, a beetle that eats just the tiny, scaly green leaves of the tamarisk, to eradicate the thirsty invader.
Christian Science Monitor; September 25, 2008
Joint approach restores salmon habitat in Oregon stream.
Crucial habitat for imperiled salmon and steelhead in the Salmon River, a tributary of the Sandy River, just 20 miles from Portland, is being resurrected through a joint effort of groups and agencies in Oregon.
Portland Oregonian; September 25, 2008
Montana river ecologist opines on NOAA Fisheries' salmon plan.
Jack Perry, a Montana river ecologist, said that more water from the Columbia River is the single most important component of a plan to restore threatened steelhead in the Middle Columbia River, which includes the Yakima River.
Yakima Herald; September 25, 2008
Idaho court decision keeps Boise River winter flows in place.
An Idaho district court judge ruled that the Idaho Department of Water Resources acted within its authority when it issued a 2002 decision that said Boise River winter flows through Lucky Peak should remain at 300 cubic feet per second, ruling against irrigators who had argued they held the rights to the water.
Idaho Statesman; September 25, 2008
BuRec now owns Washington state KOA campground.
The federal Bureau of Reclamation purchased the 23-acre KOA campground in Yakima to improve fish habitat and to reduce the risk of flooding in the Washington city.
Yakima Herald; September 23, 2008
Wyoming residents question BLM's Pinedale plan.
Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal fully supports the Bureau of Land Management's plan for oil and gas development on the Pinedale Anticline, but the folks who live there are wondering just how another 4,400 wells will affect the region's air and water quality.
Casper Star-Tribune; September 22, 2008
EPA to announce decision on perchlorate in drinking water.
White House and Pentagon officials have engaged in a six-year battle with career scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency over establishing limits on perchlorate, an ingredient in rocket fuel that has been linked to thyroid problems in children and pregnant women; an advance copy of the EPA's "preliminary regulatory determination" indicates that the EPA will not regulate perchlorate.
Washington Post; September 22, 2008
Pact will funnel funds to fish efforts in Montana, Idaho, Washington.
The Columbia Basin Fish Accords, signed in May by the Umatilla, Yakama, Warm Springs and Colville Indian tribes, an intertribal fish commission, the states of Idaho and Montana, as well as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation and Bonneville Power Administration, will provide $967 million over the next 10 years to improve salmon and lamprey numbers in rivers in the Columbia River basin.
Tri-City Herald; September 19, 2008
'Fracking' opens up nation's unconventional natural-gas reserves.
The use of hydraulic fracturing, using a mixture of water, sand and chemicals, to blast natural gas resources locked in shale, is opening up unconventional natural gas resources in 19 states, but the process consumes between 2 million and 7 million gallons of water for each well, consuming that precious resource and, some say, threatening aquifers for decades.
Christian Science Monitor; September 18, 2008
Researchers tackle Hanford's persistent plume of uranium contamination.
Uranium contamination in groundwater under the Hanford nuclear complex in Washington state has remained at up to three times the acceptable standard for drinking water despite a decade of removal efforts, and now researchers from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are working to find out the how, when and why the uranium migrates between ground and groundwater and eventually ends up in the Columbia River.
Tri-City Herald; September 18, 2008
Invasive mussels may have found their way into Utah lakes.
A U.S. Bureau of Reclamation laboratory report said samples taken from Pelican Lake and Red Fleet Reservoir in Utah's Uintah Basin and at Midview Reservoir on Ute Tribal Lands tested positive for larval that could be either zebra or quagga mussels, which reproduce rapidly and threaten fisheries as they consume plankton and threaten water systems as they build huge colonies that obstruct pipelines and intake valves.
Salt Lake Tribune; September 16, 2008
Idaho universities get $15-million grant for climate-change research.
The $15-million grant awarded by the National Science Foundation to Idaho's three universities to study the effect climate change is having on the state's water resources is the largest grant the state has ever received from the National Science Foundation.
Twin Falls Times-News; September 15, 2008
Lamphrey's decline could resonate down the food chain in Oregon river.
Biologists said lamprey, an eel-like, ancient fish, are disappearing along the Columbia River as well as the Snake River, its major tributary, due in part to the fish ladders built on dams along those rivers that allow salmon to climb the dams, and now the U.S. Corps of Engineers has built a "lamp ramp" in the Bonneville Dam to ease the way for lampreys.
Portland Oregonian; September 15, 2008
Arizona utility says power an issue for Lake Powell water pipeline.
The utility companies that will need to provide power to intake stations and pumping stations along the proposed 158-mile pipeline designed to ship water from Lake Powell to three Utah counties said the pipeline will require them to upgrade facilities and make modifications, prompting utility officials to say they should have been involved in pipeline discussions from the outset.
St. George Spectrum; September 15, 2008
Idaho water officials consider raising Minidoka Dam to pump up supplies.
Next month the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation will begin a study of the impact of raising Minidoka Dam by five feet, which could help bolster Idaho's water supplies, but the proposal would put another 1,000 acres of land under water, including a portion of Lake Walcott State Park.
Twin Falls Times News; September 12, 2008
Bill for federal funds for wolf predation advances in U.S. Senate.
Legislation sponsored by Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso and Montana Sen. Jon Tester that would provide federal matching funds for state trust funds to compensate ranchers for livestock lost to wolves was approved by the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which also approved the Cooperative Watershed Management Act sponsored by Tester and Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo.
Great Falls Tribune; September 12, 2008
Hydrocarbons found in stock well next to Wyoming natural gas field.
Bureau of Land Management officials said the trace of hydrocarbons in a stock well on the outside edge of the Pinedale Anticline in Wyoming's Sublette County did not pose a health risk, but they were concerned about the find and were working to find the source.
Casper Star-Tribune; September 10, 2008
Opponents to coal-fired power plant in Utah now focus on fly ash.
For nearly seven years, opponents of the coal-fired power plant Sevier Power Co. wants to build in Sevier County have unsuccessfully tried to derail the project, and now those critics are focusing on the plan to dump coal combustion waste on a parcel of ground near the headwaters of the Sevier River that is also near a local agricultural aquifer's watershed.
Deseret News; September 9, 2008
Company sues Arizona over blocked permit to pump groundwater.
Wind River Resources LLC has sued Arizona in federal court, alleging that the state's denial of the company's request to pump groundwater from Arizona to Wind River's proposed development in Nevada interfered with interstate commerce, among other things.
Las Vegas Review-Journal; September 9, 2008
Washington state tells Spokane County to move on shoreline plan.
Spokane County was supposed to have completed a management plan for the 750 miles of shoreline around the county's lakes, rivers and streams by January 2007, and Washington Department of Ecology officials warned the county that if it doesn't get the plan done and bring draft rules for buffers and development setbacks needed to protect the natural functions along shorelines, the state will take an unprecedented stop and create the plan for the county.
Spokane Spokesman-Review; September 9, 2008
USFS OKs plan to clean up closed phosphate mine in Idaho.
Runoff from a shuttered phosphate mine in Idaho has been blamed for killing Yellowstone cutthroat trout in one of the Blackfoot River's tributaries, and Agrium Inc.'s plan for the site includes building and maintaining sediment ponds to contain sediment containing high amounts of selenium and put controls in place to stop erosion at a dump.
Twin Falls Times-News; September 9, 2008
Oregon group wants funds to bolster salmon strongholds.
Oregon's Illinois River is famous for its runs of winter steelhead, coho salmon and chinook, and the Portland-based Wild Salmon Center, with the help of former Gov. John Kitzhaber, is pushing Congress for millions of dollars to help keep wild salmon populations strong in the Illinois and eight other "salmon strongholds" in Oregon and Washington.
Portland Oregonian; September 8, 2008
High-elevation work in Wyoming touted for its watershed benefit.
Fields of wildflowers that grow in elevations between 6,300 and 11,000 feet in parts of Montana, Idaho, Utah and Colorado provide important benefits downslope, and a partnership between a rancher in Wyoming and government and conservation groups that halts sheep grazing for a time is expected to provide an important lesson in restoration.
Casper Star-Tribune; September 8, 2008
EPA's error on Idaho phosphorus limits stalls Washington state's efforts.
The Washington Department of Ecology was on the verge of issuing final discharge permits to Washington companies when the federal Environmental Protection Agency announced it had made a mistake in calculating phosphorus limits in permits for Idaho cities that discharge treated wastewater into the Spokane River, which means Washington state needs to start its process over again as its permitting process was tied to the federal limits for the Idaho cities.
Spokane Spokesman-Review; September 5, 2008
USFS removes roads to keep Oregon city's water clear.
The Bull Run River drainage, where Portland gets its drinking water, once had 346 miles of logging roads, but with federal money from the Legacy Road Fund, legislation championed by U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Wash. and supported by Oregon's delegation, miles of deteriorating roads have been removed.
Portland Oregonian; September 2, 2008
Tree falls across Snake River, shuts down rafting Monday.
One commercial raft flipped after hitting a large tree that fell across the Snake River just below the "Taco Hole" in the Snake River Canyon before Bridger-Teton National Forest officials could close down river traffic on Monday; the snag was removed by late afternoon and access to the river was restored by forest officials in Wyoming.
Jackson Hole Daily; September 2, 2008
Coeur d'Alene Tribe questions Idaho water adjudication process.
Idaho's plan to begin a water adjudication process across Coeur d'Alene and the Spokane River Basin was put on hold after the Coeur d'Alene Tribe questioned an amendment made this summer to the state's adjudication process that allows small domestic and stockwater right holders, or those who use less than 13,000 gallons per day, to opt out of the adjudication process.
Coeur d'Alene Press; August 29, 2008
Utah takes firm's offer to remove carp from lake for free.
Orem-based Aqua World Unlimited will remove 1.6 million pounds of carp from Utah Lake by January under a deal it signed with the June Sucker recovery program coordinator for the Central Utah Water Conservancy District, which will help the recovery of the June Sucker, a threatened species that exist only in that lake.
Salt Lake Tribune; August 29, 2008
SNWA's promise to pay taxes doesn't sway Nevada county officials.
The Southern Nevada Water Authority, which is exempt from property taxes, agreed to pay White Pine County such taxes on seven ranches the water authority has purchased since 2006 to tap into groundwater in the Spring Valley, but county officials said the negotiated agreement on taxes doesn't change their opposition to the plan to pump groundwater from their county south to Las Vegas.
Las Vegas Review-Journal; August 27, 2008
Alaska voters shoot down water-quality initiative.
With more than 84 percent of the votes counted early Wednesday, a ballot initiative designed to impose increased water-quality standards on new mining operations in Alaska appeared headed for defeat, with 57 percent of the votes rejecting the initiative.
Seattle Times; August 27, 2008
Steelhead numbers rebound in Oregon river.
After seven years of sub-par half-pounder runs of steelhead in Oregon's lower Rogue River, the river is teeming with the fish these days.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer; August 26, 2008
Poll finds Nevadans, Utahns most open to water restrictions.
A survey jointly commissioned by the Review-Journal, the Denver Post and the Salt Lake Tribune of 400 likely voters each in Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming found that Arizonans were most confident in their belief that climate change is a "scientifically established reality," while Wyoming residents were most skeptical about climate change, and that half the Nevadans polled would support water restrictions in light of dwindling supplies caused by climate change.
Las Vegas Review-Journal; August 26, 2008
Report: Climate shift under way in increasingly drier Southwest U.S..
University of Arizona researcher Stephanie McAfee's research on rainfall data in the Southwest United States found that the jet stream, which brings winter storms to that area of the U.S., have shifted north, taking much-needed rainfall with it. You may have to view an ad to read this article.
Albuquerque Journal; August 24, 2008
Montana Superfund work results in mixed results for river.
The latest data on the dam and mining sediment removal near Milltown indicate that while the work is revitalizing one stretch of the Clark Fork River in Montana, it is also spreading mining contamination down river at levels much higher than anticipated.
Missoulian; August 24, 2008
NRC sets public meetings on in-situ uranium mining in Wyoming.
Violations at the nation's largest in-situ uranium mine in Wyoming raised new questions about the safety of the mining process and the scrutiny of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which is working on a generic environmental impact statement that will serve as a baseline document for 14 more in-situ uranium mines in Wyoming, New Mexico and other states.
Casper Star-Tribune; August 24, 2008
Rising waters in Arizona reservoir buoys spirits, boosts business.
Drought over the past decade dropped water levels in Lake Powell to some of the lowest levels in the reservoir's history, but abundant snow in the West's mountains this year, coupled with more rain, have filled the nation's second-largest artificial reservoir to nearly two-thirds full, encouraging boaters to flock back to the reservoir that lies on the Arizona-Utah border.
New York Times; August 23, 2008
Idaho tribe withdraws from salmon negotiations.
Nez Perce tribal officials said they would no longer participate in negotiations with the United States government over its plan to keep hydroelectric dams in operation during ongoing efforts to restore imperiled salmon and steelhead populations, but that the tribe would remain involved in litigation challenging the government's plan.
Twin Falls Times-News; August 22, 2008
Oregon, tribes push for higher water standards.
Oregon's current water quality standard considers residents eat just more than a half an ounce of fish each day, but tribal officials, along with state and federal authorities, want to raise that standard to a more realistic 6.2 ounces, a decision that would make Oregon's waters much cleaner; Washington's standard is about twice Oregon's current standard but state officials there said they'll review that standard when Oregon is done.
Portland Oregonian; August 22, 2008
McCain's Colorado River remark astonishes Wyoming governor.
U.S. Sen. John McCain's remark last week that he believed the seven Western states that are parties in the 1922 Colorado River Compact should renegotiate the agreement prompted an immediate response from Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal who said he preferred a presidential candidate with no knowledge of the compact rather than one who was leaning toward reworking the accord for the benefit of the lower basin states.
Casper Star-Tribune; August 21, 2008
Utah governor says he's open to reworking 1922 Colorado River pact.
Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said he's open to Arizona Sen. John McCain's suggestion that the 1922 Colorado River Water Compact be reviewed, and for that reason Huntsman, who serves as the chairman of the Western Governors' Association, put water on the association's agenda this year.
Salt Lake Tribune; August 21, 2008
Battle over uranium mining moves to Grand Canyon's edge.
Uranium mines from the 1950s still leach radioactive material into the Grand Canyon where the hot water is diluted down by the Colorado River, but with many more such mines now being contemplated, Arizona's governor, along with scientists and water authorities from two states are concerned about the cumulative effect such mines might have on the river, which provides drinking water to millions of residents of the southwest United States.
Christian Science Monitor; August 20, 2008
Idaho DEQ releases new data on nitrate levels in groundwater.
The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality released new data on nitrate levels in groundwater, and while levels in the Cassia and Minidoka county areas haven't changed much from the 2002 levels, their standing in the state rankings dropped from third highest to eighth, and from ninth to 13th, respectively.
Twin Falls Times-News; August 20, 2008
Groups sue USFWS to put pika on endangered species list.
A lawsuit filed in federal court in California alleges the pika, a tiny rabbitlike animal that lives high above the treeline on some of the West's highest mountain peaks, is threatened by climate change, and that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service should stop dragging its feet and put the pika on the federal endangered species list.
Santa Fe New Mexican; August 20, 2008
Utah pushes conservation to meet new demand for water.
Nevada is second only to Nevada in per-person water use, and Utah water officials are pushing residents to conserve the precious resource, especially in the Salt Lake Valley, where 1 million Utahns have about 11 years before demand outpaces supply.
Salt Lake Tribune; August 19, 2008
High mercury levels in Idaho fish prompt health warning.
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare said high levels of mercury found in both smallmouth and largemouth bass in Idaho lakes, rivers and reservoirs made consumption of the fish by women and children a health concern.
Twin Falls Times-News; August 19, 2008
McCain's remark on Colorado River Compact prompts reaction.
Both candidates in the U.S. Senate race in Colorado quickly criticized Republican presidential candidate Arizona Sen. John McCain's statement that he believed the 1922 Colorado River Compact needed to be reworked, with Republican Bob Schaffer voicing fierce opposition and Democrat Mark Udall saying McCain was completely wrong about the need for the accord to be revised.
Durango Herald; August 18, 2008
Utah company says it has low-water solution to oil-shale work.
Using $250 million in funding from GE Energy Financial Services, Utah-based 212 Resources says it has developed a way to pull oil out of the Green River shale formation that stretches from Wyoming through Colorado into Utah that doesn't use a lot of water, although a large-scale test of the method has yet to be done.
Deseret News; August 17, 2008
Wyoming begins probe of why methane wells producing just water.
The state engineer's office has begun investigating why 1,000 coalbed methane wells in Wyoming's Powder River Basin have produced just water over the past five years and whether the water produced is meeting the state's standard for "beneficial use."
Casper Star-Tribune; August 16, 2008
Group effort restores Bonneville cutthroat in 4 Western states.
Bonneville cutthroat used to swim the waters in a large part of Utah and smaller portions of Idaho, Wyoming and Nevada, and after years of effort by federal and state agencies, along with nonprofit conservation groups like Trout Unlimited, genetically pure strains of the fish are returning to their historic waters.
Salt Lake Tribune; August 14, 2008
Oregon farmers' irrigation screen saves fish, makes them money.
A 1996 flood in Oregon's Mount Hood area destroyed water intakes in the Hood River Valley and put the farmers in the valley on a mission: build a better fish screen that saves fish, diverts debris and still gets water where it needs to go, and now they have a patented system that's inviting international attention.
Portland Oregonian; August 14, 2008
Shrimp, copper producers square off over selenium levels in Utah lake.
Updates to Utah's clean-water rules proposed by the state Division of Water Quality will allow higher levels of contaminants, such as selenium, in some areas of the Great Salt Lake, a proposal that angers brine shrimp producers who said higher levels of selenium threaten their ability to sell their product to other nations, but Kennecott Copper wants any selenium standard set at a "scientifically defensible level."
Salt Lake Tribune; August 14, 2008
Idaho lawmakers decline to evaluate state water agency.
A number of surface water users in Idaho had requested that the Legislature's Office of Performance Evaluations evaluate the state Department of Water Resources, but on Wednesday, lawmakers denied the request and said a number of water disputes making their way through administration hearings and court cases would make such an evaluation at this time improper.
Twin Falls Times-News; August 14, 2008
Federal fisheries scientists name 3 pesticides that threaten salmon.
A panel of federal fisheries scientists said chloripyrifos, also known by trade names that include Dursban and Lorsban; diazinon, which is also known as Knox Out, Spectracide and other brand names; and malathion are increasing the likelihood that more than 2 dozen salmon species could become extinct.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer; August 13, 2008
Report details hard-rock mining threat to Colorado River.
The Environmental Working Group has compiled a list of 5,500 hard-rock mining claims located within 10 miles of the Colorado River, 1,200 of which are within five miles, detailing the risk of contamination to the river which provides drinking water for more than 25 million people in Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico and California.
Arizona Republic; August 11, 2008
High mercury levels in Great Salt Lake mystify scientists.
Scientists have begun a multiyear study to determine why the Great Salt Lake in Utah has some of the highest levels of mercury ever recorded in a body of water in the United States, and to find the origin of the mercury.
New York Times; August 10, 2008
Utah counties appeal Nevada decision on water project.
Last month, the Nevada State Engineer declined two Utah counties "interested party" status in a project to build a pipeline from the Utah-Nevada border to ship groundwater to Las Vegas, and this week, Utah and Salt Lake counties appealed that decision in Nevada state court.
Salt Lake Tribune; August 8, 2008
Colorado's work on restoring native trout a piece of tri-state effort.
The Colorado Division of Wildlife removed non-native trout from a 1-mile stretch of Deep Creek, a tributary of Lightner Creek west of Durango, and will soon restock the waterway with native Colorado River cutthroat, part of a tri-state effort to restore the native trout to waters in Wyoming, Utah and Colorado.
Durango Herald; August 7, 2008
Sockeye salmon season opens on Washington state lake.
The Washington Fish and Wildlife Department officially opened sockeye salmon season on Lake Wenatchee at 9 a.m. this morning, after fish counts indicated more than 24,600 fish had entered the lake.
Yakima Herald-Republic; August 6, 2008
Water levels in Arizona reservoir at highest in six years.
Lake Powell hit its peak water level last month, 45 feet higher than it was in March, before snowmelt from the wettest winter in the Colorado watershed in a decade boosted the water levels in the Arizona reservoir, and triggered new water management rules for the seven states that share Colorado Rive water.
Arizona Republic; August 5, 2008
Landowners ask Utah high court to reconsider stream access ruling.
Landowners in Weber County have filed the paperwork necessary to request that the Utah Supreme Court rethink its recent court ruling which said the public has the right to walk in public waterways, even when that waterway passes through private land.
Salt Lake Tribune; August 5, 2008
Sockeye salmon swim into public view in Idaho.
For the first time in years, Idahoans have an opportunity to see the sockeye salmon that have made the nearly 900-mile trip from the Pacific Ocean through eight dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers, and finally into waters in Idaho's Sawtooth Valley.
Idaho Statesman; August 5, 2008
Releases from Idaho reservoirs float young fish to Pacific Ocean.
Annual releases from Idaho reservoirs to speed young salmon and steelhead trout along the Snake River are required under a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries plan put in place in 2004; this year's annual release is coming to an end, and Bureau of Reclamation officials said river levels should be returning to normal soon.
Twin Falls Times-News; August 4, 2008
U.S. House passes Utahn's water bill.
U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson's Water-Use Efficiency and Conservation Research Act was passed by the U.S. House on Wednesday, and now the legislation, which creates a research and development program on water-efficiency and conservation within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, moves on to the Senate for action.
St. George Spectrum; August 1, 2008
Public's buy-in makes Calif. water recycling project unique.
Orange County's $480 million Groundwater Replenishment System that turns treated wastewater into purified drinking water isn't thoroughly unique, as communities other than the California county have similar projects that have been in operation for some time, but the lack of opposition by the public to the system has intrigued officials from other communities.
Christian Science Monitor; July 31, 2008
Montana legislative leader urges state, federal action on climate change.
Montana House Majority Leader Carol Williams said the Clark Fork Coalition's report "Low Flows, Hot Trout," details how climate change will affect Montana's Clark Fork River Basin, is a call to action, and urged state lawmakers to pass regulations to stop sprawl in the wildland-urban interface, and said federal action is needed on greenhouse gas emissions.
Missoulian; July 30, 2008
U.S. BuRec goes after wells that tap into Colorado River.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation estimates that nearly 5 billion gallons of Colorado River water is siphoned away each year by wells drilled too close to the river, and the agency has told well owners in Arizona, Nevada and California to obtain a legal right to the water or face loss of use of the water.
Arizona Republic; July 29, 2008
Report: Global-warming shrinking West's cold-water fish habitat.
A new report released by the Natural Resources Defense Council and Montana Trout Unlimited said higher temperatures and more drought are shrinking cold-water fish habitat in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah, and having a detrimental effect on the region's $1-billion recreational fishing industry.
Billings Gazette; July 29, 2008
Idaho begins 4-year, $3-million study of Rathdrum aquifer.
The Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer is the sole source of drinking water for half a million people in Kootenai, Bonner and Spokane counties, and is one of ten aquifers in Idaho to be studied with a $30 million appropriation made by the Legislature last year.
Coeur d'Alene Press; July 29, 2008
Stream-restoration project in Montana provides model for the West.
For years, Trout Unlimited has successfully restored streams destroyed by mining activity in the Eastern United States, and now the conservation group has teamed up with the U.S. Forest Service to replicate that model along a stretch of Eustache Creek in Western Montana's Ninemile Valley.
Missoulian; July 29, 2008
Idaho biologists say first sockeye salmon have reached the state.
Biologists have counted 814 sockeye salmon at the Lower Granite Dam near Lewiston so far this year, and with wild sockeye salmon numbers reportedly high in the Columbia and Snake rivers, Idaho hopes hundreds more will soon follow.
Idaho Statesman; July 28, 2008
Meandering Utah river in the sights of thirsty Wasatch Front cities.
The Bear River covers 500 river miles but ends just 90 miles from its origins in the Uinta Mountains at the marshlands at the northeast shore of the Great Salt Lake in Utah; a 17-year-old fiat from the state's Legislature based on an even older agreement between Utah, Idaho and Wyoming, has kept the river from being tapped for drinking water, but that's going to change in the near future.
Salt Lake Tribune; July 26, 2008
Report: Climate change poses serious threat to Nevada's water supply.
A report released this week by the National Conference of State Legislatures and Center for Integrative Environmental Research said that climate change could cause a profound drought in Nevada which will have a serious effect on the state's water supplies, affecting growth and tourism which will impact state revenue.
Reno Gazette-Journal; July 25, 2008
Groups warn warmer Wyoming waters will hit fish hard.
A report issued by the Natural Resources Defense Council and Trout Unlimited said that water temperatures in Wyoming's trout fisheries have already increased by 2 degrees, and if they continue to increase, fishing opportunities could be halved in the state over the next 90 or so years.
Jackson Hole Daily; July 24, 2008
Oil-shale proposal elicits bipartisan skepticism.
Even stalwart Republicans were skeptical that the Interior Department's proposal to ramp up oil-shale development by lowering royalties would do much to address the high cost of fuel, given that such development will take massive amounts of water which simply might not exist, and U.S. refineries are currently not set up to process the kerogen from the oil shale. Another look.
Salt Lake Tribune; July 23, 2008
Scientists: Nonnative species in Columbia, Snake rivers threaten salmon.
A report requested by the federal, regional and tribal groups working on dam and salmon issues in the Northwest said that hydroelectric dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers in the Northwest have turned those rivers into a series of lakes that provide good habitat for nonnative fish, which eat a lot of baby salmon, pass on diseases, and compete for food, all which threaten wild salmon populations.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer; July 22, 2008
Few attend public meeting on Washington state reservoir project.
The public meeting hosted by the Washington state Ecology Department in Yakima to develop a list of alternatives to the proposed Black Rock Reservoir to meet the water needs of the Yakima Basin was sparsely attended; an evening meeting Monday was planned again in Yakima with a Thursday meeting set in Ellensburg.
Yakima Herald; July 22, 2008
Utah high court rules public entitled to streambed access.
The Utah Supreme Court issued a decision (.pdf) Friday that said stream- and riverbeds are open to the public, no matter whose private lands they flow through, and while anglers and rafters applauded the decision, some landowners were less than enthusiastic.
Salt Lake Tribune; July 21, 2008
Water-thrifty rain barrels violate Washington state law.
Water-conscious residents of Washington state who place barrels under their rain gutters to capture precious water are violating a state law which says that rainwater is a public resource; however, the law doesn't set a threshold on when collecting rainwater comes under state jurisdiction.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer; July 21, 2008
OSHA plugs up Nevada university's water-recycling plans.
The University of Nevada-Reno planned to reroute 600,000 gallons of water each year from drains to its landscape, but the plan involved putting a pump in a room where the air-conditioning system for the student union is located, and the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration said that's a no-no, because it violated a rule that bans any "nonessential" equipment in such facilities.
Reno Gazette-Journal; July 21, 2008
Groups protest BLM auction of leases on Wyoming's Little Mountain.
Federal and state agencies, along with several conservation groups have spent $1.5 million improving habitat in a popular fishing and hunting area near Flaming Gorge Reservoir on Wyoming's Little Mountain, and hunting and fishing groups said they are planning to protest parcels in that area that the Bureau of Land Management plans to auction off at its Aug. 5 energy lease sale.
Casper Star-Tribune; July 21, 2008
U.S. House panel passes Utah lawmaker's water-study bill.
The U.S. House Science and Technology Committee approved legislation sponsored by Utah Rep. Jim Matheson that would create an Environmental Protection Agency program to study ways to expand the nation's water supplies through collection and use of rainwater and gray water, storage and distribution systems and other methods. The measure now moves on to the full House for action.
Deseret News; July 17, 2008
Water officials plan series of meetings in N. Idaho counties.
As part of the state's effort to sort out who owns what water rights in Northern Idaho, water officials plan seven public meetings in Kootenai, Benewah and Shoshone counties next week to inform residents about the process.
Spokane Spokesman-Review; July 15, 2008
Nevada water engineer approves SNWA's pipeline plan.
Tracy Taylor, the Nevada state engineer, approved Southern Nevada Water Authority's plan to pump 18,355 acre feet of groundwater annually from the Snake Valley aquifer that lies along the Nevada-Utah border, and that the two Utah counties that had requested a chance to testify on the project had missed their opportunity to be included by not protesting in 1989 when the project was first proposed.
Salt Lake Tribune; July 10, 2008
USFWS designates more of Idaho river as critical habitat for sturgeon.
A genetically distinct species of the white sturgeon is found only in parts of northern Idaho, northwest Montana and southeast British Columbia, and on Wednesday the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service added another 7.1 miles of the Kootenai River to 11.2 river miles previously designated as critical habitat for the sturgeon in 2001.
Idaho Statesman; July 10, 2008
Idaho seeks public input on plan to address nitrate contamination of water.
Nitrate contamination is one of the most widespread, preventable problems in Idaho's groundwater system; the state has identified 25 areas across the state where nitrate levels are near or exceed federal and state standards, and the Department of Environmental Quality is asking for public comments on its draft management plan for the Minidoka Nitrate Priority Area.
Twin Falls Times-News; July 10, 2008
Nevada senator's bill on dam inspections hits a snag.
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation officials said Nevada Sen. Harry Reid's bill that would require the agency to inspect all federal dams, levees and canals annually and develop a prioritized list of those needing repairs, is not needed and would undermine the agency's current effort to do inspections and prioritize projects.
Salt Lake Tribune; July 9, 2008
SNWA wants Utah counties out of Nevada pipeline negotiations.
Southern Nevada Water Authority officials said 15 applicants, including Utah's Salt Lake and Utah counties, have failed to meet the requirements to be included in negotiations over a proposed pipeline to ship groundwater from areas on the Nevada-Utah border south to Las Vegas; the Nevada state engineer is expected to rule on SNWA's request at a hearing next week in Carson City.
Deseret News; July 8, 2008
S.Ct. decision muddies EPA enforcement of Clean Water Act.
A 2006 Supreme Court decision on the Army Corps of Engineers' regulatory role in the federal Clean Water Act, as well as a subsequent Environmental Protection Agency memo on enforcing such actions, has led to the EPA deciding not to pursue potential Clean Water Act violations in hundreds of cases due to "jurisdictional uncertainty."
Washington Post; July 8, 2008
Despite state, federal efforts, Nevada lake continues to recede.
Walker Lake's water is so laden with minerals that it's tough for fish to survive, but the Nevada Wildlife Department and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service continue to stock the lake with tens of thousand of fish each year, and realty companies continue to tout lakefront parcels, which grow by about a yard a year as the water level in the lake drops.
Las Vegas Sun; July 8, 2008
Groups challenge Washington State U's water rights.
The Palouse Water Conservation Network, the Palouse Group Sierra Club and Pullman resident Scotty Cornelius filed a lawsuit against Washington State University over its use of groundwater to maintain a golf course on land along the Washington-Idaho border, alleging that the new course endangers drinking water supplies for more than 50,000 residents in Washington and Idaho.
Idaho Statesman; July 8, 2008
Idaho governor wants nonmotorized watercraft to be registered.
Idaho's 880 square miles of water, its teeming rivers and creeks, are a draw for watercraft, motorized and human-powered, and Idaho's consideration of a proposal to require all watercraft be registered has roiled the waters of public debate.
Los Angeles Times; July 6, 2008
Idaho governor presses ahead on canoe registration fee.
Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter formed a task force to study requiring registration of nonmotorized watercraft, such as kayaks and canoes, and if successful, Idaho would be the only state in the West to have such a program; Alaska and Arizona have, in the past, required registration of canoes and kayaks, but ditched their programs.
Spokane Spokesman-Review; June 27, 2008
Idaho developer headed for jail after U.S. high court denies appeal.
Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear his appeal, an eastern Idaho developer who was found guilty of violating the federal Clean Water Act for not obtaining a permit to reshape a creek that flowed through a subdivision he was building will now have to serve an 18-month prison sentence handed down in 2005.
Casper Star-Tribune; June 24, 2008
Study challenges stream restoration efforts.
River and stream restoration is big business in the United States, with one 2005 study estimating $1 billion was spent annually on such projects, but many projects are done without a full understanding of the waterways and most waterways aren't adequately monitored after restoration to see if the project was a success.
New York Times; June 24, 2008
Effort under way to end Washington state river's erosive ways.
Washington state, federal and local officials are working on a decade-long, $36-million project to redirect the Naches River away from U.S. Highway 12 in Yakima, slow the river down and restore a normal floodplain.
Yakima Herald; June 24, 2008
Water transfers in Washington state worry local officials.
Local officials in Washington state's Okanogan County said that they're concerned that if farmers continue to sell their water rights to landowners down river, the county will dry up, but farmers say the rights are theirs to sell.
Seattle Post Intelligencer; June 23, 2008
Demand for water outstrips supply in Utah valley.
Iron County is one of the fastest growing counties in Utah, with a 30 percent increase in population since 2000, and local officials say that growth has put demand for Cedar Valley water beyond supplies.
St. George Spectrum; June 23, 2008
Wyoming judge tosses coalbed-methane water lawsuit.
A Wyoming state district court judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by Powder River Basin ranchers that alleged the state engineer had failed to adequately protect groundwater supplies by not managing water produced during coalbed methane drilling operations.
Casper Star-Tribune; June 23, 2008
Nevada water official: FERC not qualified for Utah pipeline review.
The head of the Southern Nevada Water Authority questioned Utah's decision to have the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission manage the environmental studies of a proposed 158-mile pipeline from Lake Powell to southern Utah. The SVWA said the federal agency doesn't have the expertise needed to lead the project.
Salt Lake Tribune; June 19, 2008
Groups file lawsuit challenging federal plan to balance salmon, dams.
Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski said he would join the lawsuit filed Tuesday by environmental groups challenging the federal government's latest plan to balance salmon recovery and the continued operation of hydroelectric dams in the Columbia River Basin.
Seattle Times; June 18, 2008
Calif. judge orders water board to reconsider Klamath algae issue.
As Oregon-based utility PacifiCorp seeks a new operating license for hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River, the Klamath Riverkeeper group, Indian tribes and salmon fishermen have been campaigning to force the removal of those dams. One of the issues in their campaign is that the dams allow toxic algae to build up behind them, putting salmon at risk.
Portland Oregonian; June 17, 2008
Attendees flood Idaho water conference in Sun Valley.
The Idaho Water Users Association has been holding annual conferences for 25 years. This year interest is definitely at the high water mark; more than 200 people showed up to hear the details of the Clean Water Act, the details of three water calls in the state, and federal efforts to manage salmon on the Snake and Columbia rivers.
Twin Falls Times-News; June 17, 2008
Water the focus of Idaho conference this week.
The Idaho Water Users Association's two-day conference in Sun Valley kicks off today, and will feature water storage and aquifer management talks as well as briefings on several water delivery calls currently being litigated and the effect the outcome of those legal actions could have on other regions of the state.
Twin Falls Times-News; June 16, 2008
EPA, homebuilders sign off on Clean Water settlements.
Four of the nation's largest homebuilders have agreed to pay $4.3 million in fines for Clean Water Act violations in failing to control run-off from construction sites, most of which were in Arizona, Nevada, California, Florida and Texas, although the settlement covers sites in Utah as well.
Salt Lake Tribune; June 12, 2008
Lake Powell pipeline plan gets cool reception at Utah meeting.
More than 300 people attended the second of three planned meetings hosted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on a proposal to build a 158-mile pipeline from Lake Powell in Arizona to a reservoir in Utah's Washington County to provide water to three Utah counties; dozens of attendees fired questions at state and federal regulators who successfully sidestepped questions on the project's cost and the ratio of power generated by the project versus the power needed to operate it.
Salt Lake Tribune; June 12, 2008
Utah wildlife officials suspect bucket biology in walleye catch.
There are a lot of walleye being caught in Utah's Red Fleet Reservoir these days, and Utah wildlife officials want anglers to catch and keep them all as the voracious predator threatens trout and bluegill populations the state has tried to bolster over the past few years in the reservoir.
Deseret News; June 12, 2008
Waterfowl group works to restore Platte River in Wyoming.
The North Platte River has been dammed, diverted and developed to the point where it's nearly disappeared, taking with it important waterfowl habitat, but Ducks Unlimited, along with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, the North American Wetlands Conservation Act and the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resources Trust, have launched a multi-year effort to restore that habitat, one wetland at a time.
Casper Star-Tribune; June 12, 2008
Group says Grand Canyon flooding efforts need more study.
Grand Canyon Superintendent Steve Martin's statements that manmade floods need to be done about every year or so to remove sediments to restore the Colorado River's ecosystem below Glen Canyon Dam appear to be in conflict with the Interior Department's position that the benefit of such floods is so questionable that there are no plans to regularize the releases, a position one watchdog group said proves that the Interior Dept. is putting power generation concerns over environmental needs.
Arizona Daily Sun; June 12, 2008
Lawsuit alleges Montana's Rock Creek mine will harm bull trout.
A coalition of conservation groups have filed a lawsuit to stop the Rock Creek copper and silver mine proposed in Montana's Cabinet Mountains because they fear the mine will increase the sediment load in Rock Creek and harm bull trout; Revett Minerals officials said the mitigation measures the mine plans to put in place will actually improve the water quality of the creek.
Missoulian; June 11, 2008
Late Nevada rancher wins water suit against USFS.
The late Wayne Hage, a Nevada rancher who sued the U.S. Forest Service in 1991 over the agency's requirement that Hage use only hand tools to keep irrigation canals clear of brush and trees, won his lawsuit on Friday, when a federal appeals judge ruled the U.S. Forest Service's hand-tool regulation resulted in the agency's wrongful taking of that water right.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer; June 11, 2008
Federal judge lets Colorado River states join Glen Canyon dam suit.
A federal judge allowed Nevada, Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming to intervene in support of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in a lawsuit filed by the Grand Canyon Trust against the federal agency over management of Glen Canyon Dam.
Las Vegas Sun; June 11, 2008
Canada, U.S. pledge new cooperation on Columbia River Basin issues.
The United States and Canada already collaborate on the hydroelectric power system that includes 14 dams on the Columbia River, but officials met earlier this week at the Grand Coulee Dam and pledged additional cooperation, including the possibility of creating a Columbia River Institute.
Spokane Spokesman-Review; June 11, 2008
Utah county water managers, residents divided on water project.
Washington County is one of the nation's fastest-growing counties, and the county wants to build a 139-mile pipeline to divert about a quarter of Utah's remaining allocation of the Colorado River water south to St. George; some say more water will mean more growth in the desert, while others say more water will turn the area into another Las Vegas or Los Angeles.
Salt Lake Tribune; June 7, 2008
Groups say B.C. mining plan near Montana NP an 'international' issue.
A coalition of environmental groups from both the United States and Canada said proposed coal mines and coalbed methane operations in British Columbia directly upstream of Glacier National Park present a direct environmental threat to the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park that link national parks in Alberta and Montana, and asked the United Nations to investigate the dangers posed by the plans.
Missoulian; June 7, 2008
Scientists take Colorado River concerns to Congress today.
At a congressional hearing today, scientists will provide federal lawmakers with their concerns about the effect climate change is having on the Colorado River and present a study that shows that even a 1.5-degree increase in the Southwestern United States would shrink water supplies in the river to the point where allocations required under the Colorado River Compact could not be met.
Las Vegas Sun; June 6, 2008
Utah residents tell DOE to put Moab tailings on the train.
At a public meeting Thursday evening, U.S. Department of Energy officials discussed the removal of 16 million tons of uranium tailings off the banks of the Colorado River near Moab, including how to move the tailings 30 miles away for permanent containment, and most of the attendees of the meeting said they preferred the tailings make that trip on rail cars rather than trucks.
Salt Lake Tribune; June 6, 2008
Montana, Idaho senators team up on federal water bill.
Montana Sens. Jon Tester and Max Baucus, along with Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo, are co-sponsors of the Cooperative Watershed Management Act, federal legislation that would create a funding program for cooperative efforts on water management projects.
Billings Gazette; June 6, 2008
Wet winter, rainy spring pulls half of Wyoming out of drought.
The U.S. Drought Monitor map released last week indicated normal moisture conditions across 57.4 percent of Wyoming, 42.6 percent of the state was abnormally dry, 17.2 percent was considered in a moderate drought, and 6.9 percent in a severe drought.
Casper Star-Tribune; June 5, 2008
| |
