LOW WATER
Unregulated inflow to Lake Powell in water year 2002 was only 3.06 million acre-feet or 25 percent of the 30 year average and is lower than the previous low water year which occurred in 1977. Drier than average conditions have now prevailed for the past three years in the Colorado River basin. Total unregulated inflow into Lake Powell in water year 2000 and 2001 was 62 and 59 percent of average, respectively. The Colorado River basin has received some drought relief in September, however. Numerous rainstorms (and some high elevation snow) have reached all areas in the basin. Current storage in Lake Powell is approximately 14.5 million acre-feet (59 percent of capacity). The current projection shows that the water surface elevation of Lake Powell will be about 3618 feet (82 feet below full pool) on January 1, 2003.
CHATFIELD RESERVOIR STORAGE LIKELY TO INCREASE
The Army Corps has announced it is willing to look at increasing conservation storage in Chatfield Reservoir by 20,600 af. Chatfield was built as a flood control facility and must be left mostly empty to collect flood flows above Denver from the S. Platte River. The Corps and Denver Water are cost-sharing the $2.5 million study to determine whether there is room to add more water for consumptive use. All of the flat water recreational facilities at the reservoir site would have to be moved if more water is allowed to be stored.
DENVER CONSIDERS PIPING TREATED SEWAGE INTO HOMES
Denver is only a few years from making treated sewage clean enough to drink, and while polls show support for the concept, officials say it would be a public relations nightmare. Denver Post; Sept. 16 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=4403>
DENVER UTILITY PLANS TO TRIPLE CLOUD-SEEDING PROGRAM
Denver Water officials plan to spend $700,000 to seed clouds from November through March, three times their usual effort to make it snow. Rocky Mountain News; 9/17 <http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_1421317,00.html>
DENVER GROUP WANTS NO NEW TAPS UNTIL THERE’S MORE WATER
A Denver no-growth group has called for a moratorium on new water hookups until the city’s reservoirs refill. Denver Rocky Mountain News; Sept. 16 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=4407>
WATER WOES NEWEST ARGUMENT AGAINST GROWTH IN COLORADO
Colorado residents wonder where water will come from for an estimated 1.7 million newcomers in the next 20 years. Denver Post; Sept. 29 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=4635>
DROUGHT ALONE KILLS COLORADO PINES
Colorado forests are dying from drought, not insects or disease, say experts, for the first time in recent memory. Denver Rocky Mountain News; Sept. 5 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=4233>
GOLDEN, CO, LOSES HALF ITS WATER TO COURT RULING
A Colorado water judge denied Golden officials’ pleas and ordered the city to cut back the amount of water it takes from Clear Creek, curtailing half the city’s supply. Denver Post; Sept. 10 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=4304> <http://enn.com/news/wire-stories/2002/09/09112002/ap_48393.asp> <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=4329>
COLORADO GROUP SAYS FRONT RANGE COULD STRETCH WATER FARTHER
The head of a Colorado conservation group said Front Range cities should enact more stringent restrictions on water use before the state invests billions on huge new projects to deliver more water. Denver Post; Sept. 10 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=4305>
COLORADO SKI AREAS HOPEFUL FOR COMING WINTER, SPRING
Ski industry leaders in Colorado say that their forethought in gaining senior water rights for snowmaking will help guarantee enough winter snow, which, in turn, will provide municipal water next spring and summer. Denver Post; Sept. 27 <http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%257E33%257E886213%257E,00.html>
COLORADO GOVERNOR WANTS TO TRAP ALL WATER THAT FLOWS WITHIN STATE
In a guest column, Colorado Gov. Bill Owens promotes his plan to store runoff for use in Colorado and pledges to support legislation that helps communities finance large water projects. Denver Post; Sept. 15 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=4403>
MINNOW WOULD BE LOST FOR LACK OF WATER
Conservationists are turning to the courts to get more water from the storage reservoirs of New Mexico cities in order to keep water flowing in a “critical stretch” of river essential to keeping the Rio Grande silvery minnow from going extinct in the wild says the Santa Fe New Mexican 9/6. After the city of Albuquerque refused to lease any more of its water to help the minnow, an environmental coalition that includes the Sierra Club, Forest Guardians, Defenders of Wildlife and others have asked the judge to “order federal agencies to release at least enough water to keep the river flowing” while other long-term measures to ensure the survival of the minnow are implemented. <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=455>
NEW MEXICO RIVER HAS INTRINSIC RIGHT TO LIFE
Albuquerque and New Mexico leaders who disagree with a federal judge’s ruling to allow releases on the Rio Grande to save a small, endangered fish are wrong; the fish and the river have fundamental rights to life that must be respected. Albuquerque Tribune; Sept. 13 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=4374>
WATER RELEASE FOR MINNOW ORDERED
A federal judge has ordered that water be released from Albuquerque’s reservoir to “prevent the Rio Grande from going dry in an area where the endangered silvery minnow lives” says SF Gate, AP 9/19. The judge found that a USFWS proposal to move the fish and save the water for next year was “arbitrary and capricious” and agreed with environmentalists who “warned the fish could become extinct” if the stretch of river where they live was allowed to run dry. New Mexico immediately announced that it would seek an injunction to block the supplemental release. The Bureau of Reclamation stated that the Bush administration has not given the agency permission to reduce deliveries to “customers” to compensate and conserve water in the event the historic drought continues for another year.
MINNOW WATER RELEASE APPEALED
New Mexico has appealed a federal judge’s order to release reservoir water to keep the Rio Grande silvery minnow from going extinct in the wild says Santa Fe New Mexican, AP 9/24. The state maintains that the water is “owned” by Albuquerque, Santa Fe and various irrigation districts and needed as a “reserve” in case the region’s drought continues next year, even though the Bush administration has refused to consider reducing water deliveries to agricultural users as a conservation measure. Conservationists maintain that “water use throughout New Mexico is unsustainable” and that it is the “health of the entire Rio Grande ecosystem” that is at stake, “The minnow is an endangered species because the river is endangered.” Arizona, Idaho and Washington are expected to join New Mexico’s suit. Albuquerque Tribune; Sept. 26 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=4586>
MINNOW WATER RELEASE ON HOLD
The Bureau of Reclamation announced that “rainfall and previously purchased water” will enable it to delay a court ordered water release needed to save the Rio Grande silvery minnow from extinction says the Albuquerque Tribune 10/1. Depending on the weather and an appeal of the judge’s ruling giving ESA mandated survival of the species priority over future water deliveries to the city of Albuquerque, the Bureau plans to release the water around October 12 when a stretch of the Rio Grande critical to the minnow’s existence in the wild is expected to dry out.
WATER RESTRICTIONS A VARIED BAG IN THE WEST
The drought affecting nearly every Western state has produced a variety of water strategies, some of which hinge on conservation while others are strictly reactionary. A regional overview. Denver Post; Sept. 6 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=4250>
RURAL SUMMIT IN UTAH TACKLES WATER SHORTAGES
Conservation and education emerged as main themes in a panel discussion on the state’s scare water supply during the Utah Rural Summit. St. George Spectrum; Sept. 6 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=4265>
COLORADO RIVER’S LOW FLOW LEFT THREE STATES DEPENDENT ON RESERVOIRS
The Colorado River flowed at only 14 percent of normal this summer, forcing Arizona, Nevada and California to rely on water stored in Lake Mead and Lake Powell. Arizona Republic; Sept. 9 <http://www.arizonarepublic.com/news/articles/0909drought09.html>
WEST’S HOT, DRY SUMMER MAY BE ONLY THE BEGINNING
The summer’s drought and fires have highlighted the risks of living in an arid climate, but there’s a growing body of unsettling evidence that this may be the start of a sustained natural disaster. HCN; 9/4 http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=11342
GRAZING EXACERBATES DROUGHT DAMAGE, SURVEY SAYS
Cattle grazing has worsened the effects of the drought on western rivers, according to environmental magazine Cascadia Times, which profiled the 10 most heavily impacted. Cascadia Times; Sept. 19 <http://www.times.org/>
COLORADO RIVER FISH RECOVERY GOALS
Recovery goals for the humpback chub, bonytail, Colorado pikeminnow, and razorback sucker were signed by Dr. Ralph Morgenweck (Director, FWS Region 6) on August 1, 2002, and the notice of their availability was published in the Federal Registeron August 28 (67 FR 55270-55271). The documents are available in pdf format at <http://www.r6.fws.gov/crrip/rg.htm<> Please refer to the Notice of Availability for directions on how to obtain paper and/or compact disc copies. To access the Federal Register online go to <http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aces140.html>
GUNNISON RIVER FLOW RECOMMENDATIONS
The Biology Committee of the Recovery Program reached agreement at their August meeting on draft peak flow recommendations and instantaneous peak flow targets for the Gunnison River. There has been a delay of over two years on getting consensus for these flows. The concern with the instantaneous peak targets above 14,000 cfs that would cause flooding for the City of Delta still needs to be addressed. Upon Fish and Wildlife Service finalizing these recommendations, Reclamation can begin modeling the impact these flows will have on storage in the Aspinall Unit. This will lead to the long-awaited EIS for Reoperation of the Aspinall Unit and a Programatic Biological Opinion for depletions in the Gunnison River.
RAZORBACKS SPAWNING IN THE GUNNISON AND GREEN
Initial sampling in 2002 has found razorback sucker larvae present in the Gunnison River between Redlands Diversion Dam and Delta. According to the biologist in charge of the sampling, several of the larvae had food in their gut, so feeding had occurred. Razorback sucker were extirpated from the Gunnison River by the mid 1980s and stocking of hatchery-produced fish began in the Gunnison River in the mid 1990s. Larval razorback sucker and bonytail survived and grew in the presence of nonnative predators in an experimental array at the Stirrup floodplain at Ouray, Utah. “This demonstrated that we can get larval razorback and bonytail survival in floodplain habitats that are ‘reset’ periodically, giving the native and nonnative fish an ‘equal start’ (as opposed to floodplain depressions that retain nonnative fishes from one year to the next), says Program Director,” Bob Muth.
FLAMING GORGE EIS
The draft EIS is scheduled to be published in November 2002, with public hearings in December and January 2003. The target date for publication of the final EIS is April 2003, and for the Record of Decision, May 2003.
GRAND VALLEY WATER MANAGEMENT PROJECT
This water use efficiency project, under the Recovery Program, has installed facilities that enabled Reclamation to reduce diversions and conserve up to 700 cfs this irrigation season, which primarily benefited east and west slope water users and endangered fish in the 15-mile reach. This is another example of the overall cooperation that occurred during this extreme drought year.
MORE GRAND CANYON FLOODS PLANNED
In an attempt to take advantage of the lessons learned during controlled flooding of the Grand Canyon seven years ago, the Bureau of Reclamation is planning a “series of more strategically timed releases” from Glen Canyon Dam over the next two years to rebuild beaches and fish habitat says the Salt Lake Tribune 9/24. The dam built in the 1960s, resulted in non-native trout taking over, invasion of non-native trees, the loss of beaches and endangerment of native fish. Conservation group Living Rivers said 9/25 the agency is just pretending to be “serious about reversing the extensive damage the dam has caused.” They are predicting that the humpback chub “will likely be extinct before they can complete their multi-year experimentation.”
ARIZONA SENATORS WOULD CEDE WATER TO SETTLE TRIBAL CLAIMS –
Arizona’s senators introduced a bill that would give the state’s Indian tribes rights to most unused surface water, authority to sell it back to thirsty communities and control of about half the volume of the Central Arizona Project. Arizona Republic; Sept. 25 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=4604>
FULL PROTECTION WAIVED FOR SALTON SEA SPECIES
California’s governor has signed a law that allows the controversial “transfer of water from Imperial Valley farmers to San Diego” to incidentally kill four species protected under the state’s “fully protected” species law which “forbids any harm to them,” says the L.A. Times 9/17. The water transfer would result in increased salinization of the Salton Sea which is habitat for the desert pupfish, brown pelican and two varieties of marsh-dwelling rails protected by the 1920s era law. The four species would, instead, be protected under the state ESA which “allows for some harm to the fish and birds so long as measures are undertaken to more than offset the damage.”
SALTON SEA SUIT
Two environmental groups and a Native American tribe filed a lawsuit in federal court in Los Angeles alleging that the federal government has failed to protect the Salton Sea and its many imperiled species of fish and birds. The lawsuit was filed by the Sierra Club, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians and could delay the complicated water sale aimed at reducing California’s overuse of Colorado River. The suit challenges governmental efforts to reduce costly environmental protections afforded the Salton Sea in order to persuade Imperial County farmers to sell water to arid San Diego County. Although it has a host of environmental problems, the Salton Sea, is a vital stopping spot for millions of migratory birds along the Pacific Flyway. The lawsuit asks the court to order Interior Secretary Gale Norton and the Bureau of Reclamation to comply with the 1998 Salton Sea Reclamation Act. The act calls for the federal government to devise a plan to stabilize the sea’s rising salinity level and prohibit the continued loss of flora and fauna.
CALIFORNIA IRRIGATORS WANT BILLIONS FOR WATER THEY GET ALMOST FOR FREE
About 400 Southern California farmers want $2 billion over 75 years for water that cities desperately need, and unless there’s an agreement soon, those cities could lose 15 percent of their municipal supplies. New York Times; Sept. 24 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=4556>
COLORADO RIVER DELTA SYMPOSIUM PROCEEDINGS AVAILABLE ON LINE –
The 74-page proceedings from the United States-Mexico Colorado River Delta Symposium of September 11-12, 2001 are now available on the International Boundary and Water Commission web site at <www.ibwc.state.gov> under the Foreign Affairs heading. The proceedings contain a summary of presentations from the two-day conference, the question and answer sessions that followed each presentation, and closing remarks. Electronic versions of prepared presentations can also be viewed. The symposium was sponsored by the International Boundary and Water Commission, United States and Mexico (IBWC), the United States Department of the Interior (DOI), and the Mexican Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT).
U.S. CALLS ON MEXICO TO FULFILL TERMS OF WATER PACT
The State Department publicly reminded Mexico Wednesday that it had fallen far short of delivering to the Rio Grande water volumes specified under a 1944 treaty. Spokesman Philip Reeker urged Mexico to give the issue highest priority. “Over the past 10 years, the government of Mexico has not delivered sufficient volumes of water from the six Mexico tributaries to the Rio Grande to ensure compliance with its obligations,” Reeker said. <http://enn.com/news/wire-stories/2002/10/10032002/ap_48601.asp>
CA GOLDEN TROUT GETS STATUS REVIEW
As part of a lawsuit settlement, the US Fish and Wildlife Service has agreed to do a 12-month study on whether the California golden trout should be protected under the ESA says the L.A. Times 9/21. The lawsuit by Trout Unlimited charged the agency of “failing to protect the fish from crossbreeding, habitat destruction from cattle and other disturbances.” Pure strains of California’s state fish are found in “just two mountain streams,” and conservationists say an ESA listing will help protect habitat and lead to increased state and federal funding for efforts to keep nonnative trout from crossbreeding with the golden trout.
COHO GETS STATE PROTECTION
California’s state Fish and Game Commission has designated coho salmon as an endangered species between San Francisco and Humboldt County and threatened along the remainder of the state’s North Coast says the S.F. Chronicle 8/31. The fish is also protected as a threatened species under the ESA. The split state listing was a “cautious step toward resolving a two-year debate over the status of the species and the measures needed to bring its numbers back to historic levels on the North Coast.” It rejects a recovery plan proposed by a coalition of environmental groups calling for “more stringent” measures to restore the fish that was opposed by the timber industry.
ENDANGERED FISH KILL
At least 1,500 to an estimated 3,000 ESA listed spring-run chinook salmon have been killed by high water temperatures in California’s Butte Creek as a result of low and interrupted flows below Pacific Gas and Electric’s (PG&E) Centerville Dam says Fishlink Sublegals 9/6. Butte Creek, a tributary of the Sacramento River has the “largest remaining population of spring-run in the Central Valley system,” estimated to number between 10,000 to 15,000 fish. The National Marine Fisheries Service has requested an ESA Section 7 consultation and asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to take immediate action to “modify the PG&E license(s) to provide more coldwater.”
MASSIVE KLAMATH FISH KILL
An estimated 30,000 chinook salmon, “close to a third of the river’s salmon population and more than half the number expected to spawn in the river this year,” have been killed in the lower Klamath River by stress related diseases “brought on by warm, poor-quality water in the river,” says the Eureka Times Standard 9/22. “Many believe the fish kill, and others in recent years, are the product of poor management in the Upper Klamath Basin by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation” which has prioritized water delivery to agribusiness over protecting the fish. Local tribes, which depend on the salmon, had “pleaded with the bureau for more water at the beginning of the salmon run in late summer, to no avail.” The management council consisting of state, federal, and tribal officials voted to ask Interior Secretary Gale Norton for an emergency water release. <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=508>
WATER RELEASE BETTER LATE THAN NEVER?
The Bush administration announced plans to release more water from southern Oregon’s Upper Klamath Lake, in “hopes of stemming the death toll of adult migrating salmon downstream in California’s Klamath River,” but only for two weeks, says SF Gate, AP 9/27.
LAWSUIT CHALLENGES KLAMATH BASIN MANAGEMENT
A coalition of conservation and fishermen’s groups has gone to court to challenge the Bush administration’s plan for managing water in the Klamath Basin. The plan gives agribusiness priority for water allocations over protecting ESA listed coho, says the Contra Costa Times, AP 9/27. The lawsuit “expands on a previous action,” in April, which sought an “emergency increase in river flows” to help “juvenile coho migrating to the ocean.” While it doesn’t respond to the massive salmon die-off, it does seek to address the “low river flows and warm water conditions” believed to be the cause. The lawsuit is among 12 currently pending against the NMFS regarding West Coast salmon species and the agency says they “just wish we didn’t get sued so often.”
BREACHING DAMS ECONOMICALLY SOUND
A new study by the prestigious international think tank, Rand Corp., has found that removing four dams on the lower Snake River would “have little to no effect on the regional economy” says Greenwire 9/4. While conservationists have long maintained that removing the dams is essential to recovering imperiled salmon runs, the RAND report was enough to “turn former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt into a proponent of removing the four lower Snake dams.” According to Babbitt, “There is no conceivable reason for further delay” in breaching the dams. For more information on the study go to < http://www.wildsalmon.org> <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=4224> <http://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/2002/0905/story2.html>
IDAHO DELEGATION CAN’T STAY DEAF TO DAM-BREACHING ENDORSEMENTS –
Now that the Rand Corp. has endorsed breaching four Snake River dams and the General Accounting Office says taxpayers have paid billions to preserve salmon, perhaps Idaho’s governor and congressional delegation should start listening. Idaho Falls Post-Register; 9/18 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=4443>
CORPS CHOOSES “ADAPTIVE MIGRATION” FOR SALMON A
seven-year study on improving salmon passage through the four lower Snake River dams has identified “major system improvements”, called “adaptive migration” as the “selected alternative” says the Army Corps of Engineers 9/11. The alternative selected over dam breaching would include changes in how the dams are operated and both short and long-term structural alterations and improvements similar to what has been tried on other dams in the region with little measurable success.
MONTANA MIGHT TAKE BACK ITS HYDRO DAMS
Montana voters will decide this fall whether to create options to buy back or condemn the hydroelectric dams that used to provide cheap power. New York Times; Sept. 4 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=4219>
IDAHO, UTAH RIVER PLAN MAKES CONCESSIONS TO ALL SIDES –
PacifiCorp, state and federal agencies and conservationists hammered out a management plan for the overused Bear River in Idaho and Utah that gives everyone a little. The agreement is expected to facilitate relicensing of four dams along Bear River and “hopefully avert a federal endangered species listing. Under the deal, the dams’ owner, PacificCorp, will pay $16 million for a variety of projects aimed at conserving native fish and for the first time provide minimum flows and management of hydroelectric operations to “better protect fish and wildlife.” (Pocatello) Idaho State Journal; 9/4 <http://newspapers.mywebpal.com/partners/669/public/news354313.html>
CITIZEN ENFORCEMENT STEPS UP
In a sign that “environmentalists continue to assume a growing role in enforcing the ESA in the Northwest,” the Seattle-based Washington Environmental Council has warned irrigators that “they must quit diverting so much water to orchards and do a better job of helping endangered fish navigate Peshastin Creek — or face the consequences in court” says the Oregonian 8/29. The letter was meant to “encourage” the irrigation group to work with the environmental group after they “quit improving” their canals to help fish in order to “stockpile cash for a court fight.” Until recently the “federal government has been the primary enforcer” of rules to protect fish, but under the Bush administration “environmental groups increasingly see it as their job to try to enforce the ESA whenever they perceive violations in the Columbia River Basin.”
NORTH IDAHO CITIES DON’T HAVE PERMITS FOR THE GROUND WATER THEY PUMP –
New scrutiny of how much water is taken from the aquifer between Coeur d’Alene and Spokane has found that many north Idaho communities don’t have the rights to the water they’ve been pumping for years. Spokesman-Review; Sept. 12
IDAHO-WASHINGTON TENSIONS MAY RISE OVER AQUIFER USE
North Idaho business owners urged state officials not to place a moratorium on new aquifer permits during a two-year study, despite mounting pressure from Washington officials downstream. Spokesman-Review; Sept. 18
<http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news-story.asp?date=091802&ID=s1218040&cat=section.idaho>
DROUGHT PUSHES NEBRASKA RANCHERS TO BREAKING POINT
This summer’s drought is driving Nebraska ranchers to the brink; officials estimate ranchers lost $1.4 billion in the first half of the year. Washington Post; Sept. 5 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=4240>
LOOPHOLES IN RIVER PROTECTION LAW COURT DEVELOPMENT ALONG MONTANA RIVER
Encroachment increases along the banks of Montana’s Missouri River because of loopholes in the state’s Natural Streambed and Land Preservation Act of 1975 and spotty local enforcement. Great Falls Tribune; 9/6 <http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20020906/localnews/26586.html>
DOWNSTREAM ON THE MISSOURI
The Corps of Engineers announced that, until a new master manual is finalized, it will “continue to operate” dams on the Missouri River as it has “for the past 50 years.” This makes it highly unlikely that it will comply with a March, 2003 legal deadline to alter flows to protect endangered species says Greenwire 9/11.
USFWS CAVES ON MO RIVER RESTORATION
The USFWS has reversed its decade long insistence that a “spring rise” is essential to protecting endangered fish and birds on the Missouri River and now “concurs” with an Army Corps of Engineers decision to indefinitely postpone the plan to restore habitat, says the St. Louis Post-Dispatch 10/2. Long time foe of altering Missouri River flows to save endangered species, Senator Kit Bond (R-Mo.) was pleased that the Bush administration “is continuing with its ongoing efforts” to undermine the river restoration.
CALIFORNIA’S EFFICIENT WASHING MACHINE LAW PUTS MANUFACTURERS IN SPIN CYCLE
California is changing the way it handles its dirty laundry. A law signed by Gov. Gray Davis on Sunday requires all residential clothes washers to be at least as water efficient as commercial washers starting in 2007. <http://enn.com/news/wire-stories/2002/09/09112002/ap_48396.asp>
USGS LAUNCHES NEW WATER INFO WEBSITE
The US Geological Survey (USGS) unveiled its new WaterWatch website giving visitors an instantaneous picture of water conditions nationwide in near real time. WaterWatch maps on the website <http://water.usgs.gov/waterwatch/> show the Nation’s current stream flow conditions depicted on maps with color-coded dots.
NO STREAMS ARE UNPOLLUTED,
MANY ANIMAL AND PLANT SPECIES FACE EXTINCTION
The United States may have no streams left that are free from chemical contamination, and about one-fifth of animal species and one-sixth of plant types are at risk of extinction, says a private report on the nation’s ecosystems. The findings are in an ambitious study commissioned five years ago by former President Bill Clinton and released Tuesday by the H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics, and the Environment. <http://enn.com/news/wire-stories/2002/09/09252002/ap_48520.asp>
COLORADO’S TMDL LIST
The Colorado state water pollution control board has declined to add a stretch of the Colorado River from Grand Junction to the Utah border to an updated list of the state’s “troubled waters” says the Rocky Mountain News 9/11. That part of river is of great concern to environmentalists and the EPA because it is “home to a critical population of endangered Colorado pikeminnow and razor-back suckers — fish that government agencies and dam operators have spent more than $100 million trying to bring back from near-extinction over the past 20 years.” The river there contains elevated levels of a toxic pollutant, selenium, and addition to the state “dirty-waters list” would give priority to identifying pollution sources and developing clean up plans.
EPA PUTS CLEANUP IN LOCAL HANDS
It’s hard to imagine that an issue as sprawling and contentious as the effort to clean up a century of mining waste in the Coeur d’Alene River Basin could fit into a glass of water (HCN, 3/4/02:EPA wants to supersize Idaho Superfund site). But that’s the image that came walking into a press conference at the Coeur d’Alene Resort on Aug. 13, with a husky waiter and a tray of goblets. EPA administrator Christie Whitman, senators and representatives, tribal chairmen and state officials had gathered in a seventh-floor banquet room to toast the signing of an agreement on how to run the imminent cleanup. With strained smiles, they hoisted glasses of water that, according to Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, R, had just been dipped out of the lake that twinkled below. Business leaders beamed and told everyone within earshot that Lake Coeur d’Alene is so pristine you can drink from it. Six environmental groups say a commission formed to oversee cleanup of mining wastes in Idaho’s Silver Valley is illegal and could undermine Superfund cleanups nationwide. <http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=11374>
IDAHO GOVERNOR LETS EPA CLEANUP PROCEED
Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne grudgingly signed off on the EPA’s plan to clean up mining wastes in the Silver Valley, although his letter said he was “astonished” at the scope of the plan. Spokesman-Review; Sept. 10
MONTANA FARMERS AND RANCHERS DEMAND STATE PROTECT WATER FROM DRILLING
– Montana ranchers and farmers met to deliver a powerful message to state environmental leaders: Protect water in the Powder and Tongue Rivers from coalbed methane pollution. Billings Gazette; Sept. 27
<http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=4626>
PRIVATIZING WATER
On August 15, 2002, the Concerned Citizens Coalition of Stockton, CA submitted 18,000 signatures to the city clerk — enough to place on the ballot an initiative that would prohibit the city from entering into a contract with a private water company unless the voters approve. This is the first major step in giving the public a voice in the Mayor’s push to privatize Stockton’s drinking water, wastewater and storm water system. Stockton’s mayor is currently reviewing bids for a 20-year contract from three companies — United Water, US Filter and OMI/ Thames. The Coalition will now focus on educating the religious community, teachers, unions, and homeowners associations in preparation for a public vote this spring on the privatization initiative.
Two major multinational corporations, Suez and Vivendi, are vying to takeover New Orlean’s water system. If implemented, the water privatization would be the largest public works privatization in the U.S., worth about $1 billion over a 20 year period. The Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans is scheduled to make a final decision Sept. 24 on the three bids to manage the city’s water and sewer systems. Public Citizen is urging the board to reject them all. The Board began considering privatization of the water system following glowing reports from Atlanta that privatization was going to cut their water operation costs by 40 percent and improve service. Meaningful savings have yet to materialize in Atlanta. The same can’t be said for brown water and boil water orders. Now, Atlanta is considering canceling its contract. From Public Citizen’s Water For All Campaign, < http://www.citizen.org/>
EPA SAYS ONE-THIRD OF RIVERS IN SURVEY TOO POLLUTED FOR SWIMMING, FISHING
The Environmental Protection Agency projects a gap of more than $500 billion in unmet water quality needs over 20 years unless spending on treatment facilities rises significantly. The agency issued two separate reports on water quality that were each based on 2000 data. In one of the reports, a biennial national water quality inventory that formerly was issued as a report to Congress, the agency said runoff from farmland and sewage treatment plants and changes in the natural flow of streams and rivers is fouling the nation’s waters. <http://enn.com/news/wire-stories/2002/10/10012002/ap_48575.asp>
B.C. LIFTS RESTRICTIONS ON FISH FARMS
B.C. lawmakers lifted a seven-year ban on new fish farms in conjunction with new waste control regulations and $5.1 million approved for aquaculture research. Globe and Mail; 9/13 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=4372>
MARYLAND SEES END TO SNAKEHEAD FISH SAGA
Maryland declared victory over the snakehead fish after state game officials dumped poison into a pond to kill the land-crawling predators and prevent them from spreading to other waterways. State biologists have found the bodies of six adult snakeheads and more than 1,000 juveniles since they sprayed the fish poison rotenone on the 4-acre pond. <http://enn.com/news/wire-stories/2002/09/09062002/reu_48357.asp> The report is on-line at <http://www.ijc.org/comm/11br/english/report/contents.html>
WATCHDOG SAYS GREAT LAKES CLEANUP GOING TOO SLOW
Canada and the United States are moving too slowly to clean up the five Great Lakes to ensure that the vast freshwater system remains safe for drinking, swimming, and fishing, an international watchdog agency said Thursday. In its biennial report, the International Joint Commission, an independent body formed to make policy recommendations to Ottawa and Washington, said the two countries are making only slow progress on their pledge to restore and maintain the chemical and biological integrity of the Great Lakes Basin. <http://enn.com/news/wire-stories/2002/09/09132002/reu_48413.asp>
ENVIRONMENTALISTS, DEVELOPERS CLASH ON WETLANDS POLICY IN INDIANA
– Wetlands isolated from lakes or streams are at the center of a debate among Indiana environmentalists, builders, farmers and legislators over the state’s authority to regulate them. A panel of state lawmakers this summer is trying to decide how strictly such wetlands, some smaller than an acre, should be regulated by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. <http://www.uswaternews.com/archives/arcpolicy/2envdev9.html>
ISRAEL THREATENS LEBANON ON WATER
Israel will not allow Lebanon to divert water from a border river shared by the two countries, Israel’s defense minister warned, a day after a U.S. water expert inspected a Lebanese pumping project there. Israel’s foreign minister spoke about the issue with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell in New York. Powell said the expert was trying to determine if the pumping was consistent with rules, regulations, and agreements made over the years. <http://enn.com/news/wire-stories/2002/09/09182002/ap_48456.asp>
LEBANON SAYS IT HAS FULL RIGHT TO PULL WATER FROM RIVERS ON ISRAELI BORDER
Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group said it will “cut off Israel’s hands” if the Jewish state uses military force to stop a project to divert water from a shared river. The warning comes a day after Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon met senior army officers to discuss a Lebanese project to divert water from the Hasbani River, and its tributary Wazzani River, that flows from Lebanon into Israel’s Sea of Galilee, Israel’s largest water reservoir. <http://enn.com/news/wire-stories/2002/09/09122002/ap_48407.asp>
DANUBE RIVER FAIRLY CLEAN, SURVEY SHOWS
The Danube is fairly clean in most places, but several branches of the famous European river are badly polluted, according to the first comprehensive survey of the river’s pollution levels. “In the Danube River, you can swim. I wouldn’t do that in some of the tributaries,” said Joachim Bendow, executive secretary of a U.N.-affiliated group that works to protect the Danube, which meanders through 13 European countries from southeastern Germany to the Romanian Black Sea coast. <http://enn.com/news/wire-stories/2002/09/09132002/ap_48424.asp>
CONFERENCES
NPS FORUM
Restoring Impaired Waters-Tools for Tomorrow, Oct. 29-30, Antlers Adam’s Mark Hotel, CO Springs. For more information, contact Jennifer Brown at <conferenceplanner@msn.com>
SOUTH PLATTE FORUM
Who’s Running this Ecosystem?, Oct. 23-24, Raintree Plaza, Longmont. For more information, visit < http://southplatteforum.colostate.edu> or contact Jennifer Brown at <conferenceplanner@msn.com>
