COLORADO HIGH COURT UPHOLDS INSTREAM FLOW PROGRAM
Environmentalists lauded a Colorado Supreme Court opinion as a victory for a state program designed to ensure streams always flow at certain levels, but critics said the program allows water to flow out of state and wastes a critical resource. Denver Rocky Mountain News; Nov. 29 <http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_4274022,00.html>
SNOWMAKING GOES HIGH-TECH AT COLORADO RESORTS
Snowmaking technology is switching from pipes and wrenches to an all-digital process similar to technologies used at European resorts. Denver Rocky Mountain News; Nov. 14 <http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/tech/article/0,2777,DRMN_23910_4236204,00.html>
LAWSUIT IN COLORADO MAY BE FIRST TO CHALLENGE CBM WATER USE
A new lawsuit brought on by two ranching families in drilling country outside Durango, Colo., call for methane drillers to be subject to the same rules for drawing water from coal-bed seams as other water users in the state. Durango Herald; Dec. 2 <http://durangoherald.com/asp-bin/article_generation.asp?article_type=news&article_path=/news/05/news051202_1.htm>
DENVER’S GROWTH HAS CREATED AN UNREGULATED WATER MARKET
Every drop of water in Denver is part of an unregulated and complicated commodities market that is dramatically increasing the cost of new homes and making some people very rich. First in a series. Denver Post; Nov. 20 <http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_3235495>
ENTREPRENEUR TURNS SINGLE COLORADO ACRE INTO WHOLESALE WATER NETWORK
If the courts uphold developer Robert Lembke’s business plan, the Colorado man could soon buy and hold water until he finds customers for it, much in the same way that gas and electric companies do business. Another in a series. Denver Post; Nov. 21 <http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_3237874>
RECORD OF WHO OWNS WHAT COLORADO WATER RIGHT SKETCHY
Colorado keeps track of the amount, location and the date every water right in the state was appropriated, but changes in ownership of those rights are not recorded publicly anywhere. A sidebar. Denver Post; Nov. 21 <http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_3237462>
COLORADO SUBURBS BILL NOW TO PAY LATER FOR WATER
Thorton, Aurora and other Colorado cities are reseeding ground and paying for kayak parks as part of their fees for tapping into remote communities’ water supplies. Another in a series. Denver Post; Nov. 22 <http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_3240563>
COLORADO NOTORIOUS FOR ITS HIGH WATER PRICES
A series of studies found Colorado is one of the most expensive states to buy water, where prices are higher than in some desert states. A sidebar. Denver Post; Nov. 22 <http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_3240093>
PRICE OF SANTA FE WATER PROJECT RISES
The cost of a plan to divert Rio Grande River water for use in Santa Fe has increased from $120 million to $140 million, and both city and county officials said they had no concrete plans to raise the additional money for the water project. Santa Fe New Mexican; 11/4 <http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/34616.html>
SANTA FE MAKES FIRST WATER PAYMENT TO TRIBE
Under an historic agreement between the city and an American Indian tribe, Santa Fe can begin to take up to 3,000 acre feet of water from the Jicarilla Apache Nation’s “future use” allocation of 6,500 acre-feet of San Juan/Chama Diversion water. Santa Fe New Mexican; Nov. 23 <http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/35426.html>
N.M. FARMERS SELL THEIR LEFTOVER WATER
The New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission purchased 34,000 acre-feet of unused water from the Carlsbad Irrigation District to fulfill water obligations to Texas, and farmers walked away with $3.4 million. Santa Fe New Mexican (AP); 11/23 <http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/35427.html>
NEW MEXICO HAS NEW WEB SITE WITH DRINKING WATER INFO
The New Mexico Environment Department has a new Web site <http://eidea.state.nm.us/SDWIS/> that provides data for every drinking water system in the state back to 1993, and is updated every two weeks. Santa Fe New Mexican; Nov. 15 <http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/35047.html>
EDUCATION AND RESTORATION TOP CONCERNS FOR WATERSHED PANEL IN NEW MEXICO
More than 100 ranchers, environmentalists, foresters, land managers and educators met in New Mexico to discuss how to manage the state’s watersheds, and their top recommendations were to develop better education programs for students and add more funding for watershed restoration projects. Santa Fe New Mexican; Dec. 2 <http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/35724.html>
UTAH WATER PROJECTS ARE ON THE MOVE
An interim committee of Utah lawmakers approved legislation to be submitted in 2006 that will allow the state to begin buying land for the Lake Powell Pipeline and Bear River water projects. Salt Lake Tribune; Nov. 10 <http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_3200214>
FEDS PROPOSE CHANGES FOR WATER RELEASES FROM WYOMING DAM
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation officials said a new management plan for Wyoming’s Flaming Gorge Dam would mimic nature’s historic peak runoff flood and help restore the populations of four endangered fish: the Colorado pikeminnow, the razorback sucker, and the bonytail and humpback chubs Casper Star-Tribune; Nov. 21 <http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2005/11/21/news/wyoming/fcb1cbfd27610127872570bf002698fa.txt>
FLAGSTAFF COULD TAP MEAD OR POWELL RESERVOIRS FOR WATER
Flagstaff could secure a water supply from Lakes Powell or Mead. But it wouldn’t be cheap. KOLD, 11/10 <http://www.kold.com/Global/story.asp?S=4091979>
PARK SERVICE LAUNCHES NEW PLAN FOR GRAND CANYON RIVER TRIPS
A new plan for the 277 miles of Colorado River that flows through the Grand Canyon increases the amount of river traffic by about 10 percent, nearly doubles the amount of private boaters allowed and phases out the waiting list for private boaters and substitutes a lottery system. Arizona Republic; Nov. 11 <http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/1111rivertrips11.html>
GROUPS FOCUS ON WATER’S ORIGIN IN ARIZONA SKI RESORT FIGHT
Attorneys representing tribes and environmental groups in the lawsuit over Forest Service approval of a snow resort’s plan to use wastewater to make snow on Arizona’s San Francisco Peaks argued the resort should use fresh water in the snow-making process. Arizona Daily Sun; Nov. 11 <http://www.azdailysun.com/non_sec/nav_includes/story.cfm?storyID=118909>
SOUTHERN NEVADA WATER AUTHORITY UNVEILS NEW WATER PLAN
Las Vegas water officials said they would pump water from wells in the Indian Springs area rather than from wells on the Nellis Air Force Range and in the Desert National Wildlife Refuge. Las Vegas Review Journal; Nov. 29 <http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/Nov-29-Tue-2005/news/4528943.html>
SHORTAGE OF WATER DOWNSIZES PLAN FOR NEVADA POWER PLANT
Opponents to Sempra Energy’s plan to build two coal-fired generation plants near Gerlach said the project will kill Nevada’s Smoke Creek Desert and the company should scrap the plan completely, rather than just reduce it by 17 percent. Reno Gazette-Journal; Nov. 11 <http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051111/NEWS10/511110433/1002/NEWS>
WATER BILL APPROVED PROVIDING AID TO WALKER LAKE
The US Senate has approved a multimillion-dollar package of water- and flood-control projects that includes 95 million dollars to help save imperiled Walker Lake. Las Vegas Sun, 11/14 <http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2005/nov/14/111410551.html>
PERMANENT RULES FOR DROUGHT PLAN URGED
Any new drought plan for the Colorado River should include permanent rules on water use, rather than temporary guidelines, as some have proposed, an environmentalist told federal water managers. Rocky Mountain News, 11/03 <http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_4207875,00.html>
SALTON SEA AUTHORITY WILL FIGHT FOR WATER RIGHTS
The Salton Sea Authority, which manages the state’s largest inland lake, wants to send a message to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and state water officials. IV Press, 10/30 <http://www.ivpressonline.com/articles/2005/10/30/news/news02.txt>
MEXICO PLEDGES TO FIGHT U.S. CANAL LINING
Mexico pledged on Thursday to fight U.S. plans to line a border canal and stop precious water seeping into Mexico, and will send a diplomatic note to the United States to protest the scheme. Pravda, 11/11 <http://newsfromrussia.com/world/2005/11/11/67455.html>
CALIFORNIA’S VAST DELTA NEARING COLLAPSE
Biologists aboard the research vessel Scrutiny sounded the alarm a year ago when their nets came up with the fewest young striped bass and delta smelt since annual surveys began in 1959. MSNBC, 10/30 <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9876054/>
PUMPS, CLAMS EYED AS CULPRITS IN DELTA DECLINE
Scientists unveiled a pair of theories Monday that might help explain a grave ecological crisis in the Delta, identifying possible culprits as unassuming as a small clam and as prominent as the giant pumps that ship trillions of gallons of water a year to the south. Contra Costa Times, 11/15 <http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/email/news/13169206.htm>
DELTA TEMBLOR COULD DEVASTATE WATER SYSTEM
A major Northern California earthquake could severely damage the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta levee system and jeopardize the water supply for two-thirds of Californians for more than a year, a top state water official warned. Associated Press, 11/02 <http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051102/NEWS10/511020322/1024>
BIOLOGISTS FISH FOR A WAY TO REMOVE INVASIVE TROUT FROM YELLOWSTONE
It remains unclear how lake trout found their way into Yellowstone Lake, and how they will be removed, but scientists continue to try to eradicate this invasive species to protect the native Yellowstone cutthroat trout, for which the lake is one of its last, best refuges. New York Times; Nov. 8 <http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/08/science/08trou.html>
STUDY SAYS YELLOWSTONE CUTTHROAT TROUT NUMBERS ON THE DECLINE
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has long said the population of Yellowstone cutthroat trout in Yellowstone Lake was abundant enough to keep the fish off of the federal endangered species list, but a new study says the species in the lake is down 60 percent. Missoulian (AP); Nov. 27 According to the new study, the decrease in cutthroat trout in Yellowstone Lake doesn’t seem to be having negative effects on grizzly bears, which rely on the protein-rich fish for food, but the decline concerns biologists as spawning numbers have fallen 90 percent since 1999. Billings Gazette; Dec. 2 <http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2005/11/27/breaker/doc4388ec3d3e2f6221930090.txt> <http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2005/12/02/build/wyoming/35-griz-trout.inc>
JUDGE RULES IDAHO WATER LAW NEEDS TRIAL
The constitutionality of Idaho’s water law that requires joint management of surface and ground water will go on trial in Gooding County District Court, and the decision is expected to affect water users across the Magic Valley. Twin Falls Times News; Nov. 10 <http://www.magicvalley.com/articles/2005/11/10/news_localstate/news_local_state.1.txt>
MONTANA OFFICIALS PUT FISH HATCHERY UNDER QUARANTINE
The discovery of whirling disease in fish at the Miles City Hatchery was the first time the disease had been found in a Montana state fish hatchery. Billings Gazette; Nov. 11 <http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2005/11/11/build/state/25-whirling-disease.inc>
MONTANA WATER FIGHT FOCUSES ON GROUNDWATER
As is the case in most Western states, surface water rights in Montana are over-appropriated and now the battle moves to underground water, which is harder to quantify and regulate, making it much easier for those with money and power to control decisions. John Baden, Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment; Nov. 9 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/baden110905.html>
MONTANANS URGES NEW RULES FOR MANAGING CBM WATER
Southeastern Montana farmers and ranchers and Northern Cheyenne tribal members, along with a few people from Wyoming, turned out to urge state officials to adopt new restrictions for managing water produced from coalbed methane drilling. Billings Gazette; Nov. 11 <http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2005/11/11/build/state/45-coalbed.inc>
FEDERAL LAWMAKERS APPROVE FUNDING FOR MONTANA WATER PROJECTS
A congressional committee approved $53 million for water and energy projects in Montana, including $16 million to continue work on a project in northeastern Montana that would provide clean water to 30,000 people. Missoulian; Nov. 8 <http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2005/11/08/news/mtregional/news08.txt>
MONTANA DAM REMOVAL PROJECT DONE AHEAD OF TIME, ON BUDGET
Montana’s Blackfoot River is once again flowing freely after the Bonner Dam built in 1894 was removed, and Envirocon officials said the lessons learned during that project will help when they tackle the removal of the much-larger Milltown Dam over the next couple of years. Missoulian; Nov. 22 <http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2005/11/22/news/local/news02.txt>
IDAHO SENATOR ELIMINATES FISH-COUNTING AGENCY
Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, successfully zeroed out the $1.3-million budget of the 12-employee Fish Passage Center which counts endangered fish in the Columbia River, in part because he was unhappy with the results of the fish counts. Washington Post; Nov. 30 <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/29/AR2005112901288.html>
TEXAS PROJECTS WATER SHORTAGE
At a public leadership forum Texas Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs told those attending that Texas is going to run out of water unless it does something quickly. Waterindustry.org, 10/31 <http://waterindustry.org/New%20Projects/texas-2.htm>
TEXAS WATERWAY IDEA LAUDED, OPTIMISM GUARDED
A local conservation group behind an historic water rights application says it welcomes Gov. Rick Perry’s initiative in creating an advisory committee to study instream and freshwater flows in Texas’ river and estuary systems. San Marcos Daily Record, 11/01 <http://www.sanmarcosrecord.com/articles/2005/11/01/news/news2.txt>
FLAWED DESIGN DOOMED NEW ORLEANS LEVEES
The engineers who designed the flood walls that collapsed during Hurricane Katrina did not fully consider the porousness of the Louisiana soil or make other calculations that would have pointed to the need for stronger levees with deeper pilings and wider bases, researchers say. Washington Post, 11/01 <http://washingtontimes.com/national/20051101-115634-4886r.htm>
UTAH’S GREAT SALT LAKE TO GET ITS OWN WATER-QUALITY STANDARDS
With water 10 times more salty as the ocean, the Great Salt Lake doesn’t fit within any current regulatory classification for water quality, but a team of scientists, environmentalists and policymakers have begun to craft standards for the lake. Salt Lake Tribune; Nov. 28 <http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_3258092>
STUDY USES STREAM FISH AS INDICATORS OF WATER QUALITY
The EPA has approved a new partnership with Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources to improve the way the Clean Water Act is implemented in Virginia. EurekAlert, 10/31 <http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-10/vt-sus103105.php>
IMPROVED WATER QUALITY BRINGS WILDLIFE BACK
Once desolate river beds below Tennessee Valley Authority dams in Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia are now brimming with wildlife, thanks to the federal agency’s pioneering efforts to keep oxygen-rich water flowing. Knoxville News Sentinel, 11/05 <http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/state/article/0,1406,KNS_348_4214213,00.html>
SEWAGE ALTERING FISH, STUDY REPORTS
Male fish with female characteristics have been discovered in ocean waters off Los Angeles and Orange counties, raising concerns that treated sewage released offshore contains hormone-disrupting compounds that are deforming the sex organs of marine life. LA Times, 11/14 <http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-fish14nov14,1,1354342.story?ctrack=1&cset=true>
AMERICA’S RIVERS AT RISK
The problem with the fish is mercury, a toxin, and even in the northernmost reaches of the Connecticut River, a vast playground for lovers of the outdoors, the fish and loons can carry troublesome levels of the element in their flesh and organs. Hartford Courant, 10/26 <http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-finalriversct.artoct26,0,3825613.story?coll=hc-headlines-local>
PROBLEMS IN GREAT LAKES ARE CLEAR
From the algae blooms in Lake Erie to the invading zebra mussels in Lake Michigan, threats to the Great Lakes ecology stretch from A to Z. That would include B for bacteria, M for mercury, and T for toxic spills. Boston Globe, 11/06 <http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/11/06/problems_in_great_lakes_are_clear/>
SCIENTIST SAYS MERCURY IN IDAHO RESERVOIR FROM NEVADA GOLD MINES
Mercury levels in a southern Idaho reservoir are 150 times higher than those found in lakes in the northeast United States, and state environmental regulators said they don’t have enough evidence to link mercury levels to gold mines in Nevada but they don’t know of any other sources. Idaho Statesman; Nov. 5 <http://www.idahostatesman.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051105/NEWS01/511050339>
REFINER IN KATRINA SPILL TRIES TO HEAD OFF LAWSUIT
Hoping to forestall a class-action lawsuit over a large oil spill from its Louisiana refinery during Hurricane Katrina, Murphy Oil Corp. is trying to persuade residents to settle with the company. MSNBC, 10/28 <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9840034/>
ESTIMATED 1 MILLION POUNDS OF HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTED
The EPA announced that an estimated 1 million pounds of household hazardous waste has been collected in Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Pollution Online, 11/01 <http://www.pollutiononline.com/content/news/article.asp?DocID=%7BDB1BD465-DBE6-448F-B678-B1A96FFB7578%7D&Bucket=Current%2BHeadlines&VNETCOOKIE=NO>
TREATED SEWAGE DRINKABLE IN AUSTRALIA
Australians could be drinking treated sewage within a decade thanks to ‘good’ bacteria in clean water feasting on germs. The Australian, 10/31 <http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17087821^2702,00.html>
CHINA TIGHTENS WATER REGULATIONS
A study says it will cost billions of dollars for cities in China to upgrade their water treatment systems to meet tougher new standards. China’s new drinking water standards, launched in June, increase the number of forbidden water pollutants from 35 to 101. Washington Post, 11/06 <http://washingtontimes.com/upi/20051106-080122-8068r.htm>
ALMOST HALF OF WORLD’S LAKES DEGRADED BY HUMAN ACTIVITIES
Almost half of the world’s lakes are degraded, depleted, or contaminated mainly by human activities,raising important concerns about future water supplies and the fate of species that survive on the water ecosystems, Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki has warned. Xinhua, 11/01 <http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-11/01/content_3711038.htm>
AFRICA LAKES UNDER STRAIN AS POPULATIONS RISE
Africa’s 600-plus lakes are under unprecedented strain from rising populations and must be managed better if demand for fresh water is not to stir instability, a U.N. report said. Reuters, 11/01 <http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=9151>
MILLIONS FACE SHORTAGES DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate change will cause major water shortages for millions of people in Asia and South America who depend on snow and glaciers for their water supplies, say researchers. SciDev.net, 11/17 <http://www.scidev.net/news/index.cfm?fuseaction=readnews&itemid=2483&language=1>
AWWA/AWWRF PUBLICATION: ADSORBENT TREATMENT TECHNOLOGIES FOR ARSENIC REMOVAL
This book reports on the study to identify the inhibitory impacts of water quality on a range of adsorbents for removal of arsenate and arsenite, to define the minimizing effects and maximum arsenic adsorption capacity, to investigate the applicability of various adsorbents to arsenite removal, to assess the leaching stability of spent adsorbents, and to develop a decision framework for utilities. AWWA, 11/02 <http://www.awwa.org/bookstore/product.cfm?id=91084>
