GREEN MOUNTAIN RESERVOIR WATER BEING WITHHELD
The Colorado River Water Conservation District is charging the Bureau of Reclamation of illegally retaining water in Green Mountain Reservoir on the Blue River that is due water users on the West Slope of Colorado. The River District claims, in 2002, that the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) arbitrarily decided to impose restrictions on the use of the reservoir’s water only to a certain portion of the reservoir’s beneficiaries, due to concerns about earth movement at an ancient landslide area near the Town of Heeney. The full burden of lost yield was placed the West Slope water users. The water lost from the restrictions to the reservoir’s “compensatory pool” is a crucial source of water for many West Slope farms, ranches and municipalities. Green Mountain Reservoir was built as compensation for transmountain diversions from the Colorado/Big Thompson Project. Western States Water Council (WSWC)
IS IT NATURE OR DEVELOPMENT?
Irrigators and the BOR are presenting different explanations on the cause of “significant reductions in channel width and other changes to the Platte River” to a National Academy of Sciences panel. The panel is “studying the science used by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to designate the central and lower Platte River as critical habitat for three birds — the whooping crane, least tern and piping plover and a fish, the pallid sturgeon, says the Casper Star-Tribune 8/12. Irrigators maintain that “climactic change — alternating wet and dry periods — may be responsible for perceived changes in the river, not water development projects” as the BOR claims. The hearings come as Nebraska, Colorado and Wyoming are trying to hash out a management plant “to increase river flows for endangered species while maintaining water” supplies for farms and cities.
COLORADO LAW TURNED OFF HUNDREDS OF IRRIGATION WELLS
Colorado officials ordered farmers to shut down as many as 300 irrigation wells in the South Platte River drainage under a new state law, a move that has forced some farmers to the edge of bankruptcy. Denver Rocky Mountain News; Aug. 29 <http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_2218001,00.html>
COLORADO WATER PROJECT’S SPIRALING COSTS NEED ANSWERS
The cost of Colorado’s controversial Animas-LaPlata Project has doubled before it is even half-finished, and the Bureau of Reclamation’s excuses don’t ring true. Farmington Daily Times; Aug. 8 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=10212>
COLORADO GOVERNOR REJECTS CALL FOR SPECIAL SESSION ON WATER REFERENDUM
Colorado Gov. Bill Owens won’t call a legislative special session to rework Referendum A, the measure that would allow as much as $2 billion for new water projects, before the November public vote. Grand Junction Sentinel; Aug. 27 <http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/newsfd/auto/feed/news/2003/08/26/1061902153.00100.2541.3029.html>
CRITICS LAUNCH THEIR ATTACK ON COLORADO WATER REFERENDUM
Opponents of Colorado’s referendum to issue as much as $2 billion in bonds for water projects officially launched their campaign, after legislators failed to find compromise wording. Denver Post; Aug. 28 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=10599>
SUMMITVILLE CLEANUP MAY GET ADDITIONAL FUNDS
A federal appeals court has reinstated the state’s effort to collect cleanup funds from Bechtel, Asarco, and A.O. Smith Corp., all of which were involved in the Summitville gold mine disaster. The abandoned Summitville gold mine is undergoing environmental cleanup, which is expected to cost more than $150 million. Toxic cyanide and heavy metals from the mine site destroyed all life in 17 miles of the Alamosa River. In 1992, the company declared bankruptcy, leaving the taxpayers to foot the almost all of the cleanup bill (so far). Abbott, Rocky Mountain News,
08/07/03:
<http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_2165055,00.html>
DRIP IRRIGATION ISN’T JUST FOR COMMERCIAL GARDENERS ANYMORE
Here’s some thirst-quenching information for gardeners facing stressed-out plants. <http://www.enn.com/news/2003-08-07/s_7311.asp>
FY2004 AGRICULTURE APPROPRIATIONS/DROUGHT
The US Senate Appropriations Committee, in a report to accompany the FY2004 Agriculture Appropriations bill (S. 1427), states, “The Committee is concerned by the lack of a coherent national policy to combat drought…. The report of the National Drought Commission… recommends that Congress pass a National Drought Preparedness Act. Such an act would establish a Federal/non-Federal partnership through a National Drought Council responsible for implementing a national drought policy. The Committee expects the Secretary to carry out the recommendations of the national Drought Commission and coordinate USDA mission areas to provide a response to drought-stricken areas in as prompt and meaningful a way as possible.” WSWC
WATER SUPPLY REPORT
On July 9, the General Accounting Office (GAO) released a report entitled, “Freshwater Supply: States’ Views of How Federal Agencies Could Help Them Meet the Challenges of Expected Shortages.” GAO reports, “State water managers expect freshwater shortages in the near future, and the consequences may be severe. Even under normal conditions, … 36 states anticipate shortages in localities, regions, or statewide in the next 10 years. Drought conditions will exacerbate shortage impacts…. [E]conomic impacts to sectors such as agriculture can be in the billions of dollars. Water shortages also harm the environment…. State water managers ranked federal actions that could best help states meet their water resource needs. They preferred: (1) financial assistance to increase storage and distribution capacity; (2) water data from more locations; (3) more flexibility in complying with or administering federal environmental laws; (4) better coordinated federal participation in water-management agreements; and (5) more consultation with states on federal or tribal use of water rights.” WSWC
NEW MEXICO CITY WILL GROW, IF IT HAS ENOUGH WATER
Rio Rancho, now mostly a dusty collection of homes and dirt roads, is New Mexico’s fastest-growing city and some day may be larger than Albuquerque — if planning and water use can be reconciled with demand. Albuquerque Tribune; Aug. 6 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=10159>
FEDERAL EXPERTS SAY NEW MEXICO FOCUSES WESTERN WATER CRISIS
New Mexico is a perfect example of the West’s water crisis: Development and a growing population is siphoning water from key industries and endangered species, according to the nation’s top water official. Santa Fe New Mexican; Aug. 13 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=10295>
NEW MEXICO WATER PLAN PITS FARMERS AGAINST CITIES
A public meeting on New Mexico’s water plan prompted an exchange of accusations between urban and rural users. Albuquerque Tribune; Aug. 27 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=10565>
DRY CREEK, DEAD FISH INDICATE UTAH RESORT HAS EXCEEDED ITS WATER SUPPLY
A creek near Park City, Utah, that was once a pristine fishery ran dry this month, convincing evidence the resort community’s growth has outstripped its water supply. Local officials will begin pumping groundwater into the creek to maintain some minimum flow, while they push plans for a $16.5 million pipeline to import water pumped from another basin’s aquifer. Salt Lake Tribune; Aug. 27 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=10562>
WITH LAKE POWELL DEPLETED BY DROUGHT, ENVIROS PUSH TO DRAIN IT
Environmentalists have long loathed Lake Powell, created in the 1960s by damming the Colorado River and drowning beautiful Glen Canyon in southern Utah and northern Arizona. Now, with drought having depleted the lake to its lowest level in 30 years, enviros are feeling energized in their push to tear down Glen Canyon Dam and begin restoring the canyon to its once-glorious natural state. Richard Ingebretsen, anti-dam crusader and president of the Glen Canyon Institute, argues that the lake is inefficient, losing 1 million acre-feet of water a year to evaporation and bank seepage, and that sediment build-up from the dam is causing serious ecological damage. His group, which works with the Sierra Club and others, is preparing a lawsuit aimed at forcing the feds to conduct an environmental impact study of the dam and lake. Residents of Page, Ariz., a town that serves many of Lake Powell’s 2.5 million annual visitors, are fierce opponents of plans to decommission the dam. <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=1377>
NEVADA PIPELINE PROJECT COULD SAVE COUNTY, OR MARK NEW ERA IN WATER PROFITEERING
A partnership between bereft Lincoln County, Nev., and a private company to build a water pipeline through the desert is either the county’s economic salvation or the first step toward reviled water speculation. High Country News; Aug. 5 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=10148>
PRIVATE SECTOR’S INTEREST IN WESTERN WATER MUST REMAIN SECONDARY TO PUBLIC’S
Private enterprise will find a place in the West’s evolving water management, but the relatively new role for public opinion and involvement can’t get shouldered aside. High Country News; Aug. 5 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=10149>
RETURN OF THE DESALTING BOONDOGGLE
While Congress slashes spending on a host of environmental programs, conservationists charge that tens of millions of dollars are being wasted on retooling a mothballed Arizona desalting plant. The plant will also destroy Colorado River Delta wetlands and habitat for endangered species says Defenders of Wildlife, Environmental Defense, Living Rivers, National Wildlife Federation, Pacific Institute and Sierra Club in a 7/31 press release. Congress recently reauthorized the desalter’s repair to meet U.S. water treaty obligations to Mexico even though there are “far less costly and less environmentally damaging” alternatives. Once operational the plant will process agricultural wastewater that now goes to the delta, “the largest remaining wetland in the southwest Americas” and habitat for 56 threatened, endangered and declining species.
ARIZONA RANCHER’S SHOT AT FIREFIGHTING HELICOPTER WILL TEST STRENGTH OF WATER RIGHTS
An Arizona rancher fired both barrels at a helicopter about to dip into his stock pond because the Forest Service had refused to pay for the water it took the year before. A legal collision of two Western values: firefighting and water rights. Arizona Republic; Aug. 29 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=10628>
SIX STATES SAY CALIFORNIA’S WATER-SHARING DEAL IS UNACCEPTABLE
Six Western states that share the Colorado River with California have told Gov. Gray Davis that a landmark deal aimed at weaning the state from its overuse of the river’s water is unacceptable. <http://www.enn.com/news/2003-08-08/s_7312.asp>
ESA CREDITED WITH RECOVERY
Thanks in part to over “$200 million in alterations to dams and irrigation pumps” prompted by Endangered Species Act (ESA) protection, one of the most unique species of salmon has made a remarkable comeback in California’s Sacramento River says the San Jose Mercury News 8/10. Most salmon have one to three runs, but this southernmost population of chinook has four runs, “each with its own life cycle and spawning habitat.” In 1994, the winter run was down to just 186 adult salmon and was “all but extinct” until environmental groups “filed a then-unusual” lawsuit to protect the salmon under the ESA. “Their victories forced the government” to install a temperature control device and fish screens over irrigation intakes; to open an irrigation dam that blocked migration, and to clean up pollution. As result 7,500 and 8,100 winter run salmon returned in 2001 and 2002 respectively.
COURT FAVORS COUNTY WATER RIGHTS
A California court has sided with an El Dorado County irrigation district and ruled that they cannot be forced to conserve water “when state and federal water projects were releasing water to the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to improve quality and protect threatened species of fish and other wildlife,” says SFGate.com, AP 8/5. The ruling sets a precedent for other local water agencies whose “county of origin” rights precede the “state’s complex water priorities” that were “enshrined in law” prior to 1914.
NEW APPROACHES TO SAFEGUARDING THE EARTH: SAVE IT, DON’T DAM IT
Conservationists — an old-fashioned word that these days includes those urging more efficient management of our natural resources as well as their preservation- were pleasantly, if skeptically, surprised when U.S. Secretary of Interior Gale Norton recently called for water conservation rather than a knee-jerk “let’s put up a dam” mantra to deal with the West’s rapidly evolving water-supply crisis. <http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/08/04/ED276795.DTL>
USDA SIGNS ENVIRONMENTAL MOU WITH MEXICO
Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Mexico’s Secretariat of the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) to create permanent bilateral working groups for cooperation in biotechnology, water resources, forest resources, sustainable rural development and environmental services. Signing for Mexico was SEMARNAT Secretary Victor Lichtinger. <http://www.caprep.com/0803004.htm>
ENVIRONMENTAL-BUSINESS GROUP CRITICIZES MEXICAN TOURIST PROJECT
A coalition of environmentalists, business officials, and community leaders say the Mexican government has poorly planned a tourism project that would build and expand more than 20 marinas along the Baja California peninsula. <http://www.enn.com/news/2003-08-26/s_7802.asp>
RIO POCO:
The once-mighty Rio Grande has slowed to a trickle — for much of the past two years, crossing the U.S.-Mexico border had never been easier. You just strolled down Boca Chica Beach until you noticed that all of the cars parked on the beach had Mexican license plates. You’d just walked straight into Mexico. <http://www.enn.com/news/2003-08-15/s_6696.asp>
TEXAS GOVERNOR CONSIDERS WITHHOLDING WATER FROM MEXICO IN TREATYDISPUTE
The United States should consider stopping the flow of water to Mexico from the Colorado River if Mexico continues to lag behind in its water-sharing obligations on the Rio Grande under a 1944 treaty, Gov. Rick Perry said. <http://www.enn.com/news/2003-08-15/s_7555.asp>
YELLOWSTONE LAKE BOTTOM BULGES WITH BUILDING PRESSURE
The bulge at the bottom of Yellowstone Lake would create 10-foot waves, rain pulverized rock on surrounding land and release a plume of poisonous gases if it explodes. Denver Post; 8/10 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=10242>
IDAHO CITY’S PRECEDENT-SETTING AQUIFER PLANS SET FOR TRIAL
A hearing is set for December on whether the city of Post Falls, Idaho, can draw another 13 million gallons a day from the underlying aquifer. Spokane Spokesman-Review; Aug. 13 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=10303>
MONTANA BASIN’S CLASH OVER WATER ECHOES ACROSS WEST
As more people move into Montana’s Smith River drainage, demand for water is causing conflicts between neighbors, and between irrigators and the law. Helena Independent Record; Aug. 12 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=10277>
WESTSLOPE CUTTHROAT LISTING DENIED
Following up on a court-ordered status review, the westslope cutthroat trout has once again been denied ESA protection says the USFWS 8/8. After sampling about 18% of known westslope cutthroat populations, the agency concluded that the fish population is “abundant, stable and reproducing” throughout significant portions of its historical range and that hybridization with other trout does not present a major threat to the subspecies. American Wildlands and other conservation groups had gained the new status review by successfully arguing that the service had “acknowledged hybridization as a threat to the species but included hybrids in the overall westslope cutthroat trout without providing justification.”
CULVERT TESTING DEVICE TO IMPROVE ODDS
A new one-of-a kind culvert test bed system invented by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is helping the Washington Dept. of Transportation design replacements for culverts that are blocking salmon from heading upstream says the Olympian 8/13. As a result of a 2001 lawsuit by Puget Sound American Indian tribes, the state is faced with altering or replacing 959 fish-bearing culverts under state roads. “To date, crews have modified, repaired or replaced 96 of them,” and the new invention will help allocate scarce resources for the project which is expected to cost “$4.5 million during the next two years retrofitting problem culverts and almost double that amount in following two year period.”
WATER CONSERVATION/WA
The State of Washington has prepared Draft Columbia River Agricultural Irrigation Best Management Practices (BMPs) for diversions from the mainstem of the river. The state is in the process of developing a voluntary program under a settlement agreement for some 330 junior water right holders who applied for or obtained their water rights after 1980, when instream flow rules for the mainstem Columbia were adopted. Under this program, these junior interruptible water users could individually elect to implement BMPs and transfer the resulting saved water to the river, as a trust water right for instream flows, and thereby convert their junior interruptible right to an uninterruptible right.
The Washington Department of Ecology (DOE) and Columbia Snake River Irrigators Association have completed an initial outline of proposed BMPs and started discussions with water experts, water right holders and others on their technical merits. WSWC members have been asked to assist in this review. Comments and questions should be addressed to Lynn Coleman, Washington Department of Ecology, 360-407-6738, lcol461@ecy.wa.gov by September 30. WSWC
COHO DELISTING POSTER FISH?
The return of large numbers of coho salmon to Oregon’s coastal rivers, over five times the size of those in the 1970s, is giving the White House an opening to “show how the federal government can turn over to states the responsibility for protecting a species and ensuring its return to health abundance,” says the Oregonian 8/13. Referring to Oregon’s 5 year old restoration plan, President Bush’s top advisors, such as Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ) chairman James Connaughton “see in it the potential for removing Oregon’s prized coastal coho and many other animals and plants from protection under the ESA — a sweeping law the Bush administration has deemed overly burdensome and in need of reform.” Top scientists, however, say the recent coho rebound may have “surprisingly little to do with habitat improvements highlighted by the Bush administration” and more to do with improved ocean conditions. <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=10444>
ASSESSMENT SHOWS REDUCED EXTINCTION RISK
An updated National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries assessment of salmon and steelhead in the Columbia Basin “shows that the health of nearly all stocks listed for protection under the ESA improved in 2000 and 2001,” says NW Fishletter 8/15. The new “lambda” analysis mainly credits “improved ocean conditions” for the increased runs and “shows less risk for extinction for Snake River spring and fall chinook” and mixed results for Snake River steelhead. The new assessment “may result in some stocks being removed from the ESA list by next year, when NOAA finishes re-writing the Biological Opinion to address the concerns of an Oregon federal judge.”
IDAHO SENATOR SAYS SNAKE RIVER DAMS WILL STAY
Idaho’s U.S. Sen Larry Craig pledged that Congress would never require breaching four Snake River dams, despite former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt’s insistence. Spokane Spokesman-Review; Aug. 22 <https://secure.spokesmanreview.com/registration/login.asp>
BUSH REJECTS RAZING DAMS TO MAKE WAY FOR SALMON
President Bush waded deeper into controversy over his environmental policies in the Pacific Northwest recently as he rejected calls for hydroelectric dams to be razed to make way for endangered migrating salmon. <http://www.enn.com/news/2003-08-26/s_7791.asp> <http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=21973&newsdate=25-Aug-2003>
ENDANGERED PROTECTION AFFIRMED
A federal appeals court has “issued an important decision that upholds the federal government’s ability to protect endangered fish.” The court ruled that the Forest Service can restrict the use of irrigation ditches on its land in order to prevent habitat for chinook salmon and other protected species from drying up says Earthjustice 8/18. The ruling affirms a lower court ruling in eastern Washington’s Methow River Basin which held that the Forest Service was within its authority to allow flow in irrigation ditches across national forest land “only if their use did not threaten to harm listed fish or their habitat.” The decision is a major defeat for the Pacific Legal Foundation which is spearheading legal challenges to the authority of federal agencies to protect endangered species.
JUDGE SAYS ENDANGERED SPECIES TAKE PRECEDENT IN MISSOURI RIVER FLOWS
A Minnesota judge designated the referee in a dispute over Missouri River flows has ordered the levels lowered to protect endangered species. Washington Post; Aug.7 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=10206>
CORPS FLAUNTS SPECIES PROTECTION
In token compliance with a court order to protect endangered birds and fish, the Army Corps of Engineers agreed to “lower Missouri River water levels for three days rather than the full month ordered by a federal judge,” says the L.A. Times 8/6. American Rivers, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit exclaimed, “It’s hard to imagine that such a very limited period is going to have any appreciable effect. This is an act of bad faith.”
ANCIENT STURGEON SPECIES DESTINED FOR EXTINCTION
A few hundred pallid sturgeon still exist in Montana’s Missouri and Yellowstone rivers, but none of them has reproduced in 35 years, and the species is functionally extinct. Billings Gazette; Aug. 18 <http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2003/08/18/build/local/30-pallid.inc>http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2003/08/18/build/local/30-pallid.inc>
FLAP OVER LOWER MISSOURI RIVER LEVELS INTENSIFIES IN PUBLIC ARENA
Where the Missouri and Mississippi rivers meet, political and business leaders warned that court-ordered lowerings of the Missouri could squeeze vital shipping and electricity production on both waterways, ultimately pinching consumers’ pocketbooks. <http://www.enn.com/news/2003-08-22/s_7754.asp>
HEARING SCHEDULED ON CRITICAL HABITAT FOR 11 MOBILE RIVER BASIN MUSSELS
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has released a draft report on the potential economic impacts of a proposed designation of critical habitat for 11 federally listed freshwater mussels in the Mobile River Basin. The public is invited to either submit written comments on the proposed designation or draft economic analysis report by October 14, 2003, or to present their opinion in person at a public hearing scheduled for October 1, 2003, from 7 to 10 p.m. in Birmingham, Alabama. <http://www.caprep.com/0803042.htm>http://www.caprep.com/0803042.htm>
S. AFRICA, AUSTRALIA ARREST TOOTHFISH SHIP CREW
Australian and South African officials boarded a ship suspected of poaching the rare Patagonian toothfish and arrested the crew Wednesday, ending a 20-day chase through Antarctic seas. <http://www.enn.com/news/2003-08-28/s_7854.asp>http://www.enn.com/news/2003-08-28/s_7854.asp>
NEW FISH SPECIES DISCOVERED IN VENEZUELA
In an era of mass extinction, it’s always nice to hear about the discovery of new species. So the members of an expedition sponsored by Conservation International were thrilled to discover 10 new fish species in Venezuela’s Upper Caura River. Of the 10 new species, only one has been described so far — the bloodfin tetra, a tiny fish with a bright red tail. The Caura River, a tributary of the Orinoco, flows through one of Venezuela’s most pristine and biologically intact ecosystems, but the region faces increasing threats from agriculture, damming, and logging. As a result, conservationists, including those who took part in CI’s Aquatic Rapid Assessment Program, are pushing for protection of the area for ecological and scientific purposes: “We’re just scratching the surface of what’s out there and I’m sure the Caura holds many more remarkable plants and animals that are completely new to science,” said CI’s Leeanne Alonso. <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=1448>
GLOBAL EXPERTS PIN HOPES ON FISH FARMING TO FEED THE WORLD
Fish farming, a growing global industry, can be a major contributor in feeding the world’s hungry and help fight poverty, fishery experts told an international conference.[Maybe] <http://www.enn.com/news/2003-08-08/s_7332.asp>
FARMED SALMON CARRIES EXTRA PCBS
Farmed salmon carry far heavier loads of one toxic chemical than wild-caught ocean salmon, according to a report released by the Environmental Working Group. <http://www.enn.com/news/2003-08-13/s_7395.asp>
KENTUCKY FARMERS SEE CATFISH AS ALTERNATIVE TO DECLINING TOBACCO –
John Murdock nets his heftiest profits from manmade ponds on his farm, not from the fertile soil. <http://www.enn.com/news/2003-08-07/s_7315.asp>
AMBITIOUS MONTANA WATER SYSTEM WILL MEAN SURVIVAL FOR 20 COMMUNITIES
A $198 million project that will lay 3,200 miles of pipe and bring water to 20 communities in four Montana counties and a reservation shows the power of cooperation and the importance of clean water. Great Falls Tribune; Aug. 29 <http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20030829/opinion/152897.html>
TROUBLED CHESAPEAKE BAY NEEDS NEW PROTECTIONS
A long-running voluntary effort to clean up the Chesapeake Bay has been a big flop – that’s the basic assessment announced by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, a nonprofit conservation group. “All the scientific data suggests that the bay is not improving,” said foundation President William C. Baker. The group called for creation of a new governing body with the power to make and enforce rules and levy taxes in six states, including Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, in order to pay for cleanup. One of the most vexing problems plaguing the bay is nitrogen runoff, which comes from livestock operations and wastewater-treatment plants. Due largely to nitrogen pollution, 40 percent of the bay is oxygen-starved this summer, meaning that fish and plants have a hard time surviving; this is the highest percentage of “dead water” in the bay since the foundation began keeping stats 20 years ago. <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=1422>
LAS VEGAS’ DRINKING WATER HARDER TO GET AS RESERVOIR LEVEL FALLS
Las Vegas water officials are designing ways to keep surface pollution out of city water, as the level of Lake Mead drops closer to the intake pipes. Arizona Daily Star (AP); Aug. 5 <http://www.azstarnet.com/star/today/30805RLakeMead-Water.html>
LAKE TAHOE WATER NOT SO CLEAR
Lake Tahoe’s blue water is getting murkier, and if the trend continues, experts say, tourists will have less reason to come and spend $1.5 billion a year. USA Today; Aug. 4 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/redirect.php?id=10127>
THREE CALIFORNIA BILLS WOULD TARGET CRUISE SHIP AIR AND WASTEWATER POLLUTION
The cruise industry’s rapid expansion has prompted legislative efforts to crack down on luxury liners that dump waste and spew dirty air near California’s coast. <http://www.enn.com/news/2003-08-22/s_7755.asp>
BALD EAGLE RECOVERY LINKED TO CLEAN WATER
Wildlife experts contend that the resurgence of bald eagles in Michigan — the number of nesting pairs has increased almost five fold since 1980 — is a “sign of cleaner lakes and streams,” says the Detroit Free Press, AP 8/11. Officials credit the ban on DDT and PCBs, “along with other environmental cleanups, legal protection for eagles and broad public support” for the recovery and cleaner water but warn that “new sources of pollution or the introduction of new chemicals could harm the eagles.”
IG INVESTIGATES WHETHER EPA MISLED PUBLIC ON WATER QUALITY
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Inspector General is investigating whether the agency is deliberately misleading the public by overstating the purity of the nation’s drinking water, according to EPA officials and agency documents. The inquiry was launched June 18, five days before then-EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman released the “Draft Report on the Environment,” which stated that “94 percent of the population served by community water systems were served by systems that met all health-based standards.” Internal EPA documents suggest that the true number may be markedly lower — 79 to 84 percent in 2002. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21544-2003Aug5.html>
ENVIRONMENTALISTS SEEK BAN ON HERBICIDE
The National Resources Defense Council said in its suit against the EPA that atrazine, the nation’s most widely used herbicide, which is banned in many European countries, may be causing untold ravages. <http://www.uswaternews.com/archives/arcrights/3envsee9.html>
OFFICE OF WATER SURVEYS STATE NUTRIENT STANDARDS
EPA has announced the results of its survey of nutrient standards adopted by states, tribes and territories. Every state has narrative standards that protect the waters from conditions that might indicate nutrient problems, and some states have nutrient standards that specifically recognize eutrophication (a frequent result of nutrient over-enrichment) as a problem. Numeric criteria for turbidity is the most common nutrient parameter, and the next most common is total phosphorus in lakes and rivers. You can download the document at <http://epa.gov/waterscience/criteria/nutrient/statesummary.htm>
AUSTRALIAN SCIENTIST HOPES ARSENIC-EATING BACTERIA COULD CLEANSE TOXIC WATER SUPPLIES
An Australian scientist has discovered a toxin-munching bacteria that could clean up arsenic-tainted water drunk by millions of Bangladeshis, a report says. <http://www.enn.com/news/2003-08-20/s_7624.asp>
TINY SMART DUST GRAINS CAN FIND OILY POLLUTION IN WATER
Grains the size of dust that can sense their environment, orient themselves, and assemble in groups have been developed by a team of California chemists who want to build miniature robots. <http://www.enn.com/news/2003-08-28/s_7803.asp>
HEAT WAVE IN EUROPE LEADS TO NUKE PLANT WORRIES
The withering heat wave in Europe, which is believed to have led to dozens if not hundreds of deaths, is now causing problems at nuclear facilities and other power plants. Government authorities in France and Germany have announced that they are relaxing rules to let plants pump warmer-than-usual water from their cooling systems back into rivers. Environmentalists are crying foul, arguing that even a temporary rise in river temperatures could lead to fish kills and ecological damage. <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=1382>
HIT BY HEAT AND DROUGHT, NETHERLANDS IS RETHINKING ITS TRADITIONAL APPROACH TO WATER
For centuries, the Dutch erected dikes and reclaimed land to keep out the North Sea and prevent flooding. Now, confronted by record heat and shrinking water levels, they are breaking tradition to keep water in, instead of out. <http://www.enn.com/news/2003-08-19/s_7623.asp>
COLA COMPANIES DENY ALLEGATIONS OF PESTICIDES IN THEIR SOFT DRINKS
The Indian arms of PepsiCo and Coca-Cola denied allegations by an independent research body that they are selling soft drinks in India that contain the same dangerous levels of pesticide residue that many local brands do. Health Minister Sushma Swaraj said that the government had tested the soft drinks cited by the Indian NGO Center for Science and the Environment and found pesticide levels to be “well within the [established] safety limits.” <http://www.enn.com/news/2003-08-06/s_7241.asp> <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=1415>
A FREAK TRAGEDY AWAKENS BANGKOK TO THE MENACE OF FILTHY CANALS
On a humid monsoon night, shortly after midnight, Thailand’s favorite pop star swerved off the road and plunged his black BMW into one of Bangkok’s canals. He was pulled from the water with minor injuries, yet he is dying of a fungal brain infection. <http://www.enn.com/news/2003-08-26/s_7799.asp>
SEWAGE KILLS THOUSANDS OF FISH IN NORTH INDIAN RIVER
For nearly 50 years, Ramakant Nishad caught and sold fish. He is now sitting idle because the sewage-filled Gomati River that runs through this northern Indian state capital cannot breed fish anymore. <http://www.enn.com/news/2003-08-22/s_7749.asp>
GLOBAL WARMING BLAMED FOR FISH HARVEST DROP FROM AFRICAN LAKE
Scientists are blaming global warming for falling fish harvests in Africa’s Lake Tanganyika, threatening the diets of several poor nations. <http://www.enn.com/news/2003-08-14/s_7517.asp>
BRITISH COMPANY RUNNING GUYANA’S WATER COMPANY TO CUT SUPPLY FOR UNPAID BILLS
In a bid to make up millions of dollars in debt, the British company running Guyana’s water utility said it would begin cutting supplies to press thousands of customers to pay their bills. <http://www.enn.com/news/2003-08-27/s_7821.asp>
MEETINGS
September 11-12 Colorado Watershed Assembly Annual Meeting, Glenwood Springs, CO <http://www.coloradowater.org>
September 14-16 Community Based Collaborative Research Consortium National Conference, Salt Lake City, UT <http://cbcrc.org/grants.html>
