Aug
31
Is Stream Restoration Working?
August 31, 2010 | Leave a Comment
Here in the Pacific Northwest, stream restoration is a growth industry (purely anecdotal – I have not done a study). The big issue is restoration as it relates to the salmon fishery: trying to undo the mess we’ve made of the environment. I’ve been told that the Columbia River produced something like 20 million adult [...]
Aug
22
Watering the Southern High Plains Aquifer
August 22, 2010 | Leave a Comment
In May 2009 I posted an item Saving the Ogallala (aka High Plains) Aquifer, in which I reported on an article from the March 2009 Scientific American.
The southern portion of the High Plains Aquifer is well-known for drastically lowered groundwater levels because of unsustainable pumping. Schemes have been proposed to recharge the aquifer, generally involving pumping water from [...]
Aug
4
Two Reports: 1) Western Water Management Case Studies; 2) Western Water in the 21st Century
August 4, 2010 | Leave a Comment
Today, like all days, is Western Water Day! Two blockbuster reports!
1) Cherise Estes just sent me this report released by the Family Farm Alliance on 30 July 2010: Western Water Management Case Studies.
Download Final_Western_Water_Management_Report
From her email:
The report discusses several creative and successful ways that scientists and agricultural leaders in the Western states are working together [...]
Aug
2
The Western Governors’ Association and the Western States Water Council will sponsor a two-day workshop in DC, 14-15 September 2010, on: Drought, Climate and Water: Using Today’s Information and Designing Tomorrow’s Services.
Here is a copy of the flyer:
Download Western States Water Council Conf Info
PURPOSE: To bring together a diverse group of federal, tribal, state, and local [...]
Jul
29
Several weeks ago I learned that my AWRA colleague, Walter A. Lyon, had written an article on water governance in the United States. Since the article had not been published I offered to post it on WaterWired and Lyon agreed. You will find it provocative and thought-provoking.
I am presenting the article in its entirety, with [...]
Jul
27
Gulf Oil Spill: An Open Letter From Coastal Scientists to Adm. Thad Allen
July 27, 2010 | Leave a Comment
Ken Reid sent me this letter. It’s from twenty-one coastal scientists, written by Dr. Robert (Rob) S. Young, who directs the Program for the Study of Developed Coastlines at Western Carolina University.
Download Thad Allen Letter Open Letter
The letter, addressed to Admiral Thad Allen, expresses concern over the re-engineering projects that are being employed to mitigate the effects of [...]
Jul
26
Report: Evaluating Sustainability of Water Demands in 2050 Under Climate Change
July 26, 2010 | 3 Comments
Tetra Tech and the Natural Resources Defense Council have just released the report, Evaluating Sustainability of Projected Water Demands under Future Climate Change Scenarios.
From the WWW site:
Climate change will impact water supplies, exacerbating existing pressures on water resources caused by population and economic growth. Given the combination of these stressors, the sustainability of water resources [...]
Jul
25
While stumbling around Gayle Leonard’s Thirsty in Suburbia examining her collection of water butts (that’s British for ‘rain barrels’) I noted that Wayne Bossert, who manages the Northwest Kansas Groundwater Management District No. 4, blogs at Wisdom in Water, Please…
He alsoTweets.
Wayne has managed the district since 1977 and still looks happy, so he either loves [...]
Jul
20
Are PlayPumps Played Out?
July 20, 2010 | 2 Comments
Last month Amy Costello of PBS’ Frontline presented an update on PlayPumps, the water-pumping device powered by the energy of children as they play on the merry-go-round-like device. The device pumps water to a water tank for later use. The segment was titled Troubled Water (you can watch it on online and read a synopsis).
It’s worth noting that [...]
Jul
19
Should Selenium Be Regulated?
July 19, 2010 | Leave a Comment
When Lloyd Carter recently (11 June 2010) interviewed EPA Region 9 Administrator Jared Blumenfeld on his radio show Down in the Valley (on KFCF-FM) one of the items he pressed Blumenfeld on was the regulation of selenium (see my 22 June 2010 WaterWired post). Blumenfeld seemed interested in this issue.
Carter just sent me a copy of a recent column [...]
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