Wednesday - Colorado Water Congress

February 11, 2015
National Water Resources Association
Daily Report
In This Issue
RECLAMATION:...Barrasso floats bill to fund irrigation on Indian land
WATER POLICY:...House Dems float bill to update Army Corps dam management
KEYSTONE XL:...Congress poised to send pipeline bill to White House
ENDANGERED SPECIES:...FWS urges protection of 16.5M acres for sage grouse
AIR POLLUTION:...Study links industrial emissions to shifting rainfall patterns
BOR PRESS RELEASE: Reclamation's Proposed Drought Response Program
Evaluation Criteria is Open for Public Comment
Water Lawsuit Could Last Years
Arizona lawmaker pressing for study of water-desalination potential
Save the Date FWIC
A Historic Drought Grips Brazil's Economic Capital
Supreme Court decision keeps water pipeline dry for now
New leadership for Rio Grande conservancy district
Storms not enough for water allocation
RECLAMATION:
Barrasso floats bill to fund irrigation on Indian land
Annie Snider, E&E reporter
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Published: Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian
Affairs, is floating legislation that would create a steady stream of funding to
rehabilitate decrepit irrigation systems on American Indian land.
The bill, dubbed the "Irrigation Rehabilitation and Renovation for Indian Tribal
Governments and Their Economies Act," or "IRRIGATE Act," would direct $35
million a year for the next 20 years to an "Indian Irrigation Fund" to pay for deferred
maintenance on systems that were built by the Bureau of Reclamation in the late
1800s and the early 1900s.
A 2006 Government Accountability Office report estimated that the deferred
maintenance backlog on the 16 systems that Reclamation manages in Indian
Country had reached $850 million. The needs ranged from simply clearing weeds
and trees out of irrigation ditches to repairing leaky or crumbling gates that were
meant to regulate water flow.
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Who should pay for such work has been a long-running debate.
Irrigation projects on Indian land were authorized without regard to the factors that
Reclamation typically uses to determine whether a project is capable of financially
sustaining itself. Nevertheless, according to the GAO report, the Bureau of Indian
Affairs classified more than half of the 16 Indian irrigation projects as fully selfsustaining, meaning that those projects do not receive appropriations from
Congress. This has led Reclamation to propose significant increases in irrigation
fees that users on reservations say they cannot afford and has contributed to the
backlog in maintenance needs, GAO found.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs has in the past recommended abandoning projects
that could not pay for themselves, but others argue that this would be a breach of
trust with Indian communities who were moved by the federal government to
reservations.
"Over a century ago, the federal government made a promise to Indian Country to
build and maintain Indian irrigation projects like the ones on the Wind River
Reservation in Wyoming," Barrasso said in a statement. "The reality is that hasn't
happened. These aging projects are in desperate need of repair and maintenance.
Our bill follows through on our commitment to tribal communities by ensuring our
irrigation projects are safe and efficient."
Barrasso's bill would have the money for the Indian Irrigation Fund come from the
Reclamation Fund, which holds revenues from sales of public land, timber and
hydropower and mineral royalties, and is intended to be used on projects
benefiting the 17 Western states where the Bureau of Reclamation operates.
In recent years, the fund has pulled in roughly $2 billion a year but has only spent
about $1 billion a year. By the end of fiscal 2016, the Obama
administration estimates that the fund will have accrued a $15 billion balance.
That money is used to offset spending elsewhere in the federal budget.
Barrasso introduced similar legislation as an amendment to the "Authorized Rural
Water Projects Completion Act" in 2013, which advanced out of the Senate Energy
and Natural Resources Committee but then stalled. Any such legislation faces the
major hurdle of finding a "pay-for" to offset its costs to the Treasury.
Reprinted from E&E Daily with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC
- www.eenews.net - 202-628-6500
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WATER POLICY:
House Dems float bill to update Army Corps dam management
Annie Snider, E&E reporter
Published: Wednesday, February 11, 2015
House Democrats are trying again to move legislation that would push the Army Corps of Engineers to incorporate
modern forecasting into its dam operations at a time when water managers in drought-parched California are facing
the prospect of having to release precious water from their reservoirs due to the agency's rules.
In the winter, when major storms called "atmospheric rivers" typically hurtle through California, dumping massive
amounts of rain, the corps requires that its reservoir levels be lowered so that they are prepared to capture that rain
and prevent flooding downstream. It isn't until spring that managers are allowed to store more water in the reservoir
to provide to irrigators and municipalities.
But with an entrenched drought gripping California, some communities have been questioning whether it makes
sense to let water out of reservoirs when there isn't a storm on the horizon (Greenwire, Feb. 27, 2014).
Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Power
and Oceans, reintroduced legislation this week that would require the Army Corps to re-evaluate the manual that
dictates operations at dams where the corps manages flood control, if a local community asks them to. The
legislation would have the corps work with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to make sure that
the manual accounts for the latest weather forecasting capabilities.
"This weekend an atmospheric river finally brought much-needed rain to California and the North Coast. But
because the Army Corps of Engineers relies on obsolete, 60-year-old manuals to govern its operation of reservoirs,
this rainstorm may still force releases of reservoir water at Lake Mendocino and Lake Sonoma that we need to
make it through the next drought year," Huffman said in a statement. "This makes no sense. Reservoir operations
should be based on modern science and weather forecasts, not antiquated rulebooks."
While the measure comes in response to frustrations in drought-stricken California, it could have implications for
reservoir management across the country. Local stakeholders from the Florida Everglades to the arid West argue
that decades-old corps management rules no longer make sense for communities and environmental conditions
that may have significantly changed over the years.
The measure would not provide additional funding to the corps for the work, though, and the agency has said that
manual updates are expensive and labor-intensive.
Democratic co-sponsors of the legislation are California Reps. John Garamendi, Doris Matsui, Jackie Speier, Scott
Peters, Alan Lowenthal, Grace Napolitano, Mike Thompson, Ami Bera, Zoe Lofgren, Jerry McNerney and Rep.
Matt Cartwright of Pennsylvania.
Reprinted from E&E Daily with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC - www.eenews.net - 202-628-6500
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KEYSTONE XL:
Congress poised to send pipeline bill to White House
Manuel Quiñones, E&E reporter
Published: Wednesday, February 11, 2015
With a final legislative step -- at least for now -- expected today, controversial efforts to approve TransCanada
Corp.'s Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada enter a new phase as President Obama prepares his veto pen and
former Florida governor and potential 2016 presidential candidate Jeb Bush's (R) involvement in another pipeline
approval makes waves.
The Republican-controlled House today is poised to vote on KXL legislation for the second time this year, but the
question remains whether the bill will receive the same level of support in the second round now that the House will
take up a Senate-passed version with a handful of amendments, some of them sponsored by Democrats.
The bill now include language promoting energy efficiency and stating that climate change is real and not a hoax.
Another Senate amendment encourages lawmakers to require oil sands producers to pay into the Oil Spill Liability
Trust Fund.
While some lawmakers may feel uncomfortable with the amendments or the decision to not merge the bills during a
conference committee, a GOP aide close to the negotiations said there was no indication of anything that could put
the bill in jeopardy.
"My advice, and leadership agreed, is we would simply accept the Senate bill," Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.),
sponsor of the House version, said during a Rules Committee hearing last night on the parameters for debate. He
called it the "judicious thing to do, the efficient thing to do."
Cramer suggested many Republicans support the oil spill amendment and described the climate provision as an
effort to find common ground with President Obama, who has expressed concerns about the pipeline's potential
greenhouse gas emissions.
Apparently recognizing the climate change skepticism within the GOP caucus, Cramer said the amendment may
make the legislation something "he can feel comfortable signing" and a "good-faith effort" at bipartisanship.
The Senate bill passed late last month by a vote of 62-36, with nine Democrats voting in favor. The House bill
passed weeks earlier by a 266-153 vote. Twenty-eight Democrats voted in favor and no Republicans against. Rep.
Justin Amash (R-Mich.) voted present.
Amash, one of the House's staunchest libertarians, supports KXL but doesn't think it appropriate for lawmakers to
consider legislation to benefit just one company.
"If the House approves the Senate-passed bill, we won't have to conference it," Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), the
bill's Senate sponsor, said in a statement, "and it will go right to the president's desk."
But some House Democrats wanted the opportunity to further amend the legislation. Since the Senate considered
dozens of amendments, Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) asked, "Why shouldn't the House do the same?"
Pallone, top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said he considered the KXL bill
"fundamentally flawed" and would oppose it with or without further changes.
Still, Pallone said his side would like to consider amendments to require U.S. steel for KXL and to address the oil
spill liability issue now. Both have been long-standing Democratic demands in both chambers.
In the end, the Rules Committee voted for a closed rule. In other words, lawmakers will not get to vote on
amendments, which means legislation approving KXL will soon head to Obama's desk.
The president has threatened to use his veto pen against the bill -- with or without amendments -- because it would
bypass his administration's review process.
Now that the State Department's environmental review is complete and agencies have had a chance to comment,
Secretary of State John Kerry and then Obama must determine whether KXL is in the national interest.
Neither the House or Senate has enough votes to override the veto. So if the president keeps delaying his decision
or rejects the project, pro-KXL lawmakers have said they would attach the measure to another must-pass bill.
Jeb Bush emails, FBI interviews
Even though many Democrats support KXL, Republican politicians at every level have been particularly vocal in
pushing the pipeline's approval. They see the debate as putting them on the side of public opinion.
This week, newly released emails show that while Jeb Bush was Florida's governor, he may have helped pressure
State at the request of a TransCanada contractor on a previous transboundary pipeline from Canada in 2006 when
his brother was in the White House.
"I am hoping you may have some suggestions for me on how we might encourage the DOS to initiate our review
under [the National Environmental Policy Act]," wrote Mike Koski, an executive for Canadian company Trow, now
called Exp, with operations in Florida. "We don't need the review expedited or anything like that -- we just would
like it to start."
Bush, according to a trove of emails he released this week, responded to Koski, "I don't know how to get them to
get moving but I will get our DC office to find out."
Koski responded sometime later, "I don't know what you and your staff did, but after 2 months of trying everything
we could do, the process seems to have started. We have a meeting with DOS Monday to initiate the
[environmental impact statement] process."
Bush, who is considering a presidential run next year, has supported KXL, too. Former Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton, another potential candidate on the Democratic side, has refrained from taking a position.
Meanwhile, news has also been circulating that the FBI has been interviewing opponents of KXL and Canadian oil
sands development in general, apparently trying to learn more about potentially illegal and disruptive protest
activities (Greenwire, Feb. 9).
Ayn Dietrich, an FBI spokeswoman in Seattle, said the agency conducts interviews on a number of activities, and
they don't necessarily mean the subject is under criminal suspicion.
"Further," she said, "the FBI takes care to distinguish between constitutionally protected activities and illegal
activities undertaken to further an ideological agenda."
Other anti-KXL advocates have not been the target of recent FBI interviews, said Bold Nebraska founder Jane
Kleeb. She said things have been quiet on that front since TransCanada gave police a presentation about
aggressive pipeline critics (EnergyWire, July 11, 2013).
Reprinted from E&E Daily with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC - www.eenews.net - 202-628-6500
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ENDANGERED SPECIES:
FWS urges protection of 16.5M acres for sage grouse
Phil Taylor, E&E reporter
Published: Tuesday, February 10, 2015
The Fish and Wildlife Service advised its fellow land management agencies to impose the most stringent
protections on roughly 16.5 million acres of high-value sage grouse habitat in order to save the bird from the threat
of extinction.
The recommendation came from FWS Director Dan Ashe in an Oct. 27 internal memo to the Bureau of Land
Management and Forest Service that was obtained by Greenwire. It will likely inform BLM as it finalizes land-use
plans covering 67 million acres in the bird's 11-state Western range in hopes of preventing its demise.
The areas FWS mapped in the Great Basin, western Wyoming and north-central Montana are "a subset of priority
habitat most vital to the species persistence, within which we recommend the strongest levels of protection," Ashe
wrote in the memo to BLM Director Neil Kornze and Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell.
The recommended sage grouse "strongholds" have been found to contain the highest densities of birds, are the
most resistant and resilient to stressors like invasive species and wildfire, and are least susceptible to climate
change, Ashe said. They're also predominantly located on federal lands.
They are a subset of the 75 million priority areas for conservation (PACs) that Fish and Wildlife identified as key to
the bird's long-term survival and worthy of the government's limited conservation resources. Conservationists privy
to FWS's internal sage grouse work are calling the areas "super PACs."
"Strong, durable, and meaningful protection of federally administered lands in these areas will provide additional
certainty and help obtain confidence for long-term sage-grouse persistence," Ashe wrote. "The attached maps
highlight areas where it is most important that BLM and Forest Service institutionalize the highest degree of
protection to help promote persistence of the species."
BLM's land-use plan amendments, set to be finalized in late summer, will be a key factor in September when Fish
and Wildlife scientists decide whether the charismatic, chest-puffing bird is in need of federal protections. More
than 63 percent of the bird's 165 million acres of habitat is on federal lands, most of it managed by BLM.
Ashe yesterday told Greenwire that protection of strongholds, or lack thereof, will be a criterion in FWS's listing
decision. But they're only recommendations.
While Congress in December prohibited FWS from preparing an official listing rule during fiscal 2015, Interior
Secretary Sally Jewell has said her department will continue to act "with urgency" to keep key sage brush habitats
intact.
The listing prohibition, passed at the behest of oil and gas, mining, and ranching interests, puts a temporary block
on the most stringent Endangered Species Act protections, but it has not stopped BLM from pursuing
administrative protections that conservationists say are vital for sage grouse and hundreds of other species that
depend on its habitat.
The effort has required unprecedented collaboration between BLM, whose mandate requires both wildlife
protections and resource extraction on its 250-million-acre estate, and FWS, whose mandate is much more
focused -- to preserve wildlife and prevent extinction.
BLM calls the shots on how sage grouse habitat is managed, but FWS will likely make the final call as to whether
sage grouse are listed under the Endangered Species Act, a decision that could tie BLM's hands for many years to
come. Interior Department and White House officials will undoubtedly play a decisionmaking role, too.
It's against this backdrop that BLM in October asked FWS for more specific guidelines on lands it could protect to
preclude the need for a listing. BLM's final resource management plans are due out in late spring.
FWS's proposed strongholds are concentrated along Nevada's border with Oregon and Idaho, an area that
includes federally designated wilderness and key habitat for bighorn sheep, as well as in north-central Idaho, an
area anchored by Craters of the Moon National Monument. They also include the Bear River Watershed in
northeastern Utah and north-central Montana along the Missouri River, where sage grouse migrate from Canada
during winter.
Ashe said many of the strongholds also provide important habitat for shrub-steppe passerine birds and mule deer
winter range.
While BLM and the Forest Service are under no obligation to heed FWS's advice, Ashe said "both [have] been
extraordinary in this process in consulting with us and listening to our advice."
FWS has recommended ways for BLM to reduce disturbance within the strongholds, Ashe said, while declining to
discuss specifics.
BLM's draft land-use plans already contemplate a range of possible protections.
Plans in Utah would include a 4-mile buffer around sage grouse breeding grounds for new oil and gas
developments. A proposed plan for Oregon would designate 5.1 million acres of "focal" areas of prime grouse
habitat where conservation is focused and development is discouraged.
'It is a mistake'
"It makes sense to us that there are certain places in the core habitat area that warrant the strongest protection
standards," said Ed Arnett, a biologist with the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership who directs the
partnership's Center for Responsible Energy Development. "Conservation plans must be sufficient to not only halt
the decline of greater sage grouse but also to recover habitat conditions and increase populations."
Arnett said development in or near priority and core habitat should be restricted through "no surface occupancy,"
and for some areas, management should include closures and withdrawals.
Erik Molvar, a wildlife biologist with WildEarth Guardians, said the sage grouse strongholds must act as buffers
against extinction, able to replenish a rangewide population that has fallen drastically from historical levels.
Overhead power lines could be buried, road densities could be reduced to reconnect habitat and livestock grazing
could be reduced to increase cover for sage grouse, he said.
"It's worth noting that back in the 1800s, there were flocks of sage grouse that darkened the skies," Molvar said. "It
appears FWS is trying to move the needle of sage grouse protection in a positive direction."
But the FWS stronghold proposal has drawn concern from Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead (R), who argued the Cowboy
State's strategy to limit disturbances near core sage grouse breeding grounds already offers sufficient protections.
Wyoming's core sage grouse conservation plan, crafted by former Gov. Dave Freudenthal (D) and affirmed by
Mead, has been widely touted as one of the most protective in the Western states and has already been endorsed
in one BLM land-use plan. The state identified about 15 million acres of core habitat that are managed for only one
activity per square mile and no more than 5 percent disturbance from all sources, Mead said.
FWS's proposed strongholds cover about 7 million acres in Wyoming and generally overlap with its core areas,
Mead said. Tougher restrictions on federal lands within the core areas could push development to private lands
and disrupt a delicate conservation balance currently supported by Wyoming's regulated community, Mead said.
"The designation of super-core areas or other layered restrictions will challenge and erode the partnerships built
over the past eight years," Mead said in a Nov. 20 letter to Ashe obtained by Greenwire under the Freedom of
Information Act. "It is a mistake to sacrifice this great collaborative effort to meet an academic exercise in
mapping."
Kathleen Sgamma, vice president of government and public affairs at the Western Energy Alliance, said the
stronghold maps in Ashe's memo lack enough resolution to determine possible impacts on oil and gas developers.
But she called the FWS proposal reflective of Obama administration attempts to impose management uniformity in
the West, despite locally tailored state plans.
"The states have been saying, 'We're different. We know how to protect the species in our states better than the
federal government does,'" Sgamma said. "The federal government, in typical one-size-fits-all fashion, is pushing
back against that."
Reprinted from Greenwire with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC - www.eenews.net - 202-628-6500
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AIR POLLUTION:
Study links industrial emissions to shifting rainfall patterns
Amanda Peterka, E&E reporter
Published: Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Air pollution in North America and Europe has contributed to less rainfall in the northern tropics, according to a new
study.
The study used a stalagmite from a cave in Belize to reconstruct rainfall patterns and found that the area has been
drier since the start of industrialization in North America and Europe. Industrialization brought about an increase in
the burning of fossil fuels, which releases sulphate aerosols that shift rain patterns, the researchers said.
The study found that the rain belt of the northern tropics has shifted south, leading to drier conditions in Central
America.
The results were published yesterday in the journal Nature Geoscience.
"The research presents strong evidence that industrial sulphate emissions have shifted this important rainfall belt,
particularly over the last 100 years," said Harriet Ridley, an earth sciences researcher at Durham University in the
United Kingdom and lead author of the study, in a statement.
Scientists have previously tied sulphate aerosols to reductions in rainfall through the use of computer modeling and
historical data.
The stalagmite used to study the region's rainfall came from the Yok Balum cave in Belize. It's a good indicator of
shifts in rainfall patterns because it's located in the northernmost part of the tropical rain belt near the equator, the
researchers said.
According to the results, the northern tropics have experience a "substantial drying trend" since the 1850s, when
atmospheric sulphate aerosol levels began to rise due to the increased combustion of fossil fuels.
"Our research allows us to make more accurate predictions about future climate trends, and it appears that regional
sulphate aerosol production is an essential factor to include in these predictions," Ridley said.
The study also identified nine dry spells over the last 450 years that followed large volcano eruptions in the
Northern Hemisphere. The eruptions generated similar sulphate aerosols as the burning of fossil fuels and help
confirm that man-made emissions can reduce rainfall.
"The fact that tropical drying follows both Northern Hemisphere volcanic and industrial sulphate injections is
critical," said James Baldini, a researcher of earth sciences at Durham University and co-author of the study. "It
essentially rules out the possibility that the climate shifts were caused by a previously unknown natural climate
cycle or increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations."
The research team included the University of New Mexico, Pennsylvania State University, SUNY Stony Brook,
Northern Arizona University, ETH Zurich and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. The study was
funded by the European Research Council, National Science Foundation, Alphawood Foundation, and Schweizer
National Fund, Sinergia.
Reprinted from Greenwire with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC - www.eenews.net - 202-628-6500
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Commissioner's Office
Washington, D.C.
Media Contact:
Peter Soeth
303-445-3615
Released On: February 10, 2015
Reclamation's Proposed Drought Response Program Evaluation Criteria is Open for
Public Comment
WASHINGTON - The Bureau of Reclamation is seeking public comment on its draft Drought Response
Program evaluation criteria. This new program, based on its existing drought authorities, will provide
funding for:
Drought contingency planning: Reclamation will provide financial assistance through cooperative
agreements that include a 50/50 cost-share to develop or update drought contingency plans. Plans must
include input and participation by multiple stakeholders and must consider climate change impacts to
drought conditions and identify potential drought mitigation and response actions to build long-term
resilience to drought.
Implementation of projects to build long-term resiliency to drought: Reclamation will provide
financial assistance through a funding opportunity announcement on a 50/50 cost-share basis to
implement projects that build long-term resiliency to drought. Proposed drought resiliency projects must
be supported by an existing drought contingency plan to be eligible.
Implementation of emergency response actions: Reclamation will continue to fund emergency
drought response actions to address ongoing drought emergencies contingent on available funding. To
be eligible, the applicant needs an existing drought contingency plan on file or a state governor or tribal
leader drought declaration. Assistance must be requested in writing.
Program funding is allocated through a competitive process. The evaluation criteria that Reclamation will
use to implement each program element is available for review at www.usbr.gov/drought. Comments are
due to Avra Morgan at aomorgan@usbr.gov by March 12, 2015.
Read Press Release HERE.
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Water Lawsuit Could Last Years
DANIEL LOOKER02/10/2015 @ 7:01pmBusiness Editor
When Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey joined about 80 growers and staffers at the Crop
Production Services meeting in Wall Lake, Iowa Tuesday, he was at ground zero of what he called "this
little lawsuit thing that's out there" -the Des Moines Water Works notification that it may go to court
against 10 drainage districts in Sac County, where Wall Lake is located, and Calhoun and Buena Vista
counties.
The lawsuit, if it's filed, would allege that the drainage districts are a point source of nitrate pollution for
the Raccoon River, the main source of drinking water in Iowa's capital city. Unlike runoff from farm fields,
point sources, require permits from EPA to discharge pollutants.
One of the farmers who came to hear Northey said the worst thing about the potential lawsuit, is the
uncertainty about how it affects him.
Read entire article HERE.
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Arizona lawmaker pressing for study of water-desalination potential
Yuma Desalting Complex
The Yuma Desalting Complex opened in 1992 to treat agriculture runoff under an agreement with Mexico on rights to Colorado
River water. While it has been tested, there has yet to be a need to run the plant.
Posted: Wednesday, February 11, 2015 2:35 am | Updated: 2:40 am, Wed Feb 11, 2015.
By BECKY BRISLEY Cronkite News
Saying it's important to prepare for any contingencies, a state lawmaker wants to create a committee to
study the feasibility of using desalinated water to augment Arizona's water supply.
Rep. Steve Montenegro, R-Avondale, authored legislation to have lawmakers and experts review the
history of desalination in Arizona, study data from a Yuma plant built to desalinate agricultural runoff and
look for opportunities to use desalination in the future.
Read entire article HERE.
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Inventive water harvesting helps Kenya balance rain extremes
BY KAGONDU NJAGI
Tue Feb 10, 2015 10:54am EST
ENGILAE, Kenya (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Samuel Lontogunye has long weathered regular
shortages of water and food. But he believes a recent addition to his drought-prone village could change
that: a water harvesting plant.
Lontogunye, 69, and other members of his community on the fringes of Kenya's Rift Valley have built a
weir at the nearby Ngeng' river to capture and store water which would otherwise drain away during
periods of heavy rainfall.
Read entire article HERE.
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A Historic Drought Grips Brazil's Economic Capital
FEBRUARY 10, 2015 4:40 PM ET
LOURDES GARCIA-NAVARRO
Brazil's Atibainha river dam is shown here in December 2014. It is part of Sao Paulo's system of dams, which supplies about
half the water to the metropolitan region of 20 million people and is now at historic lows.
Miguel Schincariol/AFP/Getty Images
Last Sunday, hundreds of Paulistanos, as the residents of Sao Paulo are known, dressed up and
danced on the streets at one of the dozens of block parties that happen in advance of the annual
celebration known as Carnival.
Except this year - among the pirates and Viking bumblebees - some costumes had a more serious, if still
not entirely sober, theme.
Antonio Passareli was dressed as a water fountain - with the spigot placed strategically on his waist. But
it's no laughing matter, he said.
Read entire article HERE.
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Supreme Court decision keeps water pipeline dry for now
Posted
February 9, 2015 - 3:12pm
Updated February 9, 2015 - 4:44pm
The Nevada Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal of a lower court ruling that effectively stripped the
Southern Nevada Water Authority of water rights for its controversial pipeline from eastern Nevada.
(Henry Brean/Las Vegas Review-Journal file)
By HENRY BREAN
LASVEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
The Nevada Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal of a lower court ruling that effectively stripped the
Southern Nevada Water Authority of water rights for its controversial pipeline from eastern Nevada.
In 2013, Senior District Judge Robert Estes ruled that the state's chief water regulator failed to
adequately support a decision two years earlier to allow the authority to sink its wells in four lonesome
valleys in Lincoln and White Pine counties.
In an unpublished order issued Friday, the Supreme Court declared that Estes' decision was not subject
to appeal, a move that could force State Engineer Jason King to follow through on additional work the
judge requested.
Specifically, Estes ordered King to recalculate and probably reduce how much the authority should
safely be allowed to pump from Spring, Cave, Dry Lake and Delamar valleys to avoid draining the basins
and causing conflicts with other water rights holders there and elsewhere.
Read entire article HERE.
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New leadership for Rio Grande conservancy district
Mike Hamman learned about irrigation ditches as a kid responsible for getting water to his family's fruit trees in Taos. Today, as the
Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District's first new CEO and chief engineer in 37 years, he's in charge of delivering water to 70,000
acres of cropland. (Dean Hanson/Journal)
By Ollie Reed Jr. / Journal Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: Tuesday, February 10, 2015 at 12:02 am
Copyright © 2015 Albuquerque Journal
Mike Hamman quips that he learned about the intricacies of water flow early on when, as a kid, he was
in charge of toilet maintenance at his family's Taos motel.
He's come a long way from that flush job to his new position - the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy
District's first new CEO and chief engineer in 37 years.
Hamman, 58, took over Jan. 20 at the conservancy district, which delivers water to about 70,000 acres
of cropland in the middle Rio Grande Valley, from Cochiti Dam in the north to the Bosque del Apache
Wildlife Refuge in the south.
Read entire article HERE.
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Storms not enough for water allocation
ephanie Barnes, sbarnes@bontencalifornia.com
POSTED: 7:09 PM Feb 09 2015
ANDERSON, Calif. - Each year, the Bureau of Reclamation owes a certain amount of water to farmers
and landowners it has contracts with. Because of the drought, those contractors have been getting less
water, and this year is shaping up to be no different.
Stan Wangberg, General Manager of the Anderson-Cottonwood Irrigation District, is one of the agencies
that has a water allocation contract with the bureau.
The ACID has received less than its contracted allotment for the last several years, but Wangberg says
his agency has learned to make it work.
Read entire article HERE.
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