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 Upcoming NWRA Meetings: Federal Water Issues Conference - April 13-15, 2015, Washington Court Hotel, Washington, DC Western Water Seminar - August 4-6, 2015, Hyatt Regency Monterey, Monterey, California 84th Annual Conference - November 4-6, 2015, Westin Denver Hotel, Denver, Colorado Upcoming Member Meetings: 2015 February 19-20, Family Farm Alliance Annual Meeting & Conference, Las Vegas, NV February 25-26, Association of California Water Agencies Washington Conference, Washington, DC 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. March 4-6, Texas Water Conservation Association Annual Convention, Austin, TX Stay Connected Join Our Mailing List Forward to a Friend 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 Back to TOP 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 Back to TOP 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 Back to TOP 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 Back to TOP 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 Back to TOP 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 [email protected] by March 12, 2015. Read Press Release HERE. Back to TOP 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. Back to TOP 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. Back to TOP Back to TOP 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. Back to TOP 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. Back to TOP 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. Back to TOP 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. Back to TOP Storms not enough for water allocation ephanie Barnes, [email protected] 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. Back to TOP Daily news items and links to information are created by other public and private organizations. The National Water Resources Association (NWRA) does not control or guarantee the accuracy or completeness of this information. The inclusion of news items and links, and any views or opinions expressed therein, is not intended to indicate endorsement or importance by the NWRA. National Water Resources Association 4 E Street SE Washington, DC 20003 www.nwra.org 202-698-0693
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