Palouse Water Conservation Network

Idaho snowpack remains below average

palousewater@gmail.com — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:13:00 GMT

By Rocky BarkeR The Idaho Statesman Floaters, farmers and power users will see less water this summer unless Idaho's snowpack conditions change soon. Snow survey data collected last week across Idaho by the Natural Resources Conservation Service show near record low winter precipitation has resulted in meager snowpacks across the state that range from 55 to 75% of average. "The highest snowpacks are along the state's western and southern edges since they are affected by the major storms hitting the southwestern states," said Ron Abramovich, Water Supply specialist for NRCS. "That‚s the El Nino weather pattern - where the southwest gets above average snowfall and the Pacific Northwest is dry." Idah'‚s water supply comes from mountain snowpacks. The majority of reservoir inflows come from snowpacks above 6,000 in southern Idaho and above 4,500 feet in northern Idaho. Given the low snowpacks, runoff will be below normal across the state and irrigation water shortages are predicted in many central, southern and eastern Idaho basins. Two long-term snow measuring stations in the Upper Snake Basin in Yellowstone National Park are at the third lowest reading since records started in 1919. The snowpack in this area affects water supply all the way west to near Glenns Ferry. "February's mountain precipitation ranged from 30-55% of average, adding to below average amounts for November, December and January," said Abramovich. "Because of the low precipitation amounts, streamflow forecasts decreased from February predictions." Most reservoirs across the state are storing above average amounts for March 1. However, with well below average streamflow predicted for this summer, irrigation demand will draw down reservoirs to their minimal storage levels by summer's end and greatly increase the need for good snow next winter." "One last hope to salvage this year's water supply would be to receive a cool and wet spring," Abramovich added. "Above average precipitation and cool temperatures in April and May would delay snow melt, keeping the snowpack in the high country longer." rbarker@idahostatesman.com

Roundtable explores ideas to extend water supply

palousewater@gmail.com — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 15:13:00 GMT

Water pumping on the Palouse has declined despite increase in population By Sarah Mason, Moscow-Pullman Daily News City and county leaders and employees, university staff, state department representatives and various committee members from both sides of the Washington-Idaho border met at the inaugural Palouse Basin Leadership Roundtable on Friday. The roundtable, which is like a smaller version of the Palouse Basin Water Summit held in the fall, served as a forum for leaders to not only learn about water resources, but also to decide on actions to take to conserve local resources. "We started water summits in 2004 and we really felt good about what we were doing, but at the same time we felt we needed to elevate it with another meeting with our (leaders) and decision-makers," roundtable and water summit co-founder Paul Kimmell said. L. Michael Bogert, former counsel to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, said the forum gave leaders a chance to have "fully-ventilated discussions." Bogert previously assisted the mitigation of water issues on the Snake River. Based on this experience, Bogert said these discussions, though sometimes tough, are essential to any solution to water issues. Local entities are especially lucky to have time to meet and discuss issues in an environment without severe controversy. "My guess is all of us here have issues that are near and dear to us," Bogert said. "... The sooner those can be identified, the (better)." Moscow Mayor Nancy Chaney put the idea on the table of building a contractual relationship which would create a more formal, legal bond than the Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee, which now serves as a voluntary group for Latah County, Whitman County, Moscow, Pullman and the two universities. "When we start to reach certain population thresholds people will start to step on people's toes," Chaney said. "We must be a collaborative (group). We must pool resources." The idea met opposition from representatives on both sides of the border. Pullman Public Works Director Mark Workman said he didn't think the formation of another body would bring Idaho or Washington closer to their common goal of preserving the decreasing supply of water in the Grand Ronde Aquifer. "I think we have good level of collaboration," Workman said. "PBAC is good about finding solutions to problems. I think that just developing another bureaucracy is not good." Kimmell said though leaders didn't formalize a plan of action Friday, the communication between the bodies was beneficial so leaders could hear each other's aspirations and frustrations. "I think we have good news here," he said. "I mean look at the pumping, it's gone down." Latah and Whitman County populations are up 11 percent from 1992 to 2008, but water pumping has decreased by 11 percent, which Kimmell said is promising even though the aquifer's water levels have continued to decrease through the years. Between 1992 and 2008, water levels have gone down 16 feet. Kimmell hopes the roundtable will be held twice a year and is considering pushing the water summits, which are more informational than conversational, to once every two years. That way, leaders could stay in constant contact with each other regarding water issues, and the research presented during the water summits would have time to progress between summits. Allyson Beall, University of Idaho professor in the Waters of the West program, said leaders should take the opportunity to come up with lasting solutions to water problems. "There's no fire in your backside," Beall said. "You have this luxury to become creative and think long-term." Sarah Mason can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 234, or by e-mail to smason@dnews.com.

Runstad Discovery Lecture: Martha Mendoza

palousewater@gmail.com — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 02:37:00 GMT

University of Idaho news release Pulitzer Prize-winning, Associated Press investigative journalist Martha Mendoza will present the annual Runstad Discovery Lecture, entitled “The Last Drop: How Humans Have Polluted, Over Used and Mismanaged the Earth’s Water and What You Can Do About It." The lecture will be on Monday, March 1, at 7 p.m., in the Student Union Building International Ballroom. It is free and open to the public. A reception will follow. Mendoza's investigative reports have won numerous awards and prompted Congressional hearings, Pentagon investigations and White House responses. She won a 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting as part of a team that revealed, with extensive documentation, the decades-old secret of how American soldiers early in the Korean War killed hundreds of civilians at the No Gun Ri bridge. She won numerous other prestigious awards as well for the project. Mendoza was a 2001 Knight Fellow at Stanford University. She teaches a newswriting class and guest lectures regularly at the University of California, Santa Cruz. In 2001, she co-authored the book "The Bridge At No Gun Ri: A Hidden Nightmare from the Korean War," published by Henry Holt, and assisted with a BBC documentary "Kill 'Em All" on the same subject. Mendoza's earlier award-winning works include her investigative reports on flaws in the federal government's wild horses program and illegal child labor in the U.S., both of which brought her top APME honors and other awards. She has worked at the Madera Tribune, the Santa Cruz Sentinel and Bay City News Service as well as the AP. She also is certificated in automotive and diesel mechanics and has a California teaching credential. This event sponsored by the Office of the Core Curriculum through generous support from the Judith M. Runstad Discovery Lecture Series endowment.

Plans under way for WSU arboretum, wildlife center

palousewater@gmail.com — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 03:33:00 GMT

Kari Bray
The Daily Evergreen

Construction on a 170-acre, $60 million arboretum could be underway by July.

The fiscal climate is tough, but all funding will come from private donations, said Barbara Ryder, senior campus planner for Capital Planning and Development. WSU President Elson S. Floyd has committed $50,000 to the project, she said. Floyd sparked the idea for the new arboretum on campus after visiting the current arboretum in 2007.

“He went to the top of the hill, looked around and said, ‘You need some help’,” she said.

The arboretum will be built on land currently used by the USDA, across from the bear facility on Grimes Way and Airport Road.

The USDA stopped putting in resources to maintain the land, Ryder said, and CPD saw an opportunity for the arboretum there. The area includes pre-existing water features, groves and greenhouses.

“It’s got a very solid structure we can start with,” she said. “We can do this in phases.” The first phase will create a lower parking lot, a system of trails and a story circle, she said. The story circle is a central feature because the university hopes to incorporate American Indian culture into the project.

“I see it as an opportunity for the university, through the arboretum and wildlife center, to honor the land and the first people,” said Barbara Aston, tribal liaison and assistant to the provost. “There is such a rich history in this area. The descendants of the first people still live right here.” The plans also will expand the space for grizzly bears, wild herbivores and raptors. Aston said the care for creatures in the arboretum is important to the culture of the Plateau tribes. “A portion of the arboretum includes an area that would kind of return to the Palouse prairie as it was before farming and development,” she said. “From a Native perspective, that’s more holistic with the relationship we have as humans with the living world around us.” The acreage provided for the grizzly bears will expand from about 2.5 acres to 13. Up to 25 bears could live comfortably in the new facility, Ryder said. The habitat will also be more natural and welcoming, so people can see bears living as they would in the wild.

Another central feature of the arboretum will be the Biodiversity Center, she said. This building will contain a reception room with displays, meeting rooms, offices and viewing centers that overlook the bear habitat. The building will be energy-efficient, complete with a wall of solar panels. A machine in the arboretum will also demonstrate how water is recycled and cleansed, Ryder said.

“This is all about how you demonstrate sustainability and sustainable construction,” she said. “It makes it a more compelling project.”

Numbers in: Palouse uses more H20

palousewater@gmail.com — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 02:52:00 GMT

UI levels increase, WSU's drop by 20 million gallons from 2008-2009

By Sarah Mason Daily News staff writer
February 4, 2010

Pumping from Palouse aquifers has increased between 2008 and 2009, despite efforts to conserve water and despite Washington State University's decreased pumping levels, which dropped by 20 million gallons in 2009.

Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee executive manager Steve Robischon said in an e-mail that Pullman, Moscow, Colfax, Palouse, WSU and the University of Idaho pumped about 2 percent more water in 2009 than in 2008.

"The primary cause appears to be the drier, warmer conditions this past year, especially during June and September," he wrote.

Moscow, Pullman, WSU and the UI pumped 2.36 billion gallons in 2008 and 2.38 billion in 2009.

Despite this increase, Robischon said he felt the cities' and universities' efforts were working to decrease water use throughout a longer span of time.

Robischon said it's difficult to identify what efforts are responsible for pumping reductions.

"It appears, at least from my view, that the Moscow conservation ordinance is resulting in less water use in the summer ... and Pullman-WSU is reducing water use throughout the year (with) their rebate program."

Pullman and WSU were the only two entities among the two cities and the universities to reduce pumping last year. WSU decreased the most, from about 499 million gallons in 2008 to 479 million in 2009. This is the lowest level WSU has pumped since 1961, when the student body was less than half the size it is today.

Robert Corcoran, executive director of WSU facilities
operations, said the campus has taken many steps to decrease water use.

"I believe part of it's doing our job, part of it's the right thing to do - conserving water resources," he said. "People are making that as part of their departments' effort."

Some of WSU's conservation efforts include the installation of the new steam plant several years ago and the new deionization facility, which prepares water for research purposes, he said. The university also has a water chilling facility that cools water used to cool machinery on campus. Older systems used to drain water that was used to cool machinery, whereas now the university treats and reuses the water.

The campus has also replaced many washing machines in residential facilities, installed low-flow shower heads and worked to stop water line breaks quickly and replace leaky ones, Corcoran said.

The completion of the golf course also cut back on water at the university, he said.

"... Yes, there was a significant drop in water usage from 2009 at the golf course from 2008," he said. "It's not necessarily from the technology or the type of grass that they're using, it's just the fact that they're getting away from construction and using access water to get the grass to grow compared to normal operation."

Pullman Public Works Director Mark Workman attributed the city's more than 1 million gallon decrease to the growing public knowledge about the area's water supply

"People are more aware now of water issues on the Palouse, that our water comes from an underground aquifer and it is likely a limited supply - or limited recharge to it," Workman said.

Moscow Public Works Director Les MacDonald said the city's 42.1 million gallon growth was hard to explain and that water pumping levels are constantly fluctuating.

One of the city's essential programs in water conservation is education and outreach, said Nichole Baker, water conservation specialist for the city

The UI increased its pumping by 4 percent in 2009, Water Systems Manager Mike Holthaus said.

Pumping levels are "based on a hot year or a cold year and what research has been going on," he said.

The UI has a cooling facility similar to WSU, which helps to conserve water, Holthaus said. The university also benefits from using the city's effluent water, which is treated by the city and kept in holding ponds owned by the university. The water is then used on much of the school grounds, saving between 80 million and 100 million gallons of water a year, Holthaus said.

Looking into the future, both Moscow and Pullman are discussing long-term projects that may help conserve the Grand Ronde Aquifer, from which the Palouse draws most of its water.

Pullman has been discussing the option of aquifer storage and recovery, or drawing water from the south fork of the Palouse River and injecting it into the aquifer. The city is also continuously vying for state or federal money to create an effluent water system that would benefit WSU's campus and save millions of gallons of water.

"We're trying to position ourselves so that when the grant opportunity comes available, we're able to position ourselves for it," Workman said.

Moscow is considering other options, MacDonald said. The city has been discussing the possibility of creating a reservoir to offset some of the groundwater pumping.

Moscow is currently drafting a water conservation program that will be put before the City Council this year, MacDonald said. MacDonald said the program, if passed, could involve rebate programs to encourage the use of water-efficient devices such as toilets or washing machines.

On the Web:

The PBAC 20009 Water Use Report will be completed on Feb. 18 and will contain information on Moscow, Pullman, WSU, UI, Colfax and Palouse: www.webs.uidaho.edu/pbac/.

Sarah Mason can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 234, or by e-mail to smason@dnews.com.

Water quality checks suffer hit

palousewater@gmail.com — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:24:00 GMT

Budget cuts at DEQ force end to partnership with federal agency

Eric Barker
Lewiston Morning Tribune

Faced with a series of permanent and one-time budget holdbacks, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality has ended a partnership with a federal agency to conduct water quality monitoring throughout the state.

Late last year the department held on to $117,000 and backed out of a cost-share program with the U.S. Geological Survey that funded a large chunk of the water monitoring in Idaho’s streams, lakes and rivers.

“Historically, we had entered into a cooperative agreement with them for monitoring. We had to discontinue that agreement because of our budget shortfall,” said Gwen Fransen, the Region II administrator for the department at Lewiston and Boise. Fransen said the federal agency continues to do water quality monitoring in the state and the department also monitors waters on high-priority projects. But without the agreement, she said, there is less work getting done.

“They do surface water monitoring with or without cooperative agreements. Obviously they can do more when they cooperate with others.”

Although the department hopes to resume the agreement when state revenues and agency budgets improve, going without will have consequences. Every two years the state is required to write a water quality status report under the federal Clean Water Act. Fransen said enough data has been collected recently to complete the 2010 report. But if the program is not restored it will be more difficult in future years.

“If we can’t resume the monitoring we have had to suspend, we are going to have to figure out a different strategy for completing that report in 2012.”

Justin Hayes of the Idaho Conservation League in Boise said ending the agreement means the state is turning away some federal dollars.

“DEQ puts money in a pot and USGS does, and the USGS does the work. That relationship came to a crashing halt. We are leaving a lot of federal money on the table.”

He said the lack of data collection could hinder businesses looking to locate in Idaho, especially those that require a permit to discharge effluents.

“You end up in a situation where industry wants permits and won’t be able to get them because there is not enough money to process the permits.”

Fransen said if that situation were to arise, the department could require the business seeking a permit to do the background water monitoring. That may sound like putting the fox in charge of the henhouse, she said, but added that the department and the federal Environmental Protection Agency would do confirmation monitoring. If a permit meant more jobs coming to an area, she said, the department would likely be able to come up with the money to do such monitoring.

Despite ending the agreement, Fransen said the state’s ongoing requirement to write pollution reduction plans for water bodies not meeting state water quality standards – known as total maximum daily loads – won’t be affected. The agency continues to do water quality monitoring on those streams to meet a court order.

Since the agency’s 2009 budget was approved, there has been about $4 million in holdbacks.

WSU water use in 2009 second lowest in nearly 50 years

palousewater@gmail.com — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 03:40:00 GMT

By Robert Strenge, WSU News Service

PULLMAN - Water use by WSU Pullman in 2009 dropped to the second lowest recorded level in nearly 50 years.

WSU pumped almost 479 million gallons of water to serve the Pullman campus during the 2009 calendar year. The total was roughly 2.6 percent above WSU’s 467,386,500-gallon water consumption level in 1961, which marks the last time the university’s water usage was roughly comparable historically.

Robert Corcoran, executive director of Facility Operations, said the success in reducing water consumption to a level roughly equivalent to that recorded almost half a century ago is particularly significant in light of the expansive growth in enrollment and campus facilities that has occurred since that time.

“Since 1961, our enrollment here has grown nearly 135 percent, from 7,762 students at that time to 18,234 in the fall of 2009,” he said. “Perhaps even more significantly, we’ve seen more than a 515 percent growth in the total square footage of all Pullman campus facilities, from 82 facilities totaling 1,711,281 gross square feet in 1961, to 546 facilities totaling 10,532,164 gross square feet, as of June of last year.”

The total water usage figures, above, include water for expansion of WSU's golf course from nine holes to the new 18-hole Palouse Ridge Golf Club.

WSU’s 2009 water consumption figure also represents a decline of more than 35 percent, or 263,000,000 gallons per year, from 1984, when WSU’s annual usage peaked at 742,000,000 gallons.

Corcoran attributed WSU’s success in reducing water consumption to a number of factors, including:

A continuing effort to identify and eliminate water-wasting equipment in campus buildings; upgrades to process facilities such as the deionized water plant; construction of the new chilled water facility; and numerous replacements of equipment - such as refrigerators, portable air conditioners, heat exchangers, vacuum pumps and air compressors - with equipment employing water-recycling and conservation technologies. (Deionized water is an "ultra-pure" water used in research.)
The 2005 closure of the old College Avenue Steam Plant and construction of the new Grimes Way Steam Plant that allowed WSU to reduce its water use by some 30 million gallons annually.
Identification and repair of a number of broken and leaking small domestic water lines in some of the remote areas of the campus that has saved more than 11.5 million gallons annually.
Conversion of residence hall washing machines to low-water-use, front-loading washers.
Upgrade of approximately one-third of the campus’s irrigation controllers.
Ongoing efforts by Facilities Operations, Capital Planning and Development, and Housing/Dining Services to install low-water-usage equipment and fixtures.

City of Moscow seeks to increase water supply by financing new well near state line

palousewater@gmail.com — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 02:29:00 GMT

By Mark Williams, Moscow-Pullman Daily News staff writer

The city of Moscow is pursuing funding for a well that would be capable of supplying the city with roughly 40 percent of its water supply.

Public Works Director Les MacDonald said the city is seeking financing for well No. 10, in what would amount to a roughly $5.3 million project. The site of the well is located on the state line at the end of A Street, neighboring the LDS church near Warbonnet Drive. The city purchased the one-acre parcel 10 years ago for $100,000.

MacDonald said the city has already budgeted $1.5 million of the 2010 budget in anticipation of the project and is in the process of exploring options for additional financing.

The creation of the well traces its roots back to the summer of 2002 when well No. 9, located behind the Palouse Mall, suffered a catastrophic motor failure. The motor had to be overhauled in Texas and forced the city to impose strict outdoor watering requirements for all of August and part of September.

MacDonald said the situation helped reiterate the city's need for "redundancy in the system." Well No. 10 would essentially serve as the counterpart to well No. 9 and allow the city to switch between the two as it saw fit.

The city would drill down 1,300 feet, roughly 600 feet lower than the two adjacent wells dug by the Hawkins Companies' site, for its development west of the state line.

City Council President Wayne Krauss and other council members wondered if and how the two well sites would potentially affect each other, but MacDonald said since the city was at a lower level it might not be affected at all. The Hawkins' wells only run at 300 gallons per minute whereas, if comparable to well No. 9, the Moscow well would run at roughly 2,300 gallons-per-minute.

"It could affect them worse than it will us," MacDonald said. "They have not put those to beneficial use, and depending on the economy, who knows when they will be able to do so.

"We may catch up to them, we may not."

The most pressing effort is to secure a money through the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality's Drinking Water Revolving Fund program. The program allows municipalities to secure below-market interest rates for repair or building new drinking-water-related facilities.

The application process is competitive, and last year only eight entities received money with many more than that applying. The city began the application process earlier this month, and MacDonald said the city will have a better idea of where it stands this spring when DEQ decides how to allocate its resources for the coming year.

MacDonald said if the city does not received the DEQ loan, it would then seek some form of bond to fund the project.

The drilling alone is estimated to cost $1.3 million, which the city could essentially pay for right now with the budgeted $1.5 million. An additional $1 million is estimated for development of the well itself including pumps, motor controls and other structures. The final $3 million is slated for the installation of new transmission lines that would work to ease current and anticipated bottlenecks in the system should the well be built. Preliminary transmission lines include one stretching down the Warbonnet and turning east down a significant stretch of State Highway 8.

Mark Williams can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 301, or by e-mail at mwilliams@dnews.com.

WA Cities, Counties Discover Misconnected Pipes

palousewater@gmail.com — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 03:47:00 GMT

Northwest Public Radio report

SPOKANE, WA - Imagine if someone told you the wastewater from your home is inadvertently flushing straight into a nearby lake or stream. But it happens some places in Washington. City and county officials who are reviewing their local stormwater systems are finding some interesting surprises. They’re discovering drainage pipes that are connected to the wrong sanitation systems. Correspondent Doug Nadvornick reports the state is pushing cities to fix the problems.

Stormwater is the runoff from rain and melted snow. Cities treat it differently than they do sewage. The water you flush down the john goes down one set of pipes toward a treatment plant. The water that runs off your roof ends up in another set of pipes.

At least, that’s how it’s supposed to go.

Ted Hamlin is using a pick to lift a manhole cover near downtown Spokane. He spends much of his time collecting stormwater samples for Washington’s Department of Ecology. Once he pulls off the heavy iron cover, he reaches for a long pole.

Ted Hamlin: “This is a grab-sample pole. It’s telescopic, so I can go down into a hole up to 24 feet.”

Hamlin uses this pole to collect stormwater samples. He and his colleagues try to pin down the sources of pollution. Once in a while, he says, it comes from misconnected pipes.

Ted Hamlin: “The storm systems and sewer systems have been installed at different times over the last 120 years. Those pipes are not color-coordinated and so there are opportunities for mistakes to be made.”

Joye Redfield-Wilder: “Sometimes buildings and offices and hospitals get hooked up to the wrong pipe and instead of going to the wastewater plant, their waste is going right to a river.”

Joye Redfield-Wilder from the Washington Department of Ecology says that happens more often than you might think.

Her agency is requiring cities to find and eliminate what she calls “illicit discharges.” Redfield-Wilder says it’s part of a larger statewide effort to reduce stormwater pollution.

Joye Redfield-Wilder: “We put a lot of weight on industry and cities to reduce their discharge, so it only makes sense to fix these boo boos.”

The city of Yakima found some boo boos last spring. Scott Schafer from the city’s wastewater department says his staff conducted smoke tests to find leaks in underground pipes.

Scott Schafer: “It’s an apparatus we put on top of a manhole. We use a liquid smoke mixture and then use a fan to blow through the pipes. And what we use it for is really to find what’s connected to the pipe and where the pipe is.”

Schafer says those tests helped Yakima find about 10 bad connections. He says sewage from homes, taverns and warehouses was mistakenly routed into the stormwater system.

In Pullman, Washington State University officials have found their own cases.

One is here in the rickety old fieldhouse. Gene Patterson is W-S-U’s public health and water quality manager. He’s not happy he has to deal with this.

Gene Patterson: “There really isn’t any major discharge from this fieldhouse, but there’s like 24 drains and so, we looked into temporarily plugging them and then the other options are we just permanently plug them, pour concrete down them or something. Or replumb them at a cost of 200-thousand dollars.”

Patterson says that’s a lot of money to stop a minor source of pollution.

His colleague, Dwight Hagihara, wonders whether it’s worth it. He says the university recently spent another 200-thousand to re-route drains from the university’s swimming pools to the sanitary sewer. All this, he says, at a time when the university is cutting budgets.

Hagihara says Pullman has bigger water pollution problems to worry about, like runoff from nearby farms.

Dwight Hagihara: “There are other places where we believe there are other, more significant pollution sources that maybe this money could have been spent on to correct those things, rather than reporting this and filling out the paperwork and forms.”

Ecology Department officials are convinced their illicit discharge program is improving water quality. There’s one other benefit: it’s also giving cities like Yakima and Pullman a better inventory of their miles and miles of wastewater pipes.

A water perspective on Copenhagen

palousewater@gmail.com — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 05:08:00 GMT

By Daniel Moss
Grist

How does improved water stewardship fit into cooling our planet? How well were the water-climate connections made at the recent Copenhagen climate deliberations?

If you’re like me, you only have a lay person’s understanding of ecology—and global politics for that matter. But I do know that the CO2 reduction and carbon sequestration strategies that were batted around in Denmark—caring for our tropical forests and fighting desertification, for example—will require copious amounts of clean water.

I’m beginning to understand that the role of water in climate change is not just about adapting to accelerating droughts and floods. Michal Kravcik, a Slovakian hydrologist, said in advance of the Copenhagen talks, “My expectations are simple: to incorporate in the Copenhagen Protocol a mechanism of using water for recovery of the climate ... Until now, all initiatives for solution of climatic changes addressed only CO2 reduction.”

Kravcik’s research suggests that climate stabilization requires ensuring that water is absorbed into the earth. That absorption and the subsequent recharging of groundwater reserves prevent landscapes from drying and allows water to play its essential temperature regulating role.

What’s becoming clearer is that getting to 350 parts per million of CO2 isn’t a goal that can be separated from careful and massive restoration of the earth’s ailing watersheds. And that means grappling with thorny questions of who owns and manages the water commons we all share—a conversation unfortunately not had in Copenhagen.

That’s not a complaint; it makes a lot of sense that emissions reduction was the principal focus at the climate talks—and truly tragic that nations didn’t take the necessary bold steps in that area. But water can’t remain at the edges of the climate change conversation for very long. It’s too important in bringing the earth’s climate back into balance.

Our well-intentioned attempts at climate correction are hurt by not looking at the full picture. Salvation is much more likely when our remedial steps are based on basic principles of ecology—inter-relationship—not of a separate air or water or forest program.

What steps can we take towards this kind of holistic climate stabilization strategy that revives water’s critical role in cooling our planet? Here are a few ideas:

Build on Michal Kravcik’s research. It makes intuitive sense that water facilitates cooling—just think about how you pour it into your car’s radiators. But let’s nail down water’s specific contribution to global cooling and come up with a specific goal for hydrological health akin to the very tangible and campaignable 350 parts per million for the atmosphere.
This hydrological health relies on health watersheds. Maude Barlow proposes declaring not only water, but watersheds themselves, as a commons so that property rights don’t disrupt ecosystem health and a water-cooled planet.
We must push back on climate change mitigation strategies that don’t depart from a holistic understanding of the planet’s interdependent ecosystems. For example, it makes little sense to have a forest-based, carbon sequestration strategy unless the water necessary for forest life is safeguarded.
Ensuring that adequate water is available to cool the earth means to take a hard look at current water use and abuse. We must hold industry, agriculture, and sprawling municipalities to sustainable water use and non-contamination standards—which in many cases simply means implementing existing water and public health regulations.
Our actions ought to be informed by a worldview that holds that water is a commons shared equally by all of humanity and all of nature. That means proposing models of water ownership and management compatible with a commons concept—heavy on citizen engagement and light on privatization.

Water activists like Anil Naidoo of the Blue Planet Project were vocal in Copenhagen to make the climate-water link. The Copenhagen Water and Climate Justice Statement’s call to action begins, “Whereas the abuse, over extraction and displacement of water to promote a global economy based on unlimited growth and corporate power is a major cause of climate change ... “

There’s clearly much to be learned from the Copenhagen experience. It’s a good time to step back and hammer out new strategies. Managing water as a commons is one important step towards a healthy climate. It not only makes a lot of ecologic sense, but may make good movement-building sense as well. Imagine the power of the climate change movement when it includes not only associations of water engineers—but 6 billion water consumers worldwide.

Daniel Moss is co-coordinator of Our Water Commons and currently lives in Oaxaca, Mexico with his family. He served on the media team for the Peoples’ Water Forum held in Istanbul in March, 2009.

California's water woes worsen

palousewater@gmail.com — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 21:20:00 GMT

http://www.grist.org/article/2009-12-16-californias-water-woes-worsen

Advancing Sustainability Efforts: $25,000 in Grants to Fund Projects

palousewater@gmail.com — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:23:00 GMT

University of Idaho News

MOSCOW, Idaho – Through a competitive process, thanks to $25,000 in funding provided by the University of Idaho Sustainability Center and the Sustainable Idaho Initiative, nine projects have been selected to advance sustainability efforts at the University of Idaho's Moscow campus in surrounding communities.

The annual grant competition is one collaborative way the university's sustainability efforts move forward. The funded projects will be led by students, faculty and staff and will support problem solving across a broad spectrum of sustainability issues. The grants support initiative work in broad areas such as transportation, food systems, waste minimization, energy and education. The projects include:

Transportation
• Design and construction of a covered bike shelter and bioswale at the Sixth Street Living Learning Center. The shelter will be composed of environmentally friendly materials and designed to collect water from adjacent buildings. Water will shed into the bioswale, which will then filter the water before it enters Paradise Creek, reducing in-stream pollutants. Project leader: Ryan Beitz, junior, architecture and interior design

• Installation of 23 new bicycle parking racks in highly utilized, centrally located areas of the university campus. The project will encourage bicycle ridership with a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from motorized transportation. Project leader: Rebecca Couch, information specialist, parking and transportation services.

Food systems
• Creation of Vandal Community Garden on the Moscow campus. The project will teach students how to grow their own food and encourage the idea of growing and buying from local resources. Project leader: Danielle Merriman, junior, international studies, environmental science, and Spanish, and vice president of the university Environmental Club.

• Development of a community garden at Paradise Creek Regional High School in Moscow. Students from the university and high school will work with the university’s Soil Stewards, Moscow Food Co-op and Backyard Harvest to produce and distribute food for low-income residents and local food pantries. Project leader: Adrian Wurr, assistant director of service-learning and internships and adjunct faculty in curriculum and instruction.

• Research study on biochar, a type of charcoal used to improve soil fertility, increase plant productivity, and sequester carbon to mitigate climate change. Positive results from the study may lead to a variety of biochar applications on campus. Project leader: Kristin McElligott, graduate student, forest resources.

Waste Minimization
• Design and implementation of a composting system to process all food waste from campus dining and all animal waste from the university dairy and other animal units. The system will reduce the amount of waste generated by the university and allay disposal costs associated with food and farm waste. Project leader: John Boyd, senior, biological systems, engineering and Spanish.

• Research the food and farm waste composting bays at the university dairy. The study will explore opportunities for process improvement and end use to create linkages between engineering design, microbiology and plant science. Project lead: Aurelio Briones, assistant professor of plant, soil and entomological sciences.

Energy
• Installation of motion sensor lights in three large classrooms of the Menard Law Building. The project will reduce energy consumption and costs by keeping lights off when the classrooms are not occupied. Project lead: Sally Butts, second-year law student.

Education
• Present four student-led workshops to showcase simple, do-it-yourself projects to decrease an individual's environmental footprint. The workshop series is targeted to students as a way to shift campus culture toward sustainable living practices. Project leader: Michael Hazel, sophomore, conservation social sciences, in collaboration with the Student Organization of People and the Environment

For more information about the projects, contact the Sustainability Center at (208) 885-0125 or uisc@uidaho.edu, or Alecia Hoene in the Environmental Science Program at (208) 885-6113 or hoene@uidaho.edu.

As increasing environmental awareness drives interest in sustainable practices, the University of Idaho continues to promote initiatives that meet the current and future needs of society and to contribute to the quality of life in Idaho, the nation and the world. The University of Idaho emitted some 38,981 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gases into the atmosphere in 2007, which is equal to 3.59 tons per student. The university has set a goal to be carbon neutral by 2030 and has begun to work to reduce carbon emissions across campus. For more information about the university’s sustainability efforts, contact the University of Idaho Sustainability Center at uisc@uidaho.edu or visit www.uisc.uidaho.edu.

State Attorney General Backs Agency Decision to Prohibit New Wells

palousewater@gmail.com — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:45:00 GMT

State Attorney General Backs Agency Decision to Prohibit New Wells in Eastern Washington County

By Jeff Kray
Marten Law Group

As a general rule, anybody who wants to use underground water (“groundwater”) in Washington must receive a permit from the Department of Ecology (“Ecology”). Since the end of World War II, however, groundwater wells using less than 5,000 gallons of water per day for domestic use have been exempt from Washington’s permit requirement. As a result of rapid growth and recent droughts, permit-exempt well use is an increasing source of conflict and Ecology has received requests to limit or prohibit exempt wells, particularly in dry Eastern Washington.

On July 31, 2009, Ecology adopted an emergency rule closing all new groundwater withdrawals in Upper Kittitas County, the area of the state with the most contentious groundwater exempt well issues. The Washington Attorney General’s Office has now issued a formal opinion (“AGO”) concurring that Ecology has authority to prohibit new groundwater withdrawals when it does not know enough about water availability, but determining that Ecology does not have authority to alter the numeric limits or water amounts exempted from a permit.[1]

If Washington wants to take a more gradual approach to limiting permit-exempt well use, then the state legislature will need to amend Washington’s groundwater exemptions. Absent such an amendment, developers, property owners, and others planning to use permit-exempt wells in Washington should note the potential for Ecology to prohibit such groundwater withdrawals where there are concerns that they may impair other users’ water rights or may not be sustainable but there is not enough information for Ecology to determine whether adequate water is available.

Americans are getting better at water conservation

palousewater@gmail.com — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:11:00 GMT

Americans are using less water than they did 50 years ago, thanks to conservation measures.

By GARANCE BURKE and JOHN FLESHER | Associated Press Writers
Christian Science Monitor

FRESNO, Calif.

Americans are using less water per person now than they have since the mid-1950s, thanks to water-saving technologies and a nationwide push to safeguard dwindling supplies.

A report released Thursday, Oct. 29, by the US Geological Survey also shows that industries as well as the general population are sucking up less water overall than in 1980, when the nation’s thirst for water peaked.

Experts said it was particularly welcome news in the burgeoning West, where cities built in dry regions are grappling with intense disputes and ecosystem collapse tied to dwindling supplies.

“Even during a time of population growth and economic growth, we are all using less water,” said Susan Hutson, a USGS hydrologist in Memphis, and an author of the report. “It’s exciting to see we have responded to these crises by really seeking solutions.”

California, in the third year of a withering drought, was the most water-hungry state in 2005, the most recent year for which figures were available.

California used about 9 percent of all water extracted from lakes, rivers, and underground aquifers, followed by Texas, Idaho, and Illinois. All told, those four states drew more than a quarter of America’s total freshwater supplies in 2005.

Nationwide, about 80 percent of the 410 billion gallons (1,552 billion liters) used each day went to produce electricity at thermoelectric power plants and to irrigate farm fields.

Occasional shortages and disputes have arisen even around the water-rich region of the US Great Lakes, which hold 95 percent of America’s fresh surface water and meet the drinking needs of 34 million people in eight states.

Last year, the states signed a compact that limits any diversions of lake water to areas outside the drainage basin, in reaction to fears of Sun Belt water grabs.

Scientists with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have warned that climate change will exacerbate water scarcity problems around the world. Computer models suggest a warming climate may send the Great Lakes’ levels substantially lower by century’s end.

“The pressure’s on to conserve,” said Tim Eder, director of the Great Lakes Commission, an interstate agency. “We’re trying to position ourselves so we’ll have an abundant supply that can be used sustainably, particularly if businesses want to relocate here from places where water is expensive or unavailable.”

Hopefuls differ over how to expand water resources

palousewater@gmail.com — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:12:00 GMT

By Mark Williams, Moscow-Pullman Daily News staff writer

The seven candidates for Moscow City Council generally agree on how Moscow should manage its water resources.

Water is an ever-present issue in every Moscow election, emphasized by Election Day's proximity to the Palouse Basin Water Summit in October.

Nearly all the candidates agree some form of surface water retention, such as a reservoir, needs to be explored given what is known about the Grande Ronde Aquifer's gradual drop. Moscow draws the majority of its water from the aquifer.

Tim Brown said people first have to realize water doesn't recognize city limits or state lines.

"The water that everybody talks about down there doesn't belong to anybody. It sits under two states and two cities," he said.

Though surface water has to be an option, Brown said there are difficulties in finding a suitable location and acquiring the land. In the meantime, cooperation with other entities is key, he said.

"We have to have a relationship with everyone to begin with," he said. "It can't be that hard to get together with people and talk about it."

Nels Reese doesn't claim to be an expert on the topic of water resource management. However, he does think current technology is capable of allowing Moscow to sustain itself on some form of surface water system, be it a reservoir or tanks.

Reese said he is impressed with the knowledge base that already exists in the area. He hopes a continued expansion of education can help resolve many of the city's water issues.

"I have been very impressed with the people who have been supporting the (Palouse Basin) Water Summit," he said.

Councilman Walter Steed said he also sees a need for some form of surface water, but diverges from other candidates who think a reservoir is a realistic possibility. Instead he thinks pumping water from one of the region's rivers may be a more viable alternative.

"The surface reservoir needs to be explored as we speak, but I'm not sure we have enough snow (on Moscow Mountain) that we can entrap enough," he said.

Steed currently represents the City of Moscow on the Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee. He said he has learned much during his time there and hopes to learn more.

He isn't concerned about Moscow running out of water anytime soon, but likes how the city has proceeded so far.

"To me, I don't see it as urgent," he said. "What is urgent is that we study and continue to research."

Dennis Deccio said no matter what options the city pursues, he wants to continue working with the public on conservation issues.

"It boils down to individual education and how much they can help with conservation," he said.

Deccio said he feels the city Water Department already is doing a good job in its public education efforts, and he would like to help them expand their campaign.

"The city already does a lot of excellent things and provides devices for free that can control use," he said. "Primarily, we all need to work together on it. It's got to be a joint effort."

Scott Billing said he would like to explore further opportunities to reuse wastewater for irrigation and other purposes. While there is limited amount of that happening at the University of Idaho, he would like to find out what it takes to do more, perhaps at the proposed baseball fields on Palouse River Drive.

"My understanding is that it might not work there, but we need to evaluate what the costs might be," he said.

Like other candidates, Billing wants to continue to take advantage of the knowledge base already in the area.

"My big thing is that we need to be working with U of I and the Palouse Knowledge Corridor to get research funds to identify the limits of our aquifer," he said.

Like Billing, Sue Scott is a proponent of exploring wastewater reuse options, particularly for the fields on Palouse River Drive.

She was concise on her philosophy of how the city can manage its water.

"Reduce, reuse, recycle," she said.

Scott said there are plenty of conservation methods available that citizens, developers and the city can use to save water.

"The technology is out there," she said.

Write-in candidate Autry White expressed similar sentiments to Scott. He said, to him, the best short term solution to the complex problem is simple: conservation.

"We don't know how much water we have," he said. "The best option we have is to conserve."

Mark Williams can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 301, or by e-mail at mwilliams@dnews.com.