Water Troubles

[Volkonski]

Things getting worse in CA.

[RTH10260]

an Oroville update, no high water reports this time

[RTH10260]

[RTH10260]

[RTH10260]

ETA original AP article replaces stupid Youtube text reader.

In blistering drought, California farmers rip up precious almond trees
by Camille Camdessus

Crushed by a devastating drought and new water restrictions, Daniel Hartwig had no choice but to pull thousands of precious, fragrant almond trees from his California farm.

"It breaks your heart," he sighed as he surveyed the once vibrant landscape before him—curled, yellowed leaves covering the shrunken husks that would have been this year's crop of almonds, had the water arrived.

Their exposed roots are already starting to turn powdery with rot, and the temperature of almost 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) on this summer morning speeds their decomposition.

Moving among them are huge machines that will turn Hartwig's "beautiful prime almond trees" into large piles of woodchips.

'Brutal Shock'

"It's a sudden brutal shock," the farmer said.



https://phys.org/news/2021-08-blisterin ... s-rip.html

for pictures see mentioned video

► Show Spoiler

[AndyinPA]

I'm sorry for the farmer, but almond trees are super intensive water users. California is not the best place to raise them.

[AndyinPA]

https://apnews.com/article/business-sci ... 23c5423fc0

Climate change, drought and high demand are expected to force the first-ever mandatory cuts to a water supply that 40 million people across the American West depend on — the Colorado River. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s projection next week will spare cities and tribes but hit Arizona farmers hard.

They knew this was coming. They have left fields unplanted, laser leveled the land, lined canals, installed drip irrigation, experimented with drought-resistant crops and found other ways to use water more efficiently.

[RTH10260]

In a First, U.S. Declares Shortage on Colorado River, Forcing Water Cuts

By Henry Fountain
Aug. 16, 2021

With climate change and long-term drought continuing to take a toll on the Colorado River, the federal government on Monday for the first time declared a water shortage at Lake Mead, one of the river’s main reservoirs.

The declaration triggers cuts in water supply that, for now, mostly will affect Arizona farmers. Beginning next year they will be cut off from much of the water they have relied on for decades. Much smaller reductions are mandated for Nevada and for Mexico across the southern border.

But larger cuts, affecting far more of the 40 million people in the West who rely on the river for at least part of their water supply, are likely in coming years as a warming climate continues to reduce how much water flows into the Colorado from rain and melting snow.

“As this inexorable-seeming decline in the supply continues, the shortages that we’re beginning to see implemented are only going to increase,” said Jennifer Pitt, who directs the Colorado River program at the National Audubon Society. “Once we’re on that train, it’s not clear where it stops.”



https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/16/clim ... -cuts.html

[keith]

On the other hand, I am told that Tucson had a years worth of rain in July. Too bad they is no rainwater storage in Tucson, unless you can magically get it into the aquifer all at once.

[AndyinPA]

The Colorado

https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2021/08 ... -shortage/

Today, this river system supplies 40 million people in seven western states and Mexico, and irrigates more than 5 million acres of farmland on its way into Mexico and the Gulf of California.

Las Vegas relies on the river for 90% of its water supply, Tucson for 82% and San Diego for around 66%. Large portions of the water used in Los Angeles, Phoenix and Denver also come from the river, and experts say these booming metropolises would not have been possible without its supply.

But a crisis is unfolding, and farmers, scientists, water managers and policy makers across the Southwest are increasingly alarmed.

Water managers have long recognized that the river is plagued by overuse. But over the last two decades, demand for the river’s water has often outstripped its supply. Since 2000, the river’s flows have shrunk by roughly 20% compared to the 20th century average, due in large part to the human-caused climate crisis. At the same time, its two main reservoirs — the savings account for the entire system in times of drought — have drained rapidly.

[Volkonski]

[AndyinPA]

In 1890:

The Senate Select Committee on Irrigation and Reclamation of Arid Lands was the gatekeeper of an issue pivotal to the development of the nation—through them the federal government could bring water to the western deserts and thus open great new lands to new generations of pioneers.

The committee was composed mostly of senators from western states devoted to fulfilling their constituents’ dreams of a home and ever-increasing affluence. They wanted to hear from Powell—arguably the most comprehensively knowledgeable person about those still-little-understood western lands. They craved to hear that irrigation works would bring an Eden to the West, vouchsafing the vision of Manifest Destiny—to push across the continent with wealth and industry bringing to blossom whatever they touched.

But Powell would not tell them what they wanted to hear.

He told them all too rightly that the West offered not enough water to reclaim by irrigation more than a tiny fraction of its land. Their dreams of a verdant West needed to be tempered and shaped to reality. Powell might as well have told them the Earth was flat. The senators were outraged.



Powell’s map, assembled under his direction by USGS cartographers, reveals the western half of America separated into watersheds, the natural land basins through which water flows. Each patch represents a watershed—a hydrographic basin—where all rainfall drains into a common outlet.

Powell understood that a mountain ridgeline determined the flow of water into larger rivers and finally into the sea. Two drops of rain hitting the ground only inches apart along the Continental Divide, which runs along the crest of the Rockies, could travel far different directions. One raindrop might eventually reach the Pacific, while the other could flow into the Atlantic or Arctic oceans.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithson ... 180969182/

[Volkonski]

[Volkonski]

Soon there may be wars fought over water.

[RTH10260]

IIRC, Turkey is in part responsible for holding back Euphrat and Tigris upstream waters in new dam projects to use the water for irrigation purposes.

[AndyinPA]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... water-plan

Residents of a majority-Black city in Michigan have been advised by the state not to use tap water for drinking, bathing, or cooking “out of an abundance of caution” owing to lead contamination.

For at least three years, residents of Benton Harbor, Michigan, have been suffering from lead-contaminated water with what experts describe as insufficient intervention from state and local officials.


This month, the state promised to expand free water distribution in the city and reaffirmed its commitment to comply with federal lead regulations. Activists, who say Benton Harbor’s poor water quality is a sign of environmental injustice and have been calling on the state to take action for years, say these are steps in the right direction, but more remains to be done.

In 2018, Benton Harbor was found to have lead contamination of 22 parts per billion (ppb) in its tap water – far higher than the federal action level of 15 ppb and higher, even, than nearby Flint at the height of its water crisis. No level of lead exposure is considered safe; the federal action level is a national standard set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to determine which water systems must take action to lower its lead levels.

[Lani]

For a long time, residents and Navy families have been concerned about the water quality in an area called Red Hill.

Recently and for several months the water in that area had an odor that smelled like fuel, and people sought medical help for various illnesses. A University of Hawaii lab confirmed a petroleum product in a water sample taken from Red Hill Elementary School .

The state believes that contaminated water leaks from the tanks, spreading the chemicals throughout the area. It wants the tanks safely drained and shut down. Testing in other areas is underway. The Navy offered to cleanup the system over several months. Island residents & military families are angry, to put it mildly.

Petroleum Detected In Water Sample From Red Hill Elementary School, State Says
https://www.civilbeat.org/2021/12/petro ... tate-says/

Watch Hawaii military mom's heartbreaking plea for answers over toxic water
https://www.civilbeat.org/2021/12/petro ... tate-says/

Navy Finds Contamination In Second Well And Identifies Pollutant At Red Hill Shaft
https://www.civilbeat.org/2021/12/navy- ... -jet-fuel/

Red Hill Has Changed The Politics Around The Military In Hawaii

The military has enjoyed unwavering support from state and federal political leaders in Hawaii. But the threat to Oahu’s water supply may be bringing that to an end.

https://www.civilbeat.org/2021/12/red-h ... in-hawaii/

[Lani]

Now it's worse.

Army to families impacted by tainted water: Prepare to be displaced for 6 to 8 weeks
https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2021/12/1 ... 6-8-weeks/

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Army families displaced from their homes because of the tainted water crisis won’t be able to return for six to eight weeks ― under a best case scenario.

Families were given the news Friday morning at a U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii town hall.

It was not immediately clear if Navy families are being given a similar message.

“We’re not going to be able to move you back into your homes for Christmas,” said Maj. Gen. Joseph Ryan. at the town hall. He added compensation would be made available to families to offset costs.

The Navy families will apparently receive $500, which is close to zero housing support here. And former military personnel who live in the housing are not receiving any financial support to move.

[Lani]

The military families that were moved to hotel rooms are now told that they will be moved to other hotel rooms. The Navy only booked rooms for a short term, and time's up. Also, the families are in Waikiki with only a microwave & a tiny bar refrigerator. All food in Waikiki is very expensive, but the families aren't getting financial assistance.

Meanwhile...

Kapilina Beach Homes say they’ve been getting mixed messages about whether their water is safe. The former military housing area ― now mostly home to civilians ― is on the Navy’s water system.

https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2021/12/1 ... lead-help/

Residents are becoming very ill. Financially, they can't just break the leases and move on. No financial assistance has been offered to them. No agency is providing the residents with clean water.

Note to self: test water before buying a home on Oahu.

[raison de arizona]

What a nightmare Lani!

At least our water is mostly good out here, just not enough of it.

States to sign voluntary cutbacks of Colorado River water

To help stave off another round of mandatory cutbacks, water leaders for Arizona, Nevada and California are preparing to sign an agreement that would voluntarily reduce Colorado River water to the lower basin states by 500,000 acre-feet — enough to supply about 750,000 households for a year — for both 2022 and 2023.

The agreement, known as the “500+ Plan”, would require millions of dollars from each state over two years — $60 million from Arizona, $20 million from Nevada and $20 million from California with federal matching dollars — to fund payments for water use reduction and efficiency projects that result in supply savings throughout the lower basin.

The signing is expected to take place Wednesday at the Colorado River Water Users Association annual meeting in Las Vegas, amid urgency to negotiate new rules for managing the depleted river beyond 2026 when the 2007 interim guidelines expire.

Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the United States, hit record lows this year, spurring reduced 2022 deliveries for junior water rights holders in Arizona, Nevada and Mexico.

https://kjzz.org/content/1740964/states ... iver-water

[Lani]

Water problems are spreading.

“Because of water issues present at other military housing communities on the island, and because of incorrect information provided to them, residents at Manana expressed concerns that they are also being affected by similar issues,” he said.

Of the 168 residences at Manana, the Navy has received calls from 52 households concerned about their water, according to Navy spokeswoman Lydia Robertson. And the Hawaii Department of Health, which has received over 400 complaints from the whole Pearl Harbor region, marked Manana as a complaint hotspot on a heat map published on Tuesday.



Meanwhile, the U.S. Army added Manana to its list of affected communities on Dec. 9 and has helped place families in hotels. Unlike the Navy, the Army is allowing residents to self-certify problems and isn’t waiting for test results to definitively confirm contamination, KHON2 reported this week.

https://www.civilbeat.org/2021/12/some- ... s-tainted/

[Volkonski]

Nebraska announces $500M plan to claim water from Colorado
Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts announced a $500 million plan to divert water out of Colorado under a 99-year-old compact between the states that allows Nebraska to seize access to Colorado land along the South Platte River and build canals

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireSto ... itter_abcn

The compact, approved in 1923, is a water-sharing agreement between the states that entitles Nebraska to 120 cubic feet per second (897.6 gallons) from the river during the irrigation season between April 1 and Oct. 15, and 500 cubic feet per second (3,740 gallons) during the non-irrigation season.

Under the compact, Nebraska can build, maintain and operate canals within Colorado's borders that divert water from the South Platte River for use by Nebraska. It also gives Nebraska the power to buy land from Colorado landowners or gain access by invoking eminent domain. Nebraska's move is likely to trigger lawsuits between the states.

Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson, a Republican, said Colorado has been issuing water usage permits that would cut into Nebraska's rightful share.

“It’s critical that we be able to maintain these flows,” Peterson said.

[Lani]

Water problems are spreading.

The Red Hill leak entered the aquifer and seems to have spread to another aquifer in the Honolulu area. Just in case it's in the water my kid has, I bought him the best water filter system I could find. Shortly after, water in his area was rerouted to a different aquifer towards the east. It's not known how long that will last. It's stressing the system.

The Navy finally agreed to remove the Red Hill tanks. Good thing - people are in a rage about what is happening. Lawsuits are piling up.
The Navy says it will comply with the state emergency order to drain its Red Hill underground fuel storage tanks, adding it is already making a plan to do so.
https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2022/01/1 ... uel-tanks/

They better have a plan and put it into action pronto.

[notorial dissent]

As I recall from history classes long long ago that whole compact thing was quite contentious then and has continued to be ever sense, went to the USSC and all that. The thing I see now is that they might have the compact on their side, but there may not be the water to comply with it. CA and the US may have a higher claim number, and currently the river is way down from where it should be, Hoover Damn-Lake Meade, etc. The Colorado is barely a dirty trickle by the time it reaches its outlet into the Pacific.

[AndyinPA]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... ng-charges

A team of prosecutors and investigators leading the investigation into the Flint water crisis from 2016 through 2018 were assembling a racketeering case against the architects of a bond deal that residents and experts say sparked the health disaster, sources familiar with the criminal investigation have told the Guardian.

The case – which would have come under the Rico (racketeer-influenced and corrupt organizations) laws often used to charge organized crime groups – was widespread and set to implicate additional state officials who played a role in the poisoning of Flint, according to these sources.

But when the team was suddenly broken up and the investigation restarted with a new set of investigators, the Rico case never materialized.

What happened? Critics point to the Michigan attorney general, Dana Nessel.