Here’s another look ahead at 2019 as told by Water Lover Extraordinaire Tara Lohan. As we’ve discussed before, changes to how the country regulates certain waterways will be a big topic of discussion in 2019 (see the note below about the only public hearing taking place on the changes). Colorado River water allocations are being […]
The Trump administration plans to roll back safeguards on many US streams, wetlands and water bodies. This assault on clean water comes in the form of a proposal to narrow the definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS), thus removing numerous waters from protection under the Clean Water Act. Documents FOIAed by E&E News […]
The Colorado River provides water to 40 million people, farms and ecosystems in the West, yet overallocation, ongoing drought and climate change threaten to snip away at the amount of water available. As data shows, the cornerstone of water storage on the river, Lake Mead, dropped one foot in 2018. The states of the Colorado […]
As droughts hit the American West over the last several years, people often think about parched crops, lower water levels and even a kindling-dry landscape suitable wildfires. One thing that is often overlooked are the impacts droughts have on hydroelectric power plants and their hindrance on greenhouse gas reductions. A recent Stanford University study finds […]
Happy New Year! Just because the calendar has flipped to 2019 doesn’t mean that US water concerns of 2018 have evaporated. Circle of Blue convened an expert panel for its Speaking of Water podcast to discuss the ongoing challenges and possible solutions that trail into the new year. From the Colorado River basin states work […]
As usual, the United States experienced plenty of water issues and concerns in 2018, and the intrepid reporter, Brett Walton from water news organization, Circle of Blue has it covered. For regulators, politicians and other public officials, environmental challenges were apparent, and many of them had to do with water. See below for a snapshot […]
Grant Ferguson and colleagues from the University of Arizona and the University of California, Santa Barbara published a new study in Environmental Research Letters, looking at the depth at which fresh groundwater encounters saltier reserves that are less useful for drinking or irrigation. They demonstrated that fresh groundwater is shallower throughout the country than previously […]
The Colorado River provides water to 1-in-8 Americans and irrigates 15 percent of the country’s agricultural products. After years of drought and mismanagement, state and federal water managers are meeting with cities, native nations and farms to discuss cutbacks to water allocations. The consequences could be severe. Ninety percent of US-grown winter vegetables are irrigated with […]
A new study published in Environmental Science & Technology presents detailed estimates for water consumption and withdrawals for the US energy system in 2014. According to the authors, this is “the first known estimate of total water consumption and withdrawal by the US energy system.” The study found that energy-related water consumption accounts for about 10 […]
