CWAG NEWS & VIEWS
September 3, 2010
In
this issue:
· CWAG for Sept. 11: Is The Verde River Protected
by the Clean Water Act?
· CWAG Candidate Forum video online and on Access
13
· Verde Basin Partnership kicks off its first study
· Healthy rivers are vital to Arizona
communities
· Rain garden to fight pollution
· Prescott council adjusts water conservation
incentives
· Introducing the Moisture Balance Drought Index
· Water suppliers brainstorm in Denver about climate
change
· How to restore the Colorado River
· EPA Takes Aim at Toxics in Dyes, Flame
Retardants, Detergents
· Not a Drop to Drink: America’s Water Crisis and
What You Can Do
· August Climate Summary
CWAG for Sept. 11: Is The Verde River Protected by the Clean Water
Act? Steve
Pawlowski, Water Sentinels program coordinator for
the Grand Canyon Chapter of the Sierra Club, will present “Is the
Verde River Protected by the Clean Water Act?” when he speaks to the Citizens
Water Advocacy Group (CWAG) on Saturday, Sept. 11 from 10 a.m. to noon at the
Granite Peak Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 882 Sunset in Prescott (two
blocks behind True Value).
A
recently retired 21-year employee with the Arizona Department of Environmental
Quality (ADEQ), Pawlowski will discuss issues related
to Clean Water Act jurisdiction in the aftermath of two Supreme Court
decisions: Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (2001)
and Rapanos v. United States (2006). He will explain
"navigable waters" and "waters of the United States" as
those terms are used in the Clean Water Act, using the Verde River and other
Arizona water bodies as examples.
Pawlowski will also discuss the surface water
quality standards ADEQ has adopted for the Verde River and how
ADEQ establishes designated uses and criteria to maintain and protect the
river’s water quality. And he’ll touch on some other state regulatory programs for
the protection of groundwater and the direct reuse of reclaimed water and
explain how those programs are implemented to protect groundwater and public
health.
For
more info, call 445-4218, e-mail info@cwagaz.org
or visit www.cwagAZ.org.
###
CWAG Candidate Forum video online and on Access
13. The
one-hour version
will run on Access 13 from Tuesday 8/24 through Sunday 9/19 in these time
slots:
Prescott
- Sunday 2:00 p.m. and Tuesday 6:00 a.m.
Prescott Valley - Tuesday 6:00 a.m. and Sunday 8:00 p.m
The
full version is up on Vimeo at: http://www.vimeo.com/14360408
###
Verde Basin Partnership kicks off its first study By Steve Ayers. For perhaps the first time since its inception,
there is a sense of accomplishment for the members of the Verde River Basin Partnership. Recently infused with funding from the Walton Foundation, as well
as the U.S. Geological Service, the group, whose mission it has been to gather
scientific information on water resources within the Verde River watershed, is
set to do its job. Read more . . .
###
Healthy rivers are vital to Arizona communities by Tim Flood and Michelle
Harrington. Rivers have been depleted, polluted, degraded and forgotten for
years, but communities across the nation are slowly recognizing healthy rivers
are valuable assets. In the arid Southwest, we can see the clear contrast
between healthy rivers that provide jobs, recreation, fish and wildlife habitat
and rivers that are failing. We can be inspired by the relative health of
Arizona's Verde and San Pedro Rivers, while our unhealthy Santa Cruz and Salt
Rivers must be clarion calls to act. Read more . . .
###
Rain garden to fight pollution by Nancy Gaarder, World-Herald Staff Writer. A very ordinary location -- a patch
of grass next to an asphalt parking lot that backs up to a warehouse -- is the
latest place where Omahans are drawing a line against
water pollution. Douglas County commissioners Monday broke ground on what is,
in government speak, a “bioretention project” at the
county warehouse at 40th and Pacific Streets. Some subsurface dirt will be replaced with filtering sand
and gravel, while the sod will be restored to water-guzzling native grasses.The county hopes the changes will capture about 85
percent of the storm water runoff from the warehouse roof and parking lot. Read more . . .
###
Prescott council adjusts water conservation incentives By Paula Rhoden
The
Daily Courier. "A landscaping irrigation audit is the single most
effective water conservation effort a homeowner can do," Charlie Hildebrant told the Prescott
City Council Tuesday afternoon. Hildebrant, representing the Yavapai County Nursery and Landscaping
Association, expressed his concerns about the proposed reduction to the city's
water efficiency improvement incentive for irrigation audits from $100 to $75. Read more . . .
###
Introducing the Moisture Balance Drought Index. It’s less flashy than a flood and
more subtle than an earthquake. Yet drought actually takes a bigger economic
toll in the United States than other natural disasters. Drought losses average
billions of dollars a year. In the Southwest, drought is anathema to water and
fire managers, ranchers, farmers, and many others who fear lower reservoir
levels and parched landscapes. Read more . . .
###
Water
suppliers brainstorm in Denver about climate change By Bruce Finley
The Denver Post. Water
suppliers are embarking on projects aimed at reducing their vulnerability to
climate change, but along with that planning will probably come higher water bills.
Gathering in Denver this week for a brainstorming session, the representatives
of about 25 major public utilities conveyed concerns about observed changes
increasingly affecting their operations: earlier snowmelt from mountains,
increased rain instead of snow, rising sea levels, flooding that leads to
overflowing sewers, and drought. Read more . . .
###
How to restore the Colorado River. The Colorado River hasn't reached
the sea in ages. Is there hope left for this storied but manhandled river?
Jonathan Waterman, author of Running
Dry: A Journey from Source to Sea Down the Colorado
River,
brought together two experts from either end of the river to talk about what's
happened to the river over the years, and how to get more water flowing in the
future. Read more . . .
###
EPA Takes Aim at Toxics in Dyes, Flame Retardants, Detergents. The potential human health risks of chemicals
widely used in dyes, flame retardants, and industrial laundry detergents have
prompted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to study and potentially ban
their manufacture and use. The EPA today [Aug. 18] released "action plans"
that address benzidine dyes, hexabromocyclododecane,
HBCD, and nonylphenol, NP/nonylphenol
ethoxylates, NPEs used in both consumer and
industrial applications. "These chemicals have been detected in
people," the EPA declared. Read
more . . .
###
Not a Drop to Drink: America’s Water Crisis and What You Can Do. CWAG friend Barbara Walrafen recommended this book, and Bruce Babbitt wrote a
cover blurb saying it’s “an insightful analysis of the oncoming water crisis”
and “deserves attention from environmentalists and developers.” Read the
foreword by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and learn more about the book here.
###
August Climate Summary. Monsoon thunderstorm
activity peaked in August, but still left many areas in Arizona with below
average precipitation. Deep moisture hung around the state throughout the
month, but a weak steering flow in the upper levels of the atmosphere and very
few upper-level disturbances continued to plague this monsoon season. This led
to highly localized and primarily terrain-driven convection across the
mountainous areas of the state. Very few organized clusters of storms were able
to push out west into the low deserts, leaving these areas with very little
observed precipitation. One rain event with good state-wide coverage occurred
at the beginning of the month, from July 31st through
August 1st. RainLoggers across northern and central
Arizona reported widespread observations of 0.25” to 1” of rainfall during this
period.
The monsoon appears to be waning in this first week of September,
which means that rainfall will continue to taper off throughout the month. A La
Nina event is also in full swing in the equatorial Pacific Ocean at this time
and is expected to persist through th
fall and winter. This means a really good chance that unusually dry conditions
will set in this fall and persist through next spring. Hopefully we will
get at least a couple of winter storms to wash the dust out of our rain gauges.
To become a rainlogger yourself, go
to http://rainlog.org/usprn/html/main/maps.jsp
and click on “register” on the top right of the page.
###
Join CWAG! Help
us continue our work to achieve a sustainable water supply while maintaining
the flows in the Verde River. Dues are only $25 per household! Download our
membership form at http://www.cwagaz.org/aboutus.html .
###
If
you have any items you’d like considered for inclusion in N&V, please forward them to me, Leslie
Hoy, at priority@cableone.net.
###