Angry Irish

The Emerald Isle, with its damp climate, extensive greenery and abundant water supply has truly never experienced a true water shortage, and has many local thriving fish and wildlife habitats.  But currently, people of the town of Boyle, in County Roscommon in the western part of Ireland are having to boil their tap water due to the fact that it is practically toxic to drink.  The water supply has been contaminated by a new bacteria that the town’s out-of-date water treatment plants cannot purify.  The consequence to drinking the water, “You’re going to be violently sick for 24 hours-it’s as simple as that.  It happened to me twice.  But not a third time” Sean O’Dowd was quoted saying as he and many others were photographed stalking up on bottled water supplies.  The contamination is caused by a severe downfall in the quality of local water infrastructures, due mostly to the lack of investment on part of the local government following the 2010 economic collapse of Ireland.  Irish Water, the company chosen to take over the once locally operated water system plans on spending over 2 billion Euros or 2.5 billion US dollars to bring the waterworks up to safe standards.  This project is going to be supported by issuing a never before seen water fee for all water usage.  Up until now water infrastructure and management was funded from central and local government taxes, now households will be responsible for paying for the water that they use in their homes and businesses, a procedure we have long become accustomed to in the U.S.  “We have a big problem in terms of our infrastructure-it’s not at a state that’s fit to meet the needs of a modern economy,” says Irish Water’s Elizabeth Arnett.  

Colorado Basin Disappearing From Below

The Colorado River Basin is one of the most important sources of water for most of the Western United states.  It provides water to 40 million Americans and over 4 million acres of farmland in seven western states.  Quite alarmingly in the last few years, research has shown that groundwater is vanishing from the basin much quicker than ever expected.  In the last 9 years the basin has lost approximately 65 cubic kilometers of fresh water.  This quantity is nearly double the size of the nations largest reservoir, Lake Mead.  Many were stunned when NASA weather satellites showed such a drastic decline in such a seemingly short period of time.  More incredibly almost two thirds of the water lost, was groundwater.  The information gap arises because of the fact that surface water residing in the Colorado River Basin is closely regulated and monitored by the US Bureau of Reclamation, while there are no interstate regulations on how the states monitor and measure groundwater levels.  With consistent water table information from monitoring wells being readily unavailable, researchers are having a very hard time tracking the declines and identifying what in fact caused the sudden drop.  Clearly this supply issue has a potential of impacting most of the western united states, and could be developmentally crippling to their rapidly growing cities.

California's Desperation

Extreme drought is an on-going problem throughout different areas of the United States, including many parts of the Midwest all the way to California.  Over the last decade, California has seen a huge shift from annual crops to nut trees, such as almonds, pistachios etc.  The delicious perennials are extremely lucrative but vast orchards that have been planted throughout the Central Valley require decades-long investments, year-round watering and a commitment from Mother Nature.  One farmer explained his situation, "It's a huge economic loss," said Baker, who looked on forlornly this past week as workers felled his beloved trees. "That's probably $10 million in revenue I lost right there, but with the price of water today, up to $2,500 per acre-foot, there is no way I could have found the water this year. A lot of guys are going to have to make that decision in the next couple of weeks."  California’s switch from annual crops to nuts has been highly profitable in the past bringing the State’s economy $7 billion in sales each year with almonds producing the highest amount at $4.35 billion.  Today there are more than 800,000 acres of almonds in California compared with the 418,000 acres in 1995.  Total production also doubled from 912 million pounds in 2006 to 1.88 billion pounds in 2013.  California alone produces 82% of the world’s almonds. 

            The Drought has also put an enormous strain on local farmers and ranchers.  Pete Craig who owns a large cattle ranch near Lake Berryessa said that the planting of almond orchards took thousands of acres of grazing ground and has put stress on the natural environment.  For decades, ranchers from surrounding states have brought their livestock to California, taking advantage of the mild winters and lush natural pastures which are prime conditions for fattening beef cattle.  With such extreme drought and vast water shortages, ranchers in the Golden State are actually moving their cattle out of the area, loading tens of thousands of heifers and steers onto trucks and hauling them eastward to Nevada, Texas, Nebraska and beyond.  “If there’s no water and no feed, you move the cows,” Gaylord Wright, 65, owner of California Fats and Feeders Inc.  “You move them or they die.”

Water And Energy Progress

The folks of the Sheridan 6 LEMA, were honored this week at the first annual Water and Energy Progress luncheon award ceremony that took place in Topeka on February 28th, 2014.   Governor Sam Brownback presented the awards to the recipients and spoke highly of the conservation efforts that had been displayed by these individuals and families.  Many thanks to the incredible staff of the Climate and Energy Project as well as all those involved in the Water and Energy Progress Steering Committee.  The picture below shows Roch Meir from Hoxie Kansas, receiving an award on behalf of the entire Sheridan 6 LEMA of Sheridan County Kansas.  His lovely wife Marilyn was also in attendance for this exciting event.  Congratulations to all award recipients and lets keep up the good work, what a privilege it is to work with you!

They're Setting Up Hubs!

This week the Obama Administration announced that they would be engaging in the creation of "Climate hubs" which will provide information to rural communities that are currently facing extreme weather conditions such as drought and flooding.  The hubs will be sponsored through the U.S. Department of Agriculture and will provide scientific information for farmers, ranchers etc to tap into when facing the risks associated with climate change...

"For generations, America's farmers, ranchers and forest landowners have innovated and adapted to challenges," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilasack said.  However, he said, rural communities face more complex challenges today because of climate change.  "USDA's Climate hubs are part of our board commitment to developing the next generation of climate solutions so that our agricultural leaders have the modern technologies and tools they need to adapt and succeed in the face of changing climate," Vilsack said. 

The Hubs will be in Iowa, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Colorado, Oklahoma, Oregon and New Mexico.  Additional "sub-hubs" will be set up in various other states, including Michigan and California.  I am curious as to the roles that these hubs will play, reports have indicated that they will be working with state and local governments before making their "suggested adaptions." Not sure about this one folks.

It's Freezing...Even in South Georgia

Polar Vortex: "Is a persistent, large-scale cyclone located near either of a planet's geographical poles.  On Earth, the polar vortices are located in the middle and upper troposphere and the stratosphere.  They surround the polar highs and lie in the wake of the polar front.  These cold-core low-pressure areas strengthen in the winter and weaken in the summer due to their reliance upon the temperature differential between the equator and the poles.  They usually span less than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) in which the air is circulating in a counter-clockwise fashion (in the northern hemisphere)."

Much of the United States has been experiencing extremely cold temperatures this past week and it has caused quite an alarming media response.  For a nation founded with covered wagons and pioneering survival tactics, we sure have lost our touch through the years when it comes to withstanding the cold.  This is an argument I have heard several times over the last few weeks but to be fair, these temperatures have also not been seen in decades if ever in history.  In the city of Chicago, a record low temperature of -11 Degrees F had existed until the bone chilling -16 Degrees F hit the metropolis with an added wind chill that took Chicago down to -34 Degrees F.  This Polar Vortex has forced even residents in south Georgia to learn what its like to have frozen pipes in their homes and businesses.  There also have been several instances where fire emergency systems have frozen over or have been broken due to pipes bursting, causing a security hazard for many large functioning agricultural and industrial facilities.  Between the current freeze, and the South Dakota blizzard in 2013, mother nature is sure reminding us how powerful frozen moisture can be.

Water Water Everywhere

Far above our heads, there are currently astronauts working away in attempt to repair the International Space System's cooling station .  Currently the space station in operating on only one cooling system which would leave the astronauts vulnerable to being left without a working system should the current cooling unit fail.  After a seemingly successful mission on Saturday, astronaut Rick Mastracchio discovered something interesting in his spacesuit, water had gathered in his suit's sublimator which is a device that's designed to dissipate excess heat.  Usually the suits have water based systems in them that remove moisture, and cool the astronauts.  But it is unusual for the water to accumulate.  The spacewalk on Saturday consisted of a 5 hour and 28 minute mission removing a faulty coolant pump module, this mission will continue tomorrow December 24th and no further issues are expected to arise.  This unfortunately is not the first time that water has been a problem is space.  In July an astronaut's suit malfunctioned causing him to nearly drown inside his suit.  NASA officials have declared that the two problems are not related and they believe the suits to now have a "clean bill of health" although they have added makeshift snorkels and absorbent pads to the suits as a precaution.  Water water everywhere, even up there.

LEMA Awards presented by 'Water +Energy Progress'

    With a busy year coming to a close for Groundwater Management District No. 4, so does an equally busy year for the producers of the Sheridan-6 LEMA.  As many of you may know, a LEMA, or Locally Enhanced Management Area is crafted on the community level, giving producers and community members an opportunity to discuss ways in which they may hope to extend the life of the Ogallala Aquifer by reducing their water usage over a set period of time.  For the Sheridan-6 LEMA, this time period consisted of 5 years and an approximate 20% water reduction.  Many years of hard work and dedication went into this LEMA, from the initial idea, to working with both the Kansas Legislature and local Ag producers, and finally to the implementation of the first LEMA in the Sheridan-6 High Priority Area.  GMD4’s now retired Manager Wayne Bossert, Assistant Manager Ray Luhman, and countless others, contributed so very much in to making this incredible dream a reality.  The kind people at the Water + Energy Progress organization, which is in association with CEP(the Climate and Energy Project) have decided to honor the efforts of these SD-6 Producers by featuring their efforts on the organization’s website in an extensive article featuring two of the producers from the SD-6 LEMA.  Recognizing such a forward thinking tool, which has so successfully brought people together to discuss future water concerns and hopes is truly Inspiring.  I encourage anyone to visit the link below in order to read further information provided by the Water+ Energy Progress organization.  The appreciation of this recognition is, I am sure very great by many.

 http://www.waterandenergyprogress.org/case_studies.php?id=9

It's Not Just Happening to Us...

Several years of dry winters and unusually hot summers have left Canada's subarctic regions in serious trouble, causing severe and worrisome desiccation of the regions' lakes.  After the exclusive study of 70 lakes near Old Crow, Yukon and Churchill, Manitoba it became apparent that most of the lakes had become less than a meter deep, with dead vegetation banking the shores.  The problem comes primarily from a decline in "melt-water" that usually supplies the lakes.  For example, from 2010 to 2012 the average winter precipitation in Churchill decreased by 76mm when compared to the average that had been recorded between the years 1971 and 2000.  "With this type of lake, precipitation in the form of snow represents 30% to 50% of the annual water supply," explained the study's lead author, Frederic Bouchard.  Clearly, a lack on snow fall will rapidly and drastically affect the water levels and viability of the lakes.  With several ecological and environmental concerns buzzing through the air researchers have become increasingly concerned, in addition to the realization that this decline has not been seen in the 200 years of its observation.  So folks, back here in the USA we surely are not the only ones feeling the pressure and concern associated with water resources and conservation.  Just one of the many issues concerning water around the globe.

   

Reduced Ethanol??

On November 15th 2013 USA Today came out with an article explaining the changes in recent Ethanol use regulations and how this once championed bio-fuel law of 2007 has not been working as had once been expected.  In fact for the first time, officials are planning to reduce the amount of ethanol in the US's fuel supply.  At the beginning, the law had hoped to address climate change concerns while encouraging homegrown bio-fuels that would burn cleaner than gasoline.  The ethanol cut back, would require approximately 3 billion gallons less ethanol to be used.  The variable that had not been considered during the initial bio-fuel discussions, was the possibility for such fuel economy improvements as what has taken place over the last several years.  "Bio-fuels are a key part of the Obama administration's 'all the above' energy strategy, helping to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, cut carbon pollution and create job," stated EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy.  This proposed ethanol reduction could bring some flack, when reflecting on statements of the past.  In addition the ethanol mandate has caused quite a stir amongst both oil companies and environmental groups.  As the market continues to fluctuate and technology undoubtedly progresses, what will be the future of bio-fuel vehicle use?

Governor's Conference Calls for Change

The second annual Governor’s Conference; The Future of Water in Kansas took place in  Manhattan Kansas at the end of October.  The Conference drew over 500 participants from across the state including several state officials and agricultural producers as well as numerous vendors and exhibitors.  The conference itself centered around water usage in the state of Kansas, and what we may be able to expect in coming years.  Three main speakers took the stage including author Charles Fishman, who has written books such as the “Wal-Mart Effect” and “The Big Thirst.” In addition, The Southern Nevada Water Authority ‘s Director Pat Mulroy, was also in attendance discussing the severe water shortages Nevada has experienced in recent years.  She also touched on the ways in which the authority has dealt with and solved resource issues such as municipal water supply security, and implemented water use reduction policies.  The final speaker was Dr. James Stack, who is currently serving as the Director of The Great Plains Diagnostic Network while continuing his work as a Professor for Kansas State University in Plant Pathology.  Dr. Stack is responsible for coordinating a 9-state project, enhancing the rapid detection and diagnosis of high consequence plant pathogens and pests.  All three speakers provided tremendous insight on relevant water issues.

            The two day conference also included several breakout sessions, providing wonderful opportunities for individuals from across the state to update one another on current events happening in different regions.   A topic which was touched on several times throughout the conference was the concept of Local Enhanced Management or the LEMA law, and how this tool could now be used in the effort of prolonging the life of the Ogallala Aquifer.  Throughout the presentations, breakout sessions and guest lectures, one thing became even more apparent to the audience, that the State of Kansas as a whole has only become increasingly concerned with the future of the state’s water resources.  During the Governor’s opening speech on Thursday morning, he called for the development of a 50 year water plan for Kansas to be completed by November 2014.  In this plan, he hopes to see several ways in which each region of the state will address future water resource concerns and present issues, as well as to set goals indicating what the state of Kansas would like to see for their future.  With such a great task at hand the Kansas Water Office indicated that they would immediately begin working with several state agencies and focus committees as well as the state’s five Groundwater Management Districts in order to accomplish this undertaking.  In all, the 2013 Governor’s Conference provided an incredible opportunity for ideas and research to be shared, making it clearer than ever that this precious water resource will remain to be one of the most important issues of our lifetime.

NYC's Underground Undertaking

On October 16th the mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg announced the opening of the Manhattan section of a water tunnel project that began in 1950 but didn't get under way till 1970.  The $4.7 billion dollar project has already claimed the lives of 24 people during its construction so far.  Once the massive construction is finally complete, the tunnel will stretch more than 60 miles bringing water to Brooklyn and Queens from reservoirs located north of New York City.  The tunnel will both serve as a backup for the primary water tunnel used in the area and will give city workers and engineers an opportunity to inspect and repair the old tunnel for the first time in almost 100 years.  In order to finance this project, the city Water Board has initiated years of rate hikes, and bills are projected to continue increasing 7.5% a year for the next three years.  Definitely quite the underground undertaking here if you ask me.

Stretching the Colorado River

You can only stretch a river so far, and The Colorado river which serves as a water source to seven states including parts of Mexico, has possibly reached its temporary breaking point.  The Colorado River is responsible for filling both Lake Mead and Lake Powell.  In response to the recently released report from the Bureau of Reclamation's anticipated 24 month study, the agency is looking to cut water realeased from Lake Powell's Glen Canyon Dam by a staggering 750,000 acre feet which averages out to serving approximately 1.5 million homes.  It is the first time in in the history of that dam that water heading downstream will be cut.  This shortage has raised concern for municipalities, agricultural communities as well as environmentalist groups concerned for the fish and wildlife habbitats that will be directly affected.

Currently, Las Vegas Nevada has 2 'straws' in Lake Mead, which is approximately 300 miles from Lake Powell, in order to provide enough water for the city's ever growing urban population.  At this time officials are already having to consider drawing from deeper in the reservoir to avoid price hikes and shortages on water for surrounding municipalities.  Brad Udall from the University of Colorado's Law School, explains how, "Something very, very unusual is going on." With the combination of a staggering drought and increased demands, an incredible 8.23 million acre feet of water is supposed to reach Lake Mead and Powell each year in order to serve Nevada, Arizona, California and Mexico.  "Basically, Mead has lost the equivalent of one entire year's worth of flow." Udall explained, "It's missing 8 million acre feet of water."  In addition to this frightening statistic, Lake Powell is also missing a years worth of water, an estimated 15 million acre feet.  So, while the drought rages on, many states in the west will spend the winter praying for heavy wet snow and rain to hopefully buffer this rather remarkable shortage.  Time to rapidly preform a dozen snow dances, no time to waste here folks. 

Photo: Compliments of National Geographic