WaterWired

TGIF! Weekly Water News Summary, 22 - 28 February 2014

I am now archiving (only since 21 February 2014) these posts on Twitter at: #WaWiNews Once you go to the site, on the right, click on 'All' just below 'Results for #WaWiNews'. All (since 18 March 2011) of them can also be found on the WaterWired blog - click here.

Shill alert: Check out this new book on the Mississippi River - out today - by Christine A. Klein and Sandra B. Zellmer: Mississippi River Tragedies: A Century of Unnatural Disaster. I know Christine from our time on the Bay-Delta Committee and I think she is pretty amazing. She's a law professor at the University of Florida. I expect this to be an extraordinary book about a remarkable river and its trials and tribulations.  

Note - if you are new to this summary: This is a weekly summary of my water-related Tweets (Twitter feeds) categorized by topics. Most entries contain a hot link. To access a story, click on the link beginning with 'http://', 'is.gd', or 'bit.ly' (usually).Clicking on a link beginning with '@' will take you to that person's Twitter account; clicking on a link beginning with '#' will take you to a Twitter list containing Tweets about a particular topic. Some items may not have a hot link to a story, which is fine - it may have been just an informational item or a personal message to someone. Or, I may have screwed up and forgotten the link!   

Enjoy!

Books
Out Today! 'Mississippi River Tragedies: A Century of Unnatural Disaster' by Christine Klein & Sandra Zellmer http://is.gd/sSaBnS

 Bottled Water and Tap/Drinking Water
MT @newswestvirgini 24th annual Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting festival begins http://ow.ly/2E4wx9  @TheJournalWV

 

California
RT @csmonitor Gov. Jerry Brown's #cadrought relief: Will it really help? (+video) http://is.gd/CvMBfr  #cawater

RT @txawwa California Farmers Told Not to Expect U.S. Water http://nyti.ms/1fIPfXr  #cawater

Water Experts Pitch for Temperance Flat Dam http://is.gd/nZJcN0  #cawater

RT @carbonmeme Is climate change behind California's dry spell? http://bit.ly/1hIpQ2G  @physorg_com

RT @Revkin Drought begins to change how people think about growth in Sacramento region http://sacb.ee/1fJN8Ts  @sacbee_news #cawater

@Revkin: Can California Avoid a ‘Shock to Trance’ Approach to Water Policy? http://is.gd/OUi6zW  #cawater

@PacificInstitut creates http://www.californiadrought.org/  #cadrought #cawater

MT @longform 'American Aqueduct:The Great #cawater Saga' Can $25B fix Delta? http://long.fm/1jx8yYm  (@alexismadrigal, @theatlantic)

MT @MavensNotebook Blog round-up: #cadrought, #cawater transfers, economy,pollution, @PeterGleick, @chanceofraincom http://is.gd/spBP2B 

@MotherJones It Takes How Much Water to Grow an Almond?! http://is.gd/Q2cURG  #cawater

RT @SDCWA RT @utpolitics: San Diego wins key water ruling http://bit.ly/1kdAaRU  #cawater

@NASA Drought at Folsom Lake 2011 v. 2014 http://is.gd/P81ULs  #cadrought #cawater pic.twitter.com/P92T9HbEQv

@PeterGleick testimony on water efficiency @ Urban Efficiency Panel of @H2OBoardsNews http://is.gd/DoBn1w  #cawater #cadrought

@CA_DWR Water Plan eNews - Wednesday Update - 26 Feb 2014- Water Survey ~ Potential Dam~ Delta Inflows~ More http://is.gd/XHKkDe  #cawater

Via @cfishman: @NPR 'Portable Potables: How To Fight Drought By Reusing Water' w/ David Sedlak @UCBerkeley http://is.gd/NIxM0r  #cadrought

RT @ClimaTweets Los Angeles City Council Approves Ban on #Fracking http://bit.ly/1hqYTT5  

RT @the_wrangler RT @markgrossi: Track rainfall totals all over the state with @NWS tool http://1.usa.gov/1g6whMd  #cawx @NWSHanford #cawater

 

Canada
Federal study says oil sands toxins are leaching into groundwater, Athabasca River http://is.gd/0xhsbv  @globeandmail

O Canada! Paper: 'Water Management and the Procedural Turn - Norms and Transitions in Alberta' @jeremyj_schmidt http://bit.ly/1fKT1Q7 

RT @CBCQuirks 'Rock snot' found to be native algae species in N.B. - not invasive http://www.cbc.ca/1.2554825 

@mabelsyntax's @CanadianWater article from her trip to Aquatech Amsterdam last November. http://bit.ly/1hLoSal 

 Via @thecaendotca US-Canada water wars could dwarf Keystone, says Canadian ambassador to US http://is.gd/D6CMlM 

MT @FraserRivKeeper See water quality & quantity and meteorological information - #FraserRiver WQ buoy http://ow.ly/u6Jmh 

Paper: 'Real Time Estimation of the Calgary Floods Using Limited Remote Sensing Data' http://is.gd/gPhP8I  #abflood

 

Climate, Weather, and Climate Change
RT @greenroofsuk Why Aren't We Buying Insurance Against #Global Warning? #climate change http://ow.ly/tSUzQ 

RT @carbonmeme Confronting exploitation of extreme weather events in global warming reporting via @capitalweather http://bit.ly/1hJ1aHn 

 MT @PeterGleick: @FoxNews casts doubt on climate change b/c of temps in this little circle: http://is.gd/C9b5Hl  pic.twitter.com/zQBZDe9jz5

RT @DrownYourTown There's pretty much nothing left of Ocean City (MD) after 5m sea level rise. pic.twitter.com/8gyRPLxJ4p

MT @iied Monitoring and evaluation in Mozambique shows how to link local and national climate adaptation http://is.gd/9NlPs6 

RT @citizensclimate Editorial in @nytimes: Let the @EPA Do Its Job http://nyti.ms/1fLVmKG 

RT @citizensclimate Editorial in @washingtonpost: The @EPA’s strong case for regulating greenhouse gas emissions http://wapo.st/1guJbDA 

OMG! Dr. Jay Lehr of @HeartlandInst on CO2 & climate change before WA State Senate (starts at 29:00) http://is.gd/5mTbpr 

 

Conferences, Webinars, Symposia, and Calls for Abstracts/Papers
MT @SharedValueCA GroundSwell: Conference on Groundwater Innovation, U of Guelph, Ontario, 16-18 June 2014 http://is.gd/84RxXn 

Still accepting abstracts (thru 28 Feb at least): @AWRAHQ IWRM Summer Conference in Reno! http://is.gd/JfqMAs  #AWRASum14 #AWRAIWRM14

Program: NGWA Conference on Hydrology and Water Scarcity in the Rio Grande Basin http://bit.ly/OAUiUl 

8th World Water Forum hosts: Brasilia & Brazil in 2018! Home country of Ben Braga, @wwatercouncil President http://is.gd/eleFrf 

@AWRAHQ Florida Section Technical Meeting: 14 March, Palm Beach Gardens http://is.gd/JP7Kf7  #FLwater

 

Conflict, Cooperation, and Security
Via @thecaendotca US-Canada water wars could dwarf Keystone, says Canadian ambassador to US http://is.gd/D6CMlM 

Côte d’Ivoire Becomes 34th Party to the @UN Watercourses Convention – One More and It's Official http://is.gd/cMmUMl 

@USAID Toolkit: Water and Conflict http://bit.ly/1hWk7L7 

By @jfleck in @ABQJournal: U.S. takes Texas’s side in litigation with New Mexico over Rio Grande water http://is.gd/IVx1Cd 

 

Droughts, Floods, Fires, and Disasters
Paper: 'Real Time Estimation of the Calgary Floods Using Limited Remote Sensing Data' http://is.gd/gPhP8I  #abflood

RT @SmithsonianMag Dangerous flooding in the UK has a silver lining: it revealed an ancient forest in Wales http://ow.ly/tS804 

 MT @PrincetonWater: @EPrinceton scientists publish new approach to flood frequency analysis http://ow.ly/tX7w7  (Abs. only; $ paper)

 MT @twdb MT @TWDB_Carlos: our wkly #txdrought report: 58% of state in moderate to exceptional drought, 74% 1 yr ago http://is.gd/BZmEvT 

@NASA Drought at Folsom Lake 2011 v. 2014 http://is.gd/P81ULs  #cadrought #cawater pic.twitter.com/P92T9HbEQv

Via @cfishman: @NPR 'Portable Potables: How To Fight Drought By Reusing Water' w/ David Sedlak @UCBerkeley http://is.gd/NIxM0r  #cadrought

Education
RT @Black_Veatch Engineering day strives to introduce field to aspiring young women http://bit.ly/1mCNOmC  via @fox4kc #STEM

Via @IdahoStatesman Guns on campus could end nuclear research at Idaho State U. http://is.gd/glP7DS 

UG Sum Position Open: U of N. Iowa - REU Pgm in Hyperspectral Imaging. $4K/8 wks Due: 28 March http://is.gd/EOZHaW  #JobWaWi @PopePolar

PhD Position Open (Blanes, Spain): @EU_Commission - Early Stage Researcher. Closes: 28 Feb http://is.gd/Whpi2L  #JobWaWi

Student PhD Positions Open (2): CO State U - Hydroecology Science & Engineering Lab - starting fall 2014 http://is.gd/PLEJS9  #JobWaWi

@ASDWAorg, @ASCETweets, and @EWBUSA Launch New Community Engineering Corps http://is.gd/0zcgLp 

Via @SnowHydro: In @guardian Women in academia: what does it take to reach the top? http://bit.ly/1fwZ0fh 

@jfleck I taught @peakwx only what he didn't need to know. Dave Gutzler supervised his Master's work and taught him what he needed to know.

@nytimes Op-Ed: When May I Shoot a Student? http://is.gd/DsITVH 

Water: Teaching About the World's Most Valuable Substance http://is.gd/5xzwjH  @nytimes

@AWRAHQ Florida Section Newsletter 'The Watershed' - February 2014 http://is.gd/zNTjOR  #FLwater

It's FL WMDs in class today! Could use @cynthiabarnett, @tmtall, @craigtimes, @SFWMD, @floridaswater, @SWFWMD today! #FLwater always fun!

And neglected! @heathbrown Non PhD grad students are one of the most misunderstood segments of the ed system in the US @raulpacheco

Via @CanGeoEdu: Water cycle game from @NOAA http://is.gd/Yy1ctL@rolat  @HeidiSiwak

 

E-Newsletters and E-Newspapers
The @EnergyLawyer is out! http://paper.li/Energylawyer  Stories via @WaterWired @PeakOilupdate @AmyJaffeenergy

RT @wateraus The Water EngineeringAus Daily is out! http://paper.li/wateraus  Stories via @Namoiwater @PowerWaterCorp @CNplus

RT @worldresources Climate change & energy daily is out! http://paper.li/worldresources/climate-energy … … Stories via @MarkMuro1 @SarahCary

The @Water_Supply Daily is out! http://paper.li/Water_supply  Stories via @Del_Agua @GetFirefighJobs @WaterWired

RT @watersecurity The Daily #Anthropocene is out! http://paper.li/watersecurity/1390406369 … … Stories via @NRDCscience @InstituteHum

@PacificInstitut February 2014 Online Update http://is.gd/1swV3f 

Catch up on the weekly Geosciences and Environmental Sciences news from Elaine J. Hanford! https://bitly.com/1eblEtu  #EJHBB

RT @medindoagua The Água & Water Daily is out! http://paper.li/medindoagua/agua-water … … Stories via @Water_Decade @UN_Water @OWNWMI

H2OSU Newsletter - 24 February 2014 http://is.gd/agskxH 

The @WaterTreatment_ Daily is out! http://paper.li/WaterTreatment_/1313650670 … … Stories via @UrbEnviroNews @WaterWired

MT @NEMWIUpperMiss Tulane Inst on Water Resources Law & Policy's weekly "TUWaterWays" 25 Feb http://ow.ly/u1wIm  (PDF)

@WaterAlliance Ben Grumbles' Presidential Pipeline: 'Stream Banks' http://is.gd/rcWHRn 

@FAO Water Bulletin 21 - 25 February 2014 http://is.gd/2oz7bd 

@siwi_media launches a water blog. http://is.gd/hq3Z0A 

MT @H2OTrust Clean DW SVDs Daily ▸ via @WaterWorldMag @JamaicaGleaner @WaterWired @WorldBankWater @OkWaterWise http://is.gd/a80yie 

@IISDRS Water Policy & Practice - Water Update - 27 February 2014 http://is.gd/eN8r2E 

@OSUCEOAS 'Making Waves' Newsletters - 28 February 2014 http://is.gd/PX6MDl 

The Climate CIRCulator - February 2014 http://is.gd/cdcVlB  @PNWclimate

 

Ethics, Faith, Gender, and Human Rights
RT @Black_Veatch Engineering day strives to introduce field to aspiring young women http://bit.ly/1mCNOmC  via @fox4kc #STEM

RT @securingwater Check out this @vossfoundation infographic to see how securing #water4food empowers women! http://ow.ly/tPK2p 

Via @SnowHydro: In @guardian Women in academia: what does it take to reach the top? http://bit.ly/1fwZ0fh 

@MaudeBarlow: Human race needs new water ethic http://is.gd/E1pLbf  via @CouncilofCDNs

 

Groundwater and Hydrogeology
Via @NewsOnGreen India's Groundwater Rapidly Depleting http://is.gd/tkyGGu 

 

Hydrofracking, Energy, and Shale Gas
MT @ensiamedia Carving space in desert for world's largest solar thermal plant - ouch? @JameyStillings @Ivanpah pic.twitter.com/mQEgglJGvH

MT @Forbes: @exxonmobil CEO Heads USA's Largest Natural Gas Producer. But #Fracking In His Own Backyard? He Sues! http://is.gd/7Qzc5e 

RT @ClimaTweets Los Angeles City Council Approves Ban on #Fracking http://bit.ly/1hqYTT5 

  

Infographics, Videos, and Visuals
RT @AGIUpdates #DriveByGeology roadside copper mine tailing piles. pic.twitter.com/to7uAYYMZe

MT @AGIUpdates #DriveByGeology Salt Lake City copper smelting! pic.twitter.com/Mesn4bcrNv

MT @PeterGleick: @FoxNews casts doubt on climate change b/c of temps in this little circle: http://is.gd/C9b5Hl  pic.twitter.com/zQBZDe9jz5

RT @DrownYourTown There's pretty much nothing left of Ocean City (MD) after 5m sea level rise. pic.twitter.com/8gyRPLxJ4p

Tnx @gemswinc Glorious day on Hempstead Bay..Harbor Seals cc http://twitpic.com/dwghgv 

RT @USGS Lttle orange spot is a Hydrographer measuring streamflow in the Amargosa River north of Dumont Dunes, CA. pic.twitter.com/hQhUKFHJJH

MT @ensiamedia Carving space in desert for world's largest solar thermal plant - ouch? @JameyStillings @Ivanpah pic.twitter.com/mQEgglJGvH

RT @securingwater Check out this @vossfoundation infographic to see how securing #water4food empowers women! http://ow.ly/tPK2p 

MT @theAGU RT @EGU_GMPV: Image explaining Earth`s history timeline. http://is.gd/R9EGiH  pic.twitter.com/dpmRYEKO8B

RT @PopePolar Another beautiful @apod #aurora - a shimmer sequence from Dec 7th http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap131228.html … … pic.twitter.com/tLuEgunmTb

 

Journals, Reports, and Publications
MT @siwi_media: @SweWaterHouse releases new policy papers-renewable energy water risk & transboundary waters http://ow.ly/tRndN 

@AGI_Updates Report: Geoscientists rank top critical issues - climate change, water, population & health http://bit.ly/1fzTUeh 

Report: 'Land Trusts & Water-Strategies & Resources for Addressing Water in Western Land Conservation' http://bit.ly/Ow8OfV 

Journal: Water, Volume 6, Issue 2 (February 2014) - free downloads! https://bitly.com/1fSvSLI 

@NatureNews Publishers withdraw more than 120 computer-generated gibberish papers http://is.gd/dnO1Os 

Water, Volume 6, Issue 2 (February 2014), Pages 196-438 http://is.gd/q4tZGj  Free!

 

People, Personal, Prizes, and Quotes
@oregonstateuniv selects public health leader, ecologist for Distinguished Professor Awards http://is.gd/jvPRe

The Baloney Detection Kit: Carl Sagan’s Rules for Bullshit-Busting and Critical Thinking http://is.gd/O2KiNj  @brainpicker

Mike Connor, former @usbr commissioner, confiirmed as Deputy Secretary of @Interior http://is.gd/2s3zDS 

OMG! Dr. Jay Lehr of @HeartlandInst on CO2 & climate change before WA State Senate (starts at 29:00) http://is.gd/5mTbpr 

T. Boone Pickens in BC: "Fossil fuels, globally, is going to be the primary fuel for the future." http://is.gd/8ju1lU  @calgaryherald

 

Policy, Planning, Law, and Management
Wyoming lawmakers take aim at @EPA http://is.gd/evD2Hk  @CSTrib

@nytimes: For the Supreme Court, a Case Poses a Puzzle on the @EPA’s Authority http://is.gd/yXQNDf 

@ASA_CSSA_SSSA Science Policy Report 26 February 2014 http://is.gd/yl9ZjU 

 

Positions Open
ICYMI: Joshua Newton's Water Jobs https://bitly.com/MIh4Zb  #JobWaWi

Position Open: City of Marysville (WA) - Surface Water Inspector http://is.gd/64Na2k  #JobWaWi

Position Open:@AnchorQEA (Seattle,WA) - Project Assistant/Technical Editor http://is.gd/nawl3c  #JobWaWi

Positions Open: Various - Scroll down to 'Job Opportunities' http://is.gd/agskxH  #JobWaWi

Position Open: State of WA (Tumwater) - Dept of NR - Natural Areas Manager. Closes: 25 Feb http://is.gd/wNiA2g  #JobWaWi

Position Open: @usfs (Portland, OR) Regional Water Quality & Rights Program Leader. Closes: 6 March http://is.gd/c2xxsn  #JobWaWi

Position Open: Fort Hays State (KS) - Chair,Dept of Geosciences (Full/Assoc Prof). Pref to apps by 3 March http://is.gd/aa5hXg  #JobWaWi

Position Open: @FAO (Rome) - Sr. Officer (Secy. of FAO-Water Platform). Closes: 28 Feb http://is.gd/L2kqaK  #JobWaWi

Position Open: U of WY - T-T Assistant Prof, Wildland Watershed Hydrology. OUF; App review: 29 March http://is.gd/SReGBs  #JobWaWi

Positions Open: @dhigroup Various - (Singapore,Malaysia, etc.) Engineering, IT. Various closing dates. http://is.gd/ggMz9S  #JobWaWi

Undergraduate Summmer Position Open: U of N. Iowa - REU Pgm in Hyperspectral Imaging. $4K/8 wks Due: 28 March http://is.gd/EOZHaW  #JobWaWi @PopePolar

 

Previous Weeks' Positions Open - Go To  #JobWaWi
Click on 'All' below 'Results for #JobWaWi'

 

Previous Weekly Water Summaries - Go To #WaWiNews
Twitter: Click on 'All' just below 'Results for #WaWiNews'
On the WaterWired blog - click here

 TGIF! Weekly Water News Summary, 22 - 28 February 2014 #WaWiNews http://bit.ly/1fYZ97E 

TGIF! Weekly Water News Summary, 15 - 21 February 2014 http://bit.ly/Oh6QQs  #WaWiNews

  

Science and Technology
MT @CBCQuirks Confirmed: Earth's oldest rock found in Australia - 4.374 B years old! http://is.gd/Jf3OxL  @ABCscience

Catch up on the weekly Geosciences and Environmental Sciences news from Elaine J. Hanford! https://bitly.com/1eblEtu  #EJHBB

RT @USACEHQ Have you ever wondered which #USACE district covers your area? Check out this handy tool! http://ow.ly/tXv0C 

RT @hiltzikm Is Apple getting too fat and lazy to write decent software? Sure looks that way: http://ow.ly/tXDQH 

On @nprfreshair: @neiltyson Explains Why The Cosmos Shouldn't Make You Feel Small http://is.gd/KcSlA1 

 

Streams, Lakes, Wetlands, Dams, and Ecosystems
Fall Chinook salmon run expected to be huge; Oregon and federal biologists unsure why http://is.gd/bZqr4g  @Oregonian

RT @DianeN56 Fish Hatcheries: Critics say scientific interference masks population decline: http://bit.ly/NorsFn 

RT @CBCQuirks 'Rock snot' found to be native algae species in N.B. - not invasive http://www.cbc.ca/1.2554825 

MT @YorkshireWater Pioneering scheme in Royston: can improving river habitats enhance water quality? http://is.gd/9GDGCc  @yorkshirepost

MT @craigtimes - @EveSamples:Restoration of Florida's Kissimmee River halted by bureaucratic logjam http://is.gd/2YEawC  #FLwater

@USGS: Tracking the Source and Quantity of Nutrients to the Nation's Estuaries - maps,tools,SPARROW, etc. http://is.gd/7bvqTM 

Quagga mussels have invaded Lake Powell, Glen Canyon Dam http://is.gd/VQBg2T  @sltrib

@nytimes: NY biologist finds bacterium that kills zebra, quagga mussels http://is.gd/itV70H 

@WaterAlliance Ben Grumbles' Presidential Pipeline: 'Stream Banks' http://is.gd/rcWHRn 

Via @jencaddick: @nytimes - Fertilizer Limits Sought Near Lake Erie to Fight Spread of Algae http://nyti.ms/1fJsOFj 

 

WaSH and Development
How much aid money is spent in donor countries? – get the data http://is.gd/GqaJ5Y  @guardian

@ASDWAorg, @ASCETweets, and @EWBUSA Launch New Community Engineering Corps http://is.gd/0zcgLp 

@WASHadvocates Newsletter - February 2014 http://is.gd/Xpw5kK 

Water and Land Quality/Contamination
RT @wvgazette Bad water was reported three days before school closed. State http://ow.ly/2E7G7D 

From @chanceofraincom: Avoiding Pollution, Drought's Evil Twin http://is.gd/dRcAuU 

MT @FraserRivKeeper See water quality & quantity and meteorological information - #FraserRiver WQ buoy http://ow.ly/u6Jmh 

Via @tmtall Regulation >> money. Florida needs more water quality regulation, not less.http://is.gd/iryPmn  #FLwater

MT @sejorg Report outlines additional threats to Elk River water -@KenWardJr for @wvgazette http://is.gd/qgu4r1 

MT @sejorg WV Gov Tomblin warns @EPA of 'unreasonable' pollution rules - @KenWardJr for @wvgazette http://is.gd/ioeGZr 

MT @matt_weiser UCD study: Pyrethroid pesticides linger in homes, bodies for years after use http://sacb.ee/1fAFheB  via @edwardortiz

@nytimes: In NM - WIPP Nuclear Waste Repository Set to Reopen After Leak http://is.gd/HqFKHH 

Via @jencaddick: @nytimes - Fertilizer Limits Sought Near Lake Erie to Fight Spread of Algae http://nyti.ms/1fJsOFj 

NM Environment Department Surface Water Quality Bureau - 2013 NPS Annual Report http://is.gd/XGzFLL 

 

Water Supply, Use, Reuse, Conservation, and Infrastructure
Oregon's snowpack makes dramatic February comeback; 11 feet at Mt. Hood Meadows in 3 weeks http://is.gd/TRwZ2p  @Oregonian

According to @texassierraclub: @MySAWS Makes Right Choice–Focuses on Desal Rather than Groundwater Import http://ow.ly/u1loL 

MT @TWDB_Bech Father of TX would have never believed 46.3 mil thirsty Texans by 2060. Let's develop #txwater @SFASU pic.twitter.com/jdKqC6QkGt

On @hereandnow New Mexico Town Worries Over Hot Springs http://is.gd/t3cBK5  pic.twitter.com/gXgRovQlnL

RT @drshow After two major chemical spills, a look at concerns over the safety of the U.S. water supply. http://wamu.fm/1f4Y7pz 

 

WTF?
RT @SciencePorn My physics teacher said I had potential. So she threw me off the roof.

@gemswinc Seal watching? Hempstead Bay? I had no idea!

"Fossil fuels, globally, is going to be the primary fuel for the future." -- T. Boone Pickens, in the Calgary Herald. 

USAID Toolkit: Water and Conflict

Friend and colleague Todd Jarvis, whose own book on water and conflict, Contesting Hidden Waters: Conflict Resolution for Groundwater and Aquifers, is due out this July, sent me this USAID publication/toolkit:  

Download USAID_Water_and_Conflict_Toolkit

From the Introduction:

This toolkit is divided into the following four parts: 

• PART 1: KEY ISSUES - explores the relationship between water, conflict, and cooperation;

• PART 2: LESSONS LEARNED — highlights lessons learned from water-related development and peacebuilding programs;

• PART 3: PROGRAM OPTIONS — discusses potential program options, real-world examples of relevant development interventions, and monitoring and evaluation; and

• PART 4: RAPID APPRAISAL GUIDE — provides guidance to help identify and evaluate the conflict risk and peacebuliding potential of water programs.

And groundwater is even mentioned!

 "You are piling up a heritage of conflict and litigation over water rights for there is not sufficient water to supply the land". - John Wesley Powell, 1893

Water, Volume 6, Issue 2 (February 2014)

Looks like a great issue - all free!

If you can't download the articles here, visit the issue's site.

Water, Volume 6, Issue 2 (February 2014), Pages 196-438 

Table of Contents

Ali Assani, Raphaëlle Landry, Mikaël Labrèche, Jean-Jacques Frenette and Denis Gratton
Article: Temporal Variability of Monthly Daily Extreme Water Levels in the St. Lawrence River at the Sorel Station from 1912 to 2010
Water 2014, 6(2), 196-212; doi:10.3390/w6020196 
http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/6/2/196/

Florentina Zurita and John White
Article: Comparative Study of Three Two-Stage Hybrid Ecological Wastewater Treatment Systems for Producing High Nutrient, Reclaimed Water for Irrigation Reuse in Developing Countries
Water 2014, 6(2), 213-228; doi:10.3390/w6020213 
http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/6/2/213/

Xueting Zeng, Yongping Li, Guohe Huang and Liyang Yu
Article: Inexact Mathematical Modeling for the Identification of Water Trading Policy under Uncertainty
Water 2014, 6(2), 229-252; doi:10.3390/w6020229 
http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/6/2/229/

Masaru Morita
Article: Flood Risk Impact Factor for Comparatively Evaluating the Main Causes that Contribute to Flood Risk in Urban Drainage Areas
Water 2014, 6(2), 253-270; doi:10.3390/w6020253 
http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/6/2/253/

Jenni-Mari Vesakoski, Petteri Alho, Juha Hyyppä, Markus Holopainen, Claude Flener and Hannu Hyyppä
Article: Nationwide Digital Terrain Models for Topographic Depression Modelling in Detection of Flood Detention Areas
Water 2014, 6(2), 271-300; doi:10.3390/w6020271 
http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/6/2/271/

Christopher Eastoe and Ryan Rodney
Article: Isotopes as Tracers of Water Origin in and Near a Regional Carbonate Aquifer: The Southern Sacramento Mountains, New Mexico
Water 2014, 6(2), 301-323; doi:10.3390/w6020301 
http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/6/2/301/

Wen-Cheng Liu and Hong-Ming Liu
Article: Assessing the Impacts of Sea Level Rise on Salinity Intrusion and Transport Time Scales in a Tidal Estuary, Taiwan
Water 2014, 6(2), 324-344; doi:10.3390/w6020324 
http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/6/2/324/

Nobuaki Kimura, Akira Tai, Shen Chiang, Hsiao-Ping Wei, Yuan-Fong Su, Chao-Tzuen Cheng and Akio Kitoh
Article: Hydrological Flood Simulation Using a Design Hyetograph Created from Extreme Weather Data of a High-Resolution Atmospheric General Circulation Model
Water 2014, 6(2), 345-366; doi:10.3390/w6020345 
http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/6/2/345/

Miklas Scholz
Review: Firewater Storage, Treatment, Recycling and Management: New Perspectives Based on Experiences from the United Kingdom
Water 2014, 6(2), 367-380; doi:10.3390/w6020367 
http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/6/2/367/

Emily Schnebele, Guido Cervone, Shamanth Kumar and Nigel Waters
Article: Real Time Estimation of the Calgary Floods Using Limited Remote Sensing Data
Water 2014, 6(2), 381-398; doi:10.3390/w6020381 
http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/6/2/381/

Seung Lee, Sooyoung Kim, Moonil Kim, Kyoung Lim and Younghun Jung
Article: The Effect of Hydraulic Characteristics on Algal Bloom in an Artificial Seawater Canal: A Case Study in Songdo City, South Korea
Water 2014, 6(2), 399-413; doi:10.3390/w6020399 
http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/6/2/399/

Xiangfeng Zhang, Lei Gao, Damian Barrett and Yun Chen
Article: Evaluating Water Management Practice for Sustainable Mining
Water 2014, 6(2), 414-433; doi:10.3390/w6020414 
http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/6/2/414/

Water Editorial Office
Editorial: Acknowledgement to Reviewers of Water in 2013
Water 2014, 6(2), 434-438; doi:10.3390/w6020434 
http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/6/2/434/

Enjoy!

“Truth is the cry of all, but the game of the few. ” – George Berkeley

Program: NGWA Conference on Hydrology and Water Scarcity in the Rio Grande Basin

This event started today. Ari Michelsen, who is speaking, sent me this program - looks really good. I wish I could have gone.

Download NGWA_Rio_Grande_Program

Enjoy!

"New Mexico is the only place where you climb for water and dig for wood." - Mark Twain

Sarah Bates' Report: 'Land Trusts & Water - Strategies & Resources for Addressing Water in Western Land Conservation'

 Just got an email from good friend and one of the best thinkers/writers on Western land and water issues, Sarah Bates. She sent me a copy of her latest report, Land Trusts and Water: Strategies and Resources for Addressing Water in Western Land Conservation. It is published by the Land Trust Alliance. 

This report has real practical information. Great appendices!

Download Land Trusts and Water 

Summary 

Land and water are inextricably connected, and protecting one often necessitates protecting the other. Water is essential to protect natural areas, such as wetlands, riparian habitat, irrigated pastures and urban greenways—all areas of importance to western land trusts. Likewise, sound land management practices are essential to protect and enhance water quality and aquatic habitat— as evidenced by land trusts’ efforts to protect watershed health through a variety of conservation tools. This dynamic is especially apparent in the western United States where the scarcity of water means that conservationists need to look at the whole system to be successful in protecting a part.

Increasingly, land trusts are interested in addressing water in their transactions with landowners. In many cases, land trusts seek to ensure that existing irrigation practices continue in order to protect the values of productive working lands and the related habitat benefits of return flows. In other cases, land trusts seek opportunities to conserve water to augment streamflows, as well as to enhance wetlands, riparian habitat and other water-related conservation values. Some land trusts work in close partnership with water trusts, which are nonprofit organizations that engage in and facilitate transactions that involve conservation measures, physical improvements (such as structural upgrades or low flow channels) and returning water to important streams that have dried up. Western states recognize and provide protection for the public values of instream flows, although laws and programs vary considerably among states.

This book offers practical tools and resources to help land trusts address water-related conservation values in their private land conservation work. While emphasizing instream flows, many of the approaches described are applicable more generally to water-related conservation values, such as riparian habitat, wetlands and seasonal water bodies. This book will help readers identify the various ways water concerns arise in land trust transactions and understand different approaches to address those concerns. Chapter one provides an orientation to the ways land and water trusts address water as a conservation value, including comparison of their approaches and observations about shared goals and strategies. Chapter two goes on to present the highlights of a survey of conservation organizations working to protect land and water in the West. This chapter offers case studies of organizations doing innovative work. Lastly, the book concludes with final thoughts in the Afterword and a series of appendices that are a rich resource of information, from an overview of western water laws and instream flow programs to sample water rights language in conservation easements to sample water lease agreements. The book also contains a list of additional resources and a glossary that offers full definitions of important terms (sidebar definitions are abbreviated in some cases).

Currently, there are two distinct strategies for addressing water in relation to private land conservation:

1) Conservation easement language. Easement language may address the risk that water rights associated with a conservation property might be transferred away from the property, to the detriment of the water-related conservation values. Easement language also seeks to accomplish a variety of different outcomes, including:

o Prohibiting a change of water use from irrigation or other existing applications

o Allowing a permanent or temporary change of use, as allowed by law, such as dedication for instream flow

o Explicitly requiring a change in the water right (including timing, point of diversion or place of use) in order to achieve conservation goals

Negotiating easement language is most successful when the land trust recognizes that the landowner will want to reserve some of the water rights for other uses, including conservation measures.

2) A separate water transaction. A public agency or facilitating organization, such as a water trust, may provide a valuable incentive (cash payment, direct subsidy or tax incentive) for a landowner to improve water infrastructure or to take other steps to make changes in land and water management on the conservation property. The landowner may redirect some of the existing water diversion to supplement streamflows or otherwise enhance the environment. These transactions include:

o Implementing irrigation improvements that allow operations to continue with more efficient use of water

o Applying other changes to water infrastructure, such as new headgates that divert water closer to the area of use to reduce stream depletions while still delivering the full quantity allowed

o Changing crops to less-thirsty varieties of plants o Forgoing diversions during all or part of the irrigation season

These strategies are not exclusive of one another, and they need not occur simultaneously. Each landowner has unique interests with regard to water, and the tool that works to address conservation values in one state or situation might not be available, appropriate or the best option in another. In some cases, funding sources require specific language regarding water rights to be included in conservation easement documents. In other cases, a temporary arrangement is the best way to build trust and to determine how modifications to water use might achieve mutual goals. Converting water away from traditional uses such as irrigation may raise concerns among landowners and agricultural community members. Acknowledging this reality, this book contains some practical approaches that strike a healthy balance among multiple land and water uses and community priorities, including water supplies and needs for grazing, farming, recreation, wildlife habitat and drinking water, as well as meeting legal obligations for water resources shared across basins and between states.

Although there is no single recipe for success, effective initiatives share the following strategies:

1) Develop a shared conservation vision with the landowner that includes water as part of a larger suite of conservation values. If the transaction aims to protect working lands under irrigation, continued application of water is an essential element of success. The same is true for agree- ments aimed at maintaining or restoring functioning riparian and aquatic habitats. As most water law experts conclude: “Land trusts ignore water rights at their peril.”

2) Conduct due diligence with regard to existing water rights when negotiating a private land conservation transaction that includes water-related conservation values. When a secure water supply is needed to sustain the conservation values, negotiate this requirement as part of the conserva- tion easement and recognize that the water rights will be an important element of the property appraisal, given the higher value of land that has reliable water. Even in cases in which it is not feasible to explicitly address the water rights in a conservation easement, a land trust should conduct water rights due diligence before completing the transaction. As part of this due diligence, planners should consider whether measures might be necessary to ensure continued access to essential water to protect the property’s conservation values. Due diligence includes evaluating the validity of the water right, its relative priority in relation to other water users’ rights on the stream and the ability to protect the water right if there is a shortage or conflict with other users. In some states, such as Colorado, conducting due diligence on encumbered water rights is a requirement for organizations to be certified to accept conservation easements that qualify for state tax exemption.

3) Share information with landowners about financial incentives for land and water management practices that will benefit streamflows. Working on the same principle of voluntary, market-driven transactions as land trusts, water trusts offer a variety of incentives for land and water management practices that will enhance streamflows and other aquatic resources on working landscapes. Land trusts are in the best position to provide this information to interested landowners, so they should become familiar with the range of opportunities available in their state or region.

4) Build and maintain cooperative relationships with organizations and individuals who have specialized knowledge of water rights and water transactions in your state. Although few land trusts employ water lawyers or experts in the administration of water rights, many have discovered the value of developing good relations with the owners and managers of water rights—from the farmers and ranchers themselves to the water districts, water-user associations, local and state agencies that manage water, water trusts and other organizations. The value of building and sustaining good working relationships with partner orga- nizations cannot be overstated. Land trusts can benefit by looking for opportunities to share information, providing a range of conservation opportunities for landowners and helping achieve complementary conservation goals. There is legitimate concern among both land and water trusts about limited funds available to finance land and water conservation, which can lead to a sense of competition that may inhibit the groups’ willingness to cooperate. Joint initiatives, such as the Deschutes Partnership, a collab- orative effort to restore the watershed of the Deschutes River in Oregon, have created opportunities for new and additional funding, which suggests that land and water trusts benefit by collaborating on strategies to maximize conservation outcomes and simplifying the conservation process for landowners.

The stories, tools and resources in this book seek to support and strengthen efforts to protect water resources as a regular part of private land conservation work and to encourage productive partnerships with water trusts and many other partners who share long-term goals of sustainable land and water use. 

Enjoy!

 “The health of our water is the principal measure of how we live on the land.” —Luna Leopold (from the Summary)