WaterWired

UNFCCC Latin America & Caribbean CASTT - Adaptation Academy. Apply by 30 August 2021!

If you have not heard of UNFCCC's CASTT Adaptation Academy and wish to learn more before applying, read here.

'CASTT' is an acronym for 'Climate Action and Support Transparency Training'.

A brief description:

The UNFCCC secretariat, in collaboration with five research and educational institutions, has initiated the “Climate Action and Support Transparency Training (CASTT) Adaptation Academy”. Designed to provide a multi-week training programme on the Paris Agreement with a focus on the adaptation reporting aspects of the enhanced transparency framework, the Adaptation Academy will aim to enhance technical capacity for adaptation assessments, planning, policy frameworks and coordination across ministries and governance levels to act on climate change.

LAC UNFCCC CASTT Schedule:

• Application period:
  1 - 30 Aug 2021
• Training period:
  27 Sep - 1 Oct 2021
  for 3-hours each day (total of 15 hours in the programme)
• Please apply here

If you have not heard of the CASTT Adaptation Academy and with to learn nore before applying, read hereor contact tisu@unfccc.int

Hope to see you at one of the training sessions!

Enjoy!

"The climate system is an angry beast and we are poking at it with sticks." - Wally Broecker (c. 1991, talk at U. of New Mexico)

CRS Reports - Thursday Twofer: 1) 'Federal Assistance for Wildfire Response and Recovery'; 2) 'Wildfire Statistics'

Two CRS reports that will proves useful - especially the first one.

1) Katie Hoover updates (6 August): Federal Assistance for Wildfire Response and Recovery.

Download CRS_InFocus_Fed_Asst_Wildfrie_Response_Recovery 6August2021

Wildfires are unplanned and unwanted fires. Wildfires can have some beneficial impacts on an ecosystem, but they often threaten homes and communities, forcing the evacuation of thousands of people. Wildfires are sometimes caused by lightning strikes and may occur when a prescribed burn escapes control or through other human activities (deliberate or accidental). Annually from 2011 to 2020, there were an average of 62,805 wildfires and an average of 7.5 million acres impacted. In 2020, 58,950 wildfires burned 10.1 million acres, the second-most acreage impacted in a year since 1960; nearly 40% of these acres were in California. In 2020, wildfires destroyed nearly 18,000 structures nationwide, 54% (9,630) of which were residences. 

Congress and other stakeholders have considered options for federal support and assistance to address wildfire suppression during a fire, post-wildfire recovery, and land management activities to reduce the risk of future catastrophic wildfires. 

Cutting to the chase...To access any of those below, go here and enter the report title, then search. More than one title will likely appear.

CRS Products 

CRS Report R40884, Wildfires: CRS Experts. 

CRS Insight IN11716, 2021 Wildfire Season: Brief Overview of FEMA Programs and Resources. 

CRS Report R43738, Fire Management Assistance Grants: Frequently Asked Questions. 

CRS Report R42854, Emergency Assistance for Agricultural Land Rehabilitation. 

CRS Report RS21212, Agricultural Disaster Assistance. 

CRS Report R43784, FEMA’s Disaster Declaration Process: A Primer. 

CRS Report R40811, Wildfire Fuels and Fuel Reduction. 

CRS In Focus IF11539, Wildfires and Hurricanes Indemnity Program (WHIP) 

2) Katie Hoover and Laura A. Hanson just updated (6 August 2021) this one: 'Wildfire Statistics'.  

Download CRS_InFocus_Report_Wildfire_Statistics_6August2021

Click on the graphics to enlarge them.

Overview
Wildfires are unplanned and unwanted fires, including lightning-caused fires, unauthorized human-caused fires, and escaped prescribed fire projects. States are responsible for responding to wildfires that begin on nonfederal (state, local, and private) lands, except for lands protected by federal agencies under cooperative agreements. The federal government is responsible for responding to wildfires that begin on federal lands. The Forest Service (FS)—within the U.S. Department of Agriculture—carries out wildfire management and response across the 193 million acres of the National Forest System (NFS). The Department of the Interior (DOI) manages wildfire response for more than 400 million acres of national parks, wildlife refuges and preserves, other public lands, and Indian reservations.

Wildfire statistics help to illustrate past U.S. wildfire activity. Nationwide data compiled by the National Interagency Coordination Center (NICC) indicate that the number of annual wildfires is variable but has decreased slightly over the last 30 years and that the number of acres impacted annually, while also variable, generally has increased (see Figure 1). Since 2000, an annual average of 70,600 wildfires burned an annual average of 7.0 million acres. This figure is more than double the average annual acreage burned in the 1990s (3.3 million acres), although a greater number of fires occurred annually in the 1990s (78,600 average).

Cutting to the chase...

Issues for Congress
Issues for Congress include the strategies and resources used for wildfire prevention, mitigation, and management, and the impact of wildfires on both the quality of life and the economies of communities surrounding wildfire activity. Other issues relate to post-wildfire recovery and site restoration. Congress also considers the total federalcost of wildfire management, including the cost of suppression operations; these costs vary annually and are difficult to predict.

For more information, see

 CRS In Focus IF10732, Federal Assistance for Wildfire Response and Recovery;

CRS Insight IN11716, 2021 Wildfire Season: Brief Overview of FEMA Programs and Resources; and

 CRS Report R46583, Federal Wildfire Management: Ten-Year Funding Trends and Issues (FY2011-FY2020).

Till the next time - enjoy!

“To the oft-quote mantra ‘Water is life’ might be added , ‘Manipulating water is civilization.’” - David Groenfeldt

The GRAC 2021 Summit 9-10 June - 'Must See' Event for Regional Groundwater Practitioners - 'Make Sustainable Attainable'

The Groundwater Resources Association of California is convening its Fourth Annual GSA Summit: Working Toward Implementation, 9-10 June, 8:30 AM - 5 PM. PDT. This is a virtual event.

My friend and colleague Todd Jarvis (a GRAC Director) stated it aptly:

This meeting is quickly becoming the “must see” event for regional groundwater practitioners because of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014 - one of the few laws in the world focusing on groundwater sustainability.

He's spot-on with that last statement - the SGMA is one of the few laws on Earth dealing with groundwater sustainability. He's all spot-on with this conference. I have never known him to even dabble in hyperbole - hyperbolas, maybe.

Here's the blurb:

Join fellow groundwater managers, regulators and technical experts for GRA’s Fourth Annual GSA Summit: Working Toward Implementation. 

In this two-day virtual event – you’ll learn with GSAs working towards a sustainable future. The format of this virtual conference features interactive panels and round tables to get deep into the issues GSAs are facing as they work on the second year of GSP development, or are starting on implementation activities. You’ll have a chance to hear directly from DWR and SWRCB about review findings and year one implementation progress.

Sessions will focus on lessons learned from GSAs that will have completed annual reporting twice since GSP adoption, how those data management systems are really working, accessing and putting to use implementation funding, developing and designing projects for basin sustainability, and the march toward five year updates.

Last year’s GSA Summit included over 130 attendees working at or with GSAs and tuning in to share input and raise the bar for all. Feedback received was exceptional and we will have a more interactive platform this year. Mark your calendar June 9^th and 10^th for GRA’s Fourth Annual GSA Summit: Working Toward Implementation!

Here is the draft agenda.

Want to be a sponsor? Sign up bu 31 May - click here. Register by 7 June - click here.

I hope our AWRA Water Resources IMPACT special issue on California Groundwater is out by then!

"Make sustainable attainable." - Unknown (maybe yours truly)

Earth Day 2021: 1) Did I Really Build a Dam on Earth Day 1970?; 2) Climate Adaptation Academy

Happy Earth Day! I will not pen too long a post about Earth Day 2021. Other things will occupy my time on this 52nd Earth Day - such as promoting our upcoming 'adaptation academy' - see below.

I do remember the first Earth Day in 1970. I was 21, about to graduate with a BS in Geology from the College of William and Mary, get married, and head to the wild west - Tucson, Arizona, and the University of Arizona where I would study a new field - hydrology. It was a great excuse for many (but not moi) to skip classes but I actually helped do something useful: build a dam. 

Build a dam? On Earth Day? Did we not get the message down there in the Colonial Capital of the Old Dominion? 

Runoff (I knew some hydrologic terms even then) from a construction site was dumping (I knew enviro-lingo even then - 'dumping', not 'transporting' or 'depositing') sediment into our beloved Lake Matoaka, hallowed site of many ancient and sacred rituals (annual 3.2 beer can regatta, etc.). Thomas Jefferson, he who founded The University but attended W&M, reputedly lost his virginity there every week or so. These epochal events were celebrated nightly by many reverent, tradition-conscious undergraduates and wayward faculty. 

W&M didn't have an engineering program, so dam construction was left to geologists (not a bad idea - think Oroville Dam spillway). What, we were going to ask the physics majors? We'd still be arguing about strength of materials, charge density, and moments of inertia.

So build we did.

My sed-strat classmates (I had none who would admit to being geomorphologists) protested our plans because they wanted to witness an event that normally took millennia to complete: formation of a delta. But led by paleontologist Dr. Gerry Johnson, we won the day, constructed the dam (a replica of which is shown here), and saved our beloved waterway from premature infilling. 

There was much celebrating that evening at the lake. And much contamination the next day - something I trust Earth Day 1971 addressed.

And that's the truth (at least the part about building the dam).

Since 1970 I learned that the date for Earth Day was set for 22 April because it is about midway between spring break and the end of the term in American universities. It was envisioned as a holiday on which students could partake in environmental activities. 

How's this for an interesting Earth Day factoid? Richard M. Nixon (R) - during whose presidency the EPA, Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act and the Endangered Species Act were all created - died on this day in 1994. Who would have imagined that? 

Here is our 'adaptation academy' flyer:  Download CASTT Adaptation Academy flyer v2

We at OSU are collaborating with IHE-Delft,AIT, UNFCCC, AGWA and the Korean Adaptation Center for Climate Change. 

“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world." -- John Muir

Interstate Council on Water Policy: Letter to President-Elect Joe Biden - Top Water Priorities

Just came across this letter to President-Elect Joe Biden from the Interstate Council on Water Policy. The ICWP is based in Cheyenne, WY, and seems to be more focused on river basins (as opposed to groundwater basins). But that's okay.

Download BidenTransitionTeamDec72020FINAL

Here is an earlier letter to Mr. Biden from AWWA. Since AWWA and ICWP have different water interests their letters emphasize different issues. The Pacific Institute has a video and a 6-pager. 

December 7, 2020

The Honorable Joe Biden President-Elect United States of America
1120 20th St. NW
Washington, DC 20036

Attn: Dr. Cecilia Martinez, CEQ Review Team
Kevin Washburn, Dept. of Interior Review Team
Cristin Dorgelo, Office of Science and Technology Policy Review Team
Geovette Washington, Dept. of Commerce Review Team
Kath Hicks, Dept. of Defense Review Team

Dear President-Elect Biden:

The Interstate Council on Water Policy (ICWP) congratulates you on winning the 2020 election. You will take office during a critical moment in U.S. history, and we are confident your commitment to research and science will serve you well. Formed in 1959, the ICWP membership consists of state, interstate and local water management agencies as well as affiliates representing the water science equipment providers and other water consulting firms. We work to inform federal agencies about how their programs may be developed or modified to best meet the needs of our ICWP members and, simultaneously, promote wise, consistent and efficient water resource management throughout the nation. To help you and your team hit the ground running, the following highlights reflect the top issues facing ICWP members and provides you with our greatest concerns requiring attention to address our country’s water management challenges.

Water Infrastructure
We were pleased to hear during your campaign your desire to reinvest in America’s infrastructure. Sound, well-maintained, and adequately funded water infrastructure is vital to public health, environmental protection, irrigation agriculture, firefighting, recreation and economic growth. Investment in the nation’s water infrastructure will be key to our economic recovery. The authorities for the US Army Corps of Engineer (USACE) new starts and continuing authorizations in the Water Resources Development Act are critical for maintaining America’s water infrastructure. Equally critical in the West are the investments made by the Bureau of Reclamation along with water users. Nationwide, aging infrastructure is a growing concern and innovative funding mechanisms are needed to avert failures and related economic casualty from a non-secure water supply.

Partnerships are critical to getting USACE authorized projects on the ground. Unfortunately, some of our members are hitting roadblocks with language in the Project Partnership Agreements related to indemnification and perpetual operations and maintenance (O&M) obligations. We look forward to working with your officials at USACE to find a path forward such that these critical water projects can become a reality.

USGS and NOAA Water Science
The federal government has an obligation to provide a basic monitoring framework of our nation’s water resources. ICWP supports additional resources for the Water Mission Area of the U.S. Geological Survey to maintain and expand their streamgaging networks to provide this backbone of gages to understand water availability and use across the nation. Our members particularly urge adequate funding for the Federal Priority Streamgage network and for Cooperative Matching funds for the federal share on streamgaging in locations of critical importance to regional water managers. Several years of flatlined budget for the Federal Priorities Streamgage network is now resulting in the loss of critical, long term gages which are necessary for modeling and forecasting modernization, as well as for making many other day-to-day hydrologic decisions. Many of these threatened gages are necessary for interstate river basin compact allocation verification or are located at the boundary of tribal reservations. ICWP supports initiatives such as the USGS’s Next Generation Water Observation System (NGWOS), but we do not support shifting resources away from the fundamental streamgaging programs for these new initiatives.

We also urge you to expand the support for better understanding and forecasting water resources at all time frames. Weather and climate forecasting by the NOAA-NWS is improving, but support is critical for the seasonal to sub-seasonal forecasting and modeling work being done at those agencies. ICWP also supports the funding mechanism for a national extreme precipitation atlas as provided for in Section 12 of the pending S. 4462 FLOODS Act which would replace the dated, piecemeal method of completing these important weather prediction tools. Increased severity, duration and volume of precipitation events is predicted by almost all climate models and we must be prepared. We request that your Presidential budget for NOAA include funding for the Atlas 14 program with direct federal funds rather than the current grants-based funding method.

Water Planning
Every state in the U.S. engages in some sort of water planning. Some include climate plans and some are coordinated with their respective state disaster response agency. ICWP supports federal programs working in concert with the plans laid out by state planning agencies and the federal agencies should assist and defer to every state’s needs and priorities, aiding in the fruition of the state plans, not working counter. The Planning Assistance to States Program in the USACE is a strong example of a supportive federal program working in concert with state’s needs. We urge your team to continue supporting this important program.

Interstate River Basin Commissions/Organizations
ICWP provides a forum for improved coordination among the various river basin interstate commissions and organizations in the nation. ICWP recently completed an update to its Interstate Water Management Report and Primer on interstate water management. Managing water based on river basin boundaries has obvious benefits and we ask that the federal agencies utilize these river basin commissions and organizations to their greatest benefit. The 2020 Report update can be found HERE and it contains several recommendations for interstate river basin water management.

Coordination Among Federal Agencies with Water Management Responsibilities
Encouraging the myriad of federal agencies with some type of water resources responsibility to better coordinate is beneficial to end users and to state/interstate planners across the nation. ICWP supports your administration making it a high priority for agencies to work in concert in the delivery of federal water programs.

The concept of a Water Sub-cabinet is non-partisan, is supported by national water organizations and could be addressed via Executive Order by your administration. Such an Executive Order could work in concert with Section 13 of the FLOODS Act (S. 4462) should it pass during the lame duck session of Congress.

Conclusion
ICWP respectfully requests your administration provide assistance with:

• Removing roadblocks with the USACE on cooperative infrastructure projects;

• Improving collaboration between the states and the federal government on water supply planning;

• Funding of critical water data information collection and management which supports infrastructure design and management as well as the protection of public safety;

• Supporting water resources management based on river basin boundaries such as the work accomplished through interstate agencies, commissions and agreements;

  and

Establishing and formalizing a collaborative Water Sub-cabinet to facilitate coordination among federal agencies with water resource initiatives.

ICWP looks forward to working with your administration to find workable strategies to meet these important water resources challenges. Our Executive Director, Sue Lowry, would be happy to provide more detail on any of these topics. She can be reached at 307- 630-5804 or sue@icwp.org

Sincerely,

Kirsten Wallace, Chair
Interstate Council on Water Policy

Listen up, Joe!

Enjoy!

“I started out thinking of America as highways and state lines. As I got to know it better, I began to think of it as rivers.” — Charles Kuralt