WaterWired

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

IGRAC Director Neno Kukuric: Combine 2022 Groundwater Summit and 9th World Water Forum!

On 5 November 2020 I proposed combining the 2022 IGRAC Groundwater Summit with the 2022 Ninth World Water Forum at a joint meeting in Dakar, Senegal (see blog post here). The groundwater community responded favorably to my suggestion and now, the most important voice in the groundwater community - the man behind the 2022 Summit - IGRAC Director Neno Kukuric, has weighed in positively.

Here is the comment he left on the 5 November post:

Hi Michael,
You are perfectly right, the World Water Forum (WWF) is the right place for the 2022 Groundwater Summit/World Water Development Report (WWDR) launching. Actually, a practice is to have a WWDR launched at the forum if the forum takes place that year (it’s usually every three year). The last WWDR was launched during the WWF in Brasilia 2018 (and we succeeded to have a bit of groundwater at the World Water Day celebration - see here). Soon, we will come with more info on the Summit and a Catalogue on Groundwater management and Governance Tools, Measures and Instruments (see here) that we are developing for the Summit. Participation is very welcome!
Cheers,
Neno

This is great news! All we need now is the main player - 9WWF - on board!

"So little done, so much to do."- Cecil Rhodes

Memo to UN-Water, IGRAC, World Water Council and Senegal: Combine the Groundwater Summit and 9th World Water Forum in 2022!

The 9th World Water Forum (9WWF) organized by the World Water Council and the
Republic of Senegal, has been postponed a year and moved to 21-26 March 2022. 22 March 2022 is the celebration of International World Water Day and will devoted to groundwater, Neno Kukuric, who heads the International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre, will help celebrate the this day by holding a Groundwater Summit:

In 2022, the International World Water Day (WWD) will be dedicated to groundwater. As usual, the World Water Development Report (WWDR) for that year will be about the same topic: groundwater. Groundwater Summit is envisaged as a central celebration of the WWD, and the venue for launching the WWDR. During the Summit, Catalogue on Groundwater Management and Governance will be introduced and made available online for worldwide use.   

Groundwater is a major water-supply source, whilst also sustaining aquatic ecosystems and maintaining baseflow in rivers, and being a critical storage element for climate-change adaptation. Despite these impressive facts, groundwater (being invisible) is ‘out of mind’ for most people. At the same time, water scarcity is increasing, already affects about 2.7 billion people around the world for at least one month per year. As surface water availability decreases (due to human activities and climate change), reliance- and pressure on groundwater is growing. Yet we still do not know sufficient about the state of groundwater resources globally and we do not manage aquifers well enough.

In order to increase awareness about groundwater, international water community decided to dedicate a World Water Day in 2022 to this precious resource. Groundwater will also be a topic of a World Water Development Report in the same year. The report will present the state and trends of groundwater resources in order to make their role more understandable and visible. The slogan of the WWD and the WWDR in this Year of Groundwater will be: Groundwater – Making invisible visible.

The Groundwater Summit (22-23 March 2022) is envisaged as a central celebration of the WWD, and the pivotal venue for launching the WWDR (on 22^nd March). It will bring together scientists, policy makers and practitioners and it will focus on improving a science-policy-practice interface.  

Neno has not yet announced a venue, so I have a suggestion: why not use the 9WWF venue in the Dakar area and integrate the Summit with the 9WWF? This would provide a boost to the Groundwater Summit and expose IGRAC's message to a much larger audience. The 9WWF attendance would no doubt be enhanced. It would also introduce an important topic - groundwater - the reservoir for so much (~95%) of Earth's liquid freshwater. Groundwater is a topic that has not been adequately covered by previous WWFs.

This integration would not be easy. Planning for the 9WWF is well underway - the action groups (and I belong to one) have already submitted the first round of reports. But recently things have bogged down, so why not act now? I am not asking the 9WWF folks to give away the store and alter what they have done. Just add something that would enhance their meeting, increase attendance and impart an important message to all WaterWonks.

If it is too difficult to integrate the events and their programs, make the Summit a 'side event'!

And what might the Groundwater Summit cover? Here's a starter: a proposal from AWRA, IGRAC and NGWA to the 8WWF in Brasilia that went nowhere:

Download Groundwater-at-8wwf_final

I'm ready!

Enjoy!

"Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself." - A.H. Weiler

G. Tracy Mehan III Review: 'Apocalypse Never. Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All'

It has been a while since I published a review by G. Tracy Mehan III, a frequent contributor to WaterWired, executive director for government affairs at the American Water Works Association and adjunct professor at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University. He writes great book reviews (and other things) so when he sends me something I post it. This review of Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All by Michael Shellenberger will be published in the November/December 2020 issue of the The Environmental Forum. I am guessing that this review might generate more controversy than most I post. But that is fine.

Download Apocalypse Never Review

Here are the first few paragraphs of his review:

A recent front-page headline in the New York Times stated, “Disastrous Wave of Climate Events Slams California. Scientists Fear Fires Are Just the Start.” Journalists Thomas Fuller and Christopher Flavelle, report that “multiple mega fires [are] burning more than three million acres.” They continue, “If climate change was a somewhat abstract notion a decade ago, it is all too real for Californians.”

These are certainly disastrous events; but Michael Shellenberger, author of Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All, demurs as to any linkage between the catastrophic fires in the Golden State and a changing climate. Actually, he rejects the notion entirely.

Shellenberger cites Jon Keeley, a U.S. Geological Survey scientist in California who has researched the topic for forty years: “We’ve looked at the history of climate and fire throughout the whole state, and through much of the state, particularly the western half of the state, we don’t see any relationship between past climates and the amount of the area burned in any given year.” Keeley and other colleagues modeled 37 different regions in the United States and found that “humans may not only influence fire regime but their presence can actually override, or swamp out, the effects of climate.” Indeed, the only statistically significant factors for the frequency and severity of fires, on an annual basis, were population and proximity to deve

Okay, now let's cut to the chase...

Shellenberger discounts a climate apocalypse, but supports nuclear as the primary solution for reconciling economic growth with environmental protection. Many environmentalists envision an apocalypse but discount nuclear energy. It is nothing if not an ironic turn of events.

Shellenberger and his colleagues started organizing pronuclear demonstrations in 30 cities around the world in 2019. Evidently, the cry of “Standup for Nuclear” is resonating in Germany. He was even invited to testify before Congress. Maybe nuclear power is nota lost cause. It should get a second look from the body politic.

Don't forget to read the material I left out. All good.

Excellent - enjoy!

“Never let anyone drive you crazy; it is nearby anyway and the walk is good for you.” - The Cheshire Cat

More Sharon B. Megdal Reflections: On Wicked Water Problems

Dr. Sharon B. Megdal, Director of the University of Arizona's Water Resources Research Center and a friend and colleague, published this piece earlier this month and I am repeating here.

She also asked if the Water Buffalo symbol should be retired and would like your opinion by 24 August. What are we talking about? Go here,  

Download Reflections-wicked-water-problems_August 2020

Hare is Sharon's piece:

Although my spring-summer sabbatical lecture tour did not take place as planned due to COVID-19, I did deliver more than a dozen lectures and participated in several programs and interviews. My topic of wicked water problems was the most requested and one on which I will continue to focus. Not only does this topic afford me an opportunity to explore significant water challenges at varying geographic and geopolitical scales, it enables me to focus on the process for forging pathways to addressing them.

I begin my discussion of wicked water problems by citing Lisa Beutler’s excellent 2016 article, which was based on her keynote lecture at the Water Resource Research Center’s 2016 annual conference. I encourage all to read her concise exposition. These quotations are particularly salient. “Lately, more and more water problems seemingly defy standard solutions. This typically occurs for four reasons: incomplete or contradictory knowledge, the number of people and opinions involved, the large economic burden, and the interconnected nature of these problems with other problems.” Beutler points out that the necessary collaborations must involve more than water managers. She adds that “[i]nterdisciplinary collaboration that captures a broader knowledge of science, economics, statistics, technology, psychology, politics, and more is required…” to mitigate the negative consequences of wicked water problems. A key characteristic of wicked water problems, therefore, is that they are mitigated rather than solved, meaning that finding a pathway is the goal rather than trying to identify an ultimate solution. While partial or short-term solutions are implemented, the work continues.

(Click on the graphic to enlarge it)

Before fleshing out some examples, which I do not have space to do so in this essay, I point out the importance of context to analysis of wicked water problems. I often show a slide listing several of the factors that determine “on-the-ground” water policy and management. Among these are laws, regulations, and policies. The legal and institutional framework, including the degree to which decision-making is centralized, will be region-specific. Thus, maps always help clarify the geographic and geopolitical context for water issues of any kind, especially those that span

shared borders. In recent lectures, I have discussed four examples from the Colorado River Basin: overcommitment of groundwater in the Pinal Active Management Area; shortage of Colorado River flows relative to demands within Arizona and across the basin; limited consideration of water for natural systems; and the Navajo Nation’s inadequate water infrastructure, which has been spotlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Additional examples of wicked problems I mention involve water in the Middle East and include Lower Jordan River flows and the Dead Sea, water and wastewater services, and water scarcity, particularly in Jordan. While many more wicked water problems can be identified – and I ask listeners to think about what water problems they would identify as wicked – these examples enable me to discuss factors that contribute to mitigating them.

Process is very important to the search for pathways to solutions, which are often common across the regions I discuss. Solutions include conservation, augmentation, reuse, water transactions, and other actions at individual, community, and regional levels. Partnerships are critical to developing information collaboratively so that the parties can be “on the same page”. Whether within states and regions, across states, or across national boundaries, functioning cooperative mechanisms are critical. I emphasize the word “functioning” because it is not enough to have cooperative mechanisms on paper. Effective partnerships are built on respect and trust. Trust depends on mutually respectful, positive collaborative experiences. Stakeholder involvement is key. We are definitely seeing more inclusive processes, yet there is often room for improvement. Though live streaming of meetings had been increasing before the COVID-19 pandemic, since the demise of in-person meetings, meeting virtually has become the norm. Interestingly, this situation has enhanced participation of stakeholders who may not be officially “at the table” or able to travel long distances to in-person meetings. Good communication of all kinds is imperative to identifying and understanding the potential of alternative actions that contribute to mitigating wicked water problems. Because there are no quick fixes, both patience and persistence are necessary when working on complex matters over long periods of time.

For many years, I personally have had the opportunity to share lessons learned – both good and sometimes not-so-good – across different geographic and sociocultural communities. I have organized sessions for cross-regional learning and sharing, including but not limited to the 2009 Arizona-Israeli-Palestinian Water Management and Policy workshop in Tucson, the 2016 Middle East visit of the International Boundary and Water Commission commissioners, the 2017 Tel Aviv joint American Water Resources Association – Tel Aviv University conference on wicked water problems, and the 2019 Tel Aviv conference panel on implementing technologies across borders. All of these events are chronicled in previous Public Policy Columns and Reflections. During the 2019 panel, I asked panelists: What are the most important variables or factors that contribute to collaborating on implementing technologies across borders? Very high on their lists were functioning relationships. Several noted that being able to get to know your partners through sitting down together for meals fosters the friendships and relationships that can facilitate the work required to forge formal agreements. There can be peaks and lows. Identifying win-win opportunities can be difficult, and when working with neighbors of different cultures and languages, good communication, sincerity, and leadership are essential.

In her article, Lisa Beutler states, “Managing wicked problems is a new kind of work. It requires changing the questions, managing uncertainty, and creating resilience. It does not solve existing problems but instead drives to a desired future state.” Technology and economics are determinants of pathways to solutions, as are processes for working with and through stakeholders. Efforts to educate at all levels will contribute to identifying and evaluating options. Good work is continuing. But my recent webinar lectures on wicked water problems (see, for example, my May 2020 WRRC webinar) ended with this question, which is reflective of the COVID-19 times in which we live: When will we be able to meet and eat with our partners?

Last month Sharon gave an AWRA webinar: Developing Pathways to Solutions to Wicked Water Problems. Click here to access this recording. Here is the PDF of that PPT: 

Download Megdal_AWRA_WIckedWaterProblems_15July2020

Good stuff!

Enjoy!

"It's so much darker when a light goes out than it would have been if it had never shone." - John Steinbeck