WaterWired

Moving the Needle: Women In Water Awards Its Third Scholarship to Lauren Bartels, UN-Reno

Picture at the 2017 NWRA meeting where the WiW concept took hold. Brenda Burman, the newly-installed Reclamation Commissioner, is at the podium on the right. She is the first woman in that position. That's why you see all those smiles.

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The Women In Water Scholarship Fund is a relatively young 501(c)(3) organization (c. 2018) founded by Cheryl Zittle, Christine Arbogast and others with a noble goal (I won't tell you what it is). It just awarded its third scholarship ($5000) to Ms. Lauren Bartels of the University of Nevada-Reno's Graduate Program of Hydrologic Sciences. I am partial to the UNR program as I taught in it from 1976 - 1989.

Here is Lauren's statement upon learning of her success:

As I embark on my second and final year as a master’s student in the Graduate Program of Hydrologic Sciences at the University of Nevada, Reno, I could not be more thankful to receive the 2021-2022 Women in Water Scholarship. All my thanks go to the incredible women behind this award who recognize the need to broaden and diversify the field of water resources management and promote an integrated systems approach. 

 

Receiving this award allows me to pursue professional development opportunities over this next year. I believe one of the most beneficial aspects of graduate school is having the ability to connect and engage with researchers within and outside your discipline. There is always something new to learn, and much of the learning evolves from interactions with others. Sharing your research also opens avenues for collaboration and introduces new lines of thinking, both of which can considerably enhance your research.

 

Given that my research combines aspects of hydrogeology, engineering, and policy, I will present my findings at an interdisciplinary set of conferences hosted by local water professionals, political science associations, geoscience associations, and engineering groups. I hope to apply the knowledge I gain from diverse groups of individuals to implement sustainable water management practices and further encourage women to pursue careers in this field. As I continue to piece together my life puzzle, I will remain grateful for the support of the Women in Water Scholarship Fund.

 

I encourage you to donate to this excellent organization. Why? From the website:

When you contribute to the Women in Water Scholarship Fund, you're helping young women pursue fulfilling careers developing, managing and conserving this finite resource. We are an organization of volunteers and our only administrative costs are those necessary to process your donation.

Here is what Christine Arbogast recently said:

When I first "joined" the western water community in 1985, water leadership was provided by directors of water district boards, district general managers, and water lawyers. Nearly all were men." said Women in Water scholarship fund President, Christine Arbogast.

The face of the community has changed considerably since then. In all walks of the western water world, women are in high-profile, leadership positions which help influence the water policy so critical to the semi-arid West.

Tanya Trujillo has been confirmed as the Assistant Secretary for Water and Science in the Biden Administration.

Brenda Burman was the first female Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation and Camille Camlimlum Touton has been nominated to serve as her successor.

Cheryl Zittle of the Salt River Project was the first female president of the National Water Resources Association, and Christine Arbogast now serves as President.

April Snell is the executive director of the Oregon Water Resources Association.

Leslie James leads the Colorado River Electric Distributors' Association.

The Texas Water Conservation Association is led by Stacey Steinbach.

The nine-member Colorado Water Conservation Board has five female members, and its executive director is Becky Mitchell.

And the list of talented engineers, lawyers, governmental affairs directors, managers and board members goes on and on.

I would add Pat Mulroy, Sharon B. Megdal (Director of the Arizona Water Resources Research Center and a former elected BoD member of the Central Arizona Project) and Arlene Dietz (first woman president of the American Water Resources Association - thanks, Ken Reid) to the above list. 

Things are changing, although we still have a ways to go. WiW will help show us the way.

And don't forget - we still need to increase the diversity in the water world. 

Enjoy!

"My hope is that someday, when asked how she got into western water, a young woman will say 'Christine inspired me.'" - Christine Arbogast

CRS InFocus Report: 'Overview of the Global Humanitarian and Displacement Crisis'

Rhoda Margesson is the author of this CRS InFocus (2-pager) report (23 July 2021): 'Overview of the Global Humanitarian and Displacement Crisis'  

Download CRS_Report_Overview_Global_Human_Dis_Crisis_23July2021

I have pasted the entire two-pager below and a PDF above. 

Graphics can be enlarged by clicking on them.

One thing the document touches only briefly is the human displacement caused/exacerbated by water and related issues: sea-level rise, salinization of coastal aquifers by sea-water intrusion. Desiccated interior regions (Colorado River Basin, etc.) could cause people to head for the coast or elsewhere. I have a young OSU colleague, David Wrathall, who is looking into this for the IPCC. Just keep that in mind. 

Humanitarian and displacement crises worldwide have become significantly worse in the past five years. The ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has exacerbated humanitarian need. In addition, the lockdowns and economic recession caused by the pandemic created far-reaching secondary impacts such as increased food insecurity, gender-based violence, and poverty, and reduced access to education and health. The United Nations (U.N.) anticipates that globally more than 238 million people will require humanitarian assistance and protection due to conflict, disaster, and the pandemic in 2021 (a near 30% increase over 2020). The United States is the single largest humanitarian and emergency food assistance donor, consistently providing nearly one-third of total assistance worldwide (more than $9.6 billion in FY2021, excluding American Relief Plan Act funds).

Types of Crises and Affected Populations
As of late 2020 (latest global data available), more than 82.4 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide due to armed conflict, widespread or indiscriminate violence, or human rights violations. According to the United Nations, those displaced included 26.4 million refugees, 4.1 million asylum seekers, 48 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), and 3.9 million Venezuelans displaced abroad. An estimated 10 million people remained stateless. (See definitions of key populations of concern below.)

Natural disasters and climate-related impacts further affect millions of people a year. They often require urgent and prolonged assistance due to sudden events (such as earthquakes or storms) or protracted ones (like drought conditions). On average, disasters displace 26 million people annually.

Some populations move voluntarily, while others have to flee. Economic migrants, who often leave poverty and unemployment to seek better livelihood opportunities or family reunification, numbered approximately 281 million in 2020 (roughly 3.6% of the world’s population). Refugees and others forcibly displaced, including vulnerable migrants, often face a different set of circumstances. They are forced to leave their homes for reasons such as ethnic strife, violence, human rights violations, or natural disasters. In 2020, more than two-thirds (68%) of all refugees and Venezuelans displaced abroad came from five countries (the same reported in 2019): Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, South Sudan, and Burma. (See Figure 1 for worldwide snapshot of forced displacement.)

U.S. Policy
The United States is a major contributor to international humanitarian relief efforts, with funding provided through the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Department of State, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Agriculture. On a bipartisan basis, Congress has consistently supported humanitarian efforts as a means of responding in the short- and long-term to natural disasters and conflict-induced crises, mitigating humanitarian impacts, and promoting a U.S. presence. It generally gives the President broad authority on humanitarian issues and flexibility to respond to disasters with a wide range of assistance. In a long-standing trend across Administrations, it typically funds global humanitarian efforts at appropriation levels well above the budget request through established global humanitarian and emergency food accounts in annual State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs and other appropriations bills. In practice, the provision of U.S. humanitarian assistance is typically case- and time-specific and includes assistance through humanitarian partners and multilateral mechanisms. These efforts are based on need and include supporting protection activities for vulnerable populations and countries and communities hosting the displaced, encouraging donor contributions, and building response capacity. The Biden Administration’s budget request for FY2022 aims to strengthen U.S. global humanitarian leadership and calls for $10.1 billion in humanitarian assistance to support displaced and vulnerable persons worldwide. 

Selected Issues and Challenges
COVID-19.COVID-19 added a complicated layer to the global humanitarian landscape in 2020. The conditions in which vulnerable, displaced populations live make them particularly susceptible to coronavirus spread and present additional challenges for humanitarian response and virus containment. COVID-19 cases and deaths in humanitarian and conflict settings are likely underreported, and testing remains limited and uneven. Pandemic restrictions continue to affect the mobility of vulnerable populations and limit humanitarian access and operations (such as delivery of goods and services and activities of personnel in the field). Experts predict barriers for displaced populations and vulnerable migrants to access vaccines. Four specific sectors emerged as priorities during the pandemic: severe food insecurity, urgent health care access and services, protection of women and girls amid increases in the incidence of gender-based violence, and sustained access to education for displaced children and youth. In addition, refugee returns to countries of origin and refugee resettlement, which declined due to COVID-19, are important parts of the long-term solution to displacement.

Emergence of New Crises and Underfunding.A major challenge facing the humanitarian community is the emergence of new crises (including the pandemic), which means lifesaving assistance and protection activities takeprecedence over long-term development and the search for durable solutions. Chronic underfunding of existing U.N. and other humanitarian appeals means that urgent needs frequently outpace available budgets for operations. The 2021 revised U.N. global humanitarian appeal for $36.1 billion is the highest ever and aims to help populations in 56 countries meet basic needs such as food, water, shelter, and medical services, including those related to COVID-19.

Displacement and Host Countries. Economic migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, trafficked persons, and unaccompanied children, usually in a mix of nationalities or ethnic groups, may travel the same routes together. Many of these individuals lack required documentation, and may use unauthorized border crossings, often with the assistance of smugglers. An individual’s decision to move is based on a complex mix of factors. Even if they do not qualify as refugees, experts say a significant number of those fleeing may need humanitarian assistance, international protection, and opportunities to regularize their status. However, states concerned about the economic burden of those seeking help and the potential security issues resulting from uncontrolled migration (raised in part because of the threat of terrorism) argue for stricter enforcement of asylum and immigration policies.

Protracted Displacement.Refugees and IDPs may be separated from their homes for long periods, particularly in instances of large-scale, protracted crises or ongoing-armed conflicts where political solutions prove elusive. The global population of those forcibly displaced increased by 75% in the past two decades, and on average, a person is displaced as a refugee for 20 years. Displaced populations are often not confined to camps, placing a heavy burden on governments and host communities. National governments carry primary responsibility for all displaced people in their territory; however, in many cases they are unable or unwilling to fulfill this obligation, complicating the humanitarian response. In 2020, the countries with the largest populations of IDPs were the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, and Sudan. The top countries hosting refugees included Turkey, Colombia, Pakistan, and Uganda. Less than 1% of global refugees are resettled each year.

Operational Constraints and Access.
Displaced populations require protection, the basis of which may be found in international humanitarian law (IHL) and reflected in humanitarian assistance provided by a variety of actors and organizations. Local, national, and regional authorities have a role in the provision of assistance, law enforcement, and access control. Systematic violations of human rights and IHL have been widespread in some conflicts, resulting in high levels of civilian casualties, exposure to explosive hazards, and indiscriminate attacks. This has severely constrained national and international humanitarian efforts, hindering aid delivery or restricting access altogether, while threatening the safety of humanitarian personnel and the populations they aim to assist and protect.

Enjoy!

 "If climate change is a shark, water is its teeth." - Gemma Boag

R.I.P - J. Paul Riley: Gentleman, Scholar, and So Much More!

Dr. J. Paul Riley, longtime educator, mentor, hydrologist, engineer, leader, died on 1 July 2021. He was a fixture on the water resources scene since the early 1950s. He's a person that when someone says, 'He'll be missed!' you know they really mean it.

 

I did not know him well and met him just twice - the last time in 2011 when I attended a meeting of the Utah state section of AWRA. I had been 'warned' by Ken Reid, then CEO of AWRA, that Paul was quite a unique individual - helpful, kind, intelligent, gentlemanly, etc. He was all those things and more. He was what the Jersey folks would call a 'good guy.'

 

You can peruse the scientific contributions of Paul here and read more here.

 

Below is a wonderful tribute from Lisa Beutler, like Paul an AWRA Past President. The picture of the two was taken at a Salt Lake City meeting of the Utah state section in May 2017.

 

Rest in Peace Dr. Paul Riley - Paul was a nationally recognized water resources leader and past president of the American Water Resources Association. He was also a key leader of the Utah section.

Raised on a ranch in British Columbia (BC), Canada, Paul Riley learned life lessons from hard work and a mother who was a classics scholar of Greek and Latin. Education was a priority for Paul, earning a BS in Agricultural Engineering from UBC (1950) then coming to USU specifically to study under O.W. Israelsen to pursue a Civil Engineer (CE) professional degree (1952). For the next 10 years Paul worked as a water engineer in BC and taught Agricultural  Engineering at Oregon State University.

 

In 1963, Paul returned to work at USU/UWRL and completed his PhD in 1966. Dr. Riley’s innovative use of hybrid (analog and digital) computers to simulate hydrologic and water resource management systems opened up significant new water research opportunities at the UWRL.

 

Dr. Riley strongly promoted an interdisciplinary and international approach to water research, engaging colleagues from across the campus in projects, as well as helping professionals in countries around the world to develop computer models of their water resource systems.

 

Paul Riley retired officially from Utah State University in 1993, but remained active as an emeritus for a number of years following retirement.

We were all blessed to have known him.

 

Although the time I spent with Paul lasted barely an hour I'll not soon forget him. Paul did  not just make the water world a better place; he made the entire world a better place.

 

Rest in peace! 

 

"We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give." - Winston Churchill

AWWA Letter to Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO)

Thanks again to G. Tracy Mehan III, executive director for government affairs at the American Water Works Association, who sent me three previous letters letter he sent to assorted government officials, including President Joe Biden (as President-Elect) and EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. You can find all three letters here.  

This letter is from AWWA CEO David LaFrance to Sen. Michael Bennet of AWWA's home state of Colorado and the incoming chair of the very important Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Climate, Forestry, and Natural Resources. A PDF is below as is the entire letter pasted below that

Download AWWA Letter Senator Bennet 3-24-21

24 March 2021

Honorable Michael Bennet
261 Russell Senate Building
Washington, DC 20510

Subject: Chairmanship of Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Climate, Forestry, and Natural Resources

Dear Senator Bennet:

Congratulations on your appointment as chair of the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Climate, Forestry, and Natural Resources. As the CEO of the Denver-based American Water Works Association (AWWA), I view your subcommittee as being absolutely critical to advancing the Nation’s efforts in solving our long-standing water and climate issues. Our 4,500 utility members and 50,000 individual members collectively provide drinking water to more than 80 percent of the American public.

The critical importance of your subcommittee cannot be overstated. Before his passing, William Ruckelshaus, the first Administrator of EPA, stated that in 1970 some 85 percent of our water quality impairments came from point sources, while 15 percent came from nonpoint sources. By the year 2010, 40 years later, the figures were reversed, with 85 percent of water impairments coming from nonpoint sources and 15 percent from point sources.1 Nonpoint runoff, particularly nutrients, has manifested itself in the growth of harmful algal blooms and the proliferation of hypoxic zones in our lakes and estuaries. Consequently, we experience greatly increased costs in providing safe, potable drinking water. Source water protection, measures to help protect and improve waters sources used for drinking water, was emphasized in the 2018 Farm Bill for the first time.

We also face the dire necessity of addressing global climate change and urgent needs to sequester carbon, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and develop alternative energy sources.

Given that agriculture accounts for the bulk of privately-owned land in the continental United States, your subcommittee stands squarely in the nexus of these issues and the ability to address them is within your jurisdiction.

Your efforts to advance conservation in the 2018 Farm Bill were much appreciated, and we continue to support your approach of working with agricultural interests in a voluntary, cooperative manner. We, too, believe that farmers, ranchers and woodland owners have a key role in addressing the issues described above. In Colorado, we have been fortunate to have worked cooperatively with both the Forest Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Two recent examples: Denver Water worked cross jurisdictionally with the Forest Service and NRCS to restore both Federal and private lands burned by wildfires and, most recently, NRCS designated a key future water supply watershed for Denver as a National Water Quality Initiative area which will receive extra funding and emphasis to protect source water.

We are particularly excited to know that your subcommittee will soon begin developing the conservation and forestry titles of what will be the 2023 Farm Bill. During development of the 2018 Farm, Bill, AWWA advocated emphasizing source water protection to help protect the nation’s drinking water using established voluntary conservation methods. AWWA also has a keen interest in simplifying and expanding the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, as many of our members are active partners in projects around the country.

AWWA is willing to provide any input you feel would be helpful. If you wish to discuss this further, I can be reached at 303-910-4618 or at dlafrance@awwa.org. Alternatively, your staff can contact Tracy Mehan, executive director of AWWA Government Affairs, in Washington, D.C., at 202-326-6125 or at tmehan@awwa.org.

Again, congratulations on becoming the chair of the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Climate, Forestry, and Natural Resources. We look forward to working with you.

Sincerely,

David LaFrance
CEO, American Water Works Association

cc: Honorable Michael Bennet
Cesar E. Chavez Memorial Building
1244 Speer Boulevard
Denver, CO 80204

Enjoy!

“In the West, when you touch water, you touch everything.” – Rep. Wayne N. Aspinall (D-CO), 1896-1983

V.B. Price Column: Interior Secretary Deb Haaland

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland

by V.B. Price

I share with many New Mexicans a feeling of immense pride in the appointment and confirmation of our Congresswoman Deb Haaland from Laguna Pueblo to be America’s 54^th Secretary of the Interior. She joins former New Mexico Congressman Manuel Luján, Jr., who served as Interior Secretary from 1989 to 1993, in holding that most powerful and influential office that affects the well-being and quality of life of people across the United States and particularly in the water-starved American West.

Haaland and Luján, Jr. have many sterling qualities in common, not in policy and politics, but in style and affability. Both represented Albuquerque’s 1st Congressional District. Both had a bipartisan temperament while being highly partisan, a quality that endeared them to many and helped make them effective congressional players. Both were master practitioners of the art of constituent service, blessed with personal political skills.

Even though I disagreed with Republican Luján, Jr. on almost every issue, I considered him a friend. So now to have an environmental conservationist and climate change warrior such as Deb Haaland, a person with whom I agree about so many crucial issues in the West, as Interior Secretary fills me with a sense of relief and a sense of optimism.

Haaland’s influence on energy generation, Native American rights and water planning in the West is potentially tremendous. The Colorado Compact, which delivers Colorado river water to 40 million Westerners in seven states, will be renegotiated during her tenure and completed in 2026. The fate of urban growth and agricultural sustainability will depend on how equitable the new Compact turns out to be. And hovering over the process will be water hedge fund managers and investors looking to privatize as much water in the West as they can.

As an example of the power of the Secretary of Interior over Western water issues, consider arch libertarian and oil and gas champion Gale Norton, secretary from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush, and her historic action to cut off a vast amount of Colorado River water — nearly 650,000 acre feet (or over 75 percent of what the whole state of New Mexico gets a year) — to Southern California’s cities of Los Angeles and San Diego and to farmers in the Imperial Valley.

The story is complicated, but it boils down to this: blue state California was using water that belonged to red state Arizona under the Colorado Compact. California had to give up using that water when the Central Arizona Project, which delivers Colorado River water to Phoenix and Tucson, was completed. The Department of Interior was willing to wean California off Arizona’s water over a 15-year period if Southern California cities could work a deal with Imperial Valley farmers to buy more water. If they couldn’t, the water would be turned off all at once in two years on January 1, 2003. And they couldn’t.

As the New York Times reported, “Three of the eight pumps that tap into the glistening reservoir of Colorado River water (at Lake Havasu)…are sitting idle, by order of the federal government. With the pumps switched off since 8 a.m New Year’s Day, less water is churning down the 242-mile aqueduct toward coastal Southern California, where 17 million people rely on snowmelt from the Rocky Mountains for washing dishes, flushing toilets and watering lawns.” It was Interior Secretary Gail Norton who turned off the spigots in a historic move that had been threatened, in one way or another, for nearly 40 years.

Deb Haaland will have that kind of potential power. Her actions could determine not only how much Colorado River water New Mexico and other western states get in a protracted and worsening drought but also the momentum of growth in Denver, southern Utah, and other burgeoning cities and states in the West.

The Department of Interior manages one-fifth of the land in the country, along with 476 dams, 348 reservoirs, 410 national parks and monuments and 544 wildlife refuges. It oversees water storage and distribution, along with hydroelectric power, through the Bureau of Reclamation. The Bureau of Land Management controls permits for oil and gas drilling and is in charge of all federal lands not controlled by the U.S. Forest Service. The Bureau of Indian Affairs is the federal government’s principal point of contact with 574 sovereign Native American tribes, which includes two disastrous centuries of negotiating and breaking treaties. Interior also has the Environmental Protection Agency under its administrative umbrella. Only the Departments of Energy and Defense have even marginally comparable influence in New Mexico and the West.

Haaland will have the opportunity to do an immense amount of good for western states and their people, protecting tourist economies around national parks and monuments and supporting the creation of alternative energy industries, among many other initiatives. She might even be able to make significant inroads fixing the intractable problem of cleaning up groundwater pollution on federal lands, which has become not only a health risk but economic poison all over the West.

The Department of Interior will also have much to say about how successful President Biden is in dealing with what he considers to be four major domestic challenges — COVID-19, economic recovery, racial equity and climate change. It will be a leader in what is being called a clean energy revolution to wean the country from fossil fuels and their pollution by 2035.

It will take all of Deb Haaland’s interpersonal skills, political savvy and devotion to sound environmental planning to squeeze the most out of the massive bureaucracy at Interior. And she’ll have to clean out the nest of Trumpian holdovers that have infiltrated the establishment there over the last four years.

As we’ve seen — with the appointment of conservative Secretaries like President Reagan’s James Watt, President Bush’s Gail Norton and President Trump’s Ryan Zinke — the damage inflicted on the environment by the Department of Interior is all about policy and expectations, about setting a course and a destination, about fundamental values and dispositions, about knowing how to get along with people to avoid unnecessary and destructive friction.

Deb Haaland is a legitimate Green New Deal advocate with unbending environmental and social justice values. But she is not an all-or-nothing, dismissive, hate-driven partisan zealot, like those politicians who call her a “radical.” She is willing to listen meaningfully and respectfully to those who oppose her, and, if possible, make accommodations. But her record tells us that she’ll never roll over either. If there’s anyone we can trust to do the right thing in the next four years, it’s her.
 

*Nullius in verba: take nobody’s word for it

Originally published on 21 March 2021
(Photo by Shane Balkowitsch)

Enjoy!

Leave a comment on this blog or here at V.P. Price's site. 

"We must shift our thinking away from short-term gain toward long-term investment and sustainability, and always have the next generations in mind with every decision we make." - Deb Haaland