Growing Returns

Six reasons why wetlands are vital every month of the year.

By Rachel Rhode / Published: May 31, 2022

The Environmental Protection Agency has designated May as American Wetlands Month, a “time to celebrate the vital importance of wetlands to our Nation’s ecological, economic, and social health.”

Scientists and coastal planners increasingly recognize the important role wetlands play in everything from flood protection to water quality to wildlife habitat to economic impact. At the same time, climate change and other stressors threaten wetlands, and in turn, the people and wildlife that rely on them.

As we close out American Wetlands Month, here are six reasons why one of nature’s richest ecosystems provide value to our lives every month of the year. Read More »

Posted in Uncategorized / Tagged climate resilience, coastal resilience, Coasts, Louisiana, wetlands | Comments are closed

Colorado scores two more #WaterWins to help address worsening drought and capture federal funds

By Brian Jackson / Bio / Published: May 24, 2022

As Colorado’s drought worsens with the snowpack melting at a ridiculous rate, the state Legislature has stepped up by sending two key bills to the governor’s desk to increase funding for water conservation, river health and ecosystem restoration.

The new funding will help Colorado take advantage of even more federal infrastructure dollars approved last year in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which dedicates $8.3 billion to western water projects.

Posted in Uncategorized / Tagged CO legislature, colorado drought, colorado water, colorado wildfires, western water | Comments are closed

50 years is too long! Now is our time to go bold or go home.

By Bobbie Green / Published: May 12, 2022

Dr. Robert Bullard and Dr. Beverly Wright, Photo provided by Joseph Video Production and TJ Images.

“50 Years is Enough!”

That was the theme at this year’s 8^th Annual Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Climate Change Conference in New Orleans. 50 years of indiscriminate toxic dumping, 50 years of hazardous waste sites in frontline communities, 50 years of land-use decisions that harm communities of color – enough! It’s a searing message for attendees and a reminder that shines a light on the emergence of the movement from the 1960s and 1970s, in reaction to discriminatory environmental practices.

The conference began with a painful trip down memory lane, focused on the trials of environmental racism that befell Black communities in the 1960s. Event organizers discussed how imperative it is for policymakers to act in a way that helps ensure that communities have agency and ownership of their own future. The conference highlighted the long history of systemic racism that lies behind the environmental injustices that communities have faced for so many years. It also fueled a fire inside the movement’s trailblazers who spoke at the conference, forcing them to declare that enough is enough. We are fighting back! Read More »

Posted in Climate Resilience / Tagged climate resilience, environmental justice, flood risk reduction, natural infrastructure | Comments are closed

Environmental bond gives New York a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fund a more climate resilient future.

By Kate Boicourt / Bio / Published: May 3, 2022

Earlier this month, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state legislature successfully included a $4.2 billion Bond Act ballot measure in the final state budget agreement. This is a historic step toward building a climate-resilient New York. If passed by voters in November, the Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Bond Act will leverage the federal Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act and enable historic investments in New York’s environment through an array of solutions that include flood risk reduction, open-space land conservation, climate change mitigation, clean energy projects, environmental justice and water quality improvements.

Here is how the Bond Act puts New York on a path to lasting resilience while also stimulating the economy, creating jobs and benefiting the state’s most vulnerable communities.

Posted in Uncategorized / Tagged Coasts, new york bond act, new york coast, new york flood | Comments are closed

This Leadership Institute graduate sees a path to water security through an often overlooked strategy: innovation.

By Guest Author / Published: April 28, 2022

Joseph Gallegos’ interest in water and climate change began as a hobby after he retired as a telecom executive during the 2015 drought. Tired of watching his lawn go brown, Joseph decided to build a system to take water use by his washing machine and deliver it to his lawn, since no such product existed at the time.

His solution took off and is now available at Lowe’s under the brand Grey4Green, a company Joseph founded that aims to promote water and climate resilience through innovation and community outreach. In 2019, Joseph started working on another system to substantially reduce water use on farms, which is called the aquifer pipe.

I first learned about Joseph’s innovative and entrepreneurial drive when planning for the next cohort of the Leadership Institute, a program he participated in last year facilitated by the Environmental Defense Fund and Rural Community Assistance Corporation. The institute builds capacity and leadership skills so members of disadvantaged and underrepresented communities can more effectively engage in water decision-making and help develop equitable, long-lasting water solutions.

Posted in Uncategorized / Tagged agriculture, California drought, california water, SGMA, water conservation, western water | Comments are closed

The Colorado River is getting closer to tanking. Can we free ourselves from the long arc of depletion?

By Christopher Kuzdas / Bio / Published: April 27, 2022

My mom on a houseboat and my dad reveling in the “glory days” of Lake Powell, May 1981.

“They would come to the river to see a reflection of their own liberated minds, running free and easy…In the midst of what had once been regarded as the bleakest scarcity they would find abundance.” —Donald Worster, Rivers of Empire

Lake Powell, our nation’s second-largest reservoir, dropped 40 feet in just the last year to a new record low, triggering an unprecedented set of emergency actions. The changes underway at Powell provide a striking illustration of how a new era of aridification in the West is pushing a river management culture steeped in assumptions of the past to the brink. It’s been a few years since I’ve visited Lake Powell, so two weeks ago I went back to see how it’s changed with my own eyes.

Posted in Uncategorized / Tagged arizona drought, arizona water, colorado river, drought, lake powell, river depletion, western water | Read 1 Response

Removing the mystery of groundwater to protect Texas’ beloved Hill Country

By Vanessa Puig-Williams / Bio / Published: April 26, 2022

What makes the Texas Hill Country unique? In my mind, it comes down to one thing: groundwater. It is impossible to overstate the importance of groundwater to this region, because without it, the Hill Country would not be the region we know and love.

It is the beauty and abundance of the Hill Country’s water resources that have attracted people here for thousands of years.

As the recently published State of the Hill Country Report reveals, the region is on the verge of becoming a victim of its own success as people are moving to the Hill Country in droves for its beauty and high quality of life. The report introduces eight key metrics to help track the region’s health and guide decisions that will determine whether the region will continue to thrive or live beyond its means.

Unfortunately, current levels of groundwater pumping threaten to dry up rivers and springs as the Hill Country heads down the second path of living beyond its means.

Posted in Uncategorized / Tagged Hill Country Texas, texas aquifer, texas drought, texas groundwater, texas spring, texas water, western water | Comments are closed

Drought in California is intensifying. It’s time to rise to the challenge.

By Ann Hayden / Bio / Published: April 14, 2022

Record-setting high temperatures in the 90s — in April. The driest first three months of the year in California history. Another drought executive order from the governor calling for more water conservation and requiring protection of existing groundwater wells. These are all signs that the drought is continuing to rear its ugly head in our Golden State and indeed much of the West.

On top of that, the recently released climate report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned that if we don’t get serious about making “immediate and deep” cuts in emissions everywhere, the impacts — including droughts — will become even more severe.

But that report also offered hope, noting we still have the tools and sufficient capital and liquidity to limit warming and its impacts. Similarly, in California, we are fortunate to have a mammoth $29 billion budget surplus this year. If deployed effectively, this windfall gives the Newsom administration and state leaders the unique opportunity to help the nation’s most productive agricultural region successfully transition to limited but more resilient water supplies in an equitable way.

Posted in Uncategorized / Tagged California drought, california water, land repurposing, SGMA, western water | Comments are closed

As local movements for groundwater protection rise, will state leaders finally respond?

By Christopher Kuzdas / Bio / Published: April 13, 2022

Across Arizona, the consequences of unlimited groundwater pumping are becoming untenable for many communities. In response, Arizona state Rep. Regina Cobb, R-Kingman, has introduced legislation, for the third year in a row, to enable rural communities to manage their groundwater through a new opt-in program called Rural Management Areas (RMAs).

Although the bill again did not receive a committee hearing, this year is very different from the past. Over the last several months, more residents and local stakeholders are becoming engaged and organized around water security and water self-determination, getting mobilized in local settings like town halls, community meetings, and even residents’ living rooms and porches. It has become clear that the people of rural Arizona no longer accept being ignored on water issues at the state level. Here are a few recent examples:

Residents in Cochise County, fed up with state inaction to address unfettered groundwater pumping, have submitted signatures for a ballot measure to ask voters to approve a new Active Management Area (AMA) in the Willcox Basin in a local election in November. They are now gathering signatures for a second AMA in the Douglas Basin.
Read More »

Posted in Uncategorized / Tagged active management area, arizona drought, arizona drought contingency plan, Arizona groundwater, arizona water authority, groundwater management, rural management areas, SGMA, western water | Comments are closed

This farmland repurposing project is delivering 3 benefits. A park may be next.

By Anna Schiller / Bio / Published: April 4, 2022

Sarah Woolf, a member of a Fresno County farm family, is standing on the edge of a field that most recently grew hemp; garlic, tomatoes and onions before that; and cotton years ago. On one side is the dry Arroyo Pasajero Creek, bushes, and a wild, scraggly tree that looks like something from a Dr. Seuss book. On the other side in the far distance is the small farming town of Huron.

This former hemp field has been regraded to recharge groundwater from the creek during the next big storm in order to provide both water supply and flood control benefits. It’s an example of the kind of project that could be funded by the state’s new Multibenefit Land Repurposing Program, which launched this year with an initial $50 million. The program was created to help ease the transition for farmers to sustainable groundwater management while creating new benefits on previously irrigated land.

My colleagues and I recently visited the Arroyo Pasajero Creek and talked with Woolf and later Huron Mayor Rey León about the project and current drought. In addition to conserving water, here are three additional benefits of this land repurposing project — and one envisioned for the future — that they highlighted.

Posted in Uncategorized / Tagged farmland repurposing, flood management, groundwater management, groundwater recharge, SGMA, western water | Comments are closed