Oregon’s 2023 legislative session concluded with a wide-ranging drought package passing through the House and the Senate, enabling key investments necessary to building a water-secure future for Oregon’s communities and ecosystems. Read More
On the Water Front
Selected tag(s): water conservation
Bi-partisan efforts yield important wins for water in Oregon
Posted in Agriculture, Community, Drought, Groundwater Also tagged drought, groundwater, oregon, oregon legislature, oregon water, water infrastructure, water security, water use Leave a comment
The Phoenix area can no longer grow on groundwater. What does this mean for Arizona?
Last week Governor Hobbs and the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) released a new analysis of groundwater in the Phoenix metro area. News broke around the country with headlines questioning the viability of future development in the region. But, what does this new analysis actually mean for Arizona? Let’s dive in.
Posted in Agriculture, Arizona, Colorado River, Community, Drought, Groundwater Also tagged Arizona, arizona drought, arizona groundwater, colorado river, drought, water use Leave a comment
New report: Investing in Arizona’s water future
This blog is co-authored by Rachel O’Connor, Manager, Climate Resilient Water Systems.
As Arizona’s water crisis worsens due to extreme drought and overuse, more attention than ever is being directed toward addressing this critical issue. At the federal level, an influx of funding has become available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. And at the state level, the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority (WIFA) has just begun accepting proposals for its first allocation of $200M for water conservation projects.
While differing ideas abound, it is critical that our finite time and resources are dedicated to a combination of sensible and distributed multi-benefit projects that stand to bring genuine benefits to Arizonans and the environment. Single “silver-bullet” solutions are often unrealistic and obscure potential negative social, economic, and environmental impacts.
To facilitate the conversation, the Water for Arizona Coalition, which includes EDF, has released a new report titled, Investing in Arizona’s Water Future. The report provides a succinct overview of some of the water conservation and augmentation options that have been brought forward including estimates for the water benefit, cost, and time-frame for each option along with additional considerations.
Posted in Agriculture, Arizona, Colorado River, Community, Drought, Groundwater Also tagged agriculture, Arizona, arizona drought, colorado river, drought, groundwater, water use Leave a comment
Water Leadership Institute celebrates graduation of new cohort of water equity advocates
Amid music, laughter and a few tears, the latest cohort in EDF and Rural Community Assistance Corporation’s Water Leadership Institute graduated Saturday, enthusiastically committing to put their learnings into practice and tackle significant water challenges in their communities.
It’s hard to believe, but in California, the fifth largest economy in the world, approximately one million people — primarily in small, low-income, Spanish-speaking communities — lack access to clean and affordable drinking water. As the state grapples with groundwater overpumping and extreme drought, these communities are often left out of important water planning and decision-making. The Water Leadership Institute aims to change that.
Posted in Community, Drought, Groundwater Also tagged california water, california water manager, groundwater, SGMA, water use Leave a comment
Taking a big leap to solve California water problems: How uncommon partners are finding common ground on the water
This blog is co-authored by Joshua Viers, Professor and Program Director, Secure Water Future, University of California, Merced
There we were, 19 of us on the stony shore of the Tuolumne River, feeling a bit stranded like the crew of Gilligan’s Island.
Our “Finding Common Water” rafting excursion was planned around “no water Wednesday,” when river releases are held back for water conservation and infrastructure maintenance. The trip’s goal: Get off our desk chairs and onto rafts, out of the ordinary and into an extraordinary setting — a hot, highly regulated, wild and scenic river — to push us out of our comfort zone and get to work on addressing real water problems.
Working with All-Outdoors whitewater expeditions, EDF and UC Merced teamed up to create the trip. Our premise was that paddling a raft together — and yanking each other back into the boats by our life vests — can build camaraderie and help find areas of agreement in ways that Zoom meetings just can’t.
Texas is drying up. We better protect our groundwater.
It is obvious to any Texan that we are in a horrific drought. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, more than 80% of Texas has been facing drought conditions most of the year. Extreme or worse drought now covers 51% of the state.
The drought is hurting water supplies, particularly in Central Texas, which has received as little as 5 inches of rain since October in some areas, well below average. Coleman County had its driest January-to-June period on record going back to 1895.
Groundwater functions as a buffer to streams and rivers during periods of low rainfall, sustaining vital baseflow and spring flow. But increased groundwater pumping coupled with a prolonged decrease in aquifer recharge from little rainfall causes the connection between rivers and groundwater to be lost and rivers and springs to dry up.
Although it will rain again, the reality is that Texas is becoming more arid. In the future, we will see less rain and more days of triple-digit temperatures. As Texas weather changes, so must our methods of managing groundwater, which will become increasingly precious.
Posted in Agriculture, Community, Drought, Groundwater, Uncategorized Also tagged drought Leave a comment