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Groundwater Committee Committee Chairperson: Dean Pennington YMD Joint Water Management District PO Box 129 / Stoneville, MS 38776-0129 Phone: (662) 686-7712 / Fax: (662) 686-9078 Email to Dean Pennington |
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U.S. Water News Online - May 2007
TWIN FALLS, Idaho -- The head of Idaho's water department says he will turn off groundwater pumps used by more than 700 Magic Valley farmers later this month if they fail to set aside additional water sought by two senior users. Idaho Water Resources Department Director David Tuthill said he intends to issue a curtailment order on May 14 targeting 771 groundwater users spread across 33,000 acres of the Magic Valley north of the Snake River. Tuthill said the decision is part of the agency's ongoing response to demands for additional water sought in 2005 by Blue Lakes Trout Farm and Clear Springs Food's Snake River Farm. Both producers contend they have the senior, legal right to divert more water than they are currently receiving. "While we are forced to provide this notice, there is still an opportunity to identify additional" solutions and alternatives, Tuthill said. "Curtailment is really a last resort. I really hope we don't hurt growers." Calls by senior right holders for more water are common, particularly during the recent string of dry years in Idaho. But Tuthill said the May 14 curtailment orders marks the first time a shutdown has targeted so many users. The order could also limit water supplies to towns in the Magic Valley, including Blaine, Butte, Gooding, Jerome, Lincoln and Minidoka counties, according to the department. In the past, groundwater users have sidestepped curtailment orders by voluntarily giving up water to senior right holders. But this year, some say the resource is too precious to pass on. "We just don't believe there's enough water in the system," said Lynn Tominaga, executive director of the Idaho Ground Water Appropriators. "We might end up going to court or asking the director for a special hearing." Another option is a state and federal conservation program for farmers. The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program would reimburse farmers who opt not to farm acreage for conservation reasons and farmers who enroll in the program are exempt from curtailment orders. The call for additional water affects users with priority rights beginning after May 10, 1983, the date established by Blue Lakes, and June 9, 1975, the rights date established by Clear Springs.
The newly created Subcommittee on Ground Water (SOGW) has been charged by the federal Advisory Committee on Water Information (ACWI) with leading a nationwide effort to assist with development of a nationwide, long-term ground water quantity and quality monitoring framework.
The SOGW goal is to have a draft proposal in the next 12-18 months, and it is seeking volunteers to assist. A notice to this effect was released March 21, by Christine Reimer, National Ground Water Association.
In the United States, ground water is the primary water source for 74% of community water systems, provides more than 40% of agriculture irrigation water and serves nearly all rural households. "Ground water and ground water professionals will be increasingly called upon in the future to help address the nation's water needs," said Robert Schreiber, SOGW Co-Chair. "Access to fundamental data on the ground water resource and its quality is needed for current and future decision-making," added Schreiber.
"With 36 States expecting either statewide or localized shortages in the next 10 years it is important that we work toward a nationwide framework for ground water monitoring and collaboration that will facilitate the assessment of the U.S. ground water reserves," said Robert Hirsch, ACWI Co-Chair and U.S. Geological Survey Associate Director for Water.
SOGW seeks volunteers with expertise in ground water monitoring design, field practices, data standards, and data management to participate in one of four work groups, namely: (1) Inventory Work Group - Co-Chairs: William Cunningham, USGS; Emery Davis, Association of American State Geologists; and Michael Wireman, USEPA; (2) Field Practice Work Group - Co-Chairs: Mike Nickolaus, Ground Water Protection Council and Rod Sheets, USGS; (3) Data Standards and Data Management Work Group - Chair: Charles Job, USEPA; and (4) Monitoring Design Work Group - Chair: Robert Schrieber, American Society of Civil Engineers ACWI representative.
For more information or to submit your name for consideration, interested persons are invited to email SOGW Executive Secretary Chris Reimer at creimer@ngwa.org. Put SOGW in the subject line and include a short paragraph (1) identifying which work group you are interested in being considered as a member, (2) why you are interested, and (3) what applicable background you bring.
Following a May 4th hearing, the House Science Committee’s Subcommittee on Environment, Technology and Standards, Chaired by Rep. Vernon Ehlers (R-MI), marked up and approved H.R. 5136, to authorize a National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) that would help decision makers by coordinating and expanding drought monitoring and data collection systems to comprehensively cover key indicators such as snow pack, stream flow, soil moisture, reservoir and ground water levels, etc. It would create an integrated data collection and dissemination system, and develop tools to support analysis and decision making at all levels and geographic scales. Introduced by Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX) and Rep. Mark Udall (D-CO), it passed by voice vote with technical changes. The full Committee is expected to take it up soon.
Chairman Ehlers declared, “Drought is a pernicious disaster; it can creep up on you in the form of pleasantly cloudless days, but once it has arrived it can destroy livelihoods, damage valuable ecosystems, and even threaten human health. Since we cannot manufacture more water, our best defense against this creeping threat is knowledge and well informed management of the water resources that we have. We must provide clear and accurate warnings of coming droughts so that we can seek appropriate solutions and take preventive actions, such as increased water conservation.... The National Integrated Drought Information System Act seeks to provide just that kind of information.”
“Droughts have a devastating effect on our local, state, and national economies,” Rep. Hall stated. “Like so many areas of the country, my home district has been tormented with drought – so much so that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has declared every county in my district a primary disaster area. H.R. 5136, will coordinate drought efforts between local, state, and federal entities and provide decision makers with the best tools to manage our natural resources. It addresses a fundamental problem our nation faces related to drought monitoring—it helps coordinate what are now ad hoc efforts and better disseminate useful information to the people who need it the most.”
Testifying in support of H.R. 5136 were: Duane Smith, Western States Water Council, Vice Chairman, also representing the Western Governors’ Association; Kenneth Dierschke, President of the Texas Farm Bureau; Marc Waage, P.E., Manager of Raw Water Supply for Denver Water; Dr. Donald Wilhite, Director of the National Drought Mitigation Center; and Dr. Chester Koblinsky, Director of the Climate Program Office at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Dr. Koblinsky testified that the Administration is working on the initial design and implementation of a drought monitoring/forecast system. He said, “Drought is estimated to result in average annual losses to all sectors of the economy of between $6 to 8B.... Severe fire seasons due to drought and frequent winds can also result in billions in damages and fire suppression costs.”
Duane Smith testified, “The Western Governors’ Association and Western States Water Council support the National Integrated Drought Information System Act of 2006, and urge its enactment.... The Western states believe that enactment of NIDIS will help move the country toward a proactive approach that will avoid conflicts and minimize the damage caused by future droughts, thereby saving taxpayers money. The greatest current data shortfalls are on the local and state levels. Physical information and drought impact information at these levels is almost impossible to obtain in a uniform manner across the nation.... NIDIS will provide water users across the board – farmers, ranchers, utilities, tribes, land managers, business owners, recreationalists, wildlife managers, and decision makers at all levels of government – with the ability to assess their drought risk in real time and before the onset of drought, in order to make informed decisions that may mitigate a drought’s impacts.”
“Drought is literally squeezing the life out of Texas agriculture,” said Dierschke. He added that drought caused more than $1B in damage to Texas’ agricultural economy in 2005 alone. “In our view, H.R. 5136 is an investment in new technology and systems that will benefit the nation far beyond an individual farm or ranch. But speaking for those farmers and ranchers, Congressman Hall’s bill will certainly help us prepare for an all too uncertain future.”“NIDIS would also establish an Internet portal – to be run by NOAA – that would serve as a clearing house for data from federal and non-federal entities to provide real-time information on current conditions, as well as drought forecasts. Mr. Waage said such one-stop shopping would have been invaluable in 2002 when Denver Water was responding to one of Colorado’s most severe droughts in history. “During the drought, my staff and I spent countless hours combing the web to identify all the drought information that is spread across many federal agencies…. It is quite difficult for casual users to access and understand this information. The Internet portal would promote much greater understanding by all those affected by drought.”
Last, Dr. Wilhite testified, “The National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln strongly supports greater investment in research and policies directed at reducing this nation’s vulnerability to drought through a more risk-based approach. NIDIS is a critical step in this direction.... I have been involved in drought-related research and outreach since 1980. My efforts have principally been focused on how to lessen the nation’s vulnerability to drought through improved monitoring and early warning, mitigation, and preparedness. We have made considerable progress, but much work remains. NIDIS has the potential to help improve the nation’s capacity to cope more effectively with severe drought episodes that create significant impacts on the nation’s economic, environmental, and social fabric.”For copies of the testimony and statements go to: http://www.house.gov/science/hearings/ets06/May%204/index.htm.
U.S. Water News Online - February 2001
TOPEKA, Kan. -- The concept, ``zero depletion,'' is simple enough to explain, and the goal behind it, preserving the state's water supply, is admirable. But many legislators haven't endorsed Gov. Bill Graves' proposal to have such a policy in place for Kansas aquifers by 2020.
Some rural legislators, particularly from southwest Kansas, believe a zero depletion policy -- mandating that the water taken from an aquifer over a certain period of time not exceed the rate at which the water is recharged -- would lead to restrictions that would destroy the economy.
A few legislators don't like the Graves plan because they view it as too timid. Legislative leaders are still waiting to see the details. ``You have to make some hard decisions to protect the water that we need,'' Graves said. The governor didn't spell out how water tables would be monitored under his zero depletion policy or how it would be enforced. Graves said he wants recommendations from the Kansas Geological Survey. ``At this point, it's a general statement to be followed by the specifics,'' said spokesman Don Brown.
When legislators and other state officials talk about aquifers, they're thinking mostly of the Ogallala, the major source of water for the western third of Kansas. A task force on water issues that Graves appointed as part of his Vision 21st Century Initiative advocated a zero depletion policy but didn't set a date for putting it into effect. Graves was bolder. But Rep. Richard Alldritt, D-Harper, said the governor wasn't bold enough. He believes the state should have the policy in place no later than 2010. ``We can't do enough to protect not only the quality but the quantity of groundwater,'' Alldritt said.
Other rural legislators envision restrictions on water use that would cripple farms, feedlots, and other businesses. ``It would remove any economic development,'' said Joann Freeborn, R-Concordia, chairwoman of the House Environment Committee. Added Sen. Tim Huelskamp, R-Fowler: ``It would devastate southwest Kansas.''
Caught in the debate are legislative leaders, who are approaching the subject
cautiously. For example, Sen. Dave Kerr said he believes the state has to lessen depletion of its
aquifers. But, he's not sure 2020 is the right deadline for imposing a zero depletion
policy. ``I don't believe I've studied that issue sufficiently to be sure,'' said Kerr,
R-Hutchinson.