14Nov 2023 by Nicole Rinaldi

After $3M effort, Idaho officials hope they killed off invasive quagga mussels in Snake River

Idaho News, Research
By Clark Corbin; Idaho Capital Sun Idaho Capital Sun Idaho state officials are hopeful that the approximately $3 million effort to kill invasive quagga mussels detected in the Snake River in September was successful. But they don’t expect to know if they wiped out all of the mussels until waters warm up and water sampling surveys resume next spring. The plan to kill the mussels involved treating a 16-mile section of the Snake River near Twin Falls with a copper-based chemical that was hazardous to mussels and fish and required state officials to airlift boats into otherwise inaccessible portions of the river. Some state employees even camped on tiny islands and river banks for days on end in an effort to kill the mussels before they could reproduce rapidly, which…
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13Jul 2023 by Nicole Rinaldi

Summer heat can cause dangerous conditions in Idaho’s rivers and lakes

Idaho News, Research
By Drew Pendleton; Dept. of Health and Welfare As temperatures increase, so does the likelihood of a cyanobacterial harmful algal bloom (cyanoHAB). CyanoHABs are caused by cyanobacteria, and the toxins they produce are harmful to humans, pets, livestock, and wildlife. CyanoHABs can change and increase rapidly if conditions are right. They favor warm water, sunlight, and specific nutrients in the water. These blooms can last throughout the summer into fall. The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) samples and analyzes Idaho water bodies for cyanoHABs. The test results are provided to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (DHW) and local public health districts, and they decide if a health advisory should be issued. For information on advisories, visit the DHW’s Idaho Recreational Water Advisories map for more information. The…
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09Mar 2023 by Nicole Rinaldi

OUR GEM: Aquifer Atlas fifth edition to be available this spring

Idaho News, Research
By Seth Oliver; Guest Contributor for the Coeur d'Alene Press The fifth edition of the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer (SVRPA) Atlas is set to be printed and available early this spring. Seen here: A depiction of the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer. The fifth edition of the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer (SVRPA) Atlas is set to be printed and available early this spring. The SVRPA Atlas is a collaborative effort of groundwater professionals, water quality experts, environmental specialists and science educators from Washington and Idaho to disseminate the most up-to-date information on our region’s sole source of drinking water. The SVRPA Atlas is the culmination of hard work among more than 30 individuals over the past 20 years to consolidate some of the most important information regarding our region’s aquifer, including…
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23Dec 2022 by Nicole Rinaldi

Groundwater Replenishes Much Faster Than Scientists Previously Thought

Research
By Rachel Fritts; EOS Groundwater makes up most of the world’s liquid fresh water and might play a bigger role in sustaining streams and plant life than previously thought. Credit: Dr. Andrew Fisher/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.  Source: Geophysical Research Letters A large part of the world’s liquid freshwater supply comes from groundwater. These underground reservoirs of water—which are stored in soil and aquifers—feed streams, sustain agricultural lands, and provide drinking water to hundreds of millions of people. For that reason, researchers are keen to understand how quickly surface water replenishes, or “recharges,” groundwater stores. But measuring a vast, fluid, underground resource is easier said than done. In a new study, Berghuijs et al. found that recharge rates might double previous estimates. The research team produced an updated model of groundwater recharge using a recent global synthesis…
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13Jul 2022 by Nicole Rinaldi

Idaho DEQ to answer questions on cyanobacteria

Idaho News, Research
BoiseDev After toxins were found in Lake Cascade last month, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality is holding an event for the public to learn more about cyanobacteria, cyanotoxins, and water quality monitoring at Lake Cascade. Representatives from a host of agencies, including DEQ, Idaho Fish and Game, Central District Health, and Cascade Medical Center will be on hand to answer questions about health effects and water quality. The open house is scheduled for Wednesday, July 13 at the American Legion Hall at 105 E Mill St in Cascade from noon to 6:45 p.m. While toxins were present in Lake Cascade in June, levels didn’t meet the threshold for a health advisory. Exposure to cyanotxins can cause skin irritation and an upset stomach. The toxins can be particularly harmful to…
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15Jun 2022 by Nicole Rinaldi

EPA to Issue PFAS Drinking Water Health Advisories Wednesday

Research
Bloomberg Law The EPA will issue four PFAS health advisories for drinking water on Wednesday, the agency’s top water official said. The agency will also propose a new lead and copper rule by the end of 2023, said Radhika Fox, assistant administrator for the Office of Water, speaking Monday at the American Water Works Association annual conference in San Antonio. The PFAS advisories will be based on the best available science regarding the safe lifetime exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances for “a range of populations,” Fox said. Fox said the advisories will include monitoring protocols for PFOA and PFOS—two of the most commonly studied PFAS—in drinking water. The EPA’s current health advisory for PFOA and PFOS in drinking water, issued in 2016, is 70 parts per trillion. An earlier…
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24Mar 2022 by Nicole Rinaldi

Water is Health

National News, Research
By Jim Lauria; Water Online World Water Day both celebrates clean water and reminds us that 2 billion people live without access to it. Safe drinking water is one of the most fundamental elements of health — healthy water keeps people healthy; sick water makes people sick. Though we have come to understand a lot more about the biology and chemistry that link health and water, even our early ancestors sensed the connection — as Marq De Villiers notes, one of the signs of the Apocalypse in ancient writings is "the bitterness of waters." Taking the metaphor into the very availability of water, Robin Clarke and Jannet King wrote in The Water Atlas, "Thus do the four horses of the Apocalypse — war, famine, pestilence, and death — gallop even faster…
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22Feb 2022 by Nicole Rinaldi

The climate crisis in Idaho: Experts share environmental and health concerns

Idaho News, Research
By Hanalei Potempa; The Arbiter In Idaho, the negative impacts of the changing climate are becoming more apparent. Climate change is not just one problem. The issue represents how the earth’s climate system is acting differently than how it has been operating for a very long time. It is a complete systemic change resulting from problems happening all over the world, and it affects each place in a different way. “What climate change has done is it has thrown a really big wrench into our ability to predict what’s going to happen in the future given how things have looked in the past,” said Dr. Chris Torres, an environmental studies professor at Boise State. In Idaho, changing climate conditions have caused rising concerns for consistent water sources for residential and…
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01Feb 2022 by Nicole Rinaldi

EPA Adds Four New PFAS to Toxic Release Inventory

National News, Research
By Joseph Zaleski and Samuel Boxerman; Sidley Energy Blog As part of its continued focus on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) regulations, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has added four PFAS substances to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) list, including PFBS (perfluorobutane sulfonic acid) and potassium perfluorobutane sulfonate as well as two compounds listed at by their chemical identifier numbers — CASRN 65104-45-2 and CASRN 203743-03-7. EPA’s decision to add these PFAS to the TRI requires facilities that manufacture, process, or otherwise use these PFAS chemicals to include them in annual reports made to EPA pursuant to the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act starting this reporting year. The 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) immediately added 172 PFAS chemicals to the TRI and required annual facility reporting. The NDAA also provided…
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22Sep 2021 by Nicole Rinaldi

Ground Water/Source Water Protection Paper Published

Research
The Association of State Drinking Water Administrators (ASDWA) and the Ground Water Protection Council (GWPC) have jointly released a paper developed by ASDWA with the help of a few states entitled, “Groundwater-Based Source Water Protection.” This paper serves as a great educational handout for state drinking water and groundwater programs, as well as water utilities and other water quality stakeholders, to share with potential partners when talking about the importance of, and special considerations for, protecting groundwater sources of drinking water. The paper includes a short background and four sections: The Challenge of Protecting Groundwater SourcesFederal and State Programs for Groundwater ProtectionElements of a Groundwater Protection FrameworkState Examples Anyone interested in protecting groundwater can use this paper to help drive actions and work with partners on any or all the…
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