‘If we don’t treat, we lose the whole river’: Quagga mussel treatment underway on mid-Snake River

Idaho News
By Jude Binkley; KTVB Quagga mussels. TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Crews are on the Snake River working to treat and eradicate quagga mussels. It has been just over two weeks since the invasive mussels were found in a section of the river near Twin Falls. Since then, the Idaho State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) has done extensive sampling around the mid-Snake River, finding veligers - the larval form of the mussels - between the Twin Falls Dam area and Centennial Waterfront Park. A plume with an adult quagga mussel was also found near Shoshone Falls. Crews are working to deploy containers full of a copper-based formulation called "Natrix" as a treatment to eradicate the mussels. The ISDA says they are acting fast and aggressively to stop an issue that has…
Read More

Idaho drought likely to linger into new water year

Idaho News
By Brad Carlson; Capital Press Much of Idaho likely will remain in some level of drought when the water year ends on Sept. 30. Erin Whorton, a water supply specialist at the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Boise, said about 68% of the state is drier than normal, and 45% remains in moderate to severe drought. Some relief came with the wet weather last spring. But the hot, dry summer in much of the state leaves little time to make up ground before the water year ends, she said. The dry pattern “really doesn’t let us get out of drought until we get into the wetter fall and winter months,” Wharton said. She said that to end drought by Sept. 30, Idaho needs between 96% and 317% of normal…
Read More

2022 World Water Day

[United Nations] World Water Day, on 22 March every year, is about focusing attention on the importance of water. This year’s theme  ‘groundwater’, draws attention to the hidden water resource that has always been critically important but not fully recognized in sustainable development policymaking. Under the title ‘Groundwater – Making the invisible visible’, this year’s campaign will explain groundwater’s vital role in water and sanitation systems, agriculture, industry, ecosystems and climate change adaptation. The overarching message of the campaign is that exploring, protecting and sustainably using groundwater will be central to surviving and adapting to climate change and meeting the needs of a growing population. Learn more about the World Water Day 2022 campaign here.
Read More