World Rivers Day
World Rivers Day is a celebration of the world’s waterways. It highlights the many values of rivers and strives to increase public awareness and encourages the improved stewardship of rivers around the world.
Drought conditions improving with recent rainfalls
By Corey Evan; Independent Enterprise PAYETTE — On April 25, Payette County Emergency Manager Adam Gonzalez gave the Payette County Board of Commissioners an update on the present state of drought conditions in Payette County. At the board’s regular meeting, he said that recent rainfall had helped improve things over where the county stood a month prior. “There’s a lot of discussion about drought. I wanted to get ahead of the discussion a bit,” said Gonzalez to the board. “I know the Governor’s had some … discussion about it.” In discussions with Payette Irrigation District Water Master Neil Shippy, he said Shippy determined that the recent rainstorms have been a big boon for local water storage, especially the Cascade Reservoir. Gonzalez cited an Idaho SNOTEL Current Snow Water Equivalent report,…
Celebrate Arbor Day with a Free Seedling from the Idaho Department of Lands
As part of the celebration of Arbor Day, Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) has partnered with the Idaho Forest Products Commission (IFPC) to provide free seedlings to the people of Idaho. On April 29, every IDL office throughout the state will offer seedlings while they last. Forests and trees play an important role, providing clean air, removing and store carbon dioxide, sending fresh oxygen into the air, providing habitat for wildlife, clean water through our watersheds, and opportunities for recreation. 63% of Idaho’s water comes from the forests. Forests that are harvested, are required by state code to be replanted. Last year IDL planted nearly 2 million seedlings after harvests and fires. For every tree harvested, seven seedlings are planted in its place. This year efforts are underway to plant…
City Council OKs water system upgrade
By Elaine Williams; The Lewiston Tribune A reservoir and booster station that will improve fire protection in the area near Lewiston’s high school is moving forward. Lewiston’s City Council awarded a $4.1 million bid for the project to T Bailey Inc., of Anacortes, Wash., at its Monday meeting. The price includes a steel reservoir, potable water booster station, site development and the piping and other parts needed to connect it to the existing water system. Construction is expected to start this year and be finished next spring, said Dustin Johnson, Lewiston’s public works director. Once the upgrade is ready, a building moratorium for the neighborhood around the high school will be lifted, he said. The reservoir will be on city land north of the roundabout at Warner Avenue and 12th…
Water rights claims workshops on tap
Bonner County Daily Bee SANDPOINT – The Idaho Department of Water Resources is hosting a series of public workshops next month to help area residents file water rights claims as part of the Clark Fork-Pend Oreille River Basin Adjudication. The Clark Fork-Pend Oreille River Basin Adjudication enables existing water users to claim the quantities and priority dates for their water rights and have them recognized by an Idaho Court decree. IDWR staff will be available at the Ponderay Events Center on May 3-5, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. IDWR staff will be on hand to answer questions and help people with filing water right claims first-come, first-served basis. To avoid longer wait times, IDWR recommends avoiding peak busy periods around 8 a.m., 12 p.m., and 5 p.m.…
EPA Webinar – Source Water Protection and Harmful Algal Blooms
I. Using Molecular Methods to Study Cyanobacterial Blooms. This presentation introduces molecular monitoring approaches used in the detection and quantification of cyanobacterial groups and cyanotoxin genes implicated in harmful algal blooms. Results will be presented from next generation sequence analysis and qPCR/RT-qPCR methods to characterize cyanobacterial community structure, associated bacterial community, toxic cyanobacteria, and geographically localized genotypes or species. The methods study cyanobacterial functional genes associated with nutrients in toxin production, their relationship to water quality parameters, and explore drivers of cyanotoxin production using mRNA-based sequence analysis. This presentation also discusses occurrence, distribution, temporal-spatial variations of cyanobacteria, especially toxin-producers, and use as early warning systems for cyanotoxin production. II. Funding Integration Tool for Source Water: Finding a Plan a FITS. With different funding mechanisms available, it can be difficult finding…
Drinking Water Week
For more than 40 years the American Water Works Association and its members have used Drinking Water Week as a unique opportunity for both water professionals and the communities they serve to recognize the vital role water plays in our daily lives. This year's recognition will be May 1-7, 2022. Drinking Water Week materials, such as logos, graphics, children's activities and social media posts are available here for free download.
Five decades after Clean Water Act, half of US waters too polluted to swim or fish
By Amanda Brandeis; Scripps National Correspondent SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Voted into law a half-century ago, the Clean Water Act of 1972 is still far from achieving its ambitious goals. The landmark law aimed to make U.S. waters safe for swimming and fishing by 1983. It also promised to eliminate all discharges of pollutants into navigable waters by 1985. "There were really outrageous incidents of pollution that really brought the issue of water pollution to the public’s attention," said Tom Pelton, director of communications for the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP). In 1969, the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland was so polluted that it caught fire. Nearly always covered in oil slicks, industrial runoff polluted the water for decades. "And it happened before in the '50s and the '40s. So much oil…
CREAT Training Session 4 (EPA)
The fifth in a series of five, free webinars for drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater (water sector) utility owners and operators, as well as other water sector stakeholders in the Northwest climate region of the U.S. CREAT is a web-based risk assessment application for water sector utilities to assess and address current and potential future climate change impacts. This free training will help utilities incorporate climate change considerations into their decision-making, identify adaptation projects to build long-term resilience, and learn about federal and local resources for financing utility resilience projects. To learn more about CREAT success stories visit our Case Study and Information Exchange Map and to view other trainings visit the CRWU Training Center. You can register for the free Northwest CREAT training sessions here: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/7819112488816651792
CREAT Training Session 3 (EPA)
The fourth in a series of five, free webinars for drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater (water sector) utility owners and operators, as well as other water sector stakeholders in the Northwest climate region of the U.S. CREAT is a web-based risk assessment application for water sector utilities to assess and address current and potential future climate change impacts. This free training will help utilities incorporate climate change considerations into their decision-making, identify adaptation projects to build long-term resilience, and learn about federal and local resources for financing utility resilience projects. To learn more about CREAT success stories visit our Case Study and Information Exchange Map and to view other trainings visit the CRWU Training Center. You can register for the free Northwest CREAT training sessions here: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/7819112488816651792