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Can Water Megaprojects Save The US Desert West? (Part 2)

In part one of this article, I covered the American West’s water problems, as well as some of the ways they have been solved with big engineering projects so far. Now, with climate change and growth both pushing the limits of water supplies, people are asking for even bigger projects, like a pipeline from the Mississippi River to somewhere in the Colorado River’s basin. Let’s talk about those ideas, even bigger ones, and why none of them might be a good idea.

Arizona state legislators asked Congress to consider a pipeline that dumps Mississippi water into the Green River, but there are alternate possibilities.

Stormwater Could Be a Large Source of Microplastics and Rubber Fragments to Waterways

In cities, heavy rains wash away the gunk collecting on sidewalks and roads, picking up all kinds of debris. However, the amount of microplastic pollution swept away by this runoff is currently unknown. Now, researchers in ACS ES&T Water report that stormwater can be a large source of microplastics and rubber fragments to water bodies and, with a proof-of-concept experiment, show that a rain garden could keep these microscopic pieces out of a storm drain.

In California’s Farm Country, Climate Change Is Likely to Trigger More Pesticide Use, Fouling Waterways

Every spring, California farmers brace themselves for signs of wriggling organisms destined to launch multigenerational attacks on their crops.

Many insect species survive the winter as eggs or larvae and then emerge in early spring as the first generation to feed and breed on millions of acres of California vineyards, orchards and row crops. Climate change will complicate farmers’ efforts to control these pests in complex and unpredictable ways.

Opinion: California’s Climate Change Future is Being Written – in its Waterways

Much like COVID-19 is changing our election practices and day-to-day business operations, climate change could change your water rights, according to the State Water Resources Control Board.

In the past, I have eluded to the shift from historical facts used for analysis and forecasting to a fear-based guessing game that allows an unelected bureaucracy backed by a one-party-rule elected body to usurp your property rights.

LA Has Plan for Network of Waterways in the Land of Cars

Kneeling on its concrete bank, Silva reached down through the water of the Los Angeles River and pulled out the perfect thing: a handful of mud.

He makes freshwater aquariums, and the mud of the river makes for the perfect base. “It has worms, nemotodes, rocks, it’s all there.”

With long hair banded back, he put the precious mud into two Home Depot orange buckets.

Trash from Coastal Cleanup Month Shows Impact of Coronavirus

There were the usual cigarette butts and bottle caps that made the Top 10 list.

But this year, there were new trends when looking at the data compiled during Coastal Cleanup Month, with preliminary reports released this week showing what volunteers scooped up on the beaches, waterways, parks and neighborhoods throughout the state during the month of September.

Planning on Playing in Local Waterways? Avoid the Blue-Green Algae Blooms

Public health officials are urging boaters, swimmers and recreational water users to be on the lookout for hazardous blue-green algae blooms as warm temperatures persist.

San Joaquin County Environmental Health Department officials said in a news release Monday that staff have posted advisory signs at local marinas warning people to stay out of the water where toxic algae is present.

El Cajon To Use About $2 Million to Save Local Waterway

A largely ignored waterway in El Cajon is about to get some much-needed TLC through $2 million in grant money.

Broadway Creek, a sliver in the 52-mile San Diego River watershed, runs behind businesses along Broadway. Much of the creek and its wetland habitat sit between homes and an apartment complex near Magnolia Avenue, in the heart of the city. 

New Models Detail How Major Rivers Will Respond to Changing Environmental Conditions

From the Nile to the Mississippi and from the Amazon to the Yangzi, human civilization is inextricably linked to the great rivers along which our societies developed. But rivers are mutable, and the benefits they bestow can quickly become disasters when these waterways change course.

Who’s Suing Over Trump’s WOTUS Rule?

Opponents of the Trump administration’s new definition of which waterways and wetlands are protected under the Clean Water Act have lined up in court to make their grievances known.

Don’t expect clarity on the rules anytime soon.

The Trump administration’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule is already on hold in one state — Colorado — and could still be frozen by any one of the various federal judges who are now examining the regulation. Unlike lawsuits over Clean Air Act rules, which land in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Clean Water Act challenges can be heard in any of the nation’s nearly 100 federal district courts.