Quote of the Week:
"Until you've lost your reputation,
you never realize what a burden it was."
Margaret Mitchell

Born on this Day:
Alex Haley, Carl Rowan, Mike Douglas, Jerry Falwell,
John Conlee, Steve Wozniak, Terry "Hulk Hogan" Bollea,
Joe Jackson, John Mitchell, Charlie Sexton,
Will Friedle, and Chris Kelly.

On this Day in 1934:
Alcatraz, in San Francisco Bay,
received federal prisoners for the first time.

Pic of the Week

Oak Creek in Sedona
(Photos: Kerry Schwartz of Tucson, Arizona.)

Do you have a photo you'd like to submit?
Send us an e-mail.
 

Arizona News

—  Water

• Maricopa County residents thirsty for action
  (Arizona Republic, 8/10) "Desert Hills Water Co. customers, about 1,625 total, have been experiencing frequent water outages and low water pressure for the past year. So far, those residents in unincorporated Maricopa County are still waiting for full water service."
  
  
• New Tucson water reservoir in the works
  (Arizona Daily Star, 8/10) "Is it a mirage? No — it's a new reservoir being built to serve a third of Metro Water District's main service area, said Tom Caito, project manager."
  
  
• Water codes vary by city
  (Sierra Vista Herald, 8/9) "Water conservation measures in the city are less stringent than in some municipalities and tougher than in others, according to Community Development Director Jim Herrewig."
  
  
• Cochise County wants input from company
  (Sierra Vista Herald, 8/9) "Cochise County wants to hear from a water company before going any further with upgrades for two water systems."
   
• Tougher water codes possible in Sierra Vista
  (Sierra Vista Herald, 8/8) "Residents, businesses and developers could soon be facing more stringent water conservation measures."
  
  
• Despite recent rains, the drought persists
  (KVOA, 8/8) "We're going to need several more months of above-average rainfall in order to get out of the drought situation completely."
  
  
• Quality of life at issue on water regulations
  (Sierra Vista Herald, 8/7) "Building contractors and developers such as Castle & Cooke aren’t averse to conservation infrastructure such as pre-plumbing homes for graywater reuse."
  
  
• Thirsty cities press the search for water
  (AZ Central, 8/7) "Alfalfa grows in irrigated squares and circles across hundreds of acres of the old JWK Ranch, an isolated slice of Yavapai County that has emerged as the epicenter in a battle for the Verde River's survival."
  
  
• Cochise County water conservation survey
  (Sierra Vista Herald, 8/6) "This report provides the results of a water conservation survey conducted by the Cochise College Center for Economic Research in May and June 2006."
  
  
• Fort has made many moves to lower water use
  (Sierra Vista Herald, 8/6) "For about a decade, Fort Huachuca has been making a concerted effort to drastically reduce the amount of water it pumps annually."
  
  
• Water: Construction cap possible in Payson
  (Payson Roundup, 8/5) "Mayor Bob Edwards presented a plan for Payson Thursday night including an in-depth look at the water situation and an examination of how it should affect future growth."
   
• Flagstaff pond fed with reclaimed water
  (Arizona Daily Star, 8/5) "The city of Flagstaff will be putting up signs at Frances Short Pond to notify the public the pond is partially filled with reclaimed water."
  
  

—  Rivers

• Connection to nature dying with rivers
  (Arizona Republic, 8/10) "The Santa Cruz River roared to life last week with storm water washed down from the mountains, a startling reminder of how Tucson owes its existence to a waterway nearly erased from the map."
  
  
• Water wells draining rivers at their source
  (Arizona Republic, 8/7) "Among the major rivers that begin or end in Arizona, only the Verde flows on its own from start to finish. But like all the state's rivers, it is running out of water and running out of time."
  
  
• Desert's rivers can be revived
  (Arizona Daily Star, 8/6) OPINION. "Rivers relinquish themselves to the demands of agriculture, industry and other human enterprises. Scientists are realizing how intimately the future water supply depends on recognizing the needs of nature itself. But rivers cannot speak."
  
  
• Avondale joins cities' fight for Gila River rights
  (Arizona Republic, 8/5) "The '4-City Group' now has Avondale as an ally. Chandler, Glendale, Mesa and Scottsdale have cooperated for years to fight for the rights to water in the Gila River system. On Tuesday, Avondale joined the team to protect its rights to groundwater."
  
  

—  Wastewater

• Sahuarita builder against outside sewer hookups
  (Arizona Daily Star, 8/10) "Sahuarita's biggest developer doesn't want the town to hook up any homes outside of his development to the town's wastewater-treatment plant."
  
  

—  Toxic Waste

• ADEQ: Soil storage site OK so far
  (Sierra Vista Herald, 8/5) "Piles of contaminated soil placed on Loren Sheldon’s property are being removed and necessary precautions have been taken to ensure the soil has been properly contained, according to an Arizona Department of Environmental Quality spokesman."
  
  
• Naco projects moving forward
  (Sierra Vista Herald, 8/6) "Testing for the Naco Brownfield project has shown that two sites, Purdy Lane and the old cattle pens near the border, showed no significant contamination."
  
  

—  Everything Else

• Copper-pipe mandate debated in Chandler
  (Arizona Republic, 8/5) "Hundreds of new homes in Chandler's last large planned community probably won't have copper pipes, a change that could cut construction costs but one that has divided plumbing contractors in the Valley."
  

From Around the Southwest

—  Water Supply

• Nevada water plan suffers setback
  (Las Vegas Sun, 8/10) "The state engineer has reaffirmed his responsibility to examine environmental issues in a decision affecting a rural ground water export plan coming up for crucial hearings in September."
  
  
• N.M. farmers say crops need more irrigation
  (El Paso Times, 8/10) "Despite recent heavy rains, many frustrated Mesilla Valley farmers want to know why they were allotted less than half the water El Paso County farmers received this year."
  
   
• Water, waste top Cloudcroft concerns
  (Alamogordo Daily News, 8/10) "The Cloudcroft village board of trustees met Tuesday and reviewed a number of aspects of its water recycling project, which will treat the village's wastewater and mix it with existing spring water to increase its overall supply."
  
  

• California desal project still on boards
  (Monterey Herald, 8/10) "A decision last month by the San Diego County Water Authority not to continue with a regional desalination project in its area should have no effect on a similar project being developed by the same company at Moss Landing for the Pajaro-Sunny Mesa Community Services District, according to district officials."
  
  

• Otero water associations receive grants, loans
  (Alamogordo Daily News, 8/10) "Two Otero County water associations have received federal grants and loans to improve their systems. The money came from the U.S. Department of Agriculture." 
  
  
• Aqua Texas to impose water-use restrictions
  (Kerrville Daily Times, 8/8) "About 3,500 customers of the Aqua Texas water systems will receive letters this week informing them of new, mandatory water-use restrictions."
  
  
• Date set to oppose New Mexico rate increase
  (Clovis News Journal, 8/8) "The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission has set the proceedings schedule for the rate increase requested by New Mexico-American Water Co. ."
  
  

• Napa supervisors back change to water law
  (Napa News, 8/8) "Fines levied to punish small rural water agencies for violating clean water standards could instead be used to fix their ailing infrastructures if a bill supported by the Napa County Board of Supervisors passes the state legislature."
  
  

• Water authority had to drop desal
  (NC Times, 8/8) COMMENTARY from James H. Bond, chairman of the board of directors of the SDCWA. "Please know that this board is fully committed to seawater desalination as an important water supply for the county, but we will no longer pursue such a facility in Carlsbad."
  
  

• Texas farmers using Medina Lake turn elsewhere
  (San Antonio Express-News, 8/7) "The drought is about to put a big squeeze on farmers who depend on the irrigation canals of Medina Lake."
  
  

• Fremont to get new water pipe system
  (Oakland Tribune, 8/7) "The decaying pipes that deliver water to the Fremont area will be repaired — that's an easy decision to make, given the water system's age."
  
  

• San Jose reservoir pipelines being replaced
  (Santa Cruz Sentinel, 8/7) "The activity is part of the Lexington Pipeline Replacement Project. The San Jose Water Company is replacing an old pipeline that brings water to the Montevina Water Treatment Plant south of Los Gatos and adjacent to Highway 17."
  
  

• Official says Utah safe from Vegas water grab
  (Tooele Transcript-Bulletin, 8/5) "Water that trickles into western Utah from eastern Nevada has been the subject of intense negotiations this week between representatives of the two states. The water supplies portions of four Utah counties, but much of that water may soon head south to Las Vegas. There may be an agreement this week." 
  
  

—  Water Quality

• Jurupa draws fine for nitrate in water supply
  (Riverside P/E, 8/10) "State water officials hit the Jurupa Community Services District with a $1,000 fine this month for failing to adequately monitor levels of the contaminant nitrate in its drinking water supply, according to a citation issued by California's Department of Health Services."
  
  

• What's the best way to tell people to boil water?
  (SD Union Tribune, 8/8) "San Diego officials did everything by the book last weekend when they issued the city's first-ever order for boiling water to kill bacteria, then lifted it a day later, state health officials said yesterday. But the public notification system for about 120,000 people affected by the contamination proved so hit-and-miss that Mayor Jerry Sanders has asked his top deputies to find better ways to tell people about similar emergencies."
  
  

• West shore doesn’t want to pay for bad water
  (Nevada Appeal, 8/8) "Water rates may more than triple for consumers of the Skyland-Nielsen water system on Tahoe’s west shore, but many residents are still unsure if the water is safe to drink."
  
  

• Award cut for Modesto dry cleaning pollution
  (Associated Press, 8/5) "A California judge has slashed a $175 million jury award to $13 million in a water contamination case brought by the city of Modesto against several companies, including Birmingham-based Vulcan Materials Co., a clerk said."
  
  

—  Water Resources

• New Mexico to poison nonnative fish
  (KRQE, 8/9) "The state Water Quality Control Commission has approved using toxins in more than 150 miles of northern New Mexico rivers and streams."
  
  

• Lake Tahoe clarity holds steady in 2005
  (UC Davis, 8/8) "The waters of Lake Tahoe were clear to an average depth of 72.4 feet in 2005, according to UC Davis scientists who have monitored the lake since 1968. That keeps the clarity measurement in the range where it has been for the past five years -- and where it was for other multiyear periods in the 1990s."
  
  

• Not enough water in Lake Powell
  (LA Daily News, 8/6) "Lake Powell on the Arizona-Utah border continues to suffer from a multiyear drought, and the effects of low water are everywhere from 'bathtub rings' on canyon walls to the loss of Hite Marina, left high and dry and shut down in 2003."
  
  

• Writer tells of effects of water grab
  (Columbia Daily Tribune, 8/6) "Karen Piper, who grew up on the fringes of the dried-up lake bed of Owens Lake in California, has authored 'Left in the Dust,' an account of the troubling effects left over from the massive diversion of water for Los Angeles."
  
  

• Lake Powell report card: D for water storage
  (Salt Lake Tribune, 8/5) "It's fun in the sun as usual at Lake Powell, as this summer follows another in a pattern of drought in the 21st century. But though the reservoir has plenty of water for boating, its primary purpose is to store water for the American Southwest." 
  
  
• Clear water being added to San Antonio River
  (San Antonio Express News, 8/5) "The  Water System this week began infusing recycled, treated wastewater into the San Antonio River at the head of the Convention Center loop. It's adding 1 million gallons daily of highly treated, crystal-clear water into an area where the river water tends to stagnate."
  
  

—  Hetch Hetchy

• Call to expand Hetch Hetchy sparks protest
  (San Jose Mercury, 8/9) "San Francisco's top water official on Tuesday said that rather than tearing down the reservoir and dam at Yosemite National Park's Hetch Hetchy Valley, the city should consider building the dam higher and flooding more of the park."
  
  

• Take down dam inside Yosemite?
  (Associated Press, 8/8) "Today, even as the Hetch Hetchy system delivers some of the country’s highest quality drinking water to 2.4 million Bay Area residents, environmentalists continue to argue for restoring the valley — a debate that was intensified in July when a state review found that the job would be 'technically feasible' for an estimated $3 billion to $10 billion."
  
  

• Push to drain Yosemite valley renewed
  (Associated Press, 8/8) "After the great 1906 earthquake, searching for reliable power and drinking water, San Francisco looked at the soaring granite of Yosemite's Hetch Hetchy Valley and saw walls for a reservoir."
  
  

• Draining Hetch Hetchy falls flat with politicians
  (San Jose Mercury News, 8/7) "Similar to Yosemite Valley, Hetch Hetchy, above, is framed by granite walls, waterfalls and pine forests, and once had rich wildlife and the Tuolumne River meandering through its meadows. Environmentalists have opposed a dam there since the Sierra Club's John Muir unsuccessfully fought to block it 95 years ago."
  
   

• Battle on to restore Hetch Hetchy
  (Monterey Herald, 8/6) "For years, environmentalists have advocated draining the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and returning the valley to its original splendor, while opponents say that would cost a bundle at a time when California needs all the water and electricity it can get."
  
  

—  Salton Sea

• Salton Sea plan may be delayed
  (Desert Sun, 8/8) "After decades of decline, it looks as if a plan to save the Salton Sea could take a little longer than anticipated."
  
  

• Sea's messy fish die-off cleaned up
  (Desert Sun, 8/6) "Officials wrapped up a several-day cleanup of dead fish at California's largest lake Saturday. Crews finished removing some 3 million dead fish that were floating around the Salton Sea Recreation Area's Varner Harbor by about noon Saturday." 
  
  

• Big fish die-off at Salton Sea assaults senses
  (Riverside P/E, 8/5) "The fish die-off, stretching along more than 14 miles of shoreline, was accompanied by a sort of green tide caused by gypsum crystals that form in the lake during hot, windy weather, Bier said." See the related video.
  
  

—  Levees and Dams

• Shoreline levee repairs to start
  (Oakland Tribune, 8/8) "The past fall and winter storm season didn't bypass levees on the Hayward Regional Shoreline."
  
  

• Levees break, floods fields in Luis Lopez
  (Carlsbad Current-Argus, 8/7) "The weekend rains proved disastrous for hundreds of people in the Rio Grande Valley." 
  
  
• Dam on Fort Bliss spills into community
  (El Paso Times, 8/5) "About 600 people were evacuated from Central El Paso, Vinton, Socorro and the Westway area on Friday after the region was hit by a new downpour that caused arroyos and one dam to overflow." 
  
  

• Doolittle makes case for Auburn dam
  (Auburn Journal, 8/5) "U.S. Rep. John Doolittle, R-Roseville, delivered a buoyant pep talk Friday to the Auburn Dam Council on the latest prospects in Washington, D.C. for a multipurpose dam on the American River at Auburn."
  
  

—  Wastewater

• Kerr County OKs talks on sewer system
  (Kerrville Daily Times, 8/10) "Preliminary engineering is expected to begin in September for a wastewater system in Center Point."
  
   

• Proposal bans septic tanks in Quail Valley
  (Riverside Press-Enterprise, 8/9) "Installation of new septic tanks could be forbidden throughout Quail Valley and residents with tanks could be required to have them pumped to remove waste rather than discharge it into the ground under a new regional water-control board proposal."
  
  

• Butte supervisors to review sewage plan
  (Chico ER, 8/8) "Supervisors went on to schedule further review and study of a proposed ordinance and policy revisions related to privately operated on-site sewage disposal."
  
  

• New Los Osos sewer plan put at $100 million
  (SLO Tribune, 8/6) "As part of a sewer project proposed by an engineering firm hired by the Los Osos services district, the majority of the community's septic tanks would have to be replaced, but residents would pay $79 million less for a sewer, compared with an earlier, scrapped project."
  
  

• Sewer service may be cutoff in Silver Springs
  (Nevada Appeal, 8/5) "Thirty-two Silver Springs General Improvement District customers who are behind on their sewage bills could face the prospect of having their service disconnected." 
  
  

• Wastewater issue salt in Tracy's wounds
  (Stockton Record, 8/5) "Upgrading the treatment plant on Holly Drive to enable that amount of desalinization could cost $100 million. But if Tracy fails to reduce the salt content, it could face fines of $32,500 per day."
  
  

—  The Nukes

• Nevada loses court battle over nuclear waste
  (Associated Press, 8/8) "Nevada was dealt a blow in its effort to avoid a radioactive waste dump Tuesday as a federal appeals court turned aside arguments against transportation plans."
  
  

—  Everything Else

• USDA awards millions to N.M. counties
  (New Mexico Business Weekly, 8/8) "Nine rural communities and water associations in New Mexico will gain millions of dollars in federal funding to improve water delivery and wastewater treatment services. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development program has approved awards for Lea, Otero, Doña Ana, Catron and Grant counties, according to a news release."
  
  

• Report on S.D. mismanagement emerges
  (SD Union Tribune, 8/9) "Consultants investigating the city's finances issued a detailed and critical report Tuesday documenting misconduct by city officials, including former and current City Council members and former top city administrators."
  
  

• Delta is at the core of safeguard strategy plan
  (SD Union Tribune, 8/5) "For the first time, California has started to map an all-in-one strategy to safeguard an economically vital network of highways, railroads and energy supply lines crisscrossing the heart of the state."
  
  

International and National News

—  Security

• Leaders meet to address US water security
  (Water Tech Online, 8/7) "National security experts, emergency responders, and public officials will meet in Washington, DC, September 10-12, to address the safety and security of the country's water supply, according to an August 4 American Water Works Association (AWWA) press release."
  
  

—  Water

• Water attracts investors as potential liquid gold
  (NY Times, 8/10) "Everyone knows that there is a lot of money to be made in oil. But a group of big businesses is discovering that there may be even greater profit in a more prosaic liquid: water." 
  
  

• National water grid in Britain 'not viable'
  (BBC, 8/9) "The water company responsible for Europe's biggest man-made lake has described a possible national water grid as 'not a viable idea.'"
  
  

• Rebels in Sri Lanka release disputed water
  (Associated Press, 8/9) "On July 20, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels blocked water supplies to 60,000 people in government-controlled villages in northeastern Trincomalee district, 135 miles northeast of Colombo."
  
  

• Gov. Bush won't attend tri-state water meeting
  (Associated Press, 8/9) "Florida Gov. Jeb bush won't attend a meeting next week with the governors of Georgia and Alabama."
  
  

• No water at Libyan embassy in D.C.
  (Associated Press, 8/8) "Libya wants to reopen an embassy in the United States, but it can't get the District of Columbia to turn on the water."
  
  

• Corps takes heat for Lake Lanier drop
  (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 8/8) "At a U.S. Senate hearing held near Lake Lanier today, where residents and business owners are watching the lake drop daily, Georgia's senators and a congressman took the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to task for a mistake that cost Lanier 22 billion gallons of water, and for sending water downstream to Florida to protect a rare prehistoric fish and two freshwater mussel species."
  
   

• LCR guidance on faucet aerators in the works
  (WaterWeek, 8/7) "USEPA is expected to issue guidance in the next month advising utilities not to ask homeowners who collect tap-water samples for Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) compliance purposes to remove faucet aerators prior to doing so."
  
  

• Aging sewage pipes pollute nation
  (Whittier Daily News, 8/6) OPINION. "It's the pipes, stupid! The UCLA and Stanford professors got part of it right: Many of the more popular beaches in Southern California are polluted with sewage as often as one out of every three days. Much of it from storm drains full of untreated runoff."
  
  

• Warning on risks as Brisbane drills for water
  (The Australian, 8/5) "Drilling rigs have been brought in to tap aquifers around Brisbane as the desperate search for water continues in southeast Queensland."
  
  

• Excrement in drinking water
  (Aftenposten, 8/5) "Nearly ten percent of Norway's 1234 waterworks facilities -representing 200,000 customers - failed to pass the E. coli test in the sampling taken by the Waterworks Register."
  

—  Surface Water

• The Klamath River dispute
  (Stanford Progressive, 8/7) "The Klamath River story of Northwestern California and Southern Oregon is as tragic as it is convoluted, and the legal battles and controversy surrounding it are as dirty and as overheated as the river itself."
  
  

• EPA sued over pollution at beaches
  (MSNBC, 8/5) "An environmental group has sued federal regulators, charging that they failed to protect beaches and the Great Lakes from pollution and that negligence by the Bush administration exposed swimmers and surfers to potential illnesses."
  
  

• Healthcare for the Oceans
  (LA Times, 8/5) OPINION. "Most of us surf, swim and fish without concern for the health of our oceans. But as the Los Angeles Times series 'Altered Oceans' made clear, all of that is at risk. The oceans are now afflicted with chronic problems caused by human activities. Like our own bodies, the seas suffer when we put too much into them and expect too much out of them." See the L.A. Times series 'Altered Oceans.'
  
  

• Project's runoff has Lake Zurich wary
  (Chicago Tribune, 8/4) "With heavy rains falling again this week in Lake Zurich, a storm of a different sort continues to brew over a highway construction project accused of polluting the very body of water the village stakes its name on."
   
• Report: Some Chicago beaches contaminated
  (Munster Times, 8/4) "Chicago beaches are suffering from serious bacterial contamination — and they're getting worse, according to a report released Thursday by the Natural Resources Defense Council."

—  Wastewater

• Sewer sludge for the yard?
  (Nevada Appeal, 8/5) "Treated sewage sludge is sometimes sold as a fertilizer product. Sounds yucky right? Cornell University defines sewage sludge as a 'semi-solid residue of organic matter generated as a byproduct of wastewater treatment.'" 
  
  

—  Warming

• Sea-bed plan to store carbon
  (BBC, 8/8) "CO2 would be pumped beneath the world's oceans. Storing carbon dioxide under the sea-bed could help to reduce global warming, according to US scientists."
  
  

• Global warming concerns mount
  (Contra Costa Times, 8/8) "The searing heat of this summer across the United States and in other parts of the world has heightened concerns about global warming and resulting climate change."
  
  

• Scientists say warming triggers dead zone
  (Associated Press , 8/7) "Bottom fish and crabs washing up dead on Oregon beaches are being killed by a recurring "dead zone" of low-oxygen water that is larger than in previous years and may be triggered by global warming, scientists said."
  
  

—  Toxic Cleanups

• DEQ sued over hurricane landfills
  (Associated Press, 8/9) "At least three landfills taking Hurricane Katrina debris violate federal clean air and water laws, environmentalists said in a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday against Louisiana's secretary of environmental quality."
  
  

—  Meetings/Conferences

• 2006 Water Security Congress
  SEPT. 10-12, WASHINGTON, D.C.  

• Stars of the Future: Reuse and Desalination
  SEPT. 10-13, HOLLYWOOD, CA  

• AWWA conference for water plant pros
  SEPT. 17-20, PHOENIX  

• 30th annual Public Land Law Conference
  SEPT. 25-27, MISSOULA, MT  

• Opportunities and Challenges in Agricultural Water Reuse
  OCT. 29-31, SANTA ROSA, CA  

• Coastal and Estuarine Habitat Restoration
  DEC. 9-13, NEW ORLEANS  

• NACWA 2007 Winter Conference
  JAN. 30-FEB. 2, ST. PETERSBURG
   

—  Everything Else

• WEF debuts wet-weather guide
  (Water Tech Online, 8/9) "The Water Environment Federation (WEF) has released an electronic document designed to help owners, planners, designers, and operators of wastewater collection and treatment systems improve and maximize performance during peak wet weather events, according to an August 8 WEF press release."
  
  

• Environmental 'crisis' in Lebanon
  (BBC, 8/9) "The United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) has expressed its 'grave concern' about oil pollution in Lebanese coastal waters."
  
  

• AWWA and AWWRF report: Development and Standardization of a Cryptosporidium Genotyping Tool for Water Samples
  (AWWA, 8/9) "Waterborne cryptosporidiosis presents a serious threat to human health due to the ubiquitous distribution of Cryptosporidium spp. in humans, animals and water, and resistance of the oocysts to harsh environmental condition, various disinfectants and many treatment practices. This report discusses the use of genotyping tools in the analysis of Cryptosporidium oocysts in water samples, including the interpretation of molecular data generated, and the development of quality control and quality assurance procedures."
  

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