Daniel Salzler No. 1127
EnviroInsight.org Six Items December 10, 2021
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Enhance your viewing by downloading the attached pdf file to view photos, etc.
The attached is all about improving life in the watershed.
Read this newsletter at EnviroInsight.org
- Oak Creek Watershed Council December Meeting. The Oak Creek Watershed Council is announcing a virtual meeting on December 9th, 2021 from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. At the meeting, there will be discussions on expanded programs and continued work along Oak Creek.
After registering, you will receive an e-mail concerning information about joining the meeting. Please contact kalai@oakcreekwatershed.org if you have any issues or would like additional information.
2. U.S. Allots $7.4 Billion For Water Projects. States, Native American Tribes and U.S. Territories will receive $7.4 billion in 2022 to improve water quality and access, the first installment from the infrastructure bill that President Biden signed into law last month, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said on December 2, 2021.
The legislation commits $50 billion for water and wastewater infrastructure over five years, with $15 billion allocated for removing lead pipes and $10 billion to address contamination from toxic chemicals frequently used in cookware, carpets, firefighting foams and other products.
The federal government can’t dictate how that money is spent, but the EPA says it is urging governors, mayors, and other local administrators to prioritize spending money to historically underserved communities that have long faced challenges in accessing clean water. Source: AP article in the Wall Street Journal, December 3, 2021.
3. Scottsdale’s Green Building And Education Program: Electric Vehicles, Battery Storage and Electrification.
Date: Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022
Time: 6 – 7 p.m.
This will be a zoom meeting!
SRP and APS are both committed to reducing carbon emissions and supporting electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure. EVs contribute to cleaner air for our Phoenix metro region. Electric utilities are preparing for the increasing number of EVs expected to hit the road in the coming years. See SRP’s 21 reasons to drive an electric vehicle in 2021 – SRPconnect Blog.
A battery storage system integrates into a home’s electrical system and allows for the storage and use of electrical energy that is generated during the day by renewable energy. With the right application, battery storage systems can help smooth demand spikes, reduce the burden on the grid and lower a customer’s demand costs.
3. The Holiday Dinners Are Prime For Eating Cranberries. How Did This Fruit Come To Be A Favorite? History of the holiday berry:
The tart, spongy berry is native to North America and was a staple among indigenous cultures, prized for its taste as much as for medicinal applications and other uses like fabric dye. According to National Geographic, a common way to eat the berry was in pemmican, a mixture of cranberries, tallow and dried deer meat. Like a modern-day energy bar, pemmican keeps for months. It sustained Native Americans (and colonial fur traders) through the winter and while traveling.
Eventually, European colonists adapted cranberries to their own culinary traditions, using them in baked goods and in sauces for meat, much as we enjoy them today.
The truth about bogs
Ocean Spray commercials often feature farmers in waders standing waist-deep in a bog floating with red berries, but this imagery doesn’t tell the full story of how cranberries are grown.
The plants do not grow underwater or in standing water. A cranberry marsh is only flooded at harvest, so the berries float and are easier to collect. In early winter, once temperatures drop to single digits, a marsh will be flooded again briefly, so that a layer of ice two to three inches thick can form above the vines. Once the ice freezes solid, the remaining water is drained from the marsh, leaving an “ice blanket” that protects the vines for the next growing season. Cranberry vines are hearty, but climate change is impacting their quality and production.
5. $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Package: What It Means For CAP. President Joe Biden’s recent signing of a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill will likely have significant impacts on the Colorado River and impending drought in the Western U.S. – during the next 5 years, $8.3 billion is allocated for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) for western water infrastructure.
Erratic weather and warming temperatures in Wisconsin are disorienting to the perennial plant, so experts are working to breed vines that can withstand the changes. Source: https://feastandfield.net/read/fruits-and-vegetables/marsh-to-table-how-the-holiday-cranberry-graces-our-tables-each-year/article_b22cb1bc-4c8c-11ec-b70b-dbec7ee94bb4.html
But what does that mean for CAP?
Drought Contingency Plan/Reclamation funding
The bill includes $250 million from 2022-26 for Reclamation to implement the Lower Colorado River Basin Drought Contingency Plan (DCP), signed in 2019, as well as $50 million for the Upper Basin DCP.
Under the DCP, the Secretary of the Interior is obligated to create or conserve 100,000 acre-feet or more per year of Colorado River water. The bill requires Reclamation to use these funds in the Lower Basin to establish or conserve recurring Colorado River water
that contributes to supplies in Lake Mead and other reservoirs, or to improve the long-term efficiency of operations in the Lower Colorado River Basin. See more information in the bill under section 40901.
Water recycling/reuse
The bill provides $1 billion for water recycling and reuse projects, of which $450 million is for a competitive grant program for large-scale water recycling and reuse programs. Programs that could benefit from these funds include the Metropolitan Water Conservation District (MWD) of Southern California’s Regional Recycled Water Project (RRWP). In June, the CAWCD Board voted to contribute $5 million related to environmental planning phase services for permitting and preliminary design of the RRWP.
Verde River Sediment Mitigation Project
The bill authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to carry out a feasibility study for the Verde River Sediment Mitigation Project. See the related Bartlett Dam Modification Feasibility Study presentation from the November CAWCD Board meeting. The Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District is seeking to partner with SRP and 20 other entities (the local cost-share partners) in the Phoenix Active Management Area (AMA) on a cost-share agreement to partially fund the feasibility study that will evaluate the two Bartlett Dam modification options and assess whether it would be feasible to enlarge Bartlett Reservoir to create additional storage capacity.
Other Western water-related provisions
The bipartisan infrastructure package also includes:
- $3.2 billion for aging infrastructure, of which $100 million is for transferred works that have suffered critical failure, and $100 million for dam rehabilitation reconstruction or replacement;
- $1.15 billion for water storage, groundwater storage and conveyance projects, of which $100 million is for small water storage;
- $1 billion for rural water projects;
- $250 million for desalination projects;
- $500 million for dam safety projects;
- $400 million for WaterSMART water and energy efficiency grants, of which $100 million is for natural infrastructure projects;
- $100 million for the Cooperative Water Management Program;
- $250 million for Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Program;
- $100 million for multi-benefit watershed projects;
- $50 million for Colorado River fish species recovery programs;
- $2.5 billion for tribal water rights settlements.
6. ADEQ Publishes Permits Update. ADEQ has published information on permits pending.
Updated daily, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality’s (ADEQ’s) Permits in Process Map provides the status of water quality permits. You can use the map to find individual permit information, searching by the licensing time frame number (LTF) or geographically.
Go to Map >
Learn about Using the Permits in Process Map >
Download Report Spreadsheet >
For your convenience, ADEQ will continue to send these monthly reminders, however, the most current information is always available on the map, 24/7. Feel free to bookmark the links above and revisit, as desired. Source: ADEQ
7. Do You Know This Weather Term: SEICHE ? Click, or copy and paste the following link and paste in your browser:
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