Daniel Salzler No. 1150
EnviroInsight.org Six Items May 13, 2022
—————Feel Free To Pass This Along To Others——————
If your watershed is doing something you would like others to know about, or you know of something others can benefit from, let me know and I will place it in this Information newsletter.
If you want to be removed from the distribution list, please let me know.
Please note that all meetings listed are open.
Enhance your viewing by downloading the pdf file to view photos, etc. The
attached is all about improving life in the watershed. If you want to be removed from
the distribution list, please let me know. Please note that all meetings listed are open.
Check our website at EnviroInsight.org
- Friday, May 20, 2022 Is National Bike To Work Day. Will You Participate? NATIONAL BIKE TO WORK DAY IS THIS FRIDAY – The City of Tucson Department of Transportation and other towns and Cities are encourages city staff and the public to celebrate and participate in National Bike to Work Day, this Friday, May 20.
So Mind These Tips To Improve Your Commute:
Map out a Route
Get The Gear (just what you need)
Lights and Reflectors
Helmet
Gear Rack (or a sweaty backpack)
Bike Lock
Stay Safe
Maximize your visibility
Stay off sidewalks
Pay attention
Master the Commute
Do you need to bring a change of clothes?
Towels/wipes
Source: “A Beginners Guide to Biking to Work” or https://ilovebicycling.com/a-beginners-guide-to-biking-to-work/
Towels/wipes
2. AAWWA to Host Colorado River Event
On May 24, the Arizona Association of Women in Water & Agriculture (AAWWA) is hosting an event on Colorado River history, current conditions, impacts, and solutions at the Salt River Project PERA Training and Conference Center in Tempe, AZ. The AAWWA “is designed to support, promote, celebrate and inspire women with careers and interest in water and agriculture through education, networking and fellowship.”
Topics of the meeting will include current Colorado River hydrology, operations, power impacts, law, and potential solutions to ongoing challenges. The keynote speaker, Brenda Burman, was the first woman to serve as Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation and is now the Executive Strategy Advisor for the Central Arizona Project. Other speakers will include Cynthia Campbell, Water Resources Management Advisor for the City of Phoenix; Cheryl Lombard, President and CEO of Valley Partnership; and Vineetha Kartha, Colorado River Programs Manager for the Central Arizona Project. Registration for the event is open for AAWWA members and non-members. Go to https://agribusinessarizona.org/az-women-in-water-%26-ag for more information.
3. Colorado River Under Stress – Arizona’s Response.
By Tom Buschatzke, director, Arizona Department of Water Resources and Ted Cooke, general manager, Central Arizona Project (The following opinion piece was published in the Sunday, May 8 edition of the Arizona Republic)
For weeks, we’ve been seeing media reports regarding conditions in the Colorado River Basin, specifically with regard to our country’s largest reservoirs, Lake Powell and Lake Mead, which have dropped to record low elevations.
The media have been reporting it accurately. The Colorado River Basin has been in a prolonged drought, exacerbated by climate change. We are experiencing the driest conditions in the Colorado River Basin in more than 1,200 years – and these conditions are expected to continue well into the future. Both Lake Powell and Lake Mead are approaching critical elevations and will require unprecedented management actions to protect infrastructure in both the Upper (Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming) and Lower (Arizona, California, Nevada, parts of Mexico) Colorado River Basins. Protecting infrastructure protects water supplies.
Lake Powell and Lake Mead operate “conjunctively.” That means that the operations of one affect the other. The system is designed to work so that runoff originating in the Upper Basin fills Lake Powell, and Lake Mead is filled by releases from Lake Powell and intervening flows below Glen Canyon Dam.
Lake Powell releasing less
“Operational uncertainty” has become a watchword for Lake Powell. Lake Powell is at 24% of capacity (elevation 3523’), the lowest since it was first filled. At this juncture, Lake Powell’s elevation requires immediate protective actions. This year, Glen Canyon Dam will be releasing about 500,000 acre-feet less than was anticipated to Lake Mead. Lake Mead and the Lower Basin still have the ability to recover this water, but it will be left in Lake Powell to protect that reservoir. Lake Mead is also at record low levels, but the infrastructure is not currently at risk.
Shortage declaration planning
With the decreased release, the elevation of Lake Mead will drop this year by an additional eight feet. But when the Bureau of Reclamation makes the 2023 Shortage Tier determination for Lake Mead, it will account for the water held back in Lake Powell as if it had been delivered to Lake Mead.
The shortage declaration will occur as usual in August, and current projections point to a Tier 2 Shortage in 2023. For Arizona, that would mean at least a 592,000 acre-foot shortage, as compared to the 512,000 acre-foot shortage in 2022. That means less water for CAP water users.
For Lower Basin water users this will mean that collectively, 821,000 acre-feet of water will be left in Lake Mead (721,000 acre-feet among Arizona, Nevada and Mexico and contributions of up to 100,000 acre-feet from Reclamation), plus the additional volumes as part of the “500+ Plan”. Signed late last year, the 500+ Plan implementation is an effort to protect Lake Mead from critically low elevations that is separate from the immediate action now being taken to reserve more water in Lake Powell.
Arizona – stronger together
We are proud of the work we have been doing in Arizona and the contributions to protect the system that have come together in our state. When you account for the mandatory reductions already taken as part of the first-ever Tier 1 shortage and the voluntary compensated conservation that’s part of the 500+ Plan, Arizonans’ Colorado River water use has been reduced by more than 700,000 acre feet – one-fourth of our state’s Colorado River apportionment and more than 40% of CAP’s supply – in 2022. Arizona water users and interested parties are already working on the plan for 2023, and this will take more broad-based collaboration and collective action to meet the water volumes that will be required.
Conservation is a must
While this situation is serious and parties are coming together in our state, it’s important to note that supplies to homes and businesses do not face a threat in 2023, but the outlook for Arizona’s Colorado Supply certainly warrants additional actions. Everyone will be asked to conserve. Conservation may delay or reduce further mandatory reductions. We will be reinforcing, renewing and strengthening the strong conservation ethic that has served Arizona well for decades as we continue to work together to find innovative and effective solutions to conserve water.
4. Pickin’ Up in the Pines May 25, 9am-12:30pm The Coconino National Forest, National Forest Foundation, Oak Creek Watershed Council, Arizona Dept. of Game and Fish, and the Arizona Dept. of Environmental Quality invite you to participate in Pickin’ Up in the Pines! Join us to clean up camping areas in the Forests that are the headwaters of Oak Creek canyon.
When: Wednesday, May 25th at 9:00AM – 12:30 PM
Where to Meet: Forest Road 237 dispersed camping area.
Access FR 237 off of 89A, 12.5 miles south of Downtown Flagstaff. Follow signs about 1000 ft off the exit to our meeting place. 237 is a dirt road that is bumpy, but suitable for most passenger cars.
Register: We are asking all participants to register at least one day before the event so we can best plan and manage group size. Click HERE or paste into your browser, https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pickin-up-in-the-pines-2022-tickets-335464281697 to register!
Other Details:
Please bring closed-toe shoes, long pants, sunscreen, snacks, and plenty of water . Gloves, bags, buckets, and pickers will be provided Anyone under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian
Questions?
Need more information about this event? Contact oakcreekkeanups@gmail.com
5. Something To Plan For.
Registration for the 2022 WRRC Annual Conference is now open. This year’s conference is from July 12 to the 14th. The theme is Arizona’s Agricultural Outlook: Water, Climate and Sustainability.
Day 1 (One) will be held in person at the University of Arizona Student Union on Tuesday, July 12th from 9:0 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Two mornings will be virtual programming from 9:00 .m. to noon, will follow the in-person event.
The agenda reflects the diversity of Arizona’s agriculture, including large-scale irrigated operations, specialty agriculture, ranching and diary farming, Tribal farms and traditional practices.
The program will highlight innovations, sustainable practices, the impacts of drought and climate change, and the conditions that shape agricultural activities.
Thanks to sponsors, , standard registration for the in-person day is $60, and $25 registration for students. Live Streaming will be available at no charge.
To Register, go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wrrc-2022-annual-conference-tickets-324198976867
6. OSHA 8Hr Refresher Class Right Is Tomorrow. Saturday, May 21 is the day you can refresh your OSHA certification. Class begins at 8:00 a.m. and ends at 4:00 p.m. Cost is $80
Call Dan to register. 623-930-8197.
Copyright: EnviroInsight.org 2022
