WaterWired

Leaving Las Vegas

As a number of people have noted, it's been a newsworthy week in Western water circles.

 John Fleck has a great post, On Moving Water, and a perceptive quote: 

The more we engage in large scale movement of water out of its natural watersheds, the more trouble we seem to have.

The quote followed mention of the proposal by Pat Mulroy  of the SNWA to harness Mississippi River flood flows and ship them West to replenish the High Plains and presumably, her beloved Las Vegas, which now finds itself up the creek without groundwater.

That proposal has been around for at least forty years. The version (c. 1970) I remember is a pipeline that would lift water from the Mississippi River to the High Plains to replenish its depleted aquifer. Ten nuclear power plants would provide the energy needed to pump the water.

And if we are going to consider that, why not NAWAPA and NARA? Heck, they are almost shovel-ready and they'd even use Canadian water!

But instead of moving massive amounts of water around the continent, let me channel David Zetland and suggest that we provide financial incentives for people to depopulate places like Las Vegas, Phoenix, etc., and move to places like Detroit, Buffalo, Toledo, Akron, Pittsburgh, etc.  

I am of course making the assumption that these Eastern cities have enough water for the Western refugees. I do know they have less expensive housing than many Western cities, and what with global warming, might have more moderate winters than they do know.

So why move water around when you can move people around, without forcing them to move? Makes sense to me.  Get the Las Vegas area down to a more manageable population, in line with its current water supply. And raise the price of water, too.

Imagine - people leaving Las Vegas with money in their pockets!

Would it be cheaper than massive water projects? I don't know. I'd love to see an economist 'do the numbers.' And I'd also love to hear some serious discussion of my proposal.

"Detroit: a French word meaning 'Let's move to Phoenix.' " -- Dave Barry

Ned Breslin Rethinks Hydrophilanthropy

Ned Breslin, CEO of Water for People, is one of the best when it comes to WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) issues in developing countries. His candor is refreshing, and he is not above criticizing his own organization when it comes to sustainable approaches for WASH projects.

I've heard him speak on WASH project sustainability; he motivated me to redo the way my own foundation, the Ann Campana Judge Foundation, funds and monitors projects. I am now more cognizant of sustainability issues and requiring that people who benefit buy into the project.

His essay focuses on WFP's own shortcomings, relating what works and what doesn't. He shows how a well-meaning nonprofit like WFP can move from feel-good, simplistic interpretations and communications to a more profound and thoughtful organization that challenges itself by asking far harder, long-term impact questions.

From the first few pages:

Currently, the overriding approach in the sector is of welfare and charity rather than development. This approach leads to poor project implementation which leads to high rates of failure.

Key points:

• NGOs must develop the time, patience and understanding of community development to establish the foundation for success.
• Until now, "sweat equity" has been considered sufficient contribution from communities. But it is not enough to create a sense of ownership to ensure long term success of projects.
• New philanthropic giving strategies could play a significant role in eliminating water and sanitation poverty by basing themselves on a robust set of sustainability metrics.
• A new partnership between philanthropists and development agencies needs to focus on leveraging creative philanthropic giving to instill financial responsibilities on communities and governments in developing countries.
• A new culture of accountability and transparency that transcends what currently masquerades as "reporting" in the sector must emerge
• Investors, who employ stringent due diligence when selecting for-profit ventures, should use those same requirements when considering their philanthropic donations.
• New measurements should go beyond counting number of people served in a given year to include the % of projects that are fully functional and self-sufficient at 3,6 and 10 years.

Download his essay:

Download Breslin-Rethinking-hydrophilanthropy-012910-web

You can follow Ned and Water for People on Twitter.

"The next time you see an ad for a charitable organization featuring a shy, cute, brown-skinned child and a sincere narrator who announces, 'Last year, XYZ Charity constructed 500 wells in the impoverished country of  Wagadagaland so that its people will have clean drinking water,' you must ask, 'How many of those wells are still working?' " -- a cranky old British hydrogeologist's admonition to me, c. 1996

NGWREF's Developing World Projects Fund: 1 March 2010 Deadline

The National Ground Water Research and Educational Foundation (NGWREF), the 501(c)(3) organization operated by the National Ground Water Association (NGWA) is a very good source if funds for small projects. My foundation, the Ann Campana Judge Foundation (ACJF), has been the grateful recipient of several of these. 

The NGWREF's Developing World Projects Fund provides small assistance grants to benefit the quality of life for people around the world without access to plentiful supplies of potable groundwater. View a map showing where NGWREF-funded projects are occurring. The Honduras project is an ACJF one. 

Check out the grantmaking evaluation criteria:

Download Ngwref_dwf_grant_criteria

Please note that while the PDF states the grant proposal deadline as 15 January 2010, in light of the Haiti earthquake, NGWREF is extending this year's proposal deadline to 1 March 2010 in order to also entertain proposals from groups* considering equipping small community [village] water well systems in Haiti with either replacement components or for equipping entirely new wells.

* NGWREF will only consider grant proposals received from United States of America-domiciled organizations filing 990 informational tax returns with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.

Proposals should be mailed to:

Kevin McCray, Executive Director -
National Ground Water Research and Educational Foundation
601 Dempsey Rd.
Westerville, OH 43081  USA

Proposals can also be e-mailed to kmccray@ngwa.org. Contact Kevin if you have any questions (1-800-551-7379; 1-614-898-7791).

Good luck!

"You know what you've got, but you don't know what's coming." -- Haitian proverb

How Dry I Am: Nevada Supreme Court Rules Against SNWA; Utah Pulls the Plug?

I would hate to be in the company of Pat Mulroy right now, especially if I were a subordinate (which means just about everyone in Nevada). I don't think she suffers defeat very well.

Yesterday the Nevada Supreme Court ruled that the Southern Nevada Water Authority's groundwater awards, which were to be used to fill its 300-mile pipeline, are void.

Void. Nada. Nyet. Nein. No.

This is really big news, folks.

Read what Emily Green said about the ruling (the map of the pipeline route is from her):

In a stunning reversal for Las Vegas water manager Patricia Mulroy, ground-water awards that were to fill an almost 300-mile-line pipeline proposed by Mulroy’s Southern Nevada Water Authority to run from central eastern Nevada to Las Vegas were invalidated today. In an unanimous decision, the Nevada Supreme Court decided that the State Engineer violated the due process rights of hundreds, if not thousands, of people in target valleys across the Great Basin who had long protested the pipeline and water withdrawals.

After accepting to hear Great Basin Water Network vs State Engineer,  the Nevada Supreme Court last spring issued this summary: “In 1989, the predecessor to the Southern Nevada Water Authority filed applications for unappropriated water rights from rural Nevada for use in Las Vegas. More than 800 interested persons filed protests. In 2005, the State Engineer notified roughly 300 of the interested persons that a prehearing conference would be held to discuss the water rights applications. Some organizations and individuals petitioned the State Engineer to re-notice the 1989 applications and reopen the period for filing protests. After the State Engineer denied the request, appellants filed a petition for judicial review in the White Pine County District Court. That petition was denied and appellants are now appealing that decision. [At issue:] Did the State Engineer deprive appellants of the right to due process and/or equal protection by refusing to re-notice the groundwater applications? Did the State Engineer violate his statutory duties by not ruling on the 1989 application within one year?

Emily will keep us all updated so check her blog frequently.

You can access a copy of the ruling here, or download one below:

Download 126nevadvopno2

Access SNWA's statement. The authority may file a Motion to Reconsider.

And Utah Gov. Gary Herbert has decided to put the negotiaitions between Utah and Nevada over Sanke Valley water on hold. 

Here is what the Millard County Chronicle Progress said: 

Governor Gary R. Herbert has directed that negotiations between the states of Utah and Nevada regarding water in the Snake Valley area be put on hold in light of a Nevada Supreme Court decision released today, Thursday, Jan. 28.

“This ruling significantly changes the landscape upon which our ongoing discussions have been based,” Governor Herbert said. “It allows us to revisit the proposed agreement with the State of Nevada and ensure that our continued desire to protect Utah’s water interests and the environment is met.”

The Governor has maintained that an agreement is necessary to protect Utah’s water rights and environment, and has been working to reach consensus on a fair and equitable distribution of the ground water resources that are shared by the two states.

Today’s ruling imposes new requirements on Nevada’s state water engineer, which will include the reopening of the protest period for Snake Valley water applications. The Governor is committed to ensuring that Utah’s interests are represented and considered in that process.

Emily also reported that Pat Mulroy was in DC at a climate-change conference when she received the news. At that meeting, she was expected to recommend exports of Mississippi River water to Southern Nevada as part of a large federal works project.

Maybe our wonderful friends in Canada could help us out! NAWAPA or NARA, anyone?

A word to the wise: this ain't over yet. Don't count Ms. Mulroy out; the Fat Lady hasn't sung.

"Inside every silver lining there's a dark cloud." -- George Carlin

Capitol Hill Briefing on University WASH Initiative - 3 March 2010

This is one of those 'save the date' notices. I will post more information when I receive it.

 

[Disclosure notice: I am part of this initiative and will be a presenter]

 

Capitol Hill Briefing on new University WASH Initiative

Prominent university and college leaders working on international water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) issues  will participate in a congressional briefing on a new University WASH Initiative from 2:00-4:00 p.m. on March 3, 2010, in Room SVC 203/202 of the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center.  Presentations will feature the variety of ways in which U.S. colleges and universities are already addressing the global WASH crisis and will highlight how their role can be enhanced, especially through a new informal WASH collaboration among American institutions of higher education. The presentations and briefing are open to Members of Congress, Congressional staff, and interested members of the public.

To RSVP, email name and contact information to universities.wash.rsvp@gmail.com

The Center for Strategic and International Studies and Water Advocates are co-sponsoring this event. Colorado State University and Emory University are the academic leads.

We owe a great deal to the aforementioned organizations for providing the impetus. Some of us have been waiting for this initiative for years.

Hope to see you there!

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." --- Mahatma Gandhi