WHO’S USING MY WATER?

I always cringe when I hear those two words together: MY WATER. Why, you ask. First, a bit about my perspective. I have spent my life dealing with one subject, water. As a water attorney fortunate enough to represent some of the nation’s most prominent companies, people, and water providers, I’ve heard those two words together too many times.

It's a NIMBY term usually uttered by those that don’t understand where water comes from, how it is used, who has rights to it, and how fragile and treasured water is. There’s a saying: If you have water, you don’t understand it; if you don’t have water, you know water well. In other words, if you’re from the East, you likely don’t give water much thought, just turn on the tap. In the west, water is precious, coveted, fought over.

With that backdrop, let’s get some statistics out of the way.

First, how is water used? Nationally, municipal and domestic use accounts for about 13% of all water use, agriculture 32%, power generation 45% and 10% miscellaneous uses. In the western united states, where water is scarcer, the figures are much different. There, 72% of water used is in agriculture, 22% municipal and domestic, and the balance is a mix.

That may come as a surprise to many that believe urban sprawl and development are the evil users of water. Not really. Not only is the share of water use surprisingly low, most, upwards of 90% of that water returns to the hydrograph in the form of treated wastewater discharge to be used again. In Colorado, my home state, we say “flush, California needs the water.”

In fact, as a result of education and conservation, the nation’s municipal water utilities use approximately the same amount of water now that it did in 1970, despite the population increasing by 40% in that same. Some good news.

The next question is where does the water come from? It depends on who’s using the water and where they reside. The vast majority of water use for domestic, industrial, and municipal uses comes from surface water. For agriculture, nearly 30% comes from groundwater. In some states, this figure is dramatically higher.

Despite far too many states failing to understand the interconnection between surface and groundwater (another reason politicians shouldn’t be left to their own when it comes to science), most groundwater withdrawals tap water connected with a surface stream (tributary water). The exceptions are confined aquifers such as the Ogallala in the great plains, that stretches from South Dakota to Texas. But that is a whole other post.

So, back to my original point. MY WATER. Water knows no geographical or political boundaries. It is a resource to be used wisely and once used available to others. Like energy, water can never be consumed to extinction. All the water that once was at the time of the dinosaurs remains today. Its wise use and recognition as a precious resource will ensure that future generations have an ample supply. How that is done is for the next couple of posts. Stay hydrated and stay tuned.

From Water to Air: Will the Next Two Years Override the Last 50?

Positives & Negatives in the Air We Breathe

The Positive: In a handful of years from 1969 to 1972, Congress overwhelming show of bipartisan support passed the National Environmental Policy Act (1969), the Clean Air Act (1970), and the Clean Water Act (Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972). While there were prior enactments to study and investigate pollution and effects on the environment, this series of legislation implemented means, methods, and controls.

Since then, water quality and air quality has dramatically improved, saved, and prolonged the lives of Americans and those beyond our borders. For example, in just the past 40 years sulfur dioxide (SO2), that contributes to acid rain, lung disease, and a host of other illnesses, have been reduced by 94%.

The Negative and Positive: The past few weeks have seen four executive orders signed to bring back and boost coal production and coal fired power generation. Coal now supplies around 16% of all electrical generation, natural gas is around 43%, nuclear is around 19%, and the balance of around 22% are clean renewables (wind, hydro, solar, biomass --- in that order).

Some fear (or actually believe) these executive orders mean a reset. They don’t. An executive order lacks the power or authority to roll back regulations and acts of congress. Rulemaking, a laborious and time consuming process is required…years. And Congress is, well, a fairly ineffective stalemate these days. But most of all, businesses and utilities are the ones that drive and determine what power generation sources will be selected, not government. And these two hate uncertainties, do not gamble on short term politics, and focus on the bottom line. The odds of new coal fired power plants being approved during this administration are as about as good as me getting a Pulitzer.

I doubt anyone needs to ask why the title referenced two years.

Let's Talk ALBEDO (Not to be Confused with Libido)

Like many, I find the news feed (pretty much the whole spectrum) far too biased, sensationalist, dumbed down, and depressing. There’s a positive story for every negative one, it just never makes the headline. With the advent of false narratives and misinformation, important subjects are being overlooked or obscured. My focus revolves around writing thriller with elements of the environment and natural resources, particularly water, the later I have spent my whole life working with. Water is fraught with myths, mysteries, and politics, most of which can make wonderful literature, particularly thrillers. I invite you to read, share, and comment (respectfully please).

Today’s Post: Positives & Negatives deals with Albedo. The term is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as: The amount of light reflected from a surface. Or, why it makes more sense to rent a white car when traveling to Arizona than a black one during the summer.

POSITIVE:

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC or North Atlantic Current) has in recent years been the subject of increasing concern. The current acts as a conveyor belt bringing warm water from the equatorial region to the North Atlantic. Its role in distributing heat, nutrients, and salt that are essential to marine life and regulating northern hemisphere temperatures. With increased freshwater flows entering the ocean from ice melt, salinity differentials have threatened the current, slowing it down. If it were to collapse, Western Europe and North America would see catastrophic impacts including far colder and longer winters in Europe disrupting agriculture and food security and increased sea level rise in North America, coastal damage, and extreme precipitation swings from rainfall events to drought.

Experts of predicted the AMOC is at a tipping point but a new study, conducted by the University of Bern, Switzerland, has concluded that the current could be far more resilient than originally thought. Scientists studied the transition from the last ice age and found that the current weakened less acutely than previously assumed. While not an “all-clear” moment, it does give some optimism that nature is more resilient to man than originally feared.

NEGATIVE:

Back to Albedo and that hot black rental car. With a loss of sea ice in the Arctic region, darker ocean surfaces absorb more solar radiation resulting in the compounding of effects and an amplified warming cycle. The result is a polar amplification of warming of the Arctic.

To some, this means new open ice-free trade routes, but to the more serious, it is a clear and present danger. Permafrost covers about a quarter of the land mass in the Northern hemisphere and entraps about half of all carbon stored in our planet’s soil. It has long served as the carbon sink of the planet. But, once thawed, carbon dioxide and methane are released intensifying and accelerating the warming of our planet.

The Arctic is warming at a rate of two to three times the rate of the Earth as a whole. If all  permafrost were to thaw, it would release four times the amount of carbon and greenhouse gases emitted by humans since the Industrial Revolution. Game Over. The solution, tackle climate change. Circular, right? Banning the words in books, pretending it’s a hoax, or simply throwing up your arms isn’t going to make the issue go away. Science and nature don’t bend to  politics. They are immutable and unforgiving.

By the way, Albedo is the name of a new thriller novel I just completed and sent to my agent. What could possibly go wrong?

Smart & Stupid Water Use

Today’s Post: Positives & Negatives

PRO

SDI. No this is not Reagan’s Space Defense Initiative, it’s the latest in water conservation in agriculture. Subsurface Drip Irrigation allows less water to be applied to a row crop, without evaporative losses. A field is leveled, and drip lines are installed at a depth of 6-24” below grade every other row. Water can be applied to accommodate natural precipitation and crop demands. The result is dramatic savings in water application rates and crop yields.

While initially a bit more expensive than irrigation guns, the technology is on a financial par with center pivot and fixed sprinkler irrigation system but without evaporative losses and with reduced labor costs. Evaporative losses from surface sprinkler irrigation can exceed 30% and with flood irrigation, the rate of deep percolation and evaporation can reach 50%. SDI slashes that to nearly zero.

CON

SWU. No that’s not a real term, it’s what I made up for “stupid water use.” While techies like Elon and not so techies like our President are clamoring over the benefits of AI and Bitcoin, here’s a not so fun-fact: A single Bitcoin transaction can use a swimming pool’s worth of water. That’s 6.2 million times more water used than a credit card swipe.

Bitcoin mining requires vast quantities of energy and with that I mean super-computers that must be cooled with water and coal-fired power plants that, again, must use vast quantities of water (for those who think nuclear energy is clean energy, think again, besides the waste, the cooling water requirements for nuclear plants is staggering). The average data center uses 300,000 gallons a day, enough to supply 100,000 homes. ChatGP and Google AI’s water footprint have increased dramatically as their usage increases.

Education is always the key as most people do not consider the environmental and resource impact of siting data centers (over a hundred data centers are locate in and around Phoenix and over two dozen in the Las Vegas area). More never associate energy and water consumption with Bitcoin. So how do you feel about the lure of Bitcoin?

Water Mistakes of the Week (Part II)

PRO

The Clean Water Act as it is called is an amalgamation of prior acts that were extensively overhauled and amended in 1972. Then President Nixon’s attempted veto of the Act was overridden by an overwhelming bipartisan majority. It was time. Scenes of the Cuyahoga River on fire, the stench of the Delaware River, and the condition of the Potomac (where doctors recommended tetanus shots for anyone coming into contact with the river), prompted a national response.

Fast forward a generation. The Cuyahoga now boasts over sixty species of fish and is safe for “primary contact,” the Delaware hosts fishing and boating, and fish and wildlife have rebounded on the Potomac with the appearance of dolphins in its lower reaches.

Bipartisan action and common sense prevailed. Today, we see cuts to Clean Water but I have confidence clean water and clean air are positives for most people.

CONS

Last week, I talked about the Columbia River and the current administration’s unprovoked fight with Canada demonstrated how politics and politicians can really muck up effective water planning. Well, the current political climate isn’t the only time smart water usage and common sense were replaced by political dogma.

Take the Red River, that originates in the arid Texas panhandle, serves as the boundary between Oklahoma and Texas, and then flows through Arkansas and Louisiana to the Mississippi River. Its name is derived from the geology it flows through picking up a heavy load of sodium chloride (salt). By the time it reached the Oklahoma/Texas border, its usefulness as a source of freshwater is compromised.

In contrast, the rivers in southeast Oklahoma contribute vast quantities of clean freshwater diluting much of the salt load by the time the river enters Arkansas and Louisiana. No harm no foul, unless you’re Texas, whose border lies entirely within this impaired section of the river known as Reach II of the Red River Compact, an agreement between the four states that share the river. In Reach II, five subbasins are defined, each with different rights to access and use water. Two of the five subbasins are entirely within Texas and two are in Oklahoma (and a small area of Arkansas. Between them is the mainstem area known as Subbasin 5, in which Oklahoma and Texas have equal rights to.   

Curiously, Oklahoma has abundant water in the Southeast corner of the state with annual precipitation double to triple of what Texas and western Oklahoma receives. On average 32 million acre feet of water flow unused out of Oklahoma a year. For perspective, the Colorado River that supplies the seven western states including the cities of Denver, Phoenix, Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, and the country of Mexico averages 13 million acre feet, or about a third of what flows unused out of Oklahoma. Unless someone thinks Oklahoma will somehow gain a dozen cities the size of Los Angeles, the state would never use that amount. And, would Oklahoman’s want all those city people?

Enter North Texas, Dallas Fort Worth. A dozen years ago, they wished to tap Texas’ portion of the Red River just before the freshwater rivers in Oklahoma dump into the impaired Red River, after and below all uses in Oklahoma. And to boot, they would pay Oklahoma (and the local tribes) handsomely for that right. Seems like a no-brainer, right?

Wrong. Enter politics and football. Oklahoman politicians confided that they knew it made perfect sense to sell an unused asset to defray massive state budget shortfalls, but they could not be seen to “give away Oklahoma water to Texans” else they would not be re-elected. Why the reluctance? Two reasons repeatedly resounded: 1) “we need the water for the future”; and 2) “they take our quarterbacks and best players and now want our water.”

You can’t save water of that magnitude for future years. There’s that pesky concept of gravity. The water is going to flow out of state. And, as for football, well that at least has a little logic. Just a little.

More than a dozen years later, water and those unused dollars continue to flow wasted to the Gulf of Mexico, or America, or whatever it’s called beyond the twelve-mile limit.

Again, wise water management is best left to the professionals, not politicians.

In fairness, please forgive my slant. I was counsel for the Texas interests on this project and case from its inception through the U.S. Supreme Court.

Water Mistakes of the Week

PRO

The Aral Sea is one of the worst examples of water management that led to an environmental crisis in Kazakhstan. The third largest lake in the world at one time, it began shrinking in the 1960’s due to upstream Soviet irrigation projects. Forty years later not only was the Soviet Union gone, but 90% of the lake as well. Concentrations of salt, pesticides, industrial waste, and toxic chemicals from weapon testing soon brought an ecological collapse. Windborne dust spread this toxic brew to neighboring population centers with horrific results.

I know, by now you’re asking why I put this in the “PRO” section. Wait, it will get better. Through wise water management by the Kazakhstan authorities, the lake is rebounding. Salinity has declined four-fold and water volume has increased dramatically. All this in a few years.

Just like when we saw Covid’s positive effect on the environment, when man takes positive action, nature can recover.

CONS

Now for an example of negative action, once again extreme politics defy common sense and good water management. Here’s an example.

The Columbia River is the largest River in the Northwest. The river is the lifeblood of Washington and Oregon supplying agriculture, a booming economy, Native American culture, and hydropower. With over 150 large scale hydropower projects, including Grand Coulee dam, the fifth largest hydroelectric plant in the world, it supplies clean energy to a wide swath of the western United States.

The river originates in Canada flowing into the State of Washington and then along the Oregon/Washington border to the Pacific. In 1964, Canada and the United States entered into a Treaty for its shared use. Set to expire in 2024, the Biden administration worked with Canada for a temporary extension and development of a new agreement that would result in continued guaranteed flows to the US, shared hydro revenues, and some direct payments. As a part of the Trump Administration’s economic war with Canada, the US paused negotiations this month, interjecting trade war dialogue into wise water management. A word of caution to the self-labeled master of the deal. There’s an age-old water saying every water lawyer knows to be true: I’d rather be upstream with a shovel than downstream with a water right.

Wise water management is best left to the professionals, not politicians.

In the next installment, I’ll continue this theme with another example of how politics (and football) threw an incomplete pass to wise management and economics on the border of Texas and Oklahoma.

Water Myths

Today’s Post: Positives & Negatives

Today’s P&N observations focus on advances in science (the Positive), and Political Fabrications (the Negative). It’s been a tough week to find positives. Not so tough to find the negatives. 

·       The POSITIVE: Scientists in Japan announced the development of a new clear plastic substitute that breaks down in ten days in soil and in even less time in seawater, which could help stem the proliferation of microplastics and plastic pollution.

The NEGATIVE: Whatever happened to geography, cartography, topography (all those “raphy” sciences)? Donald Trump blamed California’s wildfires on the state not allowing “all this fresh water coming down from Canada and the Pacific Northwest from flowing into California.” News flash: North on a map does not mean uphill. With the exception of the Klamath, which flows to the sea in the far northwest corner of California, no rivers flow “into” California (the Colorado flows along the border of the state). Misinformation obscures real problems. Best to leave water to those that understand it.

Second, no, California politics wasn’t responsible for fire hydrants having low water pressures. While there are lots of examples of any state’s failings (and maybe California has more than its share), this rumor was fabricated by partisan pundits and perpetuated by politicians (apologies for the alliteration). Nearly every community of a certain size in the country designs fire safety water flows and infrastructure the same. Municipal water systems, mains, and hydrants are designed by civil engineers to strict uniform national codes and standards (International Fire Code, California Fire Code, National Fire Protection Association standards), whether the water utility is located in Texas, Kansas, or California. With less than an inch of rain in eight months and 80-100mph winds carrying embers for miles, no municipal water system could have withstood the onslaught. Best to leave water to those that understand it.

PRO’s & CON’s

FROM KLandPatrick’s

WATER LAWG SUBSTACK PAGE

Like many, I find the news feed (pretty much the whole spectrum) far too biased, sensationalist, dumbed-down, and depressing. There’s a positive story for every negative one, it just never makes the headline. With the advent of false narratives and misinformation, important subjects are being overlooked or obscured. My focus revolves around writing thrillers with elements of the environment and natural resources, particularly water, the later I have spent my whole life working with. Water is fraught with myths, mysteries, and politics, most of which can make wonderful literature, particularly thrillers. I invite you to read, share, and comment (respectfully please).

Today’s Post: Positives & Negatives

Thanks for reading K.LandPatrick's Water Lawg on Substack………Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Today’s P&N observations focus on advances in science (the Positive), and Political Fabrications (the Negative). It’s been a tough month to find positives. Not so tough to find the negatives.

The POSITIVE: Scientists in Japan announced the development of a new clear plastic substitute that breaks down in ten days in soil and in even less time in seawater, which could help stem the proliferation of microplastics and plastic pollution.

The NEGATIVE: Whatever happened to geography, cartography, topography (all those “raphy” sciences)? Donald Trump blamed California’s wildfires on the state not allowing “all this fresh water coming down from Canada and the Pacific Northwest from flowing into California.” News flash: North on a map does not mean uphill. With the exception of the Klamath, which flows to the sea in the far northwest corner of California, no rivers flow “into” California (the Colorado flows along the border of the state). Misinformation obscures real problems. Best to leave water to those that understand it.

Second, no, California politics wasn’t responsible for fire hydrants having low water pressures. While there are lots of examples of any state’s failings (and maybe California has more than its share), this rumor was fabricated by partisan pundits and perpetuated by politicians (apologies for the alliteration). Nearly every community of a certain size in the country designs fire safety water flows and infrastructure the same. Municipal water systems, mains, and hydrants are designed by civil engineers to strict uniform national codes and standards (International Fire Code, California Fire Code, National Fire Protection Association standards), whether the water utility is located in Texas, Kansas, or California. With less than an inch of rain in eight months and 80-100mph winds carrying embers for miles, no municipal water system could have withstood the onslaught. Best to leave water to those that understand it.

Because I am a full-time water attorney, part-time author, and otherwise attempting to have a life, expect a post twice a month, usually on Sundays. Initially, all my posts are free, so please subscribe on Substack and follow me here.

Thanks for reading K.LandPatrick's Water Lawg !

REMEMBERING THE TRUE MEANING OF THE FOURTH

246 years ago our founders declared their independence and a new form of self government, a democracy, was born. I was born on the 4th of July, so the day has always been important to me. Today there are challenges to democracy in Europe, the South China Sea, and even closer to home. My 4th wish is for us to unite (left and right) today to celebrate and renew our oath to democracy. Happy 4th!

MEET THE NEW BOSS, SAME AS THE OLD BOSS

Some comparisons from the Who’s Won’t Get Fooled Again (1971) and history. I’ve written before on the acts of Vladimir Putin (October 29, 2018 blog). The past ten days have reinforced the adage that history always repeats itself. 

Following the March 1938 absorption of Austria, Adolf Hitler announced his intention to “re-unite” the Sudetenland, an area of Czechoslovakia that was populated by many German-speaking people. Hitler claimed that the country of Czechoslovakia and its borders never were legitimate and labeled the populous “ethnic Germans” that needed to be protected. With this justification, Hitler threatened the western democracies to accept the takeover of a nation or face war. In a separate attempt to avoid war, the western democracies appeased Hitler and, without input from the Czechs, allowed the forced takeover of the lands and people.  

Eighty-four years later, Vladimir Putin, in a 55-minute rant, claimed that the country of Ukraine and its borders never were legitimate and labeled the populous of Ukraine “ethnic Russians,” that needed to be protected, announcing that the country would be re-united with Russia (these statements were a repeat of his claims in 2014 when he seized Crimea, and the world did nothing). With this justification, Putin threatened western democracies, of which Ukraine is one, to accept Ukraine’s takeover or face war. This time, there was no appeasement. The western diplomats were stronger and far more united this time. Had they not been, Putin’s next target would have undoubtedly been the Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian enclave detached from Russia on the Baltic coast between Lithuania and Poland.  

The lessons of history are to stop the bully. If you do not, you will be forced to confront a stronger bully later. Putin has grossly miscalculated. He is in a no-win situation. The Ukrainians will not accept occupation and he cannot control a country of 44 million with 180,000 troops. His economy is cratering. He will be toppled from within when the Russian people learn the truth and refuse to accept the path he has forged and pain he has caused… because history repeats itself and that is always the fate of autocrats who fail to appease the masses they control.