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

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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.

Water Security: The Impact on Water Providers, Wall Street, and the Banking Community

Is it Malpractice or Just Old-Fashioned Ignorance?

Not a day goes by without an article on your news feed that decries a Megadrought in the West, the Colorado River Going Dry, Groundwater Depleted or Contaminated, Wildfires in the West, or Impacts to Infrastructure from Sea Level Rise. While a creative headline is designed to catch the eye, the underlying theme cannot be ignored. The reliability and security of the nation’s wide supply are of critical concern.

Water security is another way of saying steps and protocols to ensure the prevention of an interruption in supply. Interruptions can come in the form of water quality disruptions (contamination of raw water and potable water supplies) or water quantity disruptions (disruption of source, collection, treatment, or delivery of water).

Since 9/11 billions of dollars have been spent on counter-terrorism funding for protecting and hardening public and private water infrastructure. In 2001, the civilian budget in homeland security was estimated to be $15.9 billion. After 9/11, that annual budget increased to $71 billion. Costs to protect critical infrastructure have exceeded $315 billion, with a sizable junk attributable to critical water infrastructure.

The nation has taken steps to protect against the threat of terrorism to critical water infrastructure. Politics and media have stood in the way of America addressing the larger threat: Climate change impacts to the nation’s water supply. First, we need to get past the false narrative that it’s is a left or right issue. Anyone in the water industry knows it is neither, it is a malpractice issue. To ignore it is malpractice – or just ignorance.

For a moment, forget the cause of climate change. I know, that’s a hard one. But throw it aside. Focus on the impacts. Everyone who is involved in water supply issues knows the impacts are real. They must be understood and planned for.

To understand the costs is to understand the impacts of climate change on critical water infrastructure such as:

·       Variability in Supply;

·       Variability in Quality of the Supply;

·       Increase in Demands; and

·       Physical alterations to Infrastructure: Sea Level Rise and Wildfire

Fact:   In the Western-US milder winters are becoming the norm. The result impacts the demand-side of water usage: 1) Up to 80% of water is used for agriculture – longer growing seasons equal more crop demand for water, and 2) electrical demands increase for such things as air-conditioning and water pumping. On the supply side, milder winters result in less snowpack (water) or more of that water coming in the form of rain. Where we once relied on nature’s natural reservoir – mountain snowpack – to run off slowly, now more precipitation falls as rain, lost to use without more reservoir storage.

Fact:   Heat is energy: As the atmosphere warms, the amount of energy and water in the atmosphere increases. Storms are more erratic and powerful. Where once gentle soaking rains could be relied on, now damaging flood and sediment-laden runoff compound the supply-side equation.

Perhaps in no other field are the impacts of a rapidly changing climate more evident than in water supply planning. This is just a sample of what must be considered when discussing water.

Watch for:

Part 2: How have the Law and Engineering Adapted to the Changing Waterscape?

and

Part 3: Wall Street, the Banking Community, and Real Estate Industry Can Rest Assured… or Not

Climate Change and Water Wars

Climate change is more about climate uncertainty and disruption. Many papers have been written on the impact of climate change and water security (including a few by me), but one increasing threat is that of conflict and war resulting from climate impacts to water availability. Water Wars was the subject of my first novel: “Threatened Waters.” An excellent read recently appeared in bbc.com entitled “How Water Shortages Are Brewing Wars” by Sandy Milne. To read the article click on the above picture.

A Happy 4th of July for the Nation

Two hundred and forty-five years ago, a year into the Revolutionary War, freedom from the crown of England was declared by the Continental Congress. Nearly two and a half centuries, and yet some in the past year would believe that the institutions many have fought and died for stand in their way. We are a divided nation, but one which has withstood many dark days and challenges domestic and foreign. On this 4th, let us all see ourselves not as right or left, D or R, but as Americans fortunate enough to live in a country which may be, in Thomas Jefferson’s words, an imperfect union, but a union which where change and perfection are within reach.

I was born on the 4th of July, so it has always been a special day for many reasons. Make this 4th a special day for all. Happy 4th!

WATER WARS: ETHIOPIA'S AND EGYPT'S BATTLE OVER THE NILE

Seventy-five miles before the Blue Nile flows into Sudan, Ethiopia is filling the largest reservoir in Africa, and no one but Ethiopia and Chinese interests is celebrating. At close to five billion in cost, China’s Gezhouba Corporation and Exim Bank are funding much of Ethiopia’s goals of becoming the power purveyor of North Africa. The absence of a coherent legal framework for allocating and timing the Nile’s flow has Sudan worried and Egypt furious. Like all upstream water users, Ethiopia claims its filling of the Grand Renaissance Dam will not impact downstream flows or the antiquated 1920’s agreement to share the Nile. Ethiopia sees the project as a means to provide food security, provide power to 60% of its citizens, and control drought while downstream neighbors are seeing red over the Blue Nile.

The conflict is not new. What do the US’s Lake Powell, Turkey’s Southeast Anatolia Project, and the Nile’s Grand Renaissance Dam all have in common? The answer is “Threatened Waters,” my first novel. What could possibly go wrong with that setting for a thriller?