Cloud Seeding – Milking More Moisture out of Clouds for Northern Nevada

It sounds like science fiction to those who are unfamiliar, but it’s a practice that’s been in place in Northern Nevada and the California mountains to the west for more than 25 years.

Cloud Seeding – a practice in which mountaintop generators spray particles of silver iodide into storm clouds to boot ice particle formation and snowfall – has been said to increase the snowpack that feeds the Truckee River (Reno/Sparks major water supply) by an average of about 18,000 acre-feet per year, according to an article in the Reno Gazette Journal.

According to the Desert Research Institute, over the last 15 years cloud seeding has created enough snow water to supply 140,000 households annually over the last 15 years.

Last year, a particularly dry year for the Sierra and Northern Nevada, along with much of the west, DRI estimated an increase of 21,600 acre-feet of water, according to the RGJ article.

For reference, an acre-foot of water is 325,851 gallons – enough to supply two average homes for more than a year.

Funding was cut to the Desert Research Institute by the state legislature in 2009, but regional government entities, including the Truckee Meadows Water Authority and Western Water Commission are poised to pay for the process again this year.

“We feel it’s money well spent,” said Mark Foree, general manager of the Truckee Meadows Water Authority. “Certainly anything that can help our snowpack is something we are interested in.”

In considering the water quality impacts on spraying silver iodide into clouds to create snow and rain, the Weather Modification Association says “There is no evidence that suggests cloud seeding creates any significant negative environmental impacts on the environment. Assessments of soil, vegetation and surface runoff haven’t shown levels of silver iodine above natural background levels.

Desert Research Institute’s cloud seeding is expanding, starting with a 3-year program in southern Nevada to boost the snowpack in the Walker River watershed.

What do you think of cloud seeding? Let us know by commenting on this post on our Facebook page.

Stopping Nevada Water Pipeline With Snails?

Here’s an interesting water quality story bubbling up in Nevada right now: an environmental group has filed a suit to get four species of tiny springsnails as protected to keep Las Vegas from pumping billions of gallons of water from rural areas.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority has been granted approval in March to pump up to 84,000 acre-feet of groundwater a year from four rural valley to Las Vegas by Jason King, Nevada’s state engineer, according to an article by the Associated Press.

In August, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management recommended approval of the 280-mile long pipeline that would cost $3 billion.

Las Vegas has been the center of water controversies in the past with its rapid growth and associated thirst – a metropolis now home to 2 million people and host to 40 million tourists a year.

And Environmental groups have argued the plan to pump water would greatly reduce ground water levels – threatening wildlife, agriculture, ranching and rural communities, according to the AP article.

The latest lawsuit from the Center for Biological Diversity was filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington DC, asking the Fish and Wildlife Service to issue conclusions on whether the bifid duct, flag, hardy and Lake Valley pyrg springsnails deserve protection under the Endangered Species Act, according to the article.

In a preliminary finding last year prompted by a petition from the Center for Biological Diversity in 2009 found the snails, measuring about an eight of an inch to a quarter of an inch in size, may warrant protection.

The suit doesn’t target the Southern Nevada Water Authority or its pipeline project, but would give opponents more ammunition in fighting it, according to the Associated Press.

The snails date back to the ice age, said Rob Mrowka, a Nevada Advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity in the AP story, isolated as ice receded to evolve independently in accordance to the conditions of each spring.

They are an important part of the ecosystem, depended on by frogs, toads dragonflies, damsel flies, desert fish, birds and animals, according to the article.

 

Water Quality and the London Summer Olympics

Browsing around the internet, looking at the latest news in the water quality word, WETLAB came across a few headlines that caught our attention – both regarding the Summer Olympic Games in London.

What could water quality have to do with the summer games? According to www.envirotech-online.com, there are two topics of interest – clean competition water for aquatic events, and the green practice of recycling sewage at the Olympic Park in London.

According to their article, water quality is actually strictly monitored for aquatic competition by the National Swimming Clubs Governing Body. For this summer’s games, the events in the aquatic center governed by that body include swimming, diving, synchronized swimming  and the swimming part of the modern pentathlon.

And on the water quality conservation front, the Olympic Park in London is recycling sewage water for use in toilets and in landscaping, according to Environmental Technology Online. The treated wastewater will also be used for cooling in the energy center.

This takes a step beyond the already green practices of harvesting rainwater and recycling grey water, and under the spotlight of the Olympic Games, could become an example of efficient water use and conservation, according to the Olympic Delivery Authority, an organization responsible for venues, infrastructure and the legacy of the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in London.

Sewage, or black water, has the advantage of being a more predictable, steady supply of water for applicable uses than captured rain water or even grey water, according to the article. The ODA found that treating sewage for use in toilets and irrigation actually used less energy than extracting and treating ground water for drinking water purposes.

Along with efficient fixtures reducing the use of drinkable water by 58 percent, this black water recycling program stands to put a sizeable dent in water usage by the Olympic Games.

Here in Northern Nevada, a place where water isn’t particularly plentiful, these technologies could be of great interest.

At Wetlab, we’re always interested in unique water quality topics like these that came out of the Olympic Games. Let us know what you think by commenting on this story on our Facebook page.

Robots with Smartphones, the Next Tech in Water Quality Monitoring?

So when we came across an article on www.waterworld.com about University of California, Berkeley engineers launching a fleet of 100 floating robots on the Sacramento River, we took notice.

According to the article, the Floating Sensor Network Project, led by associate professor Alexandre Bayen, offers a quickly-deployable real-time data picture of tough-to-map rivers and streams.

The project is actually an evolution of previous research from Bayen, where he used GPS-enabled smartphones to monitor traffic flow, according to the article.

In a waterway, the floating robots work in much the same way, mapping the intricate way in which the water is moving – critical for understanding the spread of pollutants.

“If something spills in the water, if there’s a contaminant, you need to know where it is now, you need to know where it’s going, you need to know where it will be later on,” said Andrew Tinka, a Ph.D. candidate in electrical engineering and computer sciences and the lead graduate student on the project in the article. “The Floating Sensor Network project can help by tracking water flow at a level of detail not currently possible.”

Down the line, the robots could also be set up to monitor other aspects affecting water quality, like temperature or contaminant levels, rather than just water speed and movement – making them even more valuable for real-time water quality monitoring.

But the technology isn’t perfect yet, as the floating robots tend to get hung up on the shores, requiring close supervision – so the ability to avoid obstacles is on the to-do list, Tinka said in the article.

“In the future, cost and size will go down, while performance and autonomy will go up, enabling monitoring at unprecedented scales,” said Bayen in the article. “We expect this to become an invaluable tool for the future management of a critical resource in this state and around the world.”

The continued advancement of our ability to monitor the quality of water, an increasingly precious resource, can only be a good thing, and here at WETLAB, we’re excited to play a part in that ongoing progress.

WETLAB’s Insight into Water Wars

A Little Bit of History Repeating: California Water Wars

Look throughout history, and water’s vital importance has played a key role in shaping our planet, our societies and our politics. That’s why making sure what water we have is useable is so important, and why we take our water quality work seriously at Wetlab. Just look to our neighbor to the west – California’s history with water has occasionally been a contentious one. The center of the conflict is just a few hours south on Highway 395 along the Eastern Sierra.

In the beginning of the last century as Los Angeles started to outgrow local water sources, William Mulholland, head of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, acquired water rights throughout the Owens Valley and up to Mono Lake.

This heavily impacted agriculture and ranching in the area, turning Owens Lake into a dust bowl, leading farmers to try to destroy the aqueduct.  This was the backdrop for the 1974 film Chinatown, staring Jack Nicholson, which fictionalized unscrupulous dealings that brought water from the Owens Valley to Los Angeles via the Los Angeles Aqueduct.

Environmental groups worked to mitigate the damage, and the Mono Lake Committee through litigation was able to stop Mono Lake from the same fate as Owens Lake to the south in the 1990s with a plan that should partially restore the receding body of water.

But tension still exists over the century-old water dispute, with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power recently challenging the Mammoth Lakes Water District, filing suit over water rights to Mammoth Creek, according to www.sierrawave.net.

“The Mammoth Creek flow is approximately 25% of the City’s water export from the Eastern Sierra,” says the agency in a complaint filed in Mono County Superior Court, as quoted in www.courthousenews.com.

“The citizens of Los Angeles depend on flows from Mammoth Creek, and the L.A. Department of Water and Power has a responsibility for protecting the city’s water rights,” said DWP Director of Operations Marty Adams, in a written statement as quoted by the www.northhollywood.patch.com. “Taking water from Mammoth Creek reduces the volume of water to which Los Angeles has prior rights, that can be delivered to the citizens of Los Angeles, directly translating to our customers who pay our water rates.”

The head of Mammoth’s water district Greg Norby disputed the claim in the same article: “It’s fundamentally false and without merit,” he said. “Less than 1 percent of their water is exported from here. We’ve told them the amount is immeasurable, but they won’t listen.”

But the effects on Mammoth would be more damaging, Norby said. We’ll have to wait and see what the resolution is to this latest chapter in just one of the ongoing water rights sagas of the west.

Finally SNOW!

Over a century ago, our region was characterized by booms and busts in gold and silver. Now it’s water – last year hit the motherload with snowfall in the Sierra for the record books. This year – so far – has been a bust, with the second driest December on record in the northern Sierra – the driest for Reno in 130 years.
While Wetlab’s work is water quality, as a part of the region we’re all watching water quantity too. Reno and Sparks depend on the snowfall in the Sierra slowly melting in the spring and coming down the Truckee River. So no snow has some people concerned.

The first snow survey by the California Department of Water Resources happened just after the first of the year in the Sierra.
The results weren’t surprising to anybody looking up at the bare mountains above Northern Nevada: 21 percent of normal water content for Jan. 3, and 8 percent of where we want to be by April 1, according to the Tahoe Daily Tribune.

The National Integrated Drought Information System rates much of Northern Nevada between “abnormally dry” and “Drought – moderate” and the Northern Sierra to the west in “Drought – Severe” as of January 10.

The good news, according to the Truckee Meadows Water Authority, is there is still plenty of water for its customers, according to a report on KOLO News.
“We know we can withstand at least a nine year drought,” Senior Hydrologist Bill Hauck said to KOLO.

Last year’s huge snowfall helped, leaving enough water stored in Lake Tahoe and area reservoirs for the community, he said.
The dry spell could still effect Northern Nevada residents in the costs of food as scarce water has affected agriculture, according to the report.
And  the dry weather put firefighters on high alert during a red flag warning on Sunday when the wind picked up, according to the National Weather Service.
The culprit has been a large high pressure front blocking storms and sending them both to the north and the south since around Thanksgiving.
But things  have started to change this week, with a the high pressure front being displaced north and a cold front moving into our region, according to the Weather Service.

“A short period of light to moderate rain should spill into the most populated areas by late Thursday afternoon,” according to the forecast discussion. “The strongest storm is still on track to affect the region Friday thru (sic) Saturday. Confidence is quite high for a period of heavy precipitation in eastern California and far western Nevada as subtropical moisture plume with 1.5 inches PW values points straight at the Sierra.”

Let’s hope the trend continues as the winter progresses, and the winter turns into another strong one!

Water quality testing is constantly changing and evolving to keep up with new and changing potential contaminants – and at WETLAB we work hard to insure we have the knowledge and the equipment to keep up.
For example, beyond the usual suspects of industrial and agricultural pollutants, pharmaceuticals and personal care products are making their way into the drinking water supply in some places around the world – not just from manufacturing but from what goes down average people’s drains and what’s flushed down their toilets.

Incompletely metabolized hormones, antibiotics and other over-the-counter and prescription drugs have been detected in sewage treatment plants, rivers, lakes and aquifers.
Nitro musks – a fragrant or preservative component in cosmetics have also been detected and are of concern due to possible negative environmental impacts, and sun screen agents have been found in lakes and even fish.
Researchers Christian G Daughton and Thomas A. Ternes described the amount of pharmaceuticals and personal care products going into the environment each year is similar to the amount of pesticides, in fact, according to The University of Arizona’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

As of 2008, the Truckee Meadows Water Authority hasn’t reported any pharmaceutical contamination in Reno drinking water – testing for 31 compounds at a sensitivity of one part per trillion, “or one drop in 1,000 Olympic-size swimming pools,” according to tmwa.com.

But it’s an issue that water quality specialists like WETLAB need to keep an eye on, as more and more such contaminants are being found around the country and around the world.
A United States Geological Survey nation-wide assessment has found caffeine, codeine, cholesterol-lowering agents, anti-depressants, and estrogen replacement drugs in tested waters.
This has already had measurable affects on aquatic life – for example, British research found that estrogen has deformed reproductive systems in fish, according to The University of Arizona.

But the effects on human’s aren’t as clear, according to the university document, with some experts believing levels are generally too low to pose a risk to people, while others believe long-term exposure could  potentially cause problems from interfering with hormone production to the creation of more antibiotic-resistant disease-causing bacteria.

Arid western regions, where streams can be more reliant on effluent, could be more susceptible, which is why water quality monitoring will continue to be critical in our region.

Posted by Ginger Peppard, Business Development Manager

I recently attended a great workshop hosted by Placer County and the Town of Truckee entitled “Stormwater Quality Workshop for the Truckee Area Emphasizing Regulations, BMP’s and Low Impact Development.” The workshop was designed to provide contractors, developers, planners, engineers and inspectors with information needed in order to be in compliance with current storm water and non-storm water discharge requirements. It also addressed current regulations, Best Management Practices (BMPs) for construction sites and an overview of Low Impact Development (LID). For more information about the workshop (or to see when they are going to schedule it again!) or about Placer County’s Stormwater Quality Program, email: stormwater@placer.ca.gov.

Why is stormwater monitoring and quality important?

Stormwater runoff occurs when rain or snowmelt flows over impervious surfaces (such as roads, driveways, buildings, sidewalks and parking lots). These impervious surfaces prevent the water from soaking directly into the ground. Stormwater runoff is a problem because, while the water is traveling over these impervious surfaces, searching for an area to infiltrate, it picks up speed, as well as debris, chemicals, dirt and other pollutants. Because stormwater is not treated (or minimally treated in some areas), those large concentrations of pollutants are then deposited directly into the storm drains, or in many cases, directly into streams, rivers, lakes or wetlands.

These harmful contaminants then come in direct contact with fish and wildlife and pollute the water that many of us depend on for recreation activities and for drinking water. Some of the common pollutants found in stormwater are: motor oil, grease, automotive fluids, pesticides, fertilizers, pet waste, paint, solvents, insecticides and sediment and other large debris such as plastic bags, cigarette butts and bottles and cans. Bacteria and other pathogens are also common contaminants and can create serious health hazards. All of these pollutants have serious hazards, either to humans or to the fish and wildlife that inhabit our local streams, lakes and wetlands.

Here are some things you can do to help prevent stormwater runoff pollution:

• Prevent soil erosion by vegetating bare spots in and around your property. If you have livestock, take all possible steps to prevent overgrazing.
• Pick up after your pet and dispose of waste in a proper waste receptacle.
• Cover piles of Pick up after your pet and dispose of waste in a proper waste receptacle.
  loose landscaping materials.
• Do not disturb vegetation or soil around natural waterways. Stick to defined trails while enjoying the outdoors.
• Never dump anything down the storm drains or directly into waterways.
• Dispose of used auto fluids, batteries, solvents, paints and prescription drugs using proper disposal methods. Many of these items have designated drop off or recycling locations.
• Take your car to the car wash instead of washing it in your driveway.
• Use fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides sparingly.
• Don’t over water your lawn.
• If you have a septic tank, have it professionally inspected every 3 years and pumped regularly.
• During construction activities, minimize disturbed areas, stabilize slopes and avoid disturbing natural channels. Also minimize the amount of dirt tracked out of the project site.

For more information from Placer County, or additional information brochures for homeowners, construction, Post-Construction and Business/Industrial, visit Placer County’s website at http://www.placer.ca.gov/Departments/Works/StrmWtr.aspx.