The Rundown
- NOAA forecasts that runoff into Lake Powell this summer will be fifth-lowest on record.
- BLM publishes a final environmental impact statement and authorizes rights of way for the Pine Valley project, a proposed groundwater pumping and pipeline scheme in southwestern Utah.
- USFS publishes a final environmental impact statement for South32’s Hermosa project, a proposed manganese and zinc mine in southern Arizona.
- EPA sets out eight priorities for technical assistance to poor and rural water systems.
- A House committee advances its version of the farm bill.
- A Senate committee will hold a hearing this week on tribal water rights settlements in northeastern Arizona.
And lastly, a State Department official says the administration is focusing on its backyard.
“We were ignoring our own neighborhood for too long. I was ambassador to Mexico in the first Trump Administration. Previous administrations had paid much more attention to rivers between Iraq and Turkey than the river between the United States and Mexico, and so we are now very focused on events in our hemisphere, which is as it should be, what we all would expect.” – Christopher Landau, deputy secretary of state, speaking at the Raisina Dialogue, in New Delhi, India, on March 5. Landau went on to say that India could look to the United States for its energy needs. His comments came five days after the U.S. began bombing Iran.
By the Numbers
36 Percent: Forecasted runoff into Lake Powell this summer, as a percent of the 30-year average. It would be the fifth lowest in the reservoir’s 63-year history, according to NOAA’s Colorado Basin River Forecast Center.
In context: Big Decisions Loom for a Rapidly Shrinking Lake Powell
8: Priorities for water infrastructure technical assistance, according to an EPA memo that rejects Biden-era guidance as “misaligned” with the core principle of regulatory compliance. The priorities also include workforce training, eliminating wasteful spending, and financial management.
News Briefs
Water Bills in Congress
The most important development is a farm bill reauthorization moving out of the House Agriculture Committee. Two other bills relate to federal water infrastructure support.
- The House Agriculture Committee voted 34-17 to advance new farm policy legislation. Besides crop subsidies and price supports, the bill also touches watershed restoration/protection and rural water infrastructure. One provision would expand a water infrastructure lending program to include communities with a population up to 50,000. The current population limit is 20,000. Another provision allows aerial use of firefighting chemicals as long as existing requirements are met.
- The bipartisan FLOWS Act would establish a grant program to provide digital technology and training to rural water utilities. That includes sensors for managing distribution pipes as well as instruction on cybersecurity. The program would be authorized at $50 million annually for five years.
- California’s House Democrats introduced a bill to increase federal assistance for water infrastructure projects funded by the WIFIA program. The bill would allow a 90-percent federal cost share for projects in states experiencing severe drought or those serving poor areas.
Studies and Reports
Colorado River Forecast
A bad year is not getting better. A tad worse, in fact.
The amount of water held in the snowpack in the Upper Colorado River basin is at a record low for this point in the year, according to the March forecast from NOAA’s Colorado Basin River Forecast Center.
An extremely warm winter – record warm for the December-to-February period for much of the basin – “has had a significant impact on snowpack accumulation,” said Cody Moser, a NOAA hydrologist.
When snow melts in the upper basin it flows into Lake Powell, which is only a quarter full and projected to decline further. NOAA projects the April-to-July runoff into Lake Powell to be just 36 percent of average. That’s down 2 percentage points from the February forecast.
It’s setting up to be the fifth-lowest runoff year in Lake Powell’s 63-year history.
The near-term outlook is not encouraging. The next two weeks are likely to be warm and dry. The end of the snow season is rapidly approaching. The runoff could be worse than forecast.
“I anticipate this water supply outlook for April to July trending lower,” Moser said.
An audio recording of the March forecast webinar is here.
Utah Groundwater Pipeline Project
The Bureau of Land Management published a final environmental impact statement for a contentious groundwater pumping and pipeline project in southwestern Utah and then, three days later, authorized rights of way for the pipeline across federally managed land.
“I have determined that the Proposed Action is in the public interest and will not result in unnecessary or undue degradation of the public lands,” wrote Thomas Heilein, acting BLM Utah director, in the record of decision.
The record of decision came quickly for the Pine Valley Water Supply Project, which is championed by the Central Iron County Water Conservancy District. The project would pump up to 15,000 acre-feet of groundwater and deliver it to the Cedar City area via 70 miles of pipe.
Conservation groups worry about harm to spring-fed ecosystems from groundwater pumping.
Southern Arizona Mine
Coronado National Forest published a final environmental impact statement for the Hermosa Critical Minerals Project, a manganese, zinc, lead, and silver mine proposed for the Patagonia Mountains of southern Arizona.
Water availability and pollution, as in any desert area, are primary concerns. The document notes that localized groundwater declines would occur and that metals concentrations in the aquifer would increase, though probably not above regulatory standards.
The selected alternative, a combination of elements in two alternatives, adds a groundwater monitoring and mitigation plan. It also includes tailings storage and wastewater treatment with discharge into creeks and washes.
A record of decision is expected in July.
On the Radar
Threat Assessment
March is the month when U.S. spy agencies generally release an annual unclassified report that assesses the country’s most serious national security threats.
The 2025 edition mentioned cyberattacks against water infrastructure. It did not otherwise mention water, climate, or environmental risks, which is a departure from previous assessments.
Tribal Water Rights Settlements Hearing
On March 11, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs will hold a hearing on the Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Act, which would settle claims for the Navajo, Hopi, and San Juan Southern Paiute to the Colorado River, Little Colorado River and groundwater sources in northeastern Arizona. The bill failed in the last session of Congress.
Federal Water Tap is a weekly digest spotting trends in U.S. government water policy. To get more water news, follow Circle of Blue on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.
