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Los Angeles needs to reclaim what we used to consider ‘wastewater’

Los Angeles Times
March 5, 2019

Many people think water is infinite and inexhaustible. But it’s finite and exhaustible. All the water there is, is. We can’t make any more.

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Featured articles from Robert Glennon

Evaporated Water

Smart Water Magazine
“This is a case about evaporated water.” Thus began U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s opinion for the Court in Texas v. New Mexico, decided on December 14, 2020. Wait a minute!  The Supreme Court is a very busy Court…

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John Wesley Powell, Great Explorer of the American West

Scientific American
June 26, 2019

Just over 150 years ago, on May 24, 1869, John Wesley Powell set off from Green River in the Wyoming Territory, into the “great unknown,” the first known descent of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.

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Three Authors See Water, Water Everywhere, for Better and Worse

NY Times
March 30, 2018

The most pernicious consequence of global warming is the rise of sea levels, which threatens cities around the world and has already triggered what may become the largest mass migration in human history.

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What is dead pool? A water expert explains

The Conversation
May 12, 2022
Journalists reporting on the status and future of the Colorado River are increasingly using the phrase “dead pool.” It sounds ominous. And it is. Dead pool occurs when water in a reservoir drops so low that it can’t flow downstream from the dam. The biggest concerns are Lake Powell, behind Glen Canyon Dam on the Utah-Arizona border,... Read more »  Read more

Water is cheap…should it be?

NPR, The Indicator from Planet Money
September 1, 2021
SYLVIE DOUGLIS, BYLINE: NPR. (SOUNDBITE OF DROP ELECTRIC SONG, “WAKING UP TO THE FIRE”) SALLY HERSHIPS, HOST: All this week, we are talking about water or the lack of it. The climate crisis means intense heat, drier weather and drought, and today at least one uncontained fire, which is causing evacuations in Lake Tahoe. And... Read more »  Read more

As Colorado River Basin states confront water shortages, it’s time to focus on reducing demand

The Conversation
August 16, 2021
The U.S. government announced its first-ever water shortage declaration for the Colorado River on Aug. 16, 2021, triggering future cuts in the amount of water states will be allowed to draw from the river. The Tier 1 shortage declaration followed the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s forecast that the water in Lake Mead – the largest reservoir in the U.S.,... Read more »  Read more

Interstate water wars are heating up along with the climate

The Conversation
April 19, 2021
Interstate water disputes are as American as apple pie. States often think a neighboring state is using more than its fair share from a river, lake or aquifer that crosses borders. Currently the U.S. Supreme Court has on its docket a case between Texas, New Mexico and Colorado and another one between Mississippi and Tennessee. The court has... Read more »  Read more

Is Romaine Safe to Eat?

The Water Report
January 15, 2021
Introduction We were delighted as our 12-year-old grandson ordered a Caesar salad when we were having dinner at a pizza place. Vegetables! However, the dinner was December 22, 2019, shortly after CDC and FDA issued yet another warning against eating romaine from Salinas, California. I asked the server where the romaine came from. He didn’t know... Read more »  Read more

Testing sewage can give school districts, campuses and businesses a heads-up on the spread of COVID-19

The Conversation
November 24, 2020
November has brought encouraging news about several COVID-19 vaccines. But members of the general public will probably not be vaccinated before the spring or summer of 2021 at the earliest. Americans will be living with this pandemic for some time to come. We are a microbiologist and a water policy specialist, and believe that wastewater-based... Read more »  Read more

Looser standards for showerheads could send a lot of water and money down the drain

The Conversation
September 2, 2020
For more than 25 years, Congress has directed U.S. government agencies to set energy and water efficiency standards for many new products. These measures conserve resources and save consumers a lot of money. Until recently, they had bipartisan support. But President Trump has turned efficiency standards into symbols of intrusive government. His administration has opposed many of these rules, including standards... Read more »  Read more

Why I Am Optimistic About Water

July 20, 2020
I recently received an email from a retired hydrologist, asking my thoughts about the future of water management. Here’s his note and my reply. “I read your newly-published Water Follies: Groundwater Pumping and the Fate of America’s Fresh Waters in 2002 and used it in a seminar that I had long offered. The following year,... Read more »  Read more