Federal Water Tap, August 12: Research Shows Mercury, Streamflow Increase after Western Fires

The Rundown

• Federal agencies contribute to research on the post-fire impacts to watersheds.
• Reclamation will soon release a study that determines water releases next year from the Colorado River’s main reservoirs.
• EPA hands out $4.3 billion in climate pollution reduction grants.
• Two senators ask USDA to adjust soil and water conservation programs for Great Plains drought response.
• Federal nuclear power regulators add climate change to list of environmental impacts required to be analyzed for power plant relicensing.
• Bureau of Indian Affairs publishes 2025 water rates for its irrigation projects.

And lastly, the U.S. Forest Service tells a bottled water company to cease operations in a California national forest.

“This increase represents significantly more water than has ever been delivered previously. The hotel and conference facility on the property is not operating, and there is no explanation of where the millions of gallons of water per month are going.” – Letter from Michael Nobles, district ranger for the San Bernardino National Forest, to BlueTriton Brands, a bottled water company. The Los Angeles Times reports that Nobles denied BlueTriton’s permit request and told the company to stop drawing water from the Strawberry Creek watershed for use in its Arrowhead bottled water brand and for other purposes, such as to the hotel referenced above. BlueTriton and Nestlé, the former owner of the Arrowhead label, had been extracting water under a permit that expired in 1988.

By the Numbers

$4.3 Billion: Funding allocated to 25 organizations by the EPA for Climate Pollution Reduction Grants. The grants – given to states, tribes, or coalitions – have a variety of aims. Many target reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, whether in transportation, energy, or farming. The $307 million grant to Nebraska focuses emissions in the ag sector. For farm water pollution, Nebraska will use the grant for more voluntary measures. It will “provide information” to farmers on the benefits of cover crops, less tillage, and less chemical fertilizer. Scientists in the state have found associations between pesticides, chemical fertilizers and childhood cancers.

News Briefs

Climate Change and Nuclear Power Plants
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which oversees reactors that produce electricity, revised its requirements for power plants seeking to renew their operating license.

The new rules say that individual plants must assess how climate change will affect environmental resources that are also influenced by power plant operations. If, for instance, a plant draws cooling water from rivers, how might warmer temperatures and changing precipitation stress the environment in addition to the plant’s operation?

Drought and Farming in Colorado and Kansas
Senators from those states sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture that outlines changes they’d like to see in soil and water conservation programs.

Many of the items on the wish list deal with loosening the eligibility requirements for the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program and adopting new programs such as easements for groundwater conservation.

The recommendations are based on input from a field hearing held in June in Burlington, Colorado.

In context: Tax Incentives Find New Purpose for Conserving Water in American West

Studies and Reports

Post-Fire Research
Fires can alter stream hydrology and chemistry in the western states for years after the flames are out, according to two new studies from federal researchers.

U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists contributed to a study that assessed changes in six burned watersheds.

The study showed an increase in water flows immediately after the fires. With fewer living trees, more water reaches the ground and less water is transpired. Burned soils can also prevent water from percolating downward.

For some watersheds, it took 10 or more years for streamflow to return to pre-fire conditions.

It is a complex relationship though, that depends on vegetation regrowth, previous fires in the area, and weather patterns.

Flows are not the only stream attribute that increases after a fire.

U.S. Geological Survey researchers found that mercury concentrations in Pacific Northwest streams rise following a burn. This held for total mercury and methylmercury. Concentrations were higher downstream of more severe burns.

The toxic chemicals did not simply pass through the ecosystem in the three survey states of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. They accumulated in invertebrates living in the waters.

On the Radar

Colorado River Reservoir Operations for 2025
A federal study that is likely to be published this week will determine how much water will be released from two big Colorado River reservoirs next year. The lower basin seems likely to remain in shortage conditions.

Every month the Bureau of Reclamation releases projections of reservoir levels in the Colorado River basin for the following 24 months. The August edition is most important because it sets water releases for the next year.

If the August results mirror the July study, then the lower basin states will remain in a Tier 1 shortage. That means less water is delivered to Arizona through the Central Arizona Project canal. Nevada and Mexico will also receive less than their allotments.

The lower basin, however, has been putting less strain on the Colorado River. Last year, water consumption in Arizona, California, and Nevada was the lowest from the river in the last 40 years.

BIA Water Rates
The Bureau of Indian Affairs published 2025 water rates adjustments for its irrigation projects.

Rates vary by project, but they are quite low compared to other water supplies. They are typically dozens of dollars per irrigated acre, which is the typical way of charging users. And because the rates are low, some BIA projects are underfunded and need repair.

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.

Brett Walton

Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States. He also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States(2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). He received the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award in 2018. Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies. Contact Brett Walton