In local news from the state of Nevada, the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) seems to have turned its attitude around from comments I relayed in the September/October issue of WaterWorld. As you may have read last time, Assembly Bill 220, signed by Governor Lombardo in June, 2023, gave “SNWA the ability to limit water use at single-family homes to about 163,000 gallons a year” if the situation with the Colorado River gets any worse, indicating some anxiety over water shortages. Now, we receive better news.
This time, the tone is much more enthusiastic and praising. The flier opens with “The Bureau of Reclamation is projecting slightly improved conditions along the Colorado River, which will ease federally declared water cuts for Southern Nevada beginning next year.” It continues on noting the improvement gains residents access to “an additional 4,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water or about 1.3 billion gallons. A wet winter combined with lower water demands have raised Lake Mead water levels.”
Now for the fun part. How will we spend our water? Given our unequivocally expressed war waged on grass, it seems strange that trees are alright, but this is because trees help within the general ecosystem — generating electricity requires water too. So, “A new Tree Enhancement Program provides a bonus rebate of $100 for every new tree that Water Smart Landscape participants install during a grass conversion project […]. Trees help cool and shade homes and businesses, making our community more sustainable.” Tracking.
Inside this issue:
In the editor’s focus, the idea of cybersecurity is fleshed out to mean more than it might have before. It is typical and obvious to read about cyber attacks by people in other countries, but what about the idea that cybersecurity is actually an in-house issue as well? Read to find out why and how to protect the business without investing a ton of cash.
In Water Connections: Smart Water the author demonstrates how, although getting smart comes with caveats, the transition can be well worthwhile. Using Excel spreadsheets may have been the upgrade needed to run more efficiently before, but the newest way packs serious punch in Kilgore, Texas.
Yuba County in California also upgraded to automated monitoring with an interesting looking tech net. Using drones to map the surface of the dam, the new tech helps detect any irregularities on the dam without physical safety risks and far less time investment.
What is not inside this issue, but is something we have for you on the web, is the extensive version of the top projects. There is a master class inside these pieces, so come over to WaterWorld.com to get the full experience. We also have several videos from WEFTEC, including talks with the outgoing WEF president, Ifetayo Venner, and the incoming WEF president, Aimee Kileen, and one with the old COO of Xylem, Matthew Pine, who is also the upcoming CEO of Xylem. Change is afoot.
Don’t forget to utilize the links in the digital version of the issue, and check out our Talking Under Water podcast on your favorite podcast provider. We recently had two very special episodes: one to celebrate Imagine A Day Without Water and another entitled WEFTEC Audio Diaries in which attendees shared their thoughts from the event.
