Unruh, G. (2022, August 9). Indigenous Movement Growing to Reclaim Water Rights. abq.news. https://abq.news/2022/08/indigenous-movement-growing-to-reclaim-water-rights/

Indigenous people have been living in El Malpais, New Mexico for centuries. Studies show that these groups learned how to survive droughts by harnessing the natural resources of the area. Even though Indigenous people have been stewards of the land for so long, groups living in the Rio Grande basin only get rights to about a fourth of the river. The Pueblo and Tribal communities specifically want to have more of a say in decision making around water rights, considering their historical presence and knowledge of the land. The current laws regarding water and land contradict their original instructions. The changes they are advocating for will help everyone living in the Southwest. 

This article helped give more information and insight into a very important topic. Environmental science is an extremely white dominated profession. Despite the vast knowledge of the natural world and experience living sustainably the generations of Indigenous people have, as well as rights to the land, they are rarely a large part of decisions being made. In the face of climate change mainly brought on by human actions, the movement to give water and land rights back to Indigenous people who know how to correctly care for these areas is extremely important, and will benefit everyone in the end. 

Elam, S, Kravarik, J. (2022, August 7). Nebraska and Colorado are sparring over water rights. It could be the new norm as rivers dry up. CNN. Retrieved August 28, 2022 from https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/06/us/drought-water-canal-colorado-nebraska-climate/index.html

This month Nebraska announced a plan to build a canal on Colorado land to divert water from the South Platte River. Although a century-old pact between the states allows Nebraska the right to do this, there are still opponents. One such example is Colorado Governor Jared Polis, along with some Colorado farmers, who think the plan is not the best idea. As droughts continue and Colorado’s population grows, Nebraska wants to ensure that it has enough water to water its fields and sustain its population. However, former plans to build canals have failed and the plans could lead to increased tensions between the two states. 

As water levels in rivers and reservoirs continue to decrease, I think it’s likely that we will see more of these water fights in the future. Although this one stayed, and will hopefully continue to stay, pretty civil, I worry about water wars between countries in the future. There have always been wars over water, but increased droughts and population growth will make the problem worse. This article made me think about whether there will be more attempts to divert water from upstream across various borders. 

AP News. (2022, February 22). Haaland: 16 tribal water settlements will get $1.7 billion. Retrieved August 28, 2022 from https://apnews.com/article/environment-and-nature-arizona-water-rights-4cb3ae9b7770f4721809a5cb758744e1

The Biden administration recently announced that $1.7 billion from the federal infrastructure bill will go towards funding tribal rights settlements. In the past, tribes have been blocked from discussions about the division of water rights, despite the fact that the supreme court has declared that they often have senior rights. Now tribes are working to remedy the effects of this by negotiating for settlements. Although tribes have the water rights, settlements give them the money needed to build infrastructure to actually use the water they are owed. AP news lists the following beneficiaries of settlements this year: “Aamodt Litigation Settlement (Pueblos of San Ildefonso, Nambe, Pojoaque, and Tesuque), Blackfeet Nation, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Crow Nation, Gila River Indian Community, Navajo-Utah Water Rights Settlement and Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project, San Carlos Apache Nation, Tohono O’odham Nation, and White Mountain Apache Tribe.”

Agreements like these are really important in helping to reduce the effects that past wrongs have on the present and on the future. American Indians have almost always been excluded from discussions about resource management, even when it directly impacts them, and as a result often lack basic human rights like clean water. If these settlements do their job, more people will have access to clean water, which is extremely important when you look at a future that has more droughts and less water, a fact that the other articles I read touched upon. Policy and politics such as the things described in this article are an important part of what makes environmental science an interdisciplinary and impactful field of study. 

The Guardian. (2022, August 16). US issues western water cuts as drought leaves Colorado River near ‘tipping point’. Retrieved August 28, 2022 from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/16/drastic-water-cuts-expected-as-megadrought-grips-western-us-states

For years humans have used more and more water from the Colorado River, depleting water levels in its reservoirs. Although the federal government has encouraged Arizona, Nevada, and Mexico to decrease their water usage, only in the last two years have they enforced mandatory cuts on water usage because of threats to water delivery and hydroelectric power generation. Both Lake Mead and Lake Powell, two of the largest reservoirs in the country, have  been at dangerously low levels that, if they got any lower, could stop power generation and water delivery. Although the federal government also imposed cuts last year, the drought has continued, and the cuts on water usage have increased further this year. If the cuts continue not to work as much as needed, deeper cuts or cuts that affect more states, including California, could be enforced. 

I think that it’s necessary for the western United States and Mexico to use less water, and I agree with the government that water cuts are probably a necessary solution. However if the drought continues I worry how deeper cuts could affect the farmers and other people living in these places. The article mentioned that the government has been paying farmers to keep their fields fallow, which seems like a good strategy for compensating farmers in the short term for their financial loss. Hopefully as time goes on we will be able to develop and put into practice strategies that do the least amount of damage to the most vulnerable among us while still reducing water usage.

AP News. (2022, June 22). Nevada Supreme Court ruling shakes up groundwater rights. Retrieved August 28, 2022 from https://apnews.com/article/climate-science-droughts-reno-nevada-bb7c27a9ec000a2424107d1597daa790

Recently the Nevada Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that water management plans in places with depleting groundwater do not have to follow the “priority doctrine” that has traditionally governed water rights laws in the area. The Diamond Valley is an agricultural area that has been depleting its groundwater rapidly, resulting in its designation as a Critical Management Area. While it remains in a critical state, the Nevada government is able to make plans that deviate from the “priority doctrine”, as long as they have been approved by an engineer and most of the water-users within the area. Traditionally, water rights in the western United States have essentially functioned on a first-come, first-serve basis, where those that claim water first have priority over those that come later. Thus, this Nevada ruling is a break from the norm and significantly changes the water rights system in the state. 

This ruling allows the government to prioritize the continued availability of groundwater over traditional systems for water management, which is important as Nevada gets even drier as climate change continues. In places such as the Diamond Valley, the tragedy of the commons has come into effect and water has been severely depleted. I have hope that this ruling will allow Nevada’s government to start to replenish the state’s water supply, although that will be hard as they need to balance farmer’s and consumer’s needs with the need for preservation. In a way, I’m surprised that a ruling like this didn’t happen earlier and that it was still so close. It seems that it’s important for the government to be able to manage water usage regardless of how early a certain company or group claimed the water. However there might be part of this that I’m missing, and I can see how overreach by the government on this issue could result in significant problems. 

AP News. (2022, June 11). Oregon county declares emergency over water contamination. Retrieved August 28, 2022 from https://apnews.com/article/oregon-government-and-politics-climate-environment-water-management-quality-91be0b5b086a483b7810041ddfbd8ace

Last month, Morrow County, Oregon declared a local state of emergency after high levels of nitrate contamination were found in wells and tap water in the area. Drinking water contaminated with nitrate is dangerous because it can cause respiratory infections, thyroid dysfunction, and increased risk of stomach and bladder cancers. Nitrate contamination can be especially dangerous for babies, as it decreases the blood’s ability to carry oxygen, resulting in a blue coloring, called “blue baby syndrome”. Increased nitrate levels are often a result of contamination from fertilizers, and the company Port of Morrow was recently fined $1.3 million for dumping nitrogen-rich wastewater onto the ground and not monitoring nitrate levels. For now, residents have been drinking boiled or bottled water while the government attempts to fix the crisis. 

To me, this article illustrated the harmful effects that companies can have when they don’t prioritize environmental impact. Although the government had fined them earlier this year, they didn’t do it early enough and the general population felt the impacts. However, it’s encouraging that the county has declared a state of emergency, and I hope that this declaration will give them the funding and drive necessary to fix the immediate problem. In the end, it’s much easier to prevent the problem from happening in the first place than having to solve it afterwards, but it seems like they are dealing with the problem as best as they can for now. This article relates to environmental science as it underscores how things that negatively affect the ecosystem, like increased nitrate levels, also affect humans, illustrating how interconnected and interdependent we are, which is one of the key philosophies of environmental science.

Water: Recognizing it as a human right. (2021, September 9). Aqua Africa Foundation. https://aqua4all.org/2021/09/09/water-recognizing-it-as-a-human-right/

Kofi Annan of Africa in 2001 stated that “Access to safe water is a basic human need there for a basic human right”. Annan Before his death established goals which included cutting the number of people without water or access to water resources in half, not only in Africa, but in the world. He believes that competition for freshwater would become more of a conflict and an issue in the future. More recently Africa hopes to meet the water opportunities in the 21st century by bringing together researchers and policymakers in order to provide more water and easier access to people in the country and world. The article took a take-out climate change and the variables in hardships it may cost and therefore there will be even more people with less water due to higher rates and severe ness of droughts. Apollo’s Nwafor from African Green Revolution Alliance stated “futurism means that we should be able to consider predictable policies and predict what may happen based on data”. This means the government can determine what actions to take and what policies to enforce in order to reach the goal.

I find it personally interesting that this goal was set or at least stated 21 years ago, however this article talks little about how far Africa and the rest of the country has come in terms of reducing the number of people without access to water. I think the most important part to take away from the article is recognizing that water is a human right and therefore we need to find ways to provide and get people access to it, in order to ensure their rights are being protected. I believe since it is considered a rate that it is in the government’s control and power to help those of their country and grant them their basic needs and rights. This article relates to environmental science considering its discussion among the right people regarding water and their access to water in this case in Africa. I believe a lot more change can be made as so many people still do not have access and water is scarce and climate change is only becoming more prominent therefore these governments need to act fast and make change.

Canada gets serious about water woes. Will Indigenous voices be heard? (2021, August 12). Christian Science Monitor. https://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2021/0812/Canada-gets-serious-about-water-woes.-Will-Indigenous-voices-be-heard

This article discusses concerns around Indigenous peoples’ water, on their own land being extracted. A youth activist who is an Indigenous person of this area in Canada, Ontario, believes that “water is life”. Her and her people believe in their religion that it is only right to protect their water and right now they feel as if they do not have any voice among their government. They “are on the front lines of a new water fight in Canada” and hope to have some say upon the CWA which is trying to “modernize the water policy in Canada” due to concerns around climate change. The issue with this is that it opposes the indigenous people and communities beliefs of protecting the water that they have ownership of.

I personally think this is a very tough situation as Canada is trying to modernize and put new policies in place in order to change alongside the climate and to do what’s best for the environment overall. However, I also see how the indigenous people of Canada feel as if they have no voice in due to the fact that they are indigenous their belief is that they should have more power and control over the water that is there that the government is currently taking away from them. I think there’s a way that they can work together to both benefit the environment in order to limit the facts on climate change while also protecting the water for the indigenous people. I believe indigenous people are so set in their ways because it is what they morally believe is right due to their religion, however as are climate changes we need to learn to adapt and do what is best long run which I believe the Canadian government is trying to do.

Water resources across Europe — confronting water stress: an updated assessment — European Environment Agency. (n.d.). Www.eea.europa.eu. https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/water-resources-across-europe-confronting

Europe’s government has been deciding on possible solutions in order to manage the impacts of the water stress in the continent. Along with climate change, comes the concern of water scarcity which goes hand in hand with the increasing human population. On page 106 of the document, there are four main solutions presented, being continuing improving technology to have enough water per person, working with other economic sectors, restricting the use of supply in coastal areas with tourism, and lastly addressing the root being overexploitation of the natural resource.

This article expanded on the possible solutions the government can then implement policies and laws on in order to enforce or continue to enforce in order to ensure that the natural resource, water, lasts long enough and for as many people as possible in the future. I am most interested in the last solution being addressing the overexploitation of the resource because I think not only is it super broad, but that is the cause for all of these measures needing to be taken. In order to stop this damage from being done, the government would need to take action extremely quickly in order to stop or lessen the stress surrounding the water in Europe. I think that the rights people hold to have access to the water they want and need will be evaluated at some point considering how much the document talks about wanting to ensure each person and household has the capacity to have enough water for everyone in Europe to stay healthy.

`O’Donnell, E., Langton, P. M., & Jackson, S. (n.d.). Regressive changes to Northern Territory water laws could undermine Indigenous rights. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/regressive-changes-to-northern-territory-water-laws-could-undermine-indigenous-rights-166561

In the Northern Territory of Australia, underground water licenses are being handed to major companies which will then obtain the water that now belongs to the Indigenous people of the area. The Aboriginal people are frustrated saying they “are not being listened to”. New law in the area, due to COVID, granted the government the right to undermine the “standards of water governance” meaning the water that is (was) reserved for the Aboriginal land owners. Water in the Northern Territory is a valuable resource due to the dry climate and the Reservoir that they are letting these companies pull that water from were allocated originally to the Indigenous people only with “recognised rights to land”. The reservoir once the companies begin to pull from it, will dry out. There is little water in the area already, therefore setting the Aboriginal people at a major disadvantage. There are currently many bills being written establishing the government’s ability to keep granting water to companies for trade and for more allocation plans and reducing public feedback on where the water goes.

In my opinion, I think that stripping the Aboriginal people of their rights and access to their water sources is extremely wrong. As the government is more focused on economic advantages, by increasing trade for more profit, they are hurting their own people who are very loyal due to being Indigenous to the land. These people did not do anything wrong and they are already at a disadvantage with the dry climate, and now their main Aboriginal Water Reserve is being drained for more money, which will not go to benefit them in any way. This article relates to environmental science as it discusses the struggle between economic advantage and what’s environmentally right for the area and its people. I believe there is a good middle ground where the government can allocate water to the Indigenous people while only using a certain percentage of the water for profit.