Protect the ephemeral

 

Interesting article here in the American Geophysical Union's Eos journal about the remarkable importance of ephemeral (which is to say, they don't flow all year) streams to the nation's water supply. The Supreme Court of the United States should take note, but I doubt they will.

More Than Half of Contiguous U.S. River Water Comes from Ephemeral Streams

The finding has potential implications for water regulations, which currently do not cover these seasonal streams.

"In 2023, the Supreme Court revisited the matter in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, this time removing the “significant nexus” language and narrowing the law’s scope to just relatively permanent bodies of water such as rivers and lakes, as well as those with a continuous surface connection to them. That means that ephemeral streams, which are not, by definition, “relatively permanent,” don’t count.

[Yale hydrologist, study lead author] Brinkerhoff argued the new research shows we may need that more expansive definition, however. With half the water in rivers coming from ephemeral steams, significant amounts of pollution resulting from underregulation could come with it."

Yes, of course. Something you would think the SCOTUS would consider.

But not this SCOTUS.

"Perennial, intermittent and ephemeral streams/rivers. In perennial and intermittent streams/rivers, ground water contributes consistently to the adjacent vegetation (illustration by G. Zaimes; based on Baker, 2002). In ephemeral streams/rivers ground water does not contribute to adjacent vegetation. Water for the adjacent vegetation originates from excess local rainfall or snowmelt events. The blue line represents the top surface of the ground water level (water table) while the light blue dots represents soils saturated with water."

From: "Understanding Arizona's Riparian Areas" by George Nick Zaimes, Mary Nichols, Douglas Green, and Michael Crimmins.