UPDATE: A response from the L.A. Dept. of Water & Power has been added, which arrived after deadline. (10:35 a.m. MDT, Nov. 15, 2022)

A new film about the transfer of water from the high desert to Los Angeles - called "Without Water" - has just been released on the internet. The film highlights the struggle between the community around Long Valley, which is between Mammoth and Bishop California - and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LA DWP).

The LA DWP has court permission to terminate longstanding water leases and limit irrigation water in Long and Little Round valleys.

Matt McClain, campaign manager for the Keep Long Valley Green Coalition, said that would endanger wildlife, fish, cattle grazing, tourism, and Native American cultural sites. So advocates are asking for at least 2.8 acre feet of water per year going forward.

"We're trying to have dialogues with them to say, hey, look, this is the number that we think would be at a minimum equitable for you to supply ratepayers in Southern California while maintaining our wetlands up here," McClain said.

In a statement, the LA DWP said it "continues to provide water to ranchers in Mono County as it has historically done, and the amount of irrigation water is based on its operational needs and water conditions." The agency also asserted that Los Angeles is one of the most water-efficient cities in the world.

Environmental groups say Mono County's water should not be used to maintain suburban landscaping. The agency bought land and water rights in the Eastern Sierra back in the early 1900s.

McClain said if the water flow is reduced, many of the area's native plants will give way to invasive cheatgrass, which will dry up in the summer and create a huge fire hazard.

"That would be catastrophic," McClain said. "Certainly because there's the community of Crowley Lake and Hilton Creek right there. But also it could get so intense that it would burn that landscape and then destroy the seed bed and everything else with it. We could see that landscape just not recover permanently."

The courts have ordered the LA DWP to do an environmental assessment before changing the water deliveries. The agency is expected to announce its plans early next year. The 21-minute film has won multiple awards at film festivals this year. It can now be streamed on the "Keep Long Valley Green" YouTube and Vimeo

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Arizona is running dry, and one community north of Scottsdale is facing the harsh reality.

Rio Verde Foothills has more than 2,000 homes, and about 500 could run out of water in a few weeks. The community sits in unincorporated Maricopa County, without its own water system. Most residents get their water from private wells, and some rely on water haulers to deliver. Last month, the City of Scottsdale notified Rio Verde Foothills residents it would stop water-hauling services Jan. 1 as part of emergency water conservation measures.

Karen Nabity, who has lived in Rio Verde Foothills since 2014, said the community has no solution.

"Those of us that rely on hauled water, it's terrifying," she said. "I am getting calls from community members every single day asking what they can do to help figure out a solution. And unfortunately right now, it's out of the hands of the residents."

Even with the looming deadline, Nabity said it's important to think about long-term solutions as well as short-term. She said water provider EPCOR is in talks with Scottsdale to get water to the community, but no decision has been made.

EPCOR has also submitted an application to the Arizona Corporation Commission to provide a long-term solution. If it's approved, the company would have to acquire land and build the water-system infrastructure, which would take time. It also would mean a significant price spike for water service.

Nabity said a lot of consulting has taken place over the years. Community members proposed a water district to solve the issue, but that was denied.

"That solution - which would have contracted for water and had water available for our community on Jan. 1 - was turned down by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors," she said. "My view of this whole water situation is, it's just shocking."

The county said most residents didn't support the water district idea. This challenging situation is one result of what are known as "wildcat subdivisions" that are built in outlying areas, some without basic services required - such as a fixed water supply. Time is ticking, and Nabity said she hopes her community isn't left in the dust.

A new study is focused on concerns for Nebraska waterways.

The three-year, independently funded research identifies rising levels of phosphorus and poultry-related bacteria in streams. The streams are near fields fertilized by litter laced with chicken manure from the Costco-Lincoln Premium Poultry operation outside Fremont.

Matt Sutton, a geologist who conducted the study on behalf of the Nebraska Farmers Union Foundation, said the contaminants will jeopardize streams and even groundwater if left unchecked.

Sutton pointed out phosphorus contributes to harmful bacterial growth and depletes oxygen in waterways, which kills off fish and leads to "dead zones" in the water. He added on farmland, phosphorus poses short and long-term threats.

"As fields become saturated, as they apply more litter, the plants are going to be unable to utilize the excess phosphorus, and our water is going to become more and more contaminated," Sutton explained. "There will be higher amounts of bacteria that grows in the water as a result. And we're talking years, decades down the line, but the expectation is that it will eventually contribute to bacterial growth in people's wells."

One in five Nebraskans relies on well water. A Lincoln Premium Poultry spokesperson said the company's "farm families adhere to the highest levels of environmental stewardship," and a nutrient consultant to the company said the highest levels of contaminants were found before most of the company's production in Nebraska.

Graham Christensen, founder of the environmental consulting and communications company GCResolve, one of the study collaborators, said he and others expressed concern early on about managing the manure from Costco's 500-barn system. He noted researchers from Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future at the Bloomberg School of Public Health addressed this in a letter to the City of Fremont.

"They said a lot of things, but one of the things they said was, like, 'Look, this is a lot of litter. This is twice the amount of litter that will be produced daily as what is generated by the City of Omaha,' " Christensen stressed.

The study's recommendations included molecular DNA testing, additional testing sites, cover cropping, and buffer strips by waterways.

The Iowa Watershed Planning Advisory Council just released its annual report and said the Iowa Water Plan needs an update.

The report showed climate change is having dramatic effects on the state's watershed, affecting soil quality, erosion and drinking water. The council is made up of people from across the state who want to protect Iowa's water resources.

Alicia Vasto, vice chair and program director for the council, said regenerative farming methods and soil restoration are key to improving water quality in the state, since drought and other weather-related factors are more prominent.

"Climate change is having major impacts on our weather systems here in Iowa, as well as the farming systems, our land management," Vasto outlined. "That includes our soils and waterways."

Vasto noted the council also wants the Iowa Legislature to study water protection, flood risk reduction, crop production systems and wastewater treatment systems when lawmakers convene in January.

The report noted Iowa needs a measurement system to monitor groundwater supplies, which should be analyzed monthly by the State Climatologist. Vasto added it is also important for stakeholders across the state to monitor for nutrients and bacteria, algal blooms, and pharmaceuticals in wastewater.

She pointed out pollutants have been on the increase and the state needs to consider their overall effects on the watershed, a practice summed up as "system resiliency."

"Looking at water quantity, drinking water sources, flooding, wastewater treatment. All of those different factors that are related to water and the landscape really need to be factored in as we are thinking about holistically making plans and trying to protect and improve water quality in a watershed."

Vasto emphasized the council will try to expand the partnership network with more farmers and water officials across the state next year. And after the holidays, the Iowa Water Center hosts an online symposium on harmful algal blooms on Jan. 5.