Wildfires in Wyoming and across the West are creating bigger impacts on snowpack supplying farms, energy production and drinking water for millions of downstream users, according to a new study.

Steven Fassnacht, professor of snow hydrology at Colorado State University and the report's co-author, said the 2020 Mullen Fire in southern Wyoming and Cameron Peak Fire in Colorado were both very large fires destroying forests in places which have historically not seen fires spark or spread.

"They were burning at this high elevation where the snowpack is deep," Fassnacht observed. "They burned up there not because of a lack of snow; they burned because of a lack of rain in the summer."

Researchers found snow in wildfire-burned locations is now melting roughly three weeks earlier than normal, and Fassnacht explained as climate change expands fire zones into more snow areas, water managers and others may need to make adjustments. Increasing storage capacity can help capture melting snowpack, and managers can also re-time water releases from reservoirs to be in sync with time-sensitive users including farms.

Instead of less-than-precise tools such as snow courses and SNOTEL stations to estimate annual water supplies, Fassnacht urged managers to tap technologies including LIDAR, which works like radar using light instead of radio waves to measure snowpack, and new modeling, which can better calculate actual water volumes.

"We need to use multiple tools from our toolbox to better manage the water," Fassnacht emphasized. "One is the storage, and two is the information of how much is there, and how much is actually coming into the system?"

After the Cameron Peak fire, the city of Fort Collins was forced to cut off water coming down the mountain because it was filled with ash and soot. Wildfires also can increase landslides in watersheds, which Fassnacht pointed out can harm fish habitat and water quality for downstream users.

"Especially municipalities, especially for residential water use downstream of any of these fires," Fassnacht asserted. "The ash is very difficult to treat in water treatment plants."

The State Water Board now says it will take another two years to finalize the San Francisco-San Joaquin Delta water management plan, and it is proceeding with voluntary agreements with water agencies in the meantime.

Conservation groups spoke out at a workshop held by the board late last week - and some are asking the board to scrap the voluntary agreements.

Ashley Overhouse - California water policy advisor with Defenders of Wildlife - said a new plan to put more water into the estuary is crucial since four species of native fish have made the federal endangered species list since 1992, bringing the total to 6.

"At this point, we're trying to avoid extinction for most native fish populations that rely on the Bay-Delta," said Overhouse. "We're talking about not just delta smelt, we're talking about all runs of salmon, longfin smelt, and sturgeon. They would be completely wiped out."

Over-pumping of freshwater, pollution and climate change contribute to poor water quality. Multiple water agencies pump water from the delta and send it to the farms of the Central Valley and to cities in Southern California.

Other agencies are resisting entreaties to release more water into the delta. The group representing public water agencies, the State Water Contractors, spoke out in favor of the board's decision to move forward with the voluntary agreements.

Overhouse said the whole process has dragged on far too long.

"One of the reasons why this has been held up is due to political reasons," said Overhouse. "Water agencies have delayed the planning process significantly in order to negotiate the amount of water that they would have to release."

The water board is taking public comment on the report that establishes the scientific basis for the voluntary agreements, now through February 8.

The Bay-Delta plan is supposed to be updated every three years but the last major update took place in 1995.

Disappearing mussel species and threatened water quality from development have prompted advocates to push for increased protections for Ohio's Big and Little Darby Creeks.

The Environmental Protection Agency's Outstanding National Resource Waters classification is the highest level of protection under the Clean Water Act for waterways with exceptional recreational or ecological significance.

Chris Tavenor, associate general counsel with the Ohio Environmental Council, said the deadline to submit public comments on the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency's review of the Darby Creeks is January 31.

"Ohio currently has no rivers, lakes or streams that received this level of protection," said Tavenor. "Essentially, the designation would significantly limit all future new point source pollution into the streams."

Submit comments online at 'theoec.org.'

Forty-one species of freshwater mussels live in Darby Creek waters - eight of which are on Ohio's endangered list, according to the state Department of Natural Resources.

The Pew Charitable Trusts says the federal government has been slow to use the special designation, despite mounting evidence of worsening pollution in the nation's freshwaters.

Environmental groups recently appealed the approval of a new wastewater permit that would double the amount of polluting discharge the Plain City water treatment plant is allowed to release into Big Darby Creek.

Tavenor said the "outstanding" designation would likely block any future discharge permits.

"It wouldn't change how things have been permitted in the past," said Tavenor, "but it would limit and change how any future permits would go on and make it very, very difficult for any new point sources to be created."

According to an Environmental Integrity Project Report published last year, 51% of assessed river and stream miles across the nation - around 700,000 miles of waterways - are polluted.

This story was produced in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.

Arizona's drought conditions are improving.

Erinanne Saffell, state climatologist, said it is important to note Arizona evaluates short-term and long-term drought, both of which have recently improved.

Saffell explained when looking at short-term drought, things like precipitation, soil moisture and vegetation are essential in understanding short-term effects. For long-term drought, Saffell pointed out she evaluates precipitation trends over 24, 36 and 48 months, incorporates temperatures, and essentially looks at how thirsty the atmosphere is.

"Both of those give a sense of where we are," Saffell remarked. "We've seen improvement with the short-term drought and the long-term drought, but some areas of the state remain entrenched in that drought. "

A map relating to short-term drought from the agency's Twitter feed showed a majority of the state is currently experiencing no drought or abnormal dryness. Some parts of Mohave and Coconino counties, however, still remain under a severe drought.

Saffell noted the last time these kinds of conditions were seen in Arizona was more than two years ago, and said a state which values water as much as Arizona should be happy to see the current levels.

She added while the monsoon season of 2020 was disappointing, the 2021 and 2022 monsoons brought significant rainfall. But more times than not, the water does not make it into the state's aquifers. Saffell emphasized what really leads to the recharge of Arizona's aquifers is the winter precipitation, which comes in the form of snowpack.

"Fortunately, snow water equivalent -- and that's kind of how we measure that snowpack here in the lower Colorado region and the lower Colorado Basin -- we are at 200% right now of our median at this time," Saffell reported. "Hopefully we can continue that, but we will see what happens."

She added according to projections, Arizona was expected to have a drier winter season but has so far been experiencing more moisture.