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April 28, 2005
MTBE immunity for oil companies? Why?
In a move that's sparked outrage nationally and locally, the House of Representatives voted last week to let U.S. oil companies off the hook for cleanup costs and any liability stemming from MTBE contamination of water in communities across 28 states.
"This may be the single worst special interest giveaway to polluters I have ever seen in more than 20 years in Washington," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. Sources close to Schumer say the senator is so angry over the measure he has vowed to filibuster the energy bill when it gets to the Senate floor later this year, unless the immunity provision is removed, as reported in the Times Herald-Record.
The Senate has yet to vote on the energy bill. When it does later this year, it's possible the immunity provision will be removed, or it's possible the bill will die altogether, as it has in the past two years, after Congress was unable to agree on a compromise.
It's also possible that the immunity provision – backed by some of the most powerful politicians in the nation, notably Texas Republican Tom Delay – will remain intact, leaving taxpayers swinging in the wind.
Big oil companies and Republicans, a combination that somehow rings a bell, an unhealty one.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at 11:07 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 27, 2005
More desalting sea water will help California cope with growth
With another 20 million Californians expected by 2050, a state water official said changing sea water into tap water must play a more significant role to make sure there's enough drinking water for the burgeoning population.
"We're living on finite water resources. I don't know where we're going to get that. To me, desalination in all its forms is going to have to play a much larger role," Pete Silva, vice chair of the State Water Resources Control Board, told scientists this past Monday, as reported by the Associated Press from information in The Press-Enterprise.
Silva, speaking at the International Salinity Forum at the Riverside Convention Center, said the four desalting plants currently on the state's 1,110 miles of coastline are producing an insignificant amount of water.
More desalination plants are needed, but there's a significant challenge where to put the leftover salt, he said.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at 06:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 26, 2005
World's 1st mobile water purification system debuts
Jean-Michel Cousteau, explorer, educator, environmentalist and film producer, joined business executives yesterday, in New York, in launching the first water purification unit that converts polluted water into drinkable water.
The 12-meter-long mobile emergency filtration system, or MEFS, which was on display at a Manhattan pier in Chelsea,(pictured), took in large quantities of the Hudson River and converted the brown liquid into clear water during a process that took about 15 minutes, as reported by Kyodo News and published by Japan Today.
The unit, which is the first of its kind, is capable of producing 60,000 gallons of high-quality water per day and was created by Ecosphere Technologies, a subsidiary of UltraStrip Systems, Inc.
The self-contained unit could be installed on an emergency or temporary basis and would be capable of providing enough water for the daily needs of 10,000 people.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at 06:35 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 25, 2005
Chunks of Flesh in Iowa Municipal Water Supply
Carroll, Iowa official are really perplexed over the discovery of mysterious chunks of flesh that have been clogging up city water lines. A month ago, they sent a hunk of meaty-fatty tissue to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources for identification.
As they wait for those results, three similar chunks of fleshy material were found on Thursday in another water main during routine flushing, Public Works Director Randy Krauel said. A blockage was discovered when a diffuser on a fire hydrant became clogged, and an additional flushing removed two other chunks from water mains.
Krauel said drinking water was not affected by the blockages and is safe to drink and chlorine levels have been temporarily increased as a precaution, according to the Associated Press, published by The Gazette, of Cedar Rapids, from information in the Daily Times Herald.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at 08:46 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 21, 2005
The Water is running dry in Brisbane, Australia
Experts at Brisbane Water, Brisbane City Council's water management arm, have calculated the region will effectively run dry by November next year unless there is a normal wet season this summer.
This dire news was published by The Courier-Mail, from a top-secret memo of Bribane Water leaked to them.
The average capacity at Wivenhoe, Somerset and North Pine, the major dams in the region, is down to 41.5 per cent, a record low. This means that electricity supplies would also be affected.
Even with all proposed restrictions in place, that reduce the region's storage to 10 per cent by November 2006. The remaining water might be undrinkable.
"We are now entering our dry season and low probability of rain before our next wet season in October 2005. This means we have 12 months and one wet season left before total failure," the memo said.
Additional evidence of the growing trend.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at 05:28 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 19, 2005
Algarve, Portugal Facing Worst Drought in 25 Years
Algarve, southernmost province of Portugal, and one of biggest tourist destinations of Europe, will face water rationing starting in October if it does not receive rain before then, an official said.
But Artur Ribeiro, president of Águas do Algarve, the state-owned water supply company for the province, stressed Monday there would be no need for restrictions on water use during the summer months, when thousands of North Europeans flock to the province's beaches, the national news agency Lusa reported.
As of April 15, 80 percent of Portugal was suffering from "extreme" or "severe" drought conditions, according to a report by its national water institute as reported by The International Herald Tribune, and published by Agence France-Presse, Reuters, The Associated Press, and The Boston Globe.
I believe this is a world wide trend.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at 05:31 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 18, 2005
Michigan investigates Nestle Waters deal.
At the request of Gov. Jennifer Granholm, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality is taking a close look at an arrangement between Evart, MI, in the Lansing area, and Nestle Waters North America Inc.
On March 28, the Evart City Council approved a 10-year water-purchase agreement company, which owns the Ice Mountain spring water bottling plant near Stanwood in Mecosta County.
Under the arrangement, Nestle Waters is to pump spring water from Evart's municipal water system to a nearby transfer station, where it would be pumped into tanker trucks for transport to the factory about 25 miles to the south,as reported in the Detroit Free Press and published by the Associated Press.
Last month, four environmental groups pressed the governor to consider the legalities and environmental ramifications of the deal.
Well another bit of proof that bottled, "spring water" actually is sourced from municipal water, that a consumer can get from their tap.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at 05:28 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Block Island Fertility was a Joke!
Well this blogger, along with a host of sydicated news organizations was fooled apparently by an April fools day joker.
My post of April 7th, Iland's Water Raises Fertility Rates, pulled from the Block Island News, was a hoax. This blogger got an email stating so from the author. Well with egg on my face for being duped, I now publish this. Sorry for being taken in.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at 05:05 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 14, 2005
Perth now considers wind to solve water shortage
Well, it seems Perth, Austalia has come up with yet another idea since my last blog, to relieve their water shortage. Fifty giant wind turbines will power an eco-friendly desalination plant to make Perth drought-proof and provide 2 million people with their biggest single source of water.
In unveiling plans for the biggest desalination plant in the country, West Australian Premier Geoff Gallop said the $387 million venture would produce 45 gigalitres a year by October next year, as reported by The Australian.
When finished, the state-of-the-art desalination plant at Kwinana, south of Perth, will provide 17 per cent of Perth's water needs, regardless of weather conditions.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at 06:53 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 13, 2005
Tug-towed Bags to Relieve Perth Water Shortage
GIANT water-filled plastic bags towed behind tugboats from the Kimberley are under consideration by an expert panel investigating possible solutions to Perth,'s chronic water shortage.
Panel chairman Professor Reg Appleyard said today that although it was a radical concept it is already used to transport water from Turkey to Cypress and to Tel Aviv, Israel, as reported by Australian News Online.
"The fact that they have already utilised the system means it's not a pie in the sky sort of thing – it's quite viable," Professor Appleyard said.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at 06:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 12, 2005
Bottled Water from the Charles River? Not Really!
Charles River Spring Water was introduced this week by the Hingham-based discount retail chain Building #19 Inc. to raise money for the Charles River Watershed Association, a group dedicated to protecting the waterway that flows 80 miles from Hopkinton's Echo Lake to Boston Harbor.
You wouldn't want to swim in the Charles River, much less be drinking a bottle of Charles River Spring Water, so it really is bottled by Adirondack Beverages Corp., which taps a natural spring in Scotia, N.Y., as published by NY Newsday, and reported by the Associated Press.
Bob Zimmerman, executive director of the Waltham-based watershed association, said the river has come a long way in the last decade, but swimming in it is still ill-advised and pollution still spikes after heavy rains.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at 06:01 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 11, 2005
Palmdale CA to get cleanup for nitrate pollution
Well water tainted with nitrates from Palmdale's sewage treatment plant could be pumped out of the ground and used to irrigate alfalfa fields.
Facing a cleanup order from state water regulators, Los Angeles County sanitation officials prefer the cheapest of five alternatives ranging in cost from $10.6 million to $158.5 million, as reported by the Los Angles Daily News.
Nitrates are a nutrient for plants but can cause a condition known as "blue baby" syndrome among infants. Nitrates have leached into the underground water table from Sanitation District 20's practice of spreading treated sewage effluent on barren land to soak into the ground.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at 06:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 07, 2005
Iland's Water Raises Fertility Rates
Block Island, RI, apparently is experiencing a baby boom and the culprit seems to be the municipal water system.
With three babies born in three days last month, and at least another 10 expected this year,the year-round population of the Island will grow by more than 10 percent this year, according to the Block Island News.
Scientists have isolated a naturally occurring compound, called diestroglycerin calcate, which alters the hormones that tell the ovaries of a woman when to release eggs, according to A. F. Uhles, a researcher with University of Health Sciences of Stockholm, Sweden, who co-authored the study along with a graduate team at the Massachusetts Institute of Reproduction and Nutrition.
Very rare, and otherwise harmless, the compound has been found in just four municipal systems: Red Lodge, Mont.; Nederland, Colo.; Portland, Maine; and Block Island.
Beth Weaver and Heather Champlin (pictured) are two Block Island women who both were pleasantly surprised by the fertility boost.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at 06:25 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 06, 2005
Nigeria needs 200 million dollars annually for water projects
Nigeria needs 200 million dollars yearly to meet the UN Millennium Development Goal of halving the proportion of people without safe drinking water and adequate sanitation by 2015.
This was disclosed today by the Nigeria's Water Resources Minister Mukhtari Shagari in Abuja according to the News Agency of Nigeria, and published by China View.
"It is estimated that 200 million dollars will be required annually for the next ten years, including 12 percent of that amount for operation and maintenance service for the program," Shagari said.
"The investment needed up to the year 2015 is of such a magnitude that it demands more proactive action to mobilize more funds to finance water supply and sanitation with particular reference to the rural areas," he said.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at 06:22 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 05, 2005
Washington governor comments on expected drought
Washington State's Gov. Christine Gregoire, at the state capital in Olympia (pictured), has called on citizens to curtail their water use, asked the Legislature for $12 million and is preparing for a record fire season.
The governor also urged development of new water storage projects as a longer-term fix to the dry weather that keeps recurring in Washington.
Gregoire called on all citizens, including those on the greener, wetter side of the Cascades, to curtail their water use, as reported by U.S. Water News.
The governor asked lawmakers to create a $12 million drought response fund, to buy water, improve wells and finance various water-supply projects. It also includes $2 million for state agencies to expedite drought-related permits and assistance programs.
Precipitation is at or near record lows across Washington, and mountain snowpack averages are running 26 percent of normal. Many rivers are at or near record lows for this time of year.
Meteorologists blame a weak El Nino, which has brought unusually mild weather to the region.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at 09:09 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 01, 2005
Late Snows To Relieve Summer Water Fears
The Sierra Nevada mountains are blanketed with a third more snow than normal thanks to late winter storms.
"What's encouraging is the northern Sierra, except for the very far north, is starting to get decent coverage after lagging (southern California) all season," said state Department of Water Resources Snow Survey Chief Frank Gehrke as he headed out today to take snow measurements south of Lake Tahoe. "It tapers off as you go north. I think it's probably too little, too late for the Northwest; Oregon and Washington."
California gets more than a third of its drinking and irrigation water from Sierra snow, while snow-fed hydroelectric plants produce about a quarter of the state's power, as reported by the Associated Press and published in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at 04:45 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack