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December 31, 2007
Higher Water Costs for the New Year in India
In Coimbatore, India for the new year, the cost of drinking water is increasing.
"We had invited public views on the increase. But, very few people have complaints," says the Mayor R. Venkatachalam, pointing out that a major section of the city realizes that the charges have to be increased to make the water supply viable for the city.
"This proves that 2008 will be a year of higher taxes for the people," argues P. Rajkumar of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, one of the parties that had been opposed to any increase in existing taxes or introduction of new ones.
Of course I am certain that in the future, all the world's peoples will be paying more for potable water, as reported by The Hindu.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at 03:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 27, 2007
Chicago Retailers Plan to Sue over Bottled Water Tax
The first of the year, Chicago will invoke a 5 cent tax on every bottled water sold in the city, and the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, for one, intends to sue over the legality of the tax.
The tax, which was approved by the Chicago City Council this fall, is the first of its kind in the nation and its intention is to encourage water drinkers to forgo plastic water bottles in favor of tap water, as well as bring in an estimated $10.5 million in tax revenues annually.
"People are already leaving the city when it comes to gas, alcohol and cigarettes," said Dave Vite, CEO of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, a co-plaintiff in the expected lawsuit. "This will affect anybody that sells bottled water, because when customers do migrate, they take other business with them."
Illinois Beverage Association Executive Director Tim Bramlet said, "State law prohibits the City of Chicago from imposing a tax on a single product like they have done with this bottled water tax."
Others interested in the suit to be filed in January include the American Beverage Association, the International Bottled Water Association, and the Illinois Food Retailers Association, as reported by the Chicago Tribune.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at 01:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 26, 2007
Water Pollution Laws Stregthened in China
In what this writer can only characterize as it is about time, the 31st session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) has amended the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law, and significantly raised the fines charged to enterprise water polluters.
In addition, enterprises who failed to rectify the situation within a fixed time period would be closed, according to the NPC's Law Committee.
The NPC's Law Committee said, "The amount of fines should be imposed according to the severity of violations, and too little money cannot effectively tackle the long-standing problem of 'low violation cost'."
According to the amendment, victims of water pollution incidents were entitled to get compensation from polluters. The compensation could be more "expensive" for polluters than the fines, the Law Committee said, noting that would further augment their "violation cost."
In China, Water pollution is one of the biggest environmental concerns for both the government and public, as reported by Xinhuanet, and published by China Economic Net
Posted by Stephen Betheil at 10:45 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 24, 2007
Give a Cup of Water for Christmas
Today, most of us will turn on the tap and get potable water to make coffee, cook, bath, or clean. We take that for granted.
However, the reality for 1.1 billion people in the world is that they get up each day not knowing where they will get clean potable water. In these parts of the world one child dies every 15 seconds from a water born illness and 2.3 billion people live without basic sanitation.
Livng Water Canada, a part of Living Water International, suggests that Canadians to give a cup of potable water this Christmas, in support of those who have none of this essential ingredient for life, as reported by Canada News Wire and published by Macro World Investor.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at 11:27 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 20, 2007
BYU Professor Speaks of Our Water Resources
Brigham Young University biology professor Mark Belk, speaking last evening at the monthly Utah Valley Sierra Forum meeting, associated with the Sierra Club, said that the world has only a small amount of usable water and that Utahns must be careful with the little allotment they have.
"Water is a very, very important issue here in Utah, the West and around the world," he said.
Belk explained that 95 percent of the earth's water is unusable saline, not potable. "We get the impression that there's lots of water around, and there is," he said. "But not for us."
As important as energy conservation is in politics today, Belk said fresh water will be an even bigger issue in the next 20 years. There are ways to use non-fossil fuels, he said, but fresh water is vital. "Water either takes energy to convert it from saline to fresh or you have to use what you have," he said, as reported by the Daily Herald.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at 02:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 19, 2007
Kansas Says Nebraska Takes Too Much Water
Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison and the state Division of Water Resources sent letters to Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning and Ann Bleed, director of that state's Department of Natural Resources threatening a law suit unless Nebraska reduces the water it takes from the Republican River (pictured).
Kansas also demands reimbursement for Nebraska's water use which exceeded what it was allowed under an interstate agreement for the years 2005 and 2006 by about 27 billion gallons - enough to supply a city of 100,000 for 10 years.
Water use from the Republican River is governed by a 2003 decree from the U.S. Supreme Court, which approved a settlement among Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado of a lawsuit that Kansas filed in 1998.
"I don't think there's any question that they've overused the water," Morrison spokeswoman Ashley Anstaett said. "We believe that our remedy package is fair and will begin to get them on the right track with compliance."
Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman said state and local officials have imposed water management plans that will resolve Kansas' concerns. "We intend to continue in good faith with that effort," he said, as reported by the Associated Press and published by The Courier.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at 12:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 18, 2007
In Australia's New South Wales, Aging Infrastucture is Leaking Water
In New South Wales (NSW) towns, new findings have shown that aging water distribution infrastructure and the pipes in older homes are losing one third of their water to leakage.
The study was conducted in eight towns as part of the Water Loss Management Program (WLMP) for NSW Regional Water Utilities. "We found an average total leakage rate of some 10 litres per connection per hour in older water systems in these towns," says Stewart McLeod, chairman of the NSW Water Directorate.
"To put this into perspective, imagine a bucket under every front yard tap in your town and everyone going out and emptying that bucket every two hours … day and night …. This is the scale of the issue."
"The acoustic leak detection equipment and techniques available today has made the identification and location of leaking pipes much more efficient and cost effective than it used to be," says Cr Robert Bell, chairman of the NSW Water Loss Management Program, as reported by Stock Journal.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at 01:01 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 17, 2007
In Punjab, India Villages The Water is Toxic
In Mahal,Amritsar District, at the government elementary school, an unusually high number of children complain of rashes and boils, housewives talk about a sharp rise in the number of miscarriages, and old men insist their hands and fingers are turning numb.
A major two-year study by Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, to probe the effects of industrial waste and pesticides on human health in 25 Punjab villages has found varying degrees of DNA mutation in 65% of the blood samples taken and in some cases genetic damage.
The drinking water in these villages has turned toxic due to a high concentration of heavy metals such as mercury, copper, cadmium, chromium and lead. In Mahal, these chemicals have seeped into the village's groundwater from the polluted drain water causing these serious ailments.
The head investigator, Dr. J. S. Thakur, points out that the drinking water in these areas has turned highly toxic, as reported by The Times of India.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at 03:18 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 13, 2007
Merck Settles Violations of the Clean Water Act in Pennsylvania
The Department of Justice has announced that Merck, the global pharmaceutical research company has agreed to settle violations of federal and state water pollution control regulations arising from spills including a June 2006 spill at its pharmaceutical plant located in West Point, PA, just outside Philadelphia.
As part of the settlement, Merck will pay $10 million to put into place systems that will prevent future dangerous discharge and at their facility and will also spend approximately $9 million for extensive environmental projects. Merck is also to pay $750,000 to the United States; $750,000 to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; and $75,000 to the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.
"Perhaps more than anything else, this settlement says to every company that discharges dangerous chemicals as part of its operations that it is accountable to the environment and the community," said Pat Meehan, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. "Because when you get right down to it, no one should have to wonder, when they walk into the kitchen for a glass of water, if what they are about to drink is going to make them or their children sick."
"Merck's actions led to an extensive fish-kill and caused the Philadelphia Water Department to temporarily shut down its drinking water operations," said Ronald J.Tenpas, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. "This settlement ensures that Merck will take steps to prevent future illegal discharges including installing an early warning system to protect drinking water."
"The resolution of this case and its special projects will bring both short and long-term environmental benefits to the community and the Wissahickon,(Wissahickon Creek, a tributary of the Schuylkill River)." said Donald S. Welsh, EPA's mid-Atlantic regional administrator. "When you consider that the source of 40 percent of Philadelphia's drinking water is just downstream of this facility, these improvements and Merck's environmental accountability has implications extending beyond the boundaries of its facility," as reported by the U.S. Dept. of Justice.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at 01:25 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 12, 2007
Governor of Tennessee Says Cooperation Can Avert Water Crises
Governor Phil Bredesen of Tennessee(pictured) said cooperation is the key for local utilities to keep water flowing in the State, when he was speaking at the Department of Environment and Conservation budget hearings.
The Governor further noted that when he was mayor of Nashville, he found that Williamson County refused to form a partnership with Nashville to use water from the Cumberland River even though the county had yearly water shortages.
Creating a super-utility of regional water suppliers that could bring water from the Cumberland back to Rutherford, Williamson, Wilson and other Middle Tennessee counties could be a solution.
The fear is that if something is not done in midstate then there will have to be a halt to growth or dramatic conservation measures put into place to make certain the area does not run dry, as reported by The Daily News Journal
Posted by Stephen Betheil at 11:15 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 11, 2007
ADB Calls for Better Water Managment to Avert Crisis
The Asian Development Bank(ADB) has said that rapid population growth, urbanization, industrialization, and climate change, brought on by global warming, will all put a strain on regional Asian water management.
K.E. Seetharam, a senior water specialist at the ADB, says the major worry is not scarcity of water, but water management.
Wastewater from cities is often discharged into rivers and lakes without being treated. Water supply is unreliable and does not always reach every citizen. A lot of water is lost through leakages.
"It's basically a vicious cycle of low quality service, therefore low maintenance of facilities, therefore very low tariffs being paid, and so very low motivational staff," said Seetharam. "Very low motivated staff because they don't have funds and they don't get good assets to provide for. The services are so bad so people don't want to pay for it - so it goes back."
"Today we are in such an advanced stage that we could treat wastewater into potable water," he said. "We could treat seawater into potable water. So we have all the technologies available to take back water to clean water," as reported by the Voice of America.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at 02:51 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 10, 2007
New Water Sharing Agreement Among Western States
With the worst drought in a cenrtury facing the seven states which share water from the Columbia River, the federal government has reached an agreement which will be the first since the Colorado River Compact of 1922, and will run till 2026.
While all the states, California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming, will be affected by the new agreement, it puts in place new measures to encourage conservation and manage the two primary reservoirs of the Columbia River, Lake Mead (pictured) and Lake Powell, which have gone from nearly full to just about half-empty since 1999.
"I think for the first time in 85 years we are on the same page," said Herb Guenther, the director of water resources in Arizona, which had initially balked at some terms of the agreement and was threatening legal action over it.
"It's hugely important for us," said Scott Huntley, a spokesman for the Southern Nevada Water Authority. "This really does provide the bridge for us to get into the next decade."
Las Vegas gets 90 percent of its water from the Colorado, and with the new agreement will get a greater share of Lake Mead water, in exchange for for financing a reservoir in California to capture large amounts of river water destined for Mexico but beyond that country's entitlement by treaty.
The agreement calls for water deliveries to be decreased based on how far water levels drop in Lake Mead and Lake Powell, as monitored by The Bureau of Reclamation, which manages the river system, as reported by the New York Times.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at 02:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 06, 2007
Poland Spring Protest This Weekend
This Saturday, at Lovewell Pond (pictured), in Fryeburg,ME, there will be a protest against Poland Spring's withdrawal of millions of gallons of water from the local aquifer.
Howard Dearborn, a local business owner, lives on Lovewell Pond, and has offered ten dollars to the first 50 people who join him on Saturday in dumping bottles of Poland Spring back into the pond, in his own version of the Boston Tea Party.
Dearborn believes that the natural springs that feed the pond have gone dry since Poland Spring began withdrawing water. Of course, a geologist, Mark Dubois from Poland Spring says he has not seen any evidence of this.
The issue of water bottling plants having a debilitating effect on local aquifers goes well beyond this occurrence and is simply another environmental reason to not drink bottled water, as reported by the Associated Press.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at 01:54 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
December 05, 2007
FDA Reports Another Recall of Bottled Water
The FDA has reported today another recall of a bottled water product, this time it is Metromint Flavored Water bottled by the Soma Beverage of San Francisco, CA, in all flavors, because they may be contaminated with Bacillus cereus.
According to the FDA, the symptoms of B. cereus diarrheal type food poisoning usually include onset of watery diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and pain 6-15 hours after consumption of contaminated food, or drink.
Metromint was distributed nationwide to grocery stores and sold on the Internet.
Metromint is simply another case in point that bottled water can be subject to contamination, and it not necessarily pure just because it comes in a bottle, as reported by the FDA.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at 12:38 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 04, 2007
EPA Awards Leaders in Water Efficiency for 2007
2007 is the second year the EPA has given the Water Efficiency Leader Awards (WEL Awards) to those who have excelled in three criteria:leadership, innovation and water saved.
"We applaud these winners for saving water, energy and money for America's families and communities," said Benjamin H. Grumbles, EPA's assistant administrator for water. "They're proving innovative technology and environmental stewardship can help conserve our country's greatest liquid asset."
Winners of the 2007 WEL Awards are:
* Intel Corp., Ocotillo Campus (Chandler, Ariz.) - Corporate - This company's three initiatives focused on the collective recycling of 75 percent of the water used during manufacturing thereby reducing their net demand for city water; the take-back of 825 million gallons of treated wastewater from the city’s wastewater plant; the internal re-use of 530 million gallons of water; and treatment of 575 million gallons of water to drinking water standards that is then returned to the local underground aquifer.
* Santa Clara Valley Water District (San Jose, Calif.) - Government - This water management agency helped the community reduce water demand by 55,000 acre-feet, or 12 percent of present demand, through conservation and water recycling with plans to further reduce demand for water.
* Frito-Lay (Plano, TX) - Industry - Frito-Lay's efforts at its 33 facilities resulted in the 39 percent reduction of water consumption per pound of product since 1999.
* Lackland Air Force Base (Lackland, TX) - Military - This military base uses comprehensive water conservation measures and purchases recycled wastewater for reuse on the base.
* The Kentucky Pollution Prevention Center (KPPC), at the University of Louisville (Louisville, Ky.) - Nongovernmental Organization - The Center finds profitable pollution prevention solutions for the metal industry to reduce the need for, and cost associated with, end-of-pipe controls. One example includes KPPC's assistance that resulted in a 30 percent net water savings, valued at $50,000 annually, while production at the metal finishing plant increased 50 percent.
* Allan Dietemann, Seattle Public Utilities (Seattle, Wash.) - Individual - Mr. Dietemann has promoted water conservation for 20 years, resulting in reduced water consumption for businesses, government, and homeowners alike, as reported by the EPA Newsroom.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at 06:28 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 03, 2007
Its the Season to Give Green: Think Water
What I am hearing is the gifts this year should be green.
Now my blog here is often accused of being a place to sell my water filters. Not to disappoint those who think this, I am going to suggest the greenest of all possible gifts.
Give someone you care greatly for, a completely maintenance free water filter. One that will last for many years and replace bottled water in their lives, for those with a municipal water supply.
Another green gift suggestion for that woman who has everything would be a shower filter. It will make her skin softer, and her hair much more manageable. She will never stop thanking you for it.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at 05:17 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack