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February 28, 2008
Boil Water Order in Gaza Due to Chlorine Shortage
The Coastal Municipality Water Utility of Gaza yesterday, issued a an order to the 1.5 million residents to boil their drinking water due to a shortage of chlorine brought on by Israel's blockade of the region. '
Maher Najjar, deputy director of the utility said, "I expect by the week's end all the wells will run dry of chlorine."
Shadi Yassin, an Israeli army spokesman, said, "We are doing our best to allow the chlorine to enter the Gaza Strip as soon as possible." He said "it's a pity" the Palestinians waited so long to notify Israel. It was not clear how long it would take to deliver the chlorine, but Yassin said it was a
"top priority."
Israel has tightened its blockade lately in response to repeated rocket attacks on southern Israel by Gaza militants, as reported by the Associated Press and published by the International Herald Tribune.
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February 27, 2008
Home Depot Settles Clean Water Violations With EPA
Violations of the Clean Water Act, which were discovered at 30 new store construction sites of Home Depot, Inc., located in 28 states, has resulted in a fine of $1.3 million from the the Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency.
"EPA requires construction sites to take simple, basic steps to prevent storm water pollution," said Granta Y. Nakayama, assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. "We expect a large corporation like Home Depot to comply with the law and protect the waters in the communities it serves."
"Storm water that runs off of large construction sites can carry sediment, debris, and other pollutants into surrounding waterways," said Ronald J. Tenpas, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division. "This settlement is an important step in protecting the environment around Home Depot's future construction locations."
Polluted runoff from construction sites can affect water quality, along with many other consequences, as reported by the EPA.
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February 26, 2008
Drought in China Near Olympic Site
Hebei province in northern China is set to supply Beijing with much of its water for the summer Olympics, but is in the midsts of a severe drought.
The demand for water is expected to rise by 30 percent during the Olympics in Beijing.
According to the Hebei Daily, citing officials in the provincial flood and drought office, "Due to the lack of effective precipitation since the winter, Hebei province is experiencing severe drought."
The Hebei Daily also wrote, "The severe drought has created tense conditions for fighting drought and for water supplies in our province, and the conflict between water supply and demand has been dramatically exacerbated."
China is rushing to finish the canals from Hebei to Beijing for its "green" Games, ensuring a lush, sparkling host city greets the world in August. Meanwhile, "Some dams are below stagnant levels, and some irrigation areas have no water to supply," the report said, as reported by Reuters.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at 11:40 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 25, 2008
International Water Tasting and the Winner is.........
This past weekend, over 120 water sources competed in the 18th annual Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting. The best tasting municipal tap water was judged to be a tie between the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which serves Los Angeles, and the town of Clearbrook, British Columbia.
"It means they give special care and attention to their water and how it is processed," said event producer Jill Klein Rone.
Ten journalists and food critics sampled tap, sparkling, and bottled water from 19 states and countries, including New Zealand, Romania, Macedonia and the Philippines.
The best bottled water prize went to Tumai Water of Martinsburg, West Virginia, and the sparkling water award went to Slavus Mineralwasser Medium of Emsdetten, Germany, as reported by the Associated Press and published by CNN.
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February 21, 2008
Need for Water Leads Georgia to Seek Border Correction
Georgia lawmakers, with the drought in their state on their collective minds, have passed a resolution yesterday to move the northern borderline so that there is access to the waters of the Tennessee River (pictured).
In 1796, when Tennessee was admitted to the Union, the border was originally defined by United States Congress as located on the 35th parallel, thereby ensuring that at least a portion of the Tennessee River would be located within Georgia, but an erroneous survey in 1818, incorrectly placed the border 1.1 miles south, and was quickly ratified by Tennessee.
"It's the silliest thing I've ever seen any group of Republicans do. I'm embarrassed that they would embarrass the party like that," said Tennessee Rep. Gerald McCormick, a Republican from Chattanooga, a Tennessee town just north of the state line. "They're idiots."
"I don't know that state boundaries have been changed based on mistakes of surveying," Republican Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue said at a press briefing Monday. "But I want to invite you to do something. Go to Google Earth, and look at where the line is drawn on Google Earth. It's right at the 35th parallel, which does cut into the Tennessee River."
The matter, if Georgia pursues it, would have to be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, as reported by the Associated press and published by the Los Angeles Times.
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February 20, 2008
Connecticut Government to Eliminate Bottled Water Use
The State Government in Hartford, CT is pushing to eliminate the use of bottled water in all state facilities, joining what appears to be a growing trend.
A taste test at the capitol today at the State Capital (pictured) today, left most all unsure which was tap and which was the bottled water.
State Rep. Beth Bye says this is the proof that the state needs to convert all spring water coolers at the Legislative Office Building to tap water.
"Just in this building we spend about $12,000 a year on bottled water. Year after year after year. If we put all state agencies together we'd save $465,000 a year," Bye said.
"It would save hundreds of thousands of dollars, even millions if we did it across all state agencies," Bye added.
"When we consider that there are stronger regulations governing tap water than bottled water, we're actually doing something for the health of the people working in state office buildings as well as taxpayer dollars," said taxpayer C.J. May, as reported by WTNH Hartford.
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February 19, 2008
Navada to Decide Las Vegas Request to Grab Rural Water
In Carson City,NV, the State is nearing the end of hearings which will decide if Las Vegas casino executives, developers, union representatives and others will get their way and be allowed to have the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) prepare to pump more than 11.3 billion gallons of groundwater a year from Delamar, Dry Lake and Cave valleys, in rural Lincoln County, NV.
State Engineer Tracy Taylor will review the testimony and voluminous paperwork generated by the hearings and rule on the pumping project in a few months.
Simeon Herskovits, attorney for the Great Basin Water Network which opposes the plan, has been joined with Greg Walch, representing Cave Valley Ranch LLC which wants to develop land in that valley. Walch said that despite its remoteness, the valley has potential - but not without water.
Paul Taggart, attorney for SNWA, said, "This isn't a shell game. This isn't some kind of legal argument. This is science." in challenging Herskovits' comments about inadequate analysis by SNWA on the impact of the pumping, a key element in a multi-billion-dollar project to get more water for Las Vegas.
Claims from critics about the potential for economic and environmental disasters are like "a boy whistling in the dark," Taggart said, adding that the state engineer should trust that "ingenuity and engineering" by SNWA can keep the valleys from drying up.
Herskovits said SNWA's estimate of water availability in the valleys was based on "some real uncertainty, some real speculation," adding, "What we have is a great paucity of real evidence and instead some very creative analysis."
"Our suggestion is not to put Disneyland there," Walch said, adding, "None of us has a crystal ball - except for knowing that Cave Valley can't develop without water," as reported by the Associated Press.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at 11:26 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 14, 2008
New Book Concering the Global Water Crises
A Canadian, Maude Barlow, national chairperson of the Council of Canadians and co-founder of the Blue Planet Project, has written a thoughtful book concerning the growing global water crises, called "Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and the Coming Battle for the Right to Water".
Maude Barlow said in a recent interview with Tara Lohan, of AlterNet, "I remember attending a conference in Boise, Idaho, three years ago and hearing a lot of scientists get up and say, "Read my lips, this isn't a drought, this is permanent drying out." We are overpumping the Ogallala, Lake Powell and Lake Meade. The back up systems are now being depleted. This is by no means a drought ..."
"I quote in the book that the demand in Florida is growing so much and overpumping is happening so much that there are actually sink holes opening up and swallowing homes and streets and sometimes whole shopping centers. It is called subsidence. Mexico City is sinking in on itself because all the water under the city has been taken out and now they are going farther afield pumping water."
"There is now a consortium advising the Bush administration and the Pentagon -- it is called Global Water Futures. It is made up of this think tank called the Center for International Studies and Sandia Laboratories. Then I dug deeper and found it is being contracted out to be run by Lockheed Martin. And this consortium involves Coke and Proctor & Gamble and others. So you finally have the U.S. government saying, "Holy crap, we're in trouble here, you can't be a super power if you don't have energy and water." Now they've got this advisory body that not only has this think tank and the corporate side too, and the high technology side, and the military side. It becomes very clear what you are dealing with."
It is most obvious to me that this book is must reading for those who doubt much of what I have written about in my blog here, as reported by Tara Lohan of AlterNet.
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February 13, 2008
3 Indicted for Bribes involving Drinking Water for Military
A federal grand jury in Atlanta, yesterday, indicted three people on bribery charges involving the supply of drinking water to the troops overseas.
The indictment alleges that Mack Smith, the owner of a Tennessee water company, funneled bribes to someone who was a civilian employee at Fort McPherson and his wife to secure water purification contracts, including one valued at more than $32 million.
Also charged were Richard E. Long, 63, and his wife, Debra L. Long, 44, both of St. Augustine, FL, who along with Smith face a 105-count indictment on charges of conspiracy, bribery of a public official and money laundering.
"It is disturbing to think that anyone would possibly compromise the most basic of human needs for our men and women in uniform who are fighting for this country in an incredibly harsh and dangerous environment," Brig. Gen. Rodney Johnson, commanding general of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, said in a statement.
"We are committed to supporting the brave men and women of our armed forces, who volunteer to go into harm's way to protect our freedom," U.S. Attorney David Nahmias said in a statement, as reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at 11:42 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 12, 2008
Global Warming Could Dry up Lake Mead Key Water Resource by 2021
According to marine physicist Tim Barnett and climate scientist David Pierce, of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, there is a 50 percent chance Lake Mead, a key source of water for millions of people in the southwest, will go dry by 2021, if expected climate changes and future water usage is not curtailed.
This warning was issued in the report "When will Lake Mead go dry?," which has been accepted for publication in the peer-reviewed journal Water Resources Research, published by the American Geophysical Union (AGU),
"We were stunned at the magnitude of the problem and how fast it was coming at us," said Barnett. "Make no mistake, this water problem is not a scientific abstraction, but rather one that will impact each and every one of us that live in the Southwest."
"It's likely to mean real changes to how we live and do business in this region," Pierce added.
"When expected changes due to global warming are included as well, currently scheduled depletions are simply not sustainable," wrote Barnett and Pierce in the paper.
"Today, we are at or beyond the sustainable limit of the Colorado system. The alternative to reasoned solutions to this coming water crisis is a major societal and economic disruption in the desert southwest; something that will affect each of us living in the region" the report concluded, as reported by Science Daily.
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February 11, 2008
Tampa Bay Desalination Plant Fully Operational
The nation's first large-scale seawater desalination plant, the Tampa Bay Seawater Desalination Plant, is now fully operational in Tampa Bay,FL, assuring the 2.5 million residents there are protected against any future droughts.
The desalination plant is a project of Tampa Bay Water, and is operated by American Water and ACCIONA Agua through their joint venture subsidiary,American Water- Pridesa, and at 25 million gallons per day provides 10 percent of the Tampa Bay region's drinking water supply.
Tampa Bay Water provides wholesale water to the public utility systems of Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties, as well as the cities of New Port Richey, St. Petersburg and Tampa.
"We've already had folks from coastal areas in California, Texas and
other parts of Florida look at the plant," said Jerry Maxwell, general manager at Tampa Bay Water. "It's good to know that there's a safe and sustainable way to harvest water from the sea."
"We are extremely proud to have partnered with Tampa Bay Water to
successfully complete the largest seawater desalination plant in the United States," said American Water President Don Correll. "With rigorous pretreatment, the right technology and proper operation, desalination can be done efficiently and effectively and is a viable solution as a water resource."
ACCIONA Agua Managing Director Luis Castilla said, "ACCIONA is pleased to join American Water and Tampa Bay Water in a true public-private partnership bringing together cooperative strengths in technology, design-build implementation and a willingness to overcome significant hurdles," as reported by PR Newswire.
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February 07, 2008
In the UK, Environment Secretary Speaks on Water Usage
British Environment Secretary Hilary Benn (pictured) today, spoke of the need for the country to conserve water resources.
"We need to value and use water much more carefully," Benn told a news conference unveiling the government's new water strategy. "These pressures are going to get worse as the climate changes, the economy grows and the population increases."
While climate change will bring wetter winters to the British Isles they will not fully offset the reduction in water from the predicted longer, hotter and drier summers, Benn's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said.
Some of the suggested water saving measures were household water meters which have been shown to cut consumption by around 10 percent, stopping leaks, increasing appliance efficiency and encouraging conservation.
Industry, Benn said, which has already taken action to cut usage and waste, must continue to improve efficiency, as reported by Reuters.
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February 06, 2008
Texas Farmers Look to Canadian Judge for Water Rights Ruling
Over 40 farmers, ranchers and others are taking there very long standing water rights feud with Mexico to Canada, for a third party opinion.
In 2004, Texas farmers and ranchers sued Mexico for $500 million, claiming that they had shorted them on Rio Grande water from 1992 to 2002 in violation of a 1944 treaty.
What is driving these farmers and ranchers to get a ruling from Canada is the fact that the U.S. State Department intervened in the suit, at the last moment and sided with Mexico.
"When they did that, it really just hit you in the stomach," said Joe Barrera, general manager of the Brownsville Irrigation District. "We've kind of lost that spark that we had at the beginning.
"We've got to get it back," he said.
The case goes to Canada because both sides agreed in arbitration that if an issue arose they would go to a neutral location, as reported by the Associated Press.
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February 05, 2008
Bush's 2009 Budget Labeled Inadequate For Water Resources
President Bush's budget proposal for the 2009 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works Program, has been called inadequate by the Water Resources Coalition.
The $800 million cut over what was enacted by Congress for the Corps in fiscal year 2008, is proof that the President has no interest in investing in the nation's water resources infrastructure.
"The Coalition is especially dissatisfied with the cuts proposed for the civil works program of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation and numerous other programs that address our nation's water resources infrastructure," declared Stephen E. Sandherr, chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America. "While there is real concern about fiscal restraint, this budget does not address our nation's long-term needs."
"This final budget prepared by the Administration offers more of the same - minimal investment in infrastructure," said Patrick J. Natale, P.E., F.ASCE, CAE, executive director of the American Society of Civil Engineers. "When Congress overrode the president's veto of the Water Resources Development Act it made a commitment to investing in our nation's water resources. Now is the time to live up to that commitment and take action."
"The President's budget tells the American people that our water resources infrastructure is simply not a priority for this administration," said Mayor Harry Simmons, president of the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association.
"We look forward to working with the Congress to support filling this serious investment gap in our nation's economy and safety," offered American Public Works Association executive director Peter B. King, as reported by PR Newswire, and published by tickertech.com
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February 04, 2008
Fish Hatchery Turns Sludge into Drinking Water through Chemistry
Situated in Brandy Camp, Elk County, PA, the Blue Valley Water Treatment Facility and Fish Hatchery, which is part of the Toby Creek Watershed Association, is treating mine sludge, and turning into drinking quality water to supply the fish hatchery.
According to Bill Salvage, a spokesman for the operation, there are currently 500 gallons of contaminated acid mine drainage from the Blue Valley acid mine processed daily. The water is a blood red whenever it embarks on the cleaning process.
The water is turned to a clear and drinkable state through a cleaning process involving chemical additives and then the clean water is pumped into fish hatchery holding tanks.
"The biggest environmental issue of Pennsylvania is acid mine drainage," Salvage said. "The Blue Valley Water Treatment facility produces a domino effect of better water because our water keeps moving, and eventually reaches the Mississippi," as reported by the St. Mary's Daily Press.
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