October 23, 2008
UN Ties Potable Water to Reducing World Poverty
A study recently released by the United Nations University finds that ensuring safe water and installing toilets in the world where needed, will do the most for reducing poverty and improving world health.
"Water problems, caused largely by an appalling absence of adequate toilets in many places, contribute tremendously to some of the world's most punishing problems, foremost among them the inter-related afflictions of poor health and chronic poverty," says Zafar Adeel, Director of the UN University's Canadian-based International Network on Water, Environment and Health(UNU-INWEH).
"It is astonishing that, despite all the attention these issues have received over decades, the world has not even properly mapped water and sanitation problems nor agreed on such terms as 'safe,' or 'adequate,' or 'accessible' or 'affordable,' all of which are in daily use by officials and policy-makers."
"We need greater investment in the development of models to aid decision-making, reduce uncertainty and augment costly monitoring programmes," says Dr. Corinne Wallace, a leading water-health researcher at UNU-INWEH. "Combining these efforts with a vulnerability map for water-associated diseases can form the basis for evidence-based policy development," she adds, as reported by United Nations University and published by Medical News Today.
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September 24, 2008
Average Water Costs in the U.S. Rise 7.3%
Reporting on the annual survey taken by the NUS Consulting Group, of Park Ridge,NJ, results have shown that the average price of water in the United States grew by 7.3 percent for the period ending July 1, 2008.
The survey, taken from 51 water systems located across the country, indicated that the highest price paid was in Boston,MA at $5.76 per one thousand gallons ("KGal") while consumers in Savannah,GA enjoyed the lowest water price at $1.09 per KGal.
Since 2003, this survey has shown water prices in the U.S. have increased by nearly 30 percent.
None of the reporting water systems indicated no increase in cost for this year, as reported by NUS Consulting, and published by The Earth Times.
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September 15, 2008
Industry in Vietnam is Dumping Untreated Waste in Rivers and Canals
According to the VietNam Environment Protection Agency(VEPA), 90 percent of enterprises across the country are discharging untreated waste directly into rivers and canals, which pollutes groundwater systems.
VEPA, which is part of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, says an excessive focus on economic growth and disregard for its environmental fallout is the main reasons for this problem.
Some 70 percent of industrial zones in the country do not even have water and solid waste management systems.
VEPA also said that the country's environmental police are understaffed and under trained to inspect, prosecute and prevent environmental crimes and violations, as reported by Vietnam News Service(VNS).
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August 21, 2008
Released Federal Document Says Canada Risks Water Shortages
Under the Access to Information Act, an internal government 21 page report by Environment Canada, titled "A Federal Perspective on Water Quantity Issues," has been released.
The report, which was drafted last December, warns "We can no longer take our extensive water supplies for granted."
It suggests the federal government take a more hands-on approach in managing the country's water, which is now mostly done by the provinces.
The report says, "Canada lacks sound information at a national scale on the major uses and user[s] of water."
"National forecasting of water availability has never been done because traditionally our use of the resource was thought to be unlimited."
Environment Minister John Baird, in an email, commented, "This report is a one-stop shop document that can guide us toward ensuring that we get clean, safe water to Canadians, wherever they choose to live," as reported by The Canadian Press, and published by CBCnews.
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August 12, 2008
Water Technology is Expanding
United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation's mission is to protect water and related resources.
New technology is making water desalination much more cost effective. John Walp, commissioning manager of the Brackish Groundwater National Desalination Research Facility in Alamogordo, NM, spoke of this development with local Chamber of Commerce Water Committee members yesterday.
Because of the National Research Council's review of desalination, which was completed in April, the Bureau of Reclamation has adopted a strategy for supporting high risk research on major innovations and developing a better understanding of environmental issues associated with ocean and inland desalination, Walp said.
"There are new ways of combining technologies to improve efficiency, reduce costs, remove new types of contaminants and meet increasing state and federal regulations," Walp said, as reported by the Las Cruses Sun-News.
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July 24, 2008
Nevada Drought Predicted Due to Climate Change
A study released yesterday by the National Conference of State Legislatures and the Center for Integrative Environmental Research predicted that climate change will create devastating drought in Nevada and the Southwest, and will drop the levels of the already low Lake Mead (pictured) and Lake Powell, thus affecting the water supply.
By 2100, average temperatures in Nevada may increase by up to four degrees in the spring and fall and by up to six degrees in the summer and winter, and El Nino conditions are likely to increase in frequency and duration, the report states.
"These temperature changes will have major effects on evaporation and precipitation in the state. The decreased availability of water statewide is likely to affect development, tourism and power production," the study adds.
"Unless we take action to cut the pollution causing climate change we will further jeopardize Nevada's water supply," Dan Grossman, Rocky Mountain Regional Director, Environmental Defense Fund, said.
"The threat to the water supply in Nevada and other Western states demonstrate that the most expensive thing we can do about climate change is ignore it," as reported by the Associated Press, and published by Business Week.
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July 21, 2008
Proper Watering for your Garden
Answers on how to properly water your garden, how much or how little water to use and proper care to both conserve water and maintain a healthy garden.
Soaker hoses or drip-irrigation systems are the most efficient way to water your garden, but if you must use a sprinkler, use one that delivers large drops, not a mist, to prevent rapid evaporation.
A garden should get about an inch of water per week, so a rain gauge is a good idea, or as Becky Szkotak, of Rutgers Cooperative Extension in Camden, N.J., suggests: "Get a small Tupperware container."
If you water by hand, do it deeply and less often, in the morning so as to prevent fungus which is common with night watering.
Use fertilizers sparingly. They bulk up your plants, then make them thirsty.
Look for drought-tolerant plants, such as salvias, purple coneflower and rudbeckia.
Use compost and mulch for healthy soil that retains moisture.
Keep weeding. Weeds are big drinkers.
Install a rain barrel, with dunks inside and mesh on top to discourage mosquitoes.
Choose porous materials like gravel for pathways, so water seeps into the ground instead of skimming off.
Fix hose leaks. A garden hose can put out more than six gallons of water a minute.
Experts say over-watering is a bigger problem than under-watering.
These same experts say that at this time of year, when up to 80 percent of household water consumption takes place outside, we waste as much as half of it, as reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer, and published by The Times.
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May 07, 2008
World's Largest Freshwater Lake Affected by Global Warming
The world's largest fresh water lake, Lake Baikal in frigid Siberia, it has been discovered by American and Russian scientists that the temperature of the water is rising as a direct result of global warming.
"Warming of this isolated but enormous lake is a clear signal that climate change has affected even the most remote corners of our planet," said Stephanie Hampton, an ecologist and deputy director of the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) in Santa Barbara,CA.
"The conclusions shown here for this enormous body of freshwater result from careful and repeated sampling over six decades," said Henry Gholz, program director for NCEAS at the National Science Foundation (NSF), which funded the research.
Lake Baikal holds 20 percent of the world's freshwater, and it is large enough to hold all the water in the United States' Great Lakes. It is the world's deepest lake and also its oldest. At 25 million years old, it predates the emergence of humans. It contains 2500 plant and animal species, with many found nowhere else in the world, as reported by the the National Science Foundation.
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April 24, 2008
NRC Says there is Water Desalination in U.S. Future
In a report released today, the National Research Council (NRC) said that, with improving technologies, desalted seawater might just be a viable source for future potable water requirements.
"Uncertainties about desalination's (pictured) environmental impacts are currently a significant barrier to its wider use, and research on these effects - and ways to lessen them - should be the top priority," said Amy K. Zander, chair of the committee that wrote the report and a professor at Clarkson University.
"Finding ways to lower costs should also be an objective. A coordinated research effort dedicated to these goals could make desalination a more practical option for some communities facing water shortages," Zander said in a statement.
This report was sponsored by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as reported by the Associated Press.
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April 15, 2008
Conserve with Rainwater Tanks, but Don't Drink From Them
With the water shortages that Australia has been going through, the use of rainwater tanks has been encouraged. A study by a joint research study by Melbourne Monash University and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) shows that lead along with other heavy metals contamination is commonly found in the rainwater tanks.
"It can be environmental or atmospheric, so you could potentially have lead associated with the dust that blows around an urban area," said Dr. Grace Mitchell, a senior research fellow at Monash University.
"Up until relatively recently we used a lot of lead in our petrol, so they're the sorts of environmental sources."
"There can be also lead flashing on roofs that haven't been properly coated, so it actually could leach lead."
"There may be lead solder associated with some of the pipes, and then you may find other environmental sources of lead - there can be some industrial processes that may be emitting lead."
"I'd encourage them to go for the other uses first that use more water, so they're going to get more savings and also it doesn't have kind of potential concerns from a health point of view," said Dr. Mitchell, as reported by ABC News, Australia.
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April 14, 2008
Fast Melting Mountains Portend Water Shortages to Come
At a meeting of geoscientists in Vienna today, it was concluded that glaciers and mountain snows were melting much earlier this year than usual, and the result will be that when the water is really most needed, in the dry summer when there is little rainfall, water will be in short supply.
"This is just a time bomb," said hydrologist Wouter Buytaert at the meeting. "In some areas where the glaciers are small they could be gone in 30 or 50 years time and a very reliable source of water, especially for the summer months, may be gone."
The areas most at risk from a lack of water for drinking and agriculture include parts of the Middle East, southern Africa, the United States, South America and the Mediterranean.
Daniel Viviroli, from the University of Berne, thinks nearly 40 percent of mountainous regions could be at risk, as they provide water to populations which cannot get it elsewhere. He says the earth's sub-tropic zones, which are home to 70 percent of the world's population, are the most vulnerable.
"Glaciers are getting smaller and smaller," said said U.S. Geological Survey researcher Bruce Molnia, adding that this was leading to more frequent flooding.
"And what I am talking about here is adaptable to almost every one of the Himalayan countries that's dependent on glacier-melted water," he said.
As we have written here many times in the past, global warming is having a great affect on the world's potable water supply, as reported by Reuters Africa.
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March 27, 2008
Lack of Water Persists in Southern California
Recent measurements of the snow pack from the Sierra Nevada have indicated that the past stormy winter in California would not have much affect on the water supply this dry season.
"We had a very productive January and February, but there's been virtually no storm activity in March,: said Frank Gehrke, chief of the California Cooperative Snow Surveys. "We've lost some of that advantage. But if we didn't have January and February, we'd have long faces."
The recent "warm weather is not good for the snow pack," said Bill Patzert, a climatologist with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Canada Flintridge. "You want to see it linger and melt slowly through the spring."
Both downtown Los Angeles and Burbank have reported below average rainfall this winter.
"You realize we do live in a desert," said Bonnie Bartling, a National Weather Service specialist. "Some years you get some and other years you get nothing."
Southern California imports its water, receiving half of its water supply from the northern mountain snow pack and half from the now drought stricken Colorado River.
"The weather in the Los Angels Basin is expected to remain dry in the coming days, with temperatures remaining in the low 70s and high 60s," Bartling said, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.
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March 19, 2008
Smart Money is Investing in Water
While in these tough economic times, investors are putting their money in assets like gold and oil, they are also are investing in water.
Investors are buying up assets that control water and improve supplies, especially in developing countries like China where urban populations are booming, leading to a further tightening of supply.
"Many of these cities have tripled in size in the last ten years so there's just an un-addressed need, there's an enormous opportunity for investment," said Kimberly Tara, chief executive of FourWinds Capital Management, a commodities investor.
The December report from Sustainable Asset Management, based in Zurich identified water shortages in regions including southern Spain, the Maghreb area of Northern Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, Pakistan, southern India and northern China. In the Americas, the U.S. Midwest, Mexico and the Andes are among the worst-hit areas. Eastern Australia is also badly affected.
"Large equipment suppliers for obtaining water and treating waste will not operate in parts of the developing world", said Robert Miller-Bakewell, a Merrill Lynch analyst. "They're pretty selective about where they go," he said. "That means a lot of this need will not necessarily be addressed in the near-term."
"The technologies exist. You and I and the World Bank and everyone else can identify the need. The big problem all along is about who's going to pay for it all."
"Drought is our leading example of a problem to solve," said David Fischhoff, head of technology strategy and development at Monsanto, as reported by the International Herald Tribune.
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March 18, 2008
UNICEF Says Water Supply in Nigeria is Worst in Africa
According to Mohamed Yousif, head of the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Program of UNICEF, Nigeria's water supply and sanitation system are the worst in Africa.
Yousif made this assessment in Abuja at the WHO/UNICEF joint monitoring program (JMP) for water supply and sanitation. He went on to say that about 52 per cent of Nigerians have access to water supply and 45 per cent to sanitation.
"Nigeria is about the least in the region and it has no business being there, considering its resources and all the needed support," he said.
The WHO/UNICEF JMP for water and sanitation was set up as a pilot program to strengthen water supply and sanitation monitoring in Nigeria, Ghana and Mozambique through the establishment of sector monitoring units from 2006 to 2009, as reported by The Tide.
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March 12, 2008
New River Pollution Cuts Water Supply in Central China
A pollution spill on a branch of the Yangtze River has affected water supply for 200,000 people in central China's Hubei Province.
Serious pollution on the Hanjiang River has affected residents along its three tributaries, namely the Xinglong, Tianguan and Dongjing rivers, local environmental and water company sources said.
"The water became red with large amounts of bubbles," said Gao Qijin, head of Xingou Township Tap Water Company in Jianli County, which is along the Dongjing River. He said, the pollution was found on Sunday afternoon and the company immediately stopped drawing water from the Dongjing River as it did not meet the tap water standard."
"Qianjiang City had ordered tap water companies in five towns to stop drawing water from the polluted sections," said Zheng Jiarong, vice mayor of the city.
Environmental protection authorities are investigating the source of the contamination. Four inspection teams have been dispatched along the rivers to identify the polluters, as reported by China Economic Net.
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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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January 31, 2008
Scientists Predict Global Water Shortages
Writing in Science Magazine, a group of prominent hydrologists and climatologists has predicted greater water supply problems world-wide due to climate change.
"Our best current estimates are that water availability will increase substantially in northern Eurasia, Alaska, Canada and some tropical regions, and decrease substantially in southern Europe, the Middle East, southern Africa and southwestern North America," said lead author Christopher Milly, a research hydrologist with the US Geological Survey.
"Historically, looking back at past observations has been a good way to estimate future conditions," Milly said. "But climate change magnifies the possibility that the future will bring droughts or floods you never saw in your old measurements."
"Even with aggressive mitigation, continued warming is very likely given the residence time of atmospheric carbon dioxide and the thermal inertia of the Earth system," according to the authors.
Rising sea levels will "heighten risk of contamination of coastal freshwater supplies" while a "poleward expansion of the subtropic dry zone" is reducing water runoff levels, as reported by Agence France-Presse (AFP)
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January 29, 2008
Ethiopian Dry Season brings Water Shortages
With the long dry season in Ethiopia getting underway, there is great concern as to if there is enough water to support both human and livestock consumption.
The Regional Water Bureau has also identified hotspot areas for undertaking water schemes rehabilitation activities
The Regional DPPB has asked UNICEF for funds for water tanker deliveries in the Warder, Liben, Gode, Afder, Fik and Korahe zones.
The Oromiya Pastoralist Commission in the Borena zone identified priority intervention requirements for livestock including animal feed, vaccination and treatment, rehabilitation of water points and water tanker deliveries, as reported by the United Nations Office for the Cooperation of Humanitarian Affairs.
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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.
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October 31, 2007
Report Finds Cold Sea = Low Rainfall = Drought for Australia
Exceptionally cold sea temperatures has been found to be the contributing factor for the devastatingly low rainfall in Australia's south-east since early August, according to a new report by the UN's World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
The WMO said surface waters across the north of Australia were up to 1.5 degrees celsius colder than normal causing lower-than-expected rainfall, while warmer than normal sea surface temperatures in the western equatorial Indian Ocean near Madagascar have caused unusually heavy rain in eastern Africa, leaving dry conditions in many areas of Australia.
"It seems that this cool event in the eastern Indian Ocean damped out the good rains normally expected with La Nina," said Gary Meyers, a Hobart oceanographer and director of the Integrated Marine Observing System.
Dr Michael Coughlan, head of the National Climate Centre within the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM), said last month, "a La Nina weather pattern bringing cool, wet weather, had so far been wasted, occurring over the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean. "There was little potential for the La Nina event to make its presence felt over inland Australia," as reported by the Australian Associated Press.
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October 29, 2007
Much More to be Done to get Water to the Poor in Africa
According to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, across Africa half of all rural households do not have access to clean drinking water and must rely on water sources that may be unhealthy. The situation is better in urban areas, where 80 per cent of the population is covered, but more than half of city and town dwellers do not have a tap in their house or yard.
Africa has abundant fresh water with large lakes, big rivers, vast wetlands and limited but widespread groundwater, yet only 4 per cent of the continent's available fresh water is currently being used.
"Inadequate financing is the single most important factor affecting the continent's fresh water delivery abilities," Peter Akari, chief water policy officer of the African Water Facility at the African Development Bank (ADB)said.
"There is not one single solution to ensuring everyone gains access to water," says the UK charity WaterAid. "So it is impossible to say in general terms whether it is a good idea for private, public or community organizations to be involved in the delivery and management of services. Each circumstance should be looked at individually and a suitable pro-poor, affordable and sustainable solution found to fit each community."
The way forward towards achieving wider access to clean water, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon stated on 22 March, World Water Day, includes "strengthening institutional capacity and governance at all levels, promoting more technology transfer, mobilizing more financial resources and scaling up good practices and lessons learned," as reported by Africa Renewal, and published by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development(WBCSD).
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September 26, 2007
Environment Colorado Reports Water Quality Declining State Wide
According to a new report from Environment Colorado, with state population increasing, coupled with increased oil and gas development, water quality will continue to decline in the state.
The report used data from the EPA and the Colorado Water Quality Control Division which showed that the percentage of Colorado streams deemed fishable or swimmable declined by 7 percent, while the number of stream segments classified as impaired rose 53 percent between 1998 and 2006.
Steve Gunderson, director of the state's water quality control division said, "The number one reason we see more impairments is we have more data. And standards are tighter. The most common pollutant statewide is selenium, affecting 25 percent of all impaired stream reaches. Second on the list is zinc, a common pollutant from abandoned mines that affects Summit County’s watersheds.
"There just aren’t enough cops on the beat,” said Stephanie Thomas, the primary author of the report. Thomas said, that, based on the data reported by the state and the EPA, she stands by the conclusion that Colorado's water is in worse shape than it was half a decade ago. "Water quality declined and we expect it to continue," as reported by Vail Daily.
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August 30, 2007
Lake Superior has Dropped One Foot this Past Year
Lake Superior, which accounts for about 40% of the water supply for Lakes Michigan and Huron, has dropped one foot this past year, and continues to fall.
Hydrologists think lack of rain and increased evaporation have caused the record loss which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimate is about 12.7 trillion gallons.
Though flows to the St. Marys River from lake can be controlled, "there is really very little human influence on the system that can make any substantial change," said Scott Thieme, chief of the Army Corps of Engineers' Great Lakes office for hydraulics and hydrology.
As it is, lakes Michigan and Huron are both 2 feet below average levels now, and thus, as Rob Caldwell of Environment Canada said, It's a balancing act. There is no one side that wins," as reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
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August 20, 2007
Suggestion Canada Sell Drinking Water to the U.S.
Canada, it has been suggested, should look to sell its abundant excess fresh water to the United States.
It seems that, with its sharing of the world's largest body of fresh water, the Great Lakes, with the U.S. plus the many rivers, streams and other lakes, Canada has one-fifth of all the fresh water in the world.
As the U.N. urges nations with surplus fresh water to share their water-wealth with less fortunate countries, Canada, which wastes as much water daily as other developed countries, should consider selling its excess to the U.S., as reported by the Toronto Star.
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August 09, 2007
Overpopulation, Overindulgence = Bleak Outlook for Drinking Water
It was not until 1830 that the earth's population reached 1 billion, yet by 1999 the world population crossed the 6 billion mark.
There is no question that this population expansion has cost the earth both environmentally and ecologically. Our forests are declining, our topsoil is eroding, our deserts are expanding, and our climate is undergoing radical change.
Scientists have warned us that the underground water supply of the Midwest is being siphoned off and depleted for a seemingly insatiable conglomerate of fruit, vegetable and livestock growers of the Southwest, via the mammoth irrigation projects extending all the way to Southern California.
There is only so much fresh drinking water on the continent, and if you thing gas is expensive, just hope you don't have to pay for a glass of water in the middle of a veritable desert of dust bowl conditions, as reported by John Blankenship, for The Herald-
Register.
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July 31, 2007
Water Meters Stolen in Dallas
Dallas police, who say they typically get 20 to 30 reports of water-meter thefts per year, said that at least 17 water meters have been reported stolen this month alone.
Apparently, the thieves open the meter boxes, using keys available at any hardware store, and sell them for the few dollar they can get for the scrap metal.
The Dallas Water Department replaces the $20 water meters at no charge to the victim of this petty crime. They certainly can appreciate the consumer who turns on his tap to find no water and then, finds out it is because his water meter has been stolen, as reported by NBC5 news.
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July 16, 2007
Global Warming Reducing River Flows In China
The Xinhua news reported Chinese scientists have found that water flowing in both the Yangtze and Yellow rivers, is far less today than 40 years ago due to the affect of global warming on the wetland which feed them.
Scientists of the Chinese Academy of Sciences studied changes at the wetlands of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in western China using aerial photos and satellite images, which showed that the wetlands on the plateau have shrunk more than 10 percent over the past four decades.
"The wetlands play a key role in containing water and adjusting the water volume of the rivers," researcher Wang Xugen said. "The shrinking of the wetland on the plateau is closely connected with global warming."
"The increased rainfall didn't lead to more water flow in the rivers because the evaporation was so fast as a result of global warming," Li Shijie, a researcher with the Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology said. The institute is connected to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, as reported by Xinhua news and published by China Daily.
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July 10, 2007
Now its Counterfeit Bottled Water in China
Well we here have recently been concerned with tainted foods from China, and now the Beijing Times newspaper has reported that that more than half of the water coolers in Beijing use counterfeit branded water.
According to the report, the water is either tap water or purified water from small suppliers put into the water jugs and sealed with bogus quality standard marks.
Beijing's tap water is generally not safe to drink because of the city's aging pipes, and visitors to the capital see signs in luxury hotels that tell guests that the water has been treated and is safe to drink, though most Chinese consider it unsafe and do not drink it themselves.
The government agency that monitors food safety said the report was under investigation while down playing it. "Problems found with some individual cases cannot be interpreted to mean that the entire water industry has problems," Wu Jianping of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine told a news conference, as reported by the Associated Press.
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July 03, 2007
Proposal for Canal from Red Sea to Dead Sea
Jordan's Ministry of Water and Irrigation announced in an online news report that is being considered by 11 companies for offers on a proposed canal to run from the Red Sea to the the Dead Sea.
The Dead Sea has exhibited rapid depletion in recent decades, as water from the Jordan River has been diverted for agriculture and other uses.
According to the report, a two-year study would examine the environmental and social consequences of bringing seawater from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea through a 300-km canal through the desert.
Construction of the canal is estimated take 25 years and cost US$ 1 billion, and will include a seawater desalination plant that will provide water for drinking and agriculture for the region, as reported by the KHL Group and published by International Construction.
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June 01, 2007
Newsweek Reports on Water Issues as well
Newsweek, in its June 4, 2007 addition, reports on the growing water crises, which apparently indicates that this is a hot topic for this month.
Here the report finds three "flashpoints, regions where the future of water is most worrisome." China, with its growing pollution problems, India, with the dysfunctional water distribution system, both of which we have written about here in the past, and a new one for this blog, the West Bank, suffering from a water shortage. It seems the Palestinian camps see Israelis water their laws across the border, while they are terribly short of drinking water, as reported by http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032542/site/newsweek/.
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May 30, 2007
U.S. News & World Report Features Water Issues
The most current issue of U.S News & World Report, June 4, 2007, features as its cover story, "Why You Should Worry About Water."
The article goes on to report on "How this diminishing resource will determine the future of where and how we live." It seems to me to that the detailed analysis is taken straight from this blog and echo many of the facts we have been reporting on here for the past few years. This is not so say that we do not appreciate this publication which no doubt will reach a greater audience than our blog, with information on what we both find to be of importance to the world.
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February 19, 2007
NJ water supplies are getting more polluted
The news that 70 percent of the New Jersey's waterways do not meet federal water-quality standards is extremely disheartening, considering that three years ago, the percentage was actually lower.
Now it does not sound good. Arsenic in the Hackensack River. Mercury in the Oradell Reservoir. PCBs, cyanide and dioxin in the Passaic River. Pathogens and phosphorus in the Wanaque Reservoir. Totally dissolved solids (dirt, sewage or chemical contaminants) in the Hohokus Brook.
In North Jersey, 17 rivers, brooks, lakes and reservoirs do not meet the federal clean water standard. The pollution of the state's waters comes from sewer plants, farm and garden fertilizers, pesticides, motor oil, gasoline, road salt and other chemicals. It comes from storm water and wastewater runoff. It comes from pet and livestock waste. It comes from the loss of wetlands and open space and the endless increase in development and sprawl.
Environmentalists warn repeatedly that North Jersey's love of development is hurting our water supply. They warn that sprawl -- with its landscaping and parking lots and traffic congestion -- is increasing the contaminated runoff that ends up in our streams and brooks. But development continues unabated, as reported by The Record.
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January 23, 2007
Rusty Pipes said to be the Biggest Threat to U.S. Drinking Water
According to Timothy Ford, a microbiologist and water research scientist with Montana State University, rusting water infrastructure is the biggest threat to the public drinking water supply in the U.S. As Ford said, "If you clean up water and then put it into a dirty pipe, there's not much point."
Before water ends up in your glass, it often passes though pipes laid under city streets 50 or a much as 100 years ago. These pipes were made of iron, until plastic was introduced 30 years ago.
"Investigations conducted in the last five years suggest that a substantial proportion of waterborne disease outbreaks, both microbial and chemical, is attributable to problems within distribution systems," the National Research Council said in a study for the Environmental Protection Agency released in December.
"We estimate in the next 20 to 30 years water utilities will have to invest $250 to $350 billion just to replace the pipes that are in the ground today," said Jack Hossbuhr, executive director of the American Water Works Association, the industry's trade group.
"We committed 100 years ago to build a reliable, low-cost, high-quality municipal drinking water systems. But there are no guarantees that will continue," said Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute, a research group in Oakland, California, as reported by Reuters.
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October 03, 2006
Growing New York City Using Less Water
Despite having grown to a population of 8.2 million, up from 7.9 million in 1951, the city is now using 28 percent less water than it did in 1979.
In New York, the frenzy of development and renovation in recent decades has speeded the replacement of less efficient toilets and appliances, and the city distributes conservation kits to retrofit faucets in homes and apartments. Newer toilets use 1.6 gallons per flush instead of 5; new showerheads reduce the flow of water; and many washing machines use fewer than 20 gallons per load instead of more than 40, which saves money both on water and on the cost of heating it. Many restrooms have sinks with automatic shutoffs.
The city has also paid attention to its own plumbing, using sonar and other equipment to more efficiently find and fix leaks in its millions of feet of water mains. And it has installed sprinkler caps on fire hydrants during the summer, letting overheated kids cool off without torrents of gushing water.
"We think some of the new immigrants don't know the water is safe to drink and spend money on bottled water," said Emily Lloyd, the city's environmental protection commissioner. "We're going to all this trouble to make the water clean," she said. "I hope they're drinking it," as reported by the New York Times.
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June 14, 2006
What to know if your well is flooded
Should floodwaters ever reach your well, and particularly if you notice a distinct change in your water quality, then you should immediately start boiling your water. After the water recedes, your well should be tested by your local health department before you stop boiling it.
If your well tests positive for bateria, it will have to be disinfected and unscented household laundry bleach can to do that.
All water filters, or other water treatement equipment should have their membranes and cartridges changed after the disinfecting of your well is completed. Then run your water taps for 15 minutes to clear any chorine smell, and get your water retested to be be sure it is once again potable, as reported by the Desoto Sun Herald.
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May 24, 2006
Polluted waters endanger beachgoers.
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NDRC) said today, that it will sue the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for missing the congressionally mandated October 2005 deadline to revise outdated health standards for beachwater quality, thus leaving vulnerable the more than 180 million Americans who go to the shore every year to waterborne disease.
"A day at the beach should not turn into a night in the bathroom, or worse, in the hospital," said Nancy Stoner, director of NRDC's Clean Water Project and supervisor of the group's annual report on vacation beach water quality, which will come out later this summer. "There have been significant advances over the last two decades that we should be using to protect beachgoers. It shouldn't take the EPA 10 years to set new standards."
An estimated 7 million Americans are sickened by contaminated water, including recreational and drinking water, every year. Also, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is an upward trend in the number of waterborne diseases associated with recreational waters, as published by the NRDC Press, and reported by the Reuters News Service.
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May 22, 2006
Rains relieve water scarcity in South Africa
Rains finally came to the catchment areas of the main water supply dams in the Nelson Mandela Bay bringing needed relief to the critical water shortages in the area.
"This morning 40 cubic metres of water per second was flowing towards the Kouga dam and should reach it by later today - the first time in more than two years that an inflow of this strength will be recorded - and will bring about an increase of about 1.4 percent day in the level of the dam," the municipality's spokesperson Lourens Schoeman said.
The municipality noted that while the rain was welcomed, penetrating follow-up rains were still needed to raise the average level of the supply dams to around 60 percent, which would free residents from the water restrictions, as reported by BuaNews, and published by GCIS.
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May 09, 2006
Report Manganese in Madison Drinking Water
More than two years after manganese was first found in the Madison,WI's water supply, the Madison Water Utility is still fighting to control it and trying to maintain customer confidence.
"The quality of the water coming out of the tap almost all the time is way better than the water you pay large sums of money for off the shelf at the grocery store," said Water Utility Board Commissioner John Standridge.
Efforts are under way from building new wells and pulling up old pipes to flushing mains differently and testing home tap water.
"Although manganese is part of the normal diet, everybody needs a little manganese, too much in the wrong person can be toxic," said Standridge.
Utility managers said that they've been on top of the situation and even on the cutting edge of a water industry issue that has only surfaced in the past few years, as reported by Channel 3000 News, Madison.
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April 14, 2006
Somalian deaths over drinking water
In Rabdore, Somalia, during what the villagers call the "War of the Well", two clans battling over the water hole, have killed over 250 men over the past two years. Now, armed warlords control the well, during the region's relentless three-year drought.
The drought has affected an estimated 11 million people across East Africa, with the governments of Kenya and Ethiopia having to mediated dozens of conflicts over water in their countries, even sending in police and the army to quell disputes around wells.
Zlatan Milisic, the World Food Program's country director for Somalia said, "The effects here are worse than anywhere else because there's no government, there's no stability. To me, this is the most unstable place in the world that is currently suffering a drought", as reported by the Washington Post.
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April 03, 2006
Predicted water crises looming for the Prairies of Alberta
A new report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, released in Ottawa, has predicted an unprecedented water crisis for Canada's Prairies in the coming years due to declining river flows and growing water usage.
All the major Prairie rivers are fed by melting snow and ice in the Rockies, but the glaciers and snow pack have been receding due to climate warming.
"If the trends described above continue, the combination of climate warming, increases in human populations and industry, and historic drought is likely to bring an unprecedented water crisis in the Western Prairie Provinces," says the report.
According to researher David Schindler, "We really need comprehensive watershed planning but when I see how fast development and the loss of water flows are proceeding, I really wonder if we're going to get there on time," as reported by the Canadian Press, and published by globeandmail.com.
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March 13, 2006
New report says less is more in getting water to the poor
In a new report, Spreading the Water Wealth: Making Water Infrastructure Work for the Poor, released today by the International Rivers Network in Berkeley, CA, the conlusion is reached that the water needs of the world’s poorest people can be met by redirecting investments in water infrastructure to cheap, decentralized and environmentally sustainable technologies.
"Small–scale projects such as local rainwater harvesting structures, drip irrigation and pump technologies, and water–saving farming techniques can reduce poverty more effectively and at lower cost than the mega–projects that focus on cities, industry, and modern agriculture", says Patrick McCully, Executive Director of International Rivers Network.
McCully argues that the needs of the poor must be put front and center in water infrastructure strategies, and rebuts the main arguments for the mega–project approach, as reported and published by the International Rivers Network.
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February 23, 2006
Plan to send Missouri River water to Canada creating worry.
North Dakota plans to divert water from the Missouri River into a system that would take it over the border to Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba, the world's 10th largest freshwater lake and home to a commercial fishery.
North Dakota say that it faces severe drought within 50 years and needs to tap water from the Missouri, which normally flows into the Mississippi River and then on to the Gulf of Mexico.
"Our concern would be that brings a risk of harm to Manitoba with the potential movement of harmful, invasive species," Dwight Williamson of Manitoba Water Stewardship told Reuters in a recent interview.
Merri Mooridian, of the Garrison Diversion Conservancy District in North Dakota said, "We feel this alternative, with the proper treatment, will not harm the water", as reported by Reuters.
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February 15, 2006
Drinking water's future tied to global warming
A major factor in what may become the biggest challenge to meeting tomorrow's water needs is global climate changes, as considered in Santa Clara County,California.
In that area, rising tidal elevations due to global warming along with the posibility of a major earthquake or heavy seasonal flooding which threaten a catastrophic failure of the delta levee system, which holds about half the annual water supply, in the Santa Clara region.
As the Earth's atmosphere continues to warm, snowfall in the Sierra decreases year after year. Early melts produce unseasonable runoff that becomes less and less available for suplying to other places in the state, like Santa Clara County. That throws into doubt the availability of additional delta water to meet the county's future needs, as written by, Larry Wilson chairman of the Santa Clara Valley Water District board of directors, and published by The Mercury News.
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February 13, 2006
Aussies suggest a water savings Valentines Day
In Queensland, Australia, where potable water is at a premium, the suggestion has been made on how to save some on Valentines Day.
The suggestion comes from Water Minister Henry Palaszczuk whose idea is to save water by not buying traditional roses, which need to be watered, but instead to give a gift of a water saving shower rose.
Palaszczuk went on to say that the savings in water and water energy costs would be significant. He said, "the new shower rose will pay for itself as well as buy a bunch of flowers, chocolates and possibly a romantic dinner for two on St Valentine's Day next year with the money saved," as reported by The Sydney Morning Herald.
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January 31, 2006
San Francisco spends millions on bottled water
In truly an embarressment, the city of San Francisco, which owns a pristine reservoir in the Sierra Nevada with a reputation for producing some of the country's best-tasting tap water, has spent more than two million dollars of taxpayers' money in the past 4 1/2 years on bottled water.
The mayor's office in City Hall, the Department of Public Health , the Municipal Railway, and the San Francisco International Airport are all among the public spenders on bottled water, with tap water readily available.
It is really ironic that the Public Utilities Commission, which performed a blind taste test on the street during National Drinking Water Week last May to convince people that tap water from the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park is at least as good as the stuff at the store, even spent funds on bottled water.
Jake McGoldrick, a member of the Board of Supervisors who does not have city-funded bottled water delivered to his City Hall office said, "People have come to assume that even though we have the best water in the entire U.S., they still need bottled water. It's become the chic thing," as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.
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January 25, 2006
Tennessee experts discuss water quality
John McFadden, director of science and restoration programs at the nonprofit Harpeth River Watershed Association, says the major threat to water quality in Middle Tennessee is the region's rapid development and the sediment it puts into rivers and streams.
David Draughon, director of the division of water supply at the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, says that water utilities in Tennessee adjust factors such as pH and alkalinity to reduce the corrosiveness of water to minimize lead and that over time the lead in pipes leeches out to leave a protective lead-free layer.
Steve Patch, director of the Environmental Quality Institute at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, suggests that homes contaminanted by lead should get water filters bearing the NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) seal.
As for bottled water, Fred Guengerich, who directs the Center in Molecular Toxicology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center said, "It's actually tested less than the tap water is," as reported by the Robertson County Times.
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