Monthly Archive for March, 2011

Ethiopia Offers Olive Branch in Nile Water Sharing Dispute

Published on 03/31/2011 in dams, drought, hydropower, solutions and outreach and water diversions. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .

Retrived from: Ethopian News

“Ethiopia is offering Egypt and Sudan an olive branch in their bitter dispute over sharing the waters of the Nile River. The offer includes possible joint ownership of a huge Ethiopian hydropower project that Egypt has tried to block.

“Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Meles Zenawi launched a furious attack Friday on powerful interests seeking to prevent construction of a 5,200-megawatt dam on the Blue Nile, in the highlands along the Sudanese border.

“Meles says the massive project would allow Ethiopia to earn precious foreign exchange from electricity exports. But traditional funding sources have dried up, largely due to opposition from environmentalists, as well as from Egypt, which depends almost totally on the Nile for its water supply.

“Speaking to the opening session of an international hydropower conference, Meles vowed the $4.8-billion project would go ahead, even if impoverished Ethiopia has to pay the tab itself.

“We are so convinced of the justice of our cause, so sure of the strength of our arguments, so convinced of the role of our hydropower projects in eliminating poverty in our country that we will use every ounce of our strength, every dime of money that we can save to complete our program,” Meles said. ”

Read more: Voanews

sammykayed

Riots over forced migration at Chinese dam project leave 50 hurt

Published on 03/30/2011 in dams, displacement of people, hydropower and rivers. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Photo retrieved from: treehugger.com

“Thousands of people clashed with police in southwestern China’s Yunnan Province over compensation for being forced to resettle for a dam project, a human rights watchdog and the government confirmed Wednesday.

“The Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy said thousands of people blocked major traffic routes in Suijiang County from Friday until Tuesday when 1,500 paramilitary police, led by an armored vehicle, forcibly dispersed the crowd, leaving 30 protesters and 20 police injured.

“The Hong Kong-based center said an ambulance was wrecked after paramedics in it took care of injured police and ignored protesters.

“About 100,000 people in the region are to be moved to make way for the construction of a dam and power plant on the Jinsha River, but disputes over payment for grave removal and resettlement remain unresolved.

“The center said the government offered people 1,000 yuan ($152) for grave removal that cost more than 5,000 yuan and that the people are dissatisfied with the quality of resettlement houses that are located in an earthquake zone.”

Read more: iStockAnalyst

jenna cavelle

Billion-plus people to lack water in 2050: study

Published on 03/29/2011 in climate change, displacement of people, drought, tap water, water shortage and world water supply. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Photo retrieved from: cdn.wn.com

“More than one billion urban residents will face serious water shortages by 2050 as climate change worsens effects of urbanization, with Indian cities among the worst hit, a study said Monday.

“The shortage threatens sanitation in some of the world’s fastest-growing cities but also poses risks for wildlife if cities pump in water from outside, said the article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“The study found that under current urbanization trends, by mid-century some 993 million city dwellers will live with less than 100 liters (26 gallons) each day of water each — roughly the amount that fills a personal bathtub — which authors considered the daily minimum.

“Adding on the impact of climate change, an additional 100 million people will lack what they need for drinking, cooking, cleaning, bathing and toilet use.

“”Don’t take the numbers as destiny. They’re a sign of a challenge,” said lead author Rob McDonald of The Nature Conservancy, a private environmental group based near Washington.

“”There are solutions to getting those billion people water. It’s just a sign that a lot more investment is going to be needed, either in infrastructure or in water use efficiency,” he said.”

Read more: Brisbane Times

jenna cavelle

Use less water or you’ll pay: Que. warns

Published on 03/29/2011 in policy, tap water and water conservation. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

About 18 per cent of Quebec's water supply is wasted annually because of leaks and main breaks.

“The Quebec government is warning municipalities and businesses to reduce their water consumption or risk being penalized.

“According to a Municipal Affairs ministry study which compiled data on water use based on a 2006 Statistics Canada report, Quebec homes and businesses use 35 per cent more water than the Canadian average, and 62 per cent more than their counterparts in Ontario.

“Environment Minister Pierre Arcand called it an abuse of the resource and said part of the problem stems from a misconception about the availability of potable water in the province.

“”In Quebec we’ve always been told that resources were abundant, that there’s no problem with water,” said Arcand. “So I think a lot of people have that in their minds.”

“Arcand added about 18 per cent of the water supply is wasted annually because of leaks and main breaks.”

Read more: CBC

jenna cavelle

Power Plants Face EPA Cooling-Water Rules to Protect Fish

Published on 03/29/2011 in clean water act, nuclear power and policy. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Entergy said last month that it was worried the EPA rule would force it to to spend $1.2 billion building two cooling towers at its Indina Point plant. Photographer: Mike Di Paola/Bloomberg

“Utilities such as Entergy Corp. (ETR) face U.S. rules aimed at preventing fish from being sucked into cooling-water systems and costing industry $384 million a year, the Environmental Protection Agency said.

“The Obama administration’s proposal introduced yesterday will affect more than 1,200 facilities and save billions of aquatic organisms, including 615 million fish and shellfish a year, the agency said in an e-mailed statement.

“The EPA rule, part of a court settlement with environmental groups, will cover power plants and factories that pull water from rivers or lakes to cool machines. Existing facilities will work with states to determine how to meet the requirements while new units will have to use closed-cycle cooling, a system that draws less water and ensnares fewer fish.

““The EPA’s approach is likely to minimize the industry’s cost of compliance,” Hugh Wynne, an analyst at Sanford Bernstein & Co. in New York, wrote today in a report to clients.

“The EPA’s pending proposal under the Clean Water Act had been singled out by energy companies, industry groups and Republican lawmakers as a regulation that may burden electric utilities and cause some coal-fired power plants to shut down.

“Representative Fred Upton, a Michigan Republican, in December said the rule might cost utilities as much as $300 million per site for coal-fired plants and as much as $1 billion for nuclear generators, exceeding the EPA’s projections.

“Exelon Corp. (EXC), owner of the most U.S. nuclear plants, said today the EPA’s proposed standard doesn’t require existing plants to build costly cooling towers.”

Read more: Bloomberg

jenna cavelle

Utility Workers Union Launches Website Detailing Indictment of United Water Services for Alleged Environmental Crimes

Published on 03/29/2011 in contaminated water, greenwashing, management and wastewater. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Photo retrieved from: www.labortribune.com

“The Utility Workers Union of America has launched a website providing details about a criminal indictment recently issued by a U.S. federal grand jury against United Water Services. The UWUA will update the site – www.UnitedWaterIndictment.net – frequently to add additional news concerning United Water, a for-profit U.S. water and wastewater services company owned by French multinational Suez Environnement.

“This website is designed as a source of independent news and research concerning United Water, starting with the ongoing criminal prosecution of the company for alleged environmental felonies in Indiana,” stated John Duffy, UWUA National Vice President.

On December 8, 2010, a federal grand jury issued an indictment charging that United Water and two of its managers tampered with E. coli bacteria monitoring tests at a Gary, Indiana wastewater treatment plant between 2003 and 2008. Prosecutors allege that United Water manipulated the monitoring results as part of a scheme to reduce its costs for purchasing chlorine, which is used as a disinfectant before the plant discharges treated sewage into a public waterway near Chicago.”

Read more: The Sacramento Bee

 

lily victoria

Blogging for Water: SUCCESS!

Published on 03/29/2011 in tap water and water conservation. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Photo retrieved from: www.tprf.org

“Lots of fun was had by all as over 100 bloggers spent March 22, World Water Day, blogging to raise $10,000 in 24 hours to bring sustainable clean water to villagers in India. The initiative, called typeTAP, was the brainchild of The Adventure Project, an innovative non-profit founded last year with the aim of raising awareness and funds to support the world’s most effective social ventures.

The idea was to find at least 100 bloggers who could inspire at least 10 readers to give US$10 to assure clean water for villagers in India. In the end 148 bloggers joined in, 321 donations were made, and as midnight arrived, the popular project had raised $11,390.  With matching funds from TPRF,  over $22,780 will go to train local mechanics to repair hundreds of broken-down pumps that have left countless villagers with no ready source of clean water.

All funds collected go to WaterAid, a charity that takes a unique approach to providing the poorest communities with potable water. Rather than building and abandoning wells that would quickly fall into disrepair, WaterAid equips and trains villagers to repair water sources across their region. More unique still, they strive to educate women so that they can become economically independent participants in what are often conservatively traditional communities.”

Read more: The Prem Rawat Foundation

 

lily victoria

New Mekong Dam a Go, and a Blow to Megafishes?

Published on 03/28/2011 in dams, hydropower, policy, privatization, rivers and species extinction. 0 Comments Tags: .

Photo retrieved from: www.chanthy96.blogspot.com

“A meeting between four Southeast Asian countries this week could determine whether construction of the first of up to a dozen controversial dams on the Mekong River can proceed.

The dams are designed to generate electricity for the region, but environmentalists fear they will disrupt the Mekong’s delicate freshwater ecology—which supports the endangered giant Mekong catfish and dozens of other critical species—and threaten local communities who rely on the river for food and jobs.

“We believe the Mekong River dams should not be built,” said Ame Trandem, a campaigner for the environmental group International Rivers.

The Xayaburi Dam in northern Laos is the first of 11 proposed dams planned for construction on the lower Mekong River. Nine dams are planned for Laos, and two others are slated for Cambodia.

The approximately 3,000-mile (4,800-kilometer) Mekong River is traditionally separated into two parts on maps: The upper Mekong flows through China, where it is known as the Lancang River, while the lower Mekong runs alongside Myanmar and through Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam before emptying into the South China Sea.

The Xayaburi Dam will take eight years to complete and cost an estimated $3.5 billion. It will generate 1,260 megawatts of electricity, most of which will be sold to Thailand.”

Read more: National Geographic

 

lily victoria

Libya: Oil and Water Mix?

Published on 03/28/2011 in dams, hydrology, hydropower, levees, rivers and water diversions. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Retrieved from: Tublermedia

“Oil, of course, remains a key element in the fight for control of Libya. Via pipeline and tanker distribution, Libya’s oil resources supply a substantial part of the consumption in the United States and the European Union and are the major source of financial support for the Gadhafi regime. This primary aspect of the present and future national economy is vulnerable to the ongoing military battle for political control, war damage to lines, pumps, and port facilities, economic sanctions and naval blockades, and even vindictive sabotage by whoever plays the losing hand and wishes to leave behind a nation without any financial viability.

“But what about water? One of the less well known projects undertaken by Gadhafi is “The Great Man Made River Scheme,” a huge technological plan to shift fresh water from ancient underground aquifers in the Hamada, Murzuq, and Kufra basins in the Sahara Desert to irrigate new remote agricultural harvest and provide ample supply to Tripoli, Benghazi, and the concentrated population along the Mediterranean coast. The project involves drilling hundreds of deep wells and 5000 kilometers of 4-meter diameter concrete piping that is designed eventually to convey north over six million cubic meters of water a day. This construction in the most stressful physical conditions has been performed by thousands of “foreign” workers, many of whom presumably are among the refugees now fleeing the country.

“This exceptional underground reservoir is part of an ancient connected system that covers two million square kilometers, overlapping parts of Libya, Egypt, Chad, and Sudan — the so-called Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System. This is “fossil” water, accumulated over millions of years, finite, marginally rechargeable, thus non-renewable, and not an active part of the surrounding hydrological cycle that has provided limited groundwater for expanding use and demand by growing population.”

Read more: Huffington Post

 

sammykayed

Massachusetts officials: radiation from Japan in rainwater

Published on 03/27/2011 in contaminated water, uncategorized and world water supply. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

photo retrieved from: BigHaber.com

“The Massachusetts Department of Public Health said Sunday that very low concentrations of radioiodine-131 that were likely from the Japanese power plant severely damaged by the earthquake and tsunami earlier this month have been detected in a sample of rainwater. Officials did not say where the sample was taken.

“The agency said the sample was taken in the past week and is one of more than 100 around the country. It is part of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency network that monitors for radioactivity.

“State officials say similar testing was done in other states, including California, Pennsylvania and Washington, and showed comparable levels of I-131 in rain.

“Officials also say there is no health impact to drinking water supplies, but will continue to monitor

“The drinking water supply in Massachusetts is unaffected by this short-term, slight elevation in radiation,’’ said John Auerbach, commissioner of public health.”
read more: Boston Globe

chrismorrow