Monthly Archive for May, 2011

Page 2 of 9

Satellite Images Show Large Sediment Plumes From Flooding

Published on 05/28/2011 in aquatic ecosystems, floods, lakes, levees and oceans. 0 Comments Tags: Gulf of Mexico, lake pontchartrain, Mississippi river.

Satellite image shows the large amount of sediment that has been deposited along the coastline and wetlands of Louisiana. Retrieved from: www.cnn.com

“Dramatic satellite images show large deposits of sediment in coastal Louisiana, the receiving end of the massive flooding on the Mississippi River.

The sediment gush has a down and up side in region known for its seafood and delicate wetlands, a federal official said Friday.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and NASA recently provided the stark imagery of the sediment plumes to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Louisiana to assist them with flood response.

“We live in historic times,” said Phil Turnipseed, director of the USGS’s National Wetlands Research Center in Lafayette, Louisiana.

The tan and brown plumes resulted from millions of gallons of sediment-laden freshwater rushing to the Gulf through spillways, river channels and levees.

See flooding map from USGS

A map on the USGS website allows users to call up the plumes and see flood data collected by government agencies.

The opening of the Bonnet Carre spillway caused a sediment plume in Lake Pontchartrain above New Orleans. Another plume resulted from the opening of the Morganza Spillway and flooding on the Atchafalaya River. The third is where the Mississippi River meets the Gulf of Mexico.”

Averting a Nightmare on the Nu

Published on 05/27/2011 in dams, displacement of people, hydrology, hydropower, policy and rivers. 0 Comments Tags: Nu river, seismic zones, three parallel rivers.

Nu river. Retrieved from: www.asianews.com

“The Nu River valley in Yunnan province – known as China’s Grand Canyon – sits at the epicentre of China’s seismic zone. This dramatic landscape is also wracked by torrential rains that kill dozens of people each year. But in spite of the constant threat of landslides, life teems here. Unlike America’s Grand Canyon, the Nu valley is dotted with hundreds of towns and villages, many of which perch precariously on the mountainside.

However, the valley’s fragile resilience is hanging in the balance, threatened by the recently revived proposal to build a 13-dam cascade along the main body of the Nu River, one of three waterways that form the famed Three Parallel Rivers world heritage site and the heart of China’s cultural and biological diversity. If it goes ahead, the cascade would displace 50,000 people and ruin one of China’s most important biodiversity hotspots.

Two senior Chinese geologists, Sun Wenpeng and Xu Daoyi, have also raised serious concerns about the earthquake risks associated with building such an ambitious hydropower scheme on a major structural fault.”

Assembly OKs Bill On Sale Of Sacramento’s Treated Wastewater

Published on 05/27/2011 in agriculture, policy, rivers, tap water and wastewater. 0 Comments Tags: Sacramento River, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

Photo retrieved from: www.inetgiant.com

“The California Assembly on Thursday approved a bill that would help the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District sell its treated wastewater as a new supply of drinking or irrigation water.

The bill, AB 134, by Assemblyman Roger Dickinson, D-Sacramento, could eventually help the district offset the cost of complying with a strict new state permit that requires advanced treatment of the Sacramento metro area’s sewage effluent.

That effluent, which is discharged into the Sacramento River near Freeport, is suspected of harming the aquatic food chain in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

The district estimates that complying with the permit, imposed in December, could cost as much as $2 billion, possibly requiring sewage bills to triple for about 500,000 ratepayers in the region. Selling an estimated 180,000 acre-feet of treated wastewater annually could cover one-fourth of that cost.

Current law allows sewage treatment agencies to sell their wastewater. Dickinson’s bill, however, would allow the district to secure water rights equivalent to its effluent volume, substantially increasing its value. If the bill becomes law, any proposed water right would still be subject to approval by the State Water Resources Control Board.”

China: County denies drinking water shortage

Published on 05/27/2011 in agriculture, contaminated water, drought, management, peak water, policy, wastewater and water shortage. 0 Comments Tags: three gorges dam.

Retrieved from: www.chinadaily.com

“SHANGHAI – Water authorities in Xuyi county, Jiangsu province, have denied there is a drinking water shortage, although the lingering drought has greatly affected life of the locals.

A report by the Beijing Morning Post, which sent a reporting team to the county to cover the drought, said on Wednesday that the county has cut water supplies for several hours a day for more than two months. That has aroused wide concern around the country.

The report also mentioned the water level of Hongze Lake on the lower reaches of the Huaihe River is the lowest in 45 years.

Xuyi county is located at the south bank of the lake, the fourth largest fresh water lake in the country.

However, Ji Yufan, the director of the flood and drought control headquarters in Xuyi county, denied the link of limited water supplies to drought and said “the situation is much better”.

“Just worse than last year,” Ji told China Daily on Wednesday. “We have enacted a series of drought-relief measures since February.”

Ji said that they established two temporary water supply stations, capable of providing about 500,000 tons of water every day to town residents and farm workers who live in the area.

He also told China Daily that the drought is affecting the rural area more than the town.

“The lack of water supplies in town is caused by the current upgrading of the water supply system,” he said.

“It’s true, the water supply has been cut off for a few hours every day since Chinese New Year,” said Zhang Yun, a staff member of the water and wastewater treatment department of the Xuyi water bureau.

“The current equipment is too old to provide enough water to residents,” she said.

Zhang told China Daily that the water supply will return to normal at the beginning of June when new facilities are completed.

Local residents have been complaining about the restricted supply of drinking water.”

Water Wars: The Battle Between Public and Private

Published on 05/27/2011 in peak water, policy, privatization and water wars. 0 Comments

Photo retrieved from: www.abc.net.au

“Australians are battling to come to terms with the impacts of the oft-criticised process of national water reform. The ongoing, abrasive debate surrounding the Basin Plan being drafted by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, outrage over the spiralling costs of currently redundant desalination plants and public protests about sky-rocketing water charges typify the predicament.

Australian water reform was conceived in 1994 by the Council of Australian Governments; nurtured by the prevailing mantra that free-market exposure was the ultimate panacea for undercapitalised and inefficient public utilities. COAG went one giant leap further, in deciding to establish a national water market; arguing that this would direct water to its most productive use.

In the years since these sweeping changes were announced, the wisdom of applying free market principles to the management of an essential natural resource has been largely discredited by events overseas: In the water-supply sector, major corporate players have been accused and, in more than a few instances, convicted of price-gouging, anti-competitive behaviour, corrupt practice and fraud. On all continents there are moves to wrest control from private corporations. Globally, more than 90 per cent of water services are now publicly owned.

In Australia there are valid concerns that water reform is leaving crucial decisions, with respect to the “where”, “when” and “how” of water distribution, in the hands of entities whose priority is profit rather than socially and environmentally responsible water use. Questions are being raised as to why our governments have been prepared to implement these radical policies without seeking and obtaining prior electoral mandate and in the absence of adequate constitutional protection of water.”

Liquid Medicine: Controversial call to add lithium to drinking water for mental health

Published on 05/26/2011 in contaminated water, tap water and world water supply. 1 Comment Tags: lithium in water supplies.

Photo retrieved from: www.mindmodulations.com

“For decades, it’s been the gold-standard treatment for the most distressing of mental health disorders: mania, schizophrenia, major depression.

But now, lithium– the third element of the periodic table and an essential constituent of soil, oceans and every living organism — is being heralded by some experts as the next fluoride: and additive with such therapeutic potential, it should be ingested by millions of Americans every time they pour a glass of drinking water.

It’s provocative prospect that research suggests might reduce rates of suicide, violent crime and hard drug use.

The idea gained widespread traction in 2009, when researchers studying 18 communities in Japan concluded that areas whose water supplies contained higher natural levels of lithium were significantly less vulnerable to suicide.

A subsequent study published this month in the British Journal of Psychiatry, surveying all 99 counties in Austria over five years, replicated the findings and concluded that — conservatively — 4 to 15 percent of the country’s geographic variation in suicides was due to lithium in content in regional water supplies.

“As a matter of empirical science, this connection between water-based lithium and suicide is absolutely becoming widely accepted,” Jacob Appel, a psychiatrist and bioethicist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, told The Daily. ”

Yangtze delta hit by worst drought in decades

Published on 05/26/2011 in aquatic ecosystems, drought and hydropower. 0 Comments Tags: china, China water shortage, drought, Hubei, Hunan, hydropower, Jiangsu, municipal water, peakwater, Shanghai, three gorges dam, Water, Yangtze River.

Poor prospects ... a fisherman in hope of a catch trudges past a dried-up section of Guihu Lake in Wuhu, Anhui province.

Retrieved from: SMH

“The Yangtze delta is caught in its worst drought in 50 years, forcing an unprecedented release of water from the Three Gorges Dam and prompting warnings of power shortages.

“The drought is damaging crops, threatening wildlife and raising doubts about the viability of China’s huge water diversion ambitions.

“Up until June 10, billions of cubic metres of water will be released from the dam as engineers sacrifice hydro-electric generation for irrigation, drinking supplies and ecosystem support.

“The drastic measure comes amid warnings of power shortages and highlights the severity of the dry spell in the Yangtze delta, which supports 400 million people and 40 per cent of China’s economic activity.

“From January to April, the worst-hit province, Hubei, has had 40 per cent less rainfall than the average over the same period since 1961. Shanghai, Jiangsu and Hunan are severely affected.

“Regional authorities have de- clared more than 1300 lakes ”dead”, which means they are out of use for irrigation and drinking supply. The shortages affect 4.4 million people and 3.2 million farm animals, according to the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

“The narrowing and shallowing of the Yangtze – Asia’s longest river – and its tributaries has stranded thousands of boats and left a 220-kilometre stretch off limits for container ships.

“The central government has sent water pumps and diesel generators to Hubei and Hunan to ease the impact. This is expensive and adds to the pressures on China’s energy supply system at a time when the state grid authorities are warning of the worst summer power cuts in seven years.”

Oroumieh Lake, Iran’s Largest, Turning To Salt

Published on 05/26/2011 in agriculture, climate change, dams, desertification, drought, lakes, management and policy. 0 Comments Tags: oroumieh lake.

An abandoned ship is stuck in the solidified salts of the Oroumieh Lake, some 370 miles (600 kilometers) northwest of the capital Tehran, Iran. Retrieved from: www.huffingtonpost.com

“From a hillside, Kamal Saadat looked forlornly at hundreds of potential customers, knowing he could not take them for trips in his boat to enjoy a spring weekend on picturesque Oroumieh Lake, the third largest saltwater lake on earth.

“Look, the boat is stuck… It cannot move anymore,” said Saadat, gesturing to where it lay encased by solidifying salt and lamenting that he could not understand why the lake was fading away.

The long popular lake, home to migrating flamingos, pelicans and gulls, has shrunken by 60 percent and could disappear entirely in just a few years, experts say – drained by drought, misguided irrigation policies, development and the damming of rivers that feed it.

Until two years ago, Saadat supplemented his income from almond- and grape-growing by taking tourists on boat tours. But as the lake receded and its salinity rose, he found he had to stop the boat every 10 minutes to unfoul the propeller – and finally, he had to give up this second job that he’d used to support a five-member family.

“The visitors were not enjoying such a boring trip,” he said, noting they had to cross hundreds of meters of salty lakebed just to reach the boat from the wharf.”

Prozac Killing E. coli in the Great Lakes

Published on 05/26/2011 in contaminated water, lakes, tap water, wastewater and waterborne diseases. 0 Comments Tags: contamination of wildlife, Great Lakes, prozac in drinking water.

Presque Isle Lighthouse stands on the shore of Lake Erie in Presque Isle State Park, Pennsylvania. Retrieved from: www.nationalgeographic.com

“Scientists in Erie, Pennsylvania, have found that minute concentrations of fluoxetine, the active ingredient in Prozac, are killing off microbial populations in the Great Lakes.

Traces of antidepressants such as Prozac have been found in both drinking and recreational water supplies throughout the world, in quantities experts say are too dilute to affect humans but which have been found to damage the reproductive systems of mollusks and may even affect the brains of animals like fish.

Killing off bacteria might seem like a good thing. “Your immediate thought is, ‘well, that’s good, because they’re not supposed to be there anyways,” said Mercyhurst College microbiologist Steve Mauro, whose team found fluoxetine in low doses in water near Lake Erie’s beaches. “But what about all the other bacteria that are supposed to be there and part of that ecosystem?”

Treating clean lake water with similar strength doses killed off E. coli and enterococcus bacteria, both of which can cause serious infections in humans.

The fluoxetine found in Lake Erie is at very low levels—about one nanogram per liter of water, Mauro said. “It doesn’t appear to be at a level that would be harmful to humans,” or invertebrates, for that matter, though Mauro suspects that fluoxetine combined with other chemicals could be having a cumulative effect on the lake’s ecosystem.

But what’s puzzling is where the drug is coming from. Fluoxetine is thought to enter waterways after it passes through the body and is excreted in urine. And pill users who dispose of unused pills down the sink could be adding to the problem. Wastewater treatment plants generally don’t filter out the chemical.”

China admits problems with Three Gorges Dam

Published on 05/25/2011 in aquatic ecosystems, dams, drought, erosion, floods, groundwater, hydrology, hydropower, management, peak water, rivers, species extinction and world water supply. 0 Comments Tags: dams and ecological damage, dams and water supply, ecological impact of three gorges dam, peak water, three gorges dam, water news.

Photo retrieved from: NatureNews.com

“China has finally admitted that all is not rosy with its Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest hydroelectric power project. The dam is plagued by problems that need to be resolved urgently, the State Council — China’s cabinet — said last Wednesday.

“The statement was made after a high-level meeting presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao, and highlights issues such as pollution, silt accumulation, ecological deterioration and geological hazards near the dam. It also points out the project’s adverse effects on irrigation, water supply and shipping in downstream regions, which affect an area of 633,000 square kilometres over eight provinces. These problems should be addressed through more research and monitoring, and more efficient dam operation, the statement says.

“The admission was welcomed by Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environment Affairs, a non-governmental organization in Beijing. “Although China had acknowledged problems in the dam areas before, this was the first time that it admitted the project’s negative impact on the middle and lower reaches of the river,” he says.”