Author Archive for lily victoria

Worst drought in 50 years takes toll in northern Brazil

Published on 05/13/2012 in drought, water shortage and water wars. 0 Comments Tags: .

Photo retrieved from: www.china.org

“RIO DE JANEIRO — Severe drought gripping northeastern Brazil — the worst in a half-century — is taking its toll on more than 1,100 towns, even triggering fighting in rural areas, local media reported Sunday.

An average of one person a day is being killed in “water wars” in rural areas, while scores of animals are wasting away before perishing, the O Globo newspaper reported over the weekend.

Short water supplies have devastated farm output, the report said, endangering the lives of local people and their livestock.

Many people in the area have lost half their livestock, and the Brazilian government has reduced forecasts for corn, soy and bean crops.

In Pernambuco, 66 municipalities are on water emergencies, rivers have run completely dry and animals looking for water in the riverbed can only find the odd muddy puddle.

Local dams in the region are running dry, and abuses are rife. In one cited example, water truck drivers make deliveries — but only if customers promise to vote for certain local candidates.”

Read more: AFP

 

lily victoria

Bill seeks to clarify groundwater oversight

Published on 05/13/2012 in aquifer overdraft, groundwater and policy. 0 Comments

Retrieved from: www.reynolds-group.com

“A proposed law designed to keep water bills from skyrocketing has passed a state Senate committee, but opponents vow to fight the measure they say is a “political power grab.”

Senate Bill 1386, authored by Sen. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, would remove barriers to storing groundwater in the Central Basin and would allow for underground water reserves to protect against high rates in dry periods. Area cities and water agencies have been embroiled in legal battles over how and by whom the water should be stored.

The bill unanimously passed the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee last week.

Supporters for Lowenthal’s bill include the cities of Lakewood, South Gate, Norwalk, Paramount and Torrance, along with the Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners, the Southeast Water Coalition and Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce.

The basin water rights and sales of water basin customers are managed by the Central Basin Municipal Water District.

SB 1386 would clarify state law by establishing that one entity, the Water Replenishment District of Southern California, is responsible for managing groundwater in the region.”

Read more: Press-Telegram

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Romney Water Pollution Record: Hundreds of Corporate Waivers to Dump Toxics into Massachusetts Water Supply

Published on 05/11/2012 in clean water act, contaminated water, greenwashing, policy and wastewater. 0 Comments Tags: .

Photo retrieved from: www.wikipedia.org

“As Massachusetts Governor, Mitt Romney gave industrial wastewater dischargers free rein to discharge chemicals into municipal treatment systems unable to filter them out of the Commonwealth’s waters, according to documents obtained by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).

Industries with high quotients of toxics in their wastewater, such as manufacturers, carpet cleaners and laboratories, did not even have to monitor chemicals deposited in their wastewater.

Under Romney and his two Republican predecessors, the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) allowed industries to discharge 1.4 million gallons of wastewater per day into municipal sewage plants without monitoring or permitting.  In 2006, PEER obtained copies of 278 “forbearance” letters from DEP telling companies that they need not even apply for sewer permits.

When PEER revealed the fact that this forbearance practice violated the Clean Water Act Regulations, the Romney administration abruptly proposed regulatory changes to formally exempt 90% of industrial sewer dischargers without even determining the amount of toxic chemicals in their wastewater.  Only after the threat of a lawsuit, the Romney administration finally agreed to a number of new rules that would require dischargers to report toxics to DEP and the sewage treatment plants.”

Read more: ENews Park Forest

 

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Afghanistan: Flash Flood Kills At Least 27 In Northern Province

Published on 05/11/2012 in dams and floods. 0 Comments Tags: .

Photo retrieved from: www.huffingtonpost.com

“KABUL, Afghanistan — A flash flood swept through villages in a mountainous area of northern Afghanistan on Friday, killing at least 17 people, authorities said.

It was the second major flood reported this week in the north.

Abdul Jabar Taqwa, the governor of Takhar province, said flood waters broke through a dam early Friday, washed down a valley and damaged several villages in Ishkamish district.

“It was a very powerful flood. It hit around midnight,” Taqwa said. “Dozens of villages have been hit. I’m worried that the death toll will go up.”

Taqwa said 17 people were killed in the flooding. Earlier, the governor had received reports of 27 deaths.”

Read more: Huffington Post

 

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Africa: U.S. Response to Future Water Crisis Takes Shape

Published on 05/11/2012 in climate change, hydrology, management, peak water, policy and world water supply. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Photo retrieved from: www.africastories.org

“Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton requested the report and she named Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Maria Otero to lead the U.S. response to the challenges outlined in the study.

Otero told the Washington audience that the first priority she and Clinton have identified is to help other nations develop their capacity in resources and expertise to cope with future water-scarcity problems. “We know that it is countries and communities that have to lead in securing their own water and in securing their own water future,” Otero said.

The United States must also work to increase international awareness of the potential for future water crises by increasing and better coordinating diplomacy. The United States will help developing countries better prepare for the challenges they’ll face, Otero said, and help them “to prioritize so that water and sanitation are part of their national plans, part of their budgets and part of their overall thinking.”

Otero said finding solutions to secure adequate water supplies for growth and development will require enormous levels of funding that the United States must help mobilize. The application of science and technology to the problem is an important part of the strategy.”

Read more: All Africa

 

lily victoria

Karuma dam in new saga

Published on 05/09/2012 in dams, hydropower, policy, rivers and water diversions. 0 Comments Tags: .

Retrieved from: www.in2eastafrica.com

“Construction of the 660MW Karuma dam has once again courted controversy, with anonymous experts not only questioning the bidding process, but also the design of the project and the qualifications of the project manager.

According to two separate whistleblowers, these issues are likely to negatively affect the total cost , the power output, and lifespan of the dam. Once again, powerful politicians and businessmen are accused of having influenced project-related decisions – to serve their selfish interest. Information available to The Observer indicates Ugandan taxpayers are now in danger of losing billions of Shillings because of the poor quality work that is about to begin.

In one dossier, titled ‘Weaknesses in the Design of the Karuma Project’, experts question the exact location of the dam, the design of the water intake, the water losses and the operating water levels in the reservoir, among others. The dossier claims that the dam is set to be located in an area with rapids; this comes with more risks and higher costs of construction, yet more appropriate flat areas are available nearby.

Because the cofferdams (temporary water-tight enclosures that are pumped dry to expose the bottom of the river so that construction can take place) and the dam are both partially built at the same location, the highly technical dossier adds, it is impossible to build a permanent dam structure at this location. There are also fears that several aspects of the dam do not conform to international practices, like the spillway – a channel used for the controlled release of water downstream.”

Read more: The Observer

 

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Recipe For Safer Drinking Water? Add Sun, Salt And Lime

Published on 05/09/2012 in contaminated water, peak water, waterborne diseases and world water supply. 0 Comments

Photo retrieved from: www.npr.org

“In many developing countries, the only source of water is contaminated with viruses and bacteria. In fact, the United Nations estimates that 1 in 6 people don’t have access to enough fresh drinking water.

Pouring water into clear plastic bottles and placing them in the sun can kill disease causing organisms in about six hours. It’s a simple and cheap method that’s been around forever, and it helps. (Who says sun tea isn’t safe?)

But there’s a hitch – the water has to be clear enough for the sun’s rays to penetrate – and much of the world’s water supply is murky from the clay soils in riverbeds and lake bottoms that mix with the water. Enter the scientists.

“Basically, you need to be able to read a newspaper through it. That means it’s clear enough for the UV radiation to penetrate and kill the pathogens. If you can’t see through it, it just won’t work,” explains Joshua Pierce, associate professor of materials science and engineering at Michigan Tech.”

Read more: NPR

 

lily victoria

South Africa: Country Tap Water Remains World Class – Molewa

Published on 05/08/2012 in tap water. 0 Comments Tags: .

Retrieved from: www.allafrica.com

“Cape Town — South Africa’s drinking water is among the best in the world, and the country remains among a few in the world where water can still be consumed from the tap, the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs Edna Molewa said on Monday.

Releasing the 2012 Blue Drop report during the Water Institute of Southern Africa Conference at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, Molewa said 98 municipalities were this year awarded Blue Status, up from 66 last year.

The average national Blue Status score jumped from 72.9% last year to 87.6% this year.

The scores have increased year-by-year since the first Blue Drop report was released in 2009, when municipalities notched up a national average of 51.4%.

In all, 153 of South Africa’s 287 municipalities and 931 water systems were audited for this year’s report.

Molewa stressed that just because a municipality was not awarded Blue Drop status, did not mean that their water remained unfit for human consumption.”

Read more: All Africa

 

lily victoria

Amid Brazil’s Rush to Develop, Workers Resist

Published on 05/07/2012 in dams, hydropower, policy, rivers, water diversions, water rights and water wars. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Photo retrieved from: www.libcom.org

“JACI PARANÁ, Brazil — The revolt here on the banks of the Madeira River, the Amazon’s largest tributary, flared after sunset. At the simmering end of a 26-day strike by 17,000 workers last month, a faction of laborers who were furious over wages and living conditions began setting fire to the construction site at the Jirau Dam.

Throughout the night, they burned more than 30 structures to the ground and looted company stores, capturing the mayhem on their own cellphone cameras, before firefighters extinguished the blazes. The authorities in Brasília flew in hundreds of troops from an elite force to quell the unrest.

Men in camouflage fatigues still patrol the sprawling work site, reflecting a dilemma for Brazil’s leaders. Even as they move to tap one of the world’s last great reserves of hydroelectric power, the Amazon basin, strikes and worker uprisings at the biggest projects are producing delays and cost overruns.

“No one burns anything if they’re satisfied,” said Altair Donizete de Oliveira, a union leader here in Brazil’s western frontier. He listed salaries, cramped living quarters and requests for more home visits among the grievances that were contributing to the festering tension among the laborers, who number in the tens of thousands at various work sites in the Amazon.”

Read more: International Rivers

lily victoria

MENA Changing Drastically & NASA Has The Pictures To Prove It

Published on 05/07/2012 in agriculture, aquatic ecosystems, climate change, contaminated water, dams, drought, groundwater, hydrology, lakes, oil, peak water, policy, rivers, tap water, water diversions, water shortage and water wars. 0 Comments Tags: , .

“Lake shrinkage in Iran

Retrieved from: www.greenprophet.com

Left: August 1985. Right: August 2010.

Iran’s Lake Oroumeih (also spelled Urmia) is the largest lake in the Middle East and the third largest saltwater lake on Earth. But dams on feeder streams, expanded use of ground water, and a decades-long drought have reduced it to 60 percent of the size it was in the 1980s. Light blue tones in the 2010 image represent shallow water and salt deposits. Increased salinity has led to an absence of fish and habitat for migratory waterfowl. At the current rate, the lake will be completely dry by the end of 2013.

Urban Growth in Morocco

Retrieved from: www.greenprophet.com

Left: July 2, 1985. Right: June 24, 2011.

The Moroccan cities of Agadir, Inezgane and Tikiouine are close to the Atlantic coastline (seen in blue in the images), and stretch into the foothills of the Atlas Mountains. Agadir was nearly destroyed by an earthquake in 1960. Reconstruction has focused on tourism, turning this area into a winter destination. The 1985 image shows the area 25 years into the rebuilding. By 2011, the urban areas reach into the Sahara Desert. Growth has been influenced by the expanding fishing industry and modern commercial ports.”

Read more: Green Prophet


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