Archive for the 'aquatic ecosystems' Category

Canada’s method of water treatment a ‘national embarrassment’

Published on 05/13/2013 in aquatic ecosystems and wastewater. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

Retrieved from: Global news

“To Mark Mattson, Canada’s  old   fashioned method of water   treatment is a national embarrassment.

“We’re probably one of the most backwards countries in terms of treating our water,” says Mattson, who runs the Lake Ontario Waterkeepers, an organization that advocates for clean, safe water.

Until recently, municipalities were only required to use primary treatment, meaning wastewater plants would clean solid waste – or “floatables” – from the water. Primary treatment doesn’t include liquids, such as spoiled milk, or cleaning products and even the old medications that get poured down our drains.

“We might have removed at best about 70 per cent of the suspended solids here,” says North Vancouver Mayor, Darrell Mussatt at the Lions Gate Wastewater Treatment plant.

Cities such as Vancouver, on the Pacific Ocean, have been banking on the old notion that ‘dilution is the solution to the pollution’ for years – that water dilutes and assimilates waste.”

Read more: Global news

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Empty Nets on the Mekong

Published on 05/06/2013 in aquatic ecosystems and dams. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .

Fishermen along the Mekong River capture their dinner by unfurling large nets.

Retrieved from: NY Times

“In my last post, I described how our attempts at fishing in the Mekong River had produced meager results, which was somewhat puzzling because the Mekong produces the largest harvest of freshwater fish in the world, by far.

“As a father, this was frustrating; catching fish was the top priority of my 10-year old son, Luca, and I was determined that he fulfill that goal. But as a river ecologist, our low success rate had me curious about the status of fish populations in this river.

“And it wasn’t just that I’m an inexperienced angler trying to catch fish in a big, complicated river (and using a rod and reel in a place where people generally use nets and traps). We’d spent one afternoon with experienced fishers — using the right equipment — and we’d hauled in a pretty small catch for the effort. Were Mekong fisheries in decline?

Read more: NY Times

sammykayed

Plants Play Bigger Role in River Flows Than Previously Thought

Published on 05/03/2013 in aquatic ecosystems. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

Retrieved from: Medialib

“A study published last month in Nature argues that plants are the dominant force in the water cycle above the Earth’s land masses. Between 80 and 90 percent of water vapor in the atmosphere comes from terrestrial sources, according to the study, which is far higher than previous estimates.

“This finding implies that vegetation is a critical variable for future forecasts of freshwater availability, particularly as humans continue to change the basic conditions of plant growth by pumping more heat-trapping carbon into the atmosphere. Agriculture, too, has remade the biosphere and cannot be ignored in this equation, since 40 percent of land on the planet is now comprised of croplands and pastures.

“That plants use water is quite obvious, which is why land managers in the dry Western United States have spent millions to rid riverbanks of salt cedar and other water-guzzling flora in order to bolster river flows. But Jasechko and fellow researchers at the University of New Mexico and at two Canadian universities were surprised to find that plant transpiration — a biological process that releases water vapor — produces as much water each year as the average annual flow of 100 Mississippi Rivers.”

Read more: Circle of blue

sammykayed

Senators Urging Against Clean Water Progress

Published on 04/26/2013 in aquatic ecosystems, contaminated water and management. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Retrieved from: Clean water action

“Yesterday’s letter to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Acting Administrator Bob Perciasepe from over two dozen Republican Senators urges EPA to perpetuate the stalemate which is leaving drinking water sources without Clean Water Act protection.

“We hope this letter has the opposite effect, which is to remind the Administration that we can’t face today’s clean water challenges with this kind of vulnerability affecting so many of our precious water resources. The science is behind this. Despite this letter’s claims, the intent of the Clean Water Act is behind this.

“And if that’s not enough, consider this:

  • The water bodies left vulnerable to pollution and destruction serve the drinking water sources for over 117 million people in the United States.
  • Just last month, EPA released a report on the condition of our nation’s rivers and streams which found that 55% of them are unhealthy for aquatic life.”

Read more: Clean water action

sammykayed

EPA Survey Finds More Than Half of the Nation’s River and Stream Miles in Poor Condition

Published on 03/27/2013 in aquatic ecosystems and rivers. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Retrieved from: Ens newswire

“Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released the results of the first comprehensive survey looking at the health of thousands of stream and river miles across the country, finding that more than half – 55 percent – are in poor condition for aquatic life.

“The health of our Nation’s rivers, lakes, bays and coastal waters depends on the vast network of streams where they begin, and this new science shows that America’s streams and rivers are under significant pressure,” said Office of Water Acting Assistant Administrator Nancy Stoner. “We must continue to invest in protecting and restoring our nation’s streams and rivers as they are vital sources of our drinking water, provide many recreational opportunities, and play a critical role in the economy.”

“The 2008-2009 National Rivers and Stream Assessment reflects the most recent data available, and is part of EPA’s expanded effort to monitor waterways in the U.S. and gather scientific data on the condition of the Nation’s water resources.

“EPA partners, including states and tribes, collected data from approximately 2,000 sites across the country. EPA, state and university scientists analyzed the data to determine the extent to which rivers and streams support aquatic life, how major stressors may be affecting them and how conditions are changing over time. “

Read more: EPA

sammykayed

Will Plans for Massive Tunnels to Pipe Northern California Water South Mean a Boon for Fracking?

Published on 03/02/2013 in agriculture, aquatic ecosystems, fracking, oil, policy, rivers and water diversions. 0 Comments

Photo retrieved from: www.alternet.org

“The oil industry, represented by Catherine Reheis-Boyd, President of the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) and former Chair of the Marine Life Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative Task Force for the South Coast, is pushing for increased “fracking” in California.

Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is the controversial, environmentally destructive process of injecting millions of gallons of water, sand and toxic chemicals underground at high pressure in order to release and extract oil or gas, according to Food and Water Watch.

The question is: Where will the industry get the water for fracking on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley and coastal areas, including Monterey County where large Monterey Shale deposits are located?

Burt Wilson, Editor and Publisher of Public Water News Service, believes he has the answer. He contends that the “hidden agenda” of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan to build twin tunnels is to provide water for the environmentally destructive process of fracking in California.

Wilson definitely knows what he is talking about. He was was on the media staff of the “No on 9″ campaign against the peripheral canal in 1982. They won by a 2/3 vote statewide and stopped the canal.

Unfortunately, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, at the urging of corporate agribusiness interests, began his campaign build the peripheral canal in 2007. Brown has continued and fast-tracked the Republican governor’s plan, opting to go for twin tunnels under the Delta than a single peripheral canal.

“As the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) nears completion, some unusual elements of the project have been revealed piecemeal and when they are all put together the total effect is that there is a hidden agenda going on that is far from what has been revealed on the surface,” said Wilson.”

Read more: AlterNet

 

lily victoria

New Maps Provide Crucial Information For Water Managers

Published on 02/25/2013 in aquatic ecosystems, management, riparian zone and rivers. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

Retrieved from: Landscape resource

“For the first time, U.S. Geological Survey scientists have mapped long-term average evapotranspiration rates across the continental United States – a crucial tool for water managers and planners because of the huge role evapotranspiration plays in water availability.

“Why are evapotranspiration rates so important to know? It’s because the amount of water available for people and ecosystems is the amount of annual precipitation – that is, snow or rain – minus the amount of annual evapotranspiration.  Evapotranspiration itself is the amount of water lost to the atmosphere from the ground surface.  Much of this loss is the result of the “transpiration” of water by plants, which is the plant equivalent of breathing. Just as people release water vapor when they breathe, plants do too.

“Since evapotranspiration consumes more than half of the precipitation that happens every year, knowing the evapotranspiration rates in different regions of the country is a solid leap forward in enabling water managers and policy makers to know how much water is available for use in their specific region,” said Bill Werkheiser, associate director for water at the USGS. “Just as importantly,” he added, “this knowledge will help them better plan for the water availability challenges that will occur as our climate changes since transpiration rates vary widely depending on factors such as temperature, humidity, precipitation, soil type, and wind.”

Read more: Water online

sammykayed

Protesters Call On Obama To Reject Keystone XL Pipeline

Published on 02/18/2013 in aquatic ecosystems, climate change, groundwater, oil and policy. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Photo retrieved from: www.guardian.co.uk

“Tens of thousands of protesters turned out on the National Mall Sunday to encourage President Obama to make good on his commitment to act on climate change.

In his Inaugural address from outside the U.S. Capitol, the president said: “We will respond to the threat of climate change knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations.”

Just a few weeks later, next to the Washington Monument, Paul Birkeland was one of a couple dozen people holding a long white tube above their heads.

“It’s a backbone. It’s a spine. The idea is to ask the president to have some spine and stand up to oil companies. And reject the Keystone Pipeline,” Birkeland says.

The activists are focusing on the Keystone XL pipeline because it would carry tar sands oil from Alberta, Canada, to refineries on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. To make this oil, companies use complex extraction and processing techniques that use a lot of energy. So it has a larger greenhouse gas footprint than conventional crude.”

Read more: NPR

 

lily victoria

Paiute Indians Help Map the History of the L.A. Aqueduct

Published on 02/16/2013 in aquatic ecosystems, displacement of people, hydrology, land grabs, management, policy, rivers, tap water, water diversions, water grabs and water wars. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Photo retrieved from: www.thecaliforniareport.org

“Working on a documentary project in the Owens Valley on land owned by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) can be a little dicey. A truck zooms by as UC Berkeley scholar Jenna Cavelle and Paiute elder Harry Williams begin one of their mapping expeditions.

“Is this DWP land?” Cavelle asks Williams. “’Cause they’re right there, looking at us.”

DWP is aware of the project, but the two haven’t asked permission to make trips onto department property. Still, Cavelle feels generally secure when she’s with Williams because of a sanctuary agreement between DWP and the natives that allows them to come onto the land.

“This is our homeland. Kick me off, you’re gonna have to drag me,” Williams remarks.

The water wars that drained the Owens Valley 100 years ago to feed the Los Angeles aqueduct are today the stuff of literary and cinematic legend. But the Paiute story has been left out of the tellings. Before the arrival of white settlers, this tribe had a sophisticated water system of their own. This year marks the centennial anniversary of the aqueduct’s construction, and Cavelle and Williams are working to uncover this lost part of California’s water history.”

Read more: The California Report

 

lily victoria

Traces Of Anxiety Drugs May Make Fish Act Funny

Published on 02/16/2013 in aquatic ecosystems, contaminated water, lakes, oceans, rivers, tap water, wastewater and waterborne diseases. 0 Comments Tags: .

Photo retrieved from: www.npr.org

“The water is likely to be considerably cleaner upstream and downstream from the sewage plant where the Swedish perch were captured.

Adding more uncertainty in this case: Benzodiazepines have been used for decades in Sweden, so they have no doubt been in this aquatic ecosystem for many years.

“These fish may have adapted to that,” Schlenk says.

Scientists now realize that low levels of pharmaceuticals have spread through the environment. For instance, Schlenk has found a Valium-like drug in the hornyhead turbot, a fish that lives on the seafloor off the California coast. Other lab studies have shown that human drugs can affect the behavior of striped bass and other species.

These drug traces don’t pose an obvious threat to people, who might drink water from streams or eat the fish that live in them.

“The presence of pharmaceuticals in surface waters — or even the residues that accumulate in edible in fish and shellfish — are much lower than what you might need to gain a therapeutic dose,” says Bryan Brooks of Baylor University in Waco, Texas.

But, he cautions, that isn’t necessarily the case in the developing world.”

“Some of the observations in India, for example, downstream of manufacturing facilities, are among the highest concentrations of pharmaceuticals reported in the environment,” he says. “So the developing world really deserves some additional attention.”

Read more: NPR

lily victoria