Archive for the 'groundwater' Category

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Poisoning the Well: How the Feds Let Industry Pollute the Nation’s Underground Water Supply

Published on 12/15/2012 in agriculture, contaminated water, groundwater, hydrology, mining, policy and tap water. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Photo retrieved from: www.alternet.org

“Federal officials have given energy and mining companies permission to pollute aquifers in more than 1,500 places across the country, releasing toxic material into underground reservoirs that help supply more than half of the nation’s drinking water.

In many cases, the Environmental Protection Agency has granted these so-called aquifer exemptions in Western states now stricken by drought and increasingly desperate for water.

EPA records show that portions of at least 100 drinking water aquifers have been written off because exemptions have allowed them to be used as dumping grounds.

“You are sacrificing these aquifers,” said Mark Williams, a hydrologist at the University of Colorado and a member of a National Science Foundation team studying the effects of energy development on the environment.” “By definition, you are putting pollution into them. … If you are looking 50 to 100 years down the road, this is not a good way to go.”

Read more: Alternet

 

lily victoria

The Problem Is Clear: The Water Is Filthy

Published on 11/15/2012 in agriculture, contaminated water, groundwater and spanish. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Retrieved from: New York Times

“SEVILLE, Calif. — Like most children, the students at Stone Corral Elementary School here rejoice when the bell rings for recess and delight in christening a classroom pet.

“But while growing up in this impoverished agricultural community of numbered roads and lush citrus orchards, young people have learned a harsh life lesson: “No tomes el agua!” — “Don’t drink the water!”

“Seville, with a population of about 300, is one of dozens of predominantly Latino unincorporated communities in the Central Valley plagued for decades by contaminated drinking water. It is the grim result of more than half a century in which chemical fertilizers, animal wastes, pesticides and other substances have infiltrated aquifers, seeping into the groundwater and eventually into the tap. An estimated 20 percent of small public water systems in Tulare County are unable to meet safe nitrate levels, according to a United Nations representative.

“In farmworker communities like Seville, a place of rusty rural mailboxes and backyard roosters where the average yearly income is $14,000, residents like Rebecca Quintana pay double for water: for the tap water they use to shower and wash clothes, and for the five-gallon bottles they must buy weekly for drinking, cooking and brushing their teeth.

“It is a life teeming with worry: about children accidentally sipping contaminated water while cooling off with a garden hose, about not having enough clean water for an elderly parent’s medications, about finding a rock while cleaning the feeding tube of a severely disabled daughter, as Lorie Nieto did. She vowed never to use tap water again.”

Read More: New York Times

chrismorrow

Fukushima Operators Struggle to Contain ‘Outrageous Amount’ of Radioactive Water

Published on 10/26/2012 in contaminated water, groundwater, nuclear power and oceans. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Photo retrieved from: www.commondreams.org

“The plant currently holds 200,000 tonnes of highly contaminated waste water, used to cool the broken reactors, but operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, continues to struggle to find ways to store the toxic substance. TEPCO has said they are running out of room to build more storage tanks and the volume of water will more than triple within three years.

“It’s a time-pressing issue because the storage of contaminated water has its limits, there is only limited storage space,” Okamura said.

After the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe of 2011, the plant’s broken reactors have needed constant cooling and maintenance, including the dumping of massive amounts of water into the melting reactors — the only way to avoid another complete meltdown.

Adding to the excessive amounts of cooling water is ground water, which continues to leak into the reactor facilities because of structural damage.”

Read more: Common Dreams

 

lily victoria

Shale Gas Industry Targets College Campuses, K-12 Schools

Published on 10/24/2012 in contaminated water, fracking, greenwashing, groundwater, policy, privatization and tap water. 0 Comments Tags: .

Photo retrieved from: www.alternet.org

“On Sept. 27, the PA House of Representatives – in a 136-62 vote -  passed a bill that allows hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking” to take place on the campuses of public universities. Its Senate copycat version passed in June in a 46-3 vote and Republican Gov. Tom Corbett  signed it into law as Act 147 on Oct. 8 .

The bill is colloquially referred to as the  Indigenous Mineral Resources Development Act . It was  sponsored by Republican Sen. Don White , one of the state’s top recipients of oil and gas industry funding between 2000-April 2012, pulling in $94,150 during that time frame, according to a  recent report published by  Common Cause PA and Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania . Corbett has  taken over $1.8 million from the oil and gas industry since his time serving as the state’s Attorney General in 2004.”

Read more: Alternet

 

lily victoria

Rainwater structures vital to improve groundwater table

Published on 10/21/2012 in aquifer overdraft, groundwater, hydrology, peak water and rainwater harvesting. 0 Comments

Photo retrieved from: www.thehindu.com

“National Cadet Corps of 5th battalion took out a rally at Palayamkottai on Saturday to create awareness among the public on establishing rainwater harvesting structure in every house before the monsoon intensifies.

After being flagged off by Mohamed Sathick, Principal of Sathakkathullah Appa College in Palayamkottai, Assistant Professor, Department of Zoology, Zakhir Hussein spoke on the need for creating rainwater harvesting structures in every house to save every drop of rainwater to improve the groundwater table. Around 150 rallyists from SAC and Christhuraja Higher Secondary School, after traversing Government Law College, District Court Complex, Bell Matriculation Higher Secondary School, reached the college premises again.

NCC Officer of SAC Lt. Syed Ali Basha and Sub. Selvaraj and Sub. Mohanan of 5th battalion and NCC Officer of Christhuraja Higher Secondary School Radhakrishnan had made arrangements for the rally.”

Read more: The Hindu

 

lily victoria

Palestinians Face Food and Water Crisis in the West Bank Spurred by Israeli Control of Resources

Published on 10/14/2012 in agriculture, contaminated water, greenwashing, groundwater, policy and tap water. 0 Comments Tags: .

Photo retrieved from: www.alternet.org

“Israel now controls 85 percent of the water resources in the West Bank . Though Palestinians could theoretically drill more wells, they are forbidden from doing so without a permit from the Israel Military. These permits are notoriously difficult, if not impossible to obtain. Palestinians are forced to rely on Israeli authorities for access to their own water.

Often, Israeli merchants  sell this water back to Palestinians at inflated prices . Palestinians can barely afford their own drinking water—much less the necessary gallons of water to irrigate their orchards and crops.

Though Palestinian crops flourish in dry, desert climates, the extreme lack of water is taking a devastating toll on the land. Many farmers have forgone harvesting their crops because the yield and the quality are no longer worth it. Israeli farmers with similar crops have replaced Palestinian farmers in the markets, further economically marginalizing an already disenfranchised people.”

Read more: Alternet

 

lily victoria

Deconstructing Desal in Santa Cruz

Published on 10/10/2012 in desalination, groundwater, peak water, policy, rivers, tap water and water shortage. 0 Comments Tags: .

Photo retrieved from: www.santacruzsentinel.com

“Part 1: The basics of the desal debate

 

  • ‘Fresh-squeezed water’: Desalination debate raises financial, environmental and philosophical concerns: Laura Brown, the longtime former director of Soquel Creek Water District, is fond of repeating a quote often attributed to Mark Twain: “Whiskey is for drinking — water is for fighting over.” Read more

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  • Habitat protection, planning for population growth color desalination debate: The city predicts the number of people living within its water service area could rise 10 percent by 2030 from levels seen in 2010, a quarter of which could come from increased enrollment at UC Santa Cruz. Read more

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  • Water bills to skyrocket: Desalination plus capital projects equals big bucks: Water customers may want to start saving now. Ratepayers in the city of Santa Cruz and Soquel Creek Water District will pick up the tab for a $123 million regional seawater desalination plant if the controversial proposal is approved by voters and regulators in coming years. Read more“Read more: Santa Cruz Sentinel

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    lily victoria

    Palestinian farmers fighting to survive

    Published on 09/03/2012 in agriculture, contaminated water, displacement of people, groundwater, hydrology, management, policy and water shortage. 0 Comments Tags: .

    Photo retrieved from: www.aljazeera.com

    “Foqaha’s case isn’t unique. Instead, according to human rights groups, it represents a growing inability among Palestinian farmers to engage in sustainable agriculture in the occupied West Bank.

    Almost 63 per cent of arable agricultural land in the West Bank is located in Area C, which according to the Oslo Accords agreement is under complete Israeli military control. Israel controls almost all of the West Bank’s water reserves, and severely restricts Palestinian access.

    The cost of water is at least three times more expensive for Palestinians than for Israelis living in settlements in the Jordan Valley and northern Dead Sea area, according to a report by Israeli human rights group Btselem, titled “Disposession and Exploitation”.

    Palestinian farmers are also prohibited from digging new groundwater wells for agricultural purposes, without first obtaining a permit from the Israeli Civil Administration. These permits are rarely, if ever, given and as a result, the Israeli army demolishes new Palestinian cisterns almost immediately. Confiscation of Palestinian water tanks has also been widely reported.

    Israeli settlements in the Jordan Valley control more than 1.46 million dunams (1,460 square kilometres) of land, or about 90 per cent of the total area. This land is entirely off-limits to Palestinians. In contrast, only about one-eighth of the remaining agricultural lands under Palestinian control (50,000 dunams, or 50 sq km) is cultivated by Palestinians in the area, the Btselem report found.”

    Read more: Aljazeera

     

    lily victoria

    Out of sight, out of mind: groundwater in peril

    Published on 08/19/2012 in aquifer overdraft, groundwater and water shortage. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

    Doomsday scenario ... scientists warn that there will not be enough drinking water if underground water supplies are not protected.

    Retrieved from: Casey weekly berwick

    “A doubling of Australia’s population in coming decades combined with the crippling effects of future droughts means there will not be enough drinking water by the middle of this century if authorities do not do more to protect underground supplies, scientists warn.

    “This doomsday scenario has prompted some of the country’s leading groundwater experts to call for a greater push to store treated stormwater and wastewater caused by coal seam gas extraction under the ground. They say that instead of keeping water on the surface in dams and reservoirs where it can evaporate or become polluted, it should be pumped into the ground to refill, or ”recharge”, aquifers – naturally occurring underwater storages.

    “About 43 per cent of the NSW population either fully, or partially, relies on groundwater. More than 200 towns in the state use groundwater, tapped by sinking bores as deep as 600 metres, as the principal water supply source.

    “Two local councils in western Sydney, Penrith and Blacktown, have already received federal government grants for feasibility studies into schemes to collect stormwater run-off and store it underground in a managed aquifer recharge – or MAR – project. The water would be used to maintain sports fields at Blacktown International Sportspark in Rooty Hill and Leonay Oval near Penrith.

    “An MAR administered by a local council in Adelaide has already produced small quantities of drinkable water after it was stored in an aquifer for 12 months.

    “The director of the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training, Craig Simmons, said much more was needed to ”waterproof the nation” despite hundreds of millions of dollars being spent on trying to protect the nation’s groundwater resources as part of the National Water Initiative, which emerged from reforms agreed by the Council of Australian Governments.”

    Read more: Casey weekly berwick

    sammykayed

    Fracking, Coal and Nukes Wreak Havoc on Fresh Water Supplies

    Published on 08/16/2012 in coal, contaminated water, drought, fracking, greenwashing, groundwater, hydrology and nuclear power. 0 Comments

    Photo retrieved from: www.alternet.org

    “The undisputed champion of the current U.S. energy debate is  hydraulic fracturing or fracking. As conventional oil and gas resources become more difficult to come by, energy companies now have to dig deeper than ever to unearth the rich deposits of fossil fuels still available. In order to fracture shale formations that often exist thousands of feet below the surface, drillers use anywhere from 1 to 8 million gallons of water per frack. A well may be fracked up to 18 times. The water, usually drawn from natural resources such as lakes and rivers, is unrecoverable once it’s blasted into the earth, and  out of the water cycle for good.

    Even if there wasn’t a problem with  water contamination , deforestation, and noise and  air pollution from fracking, the pro-drilling agenda would still be hit hard with an insurmountable roadblock—access to abundant water.

    On June 28, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission  suspended 37 separately approved water withdrawals for fracking due to localized streamflow levels dropping throughout the Susquehanna Basin in Pennsylvania and New York.

    In Kansas, oil and gas drillers are running out of options due to the tenth driest July on record. Companies with dwindling access to water resources are resorting to paying farmers for what water they have left, or more, drilling their own water wells, digging ponds next to streams or trucking in water from places as far way as Pennsylvania, according to  CNN Money .”

    Read more: Alternet

     

    lily victoria