Archive for the 'water shortage' Category

Desalination

Published on 05/23/2013 in desalination, policy and water shortage. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Retrieved from: www.kestrel-inc.com

“The City of Santa Cruz and the Soquel Creek Water District are planning jointly to construct a seawater desalination plant. The construction cost is estimated to be over $100 million dollars. Ratepayers in the City of Santa Cruz will be on the hook to pay 60% of that cost. Water rates will go up significantly if the plant is built. On a more philosophical plane, a decision to build a desal plant will be a decision to release our community from the inherent limits of the natural environment. Currently, we have to live within the limits of our natural water supply. Desalination is a way to “manufacture water.” As long as the ratepayers are willing to pay the costs, the supplies of water that can be produced are essentially unconstrained. The City of Santa Cruz has promised UCSC that it will pursue modular desalination plants in the future, to meet “system demand” for water. In other words, the decision on desal is a decision about University growth in particular, and future growth in general.

This is one of those cases in which the Wittwer & Parkin law firm, where I am “Of Counsel,” is representing an interested party, namely the Community Water Coalition. The environmental review process is just beginning, and I hope all of you will get personally involved. I have put links to the Draft EIR in today’s transcript. Comments are due by July 15th.”

Read more: KUSP

 

lily victoria

World on course to run out of water, warns Ban Ki-moon

Published on 05/22/2013 in water shortage, water wars and world water supply. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Retrieved from: Scientific American

“Ban Ki-moon has warned the world is on course to run out of freshwater unless greater efforts are made to improve water security.

Speaking on the UN’s International Day of Biological Diversity, Ban said there was a “mutually reinforcing” relationship between biodiversity and water that should be harnessed.

“We live in an increasingly water insecure world where demand often outstrips supply and where water quality often fails to meet minimum standards. Under current trends, future demands for water will not be met,” Ban said.

Water, food, energy and climate are all linked.

Most forms of energy generation require water, variable weather is making agriculture harder while extreme weather events are hindering natural water storage.

Ban believes there is an opportunity to address these challenges as the Millennium Development Goals are replaced with a new set of objectives.

“As the international community strives to accelerate its efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and define a post-2015 agenda, including a set of goals for sustainable development, water and biodiversity are important streams in the discussion.”

Read more: Guardian

sammykayed

New report reveals the U.S. areas facing the highest climate-related risk of water shortages

Published on 05/16/2013 in climate change and water shortage. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Retrieved from: Growing blue

“A new report from the Columbia University Water Center, in conjunction with Veolia Water and Growing Blue, reveals that businesses and cities in some of America’s most iconic regions are now under even greater risk of water scarcity.

“All cities and all businesses require water, yet in many regions, they need more water than is actually available – and that demand is growing,” said Upmanu Lall, director, Columbia Water Center. “In response, many tools have been developed to help businesses assess their water risk. But these tools actuallyunderstate the risk of climate variations. The new study reveals that certain areas face exposure to drought, which will magnify existing problems of water supply and demand.”

“Research already proves that the demands on our water systems, both urban and rural, have never been greater,” said Ed Pinero , chief sustainability officer for Veolia Water . “And in some very populated areas, this new research shows that the risk of water shortages has never been higher.”

The U.S. metropolitan areas of Washington, D.C.; New York City; Los Angeles; and San Diego are of greatest concern, which could impact approximately 40 million Americans. Numerous counties in 46 states are also facing the same challenge of experiencing drought-induced shortages. Joining the metro areas on the list are the breadbasket regions of Nebraska, Illinoisand Minnesota, which produce almost 40 percent of the nation’s corn, a key ingredient in many of our foods and an essential feed source for livestock.”

Read more: PR news wire

sammykayed

Chile denies deal to export fresh water to Qatar

Published on 05/13/2013 in management, water diversions and water shortage. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .

“Chile denied on Monday that it will export fresh drinking water to Qatar after a recent report about shipments to the oil-rich but water-poor Persian Gulf country caused a public backlash.

The Gulf Times newspaper of Qatar cited Chilean Ambassador Jean Paul Tarud over the weekend as saying that ‘‘Chile has some of the largest fresh water export capabilities in the world.’’

The report caused a public outcry in Chilean social media after Tarud reportedly confirmed that a trial project to export fresh drinking water to Qatar had started.

But Chile’s foreign ministry ruled out any such project, saying media reports had confused the intention of a private company in Qatar with a plan by Chile’s government.

‘‘There’s no initiative from the government or our embassy’’ in the United Arab Emirates, the ministry said in a statement Monday. ‘‘Ambassador Tarud denies making the claims attributed to him on the subject and even more so, making any offerings involving the Chilean government.’’

The world’s driest desert is located in Chile’s north and the country has been suffering from drought in several regions. Environmental groups have staged protests in recent months arguing that Chile’s water scarcity is caused by government policies that exploit natural resources.”

Read more: Boston globe

sammykayed

Emergency desalination units needed as Marshall Islands face acute water shortage

Published on 05/12/2013 in desalination, drought and water shortage. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

Retrieved from: Glogster

“About 6,000 people who live on the remote Marshall Islands in the Pacific are facing an acute shortage of fresh water as a severe  drought worsens.

A state of disaster was declared in the north. Australia announced it would provide AU$100,000 (£65,335) for emergency desalination units. The US has also donated several reverse-osmosis machines, which convert salt water into fresh water.

There is no end in sight to the drought, with fine weather forecast for at least the next 10 days. The drought has also affected the food supply, hitting crops such as breadfruit, bananas and taro.

Casten Nemra, who chairs the national disaster committee, said many large families were surviving on as little as 4.5 litres of water a day.”It’s an increasingly desperate situation out there,” he said. “The dry season should have ended six weeks ago.”

He said there had been no deaths recorded but there has been an increase in diseases including conjunctivitis and diarrhoea. The government has deployed ships carrying food, water and medical supplies to the affected islands, he added.”

Read more: The Guardian

sammykayed

Safe drinking water disappearing fast in Bangladesh

Published on 05/10/2013 in climate change, contaminated water and water shortage. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Bangladesh drinking water

Retrieved from: The Guardian

“The availability of safe drinking water, particularly in Bangladesh’s hard to reach areas, is expected to worsen as the country experiences the effects of climate change, experts say.

“According to a study by the World Bank’s water and sanitation programme, about 28 million Bangladeshis, or just over 20% of the population, are living in harsh conditions in the “hard-to-reach areas” that make up a quarter of the country’s landmass. The study found that char – land that emerges from riverbeds as a result of the deposit of sediments – is among the most inaccessible, along with hilly areas, coastal regions and haors – bowl-shaped wetland areas in north-east Bangladesh.

“People living in hard-to-reach areas are often vulnerable to natural calamities like flooding, riverbank erosion and siltation,” said Rokeya Ahmed, a water and sanitation specialist at the World Bank. “As a result of climate change, salinity in Bangladesh’s coastal areas has increased [a great deal], causing a lack of sweet water. Women in coastal and haor areas need to go miles to collect a pitcher of safe drinking water.”

Read more: The Guardian

sammykayed

Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Seawater Desalination in California

Published on 05/06/2013 in desalination and water shortage. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Desalination and Energy

 

“Interest in seawater desalination in California is high, with 17 plants proposed along the California coast and two in Mexico. But removing the salt from seawater is an energy-intensive process that consumes more energy per gallon than most other water supply and treatment options. A new report from the Pacific Institute series Key Issues for Seawater Desalination in California describes the energy requirements and associated greenhouse gas emissions for desalinated water and evaluates the impact of short- and long-term energy price variability on the cost of desalinated water.

“Energy requirements are key factors that will impact the extent and success of desalination in California. The analysis shows energy requirements for seawater desalination average about 15,000 kWh per million gallons of water produced. By comparison, the least energy-intensive options of local sources of groundwater and surface water require 0 – 3,400 kWh per million gallons; wastewater reuse, depending on treatment levels, may require from 1,000 – 8,300 kWh per million gallons; and energy requirements for importing water through the State Water Project to Southern California range from 7,900 – 14,000 kWh per million gallons.”

Read more: Pacific Institute

sammykayed

In Bad Sign for Water Supply, California Snowpack at Very Low Levels

Published on 05/02/2013 in drought and water shortage. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Retrieved from: NBC

“The man in charge of surveying California’s snowpack to measure the amount of water that will flow into storage reservoirs over the next few months had bad news Thursday.

“I’m finding nothing. Seriously, there is no snow on the course at all,” said Frank Gehrke, chief surveyor for the Department of Water Resources.

“The survey showed the water content in the snowpack at 17 percent of normal, an ominous situation for a state that depends on a steady stream of snowmelt to replenish reservoirs throughout the summer.

“For nearly a century the state has been taking snow measurements at select areas across the Sierra Nevada in an attempt to gauge how much water will be available for farmers and city dwellers. Having a course bare of snow is not unusual in May — the last month it is measured — but it’s another stark reminder that water will be in short supply this summer.

“With the DWR projecting to supply just 35 percent of what 29 agencies providing water to 25 million Californians say they need, officials still are not ready to call it a drought.”

Read more: NBC

sammykayed

Qatar Challenges Way of the Desert

Published on 05/01/2013 in desalination and water shortage. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

Retrieved from: Panoramino

“In this country of just under 2 million, desert extremes meet a high-octane economy, testing both the limits and responses to the competition between water, food, and energy.

“Qatar today is a nation of nearly 2 million people, and Doha — its capital, a city swelled by hydrocarbon wealth and Arab ambition — is where almost 80 percent of them live. In 1940, oil was discovered in the country’s north. In 1971, the world’s largest natural gas field was found offshore.

“Still, underlying the dust and traffic and frenzy of new construction is a distinctive compact between the desert ecology and the high-octane economy. In almost every way conceivable, Qatar and its largest city are testing the durability of a resource-limited civilization that has plenty of fossil fuel and wealth, a storehouse of ingenuity, ample sun and sand — but not much else.

“At the top of the list of resources that don’t exist in Qatar, or are in short supply, is fresh water. Average annual rainfall measures around 74 millimeters (2.9 inches). There are no lakes, no streams, no rivers in the entire country. What little shallow groundwater is available was exhausted decades ago in many regions. The deeper groundwater, so called “fossil” groundwater, is being depleted at a rate four to five times higher than available rainfall can recharge the aquifers.

“Qatar’s fresh water is supplied by desalination plants, which require a significant share — more than one-fifth — of the country’s electrical generating capacity. And demand for water, which is supplied free to the country’s native-born Qataris and at significantly subsidized low cost to everybody else, is rising. A number of recent studies of water use here found that Qatar’s per capita water use is among the world’s highest.”

Read more: Circle of blue


sammykayed

De-silvering the Mirror: Mining for Film in the Owens Valley

Published on 04/25/2013 in contaminated water, solutions and outreach and water shortage. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

liminal camera through silo cams lens.

“It is a little-known and poignant fact that some of the silver and chemicals to produce the films that made Hollywood the global center of the movie industry were extracted from the Owens Valley and environs. As if it weren’t enough that Los Angeles drained water from the Eastern Sierra to expand into the San Fernando Valley, its major industry and part of the reason for the city’s growth were also being supported through mining in the same region, an ecological double jeopardy. Los Angeles artist Lauren Bon and her Metabolic Studio are using this set of entwined histories to make visible the effects of the historic resource extraction on both the Owens Valley and the city to the south.

“The snow-fed waters that flow down the Eastern Sierra and into the Owens Valley once watered its substantial agriculture before terminating in Owens Lake. After William Mulholland opened the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913 to capture and transport those waters to the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the valley’s agriculture became unsustainable and the 108-square-mile lake began to dry up. By 1924, Owens Lake no longer held water year-round. In 2006, Los Angeles was forced by a dust-mitigation lawsuit to begin re-watering 60 miles of the river, with the result that approximately 27 square miles of the lakebed are now flooded, a ghost of the lake that was.”

Read more: KCET

sammykayed