Tag Archive for 'drought'

Texas Agency Likely to Cut Water to Rice Farms

Published on 02/22/2012 in agriculture, drought, hydrology, management, peak water, policy and water shortage. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Photo retrieved from: www.claimsjournal.com

“Thousands of farmers in Texas’ rice-producing region are likely to be affected by action taken in response to one of the most severe droughts in state history. With water management agencies implementing emergency plans never used before, the Lower Colorado River Authority is widely expected to announce March 1 that it will not release water to rice farmers in three counties.

“Texas usually produces about 5 percent of the nation’s rice. Production also is dropping this year in the other five major rice-growing states, including No. 1 Arkansas, as farmers are pressed by rising production costs and dropping prices.

“Many farmers in the region alternate between growing rice and ranching, but those with cattle sold off much of their livestock last year as the drought parched rangeland and pushed up hay prices. That leaves them with few alternatives now.

“To turn the tide in Texas, Mother Nature needs to dump 5 to 8 inches of rain in the Hill Country to produce about 32.6 billion gallons of runoff into the region’s lakes, LCRA meteorologist Bob Rose said. It’s possible, but Rose “wasn’t very optimistic” about it happening soon.”

Read more: Claims Journal

Sami Oueida

Farmers warn food prices could go up because of drought

Published on 02/22/2012 in agriculture, drought, hydrology, management, peak water, policy, water shortage, water technology and world water supply. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

A combine harvester making it's way along a field of wheat in East Norton in Leicestershire. Farm, agriculture, farming, drought, British farming

Photo retrieved from: The Telegraph

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Peter Kendall, President of the National Farmers Union, said ongoing drought in the South East and Anglia, the “bread basket of Britain”, will cut yields and force up prices.

“As sure as night follows day if it doesn’t rain, food prices will go up. I can guarantee you that,” he said. “If there is less water across bigger areas of northern Europe food will cost more money.”

Drought-afflicted areas need 120 per cent of normal rainfall between now and March to avoid drought but the Met Office is forecasting a dry period.

“Mr Kendall said in the past, when the UK relied on imported food, farmers were ignored during a drought. For example golf courses would continue to be watered – but farmers banned from irrigating crops.”

Read more: The Telegraph

Sami Oueida

Google Brings Water Data to Life

Published on 01/30/2012 in contaminated water, drought, peak water, tap water and water shortage. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

Photo retrieved from: circleofblue.org

“Fusion Tables, which was developed by Google engineers using sample research data about the global fresh water crisis provided by the Pacific Institute and Circle of Blue, is specifically designed to unlock a treasure trove of facts, trends, and scientific findings that until now have been sequestered in databases and spreadsheets not easily shared.

“Users can also display their data through a variety of visualizations: as a timeline, a graph or a map. The “fusion” of the data sets can link dissimilar information from the far corners of the Web to reveal patterns and trends that might be impossible to spot otherwise. This makes Fusion Tables a central hub for data collaboration, as anyone can publish and access files, which were formerly locked away in Excel spreadsheets, PDF reports, and hard-cover textbooks.

“There is an enormous amount of water data out there, but data by itself doesn’t tell the story; data are only numbers,” said Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute. “If we can find innovative ways to convert data into action, then data is important.”

“Fusion Tables created a scatter plot that revealed a noticeable and predictable correlation of death by water-related illness, wealth and safe drinking water availability. As the gross domestic product per capita increased, the percentage of a country’s population connected to tap water increased, and child deaths related to diarrhea decreased.

“As Circle of Blue does with front-line reporting of water issues, we hope to provide new ways of looking at problems, collecting vast amounts of information and making it widely relevant, visual and accessible,” Halevy said.”

Read more: circle of blue

Sami Oueida

Flooding and water scarcity ranked as top threat for UK

Published on 01/27/2012 in climate change, drought, floods and water shortage. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

Retrieved from: edieWater

“Water scarcity and flooding is likely to become the main problem for the UK in the future, which will need to adapt to increase its reliance, was the stark warning from the first comprehensive climate change risk study.

“As part of the assessment, 700 potential climate change impacts were investigated, with flooding ranked as the worst risk for the UK, closely followed by water shortages, soil erosion and prolonged heatwaves.

Flood risk is projected to increase significantly across the UK, with analysis for England and Wales showing unless plans to adapt to changing risks are implemented, that by the 2080s climate change and population growth could see damages to buildings and property reach between £2.1bn – £12bn, compared to current costs of £1.2bn.

Water quality is also predicted to be affected, as it depends on water volume and river flows to dilute pollutants. This, states the report is likely to increase water treatment costs and damage the local ecosystem.

“The CCRA also predicts increasing pressure on the UK’s water resources and warns that without action to improve water resources there could be major supply shortages by the 2050s in parts of the north, south and east of England, with the Thames River basin predicted to take the brunt of the drought.”

Read more: edieWater

Sami Oueida

NZ, US join forces over Pacific water crisis

Published on 10/09/2011 in contaminated water, displacement of people, drought and water shortage. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

Tuvalu

Retrieved from: The Australian

“New Zealand is working with the United States to get supplies to drought-stricken Tokelau, which has less than a week’s supply of drinking water.

“The aid comes after the Pacific nation and its neighbour Tuvalu declared states of emergency over a lack of fresh water. New Zealand has already sent a Hercules with supplies to Tuvalu. Parts of Samoa are also starting to ration water.

“A Defence Force Hercules carrying water containers was due to fly to Pago Pago in American Samoa this morning, where it will meet up with a US Coastguard vessel. The ship, which has an on-board desalination plant to fill the containers, will then travel to Tokelau’s three main islands.

“Foreign Minister Murray McCully said the water tanks would provide about 136,000 litres of water, which would be sufficient in the short term.

“Supplies are precariously low after a severe lack of rain in a region where underground reserves have been fouled by salt water from rising seas that scientists have linked to climate change.”

Read more: NZ herald

sammykayed

Water proposal could devastate Texas rice industry

Published on 09/21/2011 in agriculture and drought. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

Retrieved from: SF Gate

“Barbara Corporon and her husband Victor depend on water from the Colorado River to grow rice, a staple of their farm near the Texas coast.

“But as the Lower Colorado River Authority contemplates cutting off that water because of one of the worst droughts the state has ever seen, the Corporons and hundreds of other South Texas farmers are trying to figure out how they’ll keep their operations going.

“With the amount of money that it takes for us to farm, one bad year is all you can stand and then you’re bankrupt,” said Barbara Corporon, 46. “We’re too old for anybody to hire us. This is what we’ve done all our life … He’s too young to retire, but he’s too old for anything else. We’re in a pickle.”

“While most of Texas and the Southwest are under moderate to extreme drought conditions, agricultural water rationing and curtailment proposals are becoming more widespread, even affecting parts of the Deep South.

“The scope of the situation is huge,” said Matt Herrick, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“In Texas, the board of directors for the LCRA, which manages the southern part of the massive river, is considering a proposal that could cut off water next year to about 250 farmers in the state’s three biggest rice-producing counties — Matagorda, Wharton and Colorado. Texas produces about 170,000 acres of rice each year, around 5 percent of the nation’s total.”

Read more: SF Gate

sammykayed

Iceberg Harvesting Can End Third-World Drought

Published on 08/08/2011 in drought, glaciers and solutions and outreach. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Iceberg Archway

“A French entrepreneur backed by a software company claims to have proved that he can tow giant icebergs across the world to end drought conditions.

“Georges Mougin, 86, has championed his plan to harvest icebergs to solve water shortages for 40 years — and a computer simulation now shows that the ambitious project might be possible, The (London) Sunday Times reported.

“Under the plan, engineers would encircle an iceberg with a harness that contains a skirt made from an insulating textile. The skirt unfolds underwater and covers the iceberg to stop it from melting.
With the help of ocean currents, the iceberg is then towed to drought-stricken lands.

“They are floating reservoirs,” Mougin said.

“He formed his company, Iceberg Transport International, in 1976 but shelved his iceberg-towing project after he was told repeatedly that it was too expensive and too difficult.

“However, in 2009, he was approached by the French software firm Dassault Systemes, which provided Mougin with 15 engineers to build a computer simulation to test his ideas.

“The simulation proved that it was possible to tow a seven-ton (6.35-tonne) iceberg from the waters around Newfoundland, easternCanada to Spain’s Canary Islands in 141 days, with only 38 percent of the iceberg melting.”

Read more: fox news

sammykayed

Yangtze delta hit by worst drought in decades

Published on 05/26/2011 in aquatic ecosystems, drought and hydropower. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , .

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.”

Read more: SMH

sammykayed

Water crisis pushes Israel to approve world’s 2nd-largest desalination plant

Published on 05/25/2011 in desalination, drought, management and water technology. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

Retrieved from: merco press

“The Finance Ministry has approved the construction and operation of a desalination plant in Soreq in southern Israel. Officials said the facility would contain a capacity to produce 150 million cubic meters of drinking water per year, or the second largest desalination plant in the world.

“On completion of the plant, which is one of the world’s biggest desalination plants, the desalinated water will constitute over 65 percent of the economy’s domestic water consumption,” Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said. “This step will make a significant contribution to solving Israel’s water crisis.”

“On May 23, the ministry signed an agreement for the $400 million project with an Israeli-led joint venture, SDL. SDL was owned by Israel’s IDE Technologies and the Hong Kong-based Hutchison Water International Holdings, winners of a desalination tender.

“Officials said the desalination pant would be completed in 2013. They said the 100-dunam facility, designed to operate on reverse osmosis  technology, would be based on the so-called build-own-transfer model, designed to avoid government ownership. Investment in the project has included the European Union’s European Investment Bank.”

Read more: world tribune

sammykayed

Sharing Lake Okeechobee’s declining water supply stresses environment

Published on 05/19/2011 in drought, lakes and water shortage. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

Lake Okeechobee

Retrieved from: sun sentinel

“Lake Okeechobee’s declining water level strains urban and environmental water supplies alike, as South Florida waits for drought-quenching summer rains to bring relief.

“Lake Okeechobee serves as South Florida’s primary back-up water supply, but on Wednesday it neared the point where it would drop too low to keep sending water south.

“That heightens the difficulty for the South Florida Water Management District to meet the sometimes competing water needs of the environment, agriculture and community supplies.

“The lake hit 10.57 feet Wednesday, 4 feet lower than this time last year and 2.7 feet below normal.

“At 10.5 feet the lake would be too low for gravity to keep sending water to the canals that deliver lake water that sugar cane growers and other agriculture rely on for irrigation.

“Those canals also deliver lake water to the Everglades water conservation areas, west of Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties.

“In addition to hydrating the northern reaches of the Everglades, water in the conservation areas helps supplement community water supplies in southeast Florida.

“As of mid May, more than 60 percent of the land in the vast Everglades water conservation areas was dry.

“It becomes very difficult to move water,” Susan Sylvester, district director of operations, said about the lake’s continued decline. “We are really looking for those wet season rains to kick in.”

“The district can temporarily install pumps to keep water flowing south after the lake drops below 10.5 feet, but those pumps move less than half what the canals can usually provide.”

Read more:  sun sentinel

sammykayed