Tag Archive for 'peakwater'

Mysterious GREEN water grosses out locals in New Jersey as officials insist it’s safe to drink

Published on 05/18/2012 in peak water and tap water. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

It Ain't Easy: The water in Toms River has become green and water experts insist that despite its hue, it's safe to drink

Retrieved from: Daily Mail

“The water in the coastal town has actually become green thanks to an overabundance of iron, though water experts insist that despite its hue, it’s safe to drink.

The tinted tap is unnoticeable in small amounts, such as a glass of water, but in larger pools and tubs, the disturbing coloration comes out loud and unclear.

” ‘The water meets drinking water standards set by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection and the US Environmental Protection Agency,’ NJAM spokesman Richard Barnes said.

“ ’A person would have to drink 24 liters of this water to equal the amount of iron found in a daily multi-vitamin.’ ”

Read more: Daily Mail

Sami Oueida

America is Not Immune to the Water Crisis

Published on 05/01/2012 in water shortage, water wars and world water supply. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Retrieved from: IMDB

“In the U.S., we tend to think of “the water crisis” as a problem for other countries, but as we show in Last Call, we are not immune. By the interconnected nature of the resource, the crisis is global, its impacts domino-like. We shouldn’t feel insulated just because water flows freely from our taps.

“But we do feel insulated, don’t we? For a while I contemplated calling the film A River in Egypt, but I realized that the problem isn’t denial — which implies willful dismissal of facts — but ignorance. Water problems barely register on our list of concerns.

“I grew up in Northern California. We never had a lawn; we let the hillside go brown in drought years. We had a bucket in the shower to catch the water that came out before it got warm. In starting Last Call at the Oasis, I was somewhat smug in feeling that I knew something about water issues.

“I realize now that all I really knew was drought. I didn’t factor in climate change, groundwater depletion, contamination, outdated water laws, the battle between industry and the environment, etc., etc. All of which made this production a continually eye-opening experience for me. A sampling: we learned that there are estimates that that the aquifer in the Central Valley, which produces a quarter of our nation’s food, might be depleted in as little as sixty years. One third of U.S. counties face water shortages by 2050. And of the more than 80,000 chemicals used in the United States, many of which end up in our water supplies, only 5 are regulated under the Toxic Substances Control Act. What’s going on is big, and it is crucial that we understand it. This is water — essential for all life. Could the stakes be any higher?”

Read more: Huffington post

sammykayed

Elwha sediment not just mud, it’s nourishment

Published on 04/30/2012 in aquatic ecosystems, dam removal and hydrology. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Retrieved from: Seattle times

“The sediment loads in the Elwha River are spiking because the reservoir behind former Elwha Dam is now completely gone. That means the settling of fines that used to occur in the lake is no longer happening so all that material is pouring into the river, and heading on down to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It’s a dramatic sight.

“The distinct line is caused by the difference in density between the fresh water of the Elwha and the salt water of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The heavy sediment loading is coming primarily from the area that used to be Elwha Dam. In this photo the Elwha River, right, meets the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The plume is flowing east with the tide — up, in this photograph, as Roorda flies north.

“And while the amount of sediment is large — about 50 times normal levels for the Elwha — don’t call it mud. Sediment is a single word for a whole range of material that the river has been depositing behind the two dams for the past 100 years: rocks, gravel, cobble, sand, silt, and clay. About 40 percent of that material is expected to eventually make its way out to sea.

“Restarting the river’s natural transport capacity is one of the most important aspects of Elwha River recovery. Big mountain rivers like the Elwha eat a steady diet of wood and rocks and sand and gravel, moving the material with the energy of their perpetual flow down gradient to the sea. Wood and sediment rebuild the natural structure and complexity of the riverbed: meanders, side channels, gravel bars, pools and riffles. A big mountain river like the Elwha naturally transports a fantastic amount of material — but it’s all been stuck up behind the dams, some 24 million cubic yards worth. Well now with the dams coming out — and Elwha Dam already completely gone — that material is on the move.”

Read more: Seattle times

sammykayed

Restrict shale gas fracking to 600m from water supplies, says study

Published on 04/25/2012 in contaminated water, fracking, groundwater, natural gas drilling and peak water. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Retrieved from: The Guardian

“Controversial “fracking” for shale gas should only take place at least 600 metres down from aquifers used for water supplies, scientists said on Wednesday.

A new study revealed the process, which uses high-pressure liquid pumped deep underground to split shale rock and release gas, caused fractures running upwards and downwards through the ground of up to 588 metres from their source. The research, published in the journal Marine and Petroleum Geology, found the chance of a fracture extending more than 600 metres upwards was exceptionally low, and the probability of fractures of more than 350 metres was 1%.

Researchers said the study showed it was “incredibly unlikely” that fracking at depths of 2km to 3km below the surface would lead to the contamination of shallow aquifers which lie above the gas resources.

“The researchers from Durham University, Cardiff University and the University of Tromso, Norway, looked at thousands of natural and induced rock fractures in the US, Europe and Africa, and found none of the artificially caused ones were more than 600 metres.”

Read more: The Guardian

Sami Oueida

US government releases ‘fracking’ gas rules

Published on 04/19/2012 in contaminated water, fracking, management, oil, peak water and policy. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Retrieved from: wtfrack.org

“The US government has released long-awaited rules on “fracking”, the process  used to unlock oil and gas deposits hidden deep in rock formations that has revolutionised  the domestic energy sector.

From 2015, oil and gas companies will be required to capture methane and  other pollutant gases that are byproducts of fracking, which involves pumping a  mixture of water and chemicals at high pressure to crack the surface of rock  formations.

The guidelines, issued by the Environmental Protection Agency, represent the  first federal clean air standards for fracking, the technology that has  underpinned the breakneck growth of the shale oil and gas sector and holds out  the hope of eventual energy independence for the US.

But they grant energy companies more than two years to meet the new  standards, and do not cover wastewater produced by fracking, an  increasing focus for critics of the industry.”

Read more: Financial Times

Sami Oueida

Protecting Bay Area’s Water Supply in Event of Major Earthquake

Published on 04/18/2012 in levees and management. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Retrieved from: Llnl

“One day before the 106th anniversary of the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, Mayor Ed Lee was in San Mateo County on Tuesday to mark a major milestone in securing the region’s water supply in the event of a future major earthquake.

“Lee joined San Francisco Public Utilities Commission general manager Ed Harrington and San Mateo County Supervisor Adrienne Tissier on the banks of the Lower Crystal Springs Reservoir, where improvements to the 124-year-old Crystal Springs Dam have just been completed.

“The dam improvements — which doubled the width of the main spillway and raised the height of a parapet on top of the structure by 9 feet — were part of the SFPUC’s $4.6 billion Water System Improvement Program, which consists of 81 seismic improvements to water delivery pipelines, dams and reservoirs from Hetch Hetchy to San Francisco.

“Harrington said the seismic upgrades “virtually guarantee” the reliability of safe drinking water for 2.6 million Bay Area residents within 24 hours of a major earthquake.

“These projects now serve as our reinforced lifeline to deliver Hetch Hetchy water around the Bay,” Harrington said.

“Five years ago we would not have had the same reliability we have today,” he said.

Read more: Bay citizen

sammykayed

Direct drinking water recycling could prevent floods

Published on 04/18/2012 in dams, management and rainwater harvesting. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Retrieved from: Rainwater Harvesting

“Direct potable reuse (DPR) of wastewater could free up billions of litres of water from reservoirs around Australia, giving cities a greater buffer to capture and control major flooding events, says Dr Stuart Khan, an at the UNSW Water Research Centre.

“Current plans for water recycling in Australia generally involve Indirect Potable Reuse (IPR), where is treated to a high standard and then returned to rivers, lakes and aquifers,  where it mixes with environmental waters before being re-extracted for further treatment.

“But Dr Khan says a better approach, which is more cost effective and less energy intensive, is to skip the dam altogether. With DPR, highly treated wastewater is introduced directly to drinking water treatment plants, without re-entering the natural environment along the way.

“In Queensland alone, DPR would be the equivalent of immediately constructing a new 425-billion litre reservoir, without the cost of construction or having to relocate a single home or farm, says Khan.

“This added ‘virtual’ storage space represents a 30% increase on the volume currently reserved for flood mitigation in this region, his research shows.

“DPR probably would have saved Brisbane from the 2011 floods from Wivenhoe,” he says. “The big inflow peak of around 1900 GL that occurred between 9 and 13 January could have been contained in the dam, rather than spilled.”

Read more:  Phys

sammykayed

Water meters to cost €40 a year for 20 years

Published on 04/16/2012 in management and water technology. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Retrieved from: Independent

“Homeowners face an annual €40 standing charge for 20 years just to cover the cost of water meters. That is before they hand over a cent for the water they use.

“The Irish  Independent has learned of fresh details about the standing charge which will be levied on 1.35 million homeowners.

“Environment Minister Phil Hogan intends the €40 annual bill to cover the cost of the water meter as well as installing and maintaining the new system.

“But a government spokesman tried to defuse the looming row over the charges pointing out that there will be no upfront bills.

“As the Opposition branded the contradictory statements over costs householders will face, ‘a communications fiasco’, the spokesman said that the political hare was off and running since the weekend confirmation that householders would have to pay several hundred euro for water meters.

“The prospect of paying a yearly charge for two decades will shock homeowners already forking out a range of fees.

“The National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF) is providing a loan of €450m for the water metering programme.”

Read more: Independent

sammykayed

Merck and Safe Water Network Launch Initiative to Improve Water Access and Help Reduce the Impact of Water-Borne Disease in India

Published on 04/16/2012 in contaminated water, management, peak water and solutions and outreach. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

Retrieved from: SafeWaterNetwork.org

“Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, and Safe Water Network, announced the launch of a three−year, $1.5M partnership to increase access to safe water and reduce the impact of water-borne disease among impoverished communities in Andhra Pradesh, India.

This initiative addresses a critical need in India where an estimated 70 − 80 percent disease is related to water contamination and poor sanitation, and where more than 120,000 children under the age of five die each year from rotavirus diarrhea alone.

“India faces significant water and sanitation challenges. Seventy−five percent of the country’s surface water is contaminated by human, agricultural and industrial waste[2], while half of the country’s population lacks access to basic sanitation[3]. Those living in urban slums and rural environments are most affected. In many areas of the country, a growing dependence on groundwater for drinking is associated with a rise in health problems due to fluoride, salinity, water-borne pathogens, nitrate and other contaminants found in the water. In Andhra Pradesh, only 31 percent[4] of households treat their water before use, and 43 percent[5] of children under the age of five are stunted, a common result of frequent episodes of diarrhea.

This joint effort draws on Safe Water Network’s field experience in India, Ghana and Kenya to address the operational, economic, cultural and environmental challenges to safe water access. The team will apply a rigorous method to data collection and analysis to produce effective demand generation and education methods that can be replicated at scale throughout India.

The initiative will add a dozen sites to Safe Water Network’s existing field projects in Andhra Pradesh, which already provide nearly 40,000 people access to clean water. The additional sites will provide safe water access to another 20,000 – 30,000 people. Each phase of the initiative will be documented, including the data on health outcomes. Key findings will be shared with the water and sanitation sector as well as other organizations to help them address the global water crisis.”

Read more: Safe Water Network

Sami Oueida

Water Wars: Why India and Pakistan Are Squaring Off Over Their Rivers

Published on 04/16/2012 in agriculture, dams, drought, hydropower, peak water, policy and water wars. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Photo retrieved from: TIME world

“India’s Wular Lake, a popular picnic and tourist spot nestled in the Kashmir Valley, is an unlikely site for conflict. But India’s plan to build a structure on the Jhelum River at the mouth of the lake that will allow it to release water during the river’s lean winter months has outraged neighboring Pakistan, which believes the project will give India the power to control how much water flows downstream to its farmers. After two and a half decades of deadlock and 15 marathon rounds of bilateral talks — the most recent occurring in late March — the countries appear a long way from finding common ground.

The dispute isn’t the first of its kind, nor will it be the last. The waters of the Indus River and tributaries like the Jhelum — and the dams built on them by India — have long been one of the main points of contention between the rival neighbors, along with the disputed region of Kashmir itself and cross-border terrorism. Pakistan, whose agriculture-dominated economy is heavily reliant on the Indus and its tributaries, fears upstream dams allow India to manipulate the flows of water as it sees fit. Many in Pakistan accuse New Delhi of wantonly exacerbating the country’s dire water shortages, choking its agricultural production and ruining livelihoods.

“Indeed, India has ramped up its hydroelectricity projects in recent years to try to boost its woefully inadequate power supplies. The government has a total of 45 projects either already completed or in the proposal stage on the western rivers, some as large as 1000 megawatt and many as small as 2 and 3 megawatt. This expansion has irked Islamabad. “India is putting more and more restrictions and constrictions on Pakistan’s waters,” Kamal Majidulla, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani’s special assistant on water resources and agriculture, tells TIME.

A 2011 U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee report said that studies show no single dam will affect Pakistan’s access to water, but the cumulative effect of multiple hydroelectric projects could give India the ability to store enough water to limit Pakistan’s supply at crucial moments in the growing season. India has never abused its water supplies in this way, the report adds, and New Delhi rejects the theory as an unsubstantiated hypothesis. But the report’s observations serve as a suitable analogy for India and Pakistan’s water conflicts overall. While no single legal or diplomatic tussle will rupture the fragile relations between the countries, the cumulative effect of a series of standoffs could cause tensions to boil over.”

Read more: TIME

Sami Oueida