Plastic not-so-fantastic: How the versatile material harms the environment and human health
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 2, 2009 at 1:52 pmFrom the Scientific American:
From cell phones and computers to bicycle helmets and hospital IV bags, plastic has molded society in many ways that make life both easier and safer. But the synthetic material also has left harmful imprints on the environment and perhaps human health, according to a new compilation of articles authored by scientists from around the world.
More than 60 scientists contributed to the new report, which aims to present the first comprehensive review of the impact of plastics on the environment and human health, and offer possible solutions.
“One of the most ubiquitous and long-lasting recent changes to the surface of our planet is the accumulation and fragmentation of plastics,” wrote David Barnes, a lead author and researcher for the British Antarctic Survey. The report was published this month in a theme issue of Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society B, a scientific journal.
As the scrutiny of the environmental toll of plastic increases, so has its usage, the scientists reported.
Since its mass production began in the 1940s, plastic’s wide range of unique properties has propelled it to an essential status in society. Next year, more than 300 million tons will be produced worldwide. The amount of plastic manufactured in the first ten years of this century will approach the total produced in the entire last century, according to the report.
“Plastics are very long-lived products that could potentially have service over decades, and yet our main use of these lightweight, inexpensive materials are as single-use items that will go to the garbage dump within a year, where they’ll persist for centuries,” Richard Thompson, lead editor of the report, said in an interview.
Tuesday afternoon update: Testimony before Little Hoover Commission now available online
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 30, 2009 at 12:29 pmFrom the Little Hoover Commission website, the written testimony submitted to the commission. Click on the name to view:
Water Management in California: Today’s Structure, Future Needs
1. Lester Snow, Director, California Department of Water ResourcesFederal Perspective: Central Valley Project and Water Management in California
2. Ron Milligan, Operations Manager, Central Valley Operations Office, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
Water Management from a User’s Perspective and Other Agencies’ Roles
Arizona Model
4. Sandra Fabritz-Whitney, Assistant Director, Water Management Division, Arizona Department of Water Resources
5. Sid Wilson, General Manager, retired, Central Arizona ProjectUtah Model
6. Dennis Strong, Director, Utah Division of Water Resources
It’s now legal to catch a raindrop in Colorado
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 29, 2009 at 5:50 am
From the New York Times:
Durango, Colo. — For the first time since territorial days, rain will be free for the catching here, as more and more thirsty states part ways with one of the most entrenched codes of the West.
Precipitation, every last drop or flake, was assigned ownership from the moment it fell in many Western states, making scofflaws of people who scooped rainfall from their own gutters. In some instances, the rights to that water were assigned a century or more ago.
Now two new laws in Colorado will allow many people to collect rainwater legally. The laws are the latest crack in the rainwater edifice, as other states, driven by population growth, drought, or declining groundwater in their aquifers, have already opened the skies or begun actively encouraging people to collect.
“I was so willing to go to jail for catching water on my roof and watering my garden,” said Tom Bartels, a video producer here in southwestern Colorado, who has been illegally watering his vegetables and fruit trees from tanks attached to his gutters. “But now I’m not a criminal.”
Read more from the New York Times by clicking here.
New solar power plants may threaten scarce desert water resources
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 28, 2009 at 6:31 pmFrom AlterNet:
Congress’s rush to embrace solar power is having some unintended consequences. It will turn over a large chunk of federal land to private energy companies, and it may involve withdrawing billions of gallons of water from sensitive desert habitat.
By 2015, Congress wants the Interior and Energy Departments to place, on federal land, renewable energy projects that can generate at least 10,000 megawatts of electricity. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 has set off a frantic land grab as solar and wind energy companies rush to obtain permits for projects in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.
As of mid-March, the Bureau of Land Management had received 158 applications for permits for solar power plants, covering more than one million acres of land — an area larger than Rhode Island. Most of the proposed plants are located near the border of Arizona, California and Nevada. This area of the Mojave Desert seems perfect for solar power; it’s hot and flat and vast. What the Mojave Desert doesn’t have is water.
Read more from AlterNet by clicking here.
Another great reason to live in Chicago: Lots of water
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 26, 2009 at 6:57 amStephen Markley’s glad to be living in Chicago, and he tells us why in this commentary from Chicago Now:
Whenever you feel like complaining about dreary Chicago weather, just be glad you don’t live in Bolinas, California. As California experiences one of the worst droughts in its history, Bolinas spent much of its late winter and early spring rationing the remaining water in the town’s reservoirs among 600 households. Each household was allotted 150 gallons of water per day, no matter how many people lived there. If they violated their allotment more than twice, the town turned their water off.
Keep in mind the average American household uses 400 gallons per day, and that gives you an idea of how little 150 gallons is.
We won’t go into what Bolinasians had to do during their water emergency (to give you a hint: There was a lot of stagnant urine sitting in toilet bowls), but it should remind all of us why we’re lucky to live in the Great Lakes region of North America.
You know that big-ass body of water due east of Chicago? I know it’s named after “Michigan,” which is like naming your beloved child “Genitals” but go kiss it sometime anyway because that body of water is going to totally save our asses in the next 20 to 50 years.
Read more of Stephen’s commentary by clicking here.
Wired Water: Information technology can help manage water resources to meet the need, but “the water industry is not leveraging IT to the extent it can because there exists a lack of awareness about what IT can do to improve problems”, says Peter Williams of IBM
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 22, 2009 at 7:49 amFrom Tech News World:
Go wet, young IT man (and woman). Your parched, imperiled planet needs you.
When it comes to creating a future filled with fresh, drinkable water, information technology professionals have a significant career opportunity in a mega-sized market. The very economic survival of a thirsty, arid Earth — with the U.S. southwest as a prime example — depends a great deal on properly applying the skills and expertise of app developers and systems administrators to the mapping, modeling and management of water across the world.
In the U.S., shortages are causing states like California to declare water emergencies, introduce rationing, set usage limits, and levy fines and penalties for violators. California’s three-year drought and a dispute over the endangered Delta smelt have put water districts under pressure to cut their customers’ consumption while conserving as much as possible. Each drop counts … and will be counted. No more overwatering, broken sprinklers and leaking pipes sending drinkable water flowing or spraying into adjacent private properties, public rights-of-way and city storm drains on its way to the sea.
“Wired water” — the use of information technology (hardware, software, telecom, networking, services) for water control — could become a US$20 billion market, according to Sharon Nunes, vice president for IBM’s (NYSE: IBM) More about IBM Big Green Innovations global initiative for water management.
“There’s a lot of stress on water systems around the world,” said Nunes. “With a limited supply, you’d better be able to manage it.”
Read more from Tech News World by clicking here.
Stop putting fish before man, says commentary: “Californians don’t have a lack of water. They have an overabundance of environmentalists.”
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 20, 2009 at 7:35 amFrom the Bakersfield Californian, this commentary by Inga Barks:
In a congressional report, a Kern County representative warned that if we didn’t act soon, the most fertile land on the planet would be in peril. We need to balance environmental protection and our very livelihood in the Central Valley, the report said. And it stressed we’re on a collision course between fish and mankind — and mankind is losing.
That report was presented in 1993 by then-Kern County Supervisor Mary K. Shell. Her words 16 years ago about the worst-case scenario are an uncanny description of California’s modern-day man-made drought.
Today, some farmers are receiving zero allocations of water, and I’m told workers are taking their families to Central Valley homeless shelters for food. News reports estimate as many as 60,000 jobs will be lost due to this man-made drought. I stress “man-made” because it doesn’t have to be this way. Californians don’t have a lack of water. They have an overabundance of environmentalists.
Read more of this commentary from the Bakersfield Californian by clicking here.
Water seizes center stage from governor; Schwarzenegger comes to Fresno to discuss budget, but is confronted with water issues
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 19, 2009 at 7:39 am
From the Fresno Bee:
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger came to Fresno’s Tower Theatre on Thursday to pitch his vision for California’s next budget. What he got instead was an earful about the state’s water woes.
During a question-and-answer period following an 18-minute budget stump speech, several in the audience pointedly criticized the governor for not paying more attention to a water shortage that has particularly hurt farmers on the Valley’s west side. It was an issue many in the audience considered more immediate than the state’s looming $24.3 billion deficit and the deep spending cuts being proposed to close it.
“If you allow water to flow, you allow dams and canals to be built, you will raise revenue and you won’t need to make cuts,” said 55-year-old crane operator Tom Salmon of Oakhurst.
The governor responded, saying, “I think it’s very important that everyone knows that I have been fighting for water for the last four years straight.” But Salmon pressed the issue, protesting that not enough has been done.
As the atmosphere turned tense and Salmon wouldn’t let up, Schwarzenegger called Orange Cove Mayor Victor Lopez to the podium. In a short but heated response to critics, Lopez called Schwarzenegger the best governor in the nation’s history; a friend of the farmworker, the farmer and the businessman; and someone who can help solve the state’s water issues.
“We’re going to get that water,” said Lopez, whose east-side Valley city is a high-priority water customer a world apart from the struggling cities on the west side, where agriculture depends on the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta for its water supply.
The Sacramento Bee adds:
After another questioner importuned Schwarzenegger “please don’t make us look like Bakersfield,” the governor acknowledged that the water victory would have to wait until there is victory on balancing the budget.
“We will get a water deal as soon as the budget is done,” he said. “But there will never be a water deal until you get a budget, because you have to pay for it … It will be on the top of our list … it has been on the top of the list for the last three years.”
A carpenter told the governor that a way to put his union members and others to work was “to build more dams.” And a city councilman from Porterville suggested that Schwarzenegger lead a counter-lawsuit against environmental groups and others who have filed suits in federal courts that have delayed some water storage and conveyance projects.
“I have been urging the federal courts to turn on the pumps, turn on the pumps,” Schwarzenegger said, “because I think it’s ridiculous that we pay more attention and feel sorry for the smelt and the fish and the (other) species than for the people of California.”
The most comprehensive coverage of the meeting is from the Fresno Bee - click here; additional coverage from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.
Water risks ripple through the beverage industry
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 16, 2009 at 8:12 amFrom Reuters News:
At New York’s Del Posto, diners can share a $130 entree of wild branzino fish with roasted fennel and peperonata concentrato and a $3,600 bottle of Dom Perignon. They cannot share a bottle of Perrier or San Pellegrino water.
The Italian restaurant backed by celebrities Mario Batali and Joseph Bastianich is one of several shunning bottled water, along with the city of San Francisco and New York state.
“The argument for local water is compelling and obvious,” said Bastianich, who is phasing out bottled water across his restaurant empire, which stretches to Los Angeles. “It’s about transportation, packaging, the absurdity of moving water all over the world,” he said.
As environmental worries cut into sales from traditionally lucrative bottled water, beverage companies such as Coca-Cola (KO.N), PepsiCo (PEP.N), Nestle (NESN.VX) and SABMiller (SAB.L) are becoming more attuned to the risks of negative consumer environmental perceptions. Water is becoming scarcer, raising a fear that so-far manageable price increases could spike and leading drink companies to take action to maintain access to water and fight their image as water hogs.
Read the full text of this article from Reuters News by clicking here. For a related Factbox story on steps beverage companies are taking to lessen their water footprint, click here.
The reign of rain barrels beginning
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 15, 2009 at 3:04 pmFrom Reuters News:
Rain barrels are all the rage this summer. More and more, retailers like Lowes and local hardware stores are seeing an increase in demand. Consumers are purchasing these large ceramic or rubber barrels to collect late winter and early spring rains. The rainwater is stored for later use in dry, drought-ridden summers.
Multiple applications are possible whether it is for conservation or for environmental stewardship. Homes use the collected water to maintain gardens, lawns, and even for washing a car. Golf courses and public parks can use large-scale rainwater collection facilities, conserving freshwater supplies for drinking. After the cost of the barrel, collecting water and reusing it in the summer is free of charge- no hose to rewind and no water bill to avoid opening. There are just a few technical functions to the water collecting system; for instance, place on level ground so a full barrel doesn’t tip over and nix your collected water.
Collecting water can provide a substantial environmental benefit to local watersheds, reservoirs, and in general, water supplies. If municipalities provided incentives for rainwater collection, specifically in locales frequently under drought conditions, such as Las Vegas, gallons of water per home could be conserved and used during drought times.
Read more from Reuters News by clicking here.
South Yuba City residents may be off the hook for cost of meters
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 15, 2009 at 7:00 amFrom the Marysville Appeal-Democrat:
Some Yuba City water users may no longer have to pay up to $500 when the city converts them from groundwater to surface water. The city has been selected to receive a $3.5 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant for its water meter installation project. The project includes installation of about 3,500 water meters, most of which will be in the former Hillcrest Water System, from flat-rate to metered services.
The city was not expecting to receive the money because the project was determined to be ineligible. But Utilities Director Bill Lewis petitioned the California Department of Public Health to ask for a re-evaluation. “There were other projects similar to our water meter project that were funded, so we questioned why some were funded and some weren’t,” he said.
The city was subsequently added to the list of approved projects. The city has not received the check yet, but Lewis said he sees no reason the city would not receive the grant.
Read more from the Appeal-Democrat by clicking here.
Why is water such a big issue? Global Water Challenge President Paul Faeth sets us straight (part 1)
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 10, 2009 at 6:35 amFrom the TreeHugger blog:
Having given Global Water Challenge a Best of Green award earlier this year for their innovative work on the issues of drinking water and sanitation, it goes without saying that TreeHugger is a fan of their work.
Recently I had a chance to sit down with GWC president Paul Faeth and pick his brain about what water issues we ought to be paying attention to, how bad an impact is climate change going to really have on water supplies, water privatization, desalination, and much more. Both of us being verbose people we went on for some time. This part one of that conversation:
Q. In your opinion what are the main issues that TreeHugger readers should be concerned with regarding water and access to water?
The biggest thing facing us right now is climate change. Studies suggest that right now about a third of people in the world are living in climate-stressed areas. That includes places like California and the desert Southwest, but also places in Latin America and places you’d normally think about in Africa and India. The numbers suggest that as much as two thirds of the human population could be living in water-stressed areas [because of climate change].
Water resources are not growing, and we keep putting more stresses on them. We’re polluting them. So the resources that we do have are running out. Water from aquifers, fossil water, as it’s called…we’re not making anymore of that, and we’re using it up. Fresh water in many places of the world, we’re polluting it, is just going to become more scarce because of climate change.
A huge amount of water also goes into nuclear power. A lot of people are talking about nuclear as a response to climate change, because it doesn’t produce greenhouse gas emissions…there are other issues with it, of course. And one of them is that it uses a lot of water.
The other issue which I think is really important, the developing country aspect, is the issue of safe drinking water. There are a billion people in the world today, who do not have access to a safe source of drinking water. What that means is that nearly 5,000 children a day die from diarrheal diseases, because they don’t have access to that safe source of drinking water. One of the things that’s polluting the drinking water in many of these places is that there’s no sanitation. That spreads human diseases around…there are 2.5 billion people in the world without access to sanitation.
Read more from the TreeHugger blog by clicking here.
Tuesday’s top of the scroll: State needs a full water plan, says editorial
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 9, 2009 at 8:03 amFrom the Visalia Times-Delta, this editorial:
The biological opinion issued last week by the National Marine Fisheries Services was bad news for the Valley.
Acting in response to a federal judge’s ruling, the fisheries service issued new rules for management of federal water in California and the West. The new rules will require more water to be released into river channels to support fisheries in the Bay delta and the Pacific Ocean. Diversion of water for agriculture from the San Joaquin Valley watershed has nearly wiped out the chinook salmon population and had an effect on marine life that depends on the salmon, such as killer whales.
To family farmers, of course, it sounds again as if the government values fish more than people. The huge California agriculture industry, more than $35 billion, including $5 billion in Tulare County alone, depends on federally subsidized water. Loss of water will mean loss of productivity and loss of jobs. Finding strategies to replace the loss of that water will be important for the Valley.
But Valley water interests must be realistic. They know the trend. They have successively lost each battle over water for the past three decades. The Endangered Species Act will not be repealed, no matter how much conservative Republicans wish it would be. It is unlikely it will be modified sufficiently to make a difference in water policy.
Valley growers have to figure out how to live with increasing environmental restrictions, not fight them. The state needs to have its own water policy that includes all interests.
Read the rest of this editorial from the Visalia Times Delta by clicking here.
How green is your swimming pool?
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 4, 2009 at 7:33 am
From FOX News:
It’s nice to take a dip in your backyard swimming pool, but your little oasis may come at a tremendous cost to the environment. Water filters guzzle power, nasty chemicals keep the water sterile, and the water itself is a tremendous waste during dry spells. In fact, this suburban status symbol could be an ecological travesty.
According to USA Swimming and the National Swimming Pool Foundation, there are approximately 10 million swimming pools in the United States. With the average backyard pool topping off at a whopping 25,000 gallons, it’s evident that this status symbol is thirsty.
And that thirst is a big problem. In parts of the country suffering from severe drought, such as southern California, farmers and households alike wrestle for their share of this scarce resource.
Read more from FOX News by clicking here.
California’s water disaster waiting to happen
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 4, 2009 at 6:45 amFrom the Hartford Courant:
Earth’s most precious fluid is not gasoline, but the tiny fraction of Earth’s water that is neither frozen nor vaporized, low enough in salinity to be considered fresh and free enough of contaminants to be legally potable. By mid-century, its price will be on people’s minds the way liquid fuel is today.
My biggest concern is California, which has an enormous population, carries national economic clout and has the nation’s most vulnerable large water supply system.
In adjacent Arizona, the main problem is too little supply for too much demand. In California, it’s the environmental degradation of the West Coast’s largest estuary, the severe effect of long-term water rationing on our national economy, and a human catastrophe with a 95 percent certainty of happening before 2050.
When the engineered levees failed in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, the disruption to the water supply was local and temporary because the city wasn’t a public water supply for tens of millions of people living elsewhere. Not so for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, which drains into San Francisco Bay. It provides water for approximately half the population and for irrigating the state’s richest agricultural region. As with the Mississippi, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is also a soft, muddy place in the process of subsiding below sea level, and is protected by more than a thousand miles of engineered levees. The main danger in California is “The Big One,” a high-magnitude earthquake emanating from the San Andreas- Hayward Fault system, now overdue.
Read more from the Hartford Courant by clicking here.
Sacramento rally focuses on connection between water, jobs
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 4, 2009 at 6:38 am
From the Lake County News:
“Action now on water” was the message to legislators late last month when more than 1,600 members of the Association of California Water Agencies (AWCA) rallied under a blistering sun on Sacramento’s capitol steps.
Renowned television host Huell Howser led the rally, attended also by children of farm workers in the Central Valley community of Mendota where unemployment is 40 percent.
“Every economic sector is impacted by the lack of water supply reliability,” said Timothy Quinn, ACWA executive director. “Whether it’s farmers forced to abandon fields, agricultural workers losing their jobs, causing economic upheaval for rural communities, or businesses and development threatened by the inability to assure reliable water supplies. We need action now on water.”
The rally coincided with ACWA’s 2009 spring conference in Sacramento where a statewide issue forum discussed the impact of California’s water crisis on the state’s economy. Panelists spoke of the need for a comprehensive, long-term statewide water strategy and immediate action by the legislature and governor.
California Building Industry Association President and CEO Robert Rivinius said the lack of water infrastructure and available water impacts new housing. “Construction is down 80 percent from 2005, with housing at 44,000 units, the lowest since WW II. Building trades unemployment is down 70 to 80 percent,” he said. “We support an $11 billion water bond to come to grips with California’s water needs.”
Read more from the Lake County News by clicking here.
VerdeXchange Panel: ‘One water’ integrated resource plan for L.A.; Los Angeles’ leaders are spearheading a collaborative and integrated approach to weaning the region off of imported supplies of potable water
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 1, 2009 at 3:25 pmFrom The Planning Report:
The following TPR article excerpts a panel at the 2009 VerdeXchange Green Marketmakers Conference. Entitled “The Tale of the Water Cycle: Recovering Used Water and Conserving Energy,” the panel features presentations by Adel Hagekhalil, assistant director, City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation; Thomas Erb, director of water resources, LADWP; and Kellene Burn-Roy, senior vice president, Camp, Dresser & McKee Inc (CDM).
Adel Hagekhalil: Water is life. The reason we settled in Los Angeles is because of water. People decided to come to Los Angeles because of the L.A. River, and the city survived because people like Mulholland brought water into Los Angeles. The question that we have before us today is, “Are we running out of water?” I would say that the answer is no, we are not running out of water if we manage it responsibly, sustainably, and effectively.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa unveiled an action plan for our water systems and said, “Our future depends upon our willingness to adopt an ethic of sustainability. If we don’t commit ourselves to conserving and recycling water, we will tap ourselves out.” For Los Angeles, 80 percent of our water comes from somewhere else. At the same time, everyday about 350 million gallons of waste water goes down to the ocean. On a dry day you can see about 100 million gallons of run off from irrigation, etc., that goes down into the Los Angeles River and the ocean. If we have half an inch of rain it joins millions of gallons of water that goes, wasted, down to the ocean. We also have a huge amount of ground water that we can not tap into because of contamination. That is the imbalance that we are talking about.
It is all “one water.” That is really the key here. By dealing with it as one water we get even more water…We are not going to have new water. We have to use the same water.
Read more from The Planning Report by clicking here.
Hydrology proving to be a growing field; Water-related studies and projects are leading to a need for people with knowledge in related specialties
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 1, 2009 at 6:41 amFrom Redland’s Daily Facts:
Hydrology sounds like such a sophisticated, modern word, but the study of water has been an intellectual pursuit for more than 1,000 years.
In 4,000 B.C. the Nile was dammed to make previously barren lands bear fruit. The ancient Greeks and Romans built aqueducts. Today, hydrologists use sophisticated computer technology, such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS), to predict areas of possible flooding and build drainage and sewer systems.
Hydrology is applied to water in the air, on the surface of the Earth, as well as in its rocks and soil. The branches of hydrology include hydrometeorology,- the study of the transfer of water and energy between the surface of the Earth and the lower atmosphere; surface hydrology, the study of the fluid mechanics of rivers, canals, streams, lakes, ponds, wetlands, marshes and oceans; hydrogeology, the study of the movement of water through the rocks and soil of the Earth’s crust, drainage basin management and water quality.
Hydrologists work in the fields of environmental science, physical geography, as well as civil and environmental engineering. Hydrological research provides insight for environmental engineering, policy and planning.
Hydrologists can determine the water balance of a region; develop restoration projects; design irrigation schemes to improve agricultural productivity, as well as dams and bridges, sewers and drainage systems; predict the risk of flooding, landslide and drought and perhaps most importantly, provide clean drinking water.
“It is a very broad subject and a lot of different facets, fossils to volcanoes, water and petroleum,” said Tetra Tech hydrogeologist Holly Hanke.
Read more from Redlands Daily Facts by clicking here.
Water stakeholders punctuate conference with Capitol rally; “This is not the stuff for the faint of heart”
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 31, 2009 at 7:15 amFrom the Capital Press:
Attendees of a water-agency conference gathered on the steps of the state Capitol on May 20 to push lawmakers toward a long-term solution to California’s water management.
The rally punctuated an Association of California Water Agencies conference in Sacramento dominated by talk of how the state’s deepening water conflicts might see a lasting solution through collaboration among stakeholders.
“Collaboration is decidedly not the path of least resistance,” said former Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne at a luncheon speech. “If you want to collaborate, get ready for the fight of your life. Fight that temptation (to sue), and stay at the table. This is not the stuff for the faint of heart.”
Read more from the Capital Press by clicking here.
Nevada Irrigation District officially recognizes local indigenous Native Americans
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 31, 2009 at 6:56 amFrom YubaNet.com:
In the presence of several tribal leaders and members, Nevada Irrigation District’s board of directors this week unanimously approved a resolution officially recognizing the Tsi-Akim Maidu Tribe. General Manager Ron Nelson said the district was responding to a recent letter to NID’s board from tribal chair Don Ryberg requesting a resolution of support for recognition of the local tribe. “But my relationship with the tribe goes back to my first year with the district when I began having discussions with Don Ryberg,” Nelson added.
Nelson also noted that NID is embracing the role of watershed stewardship more actively, a role that the Tsi-Akim Maidu organization supports. “Most recently we have been involved with the tribe during FERC relicensing. We also have the project to remove mercury sediments in the Bear River. We believe this is consistent with the tribal goal to heal the watershed.”
Speaking before the board, tribal chair Don Ryberg explained the need for the resolution. “The federal government today claims our tribe does not exist - this is because the government failed to terminate our tribes legally,” Ryberg told the board.
Read more from YubaNet.com by clicking here.
Friday’s top of the scroll: Water managers talk joint solutions; ESA issues only a small part of water problem, Snow says
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 29, 2009 at 8:21 amFrom the Capital Ag Press:
In a rare joint appearance, top water managers said last week that species restrictions and water supplies can find balance if competing stakeholders work together.
Outcomes from such a collaboration will hinge largely on whether stakeholders can accept existing and future species regulations, said consultant Steve Thompson said during a panel discussion staged at the Association of California Water Agencies’ annual conference in Sacramento on May 21.
“If you look at the state of California, if you look at the federal government, if you look at private industry right now, this is a true tipping point in the state of California,” Thompson said. “A big part of that is endangered species and how we react to them.”
The water officials used the event to emphasize the notion that California’s water woes can only reach resolution through an all-inclusive process. “We have a group of state and federal agencies here together that are truly committed to working together, and have one of the best working relationships I’ve ever seen,” said Renne Lohoefener, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s California-Nevada Region. “And I think we can solve this.”
Read more from the Capital Ag Press by clicking here.
A big new world to engineer: Recession aside, a growing population will trigger lots more construction; How a big-dreaming firm from Colorado is winning a major piece of the action
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 29, 2009 at 7:58 amFrom CNN & Fortune Magazine:
We can’t say with certainty what the world will look like 20 years from now, but experts are pretty sure about this: Population will grow from today’s 6.8 billion to about 8 billion, over 5 billion people will live in cities, and they’ll be buying more things, driving more cars, flying more often, throwing away more garbage, and using more power.
That will stress energy and water supplies, pump more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere - and create a vast array of business opportunities for an unusual Colorado-based engineering firm with an equally unusual name: CH2M Hill.
CH2M Hill gets big things built. The company, which arrived on the Fortune 500 list for the first time this year (with 2008 revenues of $5.6 billion, it ranks No. 436), manages engineering, construction, and operations projects on every continent but Antarctica. Among them are three of the world’s most visible: the $5.3 billion expansion of the Panama Canal, the $14 billion development of the 2012 London Olympics, and the $22 billion construction of Masdar in Abu Dhabi, the world’s first zero-carbon city.
The Colorado firm has become a go-to specialist around the world in water projects (Singapore’s new wastewater system), polar logistics (the National Science Foundation’s research projects in Greenland), and radioactive-materials handling (the cleanup of the Energy Department’s nuclear-waste stockpile in Hanford, Wash.).
Read more about CH2M Hill from CNN & Fortune Magazine by clicking here.
Riverside County symposium focuses on water law, strategies
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 29, 2009 at 6:07 amFrom the Riverside Press-Enterprise:
The answers to California’s ongoing drought lie in stepped-up conservation at home and a new system for transferring water around the ecologically troubled Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, water experts said Thursday. “We clearly are at a critical juncture in California. It is important to develop aggressive water policy strategies,” said Michael Chrisman, California’s secretary for natural resources, who oversees the state water system.
He was the keynote speaker at the Riverside County Water Symposium in Palm Springs, an event that drew hundreds of water agency officials, lawyers and business owners.
This year, the focus was on water law, new technologies, strategies for dealing with the water crisis and pending bond legislation that would fund projects to make the most of California’s water.
Much of the discussion emphasized the need for a canal to route water around the Delta to protect threatened and endangered fish, including the Delta smelt. Under court order, pumping Northern California water to send to Southern California is restricted when certain species are present, which is most of the year.
Read more from the Riverside Press-Enterprise by clicking here.
Modest fee for disposable plastic bags better than ban, says editorial
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 26, 2009 at 8:17 amFrom the San Bernardino Sun:
Paper or plastic? That decades-old question at the grocery checkout counter is often answered these days with “Neither. I brought my own.” That’s because customers, especially at niche stores such as Trader Joe’s, are opting - after having been strongly encouraged to do so - to bring their own bags in which to carry groceries home.
That’s a good sign, but it still represents just a fraction of California shoppers. Most people still rely on retailers to provide the ubiquitous and cheap plastic bags that are so numerous that they have become a major source of pollution. The proliferation of these bags has driven legislators to propose bans on bags.
But a ban is the last resort to change destructive behavior. It’s better to come up with incentives for people to limit plastic bag use. And Ikea has already shown it can work. Once again the Swedish home-furnishing empire has pioneered its own practical solution to one of life’s perplexing dilemmas - and it’s affordable to boot. The retailer charges a small fee for each plastic bag consumers use (they get to decide how many to use and pay for). Shoppers can also purchase one of the company’s iconic blue, supersized, crinkly plastic bags.
And that’s why a proposal in the California Assembly to place a 25-cent fee on each plastic - and even paper - grocery bag provided by retailers makes more sense than an outright ban.
Read more of this editorial from the San Bernardino Sun by clicking here.
Commentary: A new future for the Bay Area comes into focus
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 26, 2009 at 7:36 amFrom the San Francisco Chronicle, this commentary by Pete Parkinson, vice president of policy and legislation for American Planning Association, California:
As federal stimulus dollars trickle into California, it’s important that Bay Area residents are reminded of our obligation to maximize this once-in-a-generation investment in our infrastructure to plan for our future growth. We need a new vision for these investments - one that focuses on where we are going, not where we’ve been.
For decades after World War II, that vision was sprawl-driven growth. Gas and energy prices were inexpensive. Cars provided freedom and mobility. The suburbs offered a great place to raise families. The economy grew steadily, albeit with some hiccups here and there.
This vision for growth no longer works. Few would contest the reality that travel times and costs have increased, that water is more expensive and water supplies are dwindling, or that our educational and recreational facilities need repair. Our future will depend on infrastructure investments that address these priorities.
Read more of this commentary from the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here.
Western Water: A tale of two rivers: the Russian and the Santa Ana
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 22, 2009 at 8:34 am
From the Water Education Foundation’s latest issue of Western Water:
Travel most anywhere in California and there is a river, creek or stream nearby. Some are highly noticeable and are an integral part of the community. Others are more obscure, with intermittent flows or enclosed by boxed concrete flood channels that conceal their true appearance. No matter the location, each area shares some common themes: cooperation and conflict regarding water allocations, greater water conservation, an awareness of environmental stewardship, and plans that ensure long-term sustainability.
The issues affect the spectrum of water users and touch upon some difficult and controversial matters that are hard to resolve. Sometimes, the dispute winds up in court, but there is an in-creasing emphasis on finding solutions that are outside a judge’s ruling and more agreeable to everyone involved.
In two of the state’s river systems - the Russian in the north and the Santa Ana in the south - scores of people individually and collectively are dealing with issues of water supply, water quality and protecting the interests of the environment. The problems are not new but have grown to a level of complexity that would be unrecognizable to previous generations. The Russian and the Santa Ana are far apart geographically but they share many of the themes common to all the state’s rivers.
One of those themes involves finding balance and reconciling the differences between water users along the river mainstem, the tributaries and the underlying aquifers. That process can be difficult and lengthy as issues of water appropriations and the responsibility for maintaining water quality are sorted out - in the Santa Ana River’s case it led to one of the largest cases of civil litigation anywhere but also to an accord by which management would proceed under a cooperative aegis.
“It’s the best managed river in California,” said Bill Dendy, who from 1969 to 1972 served as the inaugural general manager of what was then called the Santa Ana Watershed Planning Agency (the name changed to Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority [SAWPA] in 1972). “They’ve integrated management of groundwater storage and water quality into a single coordinated function that enables multiple reuses of water. And they’ve developed excellent working relationships among water management agencies as well as between those agencies and the regional water quality control board.”
Read the rest of this excerpt and download your copy of Western Water by clicking here.
Federal stimulus dollars flow to state water projects
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 22, 2009 at 8:33 amFrom the Fresno Bee:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is awarding California nearly $440 million in stimulus money to fund water projects around the state.
The state Water Resources Control Board would get $280 million and the California Department of Public Health $159 million, largely to fund wastewater treatment and drinking water projects, officials said Thursday. The money is part of $6 billion set aside for similar infrastructure projects across the country under the Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. At least 20 percent of the funds must be used for environmentally innovative projects.
The California agencies have already selected the first 33 projects and are preparing to sign contracts with agencies from San Diego County in the south to Humboldt County in the north.
More from the Fresno Bee by clicking here.
The San Francisco Chronicle provides more details:
Top priority will go to projects in disadvantaged communities - where the population makes 80 percent or less of the state median household income.
“This money is wonderful for those communities that don’t have the ability to pay back those loans,” said Barbara Evoy, deputy director of the State Water Resources Control Board. “The jobs they need in those areas are extra important, and we’re very happy to solve a water-quality problem as well as help in job creation.”
The size of projects vying to receive grants or loans runs the gamut - from $8,000 to install water meters in the Adams Springs Water District in Lake County to $22 million for a similar, though much larger, project in the city of Sacramento.
Much more from the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here.
The Fresno Bee has a list of the first ten projects here.
Washing your car — without water
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 22, 2009 at 8:13 amFrom ABC-7 (Los Angeles) Green Living:
You know your car is a gas hound. But what about the water it requires?
Keeping a car clean, whether you rinse it off in your driveway or get it scrubbed at a professional wash, uses buckets of agua, more than you might realize.
If you’re careful, washing your car at home might use 10 gallons of water, but probably more like 25 or 50. A car wash can use much more, in the range of 75 to 100 gallons.
The International Car Wash Association says car washes are not a problem because the water consumed at car washes is recycled and reused. Water is properly disposed of via the sewer system where it can be treated and returned to circulation, the association says. (This is not the case with home car washing, which we’ll get to.)
However, just as foregoing paper is more effective at saving forests than using recycled paper, the greenest car wash is the one that doesn’t use water at all.
A car wash that doesn’t use water? Yes, apparently so! Find out more from ABC-7 by clicking here.
Capitol rally calls for action on water; Local water leaders gather to urge long-term solutions for water woes
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 21, 2009 at 8:47 amFrom the ACWA E-newsletter:
Hundreds of local water leaders gathered on the East Steps of the State Capitol today to call for action on long-term solutions to the state’s water supply challenges.
ACWA President Glen Peterson led the call for a comprehensive solution, saying there has never been a more important time to address the state’s worsening water challenges. “Those of us on the front lines of delivering water to Californians know the status quo is not working,” Peterson said. “We can’t afford to wait for solutions. We need action now on a comprehensive plan to meet California’s water needs today and into the future.”
Nine legislators addressed the crowd, calling water a top priority for the year.
Sen. Dave Cogdill agreed there is no time to waste. “We have to get this done,” Cogdill said. “It’s going to take you and many like to get those of us in the building to do something about this critical resource.”
Assembly Member Jared Huffman thanked ACWA members for keeping water high on the radar. “Water won’t wait for us to get our fiscal house in order,” Huffman said. “We need to move forward on policy reforms and the infrastructure needed for reliable water.”
Huell Howser, producer of the “California’s Water” series for public television, served as emcee and called on ACWA members to make their voices heard. “People in California are very concerned about water,” Howser said. “We want our political leadership to do something about water now.”
The rally, organized by ACWA, took place as water agencies around the state confront an array of challenges, including a third consecutive dry year and restrictions on water deliveries to protect fish species in the Delta. ACWA and its members are urging lawmakers to act on a comprehensive set of solutions that includes investments in the state’s water infrastructure, conservation, ecosystem restoration, water recycling and other strategies.
Read the ACWA press release by clicking here.
New magazine on California water debuts; ACWA-National Geographic publication aims to educate consumers
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 21, 2009 at 8:30 amFrom the Association of California Water Agencies, this press release:
Sacramento — The Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) and National Geographic Custom Publishing today unveiled a new consumer-focused magazine on California water called “Water for Tomorrow,” with the tagline “California’s Water, Our Responsibility.”
The 20-page, four-color magazine is designed to provide Californians with fresh and practical information on the state’s water system, ongoing water supply challenges and the need to use water as efficiently as possible. Printed in both English and Spanish, the magazine features quick facts, in-depth articles and how-to tips on conservation.
Topics covered in the first issue include an overview of where Californians get their water, drought conditions, and why water is in short supply in some regions of the state.
“This publication provides a tremendous opportunity for the water community to reach out to the public with practical information about water,” ACWA Executive Director Timothy Quinn said. “Recent polling shows that Californians care deeply about having a reliable water supply and they are willing to do more to take care of this precious resource. This is a great tool to help them.”
The magazine, produced under a cost-effective agreement with National Geographic Custom Publishing, is being distributed to consumers around the state as well as at events sponsored by local water agencies.
“Even a prosperous place like California shouldn’t take its water supply for granted,” said Jeff Barasch, president of National Geographic Custom Publishing. “National Geographic’s continuing mission is to inspire people to care about the planet, and we’re extremely proud to partner with ACWA in creating this timely publication.”
Additional issues are planned for fall 2009, spring 2010 and fall 2010. A companion Web site is also available at www.waterfortomorrowmag.com
Detention? Nah! - Big waterway cleanups are more like treasure hunts for kids
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 17, 2009 at 7:48 amFrom the San Jose Mercury News:
Wedged tightly into the spout of what was once a Coleman lantern fuel tank, a catatonic lizard could have served as the poster reptile for National River Cleanup Day.
Not only for Bagby Elementary fourth-graders who discovered the lizard, but also for the others who turned out to clean up the Guadalupe River, the stuck lizard illustrated the unintended consequences of human trash on the environment.
Nearly 900 volunteers helped clean up 29 miles of creeks in Santa Clara County on Saturday, part of a nationwide volunteer corps picking up trash along waterways. In Santa Clara County, they bagged more than 25,500 pounds of garbage, said Kate Slama, co-chair of the Creek Connections Action Group, a consortium of the Santa Clara Valley Water District, seven cities and other organizations. Crews also collected 22,500 pounds of recyclables, a weight nearly nine times last year’s haul, thanks to an automobile lifted part by part from Los Alamitos Creek in San Jose.
“I know I will never litter again,” said a serious Sean Evensizer, 10, one of 50 Bagby fourth-graders on the Guadalupe detail. The amount of stuff he found had impressed him, but he also noted that littering can draw a big fine. “It all ends up here,” he said, motioning toward the river he worked all morning cleaning.
Read more from the San Jose Mercury News by clicking here.
Peter Gleick: I pay plenty for my water, and I’m not complaining
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 16, 2009 at 9:53 amFrom Peter Gleick at his City Brights blog:
I have long been a strong supporter of the use of pricing as one of many tools that can help us use water more efficiently, along with smart regulation, education, and new technology. For today’s post, I thought I’d go back to my water bills and review what I actually pay for water (click to see my bill). How many of you have done this recently? Or at all? Go get your water bill right now and have it in hand. Here is today’s water number:
Water Number: Over the last four-month period (December to April), I paid the East Bay Municipal Utilities District, my service provider, a total of $221 dollars for using 16,456 gallons (for a family of three, two cats, and a snake). This works out to $4,375 per acre-foot, including the charges for water, water service, a seismic retrofit surcharge, and my wastewater costs.
Read more of Peter Gleick’s thoughts on his City Brights blog by clicking here.
Springtime in Yosemite: A photo gallery
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 15, 2009 at 7:17 am
Check out this gallery of 29 beautiful photos of Yosemite National Park in the spring time from the Merced Sun-Star: Click here.
Ranchers use state agency to preserve property
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 13, 2009 at 6:18 amFrom the Fresno Bee:
J.B. Overstreet climbed quickly out of his pickup, looking for signs of the cattle he raises on his oak-studded ranch. He needed only to look straight down. Overstreet had stepped into a fresh cow pie. Indeed, cattle live on this property, 1,080 acres of grasslands near Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino. But if not for cow pies, you might not notice.
His several dozen cows seem like part of the natural landscape, spread along rolling hills. Amid quail, deer and wildflowers, the Ecker Ranch has gently worked with nature for almost 140 years. Overstreet loves it. And he has ensured that it will be immune from the development that is reshaping the Coarsegold area.
He persuaded a state agency last year to pay him $3 million to permanently ranch here and exclude development. Even if his descendants sell the land, Overstreet’s deal — a conservation easement — remains on the deed. There won’t ever be houses or shopping malls here.
Overstreet, 86, could have made three or four times as much money selling the ranch to developers. But he likes the easement better. “I can’t tell you how many developers have called me over the years and offered me a free appraisal,” he said. “I don’t want to sell to them. I don’t want houses and businesses here.”
Read more from the Fresno Bee by clicking here.
Fresno State developing water resource management masters degree
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 11, 2009 at 5:33 pmFrom Athletic Turf:
The College of Science and Mathematics and the Center for Irrigation Technology (CIT) at California State University Fresno are joining together to explore the feasibility of a Professional Master’s Degree in Water Resource Management.
“As we have been working in the water and irrigation arenas we have been asked by many companies, organizations and agencies about higher-education program availability for water and irrigation professionals,” said David Zoldoske, CIT Director. “We have found that many times, people working in these professions have come to the industry from various backgrounds and are looking for avenues to develop their knowledge and expertise,” added Zoldoske.
“We are excited to work together with CIT to combine their relationship with water-related businesses and professionals and the college’s water resource curriculum to create a professional-level program that will benefit the region and state,” commented Fraka Harmsen, College of Science and Mathematics Associate Dean.
Read more from Athletic Turf by clicking here.
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