North Dakota lake swallows land and buildings
Posted by: Maven on September 23, 2010 at 8:30 amFrom the San Francisco Chronicle:
“It’s been called a slow-growing monster: a huge lake that has steadily expanded over the last 20 years, swallowing up thousands of acres, hundreds of buildings and at least two towns in its rising waters.
Devils Lake keeps getting larger because it has no natural river or stream to carry away excess rain and snowmelt. Now it has climbed within 6 feet of overflowing, raising fears that some downstream communities could be washed away if the water level isn’t reduced.
And those worries are compounded by another problem: Scientists believe the pattern of heavy rain and snow that filled the basin is likely to continue for at least another decade. … “
Continue reading from the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here.
Chattahoochee blues: Are Georgia, Alabama and Florida fighting over water or over growth?
Posted by: Maven on September 17, 2010 at 7:56 amFrom the Economist:
“For Americans from the parched western states, the notion of Alabama, Georgia and Florida battling over water must seem as daft as three fat people fighting for a grape at a lavish banquet. Average yearly rainfall in all three states exceeds 40 inches (just over a metre). Georgia and Alabama abound in lakes and rivers. Florida has almost 1,200 miles (1,900km) of coastline. But rapid growth in the region, particularly in and around Atlanta, has put pressure on its water supply. So now the three states are engaged in a protracted battle over water from two big river basins, the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) and Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa (ACT), the outcome of which may shape the area's development for decades. … “
Continue reading from The Economist by clicking here.
Hat tip to the Inkstain blog and this blog post: Water Wars, Southeastern Style
Charting new waters: A call to action to address U.S. freshwater challenges
Posted by: Maven on September 17, 2010 at 7:52 amFrom the Johnson Foundation:
“Citing a looming freshwater crisis that could affect the nation’s economy, the livability of our communities and the health of our ecosystems, a diverse coalition of businesses, farmers, environmental not-for-profits and government agencies issued a landmark call to action aimed at heading off a national crisis in water quality and supply. “Charting New Waters: A Call to Action to Address U.S. Freshwater Challenges,” is the culmination of an intensive two-year collaboration exploring solutions to U.S. freshwater challenges. … “
For more information and to download the report, click here.
Commentary: National water policy for a sustainable future
Posted by: Maven on September 16, 2010 at 8:48 amFrom Water World, this commentary by Dick Champion of the Clean Water Alliance:
” … As water leaders, we sit at the crossroads of transformational change. The use of 19th century platforms with 20th century laws won’t solve 21st century problems. Challenges posed by growing populations, economic pressures and regulations require a more holistic approach. Managing drinking water, wastewater, stormwater, groundwater, and reused water as “One Water” is critical to ensuring water supply and quality. The resiliency of green infrastructure becomes essential as we adapt to climate change and its enhanced hydrologic cycle. Collaboration becomes imperative between stakeholders to implement integrated watershed management systems that balance our commitment to social, environmental, and economic needs. … “
Read the full text of his commentary at the Water World website by clicking here.
Where dams once stood, prospectors spur anger
Posted by: Maven on September 8, 2010 at 8:47 amFrom the New York Times:
“GOLD HILL, Ore. When four dams on the Rogue River here were scheduled for removal, environmentalists predicted many benefits: more salmon and steelhead swimming upriver to spawn; more gravel carried downriver to replenish the riverbed; more rafters bobbing along 57 miles of newly opened water.
What they did not bargain for was the arrival this summer of a clutch of people, eager to sift through the tons of gravel for flakes of gold once hidden behind the dams.
Prospectors cluster slightly downriver from where the dams used to be. Their suction dredges blare together, in a discordant fanfare louder than lawnmowers.
Resentment now flows as freely as the river. … “
Continue reading from the New York Times by clicking here.
Asian carp the new bullies of America’s waterways
Posted by: Maven on September 2, 2010 at 8:53 amFrom the San Luis Obispo Tribune:
“Cold-blooded. Spawning faster than rabbits. Leaping boats in a single swish. Leaving in their wake, dozens of slack-jawed (and several cases of tooth-loosened) fishermen, kayakers, water skiers and anyone else who dares to trespass through their watery world.
Asian silver carp are becoming the new bullies in America’s waterways, said a Missouri fish biologist.
“They’re here, they’re a problem, they’re not going away soon. And they could potentially be life-threatening,” said Duane Chapman, a research fish biologist at the U.S. Geological Survey and national expert on invasive carp species. … “
Continue reading from the San Luis Obispo Tribune by clicking here.
Water Wired blog: No captain, no rudder: Walter A. Lyon on water governance in the U.S.
Posted by: Maven on July 27, 2010 at 7:56 amFrom the Water Wired blog:
“Several weeks ago I learned that my AWRA colleague, Walter A. Lyon, had written an article on water governance in the United States. Since the article had not been published I offered to post it on WaterWired and Lyon agreed. You will find it provocative and thought-provoking.
I am presenting the article in its entirety, with the usual disclaimer that the opinions expressed within it are those of Lyon alone. Any edits were of the minor variety (i.e., typos, etc.). … “
Read more from the Water Wired blog by clicking here.
Lake Superior, a huge natural climate change gauge, is running a fever
Posted by: Maven on July 19, 2010 at 6:23 am
From the New York Times:
“The Great Lakes are feeling the heat from climate change.
As the world’s largest freshwater system warms, it is poised to systematically alter life for local wildlife and the tribes that depend on it, according to regional experts. And the warming could also provide a glimpse of what is happening on a more global level, they say.
“The Great Lakes in a lot of ways have always been a canary in the coal mine,” Cameron Davis, the senior adviser to the U.S. EPA on the Great Lakes, said last week. “Not just for the region or this country, but for the rest of the world.”
And it seems the canary’s song is growing ever more halting.
Lake Superior, which is the largest, deepest and coldest of the five lakes, is serving as the “canary for the canary,” Davis said at a public meeting of the Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force last week, pointing to recent data trends. … “
Continue reading from the New York Times by clicking here.
Photo of Lake Superior by flickr photographer jpocali.
Look ma, no oil! Gulf geyser stops gushing, but whether it will hold remains to be seen
Posted by: Maven on July 16, 2010 at 5:31 amIt’s a story I’ve been ignoring, because the Gulf oil spill is not California-related, but here’s a piece of good news from the Associated Press that I can’t help but post:
“BP finally gained control over one of America’s biggest environmental catastrophes by placing a carefully fitted cap over a runaway geyser that has been gushing crude into the Gulf of Mexico since early spring, though no one was declaring victory just yet.
Engineers, politicians and Gulf residents will watch anxiously over the next day and a half to see if the cap holds. As of Thursday morning, no oil could be seen spewing into the Gulf via underwater camera feeds on BP’s website as it had for nearly three months, spilling up to 184 million gallons.
The accomplishment was greeted with hope, high expectations and, in many cases along the beleaguered coastline, disbelief. But BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles urged caution and warned the flow could resume.
“It’s far from the finish line. … It’s not the time to celebrate,” Suttles said. … “
Read more from the Associated Press by clicking here.
Great Lakes: Doom feared as Asian carp advances
Posted by: Maven on July 13, 2010 at 4:41 amFrom the New York Times Green blog:
“With the country's attention riveted on the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the news in late June that a live Asian carp had been caught in the Chicago Area Waterway System, just six miles from Lake Michigan, registered only a small blip on the radar of the national media.
But for state and local officials in the Great Lakes region, the arrival of the carp on the doorstep of Lake Michigan is an environmental crisis of the first order.
“The Great Lakes are on the brink of a great ecological and economic disaster that states in the region may never overcome,\” Gov. Ted Strickland of Ohio wrote in a letter to President Obama on Thursday. “We need immediate, decisive action. … “
Continue reading from the New York Times Green blog by clicking here.
Asian carp forces troubleshooters to dream big: Plans to stop greedy intruder include reversing Chicago River : again : and cutting lake off from Mississippi River
Posted by: Maven on June 26, 2010 at 8:10 amFrom the Chicago Tribune:
“A century ago, reversing the Chicago River and building a complex system of channels to steer sewage away from Lake Michigan was considered one of the great engineering feats in world history.
As concerns mount about Asian carp, momentum is building to re-engineer Chicago’s waterways to allow for the passage of boats and ships, but not harmful invasive species.
Calling it a Burnham Plan for the new millennium, lawmakers and environmental leaders from around the Great Lakes are talking about what the proposed water system might look like, how it could function, and what it would cost.
“We have to double our efforts,” U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Friday, three days after fishermen discovered a 20-pound Asian carp in Lake Calumet, 6 miles from Lake Michigan. “This was a warning to us that we need to do more, and we need to do it quickly.” … “
Continue reading from the Chicago Tribune by clicking here.
How bad is the Ogallala Aquifer’s decline in Texas?
Posted by: Maven on June 24, 2010 at 6:31 am
From the Texas Tribune (hat tip to the Sisweb):
“On the high plains of the Texas Panhandle, farmers owe their livelihoods to a marvel of geology: the cool, gravely waters of the country’s largest aquifer, the Ogallala. Stretching across eight states, the amount of water is so vast that, according to one writer, it could fill Lake Erie nine times over. Within Texas, the Ogallala accounts for about 40 percent of all water use.
But the aquifer’s levels are declining sharply here. In a dry growing season last year, the High Plains Water District, which includes all or part of 15 Panhandle counties, recorded an average drop of 1.5 feet, the most since 1997. The rains have returned, but the 2007 state water plan projects that the Ogallala’s volume will fall a staggering 52 percent between 2010 and 2060, as corn and cotton growers continue to draw from its depths. The consequences for farmers could be severe: The use of big pivot irrigation the lifeblood of the Panhandle could be cut back severely in 10 to 20 years if current usage patterns continue, researchers at Texas Tech University estimate. … “
Continue reading from the Texas Tribune by clicking here.
Water Wired blog: Do red states manage water better than blue states?
Posted by: Maven on June 5, 2010 at 6:49 amFrom Michael Campana at the Water Wired blog:
“What started out as a blockbuster post has wilted in the past week or so. But here goes – you can categorize this in the ‘food for thought’ category.
Had an interesting chat (as always) with Todd Jarvis a few days ago. We were talking about water planning and particularly, my recent visit to Oklahoma, where I waxed enthusiastic about the way that state was developing its water plan.
I compared Oklahoma’s effort with that here in Oregon, where the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) is in the process of developing an Integrated Water Resources Strategy (IWRS). In comparison, Oregon’s process is more top-down than Oklahoma’s, and it lacks an honest broker. Oregon also lacks money, which helps with process. … “
Continue reading this post from the Water Wired blog by clicking here.
6-week search finds no Asian carp near Chicago
Posted by: Maven on March 30, 2010 at 8:18 amFrom the Sacramento Bee:
“An initial six-week mission to catch and kill Asian carp lurking on the Great Lakes’ doorstep turned up none of the despised fish, suggesting few if any have eluded an electric barrier designed to block their path to Lake Michigan, officials said Monday.
Beginning in mid-February, teams of biologists and commercial fishermen combed a network of Chicago-area rivers and canals where Asian carp DNA has been detected in numerous spots over the past year. They spread netting across large areas and used electric stunning prods where they believed the carp were most likely to gather, said Chris McCloud, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. … “
Continue reading from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.
Imagining a more watery New York
Posted by: Maven on March 26, 2010 at 8:03 amFrom the New York Times:
“Abandoned neighborhoods. Boarded-up harbor facilities. An oil refinery submerged under several feet of brackish water. The Statue of Liberty slowly sinking into the sea.
“Rising Currents: Projects for New York's Waterfront,\” a new show at the Museum of Modern Art, reflects a level of apocalyptic thinking about this city that we haven't seen since it was at the edge of financial collapse in the 1970s, a time when muggers roamed freely, and graffiti covered everything.
Organized by Barry Bergdoll, the Modern's curator of architecture and design, the show is a response to the effects that rising sea levels are expected to have on New York City and parts of New Jersey over the next 70 or so years, according to government studies. The solutions it proposes are impressively imaginative, ranging from spongelike sidewalks to housing projects suspended over water to transforming the Gowanus Canal into an oyster hatchery.
Yet the show is no crackpot fantasy. … “
Continue reading this story at the New York Times by clicking here.
Scientists trying to fish out Asian carp from Great Lakes: Tools used for decades to reduce the sea lamprey population, including toxins and pheromones, will now be used as part of the defense against the invasive carp
Posted by: Maven on March 25, 2010 at 7:52 amFrom the Los Angeles Times:
“A parasitic invasive species that fed on healthy trout, salmon and catfish had entered the Great Lakes through its shipping canals, quickly asserted its dominance, and pushed commercial and sport fishing industries to the brink.
The sea lamprey, a razor-toothed, eel-like monster, attached itself to large fish and sucked the life out of them. In the 1940s, with no known predators and no clear road map to stop them, many feared the sea lamprey would take over the world’s largest freshwater body.
More than 50 years after biologists launched an all-out assault on the sea lamprey, the war is all but over. With science, money and muscle, biologists have reduced the sea lamprey population by 90% and restored the natural balance to the Great Lakes.
Now, many of the tools scientists used to save the lakes from the sea lamprey will be part of their defense against the Asian carp, the next in a long line of invasive species predicted to forever change the Great Lakes.
“When a lot of people say, ‘The game is over’ when it comes to Asian carp getting into the Great Lakes, I don’t think so,” said Michael Hoff, an aquatic invasive species expert with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “It’s a different game we play. But it’s not over.” … “
Continue reading this article from the Los Angeles Times by clicking here.
Water Wired blog: USGS Water Census: Information and Power Point Presentation
Posted by: Maven on March 10, 2010 at 5:34 amFrom the Water Wired blog:
“Colleague Ari Michelsen of Texas A & M, the current AWRA President, sent me information and a Power Point presentation on the USGS’s National Water Census. He serves on the program’s Ad Hoc Advisory Committee.
P.L. 111-11 Subtitle F (SECURE Water Act) directs USGS to undertake the work of a National Water Availability and Use Assessment Program. To fulfill this charge, the USGS has created a Water Census to gather the data and report to Congress every five years information on water resources in the context of availability.
SECURE stands for ‘ Science and Engineering to Comprehensively Understand and Responsibly Enhance.’ … “
Continue reading this post from Water Wired by clicking here.
EPA unveils Great Lakes restoration plan
Posted by: Maven on February 22, 2010 at 6:35 am
From the Los Angeles Times:
“Reporting from Washington – The Environmental Protection Agency on Sunday unveiled a five-year, $475-million plan to revitalize the Great Lakes, including cleaning up polluted water and beaches, restoring wetlands and fighting invasive species such as Asian carp.
Federal and state officials call the effort, dubbed the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Action Plan, “historically unprecedented” in size, funding and coordination between various branches of government.
The plan calls itself light on study and heavy on action, seeking to heal the Great Lakes ecosystem from “150 years of abuse” and to ensure that “fish are safe to eat; the water is safe to drink; the beaches and waters are safe for swimming, surfing, boating and recreating; native species and habitats are protected and thriving; no community suffers disproportionately from the impacts of pollution; and the Great Lakes are a healthy place for people and wildlife to live.” … “
Read more from the Los Angeles Times by clicking here.
Picture of Lake Michigan by flickr photographer Tom Gill (lapstrake).
Water Wired assessment: Clean Water America Alliance’s call to action – Integrated National Water Policy
Posted by: Maven on January 24, 2010 at 8:15 amFrom Michael Campana at the Water Wired blog:
“The Clean Water America Alliance (CWAA), a 501(c)(3) educational organization founded in 2008 by water utilities and private corporations (law firms, consultants, etc.), released a brief report, A Call to Action: The Need for an Integrated National Water Policy.
The report summarizes the results of a Dialogue held on 14-15 September 2009 that was attended by 27 water leaders in the clean water community “to discuss urban water sustainability and how to meet the nation's growing demands despite increasingly stressed water resources.”
[Shill alert: Let me mention that my organization, the AWRA, held four National Water Policy Dialogues.] … “
So what’s in the report Michael Campana tells you and gives some commentary in this post at the Water Wired blog.
Why the Great Lakes fears the brutal Asian carp: “I feel like I was in a [bleeping] prize fight\”?
Posted by: Maven on January 15, 2010 at 7:12 amFrom Josh Mogerman at the NRDC Swithcboard blog:
“Folks outside the Midwest might be scratching their heads wondering what all the hubbub is about with these Asian carp\”¦ Here on Switchboard, we've talked a lot about the ecosystem, legal, and infrastructure issues around the problem. But we haven't really talked much about their impact on quality of life—that's the easiest part to show.
I ran into the clip below on the TwentyNow blog's posting entitled, “Why is this boater wearing a helmet\”¦\” That question is answered in the first 90 seconds of this video (but be warned, you might want to turn off your speakers at work or around kids)… I love the “That was like a [bleeping] right cross to the chin!\” comment\”¦ ”
Read more from Josh Mogerman at the NRDC Switchboard blog by clicking here.
Saturday morning top of the scroll: CBS News: Where America stands on water
Posted by: Maven on January 9, 2010 at 8:30 amFrom CBS News:
Water Wired blog: Should the USA have a water ethic?
Posted by: Maven on January 4, 2010 at 8:21 amFrom the Water Wired blog:
“A few days ago I posted about AWRA’s interest in learning what you think of a national water vision for the USA: Should the USA Have a National Water Vision If So, What Should That Vision Be
But perhaps what we should have is a water ethic. This was raised the other day by one of my colleagues. She specifically was thinking of something similar to Aldo Leopold’s land ethic, promulgated over 60 years ago:
Water ethic What would that look like … “
Continue reading this post at the Water Wired blog by clicking here.
Fight to keep Asian carp out of Great Lakes reaches Supreme Court
Posted by: Maven on December 22, 2009 at 7:29 amFrom the Los Angeles Times:
“Reporting from Chicago – The fight to keep invasive Asian carp out of the Great Lakes reached the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, as Michigan’s attorney general filed a lawsuit seeking closure of two shipping locks near Chicago.
Claiming Illinois officials have been lax, Michigan Atty. Gen. Mike Cox asked justices for immediate action to seal off the most direct route for fish entering Lake Michigan, in hopes of protecting the region’s $7-billion fishing industry.
“We don’t want to have to look back years later . . . and say, ‘What was the matter with us We should have done something,’ ” Cox said. Closing the locks, he said, was “the easiest, the most reliable and the most effective” short-term step officials could take.
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn declined to say whether he favored closing the locks, but added: “We have to protect the ecology of the Great Lakes; we also have many, many jobs that depend on shipping, so there has to be a proper balance. … “
Read more from the Los Angeles Times by clicking here.
Asian carp raises fear and loathing on Great Lakes
Posted by: Maven on December 10, 2009 at 10:57 pmFrom the Fresno Bee:
“After nearly four decades as a fishing guide on the Great Lakes, Pat Chrysler has seen enough damage from invasive species to fear what giant, ravenous Asian carp could do to the nation’s largest bodies of freshwater.
“It’s like introducing piranhas to the Great Lakes,” Chrysler said from South Bass Island in Lake Erie, which teems with walleye, perch and other fish that draw anglers from near and far.
Federal and state officials are mounting a desperate, last-ditch effort to prevent the marauding carp from breaching an electrical barrier and slipping into the Great Lakes from the Mississippi River. Michigan is drawing up a lawsuit demanding the closing of shipping locks on a waterway that links the lakes with the Mississippi. And last week, Illinois officials poisoned a six-mile stretch of a canal to wipe out any of the carp.
The prospect of a carp invasion alarms environmentalists and people whose livelihoods depend on a strong fishing and tourism economy, from charter boat skippers to those who sell bait and tackle, rent personal watercraft and operate lakefront restaurants and motels. The Great Lakes fishing industry alone is valued at $7 billion a year.
“I’m afraid they can wipe us out in a hurry,” said Jim Conder, a charter boat operator on Michigan’s St. Joseph River, which flows into Lake Michigan. “We need to spend all we can to keep them out.” … “
Read more from the Fresno Bee by clicking here.
Launch of America’s Great Waters Coalition underscores commitment to restoring America’s estuaries
Posted by: Maven on December 9, 2009 at 8:24 am
From Water World:
“WASHINGTON, DC, Dec. 8, 2009 — An alliance representing more than 30 organizations came together today with lawmakers from across the nation to launch America’s Great Waters Coalition, representing 9 of the largest water ecosystems in 27 of the lower 48 states — and involving nearly half of the country’s population.
From the Chesapeake to Puget Sound, from the Great Lakes to the Everglades — the nation’s great waters are the backbone of America’s economy and way of life. However, America’s great waters face urgent threats, including sewage contamination, invasive species, habitat destruction and climate change. The nation’s commitment to our great waters has not kept pace with these urgent threats, impacting people, businesses, communities and wildlife.
“The degradation of our nation’s great waters has a serious environmental and economic impact on our communities,” said Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX). “I look forward to working with America’s Great Waters Coalition to improve these important ecosystems.”
To restore the water ecosystems that sustain people, wildlife and the economy, America’s Great Waters Coalition is speaking with a united voice to act now, before the problems get worse and the solutions more costly.
“Research has found that cleaning up the Great Lakes and its waterways — by improving water and sewer infrastructure, restoring and preserving wetlands and coastal habitats, and cleaning up toxic areas — would create jobs and inject billions of dollars into the regional economy,” said Jennifer S. Vey, fellow, Brookings Institution. “This indicates that directing public investments toward improving the health of all of the nation’s Great Waters — from the Chesapeake to the San Francisco Bay — simply makes good economic sense.” … “
Read more from Water World by clicking here.
Draft project standards for Army Corps put resource goals on par with economic development
Posted by: Maven on December 5, 2009 at 7:17 amFrom the New York Times:
“The White House today released a draft (pdf) of new standards for federal water projects that for the first time put environmental goals on the same plane as economic development concerns.
The proposed overhaul of 1983 standards for the Army Corps of Engineers directs the agency to fold non-monetary benefits into project assessments by measuring improvements to wildlife habitats and biodiversity.
It also aims to improve transparency in federal water planning, said Nancy Sutley, chairwoman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, which coordinated the rewrite.
“It is expected that the use of best science, peer review and full transparency will ensure that projects undergo a more rigorous study process, which should inform authorization and funding decisions,” she said. … “
Environmentalists, shippers criticize ballast plan
Posted by: Maven on December 4, 2009 at 6:44 am
From the Associated Press:
“TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. A government plan to prevent foreign species carried in ship ballast tanks from invading seacoasts, the Great Lakes and inland waterways is riddled with loopholes and would take effect too slowly, environmentalists say.
Shipping companies, meanwhile, contend the regulations proposed by the U.S. Coast Guard would make costly and unreasonable demands while adding to a confusing patchwork of federal and state requirements for handling ballast water.
The Coast Guard is accepting public comments on the rules through Friday and could make changes before issuing a final version, said Cmdr. Tim Cummins of the 9th District Prevision Division in Cleveland. No deadline has been set for completing the regulations.
More than 300 comments had been submitted by Thursday.
Environmentalists have long demanded a crackdown on the dumping of ballast millions of gallons of water and muck that ships carry to help keep them stable in rough seas. The soupy mixtures often harbor microorganisms, fish and other aquatic life scooped up in overseas ports. … “
Read more from the Associated Press by clicking here.
Effects of judge’s Katrina ruling could be huge: The finding that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is liable for much of the New Orleans flooding could change how levees are designed nationwide
Posted by: Maven on November 20, 2009 at 7:54 amFrom the Los Angeles Times:
“Reporting from Los Angeles and New Orleans – The harshly worded legal ruling that held the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers responsible for much of the flooding during Hurricane Katrina could have a far-reaching effect on national flood-control policies and on the federal government’s long-standing refusal to take responsibility for its errors.
U.S. District Judge Stanwood R. Duval Jr. issued the stinging rebuke to the corps late Wednesday for its failure to properly manage a navigation channel and levees, which he ruled were directly responsible for much of the flooding that devastated New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward and St. Bernard Parish.
Although only a handful of homeowners shared in about $700,000 in damages, city officials said the principles established in the ruling would open the door to more than 100,000 claims by residents and businesses pending against the government in the areas covered by the ruling.
But more than just deciding this lawsuit, the power and depth of Duval’s 156-page opinion could influence the design of levees that protect communities against rivers and shorelines in almost every state. … “
Read more from the Los Angeles Times by clicking here.
Federal Court rules Army Corps of Engineers liable for Katrina flooding
Posted by: Maven on November 19, 2009 at 7:51 am
From CNN:
“New Orleans, Louisiana (CNN) — The Army Corps of Engineers’ failure to properly maintain a shipping channel linking New Orleans to the Gulf of Mexico led to catastrophic flooding during Hurricane Katrina, a federal court ruled Wednesday.
“It is the court’s opinion that the negligence of the Corps, in this instance by failing to maintain the MRGO properly, was not policy, but insouciance, myopia and short-sightedness,” U.S. District Court Judge Stanwood Duval Jr. wrote in his lengthy ruling, referring to the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet canal.
“For over 40 years, the Corps was aware that the Reach II levee protecting Chalmette and the Lower 9th Ward was going to be compromised by the continued deterioration of the MRGO. … The Corps had an opportunity to take a myriad of actions to alleviate this deterioration or rehabilitate this deterioration and failed to do so. Clearly, the expression ‘talk is cheap’ applies here.” … “
More from CNN by clicking here.
Dolphins will be deployed at Bangor starting next year, Navy says
Posted by: Maven on November 19, 2009 at 7:49 amNot California water related, but I thought this story was very interesting – I hadn’t heard about this before. From the Kitsap Sun:
“Specially trained Atlantic bottlenose dolphins and California sea lions will help guard Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor starting next year, the Navy announced Wednesday.
Their job will be to stop swimmers or divers from infiltrating the Trident submarine base. Marine mammals are already being used to find possible intruders at other Navy bases, including at King's Bay, Ga., the home of the rest of the nation's Trident fleet.
It is the culmination of a 3 1/2 year environmental process to clear the way for what the Navy calls a swimmer interdiction security system.
The Navy looked at several options to protect against possible attack from swimmers, but officials said they couldn't find a better way of meeting new terrorism-driven security requirements. The marine mammals were its preferred alternative from the beginning. … “
Read more from the Kitsap Sun by clicking here.
Storm threat to New Orleans out of our control, says general: “we cannot stop levees being overtopped and the city flooded”
Posted by: Maven on October 26, 2009 at 7:54 am
And while we’re on the subject of flooding, here’s some cheery news for New Orleans residents from the Guardian.co.uk:
“New Orleans can no longer be protected from hurricane storm surges, according to the US army general in charge of the city’s defences.
General Robert Van Antwerp, chief of the US Army Corps of Engineers, said his team was in “persistent conflict” with the Mississippi river.
“If you ask can I protect the city, the answer is no. Can I reduce the risk Yes.
“We can develop better early warning systems, better evacuation plans, better levees to hold back most of the water, but we cannot stop levees being overtopped and the city flooded.” …”
Read more from the Guardian.co.uk by clicking here.
E.P.A. vows better effort on Clean Water Act enforcement
Posted by: Maven on October 16, 2009 at 7:11 amFrom the New York Times:
“The Environmental Protection Agency said on Thursday that it would overhaul enforcement of the Clean Water Act, as lawmakers sharply criticized the agency's decade-long lapses in punishing polluters.
At a daylong hearing before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, the E.P.A. administrator, Lisa P. Jackson, said that agency officials “are falling short of this administration's expectations for the effectiveness of our clean water enforcement programs.
“The time is long overdue for E.P.A. to re-examine its approach to Clean Water Act enforcement,\” said Ms. Jackson, who was confirmed to her position in January. She added that the agency would set strict benchmarks for state regulators, eventually compel companies to submit electronic pollution records so violations could be detected and punished more easily, and “develop more innovative approaches to target enforcement to the most serious violations and the most significant sources. …”
Read more from the New York Times by clicking here.
Cleansing the air at the expense of waterways
Posted by: Maven on October 13, 2009 at 8:01 amThe New York Times continues it’s coverage of worsening pollution in the country’s waterways in this article:
“MASONTOWN, Pa. For years, residents here complained about the yellow smoke pouring from the tall chimneys of the nearby coal-fired power plant, which left a film on their cars and pebbles of coal waste in their yards. Five states including New York and New Jersey sued the plant's owner, Allegheny Energy, claiming the air pollution was causing respiratory diseases and acid rain.
So three years ago, when Allegheny Energy decided to install scrubbers to clean the plant's air emissions, environmentalists were overjoyed. The technology would spray water and chemicals through the plant's chimneys, trapping more than 150,000 tons of pollutants each year before they escaped into the sky.
But the cleaner air has come at a cost. Each day since the equipment was switched on in June, the company has dumped tens of thousands of gallons of wastewater containing chemicals from the scrubbing process into the Monongahela River, which provides drinking water to 350,000 people and flows into Pittsburgh, 40 miles to the north.
“It's like they decided to spare us having to breathe in these poisons, but now we have to drink them instead,\” said Philip Coleman, who lives about 15 miles from the plant and has asked a state judge to toughen the facility's pollution regulations. “We can't escape. …”
Read more from the New York Times by clicking here.
USGS: The role of hydrography in the national map
Posted by: Maven on September 28, 2009 at 7:51 amFrom the USGS (hat tip to the Sisweb!):
“Water is vital to our Nation and the U.S. Geological Survey plays an important role in the tracking and mapping our water resources. The National Hydrography Dataset component of The National Map supports this mission and is widely used in the study of hydrology, natural resources, and pollution control. Users of USGS geospatial data discuss the role of the National Hydrography Dataset in water rights management in California, fisheries management in Michigan, and drinking water threat analysis nationwide.”
San Diego Union Tribune’s spin meter: Biden’s water projects claim a stretch
Posted by: Maven on September 17, 2009 at 8:14 amFrom the San Diego Union Tribune:
“Under pressure to show quick results from the economic stimulus, the White House is taking credit for starting to build hundreds of rural water systems nationwide.
But don’t look for construction crews anytime soon. At most job sites, it could be awhile. Sometimes, a long while.
It all depends on what the definition of “starting” is.
:::
THE SPIN: Vice President Joe Biden said two weeks ago, “We set a goal of starting to build 200 water sanitary systems and wastewater treatment facilities in rural America. We’ve met that goal.” The White House Web site says “We are pleased to report that new waste and water systems are underway in 200 communities in rural America.” …”
Find out what the facts are from the San Diego Union Tribune by clicking here.
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