WaterWired

Safe Drinking Water Symposium at UNC

The Institute for the Environment (IE) at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (UNC) wiil host a symposium on Sustainable and Safe Drinkng Water in the Developing and Developed Countries: Where Science Meets Policy, 5-6 November 2008, in Chapel Hill, NC.

There will be an excellent international group of invited speakers: Joan Rose, John Briscoe, Walter Giger, Guy Howard, and Clarissa Brocklehurst.

Abstracts for poster and platform presentations are due 15 June 2008; click here for more information.

This looks like a good one.

"If I look at the mass, I will never act. If I look at the one, I will." -- Mother Teresa

Planner's Guide to Wetland Buffers for Local Governments

Okay, I must have been asleep because this little guide was released by the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) in March 2008.  A friend of mine who knows far more about wetlands and local governments than I recommends it highly.

Here you can download a free pdf copy or purchase one if you like.

From the WWW site:

The upland area surrounding a wetland – the wetland buffer – is essential to its health and survival. Healthy wetlands and buffer areas help to control flooding, protect water flows, conserve native plants and wildlife, and support nature-friendly land use and development. Local governments are often better situated than state and federal environmental authorities to control activities on the lands that surround wetland resource areas, because they are not just concerned with wetland functions, but also with surrounding land uses and the benefits wetlands provide for their communities. Based on ELI’s detailed examination of more than 50 enacted wetland buffer ordinances around the nation and nine model ordinances, as well as several hundred scientific studies and analyses of buffer performance, the Planner's Guide to Wetland Buffers for Local Governments identifies both the state-of-the-art and the range of current practice in protection of wetland buffers by local governments. The Guide provides to local governments considering enacting or amending a wetland buffer ordinance what they need to know to manage land use and development in these important areas.

Enjoy!

"Philosophers are people who don't want what they can't have." -- Unknown

May/June 2008 Southwest Hydrology: Aquifer Recharge, Storage, and Recovery

The current issue of Southwest Hydrology features Aquifer Recharge, Storage, and Recovery.

In my day, it was just "artificial recharge". Times have changed.

From the introduction:

In this issue we define the deliberate recharge and temporary storage of “excess” (unneeded) water in an aquifer, with the intent of recovering that water for future use, as aquifer storage and recovery (ASR). The technique is increasingly being used as a water management tool. The implementation of ASR projects varies widely in the type of water used, method of recharge, aquifer type, and engineering of the project, as described in these feature articles. Furthermore, water quality changes resulting from mixing two different waters must be considered, as well as regulatory and policy constraints. And do you really get that water back? Read all about it…

As with all issues of Southwest Hydrology, you can download the entire current issue or individual articles free.

"History, like beauty, depends largely on the beholder." -- Desmond Tutu

Rep. John Linder's '21st Century Water Commission' Bill: Afloat Again

Rep. John Linder (R-GA), who represents Georgia's 7th District, the northeast suburbs of Atlanta (Gwinnett County and environs), has seen his bill H.R. 135 to establish a "21st Century Water Commission" get voted out of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure's Subcommittee on Water and Environment.

Linder's bill has been down this road before, getting House approval in the previous two sessions but no consideration in the Senate. His Senate colleague Johnny Isakson (R-GA) hopes to change that should the bill be approved by the House.

Third time's a charm, right?

Download linder_pr_water_bill_2008.pdf

Download hr_135_21_century_watercommission.pdf 

Linder is one of the founders of the House Water caucus, which according to some reports, has been rather quiet. One caucus member said she was "just along for the ride" and "didn't know what Linder was doing." Well, I guess she knows now!

Download congresswatercaucus.pdf 

Linder spoke at the AWRA's First and Third Water Policy Dialogues. You can access a podcast of his most recent address here.

Linder's bill establishes a nine-person commission with a three-year life and a$9M budget. The commission members will be unsalaried.  The keys are not only the commissioners themselves, but the staff positions and the Director, all of whom are salaried. The commission will study and develop recommendations for a comprehensive water strategy to address future water needs.

Okay, here are the "good, bad, and the ugly."

Good:

1. The commission is a very good idea and its charge is long overdue.
2. I like the idea of a water strategy as opposed to a water policy.
3. States' water prerogatives will be respected.
4. Conflicts and duplication among Federal water agencies will be addressed (great idea - good luck!).
5. Water quality and environmental considerations are embedded in the bill.
6. The study will look at options other than simply trying to develop more supplies via infrastructure projects.

Bad:

1. The commission, its charge, and budget should have been assigned to the The National Academies. They have experience with these kinds of studies, and would help ensure that politics would not rear its ugly head and that the "right" people would be appointed. I'd like to get a good water strategy, not the SOS.
2. The commissioners should not all be "the usual suspects"; ditto the Director and staff.
3. The bill calls for a 50-year horizon. A longer time frame is required - at least 100 years.

Ugly:

1. The commission Director is appointed by the Speaker of the House and that's not a good idea; too much risk of political shenanigans. The commission itself should hire the Director, a la the 9/11 Commission.

For those who say that the gravitas of the commission will be lessened by having the NAS involved at the expense of Congress and the President: ensure that Congressional hearings will be held on the committee's report. There are precedents for this.

An amendment in the form of a substitute bill was recently added to Linder's original bill by Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX).  Here's what her amendment does (all good):

1. increases the size of the commission to 11 members;
2. increases the budget to $12M over five years; and
3. directs the commission to include the effects of climate change and climate change science in its report and recommendations. 

Download johnson_substitute_to_hr_135_oberst_127_xml_2.pdf

Time will tell whether the commission will produce a workable national water strategy , but it's a long-overdue start.

But the real test will come when the commission's work is done. Will the President and Congress heed the recommendations? About that, I'm less optimistic.

"Never underestimate the collective stupidity of very smart people in small groups." -- Anonymous

China, Tibet, and Water

The Tibetan Plateau, source to great rivers (Brahmaputra, Ganges, Yellow, Yangtze, Indus, Irrawaddy, Mekong) in whose basins live well over 2 billion people, may be at the heart of the China-Tibet "debate".

Why? Water, that's why.

The region (shown in red), at 2.5 million square kilometers about four times the size of Texas, covers almost 2% of the Earth's land surface. It is the world's biggest plateau, and has an average elevation of almost 15,000 feet (4500 meters). It plays a significant role in the climate of the planet. Its glaciers nourish the aforementioned rivers and others. And it is those glaciers that may be at the heart of China's "interest" in keeping Tibet on a tight leash.

Circle of Blue has an excellent article about the strategic power of water in the China-Tibet debate (thanks to Eric Daigh).

Like many other resources, water is of great concern to China. I've previously posted on China's water issues: Three Gorges Dam; the Great South-to-North water transfer; and the dust-up with Kazakhstan over Lake Balkhash.

The take-away: what with Tibtean Plateau glaciers shrinking because of climate change and China's water development plans, the Indians, Vietnamese, Laotians, Cambodians, Bangladeshis, Burmese, et al. might have cause for concern.

And perhaps the rest of us, too.

"In the world there is nothing more submissive and weak than water. Yet for attacking that which is hard and strong, there is nothing that can surpass it." -- Lao-tze, 6th century BCE

H2OSU May Newsletter Available: Hydrogossip Galore!

The May 2008 issue of H2OSU, the newsletter of the Institute for Water and Watersheds (IWW) at Oregon State University (OSU), is now available online.

Pick up on all the hydrogossip and happenings at OSU and elsewhere in the waterworld, and check out the IWW's redesigned WWW site.

Top Ten Reasons Why Environmental Agencies Should Address Water Quantity Issues

1) When water moves, the stuff in the water moves, too.  (Link to TMDLs)

2) Modelers can’t predict where the stuff will go without knowing where the water goes, when it goes there, and in what quantity. (Link to forecasting)

3) When the amount of water changes, concentrations of stuff in the water can change, too. (Link to reference conditions for water quality, and water quality standards)

4) When the amount of water changes, temperatures can change, too. (Link to habitat requirements)

5) When the amount of water changes, the spatial extent of certain habitats can change, as can the biogeochemistry of soils. (Link to water quality constituents' concentrations and habitat requirements)

6) Water quantity is needed for urban, industrial, agricultural, domestic, energy-producing, and environmental uses.  It’s a zero-sum game requiring astute tradeoffs and reliable tools. (Link to sustainability and environmental valuation)

7) Landscape changes affect water retention, runoff, ground water flow and recharge, evapotranspiration, and precipitation patterns and amounts.  As these components of water budgets change, water quality constituents' concentrations and loads change, affecting receiving water quality. (Link to TMDLs, habitat requirements)

8) Protection of ecosystems and maintenance of water quality may require the development of multi-objective tradeoff tools.  (Surely water quantity will be considered one of many objectives!)

9) Environmental agencies' missions are to protect human health and safeguard the natural environment.  Both of these aspects need clean water and appropriate quantities of it.  Not considering water quantity in the mission would be like taking a bath with only soap. (Link to sustainability and appeal to common sense!)

10) Who is asking the question, "What are the water quantity needs of the future, what tools will be available to allocate the water, and how are allocations made for the greatest good over time and space?"

Bonus reason #11:

11) Because I said so.

So what am I getting at? We need to consider water quality, water quantity, and ecosystems  together. Maybe even managed/allocated/regulated by a single agency at the state level.

Throw in land use planning, too.

I got most of these from a colleague. Enjoy!

"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and those are the ones you want to concentrate on." -- President George W. Bush

Volume 2 of 'Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond' Now Available

Volume 2 of Brad Lancaster's Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond: Water-Harvesting Earthworks is now available. It currently is being offered for 20% off at the publisher's WWW site.

From the WWW site:

Earthworks are one of the easiest, least expensive, and most effective ways of passively harvesting and conserving multiple sources of water in the soil. Associated vegetation then pumps the harvested water back out in the form of beauty, food, shelter, wildlife habitat, and passive heating and cooling strategies, while controlling erosion, increasing soil fertility, reducing downstream flooding, and improving water and air quality.

Building on the information presented in Volume 1, this book shows you how to select, place, size, construct, and plant your chosen water-harvesting earthworks. It presents detailed how-to information and variations of a diverse array of earthworks, including chapters on mulch, vegetation, and greywater recycling so you can customize the techniques to the unique requirements of your site.

Real life stories and examples permeate the book, including:

• How curb cuts redirect street runoff to passively irrigate flourishing shade trees planted along the street
• How check dams have helped create springs and perennial flows in once-dry creeks
• How infiltration basins are creating thriving rain-fed gardens
• How backyard greywater laundromats are turning “wastewater” into a resource growing food, beauty, and shade that builds community, and more
• How to create simple tools to read slope and water flow
• More than 225 illustrations and photographs

I don't qualify as an expert in this field, so I cannot provide a true review. But my perusal of the book reveals an ample number of diagrams and photographs and easy-to-understand text.

Your comments on the book are most welcome.

Lancaster is apparently working on another volume to conclude his trilogy on rainwater harvesting.

"Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby.The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk. The rain makes running pools in the gutter. The rain plays a little sleep-song on our roof at night. And I love the rain." -- Langston Hughes, April Rain Song

UC-Davis Water Students Start 'Blog'/Social Bookmarking Site

Water students at UC-Davis (UCD), one of the world's better (after Oregon State University, of course!) have started a water blog. But it is more than a traditional blog; it is really a water resources community social bookmarking site (see Johnny32's comment).  SISWEB is an acronym: Scientific Information Syndication WEBsite.

The users really run the site; you can partcipate by registering.

Looks pretty good - great job, folks!

Interesting post about the CIA predicting the water future.

South African High Court Rules: A Human Right to Water

Colleague Kate Ely clued me in that the South African High Court in Johannesburg recently ruled that people have a human right to water. The Court ruled that the poor have a constitutional right to water, and it's believed to be the first time this constitutional right has explicitly been raised anywhere.

Judge MP Toska ruled that the City of Johannesburg had to provide free basic water in the amount of 50 liters per person per day to the residents of Phiri, Soweto. The City had been cutting off water when residents exceeded a monthly household limit of 6000 liters (200 liters per day per household) of free water, unless pre-payment for more was made.   

The judge found the aforementioned practice unconstitutional and wrote that denying the poor access to adequate water "is to deny them the rights to health and to lead a dignified lifestyle."

In specifying the 50 liter per person per day figure, Judge Toska referenced the research by Dr. Peter Gleick of the Pacific Institute. Here is the press release.

Read more here.

This decision really struck a chord with me. I remember at the Third World Forum (3WWF) in Kyoto in 2003 during an open-mike session, a South African man from Soweto told the audience in trembling voice:

"When the whites ruled the South Africa, my water was free. Now that I live in a democracy and my people [the African National Congress (ANC)] are in charge, they turn off my water when I cannot pay."

I hope he's around to witness this historic decision.

 

A Career in Water - It's a Gas!

I frequently tell my students how rewarding a career in water is.

One of my graduate students resumed his career in pharmacy after getting his Master's in hydrogeology. Guess who's making out like a bandit now?

Why all this about careers? Well, Mary Frances returned from Portland last evening where she had a premonition of my future employment.

Our Toyota MR2 Spyder's plates read "AQUA" (I could not get "AQUADOC in Oregon - too many letters).  She pulled into a gas station and had the attendant fill it up (in Oregon, like New Jersey, you cannot pump your own gas).

When the attendant, a man in his 50s, noticed the plates, he asked, "You a SCUBA diver?".

"No, my husband's a hydrogeologist," she replied.

His eyes lit up, and  he then related how he had been in water, even had a couple of degrees, and tested wells. Used to work for the state (hey, maybe New Jersey!).

Before she could learn more, it was time for him to stop, as the meter had hit $40 (remember, it's just a Toyota MR2), and it was time to move on.

I always figured I'd wind up as a Wal-Mart greeter, but since I live in Oregon I now know that I have options.

Like moving to New Jersey.

"You know you're old when you bend over to tie your shoes and wonder what else you can do while you're down there." -- George Burns

'The Economist' Looks At Water Wars: What, No Ground Water?

The current (3 May 2008) issue of The Economist contains a piece on 'Streams of blood, or streams of peace', about the potential for nations going to war over water. It's a good article, examining a number of river basins around the world with the potential for conflict.

This map shows the Nile, Tigris-Euphrates, and Jordan River Basins, three of the 263 transboundary river basins where cooperation exists but where conflict could arise.

Some of the work in cited in the article has been done by my colleagues at Oregon State University (OSU). We have a remarkable database, the Transboundary Freshwater Dispute Database (TFDD), a resource for the entire world.

My friend and colleague at Oregon State University, Aaron Wolf, creator of the TFDD and arguably the world's expert on water conflict, contends that the only documented instance of two states going to war solely over water involved two Mesopotamian city-states about 4,500 years ago.

One interesting story he tells involves Turkey's refusal to "shut off" river water to Iraq during the first Gulf War, despite the Americans' pleas. The Turks let the USA use bases, conduct overflights and troop movements for the first Iraq War, but drew the line at using water as a weapon.

But the article, like many others on the topic, conveniently neglects to mention ground water. Yet there are aquifer systems that could foment conflict; in fact, there are about 240 aquifer systems that underlie two or more nations.

There are programs underway to delineate these aquifers.The ISARM (International Shared Aquifer Resource Management) project is one, as is WHYMAP (World-wide Hydrogeological Mapping and Assessment Programme).

The world map shows transboundary aquifers; it is available from the WHYMAP WWW site.

The Guarani aquifer of South America, which may be the largest body of unfrozen fresh water in the world, has the potential for generating conflict among Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

Aquifers underlying North Africa have similar conflict potential. Here in North America, the USA shares ground water basins with both Canada and Mexico, so conflict is a possibility.

It's all too easy to forget about ground water; after all, out of sight, out of mind. But we must remember that when it comes to unfrozen water, fresh ground water far exceeds fresh surface water. It's not even close; one estimate puts the amount at 100x more.

That huge reservoir of subsurface water could figure prominently in any future water wars.

"War is the unfolding of miscalculations." -- Barbara Tuchman

A 'Mirage' in Oregon: Cynthia Barnett Visits Oregon State University

Cynthia Barnett, award-winning author of Mirage: Florida and the Vanishing Water of the Eastern  U.S., just left us at Oregon State University (OSU) after entertaining us for about 90 minutes with tales of water woes in Florida and elsewhere in the eastern USA.

We had a good crowd for a late Friday afternoon, and she also sold and signed some copies of her excellent book, which is now available in paperback, so you have no excuse for not reading it.

A brief aside: she commented on the dearth of home "For Sale" signs here as compared to Florida.

This is the third time I've heard Cynthia speak, all in the last six months. I told her that she is in my Robert Glennon class, meaning that I never tire of listening to her. Her style is more relaxed, as though she's having a cordial conversation with her audience. Very effective.

She again spoke of the merits of conservation, and how conservation is often given short shrift by politicians and water managers for a simple reason: no one makes much money from conservation projects. No big infrastructure, no grand engineering schemes, etc. She alluded to the fact that in Florida, state alternative water-supply grant money cannot be used for conservation projects.

To be sure, conservation can have its drawbacks. Customers get annoyed when their rates go up because conservation may drive utilities' revenues down. And those who save water are concerned that the water saved may just go for more development. Wastewater engineers worry about sluggish flow in sewer systems or lack of sufficient dilution.  But conservation should occupy a more prominent place in the water-supply toolbox.

She told the story of Orme, TN, the tiny (145 people) town on the TN-AL border 40 miles west of Chattanooga that ran out of water in 2007. The town temporarily survived by sending a tanker truck across the border to an Alabama town three days a week for water from the town's fire hydrant. The 20,000 gallons of water replenished the Orme's storage tank and allowed residents to use water from 6-9 PM each evening. Cynthia said that the story was big news and journalists descended upon the place, got the story, then headed home.

But they never came back to get the rest of the story. Here's what happened after the journalists left:

• volunteer plumbers and plumbing supply firms blitzed the town and fitted each home with water-saving devices free of charge;
• the town saved 140 gallons per household daily; and
• the water availability went from 3 to 12 hours per day solely because of conservation 

All in all, time very well spent with a person who has a great message.

And she brought some Florida sunshine with her.

"We use drinking water to grow our lawns, then spend the summer cutting it down using fossil fuels." -- Cynthia Barnett, Corvallis, OR, 2 May 2008

Silver Nanothreads, No Golden Needles: Unintended Consequences?

As the Rev. Jeremiah Wright might say, the chickens are coming home to roost.

On 30 April I attended a talk where I learned of recent disinfection developments using silver nanoparticles. Silver is a very effective bactericide; this fact has been used to create simple ceramic filters to disinfect water in developing countires by groups such as Potters For Peace.

They are even making socks impregnated with silver nanoparticles to kill odor-causing bacteria, and GE even sells a washer that disinfects clothes using silver nanoparticles.

But the silver nanoparticles also kill "good" bacteria, like the kind that remove ammonia from wastewater in treatment plants, says Dr. Zhiqiang Hu of the University of Missouri (MU). This could compromise the ability of wastewater treament plants to function effectively. It could also cause problems in the soil if sewage sludge is used to fertilize plants.

From the University's press release:

Zhiqiang Hu, an MU civil and environmental engineering assistant professor, found in a National Science Foundation (NSF)-sponsored study that silver nanoparticles destroy benign bacteria employed across the country to remove ammonia from the wastewater treatment system. Several products containing silver nanoparticles already are on the market, including nanosilver socks designed to inhibit odor-causing bacteria and wash machines that disinfect clothes with the tiny particles.

“We found that silver nanoparticles are extremely toxic,” Hu said.

Hu said nanosilver particles generate more unique chemicals—known as highly reactive oxygen species—than do larger forms of silver. Those chemicals likely inhibit bacterial growth, he said.

The Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) recently awarded Hu $150,000 to determine more precisely when silver nanoparticles start to impair wastewater treatment. Work on the follow-up research is slated to start May 1 and be completed by 2010, Hu said.

In that project, Hu will determine how silver nanoparticles affect representative wastewater treatment processes by gradually releasing as well as injecting a shock load of the nanomaterial into wastewater and sludge. Measuring subsequent microbial growth will allow MU researchers to determine the nanosilver levels that will harm wastewater treatment and sludge digestion, Hu said.

With that knowledge, nanoparticles in wastewater can be better managed and regulated, he said.

Hu’s silver nanoparticle research has been published in Water Research and Environmental Science & Technology.

In this picture, courtesy of Professor Hu, arrows point to silver nanparticles attaching themselves to bacteria.

"Inside every silver lining there's dark cloud." -- George Carlin

Will Global Warming Increase If We Eradicate Malaria?

John Fleck posted this item by Roger Pielke, Jr., and labeled it a "provocative post". Quite an understatement. Pielke posits that eradicating malaria may lead to increased GHG emissions from African nations, where over 3 million people die from the disease each year, and one billion contract it. Sick people are a drag on the economy. It's difficult for them to be productive.

So let's treat people, rid the continent of malaria, and help people escape from poverty. What happens as people start working? The economy grows, and guess what? More GHGs!

Sounds like a recipe for more global warming.

Read Pielke's article. He's not advocating (nor am I) that we refrain from eradicating malaria, but it's a provocative (Draconian?) premise.

As John says:

This is not, of course, to argue against treating malaria. It’s merely another illustration of the tangled relationship between disease, poverty, economics and climate change on a global scale. It’s a really hard problem.

Recall that on 25 April we observed World Malaria Day.

"Never underestimate how poorly people can treat one another." -- Unknown

How About a National Water Strategy?

In my 28 April post I broached the subject a national water policy for the USA and how some are calling for such the development of such a policy. Here is what one of my American Water Resources Assocation (AWRA) colleagues had to say about this:
*************

         This is interesting.  I'm glad to see others getting on the band wagon.  Too late?  Who knows?  To have a coherent and cogent policy we need a National Water Vision.  We don't have a national vision, we have a variety of visions each based on the needs of the person or group's specific concerns or needs.  What is necessary is some way of coalescing these visions into a single one.  Policy will come out of this.  I find it interesting that there is now in Canada a CWRA (Canadian Water Resources Association) working group that is mapping out and energizing the processes needed to develop and implement a "National Water Strategy" for Canada.  It's interesting that the Canadians can get a group like this together and deal with this need.  The CWRA Board of Directors recognized that a National Strategy must be developed and implemented with active participation from all levels of government, all business sectors and citizen groups.  I like their use of the word "Strategy" - it has, for me, a more positive connotation than "Policy". 

        We attempted to do something like what the Canadians are doing with the Water Policy Dialogue series and our "After Action" reports.   I believe what the Canadians are doing, though, is one step further, that is, taking the equivalent of the after action reports together with imput from government and citizens and building a strategy.

     I'm wondering if AWRA should take the bull by the horns and put together a working group to do the same thing as the Canadians?  Who would we invite to be part of such a group?  Would it be relevant?  Would anyone listen?  Would anyone care?  I think there are a lot of us that care - it might be a way for our voices to be heard.  Perhaps the meeting that Gerry Galloway [Past President of AWRA] has proposed for September should be constructed along these lines?

************

Here is a link to water strategies for the prairie provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba)as well as Minnesota and North Dakota.

Maybe we should use "strategy" instead of "policy". I have found that in some of my presentations before stakeholder groups the word "policy" is often perceived as a negative term, only a baby step removed from "plan", which, to many, means "You're gonna take my water."

Comments?

"Poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part" -- Unknown

Water and Energy: Some Loose Ends, Sandia National Laboratories

My recent post on the Virginia Tech energy study generated a lot of interest. I'll tie up some loose ends here.

Geoff Klise, former student who's now at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) in Albuquerque, commented on SNL's efforts to develop an integrated water-energy model for planning and management purposes. Geoff said it is about a year away.

He also advised me of a report released in February 2008, Energy Demands on Water, Report to Congress on the Interdependency of Energy and Water. Yep, yours truly missed this one.

And finally, a reminder: I posted about the SNL Mike Hightower-Suzanne Pierce commentary "The energy challenge" in Nature last month; here is the article.

I am not an energy-water nerd, but SNL is doing some of the best work in this area. My hat's off to them. No, I'm not on their payroll.

EPA Climate Change Public Webcast - 8 May

The Office of Water of the EPA will host a public Webcast on 8 May 2008 , 2:30 - 4:30 PM EDT, to discuss and receive feedback on its National Water Program Strategy: Response to Climate Change (available here).

Complete information, including Webcast registration, is available at this WWW site. Registration began on 23 April. You can also submit comments on the Strategy at the same site.

Here's the letter from Benjamin H. Grumbles, Assistant Administrator, announcing the Webcast, along wth additional information:

Download epa_climate_change_webcast.pdf

"The only reason some people get lost in thought is that it's unfamiliar territory." -- Paul Fix

Vermont Protects Its Ground Water: Violation of NAFTA?

Their New Hampshire neighbors might sneer that they are "quiche eaters" (Vermont does make some wonderful cheese) but when it comes to protecting ground water, the Green Mountain State folks don't want strangers to pump too much of their precious ground water.

Today's Christian Science Monitor has Tom A. Peter's story.

So the Vermont legislature just passed a bill that establishes a water permit system, which Gov. Jim Douglas (R) will likely sign. The law declares ground water to be a public trust and requires all enterprises pumping more than 57,600 gallons per day (40 gallons per minute) to obtain a permit. Most farms are exempt.

The amount allowed without a permit is not insignifcant - it's about about 65 acre-feet per year. That's actually a lot of water from a so-called "exempt" (exempt from a permit or water right) well. Here in Oregon, we allow an exempt well 15,000 gallons per day, which is a lot; Washington allows an exempt well to pump 5,000 gallons daily. New Mexico, much drier that OR, VT, or WA, allows 3 acre-feet per year or about 2,700 gallons per day,  < 2 gpm.

So let's say you pump 57,000 gallons per day; no permit is required. That's enough to bottle over 200,000 one-liter bottles of water daily (I am conveniently neglecting the water used in the process), or over 80 M bottles per year. That is not a huge bottling operation, but it's not small, either.

There could be a problem, though: Vermont's measure may violate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), since it could constitute a barrier to international trade. If a foreign company believes that its ability to conduct business is hindered by the law, then it can file a claim against the state under NAFTA.

One Canadian firm already pumps Vermont ground water and bottles it in New Hampshire for sales across the country. Other firms may be considering bottling operations. Again, Vermont has "cachet".

Some have warned that NAFTA would have this effect and compromise the ability of border states (or provinces) to manage/allocate their water. Vermont believes it will not be a problem, because all enterprises are treated the same; international firms are not singled out.

Alyssa Neir and I broached these NAFTA issues as they might develop along the USA-Mexico border.

But time will tell, and I suspect this'll get interesting.

"We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails." -- Bertha Calloway

Maude Barlow's and the Bottled Water Industry's Worst Nightmare

What could possibly cause massive heartburn for both Maude Barlow, the Canadian Crusader, and the bottled water industry? Infected, that's what.

Yes, the SciFi Channel managed to give both sleepless nights with its own made-for-TV (aka "straight to DVD") movie, Infected, a semi-decent flick about bad aliens who come to earth looking for human hosts to "grow" their slug-like babies (the adults are insect-like, but don human skin so as not to scare the locals).

Hmmm. Let me guess...the writers saw Alien.

So how do the aliens wreak havoc on humanity? Well, having monitored our media for a number of years, they know humans are real big suckers for bottled water. So they decide to enter the bottled water business, but they contaminate their water with an extraterrestrial amino acid to better prepare the humans, who also get a plague-like disease as a side effect. The company, Whitefield Industries, supplies the unsuspecting populace of Boston (with Montreal playing that role) with cheap (but not too cheap, else the humans won't drink it) bottled water (but none of that overpriced Fiji Water stuff).

If that's not bad enough, the slimy arthropods also grow cheap produce (the bugs also know humans are seduced by cheap but good food) with their contaminated bottled water, further spreading the nasty amino acid. This nefarious plot is discovered by a worker at the city's Water Resources Department, who soon is killed. Two newspaper reporters, former lovers but now on the outs, must team together to defeat the forces of evil (bottled water). They succeed after a bit.

A digression: SciFi movies have at least two things in common: 1) one or more has-been stars: 2) a  climatic scene in what looks to be the basement of an industrial facility, one with plenty of pipes, valves, cables, tanks with flammable fluids, etc. This one was no different. Judd Nelson and Isabella Rossellini (say it ain't so, Isabella!) lend their awesome talents to this flick. Both play aliens, but Nelson is a good one.

Isabella's big moment comes when her breasts explode and two insect-like appendages come flying out to "accost" our hero and heroine. Tears welled up in my eyes. She gets killed by the boss insect, Mr. Whitefield (real name: Zxykownh), soon after that.

So it's easy to see that bottled water's image is tarnished, but why would Maude be perturbed? PRIVATIZATION! We've got a private company supplying Boston with water, people! See what happens when you let private companies into the water business! Aliens and slugs!

And Maude, this is a Canadian movie!

"Nature bats last." -- bumper sticker, Corvallis, OR

New Look for the Journal 'Waterlines'

The excellent UK quarterly journal, Waterlines, has a new look with the recently-issued January 2008 (Volume 28, No. 1) issue. But the changes are more than cosmetic: it's now refereed, with longer peer-reviewed articles, short reports, book reviews, on-line access, etc.

Waterlines is devoted to water, sanitation, health, and waste issues in developing countries, and bridges the gap between research and practice. I have found it to be invaluable.

Check out the changes here, where you can request a sample copy, view guidelines for contributors, and subscribe, too.

Note: If you do subscribe, make sure you enter your home address. If you have the journal sent to your business address, the publisher will charge you for an institutional subscription, which is twice as much.

From the WWW site:

Published since 1982 Waterlines is a refereed journal providing a forum for those involved in extending water supply, sanitation, hygiene and waste management to all in developing countries. Waterlines aims to bridge the gap between research and practice: it encourages papers written by researchers for the benefit of practice and those written by practitioners to inform research and policy. It highlights information sources and promotes debate between different perspectives. Waterlines considers the key challenges facing those in the water and sanitation sector – engineers, health professionals, community development workers, researchers, policy makers – and suggests how these issues may be tackled using affordable, sustainable systems with reference to wider policy and institutional frameworks.

Each issue concentrates on a key theme within the water and sanitation sector. Recent and forthcoming themes include: Where are we with sanitation?; Ecosanitation; Private sector participation at the local level; Integrated water resources management.

• Full-length peer-reviewed papers;
    • Shorter ‘articles from the field’
    • Book reviews, giving a guide to which books are really worth reading;
    • ‘Crossfire‘, which deals with contentious issues, argued out between two experts;
    • Webwatch, which guides readers to further reading on the theme;
    • ‘From our water correspondent’ – a regular letter from a water professional dealing with tough problems on the ground.

Waterlines gives regular updates on Agency News, Webwatch, Waterpoints, Conference call, as well as book reviews, a diary and details on training opportunities.

Enjoy!

"Don't insult the crocodile until you've crossed the river." -- Sudanese proverb

Jeffrey Sachs Solves the Water Crisis

Well, maybe not. But the current issue (28 April 2008) of Newsweek features "Rivers Running Dry" and economist Jeffrey D. Sachs' latest book, Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet. In the piece, Sachs, who is head of Columbia University's Earth Institute, offers some comments on the water crisis and some solutions.

I've not read his book yet. Yes, I will post a review when I finish it.

Wonder what William Easterly would think of it? For those of you who don't know, Sachs and Easterly go back and forth about the best way to "do development". Just Google "Easterly vs. Sachs". I will post on their kerfluffle shortly.

If the article is any indication of what Sachs thinks about water and the solutions we need, then it's nothing new for us Water Wonks. Yeah, things are bad and will probably get worse. But perhaps Sachs' book will convince others - politicians, "regular people", et al. - that action is needed. If it does that, then he's done us all a service.

One thing that the USA needs is a national water policy - not a plan, but a policy.  The American Water Resources Association (AWRA) has been calling for such a policy in its Water Dialogues. [Disclosure notice: I sit on the Board of the AWRA.]The USA muddles along, going from crisis to crisis.

Here is the first paragraph from Jeneen Interlandi's Newsweek article:

Remember last fall when the city of Atlanta was said to be just weeks away from running dry? It's getting warm in the Southeast again, and Lake Lanier, which supplies water to parts of three states (Georgia, Alabama and Florida) is still down 13 feet from where it should be this time of year. Part of the fault lies with the Army Corps of Engineers, which regulates the outflow from the lake down the Chattahoochee River and sent billions of gallons into the Atlantic to protect the endangered sturgeon population, based on a plan that had not been updated since 1989. It also lost an additional 22 billion gallons, owing to a broken gauge. But the bigger problem is the lack of a coherent policy for collecting, conserving and using fresh water there, or in much of the rest of the United States, or, for that matter, the world.

Here is a recent photo of Lake Lanier, courtesy of Don Mahin.

Here's an interesting snippet from the Newsweek article:

Economists and geologists have identified one culprit in the water-management problem, a mind-set