WaterWired

High Country News: Stream Restoration and Protection

The current online edition of the High Country News has a number of articles on stream restoration and protection. These you can view for free, and are online only.

• In Montana, counties are specifiying streamside setbacks to protect their waterways.
• Bill Zeedyk, the "Riparian Restoration Guru", using "induced meandering", helps streams achieve a healthy flow by using simple rock and wood structures. He "lets the water do the work." Some of my students at the University of New Mexico used his techniques in their field research.
• Dave Rosgen, the "Restoration Cowboy", has been going against the flow for years as he promulgates his approach to stream restoration (this article was originally published in 2003).

I have never met Zeedyk or Rosgen, but I know of them through their reputations.

I don't claim to know much about stream restoration. A former colleague of mine at the Desert Research Institute in the late 1970s - early 1980s, Bill Woessner, has influenced me. Bill has done much excellent work on "stream renaturalization" (he eschews the term "stream restoration") since he arrived at the University of Montana in 1981. He is now chair of Geosciences. One of Bill's pet peeves, which I share, is the fact that stream restoration techniques and practitioners often neglect to consider the ground water component.  

Pesky stuff, that ground water.

“We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.” – Aldo Leopold

Fight For Your Rights: Beastie Boy's Film Takes On Nestle, Privatization & Bottled Water

Thanks to friend and former student Amy Ewing for bringing this to my attention.

Beastie Boy Adam "MCA" Yauch, known for his activism and whose company distributes the film FLOW: For Love Of Water, defends his attack on Swiss firm Nestle in the film.

Read what Nestle says about bottled water.

You can see my previous posts about the film - 30 January 2008 and 29 February 2008.

From the story:

Yauch screened his documentary film FLOW at last weekend's (21 June 2008) U.S. Nantucket Film Festival, claiming the Swiss-based firm is being environmentally irresponsible.

The film, distributed by Yauch and his company Oscilloscope Pictures, blames the growing privatization of the world's fresh water supply partly on the company, and others including Pepsi and Coca-Cola.

A source tells the New York Post that Nestle bosses were furious at Yauch after hearing the company's name mentioned, revealing, "She (a company representative) stormed out about an hour in when the film named Nestle. The company obviously had no idea this content was in the movie. She told an audience member, 'That was one-sided,' on her way out and didn't come back for the question and answer session afterwards."

Yauch has refused to apologize for his honestly in the footage.

He tells the New York Post, "They (Nestle) put pretty pictures of springs and forests on the bottles, but in this movie they're getting called out. I think it's great. They lock down water as a commodity they can buy and sell. It's terrifying."

Yauch's film is set to debut in New York this September.

Maude Barlow would be proud of you, Adam!

“Everything starts out as a rebellion, then becomes a movement, and finally becomes a racket.” – Patrick Buchanan

Report: Climate Change and Extreme Weather Events in the USA

A new report from the U.S. Climate Change Science Program examines the effects of climate change on extreme weather events.

The following is from the WWW site:

Among the major findings reported in this assessment are that droughts, heavy downpours, excessive heat, and intense hurricanes are likely to become more commonplace as humans continue to increase the atmospheric concentrations of heat-trapping greenhouse gases.

The report is based on scientific evidence that a warming world will be accompanied by changes in the intensity, duration, frequency, and geographic extent of weather and climate extremes.

"This report addresses one of the most frequently asked questions about global warming: what will happen to weather and climate extremes? This synthesis and assessment product examines this question across North America and concludes that we are now witnessing and will increasingly experience more extreme weather and climate events," said report co-chair Tom Karl, Ph.D., director of NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, NC.

"We will continue to see some of the biggest impacts of global warming coming from changes in weather and climate extremes,” said report co-chair Gerry Meehl, Ph.D., of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo. "This report focuses for the first time on changes of extremes specifically over North America."

The full CCSP 3.3 report, Weather and Climate Extremes in a Changing Climate, and a summary FAQ brochure are available online.

Global warming of the past 50 years is due primarily to human-induced increases in heat-trapping gases, according to the report. Many types of extreme weather and climate event changes have been observed during this time period and continued changes are projected for this century. Specific future projections include:

• Abnormally hot days and nights, along with heat waves, are very likely to become more common. Cold nights are very likely to become less common.
• Sea ice extent is expected to continue to decrease and may even disappear in the Arctic Ocean in summer in coming decades.
• Precipitation, on average, is likely to be less frequent but more intense.
• Droughts are likely to become more frequent and severe in some regions.
• Hurricanes will likely have increased precipitation and wind.
• The strongest cold-season storms in the Atlantic and Pacific are likely to produce stronger winds and higher extreme wave heights.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources.

NOAA plays a key role in the Climate Change Science Program, which is responsible for coordinating and integrating climate research, observations, decision support, and communications of 13 federal departments and agencies.

The National Center for Atmospheric Research investigates climate, weather, and other topics related to the atmosphere. It is sponsored by the National Science Foundation and managed by a nonprofit consortium of universities, the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research

"Climate is what you expect, weather is what you get" -- Mark Twain

NYT Reviews 'Bottlemania' and Royte's Interview on 'Marketplace'

Well, a book about bottled water has hit the big time: The Gray Lady has noticed.

The featured (front page) review in the New York Times Book Review of 15 June 2008 is Lisa Margonelli's review of Elizabeth Royte's Bottlemania: How Water Went on Sale and Why We Bought It.

The drawing is by Oliver Munday from the NYTBR's cover.

I won't bore you with a review of the review.The book has been around for a while and blogged to death. Besides I have not read it yet.

Margonelli mentions one thing Royte believes: that to be anti-bottled water is now becoming fashionable, much the way to drink bottled water was. So Royte wonders if the pro-bottle and anti-bottle movements aren't cut from the same plastic:

“Is it fashion or is it a rising awareness of the bottle’s environmental toll that’s driving the backlash? I’m starting to think they’re the same thing.”

I'll close with a factoid you've probably heard: 

"The total energy required for every bottle’s production, transport and disposal is equivalent, on average, to filling that bottle a quarter of the way with oil."

Good review. I think I'll read the book.

Here's Kai Ryssdal's interview with Royte from Marketplace. You can listen to it or read it.

"...the biggest enemy is tap water." -- Quaker Oats CEO, talking to industry analysts about bottled water, 2000

Water Alternatives: First Issue Posted

A couple of months ago I posted about the new online, free journal Water Alternatives that promised full and free access to its contents.

Its first issue has just been posted, and true to its word, the journal will let you view and download content free of charge by clicking here.

Check it out! 

Read This Book: 'Bottlemania' by Elizabeth Royte

Again, I'm running behind on things and still using my two weeks in the South Caucasus as an increasingly-lame excuse.My faux-bird flu seems to be waning.

I've heard much about Elizabeth Royte's book Bottlemania: How Water Webnt on Sale and Why We Bought It. Here is a review by Mark Coleman from the 1 June 2008 Los Angeles Times and a book excerpt from the 22 May 2008 Wall Street Journal.

Sounds like a great read, but I have not cracked it open it yet - still trying to read Jeff Sachs' most recent book so I can review his approach to solving the world's water problems (I'm working on it, John!).

Time to do some reading.

"Bozone: the invisible layer that surrounds stupid people and won't allow smart ideas to penetrate." -- Firesign Theater Newsgroup

Saving Water: From Field to Fork

Jeff Behan sent me an interesting Swedish publication that examines the issue of saving water in the food chain, from beginning to end:

Download Paper_13_Field_to_Fork.pdf

Enjoy!

"I believe in getting into hot water; it keeps you clean." -- G.K. Chesterton

'The Water Front': The Movie

I just received notice of another water movie, The Water Front.  It looks worthwhile, and no doubt has the Maude Barlow seal of approval. I'll order a DVD.

But it starts out with this headline:

What if you lived next to the largest body of fresh water in the world but could no longer afford to use it?

Is this correct? Are they talking about Lake Baikal in Siberia? Or since they haven't specified surface water, ground water, frozen water, or whatever, maybe they mean the Guarani Aquifer in South America? So I am going to be all over these guys like a cheap suit, right? Well, no. Read on.

They might be treating Lakes Huron and Michigan as one water body. There is some precedent for this, as the two lakes have the same elevation and flow between the two can actually reverse. So, on the basis of surface area (but not volume), they would be right. One could also argue (but I never would) that since the Great Lakes are a single interconnected body of water, they could be treated as a single body of water. This assumption would put the putative 'Great Lake' close to Lake Baikal as having the greatest volume of unfrozen fresh surface water. But this argument, that the Great Lakes should be designated as a single large lake, is much weaker than the Lakes Huron-Michigan argument.

So I am not going to make a fuss, although the headline is misleading. I guess I am getting soft, or maybe it's the fatigue after traveling for 32 straight hours. 

The film relates the story of Highland Park, MI, outside Detroit. From the movie's site:

Water is the liquid gold of the 21st century. While corporations urge local governments to privatize municipal water, communities around the world are organizing to ensure affordable access to this life sustaining resource. THE WATER FRONT is the story of one community's determination to fight the seemingly inevitable path of water privatization.

Highland Park, Michigan – the birthplace of mass production is a post-industrial city on the verge of financial collapse. The state of Michigan has appointed an Emergency Financial Manager to fix the crisis. The Manager sees the water plant, which Ford built in 1917 to support his auto industry, as key to economic recovery. She has raised water rates and has implemented severe measures to collect on bills. As a result, Highland Park residents have received water bills as high as $10,000, they have had their water turned off, their homes foreclosed, and are struggling to keep water, a basic human right, from becoming privatized. THE WATER FRONT follows the personal story of Vallory Johnson, who transforms her anger into an emotional grassroots campaign, defending affordable water [emboldening mine] as a human right.

THE WATER FRONT is not just about water, but touches on the very essence of our democratic system. The film presents a community in crisis but it also presents the powerful enactment of local participation in finding solutions to the problems of our times.

This community portrait is also an unnerving indication of what is in store for residents around the world as cities look to update water systems and face increasingly complex issues such as water shortages and implications of the bottled water industry.

The film raises questions such as; Who determines the future of shared public resources? What are alternatives to water privatization? How will we maintain our public water systems and who can we hold accountable.

"A wise man can see more from the bottom of a well than a fool can from a mountaintop." -- Unknown (as quoted in B&C's California Water News, 27 May 2008)

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

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

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

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  climactic 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

Lessons Learned by NGOs in Developing Countries: Water Projects

Friend and colleague Dave Sabatini, who heads the University of Oklahoma's WaTER (Water Technologies for Emerging Regions) Center, sent me this document that contains numerous examples of "lessons learned" and case histories:

Lessons Learned from NGO Experiences in the Water Sector, edited by Ian Smout and Sarah Parry-Jones

Download lessons_learned_ngos_in_dcs.pdf

This publication is from WELL - Water and Environmental Health at London and Loughborough, a resource center funded by the UK's Department For International Development (DFID). WELL is managed by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and the Water, Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC) at Loughborough University.

WELL, DFID, and WEDC  are great places for reports and other publications. At the WELL site I found a report on VLOM (Village Level Operation and Maintenance) for Rural Water Supply: Lessons from Experience.

"History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives." -- Abba Eban

Election 2008: Environment? What Environment?

Colleague Dick Enberg sent me this thoughtful piece, written by G. Tracy Mehan, III, Principal, The Cadmus Group, and former Assistant Administrator for Water, U.S. EPA.

Here is the original column, published in March 2008.

It is understandable, but nevertheless disappointing, that environmental and natural resources issues have not received much attention during the presidential campaign to date.

Two wars, illegal immigration, loss of manufacturing jobs, health care, a housing bubble, and a cratering stock market rivet the attention of the candidates and the voters both of whom are groping for a path forward amidst great uncertainty at home and abroad.

Thus, the environment is hardly a “top-of-the mind” issue, commanding only little attention on the campaign trail. There is some discussion of climate change, usually paired with energy independence or security; but, for the most part, it not drawn much interest this election cycle. Basically, the election is about war and economic insecurity.

There are other reasons why climate change is not getting much play in the political arena. Ironically, these have to do with an unusual degree of consensus on the campaign trail and an emerging one in Congress. All three of the major presidential candidate left standing share the same basic policy orientation in favor of some kind of cap-and-trade program to reduce carbon emissions, the paramount Greenhouse Gas. Second, legislation authorizing such a program has been moving on Capitol Hill, eclipsing every economist’s preferred option, a “revenue-neutral” carbon tax with offsetting tax cuts, say, for corporate or personal income taxes.

This latter option could be justified on supply-side, i.e., pro-growth, and national security grounds, while allowing for total agnosticism as to both the cause and extent of climate change. But in any tax restructuring there are winners and losers, and losers fight more tenaciously than winners in the political scrum. Moreover, most voters will only hear the word “tax” without hearing or comprehending “revenue-neutrality.” And no one wants to give up their SUVs.

On the other hand, the carbon cap-and-trade option camouflages its higher transaction costs. Hence, its political palatability renders its complexity tolerable.

Climate change is an all-encompassing issue which has consequences for forestry, water management, marine biology, wildlife, and just about everything else. That said, it has sucked all the oxygen out of the room in terms of the public dialogue on a broader range of environmental issues. If it’s not climate, it’s not worth talking about.

What are those other issues which are competing, largely unsuccessfully, with global climate change for prime time? Each of us will have his or her preferred list of issues to be given their 15 minutes of fame. Here are a few possibilities:

• The nation’s waters are suffering from nutrient over-enrichment from unregulated, polluted runoff from agriculture (nonpoint source pollution) and from the growth of impervious surfaces (roads, roofs, parking lots, etc.). The “Dead Zone” in the Gulf of Mexico and the ailing Chesapeake Bay are two examples of these challenges. What, if anything, should the federal government do to either reduce this pollution or at least not aggravate it? New laws? Curtail subsidies? Target existing Farm Bill conservation dollars?
• Is ethanol really the best we can do? It is an inefficient energy source and a voracious consumer of water. Increased corn planting will increase agricultural runoff (see above) and using it all for fuel drives up the cost of food worldwide. This is the result of federal subsidies and tariffs on “good” ethanol from Brazil.
• The nation is facing a severe investment gap in infrastructure generally and in the water and wastewater sectors specifically. What is the proper contribution of local ratepayers versus federal taxpayers if any? Should the federal government fund research on cutting edge technologies (e.g., decentralized, least-cost) and better management practices such as asset management or EMS (environmental management systems)? What about utilizing public-private partnerships and private equity? Or do we go back to large-scale government grants or a trust fund?
• Should Congress renew the Superfund tax or let it be?
• Can the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) really manage the nation’s forests effectively anymore? Over half of its budget goes to fire fighting, and the USFS is constantly tied up in court.
• Will we ever reauthorize and reform any of the major environmental laws? Congress has not been able to do so since it reauthorized the Safe Drinking Water Act in 1996.

Environmental and natural resources policy is a very polarized subject reflecting what has been a polarized Red State/Blue State America. With an election less than a year away, it would be edifying to hear more about these matters from the presidential candidates in the months ahead.

Virginia Tech Study: Water Required to Produce Various Types of Energy

I heard an interesting statistic the other day. Per mile driven, an all-electric car would consume up to 3x the water and require the withdrawal of 17x the amount of water than would an equivalent gasoline-powered vehicle. And one more: for irrigated corn to produce one gallon of ethanol 2,000 gallons of water would be required.

But I'm digressing before even starting.

A Virginia Tech professor and an undergraduate student have calculated how much water is used to produce 11 types of energy and power generation methods.

Here is the link to the press release and the study itself. I have reproduced the press release below; the two tables are from the report itself.

BLACKSBURG, Va., April 22, 2008 -- It is easy to overlook that most of the energy we consume daily, such as electricity or natural gas, is produced with the help of a dwindling resource – fresh water. Virginia Tech professor Tamim Younos (tyounos@vt.edu) and undergraduate student Rachelle Hill are researching the water-efficiency of some of the most common energy sources and power generating methods.

Younos, associate director at the Virginia Water Resources Research Center based at Virginia Tech and research professor of water resources in the College of Natural Resources and undergraduate researcher Hill, of Round Hill, Va., majoring in environmental science and aquatic resource concentration, in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, have analyzed 11 types of energy sources, including coal, fuel ethanol, natural gas, and oil; and five power generating methods, including hydroelectric, fossil fuel thermoelectric, and nuclear methods.

Younos said they based their calculations on available governmental reports by using a standard measurement unit, which makes this study unique. “Our unit is gallons of water per British Thermal Unit (BTU),” explained Younos. “We selected BTU as a standard unit because it indicates pure energy as heat and is applicable to all energy production and power generation methods.”

According to the study, the most water-efficient energy sources are natural gas and synthetic fuels produced by coal gasification. The least water-efficient energy sources are fuel ethanol and biodiesel.

In terms of power generation, Younos and Hill have found that geothermal and hydroelectric energy types use the least amount of water, while nuclear plants use the most.

Hill took the study one step further and calculated how many gallons of water are required to burn one 60-watt incandescent light bulb for 12 hours a day, over the course of one year. She found that the bulb would consume between 3,000 and 6,000 gallons of water, depending on how water-efficient the power plant that supplies the electricity is.

Hill added that the results are estimates of the water consumption based on energy produced by fossil fuel thermoelectric plants, which produce most of the Unites State’s power – about 53 percent. “The numbers are even more staggering if you multiply the water consumed by the same light bulb by the approximately 111 million U.S. homes,” said Hill. “The water usage then gets as high as 655 billion gallons of water a year.”

By contrast, burning a compact fluorescent bulb for the same amount of time would save about 2,000 to 4,000 gallons of water per year.

Younos noted that the results of this analysis should be interpreted with a grain of salt. “There are several variables such as geography and climate, technology type and efficiency, and accuracy of measurements that come into play. However, by standardizing the measurement unit, we have been able to obtain a unique snapshot of the water used to produce different kinds of energy.”

This study is part of a multi-college partnership at Virginia Tech led by Younos that proposes a unique approach to managing water and energy resources, called the Decentralized Energy and Water Systems. Another research theme under the scrutiny by the Decentralized Energy and Water Systems scientists is to study rainwater harvesting as an alternative to using water from the public system for non-potable uses and the impact of rainwater harvesting on water and energy conservation and stormwater management.

The partnership’s team members at Virginia Tech include professors Younos, project leader and associate director at the center and research professor of water resources in the Department of Geography; Darrell Bosch, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics; Richard Hirsch, Consortium on Energy Restructuring; Vinod Lohani, Department of Engineering Education; Madeline Schreiber, Department of Geosciences; and Monica Licher doctoral student in environmental design and planning.

Table 1 - Water use efficiency of various energy production technologies

Fuel source	Low range efficiency (gallons/million BTU)	High range efficiency (gallons/million BTU)	Sources
Natural gas	3	N/A	*USDOE 2006; Gleick 1994; EIA 2006a; EIA, 2006b
Synfuel - Coal gasification	11	26	USDOE 2006; Gleick 1994; EIA 2007b
Tar sands	15	38	USDOE 2006; Gleick 1994
Oil shale	20	50	USDOE 2006
Synfuel - Fisher Tropsch	41	60	USDOE 2006
Coal	41	164	*USDOE 2006; Gleick 1994; EIA 2006a; EIA 2007c
Hydrogen	143	243	USDOE 2006
Liquid natural gas	145	N/A	*USDOE 2006; EIA 2005b; EIA 2007a
Petroleum/Oil-electric sector	1,200	2,420	*USDOE, 2006; Gleick 1994
Fuel ethanol	2,510	29,100	USDOE, 2006; USDA 2004
Biodiesel	14,000	75,000	USDOE, 2006; USDA 2004

Table 2 - Water use efficiency of various power generation technologies

Power generation techonologies	Low range efficiency (gallons/million BTU)	High range efficiency (gallons/million BTU)	Sources
Hydroelectric	20	N/A	USDOE 2006; Gleick, 1994; EIA 2007b
Geothermal	130	N/A	*USDOE, 2006; EIA 2006d
Solar thermoelectric	230	270	USDOE 2006; Leitner, 2002; Cohen 1999
Fossil fuel thermoelectric	1,100	2,200	*USDOE, 2006; Hutson et al 2004
Nuclear	2,400	5,800	*USDOE, 2006; EPRI 2002

*Heat Rate Conversions from EIA, 2007d

"I don't know, but someday you'll tax it." -- Michael Faraday, when asked about the uses of his new invention, the electric generator.

Snake-Columbia Basin Energy & Water Summit: Final Report

Last June  a number of organizations - Columbia Basin Trust, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Water Resources Research Institute (IWRRI), Center for Advanced Energy Studies (CAES), Institute for Water and Watersheds (IWW) - convened the Snake-Columbia Basin Energy and Water Summit in Boise, ID.

The Snake-Columbia basin encompasses two countries. It produces prodigious amounts of water; the basin area is about the same as the Colorado River basin's, yet the average annual flow, measured at the mouth of the Columbia, is almost 14 times greater.

The Summit was attended by about 90 people from both sides of the border, although most were from the USA. The format consisted of expert presentations to set the stage, then focus groups breakout sessions.

It's been a while in coming, but the Summit's report has finally hit the streets. You can download it at the bottom of this post.

The focus group reports form the core of the report and are designed to assist researchers, managers, planners, policy-makers, and other stakeholders address the water and energy challenges facing the basin.

Five focus groups, covering the following areas,  were constituted:

• Energy use and generation
• Water allocation & use
• Energy and water storage
• Environmental considerations
• Social, economic, political, and regulatory considerations

Download Snake-Columbia-Basin-report_final.pdf

[Disclosure notice: I was one of the organizers and financial supporters of the Summit.]

"A mistake not corrected is another mistake." -- Confucius

New Book on the Coming North American Water Crisis

Chris Wood's forthcoming book, Dry Spring: The Coming Water Crisis of North America, to be published at the end of this month, promises to be provocative.

Here's what the publisher says about the book:

Written in the tradition of Jared Diamond’s Collapse and Tim Flannery’s The Weather Makers, Dry Spring is an explosive book on the coming water crisis—and what we need to do to prevent it.

The globe is running out of water. Lakes, aquifers and rivers disappear, but we consume more than ever. Many fast-growing places—the U.S. Southwest, B.C.’s Okanagan, the Great Lakes area—face deadly scarcity. Yet even as the world dries, some parts are getting more violently stormy.

Dry Spring tells dramatic stories of floods and droughts that will worsen over the next 25 years. We see what’s happening to cities, farms, ranches and orchards—and people. Chris Wood shows that Canada overall will get more water—and America less. He calls provocatively upon Canada to find solutions and opportunities jointly with the U.S. And he describes inspiring choices by which we can save this precious resource for our future.

It's interesting to note that Wood calls for Canada (he is a Canadian as far as I can tell) to work with the USA. Good grief! WWMBS (What Would Maude Barlow Say)? Surely, Wood can't be a real Canadian!

"Water is a good servant, but it is a cruel master." -- John Bullein

'To The Last Drop': Water War Between Texas and New Mexico

Andrew Wice sent me this notice about his forthcoming novel (it came on April 1). It's about a real water war between Texas and New Mexico.

The image is the Zia Crossbones, the symbol of the New Mexican resistance after Texas invades.</