WaterWired

Rainbow Man Todd Jarvis: The Colours of Water Video

Great video from Todd Jarvis over at his Rainbow Water Coalition blog.

If you want to know about the colours of water, Todd's da man!

The 'graywater - greywater - gray water - grey water' kerfuffle makes 'groundwater vs. ground water' issue look like child's play. Will need some serious conflict management!

 

"My site has the whole thing - blogs, information, video interviews." ~Starship Enterprise Captain William Shatner

Thames Water's 'Singing Sewermen Style' Send-Up of Psy's 'Gangnam Style'

From Thames Water - The Singing Sewermen steal a beat or two from Psy's 'Gangnam Style' to inform customers not to dump grease, fat, or wet wipe sheets down the sink or toilet. 

The fat and grease make a real mess that is difficult to clear. 

From the TW site:

In total, we clear around 55,000 blockages from our sewers each year. The majority of these are caused by cooking fats and oils, which congeal in the sewers forming a thick layer around the pipe. This prevents sewage from flowing and can cause it to back up, especially when products such as wet wipes and sanitary item – which were not designed to be flushed - mix with the fat and set hard forming a solid obstruction.

 

Hey, sewer abusers....whoop....whoop....whoop.

"Working in very small sewers clearing fat and blockages. This makes the job very difficult for us, and it also seems so unnecessary as these problems could be avoided if people could just avoid pouring their used cooking fat down the sink and put it in the bin instead." - Chief flusher Rob Smith, on the worst part of working in the sewers

Clean Water America Alliance (@WaterAlliance) Now U.S. Water Alliance

I received just this news release..

Shill alert: I am a supporter of the CWAA (now U.S. Water Alliance), both as an individual and as a member of AWRA; as AWRA President, I signed an MOU with the CWAA.

Here is the document:

Download USWA_mission_network_name

  NEW NAME AND NETWORK REFLECT “ONE WATER” UNITY

(Washington, D.C.)  The Clean Water America Alliance announced a name change to the U.S. Water Alliance and the formation of a One Water Management network, both reflecting the organization’s core mission.  “We're changing our name but not our game,” explains Alliance President Ben Grumbles.  “The Alliance's mission--uniting people and policy for “one water” sustainability--remains the same. Our new name is easier to remember and more closely aligned with the integrated "one water" vision we're working towards in watersheds and communities across the U.S. “

The One Water Management (OWM) vision continues to grow and is being embraced since the Alliance held a national dialogue on the subject in 2010, “Managing One Water.”  Earlier this year the Alliance convened a meeting with representatives from the full spectrum of water stakeholders to advance one water perspectives and sustainable solutions.  Fourteen of the organizations are driving the formation of a network that will consider next steps and chart a course for action while being informed by ongoing research. Activities of the network may focus on information sharing, staff training and capacity building (e.g. exchange programs among different utilities and agencies in different levels of government), and identifying barriers and developing pilot projects to reduce or overcome barriers. 

Since its launch in 2008, the Alliance has made steady progress in recognizing water champions through the U.S. Water Prize, convening collaborations for urban water sustainability, and advancing one water perspectives and sustainable solutions through education and outreach, exploration and analysis. Dick Champion, chair of the U.S. Water Alliance, concludes, “With the new name, and as we convene the OWM network, we’ll continue to focus on all aspects of the water cycle and the constituencies that depend on it, sustain it, and innovate for its future.”

The 14 organizations signing on to the OWM network include the Alliance for Water Efficiency, American Public Works Association, American Rivers, Association of Clean Water Administrators, Association of State Drinking Water Administrators, National Association of Clean Water Agencies, National Association of Water Companies, National Ground Water Association, National Onsite Waste Recyclers Association, The Pacific Institute, U.S. Water Alliance, Water Environment Research Foundation, WateReuse Association, WateReuse Research Foundation and the Western Coalition of Arid States.

For more information visit the website at www.USWaterAlliance.org or contact Lorraine Koss at 202.533.1819, lkoss@uswa.us.

My Ten Cents: I think this is a good move on CWAA's part. Note that the 'One Water' concept is essentially identical to, but not as inclusive as, IWRM. It is unfortunate that USWA decided to 'brand' its own version of IWRM, which will only confuse matters. The USWA will also need to broaden its perspective, as it has traditionally been the domain  of municipal water and wastewater utilities and their supporters and associates.  

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet" - William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

Fracking Twofer: 1) Video: 'New York Water Rangers'; 2) Ohio Earthquake and Deep Well Injection

Just when you thought 2012 might bring us freedom from hydrofracking stories, what happens?

1) The folks at AWWA sent this video link around (note to fellow hockey fans: it's not about the New York Rangers beating the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 in yesterday's Winter Classic). 

From the site:

The New York Water Rangers, a partnership of environmental and community groups working to protect the Empire State from the dangers of industrial gas drilling called hydraulic fracturing or "fracking," are looking to Governor Andrew Cuomo to be the hero New Yorkers want and need to safeguard our waters and communities from fracking. Visit www.WaterRangers.org to learn more!

 

Cute. Now I know what I can do when I retire. Thought I might have to be a Wal-Mart greeter! 

2) The 31 December 2011 earthquake near Youngstown, OH, was likely triggered by fracking waste being injected deep underground through a 9,200 foot (2,800 m) injection well. So the quake itself was not caused by a hydrofracking operation but an injection well used to dispose of fracking wastes. Some might argue that's a very fine line. But it does illustrate the fact that disposal of the fracking waste could be as much or more of a problem than the fracking itself.

Earlier I discussed (11 June 2011) the issue of earthquake generation by deep well injection.

“The extensive public comments revealed a significant concern with potential contamination of groundwater and surface drinking water supplies that could result from this new technology.” - Executive Summary, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation report

Water International, 36(4) - July 2011: Wastewater Use in Agriculture: Economics, Risks & Opportunities

Water International - Volume 36 - Issue 4, July 2011

Special issue: Wastewater use in Agriculture: Economics, Risks and Opportunities

This is not an open-access journal unless you are a member of the International Water Resources Associaton (IWRA). The paper titles in emboldened italics below are free; click on the title for access. Click here to access all papers in the issue, where you will be able to read the abstracts for free by clicking on the paper title.

Meeting the challenge of wastewater irrigation: economics, finance, business opportunities and methodological constraints
Dennis Wichelns & Pay Drechsel
pages 415-419

Towards an agenda for improving wastewater use in agriculture
Susanne M. Scheierling, Carl R. Bartone, D. Duncan Mara & Pay Drechsel
pages 420-440

Assessing the empirical challenges of evaluating the benefits and risks of irrigating with wastewater
A.B. Weldesilassie, P. Amerasinghe & G. Danso
pages 441-454

Evaluating the costs and benefits of water reuse and exchange projects involving cities and farmers
Ingo Heinz, Miquel Salgot & Javier Mateo-Sagasta Dávila
pages 455-466

Developing country farmers need more than financial incentives to reduce the risks of wastewater irrigation
Dennis Wichelns, Marwan Owaygen & Mark Redwood
pages 467-475

Motivating behaviour change to reduce pathogenic risk where unsafe water is used for irrigation
Hanna Karg & Pay Drechsel
pages 476-490

Evolving policies and the roles of public and private stakeholders in wastewater and faecal-sludge management in India, China and Ghana
Ashley Murray, Gayathri Devi Mekala & Xia Chen
pages 491-504

Efficiency indicators for waste-based business models: fostering private-sector participation in wastewater and faecal-sludge management
Ashley Murray, Olufunke Cofie & Pay Drechsel
pages 505-521

Fighting for the right to use wastewater: what drives the use of untreated wastewater in a peri-urban village of Faisalabad, Pakistan?
Philipp Weckenbrock, Alexandra Evans, Muhammad Qaiser Majeed, Waqas Ahmad, Nasir Bashir & Axel Drescher
pages 522-534

Cost-effectiveness of options for reducing health risks in areas where food crops are irrigated with treated or untreated wastewater
Pay Drechsel & Razak Seidu
pages 535-548

Enjoy!

"Civilization has been a permanent dialogue between human beings and water." - Paolo Lugari