LeakBird

(Feb. 11, 2009, Great Lakes Law)

Before “green” became cool, “sustainable” was the guiding phrase for shaping environmental solutions with economic prosperity.  Like most trends, the focus on sustainability brought valuable changes and discussions, but at some point the term became overused and lost its meaning.  Terminology aside, the concept remains very useful and important, as [...]

(Feb. 15, 2009, The Colorado Water Examiner)
Mining engineer and hay farmer Gary Hausler was at a recent meeting of the Rio Grande Basin Roundtable pitching the idea for a 22 inch water pipeline from the Mississippi River west. The proposal would divert less than one half of one percent of the Mississippi’s flows and could [...]

(Feb. 15, 2009, Reuters)
China, faced with widespread water shortages exacerbated by its worst drought in decades, aims to cut the amount of water it uses to produce each dollar of national income by 60 percent by 2020, state media said.
The target, unveiled by Water Resources Minister Chen Lei, underlines Beijing’s growing concern over chronic water [...]

(Feb. 14, 2009, The New York Times)
Officials say that a major source of drinking water for about 25 million Californians is at risk. That water currently comes from the delta where the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers meet, and the levees that protect the region are more than 100 years old and are vulnerable to [...]

(Feb. 14, 2009, The Houston Chronicle)
LUBBOCK, Texas — Reliable sources of clean water are the key to a successful economic future for Texas and without them the state and businesses could suffer billions in losses.
That was the dire message in a recent report from the office of state comptroller Susan Combs, a longtime West [...]

(Feb. 13, 2009, The Mercury News)
FRESNO, Calif.—Federal water managers plan to slash deliveries to more than 140 farms, Native American tribes and cities this year because there is so little water flowing into Lake Shasta.Those groups have special rights to California’s water, because they were drawing on the scarce resource even before the U.S. Bureau [...]

(Feb. 12, 2009, The Salt Lake Tribune)

Utah enjoyed healthy precipitation in January, allowing the National Weather Service to issue an optimistic report about this spring’s runoff.
Hydrologist Brian McInerney, who issues his reports via the Web to make science more available, says this water year is “looking very good.”
As of Feb. 11, his prediction for water [...]

(Feb. 12, 2009, Treehugger)
REMINDER! Today is the Twestival for Charity: Water. Take part in an amazing grassroots event that will benefit people who need access to clean drinking water in developing nations.
Take a moment to watch a really great video on what Charity: is all about, what this event will accomplish for thousands of people [...]

(Feb. 10, 2009, The Seattle PI)
SPOKANE, Wash. — The record storms that pounded the state earlier this winter haven’t meant there will be more precious water in dry summer months.
The mountain snowpack is only about 82 percent of normal across Washington, thanks to little snow in the past month, a federal water supply expert said [...]

(Feb. 11, 2009, The Star-Telegram)
As Texas’ population explodes, new residential, commercial and industrial development is rampant. The state is far more urbanized, and continued dramatic growth is expected in coming decades.

That’s putting unprecedented environmental pressures on one of the state’s most-precious resources: its many rivers, creeks, bays and estuaries. These flowing bodies provide critical water [...]

(Feb. 9, 2009, Scoop)
NZWWA CEO, Murray Gibb, is urging government to continue its reforms and rationalise water management in New Zealand.
“The question must be asked why a country of only four million people needs over seventy water utilities and twelve separate regional water regulators,” said Mr Gibb.
“With the imminent release of the Royal Commission’s report [...]

(Feb. 8, 2009, Michael Bristow, BBC News)
A multi-billion-dollar project to divert water from southern China to the arid north is already four years behind schedule.
The news comes as parts of northern and central China struggle to cope with severe drought.
Officials recently admitted that water would not flow along the project’s central route – a total [...]

(Feb. 6, 2009, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Water conservation amounts differ
The director of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division told state lawmakers Thursday that metro Atlanta could save up to a third of the water it uses with aggressive and expensive conservation measures.
Metro Atlanta’s water planners have been less ambitious. In a draft conservation plan, they’re shooting for a [...]

(Feb. 3, 2009, Ventura River Ecosystem)
According to an article in the Ojai Valley News, the current drought and new water pricing is creating tension between water agencies and farmers. When wells run dry, growers have become accustomed to subsidized water imported from Lake Casitas. But with rate increases intended to cover the true cost of [...]

(Feb. 4, 2009, Aguanomics)
“The [Napa, California city] council unanimously approved paying Yountville $3.45 million for the permanent rights to 1,100 acre feet from the vast State Water Project. The city, which uses about 15,500 acre feet annually, already has rights to 20,800 acre feet each year.”
This price for permanent water rights is equal to an [...]

(Feb. 4, 2009, Steamboat Pilot & Today)
Steamboat Springs — Steamboat Springs residents would be left with only half of the water needed to serve current demands if downstream states made a call on the Colorado River Compact, officials told the Steamboat Springs City Council on Tuesday.
The sobering revelation un­­derscored council’s consideration of adopting a water [...]

(Feb. 4, 2009, Florida Today)
WEST MELBOURNE — Developers will pay four times as much to join West Melbourne’s water system and almost 1½ times more for sewer connections.
Fees for all new water and sewer hookups will go into effect in 90 days, under the plan the West Melbourne City Council approved Tuesday night by a [...]

(Feb. 4, 2009, Kelly Zito, San Francisco Chronicle)
With California in a critical drought, every shower, load of laundry and glass of tap water counts. But only in Bolinas could those things cost you your water connection.
The oceanside enclave in Marin County has enacted some of the state’s toughest water restrictions. Each customer – with the [...]

(Feb. 3, 2009, San Francisco Business Times)

North Bay water companies are looking at rationing to cut use by 30 percent or more.
The Sonoma County Water Agency, which serves Sonoma and northern Marin counties, told cities and water districts to plan on losing 30 percent of their flow, according to North Bay news reports.
“If things don’t [...]

(Jan. 29, 2009, Lemoore Advance)

Residents of Kings County walk on water. It’s part of an aquifer that provides the vast majority of drinking water to area residents and water to many farms and ranches with irrigation supply. It lies beneath the ground.
Despite the recent rainy weather, a two-year drought has left above-ground storage facilities [...]

(Feb. 2, 2009, Pat Gao, The Tawain Review)
Though hindered by the artificially low price of water, Taiwan is making headway in conservation and recycling efforts.
According to a report by the Water Resources Agency (WRA) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, by 2021 Taiwan’s total demand for water from conventional sources like rivers and dams will [...]

(Feb. 2, 2009, Redlands Daily Facts)
The city is teaming up with the San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District and the East Valley Water District to sponsor a new water conservation system.
The system will use a weather station and weather-based irrigation controllers at the city’s parks to ensure fields are only watered when it’s needed.
“Every [...]

(Feb. 2, 2009, The Merced Sun Star)
An unprecedented shift of San Joaquin River water from farmers in the east Valley to those in the west could further complicate the scramble to save crops from drought this year.
At stake is precious San Joaquin River water, which has helped east-side farmers cultivate a multibillion-dollar economy on 1 [...]

(Feb. 3, 2009, The Seattle Times)
A groundwater-mapping study that tracks how water trickles under Eastern Washington shows deep wells in four counties are in deep trouble.
The two-year study done by the Columbia Basin Groundwater Management Area, based in Othello, found that aquifer levels are dropping fast, that most deep wells in the study area are [...]

(Feb. 2, 2009, Standard-Speaker)
The recent announcement of state funding to improve the residential water system at Eagle Rock is good news for residents of the local resort community. And it’s good news for Aqua Pennsylvania Inc. — provider of the community’s drinking and wastewater services.
But for the Hazleton City Authority, the news raises concerns that [...]

(Feb. 2, 2009, AZStarNet)
Mexico City shut down a main water pipeline under a new conservation program, cutting service to more than 2 million residents Sunday after some reservoirs dropped to their lowest levels in 16 years.
The Mexico City government and the National Water Commission will interrupt service for three days every month until May, when [...]

(Jan. 31, 2009, Portland Water Bureau)
Portions of the Missouri River’s bed from Nebraska to Missouri are sinking, causing the future of the river as a drinking water source to come into question.
At this point, the US Army Corp of Engineers can’t figure out exactly why the river bed is sinking, but theories include:

impacts from commercial dredging
upstream dams that reduce the [...]

(Jan. 30, 2009, WaterTech Online)

Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G. Rendell on January 26 announced the investment of $94 million in 22 clean water projects in 20 counties.

The PENNVEST board of directors approved $75 million in low-interest loans and $19 million in grants at its quarterly meeting.

The awards range from a $125,000 loan to replace deteriorated drinking [...]

(Jan. 30, 2009, The Anniston Star)
For metropolitan Atlanta, the stakes — or the lake levels — could not be higher.
First, the U.S. Supreme Court let stand a lower-court decision that invalidated the “secret” plan to draw more water from Lake Lanier than was agreed to by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Governments in metro [...]

(Jan. 29, 2009, AlterNet)
The privatization of public water supplies is occurring in many places around the world. Sold like a common commodity, the rights for distribution and management of community water are being bought and controlled more and more by private entrepreneurs and corporations. But a global movement of activists say this most basic element [...]

(Jan. 29, 2009, WorldChanging)
Looking for a way to update yourself on the state of the world’s water? On Wed., Feb. 4, Peter Gleick, one of the world’s leading authorities on water issues, will present The World’s Water 2008-2009 biannual report. This volume provides up-to-date information and analysis on water topics such as peak water, how [...]

(Jan. 30, 2009, Aguanomics)
The simple answer is that politicians want it to happen — no matter what the economists say. (The fact that some economists also support the PC is practically irrelevant; notice how Schwarzenegger is pushing for the PC without waiting for any scientific or economic justification.)
This case reminds me of when politicians ignored [...]

(Jan. 30, 2009, The Los Angeles Times)

Reporting from Mexico City — Already-scarce water gets even scarcer this weekend for millions of Mexicans.
One of the world’s largest cities is launching a rationing plan in a drastic — and some say overdue — effort to conserve water after rampant development, mismanagement and reduced rainfall caused supplies [...]

(Jan. 29, 2009, The Press Democrat)

The Sonoma County Water Agency expects to impose mandatory water restrictions in four to six weeks, the earliest and most aggressive step the agency has ever taken to combat what is shaping up to be a potentially devastating drought.
The agency will declare this a dry water year on Sunday and [...]

(Jan. 30, 2009, The Orlando Sentinel)
Armed with a judge’s OK, Seminole County says it will soon begin pumping millions of gallons of water per day from the St. Johns River. It’s a smart move from the County Commission’s perspective, as it will provide an abundant source of “cheap” water for future growth while generating revenue [...]

(Jan. 29, 2009, Aguanomics)
In my post yesterday, I questioned the meaning of “use” when farmers do not receive all of the benefits of the water they divert.
Today, I want to question the accounting for water diversions.
Say that a farmer applies 10AF of water to his fields. If 2AF are consumed and offgassed by the plants, [...]

(Jan. 29, 2009, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Atlanta does not have a problem with its water billing, it has customers who don’t pay its bills.

In fact, the city is “doing a wonderful job” dealing with its 1.2 million customers.

Those were the highlights from Rob Hunter, commissioner of Atlanta’s Watershed Management Department, during a 45-minute session with the [...]

(Jan. 29, 2009, The Washington Post)
A plan announced this week by Loudoun Water to use stone quarries to store untreated Potomac River water came after the utility spent years looking at how it could supply enough water to the eastern part of the county in the coming decades.
Under the proposal, which needs approval from regulators, [...]

(Jan. 28, 2009, Las Vegas Now)

Desalination has been called the wave of the future — an endless supply of water for the parched Southwest. But unlike neighboring water agencies, the Southern Nevada Water Authority isn’t riding the wave.
Local water officials have come up with several reasons why desalination won’t work in the immediate future.
SNWA boss [...]

(Jan. 28, 2009, E-Science News)
Scientists and engineers will face a host of obstacles over the next decade in providing clean water to millions of people caught up in a water shortage crisis, a panel of scientists and engineers said today at a briefing at the Broadcast Center of the National Press Building on the Final [...]

(Jan. 28, 2009, Treehugger)
Last week, delegates from around the world met in Rome to help set the agenda for the 5th World Water Forum, which will be held in Istanbul this March. They talked about the effects of population pressure, increased energy demand, climate change, and agriculture on water supplies and quality, and the need [...]

(Jan. 28, 2009, The Huffington Post)

California has a water crisis but, contrary to what many believe, a tiny fish is not the cause of this ongoing problem. There simply isn’t enough rain and snow in a dry year, like this one, to meet projected demands for water.
We’ve known for years that water exports from the [...]

From the age of 7 to 20 I grew up off the grid in the Northwest woods.
I remember the day we had a dowser come out, when I was 7 or 8, to designate a couple of spots for potential wells. He seemed like a blind man wandering around our property, his Y-shaped branch in [...]

(Jan. 28, 2009, Aguanomics)
This post is important and perhaps paradigm shifting. Let’s see if you agree…
It’s conventional wisdom that farmers “use” 70-80 percent of all developed* water supplies. But farmers do not use water in the same way as municipal and industrial (M&I) users do. When I use water to flush the toilet, that water [...]

(Jan. 28, 2009, RecordNet.com)
Water issues in San Joaquin County floated to the top of the state and federal legislative platforms approved Tuesday by the county Board of Supervisors.
Flood protection, water supply and the fate of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta ranked highest on the list of issues and concerns the county wants elected officials in Sacramento [...]

(Jan. 27, 2009, The Kansas City Star)
America’s roads, public transit and aviation have gotten worse in the past four years. Water and sewage systems are dreadful. The basic physical backbone of American society is barely above failing, a report by top engineers says.
It’ll cost $2.2 trillion to fix America’s ailing infrastructure, according to highlights of [...]

(Jan. 27, 2009, Angry Bear)
Will Wilkinson asks what’s with the economics profession.
A bit more on the public relations quandary the economics profession ought to be in, if it isn’t already…
When I see Delong more or less indiscriminately trashing everyone at Chicago, or Krugman trashing Barro, etc., what doesn’t arise in my mind is a sense [...]

(Jan., 2009, OnTheCommons.org)

Download a New Report on Water Commons Principles
“Our Water Commons, Towards a New Freshwater Narrative” by Maude Barlow
In every corner of the globe, communities (not just human, but flora and fauna as well) are in a pitched battle against thirst. Thank you for your interest in learning more about the principles of the [...]

(Jan. 28, 2009, Associated Press)
Experts have offered a grim water outlook for Nevada and California, saying farmers can again expect to receive less water than normal this year because of a drought.
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation officials, meeting with water users at a conference last week in Reno, said the snowpack water content is again averaging [...]

(Jan. 28, 2009, The Mercury News)
San Diego needs to watch its water use.Mayor Jerry Sanders said Tuesday that water rationing for residents is likely to be imposed by July 1, the beginning of San Diego’s next fiscal year.
Sanders says the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California may soon slash deliveries to the region by as [...]