01-14-2009
Adopt water harvesting as national mission: Soz
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 India -
[India] India's Minister for Water Resources, Professor Saifuddin Soz, told the 2009 conference on "Water, Environment, Energy and Society" that countries with growing populations, such as his own, needed to make rainwater harvesting a national policy. The conference, being held by the National Institute of Hydrology in Roorkee, Uttaranchal, has attracted hundreds of delegates from 18 countries. It's sponsored by the Indian government, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum, and the International Atomic Energy Agency.
- summary by Louise Shaler
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Source:
The Hindu by
Original Language: English
Check for stories with: water shortage, rainfall, population growth, water policy, international conference
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01-12-2009
World Bank urges China to raise water prices to counter crisis
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 China -
[China] The World Bank urged China to raise water rates in order to encourage conservation in the midst of a severe water shortage. The report "Addressing China's Water Scarcity" warned that China could shortly join the list of water-stressed nations. The bank's study confirmed a warning last summer by the development policy group Probe International about an impending water crisis in Beijing, the capital, where the economy may collapse in the coming decades unless a sizeable portion of the population is relocated to ease the strain on water resources.
- summary by Louise Shaler
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Source:
Yahoo News by (taken from Agence France-Presse)
Original Language: English
Check for stories with: water shortage, water rates, water conservation
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01-12-2009
Georgia loses round in fight over Lanier water
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 Georgia -
[Georgia] The U.S. Supreme Court declined to uphold an agreement between the state of Georgia, the city of Atlanta, Federal hydropower customers, and the US Army Corps of Engineers to allocate 50% more water from the Lake Lanier reservoir to the Atlanta region. Last year, a Federal appeals court ruled in favor of Alabama and Florida, which also receive water from the reservoir and sued to prevent the agreement from taking effect. Florida wants the water to maintain flows into the Apalachicola Bay for protected fish and mussel species to maintain the oyster population, while Alabama wants enough to maintain the operation of a nuclear power plant. For Georgia, the stakes were tremendous: Lake Lanier is the primary source of drinking water for more than 3 million Atlantans and regional water planners claim that there's no replacement source. Another battle will take place in Federal court in Jacksonville, Florida, later this month.
- summary by Louise Shaler
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Source:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution byStacy Shelton
Original Language: English
Check for stories with: lake, ocean, water conflict, lawsuit
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01-10-2009
Balkan Briefs: Cyprus runs risk of desertification from climate change, drought, scientist warns
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 Cyprus -
[Cyprus] The Mediterranean island of Cyprus runs the risk of desertification by the end of this century as studies project a rise in summer temperatures of between 2-4 degrees Celsius, warned Professor Manfred Lange, director of the Energy, Environment and Water Research Center at the Cyprus Institute in Nicosia. Cyprus can also expect an extra two months of days with temperatures exceeding 35 C in addition to the present summer months of June, July, and August, Lange added, and the island's water supplies simply won't be sufficient.
- summary by Louise Shaler
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Source:
Kathimerini by (taken from Reuters)
Original Language: English
Check for stories with: drought, desertification, global warming, forecasting
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01-09-2009
American Waters Solaire Project Receives Environmental Award
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 New Jersey -
[New Jersey] American Water of Voorhees, Camden County, New Jersey, the largest private U.S. water and wastewater company, earned a Project Merit award from the Environmental Business Journal. The firm's Applied Water Management Group built an on-site wastewater recycling facility at the Solaire, a residential development in New York City's Battery Park City, one of the world's first "green" high-rise buildings. President Tim Davies of Applied Water Management explained that American Water designed and is running a wastewater recycling system that supplies water for flushing toilets, filling the cooling tower, and irrigating a rooftop garden. The Solaire conserves up to 9 million gallons of water a year and consumes 35% less overall energy than a traditional high-rise. It's received a LEED Gold certification from the US Green Building Council and a Top Ten Award from the American Institute of Architects' Committee on the Environment.
- summary by Louise Shaler
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Source:
Water Strategist Community byMaureen Duffy (taken from Business Wire)
Original Language: English
Check for stories with: water conservation, recycling, water treatment plant
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01-09-2009
Cape Verde: Can Fog Solve Water Shortages?
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 Cape Verde -
[Cape Verde] With the help of 200 square meters of netting erected in 2005, residents of Serra Malagueta on Santiago Island, Cape Verde are collecting fog to supply their water needs. Residents have had limited access to safe drinking water due to a shortage of purification facilities and declining rainfall, but close to the ocean, the area around Serra Malagueta is a government park that gets ample fog. The nets capture the water droplets, which are filtered and fed into holding tanks that supply water to community faucets and an elementary school. Antonio Sabino, a local water engineer who tested fog nets 20 years ago for the National Institute of Agricultural Development and Investigation, said that the nets offer a cheaper solution than motorized pumps, desalination, or advanced purification technology and can produce water at a fraction of the cost residents pay for trucked-in water.
- summary by Mike Babcock
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Source:
allAfrica.com by (taken from UN Integrated Regional Information Networks)
Original Language: English
Check for stories with: water shortage, recycling
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01-09-2009
Kenya to declare food emergency
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Kenya -
[Kenya] In Nairobi, Kenya, President Mwai Kibaki prepared to declare a national famine emergency as more than a quarter of the population faced food shortages because of two consecutive years of drought. Nearly 10 million people are at risk, and the government plans to distribute millions of bags of maize and beans, reduce the price of seeds, and buy up livestock in drought-hit areas.
- summary by Louise Shaler
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Source:
BBC News Online by
Original Language: English
Check for stories with: drought, famine, disaster plan
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01-06-2009
Groups Work Together on Water Efficiency Research
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 United States -
[United States] Five US plumbing organizations are joining forces to conduct intensive research into water-saving plumbing fixtures, systems, and practices. Mary Ann Dickinson, Executive Director of the Alliance for Water Efficiency, named the other four organizations as the International Code Council; the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials; the Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling Contractors Association; and the Plumbing Manufacturers Institute. She announced that the first research projects will be high-efficiency toilet drainage, water re-use systems, dry urinals, and the sizing of plumbing systems.
- summary by Louise Shaler
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Source:
Water Strategist Community byEnesta Jones (taken from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)
Original Language: English
Check for stories with: water conservation
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