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Water News around the World

• Confronting a World Freshwater Crisis - Fri, 13 November 2009 +0800
  As the global population grows--and freshwater supplies dwindle--ensuring that everyone has sufficient supplies of life-giving H2O has become an enormous challenge. A Scientific American in-depth report covering many aspects of the water crisis in the USA and the world.

• Baked Australia: Water Management Lessons for the World from Down Under - Fri, 13 November 2009 +0800
  Australia is at the forefront of a global water crisis. Some of the management lessons learned there could help bail out California and other parched regions before they meet the same fate

• Probe to track impact of warming on Earth's water - Tue, 10 Nov 2009 +0800
  The European Space Agency's Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) space probe was launched on 2 November. The satellite has two missions during its three- to five-year lifespan. The first is to measure soil moisture across the planet every three days up to a depth of 2 m, which will improve the forecasting of droughts, floods, and precipitation; the monitoring of plant growth; and calculations of how fast the planet absorbs carbon dioxide. The second mission is to measure changes in the salt content of surface waters in the world's oceans, which will enhance our understanding of what drives ocean circulation patterns. Ocean circulation affects climate by transporting heat from the Equator to the poles

• Using Trees To Curb Climate Change Not So Simple - Tue, 10 Nov 2009 +0800
  Forest experts in the arid southwestern United States aren't convinced that growing more trees to absorb carbon dioxide emissions is a simple answer to global warming.

• UNESCO -- Tunisian researcher carries off International water prize - Tue, 10 Nov 2009 +0800
  Dr. Bellachheb Chahbani of Tunisia's National Arid Regions Institute in Medenine was awarded the International Water Prize by UNESCO for his development of an irrigation technique estimated to be four times more efficient than simple drip irrigation.

• How Peru is netting water supplies - Thu, 22 Oct 2009 +0800
  The rain-starved Peruvian community of Bellavista has erected giant nets to capture sea mist and use it to grow and prepare food.

• Water runs into lake after 13-year absence - Fri, 16 Oct 2009 +0800
  Water is flowing into the dry bed of one of Victoria's largest natural freshwater lakes for the first time in 13 years

• UA scientists' project could revolutionize meteorology -
  A team of researchers led by Dr. Marek Zreda of the University of Arizona in Tucson, Pima County, Arizona, is using cosmic-ray technology to predict rainfall and document climate change.

• Dust storm triggers ocean bloom - Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:38:20 +0800
  The red dust storm that dumped thousands of tonnes of soil across eastern Australia two weeks ago has caused an explosion in microscopic life in Sydney Harbour and beyond.

• Soil Moisture Probes to Aid Local Weather Forecasts - Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:09:49 +0800
  An interdisciplinary team of University of Arizona researchers is building a network of soil moisture probes to improve short-term and seasonal weather forecasting.

• Alternative Energy Projects Stumble on a Need for Water - Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:12:58 +0800
  Many of the proposed solutions to energy problems, from certain types of solar farms to biofuel refineries to cleaner coal plants, could consume billions of gallons of water every year. Conflicts over water could shape the future of many energy technologies. The most water-efficient renewable technologies are not necessarily the most economical, but water shortages could give them a competitive edge.

• With Natural Gas Drilling Boom, Pennsylvania Faces Flood of Wastewater - Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:04:07 +0800
  The Monongahela, a drinking water source for 350,000 people, has apparently been contaminated by chemically tainted wastewater from the states growing natural gas industry.

• Droughts and Flooding Rains to Intensify - Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:02:27 +0800
  (Mackellar vs O'Brien: see our calendar entry "Questioning Hanrahan"). A new breed of El Nino is on the rise, causing more intense monsoons over northern Australia.

• Agricultural runoff a spreading public health issue (USA) - Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:44:50 +0800
  Runoff from agriculture is the biggest polluter of the country's river and stream water, according to the U.S. EPA...

• Stormwater bottled for drinking - Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:06:00 +0800
  Stormwater from the Salisbury wetlands on the northern Adelaide plains has been purified and bottled for drinking purposes.

• Algae used to find contaminants in water - Wed, 09 Sep 2009 12:35:42 +0800
  U.S. government scientists say they've refined their method of detecting contaminants in municipal water supplies by using algae as sentinels.

• $20M to target Hattah lakes health - Wed, 09 Sep 2009 12:37:35 +0800
  Australian Water Minister Penny Wong announced that $20 million Aus was being allocated to help maintain the health of the Hattah Lakes

• 'Urgent action' needed to save wetlands - Wed, 09 Sep 2009 12:31:46 +0800
  The state and federal governments have developed a new plan to try to save the Macquarie Marshes near Warren in western New South Wales.

• Water Monitoring Boost for Adelaide - Mon, 10 Aug 2009 08:43:55 +0800
  Upgrades to water monitoring systems in Adelaide, South Australia could lead to large-scale stormwater harvesting projects, according to General Manager Kym Good of the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board. Systems that track stormwater flowing into the St. Vincent Gulf from Gawler to Victor Harbor are being renovated to supply new information about the volume and quality of stormwater and the speed at which it travels.

• Desert Rhubarb Harvests Water - Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:40:11 +0800
  A rare plant found in the mountains of Israels Negev Desert uses the ridges and valleys in its enormous leaves to funnel 16 times more water to its base than other plants can.

• Building to start on lower lakes regulators - Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:06:10 +0800
  Construction of environmental flow regulators along the Goolwa Channel is set to get underway this week.

• Lake Albert decision 'a mistake' - Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:07:32 +0800
  The Murray-Darling Association (MDA) says the South Australian Government is making a mistake in deciding to cut Lake Albert off from the River Murray.

• Water authority dismisses toxin fears - Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:14:14 +0800
  The Sydney Catchment Authority is moving to allay health concerns over drinking water, after research showed dangerous levels of toxic metals and poisons found downstream from a power station in the state's central west.

• Change of direction in lower lakes acid fight - Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:58:03 +0800
  The state government of South Australia announced that it was changing its tactics in a fight to save Lake Alexandrina, at the mouth of the drought-stricken Murray River, from soil acidification. Initially, water from Lake Albert was pumped in to dilute the acid, but the Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council in Sydney, New South Wales, considered it highly unlikely that water levels could be maintained in both lakes because of low river flows. River Murray Minister Karlene Maywald of South Australia said that a bio-remediation program would now be tried. It will include putting limestone powder into the lake to neutralize the acid and planting shallow-rooted cover crops in the contaminated soil. "It's never been done on this sort of scale before," said Maywald. "It's a very enormous area. . . and we will be ready to implement other options if we find that this is not working." (Summary by Louise Shaler of SAHRA)

• The water crisis has solutions - Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:48:34 +0800
  International - Water experts across the globe agree that cutting back on irrigation is one of the best ways to avoid a water crisis, since farmers use 70% of the available freshwater. Among the methods of reducing agricultural consumption is capturing rainwater, and this doesn't necessarily require large reservoirs, said Sami Bouarfa of France's Institute for Engineering, Agriculture, and the Environment (CEMAGREF). Small rock walls can channel rain into soil where it's needed most. Professor Mostafa Errahi of the National School of Agriculture in Morocco favors better maintenance of distribution lines and drip irrigation, which uses up to 50% less water than traditional irrigation. - summary by Louise Shaler

• Lower Murray acidification 'to worsen' - Tue, 09 Jun 2009 12:23:20 +0800
  The Environment Department of the state of South Australia predicted that acidification in the Lower Lakes and Coorong region would grow worse as the 700 gigaliters of water in Lake Alexandra drops to an expected 300 gigaliters next year. The department, warning that the acid sulphate pollution in the region is the worst ever seen globally, is asking local residents for input on how to spend $10 million in Federal funding for bio-remediation. Chief Executive Allan Holmes said that wetting lakebeds, planting crops and fencing lakesides, and adding lime to reduce soil acidity were already being planned.

• Plant offers new way to reclaim water - Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:04:31 +0800
  New water purification technology at a treatment plant in Cutler Bay, Florida will convert wastewater into a purified supply for irrigation, cooling towers, and the recharge of the Biscayne Bay Aquifer, said Frank Calderon of the Water and Sewer Department. The new process has several stages, including microfiltration, reverse osmosis, and disinfection through ultraviolet light and peroxide, and will treat 21 million gallons of wastewater a day to drinking water standards.

• When saving water costs energy - Tue, 02 Jun 2009 11:58:32 +0800
  Rainwater tanks can save a lot of water, but preliminary Australian research warns pumping water from them can be energy intensive.

• Toxic spill seeping into Parramatta River - Tue, 02 Jun 2009 11:51:51 +0800
  Four industrial sites on the Camellia Peninsula in Sydney, New South Wales, have been gradually leaking chromium VI, a cancer-causing substance, into the Parramatta River. Although the state government was alerted to the problem three years ago, complained Member of Parliament Michael Richardson of Castle Hill, it hasn't acted decisively enough. Joe Woodward of the Department of Environment and Climate Change disputed the accusation, saying that the plume has been monitored and contained since 2003 and no longer poses a threat to humans.

• Farm water use fell 20pc in 07-08 - Tue, 26 May 2009 11:21:47 +0800
  Water usage by Australian farms dropped by almost 20 per cent during 2007-08 according to figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

• New technology maps water underground by following the flow of electrical current - Mon, 11 May 2009 11:48:43 +0800
  Sri Lanka's Samanalawewa dam on the country's Walawe River has been leaking since the day it was completed in 1992. The country has spent more than US$65 million trying to plug the leaks without success. It is now using AquaTrack technology to pinpoint the sources of the leakage so that plugging the holes can be done more accurately.

• Asia must unite on water plight: expert - Mon, 04 May 2009 11:35:40 +0800
  A Central Asia summit meeting this week on how to share dwindling water resources broke down in bitter disagreement. The United Nations says that by 2050, three out of four people in the world could be affected by water scarcity. But the region's five leaders, meeting in Kazakhstan, could not find common ground on the contentious issue in one of the world's driest regions.

• Above average rainfull, below average streamflow in Melbourne - Mon, 04 May 2009 11:39:02 +0800
  Melbourne's water storages only received about half their normal streamflow in April, despite above average rainfall over the catchments. Melbourne Water's John Woodland said: "Due to the long-lasting effects of an extremely hot and dry summer, the soil in our catchments has not had the chance to become wet enough to generate the amount of streamflows needed to boost storages."

• Herbicides in Hobart water 'a public health - Mon, 04 May 2009 11:29:03 +0800
  Hobart's drinking water comes from the Derwent River and the river contains more things than water; a herbicide called Hexazinone has been found at one of the city's water treatment plants.

• Water Engineering 5000 years ago - in SW - Fri, 01 May 2009 13:57:05 +0800
  Listen to Bush Telegraph (Thursday, April 30, 2009) as it looks at Budj Bim in SW Victoria. For more than five thousand years the Gunditjmara people lived in villages with stone houses and engineered and constructed an extensive aquaculture system along the Mt Eccles/Tyrendarra Lava flow and wetlands .

• Food, water, biodiversity and land title - Wed, 29 Apr 2009 12:21:27 +0800
  On the eastern coast of Kenya, controversy erupts over plans to turn a biodiversity hotspot into farmland for Qatar.

• Call to action for Earth Day 2009 - Fri, 24 Apr 2009 12:54:28 +0800
  In his Hydro-Logic blog, Matthew Garcia says "Don't take it for granted that your environment, your ecological support, your planet will remain the same forever. Get out there and do something good for yourself and for everyone else."

• Divisions run deep in Qld Wild Rivers debate - Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:49:50 +0800
  The Queensland government now has nine rivers gazetted as wild rivers. Stark divisions have emerged between environmental and Indigenous groups over the use and management of these rivers. On one side many Indigenous people want to be able to build businesses and enterprises on their traditional land, lifting more of their population into the real economy and out of welfare. On the other side many environmental and Indigenous groups say the Wild Rivers legislation allows only the sort of sustainable activities that are suitable for the fragile ecosystems in far-north Queensland.

• New Graduate Program at the Centre for Water - Thu, 09 Apr 2009 12:32:56 +0800
  The UNESCO Water Centre for Law, Policy and Science at the University of Dundee is now offering an LLM in Water Law. Students will have direct access to academics in water law and policy and interaction with the students and visiting experts at the UNESCO Water Centre.

• Provide Clean Water - Tue, 07 Apr 2009 12:10:38 +0800
  Hydro-Logic blogger Matthew Garcia explains how replyforall.com supports the provision of clean water to villages in Haiti and Kenya and promotes other causes via email signatures.

• Murray's algae stretch now 800kms long - Mon, 06 Apr 2009 13:09:58 +0800
  Potentially toxic blue-green algae has spread along another 400 kilometres of the Murray River in south-western New South Wales.

• Farm looks at natural way to repair land - 2009-04-02 15:39:50
  A new farming method is being examined in WA as landowners seek to repair decades of land degradation and boost productivity.

• Water and Sand in Rajasthan - 2009-04-02 15:38:28
  In India's populated desert, development and the flow of water are eroding a historic sand fort.

• Papers available - 2009-04-02 13:46:03
  Papers from the 2nd International Salinity Forum (Adelaide, March 30-April 3, 2008) are now available on the web.