Venture Well: Manning the Floodgates
Daily Deal (08/08/05) ; Higginbotham, Stacey

Several mergers and acquisitions last year, along with commitments by several large corporations to environmentally-friendly technologies, has allowed some specialized venture capital firms to be more comfortable investing in the margins in water purification and monitoring start-ups. Several recent corporate moves stand out, including General Electric Co.'s commitment in May to double its research and development efforts for clean technologies as part of its Ecomagination campaign, and Siemens AG's 2004 acquisition of USFilter Corp. for $993 million to create the German company's water technologies division. As a result, venture interest in clean water technologies has increased, as total investment in the water management and purification sectors rose to $60.5 million last year, up from $51.4 million in 2003, according to Cleantech Venture Network LLC in Howell, Mich. The new investments benefited several companies, including HydroPoint Data Systems Inc., which makes an irrigation technology and raised $12 million from Firelake Capital, and water purification start-up Megola Inc. in Ontario, which raised $10 million.
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Desalinated Water Survives Close-Up
Marin Independent Journal (08/07/05) ; Gollan, Jennifer

Visitors were treated to drinking water churned out at a $1 million test plant at the Rod and Gun Club on the San Francisco Bay in San Rafael, Calif., earlier in August. The plant produces desalinated water from the bay as part of efforts to address a potential water shortage. It will be tested over the next nine months. If successful, the district could build a $77 million system through which bay water would be carried through pipes along roads to the plant, with salt pulled from the water being piped to the Central Marin Sanitation Agency's wastewater treatment plant and returned to the bay after being mixed with treated wastewater to reduce salt concentrations. The cost of desalinating and delivering 325,851 gallons of bay water is about $1,500, compared to the $1,000 it costs to treat and deliver the same amount of water from the traditional sources of tap water in the area, Mt. Tamalpais and the Russian River. The discrepancy is due in large part to higher energy requirements for desalination: it takes about two gallons of salt water to produce one gallon of fresh water.
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University of Arizona Studies Underground Irrigation
U.S. Water News Online (08/01/05)

Farmers in Arizona could cut their water usage by 25 percent to 50 percent and increase their crop yields by switching to an underground drip irrigation system, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Arizona. The AZdrip study looked at a subterranean drip irrigation system that was installed on a four-acre parcel of land about 20 miles northwest of Casa Grande, Ariz. Researchers set out to prove that underground irrigation can be a viable alternative to flood irrigation, which is used on about 95 percent of Arizona's crops, according to Thomas L. Thompson, a University of Arizona professor in the Department of Soil, Water, and Environmental Science. Thompson noted, however, that farmers may have a hard time justifying switching to a drip irrigation system because water is relatively cheap, and the system can cost from $500 to $2,000 per acre to install.
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Turning Gray to Green
Tucson Citizen (AZ) (08/02/05) P. 1A ; Poole, Brad

Tax breaks will be instituted in 2007 for Arizona homeowners or builders who install systems that recycle gray water or harvest rainwater. Homeowners can deduct one-quarter of the cost of such systems up to $1,000, while builders receive credits of $200 per home. About 30 gallons of gray water--or wastewater from washing machines, showers, and bathroom sinks--is produced per person per day, according to Water CASA. It can be used to water drought-resistant desert plants. Gray-water plumbing adds only $150 to $300 to the cost of a home. However, Southern Arizona Home Builders Association President Ed Taczanowsky believes sewers could be left with too little water to move waste if gray water recycling systems catch on.
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Water: Budget Cuts Could Spur Private-Public Partnerships
Greenwire (07/25/05) Vol. 10, No. 9, ; Eichenseher, Tasha

Critics argue that public-private partnerships can mean higher rates for consumers as well as a reduced role for public managers in allocating resources, but public managers deem these partnerships as a success story for city governments that are attempting to reduce expenses. Stockton, Calif., water managers claim that their public-private partnership with OMI-Thames Water has saved the government $3 million annually, and businesses are eager to take advantage of these partnerships and reductions in government assistance programs to provide further services to the water treatment industry. Proponents of these partnerships highlight the reductions in costs and the better compliance records of private firms regarding environmental and water quality standards as opposed to the financial and environmental records of municipalities. While these partnerships do not amount to a privatization of water and sewer services, it does allow companies to care for assets owned by the state, while the county or municipality sets rates and requires the firm to meet environmental obligations. Critics argument that these partnerships raise water rates warrants further study, notes researchers at the Pacific Institute. Meanwhile, municipalities are struggling to meet the repair costs of the aging infrastructure, especially as the funding gap continues to widen to $300 billion and $800 billion over the next two decades.
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Protecting Rivers and Streams
Public Works (07/05) Vol. 136, No. 8, P. 52 ; Gibbs, Steve

Passed in 1972, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act has helped boost the quality of the nation's surface waters. One portion of the legislation, called the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) addresses point source pollution and requires businesses, housing complexes, and other facilities that use point sources to have a permit. A prominent area of point source pollution control is stormwater runoff. Professional engineer John White, director of public works for Streamwood, Ill., is a leading clean water advocate in the state. He has been relying on a new residential stormwater system intended to move rainwater runoff from a housing complex to a creek. He turned to CDS Technologies of Morgan Hill, Calif., which manufactures a continuous deflective separation unit that segregates solid wastes and floating objects from stormwater. The system uses gravity and water hydraulics to form a vortex that places solids into a separate chamber. Water passes through a screen before being discharged. The CDS units, which each weigh 20,000 pounds, were made by Welch Brothers, a precaster in Elgin, Ill. Fourteen units are scheduled to be fully operational in the fall.
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Funds May Aid Sewers
Waste News (08/01/05) P. 14 ; Geiselman, Bruce

The Senate and Public Works Committee on July 20 by voice vote approved the Water Infrastructure Financing Act of 2005, more than tripling the amount of federal funding for improvement of local wastewater and drinking water infrastructure to $38 billion over five years. The measure, which moves to full Senate vote next, will put money into state-revolving funds that provide loans to local water and wastewater districts needing upgrades and modernization to meet mandates of the national Clean Water and Safe Drinking Water acts. The state funds offer below-market loans to communities seeking to make improvements. According to federal estimates, a $600 billion shortfall exists in funding for local improvement efforts. The bill marks the fourth time that Congress has considered similar legislation. Previous efforts were shot down by issues related to funding, environmental requirements, and the Davis-Bacon Act, which calls for prevailing wages on public projects. The current version includes language attached by Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) that in essence adds Davis-Bacon mandates to all projects funded under the measure.
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A Joint Effort Best for Water Providers
San Antonio Express-News (TX) (08/12/05)

The editors of the San Antonio Express-News say the San Antonio Water System (SAWS) should become a regional water purveyor, and should partner with the dozens of other water companies in Bexar County and smaller parts of surrounding counties as it pursues water resources for the future. On Tuesday, SAWS' board is scheduled to consider an updated water supply plan, which includes the options of supplying its existing service area or servicing the entire region. While the editors write that Bexar County is expected to experience a surge in population in the years to come, they point out that Bexar Metropolitan Water District, the second-biggest water company in the area, has not been managed as well as SAWS, which is the largest water purveyor in the area. SAWS would need to gain a financial commitment from the other water companies, but must ensure that they are actively involved in planning and decision-making. The regional strategy would call for SAWS to find an additional 50,000 acre-feet of water to serve the area by 2050.
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Springs' Sewage Action Is Far Overdue
Denver Post (08/11/05) P. B6

Colorado Springs, Colo., is under fire for dumping raw sewage into Fountain Creek since 1998 and the city contends that the pollution of the waterway is a direct consequence of its attempts to upgrade its sewage system. Since May 2005, the city has dumped over 300,000 gallons of untreated sewage into the creek, and Pueblo District Attorney Bill Thiebaut has said he will sue the state for violating the Clean Water Act if it does not stop polluting the waterway. Pueblo lies downstream from Colorado Springs and residents in the city have been warned to stay out of Fountain Creek. Problems with the Colorado Springs sewer system have persisted since a utility in the city was fined $121,682 and the city was ordered by the Colorado Health Department to revamp the system by 2010. The city claims that one of the incidents in which untreated sewage entered the creek was due to a hail storm that damaged two sewer pipes over Sand Creek, a tributary of Fountain Creek. Thiebaut has warned that criminal charges could be filed against Colorado Springs if it does not fall into line with state and federal regulations soon.
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Keep Atrazine Out of River
Wichita Eagle (KS) (08/08/05) P. A2 ; Scholfield, Randy

In Wichita, Kan., a task force has found that the Little Arkansas River watershed is most threatened by atrazine, an herbicide used by farmers to produce weed-free crops. Used mainly in the spring, the chemical makes its way into streams and rivers via stormwater runoff. Atrazine may cause cancer, lower sperm counts, and lead to developmental problems. It is believed to be harmful to fetuses, infants, and children in even small amounts. The Little Arkansas River watershed has as much as 40 parts per billion of atrazine in periods of heavy rain, dramatically exceeding the Environmental Protection Agency's safe standards of 3 ppb for drinking water. In response, the city is using carbon filtration systems to eliminate the chemical from water that is pumped from the river to the Equus Beds groundwater. According to Wichita Water and Sewer Department director David Warren, the level of atrazine in Cheney Reservoir and the Equus Beds is presently undetectable.
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A Grain of Salt? Perhaps
Orange County Register (08/03/05)

The editors of the Orange County Register say construction of a desalination plant that turns salt water from the sea into drinking water does not make much economic sense for southern California because of the hefty infrastructure investment, and the cost of moving tons of water through filters. The region needs new sources of water as its population continues to grow and now that it must rely less on Colorado River water, but desalination plans are being proposed by Poseidon Resources of Connecticut and other public agencies along California's coast. Critics argue that creating new sources of water will only lead to more population growth, while opponents of desalination charge that the plants will lengthen the lifespan of electricity generators they are built near and also harm marine wildlife. Environmentalists, meanwhile, simply want to cut back on water use. The editors conclude that private investors such as Poseidon should be given an opportunity to build a desalination plant, but taxpayers should not have to pay for the construction.
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Congress Wraps Up Key Legislation Before August Break
National Utility Contractors Association (08/15/05)

Before heading home for the August recess last week, Congress passed several bills on NUCA's legislative agenda. On July 29, Congress passed a $26.3-billion FY2006 Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations bill (HR 2361) that included $900 million for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) program and $850 million for the Drinking Water SRF. While the latter remained the same, funding to the Clean Water SRF was cut for the second year in a row, for a total of $450 million since 2003. That means that hundreds of water infrastructure projects all across the nation have been and will be delayed as state officials try to address growing needs with less money. NUCA and fellow members of the Clean Water Council are launching a public relations campaign to educate and mobilize the public to pressure Congress to increase the federal commitment.
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Congress Passes 'Clean' Energy Bill
American Water Works Association (08/15/05)

Congress recently passed a final version of the omnibus Energy Bill that did not contain the MTBE safe harbor provision that the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and others have fought so hard against the last two years. Congress has begun its annual August recess and will not reconvene until after Labor Day. Many will spend a lot of that time in their home districts or states, and AWWA says this would be a good time to thank them in person for dropping the MTBE immunity provision from the Energy Bill.
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