WASDA News Briefs

Since Antiquity, water has represented the very essence of life. Primitive cultures perceived water as a gift from the gods as it rained from the heavens. The most powerful deities worshipped by the ancient Greeks lived in and commanded the waters. In modern times, humans living in industrialized societies have lost touch with the miracle that is water. We turn on the faucet and expect it to be there when we need it. Most Americans take water for granted.

As WASDA members, unlike our neighbors and friends, we appreciate the significance and importance of having a strong and safe water infrastructure. WASDA NewsBriefs are our means to stay on top of key issues and developments concerning this vital industry.

May 2007

News

""Trade-Off Looms for Arid US Regions: Water or Power?"
"Climate Change Adds New Twist to Debate Over Dams"
"Hydro Defense"
"Bottled Water Trumps Milk, Nears Beer"
"Methods to Repair Aging Pipes Demonstrated for Engineers"
"First Prize for Rainwater Harvesting Goes to..."

Advocacy / Opinions

"Editorial: Our Greatest Resource"
"Editorial: Arnold Wants a Dam"
"Getting Pumped"

Legislative/ Government

""Pouring Lobbyists on Troubled Waters"
"Gregoire Signs Measure Intended to Help Restore 'Sick' Puget Sound"
"Bill Expands Everglades Cleanup"
"Perchlorate Debate Is Heating Up"
"Sen. Salazar's Bill to Recover and Reuse 'Produced Water' Has Hearing"
"Will Mulls Lawsuit Against Exelon"

Trade-Off Looms for Arid US Regions: Water or Power?
Christian Science Monitor (04/17/07) P. 1 ; Spotts, Peter N.

The water shortage problem in parts of the nation may frustrate efforts to construct more power plants. As it is, power plants use triple the amount of water the average household does to supply electricity. Experts say that amount could increase by 2030, at which point utilities could account for as much as 60 percent of nonfarm water. The situation presents a dilemma for efforts to build more plants to meet the power needs of the exploding U.S. population, and to convert to biofuels. Water mangers and scientists are already confronting the issue in New Mexico, where arid climate conditions may force users of the Navajo Reservoir--the primary source of cooling water for the San Juan generating station--to scale back their water usage by 18 percent in the event of a three-year drought. That reduction could rise to 65 percent by the end of the third year for a drought with an average temperature hike of 1 degree Celsius. To address the problem, U.S. utilities are searching for alternative water sources and examining ways to curb water use.
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Climate Change Adds New Twist to Debate Over Dams
New York Times (04/23/07) P. A12 ; Yardley, William

Critics of PacifiCorp's efforts to keep four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River operating complain that the power company is not considering the threat dams pose to water quality. The conflict is a flashpoint on an ongoing debate about how destructive dams have been to the commercial fishing industry and the environmental havoc they wreak on rivers. Critics like Craig Tucker, a spokesperson for the Karuk tribe of Northern California, note that dams have threatened the very livelihoods of American Indians who make their living off of the rivers affected by the dams. "Should we have to sacrifice water quality for air quality?" Tucker asks. "Should Indians and family fisherman be the ones who have to sacrifice to address this problem?" PacifiCorp has not indicated whether it wants to keep the dams because of increasing pressure to produce cleaner energy or because dams are more cost-efficient to operate, but the power company did say eliminating dams would inevitably create a cost burden that utility customers should have to bear. "Taking away a very useful resource like the Klamath puts more pressure on us to build something else or buy it on the market," says PacifiCorp's Dave Kvamme.
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Hydro Defense
Governing (04/07) Vol. 20, No. 7, P. 50 ; Irondale, Tom

The potential terrorist threat to the U.S. drinking-water supply was underscored by an incident last spring in which three teenagers in Blackstone, Mass., penetrated the considerable security measures protecting a water tower, climbed atop the tower, and broke through its protective fiberglass sheathing. In recent years, U.S. water utility operators have spent millions of dollars on armed guards, security fencing, sturdy locks, and computer security programs--all aimed at increasing the security of their water storage tanks, pipes, reservoirs, pumping stations, treatment plants, and other facilities. Since 2001, for example, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has doubled its security force, boosted water testing by 50 percent, implemented a background-check and fingerprint program for all employees, and purchased two helicopters for pipeline patrol. Despite such extensive precautions, industry and government officials acknowledge that completely securing water supplies is not only impractical but impossible. Thus, government researchers are exploring natural and man-made alarm systems that could alert officials to the presence of contamination, much like the proverbial canary in a coal mine. The natural systems include bluegill fish that are exposed to city water and monitored for signs of stress that indicate the presence of toxins, while the manmade systems include a computer-based detection system that is currently being tested by the Greater Cincinnati Water Works.
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Bottled Water Trumps Milk, Nears Beer
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (05/04/07) ; Stanford, Duane D.

Figures compiled by Beverage Digest show that Americans for the first time ever consumed on average more bottled water than milk last year. Per capita consumption of bottled water increased from 11 gallons to 21 gallons between 1996 and 2006. If the trend continues, Americans will be consuming more bottled water than tap water within a few years.
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Methods to Repair Aging Pipes Demonstrated for Engineers
San Diego Union-Tribune (04/17/07) ; Rodgers, Terry

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency predicts that maintaining wastewater treatment and sewer systems nationwide over the next 20 years will cost over $390 billion, not including the cost of replacing or repairing stormwater pipes. How to fix these pipes using injectable technologies was the topic of the recent No Dig Trenchless Convention in San Diego. Demonstrated at the event were linings that could be injected into leaky and corroded steel or concrete pipes to create a resin or plastic pipe inside. International Pipe Lining Technologies of San Diego demonstrated how resin-and-fiberglass linings could be hardened with ultraviolet light, which is faster and less costly than using hot water or steam. The use of such technologies for pipeline repair has increased over the years due to lowering costs but still remains relatively high for pipes located near the surface. International Pipe Lining is seeking sponsorship from San Diego, which plans to spend $203.7 million over the next decade to shore up its 225-mile sewer pipe system.
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First Prize for Rainwater Harvesting Goes to...
Wall Street Journal (04/20/07) P. W1 ; McMullen, Troy

Environmentally friendly landscaping is drawing much attention this year, with landscapers specializing in the field reporting double-digit growth in business. Green landscaping typically involves drought-resistant plants and rainwater harvesting systems, especially in dry areas in the West. Some homeowners are going as far as installing permeable driveways and patios that reduce runoff or planting shade trees to control interior temperature, while others are snapping up outdoor furniture made from recycled plastic and other eco-friendly materials. There also has been a shift from synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides to chicken manure and other organic products. Developers are jumping on the bandwagon, too, with SunCor including rainwater recycling systems in each of the 300 homes built near Santa Fe in its Rancho Viejo development. The master-planned community--which will eventually comprise over 1,000 homes on 13,000 acres--is believed to be the first to make such green landscaping components a standard feature. However, some homeowners are hesitant to embrace green landscaping due to the costs involved and the perception that some native plants resemble weeds.
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Editorial: Our Greatest Resource
Cincinnati Post (04/21/07)

Higher water bills is a small price to pay for clean water in Cincinnati, says the author of this editorial piece. Under a federal court consent decree, Sanitation District No. 1 of Northern Kentucky has committed itself to a 20-year, $880 million effort to reduce the discharge of inadequately treated wastewater into the Ohio River and its tributaries. This project will include the building of additional treatment plants and the elimination of hundreds of choke points where untreated sewage is dumped straight into waterways during heavy rain. But officials in Cincinnati are wary of one aspect of the endeavor. They fear that the planned discharge point for a wastewater treatment plant now being built in Alexandria could compromise drinking water supplies for Cincinnati residents; alternatives, possibly more costly, are now being studied. The project in Northern Kentucky is only a part of an effort to clean up waterways in the region. Hamilton County in Ohio is launching a 15-year, $1.9 billion project related to a consent decree under the jurisdiction of a federal district judge. Though the costs of these projects will be felt by residents and businesses through higher water bills, the resulting cleaner waterways more than justify the burden. "The Ohio River and its tributaries constitute Greater Cincinnati's signature asset," says the editor. "They are a natural resource as well as a barometer of the region's quality of life. If we treat the Ohio River as an industrial convenience, as just a means of carrying our wastes and fertilizers and chemical residues out to the Gulf of Mexico, we'll never shed our image as a tired, Rust Belt relic. But if we do our share to clean our waterways, to make them genuine recreational assets, we will give our economic development prospects -- and our health and our quality of life -- a huge boost."
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Editorial: Arnold Wants a Dam
Sacramento Bee (CA) (04/30/07)

Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to place a $4.5 billion bond on the November 2008 ballot to help fund the construction of two reservoirs, near the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers, failed to muster support among state lawmakers. But before a new reservoir is constructed in California, something must be done to address the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, which faces numerous problems, including falling fish populations, pumping projects that are mired in litigation, a rising sea, and dubious levees. State lawmakers are set to take up the issue next year. Until they do, talk of a new reservoir is meaningless. Compounding this fact is that no additional funding source has stepped up to assume the costs of building the reservoirs; the bond measure would only have covered about half the project.
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Getting Pumped
Johns Hopkins Gazette (04/30/07) Vol. 36, No. 32, ; Rienzi, Greg

A group of engineering students from Johns Hopkins University is working on making the process of getting water simpler for Chicorral, Guatemala's residents. Situated in a mountainous area of the country, Chicorral does not posses electricity or plumbing. To obtain drinking water, villagers are required to travel a distance several times a day to obtain water from a stream. Johns Hopkins' Engineers Without Borders chapter is being sent to the village to construct a pump that would provide drinking water to Chicorral more efficiently than present methods. To help bring the project off, the team applied for, and recently got, a grant from the Kathryn Wasserman Davis 100 Projects for Peace initiative. The philanthropist formed the program with a $1 million contribution to encourage and enable youth to devise and establish their ideas for creating peace in the world. Based on early assessments, the Johns Hopkins team intends to either make boreholes to draw water or construct a solar-fueled water pump and adjacent tank on a hill that is centrally situated to numerous houses and the area school. Presently, a nine-member team of students is involved in the design stage of the project, and during the summer, with the help of professional members from the CH2M HILL engineering firm, will go to Chicorral to start installation.
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Pouring Lobbyists on Troubled Waters
The Hill (05/08/07) P. 1 ; Snyder, Jim

Lobbying for and against the Water Resources Development Act remains strong. More than five years overdue, a $15 billion version of the act has already been passed by House lawmakers, with the Senate set to take up the issue soon. The primary obstacle to previous passage has been a $1.8 billion lock-improvement project on the Upper Mississippi that detractors say is a huge waste of money because it assumes higher levels of barge traffic, which has not increased for decades and likely won't because ethanol production will mean that more corn will remain in the United States. The House measure was trimmed down from $31 billion after a provision that would have granted lawmakers the right to review restoration projects along the Gulf Coast was eliminated. As lawmakers continue to debate, a $58 billion backlog of authorized projects has accrued. The U.S. Corps of Engineers only gets about $2 billion a year in funding for these projects.
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Gregoire Signs Measure Intended to Help Restore 'Sick' Puget Sound
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (05/08/07) ; McClure, Robert

New legislation in Washington state is intended to jumpstart the restoration of Puget Sound. "We look out right now and it looks absolutely gorgeous, and that, my friends, is what too many of our citizens see, is how gorgeous it looks from the surface," said Gov. Chris Gregoire during the bill's signing ceremony. "Beneath it, in some parts it is dying and in many places it's sick." Following rainstorms, millions of gallons of runoff pollute the sound, while the equivalent of 265 Olympic-size swimming pools of sewage is discharged from septic tanks on any given day. "We cannot afford to wait," Gregoire said. "We cannot pass the responsibility on to the next generation. It will be too late." The plan to restore the sound will cost an estimated $8 billion through 2020; $238 million has already been allocated by state lawmakers for the next two years. "Man did not weave the web of life. He is merely a strand within it, and whatever he does to the web he does to himself," said bill co-sponsor state Sen. Phil Rockefeller (D), quoting Chief Seattle. "We have finally learned after decades of taking Puget Sound for granted the wisdom of his words. In front of this treasured but troubled body of water, we reaffirm our commitment to Puget Sound and to its health condition by no later than 2020, and hopefully a good deal sooner than that."
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Bill Expands Everglades Cleanup
Orlando Sentinel (FL) (05/09/07) ; Royse, David

Florida lawmakers have approved a measure that will double funding for cleanup of the Everglades and extend the effort to the northern reaches of the glades, where water gets polluted in the first place. The bill imposes new restrictions on polluted stormwater runoff from new developments and on sewage sludge dumping in the Lake Okeechobee watershed. It also calls for the establishment of water-treatment facilities north of the lake. "It's the first major law to combine water-pollution and water-management solutions, and it puts the [government] on an aggressive timeline" for implementing the projects, says Eric Draper, a lobbyist with Audubon of Florida, which helped craft the bill. With matching funding for related projects, spending for the effort will reach nearly $500 million.
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Perchlorate Debate Is Heating Up
San Gabriel Valley Tribune (CA) (05/03/07) ; Ortega, Fred

The EPA is shying away from the establishment of a national standard for perchlorate contamination in drinking water as House lawmakers consider a measure proposed by Rep. Hilda Solis (D-Calif.) that would require the EPA to enact a mandatory allowable level within 2 1/2 years. Currently, the agency recommends 24.5 parts per billion as the maximum safe dosage. California on the other hand is considering a measure that would set a limit of 6 parts per billion, a standard currently used in many states. "We need to determine whether setting a drinking water standard would provide a meaningful opportunity to reduce risk for people served by public water systems," testified George Gray, assistant administrator for the EPA's Office of Research and Development, in front of the House Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Materials, noting that it is still unclear how much perchlorate exposure comes from food rather than water. Local water agencies believe that the establishment of a national standard will open up avenues of federal funding for cleanup. "If they do come up with a federal standard, it might result in more money for the state," said Gabriel Monares, director of resource development for the San Gabriel Water Quality Authority in California. "It will hopefully create a new pot of money we can go after at the federal level."
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Sen. Salazar's Bill to Recover and Reuse 'Produced Water' Has Hearing
Water Strategist (04/07)

U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar has introduced the "More Water, More Energy, Less Waste Act of 2007" that would evaluate the feasibility of recovering, cleaning, and using groundwater contaminated when it is brought to the surface during oil and gas drilling or coal bed methane extraction. The measure would also create a funding mechanism for testing technology that could be used in the endeavor. "Every day, two million gallons of 'produced water' are wasted in this nation, unfit for any use," says Salazar. "Recovering that water could help lift a huge burden off the backs of farmers, ranchers, communities and recreation users. We owe it to them and to future generations to test the feasibility of this technology."
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Will Mulls Lawsuit Against Exelon
Chicago Tribune (04/13/07) ; Sullivan, Dennis

The Will County, Ill., Forest Preserve District is considering taking legal action against Exelon, according to its executive director, Michael Pasteris. He asserted that water tables at the Braidwood Dunes and Savanna Nature Preserve have reached dangerously low levels as a result of the pond pumping at Exelon's Braidwood Nuclear Generating Station. But Exelon VP Tom O'Neill said there is no scientific data to back up this claim. Since June 2006, Exelon has pumped upwards of 110 million gallons of water from a pond at the power plant as part of a four-year initiative to remove tritium, a radioactive form of hydrogen. Tritiated water had spilled into groundwater in 1998 from the power station's northeastern edge. Exelon's goal is to dilute the pumped water to have it meet federal limits and discharge it into the Kankakee River. Pasteris noted that "Exelon's own model of alternate pumping strategies predicts that the groundwater will be impacted by as little as 1.1 feet on district property furthest from the pond, and as much as 4 feet on district property nearest the pond." Pasteris said Exelon can realize the same results by pumping less water over a 10-year period.
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