WaterWired

Twitter for Sh*tters - Can It Make Sanitation Sexy?

2009-07-16T01:20:00-07:00

Yesterday I received an email from Leonard Markidan, communications manager of Skadaddle Media. The message began:

Let's talk shit.

Okay. That expletive naturally piqued my curiosity, so I read on. As I suspected, his message was peppered with double entendres, puns, and wise-ass comments. Markidan must be a fellow Catholic high school grad, still mired in his sophomore year (as Mary Frances is wont to say about me).

Markidan's email described an agressive social media marketing initiative, Twitter for Sh-tters, to make sanitation 'sexy'. So here's what the site had to say:

Why is sanitation such a dirty word? For whatever reason, it has become taboo to talk about it. We all poop, crap, dump, or whatever you call it! Well, we think it’s time to cut through the crap and start talking shit.

Why now? Because the world needs it. Lack of sanitation has become a life-or-death issue in the poorest parts of the world, and we can’t hold it in any longer. Non-profit Wherever The Need, which provides eco-sanitation toilets where they are needed most, created Twitter for Sh-tters to push hard to get people talking about the straight poop. We’re raising money to build more eco-san toilets (the aforementioned “shitters.”)

The idea is simple: every day, Twitter users – whether they have 5 followers or 5,000 – will spend the day tweeting to try and get their followers to donate. Our “Daily Dumpers” can tweet about whatever crap they want from the best “potty humor” to simply just “talking shit.” The point is to take this long-avoided topic and, pardon the expression, step right in it.

Will you give a shit?

You can follow their Tweets at Twitter.

Sanitation (which I'm not sure is a 'dirty word') of this type is a tough sell. What this movement really needs is someone famous to serve as spokesperson. But who's going to espouse such a cause? Maybe someone classy, like Sigourney Weaver or Meryl Streep. Or a girl-next-door-type like Sandra Bullock or Katherine Heigl. Or perhaps someone over-the-top, like Jack Black, Russell Brand, or Seth Rogen. How about potty-mouthed Sarah Silverman? A dark horse - Pauly Shore (ha ha) - his career is in the crapper anyway.

So who's your choice?

A final note about this. I'm sure some were turned off by the language Markidan used. It didn't faze me, but a couple of friends emailed me to say they did not care for this approach. I asked Markidan about this and he responded that he knew it would be divisive, but that the majority of the feedback has been positive/supportive. He felt that with all the worthy causes out there, he needed something that would cause people to stand up and take notice. I agree; this issue is so far under the radar that such an extreme campaign is warranted. Time will tell if his approach worked.

As I said earlier, this topic, although extremely important, is a tough sell. Sanitation is one thing, but when you get down to defecation and urination, we all look the other way unless we're telling jokes at a high-school reunion. But Markidan did provide me with today's quote, which illustrates the problem.

What is your take on this issue and Markidan's approach to it?

As for me, I'm off to Tweet about sh*t.

'“The cognitive scientist Steven Pinker lists a dozen categories of euphemism, including taboo (shit), medical (stool, bowel movement) and formal (feces, excrement, excreta, defecation, ordure). The category that’s missing is 'conversational.' There is no neutral word for what humans produce at least once a day, usually unfailingly. There is no defecatory equivalent of the inoffensive, neutral 'sex'.” -- Rose George, The Big Necessity

July/August 2009 Southwest Hydrology: Nitrates in Groundwater

2009-07-16T01:00:00-07:00

The new issue of Southwest Hydrology features nitrates in groundwater. As always, downloads are free.

From the intro:

Nitrate is one of the most common groundwater contaminants worldwide, primarily caused by agriculture, leaking sewer systems, and septic systems. While some subsurface conditions naturally attenuate nitrate, the coarse-grained, oxygen-rich aquifers common in the Southwest favor its persistence. Thus we have a problem, and it is growing because the usual response has been to find a new water source rather than remediate the existing one. However, the tide is starting to change as fewer new water sources are available, impacts can no longer be ignored, and treatment technologies improve. These feature articles provide the details.

Articles on:

There are also some other very good articles in the On the Ground department:

Chris Brooks (Watering the Desert) has an excellent discussion on Separating Groundwater Rights from Land in Arizona
Kiyomi Morino reports on storage forecasts by Barnett and Pierce's updated Colorado Basin model

Check out the R&D and Government departments.

Nitpicking alert: my editorial prerogative would have been to use 'nitrate' instead of the plural version, as did the publication.

"The lesser evil usually lasts longer." -- Wieslaw Brudzinski

2010 AWRA Water Resources and GIS Conference: Call for Abstracts

2009-07-15T01:15:00-07:00

Time to do my AWRA Board-of-Directors thing...

This will be the fourth time AWRA has sponsored this particular conference, and they have been highly successful. This one, to be held on 29-31 March 2010 in Orlando, FL, promises to deliver the same high quality.

Here is the conference WWW site description:

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have become a fundamental tool for the analysis, planning and management of environmental and water resources systems. This Specialty Conference continues the AWRA biennial tradition of surveying the state of knowledge in the field, following the 2004 conference in Nashville, 2006 conference in Houston and 2008 conference in San Mateo. Because of its interdisciplinary approach to water resource opportunities and problems, AWRA provides an excellent professional home for the most comprehensive forum on the application of GIS to water resources engineering and sciences.

The Conference Organizing Committee invites you to join this important community of scholars and practitioners in GIS and water resources in Orlando by sharing your experiences and knowledge with an oral presentation or present a poster in the gallery at the conference. There will be an opportunity to present freeware and public domain software tools on the conference website so that other attendees can download them to further learn and experience their functionality. A conference proceedings of short papers or abstracts will be produced on CD ROM.

Both the breadth and depth of GIS application areas in water resources and the number and variety of GIS software tools to support such efforts have expanded dramatically in recent years. Hence it is expected that this conference will include presentations and topics on a number of exciting new developments and research findings at the intersection of GIS and water resources engineering and sciences. Researchers, practitioners, and students working in this field are encouraged to attend, keeping in mind that GIS includes commercial or open source software, custom geospatial modeling solutions, virtual worlds, web-based mapping, and more!

Abstracts are due 9 October 2009. Get complete information here.

Hope to see you there.

"There will be no new architecture for computing for the next 1,000 years." -- Larry Ellison

USAF's Blog Threat Assessment and Response Determination

2009-07-15T01:10:00-07:00

Our flyboys are keepin' us safe in the blogosphere! KISS, guys!

You might find this chart useful.

Thanks to cbwater and kevinmccann.

View this photo

So am I a 'troll', 'rager', 'misguided', or an 'unhappy customer'? Say what?

"We're going to blog them back into the Stone Age." - apologies to Gen. Curtis E. LeMay, USAF

Upper Willamette Counties Water Resources Study Group: Transboundary Visioning

2009-07-14T01:00:00-07:00

Since September 2007 Benton County (OR) has worked to establish a path forward to develop a countywide water quantity and quality assessment. This community-based effort will be a first step to ensure a sustainable water supply for Benton County and Willamette Basin citizens, their livelihoods, and their environment through time. This has resulted in the Benton County Water Project (BCWP).

The project is under the direction of visionary Benton County Commissioner Linda Modrell and Water Project Coordinator Adam Stebbins. We're fortunate to have two such people leading the effort.

I currently serve on the Steering Committee for the project. Last year we completed Phase I of the project, with funding from the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD), and are currently involved in Phase II.

But I'm not here to discuss the BCWP.

Benton County shares the Upper Willamette Basin with Lane and Linn Counties, so the county's water future is not entirely within its own hands, but is intimately linked to the other two political jurisdictions. This fact has been obvious to many of us but became painfully apparent during Phase I of the BCWP.

Realizing this, Commissioner Modrell convened an informal group consisting of elected officials from the other two jurisdictions (Lane County Commissioners Bill Fleenor and Rob Handy; Linn County Commissioners Roger Nyquist and Will Tucker) and some municipalities (Albany Mayor Sharon Konopa) in the counties to discuss water and related issues. There are also some resource people who attend meetings, myself included, along with Adam Stebbins, Brenda Bateman and Bill Ferber of OWRD, Mike Wolski of the City of Albany, and Denise Kalakay of the Lane Council of Governments.

The OWRD is supportive of this tri-county effort, which has been unofficially labeled the Upper Willamette Counties Water Resources Study Group.

Here is the UWCWRSG's (nice acronym!) unofficial statement of purpose:

To ensure an adequate supply of clean water for all stakeholders and beneficial uses and inform the decision-making of Local, State, and Federal entities, the Upper Willamette Counties Water Resources Study Group will: 1) comprehensively examine shared water resources quantity and quality issues; and 2) work collaboratively and efficiently towards addressing water issues that are common to multiple jurisdictions and stakeholders.

Adam Stebbins prepared this presentation for our first meeting in April:

Download Water progress across counties_stebbins_lane_linn_benton_09

We have had two meetings and I have been impressed with the elected officials, their interest level, and curiosity. And I can't say enough about the resource people.

This effort is not designed to produce a tri-county water plan; each county wants to maintain its sovereignty with regard to water planning and its first cousin, land-use planning. At this point, we're just talking and exploring options.

So why bother talking about this effort? Because it illustrates how "it" should work, "it" being the examination of water and land futures at the sub-state level. Note that neither the state nor the Feds imposed this group and its statement of purpose on the three counties. This is a bottom-up approach under the leadership of some elected officials and citizens who realize that our counties' water futures are intertwined and that we need to discuss issues of mutual concern. Where that discussion will lead is unclear at this point.

But this is the way "it" should happen and I'm honored to be a part of the effort.

“It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end.” -- Ursula K. LeGuin

AquaPedia: Interactive WWW Repository of Water Information and Wisdom

2009-07-13T00:32:00-07:00

I had heard about AquaPedia from a colleague a few months ago but had forgotten about it till Robert at Watercrunch informed me that the beta site was active.

He also sent me a link to an interview with the site's creator, Dr. Shafiqul Islam of Tufts University.

From the site's blurb:

Welcome to AquaPedia. A virtual world of reliable, relevant, and readily available water information and wisdom collected and synthesized by users and producers of explicit (water information) and tacit (water wisdom) knowledge. The transformative and collaborative power of AquaPedia will make water a flexible and expandable resource.

AquaPedia, developed at Tufts, presents an example of the emerging trend to integrate collaborative technologies & transdisciplinary scholarship to create actionable knowledge. The initial content of the AquaPedia consists of case studies drawn from the Tufts Fall 2008 University Seminar on Water and Diplomacy: Integration of Science, Engineering, and Negotiations.

Looks like people post information about case studies, provide feedback, etc. You can become a active member and author if you like.

The current featured case study is of the Volta River Basin. Thirteen other case studies were listed, although most have no information actually posted - just the name as a placeholder. Also, on the few studies I examined no authors were listed. Not very helpful.

Good idea, but time will tell if this catches on. Remember, it's a beta version.

"We’re creating actionable knowledge, not just knowledge that sits in the library." -- Dr. Shafiqul Islam

Clean, Sexy Water

2009-07-12T10:21:10-07:00

Nick Kristof, NY Times columnist and native Oregonian, has a wonderful piece in the NYT profiling Scott Harrison, the former hard-living nightclub promoter who transformed himself into a hydrophilanthopist and founder of the highly-successful charity:water in just three years.

His secret? Harrison is an unparelleled fund-raiser, promoter, and marketer.

Kristof writes:

Armed with nothing but a natural gift for promotion, and for wheedling donations from people, Mr. Harrison started his group, called charity: water — and it has been stunningly successful. In three years, he says, his group has raised $10 million (most of that last year alone) from 50,000 individual donors, providing clean water to nearly one million people in Africa and Asia.

The organization now has 11 full-time employees, almost twice as many unpaid interns, and more than half a million followers on Twitter (the United Nations has 3,000). New York City buses were plastered with free banners promoting his message, and Saks Fifth Avenue gave up its store windows to spread Mr. Harrison’s gospel about the need for clean water in Africa. American schools are signing up to raise money to build wells for schools in poor countries.

“Scott is an important marketing machine, lifting one of the most critical issues of our time in a way that is sexy and incredibly compelling — that’s his gift,” said Jacqueline Novogratz, head of the Acumen Fund, which invests in poor countries to overcome poverty.

It is a remarkable story about an even more remarkable man. More power to Scott Harrison and his ilk.

“Guilt has never been part of it. It’s excitement instead, presenting people with an opportunity — ‘You have an amazing chance to build a well!' " - Scott Harrison

Novel Use of Bottled Water Caps: Objet d'Art

2009-07-11T00:30:00-07:00

Elizabeth Royte, auteur extraordinaire, has an item on her blog about artist Christine Destrempes' installation entitled 13,699 - that number of plastic water- bottle caps strung on monofilament. It represents the number of people who daily die from preventable diseases related to water. That is about 5 million per year.

Here is a close-up showing the detail of the installation. The caps were obtained from a recycling center.

It is on display at the Sharon Arts Downtown Exhibition Gallery in Peterborough, NH.

From the press release:

Christine Destrempes created the installation 13,699 to raise awareness of the number of people who die every day from preventable, water-related diseases because they do not have access to clean water. Clear plastic, recycled water bottle caps, collected from the Keene, NH Transfer Station, represent each person who dies, tying the environmental and social impact of the water bottling industry to the plight of people in developing countries.

The caps, strung on monofilament and hung from a 10' x 10' metal grid, form a fluid, cube-like structure with one point of access and exit. The production of 13,699 was taken into public venues, high schools, and colleges. Hundreds of people listened to Destrempes' presentation on global water issues and art for social change, and volunteered to drill holes in and string bottle caps. 13,699 is an invitation to look deeply, yet gently, at a disturbing humanitarian crisis statistic by literally entering into it.

I think Einstein's quote is apropos.

“Art is an expression of the profoundest thoughts in the simplest way.” -- Albert Einstein

August 2009 JAWRA Highlights

2009-07-10T09:13:10-07:00

Since I promote other professional journals, why not promote the flagship journal of one society upon whose board I sit? Here are the highlights [taken from the AWRA blog] from the August 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Water Resources Association. You can view article abstracts for free but you cannot freely download articles unless you are an AWRA member.

Volume 45 Issue 4 (August 2009) - View Current Issue

Leh and Chaubey compare two GIS-based approaches to hillslope runoff generation: a topographic index model and a likelihood indicator model.

Miller et al. perform a series of drought simulations for the California Central Valley for a range of droughts from mild to severe for time periods lasting up to 60 years.

Smiley et al., noting protocols designed for monitoring studies are not appropriate for impact assessments, develop guiding principles for designing impact assessments of ecological responses to conservation practices.

Larson examines public attitudes about an array of resource management efforts in Portland, Oregon. She outlines a conceptual approach for future assessments of environmental attitudes in particular settings while highlighting important value-based dimensions of judgments.

Zhang and Srinivasan explore a number of spatial interpolation techniques applied to aerial estimation of precipitation in a study area in China. Their results suggest advanced geostatistics methods that incorporate auxiliary information improve spatial precipitation estimation for hydrologic models.

Pure et al. use the SPARROW model to explore watershed and hydrological characteristics as the probable sources and delivery mechanisms of waterborne pathogens and their indicator (E. coli) in Guadalupe and San Antonio River basins in Texas.

Golden et al. report on nitrate sampling in mixed land cover watersheds draining to Cayuga Lake. They found a high degree of spatial heterogeneity in catchment response.

Schwede et al. present the Watershed Deposition Tool (WDT), an important tool for providing the linkage between air and water-quality modeling needed for determining the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) and for analyzing related nonpoint-source impacts on watersheds.

Asleson et al. describe the development and evaluation of three approaches for performance assessment of rain gardens: visual inspection, infiltration rate testing, and synthetic drawdown testing. They found a combination of visual inspection and infiltration rate testing is particularly useful for developing maintenance tasks and schedules.

Enjoy!

"It requires a very unusual mind to undertake the analysis of the obvious." -- Alfred North Whitehead

Salmon in the Columbia-Snake Basin: Dam(n) Removal

2009-07-09T00:36:00-07:00

Corvallis auteur extraordinaire and friend Paul VanDevelder wrote this Op-Ed in the Los Angeles Times a few days ago.

VanDevelder discusses the contentious issue of salmon fishery restoration in the Columbia-Snake Basin and Federal District Court Judge James Redden's eight-word utterance that makes many grown men and women in the Pacific Northwest cry - tears of joy for some, tears of anguish for others: removal of the four Lower Snake River dams (the four red dots on the Snake River just upstream of its confluence with the Columbia River).

Judge Redden has put this option on the table if all the parties involved don't devise a plan to keep salmon viable.

Here is an earlier article on Redden and the salmon issue from the High Country News.

VanDevelder makes some excellent points, and concludes thusly:

The Columbia-Snake corridor is the salmon's only option for survival, and Redden is probably their last hope. He is the one person in this entire drama who is legally obligated to use science and the law to protect the fish from extinction and from the whims of politicians. If the law and science are unable to trump politics to save this fishery -- a fishery that was the most productive in the world just two generations ago -- how will we ever meet the towering challenges posed by global climate change?

For the sake of the fish and the 500 other species that depend on this wild and "vital resource" for their survival, many of us hope the judge has the resolve to stay the course and to see the job through.

And the quote below indicates that not everyone buys into Redden's approach. As I said earlier, we do live in interesting times.

"Federal law doesn't allow dam removal, and no Democrat-politician-turned-activist-judge can rewrite the law." -- Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA), quoted in the article

Want a Tough Job? Idaho Department of Water Resources Directorship Available

2009-07-08T00:33:00-07:00

I'm not turning WaterWired into a job bulletin board, but I thought the posting of this position would be appropriate. Dave Tuthill, the former director, resigned on 30 June 2009. It's a challenging job (understatement!), and whatever the salary, you'll be underpaid.

The following is from Norm Semanko of the Idaho Water Users Association; it was forwarded to me by colleague Laura Schroeder.

Please see the attached job announcement for the IDWR Director position. This is being circulated westwide, including the Western States Water Council and the Western Governors Association, making this the most wide-open search process since 1995. As previously indicated by the Governor’s office, this process may take several months. In the meantime, an Interim Director will be appointed by the Governor, perhaps as early as tomorrow (Wednesday) to serve until the permanent Director is selected by the Governor; the Governor is reportedly interviewing some IDWR folks today for the interim position. Until the interim appointment is made, Gary Spackman is serving as the Acting Director.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks.
Norm Semanko (norm@iwua.org)

Download IDWR Director

"But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!" -- Amos 5:24 (thanks to Watercrunch)

Tucson's Rainwater Harvesting Ordinance: A Good Idea

2009-07-07T00:18:00-07:00

Even though it was passed 14 October 2008 and does not take effect until 1 June 2010, Tucson's rainwater harvesting ordinance has recently attracted much national attention. It's the first such municipal ordinance that requires rainwater harvesting for new commerical developments.

The ordinance requires that new commercial developments obtain 50% of their landscaping water needs via rainwater harvesting, with certain exceptions.

Here is a copy:

Download CMS1_035088

The city has a rainwater harvesting WWW site with more information and resources, including a water budget spreadsheet.

You can obtain more information on the WWW site of the American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association (ARCSA).

A good idea.

"I suggest that the national government come out with a policy that makes all high rise and commercial and government establishments to resort to rainwater harvesting immediately." --Subash, an Indian blogger

More Nicaragua Water Projects: El Porvenir and Agua Para La Vida

2009-07-06T00:28:00-07:00

I am just getting around to finishing posts about my recent trip to Central America.

Evan Miles and I spent 13 June with El Porvenir's Rob Bell and intern Erik Zucker in the Matagalpa area (see my previous post about the first part of our visit with them).

Previous days were spent looking primarily at rope-pump systems and the like. On this visit we visited a gravity-flow system EP has done in the beautiful hills above Matagalpa.

We saw some systems that we had not seen before: a large sand and gravel-filled tank was used to filter the water before it flowed into the storage tank.

Here is Evan examining such a filter. Rob Bell is in the white shirt and the man next to him is from a local engineering firm. The filter is contained within the concrete tank on which the men are standing. The smaller photo shows what Evan saw.

I have seen gravity flow systems before, in Honduras - those are the only water systems I have worked on in that country - but we never used a sand filter, much less a mammoth one like the one shown here.

Here is the huge storage tank; the smaller photo shows the tank's interior.

After this, Rob and Erik left us in Matagalpa, where we were picked up by Amélie Morgaut, a young French engineer working with Agua Para La Vida in Rio Blanco. She was kind enough to fetch us, as Rio Blanco is a rough, 3-hour drive east of Matagalpa. It is a city of about 20,000, one of the gateways to Nicaragua's remote Atlantic region.

Here is a map showing APLV's projects.

The ACJF had funded the Los Placeres project and I was anxious to see it. Esteban Cantillano and Jaime Alonzo Rodriguez served as our guides on 14 June, surrendering their Sunday.

Here is Evan getting some information on the Los Placeres tank from Esteban.

Here is the valve leading from the filter tank (below the men):

Below, Evan and friends enjoy some clean water.

Jaime and Esteban showed us some other potential projects, including one in the community of La Isla.

We were very impressed with APLV. They are doing excellent work with gravity-flow systems. We enjoyed meeting with Jaime, Esteban and Carmen González, APLV's national coordinator, and the entire staff in Rio Blanco.

Amélie also showed me the school she directs. It's called Escuela Técnica de Agua Potable (ETAP; no WWW site unfortunately). The school has a rigorous two-year curriculum in gravity-flow systems and sanitation. She has 8 students, all Nicaraguans, who live at the school.

She mentioned that she was interested in developing a course in wells and pumps, because there are some areas where gravity flow systems won't do. I told her about the LS-100 drilling rig and she seemed quite interested.

My friend Alan McKay at DRI says that they are interested in giving their LS-100 rig away and I would like to try to get it to Amelie.

This concluded our visit to Nicaragua with El Porvenir and Agua Para La Vida. Evan and I were impressed with both organizations, and I discussed potential projects with each. I am looking forward to receiving some proposals.

“You make the road by walking on it” -- Nicaraguan proverb

Potential Honduras Water Projects for the ACJF

2009-07-05T00:45:00-07:00

One of the reasons Evan Miles and I visited Honduras last month was to evaluate potential water projects for the Ann Campana Judge Foundation (ACJF). That was also the reason we visited Nicaragua, except that there we were looking to fund others, not conduct projects ourselves.

Here are some photos from our 19 June trip along the coast highway west of Omoa, towards the Guatemala border. This one to the left shows an unhappy camper in a 'ecological park' at which we stopped. The one to the right - well, an interloper.

Above right is amigo Rolando López, on the hike down from the village of Brisas de Cuyamel. We visited that impoverished village of 20 families, none of whom has clean drinking water.

Alex del Cid, shown here by a tank for a large gravity-flow system that serves three villages, conducted a study on the water supply potential for Brisas de Cuyamel and recently provided a brief survey report to me:

Download Brisas de Cuyamel Proyecto

The total cost is about 102,000 Lempiras or about $5,700. The system is a straightforward gravity-flow system.

One issue before the project can proceed is the land ownership one; the water source (la fuente) is on someone else's land. We told the villagers they would have to secure written permission from the landowner before a study/project could begin.

Here are Alex, Evan, and Rolando are shown discussing water issues with a member of the junta de agua for the aformentioned three-village water system. The system was damaged in the recent earthquake and the locals are seeking help to rebuild parts of it. Since the three villlages are considerably better off than Brisas de Cuyamel, I'm inclined not to support their request. They have a large enough base (a few hundred families) and are better off financially to generate enough funds to effect repairs.

Rolando also has a potential water project in La Mosquitia, the remote northeastern part of Honduras. It is for the village of Pimienta on the Rio Patuca, the longest river in Honduras and second longest in Central America. Pimienta is in the department of Gracias a Dios, the easternmost one of Honduras.

Here are some pictures of the Rio Patuca and Pimienta (bottom picture), taken by Rolando López.

We plan to visit Pimienta next March in the middle of the dry season; it's far too wet this time of year. It will be a good time to assess the project feasibility.

Such a project will be logistically daunting, involving plane, trucks, and boats, and perhaps quadrupeds. It will be a real challenge.

I'm looking forward to the trip as I've long had a desire to see La Mosquitia in Honduras, and the analogous region in eastern Nicaragua.

"Es mejor tostón asegurado que dime apostado." - Honduran proverb [Translation: "Secured 10 cents is better than 20 cents in the betting pot."]

The Forgotten South Caucasus: Where Oil and Water (and Gas!) Mix

2009-07-04T12:27:21-07:00

Nadya Ivanova of Circle of Blue wrote this informative article on the water-energy nexus in the South Caucasus. Self-promotion alert: Ms. Ivanova interviewed me a while back and refers to my work in the South Caucasus via the NATO - OSCE South Caucasus River Monitoring (SCRM) Project.

I previously posted about the project and the South Caucasus on 22 July 2008 and 25 May 2008.

The article also serves as a good reminder that I need to finish the final report.

Here is an excellent map from the article, prepared by Hannah Nester and Eric Daigh. It nicely shows the two major pipelines transporting oil (BTC) and gas (BTE) from Azerbaijan to Turkey and the Kura-Araks Basin:

My understanding is that the Nabucco pipeline begins in Erzurum, where the BTE pipeline terminates. The map indicates otherwise.

I recommend the article. You'll get some different perspectives on this small but critically important region.

Thanks to Todd Jarvis for sending this article my way.

"The optimist learns English. The pessimist learns Chinese. The realist learns Kalashnikov." -- South Caucasus colleague

National Water Policy Event in DC, 28 July 2009

2009-07-03T07:40:15-07:00

Jim Thebaut, friend and filmmaker extraordinaire,and the man behind the Running Dry Project, is organizing a National Water Policy Event in Washington, DC, on 28 July 2009, 5:30 - 9:30 PM, U.S. Capitol Visitor Center Auditorium.

The event will bring together the executive and legislative branches of the USA government with other stakeholders - private citizens, industry, Native Americans, et al. - to have a dialogue on the implementation of national comprehensive, integrated, water policy.

Quite an ambitious objective!

There will be a reception, guest speakers, a screening of The American Southwest: Are We Running Dry?, and a panel discussion. Check out the WWW site for more information. RSVP by 21 July 2009.

Here's a flyer: Download NWP POSTER

This event will be good. I look forward to seeing you there.

AWRA and OSU are two of the co-sponsors.

Perhaps we can finish the work started over 40 years ago by the U.S. National Water Commission.

"The Commission transmits its final report to you with the earnest hope that it will contribute importantly to the timely and wise solution of America's water resources problems." -- U.S. National Water Commission, 14 June 1973, final sentence of the letter of transmittal of the Commission's final report to the President and Congress

Tennessee Revises Water Laws

2009-07-02T07:53:56-07:00

Since Atlanta and Georgia are is doing their best 'Las Vegas imitation' vis-a-vis Southeast water, neighboring states might do well to ensure that their own 'water houses' are in order. Remember Georgia's effort to move its border so it could access Tennessee River water?

Looks like Tennessee has taken that advice to heart. Gov. Phil Bredesen (D) has signed into law a bill that revises Tennessee's water laws. It takes effect immediately.

But not everyone thinks it is a great idea. From U.S. Water News Online:

Sponsors say the new law is necessary to clarify what are “waters of the state.”

Opponents, however, say some provisions of the measure weaken the state's oversight by shifting the decision making from the public to the private sector.

For instance, the law allows a company or individual to hire a professional to determine how a watercourse should be classified and allow that person's finding to be conclusive.

Read it for yourself:

Download SB0632

Hey, I'm classified as a 'qualified hydrologic professional' by the law. Awesome.

"The solution to our water problems is more rain." -- attributed to Mark Twain

The Climate Change Climate Change: More Skeptical Inquirers?

2009-07-01T00:34:00-07:00

Don Mahin, my first graduate student and hydrologist/engineer extraordinaire, sent me this opinion piece by Kimberley A. Strassel in the Wall Street Journal. She claims that the number of climate change - global warming - skeptics is increasing everywhere.

Here are the first few paragraphs:

Steve Fielding recently asked the Obama administration to reassure him on the science of man-made global warming. When the administration proved unhelpful, Mr. Fielding decided to vote against climate-change legislation.

If you haven't heard of this politician, it's because he's a member of the Australian Senate. As the U.S. House of Representatives prepares to pass a climate-change bill, the Australian Parliament is preparing to kill its own country's carbon-emissions scheme. Why? A growing number of Australian politicians, scientists and citizens once again doubt the science of human-caused global warming.

Strassel reports that the scientific debate about global warming has come roaring back to life in Australia, Europe, Japan, and even the USA.

Consider this:

The number of skeptics, far from shrinking, is swelling. Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe now counts more than 700 scientists who disagree with the U.N. -- 13 times the number who authored the U.N.'s 2007 climate summary for policymakers. Joanne Simpson, the world's first woman to receive a Ph.D. in meteorology, expressed relief upon her retirement last year that she was finally free to speak "frankly" of her nonbelief. Dr. Kiminori Itoh, a Japanese environmental physical chemist who contributed to a U.N. climate report, dubs man-made warming "the worst scientific scandal in history." Norway's Ivar Giaever, Nobel Prize winner for physics, decries it as the "new religion." A group of 54 noted physicists, led by Princeton's Will Happer, is demanding the American Physical Society revise its position that the science is settled. (Both Nature and Science magazines have refused to run the physicists' open letter.)

This is indeed interesting. I do not know Strassel, but she is a conservative and the WSJ is not exactly a strong supporter of anthropogenic global warming, especially if measures to mitigate it have the potential to adversely affect corporate profits. And her piece is an opinion column. So you might be a bit skeptical.

I'll be interested in seeing how this plays out. As for me, I'm still not a skeptic.

"This is what's really happening in Klamath--call it rural cleansing--and it's repeating itself in environmental battles across the country. Indeed, the goal of many environmental groups--from the Sierra Club to the Oregon Natural Resources Council--is no longer to protect nature. It's to expunge humans from the countryside." -- Kimberley A. Strassel, 26 July 2001

EPA Water Quality Video Contest Winners

2009-06-30T13:02:56-07:00

In March 2009 EPA's Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds launched a Water Quality Video Contest to inspire environmental stewardship and educate the public on ways individuals can improve water quality in their community. The OWOW received 254 video submissions, and is pleased to announce the two winners of the contest.

The EPA would like to extend a large thank you to everyone who submitted a video and helped to educate family, friends and the public on ways we can improve water quality around the United States.

Here are the Winners and Honorable Mentions.

Hey! Local boy does well - Jesse David Mattson of Corvallis, OR, received an honorable mention!

Standing in line at DMV? View all 254 entries on YouTube.

"What I've learned is that life is too short and movies are too long." ~Denis Leary

Colorado Legalizes Rainwater Harvesting - Sort Of

2009-06-29T12:28:39-07:00

Much has been made of Colorado's decision to legalize rainwater harvesting. Yesterday's New York Times featured an article about the new law that takes effect on 1 July 2009. NPR had a piece on it a month ago.

The rainwater harvesting law is not all-encompassing; not just anyone can put out a rain barrel or other system and collect rainwater. There a re hoops to jump through.

To help you figure out who is eligible here is a little two-pager from the Colorado Division of Water Resources:

Download RainWaterBills

Some are concerned that legalization of rainwater harvesting could be the beginning of the end of Western water law as we know it.

"We believe there is something to rainwater harvesting. We believe it makes economic sense." -- Harold Smethills, Colorado developer

Bottled Water Disaster Presentation; Nestlé Waters Eyes the Pacific Northwest

2009-06-28T06:35:41-07:00

A colleague forwarded this PowerPoint to me. It appears to have been produced by PMArchitecture, as 'PMA' appears throughout and the name is listed on the last page. I have not vetted al the claims but they certainly seem in line with the numbers I have heard and seen.

Download Water-disaster

Speaking of bottled water, Nestlé Waters is considering building a bottled water plant in the Columbia River Gorge town of Cascade Locks, Oregon. Nestlé does not have a facility in the Pacific Northwest. The plant would use about 100 million gallons per year, a little more than 300 acre-feet, from a spring just off Interstate 84. Here is more on the story from Oregon Public Broadcasting.

"Ever wonder about those people who spend $2 apiece on those little bottles of Evian water? Try spelling Evian backward." -- George Carlin

USGS NAWQA Report: Water Quality in Selected US Carbonate Aquifers, 1993-2005

2009-06-27T00:18:00-07:00

The USGS National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program does some real good work and puts out some good stuff . [Shill alert: I am serving on my third National Research Council NAWQA evaluation committee.]

So this new report on factors affecting water quality in selected (12) carbonate aquifers looks to be more of the same.

And believe me, in hydrogeology, ain't nothing neater than carbonate aquifers! Dude! They are awesome! Can you tell I am an ersatz karst hydrogeologist?

Here's the blurb from the WWW site:

This is a summary of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program study of water quality in carbonate aquifers of the United States. More than 1,000 wells and springs were analyzed for properties and contaminants including pH, major ions, nutrients, trace elements, radon, pesticides, and volatile organic compounds, in 12 carbonate aquifers in the United States.

Carbonate aquifers are the most widely used of all bedrock aquifers, and provide 22 percent of the United States public ground-water supply. Carbonate aquifers are those aquifers in limestone or dolomite bedrock. The NAWQA program has sampled well networks in many carbonate aquifers using similar methodologies, and thus provided one of the first opportunities to evaluate water quality in the various carbonate aquifers. This web site is a supplement to the National Water-Quality Assessment Program's report: Factors affecting water quality in selected carbonate aquifers in the United States, 1993-2005: Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5240. The site highlights the findings of this report, and provides additional details about the study.

Here is access to the site, and the link to the report.

Enjoy!

"I wish I had known more about carbonate aquifers." -- Gunther Thiem

A New Open-Access Journal: Water

2009-06-26T00:15:00-07:00

The other day I received an invitation to join the editorial board of a new open-access journal. Its title? Water. Oh, boy, another water journal!

I declined the invitation, but my curiosity was piqued. So I checked the WWW site.

Water (ISSN 2073-4441) is an international and cross-disciplinary scholarly journal on the ecology and management of water resources. It publishes reviews, regular research papers, communications and short notes, and there is no restriction on the length of the papers.

Our aim is to encourage scientists to publish their experimental and theoretical research in as much detail as possible. Full experimental and/or methodical details must be provided for research articles.

There are, in addition, unique features of this journal:

manuscripts regarding research proposals and research ideas will be particularly welcomed
electronic files or software regarding the full details of the calculation and experimental procedure, if unable to be published in a normal way, can be deposited as supplementary material
manuscripts concerning summaries and surveys on research cooperation and projects (that are founded by national governments or others) provide information for a broad field of users.

These features are indeed unique as far as I know.

Here are the topics the journal covers:

Ecology of water resources, including groundwater
Physics, chemistry and biology of water
Monitoring, remediation and protection of water resources
Planning and management of water resources and water provision
Water pollution, wastewater and water treatment
Water and health issues
Water resources and agriculture
Degradation of aquatic ecosystems
Aquatic ecosystems maintenance and preservation
Unsustainable patterns of water consumption and use
Sustainable use of water resources
Water efficiency, incl. water footprint and virtual water calculations
Development and realization of national and international policies on water
Changing patterns of water consumption and use

The first issue will be out later this year. Might be worth a read.

"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate." ~Henry J. Tillman

The Breakthrough Institute and the Death of Environmentalism

2009-06-25T00:35:00-07:00

Until yesterday morning I'd never heard of the The Breakthrough Institute or its two founders, Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus. But they were featured on NPR's Morning Edition and what I learned was a real eye-opener for me.

What makes them and their tiny, five-person institute different is their approach to global warming: they view it not simply as an environmental problem, but as an economic opportunity and champion that approach. Instead of invoking schemes like cap-and-trade, they say, "Let's make clean energy affordable and ubiquitous."

The article relates how Shellenberger greets seven new interns:

Shellenberger tells the interns that environmental groups — like the ones he used to work for — are going about it all wrong. By urging Congress to cast carbon dioxide as a pollutant that needs to be controlled, he says, they will constantly swim against the tide of public opinion.

"We're stuck in this kind of poor paradigm for dealing with climate change, this pollution paradigm," he says, "not because environmentalists are failures, but actually because they were so successful. The Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the cap and trade on acid rain — these things worked really well."

The article continues:

But reducing carbon dioxide is a different story. It's not just a nuisance byproduct, like the sulfur in coal that contributes to acid rain. Carbon dioxide is unavoidable when we burn coal, oil and natural gas. So getting rid of it means either capturing it at great expense, or regulating fossil fuels into oblivion.

In theory, regulation will force companies to develop cleaner alternatives as the price of carbon pollution grows. But Shellenberger says that'll never work.

"When was the last time human beings modernized our energy sources by making older power sources more expensive?" he asks the interns. "And, of course, by now you probably know that the answer is never."

Personal computers didn't take off because there was a tax on typewriters, he says. And the Internet didn't sprout up because the government made telegraphs more expensive.

"So is there a better way to do this? Well, we think that there is. It's very simple: It's that we need to make clean energy cheap worldwide."

What really struck me was Shellenberger and Nordhaus's essay, The Death of Environmentalism:

Download Death_of_Environmentalism

They say that modern environmentalism has outlived its usefulness when it comes to global warming. We need a new paradigm.

One thing they note is the reluctance of our environmental and other leaders to acknowledge the scale of the disasters that global warming likely holds in store for us. The public should not be frightened.

That's something that resonated with me, as I see impending disaster vis-a-vis water in the USA Southwest, yet am perplexed by the lack of leadership on the part of water mavens to address these catastrophes. We must not frighten people, nor must we discourage the go-go-growth of the region. We keep scouring the past looking for solutions to future problems we have not encountered before.

I think you'll find this informative reading.

"If we wish our civilization to survive we must break with the habit of deference to great men." -- Karl Popper

Selling Dominica's Water: Is There Enough? A Rough Analysis

2009-06-24T00:10:00-07:00

The other day I returned a call from a fellow who wants to sell Dominica's fresh water - 37B gallons per year, to be exact. That is about 114,000 acre-feet per year (140 MCM).

Dominica is a rugged, volcanic island nation in the Caribbean Sea. Its area is about 754 square km (290 square miles) with a population of about 73,000. It is known for its great natural beauty.

The water he wants to sell is not desalted water - it's all fresh water, from streams (365!) and aquifers (my contact said it was 'runoff'). The water will be shipped out in supertankers or bags to whomever wants to purchase it. By my calculation, 37B gallons would fill 440 average supertankers (assuming a capacity 2 million barrels or 84M gallons per tanker). So that's about 10 supertankers per week headed for wherever needs it.

My contact said it would help the world's water crisis. I pointed out that although 37B gallons is a lot of water, it's literally a drop in the bucket on a global scale. But it certainly could relieve short-term problems, such as coastal cities undergoing dry times.

And, oh yeah - he mentioned about $3B in annual profits.

He said that China and Venezuela are also interested in the island's water, which has apparently piqued the curiosity of the U.S. Department of State.

So does Dominica have enough water? It is one of the wettest islands in the Caribbean. Here's the rainfall and temperature plot from the World Travel Guide for the capital, Roseau, located on the drier southwest coast of the island:

If you add the rainfall numbers up you get over 2000 mm (2 meters or almost 80 inches) of rain per year.

I don't know the water budget of the island, but the Wikipedia entry says that the wetter, east side of the island gets as much as 500 cm (almost 200 inches) of annual rainfall, with mountain slopes receiving 900 cm (almost 360 inches!). The drier west side gets about 180 cm (70 inches).

So let's do some back-of-the-envelope calculations. Let's assume that the average annual rainfall over the entire island is (500 cm+ 180 cm)/2 = 340 cm = 3.4 m.

Distribute that amount over 754 square kilometers (754,000,000 square meters) and you have 2.6 B cubic meters (rounded).

So, since over the long term, P = ET + R (precipitation = evapotranspiration + runoff) we can calculate the long-term average runoff if we know the ET. I will assume that on average, 2/3 of the P is ET and 1/3 is R (global continental averages from G. Hornberger et al., 1998, Elements of Physical Hydrology, Chapters 1 and 2 - not great approximations for a tropical island). That means that the average annual runoff is about 1.1 meters per year, or about 0.9B cubic meters. In other units the average annual runoff is about 900,000,000 cubic meters or about 730,000 acre-feet or about 238B gallons!

So my friend wants to take about 16% of the total runoff for export. Is that going to be a problem?

The answer: I don't know for sure. Dominica does have a heckuva lot of fresh water, but don't forget that the island's environment and the near-shore marine ecosystem are adjusted to this amount. So what happens when you remove 16% of this fresh water each year? That's the question that must be asnwered before this project proceeds.

Keep in mind that my figures are very crude and I'm using a steady-state budget to evaluate an inherently transient situation. I'm just trying to illustrate a point: there is a lot of fresh water on Dominica but we still need to be concerned about withdrawing some of that water. Adverse effects could result not only on the land-based ecosystems but also near-shore marine ones.

"What is done in the dark will appear in the light." -- Caribbean proverb

Water Supply Well Standards for Developing Countries: Comments Sought

2009-06-23T00:20:00-07:00

Steve Schneider is an engineer, water well contractor, vice president of Schneider Equipment, Inc., and chair of NGWA's Developing Countries Interest Group.

He also drills wells and help less fortunate people in Mexico satisfy their need for clean water. Yeah, he's one of the real good guys.

At last year's NGWA Ground Water Expo in Las Vegas, the DCIG decided to initiate a project to develop standards for water supply wells in developing countries. Steve has taken it upon himself to initiate the development of water well standards for developing countries, a daunting and important task. Here is a pdf of the PowerPoint presentation he recently gave at NGWA's Groundwater for the Americas conference:

Download GW Americas - Dev Countries well stds NGWA 2009

Steve then distributed copies of a draft document and requested that comments be sent to him. Here are Word and pdf versions of the document:

Download WATER_SUPPLY_WELL_STANDARDS (Word)

Download WATER_SUPPLY_WELL_STANDARDS (PDF)

If you wish to comment on this document, please email your comments to Steve (SteveS@seidc.com). The best way to comment would be to use 'Track Changes' on the Word document and email it to Steve.

And yes, Steve really wants your comments - this is not a hollow request. Feel free to direct others to this site.

NOTE: If you want to post your comments and suggestions to this blog, that is fine, but your comments on the document will not likely be seen by Steve. The only sure way to get your comments to Steve is to send them directly to him. Please do so by 31 October 2009.

We'd like to get this published by the end of 2010.

"I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back." ~Maya Angelou

WWC Sends the Wrong Message: Selects Marseille, not Durban, for 2012 World Water Forum

2009-06-22T00:18:00-07:00

The World Water Council, that august body based in Marseille, just announced that it has selected - surprise - Marseille as the site of the 2012 World Water Forum. The other candidate was Durban, South Africa.

This is a bad choice. The WWC had an unparalleled opportunity to send a strong, positive message to the entire world by choosing a site in a developing nation in sub-Saharan Africa. A WWF in Durban would have helped dispel the image of the WWC as a bunch of corporate toadies (an image I do not subscribe to, by the way). Instead, the WWC decided to hold the Forum once again in Europe (The Hague hosted the 2000 WWF), in the Council's home city no less.

This misguided decision will also give more of a platform to people like Maude Barlow. Need I say more?

But, trying to have it both ways, the WWC tossed a bone to South Africa. From the press release:

In an effort to benefit from the excellent quality of the two final candidatures, France and South Africa, the Governors of the World Water Council suggested that the countries work hand in hand. “Our engagement to host the World Water Forum in 2012 is very strong and we really want to work together to bring solutions to the world’s water challenges,” Vassal continued, stressing the candidates’ will to join forces. Prior to the vote, South Africa and France both had agreed to a partnership for the preparation of the next Forum. As such, when Marseille was selected, it extended an invitation to Durban, South Africa to be a full partner in the years running up to the Forum. “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together”, said one of the participants in the Board, emphasizing the unique opportunity that this partnership entails. After extending his congratulations to France, Kevin Wall, Alternate Governor of the World Water Council representing the South African candidacy, committed the full support of South Africa to the success of the World Water Forum in 2012 in Marseille. “We are very happy to be part of this process and enthusiastic to offer our experience.”

Yeah, this'll make it all right.

From my vantage point, this decision is more of the SOS.

The WWC did indeed send a message - just the wrong one.

"Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity." --Anonymous

Presentations: 1) Transnational North American Groundwater; 2) Embera Indians Well Drilling Training

2009-06-21T01:15:00-07:00

I've been traveling around so much I forgot to pst the presentations I made at the recent NGWA Groundwater for the Americas Conference.

Download Campana_Transnational Groundwater_GW for Americas_10_June_2009

Download Campana_ Embera_ Indians_GW for the Americas 1400_ 8_June_ 2009

Enjoy!

"The wise man affirms little and doubts much." -- Panamanian proverb

Blogging and Tweeting from Singapore International Water Week

2009-06-21T00:19:00-07:00

Time for another International Water Week! Stockholm has had its Water Week in Stockholm in mid-August for a number of years, and now Singapore has its International Water Week (SIWW) 22-26 June. SIWW is a trade show, unlike the Stockholm event.

If you want a blow-by-blow blog of the SIWW events, you might try following the Black & Veatch Water team's blog. They also have a Twitter as well.

You can also see B&V presentations.

No, I have no connection to B&V; Gayle Leonard suggested this might be newsworthy and I agreed. She's from the Kansas City area, where B&V is based.

Enjoy!

"Cleanliness is next to a Corrective Work Order." --Singapore 'proverb'

Climate Change Portal from the Santa Clara Valley Water District

2009-06-20T00:53:00-07:00

Bob Teeter, the librarian at the SCV Water District, just sent this information to me.

The Santa Clara Valley Water District has a new Climate Change Portal page where interested users can follow the latest reports on climate change. We think it will be particularly useful for those in the water industry on the West Coast, like us. Browse reports by date (newest first) or by topic (such as adaptation, water utilities guidance, sample climate action plans). Or do a keyword search to find just what you’re looking for. Subscribe to the RSS feed in order to have links for the newest reports come to you.

I just checked this out - it's a great resource.

Enjoy!

"Science is the organized skepticism in the reliability of expert opinion" -- Richard Feynman

June 2009 H2OSU Newsletter - My Last View From 210

2009-06-19T00:15:00-07:00

Here is the June 2009 issue of the H2OSU newsletter. It marks my final newsletter as Director of the Institute for Water and Watersheds, so my column is filled with plenty of suggestions about what needs to be done in Oregon regarding water: exempt wells, Columbia-Snake River Basin compact, the groundwater budget myth, Oregon Water Institute, Cascades groundwater, exporting water, and more!

Enjoy!

"Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits." -- Mark Twain

Nicaragua: El Porvenir, Bombas Mecate y Mas

2009-06-18T10:00:00-07:00

Evan Miles and I are in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, after a 14-hour, 620-km bus trip from Managua to San Pedro Sula. We were fortunate enough to take the 'express' bus.

Evan and I spent several days (11-14 June) traveling about with Rob Bell, Executive Director of El Porvenir and his new summer intern, Michigan State University civil engineering student Erik Zucker, shown above with El Porvenir's Suzuki 4WD. Rob gave us all a grand tour of some El Porvenir projects in the El Sauce - Dario area of Nicaragua. Some were funded by the Ann Campana Judge Foundaton, which I founded.

In this picture we are looking at a bomba de mecate or simply bomba mecate (aka rope pump) being modified to pump the water up to a tank for delivery to a nearby school.

A German group installed this particular pump.

These rope pumps are all over Nicaragua. I don't recall ever seeing one in Honduras, although I've worked mostly on gravity-flow projects there. They are easy to work on and locally made. They are normally used in hand-dug wells. Below is a close-up photo, and to the left, a little guy gets into the act.

Below, Rob inspects one that has seen its better days. Although it still pumps water, it is on its last legs.

El Porvenir also supports sanitation and reforestation projects. They also sell locally-made efficient cooking stoves. These support forest preservation because they use 60% less wood. They also lead to less watershed degradation, better water quality, and more consistent streamflow.

Here are the folks who work out of the Dario and Terrabona offices. Evan Miles is on the left, then Marlon, David, Jose Mercedes, and Lester.

Some gorgeous scenery outside Matagalpa.

Oh, yeah - the rainy season had started. Rob did a great job keeping us on the road in our little Suzuki 4WD.

More coming later. Have to report on our wonderful trip to Rio Blanco, NI, with Agua Para La Vida, and a trip to Cuyamel near Guatemala border with amigos Rolando Lopez and Alex del Cid.

"Eyes that see do not grow old." -- Nicaraguan proverb

Ground Water Readers Rejoice - 'Groundwater' is One Word!

2009-06-17T23:20:00-07:00

Mary Anderson, extraordinary Editor-in-Chief of the journal Ground Water, is one happy person these days. The NGWA Board approved her request to use the one-word spelling of 'groundwater' for articles in the journal.

Neither the spelling of the journal's title nor the spelling of the organization's name will change. She had not sought these changes.

She had requested this permission months before the USGS announced its new policy, but the Board took a while to act. I suspect that the USGS decision had something to do with the Board's approval.

The entire episode begs the question as to whether the Board should have intervened in this editorial-only issue.

"The more things change, the more they remain the same." -- Unknown

More On Mississippi vs. Memphis: First Transboundary Aquifer Case Before U.S. Supreme Court

2009-06-17T00:20:00-07:00

I posted on this case a few days ago, but Gabriel Eckstein of the International Water Law Project at Texas Tech University has more on this case from a legal perspective.

You can also follow the case on the SCOTUS blog, as suggested by dlb in his comment on my original post.

Back to Gabriel - check out his post.

I like his last paragraph:

Ground water resources, for too many years, have been treated as the neglected stepchild of water law. This is especially true in a transboundary context but also in the domestic laws of many nations, including the US. The adage “out of sight, out of mind” comes to mind. The US Supreme Court has a great opportunity here to develop US jurisprudence and provide guidance for this nascent legal area. It also has a wonderful occasion to influence the evolution of international law in this area.

Neglected stepchild? Amen!

"Before enlightenment, Chop wood
Carry water.
After enlightenment, Chop wood
Carry water. " --Zen Saying

Act Now! Free DVD Based on PBS Documentary 'Poisoned Waters'

2009-06-16T00:50:00-07:00

Just received this email from a reliable source:

A Maryland production company has created an educational DVD from a two-hour PBS documentary called "Poisoned Waters" that aired on FRONTLINE in April. The educational piece pairs five-minute clips from "Poisoned Waters" with brief essays and questions that illuminate key issues about water such as stormwater and agriculture runoff. The video and 26-page booklet fit into a DVD case and are FREE for teachers, nonprofits, activists, and anyone else interested in protecting the nation's waters.

Orders for the FREE resource will be taken until THURSDAY, 18 JUNE. Please e-mail or phone orders in with your name, organization, and address to hsmithprod@aol.com or 301-654-9848.

Questions? Please contact
Catherine Rentz
Hedrick Smith Productions/PBS
301-654-8584 (work)
301-654-9856 (fax)
cdrentz@gmail.com
6935 Wisconsin Ave., Suite 208
Chevy Chase, MD 20815