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The High Plains Aquifer, a once-bountiful water source that covers broad swaths of the midwest United States, has been drained to dangerously low levels, especially in the south. The aquifer, The New York Times reported, no longer supports irrigation on hundreds of miles of farmland in Texas and Kansas. Superstorm Sandy Recovery Some beaches in [...]
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Take Two The Bureau of Land Management’s revised regulations for hydraulic fracturing, aka fracking, on federal lands pleased almost no one outside of Congress. The proposal has three prongs: disclosure of chemicals in the fracking fluid, quality-control for well construction, and wastewater disposal. The BLM’s goal is to streamline the reporting process “without introducing unnecessary [...]
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It’s apparent why a great number of Michigan residents wonder about the risks of fracking and whether the state and the federal government ought to shut the technology down. The industrial breakthrough that now enables developers to recover oil and natural gas from hydrocarbon-rich shales 6,000 to 10,000 feet beneath the surface is potentially fraught with danger.
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South America A new billboard in Peru is creating fresh water from the air, helping to supply local communities, according to the Global Post. Though the area typically receives very little rainfall, the billboard takes advantage of the region’s high humidity. In an effort to clean up oil projects in the Amazon, Peru has declared [...]
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Though groundwater gets most of the attention, rivers are also affected by the rush of shale gas development across the United States, according to a new study that claims both wastewater and well development degrade water quality, but in different ways.
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Colorado residents will face some of the strictest water limits ever this spring and summer, as the state’s largest municipal water providers try to curtail spring and summer watering to two times per week. The restrictions, The Denver Post reported, show how severe the ongoing drought has been in Colorado. Fracking Commentary Two scientists explained [...]
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Interior Secretary nominee Sally Jewell is expected to take the helm of a department with major influence over United States’ water, food, and energy systems later this month after a relatively cordial confirmation hearing.
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As drought settles in to water districts around the U.S., particularly in southern and western states, reservoirs are gaining prominence. In Texas alone, planners are envisioning 26 new large reservoirs, The New York Times reported, with a $US 13.6 billion price tag. Hydraulic Fracturing in Europe Poland is the latest country to find itself on [...]
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A Senate committee hosts arguments on the federal government’s role in the U.S. natural gas boom, while Democrats this week released a climate bill that could be the first in years to reach the Senate floor.
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Water Supply Wichita Falls, Texas is moving forward with plans to recycle its wastewater into tap water, with hopes to produce 5 million gallons per day next year to augment the city’s drought-ravaged water supply, The Texas Tribune reported. As the drought drags on, more communities in Texas are turning to potable-reuse technology; Big Spring’s [...]
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Americas Water levels on Lake Michigan and Lake Huron have reached their lowest point since record keeping began in 1918, surpassing the previous record low set in 1964, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. While warm, dry weather has drawn lake levels down, dredging of the St. Clair River has also contributed to a long-term decline [...]
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Africa Water service, as well as electricity and phone service, has been cut in Timbuktu, the latest casualty of the ongoing conflict in Mali, CNN reported. The Azawad National Liberation Movement (MNLA), a group active in northern Mali that opposes the government, blamed the outages on “terrorist” sabotage. Following a devastating drought in 2009, pastoral [...]
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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in its first-ever inventory of the state of federal flood control systems, found that 22 percent of the levees surveyed were rated “unacceptable”, according to the Associated Press. The corps, claiming the threat of terrorism and sabotage, would not say why those levees were so rated. Some 40 percent [...]
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California The first measure of Sierra Nevada snowpack in 2013 showed promising signs for California’s water supply, with hydraulic fracturing in the Monterey shale may be in California’s future, according to this column posted by Reuters. The state government took the first steps toward expanded fracking by publishing draft rules for the practice on December [...]
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Barge traffic on a stretch of the Rhine River has come to a halt due to high water levels, which can impede barge movement under bridges and create dangerous waves, Reuters reported. Shipments of gasoline headed for Germany and Switzerland could get backed up as a result. A new report by the World Wide Fund [...]
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The increasing demand for water, food, and energy is one of four “megatrends” that will shape the next 15 to 20 years, according to a National Intelligence Council report that looks at the forces creating “tectonic shifts” in how the world works. Many countries will not be able to avoid food and water shortages without [...]
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Water Shortages A severe water shortage in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second largest city, has officials seeking $82 million to implement mid-term solutions and warning that water rationing could continue well into 2013, News Day reported. Declining rainfall and a growing population in the region have contributed to the shortage. Dry conditions in Texas are stoking tensions [...]
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Yesterday, American voters in many states and cities around the nation supported hundreds of millions of dollars in water infrastructure investment.
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President Obama Wins Re-election The U.S. energy industry is expecting stricter regulations during President Obama’s second term, with tighter rules for water management, emissions and drilling on federal land, Reuters reported. Nonetheless, the President is also expected to support the development of natural gas, and will likely give eventual approval for the Keystone XL oil [...]
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The primary role of the Army Corps of Engineers, a key agency in the nation’s water management system, is shifting from the construction of new works to the repair and maintenance of existing ones, yet it does not have the funding to ensure its dams, levees, and river channels function properly, according to a report [...]
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