Water infrastructure

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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The Water Resources Development Act, with $US 20 billion for national water-infrastructure funding, faces a more skeptical House of Representatives next.

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Water Infrastructure Ghana’s water infrastructure is in such a state of disrepair that it threatens the country’s economic growth, which is predicted to reach 8 percent in 2013, Bloomberg Businessweek reported. Some companies have turned to private water tankers to secure supplies for their factories because of intermittent service. U.S. Natural Disasters A new report [...]

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The American Society of Civil Engineers says that more money needs to be spent on infrastructure.

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The numbers dribbled out in a weekly Bureau of Reclamation update. Then they were splashed on a regional map. The conclusion is the same: the Colorado River runoff forecast is dry and getting drier. In fact, that is the case for most of the states west of the Rocky Mountains. They rely on a deep [...]

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Environmental Threats Natural disasters cost the world approximately $US 138 billion last year, the third consecutive year that economic losses from disasters have exceeded $US 100 billion, AlertNet reported. Floods and droughts accounted for almost 80 percent of disaster victims in 2012. Failure to address environmental threats like climate change, deforestation, air pollution, and water [...]

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The freshmen have been initiated, the committees settled and the staffs filled. Now comes the law making. Here’s the first batch of water-related bills in the 113th Congress: Harry Reid (D-Nevada) reintroduced the farm bill that the Senate passed in June 2012. Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan), the Senate Agriculture Committee chair, said that she would hold [...]

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Water Supply A new study about Andean glaciers found that the pace of ice retreat in the tropical Andes is “unprecedented,” putting the water supply for many South American communities at risk, the Guardian reported. The study, published in Cryosphere, claims that an average temperature rise of 0.7 degree Celsius over 70 years is behind [...]

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Australia’s largest urban economy wants to build a parallel water system to deliver non-potable supplies.

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Sandy has brought new urgency to a water resources bill.

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USACE Sandy levee repair

Water utilities prepare for bigger storms and rising seas.

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The agreement marks a turn in Colorado River management.

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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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One week from today, on the first Tuesday in November, American voters will not only choose their representatives. In many states and cities, those casting ballots will also make decisions about their water supply.

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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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A theme of food and water waste reduction, especially in agriculture, characterizes a large number of speeches and events as World Water Week in Stockholm continues, according to Environmental News Service. Hurricane Isaac is not on track to hydrate drought-stricken areas in the Midwest, contrary to many farmers’ hopes. Instead, it may saturate and ruin [...]

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Sewage is discharged in the Cuyahoga River near Cleveland, Ohio in this 1973 photograph. The Clean Water Act, passed a year earlier, has improved water quality in many water bodies, but some communities still struggle to control water pollution from combined sewer systems.

Local government officials and utility leaders ask U.S. Congress to invest in water projects and to provide regulatory flexibility. The framework is part of a broader debate about how to balance ecosystems, public health and financial constraints, in this, the 40th year of the Clean Water Act.

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Revenue for the fund would come from taxes on containers and waste products.

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A new book from the Pacific Institute argues that it is time to reassess the federal government’s roles and responsibilities for water management.

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New EPA Guidance for Combined Sewers Draws Mixed Reviews

Seattle will be the first city to test the new integrated framework.

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