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Welcome to
H2O News
Issue
# 010
H2O News is
an on-line publication that announces publications, policies,
and activities about the world’s water. Brief headings are
followed by links that will take you to the complete article you
are interested in.
Created
& Published by Lorne Haveruk CID, CIC, CLIA, WCP
Visit
our website at DHWatermgmt.com for additional articles,
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Weekly
Water Events
1. Water Ban
Bops Bippo the Clown
2. Lancaster,
CA Gets Recycled Water
3. Did you
Know? Facts and Figures about Acid Rain
4. Urban Irrigation
Has Increased Phoenix Area's Rainfall
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1.
Water Ban Bops Bippo the Clown; Drought Changes
Attitudes on Metering
The drought
in the South of England has taken a toll on Zippo's Circus. Officials
from Sutton and the East Surry Water board told the circus it
would be fined up to 5,000 euros and disconnected from water supplies
if Bippo and his fellow clowns doused each other with buckets
of water and squirted water from flower lapel pins. The act typically
leaves the clowns and the audience drenched as about a dozen buckets
of water are tossed. Water restrictions include a ban on watering
gardens, lawns, parks and golf courses with a hose or sprinkler.
Car washing is also banned.
As drought
and water restrictions continue, particularly in the South of
England, attitudes about water metering are changing. A recent
poll shows a majority of Britons now favor mandatory metering.
Historically, water bills in England were calculated based on
the value of the house.
In recent
years, meters were added on a voluntary basis, in new developments
and in areas experiencing severe water shortages.
IA E-Times
July 2006
2.
Lancaster gets recycled water BY
JIM SKEEN, Staff Writer
LANCASTER
- Construction is expected to begin next month on a $5.1 million
pipeline that will carry water purified from Lancaster's sewage
to irrigate park ball fields and other city landscaping.
The 24-inch
diameter pipeline will connect to a sewage treatment plant pipeline
under Avenue E and runs 4.5 miles down Division Street to Lancaster
Boulevard.
"In the
short term, it will handle 1.5 million gallons a day," said
Steve Dassler, assistant public works director.
The project
could ultimately be the first phase of a $110 million citywide
water recycling network. A master plan for water recycling prepared
by RMC Water and Environmental shows a citywide system capable
by 2012 of handling 6,000 acre-feet a year, roughly the amount
used by 6,000 households.
City officials
said such a network could meet the needs of an increasing population,
reduce overdrafting of the region's groundwater, and ease the
burden on the sanitation district.
Engineered
Plumbing Inc. was awarded the contract in a vote last week by
the City Council. Construction is anticipated to begin in August
and be completed by January. The work will include providing storage
and pumping facilities at Division Street and Avenue H-8.
The initial
use for the recycled water will be a baseball complex being established
at the former Antelope Valley Fairgrounds property at Division
Street and Avenue I.
City officials
are in talks with other potential users, including the Lancaster
landfill owner, Antelope Valley Union High School District officials
and Lancaster Cemetery officials.
The city will
be reimbursed for up to $3.4 million of the project cost by Los
Angeles County. City officials originally had planned for a 16-inch
diameter pipeline, but went with the bigger pipe at the request
of county officials, who envision other places to use the water.
The recycled water will come from the Los Angeles County sanitation
district plant that serves Lancaster.
Up to 500,000
gallons will come from a small treatment plant that provides water
to the lakes at Apollo Park.
Up to 1 million
gallons will come from a new treatment project being constructed
by the sanitation district. A permit for that project will come
before state water regulators for approval in September, said
Charles Boehmke, head of the district' planning department.
The city is
looking at the idea of creating an enterprise fund in which the
users of the water would pay the costs of creating and operating
a citywide network.
After the
Division Street pipeline, the master plan calls for a second phase
expanding the initial system by running a pipeline to the city's
160-acre soccer complex on the eastside. The pipeline would run
south on Division to Avenue K and then east to 30th Street East.
A third phase
would run a pipeline west along Avenue K to 70th Street West and
a north-south pipeline from the Lancaster sewage treatment plant
to Avenue K. A third pipe would run along 40th Street West between
avenues K and M.
A fourth phase
would run a pipe along Avenue H between 30th and 90th streets
east.
County sanitation
district officials are upgrading and expanding their Lancaster
operations. Until 2009, when the upgrades to the treatment plant
will be completed, the city will receive recycled water for free.
The city is
negotiating with the sanitation district for the purchase of water
after 2009.
james.skeen@dailynews.com
3.
Did you Know? Facts and Figures about Acid Rain
- Acid rain
occurs when sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are emitted
into the atmosphere, undergo chemical transformations and are
absorbed by water droplets in clouds. The droplets then fall
to earth as rain, snow, or sleet.
- The major
causes of acid rain are the sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides
produced when fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas are burned
and sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are released into the
atmosphere where they can be absorbed by the moisture and become
weak sulphuric and nitric acids, sometimes with a pH of around
3.
- Acid rain
and its frozen equivalents, acid snow and acid sleet, are part
of a larger problem called acid deposition. Acid deposition
also includes direct deposition, in which acidic fog or cloud
is in direct contact with the ground; and dry deposition, in
which ions become attached to dust particles and fall to the
ground.
- Pure water
has a pH of 7 (neutral), while normal rain has a pH of about
5.6. It is slightly acidic because naturally present carbon
dioxide from the Earth's atmosphere dissolves in the rain drops
to form carbonic acid. A change in the pH scale of one unit
reflects a tenfold change in the concentration of acidity. Generally
rain with a pH value of less than 5.3 is considered to be acid
rain.
- Water
courses and lakes are affected by acid rain which falls directly
into them and from water which runs into them. The problem is
worst in the spring, when the snow melts. The pollution accumulated
over the winter period is suddenly released as an 'acid surge'
just at the time when many young fish and insects are most vulnerable.
- A healthy
lake has a pH of about 6.5 and supports a rich variety of wildlife.
As a lake becomes more acidified, the fish population declines
and the birds, which feed on the fish, also decline. For a while
there is usually an increase in the number of insects in the
lake as they are not eaten by fish. However, as the acidity
increases, the number of species found declines. The lake becomes
‘dead’ when the pH reaches about 4.5.
- Asia is
currently the region most affected by acidification; in China
wide-spread burning of high-sulfur coal in small stoves and
industrial burners has contributed to a serious air quality
problem. Southwestern China is particularly affected, with damage
to forests and crops from acidic conditions.
- Acid rain
has broad transboundary implications as it can get carried over
long distances from polluting areas to other countries. For
example, Japan is impacted by Korean and Chinese emissions,
while Canada, in addition to its own sources, receives substantive
emissions from the United States of America.
Information
from 2nd United Nations World Water Development Report, 'Water,
a shared responsibility' (http://www.unesco.org/water/wwap/wwdr2/table_contents.shtml);
from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (http://www.epa.gov/ne/eco/acidrain/intro.html);
from the ENFO Information Leaflets about acid rain (http://www.enfo.ie/leaflets/bs24.htm);
from the Acid Rain section of the Environment Literacy Council
website (http://www.enviroliteracy.org/article.php/2.html).
4.
Urban Irrigation Has Increased Phoenix Area's Rainfall
By Robert
Roy Britt
LiveScience Managing Editor
Phoenix and
other cities in arid regions create artificial conditions that
alter rainfall patterns, a new study finds.
Scientists
have known for some years that cities create their own heat islands,
as dark roofs and blacktop streets gather and retain the sun's
warmth more than a natural environment. That's true in a dry region
like Phoenix or a wet place like Atlanta.
But backyard
oases, green golf courses and other moves to paradise in Phoenix
that rely on irrigation are having their own effect. One ongoing
study finds an entirely new ecosystem has developed around Phoenix.
Now a new
study finds a 12 to 14 percent increase in rainfall in the northeast
suburbs of Phoenix from the pre-urban period (1895-1949) to post-urban
(1950-2003).
"We think
that these human activities can actually alter the natural system
and interact with monsoon flow and mountain convection,"
said Marshall Shepherd, a climatologist at the University of Georgia.
The monsoon
is a period during summer marked by heavy downpours. The monsoon
supplies about half of the Phoenix area's annual rainfall, which
amounts to less than 8 inches in a typical year at Sky Harbor
airport. More falls in the surrounding foothills and suburbs.
The study,
announced today, relied on rainfall data and records from NASA's
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite. It was published
online by the Journal of Arid Environments.
Shepherd points
out that many of the world's fastest growing cities are in arid
regions.
"The
results showed us just how sensitive the water cycle can be to
human-induced changes," said Shepherd, "even under arid
or drought conditions. These findings have real implications for
water resource management, agricultural efficiency and urban planning."
________________________________________________________
Thanks
for reading!
Lorne
Haveruk C.I.D., C.I.C., C.L.I.A
Editors, H20 News
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