The News Review:
- Water, water everywhere
- Countywide planning urged to prevent Kane water crisis.
- Flooding and delays after storms
- San Antonio water woes grow.
Water, water everywhere
Manila Standard Today – Aug 18, 2006
But the problem is not just in bringing clean water to everybody; it is ensuring that there is enough water for everybody for many years to come. Levels in the country’s water sources are at their lowest in years. Since 2002, the water level in Angat Dam, the source of about 76 percent of the water supply in Metro Manila, has fallen to critical levels. Despite the high average rainfall, the Philippines will have, according to estimates by the United Nations, the second to the lowest per capita freshwater in Asia. On nature’s side, it’s the El Niño phenomenon. On the human side (read, government) it’s a lack of catch basins, aqueducts and piping to bring that water to communities, and the denudation of forests and destruction of watershed by irresponsible people. The problem is exacerbated by the overextraction of groundwater, which government seems unable to control…
Of the 45,000 deep wells being operated nationwide, only 18,000, or 40 percent, have been allowed by virtue of water permits. In Metro Manila, there are 3,000 deep wells but only 1,200 have permits. The National Water Resources Board has identified six areas in Metro Manila and adjacent provinces that have nearly depleted aquifers and deteriorating water quality because of the illegal deep wells. These are—Guiguinto-Bocaue-Marilao, Bulacan; Meycauayan-North Caloocan; Navotas-Caloocan-West Quezon City; Makati-Mandaluyong-Pasig-Parañaque-Pasay; Las Piñas-Muntinlupa; and Dasmariñas, Cavite. In fairness, the government is cracking down on these illegal deep wells but the damage has been done. Metro Manila groundwater is at a critical level since 2003. La Niña this year only serves as a temporary respite and should not lead authorities into thinking everything is okay since it’s not.
Countywide planning urged to prevent Kane water crisis.
Free with registration – Chicago Tribune – AccessMyLibrary.com – Aug 18, 2006
(18-AUG-06) Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL). 18–Kane County could very easily face a future water supply crisis if it doesn’t have a cooperative, countywide strategy for managing its shared resources, according.
Flooding and delays after storms
BBC News – Aug 18, 2006
“One of my regular customers lives next door and has been re-homed,” he said. “She said her ears were ringing from the noise this morning. Power failures caused by the thunder storms affected two of Welsh water’s water treatment works. InterruptionsBoth works were back up and running on Friday morning but Welsh Water said people in the Cwmbran area may have experienced low water pressure. People living in high-lying areas also faced the possibility of interruptions to their water supply, said a Welsh Water spokeswoman. “All water supplies should be restored by Friday afternoon,” she said. The fire service also attended floods in Caldicot and Chepstow and there were reports of several homes being struck by lightning…
InterruptionsBoth works were back up and running on Friday morning but Welsh Water said people in the Cwmbran area may have experienced low water pressure. People living in high-lying areas also faced the possibility of interruptions to their water supply, said a Welsh Water spokeswoman. “All water supplies should be restored by Friday afternoon,” she said. The fire service also attended floods in Caldicot and Chepstow and there were reports of several homes being struck by lightning. The reports of flooding in north Wales came from Llandudno Junction, Bangor and Colwyn Bay, although none were said to be serious. Trains delayed by the storms included the 0440 Cardiff to Portsmouth service, the 0600 Cardiff to Penzance and the 0630 Cardiff to Bristol train was cancelled. Rainfall totals were expected to reach 25mm in some places.
San Antonio water woes grow.
Free with registration – San Antonio Express-News – AccessMyLibrary.com – Aug 18, 2006
Even into this summer, some residents kept 2-liter bottles, coolers and plastic jugs filled with water near their sinks, bathtubs and shower stalls just in case. That left them in the undignified but slightly more tenable position of rinsing soap out by pouring water over their heads with a glass. For 15 years, La Joya Water Supply struggled to supply water to one of the fastest-growing regions in the nation. Its travails drew the attention of the state, which last year seized control of the utility, and the situation has begun to improve. But for the company’s customers, change has been slow in coming. The same can’t be said for the Rio Grande Valley as a whole, where runaway growth has sparked an unprecedented transformation — one likely to pose significant problems in the not-so-distant future. According to the 2007 State Water Plan, released in draft form by the Texas Water Development Board last week, population in the eight-county region along the Mexican border between Eagle Pass and Brownsville will nearly triple by 2060 — and yet water use will grow by only 13 percent.