The News Review:

- Water ‘war’ may brew beneath surface
- Stricter water rules may be on the way
- EDITORIAL: Flexible water policy.(Editorial)
- Central nod for Rs.302.57-crore JNNURM schemes for capital city
- Why doesn’t Northern Ireland have water bills?

Water ‘war’ may brew beneath surface
San Diego Union Tribune – Mar 27, 2007
During drought, as much as 60 percent can be provided, according to the Water Education Foundation. The figure is much lower in the San Diego region. The San Diego County Water Authority draws 2 percent of its annual supplies from underground, said Ken Weinberg, the agency's director of water resources. But it buys most of its water – 73 percent – from the Metropolitan Water District, a big user of groundwater. The San Diego authority is aggressively mining for groundwater, but there are scant amounts left untapped locally, Weinberg said. Long-term, new in-county groundwater programs could store as much as 30,000 acre-feet. One acre-foot is about 326,000 gallons, or enough for two average households for a year.

Stricter water rules may be on the way
St. Petersburg Times – Mar 27, 2007
addVariable(“fontcolor”, “0×336699″); ap. write(“flashcontent”); BROOKSVILLE – Water officials are hoping to curb local use to prevent supply problems from spreading to west-central Florida. Along with warnings of overpumping, longtime concerns over the health of water resources could lead the board of the Southwest Florida Water Management District, commonly known as Swiftmud, to create "water use caution areas" in Hernando and Citrus counties. After meetings with water permit holders, local government and utility officials, board members are expected to make a decision in July. The designation, which could be in some or all parts of both counties, could eventually mean higher rates for residents using too much water. It would also give the water district the power to establish or push for these regulations. "The board wanted to put more focus on the north rather than just the problems in the south," said Michael Molligan, Swiftmud spokesman.

EDITORIAL: Flexible water policy.(Editorial)
Free with registration – Contra Costa Times – AccessMyLibrary.com – Mar 27, 2007
(Editorial) –> COPYRIGHT 2007 Contra Costa Times Mar. 27–IN A STUNNING BLOW to California water users, a superior court judge ruled that the state’s largest water system be shut down unless officials comply with California’s endangered species law. The judge gave the Department of Water Resources 60 days to follow the state’s tough environmental law, or the pumps sending water to 23 million Californians will be closed. The basis for Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch’s.

Central nod for Rs.302.57-crore JNNURM schemes for capital city
Hindu – Mar 27, 2007
Water Resources Minister N. Premachandran said in a statement that the Central Monitoring Committee cleared the two projects on Monday. With the sewerage project becoming operational, around 2. 3 lakh persons residing in 63. 65 square kilometre area of Thiruvallom, Nemom, Kadakampally, Attipra and Ulloor in the city would get sewerage facility. It would also result in the laying of 240 km of pipeline and 31 km of pumping line and establishment of a 107 million litres per day (mld) capacity treatment plant…
01 lakh persons by 2021, he said. Premachandran said the drinking water supply scheme envisages laying 690 km of pipeline covering city areas and parts of Kudappanakkunnu, Vattiyoorkkavu and Sreekaryam panchayats. The project also has provision for replacement of 1. 48 lakh defective house connections and 85,000 defective water meters and to create effective mechanisms to tackle water leakage. The scheme has been drawn up with the objective of meeting the drinking water needs in the coverage areas till 2036. The Union Government has also cleared the first stage of the sewerage scheme for the Kochi Corporation having an outlay of Rs.

Why doesn’t Northern Ireland have water bills?
BBC News – Mar 27, 2007
“They just paid for their rates and the water came out of it. The proposal from Peter Hain was for a separate bill. Unlike some parts of England, water itself is not in short supply in Northern Ireland, which is home to Lough Neagh – the biggest fresh water lake in the British Isles. It alone provides 40% of Northern Ireland’s drinking water. But the water infrastructure – pipes, sewage plants etc – has suffered a chronic lack of investment in recent years, says Michael Smyth, an economist at the University of Ulster and political adviser. While privatisation of water in England delivered a shot of investment for new infrastructure, in Northern Ireland the water supplier remains in public hands. Northern Ireland faces a 2010 deadline for compliance to EU water standards and needs 3bn over the next 10 years, he says.