The News Review:

- Power, water supply disruptions hit city
- Faster climate change is putting the heat on Florida.
- Haryana also to blame for dry Delhi
- Sinkholes disappearing in southern Manchester
- This drought is different

Power, water supply disruptions hit city
Hindu – Apr 22, 2007
According to Deputy Chief Engineer (Transmission) Mohanachandran the breaker of the 110-kV line from the Pothencode sub-station was damaged in lightning. The 110 kV line to the Thirumala sub-station also tripped for a few minutes on Saturday night. Parts of the city, serviced by the sub-station at Veli, suffered a blackout for at least two hours when the 66 kV line from the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) sub-station snapped on Saturday night. Power supply was restored by about 11.

Faster climate change is putting the heat on Florida.
Free with registration – Miami Herald – AccessMyLibrary.com – Apr 22, 2007
Faster climate change is putting the heat on Florida. | Miami Herald (Miami, FL) (April, 2007). The warming of the planet means Florida, with 1,200 miles of heavi.

Haryana also to blame for dry Delhi
Hindu – Apr 22, 2007
This primarily is so because while the Samajwadi Party-led Government in Uttar Pradesh is being blamed for providing 80 million gallons per day less for the Sonia Vihar water treatment plant, Haryana — which is ruled by the Congress — has also been responsible for the delay in the Munak-Haiderpur channel that would have augmented Delhi’s supply by another 80 MGD. Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit announced in the State Assembly this past week that Delhi had already made the entire payment for the channel to Haryana. Her reply in the House came during a week in which several members raised the issue, at times in a very theatrical manner. Dikshit assured that sufficient tankers would be available to address the situation, the Congress leaders are perturbed by the fact that there appears to be no immediate solution to the crisis…
However, in the budget it has been stated that its full capacity utilisation will be made during this year as the matter is being pursued with the UP Government and the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation to ensure 300 cusecs of raw water per day for the plant. But the way talks have progressed thus far, an improvement appears likely only if there is a regime change in UP. Even then Delhi itself is not fully prepared to handle the water supply. Senior party leaders insist there is a shortage of underground reservoirs in different parts of the city and this is the main reason why Delhi was unable to handle the raw water properly even when it received its full quota for the Sonia Vihar plant for a short duration last year. Only 13 of the 53 new planned underground reservoirs have been completed while five more are nearing completion. This when as per the plan over a score of reservoirs were supposed to have been completed at least two years ago.

Sinkholes disappearing in southern Manchester
Jamaica Observer – Apr 22, 2007
“We have got the report and are reviewing it. We are grateful to the JCO for giving it us and we will be looking into how we can address this,” Neita said. But it is not only the bauxite miners who are polluting the underground water supply in southern Manchester. Residents in a number of districts have been dumping their waste in the sinkholes. Nowhere was this more noticeable than in the Snowdon district. A mound of garbage more than 20 feet high choked the entrance to a large sinkhole, despite a National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) warning that persons caught dumping garbage there would face prosecution. There was also garbage at the mouth of three other sinkholes in the Newport area…
“We can’t keep the garbage in our house. If it was being collected regularly maybe you would find less dumping in the sinkholes,” one resident said. In an effort to raise awareness about the importance of sinkholes to the island’s underground water supply and aquifers, the JCO is planning to take representatives of Alpart, the National Environment and Planning Agency, the Jamaica Bauxite Institute, the Water Resources Authority and residents of various communities on an educational tour of the affected areas on May 13. Of particular concern to the JCO is the newly discovered Smokey Hole at Cross Keys in Manchester, where bauxite mining is scheduled to begin shortly. Stewart and his team at JCO have already explored the sinkhole, and claimed it the deepest hole found in the island. “The surveyed depth was 194 metres, which exceeded the previous record of 186 metres at Morgan’s Pond Hole, also in Manchester,” the report said. Stewart said the May 13 tour was geared at showing the damage that has already been done to some sinkholes, in order to save Smokey Hole.

This drought is different
Palm Beach Post – Apr 22, 2007
Cutting back our use of sprinklers and hoses is the easy part. These drought conditions require water managers to face complex, serious and, in some cases, unprecedented challenges. One is protecting the public water supply from saltwater intrusion. Deep underground, the water supply of South Florida resides in a porous limestone layer, called an aquifer, that is replenished by rainfall seeping from the surface. During a drought, groundwater levels drop below normal. South Florida drought Latest news on restrictions as area faces water crunch.