The News Review:

- State to restart limited delta water pumping
- TWAD Board to create drinking water facilities in Government schools
- Water crisis likely to continue
- Water supplies — Waste not
- A jolt in the hip pocket

State to restart limited delta water pumping
San Francisco Chronicle – Jun 9, 2007
The decision eased worries among some Bay Area water managers who depend on water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, but many agencies still want consumers to conserve. The Department of Water Resources shut down the pumps May 31 after biologists found a record-low number of delta smelt during trawls. The small fish is considered an indicator species that reflects the health of the delta’s ecosystem. The fish normally swim early in the year near the pumps, which are close to Tracy, but head to cooler water by May. In late May, however, they were still idling nearby and getting sucked into the pumps, prompting fears that the fish could become extinct. The state moved to stop the pumps for the first time in several years…
The smelt will be closely monitored as pumping resumes, officials said, and the operation will be altered at first to protect as many fish as possible. Instead of pumping water into a forebay that feeds into the pumps, the agency will begin slowly drawing water from that forebay without diverting water from the delta. The state’s decision will boost local water supplies but doesn’t mean that water worries are over, said officials from the Livermore-Amador Valley’s Zone 7 water agency, which supplies water to nearly 200,000 people in eastern Alameda County and 3,500 acres of agricultural land in the Livermore Valley. The public will still have to conserve water, the agency said, noting that without the decision to resume pumping, residents and businesses served by the agency may have faced mandatory use restrictions. The agency has relied on groundwater since the May 31 shutdown, officials said. An Alameda County Superior Court judge issued a ruling earlier this year that said the state should shut down the pumps or get permits allowing it to continue killing smelt. The state is appealing the decision.

TWAD Board to create drinking water facilities in Government schools
Hindu – Jun 9, 2007
According to a press release, the Government has sanctioned Rs. 50 lakh for this purpose. A tank with a capacity of 5,000 litres would be constructed in each school, the release said…
50 lakh for this purpose. A tank with a capacity of 5,000 litres would be constructed in each school, the release said. Fund sanctioned Besides, a sum of Rs. 3 lakh was sanctioned to provide water supply to two backward class students’ hostels and three most backward class students’ hostels in the district. These works would be completed within December this year. The board would also undertake works to provide water supply to five cattle markets in the district this year.

Water crisis likely to continue
Times of India – Jun 9, 2007
The worst affected areas havebeen Ashok Raj Path, Dariyapur, Kankarbagh, Punaichak and parts of the old cityarea where people have been forced to look for alternatives due to failure ofPatna Jal Parshad (PJP) to ensure supply of drinkingwater. It is not that the otherparts of the city are well served. The dependence of water supply on electricityhas adversely affected the functioning of water pumping stations of the otherareas as well. All this is taking place at a time when the Parshad or WaterBoard with 92 pumping stations has an installed capacity of supplying 325million litres of water daily. This much of water can easily meet the needs ofthe residents. However, for one reason or the other this optimum supply figureshave rarely beenachieved. “These people areonly interested in collecting taxes bothering little about the basic civicamenities which the residents should get,” said one Sanjay Kumar, a resident ofPunaichak locality.

Water supplies — Waste not
Topeka Capital Journal (subscription) – Jun 9, 2007
That’s a welcome development, even though it’s one that came at a high cost for residents in Topeka, Salina, Hutchinson and other communities that have endured heavy flooding, as well as western Kansans who were inundated by blizzards earlier this year. It’s comforting to know we’re headed into summer without a drought watch in any Kansas county. It means drinking water supplies are steady, reservoirs generally are full and ready for recreational use and farm fields are charged with moisture. Even better, there are indications more water might trickle into the Ogallala Aquifer this year than will be pumped out. That hasn’t happened since 1993, and it’s long overdue. But this is no time to sit back and say, “Aaahhh. Kansans must continue to develop water policies that strike a balance between fostering growth in agriculture and industry while safeguarding against depleting the state’s resources…
Despite the overall drought outlook, that’s never been more important than it is now. Growing interest in biofuels could have a sharp impact on the state’s water supply by raising the demand for corn to produce ethanol. More corn would likely mean more irrigation, which, in turn, would place added pressure on water resources. Plus, the situation isn’t entirely rosy. Extreme western Kansas hasn’t received quite as much rainfall this spring as other parts of the state. In May, for example, Goodland picked up less than an inch of rain while Salina was inundated with 16 inches. Also, Lowe said, water levels remain low in reservoirs in northwest Kansas.

A jolt in the hip pocket
The Australian – Jun 9, 2007
Science is not conclusive on whether this drought is directly related to climate change. But on most projections, droughts will become more frequent and more intense. The security of water supplies will be guaranteed by more expensive sources that are independent of rainfall: recycling, desalination and domestic rainwater tanks. A sign of things to come is last week’s announcement that Brisbane households face increases in water charges of almost 25 per cent. As for electricity, the high prices may come down again, particularly if the drought eases. But the respite will be temporary, with electricity facing a triple whammy. Electricity supplies are getting tighter, with few plans outside Queensland in recent years for new base-load power plants.