The News Review:

- Many states seen facing water shortages
- Jal Board gearing up for Commonwealth Games
- Low water levels statewide spring drought advisory
- State Proposes to Give Away Water Resources
- … Governor Perdue Orders Utilities, Permit Holders to Reduce…

Many states seen facing water shortages
USA Today – Oct 26, 2007
— An epic drought in Georgia threatens the water supply for millions. Florida doesn’t have nearly enough water for its expected population boom. The Great Lakes are shrinking. Upstate New York’s reservoirs have dropped to record lows. And in the West, the Sierra Nevada snowpack is melting faster each year…
Also, the state dumps hundreds of billions of gallons a year of treated wastewater into the Atlantic through pipes — water that could otherwise be used for irrigation. Florida’s environmental chief, Michael Sole, is seeking legislative action to get municipalities to reuse the wastewater. “As these communities grow, instead of developing new water with new treatment systems, why not better manage the commodity they already have and produce an environmental benefit at the same time?” Sole said. Florida leads the nation in water reuse by reclaiming some 240 billion gallons annually, but it is not nearly enough, Sole said. Floridians use about 2. 4 trillion gallons of water a year. The state projects that by 2025, the population will have increased 34 percent from about 18 million to more than 24 million people, pushing annual demand for water to nearly 3.

Jal Board gearing up for Commonwealth Games
Hindu – Oct 26, 2007
Mathur adds: “The Delhi Development Authority has finally given us land for the Dwarka water treatment plant that will solve the water problem in that and surrounding areas. ” The water utility is also finalising agreements for securing water for the Nangloi plant and the Okhla and Bawana plants. “We will sign a deal for 140 MGD (Million Gallons a Day) of raw water supply for the Sonia Vihar water treatment plant with Uttar Pradesh and have already inked another deal that during closure of the Ganga canal, Haryana will provide us water from the share meant for UP to meet the shortfall,” the CEO says. Review of arrangements The Board has also reviewed arrangements for water supply to the stadiums where the Games will be held. “Barring the Tughlakabad firing range, all other stadiums have proper arrangements for water. We have written to the Sports Authority of India and owners of these stadiums; there are no major works that need to be carried out. ”“For the Games Village itself, we have separate water and sewerage treatment plants and arrangements for 24-hour supply.

Low water levels statewide spring drought advisory
Providence Journal – Providence Journal (subscription) – Oct 26, 2007
“It’s come up to the edge of the dam a couple of times, but it’s not going over,” says Martasian, co-chair of the Hunt River Watershed Association, which is trying to raise awareness of a river that he says most local people don’t even notice. Local waterways are becoming even less obvious these days because a three-month period of below-average rainfall is leaving ground water, streams, rivers and reservoirs at levels lower than usual for this time of year. Yesterday, a committee of the Rhode Island Water Resources Board issued a drought advisory, the first step of a matrix that could proceed to a watch, a warning and finally an emergency. Basically, the board wants homeowners and local officials to minimize wasteful practices and do what they can to conserve water…
But the reservoirs are not filling up. Some water-supply managers around the state are starting to get anxious, O’Keefe said. The record-breaking drought during the summer of 1999 was preceded by less-than-normal rainfall during the previous summer and fall. Board members concede it seems contradictory to be warning of a drought during a rainy week. But the board’s Drought Steering Committee made its decision last week, when the weather was much more summer-like. And the members were looking well beyond current conditions.

State Proposes to Give Away Water Resources
Bay Area Indymedia – Oct 26, 2007
" These agreements, negotiated in secret by DWR in 1994, would prove disastrous to the Bay-Delta estuary ecosystem if permanently adopted. They would give away the largest water storage facility in the state and encourage the overpumping of Delta water in the winter and spring months. Overpumping has resulted in the massive decline of delta smelt, longfin smelt, threadfin shad, juvenile striped bass, chinook salmon, steelhead, green sturgeon and other California Delta fish populations. For immediate release October 26, 2007 Contact: Mindy McIntyre, Water Program Manager mmcintyre [at] pcl…
If permanently adopted, the Monterey Amendments would fundamentally change how the State Water Project (SWP) operates. Specifically, the Monterey Amendments would: Eliminate contract provisions that provide drought safeguards for urban areas. DWRâs own analysis shows that in dry years like 2001, water supplies for homes and businesses in urban areas will be reduced by over 400,000 acre-feet, (a reduction of 26% of total urban water deliveries from the SWP), if the Monterey Amendments are adopted. Give away the State owned Kern Water Bank, the largest water storage facility in the State. Eliminate the common-sense provision in the original contract which required DWR to determine the realistic yield of the SWP. Without a knowing the actual capacity of the SWP, DWR will continue to promise to deliver âpaper water,â water which actually does not exist in the real world. Already, the promise of paper water has lead to over-reliance on the water from the fragile Bay-Delta, over-pumping, inevitable cutbacks in water supplies, and ultimately decreased water supply reliability.

… Governor Perdue Orders Utilities, Permit Holders to Reduce…
All American Patriots – All American Patriots (press release) – Oct 26, 2007
Permit holders will be required to reduce water withdrawals by 10 percent compared to the permit holderâs water usage of the last winter season (beginning of December 2006 through end of March 2007). The new restrictions are effective when the EPD director notifies all permit holders in writing. The permit modifications apply to all non-farm permit holders. âIn this unprecedented drought, we all have to pitch in and find ways to conserve our most precious resource,â Governor Sonny Perdue said. âA 10 percent reduction in water use is a first step, and we will continue to evaluate our drought response and encourage additional conservation as needed…
On Saturday, October 20, Governor Perdue signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency in 85 counties in Georgia due to the historic drought. Governor Perdue also sent a letter to President Bush outlining steps the state has taken to minimize the impact of the drought and emphasizing the increasingly severe threat to Georgia businesses, industry, economic stability and the health and safety of Georgia citizens. He requested President Bush to temporarily exempt the state of Georgia from the Endangered Species Act to reduce the flows from Georgia reservoirs and preserve Georgiaâs precious water resources. On Friday, October 19, Governor Perdue filed a motion for preliminary injunction in the Middle District of Florida Federal Court requiring the Army Corps of Engineers to restrict water flows from Lake Lanier and Georgiaâs federal reservoirs.