The News Review:

- Rudd promises $1billion for water projects
- 3 States Compete for Water From Shrinking Lake Lanier
- Spreck Rosekrans: Dam distraction won’t help save Delta
- China to spend US$14.5 billion on cleanup of algae-choked lake
- Residents told not to drink from tap; system will take about four…

Rudd promises $1billion for water projects
NEWS.com.au – Oct 27, 2007
Announcing the policy today at the Tugun desalination plant being built on Queensland’s Gold Coast, Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd declared there was an "acute" need for major action on urban water supplies. Mr Rudd’s plan would provide tax credits of 10 per cent – with a capped maximum benefit of $100 million – towards water projects. "The need to fix urban water supplies and urban water security long-term (is) acute and needs new national leadership," he told reporters. "This $1 billion desalination and urban water plan for Australia is designed to provide funding support for desalination plants across the country and also provide funding support for recycling and other water projects concerning the harvesting of storm water. "Mr Rudd acknowledged states had not made perfect decisions over the years when it came to urban water supplies, but said the federal goThe water tax credits would be fully available from 2009 as grants to state and local governments as well as the private sector. Mr Rudd said the $1 billion package could leverage up to $10 billion in new water projects. He defended desalination, which had been criticised for its energy consumption.

3 States Compete for Water From Shrinking Lake Lanier
Washington Post – Oct 27, 2007
Boat ramps begin at the parking lot and end in sand. New islands emerge from shallows. "If the water drops another foot, I don’t know that anyone will be able to get a boat in," said Mike Boyle, 64, a resident who has long trolled the lake for spotted and striped bass. The waters of Lake Lanier, funneled through federal dams along the Chattahoochee River, sustain about 2. 8 million people in the…
Now, amid one of the worst droughts on record, all three places feel uncomfortably close to running dry. That has prompted a three-state fight that has simmered for years to erupt into testy exchanges over which one has the right to the lake’s dwindling water supply and which one is or is not doing its share to conserve it. The dispute, which some experts say provides a glimpse of what uncontrolled growth could mean for the future, has reached all the way to the.

Spreck Rosekrans: Dam distraction won’t help save Delta
Sacramento Bee – Oct 27, 2007
Infrastructure can be installed at less cost so previously depleted aquifers can be replenished in wet years to store supplies for use in dry years. While most of the more than 5 million acre-feet of new groundwater storage has been developed in the Central Valley, contractual arrangements and an extensive conveyance system allow for providing additional supply to communities in both Northern and Southern California. Progressive and fiscally conservative water supply agencies continue to pursue alternatives that include water conservation, recycling and purchasing supplies on the open market. These approaches not only have worked well, they have saved ratepayers billions of dollars. These alternatives represent everything that California strives to be: innovative, efficient and willing to protect the natural resources that underpin its successful economy. California leaders should walk away from the attempts to use the Delta’s crisis as justification for building the three proposed dams. They should focus now on the most urgent priorities: protecting the Delta’s ecosystem and weak levees from potential collapse.

China to spend US$14.5 billion on cleanup of algae-choked lake
International Herald Tribune – Oct 27, 2007
The plan comes amid mounting official urgency about curbing chronic pollution in China's rivers and lakes. The problem has left millions of people without clean water and disrupted city water systems. Lake Tai is among several lakes where blooms of blue-green algae, blamed on pollution, have disrupted water supplies this year. Some types of the algae can produce dangerous toxins. “The plan will control the eutrophication of Lake Tai in five years and realize the clear improvement of water quality,” the government statement said. “In another eight to 10 years, the problem of the Lake Tai water pollution will be basically resolved. ” Today in Asia – Pacific.

Residents told not to drink from tap; system will take about four…
San Diego Union Tribune – Oct 27, 2007
Officials estimate that it will take about four days for the Ramona Municipal Water District's system to refill, re-pressurize and be cleared of contaminants after a fire-related power failure drained the water supply. The town remains under a “no drink” order, which discourages human contact with the water. The restriction probably will be upgraded to a boil-water order before the all-clear is given…
Officials estimate that it will take about four days for the Ramona Municipal Water District's system to refill, re-pressurize and be cleared of contaminants after a fire-related power failure drained the water supply. The town remains under a “no drink” order, which discourages human contact with the water. The restriction probably will be upgraded to a boil-water order before the all-clear is given. The town remains under order not to drink water from the tap. Water systems in Pauma Valley, Dulzura, Jamul, Potrero and elsewhere also were damaged during the wildfires, and users are under mandatory boil-water orders.