The News Review:

- State Emergency Team Activated for Drought
- Canterbury water scheme gets big push
- Some Aurorans to receive water rebates
- Water Supply workers lie to us, resident says
- Aquarium conserves water during drought

State Emergency Team Activated for Drought
Local Tech Wire – Oct 30, 2007
The State Emergency Response Team usually is called to action to handle preparations for and response to natural disasters like hurricanes or winter storms. But Bryan Beatty, secretary of the state Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, said Tuesday that his office has assumed responsibility for coordinating the drought response effort. Various state departments will continually assess the drought’s impact on North Carolina’s economy, health, agriculture industry and energy and water resources, and targeted actions will be taken as needed, Beatty said. Mike Easley reiterated his call for statewide conservation, noting that state government water consumption has dropped by 31 percent in the past two months. "It’s easier than we realize to do it, if we just think about it," Easley said at a news conference. "It’s just a matter of adjusting those habits…
Rains last week helped replenish depleted reservoirs, but many lakes remained well below normal levels. Meteorologists also have forecast a drier-than-normal winter across the Southeast. "It’s difficult to sustain a community that doesn’t have a water supply. You can’t do that," said Bill Ross, secretary of the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Falls Lake, for example, rose about 8 inches but is still more than 7 feet below normal. The lake, which supplies water to Raleigh and several Wake County towns, leaves residents with 111 days of quality drinking water if the region doesn’t see any rain in the next three months. Lake Michie, one of Durham’s water supplies, and Jordan Lake, which supplies Cary and Chatham County, both rose a couple of feet but remain several feet below normal.

Canterbury water scheme gets big push
Stuff.co.nz – Oct 30, 2007
Hunter Downs project manager Brian Ellwood said the scheme, if approved, would be the second or third-largest in New Zealand after the Rangitata Diversion Race (RDR), which supplied water from the Rangitata River to 64,000ha of land in Mid-Canterbury. The largest outside the RDR would be the Central Plains Water scheme being planned for Central Canterbury. Securing a reliable water supply was crucial to the viability of the Hunter Downs scheme, and the reason why the application was being made for a minimum flow of 100 cumecs. The minimum set by the water plan for the river is 150 cumecs. Farmer and real estate agent Ian Moore, a trustee of the irrigation trust, said that for generations farmers had undervalued the agricultural potential of South Canterbury. The area had some of the most productive soils in New Zealand, he said. Irrigation was the key and farmers would not invest until they had confidence in the water supply, he said.

Some Aurorans to receive water rebates
Rocky Mountain News – Oct 30, 2007
The rebates will rangefrom a few cents to more than $9,000. Also Monday, the City Council agreed to a memorandum ofunderstanding with the State Land Board and Lend Lease, a developertrying to build homes on the former Lowry Bombing and Gunnery Range. City officials had opposed the project, citing concerns about increasedtraffic and a lack of water supply. Council member Bob Broom has said that the memorandum “just meansthat we’re going to work closely with the State Land Board and thedeveloper. Also Monday, council members approved the appointment of the city’snew fire chief, Mike Garcia, 51. © Rocky Mountain News.

Water Supply workers lie to us, resident says
Fiji Times – Oct 30, 2007
A resident of Valele, in Ba, said people in the area had faced water disruptions for the past three months. Farida Bibi said her family had resorted to using water from a friend’s borehole. She said families have made numerous calls to the water supply department and were reassured the problem would be fixed but nothing had been done. “Every time we call the water supply department they always tell us that the water could be back any minute but nothing happens,” she said. “So we have now resorted to getting water from a nearby water borehole. Hopefully the water supply department does something about this problem. “We have three children in primary school and are thankful that the school is getting water…
Farida Bibi said her family had resorted to using water from a friend’s borehole. She said families have made numerous calls to the water supply department and were reassured the problem would be fixed but nothing had been done. “Every time we call the water supply department they always tell us that the water could be back any minute but nothing happens,” she said. “So we have now resorted to getting water from a nearby water borehole. Hopefully the water supply department does something about this problem. “We have three children in primary school and are thankful that the school is getting water. “When we go to the bore holes and two drums and make that last until refill on refill on Wednesday,” she said.

Aquarium conserves water during drought
USA Today – Oct 30, 2007
“We’re trying to mainly use water for essential firefighting operations,” said Capt. Bill May, a fire department spokesman. “Maybe if we can get the water supplies back up, we can revisit the process. The drought has worsened with sweltering temperatures and a drier-than-normal hurricane season. Now drought in almost one-third of the Southeast has been deemed “exceptional” — the most severe drought category. West Georgia’s Paulding County has taken some of the most aggressive steps so far, restricting watering for landscapers and car washes that don’t recycle and imposing fines on first offenses for watering violations. The county has also ordered homes and business to cut water use by 10 percent or face stiffer fees.