The News Review:

- Pipeline repair will squeeze water supply
- Online NewsHour: Insider Forum | Dwindling Water Resources Debated |…
- Could Nuclear Power By The Answer To Fresh Water?
- USGS Examines Importance of Water Budgets in Addressing Water Availabi…

Pipeline repair will squeeze water supply
St. Petersburg Times – Nov 20, 2007
Residents and businesses are being asked to voluntarily shut off their irrigation systems during that week. The pipeline shutdown affects only drinking water, not reclaimed water or wastewater services. "We're letting people know that the water supply will be lower than normal and they should watch what they use," said Pam Greene with Hillsborough County's Water Resource Services Department. "That way they can avoid experiencing low pressure and the possibility of precautionary boil water notices. " The shutdown comes as the region is already under watering restrictions due to a lack of rainfall. The restrictions, imposed in January and extended in July, were slated to expire Nov…
Monday at the Quorum Hotel Westshore in Tampa. Tampa Bay Water, the largest wholesale utility in Florida, supplies water to utilities in the three-county region, which then sell it to nearly 2. 5-million residents of the Tampa Bay area. The utility currently uses an 84-inch-diameter pipeline to provide 60-million to 75-million gallons of water to parts of those three counties. But central Pasco's growth has led to higher demand for water and reliability from the system. So Tampa Bay Water is shutting down the pipe to install a T-shaped connection that would better serve central Pasco, Rapp said.

Online NewsHour: Insider Forum | Dwindling Water Resources Debated |…
NewsHour – Nov 20, 2007
He says, “Have the sustained drought in the Southwest and the severe drought in the — in the Southeast — are these related to global warming?”CAROL COUCH: That’s a question we get quite frequently. I think one of the things that we need to recognize, moving forward, throughout the United States and certainly globally, is that the climate is changing, and so, the extent to which we have developed our water infrastructure, assuming the kinds of delivery of rain and precipitation in the past, we might very well be likely seeing a very volatile future, and one that is not predictable based on past patterns. So, that, kind of, resets how we think about water supply and the need to assure that we have stable and secure water for our future. JUDY WOODRUFF: Jeff Mount, at the University of California, this is a question from Lorraine Bennett, in Long Beach, California. She says, “Regardless of where our water comes from, wouldn’t it be valued more if water rates were to increase substantially, if the price of water to residents and businesses alike was equal to its value?” What about that? And could that in some way alleviate any of what we’re discussing this morning?JEFFREY MOUNT: The problem with — yes is the answer. The simple answer is yes, that, in fact, we pay very little — very little for our water when we use it for agriculture. For example, here in California, there’s an order-of-magnitude difference in the price of water in some places, between what’s used for agriculture and what’s used in the urban environment…
” I mean, he says the state should require an immediate moratorium on new homes and subdivisions. How much is growth — and I know this is not just a question that applies to the state of Georgia, but to the entire country in high-growth areas — how much is this a factor, or should it be a factor?CAROL COUCH: Well,it is a big factor. We are, in the state, moving to enact, in January, the first comprehensive statewide water plan that is conducted comprehensively how we’re developing water resources, and it ties directly to understanding our long-term economic needs and the needs to assure the environmental needs of water. The state of Georgia has benefited from abundant water, to the extent that we have taken it for granted. JUDY WOODRUFF: And we know that growth is not only — as I said, it’s not only an issue in the Southeast; you know, the Sun — across the Sun Belt. We have a question from an Anthony Masini, from Yerington, Nevada, and I’ll pose this to Jeff Mount, but I’d like for — Peter Gleick, for you to comment, as well.

Could Nuclear Power By The Answer To Fresh Water?
Science Daily – Science Daily (press release) – Nov 20, 2007
With predictions that more than 3. 5 billion people will live in areas facing severe water shortages by the year 2025, the challenge is to find an environmentally benign way to remove salt from seawater. Global climate change, desertification, and over-population are already taking their toll on fresh water supplies. In coming years, fresh water could become a rare and expensive commodity.

USGS Examines Importance of Water Budgets in Addressing Water Availabi…
WebWire – WebWire (press release) – Nov 20, 2007
, , , , Ensuring sustainable water supplies require. ,, ,, ,, ,, Ensuring, sustainable, water, supplies, require…
Uncertainties that exist in water budgets are presented to provide an appreciation of the complex nature of evaluating how much water may be available for human and environmental needs. The study is relevant to a number of fields including agriculture, meteorology, climatology, aquatic ecology, mining, water supply, ground water management, flood control, reservoir management, wetland and riparian ecology, and pollution control. The Circular “Water Budgets: Foundations for Effective Water-Resources and Environmental Management” is available online at.