The News Review:

- Need for backup water supply likely to delay road work
- Drops to drink
- Congress promises water for poll-bound Himachal villages

Need for backup water supply likely to delay road work
Daily News Transcript – Dec 19, 2007
A year after the project was delayed as the town and NStar Electric tried to negotiate a deal that would result in laying power lines under the road to supply Westwood Station from Norwood’s electric substation, the town is considering another reason to rip up University Avenue – water pipes. The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority is considering several ideas that will bring a backup water pipe to the area to serve towns including Norwood, Dedham and Westwood now supplied by a single 36-inch water main. The fear is that if anything happened to the 36-inch main, several towns would be in trouble, specifically Norwood, which gets all its water from the MWRA. Dedham and Westwood are partially supplied by the MWRA. General Manager John Carroll, who is also on the MWRA Board of Directors, said the authority is considering many options, all with a common thread. "Every one of the six or eight options includes putting a pipe beneath University Avenue from Canton Street to Rte…
2 million Public Works Economic Development grant slated to resurface University Avenue and add new sidewalks and decorative landscaping, Carroll said the idea would be to allow the authority to install the pipe next summer while it decides on its final plan. That would allow the town to complete the University Avenue upgrades the following year. Getting a backup supply of water will also play a factor in Norwood’s plans for Buckmaster Pond and whether to go through with plans to reactivate the wells there. Carroll told the Board of Selectmen he will set up a joint meeting with the authority early next year to discuss the situation. Brian Falla can be reached at 781-433-8339 or at bfalla@cnc.

Drops to drink
News & Observer – Dec 19, 2007
They range from lower water-use toilets to plants that use less water to helping industries curb what for them is a tremendous expense. In North Carolina, such efforts have been slow to gain traction, but there are encouraging signs in homes and in businesses. There has been an awakening to the fact that resources are strained, and all citizens must work to preserve and protect them. With its top scientific research universities, North Carolina in fact could be a national leader in research on water and energy conservation. The universities already are doing much in that regard. Officials from the appropriate departments also can work on raising public awareness of the need to conserve. How many of us, for example, have observed excessive watering of lawns or washing of cars by people who simply didn’t seem to know that alerts had been sounded and limits installed? Or, did they just not care?The answer to dealing with potentially long-term water shortages lies in bringing attention to the issue, raising the money to seek ways to deal with it, and marshalling public support for conservation…
Officials from the appropriate departments also can work on raising public awareness of the need to conserve. How many of us, for example, have observed excessive watering of lawns or washing of cars by people who simply didn’t seem to know that alerts had been sounded and limits installed? Or, did they just not care?The answer to dealing with potentially long-term water shortages lies in bringing attention to the issue, raising the money to seek ways to deal with it, and marshalling public support for conservation. It also includes figuring out better means of reusing water supplies that already are available, and of shielding those supplies from contamination. Steps of that sort will be essential to safeguarding the quality of life we have come to expect, and perhaps in many cases have taken for granted. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be published, broadcast or redistributed in any manner.

Congress promises water for poll-bound Himachal villages
Newindpress – Newindpress (subscription) – Dec 19, 2007
“Water scarcity is creating problems for us. We pay our bills regularly but don’t get regular supply of water. Therefore, we will vote for the candidate who will listen to our problems,” said Rooma Devi, a Bamsan resident. That is the stance of a majority of voters in Dhumal’s constituency as they are feeling let down by politicians of all hues. The BJP blames the ruling Congress government which has altered several schemes announced by the former BJP government, which it feels could possibly have solved the problem. Admitting that the water crisis is severe, Dhumal said: “This problem could have been solved five years ago but nothing has been accomplished due to the lax attitude of the Congress government which followed ours.