The News Review:

- Appleton targets potential terror threat to water supply
- Not so fast
- Experts fear 3rd straight dry winter likely

Appleton targets potential terror threat to water supply
Appleton Post Crescent,  USA 
Although no terrorist threats have been received, Water Utility Director Mike Buettner said police have been called for entry alarms to remote pump towers and pump stations in recent years. Buettner said the cameras “are important for security purposes to maintain the water supply’s integrity. “In 1998, two Neenah teenagers were arrested after breaking into the Neenah water treatment plant with plans to contaminate the city’s water supply as a prank by pouring dish soap into the open vats of water. The intake station for Appleton pumps water approximately one mile to the city’s water treatment plant at 2281 Manitowoc Road in Menasha. While the water plant is manned 24 hours a day, seven days a week “the lake station is unmanned,” Buettner said. He said the lake station could be a target. The water could be poisoned or the station could be set on fire and blown up.
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Not so fast
Boston Globe, United States 
Among the items was a transfer of a $235,000 windfall to the stabilization fund. The money comes from a court settlement by 13 oil companies for polluting water supplies with methyl tertiary butyl ether, a gasoline additive. Easton is among 80 water providers in Massachusetts, part of a 17-state class action suit, receiving money. The town’s water supply is not tainted, but if pollution were to be discovered in the next 30 years, the companies would have to pay for cleanup. Combined with $265,000 in free cash, the transfer totaled $500,000 and increased the town’s emergency piggy-bank balance to $2,845,000. Also approved at the meeting, held at Oliver Ames High School, was $200,000 to buy 2 acres of land for drainage on Center Street; $177,150 for financial accounting software and training for the School Department; and authority for selectmen to close Town Hall on Fridays. – Steve HatchFOXBOROUGH ECONOMIC BOOSTS – Foxborough has been designated as one of 16 Massachusetts towns to partner with the state under its new Growth District Initiative, a project to help designated towns attract economic development, said Building Inspector William Casbarra.

Experts fear 3rd straight dry winter likely
San Francisco Chronicle,  USA 
Nevertheless, some scientists on Friday said there are some small reasons to be optimistic about nature’s ability to surprise. Particularly strong winter storms, for instance, are capable of dousing the state over several days with as much as one-third of its annual water supply. Some indicators point to the possibility of such this season, according to Mike Dettinger of the U. “A few storms can make a huge difference in California,” Dettinger said.