The News Review:

- Water-to-urine space station unit finally working
- Pass law to cut delta water use panel says
- Water Supply May Be Affected By Low Levels At Thurmond Lake
- Water pumps failed in Yorba Linda fire officials say
- ACWA Conference Set to Prepare Water Agencies for 2009
- City water rate increase likely for 2009
- Qld coalition want water trigger data

Water-to-urine space station unit finally working
Houston Chroniclenbsp;United Statesnbsp;
The decision paid off. Endeavour will depart on Friday with a half dozen quart-size samples of water reclaimed from combinations of urine perspiration and other humidity collected from the station’s air supply. The fluid samples will be tested in NASA laboratories to verify the accuracy of a water treatment analyzer aboard the space station. The space agency plans at least three months of recovery operations and testing before it declares the water safe enough to drink. Meanwhile Mission Control carried out a three-hour test of the repairs to the station’s solar power network carried out by Endeavour’s astronauts. During four outings outside the space station the astronauts cleaned and lubricated rotational mechanisms that turn the solar panels on opposite ends of the station.

Pass law to cut delta water use panel says
San Francisco Chroniclenbsp; USAnbsp;
tmpl –>Over the next two years California should pass laws cutting water consumption by 20 percent shore up strategic levees study new reservoirs and pass Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s $9 billion-plus water bond according to a set of preliminary recommendations released Wednesday by a Cabinet-level panel. tmpl –> Images.

Water Supply May Be Affected By Low Levels At Thurmond Lake
WJBF-TVnbsp;GAnbsp;
Thatrsquo;s because their water supply may be cut. Count on our Fraendy Clervaud for the details.

Water pumps failed in Yorba Linda fire officials say
Los Angeles Timesnbsp;CAnbsp;
Water officials also have acknowledged that there had been problems with water pressure in the neighborhood. “We were doing improvements to make it more reliable until we could build a new reservoir” Vecchiarelli said. The water district had recently improved the backup pump and set aside up to $9 million for the new reservoir to supply Hidden Hills through a gravity-driven system he said. Officials said Tuesday that the reservoir has been on the to-do list since at least 2001 when developer Shapell Industries first submitted plans to build homes around Hidden Hills. The agency has recognized the need for more reservoirs in the eastern side of Yorba Linda for 30 years but depends on developers’ building plans to determine where to locate the infrastructure. Since then officials said they have hit stumbling blocks with Shapell and the state which owns the land on which the planned 2-million-gallon reservoir and pipes leading to it would be built. Land use hang-ups and environmental review processes have caused delays they said.

ACWA Conference Set to Prepare Water Agencies for 2009
MarketWatchnbsp;
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At the opening breakfast on Wednesday Dec. 3 a panel of experts led
by National Geographic magazine Executive Editor Dennis Dimick will
provide a worldwide perspective on water issues. “Water: A Global
Priority A Global Challenge” will look at water challenges around
the world and how their solutions can be applied to California’s
supply and delivery system. Two of the state’s top water officials Resources Secretary Mike
Chrisman and DWR Director Lester Snow will provide the latest on
drought and other challenges during a luncheon program on Thursday
Dec. Dry conditions statewide have put cities and counties at risk
for fire and state water allocations are predicted to be just 15% in
2009 — the second lowest in history. “Water and Fire: Drought
Management in the Golden State” will outline how the administration
plans to deal with drought in 2009.
Related from Asportforumblog: Freshwater Announces Favorable Media Endorsement of the Water …

City water rate increase likely for 2009
Arcadia News Leadernbsp;WInbsp;
Trempealeau residents will also be facing water rate hikes soon as the lone operating municipal well in the village is perilously close to exceeding limits for nitrates. Officials there hope to create two new wells and a treatment facility by the end of 2009 a project that would be funded by increased water rates. Residents of some communities such as the ones who live in Buffalo City live daily with a water supply that is riddled with contaminants. Signs are hung on many public bathroom walls warning pregnant women and children not to consume the water. Despite the obvious problems a recent referendum for a proposed water and sewer project was shot down by residents 5 to 1 amidst concerns about the cost of the project. Clean safe water may come at a small financial cost to water utility customers but the quality of Arcadia’s water is outstanding.

Qld coalition want water trigger data
The Agenbsp;Australianbsp;
The commission on Wednesday night recommended that the trigger point for recycled water to be added to drinking supplies remain at its previous set mark – when the combined storage of Wivenhoe Somerset and North Pine dams dip below 40 per cent. Premier Anna Bligh had requested independent guidance on the matter following recent rain lower water use by residents the completion of a desalination plant and community concern over drinking recycled water. QWC chair Elizabeth Nosworthy told the government the 40 per cent trigger should remain as the emergency trigger to augment water supplies which could happen as early as May 2009. But a “stand down” trigger for the use of recycled water would be set at a later stage taking into account water costs water balance and climatic conditions Ms Nosworthy said. She said that trigger should be set at a point which would allow water supplies to recover to such an extent that recycled water would not have to be added again within the short to medium term. Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg said the QWC should immediately announce at what point that would happen. “It’s absolute confusion because at the moment the government says no at 46 per cent but if it starts going in when it gets down to 40 it may indeed keep going in after it reaches 50 or even 60 per cent” Mr Springborg told reporters.