The News Review:

- Protect drinking water supply
- USDA sends in wasps to save water supply
- A new mantra for China’s big thirst: Less is more
- Local water system not as susceptible to drought

Protect drinking water supply
The lympian
Some view bottled water as better than tap water but there are reasons why bottled water is not beneficial. The resources used in producing bottling and transporting bottled water use a significant amount of energy and contribute to climate change. Bottled water most often is supplied in plastic bottles that can be recycled but often end up in landfills. Chemicals used to make the plastic bottles are suspected of leaching into the water and might have undesired side effects. The bottled water industry is not as closely regulated as tap water and the source might even be tap water.

USDA sends in wasps to save water supply
Monitor
If the hydrilla problem worsens again the carp might have to be reintroduced White said. Some have been caught or captured by their natural predators he said. Now scientists are hoping to cut down on another pest before it further depletes the water supply. “We’re being proactive as scientists trying to solve these problems in advance” Goolsby said. Melissa McEver covers health and environment issues for Valley Freedom Newspapers. She is based in Harlingen and you can reach her at (956) 430-6252. See archived ‘Now’ stories » .
Related from Horsepowergraphics: Senator moves to toughen Walking Horse soring laws

A new mantra for China’s big thirst: Less is more
International Herald Tribune
“More important we must depend on saving water. ” It was Mao Zedong founder of communist China who first dreamed of the canal project in 1952 remarking that the wet south should share water with the dry north. The densely populated north China plain that includes Beijing has only about 8 percent of the country's water resources. The result: a project estimated at $62 billion more expensive than the Three Gorges Dam. It would transfer 12 trillion gallons a year from the Yangtze and its tributaries to wheat farms and fast-growing northern cities. The eastern route to be completed in 2013 follows the remains of the Grand Canal completed some 1400 years ago and will use pumping stations to raise the water 130 feet before it descends into the booming coastal city of Tianjin and Shandong province. The western route has been postponed pending further study.

Local water system not as susceptible to drought
The Salinas Californian
The drought is largely a regulatory drought. In the decades since California last built a major statewide water facility court rulings have allocated 48 percent of developed water to environmental uses and the state’s population has tripled. Both are demands on California’s water supply that should have been – but weren’t – met with new storage and delivery. (2 of 2)Both environmental and urban uses share a common feature: Their water needs can’t easily be reduced during a shortage. That means cutbacks largely come from agriculture.