WaterWired

UC Press: 'Introduction to Water in California'

From the UC Press WWW site:

The food each of us consumes per day represents an investment of 4,500 gallons of water, according to the California Farm Bureau. In this densely populated state where it rains only six months out of the year, where does all that water come from? This thoroughly engaging, concise book tells the story of California's most precious resource, tracing the journey of water in the state from the atmosphere to the snowpack to our faucets and foods. Along the way, we learn much about California itself as the book describes its rivers, lakes, wetlands, dams, and aqueducts and discusses the role of water in agriculture, the environment, and politics. Essential reading in a state facing the future with an already overextended water supply, this fascinating book shows that, for all Californians, every drop counts. A new preface on recent water issues brings the book up to the minute.

• Features 130 color photographs and 26 color maps

• Includes a table, "Where Does Your Water Come From?," that answers the question for 315 California cities and towns 

• Provides up-to-date information on water quality in California, covering such timely topics as Giardia, groundwater contamination, fluoride, and the bottled-water phenomenon

This is a slight revision (new preface updating issues) of author David Carle's 2004 edition, which I enjoyed very much and found extremely useful.

You can purchase it for less money at Amazon.com.

"Should be in every home, within easy reach. . . . Anyone moving to California should get a copy right away." —California Coast and Ocean

EPA Rainwater Harvesting Handbook: Guide to Policy Implementation

CJ Brooks' Watering the Desert blog alerted me to this EPA handbook on rainwater harvesting, Managing Wet Weather with Green Infrastructure, Municipal Handbook, Rainwater Harvesting Policies.

It includes policy recommendations and information on how to protect human health should you desire to use it for drinking or bodily contact. It also explains the benefits of rainwater harvesting.

Before you indulge in rainwater harvesting, be sure to check on local/state regulations and plumbing codes. Colorado forbids rainwater harvesting (unless you secure a water right) because it assumes that all rainwater eventually reaches surface water or ground water. So by harvesting rainwater without a right, you may be interfering with someone else's water right. Hey, guys - ever heard of E or ET?

The pamphlet notes that the City of Seattle has secured a city-wide water permit to ensure the legality of rainwater harvesting efforts.

It's a good little pamphlet, and CJ has a good discussion of its salient points, including mention of price as a means to promote conservation. Damn! Another doff of the cap to Aguanomics!

Want some detailed information? Check out Brad Lancaster's books on rainwater harvesting: Volume 1 and Volume 2.

Another tool in our water toolbox!

“The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain.” --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

21st Century Water Infrastructure and Fiscal Stimulus

The attached document has been making the rounds among WaterWonks and others. The NIWR folks who sent it to me don't know much about it and are curious about the group(s) behind it. And like me, they are university types who become very curious whenever:

• money is involved;

• university consortia are mentioned; and

• your university is not a member.

Our lobbyist has some feelers out - nothing yet.

The authors of the document are Valerie Nelson of the Sustainable Water Forum and Paul Schwartz of the Clean Water Action.

Download the document below.

21st Century Water Infrastructure and Fiscal Stimulus

Here is the first section of the document:

A fiscal stimulus package in early 2009 offers several opportunities for advancing a more sustainable approach to water, stormwater, and wastewater management.  21^st Century systems will use, treat, store, and reuse water efficiently at small scales and blend designs into restorative hydrologies.  Infrastructure that embeds efficient water, energy, materials, and transportation technologies into buildings and neighborhoods can lighten the environmental footprint of cities and towns, recover and recycle increasingly-scarce resources, restore livability of communities, and dramatically cut the economic costs of providing basic services in the U.S. High-quality jobs will be created in a wide variety of building, construction, and research sectors.

Three distinct approaches will advance an innovation agenda:

• Grants and loans to “ready” projects in the states
• Research and development, and demonstration projects in 21^st Century infrastructure
• Tax incentives, retrofits of federal, state, and local buildings, and loan guarantees – “just add water” efficiency, stormwater management, and reuse designs to the policy tools under consideration for building a low-carbon economy

President-Elect Barack Obama and Congressional Committees have articulated the need for a fiscal stimulus bill to put unemployed Americans back to work and to improve our nation’s deteriorating infrastructure. Here, we address questions about the design of a stimulus bill and recommend $1 billion in funding for 21^st Century (smart, clean, and green) water infrastructure projects and $100 million for research and development and demonstration projects to advance the state of practice in the water management sector.  We also recommended that water technologies be added to energy-related tax incentives, public building retrofits, and loan guarantees.

We agree that the primary goal of a fiscal stimulus bill is to provide a counter-cyclical infusion of funding into the economy. If properly implemented, an infrastructure stimulus package goes further by investing in necessary physical infrastructure that protects public health and safety, enhances economic growth potential, and improves quality of life. Concerns about the capacity of state and local governments to immediately invest these funds in ready-to-go projects, and the ability of industry to meet the challenge and quickly ramp up operations, are well placed. Our proposals will utilize established funding channels to restore employment in industry sectors that are separate from the traditional infrastructure construction trades, with projects that are typically built or can be allocated within very short timeframes.  As a bonus, these projects will serve as templates for future green energy, water reuse, and low-cost sustainability projects in this industry.

 

Here is where some other universities are mentioned:

American universities also have a pent-up demand for research and development in water technologies. The  University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has directed an NSF-funded nationwide water technology research program involving M.I.T., University of Michigan, Howard University, University of Notre Dame, Clark Atlanta, UC Berkeley, Yale, Rose-Hulman, and Rutgers. These universities are part of a Sustainable Watershed Forum which has recommended $100 million in research funding per year. Northeastern University has led a consortium of universities seeking “new water paradigm” funding, including Tufts University,  University, Universities of North and South Carolina, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and Tulane University. The Colorado School of Mines is involved in a $20 million multi-university proposal for water infrastructure research. Arizona State University is another leader in urban sustainability research and design.

More stuff to ponder.

 "Trouble is only opportunity in work clothes." -- Henry J. Kaiser

Increased Western USA Tree Mortality: Warming, Water Deficits

From a media release written by David Stauth of Oregon State University:

 

Regional warming and drought stress are the “dominant contributors” to a rapid increase of tree mortality in old growth forests across the West during the past 50 years, a new report concludes, with the Pacific Northwest the hardest hit of all areas studied.

The findings, published on 23 January 2009 in the journal Science suggest that a persistent increase in the mortality rate would ultimately cause a 50 percent reduction in the average tree age in forests, a potential reduction in average tree size and make many forests vulnerable to abrupt dieback.

A doubling of tree mortality has been occurring as fast as every 17 years in the Pacific Northwest in recent decades, and at slower rates in California and Rocky Mountain states.

In one of the first studies of this type ever done in temperate zones, this disturbing phenomenon was found to be occurring at every elevation, in trees of different sizes and various species.

Read the entire report for yourself:

Download Tree death

IAH US National Chapter January 2009 Newsletter

The January 2009 newsletter of the U.S. National Chapter of the International Association of Hydrogeologists is available for downloading here.

Download IAH US Newsletter January 2009