Tap It Talk: Government & Water Archives

Los Angeles Proposes Rainwater Catchment For New Developments

By William Schwartz on February 1, 2010 11:28 AM | No Comments

A proposed law put forward by the Los Angeles Department of Public Works would require many new developments to build rainwater catchment and reuse systems to their buildings.

Unitl now, urban rainwater catchment has been a concept mainly used in developing countries such as India. But with California's looming water crisis, these kind of measures are getting more attention.

Water crisis or not, urban rainwater catchment has many benefits. First off, catchment reduces a buildings water footprint by giving it a new source of water. Buildings can use filters to allow rainwater to be used for anything from heating to drinking water. Secondly, catchment systems prevent rainwater from running through the streets of urban areas, where they pick up pollutants and then run-off into other bodies of water such as rivers or lakes, bringing the contaminants with them.

To strongly encourage this water conservation and water pollution prevention, the LA Department of Public Works has also proposed a fine of $13 per gallon for water that ends up as run-off and not caught in the catchment system. While the fee is quite high, it sends a strong signal that rainwater is important.

I'd like to see this kind of legislation introduced in other cities so people recognize the importance of rainwater in conserving water.

Michigan Wants to Profit Off of Water Bottlers

By Julie Knapp on January 4, 2010 5:20 PM | No Comments

Surrounded by the five Great Lakes, water is one of Michigan's most precious natural resources. Water bottlers can and do set up shop in the state and take H20 as they please. Lt. Governor John Cherry realizes something doesn't add up here. He believes Michigan can protect its natural resource and help fund the state's education system at the same time by taxing the water bottlers.

He proposed that businesses that profit from the state's water should pay 10 cents per bottle sold. Cherry says the pot of about $118 million could cover the state's $100 million Promise Scholarship, a $4,000 universal college scholarship, which 96,000 students were counting on this year before it was recently dismantled. The rest of the funds could be used for wetlands protection.

"We are losing one resource -- our talented workforce and the energy of our young people, and we are giving away another resource -- our water -- for free," he said. "You don't need a PhD in mathematics to know this is a terrible equation," said Cherry.

Some critics in Michigan feel it's a bad idea to tax the water bottlers because it could drive the businesses out of the state. And while that might sound like a good idea to tap water fans, many feel that Michigan can't afford to lose any jobs right now, even those at water bottling plants.

Photo by Mad African! on flickr under a Creative Commons license.

Californians Look Downunder for Solutions to Water Crisis

By Kylie Harper on December 29, 2009 7:34 PM | No Comments

A delegation of California water experts recently toured Australian cities to get a handle on how that country has responded to water shortages after 13 years of drought.

Delegates were apparently struck by the effectiveness of conservation measures there. Water use is about 40 gallons per person, per day, including outdoor watering. California's per-capita average is 200 gallons. A huge difference!

Some of the conservation measures common in Australia are still rare in the US, like rainwater tanks that capture water for gardens and toilet flushing, dual-flush toilets, dual house plumbing for recycled water and water-efficient appliances in virtually every home.

Water use outdoors, which accounts for about half of consumption, is also much more efficient. Residents use hardy native plants with low-water needs instead of grass. Permeable pavement allows water to sink back into the ground rather than running down drains.

Desalination of ocean water is also common in most of Australia's major cities. But after visiting the plants some delegates came away thinking that conservation measures should be taken first because desalinized water is still fairly expensive. In addition, many water conservation programs involve retrofitting which would create green collar jobs in California.

In January, California will get to return the favor and show the Australians their Groundwater Replenishment System in Fountain Valley that treats sewer water and uses it to recharge underground aquifers.

Photo: The Nullabor by amandabhslater on Flickr under Creative Commons License

San Francisco Continues Campaign Against Bottled Water With TapIt

By William Schwartz on December 22, 2009 12:14 AM | No Comments

As you may know, TapIt launched its' network in San Francisco last week with a press event in Yerba Buena Gardens with the City of San Francisco and Global Tap, a company that installs water bottle refill stations in public spaces.

The launch was part of San Francisco's ongoing campaign to promote local water that started with Mayor Gavin Newsom banning the purchase of bottled water with city funds. The City seeks to educate the community on why bottled water is too expensive, wasteful, and unnecessary when San Francisco's Hetch Hetchy water is some of the cleanest in the country.

It is great to be in a partnership with a city that is committed to practical and sustainable goals. Reducing bottled water use reduces land fill costs, recycling costs and litter. It also engages communities in their local water system, which in the long run, is essential to protecting these valuable public resources.

We hope more cities take this stance in the future and spread the message that bottled water is against the public interest.

Amidst Drought, Californians Fight Over Sewage

By Kylie Harper on December 18, 2009 12:48 PM | No Comments

Fighting over water is nothing new in California but the latest battle has taken on a fun twist - water agencies are clamoring for their share of...you guessed it...sewer water.

Sanitation Districts of LA County has promised to deliver 45,000 acre-feet of recycled water to agencies but some think there will be less available and are worried about not getting their allotment.

Much of the recycled sewer water is promised to a $210 million project - known as the Groundwater Reliability Improvement Program (GRIP) that recycles the water to drinking standards. The project is a partnership between a number of California water agencies but not the Central Basin Water District - and that has sent them into a lobbying frenzy.

The GRIP project will be one of the biggest users of recycled water, taking about half of the remaining waste-water from sanitation districts. It would purify water through reverse osmosis and then use it to replenish dwindling groundwater supplies. Some believe this method of using the water could directly offset half of California's demand for imported water. But Central Basin says GRIP is asking for to much sewer water and that they had first dibs. Oi...

Photo: Wastewater treatment plant, Richmond, California on Flickr under Creative Commons License

Water Bottlers Lose Out as Creeks Protected in Pennsylvania

By William Schwartz on December 14, 2009 7:22 AM | No Comments

Laurel Hill Creek in Bakersville, Western Pennsylvania was set for protection as a "critical stream" earlier this month. In an encouraging example of the government conserving waterways for the public good, the stream is set to be fully protected by the Pennsylvania DEP.

The stream was not threatened by pollution so much as bulk water extraction. There had been plans for the river to be used by a nearby resort as well as a supply for a bottled water operation.

Two other streams, Connoquenessing and Indian Creek, are also in consideration for the protection as a "critical stream".

In recent days we have seen the New York DEC take a clearly irresponsible position on hydrofrac natural gas drilling in watersheds and have observed the continued failure to enforce the clean water act. Seeing stories like this gives us hope that maybe these blunders are not the overall trend.

The Most Dangerous Bottled Water In The World

By William Schwartz on December 10, 2009 11:27 AM | 4 Comments

A water bottler in South Korea has gone to the most untouched place on the planet to source its bottled water.

It turns out this source is the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea (DMZ) that has not been touched by humans since agreements made in 1953. Because of this, the DMZ is said to support 900 plant species, 320 types of birds and over 70 mammals.

While it is true the area has been untouched by humans, it is also known to be one of the most dangerous places on earth. The 155 mile long 2.5 mile wide strip of land is filled with land mines and is under constant military surveillance due to tension between North and South Korea.

The water will be called DMZ, the acronym for the demilitarized zone, to represent the pristine nature of the water's source. Bottles are now available in South Korea for about 50 cents

Worst marketing strategy of all time or entrepreneurial genius?

Water May Decide General Election in California

By Kylie Harper on December 8, 2009 7:18 PM | No Comments

You remember the old wild west saying, "whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting over." Well, the California general election is 11 months away and already the water maneuvering has started.

California's water supply agency announced that urban areas and irrigation districts can expect only five percent of their contracted water allotments in 2010 due to the ongoing drought and environmental restrictions.

The allocation is the lowest since the agency stared in 1967 and reflects the worst drought in the State's history. Federally mandated restrictions on water deliveries from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to protect endangered fish (Chinook Salmon and Smelt) have compounded the problem.

The California legislature took a major step forward earlier this month to address the State's water needs, passing the most comprehensive water package in California history.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said that the $11 billion bond is the greatest investment that could be made in the future of California given that its current water system was built to serve only 18 million people and now serves 38 million people.

But those seeking office are using the State's water problems as a wedge issue. Water cutbacks in the State's Central Valley gives office seekers like Carly Fiorina (seeking the republican nomination for Barbara Boxer's seat), and Meg Whitman who is seeking the governors mansion, a chance to favor farmers.

They're paying very, very close attention," Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Visalia, said of the myriad GOP candidates for statewide office. "I've taken calls from all of them; they all want to know about it."

Barbara Boxer could be in for a tough fight. The longtime environmental champion will need to show Central Valley farmers that she feels their pain if she is to keep her seat. Although she can always point out that environmental protections only account for one quarter of restrictions this year and the rest results from...ah...living in a desert...duh!

Photo: Sacremento Delta; Circle of Blue

No Bottled Water at Copenhagen Climate Summit

By Kylie Harper on December 7, 2009 8:10 PM | No Comments

Organizers are trying to make the Copenhagen Climate Summit as 'green' as possible and one of the first things they targeted - bottled water. If that isn't enough to convince you the stuff is bad news, I don't know what is!

Instead of refrigerators full of bottled water, delegates are being offered ordinary Copenhagen tap water from biodegradable corn starch cups filled from drinking fountains dotted around the Bella Center convention hall.

They're also cutting down on transportation. There are no special buses laid on. Instead participants will be encouraged to use public transport links serving the venue. Bicycles are also available and high-level delegates are being offered limousines powered by ethanol made from organic waste.

Photo: One liter of tap water = 5.90 from Olivier Bruchez on Flickr under Creative Commons License

Urbanites and Environmetalists vs. Farmers in California Water War

By Kylie Harper on December 2, 2009 7:32 PM | No Comments

Here's a sign of things to come if I've ever seen one. California environmentalists are appealing a judge's decision to keep active more than 100 long-term water delivery contracts to farmers in the agriculturally rich Central Valley.

In an appeal filed Monday in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the San Francisco Baykeeper say the decades-long water contracts would harm aquatic life (particularly Smelt) in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

Based on a 2005 Biological Opinion that has been thrown out in federal court, they are asking the appeals court to have the contracts renegotiated to reflect current science to safeguard the Smelt which is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

Some of the contracts being challenged allow the diversion of over 300,000 acre-feet of water from the Delta to San Joaquin Valley growers for the next 25 years. Others allow diversion of 2.2 million acre feet annually.

"We're talking about agreements that hand over California's real wealth, its water, for decades to some growers watering desert soils full of toxic minerals for a fraction of the real value of that water, all at taxpayer and urban water users' expense," said Earthjustice Attorney Trent Orr.

Photo: Wikimedia commons

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