The Stream, October 9: Farms and Businesses Compete for India’s Groundwater

Water Supply
The overuse of groundwater in India is creating tensions between farmers and businesses, adding to the urgency of developing a better management system, Bloomberg News reported. For example, farmers in Uttar Pradesh say that a nearby Coca Cola plant has drawn down groundwater reserves so far that they are repeatedly forced to dig new wells.

Kenya will begin charging water users a 10 percent tariff that will appear on their monthly water bills, Bloomberg News reported, citing local media. The tariff will pay for upgrades to the country’s sewage system.

NASA is planning two space missions for 2017 and 2018 that will search for ways to use the water on the moon, Space.com reported. The water could eventually be mined to supply future missions that travel further into space.

Water Conservation
Water agencies in the western United States are providing up to $US 11 million for new water conservation projects in the Colorado River basin, the Associated Press reported. Proposals for projects, which can now be submitted to the Bureau of Reclamation, should focus on reducing water demand from Colorado River entitlement holders in Arizona, California and Nevada.

Farmers in Burkina Faso have restored 300,000 hectares of land over the past three decades by using practices that conserve water and soil, Reuters reported. The land can now grow food for half a million people, and should help the country become more resilient to droughts and erratic rainfall.

Water Pollution
As of September 23, 583,000 metric tons of contaminated water were being stored at Japan’s damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant, Aljazeera reported. More than three years after the natural disaster that damaged the plant, workers are still struggling to contain all of the water used to cool the reactors and the groundwater that seeps into the plant.

Codi Kozacek

A news correspondent for Circle of Blue based out of Hawaii. She writes The Stream, Circle of Blue’s daily digest of international water news trends. Her interests include food security, ecology and the Great Lakes.
Contact Codi Kozacek