Entries by Brett Walton

Saudi Arabia to Use Solar Energy for Desalination Plants

New initiative will decrease the country’s reliance on oil for its electrical needs.

Haitian Earthquake Provides Lessons for Similarly Vulnerable Countries

As recovery efforts in Haiti focus on supplying clean water to a region in which the water infrastructure was destroyed, a Maltese engineer thinks his earthquake-prone country, which sits just south of Sicily, could face a similar crisis

China May Relocate 300,000 from Three Gorges Region

Water pollution and river bank instability pose more serious problems than expected on the reservoir banks.

Colorado Developer Provides Customer List for Proposed Water Pipeline

Colorado’s potential water demand from a proposed water pipeline originating in Wyoming is 50 percent more than the amount proposed for delivery, according to documents submitted yesterday to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Putin Approves Waste Discharges into Lake Baikal

A decree signed last week by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will allow a paper mill on the shore of Lake Baikal to resume dumping sewage and waste water into the lake.

Israel Increases Rates to Pay for Desalinated Water

On January 1 Israel’s national water company Mekorot raised water rates by 25 percent in order to pay for the incorporation of desalinated water into the national water system.

Chavez Suspends Electricity Rationing in Venezuelan Capital after One Day

Severe drought is squeezing the country’s energy supply.

New Bank Loans Revive Controversial Ilisu Dam Project in Turkey

The Turkish government plans to move forward with the dam despite international opposition.

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Presses India for Water Deal During Visit

No agreement was signed, but Bangladesh continued to push for a deal similar to the Ganges Treaty.

NASA Satellite Photos Capture a Decade of Land and Water Changes

As part of its 10-year anniversary, NASA’s Earth Observatory has compiled a gallery of images showing annual changes in the Earth’s land, water and atmosphere in places such as Central Asia, Australia, Iraq and the Amazon.

NYC Seeks to Ban Gas Drilling Within the City’s Watershed

Fracking could contaminate New York’s unfiltered water supply and require costly filtration, report says.

India Cities Focus on Rainwater Harvesting to Provide Clean Drinking Water

Many Indian cities lack sufficient water supplies. Urban growth is making it difficult and expensive to build the dams, pipelines and canals used in the modern era to supply cities with water. In comparison, rainwater harvesting systems are a low-cost, low-impact way for cities to increase supplies.