Entries by Sarah Haughn

Great Lakes Compact, Committed to Care of Congress, Receives Presidential Support

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The Great Lakes Compact, a treaty that would prevent a majority of outside interests from diverting water from the Great Lakes Basin, is predicted to receive a hospitable hearing from Congress and has already been recognized with an executive head nod on Capitol Hill. According to a broadcast by Chicago Public Radio, the Compact will […]

Scarce water a developing source of conflict in India

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NEW DELHI – Domestic disputes and interstate wrangles over water use might soon define the character of conflict in the country of India. In a recent report, covered by the Times of India, the industry lobby Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) announced that “conflicts over water mirror the most vexing changes the country […]

Water agencies support contentious California water bond

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SACRAMENTO, California – A collection of agencies responsible for delivering 90 percent of California’s water has decided to support the controversial water bond proposed by Governor Schwarzenegger and Senator Dianne Feinstein, reports MarketWatch. The Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) believes the proposal provides a much needed backbone to infrastructure that supports the fluid dynamics […]

Flash floods leave New Mexico mountain town in deep water

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RUIDOSO, New Mexico – Two states east of drought-riddled and fire-etched California, the New Mexico mountain town of Ruidoso recently endured flash flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Dolly. The flood engorged and overwhelmed the Rio Ruidoso and displaced 400 people, announced Reuters. There was one fatality. According to Darlene Hart, of the town’s fire […]

Chicago water pollution a difficult pill to swallow

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CHICAGO – Following a study conducted for the Chicago Tribune, the EPA has recently reported traces of pharmaceutical drugs in water supplies across the state, announces the Tribune. While the EPA once advised people to flush their unwanted pills down the toilet, they are now launching a series of medicine collection drives. The excess medication […]

Wrath of water visited upon Ukraine: Floods cross borders, displace thousands

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KIEV, Ukraine – From California to Cairo to Cyprus, this month’s global landscape appears desiccated by droughts. Yet, in Ukraine the situation is far from dry. After five days of relentless rain, the Prut and Dnestr rivers are extraordinarily high, reports Reuters. At least 40,000 homes have been flooded and 12,000 people evacuated. According to […]

Opinion: THE GREAT THIRST Oceans of Water

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As the public becomes increasingly aware of the oceanic scope of the impending freshwater crisis, policy makers and scientists look for alternatives. Is desalination an answer? From the Los Angeles Times: It’s easy to understand why so many of us, hearing of threats from climate change and shrinking water supplies, turn our gaze west to […]

New Zealand farmers argue for more water

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NEW ZEALAND – A group of Mid Canterbury farmers is spending some $1.75 million to make a case for more irrigation water and they are using state-of-the-art water science to prove they are not environmental bandits, reports the Ashburton Guardian. Environmental advocates, such as Environment Canterbury (ECan), say there is no water left to allocate […]

Santa Cruz quarries: Study identifies not-so-free refill for water-stressed area

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SANTA CRUZ, California – A nearly quarter-million dollar study is under way to see if water, long drawn hastily from beneath the Santa Cruz Mountains, can be replenished. County water officials are looking at abandoned quarries as possible sites to let surface water percolate back underground, and wells to push water down instead of pulling […]

Proposed canal to skirt Sacramento Delta issue, cutting instead through private land

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SACRAMENTO, California – Letters will be going out to private land owners in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, notifying them of the State’s plan to begin work that might cut through their property. “For the most part, this will be a wake-up call for a lot of people,” Mark Wilson of Clarksburg, a representative of farmers […]