New Scientist reports water crisis
Today, New Scientist.com reports that one-third of the world’s population is short of water – a situation we were not predicted to arrive at until 2025. That’s the result of a new report on the state of the world’s water supplies.
The report by the International Water Management Institute in Colombo, Sri Lanka, was released on Monday in Stockholm at the start of World Water Week. It paints a bleak picture of global access to fresh water and warns that the world cannot carry on complacently using water as if it will never run out.
The reason for the discrepancy is that earlier predictions were based on a country-by-country analysis. The latest figures stem from a more detailed analysis of natural water basins, according to the article.
Read more here.
Survey for Well Owners
Pennsylvania is home to over one million private water wells that provide drinking water to over three million rural residents, with an additional 20,000 new water wells drilled each year. Pennsylvania, however, is one of the few states that have no guidelines on how to construct and maintain private water wells, and many fail at least one drinking water standard.
Since all aspects of private well location, construction and management are voluntary, little is known about them and how they perform for homeowners. This makes it difficult to create educational programs to meet the needs of existing and future well owners. The purpose of this research study is to learn about the characteristics and management of private wells in the state along with homeowner opinions.
Penn State University in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Water Resources Research Center is offering you an opportunity to contribute through an online survey regarding your private water well. Your knowledge and opinions are important to us as we develop programs for existing and future well owners. You must be a Pennsylvania resident and at least 18 years old to complete the online survey, which will take less than 10 minutes of your time. Please do not fill out the survey if your water comes from a public (city) water supply or from a spring or cistern. Your knowledge and opinions will help shape Penn State programs in the next five years for existing and future well owners.
Access the survey by surfing to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=71482275593.
“Wolves” invade CCEEC
Here’s some information about an upcoming program hosted by CCGG’s friends at CCEEC.
Thursday, July 27 6 PM
She has joined such organizations as Wolf Education and Research Center in Idaho and has met the wolf she has adopted that resides there at the center. Nikki has also been instrumental in the reintroduction of wolves at Yellowstone National Park.
For more information or to register for this exciting program, please call CCEEC at 570-645-8597.
Judge upholds quarry permit denial
Judge David W. Addy needed only two sentences to uphold East Penn Township zoners’ decision to deny a request by Lehigh Asphalt Paving and Construction Co. to expand its controversial quarry in the township.
He made the ruling yesterday. Read the complete story here.
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b3_1quarryjul25,0,7436691.story
Tamaqua continues water testing
Got this from Frank today.
Despite another government agency conculding that the water in the Still Creek Reservoir poses no threat, Tamaqua’s borough water authority will continue water testing. See the complete story here:
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16962325&BRD=2626&PAG=461&dept_id=532624&rfi=6
Volunteers needed for rain, snow monitoring network
It can be fun to monitor the precipitation that falls in your own backyard and then compare it to other places in Carbon County, and even the entire state.
Penn State University’s College of Earth and Mineral Sciences has set up a network of volunteers across Pennsylvania who monitor rain and snow amounts. The program is called FROST. It is administered by the Pennsylvania State Climatologist.
Volunteer opportunities are open to all Pennsylvania residents, who will take daily observations (when possible) of rain and snow measurements. These observations will then be reported through a user-friendly Web entry form.
Read more about this network at The Times News
How pure is bottled water?
Drinking enough water is important for good health, but what should the average consumer make of the dizzying array of flavored, sparkling and ‘vitamin’ bottled waters on the market today?
You can get it with fruit flavors, vitamins or tingly carbonation. You can choose from 3,000 brands around the world, all proclaiming their products are natural and healthy. You can get it anywhere — at the market, the gas station, the gym. A lot of people say it’s not much different than what comes out of your faucet, but it sells because it’s handy, cold, portable and kind of chic.
To read more: http://www.mailtribune.com/archive/2006/0718/life/stories/bottledwater-718.htm
EPA Meetings to Address Hometown Superfund Site
The federal Environmental Protection Agency will hold two meetings on Thursday, July 20 to address future plans for the Eastern Diversified Metals Superfund site in Hometown, the Pottsville Republican reports. At 4 p.m., EPA officials will meet with Rush Township supervisors at the township building, followed by a public session from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Hometown fire company.
Read more at Hometown Hazards
Send us your comments
If you see a story on this site and you want to comment, don’t wait. Click on the text at the bottom of the post that tells how many comments have already been written and you’ll be taken to a page that will allow you to post directly to this blog.
Also, some of the news items that we link to from this blog are transitory. The papers that own the stories may take them down without notice. So, be sure to click through to any story you feel is of interest.
The Carbon County Groundwater Guardians is making every effort to secure the rights to archive certain stories on our own website. In the future, you’ll be able to find more of these interesting articles at www.carbonwaters.org.
If you see an interesting story, be sure to e-mail us. You can reach either Frank or me by clicking on our name in the right column.
Sewage sludge dumping: who decides?
Read more in the newspapers: The Times News and The REPUBLICAN & Herald