Pollution total dumped in lake hits 3.7 billion gallons
by Chad Selwesky
The GWK Drain in Oakland County released 72 million gallons, and the Chapaton sewage basin in St. Clair Shores spilled another 7 million gallons. Both facilities partially treat their discharges by adding chlorine and removing solid waste before releasing them into the waterways. (more…)
No Black Friday
Pure Water Products is following its Black Friday closing policy occasioned by a shopping accident sustained during the 2012 shopping season. Please read details. The company’s retail store in Denton, TX will reopen for business as usual on Saturday December 29.
The Pure Water Occasional for November 24, 2014
In this pre-Thanksgiving Occasional, you’ll hear about DEA, MEA, TEA, BHA. & BHT. Also there are stories about gummy lake invaders, lead in Brick, Clean Water Action, and fish farming. There’s yet another long, long beached oarfish and a tale of oily wastewater near Plaquemines Parish. Learn of the threat to Hetch Hetchy water and find out how the just and the unjust stack up rainwise. Glacier National Park is threatened by its loss of glaciers and copper-silver treatment for Legionella is questioned. Hear of polluted salmon streams and a modern-day Atlantis. Learn how Barack Obama pissed of the Australians, how Coca Cola pissed off the Northern Indians, and how you can piss off your Grandma when she visits for Christmas. You’ll be surprised to learn the number of desal plants in the world, the number of viruses in a drop of sea water, and the TDS of the Arabian Sea. There are articles by Bee Sharper, Pure Water Annie, and, as always, there is much, much more.The Pure Water Occasional is a project of Pure Water Products and the Pure Water Gazette.
To read this issue on the Pure Water Gazette’s website, please go here. (Recommended! When you read online you get the added advantage of the Gazette’s sidebar feed of the very latest world water news.)
Do you know how many toxic chemicals are in your shampoo, your lipstick, your toothpaste?
by Joy McCarthy
We’ve been using cosmetics and personal-care products for thousands of years, from body paint to eye makeup, in nearly every single culture in the world. Egyptians first started using scented oils and ointments to clean and soften skin. They were also the first to use toxic chemicals in their beauty products, with lead and arsenic being common ingredients.
Fast-forward to today and you’d assume things have gotten better, right? (more…)
Brick residents sound off on lead in their water
by Kevin Pentón
BRICK – Township residents are concerned over a recent report that elevated lead levels were found in the water of nearly half the homes tested this summer.
After reading the initial Asbury Park Press story on the issue, resident Michele Richards said she went out and spent over $10 on a lead test. Afterwards, she said she learned she would need to spend at least $30 so a laboratory can analyze the results.
“I pay enough taxes as it is,” Richards said. “I don’t feel like I should have to pay to test my drinking water.” (more…)
Toxic Chemicals in Personal Products End Up in the Water — November 23, 2014
Posted November 23rd, 2014
Do you know how many toxic chemicals are in your shampoo, your lipstick, your toothpaste?
by Joy McCarthy
We’ve been using cosmetics and personal-care products for thousands of years, from body paint to eye makeup, in nearly every single culture in the world. Egyptians first started using scented oils and ointments to clean and soften skin. They were also the first to use toxic chemicals in their beauty products, with lead and arsenic being common ingredients.
Fast-forward to today and you’d assume things have gotten better, right?
Not exactly. In 2007, researchers at the California-based Campaign for Safe Cosmetics found what they thought to be “hazardous levels” of lead in one-third of the red lipsticks they tested. And lead isn’t the only issue. There are over 84,000 chemicals registered for use with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (Being registered does not imply safety, only that they are used and tracked in some capacity.) Only 200 of these chemicals have been reviewed by Canada’s Chemicals Management Plan. (Again, these chemicals are not necessarily safe.) We’re still using chemicals we know are toxic, as well as a host of others whose effects are unknown. (more…)
Getting Drinking Water from the Sea
by B. Sharper
Pure Water Gazette numerical wizard Bee Sharper rolls out some numbers on sea water desalination.
Approximate number of desalination plants in the world as of 2013 — 17,200.Daily production capacity of these plants in gallons — 23 billion.
Percentage of these plants that make potable water from sea water — 59%.
Percentage that make potable water from brackish water — 22%.
Percentage that make potable water from river water and wastewater — 9%. (more…)
Industrial Pollution Is Turning Lakes into “Jelly”
by Rachel Feltman
As Canadian lakes have become more acidic, they’ve become increasingly dominated by jelly-like plankton that are throwing things out of whack, new research suggests. And these gummy invaders aren’t going anywhere. Soon, they could even disrupt the country’s water supply.Years of industrial pollution have replaced the calcium that should be in Canadian soil with acid. Over time, as the drainage areas that feed the country’s lakes are leeched of their calcium, so are the lakes themselves.
Gummy Invaders are Bad News for Plankton (Click Picture for Larger View)
The Pure Water Occasional for November 17, 2014
In this cool November Occasional you’ll hear about fracking chemicals, John Muir, China’s Lancang Dam, pesticides in Coke and Pepsi, and the “Waters of the United States” rule. Learn how drought increases thievery, what’s happening to the Salton Sea, and why they’re having a sludge war in Charleston. Then there’s the “Big Thirst,” the soft drink fight at Gurarat, pollution from the tanneries of Bangladesh, the growing popularity of farmed fish, the number of motorist who die of drowning, alum, ultrafiltration, nephelometric units, the Jordan aquifer, a beached whale in Nicaragua, recycled numbers from B. Sharper, Pure Water Annie on turbidity, and, as always, there is much, much more.The Pure Water Occasional is a project of Pure Water Products and the Pure Water Gazette.
To read this issue on the Pure Water Gazette’s website, please go here. (Recommended! When you read online you get the added advantage of the Gazette’s sidebar feed of the very latest world water news.)
Seen, but not noticed
In his 2011 book “The Big Thirst,” Charles Fishman explains how water comes from space and has been on Earth in a fixed amount since the planet’s been here. It’s an fundamental part of weather and the ecosystem and it’s the essential molecule in our bodies. (more…)According to USGS, National Water Use Is at Lowest Levels Since Before 1970: Conservation Works
Water use across the country reached its lowest recorded level in nearly 45 years. According to a new USGS report, about 355 billion gallons of water per day (BGD) were withdrawn for use in the entire United States during 2010. This represents a 13-percent reduction of water use from 2005 when about 410 BGD were withdrawn and the lowest level since before 1970. “Reaching this 45-year low shows the positive trends in conservation that stem from improvements in water-use technologies and management,” said Mike Connor, Deputy Secretary of the Interior. “Even as the US population continues to grow, people are learning to be more water conscious and do their part to help sustain the limited freshwater resources in the country.” (more…)Turbidity
Pure Water Gazette Technical Writer Pure Water Annie Explains Turbidity
Turbidity can be thought of as the general cloudiness of water. It is
actually a measurement of the degree to which particulate in the water
interferes with light transmission. Suspended particles absord and
diffuse light.
High turbidity can be identified without a water test.
A turbidity test uses an instrument that passes light through the
water and measures the amount of interference from suspended
particles.The turbidity test reports results on an artificial scale
using nephelometric units, or ntu. Anything above one ntu is technically
an EPA “action level” violation, although the human eye only begins to
detect turbidity in water at about 4 ntu. Therefore, water that appears
completely clear to the eye can have excessive turbidity with health
implications. (more…)Water
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Today's Water News
28 November Indigenous community beats drought, malnutrition in Honduras. The Tolupan indigenous people in Pueblo Nuevo have a lot to celebrate: Famine and child malnutrition are no longer problems for them. And they are no longer suffering from the drought that hit much of the country this year as a result of climate change and El Niño.
28 November California drought not likely to end this winter, experts say. As California heads into its annual rainy season, water managers, farmers and millions of residents with parched yards are hoping huge storms will finally break the state's historic three-year drought. Don't count on it.
28 November Hotter summers are coming to Mumbai, and it won't be pretty. Last June, the IPCC Fifth Assessment report warned of larger “near-term increases in seasonal mean and annual mean temperatures” in Mumbai. That spells longer, more frequent bouts of extreme heat, elevated minimum temperatures, and warmer winters.
28 November Mead proposes new reservoirs, cites concerns for future. Every spring, John Joyce watches as thousands of gallons of water in the Nowood River rush by his ranch in northern Wyoming.
27 November Kenyan women pay the price for slum water 'mafias.' Rising before dawn, the women emerged from their ramshackle shacks and squelched through the mud to stand in line for water in Kibera, Nairobi's biggest slum.
27 November High-tech farming poised to change the way the world eats. Investors and entrepreneurs behind some of the world's newest industries have started to put their money and tech talents into farming with an audacious and ambitious agenda: to make sure there is enough food for the 10 billion people expected to inhabit the planet by 2100.
27 November Big welcome storm headed California’s way. The storm is expected to bring desperately needed rain and snow to parts of California. The state has been mired in a 3-year-long drought that has seen its driest year on record and what is almost certain to be its warmest year on record.
26 November Water war amid Brazil drought leads to fight over puddles. Brazil’s Jaguari reservoir has fallen to its lowest level ever, laying bare measurement posts that jut from exposed earth like a line of dominoes. The nation’s two biggest cities are fighting for what little water is left.
26 November Al Gore warns China particularly vulnerable to climate change. Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore brought one of his favorite stump speeches to China this week, raising the alarm about global warming. The reception he got was suitably warm, too.
26 November Abbott government plans to scrap the National Water Commission as drought looms. The Abbott government has been accused of "complacency gone mad" over plans to abolish the National Water Commission amid the threat of El Niño-like drought conditions and unresolved issues between the states.
26 November Caspian Sea level falls. The level of the Caspian Sea continues to decrease reaching the mark of 28 meters below the global ocean level. Director of the Geography Institute at the Azerbaijani National Academy of Sciences Ramis Mammadov noted that today’s level of the Caspian Sea approximately corresponds to the level of the sea in the 1970s. He went on to say that the main reason for lowering level is the climate change.
26 November San Francisco turning to groundwater for its taps. San Francisco's pristine tap water from mountain runoff in the Sierra Nevada soon may be a little less pure. City officials plan to mix groundwater into the supply starting in 2015 or 2016 in an effort to diversify and increase water reserves during California's ongoing drought, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Monday.
26 November Merced County ordinance would regulate groundwater. An ordinance that would regulate the sale and transfer of groundwater in Merced County is one step closer to being approved. In a drought, there's money to be made in the sale of water.
26 November Xayaburi dam risks killing the Mekong. In spite of the 25th Asean summit's commitments to shared principles and sustainability, there was not a single official mention of one of the most contentious issues presently confronting Asean solidarity — the exploitation of the lower Mekong River, for hydropower, without any regard for the trans-boundary effects on downstream neighbours.
26 November California drought puts a chill on L.A. pool time. Los Angeles equals sunshine. Yet, not all is serene in La La Land. There is way too much of a good thing.
25 November Record drought reveals stunning changes along Colorado River. Lake Powell is at historic lows, offering kayakers new channels to explore. But it's also raising the alarm about water.
25 November Europe suffers olive oil disaster: How you can survive it. As a result of what the Italian newspaper La Repubblica is calling “The Black Year of Italian Olive Oil,” the olive harvest through much of Italy has been devastated - down 35 percent from last year. And though the rest of Europe hasn’t been hit quite that hard, production in most countries is forecast to be far below last year’s.
25 November Study predicts longer Lake Michigan basin growing season. A new U.S. Geological Survey study on the effects of climate change says longer growing seasons in the Lake Michigan basin and earlier snowmelt are two likely outcomes of a warmer climate by the end of the century.
25 November 'Climate variability': Less rain, rising temperatures to hit NSW's water security. NSW has to prepare for worsening water security as climate change triggers winter rainfall reductions of as much as 50 per cent by 2050 and rising temperatures increase evaporation, the government said in its State Infrastructure Strategy plan.
25 November World Bank warns of climate perils. A “frightening world” of global instability lies ahead unless governments tackle the threat of man-made climate change, the president of the World Bank has warned.
25 November Americans would rather adapt to extreme weather than curb climate change. Scientists, policymakers, and activists been holding out hope that an increase in extreme weather events might prompt Americans to embrace policies that curb greenhouse-gas emissions. They may be waiting a long time, a new study suggests.
25 November GMOs hold promise for feeding the world. Research into genetic modifications of crops to feed more people or to be easier to raise in difficult conditions continues and, according to proponents, is a vital part of meeting the future food needs of the world.
25 November Water crisis warning for KwaZulu-Natal. A full-scale water crisis has hit KwaZulu-Natal, with restrictions now being enforced on the North and South coasts and water for the Christmas holiday season in jeopardy.
25 November Great Barrier Reef threatened by Queensland plan to let miners take billions of litres of groundwater, says Marine Park Authority. Queensland is set to enact water legislation that the body responsible for protecting the Great Barrier Reef has warned will pose environmental risks to the reef and coastal waterways.
25 November It’s nitty-gritty time for Temperance Flat funding. This isn’t over. The San Joaquin Valley campaign for Temperance Flat Reservoir may have moved forward on federal drawing boards, and it may have gotten a shot of adrenaline when the $7.5 billion water bond past this month. But the public money is not committed here yet.
24 November Report: Global warming could undercut efforts to eradicate poverty. In a new report on the impact of global warming, the World Bank said sharp temperature rises would cut deeply into crop yields and water supplies in many areas and possibly set back efforts to bring populations out of poverty.
24 November As snow fades, California ski resorts are left high and very dry. At ski areas up and down the Sierra Nevada, where California’s drought has hit historic proportions and the threat of climate change looms over an industry built on optimism, the man-made snow is flying. But beyond the occasional strip of white, the mountains remain mostly bare.
24 November £14bn plan to share Scots water with England. A bold proposal to tackle water shortages in Britain’s southern counties by building a vast “super canal” between the two countries is being considered by both the UK and Scottish governments.
24 November Orica reduces environmental footprint with recycled water. Orica's Kooragang Island plant will no longer be the Hunter's largest user of freshwater once it starts using recycled water from today. It will be delivered via an eight kilometre pipeline from Hunter Water's new $73 million plant at Mayfield, and will save two billion litres of Hunter drinking water every year.
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