Oregon non-point source pollution project funding

I got the following by virtue of being a subscriber to news releases from Oregon DEQ. This announcement comes out every year and I'm always interested in what the funding priorities are, not that they change much. Interesting to note that, projects in the Eastern Region of Oregon will focus on reducing nitrate loading from non-point sources of pollution that affect source water of public water systems, i.e. centralized water treatment systems. If you have your own well, you are out of luck in terms of the state helping your or your region out with non-point source pollution that affects your drinking water. I suppose the rationale is the typical "get the biggest bang for your buck" reason of helping the maximum number of persons possible (i.e. the concentrated populations using public water supplies, but it does seem to smack a bit of environmental inequity.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality is requesting project proposals from government agencies, tribal nations and nonprofit organizations to address non-point sources of pollution affecting the state’s coastal, river, lake, drinking water and groundwater resources.

For more information, please see the news release:

http://www.deq.state.or.us/news/prDisplay.asp?docID=3483

God will save us from climate change: U.S. Representative - thestar.com

I stole the premise for this post from WaterWired (Thanks WaterDoc) because it is interesting how language can be interpreted. I think it's interesting that the passage (as it has been translated in whatever edition Shimkus reads) could also be read to mean that God won't destroy the earth, but that doesn't automatically mean God won't prevent humans from destroying ourselves. After all, loving parents are often faced with the choice of being highly protective of their kids or giving them the freedom to learn life's lessons, in sometimes painful ways.

God will save us from climate change: U.S. Representative - thestar.com

U.S. Representative John Shimkus, possible future chairman of the Congressional committee that deals with energy and its attendant environmental concerns, believes that climate change should not concern us since God has already promised not to destroy the Earth.

Shimkus, an evangelical Christian and a Republican member of the House from Illinois, on Tuesday signalled his desire to become chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

The Energy and Commerce committee is among the most powerful in the U.S. Congress, with a wide-ranging purview over legislation touching on energy policy, environmental initiatives and public health.

Shimkus already serves on the committee. During a hearing in 2009, he dismissed the dangers of climate change and the warnings of the scientific community by quoting the Bible.

First, he noted God’s post-Flood promise to Noah in Genesis 8:21-22.

“Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though all inclinations of his heart are evil from childhood and never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done.

“As long as the earth endures, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, will never cease.”

“I believe that’s the infallible word of God, and that’s the way it’s going to be for his creation,” Shimkus said.

Then he quoted Matthew 24:31.

“And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds from one end of the heavens to the other.”

“The Earth will end only when God declares it’s time to be over. Man will not destroy this Earth. This Earth will not be destroyed by a Flood,” Shimkus asserted. “I do believe that God’s word is infallible, unchanging, perfect.”

Following the Republican wave in the recent Congressional elections, the committee will shift from Democratic to Republican leadership.

On Tuesday, Shimkus sent a letter to his colleagues burnishing his credentials by saying he is “uniquely qualified among a group of talented contenders to lead the Energy and Commerce Committee.”

World Toilet Day 2010!

Did you know that November 19 is World Toilet Day?

World Toilet Day is designed to acknowledge the life-saving power of the toilet and appreciate the toilets in our lives. Believe it or not, more people on earth have cell phones than have access to a toilet! Which may be a sad commentary on where our priorities are - but maybe this is a call to use that ubiquitous communication device to get the word out.

Not long ago, New York, London, and Paris were centers of infectious disease, facing the same water problems that cities like Mumbai, Lagos, and Rio de Janeiro face today. Life expectancy was low and child death rates were as high then as they are now in much of Sub-Saharan Africa. It was sweeping reforms in water and sanitation that enabled human progress to leap forward.

This also ties into my post a couple days ago about the Paul Simon Water for the World Act that you can learn about here.

Lack of sanitation is the world’s biggest cause of infection and a big cause of water pollution. This means people must relieve themselves in open streets, fields, or dangerous back alleys. In India alone, the number of people who practice open defecation is double the population of the U.S. You can imagine how this affects health not only because of direct contact with diseases from sewage but also from pollution of water supplies used for drinking, cooking and washing. And, it is sad to say, but there are still people in the United States that are not hooked to a sewer system or septic system that will help protect water quality or their health.

The purpose of World Toilet Day is to raise a stink about this lack of sanitation that causes not only embarrassment, concerns for safety, and lack of dignity, but preventable disease, illness, and all too often, death.

Water.org is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization committed to providing safe drinking water and sanitation to people in developing countries. Learn more by visiting their website at www.water.org.

Water for the World Act Needs Your Help

Thank you, Waterdoc:

The Sen. Paul Simon Water for the World Act unanimously passed the U.S. Senate (S. 624) last September. It now is in the House of Representatives (H.R. 2030), where the hope is that it will be passed during the current lame duck session of Congress. Most observers give the bill little chance of passage when the 112th Congress convenes in January 2011. So it's now, or perhaps never.

The bill would provide clean water and sanitation to 100M people.

Here is more information from Water Advocates:

Now is the most important time to contact your member of the House of Representatives to ask them to pass the Water for the World Act. The bill has already passed the Senate. We have an opportunity with one last push from all of you to make this work. Your member of the House of Representatives needs to hear from you during the lame duck Session, which begins on November 15 and may end in early December.

This lifesaving legislation would go a long way toward ending the world's largest health crisis - the diseases caused by the lack of access to safe drinking water and sanitation. It would also give the United States an important leadership role in providing access to water, sanitation and hygiene for millions of the world's poorest people.

All House offices can be called through 202-225-3121, or more directly by getting their office numbers from www.house.gov. Even better, send them a short email: Go to www.house.gov to go to the Representative's site where they provide an email contact form (and sometimes an actual email address).

Friend, filmmaker, and hydrophilanthropist Jim Thebaut, whose visage has graced these pages a number of times, has prepared a brief video to promote the bill. It features former Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN), former Senate minority leader; Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR); Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL); and Patti Simon, the Senator's widow. Frist, Blumenauer, and Durbin played instrumental roles in getting the bill to where it is today, and Simon championed the cause as well.

Here is the link to Jim's video on You Tube (you will need Adobe Flash Player 10 to view it); you can also view a Quick Time 7 version on Jim's WWW site.

I would appreciate it if you would contact your representative and request that she or he vote for the bill, H.R. 2030. Thank you!



“This important legislation complements the efforts of US nonprofit development organizations, philanthropies, corporations, faith communities and civic groups, and could profoundly improve millions of lives.” -- David Douglas, President, Water Advocates

The Water We Drink

The Water We Drink: Small Community Outreach Campaign, which offers information about maintaining safe, sustainable, and secure water supplies in small and rural communities, has added new content to its website.

The website, located at www.nesc.wvu.edu/waterwedrink/, is a joint effort by the Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP) and the National Environmental Services Center (NESC), located at West Virginia University, and is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

New articles about source water protection, setting water and sewer rates, water and energy, and the benefits of joining your state’s Water and Wastewater Agency Response Network (WARN) are available to complement previous articles related to pharmaceuticals and personal care products in our waters, impending labor shortages, and aging infrastructure. The articles are written especially for those who oversee local water and wastewater services, and may be downloaded at no charge and used for educational purposes, such as reprinting in newsletters and magazines, training sessions, and websites.

RCAP’s Director of Training and Technical Services Joy Barrett, Ph.D., says, “Our main message is that local leadership is essential in protecting water resources and maintaining critical water and wastewater services, and there are practical options for ensuring the short- and long-term viability of these systems. The new articles encourage local officials and small water utility board members to be proactive in working with local utilities to determine adequate rates, prevent water pollution, conserve water and energy, and partner with neighboring utilities to plan and respond to emergencies.”

The website also offers a brochure, a PowerPoint presentation and instructor’s guide, and fact sheets about keeping pharmaceuticals and personal care products out of our waterways. The Water We Drink project strives to raise awareness about crucial water issues and solutions, and invites everyone to use the articles and resources to support or complement state and local efforts.

Learn more by going to www.nesc.wvu.edu/waterwedrink/.

Taking Action

Again in the spirit of construction action here is a great resource from the Oregon Environmental Council called "Love Your River." Check out the site, find out what you can do, take a little pledge, enter a drawing for cool stuff. This month features a drawing for a set of REI bike panniers (luggage for your bike, in case your curious). These are nifty enough that they might even get me off my sorry duff in the event I win them. No time like the fall to take up an outdoor sport, eh?

Perhaps it's the weather...

In a perhaps vain attempt to get myself out of the end-of-summer, change-to-grey-and -cold funk, I forward the following in the spirit of "Let's find something constructive to do."

The Washington State Department of Ecology has a new video posted to its YouTube site.

You can check it out at http://www.youtube.com/ecologywa

The message is using alternatives to toxic household cleaners. The format is an infomercial spoof.

Enjoy!

Outside the Box - 2

As promised, here is the next chapter in the story of blindered thinking and greed to follow up on "Outside the Box - 1."

To sum, my previous post presented the City of Bend's position on proposals by citizens or developers, or in this case, public entities, trying to make their dollars work for the general good. The City is opposed to having individual systems within reach of their sewer system because then they don't get their new cash cow. In this particular case we have a public entity that found out how much the city would charge to connect to sewer and is opting to do an individual system because they are actually in a location that allows them to avoid the duplicative fees the city would charge if they were in the city limits/service area. End of story, right?

Nope, this is just where it starts to get interesting because the state representative of the Oregon DEQ's Onsite Program (this is the program that issues permits and oversees individual wastewater treatment systems) is putting the heat on the public entity to connect to sewer.

What's wrong with this picture? DEQ is a state agency facing potentially significant budget cuts, along with all the other state agencies in Oregon, that is telling another public entity to pay permit fees and service fees (forever) to the city of Bend. I wish my budget were so healthy that I have the luxury to send business away. But I must say that I have a healthier belief in my own capabilities than this DEQ person. If this person is working in a job in which they so little belief in that program's capability to (in DEQ's case) protect public health and the environment, then that person is taking the public's money for doing work they either don't have the expertise to do or that they believe is work is not worth doing. In the first case, this person should be reassigned to a position for which they are qualified (perhaps this is the Peter Principle at work?), in the second case, they should be fired for ethics violations for taking public money under false pretenses.

Permeable Pavement Webinar

I had the good fortune to tune in to a webinar sponsored by the Center for Watershed Protection and the Chesapeake Stormwater Network. The webinar contained lots of practical information about performance, installation and maintenance of permeable pavement systems that can be used either on the homeowner or huge commercial scale. While I see many potential applications for the city surrounding me, my overwhelming feeling upon leaving the gathering place for the webinar was to break up concrete and invest in creeping thyme.

Pamplona has Nothing on this Bull Run

Here's a nice piece on one of my favorite watersheds:

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/08/bull_run_watershed_journey_to.html

Earth Overshoot Day 2010: a full month earlier than EOD 2009

Earth Overshoot Day is when we are living beyond our means from an ecological and resource standpoint - and we still have over a quarter of the year to go...

http://www.royte.com/blog/?p=749

Outside the Box - 1

I've gotten a few heads' ups over the last few weeks that I've been turning around in my head (as opposed to getting things posted in cyberspace). One came from a professional venting a spleen about institutional stupidity, another from a resident venting along similar lines, and a third from a newspaper article that seemed remarkably well timed considering the first two events. Also coincidentally, each of these comes from Central Oregon, which makes me wonder what's in the wind. Or perhaps the folks that care about what I say are concentrated there. Dunno.

The first that I'll talk about comes from a citizen that had a conversation about a commercial development in Bend that often suffers from sewage overflows because the development was approved in an area that does not have the sewage line capacity to take what this commercial area doles out. This person asked why the city doesn't require that the commercial development treat its wastewater and reuse it on the landscaping that is required for all commercial developments. This approach has been taken in other places in the country and has the effect of reducing demand on an overloaded collection system and increasing capacity at the treatment plant to serve other areas that perhaps are more easily served.

Here is the City of Bend's response:

The City Engineer said that the City would allow alternate sewage treatment systems for these types of facilities, provided they met DEQ and EPA standards. However, the City would require a hookup to the City's system as a backup in the event of failure of the on-site system. The City does not want to be put into the position of having to take over these systems if they fail -- it would not be an efficient use of resources.

Any alternative system would have to meet standards. The water has to be treated to an appropriate level so that it meets the standards of wherever it will be discharged/applied. There will be solids that will have to be applied in a permitted location.

The City's existing treatment plant currently treats wastewater to a high level, and the solids and liquid are disposed of with minimal environmental impact. One concern the City has is whether any alternative system would meet the same standards as the City's treatment system. However, if the City is satisfied that the alternate system meets applicable standards, the City would cooperate in reviewing and approving the system.

In essence the City requires that the developer of such a system obtain the appropriate permits to operate a wastewater treatment system (perhaps under the same permit system that the city itself operates under) AND pay to hook up to the city system. Firstly, it appears that the city is assuming DEQ/EPA authority in specifying permits and permit requirements, which I would be curious if they in fact have that authority. That would take some more research on my part to figure out. Secondly, the city is requiring a hook up immediately, rather than waiting for a potential problem to manifest itself. This smacks of greed because they want the hook up fee now rather than later. Not surprising from a city that has exhibited similar greed in the past. Thirdly, there is a bald statement that a separate system would not be efficient if the city had to take over its operation. Why would the city ever have to take over operation of a private facility if the DEQ were doing its job? Why is this necessarily inefficient? I, for one, would be interested in seeing a cost-benefit analysis of operating a separate system versus blasting big holes for miles in bed rock to increase collection system capacity.

Stay tuned for part 2...

Another from the realm of "Will we ever learn?"

Stealing this from Aquadoc about a prescient scientist who was a least 35 years ahead of his time, considering how well we're operating now:

Wally's Warming Warning: 'The Climate System Is an Angry Beast, and We Are Poking at It with Sticks'

Time for a shout-out to a remarkable scientist (thanks to columbiawater for alerting me to this).

Thirty-five years ago, on this date in 1975, renowned geoscientist Wallace (Wally) Broecker published a seminal paper in Science titled,"Are We on the Brink of a Pronounced Global Warming?". To say that Broecker was prescient is an understatement.

 Here is the abstract:

If man-made dust is unimportant as a major cause of climatic change, then a strong case can be made that the present cooling trend will, within a decade or so, give way to a pronounced warming induced by carbon dioxide. By analogy with similar events in the past, the natural climatic cooling which, since 1940, has more than compensated for the carbon dioxide effect, will soon bottom out. Once this happens, the exponential rise in the atmospheric carbon dioxide content will tend to become a significant factor and by early in the next century will have driven the mean planetary temperature beyond the limits experienced during the last 1000 years.

 

Sewer Fees To Increase 3-5% Every Year Until 2035

In the realm of OMG! $3,600 per year by 2035....

Sewer Fees To Increase 3-5% Every Year Until 2035

Take Back the Power!

Or, How We Can Really Make the Power Companies Even More Dependent on We the Ratepayers

This posting is ostensibly about power generation, so why am I, Oregon Water Thorn, tackling this topic?  Because the issue of distribution and big utilities can, naturally, be translated to water or sewage distribution/collection.  Think about the parallels:

I have a friend that lives over in Bend that was griping the other day about the local electric utility raising rates. A normal response, in fact, a great response, because the rate hike prompted a declaration that the family would lower their electricity use to avoid paying more. Assuming that the electric utility's goal was to cover the increasing costs of electricity generation, then this family's response is perfect. After all, conservation is the cheapest, fastest, and easiest way to increase system capacity regardless of whether a given distribution system delivers electricity or water services. In short, these kinds of homeowners end up working towards the utility's goal of maximizing the resource in the cheapest way possible.

But I know that most homeowners don't understand the real power that comes with distributed power generation. And I use the dualistic word "power" in this context in the "We the People" sense because without we the ratepayers, utilities would not exist.

Given this fundamental linkage between paying rates and the big utility (to draw the obvious comparison for you, paying taxes and the big guv'mint), I don't understand why Tea Party types don't all have grid- or non-grid-tied photovoltaic, or wind, systems on their land. This is the common person's arena where they can jump in to free themselves of the big utility. Free themselves of rate increases. Become independent in that true American homesteading fashion. And, with grid-tied systems, an individual property becomes part of the electric production network which makes the utility just that little bit beholden to you for their stock in trade.

Power to the people, by the people, for the people.

The photovoltaic, or PV, system on the roof of our state capitol building is a most elegant representation of this concept and, in my opinion, one of the best investments Oregon has ever made. And it makes me wonder, why aren't more of us free of monthly power bills?

I suspect it is because of the upfront investment that's needed to take back the power. In a sense, it is the very corporate concept that it takes money to make money that prevents a lot of cash-strapped folks I know from making the investment. But I also know a lot of non-cash-strapped folks that could easily make the investment and that are the classic Tea Party type complainers.

So I have to ask, what is freedom worth? What is it worth to a nation of so-called rugged individualists to be truly independent in such a fundamental part of their lives? Apparently it is not worth much if the ever increasing complaints about rates are any measure.

So to return to my by-line, do I need to draw the parallel with water and wastewater? What is it worth to the folks that want small government to reduce the capacity of our water and wastewater systems? What is it worth to get off the grid of our municipal water and wastewater plants by using less, by harvesting rainwater, by reusing wastewater or greywater on our land? What is it worth to be free of that tie? Again, apparently not much, given the number of people I know that want to tie themselves to the big wastewater treatment system.

The Genesis of Idiocy

Here is a great posting from Elizabeth Royte illustrating how truly people believe there is a sucker born every minute, and how, as directed by the Almighty,  you must take advantage of those suckers:

New charity water on the scene: this time from Israel

Steering effectively or defectively?

I received this the other day from the Oregon DEQ Online Subscriptions hotline and it spurred some questions in my mind. The press release talks about developing a steering committee for an issue that I've touched on in the past, the groundwater pollution problem in Central Oregon (DEQ calls it the S. Deschutes/N. Klamath Groundwater Protection Project).

In short, the DEQ appears to be embarking on a Groundwater Management Area type effort and has solicited applications for membership on a steering committee for the project. In this case, membership "qualifications" consist of needing to live in or somehow represent the region of discussion and the applicant's experience.

Now that word "experience" piqued my interest and so I looked at the form that people needed to fill out to apply. Did it ask about people's educational or professional backgrounds? Hobbies? No. It asked why people were interested, if they wanted to represent an organization or not, if they had the time to commit to the committee. Maybe the nebulous question of "Why do you think you would be a good steering committee member?" gets at experience but it's certainly not obvious that that is the point of the question. After all, I could be a good steering committee member because I read the materials and stay awake during meetings (in other words, I educate myself and I participate).

Perhaps the experience question was settled to DEQ's satisfaction during the interview part of the selection process. We'll never know. It appears that DEQ is not willing to be transparent enough to put even the interview questions online. (Which begs the question of whether each applicant was even asked the same questions.)

In any case, to get back to my original point of query, experience in water, groundwater, water quality or other such related fields does not appear to be a prerequisite for participation. That is not necessarily unusual. The question that niggles in the back of my head is whether the people on this committee will be open and willing to listen to the experts that would need to be brought in on a complex issue like this. That the people on this committee have not already made up their mind about what has to happen, or not, and how things have to happen, or not.

I assume there are at least a few of the diehard opponents to the previous groundwater protection efforts who have ended up on the committee. After all, these are the folks that have committed themselves to running the marathon in their fight against the guv'mint. There were only 22 applications so the odds are excellent that the committee is stacked opinion-wise against taking action. This does not bode well for a balanced process, especially if the reasonable folks participating get out-blown by the folks experienced at being blowhards in public settings.

So is DEQ prepared to facilitate these kinds of meetings? Do they have the know-how, the experience, the huevos to really facilitate and achieve a balanced discussion in the Oregon Way to come up with a solution that protects public health and the environment? History says not. History says that DEQ will sway to the tune of the squeakiest wheel regardless of science or public good. In fact, history says that DEQ will avoid the Oregon Way altogether.

Needless, to say, given the track record, I will not hold my breath. But it is worth watching because, ultimately folks, this affects the top of the Deschutes watershed.

Nature Deficit Disorder

Interesting reading from Sightline Daily - I like Richard Louv's book related to "no child left indoors" even if the sound bite smacks of a Bushism. After all, if a generation has no relationship to natural things in the natural world, why would they think there's anything worth protecting? I walked into a Kohls department store the other day in search of a toaster oven to replace our malfunctioning model and was stunned to think that the employees spend their entire day in a box with no windows with the current version of Muzak playing and the stench of new plastics. Then they get in their car, turn on the air conditioning and drive home. If they have a garage, they drive the car into the garage and never step foot outside. Once inside, flip on the TV or the computer and plug in for the rest of the evening. I think it's horrifying - how much of our population lives like this?

(BTW the exterior of this particular Kohls has fake windows plastered on the exterior of the building. I suppose this is to meet some kind of architectural design code for the local planning folks. Too bad they couldn't require real windows.)

http://daily.sightline.org/daily_score/archive/2010/06/02/screen-time-vs-green-time

DEQ summer 2010 Newsletter

No major news but some might find it interesting...

http://www.deq.state.or.us/pubs/newsletter/oregonenvironmentsummer2010.htm

Reverse auctions for stormwater mitigation

Here's a study out of Cincinnati, Ohio where they did a reverse auction to ask people how much they had to be paid to take a rain barrel or rain garden on their property to reduce stormwater runoff in a small watershed. It is a good description of how to do this kind of thing to get people to adopt a new technology/approach, but the report stops short of providing monitoring results (in other words, do these things actually have a measurable effect on runoff in the watershed).

http://www.epa.gov/nrmrl/pubs/600r08129/600r08129.htm

Depave in Portland

Portland made the national EPA publication, NPS News-Notes:

EPA’s Nonpoint Source News-Notes, Issue #90 (June 2010)

NPS News-Notes Issue #90 is now online at www.epa.gov/newsnotes/pdf/90issue.pdf. The newsletter’s cover page includes links to each section, article and announcement listed below. For previous issues of News-Notes, see www.epa.gov/newsnotes.

(8) Over-paved? Group Reduces Impervious Surfaces in Portland

In Portland, Oregon, a volunteer group is leading an effort to remove unnecessary asphalt and concrete areas and replace them with gardens and natural areas. “Depaving” contributes to Portland’s ongoing efforts to manage stormwater runoff by reducing impervious surfaces and creating more vegetated areas that absorb rainfall and intercept surface runoff. Launched in 2007, Depave (www.depave.org) has quickly gained momentum throughout Portland—expanding from one major event in 2008 to six in
2009…"

Water-friendly Dishwasher Detergents Now on Oregon Grocery Shelves

Questions:  What about laundry detergents?  Interesting that this is a blanket rule that covers the whole state, even those areas that are not sensitive to increased phosphate levels (in other words, there are areas of the state that are more sensitive to increased nitrogen than increase phosphate).  And interesting that commercial and industrial products are not included.  Are we to believe that all those restaurants can continue to pollute? 

>>>>>>>>>

New low-phosphate dishwasher detergents are now on grocery store shelves across Oregon, to comply with a new law that goes into effect July 1.

            The new Oregon Department of Environmental Quality requirement mandates that all automatic dishwasher detergents for residential use have low-phosphate formulas.

“Implementing this law is part of DEQ’s ongoing efforts to improve the health of water in Oregon’s lakes, rivers and streams and protect people, pets and fish,” said DEQ Director Dick Pedersen.

           

Phosphorus that goes down the drain creates water pollution problems. When phosphorus gets into rivers and especially lakes, it acts as a fertilizer for algae and plants in the water. This can lead to oxygen depletion, suffocating fish and other aquatic life. In some cases, excess phosphorous can lead to blooms of blue-green algae that produce toxins and poisons that can cause serious illness or death in pets, livestock, wildlife and humans. 

            Sewage treatment plants can remove much of the phosphorus from our wastewater, but they cannot remove all of it before it reaches rivers, lakes and streams.  

The new law requires that dishwasher detergents contain no more than 0.5 percent phosphorus. Because soaps designed for washing dishes by hand are already phosphorus-free, the new requirement affects only soaps used in automatic dishwashers.

Some experts have estimated that dishwasher detergent accounts for 10 to 12 percent of the phosphorus in wastewater.

            In 1992, the Oregon Legislature adopted phosphorus limits for cleaning agents including soaps and laundry detergents. The new requirements adopted by the Oregon legislature in 2009 relate to automatic dishwasher detergents only and reduce the limit from 8.7 percent to 0.5 percent.   

      

“We were very pleased to have support from the national American Cleaning Institute on this important legislation. This is an excellent addition to Oregon’s already existing limit on phosphorous in laundry detergents,” said Senator Jackie Dingfelder (D-Portland), lead sponsor of the legislation and chair of Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee. “With fewer phosphates entering our waterways, Oregon will have healthier rivers, streams, and lakes for us all to enjoy.”

The legislature amended the bill to bring the implementation date in line with other states proposing similar bans.

            The other states joining Oregon in the move away from phosphate-laden detergents July 1, 2010 are Washington, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana,

New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin.

            The new law does not apply to commercial and industrial dishwasher products. 

           

            If you notice dishwasher detergent at a store that does not comply with the new law, call

Bernie Duffy of the DEQ Water Quality Program at 541-278-4601 or toll free in Oregon 800-452-4011 to report name of the store and the address.

For more information about the new dishwasher detergent law: www.deq.state.or.us/wq/pubs/factsheets/programinfo/PhosphateLimits09-ER-005.pdf

Video on Building Green: A Success Story in Philadelphia

Video on Building Green: A Success Story in Philadelphia

EPA's Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds (OWOW) announced the availability of a new 11-minute video, "Building Green: A Success Story in Philadelphia," which highlights innovative efforts by green builders in Philadelphia who are helping protect and restore environmental quality and beautify the city. By installing cisterns, green roofs, porous pavers, solar panels, and Energy Star appliances, the builders are capturing rainwater, reducing stormwater runoff, and saving energy.

In the video, Howard Neukrug, Director of Philadelphia’s Office of Watersheds, explains the importance of green stormwater infrastructure. The city is now offering incentives to builders and developers to use
green techniques to help meet clean water and other environmental goals.


The video is available on-line at www.epa.gov/owow/nps/lid/video.html. A high resolution Digital Betacam version is also available upon request. For more information, contact Patty Scott at scott.patricia@epa.gov.


Whatever the heck high resolution Digital Betacam is - I guess this old fogey better visit Wikipedia or something.

Dodo Award

And we wonder why we have such a good reputation world-wide...

While President Obama was securing funds from BP to pay for the damage their oil spill is wrecking on families in the Gulf, Republicans apologized... to BP.

Yes, Texas Congressman Joe Barton actually apologized to BP CEO Tony Hayward and called it "a tragedy in the first proportion that a private corporation can be subjected to what I would characterize as a shakedown." That's right - Republicans think the "tragedy" is that BP will have to pay victims of their disaster.

To add insult to injury, Republicans want to put Congressman Barton in charge of the entire Energy and Commerce committee!

Opportunity to comment and attend hearings on Oregon greenhouse gas reporting rules

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality is proposing rules to expand Oregon’s greenhouse gas emissions reporting program. The Environmental Quality Commission adopted rules in 2008 that require certain Oregon businesses and other industrial and municipal operations to report greenhouse gas emissions to DEQ. DEQ is now proposing rules to expand the reporting requirements to additional sources of greenhouse gases in Oregon including electricity suppliers and fuel distributors. In addition, the proposal would establish fees for reporters that hold air quality permits with DEQ and update the reporting program.

The public can comment on the proposed rules in writing or at hearings that will be hosted across the state. Click here for the rulemaking documents and more details on how to comment.

All comments must be received by DEQ by 5:00 pm July 21, 2010.

Public hearings this summer:

Medford − Thursday, July 15, 2010
DEQ - Medford Regional Office
Conference Room
221 Stewart Avenue, Suite 201
Medford, OR 97501
6 p.m.

Bend - Friday, July 16, 2010
DEQ - Bend Regional Office
Conference Room
475 NE Bellevue Drive, Suite 110
Bend, OR 97701
6 p.m.

Portland - Monday, July 19, 2010
DEQ - Headquarters Office
Conference Room EQC-A
811 SW Sixth Avenue
Portland, OR 97204
6 p.m.

Non Point Source Pollution and Stream Health in Urban Areas

New USGS study examines effects of urban development on stream ecosystem health in 9 metropolitan areas across the U.S.

A new USGS study examines effects of urban development on stream ecosystem health. Findings show that aquatic insect communities demonstrate little, if any, initial resistance to low levels of urban
development that were previously thought to be protective of aquatic life. By the time a watershed reaches about 10 percent impervious cover in urban areas, aquatic insect communities are degraded by as much as 33 percent in comparison to aquatic insect communities in forested watersheds.

Comparisons among the nine metropolitan areas show that not all urban streams respond in a similar way. Land cover prior to urbanization can affect how aquatic insects and fish respond to urban development and is important to consider in setting realistic stream restoration goals in urban areas.

The USGS determined the magnitude and pattern of the physical, chemical, and biological response of streams to increasing urbanization and how these responses vary throughout nine metropolitan areas, including Portland, OR; Salt Lake City, UT; Birmingham, AL; Atlanta, GA; Raleigh, NC; Boston, MA; Denver, CO; Dallas, TX; and Milwaukee, WI.

For more information, including access to USGS reports and video podcasts, please visit http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/urban/

Murray Stein, Crusader Against Water Pollution, Dies at 92

 He did some great work.  We've fixed a lot of the big problems that had our streams running with sewage and industrial waste.  Who is our champion for the accumulation of effects from uncounted "nonpoint" pollution sources across our country side?  Who is the champion for the groundwater?

The New York Times
By DENNIS HEVESI
Published: June 4, 2010


Murray Stein, who for more than 20 years led the federal government’s fight against water pollution and did much to overcome the prevailing attitude that the nation’s waterways could serve as sewers, died May 24 at his home in Falls Church, Va. He was 92.

His daughter Judith Sloane confirmed his death.

Mr. Stein, who retired in 1976, was something of a diplomat without portfolio, traveling from state to state with the difficult mission of seeking compliance through steps that avoided penalties or court action. His technique was to preside over hearings at which local officials and corporate executives were confronted with evidence of pollution and then invited or cajoled into adopting remedial programs.

It was not easy. Most polluters were reluctant to cooperate, much less spend millions of dollars to remediate. State officials often challenged the constitutional right of the federal government to intervene.

Mr. Stein usually dealt with resistance through soft-spoken amiability. His standard lines were: “We’re dealing with facts subject to scientific measurement. Once we get agreement on the facts, the solutions will present themselves.”

In 1967, he presided over a conference in Manhattan during which federal and state officials agreed on a 1972 deadline for ending water pollution in the Hudson River.

A year later, he negotiated an agreement in which officials from four states bordering Lake Michigan unanimously approved a program that called for full treatment of all waste, chlorination of effluent to further purify it and a ban on the dumping of all dredging materials into the lake.

Sometimes Mr. Stein pushed for precautionary measures. He was the principal negotiator of an agreement in 1966 in which officials from California and Nevada approved an unusual engineering program to prevent pollution of Lake Tahoe, one of the world’s clearest bodies of water. As federal authority over water-pollution control was reorganized and transferred from one agency to the next between 1955 and 1971, Mr. Stein also made the shifts: from the Public Health Service to the Department of Health, Education and Welfare to the Department of the Interior and to the Environmental Protection Agency.

William D. Ruckelshaus, the first E.P.A. administrator, depended on him. In a 2005 profile of Mr. Ruckelshaus, The Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, said, “In the course of his travels, Murray Stein had learned where all the worst water pollution problems were, and when Bill Ruckelshaus wanted to move out with an aggressive enforcement program, Murray could tell him where to begin.”

Born in Brooklyn on Oct. 16, 1917, Mr. Stein was one of two children of Leonard and Mary Newmark Stein. His father was a food distributor to grocery stores, his mother a clerk at Macy’s. Mr. Stein studied at City College of New York for two years before moving to Washington. During World War II, he served as a medic in the Army.

After the war, while completing his bachelor’s degree at George Washington University, and earned his law degree there in 1949.

Mr. Stein’s wife of 65 years, the former Anne Kopelman, died in 2005. Besides his daughter Judith, he is survived by another daughter, Toby Mullvain, and two grandchildren.

Not all of Mr. Stein’s dealings with local officials were amiable.

In 1969, he was aboard a boat inspecting the Passaic River in New Jersey when it ran aground on putrid muck lining the river bottom. The boat was soon freed, but an argument ensued. “This is not a pristine, babbling brook,” a state official told Mr. Stein. “This is an industrial river.”

“Industrial river is a euphemism for open sewer,” Mr. Stein replied, adding that the river was “a disgrace to the United States.”

Oregon DEQ Subverts the Process and Wastes True Believers in Greywater

Sad news from Rainbow Todd Jarvis about the DEQ's graywater advisory committee:

http://rainbowwatercoalition.blogspot.com/2010/05/wasting-true-believers-in-greywater.html

with commentary from AquaDoc, Michael Campana

I am happy to report that Todd Jarvis appears to be safe and sound despite his recent experiences with DEQ - he didn't drink the Kool-Aid.

USGS WaterAlert - Instant Information about Your River or Well

A nice new service, particularly as the boating season gears up...

 

USGS WaterAlert - Instant Information about Your River or Well

             

Receive instant, customized updates to your phone or email about water conditions by subscribing to WaterAlert , a new service from the U.S. Geological Survey.

Whether you are involved in managing floods or droughts; interested in water conditions for optimal and safe boating and other recreation, or concerned about the quality of water in your well, WaterAlert  allows users to receive updates about river flows, groundwater levels, water temperatures, rainfall and water quality at any of more than 9,500 sites where USGS collects real-time water information.

How to sign up:  Go to  http://water.usgs.gov/wateralert .  Select a specific site; preferred delivery method (email or text); frequency of delivery (hourly or daily); data parameter(s); and parameter threshold(s).  Users can set the system for alerts when conditions are above a value, below a value, and between or outside of a range.

For more information, contact: Robert Mason, rrmason@usgs.gov , (703) 648-5305.

Or contact the USGS Water Science Center in your state, which can provide detailed information on water conditions and USGS response to local events.

 

For access to the USGS press release: http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=2464 .

Anupam Mishra: The ancient ingenuity of water harvesting | Video on TED.com

Here's a nice talk about rainwater harvesting in rural and not so rural areas of India. Amazing the amount of water harvested in what are defined as deserts. With rain in the forecast, it makes me feel woefully inadequate.

Anupam Mishra: The ancient ingenuity of water harvesting | Video on TED.com

Coastal wetland protection and British Petroleum

Noticed that the US EPA had a webinar this week on coastal wetland protection.  Kinda ironic timing given the fiasco that BP engineered in the Gulf.   Even more ironic that the guvmint is the one stepping up to get out the booms and all, which are rightfully BP's responsibility.  I'm sure the tea partyers are going to be really upset about that, federal money being spent to protect the environmental and economic wealth of the nation.

Anyway, came across this in my meanderings, which if even half true, gives pause for thought:  http://www.truthout.org/slick-operator-the-bp-ive-known-too-well59178.  Right here in our own state we have some of those nasty government worker bees that keep trying to hold up progress or cost people, or worse, corporations money - all in the name of following the rules that are on the books.  And these are rules that are actually written down in black and white.  Think about the parliamentary elections in Britain where the rules about succession are established by precedence.  Here is a county that used to dominate half the world and it's standard operating procedures aren't laid out in law.  Is that why BP (British Petroleum) believes it can play fast and loose with common resources? 

Protecting the Public, Protecting the Profit, or Profiting from Power?

Stolen from Rainbow Water Coalition...

 

Monday, May 3, 2010

Protecting the Public, Protecting the Profit, or Profiting from Power?

A consistent message is being spread by the wastewater industry about greywater which I have been perplexed by, but think I am starting to understand why.  Take, for example, this article from The Daily Lobo (The Independent Voice of University of New Mexico since 1895) where they quote Katherine Yuhas who is the water conservation officer at the Albuquerque Water Authority:

“The state regulates gray water. And, in 2003, the state made it legal to use up to 250 gallons of gray water per day,” Yuhas said. “It’s not very popular at all, frankly. We don’t promote the gray water program. We don’t offer rebates for it. The reason is that we treat water at our water reclamation plant to a much higher standard than you could in your yard.”

I did not realize that someone's yard was in competition for water "treatment" with a wastewater treatment plant. Ms. Yuhas is silent whether or not the treated water is available for the homeowner to reuse in their yard, which I think is the idea behind greywater reuse.  (see remainder of post at link above)

DEQ and Groundwater Management

Interesting to note the Environmental Quality Commission meeting agenda for this week includes an informational item about the Lower Umatilla Groundwater Management Area (staff report is available here).  The opening of the staff report states, "Oregon’s 1995 Groundwater Protection Act requires DEQ to declare a 

groundwater management area if groundwater contamination, resulting at least in part from nonpoint source activities, exceeds certain contamination levels." The staff report goes on to say that it is worth continuing to use voluntary methods to control contamination in the region even though groundwater nitrate levels have not declined and in fact show increasing trends. 

Perhaps I noticed this item because within the same week I received a notice that the DEQ is holding a public meeting about establishing a steering committee for what they are calling the S. Deschutes/N. Klamath Groundwater Protection Project.  On the map on the web site for this project it shows a statewide map of the incidence of detected nitrate-nitrogen levels in groundwater around the state and there several bright red spots of 10+mg/L around the state.  

What does a Groundwater Management Area get us as citizens of Oregon?  Voluntary action while groundwater contamination increases .... establishing yet another steering committee while groundwater contamination continues ... sometimes it is time to call a spade a spade and put that spade to work improving things.

Greenwalls

Thanks to Rainbow Todd for this info:

I am intrigued by the concept but admit that I found the blog site referenced annoying in that it only talked briefly about the potential environmental benefits of such an installation, the sum total that I found was:

"... located at the Vancouver International (YVR) Airport’s SkyTrain station.  The first Canadian airport to install a greenwall, international visitors to this beautiful city are greeted by the living tapestry, just one of the sustainable initiatives and ecological solutions for the airport.  Since YVR is situated within the estuary of the Fraser River on Sea Island, a large conservation project was created here to offset the environmental impact the airport causes, including a wildlife preserve and public beaches."

The blogger tended to go about the architectural aesthetic so interested persons will have to look elsewhere for substantive information.  I wonder if this gets rainwater, greywater...?

EPA Launches Web Forum on How to Best Protect America’s Waters

Unfortunately I got this too late to post and/or participate but it is interesting to read the comments that resulted from this:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking public input on how the agency can better protect and improve the health of our waters.  For a two-week period, EPA is holding a Web discussion forum on how the nation can better manage some of the most significant water pollution problems facing our nation. The feedback received on the online forum will help shape the discussion at EPA’s upcoming conference in April, Coming Together for Clean Water, where EPA will engage approximately 100 executive and local level water leads on the agency’s clean water agenda.

"We look forward to reviewing the ideas and feedback from the public,” said Peter S. Silva, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Water. “This online discussion is for anyone who wants to share their best solutions for restoring healthy waters and creating sustainable communities across the country."

EPA wants to receive input from water professionals, advocates, and anyone interested in water quality issues about best solutions—from planning, scientific tools, low impact development, to green infrastructure and beyond—in controlling water pollution and how resources can be better focused to improve these efforts.

To join the discussion: http://blog.epa.gov/waterforum/

Greywater research from Colorado State

I noticed that the Oregon Onsite Wastewater Association was holding its annual conference in Portland this year. On the agenda were many things related to wastewater (perhaps a "duh" statement) but one item that caught my eye was a couple of presentations by Sybil Sharvell, Ph.D., and Larry Roesner, Ph.D. Dr. Sharvell's talk in particular was interesting because there was some data about cost savings for households in avoided sewer charges and some water quality data. The other interesting thing was that they avoided the use of kitchen sink wastewater altogether. Kitchen sinks were not included in their definition of greywater because greywater that includes kitchen sink water contained organics, nutrients and pathogens at levels that rival blackwater. Therefore, their thinking was, a wastewater stream that would meet the definition of residential strength wastewater should be treated in a full-service wastewater treatment system. The corollary being that the resulting greywater from this approach could be reused on a property with minimal treatment.

Oregon Environment eNewsletter - Spring 2010

This is supposed to be available at Oregon DEQ's site but the link appears to be broken:

In This Issue

* DEQ Launches 'Oregon Carbon Calculator'

* DEQ Works to Improve Water Quality Standards

* Chemical-free Lawns Benefit Kids, Pets and Environment

DEQ Launches 'Oregon Carbon Calculator'

A new interactive tool on the DEQ website lets Oregon residents measure their carbon footprint and discover ways to improve it. The Oregon Carbon Calculator calculates all direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions from personal transportation, household energy use, and consumption of food, goods and services.

Find out how your household's carbon footprint compares to households of similar size and income. And learn how you can take action to reduce your carbon footprint from a number of specific ideas and strategies.

The Oregon Carbon Calculator is made possible through Oregon DEQ's support of the CoolClimate Network, a program of the University of California, Berkeley, and through financial support by the California Air Resources Board and the CoolCalifornia.org partnership. Oregon DEQ selected this calculator for its approach and depth in calculating human impacts to climate change.

DEQ Works to Improve Water Quality Standards

DEQ is responsible for establishing water quality standards and policies to protect aquatic and human life in Oregon. Staff are busy working on a number of important water quality improvement projects for Oregon, including the following:

Reducing persistent pollutants. DEQ has prepared a draft legislative report detailing sources of 118 persistent toxics in Oregon waterways and measures to help reduce them. Public information sessions will take place throughout the state in early April. DEQ will submit the final report to the Oregon Legislature on June 1. More information.

Upper Klamath, Lost River Subbasins. A plan to improve water quality in the Upper Klamath and Lost River subbasins is out for public comment. Due to questions about water availability in the Klamath basin, DEQ has extended the comment period through May 27. More information.

Turbidity standards. DEQ is updating the water quality standard addressing turbidity, a measure of water clarity. Once technical work is completed, DEQ will convene a work group and develop a revised rule on the standard – sometime in late 2011. More information.

Standards for new fish consumption rate. DEQ continues to work with communities and other interested groups to develop new standards regulating toxic emissions into waterways to protect human health based on a higher fish consumption rate. More information.

Willamette basin streamside habitat study. In early March, DEQ released a report estimating it could cost up to $1.2 billion to restore streamside vegetation throughout the Willamette basin. The loss in streamside vegetation -- due to pollution stemming from farming, forestry and urban activities – has resulted in increased polluted runoff into streams, leading to increased water temperature and diminished aquatic life. View the report.

Chemical-free Lawns Benefit Kids, Pets and Environment

It may surprise you to learn that the best weed control for a lawn is provided by healthy soil, not synthetic fertilizers and herbicides. Some lawn chemicals actually kill the soil microbes necessary for a healthy lawn.

Using a "weed and feed" product to fertilize a lawn also broadcasts toxic herbicides across the entire lawn. These herbicides can stay there for weeks. Rain or watering can wash the chemicals into storm drains that lead to rivers and streams where fish are at risk. Moreover, herbicides are toxic chemicals that can be unsafe for children and pets.

There are safe and healthy ways to care for your lawn without the use of toxic herbicides. Visit DEQ’s Healthy Lawns, Healthy Families website to learn about natural lawn care and how lawn-care habits affect water quality.

Calendar of Events

Visit our online calendar for more information on these and other events. 

April 5-7: Information meetings in Eugene, Medford, Bend and Portland on Draft Report on Reducing Persistent Pollutants in State Waters.

April 16: State Furlough Day. All DEQ offices and vehicle emissions inspection stations closed.

April 26-27: Public meetings in Salem and Eugene on Willamette Valley Field Burning Rule Revisions.  

April 28-29: Oregon Environmental Quality Commission meeting, Coos Bay. Details to come.

June 18: State Furlough Day. All DEQ offices and vehicle emissions inspection stations closed.  

* * *

Got Household Toxic Waste?  New clickable map shows collection events throughout state

Many of us have products at home containing hazardous substances. Examples include pesticides, herbicides, solvents, paints, motor oil and antifreeze. It’s important to dispose of these products properly to avoid contaminating our water supply or threatening the health of sanitation workers.

Never dispose of household toxic trash down the sink, on the ground, down a storm drain, or in your garbage can. Instead, take your unwanted products to a household hazardous waste collection site.

You can use our online clickable map to see when a household hazardous waste collection event will be in your area of the state.

Learn more about household hazardous waste and what you can do to minimize it in your home.

*********************

Sending this quarterly newsletter electronically rather than in hard copy format saves about 67,000 sheets of paper a year. This equals an estimated 17 million BTUs of energy and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 2.1 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (240 gallons of gasoline). Please don’t print this newsletter unless necessary.

Help Oregon Develop an Integrated Water Resources Strategy

Just a reminder that OWRD's Spring 2010 open houses are coming up!

Four state agencies have been given responsibility for developing an integrated water resources strategy for Oregon by 2012, with 5‐year updates thereafter. This spring, these agencies, along with commissioners and local partners, will host a series of evening open houses throughout Oregon
communities, serving three purposes:

 
1. To ensure that participants receive information about the statewide strategy, the project timeline, and the many opportunities to participate.

2. To gather input from community members, in terms of water resource challenges, opportunities, and recommended actions.

3. To highlight successful, local examples of water resource solutions currently underway in Oregon communities.

Various stations will allow participants to engage in individual conversations and facilitated discussions, listen to presentations, and to ask questions about current issues and local projects. A “kid’s center” will allow younger attendees to participate in water‐related activities.

More info at:

http://www1.wrd.state.or.us/pdfs/2_12_10_Briefer.pdf

WSWC Report: Exempt Well Issues in the West

This is an issue near and dear to my heart - how many stirring straws can you stick in a slurpie before you start to run out of sugar water?  Thanks to Michael Campana and Todd Jarvis, from whom I stole this posting...

 WSWC Report: Exempt Well Issues in the West

Here is a timely report if there ever was one. It's by Nathan Bracken of the Western States Water Council. Hot off the press - thanks toTodd Jarvis.

Download Exempt_Wells_in_the_West_N_Bracken

Here is the Executive Summary:

There are over a million exempt domestic and livestock wells
located throughout the West. Although these wells are an important
source of water for a large number of water users, they also pose
significant regulatory and administrative challenges that have the
potential to impact the sustainability of water supplies, surface flows,
and water quality. In June 2008, the Western Governors’ Association
and the Western States Water Council issued a report entitled Water
Needs and Strategies for a Sustainable Future: Next Steps, which
contained recommendations on how the states and federal government
should address the ever-increasing challenges associated with water
management in the West. Item 3(D) of the Next Steps report’s
Executive Summary recommends that states “should examine their
related laws and institutions and evaluate the merits of . . . [permitting
and monitoring] exempt domestic and livestock wells as part of water
rights regulatory schemes.” The WSWC’s Legal Committee
subsequently commissioned this Report, which addresses 1) the
statutory and regulatory authority among WSWC member states
regarding exempt domestic and livestock wells, 2) the ways in which
these wells can complicate or compromise water resources allocation,
administration, and quality, 3) the specific challenges WSWC member
states are facing with respect to exempt wells, 4) the relative costs and
benefits associated with mintoring wells that are currently exempt,
and 5) the potential approaches to mitigate the adverse impacts of
exempt wells.
Perhaps I should have saved this post for April Fools' Day.
"We never know the worth of water till the well is dry."  ~Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732

Great stuff from the story of stuff project

From the likes of "build it and they will come" comes the manufactured demand for bottled water.  Free market, indeed:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se12y9hSOM0&feature=player_embedded

It's a wonder that the public, especially that portion of our public with family members serving in the middle east, has not outright condemned the bottled water industry for increasing our dependence on foreign oil in such a frivolous manner.

Oregon DEQ Seeks Public Input on Draft Report On Reducing Persistent Pollutants in Oregon's Waters

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality is seeking public input through Monday, April 19 on a draft report about reducing persistent pollutants in Oregon waters. After receiving public input and making final revisions, DEQ will submit the final report to the Oregon Legislature on June 1.
 
 For more information, please see the news release:
  http://www.deq.state.or.us/news/prDisplay.asp?docID=3233

Water, Volume 2, Issue 1 (March 2010) now available

The following issue: Water,
Volume 2, Issue 1 (March 2010), Pages 1-119 is available at
http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/2/1/

Table of Contents:

Ryan T. Bailey, John W. Jenson and Arne E. Olsen
Article: Estimating the Ground Water Resources of Atoll Islands
Water 2010, 2(1), 1-27; doi:10.3390/w2010001
http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/2/1/1

José González-García, Verónica Sáez, Ignacio Tudela, María Isabel
Díez-Garcia, María Deseada Esclapez and Olivier Louisnard
Review: Sonochemical Treatment of Water Polluted by Chlorinated
Organocompounds. A Review
Water 2010, 2(1), 28-74; doi:10.3390/w2010028
http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/2/1/28

Chrysi Laspidou, Kimon Hadjibiros and Stylianos Gialis
Article: Minimizing the Environmental Impact of Sea Brine Disposal by
Coupling Desalination Plants with Solar Saltworks: A Case Study for Greece
Water 2010, 2(1), 75-84; doi:10.3390/w2010075
http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/2/1/75

Iskandar Abdullaev and Peter P. Mollinga
Article: The Socio-Technical Aspects of Water Management: Emerging Trends
at Grass Roots Level in Uzbekistan
Water 2010, 2(1), 85-100; doi:10.3390/w2010085
http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/2/1/85

Marthe S. de Graaff, Hardy Temmink, Grietje Zeeman and Cees J. N. Buisman
Article: Anaerobic Treatment of Concentrated Black Water in a UASB Reactor
at a Short HRT
Water 2010, 2(1), 101-119; doi:10.3390/w2010101
http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/2/1/101

End of the issue.

--
Molecular Diversity
Preservation International (MDPI)
Kandererstrasse 25
CH-4057 Basel, Switzerland
Tel. +41 61 683 77 34
Fax  +41 61 302 89 18
http://www.mdpi.com/

Public involvement and progress

We've all seen the effects of citizen involvement, uninvolvement and devolvement in various public settings.  Here is a report from the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation on the 2008 conference on  dialogue and deliberation.  (link:  http://www.thataway.org/?p=2387)  It seems to contain a lot of optimism about how we can bridge communication gaps through traditional approaches of increasing public education by way of getting the word out there early and often...

I like to believe that there's optimism for how public discourse moves forward, but I have to wonder, given the intense inculcation of cultural beliefs and biases that various populations receive from the cradle forward, whether trying to impose a veneer of civility at as late a stage as public participation in public policy making will actually change how groups interact.  If we can't maintain civil discourse on something that many more people agree is needed in some form or another (health care reform and I refer to the spate of racially charged epithets strewn about recently) then how can we possible hope to progress on issues where there is no baseline agreement?

Belief vs. science, duh

Climate-change deniers versus the scientific societies of the world: Who should we listen to?

Dr. Peter Gleick

President, Pacific Institute

"My last post said that climate-change deniers have never produced an alternative scientific theory that adequately explains the compelling evidence of climate change from around the world...."

Read more here...

Belly laugh at the expense of politicians

Now I know that most politicians barely have a handle on reality but I am still, weeks later, still laughing at the outrageous quote from  US Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) that we have the "best health care system in the world."

He probably also believes our nation's infrastructure will go on functioning with no maintenance.

Enough said.

Near the boiling point; The area water district board has become a battleground over issues of incorporation, and both sides — pro- and anti-growth —

Here is another take on the subject of "land use planning is water planning." Terrebonne is a very small community with very large opinions and the only local government is the local water board.

Near the boiling point; The area water district board has become a battleground over issues of incorporation, and both sides — pro- and anti-growth — feel the heat | News
| The Bulletin

Daily Score Blog — Sightline Daily - Northwest News that Matters

Daily Score Blog — Sightline Daily - Northwest News that Matters

Washington takes the lead in getting copper out of brakes!

Fixing the Communications Failure

The January edition of Nature (Nature 463, 296-297 (21 January 2010) | doi:10.1038/463296a; Published online 20 January 2010)  included a column entitled "Fixing the communications failure" in the context of how to convey scientific information or how science can more effectively be communicated in the "debate" forum.

This is more information along the cultural bias theme I started in a previous posting, but the disturbing thing here is that this synopsis of social psychology research shows that it doesn't matter how much a person knows about a subject, what matters is if that person looks like a person that the audience can relate to based on their cultural bias.  In short, if you're going to talk to hicks and try to convince them of something, you'd better look and sound like a hick.

While, this does not necessarily shed new light on the communications conundrum, after all, public speakers are told and told again to know their audience, it does add a twist.  For example, if you happen to be a person that has done all the research and has the state of the art science to bring to the table, you may not have a lightning bug's chance in a kid's bedroom of making your point if you trigger an audience or part of an audience's cultural bias.  This can be a reaction based, stupid as it may be, on whether or not you have facial hair, or whether or not you can even grow facial hair.  Whether you wear plaid, twill or polyester....it makes you want to try on a few disguises, eh?  Hollywood makeup artists and costumers might have a whole new calling in the science world.

WaterSense "Fix a Leak Week" in March

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is promoting its second annual WaterSense "Fix a Leak Week," March 15 to 21, 2010, as a time to remind Americans to roll up their sleeves and save water.
Minor leaks from household plumbing fixtures and irrigation systems account for more than 1 trillion gallons of water wasted each year in U.S. homes—enough to supply Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami with their water needs for a year. EPA created this week-long annual event to give its WaterSense utility, community, manufacturer, retail, and professional partners a call to action to encourage saving water.

For example, the City of Dallas and dozens of local plumbers will launch Fix a Leak Week by taking to the streets to repair leaks in low-income residences and replace fixtures with WaterSense labeled models. The Great Dallas Fix a Leak Week Roundup—a seven-day blitz to completely wipe out the waiting list for the city's leak repair program—is just one of many events WaterSense partners will be hosting in their communities across the country.
WaterSense is encouraging homeowners, do-it-yourselfers, and plumbing professionals to help find and fix leaks by promoting the following tips:

• Reduce faucet leaks by checking faucet washers and gaskets for wear and, if necessary, replace the faucet with a WaterSense labeled model.
• Replace worn rubber flappers, which can cause silent leaks in toilets.
• For a leaky garden hose, replace the nylon or rubber hose washer and ensure a tight connection to the spigot using pipe tape and a wrench.
• Check landscape irrigation systems each spring before use to make sure they are not damaged by frost or freezing.
• Remember to look for the WaterSense label if you have to replace a bathroom fixture.
• To learn more about Fix a Leak Week or to become a WaterSense partner, please visit www.epa.gov/watersense. Check back March 15 to 21 for updates and photos from events taking place across the nation.

WaterSense© is a partnership program sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Its mission is to protect the future of our nation's water supply by promoting and enhancing the market for water-efficient products and services.

Rhapsody and Scientific Reality

Is this the real life?  Is this just fantasy?

Caught in a landslide, No escape from reality.

Open your eyes,

Look up to the skies and see.... 

 - Freddie Mercury

Belief In Climate Change Hinges On Worldview

When it comes to climate change, some look at the facts presented and see a coming catastrophe, others see a hoax. This difference in interpretation, social scientists say, has more to do with each individual's existing outlook than the facts.


Having read/seen the above, I fear I am teetering on the brink of another "people are stupid" diatribe.  But I will try to resist.  NPR provides a synopsis of research showing how people delude themselves into interpreting facts in such ways as to support their own private world view.  In some ways this world view is not so private because a lot of the biases that lean people towards one interpretation over another are derived from their cultural background.  And cultural background is not limited to whether you are of Polish, or English, or Central American descent, or whether you fly the Confederate flag in your yard.  Cultures are created within businesses, schools, neighborhoods, churches...you name it.

I exchanged blog comments recently with a learned person about the bias in regulatory types toward requiring permits for activities that are, in the bigger scheme of things, relatively benign and that have socially redeeming characteristics.  Ideally, relatively benign actions that are socially redeeming ought to be easy to take.  However, because the topic of discussion (greywater) involved something that is a subset of a regulated substance (sewage) and because of the culture in which regulators grow up (writing permits and enforcing rules), they have a career-long bias towards wanting to actively regulate a population or a series of actions, even when that regulation cannot be practically achieved because they charge fees too low to cover the so-called service.

It calls to mind that old game show, "What's my line?" and makes me wonder if it is actually more effective to have an in depth understanding of an audience's biases than to actually have facts at hand.  Are we really that shallow as a society?  Or should I ask, are we really that shallow as a set of societies?  How do we bridge the cultural biases to promote actual, productive movement on the polarizing issues of the day?