05-06-2008
In thirty years, Greece will run dry
|
 Greece -
A conference held by the National Observatory of Athens predicted that by 2060, Greece would see a 25% reduction in rainfall, a longer wildfire season, and double the demand for energy to run air conditioners as temperatures climb. Up to 80% of the eastern Mediterranean will be at risk for desertification as the climate grows hotter and drier, and in Greece, the Aegean Islands and the southeastern mainland will be most vulnerable. Chairman of the Observatory Khristos Zerefos added that the "ugliest news in the next decades has to do with water." Rainfall is expected to decrease sharply between 2031 and 2060, which, in turn, will lower water tables. Snowpack, a very important source of Greek water reserves, will also drop. The conference was co-sponsored by the European Union and Italy's Euromediteranean Center for Climatic Change and attracted scientists from 16 countries.
- summary by Louise Shaler
|
Source:
Ta Nea byKharis Karanikas
Original Language: Greek
Check for stories with: forecasting, global warming, water shortage, desertification, wildfire, snow, rainfall
|
|
05-06-2008
Reservoir larger than Manhattan planned to help Everglades
|
 Florida -
Decades of flood-control projects diverting water from Florida's Everglades National Park left the region close to ecological collapse, but the world's biggest wetland restoration project, although suffering from many delays due to financial problems, is now building a 25-square-mile reservoir to restore some natural flows. The massive reservoir, to be located south of Lake Okeechobee, will store up to 62 billion gallons of water that would normally be channeled out to sea and divert them into the Everglades at various times. It will be surrounded by a 26-ft levee and filled to an average depth of about 12.5 ft. While restoration efforts have been progessing very slowly, there are some signs of success: wading birds have returned to the Kissimmee River Basin and panthers - a species close to extinction -- were discovered near the Big Cypress National Preserve last year.
- summary by Louise Shaler
|
Source:
Yahoo News byBrian Skoloff (taken from Associated Press)
Original Language: English
Check for stories with: wetland, artificial recharge, land reclamation, wildlife conservation
|
|
05-05-2008
Cameroon: Camerounaise des Eaux goes to work
|
 Cameroon -
The water utility Camerounaise des Eaux, owned by Moroccan interests, has been asked to fill in the gaps left by Cameroon's former national utility, SNEC. Although SNEC covered 115 towns, the quality of its water was often questionable and service cuts were frequent. Fixing these two problems is the top priority of Camerounaise des Eaux, but consumers won't have to pay higher water rates for the improvements in infrastructure, promised Director-General Mohammed Bennani.
- summary by Louise Shaler
|
Source:
allAfrica.com byR. D. Lebogo Ndongo (taken from Cameroon Tribune)
Original Language: French
Check for stories with: water service, privatization
|
|
05-02-2008
Pumping begins to prevent SA lake turning acidic
|
 Australia -
Water Security Minister Karlene Maywald of the Australian state of South Australia announced that a last-ditch attempt to save Lake Albert from ecological collapse is underway. Record low flows in the Murray River have left the lakebed - whose soil is full of acid sulfate - on the verge of polluting the remaining water with sulfuric acid. A plan was devised by the Murray-Darling Ministerial Council to pump 400 megaliters of water per day from neighboring Lake Alexandrina to Lake Albert for about six months. This will dilute the acid. It's only a temporary solution, however, admitted Ms. Maywald: rain is the long-term answer.
- summary by Louise Shaler
|
Source:
ABC News Online by
Original Language: English
Check for stories with: lake, drought, acid pollution, artificial recharge, water policy
|
|
05-02-2008
South Africa: A project to provide water arouses controversy and suspicion
|
 South Africa -
A plan to augment the drinking water supply for the rapidly growing cities of Port Alfred and Kenton-on-Sea in South Africa's Eastern Cape Province is facing considerable controversy. The local water service, the Albany Coast Water Board, has raised the equivalent of $110 million U.S. to build a pipeline from the huge Gariep Reservoir.The project seems unnecessary, since Port Alfred is located along the Kowie River and Kenton-on-Sea along the Bushmans and Kariega rivers, but all three rivers are heavily polluted with salt. The Water Board has run into several obstacles, however: the fact that the water from the reservoir is already fully allocated, criticism of the cost of the pipeline, and even greater criticism over the lack of transparency in the planning process. Local residents are suspicious because a meeting last month wasn't open to the public or the media.
- summary by Louise Shaler
|
Source:
allAfrica.com bySteven Lang (taken from Inter Press Service)
Original Language: French
Related Website(s): Click to visit
Check for stories with: water shortage, river, salinization, water pipeline
|
|
05-01-2008
Summit to save Africa's threatened Niger River
|
 Niger -
Delegates from nine West African states (Burkina Faso, Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Guinee, the Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria) convened on 30 April in Niamey, Niger to fine-tune a proposed 20-year, $8.6 billion program to rescue the Niger River and guarantee the future of 110 million people. Flows in Africa's third-largest river are seriously threatened by drought, siltation, and weed pollution. The program will consist of reforesting and reclaiming plains along the river and removing silt. The main obstacle: only 19% of the funds required have been raised so far, said program coordinator Seyni Seydou, although the African Development Bank has become a major partner. Countries in the Niger Basin Authority are also set to approve a charter to regulate management of the basin's resources as the populations of countries irrigated by the river and its tributaries continue to grow.
- summary by Louise Shaler
|
Source:
Tehran Times by (taken from Agence France-Presse)
Original Language: English
Check for stories with: international conference, water policy, river, drought, sediment, dredging, weed pollution, reforestation
|
|
04-29-2008
Wong unveils $13b water scheme
|
 Australia -
In Canberra, ACT, Australian Water Minister Penny Wong announced the national government's $13 billion plan for better water management. She said that $3.1 billion would be spent on buying back water rights from farmers in the Murray-Darling River Basin in order to recharge the riparian system, and nearly $6 billion on infrastructure projects in the region. The National Farmers Federation supports the plan; President Ben Farghar commented that if the buyback is combined with investments in irrigation networks and countrywide water metering and quality monitoring, "We're certainly very keen." Critics, such as Murray Shire Mayor Brian Sharp, fear that the buybacks, by reducing harvests, will cause food costs to rise and exports to drop.
- summary by Louise Shaler
|
Source:
ABC News Online by
Original Language: English
Check for stories with: river, water rights, artificial recharge, irrigation, water policy
|
|
04-28-2008
Qld Govt water plan offered 'false hope': Oppn
|
 Australia -
The state government of Queensland, Australia has abandoned an ambitious plan to relieve water shortages in the southeastern part of the state by pumping water from the Burdekin River. The stumbling block was the pricetag: $14 billion. In the capital, Brisbane, Rosemary Menkens of the Opposition called the proposal unrealistic to start with, suggesting, "There is the potential for a lot of water in north Queensland and we think it would be a better idea to move the population to north Queensland."
- summary by Louise Shaler
|
Source:
ABC News Online by
Original Language: English
Check for stories with: water shortage, river, water pipeline, water policy
|
|
|
