http://www.sahra.arizona.edu/newswatch This news alert service covers global water news sources, especially on arid and semi-arid regions in seven languages. en-us ©2005 Arizona Board of Regents. Tue, 13 May 08 14:45:01 MST http://www.sahra.arizona.edu/newswatch http://www.sahra.arizona.edu/newswatchspnc/head2.gif 144 18 This news alert service covers global water news sources, especially on arid and semi-arid regions in seven languages. http://www.sahra.arizona.edu/cgi-bin/newsclips/newsclip_view.pl?mode=newsclip_view&ID=18051 [Australia] Banrock Station in South Australia, a wetland listed as internationally important under the Ramsar Treaty, will be recharged with more than 600 megaliters of water from the Murray River later this month, announced Dr. Wendy Craik, chief of the Murray-Darling Basin Commission. The wetland has been disconnected from the river for nearly 18 months to save water during a prolonged drought. Craik explained that the partial refill would prevent damage to the area's plants and animals from increasing salinity. Thu, 08 May 08 01:00:00 MST http://www.sahra.arizona.edu/cgi-bin/newsclips/newsclip_view.pl?mode=newsclip_view&ID=18050 [United States] Two major oil companies, Valero Energy and Chevron, agreed to join in settling a series of lawsuits over the use of the gasoline additive MTBE, a potential carcinogen that has been found in groundwater across the United States. MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether) was first added to gasoline to boost its octane level and cut air pollution in 1979, but its use declined after it was banned in a number of states. Among the other defendants, BP PLC's BP America Inc., ConocoPhillips, Royal Dutch Shell PLC's Shell Oil, Marathon Oil, Petroleos de Venezuela SA's Citgo Petroleum, and Sunoco Inc. have already agreed to pay $423 million plus cleanup costs in 17 states. Estimates on the total cost of removing the chemical from drinking water supplies run as high as $30 billion. ExxonMobil and five other oil companies refused to settle. Wed, 07 May 08 01:00:00 MST http://www.sahra.arizona.edu/cgi-bin/newsclips/newsclip_view.pl?mode=newsclip_view&ID=18041 [Morocco] A four-day international workshop on ways to relieve water shortages in the Mediterranean Basin was held in Agadir, Agadir Province, Morocco by the Hassan II Agronomic and Veterinary Institute of Agadir in collaboration with the European Union. Delegates from a dozen European, Middle Eastern, and North African countries heard about desalinating groundwater and seawater, treating wastewater, and collecting rainwater. Deficits could be reduced by 35-40% by using one or more of these methods. For example, Agadir discharges 70 million cubic meters of wastewater into the sea every year, water that could be treated and recycled. Conservation of existing water resources was also discussed, particularly by capturing and recycling water from certain thirsty crops. For example, tomatoes consume 7000 cubic meters of water per hectare of land, but 5600 m3 could be recovered as it evaporates from the plant, said one speaker. Wed, 07 May 08 01:00:00 MST http://www.sahra.arizona.edu/cgi-bin/newsclips/newsclip_view.pl?mode=newsclip_view&ID=18025 [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. Tue, 06 May 08 01:00:00 MST http://www.sahra.arizona.edu/cgi-bin/newsclips/newsclip_view.pl?mode=newsclip_view&ID=18018 [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. Tue, 06 May 08 01:00:00 MST http://www.sahra.arizona.edu/cgi-bin/newsclips/newsclip_view.pl?mode=newsclip_view&ID=18027 [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. Mon, 05 May 08 01:00:00 MST http://www.sahra.arizona.edu/cgi-bin/newsclips/newsclip_view.pl?mode=newsclip_view&ID=18049 [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. Fri, 02 May 08 01:00:00 MST http://www.sahra.arizona.edu/cgi-bin/newsclips/newsclip_view.pl?mode=newsclip_view&ID=18026 [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. Fri, 02 May 08 01:00:00 MST