Rhizoctonia Hot Water Treatment Eliminates from Azalea Cuttings

Rhizoctonia, a fungal disease that can be found in many ornamental plants, can be eliminated in azalea by placing plant cuttings in a hot water treatment, an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist and his university collaborator have found.

Rhizoctonia web blight is an annual problem in azalea cultivars grown in containerized nursery production in the southern and eastern United States. The fungus lives on all azalea plant surfaces and in the pine bark soil throughout the year, yet only causes plant damage in July and August, when heat and humidity peak.

The disease first affects the azalea’s internal leaves during June, with signs often unseen by the grower. Within 24 hours, the shrub can go from appearing healthy to having one-third of its leaves rapidly turn brown and die.

Rhizoctonia is undetectable to the human eye, which means the pathogen can be carried on stem cuttings used to propagate new plants and circulated within nursery stock for years. Current control efforts include treating plants with fungicide to stop the severe plant damage. However, dipping stem cuttings in a disinfestant or fungicide solution has not controlled spread of the fungus, so better control methods are needed.

For more info http://www.ars.usda.gov

Water buybacks get to the billion Dollar Mark

The Federal Water Minister Senator Penny Wong said the buyback had purchased the corresponding of about 651 giga liters of water.

But the South Australian senator acknowledged a need of water in the Murray Darling Basin meant the buyback was yet to deliver important new flows.

"Obviously what is actually allocated in that right will be less and will depend on what State Governments allocate but that is the case across the basin," she said.

"Regrettably we are not seeing a lot of allocations because we have not got a lot of water but the significant thing is this water that will go to the rivers as and when water is available."

The world's looming "water gap"

There's good and bad news from a sweeping new report on the world's water scarcity out this week from McKinsey & Co., and commissioned by such water-dependent companies as Coca-Cola, SAB Miller, Nestle and Syngenta, along with the World Bank/International Finance Corp.

The bad: Global demand for water already exceeds supply - about 1.1 billion people don't have access to clean water - and the so-called water gap is increasing at an accelerating rate.

The good: Cost-effective, sustainable solutions are obtainable to close the gap, particularly if governments and business focus on reducing demand rather than trying to generate additional supply.

The challenge: Getting beyond the nostrum that water is a "human right" so that water, which is perceptibly a scarce resource, can be priced in a way that drives conservation.

One more thing to know: Water issues are at least as complex as energy, and all water problems are local, so generalizing about water, while inevitable, is invariably misleading.

National Water resource Census

The 21st Century brings a fresh set of water resource challenges. Water shortage and use variance have become more commonplace in many areas of the United States – even in standard water years – for irrigation of crops, for growing cities and communities, for energy production, and for the environment and class protected under the law. Much has changed since the last overall assessment of water resources for the Nation was published by the Water Resources Council in 1978.

It is time for a comprehensive examination of using what we have cultured during the past thirty years and with up-to-date capabilities. In response to a request from Congress, the USGS released a report in 2002 entitled, Concepts for National Assessment of Water Availability and Use, Circular 1223. The circular outlines a broad framework by which a national estimation could take place and advocates using 21 water availability in the United StatesWater Resources Regions for the study units.

In 2005, USGS embarked on a pilot study of water availability in the Great Lakes Basin. The pilot focuses on accepting the dynamics of the water resources in the basin in terms of the flows and yields of both ground and surface water and demonstrates the importance of water-use data to quantifying water availability.

Haryana promoting use of solar water heating systems

CHANDIGARH: In a bid to save energy, the Haryana Renewable Energy Development Agency (Hareda) has so far installed as many as 1,412 solar heating systems in the State resulting in a saving on 18.13 million kilowatt of electricity annually.

"Solar water heating technology has emerged as a cost effective and environment friendly option for water heating applications all over the world," State's power and renewable energy minister, Mahendra Partap Singh said.

He said that installation of 1,000 solar water heating systems of 100 litre capacity each could save one megawatt of power and at the same time mitigate the problems posed by global warming.

"A 100 litre solar water heating system could avoid emission of 1.5 tonnes carbon dioxide annually," he claimed.

Singh pointed out that given the utility of solar water heating systems, the state government had made the use of this system mandatory in industries, where hot water is required for processing including hospitals and nursing homes, hotels, jail barracks, canteens, housing complexes set up by the Group Housing Societies or Housing Boards.

To promote the installation of solar water heating systems in the state, a number of incentives were being given by the State Government that included rebate in the electricity bills.


Article source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Water on the Moon Established by NASA Crashes

There's water on the moon—and a "significant amount" of it, too, members of NASA's recent moon-crash mission, LCROSS, announced today.

In October, NASA crashed a two-ton rocket and the SUV-size LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite) into the enduringly shadowed crater Cabeus on the moon's South Pole.

The crashes were part of an effort to kick up proof of water on the moon (picture).

(Read more on the LCROSS mission's moon target.)

Despite disappointing many amateur astronomers on Earth, who had been expecting to see a giant plume of lunar dust and ice crystals, the moon-water mission was a success, NASA says. (See NASA 'Moon Bombing' a Hit, But LCROSS Impact Invisible?")

The LCROSS team took the known near-infrared light signature of water and compared it to the impact spectra LCROSS near-infrared recorded after the probe had sent its spent rocket crashing into the moon.

A spectrometer helps identify the composition of materials by examining which wavelengths of light they emit or absorb.

"We got good fits" for the data graphs, said Anthony Colaprete, LCROSS's principal investigator, at today's press discussion at the NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California.

For more information http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LCROSS/main/prelim_water_results.html

Quality of Water from Domestic Wells in the United States

This study from the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assesses water-quality conditions for about 2,100 domestic wells across the United States. As many as 219 properties and contaminants, including pH, major ions, nutrients, trace elements, radon, pesticides, and volatile organic compounds, were measured. Fecal indicator bacteria and additional radionuclides were analyzed for a smaller number of wells. The large number of contaminants assessed and the broad geographic coverage of the present study provides a foundation for an improved understanding of the quality of water from the major aquifers tapped by domestic supply wells in the United States.


The results of this study are described in two USGS publications, including an overview of the study findings (Circular 1332) and a detailed technical report on data sources, analyses, and results (Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5227). Both publications can be downloaded in PDF format from the NAWQA website (see below). Also available in PDF format are two related articles in the Water Well Journal of the National Ground Water Association, which briefly summarize USGS study findings and general information on domestic well maintenance, siting, and testing.

WSDOT begins in-water test pile and noise study for SR 520 bridge project

SEATTLE –WSDOT begins work in Lake Washington and Portage Bay on Oct. 23 to study potential noise reduction measures during in-water pile driving. A pile is a circular steel column that is driven into the ground to provide support for bridge structures. This study will help determine the best pile installation methods that minimize effects on the surrounding communities, as well as fish and wildlife in this area.

Dave Becher, SR 520 Program Construction Manager, noted that “This study will cost less than a million dollars of the $4.65 billion program budget, yet will allow us to test innovative technologies to help us reduce noise during pile driving. This up-front expenditure should allow us to minimize impacts during pile driving as well as more accurately estimate the cost for in-water steel in Portage Bay and Union Bay.”


Working from a large barge, crews will install nine steel test piles north of SR 520 between Portage Bay and the western high rise in Lake Washington. The study will allow crews to test soil conditions on the lake bottom, monitor underwater and airborne noise, and evaluate potential noise reduction methods that could benefit people, fish, and wildlife during construction. Each of the piles is between 40 and 120 feet long, and will be installed using a combination of vibratory and impact hammers. The test piles will be removed after all monitoring work is complete.

Malibu water treatment payments could increase $1,000 a month

If regional water quality officials approve a planned ban on septic systems in central Malibu as expected, residential property owners in the pretentious area would be on the hook for $1,000 a month to pay for a centralized wastewater treatment system.

Commercial property owners benefiting from the treatment system could be needed to lay out significantly more, the city said.

Malibu said in a statement that such a system would cost $52 million, more than three times the $16.7-million projection that the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board has optional at recent community workshops.

Upset at what it calls Malibu's slow pace of correcting water pollution issues in Malibu Creek, Malibu Lagoon and at Surf rider Beach, the water board has proposed a prohibition on septic systems in the city's core.

The Water Cycle: Springs

What is a spring?


A spring is a water resource formed when the side of a hill, a valley bottom or other excavation intersects a flowing body of ground water at or below the local water table, below which the subsurface material is saturated with water. A spring is the result of an aquifer being filled to the point that the water overflows onto the land surface. They range in size from intermittent seeps, which flow only after much rain, to huge pools flowing hundreds of millions of gallons daily.

Springs are not limited to the Earth's surface, though. Recently, scientists have discovered hot springs at depths of up to 2.5 kilometers in the oceans, generally along mid-ocean rifts (spreading ridges). The hot water (over 300 degrees Celsius) coming from these springs is also rich in minerals and sulfur, which results in a unique ecosystem where unusual and exotic sea life seems to thrive.

How are springs formed?

Springs may be formed in any sort of rock. Small ones are found in many places. In Missouri, the largest springs are formed in limestone and dolomite in the karst topography of the Ozarks. Both dolomite and limestone fracture relatively easily. When weak carbonic acid (formed by rainwater percolating through organic matter in the soil) enters these fractures it dissolves bedrock. When it reaches a horizontal crack or a layer of non-dissolving rock such as sandstone or shale, it begins to cut sideways, forming an underground stream. As the process continues, the water hollows out more rock, eventually admitting an airspace, at which point the spring stream can be considered a cave. This process is supposed to take tens to hundreds of thousands of years to complete.

Water flow from springs

The amount of water that flows from springs depends on many factors, including the size of the caverns within the rocks, the water pressure in the aquifer, the size of the spring basin, and the amount of rainfall. Human activities also can influence the volume of water that discharges from a spring—ground-water withdrawals in an area can reduce the pressure in an aquifer, causing water levels in the aquifer system to drop and ultimately decreasing the flow from the spring. Most people probably think of a spring as being like a pool of water—and normally that is the case. But, as this picture of the wall of the Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA shows, springs can occur when geologic, hydrologic, or human forces cut into the underground layers of soil and rock where water is in movement.

Spring water is not always clear

Water from springs usually is remarkably clear. Water from some springs, however, may be "tea-colored." This picture shows a natural spring in southwestern Colorado. Its red iron coloring and metals enrichment are caused by ground water coming in contact with naturally occurring minerals present as a result of ancient volcanic activity in the area. In Florida, many surface waters contain natural tannic acids from organic material in subsurface rocks, and the color from these streams can appear in springs. If surface water enters the aquifer near a spring, the water can move quickly through the aquifer and discharge at the spring vent. The discharge of highly colored water from springs can indicate that water is flowing quickly through large channels within the aquifer without being filtered through the soil.
This water is cold and clear—is it fit to drink?

The quality of the water in the local ground-water system will generally determine the quality of spring water. The quality of water discharged by springs can vary greatly because of factors such as the quality of the water that recharges the aquifer and the type of rocks with which the ground water is in contact. The rate of flow and the length of the flowpath through the aquifer affects the amount of time the water is in contact with the rock, and thus, the amount of minerals that the water can dissolve. The quality of the water also can be affected by the mixing of freshwater with pockets of ancient seawater in the aquifer or with modern seawater along an ocean coast.


So, should you feel confident about whipping out your canteen and filling it with cool and refreshing spring water? No, you should be cautious. The temperature of an Ozark spring comes from its passing through rock at a mean annual temperature of 56 degrees Farenheit. The water is crudely filtered in the rock, and the time spent underground allows debris and mud to fall out of suspension. If underground long enough, lack of sunlight causes most algae and water plants to die. However, microbes, viruses, and bacteria do not die just from being underground, nor are any agricultural or industrial pollutants removed. By the way, no, this man is not getting a drink from this tempting spring. He is a USGS hydrologist sampling the near-boiling water from a spring in Wyoming.

Water Effect Videos

Public gets another look at Spokane River Water Quality

The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) has made substantial changes to the draft water-quality improvement plan to restore dissolved oxygen in the Spokane River and Lake Spokane, warranting a new public review period.

The new comment period opens today and continues through Oct. 15, 2009. The Spokane River/Lake Spokane Dissolved Oxygen Water Quality Improvement Plan, often referred to as the total maximum daily load (TMDL) report, will guide work toward a healthier Spokane River in compliance with water quality standards for dissolved oxygen.

A public meeting is planned for 6-9 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009, at the Spokane Community College’s Sasquatch Room in the Lair Building #6, 1810 N Greene St., Spokane.


“This document has been controversial and the subject of many years of community discussion,” said Water Quality Program Manager Kelly Susewind. “We heard the community’s concerns during the previous public comment period and we have worked hard on this draft plan to address those concerns. Now it’s time to take one more look.”

The water quality improvement plan outlines how the community will reduce phosphorus and other substances in the Spokane River and Lake Spokane to prevent algae blooms, increased growth of aquatic plants and the related declines in Lake Spokane’s dissolved oxygen. Under the federal Clean Water Act, when a body of water fails to meet water quality standards for certain pollutants, Ecology must study the problem and produce a plan to improve water quality.

Phosphorus is the primary nutrient causing excess algae and plant growth in the Spokane River and Lake Spokane. It behaves like fertilizer, causing algae and other aquatic plants to grow and thrive. When the plants decompose, they use up dissolved oxygen that fish need to breathe. More algae means less oxygen.

In addition, unsightly algae blooms can become toxic and cause nuisance smells or human skin irritations. They can make Lake Spokane unhealthy for swimming, and compromise its ecological balance.

The Spokane River / Lake Spokane Dissolved Oxygen Water Quality Improvement Plan will lead to reducing phosphorus pollution from industrial and municipal pipes by more than 90 percent. Its phosphorous limits for industrial and municipal discharges are among the most stringent in the country.

Unique to this improvement plan, the industrial and municipal “point-source” (from a pipe) dischargers are required to help reduce phosphorus from other diffuse, “non-point” sources as well. Non-point sources include farms, septic systems, stormwater runoff, animal waste, and fertilizers used at home. In addition, the plan gives Avista Corp., operator of Long Lake Dam, a portion of the responsibility to improve dissolved oxygen levels in Lake Spokane.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), working with Ecology, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality and the Spokane Tribe of Indians hired experts at Portland State University to conduct new computer modeling after the EPA changed its procedures in 2008. Instead of measuring “background” levels of phosphorus and other nutrients at the Idaho/Washington border, EPA reversed course and said background levels used should be from Lake Coeur d’Alene, miles upriver.

This change in course changed the numbers used to calculate how much phosphorus each industry and municipality along the river is allowed to discharge on both sides of the state line. Changes were made in the water quality improvement plan based on the new course, new computer modeling and two prior public comment opportunities in the past two years.

Water quality models are mathematical tools that are used to represent a water system. By entering all the data into a model, scientists can visualize, predict, and determine water quality factors that may be causing pollution. They can see what the river’s levels of phosphorus might be under different scenarios, and from there, good decisions can be made.

USGS will track cause and extent of ground sinking near California Aqueduct

Historically, extensive pumping of groundwater from the San Joaquin Valley aquifer system caused groundwater levels to decline, resulting in as much as 28 feet of land subsidence. The importation of surface water to the San Joaquin Valley in the 1970s reduced demand for groundwater, resulting in a recovery of groundwater levels and a reduced rate of land subsidence.

Groundwater pumping in the Valley has increased in recent years as drought and fish-protection measures have curtailed surface-water deliveries.

for more information http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=2300

NOAA Report Explains Sea Level Anomaly this Summer along the U.S. Atlantic Coast

Persistent winds and a weakened current in the Mid-Atlantic contributed to higher than normal sea levels along the Eastern Seaboard in June and July, according to a new NOAA technical report.

After observing water levels six inches to two feet higher than originally predicted, NOAA scientists began analyzing data from select tide stations and buoys from Maine to Florida and found that a weakening of the Florida Current Transport—an oceanic current that feeds into the Gulf Stream—in addition to steady and persistent Northeast winds, contributed to this anomaly.

“The ocean is dynamic and it’s not uncommon to have anomalies,” said Mike Szabados, director of NOAA’s Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services. “What made this event unique was its breadth, intensity and duration.”

The highest atypical sea levels occurred closer to where the anomaly formed in the Mid-Atlantic, where cities like Baltimore, Md., at times experienced extreme high tides as much as two feet higher than normal. Data from NOAA’s National Water Level Observation Network tide stations, Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, and National Data Buoy Center, are published in the report.

Impacts of the event were amplified by the occurrence of a perigean-spring tide, the natural timing of the season and month when the moon is closest to the Earth and its gravitational pull heightens the elevation of the water. The combined effects of this tide with the sea level anomaly produced minor flooding on the coast.

“The report is a good first assessment,” said NOAA Oceanographer William Sweet, Ph.D. “However, NOAA, with our academic partners, should continue to investigate the broader causes behind the event. Further analysis is needed to fully understand what is driving the patterns we observed.”

Article source: http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2009/20090831_tides.html

Boil-water advisory ends for East King County development

OLYMPIA - Residents of the Riverbend development in East King County no longer have to boil their drinking water. The water has been retested and meets safe drinking water standards.



The Riverbend Homeowners Association water system issued the advisory Friday evening after routine monitoring tests showed that E. coli might be in the system. However, 10 additional water samples were collected and tests show the current water quality is good.

The advisory applied only to Riverbend Homesites, consisting of 533 homes and about 1,600 people. The development is off Interstate 90 Exit 32, east of North Bend.

The Water Cycle and Climate Change

The hydrologic cycle describes the pilgrimage of water as water molecules make their way from the Earth's surface to the atmosphere, and back again. This gigantic system, powered by energy from the sun, is a continuous exchange of moisture between the oceans, the atmosphere, and the land.




Climate Change

Amongst the highest priorities in Earth science and environmental policy issues confronting society are the potential changes in the Earth's water cycle due to climate change. The science community now generally agrees that the Earth's climate will undergo changes in response to natural variability, including solar variability, and to increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases and aerosols. Furthermore, agreement is widespread that these changes may profoundly affect atmospheric water vapor concentrations, clouds, and precipitation patterns. For example, a warmer climate, directly leading to increased evaporation, may well accelerate the hydrologic cycle, resulting in an increase in the amount of moisture circulating through the atmosphere. Many uncertainties remain, however, as illustrated by the inconsistent results given by current climate models regarding the future distribution of precipitation.

Quality of Water from Domestic Wells in the United States

The National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assesses water-quality conditions for about 2,100 domestic wells across the United States. As many as 219 properties and contaminants, including pH, major ions, nutrients, trace elements, radon, pesticides, and volatile organic compounds, were measured. Fecal indicator bacteria and additional radionuclides were analyzed for a smaller number of wells. The large number of contaminants assessed and the broad geographic coverage of the present study provides a foundation for an improved understanding of the quality of water from the major aquifers tapped by domestic supply wells in the United States.

The results of this study are described in two USGS publications, including an overview of the study findings (Circular 1332) and a detailed technical report on data sources, analyses, and results (Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5227). Both publications can be downloaded in PDF format from the NAWQA website (see below). Also available in PDF format are two related articles in the Water Well Journal of the National Ground Water Association, which briefly summarize USGS study findings and general information on domestic well maintenance, siting, and testing.



For more information http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/studies/domestic_wells/

Study sees Dramatic Drop in Indian Ground Water

NEW DELHI — Excessive irrigation and the unrelenting thirst of tens of millions of people are causing groundwater levels in northern India to drop dramatically, a problem that could lead to severe water shortages, according to a study released Wednesday.

The study comes as India's struggles with water have become a major political issue. The problem reaches across the country's vast class divide, touching everyone from residents of elite neighborhoods where the taps regularly go dry to poor farmers in desperate need of irrigation to grow their crops.



A man cups his hands to drink water from a roadside tap, near Gahroh village some 125 kilometers (78 miles) from Amritsar, India, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009. Excessive irrigation and the unrelenting thirst of tens of millions of people are causing groundwater levels in north India to drop dramatically, a problem that could lead to severe water shortages, according to a study lead by Matthew Rodell of the United States' NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, released Wednesday. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

6 Louisiana Companies Fined for Violating the Clean Water Act

Contact Information: Dave Bary or Anthony Suttice at 214-665-2200 or r6press@epa.gov

(Dallas, Texas – August 5, 2009) The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has fined six Louisiana companies for violating federal Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) regulations outlined under the federal Clean Water Act.

Federal inspections of the bulk storage facilities in May 2009 revealed a variety of violations though the violations differed at each facility. As an example: No SPCC plans were available, facilities were not fully fenced and entrance gates were not locked or guarded when sites were unattended, and containment systems, including walls and floors were not sufficient to contain oil spills. Mobile or portable storage containers were not positioned to prevent discharged oil from reaching waterways, spill prevention briefings were not scheduled and conducted periodically, and SPCC plans had inadequate or no discussion of facility security. The inspections also revealed plans were inadequate or did not discuss facility transfer operations and pumping, no training on the operation and maintenance of equipment to prevent discharges, no training on discharge procedure protocols, and no training on applicable pollution control laws, rules and regulations.

The companies inspected and fined were:

A-1 Electrical Contractors, Inc., 2783 Lapalco Boulevard, Harvey LA, $1,350
Joe’s Landing, 4811 Privateer Boulevard, Barataria LA, $1,100
Salty’s Marina, 117 Highway 22 East, Madisonville LA, $850
Southern Seaplane, Inc., #1 Cogville Drive, Belle Chasse LA, $700
Westwego Export Terminal, 933 River Road, Westwego LA, $700
Stanco, Inc., Vehicle Maintenance Yard, 70459 Highway 59, Abita Springs LA, $650

As part of an Expedited Settlement Agreement with EPA, the companies have provided certification that all deficiencies have been corrected.

Earth's Biogeochemical Cycles, Once in Concert, Falling Out of Sync

What do the Gulf of Mexico's "dead zone," global climate change, and acid rain have in common? They're all a result of human impacts to Earth's biology, chemistry and geology, and the natural cycles that involve all three.

On August 4-5, 2009, scientists who study such cycles--biogeochemists--will convene at a special series of sessions at the Ecological Society of America (ESA)'s 94th annual meeting in Albuquerque, N.M.


They will present results of research supported through various National Science Foundation (NSF) efforts, including coupled biogeochemical cycles (CBC) funding. CBC is an emerging scientific discipline that looks at how Earth's biogeochemical cycles interact.

"Advancing our understanding of Earth's systems increasingly depends on collaborations between bioscientists and geoscientists," said James Collins, NSF assistant director for biological sciences. "The interdisciplinary science of biogeochemistry is a way of connecting processes happening in local ecosystems with phenomena occurring on a global scale, like climate change."

A biogeochemical cycle is a pathway by which a chemical element, such as carbon, or compound, like water, moves through Earth's biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere.

In effect, the element is "recycled," although in some cycles the element is accumulated or held for long periods of time.

Chemical compounds are passed from one organism to another, and from one part of the biosphere to another, through biogeochemical cycles.

Water, for example, can go through three phases (liquid, solid, gas) as it cycles through the Earth system. It evaporates from plants as well as land and ocean surfaces into the atmosphere and, after condensing in clouds, returns to Earth as rain and snow.

Researchers are discovering that biogeochemical cycles--whether the water cycle, the nitrogen cycle, the carbon cycle, or others--happen in concert with one another. Biogeochemical cycles are "coupled" to each other and to Earth's physical features.

"Historically, biogeochemists have focused on specific cycles, such as the carbon cycle or the nitrogen cycle," said Tim Killeen, NSF assistant director for geosciences. "Biogeochemical cycles don't exist in isolation, however. There is no nitrogen cycle without a carbon cycle, a hydrogen cycle, an oxygen cycle, and even cycles of trace metals such as iron."

Now, with global warming and other planet-wide impacts, biogeochemical cycles are being drastically altered. Like broken gears in machinery that was once finely-tuned, these cycles are falling out of sync.

Knowledge about coupled biogeochemical cycles is "essential to addressing a range of human impacts," said Jon Cole, a biogeochemist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, N.Y., and co-organizer of the CBC symposium at ESA.

"It will shed light on questions such as the success of wetland restoration and the status of aquatic food webs. The special CBC conference sessions at ESA will explore future research needs in environmental chemistry, with a focus on how global climate change may impact various habitats."

Earth's habitats have different chemical compositions. Oceans are wet and salty; forest soils are rich in organic forms of nitrogen and carbon that retain moisture.

The atmosphere has a fairly constant chemical composition--roughly 79 percent nitrogen, 20 percent oxygen, and a 1 percent mix of other gases like water, carbon dioxide, and methane.

"Seemingly subtle chemical changes may have large effects," said Cole.

"Consider that global climate change is caused by increases in carbon dioxide and methane, gases which occupy less than ½ of one percent of the atmosphere. Now more than ever, we need a comprehensive view of Earth's biogeochemical cycles."

The study of coupled biogeochemical cycles has direct management applications.

The "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico is one example. Nitrogen-based fertilizers make their way from Iowa cornfields to the Mississippi River, where they are transported to the Gulf of Mexico. Once deposited in the Gulf, nitrogen stimulates algal blooms.

When the algae die, their decomposition consumes oxygen, creating an area of water roughly the size of New Jersey that is inhospitable to aquatic life. Protecting the Gulf's fisheries--with an estimated annual value of half-a-billion dollars--relies on understanding how coupled biogeochemical cycles interact.

A better understanding of the relationship between nitrogen and oxygen cycles may help determine how best to use nitrogen fertilizers, for example, to avoid dead zones.

Useful NSF Web Sites:
NSF Home Page: http://www.nsf.gov

NSF News: http://www.nsf.gov/news/

For the News Media: http://www.nsf.gov/news/newsroom.jsp

Science and Engineering Statistics: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/

Awards Searches: http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/

USDA Announces $58 Million To Improve Water Quantity and Quality in Agricultural Production

U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service Chief Dave White today announced nearly $58 million for water conservation and water quality improvements on agricultural working lands. The funding was made available for 63 projects in 21 states through the Agricultural Water Enhancement Program.



"We must take steps to protect and preserve our water resources, and the Obama Administration is committed to using this program to provide financial and technical assistance to farmers and ranchers to improve water conditions on their land," said White.

The Agricultural Water Enhancement Program (AWEP) promotes ground and surface water conservation and improves water quality by helping farmers and ranchers implement agricultural water enhancement activities. With the services and resources of other conservation partners, AWEP allows the Federal Government to leverage investment in natural resources conservation.

Landowners can obtain funding through AWEP for several types of projects, including:

• Water quality or water conservation plan development, including resource condition assessment and modeling;
• Water conservation restoration or enhancement projects, including conversion to the production of less water-intensive agricultural commodities or dry land farming;
• Water quality or quantity restoration or enhancement projects;
• Irrigation system improvement or irrigation efficiency enhancement;
• Activities designed to mitigate the effects of drought and climate change; and
• Other related activities deemed by the Secretary to help achieve water quality or water conservation benefits on agricultural land.

AWEP was established by the 2008 Farm Bill and funding comes from the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) administers the program for USDA. NRCS implements AWEP by entering into EQIP contracts directly with agricultural producers.

All AWEP recipients must meet EQIP requirements. Though participating AWEP producers do not need to have existing EQIP contracts, they must be eligible for EQIP. All partner proposals were selected competitively. Proposals for priority areas may have received higher rankings, and include property undergoing conversion of agricultural land from irrigated to dry land farming; projects that help producers meet regulatory requirements; and projects located where there is a high percentage of agricultural land and producers in a region or area.

Approved AWEP Projects and Funding by State:
Arkansas - 1 project - $1,383,417

California - 15 projects* - $18,079,101

Colorado - 1 project - $333,000

Florida - 1 project - $1,000,000

Georgia - 2 projects - $2,000,000.00

Iowa - 1 project - $158,950

Idaho - 4 projects - $6,920,000

Illinois - 1 project - $49,440

Indiana - 2 projects* - $554,000

Michigan - 1 project* - $1,500,000

Mississippi - 2 projects - $2,400,000

North Carolina - 1 project - $100,000

North Dakota - 5 projects - $2,253,352

Nebraska - 5 projects - $2,590,000

New Jersey - 1 project - $400,000

New Mexico - 4 projects - $3,328,537

New York - 1 project $500,000

Oklahoma - 1 project - $275,000

Oregon - 8 projects* - $3,605,879

Texas - 5 projects - $10,425,000

Washington - 1 project - $53,600

Total - 63 projects - $57,909,276

Carbon Sequestration: Implications for Wyoming

While capture and underground storage, or sequestration, of carbon dioxide may be a viable climate change mitigation option in some states including Wyoming, its potential risks require further study.

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) research hydrologist Dr. Yousif Kharaka will present a talk in Cheyenne, Wyo. about the feasibility and implications of capturing and storing the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide underground in depleted oil fields and deep rock formations with salty aquifers.

“In order to slow global warming and related climate change, the capture and storage of carbon dioxide may be an important component,” said Kharaka. “We have been evaluating a variety of projects using different techniques in different geologic formations for long-term storage of carbon dioxide.”

However, the potential for the carbon dioxide and the salty water into which it is injected to move into drinkable groundwater is a risk that needs to be carefully assessed for any site where injection is being considered.

“A key question to storing carbon dioxide—how much of the gas will leak out of the rock in which it is injected—remains unanswered, and is just one of the many unknown components of the process,” Kharaka said.

Wyoming has areas where the geology and groundwater have potential for storing the carbon dioxide, and several sites in the State are currently being investigated as carbon dioxide storage locations.

Kharaka’s talk, which is open to the public, will take place at 10:30 a.m. on August 6, 2009 at the Laramie County Library in the Cottonwood Room, Cheyenne, Wyo.

We Spread John's Ashes in the Indian Ocean

On this Memorial Day weekend we sailed out into the Indian Ocean in a dhow, an Arab sailboat of ancient design, and placed John’s ashes in the most crystal clear blue-green water we have ever seen.

For almost two hours we sailed, smiled, cried, and remembered John.

There were a number of coincidences that made us believe that John was with us.

First, it had been rainy and overcast for the previous three days, but when we woke up on Sunday morning the sky was blue and welcoming. It was almost as if John was telling us he was ready and inviting us to move forward.

Second, Faisal made it to Zanzibar the night before the ceremony despite numerous obstacles while flying from Sudan to Kenya and then Zanzibar, with a vehicle breakdown and an unscheduled landing in Kilimanjaro in-between. After all of that, who could doubt he was meant to be there?

Finally, the predator crows which had invaded the resort for the previous three days disappeared on Sunday in an interesting twist.

On that morning we took the box with John’s ashes and headed to the sea.

While on the dhow, we asked our guide if we could go out past the reef, but there was a language barrier and we weren’t getting an answer. After a lot of confusion someone asked, “Where are we going?” And the funniest moment of the whole day came when the response to our question was “Sailing!”

We all broke out laughing and then glided into remembering our favorite funny stories about John. It was amazing how we remembered so many things that were said about him at the funeral ... the story about him clapping his hands while riding his bicycle out of respect for the chief he was passing on the road and then promptly flying over the handlebars; the story about him commenting to one of his high school friends when sitting in the back of his pickup truck how great it was to be in a pickup and not have chickens pooping on his head or babies crying on his lap; and other stories of how he always made us laugh and smile.

It was then time to raise our glasses and toast our friend John and his mother Jane for sharing him with us and begin the process of scattering his ashes.

One by one we poured his ashes into the beautiful, crystal clear water and just as we finished we turned to see a flock of seagulls rise up off a dhow into the sky. It was an incredible moment because for the past few days we had commented on the fact that there were only crows, and no seagulls, on the beach.

But there they were, spreading their white wings and lifting off into the sky. The timing and symbolism seemed to speak for itself.

Peaceful, beautiful, tranquil, heaven bound.

Duwamish-Area firm fined for Industrial Stormwater Permit Violations

BELLEVUE – The Washington Department of Ecology has fined Fog Tite Inc. $18,000 for illegally discharging industrial wastewater into a storm drain and for failing to properly monitor discharges of industrial storm water into city storm drains.

Seattle storm drains serving the manufacturer of concrete meter boxes and catch basins – located at 4819 West Marginal Way S.W. – flow to the Duwamish Waterway.

Fog Tite connected drain lines to a city storm drain outside the facility without permits or approvals several years ago. The company discharges caustic water and sediment from its production process areas and its outdoor work yard into the drain line.



“Ignoring the city is permit process inevitably resulted in Fog Tite connecting its drain line to the storm drain instead of the sewer,” said Kevin Fitzpatrick, Ecology’s regional water-quality supervisor. “They’ve been discharging poorly-treated industrial storm water and process wastewater directly to the Duwamish for years. An industrial facility in this day and age has a duty to know where its industrial discharges are going.”

Businesses can arrange to discharge industrial wastewater into the sanitary sewer but must have authorization from King County to do so, and may need to provide pre-treatment. Fog Tite has begun applying to the city and county for a legal sewer connection for its process wastewater and contaminated storm water.

Fog Tite also failed to submit quarterly monitoring reports to Ecology on storm water discharges, as required by the state industrial storm water general permit.

“The self-reporting permit system reduces costs for companies and for the state,” Fitzpatrick explained, “and permitted facilities must do the required monitoring and reporting. Truthful and accurate self-reporting is fundamental in keeping our waterways clean and safe.”

Inspectors from Ecology and the city of Seattle uncovered the drain line violation earlier this year.

Ecology had first visited Fog Tite in March 2009 as part of a Duwamish Urban Waters Initiative program to visit businesses that are likely pollution sources to storm drains or sanitary sewers, lack environmental permits, or are potential generators of hazardous waste. A technical specialist helps each company identify whether it needs permits or can make voluntary improvements to its environmental practices.

Ecology and the city of Seattle made a follow-up inspection in May. A city dye test showed that all of Fog Tite’s production area and outdoor drains went to the city storm-drain system, and not the sanitary sewer as the company had claimed.

Fog Tite may seek an Ecology review of the penalty or file an appeal with the Washington State Pollution Control Hearings Board within 30 days.

The Urban Waters Initiative is a cooperative program aimed at controlling sources of pollution to the Duwamish Waterway. The 2007 Legislature established the Initiative, which also operates along Tacoma’s Commencement Bay and the Spokane River in Spokane.

The Initiative supports Ecology’s work as a co-manager with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of the Lower Duwamish Waterway cleanup site, a 5.5-mile stretch of the Duwamish upstream from Harbor Island. The Initiative also aids in Ecology’s priorities of reducing toxic threats and supporting the Puget Sound Initiative, a comprehensive effort by local, tribal, state and federal governments, business, agricultural and environmental interests, scientists, and the public to restore and protect the Sound.

JPL, Caltech, City of Los Angeles to Team on Energy/Water Initiatives

PASADENA, Calif. - Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced a first-of-its-kind partnership between the City of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., and its managing institution, the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, to establish Los Angeles as a powerhouse for demonstrated energy and water innovation. This partnership will leverage JPL's intellectual assets directly to the DWP to reduce water usage and greenhouse gas emissions and, in the process, stimulate green job growth.

Mayor Villaraigosa, JPL Director Charles Elachi and Los Angeles DWP General Manager David Nahai made the announcement today at a JPL ceremony to sign the memorandum of understanding.

"The City of Los Angeles, JPL and DWP are standing at the forefront of the clean technology revolution that will drive the 21st century economy," Mayor Villaraigosa said. "This partnership will harness Los Angeles' unparalleled creative capital and entrepreneurial spirit to develop clean and green technologies that will spur job growth across the board from research, development, construction and finance."

The goal of this partnership is to provide a pipeline for innovative energy and water solutions directly to the DWP. The program serves as an international model for water and energy solutions.

The collaboration teams Caltech, one of the world's leading academic institutions of science and technology, and JPL, its operating division and a world leader in robotic space exploration, to fulfill the City of Los Angeles' commitment to future water and energy demand in a reliable, sustainable and economical way.

JPL and Caltech will apply their extensive expertise in climate change science, remote sensing, environmental engineering and systems design to assist the city and the DWP in developing, maturing and deploying innovative technologies to improve energy efficiency, increase the use of renewable energy sources, conserve water and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. As the largest municipal utility in the United States, the DWP provides safe, reliable drinking water and electricity to more than 3.8 million residents and businesses, helping to sustain life, the environment and the city's economic prosperity.

"We are proud that JPL technology and expertise will be part of this collaboration to help improve energy efficiency and protect our water supply -- one of our most precious natural resources," said JPL Director Charles Elachi.

Under the terms of the three-year agreement, the participants declare their mutual intent to collaborate on developing water and energy efficiency solutions and renewable energy technologies. The participants will work with other local universities such as the University of Southern California and The University of California Los Angeles, to make energy and water technology assessments, develop models and test beds, perform technology demonstrations, and provide data on global change from Earth science satellites, airborne platforms and ground-based instruments to assist the city in making informed decisions.

"The agreement we are signing today represents a groundbreaking partnership for developing innovative energy and water solutions to the environmental challenges facing our city and our planet," said Los Angeles DWP General Manager David Nahai. "Through it we aim to develop real-world solutions based on unparalleled scientific expertise."

The region's arid climate and large population mean that any shortage in water supply can have acute effects, which can be further exacerbated by climate change. One project already being investigated under the collaboration could have immediate applications to Southern California's current critical water shortage. Much of the DWP's water supply comes from the Eastern Sierra Nevada, from Mono Lake and the Owens Valley via the California Aqueduct. The department's vast land holdings include Owens Lake, an ancient dry lakebed whose blowing dust can impact air quality for Owens Valley residents. To help reduce dust on Owens Lake, the department and its team of contractors is installing one of the world's largest shallow flooding systems, which is a computer-controlled network of sprinklers that currently covers more than 14 square miles of the ancient lakebed. But this flooding system consumes significant water-water that is consequently unavailable to help satisfy the city's residential and industrial needs.

Under the collaboration, JPL and Caltech are investigating the development of a remote sensing instrument that would measure the lakebed's surface moisture in order to precisely predict when water needs to be applied. Such an instrument would permit more efficient use of the Owens Lake sprinkler system, thereby conserving precious water resources.

This is only one example of the fruits of this collaboration; the participants have already submitted a series of joint proposals to the Department of Energy to develop and deploy advanced energy technologies. These proposals involve projects to reduce agricultural energy and water consumption; develop models for predicting the availability of solar, wind and wave energy resources; develop robust communications architectures for smart grid applications; and develop efficient technologies for pre-processing food waste used to produce biogases and renewable energy.

The agreement also calls for the DWP to construct a "Sustainable Technology Demonstration Building." This new building will showcase to the public innovative methods, products and technologies to reduce energy and water consumption and increase renewable energy.

EPA awards $4.2 million in Recovery Act funds to clean up underground petroleum leaks in Minnesota

In an effort to protect people where they live, work, and play, EPA announced the distribution of $4.2 million to Minnesota under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to assess and clean up underground storage tank petroleum leaks. The greatest potential hazard from a leaking underground storage tank is that the petroleum or other hazardous substances seep into the soil and contaminate groundwater, the source of drinking water for nearly one-third of Americans.

"We're providing immediate growth opportunities for communities across the nation, as well as long-term protection from dangerous pollution in the land and water," said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. "EPA is putting people to work by serving our core mission of protecting human health and the environment."

This money is part of $197 million appropriated under the Recovery Act to address shovel-ready sites nationwide contaminated by petroleum from leaking underground storage tanks. The funds will be used for overseeing assessment and cleanup of leaks from underground storage tanks or directly paying for assessment and cleanup of leaks from federally regulated tanks where the responsible party is unknown, unwilling or unable to finance, or the cleanup is an emergency response.

EPA regional underground storage tank programs will enter into a cooperative agreement with Minnesota Pollution Control Agency in July 2009. The cooperative agreement will include more detailed descriptions of state spending plans.

"The Recovery Act support for underground storage tank cleanup is a great investment in environmental protection and will provide long-term economic benefits for Minnesota," said Bharat Mathur acting regional administrator in Chicago.

President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 on February 17, 2009, and has directed that the Recovery Act be implemented with unprecedented transparency and accountability. To that end, the American people can visit Recovery.gov to see how every dollar is being invested.

Emergency Rule Closes New Groundwater Withdrawals in Upper Kittitas County

The emergency rule that closes upper Kittitas County to all new groundwater withdrawals, the agency announced Thursday, July 16.

After nearly two years of negotiations, Ecology was unable to gain a commitment from the Kittitas County Board of Commissioners that they were willing to move forward with a memorandum of agreement and alternative rule approach that would have limited the uncontrolled proliferation of so-called “exempt groundwater wells” in upper Kittitas County.

Since 1998, nearly 3,000 wells have been drilled in Kittitas County, prompting concerns that groundwater pumping in the headwaters region of the county threatens senior water users and streamflows in the Yakima Basin. A number of parties, including the citizens group Aqua Permanente, the Yakama Nation, and the city of Roslyn, have asked that Ecology close the groundwater to further appropriation while a groundwater study is completed.

Earlier this week, an emergency rule expired that provided a mechanism for Ecology and the County to co-manage groundwater related to housing developments. The temporary rule reflected commitments the parties made last year in a formal Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), and had been revised and updated three times while the parties worked towards agreement on a permanent groundwater management rule.

“We recognize economic vitality is directly tied to water in the Yakima Basin – and we have been looking for an approach that would have allowed some limited new uses while also protecting the rights of senior water right holders,” explained Ecology director Jay Manning. “We had hoped to move forward as partners with the county to protect this vital resource until more is known about groundwater supplies in the upper county.

“We thought we had reached an agreement that would allow for some development in the upper county and at the same time protect the rights of current and future water users and streamflows in the Yakima River and its tributaries.”

A groundwater study designed to gain a better understanding of the connection between groundwater and surface waters was funded by the Legislature and will commence soon.

“Rather than close the groundwater during the study period, Ecology had proposed to partner with the County to
1. Llimit exempt wells to certain locations and reduced water volumes;
2. Require metering of water use, including withdrawals from exempt wells;
3. Require notice to prospective property buyers of potential water shortages,” Manning explained.

“The county has struggled to come to a decision and has missed three previous decision deadlines related to finalizing an agreement with Ecology. Faced with a management gap, we are adopting this temporary rule.”

The emergency rule will be in place for 120 days.

Some new water uses will be allowed under the emergency rule, but only if the depletion of the source will be fully mitigated. Mitigation can generally be achieved by acquiring and transferring or retiring another existing water right from the same source. Some existing sources of mitigation water are already available and Ecology is developing a water banking system to allow for access to mitigation water by new water uses.

Manning noted the agency remains open to a partnership with the county, and is willing to continue negotiations regarding the proposed partnership approach, but that the agency had to put interim protections in place.

For more information: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wr/cro/kittitas_wp.html

New Steps to Improve Water Quality

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has made available comprehensive reports and data on water enforcement in all 50 states. This is part of Administrator Lisa P. Jackson’s larger effort by to enhance transparency, promote the public’s right to know about water quality and provide information on EPA’s actions to protect water under the Clean Water Act.

Administrator Jackson directed EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) to develop an action plan to enhance public transparency regarding clean water enforcement. In the memo, she also calls for stronger enforcement performance at federal and state levels and a transformation of EPA’s water quality and compliance information systems.

In keeping with this directive, EPA has posted detailed information on the current state of clean water compliance and enforcement in each state, and copies of the latest clean water enforcement and compliance performance reports for each state to the agency’s Web site. EPA also launched new Web-based tools to help the public search, assess, and analyze the data the agency used to help prepare those reports.

These actions are among of several aggressive steps taken by Administrator Jackson to improve the nation’s water quality by increasing the transparency and effectiveness of the agency’s national Clean Water Act enforcement program.

The administrator’s memo directed the agency to take several actions, including:

• Improve and enhance the information available on the EPA website on compliance and enforcement activities in each state, showing connections to local water quality where possible;
• Provide information in a user-friendly format form that is easily understood and useable by the public;
• Raise the bar for clean water enforcement performance and ensure enforcement is taken against serious violations that threaten water quality; and
• Improve EPA’s enforcement performance in states where EPA directly implements the clean water program.

More information on the state-by-state water reports: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/state/srf/index.html

More information on EPA and state water enforcement data:
http://www.epa.gov/compliance/data/results/performance/cwa/index.html

Usda Announces Funding Available For Communities To Assess Future Water And Wastewater Infrastructure Projects

"Many people in smaller communities throughout the country are suffering because their local infrastructure is in desperate need of repair, and this funding will enable these communities to get the technical expertise they need to make these much-needed improvements," said Vilsack. "One of the primary goals of the Recovery Act is to rebuild our communities, and this investment will help us to meet the basic need of providing clean, safe water infrastructure in struggling communities."

The funding will be provided under USDA Rural Development's Rural Water and Wastewater Circuit Rider Program to enable the National Rural Water Association to add 15 water and 71 wastewater technical assistance staff in 2009 and 2010 to help rural communities operate and maintain water and wastewater infrastructure, and provide training and other technical assistance to local staff throughout the country. Known as Circuit Riders, these technical assistance staff will help rural communities prepare proposals for water and wastewater systems, manage construction, offer on-site expertise and ensure that health and environmental protection requirements are met. The assistance provided by Circuit Riders keeps water and wastewater systems in compliance with EPA rules and reduces - often by thousands of dollars - repair and maintenance costs borne by small rural communities that lack sufficient financial resources.

For example, last year, a Circuit Rider in Sedona, Ariz., helped train local water operators on fire hydrant repair. The training enabled the water operators to fix four inoperable hydrants. By repairing and not buying new hydrants, the town was able to save an estimated $10,000. Also in 2008, a Circuit Rider from the Alabama Rural Water Association helped conduct a survey to detect the source of a major water leak that prevented more than 20 customers from receiving water. The Macon County Water Authority in Tuskegee, Ala., will use the survey's findings in its infrastructure rehabilitation plans. USDA's Rural Development funding to state rural water associations will enable other small towns like these have access to technical staff and resources needed to operate and maintain water infrastructure.

The first $4.1 million in funding will be for technical assistance services performed between June 1, 2009, and October 31, 2009. The remainder will be used beginning November 1, 2009. In addition to the $14.2 million, USDA Rural Development anticipates making Recovery Act funds available later in the year through a competitive grant process for further technical assistance services. All states and the Territory of Puerto Rico are eligible to apply.

President Obama signed The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 into law on February 17, 2009. It is designed to jumpstart the nation's economy, create or save millions of jobs and put a down payment on addressing long-neglected challenges so our country can thrive in the 21st century. The Act includes measures to modernize our nation's infrastructure, enhance energy independence, expand educational opportunities, preserve and improve affordable health care, provide tax relief, and protect those in greatest need.

More information about USDA's Recovery Act efforts is available at www.usda.gov/recovery.

Ground-Water Storage and Ground-water storage

Ground-water storage is water existing for long periods below the Earth's surface

Large amounts of water are stored in the ground. The water is still moving, possibly very slowly, and it is still part of the water cycle. Most of the water in the ground comes from precipitation that infiltrates downward from the land surface. The upper layer of the soil is the unsaturated zone, where water is present in varying amounts that change over time, but does not saturate the soil. Below this layer is the saturated zone, where all of the pores, cracks, and spaces between rock particles are saturated with water. The term ground water is used to describe this area. Another term for ground water is "aquifer," although this term is usually used to describe water-bearing formations capable of yielding enough water to supply peoples' uses. Aquifers are a huge storehouse of Earth's water and people all over the world depend on ground water in their daily lives.

The top of the surface where ground water occurs is called the water table. In the diagram, you can see how the ground below the water table is saturated with water (the saturated zone). Aquifers are replenished by the seepage of precipitation that falls on the land, but there are many geologic, meteorologic, topographic, and human factors that determine the extent and rate to which aquifers are refilled with water. Rocks have different porosity and permeability characteristics, which means that water does not move around the same way in all rocks. Thus, the characteristics of ground-water recharge vary all over the world.

To find water underground, look under the (water) table


I hope you appreciate my spending an hour in the blazing sun to dig this hole at the beach. It is a great way to illustrate the concept of how at a certain depth the ground, if it is permeable enough to allow water to move through it, is saturated with water. The top of the pool of water in this hole is the water table. The breaking waves of the ocean are just to the right of this hole, and the water level in the hole is the same as the level of the ocean. Of course, the water level here changes by the minute due to the movement of the tides, and as the tide goes up and down, the water level in the hole moves, too. Just as with this hole, the level of the water table is affected by other environmental conditions.

In a way, this hole is like a dug well used to access ground water, albeit saline in this case. But, if this was freshwater, people could grab a bucket an supply themselves with the water they need to live their daily lives. You know that at the beach if you took a bucket and tried to empty this hole, it would refill immediately because the sand is so permeable that water flows easily through it, meaning our "well" is very "high-yielding" (too bad the water is saline). To access freshwater, people have to drill wells deep enough to tap into an aquifer. The well might have to be dozens or thousands of feet deep. But the concept is the same as our well at the beach—access the water in the saturated zone where the voids in the rock are full of water.

Pumping can affect the level of the water table


In an aquifer, the soil and rock is saturated with water. If the aquifer is shallow enough and permeable enough to allow water to move through it at a rapid-enough rate, then people can drill wells into it and withdraw water. The level of the water table can naturally change over time due to changes in weather cycles and precipitation patterns, streamflow and geologic changes, and even human-induced changes, such as the increase in impervious surfaces, such as roads and paved areas, on the landscape.

The pumping of wells can have a great deal of influence on water levels below ground, especially in the vicinity of the well, as this diagram shows. If water is withdrawn from the ground at a faster rate that it is replenished by precipitation infiltration and seepage from streams, then the water table can become lower, resulting in a "cone of depression" around the well. Depending on geologic and hydrologic conditions of the aquifer, the impact on the level of the water table can be short-lived or last for decades, and the water level can fall a small amount or many hundreds of feet. Excessive pumping can lower the water table so much that the wells no longer supply water—they can "go dry."

Ground water and global water distribution


Ground water occurs only close to the Earth's surface. There must be space between the rock particles for ground water to occur, and the Earth's material becomes denser with more depth. Essentially, the weight of the rocks above condense the rocks below and squeeze out the open pore spaces deeper in the Earth. That is why ground water can only be found within a few miles of the Earth's surface.

As these charts show, even though the amount of water locked up in ground water is a small percentage of all of Earth's water, it represents a large percentage of total freshwater on Earth. The pie chart shows that about 1.7 percent of all of Earth's water is ground water and about 30.1 percent of freshwater on Earth occurs as ground water. As the bar chart shows, about 5,614,000 cubic miles (mi3), or 23,400,000 cubic kilometers (km3), of ground water exist on Earth. About 54 percent is saline, with the remaining 2,526,000 mi3 (10,530,000 km3) , about 46 percent, being freshwater.

Water in aquifers below the oceans is generally saline, while the water below the land surfaces (where freshwater, which fell as precipitation, infiltrates into the ground) is generally freshwater. There is a stable transition zone that separates saline water and freshwater below ground. It is fortunate for us that the relatively shallow aquifers that people tap with wells contain freshwater, since if we tried to irrigate corn fields with saline water I suspect the stalks would refuse to grow.

India: Water levels in reservoirs at 10-year low

In what promises to be a threat to the Kharif crop, water level in most of the reservoirs in India continue to stay below the ten-year average. While the weatherman has promised rains in the north in the coming weeks, pressure on state governments continued to build to look at contingency plans.

In the northwest, where the IMD has warned that monsoon may be the worst (81% of normal long-term average), the Bhakra Nangal dam recorded just 9% of the capacity of the full reservoir limit compared to 44% in the previous year and 25% recorded as the 10-year average. While the threat of hydropower generation being hit also remained a concern, the falling reservoir levels are bound to give a headache to governments in states like Punjab and Haryana where the dependence on irrigation network for agriculture is very high.

The Tehri dam, which is also the source for 300 cusecs water to the Sonia Vihar plant in Delhi, has seen water levels dipping to an all-time low at just 1% of its total capacity and one-eighth of the 10-year average. Data released by Central Water Commission showed the effects of monsoon failure in June even in the Deccan plateau with water in the Nagarjunasagar dam reservoir, meant to irrigate a whopping 895,000 hectares, at just half the 10-year average.

Water and agriculture officials from states had attended meetings in Delhi over the last couple of days where they apprised the Centre of the situation at the field level. The Cabinet has also constituted a committee of secretaries headed by the cabinet secretary to oversee the food, agriculture and water situation.

The government had claimed on Thursday that the situation was still manageable with the weatherman maintaining that monsoon was picking up thrust and July-August could see decent rains for most areas that would compensate for the dry June. Delhi is expected to get its first monsoon rains in the first week of July. Farmers in the food bowl of Punjab and Haryana would be hoping for the reservoirs to fill up before paddy sowing begins in right earnest.