Across the country, water is an issue perpetually on the mind of the public.  Often, we have concerns about the lack of it, but lately increased rainfall has dominated the news especially in the mid-west where the region is confronting catastrophic flooding.  According to Ed Clark, director of NOAA’s National Water Center in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, “More than 200 million people are at risk for flooding in their communities.”[1]  As communities struggle to recover from the personal and financial impacts of the flooding, there is also a looming health emergency that results from well contamination.  Over a million private water wells […]

Pittsburgh is often criticized for poor air quality, one report finding that the city has air of poor quality for breathing approximately 4 months out of the year.  However, the city is also under scrutiny for its water quality.  Its sewer systems, constructed in the early twentieth century, were designed to carry both wastewater and stormwater.  With the recent increase in precipitation (and any time there is increased precipitation), the sewer systems have been unable to handle the augmented volume, which results in sewage in rivers and backups in people’s homes and yards. The water quality issues have resulted in […]

Florida is faced with a myriad of issues, many centered around water; issues ranging from red tides and algae blooms, to marine mortality and the inability to fish or swim.  On January 21, six groups came together in the first Florida Water Policy Summit to discuss policy solutions to address the state’s compromised waters. According to John Cassani, Calusa Waterkeeper, “Not a single resident in Florida lives more than 20 miles from an impaired waterway.”[1]  12 million acres of water are currently served by Best Management Action Plans (BMAPs) which are plans implemented over the course of 15 years, mandated […]

At a time when concerns over the water levels of the Colorado are ever-increasing, this month saw the approval by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California of the Colorado River Drought Plan.  They join Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming in approving a plan to share the necessary reductions in water take should the level of water at Lakes Mead and Powell fall below a certain level. Although a large percentage of water comes from the Colorado River, San Diego seems secure in their share of water, likely a result of Arizona vs. California (1968), which determined that […]

Across the country, homeowners struggle with the conflicting desires for a beautiful lawn and water conservation, but as water availability becomes less guaranteed, communities are using creative incentives to encourage a different mindset.  In Gainesville, Florida (Alachua County), a program was launched to decrease the amount of outdoor water use by removing irrigation systems and replacing the grass with landscaping that is indigenous to the area and more sustainable. The Alachua County Turf SWAP Rebate Program is made possible by a grant from the St. John’s River Water Management District which, according to its website, is “an environmental regulatory agency […]