Tag: Water Supply

Closing Thought–19Oct22

The lack of rain has the rivers around this country running dry…..my river, the Mississippi, is so low that barges are grounding as they try to move around the heart of the nation. There is also some ideas to suck the water out of the Mississippi and send it West…..I informed my readers to this problem…..

Water….Is Not Everywhere

The low level of the Mississippi is revealing some lost history…..

A shipwreck has emerged along the banks of the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as water levels threaten to reach record lows in some areas. The ship, which archaeologists believe to be a ferry that sunk in the late 1800s to early 1900s, was spotted by a Baton Rouge resident walking along the shore earlier this month, per the AP. The discovery is the latest to surface from ebbing waters caused by drought. During the summer, receding waters in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area in Nevada and Arizona revealed several skeletal remains, countless desiccated fish, a graveyard of forgotten boats, and even a sunken World War II-era craft that once surveyed the lake.

“Eventually the river will come back up and (the ship) will go back underwater,” said Chip McGimsey, the Louisiana state archeologist, who has been surveying the wreck during the past two weeks. “That’s part of the reason for making the big effort to document it this time—because she may not be there the next time.” McGimsey believes the ship may be the Brookhill Ferry, which likely carried people and horse-drawn wagons from one side of the river to the other before major bridges spanned the mighty Mississippi. Newspaper archives indicate that the ship sank in 1915 during a major storm. Roughly a third of the 95-foot vessel is visible on the muddy shoreline near downtown Baton Rouge.

 

McGimsey expects more discoveries as water levels continue to fall, having already received calls about two more possible shipwrecks. But the unusually low water level in the lower Mississippi River, where there has been below-normal rainfall since late August, has also led to chaos—causing barges to get stuck in mud and sand, leading to waterway restrictions from the Coast Guard, and disrupting river travel for shippers, recreational boaters, and passengers on a cruise line. In Baton Rouge, the river depth is about 5 feet, its lowest level since 2012, according to the National Weather Service. Water levels are projected to drop even more in the weeks ahead, dampening the region’s economic activity and potentially threatening jobs.

But not to worry….the GOP will protect us from all evils when they are in charge.  (sarcasm)

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

Mississippi Does It Again!

My state of Mississippi has been in the news lately and not for too many positive things…..Roe decision…..upholds Jim Crow laws….and now the neglect that has come to bite the people of the state in the ass.

Around the capitol city of Jackson is paying a hard price for our politicians neglect….the infrastructure….

For the 150,000 or so residents of Jackson, Miss., the water situation is a mess. The capital city’s main treatment plant was on the brink of collapse, with most households having little or no water pressure. And if residents are lucky enough to have a trickle from their faucets, that water isn’t safe to drink, reports the New York Times. Public schools have switched to virtual learning in the interim, and local businesses were scrambling. Coverage:

  • Emergency: “Until it is fixed, it means we do not have reliable running water at scale,” said Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves in a briefing Monday evening. “It means the city cannot produce enough water to fight fires, to reliably flush toilets, and to meet other critical needs.” Reeves declared an emergency and said the state was mobilizing to provide bottled water for residents and a tanker system for firefighters, but he warned that the logistics of such an effort were “massively complicated.”

Latest trouble: This week, heavy rains caused the Pearl River to flood city streets, and though the flooding itself wasn’t as bad as initially feared, it worsened already existing water problems in the city and affected the OB Curtis treatment plant. The facility had to drastically cut water production because of the flooding’s effect on a nearby reservoir, reports WLBT.

  • Earlier issues: The city already had been under a “boil water” advisory for a month because of poor water quality, reports CNN. In fact, the Curtis plant has been operating on backup pumps for weeks because of unspecified damage to its main pumps. And in February 2021, the city’s entire water system shut down during a winter storm, with aging pipes and mains bursting and leaving residents without water for weeks.
  • ‘Failure’: Gov. Reeves said the state began preparing over the weekend “for a scenario where Jackson would be without running water for an extended period,” per CNN. “All of this was with the prayer that we would have more time before their system ran to failure,” the governor said. “Unfortunately, that failure appears to have begun [Monday].”
  • The mayor: Reeves didn’t invite Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba to his news conference, notes Mississippi Today. Earlier Monday, Lumumba declared a “water system emergency” but suggested the water-pressure issues might be resolved in a few days. Reeves painted a more dire picture. The GOP governor said he hadn’t spoken directly with the Democratic mayor as of Monday evening, but he said the mayor had agreed to cooperate with state officials.

This is for those that would like to know more about the failure of Mississippi government….

As many as 180,000 people in Jackson, Mississippi will not have access to safe running water for the foreseeable future, state officials said Monday night—the latest manifestation of a longstanding crisis in which the city’s residents have been made to suffer the consequences of chronically underfunded infrastructure, compounded by a worsening climate emergency.

“Do not drink the water,” Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said at a press conference. “In too many cases, it is raw water from the reservoir being pushed through the pipes. Be smart, protect yourself, protect your family, preserve water, look out for your fellow man, and look out for your neighbors.”

Reeves, a Republican who has refused to prioritize upgrading Jackson’s failing infrastructure throughout his two years in office, declared a state of emergency and announced, “We need to provide water for up to 180,000 people for an unknown period of time.”

“This is a very different situation from a boil-water notice,” Reeves continued. “Until it is fixed, we do not have reliable running water at scale. The city cannot produce enough water to fight fires, to flush toilets, and to meet other critical needs. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency will take the state’s lead on distributing drinking water and non-drinking water to residents of the City of Jackson.”

https://www.salon.com/2022/08/31/repeatedly-opposed-infrastructure-upgrades-now-mississippis-capital-has-no-safe-water_partner/

As usual the state government can only react to a disaster for they are not smart enough to foresee any disaster approaching.

As bad as their governing is the voter will buy into their nonsense and re-elect the dullards to continue to screw the people of this state.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Water….Is Not Everywhere

For decades the Colorado River has been tapped for its water supply….and now that resource is running out thanks to the 20 year drought in the American West.

After 22 straight years of drought, the Colorado River’s flow is in increasingly bad shape—and two of the seven states that rely on its water are going to have to make more cuts. Last year, a Tier 1 shortage was declared on the river for the first time, causing mandatory cuts to the use of its water in Arizona, Nevada, and Mexico under a plan the seven states and Mexico signed in 2019, CNN reports. But with the water shortage getting worse, the Department of the Interior announced Tuesday that a Tier 2 shortage will be declared starting in 2023, causing more cuts for Arizona, Nevada, and Mexico. Arizona will lose more than a fifth of its yearly allotment.

The cuts are based on water levels at Lake Mead, which are now at historic lows and are expected to fall even further next year, the AP reports. The lake, America’s largest reservoir, is currently just a quarter full, and experts warn that it is getting dangerously close to the level where the Hoover Dam can no longer generate power. Bureau of Reclamation chief Camille Touton warned in June that states need to come up with a plan to cut water usage by next year. But negotiations between states are not going well, and the federal government might have to step in, reports CNN. The states missed the bureau’s August 15 deadline for announcing proposals to cut water use.

Authorities say any cuts made are likely to be in place for a long time as the West becomes hotter and drier. “In order to avoid a catastrophic collapse of the Colorado River System and a future of uncertainty and conflict, water use in the Basin must be reduced,” said Tanya Trujillo, the Interior Department’s assistant secretary for water and science, per the Los Angeles Times. Water managers say a long-term plan is needed, but their main priority is coming up with a plan to get through the next three years without the system falling apart.

The Colorado is so bad it can be seen from space……

The full scale of the drought, however, can only be seen from space. NASA satellites have been monitoring waterways in the West for years and documenting how the region is drying up. It’s part of a trend lasting almost two decades, making it the worst drought in 1,200 years. Part of the severity of this “megadrought” has been worsened by climate change.

https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/23308281/colorado-river-western-drought-satellite-hoover-dam-mead-powell

Now there is a proposal to help the struggling Colorado River by sucking water out of the Mississippi River……

Two hundred miles north of New Orleans, in the heart of swampy Cajun Country, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1963 cut a rogue arm of the Mississippi River in half with giant levees to keep the main river intact and flowing to the Gulf of Mexico. 

The Old River Control Structure, as it was dubbed, is also the linchpin of massive but delicate locks and pulsed flows that feed the largest bottomland hardwood forests and wetlands in the United States, outstripping Florida’s better known Okefenokee Swamp. 

Clouds of birds – hundreds of species – live in or travel through Louisiana’s rich Atchafalaya forests each year, said National Audubon Society Delta Conservation Director Erik Johnson. They include gawky pink roseate spoonbills, tiny bright yellow warblers, known as swamp candles because of their bright glow in the humid, green woods, and more. 

This summer, as seven states and Mexico push to meet a Tuesday deadline to agree on plans to shore up the Colorado River and its shriveling reservoirs, retired engineer Don Siefkes of San Leandro, California, wrote a letter to The Desert Sun of the USA TODAY Network with what he said was a solution to the West’s water woes: Build an aqueduct from the Old River Control Structure to Lake Powell, 1,489 miles west, to refill the Colorado River system with Mississippi River water. 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/08/15/climate-change-west-mississippi-river-pipeline/10332092002/

Seriously?

These people are killing the mighty Colorado and now that it is dying they want to impose their need on a major watery artery to the middle of the country.

I have a problem with this plan.

You?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Poisoning of Flint

Think back a couple of years ago and the term “Austerity” was all the rage…..trying to cope with an economic disaster these countries of the EU were making cuts and dropping many social programs…..all in the name of austerity…..

Those programs got me to thinking about Michigan and more importantly the city of Flint and their water supply problem……

I had tried to find a got explanation to why this had happened and I think I found a pretty good article that will help people understand what the situation is and how it was a problem that could have been avoided…..

In early 2015, shortly after his victory in a heated reelection contest, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) began exploring a run for president. With his business experience and electoral success in a blue state, Snyder was considered a viable potential candidate, so he embarked on a national speaking tour and set up a fundraising organization. Its name: “Making Government Accountable.”

Source: The Poisoning of Flint | Common Dreams | Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community

The Oasis Of Bitter Water”

A little Biblical reference for you religious sorts……

Has anyone been following the events in Flint, Michigan?  It seems the state has successfully poison the population with lead in the last couple of months…..

Flint, Michigan’s water woes are officially a federal emergency—nearly two years after the city took the money-saving move of switching from using Lake Huron water treated in Detroit to water from the Flint River. That water was found to be highly corrosive to lead pipes still in use in the city, causing lead to leach into residents’ drinking water. On Saturday President Obama declared a federal emergency in the city of 100,000, thereby unleashing federal funding and authorizing FEMA to provide water, filters, cartridges, and other items for 90 days, per the AP and Detroit Free Press. Gov. Rich Snyder puts the cost of the aforementioned water distribution and filtering items at $41 million. More:

  • Sanders vs. Snyder: Speaking of Snyder, Bernie Sanders called for his resignation Saturday. “The governor long ago knew about the lead in Flint’s water. He did nothing. As a result, hundreds of children were poisoned.”
  • Timeline: The AP has a timelines of the crisis, which dates to the April 2014 switch. Notable: In October 2014, a GM engine plant stopped using Flint’s water, stating that it was rusting parts.
  • Visualized: The Washington Post has a jarring and informative series of graphics that illustrate “how toxic Flint’s water really is.” One family’s water tested at a level that the EPA considers to be “toxic waste.”
  • Every kid: The state’s chief medical executive, along with the doctor who publicly called for Flint to stop its use of Flint River water, this week said all 8,657 kids under age 6 in Flint should be considered exposed to lead and treated as such, reports USA Today.
  • The residents’ ordeal: The AP speaks with some locals. Rabecka Cordell and her 5-year-old son have lead poisoning; she also has leukemia, he has learning and speech disabilities. She refuses to even use the water to bathe.

This all began with the Emergency Manager, that person that can circumvent the democratic process and make decisions about the city without the voice of the people…..it was done to sell property belonging to a city and now the water supply…..

In case you are not familiar with what is happening in Flint…..

http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20151008/NEWS/151009959

This should be a lesson in what can happen when the democratic process is ignored…….

Great Balls Of Shade!

Let’s change things up….enough of the BS of daily political life in the US……

About 2 weeks ago was the best news report of the month……involving BALLS!  LOTS OF BALLS!

By now the entire country knows about the massive drought in California……which will effect the cost of food in the future if it has not already done so……everyone is looking for a way to make the water they have now last as long as possible…..conservation, prayer, divining, pulling out all stops……

Also by now the media has reported on the next big idea to conserve the water……..shade balls!

But what kind of idea is it….good, bad or a waste of money and energy?

Los Angeles’ 96 million shade balls are bizarre to say the least—which is partly why the media pounced on the story of their role in conserving water, as officials had hoped, Grist included. Now, the website does a careful walk-through of just why these balls aren’t so hot. Based on an LA Weekly report, Grist finds the city has been using the balls since 2008, before California’s drought, because their main purpose is to prevent the formation of bromate, a carcinogen that develops when sunlight mixes with bromide and chlorine in water. Why do we care about the balls now? Apparently, LA mayor Eric Garcetti correctly thought tying the balls to the drought would help sell them to the public and emphasized they’ll save 300 million gallons of water a year. However, that much water is worth $2 million or $20 million over a decade; LA’s shade balls cost $34.5 million, according to LA Weekly.

In comparison, the Washington Post reported California could save 500 billion gallons if the agriculture industry cut its water use by 5%. Grist notes that marine pollution researcher Max Liboiron has additional concerns. At Discard Studies, he argues “most plastics leach endocrine disrupting chemicals that interfere with animal and human hormone systems.” Some of these disruptors break down in water in weeks or months and most water treatment systems don’t remove them. Then there’s the fact that plastics break down into microplastics and are consumed by humans and marine animals. The “poison pills” also soak up chemicals that then enter animal tissue and food chains, Liboiron says. Apparently the risk is worth the reward for Garcetti, who told the Huffington Post, “It takes bold ingenuity to maximize my goals for water conservation.”

Will these ‘balls’ save the day?  Or just another government program that wasted money with no good outcome?

Thoughts please.

Commies Are Coming And They’re Carrying Fluoride!

I’m an old fart so I remember the days when there were those people that were convinced that the commies were coming and they were poisoning us Americans with the fluoride that was being added to our water supply….there were books about it, protests about it and probably a movie or two about it……and so far fluoride is still added to our water and the commies have yet to take over because of it……a big sigh of relief….that is untoil I read a piece the other day and it all came rushing back……..

(Newser) – The CDC applauds the adding of fluoride to our water supply as one of the biggest public health triumphs of the 20th century. But it seems too much fluoride can do a lot of damage. Not only can it actually damage our teeth and weaken our bones—studies in China and Iran appear to link excessive fluoride to a seven-point reduction in children’s IQs, Scientific American reports. Those studies may not control for other health risks, but they could signal a problem—one which is particularly worrying in states like Maine. Much of the state gets its drinking water from private wells, and that water isn’t held to federal or state standards.

In a voluntary study that included about a quarter of Maine’s towns, wells in about 10 communities were shown to contain risky amounts of fluoride—sometimes more than twice the EPA’s limit. Fluoride’s presence is boosted by the granite under the state, which is packed with the chemical; there’s plenty of granite in other New England states as well. An expert tells the Portland Press-Herald that residents should have their water tested, but people only do it “when they buy a house or if they get sick.” If there’s too much fluoride, reverse osmosis systems can help, but they cost between $1,000 and $2,000.

I have been saying that Americans seem to be getting dumber by the generation and now could there be proof that they are?