For many decades, there have been almost constant news reports of large groups of people displaced by wars and famine. In many cases, these refugees flee their native lands, cross borders and settle in camps run by the United Nations or a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). A new type of refugee is emerging in this century, however; rather than fleeing war or persecution, these are refugees of ecological changes and challenges.
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As readers of this blog may be aware, the State of California has been facing
many challenges with respect to its freshwater management, endangered species,
and agriculture. In November, 2009, the state took a step forward to face those
challenges in the form of four bills that total over $11 billion in funding directed
towards the state’s river systems, lakes, and other water management projects.

The bills cover four major areas of water management. The first, Senate Bill No. 1
addresses the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta area and lays out a plan for
reestablishment of the natural wetlands while preserving the state’s fresh water
resources. The second bill, Senate Bill No. 6 requires that localities monitor
groundwater levels to avoid pumping aquifers dry. Senate Bill No. 7 aims
to bring urban and agricultural water users to the table to begin a real
discussion about water conservation. Finally, Senate Bill No. 8 addresses
the practice of water diversion and seeks to set up a more equitable playing
field for all the state’s water stakeholders.
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Think about the usual holiday plans: Dinner with family, visiting friends and perhaps
watching a few bowl games. A young Ohio woman, however, has a radically different
set of plans this year. Some time around New Year’s Day, Katie Spotz, a fresh-faced
22 year old, will depart Senegal to row solo across the Atlantic. Yes, you read it
correctly – she will ROW across the Atlantic.

Katie is undertaking this amazing endeavor to raise awareness of safe drinking water
issues around the globe. She has partnered with the Blue Planet Run Foundation, a San-Francisco-based non-profit group that funds sustainable drinking water projects
around the world. Her goal is to raise enough funds to bring safe drinking water to at
least 1,000 people.

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Hard boiled eggs turn black in the shell, you are forced to use bottled
water to shower, and townspeople in your community have stomach
ailments in such numbers that something must be happening. You finally f
ind out that your well has been compromised; in fact your entire town’s
groundwater has been tainted with arsenic and other heavy metals.
Sounds like something out of a made-for-television movie, doesn’t it?
It’s reality for several towns in Western Michigan.
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The U.S. President, Barack Obama, began to make good on a campaign
promise calling for a $5 billion (US), 10 year program aimed at restoration
of the Great Lakes. This summer, the President delivered his request for
funding to the U.S. Department of the Interior and in that document the
President requested a boost in spending of approximately $475 million in
FY 2010 targeting Great Lakes cleanup and restoration efforts. The additional
funding adds to the roughly $500 million that Congress routinely appropriates
to the Great Lakes each year. In total, the President’s request would
mean nearly $1 billion for the effort. At the time that this article was written,
both the House and the Senate have passed their versions of the FY 2010
Interior appropriations bill and the House has passed the conference committee
version which marries the two original bills into one. The Senate is expected to
take up the conference committee version in the coming weeks and it is widely
expected to pass.
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For almost a century, the United States has been collecting and processing
data about the state of the nation’s surface water. Lakes, rivers, streams,
and ponds are observed, measured and sampled to check for water quality,
contamination and water levels. From this data, a fairly robust picture of the
nation’s surface water can be had. Satellite imagery has made this task more
efficient enabling seasonal changes in water levels to be observed on a grand
scale. Without diminishing the value of these efforts, one critical area of water
monitoring has been left behind.

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American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, ‘09 - H2bid’s Overview

A great deal of publicity has been focused on the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 or the “Stimulus” bill as it is more popularly known.
Chief among its priorities, the stimulus was aimed at jump starting an economic
recovery in the United States; similar to other government efforts worldwide,
the plan aimed to begin work on a number of domestic initiatives that could put
large numbers of people to work. Among the spending priorities was water and
sewer infrastructure. This article will examine the funding allocated in the stimulus
plan targeted at water and sewer system upgrades, repairs and new construction,
seeking to understand how much of the total program will go toward these projects,
when it is likely to be spent and how.

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President Obama Provides Economic Stimulus Money for Important
Western Water Projects

California and indeed the entire western region of the United States, face
chronic issues with respect to water use management. As reported in a
December 2008 article on this site, California faces special problems
intensified by cycles of drought; additionally, budget shortfalls are compounding
the problems by limiting what the State can accomplish. Some relief may be in
sight, though; in April 2009, Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, met with
California’s Governor to offer help in the form of economic stimulus money aimed
at helping to take some stress off of the water supply of the western United States.

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Every large city needs a constant supply of fresh water to satisfy its
citizens; Beijing is no different. Beijing, which recently hosted the Olympic
and Para-Olympic Games, is a city of approximately 16 million people and growing
rapidly; current projections estimate that by 2010 there will be over 17 million
residents. While normally news about a city expanding is met with enthusiasm,
Beijing’s water supply can only support about 14 million. Complicating the matter is
the fact that Beijing is in the dry north and the surrounding province of Hebei has
been locked in a drought since 1999; since that time, the region has only received
about 75 percent of the anticipated precipitation.
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The third edition of the United Nations World Water Development
Report (WWDR) was presented at the World Water Forum in Istanbul,
Turkey on March 16, 2009. Taking a more in-depth approach than the
two previous reports, the WWDR focuses on four major elements: the
drivers of change, the use of water for humans and for ecosystems,
the state of the water in the world, and options for responding to a changing
world.
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