As I was driving by the golf course I live near one afternoon (just outside of the City of Tampa, FL), I saw rainbows forming as water droplets caught the sunlight--they were irrigating...it was 2:30pm, 95 degrees and sunny. I've also seen them watering at 8:30am when it's already 88 degrees. Keep in mind that Southwest FL has been in a drought for the past couple of years and the water management district (SWFWMD) has year-round watering restrictions in place that mandate twice-a-week watering and only from 6pm to 8am. For those who are unfamiliar, from 8am to 6pm are the times when evapotranspiration rates are highest, peaking from about noon to 3pm. This essentially means that if you irrigate during these times, a large percentage of the water will be evaporated before the plants (or your lawn) can absorb it--thus, water is wasted.
Now of course most golf courses here (and in many cities) use reclaimed water, which in Tampa (and most other cities) has no restrictions. There may be a utility that requires the same water restrictions for reclaimed as it does for potable water, but it seems that on a whole reclaimed water is exempt from watering restrictions. So the question I have is: Why doesn't reclaimed water receive the same watering restrictions as potable water? Just because water is being recycled and not being pulled from the original water source doesn't mean that it shouldn't be conserved.
Keep in mind that in order to produce energy you need water, and in order to treat and distribute water--you guessed it, you need energy. (This concept is known as the water-energy nexus, and I will save that discussion for a later date). Therefore conserving energy is conserving water and vice versa. And it takes energy to reclaim water--even though it isn't treated to potable quality--and to then distribute it again.
In my opinion, there needs to be a stronger water conservation ethic on a whole. That is, every type of water for any purpose should be conserved and used efficiently. Not only that, but if people see golf courses watering at noon and don't know that they are irrigating with reclaimed water that is exempt from watering restrictions, they may go back home and water their lawn thinking, "if their doing it, why can't I?"
Golf courses aren't the only guilty ones. I've seen sprinklers at the mall and the airport irrigating when there's a downpour and water is gushing down the street. Now that is due to improper irrigation systems and scheduling, but I'll leave that topic for another day...
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Bulk Water Exportation
In about 6 to 8 months, the first-ever bulk water exportation will begin. Up to 2.9 billion gallons of water is legally available for exportation from Sitka's Blue Lake Reservoir in Alaska that was specifically built to facilitate bulk exportation. Sitka will sell the water to Alaska Resource Management, LLC (ARM) for a penny a gallon. The water will be transported in huge plastic bags held in tankers from Alaska to a water hub somewhere in the world. From there, the water will be transported in smaller quantities to wherever it is needed within the region.
Recently, a water hub has been completed just south of Mumbai, India--the India World Water Hub. This hub is expected to purchase about half a billion gallons of water from ARM per year. Not only that, but there are 3 other applications that the Alaska Dept. of Natural Resources is considering for bulk exportation off of Adak Island, which is southwest of Anchorage on the Aleutian Chain. This process will take at least 1 year in order to determine if bulk water removal permits can be granted from this location. In other words, this could be the start of the global bulk water export market.
I have to admit that I am (slightly) torn on this issue. On the one hand bulk water exportation can provide clean water for people in water-starved regions. I do believe that all humans have an inalienable right to access clean, safe water...but from a water source is coming from half way across the globe? Displacing such a large quantity of water from one ecosystem to the next is not without consequence. Who knows what types of consequences could occur since this has never been done before. Not only that, but think of the carbon footprint from transporting that much water over such an expansive distance! FYI: the community of Sitka on a whole is behind this exportation since they do have "excess" water from a renewable resource. Moreover, the city stands to make $25 to $90 million annually from the sale of water for bulk exportation.
The concept of transporting large quantities of water over vast distances isn't new. There have been some rather radical ideas to provide water to water-starved regions and/or arid regions with explosive population growth. Some include towing icebergs from the North or South Pole, creating monstrous dams and reservoirs, and building massive pipeline systems that cover thousands of miles. Some of these ideas have become actualized: the Three Gorges Dam in China and the various reservoir and canal systems on the Colorado River (e.g., the Central Arizona Project, the State Water Project (CA).)
Not only that, but there have been ideas for over half a century about building massive pipelines in the US from the Columbia River, Mississippi River, and Great Lakes to provide water to the agricultural economy of California and to feed the explosive population growth in the arid Southwest. The Great Lakes States and Canada have recently reached an agreement to protect their water resources by banning any exportation of water from the Great Lakes. I applaud their efforts to keep the water in the Great Lakes and to maintain the integrity of that ecosystem. For Americans in particular, there is a lot of work to be done to streamline the efficiency of our water use and/or change our lifestyles that can stretch current water supplies before we begin building massive water projects that have astronomical financial and ecological costs.
Recently, a water hub has been completed just south of Mumbai, India--the India World Water Hub. This hub is expected to purchase about half a billion gallons of water from ARM per year. Not only that, but there are 3 other applications that the Alaska Dept. of Natural Resources is considering for bulk exportation off of Adak Island, which is southwest of Anchorage on the Aleutian Chain. This process will take at least 1 year in order to determine if bulk water removal permits can be granted from this location. In other words, this could be the start of the global bulk water export market.
I have to admit that I am (slightly) torn on this issue. On the one hand bulk water exportation can provide clean water for people in water-starved regions. I do believe that all humans have an inalienable right to access clean, safe water...but from a water source is coming from half way across the globe? Displacing such a large quantity of water from one ecosystem to the next is not without consequence. Who knows what types of consequences could occur since this has never been done before. Not only that, but think of the carbon footprint from transporting that much water over such an expansive distance! FYI: the community of Sitka on a whole is behind this exportation since they do have "excess" water from a renewable resource. Moreover, the city stands to make $25 to $90 million annually from the sale of water for bulk exportation.
The concept of transporting large quantities of water over vast distances isn't new. There have been some rather radical ideas to provide water to water-starved regions and/or arid regions with explosive population growth. Some include towing icebergs from the North or South Pole, creating monstrous dams and reservoirs, and building massive pipeline systems that cover thousands of miles. Some of these ideas have become actualized: the Three Gorges Dam in China and the various reservoir and canal systems on the Colorado River (e.g., the Central Arizona Project, the State Water Project (CA).)
Not only that, but there have been ideas for over half a century about building massive pipelines in the US from the Columbia River, Mississippi River, and Great Lakes to provide water to the agricultural economy of California and to feed the explosive population growth in the arid Southwest. The Great Lakes States and Canada have recently reached an agreement to protect their water resources by banning any exportation of water from the Great Lakes. I applaud their efforts to keep the water in the Great Lakes and to maintain the integrity of that ecosystem. For Americans in particular, there is a lot of work to be done to streamline the efficiency of our water use and/or change our lifestyles that can stretch current water supplies before we begin building massive water projects that have astronomical financial and ecological costs.
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