Water Scarcity: Hidden Risks to Business

If there weren’t enough for businesses to worry about these days, here is another threat: water scarcity. Companies in industries from technology to agriculture to apparel are vulnerable to the risks posed by a falling supply of available water, according to a report released Feb. 26 by the Boston-based investor coalition Ceres and the Oakland (Calif.)-based Pacific Institute.

Decreasing water availability, declining water quality, and increasing water demand are creating major new challenges for businesses and investors who have historically taken clean cheap water for granted, says the report. It warns of water shortages in many areas of the world in the coming decades and urges companies and investors to examine business’s exposure to water scarcity risks to prevent them from eating into revenues and harming corporate reputations.

“This report makes clear that companies and investors can no longer take water for granted,” says Anne Stausboll, chief executive of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), the largest U.S. public pension fund, with approximately $170 billion in assets. CalPERS is a member of Ceres. “For many years, CalPERS has advocated for corporate disclosure of environmental risks, and it’s clear that this disclosure must include water-related risks and opportunities.”

Read full article

Source: BusinessWeek

Water Efficiency is Key to Saving Energy: Expert

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In regions where pumping and distributing water requires significant electricity use, policies that lead to reduced water consumption could address climate change more efficiently than requiring businesses and households to use less energy, according to water expert Peter Gleick.

“Some of the cheapest greenhouse gas emission reductions available seem to be not energy-efficiency programs, but water-efficiency programs,” said Gleick, president of the California-based Pacific Institute, a global water research center.

Gleick notes, for example, that it may be cheaper for consumers to reduce the overall hot water usage in their homes than to replace their incandescent light bulbs with more energy-efficient alternatives.

The virtues of water efficiency can be found in California and China — regions where water shortages have become emergencies and droughts may worsen with climate change. Conditions may become more severe in the future as consumers turn to water solutions that often require even greater energy supplies.

In California, where drought is afflicting the land for the third year in a row, the state is reducing water deliveries by 20-30 percent this winter and warns of “the most significant water crisis in its history.” The water shortages are forcing farmers to cut production and lay off employees in an already sour economy.

Meanwhile, water transportation, storage, and treatment account for about 19 percent of the state’s electricity, according to a 2007 California Energy Commission report. To reach the rapidly expanding urban clusters in southern California, for instance, water is pumped 2,000 feet (610 meters) over the Tehachapi Mountains north of Los Angeles.

David Zoldoske, director of the Center for Irrigation Technology at California State University-Fresno, has led efforts to educate central California farmers about proper pump maintenance since 2001. With the help of utility company subsidies, the project has helped improve the efficiency of several irrigation pumps, saving 19.4 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually between 2002 and 2005, he said.

But the recent drought may reduce many efficiency gains. Farmers are digging deeper water wells and several counties are exploring plans to build desalination plants. Both measures lead to significant increases in energy use.

“When you’re running out of water, you don’t care about what the energy bill is … and we’re in dire straits here in California,” Zoldoske said. “Where people can use water more efficiently, people will opt for that … But the availability and reliability of water is more of a concern.”

Read full article

Source: Green Buildings

What does the Great Lakes Compact mean for water conservation?

Seven years in the making, the Great Lakes Compact went into effect last December after successfully passing through the legislatures of the eight Great Lakes states and Congress. This historic, multistate agreement outlines a regional approach for sustainably managing the waters of the Great Lakes.

A central component of the compact is its ban-with limited exceptions-on diversions of Great Lakes water to points outside the Great Lakes basin, an area defined by the lakes and land that drains into them. This piece of the compact has received considerable attention, particularly in Wisconsin, where the city of Waukesha is on track to become the region’s first out-of-basin community to apply for an exception to the diversion ban.

Perhaps equally significant but less discussed is a compact component that requires the Great Lakes states to implement water conservation programs in areas within the basin. In Wisconsin, Governor Jim Doyle wants to go even further: he has called for a conservation program for the entire state.

“Many communities that rely on groundwater are already reaching the limits of their water supply, and finding additional water sources will be expensive,” said Jeff Ripp, water conservation coordinator at the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC). “Conservation is the cheapest source of new water.”

Read full article

Source: Bay View Compass

California Faces Water Rationing, Governor Proclaims Drought Emergency

SACRAMENTO, California, February 27, 2009 (ENS) – Parched California is a step closer to mandatory water rationing today as Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proclaimed a state of emergency and ordered all government agencies to implement the state’s emergency plan and provide help for people, communities and businesses impacted by the third consecutive year of drought.

“This drought is having a devastating impact on our people, our communities, our economy and our environment – making today’s action absolutely necessary,” Governor Schwarzenegger said. “This is a crisis, just as severe as an earthquake or raging wildfire, and we must treat it with the same urgency by upgrading California’s water infrastructure to ensure a clean and reliable water supply for our growing state.”

The governor’s order directs that by March 30, the Department of Water Resources will provide an updated report on the state’s drought conditions and water availability.

If the emergency conditions have not eased, the governor said he could start mandatory water rationing and mandatory reductions in water use.

Schwarzenegger said he could order reoperation of major reservoirs in the state to minimize impacts of the drought. He also could provide additional regulatory relief or permit streamlining as allowed under the Emergency Services Act.

The governor called for a statewide water conservation campaign and asked all urban water users to immediately reduce their individual water use by 20 percent. He asked all Californians to reduce their water use as much as possible.

“Even with the recent rainfall, California faces its third consecutive year of drought and we must prepare for the worst – a fourth, fifth or even sixth year of drought,” he said. “Last year we experienced the driest spring and summer on record and storage in the state’s reservoir system is near historic lows.”

The DWR and the California Department of Food and Agriculture are ordered to recommend, within 30 days, measures to reduce the economic impacts of the drought, including water transfers, through-Delta emergency transfers, water conservation measures, efficient irrigation practices, and improvements to the California Irrigation Management Information System.
Low water in Littlerock Reservoir, Littlerock, California (Photo by David Steele)

The drought conditions and water restrictions are causing additional devastating economic and business losses. Agricultural revenue losses exceed $300 million to date and could exceed $2 billion in the coming season, with a total economic loss of nearly $3 billion in 2009.

In his proclamation, Governor Schwarzenegger directs the Department of Water Resources to expedite water transfers and related efforts by water users and suppliers.

The governor also directs the DWR to implement short-term efforts to protect water quality or water supply, such as the installation of temporary barriers in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta or temporary water supply connections.

He asks the state water agency to offer technical assistance to agricultural water suppliers and agricultural water users and provide information on managing water supplies to minimize economic impacts and implementing efficient water management practices.

He asks local, state and federal agencies to immediately implement a water use reduction plan and take immediate water conservation actions.

Read full article

Source: Environment News Service

Las Vegas Running Out of Water Means Dimming Los Angeles Lights

Feb. 26 (Bloomberg) — On a cloudless December day in the Nevada desert, workers in white hard hats descend into a 30- foot-wide shaft next to Lake Mead.

As they’ve been doing since June, they’ll blast and dig straight down into the limestone surrounding the reservoir that supplies 90 percent of Las Vegas’s water. In September, when they hit 600 feet, they’ll turn and burrow for 3 miles, laying a new pipe as they go.

The crew is in a hurry. They’re battling the worst 10-year drought in recorded history along the Colorado River, which feeds the 110-mile-long reservoir. Since 1999, Lake Mead has dropped about 1 percent a year. By 2012, the lake’s surface could fall below the existing pipe that delivers 40 percent of the city’s water.

As Las Vegas’s economy worsens, the workers are also racing against a recession that threatens the ability to sell $500 million in bonds so they can complete the job.

Patricia Mulroy, manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, is the general in this region’s war to stem a water emergency that’s playing out worldwide. It’s the biggest battle of her 31-year career.

‘We’ve Tried Everything’

“We’ve tried everything,” says Mulroy, 56, who made no secret of her desire to become secretary of the U.S. Interior Department before President Barack Obama picked U.S. Senator Ken Salazar of Colorado in December.

“The way you look at water has to fundamentally change,” adds Mulroy, who, after 20 years of running the authority, said in January she’s ready to start thinking about looking for a new job, declining to say where.

Across the planet, people like Mulroy are struggling to solve the next global crisis.

Read full article

Source: Bloomberg

Water conservation bill gets House OK

ST. GEORGE – Pushing to make water conservation and efficiency more of a priority, Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, introduced a bill designed to protect the world’s most precious resource.

The Water-Use Efficiency and Conservation Research Act, passed on a voice vote in the U.S. House on Wednesday, authorizes $100 million over five years to create a research and development program on water-use efficiency and conservation within the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development.

“Many experts are starting to see water as the ‘new oil’ in terms of what a precious commodity it is,” Matheson said in a statement Tuesday. “The key to avoiding future scarcity is more efficient use, reuse and distribution. We need the best minds tackling the challenge, and then we need to ensure the information is readily available to the public.”

For arid western states such as Utah, water conservation has always been a hot topic, and the region’s rate of population growth portends more obstacles to come.

“Fast-growing urban areas in arid or drought-stricken regions are looking at water shortages unless we get smarter about using technology to be more efficient,” Matheson said. “It will also save money.”

Read full article

Source: The Spectrum

Government, Planning and the Politics of Water

In addressing the issue of water in the Southwest we must be willing to recognize that prior solutions have not addressed the core problem. We have been basing solutions on simply increasing supplies.

Reservoirs and dams were built with wide surface areas resulting in huge evaporative losses, aquifers were pumped to the maximum, urban water conservation was voluntary and private wells were unmetered. Supply was there. Sometimes new sources, such as Owens Lake in California, or the San Juan /Chama diversion in NM were piped to urban centers to increase supply.

Supply solutions are still available. Desalination of ocean waters, dredging reservoirs and deep aquifer drilling are playing a new role in the discussions as the old sources dry up or prove unable to address increased demand. New deep water, low surface area, high altitude reservoirs can be built. Brackish water can still be tapped from deep aquifers and desalinated. Water pumped in rural areas with low demand can still be piped to urban areas. In other words, there remains the capacity to continue to address water management and administration in the same old way.

Current droughts in the SouthWest have raised new concerns. Is the drought caused by climate change? Is the drought a periodic historical episode of decreasing regional precipitation? What about the new risks of geological subsidence, ocean water intrusion into the water table and the reduction of groundwater flows to surface waters? These issues raise their raise their heads as aquifers are mined and groundwater levels decline and precipitation decrease.

That being said, it is worth our while to compare the current financial crisis with the impending water crisis that has already manifested in many areas of the US. For years, business as usual for urban residents has been to assume that municipal governments and state governments are up to the task. The water budgets of our regions have been overextended based on presumed maintenance of water supply from aquifers and surface water flows. Decisions are made based on short-term supply projections that no longer stand the test of reality. Water users are not included in the decision-making processes. Water planning is often projected as an ancillary process removed from the actual political decisions by governmental entities.

Read full article

Source: OpEdNews

San Francisco wants to curb flow of water

SAN FRANCISCO – Toilets, faucets and shower heads in San Francisco businesses and residences may be required to use low-flow models as part of a large-scale water-conservation effort.

Although all new construction since 1994 has utilized low-flow toilets, there are existing bathroom fixtures in older buildings that use more water.

Supervisor Sophie Maxwell introduced legislation Tuesday that would require existing toilets, faucets and showers to use low-flow devices.

The proposed law “will again put San Francisco on the cutting edge of environmental policy and stewardship,” Maxwell said. An unknown number of buildings in The City do not use low-flow fixtures.

“Water saved from these programs will help to ensure a reliable water supply for customers both within and outside of San Francisco,” the legislation said.

The proposed bill is co-sponsored by Mayor Gavin Newsom.

“We’ve had three dry years and this is a sensible way to reduce our water consumption,” said Newsom spokesman Nathan Ballard.

The proposed law would require toilets, faucets and shower heads be low-flow in residential buildings when the building is sold or when it undergoes major improvements, converts into a condominium or undergoes a meter change.

For commercial buildings, all water fixtures must become low-flow by Jan. 1, 2017. Until then, water fixtures would have to become low-flow under certain circumstances, such as if the building undergoes a major renovation.

After a few sticking points were negotiated, the Building Owners and Managers Association supports the effort. Among contested issues were eliminating the requirement that commercial buildings must go low-flow at the point of sale.

Ken Cleaveland, director of government and public affairs for the association, said making all water fixtures low-flow in commercial buildings is “a pretty large expense,” and by providing building owners with seven years to do so is “more reasonable.”

Janan New, executive director of the San Francisco Apartments Association, said she is supportive of the water-conservation efforts, but also said The City should allow landlords to pass on a portion of the water cost to tenants, which she said is one of the best ways to ensure water conservation.

The proposal is the latest attempt by city officials to steer business owners and residents toward more environmentally friendly lifestyles. Newsom has introduced legislation, which is pending, that would make recycling mandatory.

Less is more

1.6
Gallons per flush low-flow toilets typically use

70
Gallons of water a family could typically save daily by using a low-flow toilet

3.5
Low end of the scale that an older toilet uses per flush, in gallons

7
High end of the scale that an older toilet uses per flush, in gallons

50
Percent that water usage in a home can be cut by using low-flow shower heads and faucets

Source: Department of the Environment

Article source: sfexaminer.com

Federal water supply may be cut off from California

Federal water managers say they might have to cut off water supplies to some of California’s largest farms, thanks to the state’s severe drought.

This would be the first time in more than 15 years such a move was taken. The state predicts a loss of more than $1 billion and an elimination of as many as 40,000 jobs if this takes place.

The Western Growers Association says as of December 2008, the drought has cost California’s agriculture industry more than $308 million. Local city leaders say the Central Coast water supply is OK, but across the state it is a different story.

“Well, it’s the lifeblood of agriculture. We irrigate virtually all of our crops with water,” said Richard Quandt, president of the Grower-Shipper Association.

Read full article

Source: MSNBC

Will mega-pipeline fix water problems or ruin Central Florida

Imagine 15 or 30 years from now, turning on your kitchen faucet. A few drops dribble into the sink, then the water stops. It’s gone.

That’s what could happen without a large-scale plan to supply water to Central Floridians, DeLand Public Services Director Keith Riger said.

A couple of years ago, the St. Johns River Water Management District said Central Florida could not rely on the Floridan Aquifer as a source of drinking water beyond 2013.

Utilities would have to find alternatives to deep wells drilled to draw water from the aquifer far below.

Riger, along with Robert Thielhelm for the City of Mount Dora and Ray Sharp for the City of Leesburg, wrote a paper proposing a solution.

It calls for using Coquina Coast, a proposed ocean-water desalinization plant off Flagler County, along with water plants proposed on the St. Johns River and the Lower Ocklawaha River. These new water sources would be connected by a vast 500-mile pipeline crisscrossing Central Florida, to take water where it’s needed.

The three-city consortium will make a presentation on the project to the Water Authority of Volusia technical advisory committee at 8:30 a.m. Friday, March 27, at the WAV Conference Room at 2570 W. International Speedway Blvd. in Daytona Beach.

The authors explained the plan to the Lake County Water Alliance at a Leesburg meeting Feb. 12. Alliance members said they want more input from other elected boards before making any decision.

The water-transmission pipeline in still in the conceptual stages.

The pipeline would carry water produced at the Yankee Lake and Taylor Creek plants on the St. Johns River in Seminole County, and water drawn from the Lower Ocklawaha River, in addition to any plant built on the river at DeLand.

The overall cost? More than $1 billion, perhaps several billion. Hence the necessity to pool resources.

Read full article

Source: Beacon Online

Next Page »