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 EPA Study Reveals Widespread Contamination of Fish in U.S. Lakes and Reservoirs
Release date: 11/10/2009
A new EPA study shows concentrations of toxic chemicals in fish tissue from lakes and reservoirs in nearly all 50 U.S. states. For the first time, EPA is able to estimate the percentage of lakes and reservoirs nationwide that have fish containing potentially harmful levels of chemicals such as mercury and PCBs.
"These results reinforce Administrator Jackson's strong call for revitalized protection of our nation's waterways and long-overdue action to protect the American people," said Peter S. Silva, assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Water. "EPA is aggressively tackling the issues the report highlights. Before the results were even finalized, the agency initiated efforts to further reduce toxic mercury pollution and strengthen enforcement of the Clean Water Act - all part of a renewed effort to protect the nation's health and environment.
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FEATURED BMP
The Silt-SaverŪ Belted Silt Retention Filter, when installed correctly, produces a retention fence with superior filtering capabilities and p roven strength. The fabric used is a spunbond polyester material with a fiberglass scrim or net sandwiched in between the layers. With this process, the fabric and the screen become one product. Meshing the support system with the fabric eliminates the problems of traditionally supported fence where the fabric separates from the supporting wire. This product has been field tested by the University of Georgia. MORE
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Atlanta Floods Extremely Rare
November 4, 2009
The epic flooding that hit the Atlanta area in September was so extremely rare that, six weeks later this event has defied attempts to describe it. Scientists have reviewed the numbers and they are stunning. "The flooding in Atlanta is certainly near the top of the list of the worst floods in the United States during the past 100 years," said Holmes. "For comparable drainage areas, the magnitude of this flood was worse than the 1977 Kansas City flood, which caused tremendous destruction and loss of life.
"Applying rainfall frequency calculations, The USGS has determined that the chance of 10 inches or more occurring at any given point are less than one hundredth of one percent", "this means that the chance of an event like this occurring is 1 in 10,000."
"At some sites, the annual chance of a flood of this magnitude was so significantly less than 1 in 500 that, given the relatively short length of streamgaging records (well less than 100 years), the U.S. Geological Survey cannot accurately characterize the probability due to its extreme rarity," said Robert Holmes, USGS National Flood Program Coordinator. "Nationwide, given that our oldest streamgaging records span about 100 years, the USGS does not cite probabilities for floods that are beyond a 0.2 percent (500-year) flood."
"If a 0.2 percent (500-year) flood was a cup of coffee, this one brewed a full pot," said Brian McCallum, Assistant Director for the USGS Georgia Water Science Center in Atlanta. "This flood overtopped 20 USGS streamgages - one by 12 feet. The closest numbers we have seen like these in Georgia were from Tropical Storm Alberto in 1994. This flood was off the charts."
The rains returned water levels in the region's two largest reservoirs, Lake Lanier and Allatoona Lake, to pre-drought levels. Lake Lanier rose by more than three feet to 1068 feet by Sept. 25 and returned to full pool in October. Allatoona Lake rose to 853.25 feet on Sept 23, more than 13 feet over full pool of 840 feet.
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LESSONS TO LEARN FROM CHINA
Unchecked Industrialization Has Almost Destroyed A Once Beautiful Country
China's Worsening Water Crisis......A country without a clean water supply is like a body without blood.
Forbes Magazine - China is facing an extremely severe water resources problem. Cities lacking water have already had to give up a lot of business opportunities. If China can't address this need now, economic growth and social development will be adversely affected in the future. Solving a worsening water problem is a difficult undertaking the Chinese government and people can no longer avoid.
Although improper and inconsistent enforcement of Georgia's EROSION LAWS has made things tough, the attention they give to water quality is something to be grateful for!
Since entering a period of rapid economic growth 30 years ago, China has had at its disposal only 7% of the world's arable land to meet the needs of 20% of the world's population. Excessive tapping of underground water supplies has already created the world's largest "underground funnel" in northern China: The land surface is sinking in a manner resembling a funnel in connection with water depletion. China has had to utilize scarce land resources with relatively low average per-capita water supplies and backward technology.
Complicating the situation, China's natural water supplies are unpredictable. Major shifts in the weather can suddenly cut off supplies an in era when increasing urbanization and industrialization are raising the demand for water. As a result, even if China's current water conservation efforts manage to achieve remarkable results, the huge problems of flooding, shortages, pollution and silt will still exist.
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