On Dec. 21, 2012 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a report highlighting the progress it has made on its national study to understand the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources. The report has been posted on the EPA website.

 

EPA initiated the study in 2010 at the request of the Congress and the progress report outlines work currently underway. The progress report summarizes the current status of 18 research projects undertaken as part of the study and updates information about the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing. The report does not draw conclusions about the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources.

Slides from the recent public webinars held on January 3-4 can be downloaded here. 

The 56th annual conference will feature 65 sessions highlighting the conference theme, Great Lakes Restoration and Resiliency, and will include discussions and presentations on invasive species, climate change, land-use and eutrophication, contaminants, nearshore health, fisheries, data management and modeling, foodweb and ecosystem ecology, physical processes and stakeholder engagement. 

 

Event info.

Antibacterial agent used in common soaps found in increasing amounts in freshwater lakes

Source: U of MN College of Science & Engineering

 

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (01/22/2013) -When people wash their hands with antibacterial soap, most don't think about where the chemicals contained in that soap end up. University of Minnesota engineering researchers do.

 

A new University of Minnesota study determined that the common antibacterial agent, called triclosan, used in soaps and many other products is found in increasing amounts in several Minnesota freshwater lakes. The findings are directly linked to increased triclosan use over the past few decades.

 

In addition, the researchers found an increasing amount of other chemical compounds, called chlorinated triclosan derivatives, that form when triclosan is exposed to chlorine during the wastewater disinfection process. When exposed to sunlight, triclosan and its chlorinated derivatives form dioxins that have potential toxic effects in the environment. These dioxins were also found in the lakes.

Drainage Ditches Can Help Clean Up Field Runoff

by Ann Perry via ars.usda.gov

 

Vegetated drainage ditches can help capture pesticide and nutrient loads in field runoff, U.S. Department of Agriculture(USDA) scientists report. These ditches-as common in the country as the fields they drain-give farmers a low-cost alternative for managing agricultural pollutants and protecting natural resources.

 

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) ecologist Matt Moore at the agency's National Sedimentation Laboratory in Oxford, Miss., and his colleagues conducted the research. ARS is USDA's chief intramural scientific research agency.

 

Until recently, the primary function of many edge-of-field ditches was to provide a passage for channeling excess water from crop fields. Many farmers controlled ditch vegetation with trimming or dredging to eliminate plant barriers that could impede the flow of runoff.

 

Shipping companies are making a case to Congress for more money to dredge Great Lakes ports and waterways. With water levels near a record low, ports are losing the battle against sediment.

 

Picture a football field with dirt piled a mile and a half high. That's how much the backlog of dredging is in the Great Lakes. Lake Carriers Association Vice-President Glen Neckvasil says the Army Corps of Engineers has had enough money to keep pace with sediment in only six of the last 25 years. He says this means lakers are sailing with light loads: "... extremely so. Right now, looking at the end of December there, ships - that if the water levels were high, it could carry 72,000 tons of cargo - were carrying less than 61,000 tons."

 

Neckvasil says the problem is all over. "It's a system-wide problem. It depends on what trade route you're in. Sometimes the St. Mary's River is what sets your draft, other times it might be the discharge port."...

 

 

A new environmental threat map of the Great Lakes serves as a powerful visualization tool for those interested in the challenges facing lake restoration efforts. The map brings to mind the adage, "a picture is worth a thousand words." But the colorful image is worth even more than that - the red, orange, and blue colors on the map show multiple stressors and represent gigabytes of data from decades of research. It paints an alarming picture about the cumulative effect of stress on such a precious freshwater resource.

 

The comprehensive map is the product of the Great Lakes Environmental Assessment and Mapping (GLEAM) project. Led by researchers at the University of Michigan, the group published a paper about the ambitious project in last week's print edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. They also produced a cool interactive mapping tool which is now available on the GLEAM project website. Privately funded by the Erb Family Foundation, the main results of the project are summarized in a press release and were reported in news outlets throughout the Great Lakes region. I recently spoke with several members of the research team to learn more about the project...

 

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