The city of Jeffersonville has agreed to make extensive improvements to its sewer systems to reduce the city’s long-standing sewage overflows into the Ohio River at a cost that is estimated to run between $100 and $150 million.

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The City of New York will receive $220 million in Recovery Act funding for water infrastructure improvements via the Clean Water State Revolving Fund.

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Water must be an integral part of the climate negotiations in Copenhagen, World Water Week participants today said with a unanimous show of hands in support of The Stockholm Statement.

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The largest barrier reef in the northern hemisphere has been placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger, and an Italian Alpine mountain range and a coastal wetland in Germany and The Netherlands have been newly inscribed for protection on the World Heritage List.

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West Virgina officials have failed to abide by the federal Clean Water Act, instead deferring to the industries they are supposed to regulate, a coalition of environmental groups claims in a formal petition asking the federal government to take back control of discharge permitting and enforcement from the state.

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WASHINGTON, DC, June 18, 2009 (ENS) - The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works approved six water-related bills today, including the controversial Clean Water Restoration Act, S. 787.

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Pakistan has initiated a massive hydropower project in its administrative part of Kashmir without fulfilling basic environmental obligations required for such development projects.

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SACRAMENTO, California, June 5, 2009 (ENS) - Water pumping operations in California’s Central Valley by the federal Bureau of Reclamation jeopardize the survival of several threatened and endangered species of fish and whales, finds a formal biological opinion issued Thursday by the National Marine Fisheries Service, an agency within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA.

Federal biologists and hydrologists concluded that water pumping operations in the federal Central Valley Project and the California State Water Project should be changed to ensure survival of winter and spring-run Chinook salmon, Central Valley steelhead, the southern population of North American green sturgeon and Southern Resident killer whales, which rely on Chinook salmon runs for food.

“What is at stake here is not just the survival of species but the health of entire ecosystems and the economies that depend on them,” said Rod Mcinnis, southwest regional director for NOAA’s Fisheries Service. “We are ready to work with our federal and state partners, farmers and residents to find solutions that benefit the economy, environment and Central Valley families.”

To ensure the opinion is grounded in the best available science, two independent peer review panels were conducted by the the CalFed Independent Science Board and the Center for Independent Experts.

Central Valley steelhead heading upriver to spawn (Photo courtesy California DWR)

As part of the final opinion, NOAA’s Fisheries Service has provided a number of ways the bureau can operate the water system to benefit the species, including increasing the cold water storage and flow rates. Such methods will enhance egg incubation and juvenile fish rearing, as well as improve the spawning habitat and the downstream migration of juvenile fish.

Changing water operations will impact an estimated five to seven percent of the available annual water on average moved by the federal and state pumps, or about 330,000 acre feet per year. Agricultural water use in California is roughly 30 million acre feet per year.

Water operations will not be affected by the opinion immediately and will be tiered to water year type. The opinion includes exception procedures for drought and health and safety issues.

“Today’s Biological Opinion on salmon reaffirms the need for a comprehensive solution to the water and environmental conflicts in the Delta,” said Lester Snow, director of the California Department of Water Resources.

“The new opinion, which could reduce Delta export on average by about 300,000 to 500,000 acre feet, further chips away at our ability to provide a reliable water supply for California,” said Snow.

While the NOAA Fisheries Service opinion estimates five to seven percent of available water would be diverted to benefit fish, Snow says the DWR’s initial estimates show the average year impacts closer to 10 percent, in addition to current pumping restrictions imposed by biological opinions to protect Delta smelt and other species.

“A multi-species approach, as envisioned in the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, is the best approach to achieve habitat and species conservation and a reliable water supply,” Snow said.

The NOAA Fisheries Service opinion further reduces the amount of water available to people, businesses and farms throughout California, says the State Water Contractors, a nonprofit association of 27 public agencies from across California that purchase water under contract from the California State Water Project.

In total, State Water Contractors deliver water to more than 25 million California residents and more than 750,000 acres of agricultural lands.

“Every time we get hit with new cutbacks, it’s like closing another lane on the water supply freeway. Pretty soon, the only way we’ll be able to move water will be by helicopter,” said Laura King Moon, assistant general manager of the State Water Contractors. “These are supposed to be reasonable and prudent actions, but we’re skeptical they actually adhere to those guidelines.”

Over the past two years, public water agencies have faced unprecedented water supply cutbacks. This year, 370,000 acre-feet of water - enough to serve nearly three million people for one year - has been cut to satisfy the requirements of the Delta smelt biological opinion.

Public water agencies throughout the state have filed lawsuits challenging the Delta smelt opinion. Recently, a federal court ruled in favor of Central Valley Project water agencies, ordering the federal fisheries agencies to comply with environmental laws and take into account the harm that the water cutbacks have on people.

“These cuts are crippling on our people and businesses - especially in the Central Valley where farmers are being forced to fallow their land and workers are being laid off,” said Moon. “Rather than piecemeal restrictions, we need to balance the needs of the environment and the needs of people with a collective plan for the Delta.”

The State Water Contractors’ case will be heard in federal court later this year.

View This Story On Eco–mmunity Map.

In part two of this three-part interview, Maude Barlow expresses her opinion on many environmental issues beyond H.2O. In case you missed it, here lies part one of this interview, where water rights are discussed.

Question 5: What people alive today or in the past deserve to be called environmental heroes and why?

Maude Barlow: I think the world of many living environmental heroes. Three spring to mind: David Suzuki from Canada; Vandana Shiva from India; and Robert Kennedy from the United States.

Question 6: If you had a billion dollars to command, what environmental project would you undertake?

Maude Barlow: If I had a billion dollars, I would undertake a global watershed restoration project. Our displacement and abuse of water is a major cause of climate change as well as the denial of clean water to billions. Restoring depleted and damaged rivers and aquifers through conservation and rainwater harvesting would bring back ecological health around the world and aid in the fight to stop global warming.

Question 7: In what way do you think nuclear power should be involved, if at all, in the transition away from using fossil fuels?

Maude Barlow: Nuclear power is not the solution to transition from fossil fuel use in reducing climate change. Nuclear power would result in the continued production and transportation of dangerous radioactive nuclear waste, and is far more expensive than other, more sustainable alternatives.

Question 8: How do you think the health of the world’s environment is related to the health of the world’s economy?

Maude Barlow: The health of the world’s environment is dramatically and negatively affected by the choices we have made around the economy. Most governments still buy into the mantra of unlimited growth (which one environmentalist compared to the cancer cell that has to turn on its host in order to survive) and unregulated global free trade with the promise of more and more “stuff” for all. Not only has the promise of equitable access to the wealth generated by this system proven to be totally false, this economic system has laid siege to the remaining resources of the planet.

We hope you enjoyed the second installment of this interview. Watch for part 3 in the coming days.

Water nourishes every aspect of life on Earth. Most Americans take access to water for granted. The grim reality is that fresh water is getting harder to find.

When communities cannot get clean water, people are often forced to choose between dying of thirst or drinking disease-ridden polluted water. This heartbreaking situation is playing itself out right now all over the world. As water rights involve complex moral, international and legal issues, we sought out answers from an expert in the field of water rights.

Maude Barlow

Sundance Channel had the honor of interviewing Maude Barlow, who is the Senior Advisor on Water to the President of the UN General Assembly. Maude Barlow also chairs the boards of the Council of Canadians and Food and Water Watch.

The interview with Maude Barlow dealt with many environmental issues, but in part one, we will be focusing on her extensive knowledge of water rights.

Question 1: Fresh water has become a dangerously expensive commodity in some third world countries. How would you improve access to clean water?

Maude Barlow: Fresh water is indeed expensive or non-existent in many poor countries. Water should be declared a public trust, in other words, a public service that must be delivered on a not-for-profit basis to all people. If a government is too poor to deliver clean water, the World Bank must put its aid into ensuring the safe delivery of clean water and not into big for-profit private water companies as it is now doing.

Question 2: Does the U.N. do any work regarding international water rights, and if so, would you explain one of the projects related to water rights?

Maude Barlow: The United Nations is seriously considering the human right to water. The UN Human Rights Council has appointed an “Independent Expert” to study and advise it on next steps and many countries of the UN General Assembly are keen to move ahead with a resolution affirming the right to water.

Question 3: Are there any organizations that work on environmental issues, or water rights, that you could recommend to people interested in helping the cause?

Maude Barlow: There are many organizations and networks working on the environmental and human issues around water. They include the African Water Network; the Australian Water Network; the European Water Network; RED Vida (Latin America); Food and Water Watch (U.S.); and the Blue Planet Project (Canada).

Question 4: Has anything significant happened in the clean water access movement in recent months?

Maude Barlow: In recent months, the global water justice movement has continued to grow and thrive. Activists challenged the leaders at the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul last month (March 2009) for their close ties to the water industry and worked with 25 countries who put forward a counter-declaration to the official summit declaration as the latter had refused to declare water to be a human right.

If you are interested in finding out more about water issues, and want to see a movie that might move you to tears, make sure to watch F.L.O.W (FOR LOVE OF WATER), which premieres April 21 at 10PM on Sundance Channel.

Check back for part two of the Maude Barlow interview and find out what she would do if she had $1 billion.

The environment on Earth is comprised of a network of lifeforms, where the survival of one organism is intricately tied to the health of other organisms. When one species expands its habitat into new regions of earth, this change can displace or otherwise adversely affect the other species that existed in these regions before the new organism “moved in.” All the creatures of the Earth instinctively react to changes in the environment; human beings are one notable exception to this observation.

Individual human beings can use the evolutionary trait of intelligence to alter the normal balance of lifeforms on Earth. This does not absolve human beings from having instincts that affect the environment, but it does mean that intelligence creates a new layer of environmental impact. Collectively speaking, assemblies of humans, or governments, are currently engaged in affecting the web of lifeforms that we call the “environment.” Since politics affects the disposition of governments, and how those governments can and will affect the environment, it is important for all human beings on the planet to voluntarily influence governments to act responsibly when it comes to ensuring a future that includes a healthy environment.

It just happens that Sundance Channel has recently launched a new website all about Politics. If you are interested in seeing how environmental factors are important in politics, then check out a post [www.sundancechannel.com] from acclaimed environmental author Thomas Kostigen as he talks about the subject of water rights and privatization.

The Cover for You Are Here

In his article [www.sundancechannel.com] on the Sundance Channel Election Website, Mr. Kostigen considers how legislation and political participation can affect the most important resource for life on earth: water. We hope you enjoy Mr. Kostigen’s passion and knowledge on the subject of water. If you like what you read, you can get so much more from Thomas Kostigen’s numerous books on the environment.

P.S. - Try taking sips of water when you read Mr. Kostigen’s article; doing so might make the reading experience extremely visceral.