Short Communication

Weekly posts

Comments on Financial Times report: “A Growing Thirst for Water Management” (Opinion)

Feb 25, 2011 by Steve H. Hanke
Listed In: Water Policy   

The Financial Times of 7 February 2011 contains the following interesting and noteworthy reportage by Sarah Murray. Ms. Murray reports on the newfound corporate interest in water conservation and the somewhat muted interest -- but newfound interest nevertheless -- in water management and related topics at business schools ("A Growing Thirst for Water Management.")

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Opinion

Emerging Contaminants

What will be the Next Big Environmental Crisis and Are We Seeing Glimpses of It Now?

Jan 27, 2011 by Bryce Stearns
Listed In: Water & Health   

In today’s world the environmental analytical community faces some significant challenges when it comes to its role in safe-guarding water quality. These challenges include the demand for lower levels of detection and the inclusion of non-standard classes of emerging chemical contaminates which have not been previously evaluated. These challenges push the edge of the envelope on the capabilities of current technology while at the same time asking it to cover even more chemical compounds. This new emergent class of compounds is starting to outstrip the analytical communities ability to keep pace.

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Opinion

Emerging Contaminants

Three New Shifts in Drinking Water Policy

Jan 27, 2011 by J. Alan Roberson
Listed In: Water & Health   Water Policy   

This paper summarizes the evolution of both the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and the resultant regulations. This paper provides some details on three recent policy shifts in the development of national drinking water regulations.

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Opinion

Emerging Contaminants

Fluid Rock Interactions Associated with Hydraulic Fracturing and Natural Gas Development

Jan 27, 2011 by Tracy L. Bank
Listed In: Water & Energy   Water in the Environment   

The extent of the environmental effects of hydraulic fracturing of the Marcellus Shale is not well known. What is known, however, is that drilling and “fracking” of the Marcellus shale causes fluid-rock interactions that have the potential to mobilize metals that are naturally enriched in the shale. While the concentrations of these metals are low, their mobilization into waters that may eventually enter publically owned wastewater treatment facilities, is cause for further study.

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Opinion

Emerging Contaminants

Can the bromine incorporation fraction be useful for regulating disinfection byproducts?

Jan 27, 2011 by Royce A. Francis
Listed In: Water & Health   

This opinion article discusses the challenges associated with disinfection byproduct (DBP) chemical mixture risk assessment and regulation. Although awareness of DBPs has guided drinking water disinfection for over 40 years, increasing concern about potential health impacts of non-regulated DBPs, especially bromine-containing DBPs, has emerged. Here, we discuss how a measure of bromine incorporation into a DBP mixture, the bromine incorporation fraction (BIF), might be used to refine DBP regulations.

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Opinion

Weekly posts

Privatizing Waterworks

Jan 17, 2011 by Steve H. Hanke
Listed In: Water Policy   

"From 1838 to 1841, whilst examining the sanitary conditions of town populations, I found urban districts in England where there are two or three sets of water-pipes carried through streets which might be as well or better supplied under one establishment, [resulting in] bad and deficient supplies at high charges to the public… These competitions are what I then designated as 'competitions within the field of service.' As opposed to that form of competition, I proposed, as an administrative principle, competition 'for the field.'

Edwin Chadwick, Esq., before the Statistical Society of London, 1859 [1]

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Opinion

Weekly posts

A Water-Sector Lab to Market Story — Introduction

Jan 10, 2011 by Michael Conti-Ramsden
Listed In: Water & Energy   Water Policy   

This article introduces a series of articles that will talk about the development of a new technology in the water sector and its journey from concept to commercialization. The articles will use the experiences of Arvia Technology Ltd., the Author’s Industrial Partner, as a case study.

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Opinion

Weekly posts

The Myths of the Rural Water Supply Sector

Dec 13, 2010 by Kerstin Dannert
Listed In: Water & Health   Water Infrastructure   Water Policy   

This short article raises issues for those of us who are involved in trying to improve rural water supplies, whether as donor, Government or NGO; program manager or practitioner. It takes a hard look at our limited achievements, points to areas where our approaches need to be radically improved and sets some challenges.

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Opinion

Weekly posts

An Approach to Help Bolivia Meet the UN Millennium Development Goals

Dec 6, 2010 by Andrea Aliaga
Listed In: Water Policy   

This article provides an overview of the work of GTZ in the water sector in Bolivia, with some highlights and challenges ahead.

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Notes from the field

Weekly posts

Love in a Time of Cholera

Nov 30, 2010 by Becky Straw
Listed In: Water & Health   

How do we bring sustainable drinking water to the people of Haiti? Over a billion dollars in aid has flowed in since the earthquake, but providing handouts aren’t the only options. We need to invest wisely and utilize business skills to develop social enterprises around clean and safe drinking water and sanitation.

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