Water

Concern over canal mud as dredge plan nears

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(IN) The Post-Tribune – Mud in the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal is so contaminated with a cancer-causing industrial pollutant that it could rank among the most contaminated sites in the nation, researchers say. The Army Corps of Engineers plans to dredge the canal starting in late 2011 to facilitate ship traffic. But researchers aren’t sure whether dredging will be good because it will remove the potentially harmful pollutants, or bad because it will stir them up. The Army Corps says there is little health risk. More

Water

Tips for Healthy Swimming

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The CDC recommends the following practices to protect swimmers from water-related illnesses:

Don’t swim when you have diarrhea. Shower with soap before swimming and wash your hands after using the toilet or changing diapers. Don’t swallow pool water and avoid getting water in your mouth. If the pool has a strong chlorine smell, it is usually an indication that the water is unhealthy. The smell comes when the chlorine is combined with bodily fluids such as saliva, urine, feces, sweat or body oils.

Water

Common Recreational Water Illnesses

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Cryptosporidium (Crypto)

Crypto is a diarrheal disease caused by a parasite. Infection occurs from ingesting or swimming in contaminated water. Common symptoms include diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, fever and stomach cramps.  The parasite is protected by an outer shell that allows it to survive for long periods and makes it very resistant to chlorine. Shigella
Shigella is a group of bacteria that cause fever, diarrhea and stomach cramps usually a day or two after exposure. The diarrhea is usually bloody but goes away in five to seven days.  Infection occurs from contact with infected water or stool.

Echo

Bryan takes lead in drive to protect its precious water

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(OH) Toledo Blade – While the water-blessed Great Lakes region hasn’t encountered Western-style conflicts over water yet, legal scholars expect that to change with the Earth’s population rising and its climate warming.  Increased demands for food, energy, and manufactured goods this century are expected to drive up the value of water everywhere – not just that found at the surface of major lakes, rivers, and streams. More

Echo

State’s roads aim for low-salt diet

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(MN) Minneapolis Star Tribune – Can a lake-loving state with snow-cursed highways go on a low-salt diet? Joe Wiita in Prior Lake thinks so, and he’d like your city to mix up a batch of his anti-icing cocktail and try it on a street near you. Amid rising concern over the effects that road salt has on Minnesota’s lakes, streams and groundwater, Wiita and other public works officials around the state are whipping up new brews to spread on pavement, moistening rock salt so it sticks better, and working to establish a less-is-more culture while striving to keep motorists safe and happy. More

Echo

Global ‘clean water’ founder to speak

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(MI) Holland Sentinel – It’s been almost five years since Robert McDonald, a retired engineer, set out to develop a cheap, effective water filtration and disinfection system. The technology had to be simple, require no power, have no moving parts and be made with available local materials by local people all over the world. McDonald, president and co-director of Aqua Clara International, a Holland nonprofit organization, will speak at the first event in the Michigan State University Bioeconomy Institute’s 2010 speaker series, Experts Exchange: Opportunities in Bio-Innovation, 4 p.m. Wednesday at the MSU Bioeconomy Institute, 242 Howard Ave. More

Echo

Home confinement is ordered in fish guts case

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(MI) The Associated Press – Two Upper Peninsula brothers accused of dumping fish remains for years into a Lake Michigan bay have been sentenced to six months of home confinement. Carl and Donald Frazier process whitefish in Naubinway in Mackinac County. The government says they dumped barrels of fish guts into the water and shoreline of Epoufette Bay. More

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Technique may solve cherry processing waste

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(MI) Traverse City Record-Eagle – An area fruit processor may solve a growing, expensive problem: how the industry treats its water waste. Grawn-based Cherry Growers Inc. will spend at least $100,000 to pilot the use of air-sparging, a proven treatment for petroleum cleanups, to reverse problems created by the high sugar content in its waste stream. More

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Environmentalists challenge Indiana water pollution regulations

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(IN) Indianapolis Star Tribune – Environmental activists who are upset about Indiana’s water pollution rules say they’ll ask the federal government to take action against the state. The Hoosier Environmental Council, the Sierra Club and the Environmental Law and Policy Center have scheduled a teleconference today to discuss their plans to ask the federal government to act against Indiana’s authority over its water control program. More

Echo

Blueprint for maintaining a healthy Huron River accepted

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(MI) AnnArbor.com – The Ann Arbor City Council unanimously agreed tonight to accept the Huron River and Impoundment Management Plan, a new blueprint for taking care of the Huron River – the primary source of drinking water for city residents. By its action, the City Council formally accepted 30 consensus recommendations from the HRIMP report that were endorsed by both the Environmental Commission and Parks Advisory Commission. More