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Last week's edition

About this Newsletter

June 26, 2006

Sent daily to more than 24,000 readers nationwide…
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Latest postings:

• Columbus, OH: Environmental Engineer 4
• Bloomington, MN: Utility Operator

Want more? See all postings.

—  Great Lakes

• 'Green slime' returns to Great Lakes
  (WNY Media, 6/23) "Call it the return of the green slime. Back in the 1960s, foul gobs of algae along Great Lakes shorelines made swimmers and sunbathers miserable before a crackdown on phosphorus pollution repelled the invasion."
  
  
• Lake Erie cursed? Virus latest invader to exact toll
  (Columbus Dispatch, 6/20) "Biologists say a newly discovered foreign virus is the latest threat to Lake Erie and is responsible for two large spring fish kills in the lake."
  

• Buoy to provide data to scientists, public
  (Traverse City Record Eagle, 6/19) "A crew aboard the Great Lakes Maritime Academy's training ship will anchor the buoy near Power Island to monitor environmental information and tie in with other buoys around the Great Lakes."
  

—  Water Supply

• $137.2 million OK'd for Mexico border projects
  (San Antonio Business Journal, 6/22) "The money will be used for water and wastewater treatment, air quality improvement and solid waste management projects in the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Sonora and Baja California."
  
  
• Melbourne water stores drop
  (The Australian, 6/22) "Melbourne's reservoirs are at 48.3 percent of capacity, 4 percent less than at the same time last year, Melbourne Water says."
  
  
• Pakistan, India begin water dispute talks
  (Times of India, 6/22) "Pakistani and Indian officials began two-day talks on Thursday to resolve water disputes over a barrage that India is constructing on river Jhelum in the Kashmir region."
  
  
• U.S. aids Sri Lanka water supply
  (Times of India, 6/22) "The US conferred a $561,000 grant to Sri Lanka on Thursday to increase the supply of safe drinking water and adequate sanitation facilities in tsunami hit areas."
  
  
• South Africa has drinking water problems
  (News 24 South Africa, 6/20) "Many of South Africa's municipalities do not have budgets big enough to properly manage the quality of drinking water they supply, MPs heard on Tuesday."
  
  
• Georgia to sue feds in water dispute
  (Associated Press, 6/20) "With most of Georgia now in a drought, Gov. Sonny Perdue said Tuesday the state will sue the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for draining excessive amounts of water from the state's reservoirs."
  
  
• Water-saving houses are … wasting water?
  (Press Democrat, 6/20) "New homes that have boasted the latest in energy-and water-saving devices are actually driving up water use."
  
  
• EPA launches water-efficiency partnership
  (WaterWeek, 6/19) "Efforts to advocate benefits of conserving water got a big boost with USEPA's June 12 launch of WaterSense, a voluntary public-private partnership to promote water-saving products, services and practices."
  
  
• Experts: Ethanol's water demands a concern
  (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 6/18) "City officials in Champaign and Urbana took notice when they heard that an ethanol plant proposed nearby would use about 2 million gallons of water per day, most likely from the aquifer that also supplies both cities."
  
  
• Ethanol's demands need scrutiny, not alarm
  (ENN, 6/19) "City officials in Champaign and Urbana took notice when they heard that an ethanol plant proposed nearby would use about 2 million gallons of water per day, most likely from the aquifer that also supplies both cities."
  
  
• Study: Water treatment in China will boom
  (Freedonia, 6/16) "In response to continued economic expansion, the demand for water treatment products in China is expected to increase by 14.1 percent per year until 2010, making water treatment a 34 billion Yuan (US$4.3 billion) industry."
  
  
• Open water market would help Australia
  (The Australian, 6/15) "Establishing an open market for water would be more effective in saving the Murray-Darling basin than the federal Government's $700 million blueprint to preserve supplies."
  

—  Water Quality

• WHO: Water issues loom large in deadly diseases
  (WHO, 6/23) NEWS RELEASE: "Nearly 24 percent of all diseases are caused by preventable environmental exposures, including inadequate water storage."
  
  
• Nanoparticles remove arsenic from drinking water
  (ES&T, 6/21) "Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL) have developed a new material that uses nanosized particles to remove arsenic from drinking water and that promises to be easy to use and to cost less than the current alternatives."
  
  
• Study: Arsenic in water harmful at 50 ppb
  (Columbia University, 6/19) "A recent study has revealed that the risk for skin lesions is increased with low-dose exposure to arsenic in drinking water."
  
  
• Major lead problem diagnosed in North Carolina
  (News Raleigh, 6/19) "In the wake of a recent child lead-poisoning case, testing by local health officials has revealed that lead contamination is affecting about 30 to 40 percent of the apartments in Durham's Penrith townhouse complex."
  
  
• Steelworkers, enviros urge probe of teflon chemical in water
  (ENS, 6/16) "Samples of tap water from two homes, the public library, and a local business in Parlin, New Jersey were found to contain trace levels of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a chemical used to make Teflon and other products. PFOS, a related perfluorochemical, was found in tap water and stream samples."
  
  
• Soy sauce is clue to water purification
  (Albuquerque Tribune, 6/14) "In the course of Sandia National Laboratories scientist Chris Cornelius' research into water purification, encountering the saltiness of soy sauce came somewhat as a surprise."
  

—  Water Security

• Missouri treatment plant has security problems
  (Marshall Democrat News, 6/16) "Regarding the first concern, failure to meet security standards, the inspector noted such things as the height of the fence surrounding the plant and the fact that the 10 one-ton chlorine storage tanks can be seen from the road."
  

—  Clean Water Act

• Puerto Rico pays largest CWA fine in history
  (EPA, 6/23) NEWS RELEASE: "The Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA) has been hit with a $9 million fine, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) — the largest fine ever paid by a utility for violating the Clean Water Act."
  
  
• A close call for the Clean Water Act
  (San Jose Mercury, 6/22) EDITORIAL: "The most alarming aspect of Monday's U.S. Supreme Court decision on the Clean Water Act is that four justices were ready to put one of the nation's most successful environmental laws through the paper shredder."
  
  
• Justices' rulings on wetlands called 'murky,' 'confusing'
  (Los Angeles Times, 6/21) "The Supreme Court is, after all, a committee of nine lawyers. And like other committees, the court sometimes does not come up with clear answers to the legal questions it is supposed to decide. Instead, it makes more work for lawyers."
  
  
• Supreme Court just passing the buck on Clean Water Act
  (Oakland Press, 6/21) EDITORIAL: "To the U.S. Supreme Court: Thanks, but no thanks. While it is appropriate that Michigan - the nation's premier water wonderland - be the source of a landmark water rights case, it's unfortunate that the outcome effectively was a tie."
  
  
• Excerpts From Supreme Court opinions
  (Associated Press, 6/19) "Excerpts from the Supreme Court's 4-1-4 ruling that the government can block development on millions of acres of wetlands if it proves development would "significantly affect the chemical, physical, and biological integrity" of nearby navigable waters."
  

  For more background on the case,
  see the BC WATER NEWS EXCLUSIVE: "A Watershed Moment."
  

—  Water Resources

• River conference draws worldwide crowd
  (La Crosse Tribune, 6/23) "At least 400 people from around the world are set to attend the International Conference on Rivers and Civilization. It is the third in a series of world meetings on rivers, following a 2002 one at Dubna University, along the Volga in Russia; and a second in 2003 at Assiut University, along the Nile in Egypt."
  
  
• Zebra mussels threaten Lake of the Ozarks
  (Associated Press, 6/22) "State conservation officials are enlisting the help of boaters and anglers in a bid to stop the recent spread of destructive zebra mussels in the Lake of the Ozarks."
  
  
• Bush administration grants $10 million to beaches
  (Auto Channel, 6/19) "As part of EPA's plan to help deliver clean beaches to Americans nationwide, Administrator Stephen L. Johnson today presented Gov. Robert Ehrlich with a $270,000 grant to improve Maryland beaches. Ten million dollars will be awarded by the Bush Administration this year to 30 states and five territories for water quality monitoring."
  
  
• Taking green to new heights
  (Seattle Times, 6/17) "Green roofs, eco-roofs or vegetated roofs, as they're called, are increasingly touted as a way to beautify concrete-bound urban areas, regulate global warming and spare rivers from stormwater contamination."
  
  
• 60 tons of coal tar spill into China river
  (Associated Press, 6/15) "Cleanup crews in northern China were scrambling Thursday to absorb 60 tons of toxic coal tar accidentally dumped into a river before it reaches a reservoir serving 10 million people, state media said."
  

—  Ocean

• Sea life counts dive for second year
  (San Francisco Chronicle, 6/23) "This is the time of the year when the ocean off the California coast should be at its most lush, teeming with vast schools of krill to feed whales and salmon as well as plenty of baby rockfish for seabirds, seals and fishermen's nets."
  
  
• Bush to designate marine sanctuary
  (Washington Post, 6/15) "President Bush plans today to designate a marine sanctuary spanning nearly 1,400 miles of the Pacific Ocean northwest of Hawaii to Midway Atoll, creating the largest protected marine reserve in the world, according to sources familiar with the plan."
  

—  Solid/Toxic Waste

• Rule proposed on effluent from animal feedlots
  (EPA, 6/22) NEWS RELEASE: "Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), such as large pig, veal and poultry, beef and dairy farms, would continue to be required to properly manage the manure they generate under a rule proposed today by the Environmental Protection Agency."
  
  
• Progress made against toxic spill in China
  (MSNBC, 6/16) "A mass of toxic sludge moving down a river in north China appeared to have slowed Friday after fire trucks pumped out the pollution and workers raced to build dozens of makeshift dams."
  

—  Air Pollutants

• Study links air pollutants with autism
  (LA Times, 6/23) "Children with autism disorders in the San Francisco Bay Area were 50% more likely to be born in neighborhoods with high amounts of several toxic air contaminants, particularly mercury, according to a first-of-its-kind study by the California Department of Health Services."
  

—  Climate Change

• Global warming stoked '05 hurricanes, study says
  (USA Today, 6/23) "Global warming helped fuel 2005's destructive hurricane season, researchers said Thursday. Their study adds to a roiling scientific debate over the role of climate change in spurring more intense hurricanes."
  
  
• Earth warmest in at least 400 years, panel finds
  (MSNBC, 6/23) "Weighing in on the highest profile debate about global warming, the nation's premier science policy body on Thursday voiced a "high level of confidence" that Earth is the hottest it has been in at least 400 years, and possibly even the last 2,000 years."
  
  
• Gore slams global warming critics
  (NewsMax, 6/20) "In twin appearances last night former Vice President Al Gore dismissed critics of his global warming theory as a small minority not credible in their opposition."
  
  
• Global warming goes to Wall Street
  (Forbes, 6/20) "Although the U.S. did not ratify the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which addresses the problem of global warming, Peter Suozzo, director of sustainable investment research for North America at Citigroup, believes that the nation has begun a significant shift in its climate policies."
  
  
• Climate change is bad news for utilities
  (AWWA, 6/15) "A warmer climate will diminish water supplies through decreased snowpack, ultimately affecting water quality, a panel of water resource experts said last week at the American Water Works Association (AWWA) Annual Conference and Exposition 2006 (ACE06)."
  

—  Everything Else

• 'State of the planet 2006-2007' to explore global challenges
  (EurekAlert, 6/19) "The challenges are many and deeply interrelated, and with increasing worldwide frequency they are at the top of the news: diminishing biodiversity, declining fisheries, threats to the quality of our air and water, climate change and sustainability."
  
  
• "Management of Surface Water Taste-and-Odor Events"
  (AWWA, 6/21) NEWS RELEASE: "The core of this report is a set of guidelines, with case studies from several utilities, for evaluating and managing T&O events, prior to customer complaints. The difficulty lies in the extreme sensitivity that many individuals have for the most difficult to manage earthy/musty taste and odor compounds, geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol (MIB)."

Illinois

—  Water Supply

• Farmington water towers to be drained
  (Peoria Journal Star, 6/23) "A company has been hired to drain, clean and inspect Farmington's two water towers to look for the cause of total coliform bacteria in recent water tests, City Administrator Roger Woodcock said Thursday."
  

• Feds to assess Godley water
  (Morris Daily Herald, 6/22) "U.S. Senator Dick Durbin’s recent request for an independent study of the Godley water system was answered Wednesday by a federal health agency."
  

• Pekin subdivision's water woes dry up
  (Peoria Journal Star, 6/21) "Meadow Lawn residents Todd and Renae Hall are looking forward to later this summer when they'll be free of fear — free of worries that there will be no water in the morning when they go to take a shower and free of concern the contaminated well water they use will harm their bodies."
  
  
• Farmington working to fix contamination problem
  (WHOI Creve Coeur, 6/20) "Farmington city leaders hope they are on the verge of declaring the water safe to drink. For 16 out of the last 26 days, the city has had a boil order in effect for around 1,100 customers."
  
  
• More water samples taken in Farmington
  (Canton Daily Ledger, 6/20) "Relief from the latest boil order issued last week for Farmington water users may be announced later this week."
  
  
• Riverside wins grant for water tower
  (Riverside Landmark, 6/20) "Riverside’s historic water works complex in Centennial Park will undergo a sweeping transformation in 2007, thanks in large part to a $336,000 grant from the Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program."
  
  
• Hillcrest subdivision taps into Wauconda supply
  (Chicago Daily Herald, 6/19) "Tap water in the Hillcrest subdivision near Wauconda is providing more these days than refreshment."
  
  
• Many hydrants in Staunton can't be used
  (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 6/19) "Firefighters can't use about 100 of this city's 250 fire hydrants, including the ones that are closest to the firehouse and City Hall. Staunton officials say they're working to correct the source of the problem, an aged water system that has not been updated through the years."
  
  
• State examines Mahomet Aquifer to evaluate future supply
  (Springfield Journal Register, 6/18) "From 100 feet below the sandy soil on his 800-acre farm near here, Wayne Deppert draws out what is a plentiful resource in these parts. Water. Some of the cleanest water not only in the state, but in the nation."
  
  
• State to begin study of Kendall groundwater
  (Aurora Beacon News, 6/18) "The Illinois State Water Survey will begin measuring groundwater levels in about 200 wells in Kendall County and portions of adjacent counties on Monday."
  

—  Toxic Waste

• Thousands comment on new mercury rules
  (Springfield Journal-Register, 6/20) "A proposal that would require Illinois utilities to significantly reduce mercury emissions from coal-fired plants in the next three years has drawn more than 7,000 submissions just a few weeks into the public-comment period."
  
  
• Galesburg: Former Paintcraft site will be cleaned up
  (Galesburg Register Mail, 6/20) "The Galesburg City Council approved a bid Monday that will clean up one of the most polluted sites in the city."
  

—  Everything Else

• Law firm says judge OKs Exelon class action
  (Reuters, 6/19) "The law firm of Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll said on Monday an Illinois federal judge has denied Exelon Corp.'s (EXC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) motion to dismiss a class-action lawsuit brought as a result of spills of tritium-laced water in Will County, Illinois."
  
  
• Barbara Waddell of Sullivan finds happiness in water
  (Decatur Herald & Review, 6/18) "Waddell, 48, of rural Sullivan is one of very few female water plant operators in the state and has worked for the Sullivan Water Treatment Plant since she was 21."

Indiana

—  Water Supply

• Dairy cows' waste will pollute aquifer
  (Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, 6/23) OPINION: "According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, one dairy cow produces the same amount of waste as 20 humans. This operation with 3,250 cows will create the waste of a city of 64,000 people. This farm would be over an aquifer that, according to the 'Hydrogeologic Ground Water Settings' map at the LaGrange Courthouse annex building, is an area of 'greatest danger' for groundwater pollution."
  
  
• Ellis Water Co. conducting survey with customers
  (Greene County Daily World, 6/22) "The Greene County Board of Commissioners, on behalf of Ellis Water Co., intends to apply to the Office of Community and Rural Affairs for a Community Block Development Grant to help fund water storage and system improvements for Ellis Water Co."
  
  
• South Bend water service to be shut off
  (South Bend Tribune, 6/21) "Residential water service will be shut off for 12 hours on Rockne Drive from MacArthur Avenue to Edison Road starting at 5 p.m. today. Full water service is expected to be restored by 5 a.m. Thursday."
  
  
• Indianapolis to monitor water use
  (WTHR Indianapolis, 6/17) "It's no heat wave yet, but with temperatures approaching 90 degrees over the next several days, expect city water officials to gauge just how much you are using."

—  Water Resources

• Tippecanoe River E. coli test results 'acceptable'
  (Monticello Herald Journal, 6/21) "This year’s first E. coli tests on Tippecanoe River water in White County came back with acceptable readings in all 25 locations tested, according to the results of the test released this week by the Indiana State Department of Health."
  
  
• Brush Creek dam repairs under way
  (Seymour Daily Tribune, 6/20) "Construction work has started at the Brush Creek Reservoir dam in Jennings County. When completed, the project will address known dam safety deficiencies with the structure, according to an Indiana Department of Natural Resources news release."
  

—  Wastewater

• IDEM investigates manure spill
  (Lafayette Journal & Courier, 6/21) "A blown circuit breaker in a dairy barn has been blamed for a manure spill that left dead fish along an 8.5-mile stretch of Mud Pine Creek and Big Pine Creek early this week."
  
  
• Twin Lakes sewer district fills Carroll County opening
  (Monticello Herald Journal, 6/21) "The citizens of Carroll County once again have a voice on the Twin Lakes Regional Sewer District, which plans to cross the White County line to extend its service area southward along Lake Freeman."
  
  
• Sewage project largest in Fort Wayne history
  (Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, 6/18) "The $90 million, 20-year project to prevent raw sewage from being dumped into Fort Wayne’s rivers is the largest public works project in the history of the city."
  
  
• Electrical conductivity helps locate septic system failure
  (AScribe, 6/17) "An instrument that can measure how well soil conducts electricity also can spot the source of septic system failures without destroying a whole yard with a backhoe."
  
  
• Aurora council approves 54% sewer rate hike
  (Aurora Journal Press, 6/17) "Aurora city council approved a 54 percent sewer rate increase following a public hearing Monday, May 31, which only a dozen folks attended, including city officials."
  

—  Everything Else

• Ethanol plant powered by dairy waste planned for Fair Oaks
  (CSRWire, 6/20) "Bion Environmental Technologies and Fair Oaks Dairy Farms, the largest dairy east of the Mississippi River and an industry leader in efforts to find a solution to dairy environmental issues, today announced a joint venture that will enable environmentally sustainable expansion of animal agriculture in concert with ethanol production."

Michigan

—  Water Supply

• Water quality class on tap
  (St. Ignace News, 6/22) "A Master Gardener Water Quality Class is planned for Wednesday, June 28, at 6:30 p.m. at Kinross Township Hall, sponsored by the Michigan Groundwater Stewardship Program."
  

—  Water Resources

• Supreme Court muddies the waters
  (Kalamazoo Gazette, 6/21) "We were under the impression that one job of the U.S. Supreme Court is to clarify the law and ensure that it is applied evenly. Apparently we were misinformed. That's certainly the impression we came away with after Monday's 4-1-4 ruling on two Michigan cases involving wetlands."
  
  
• Geese, ducks a triple threat to Lake Cadillac water quality
  (Cadillac News, 6/21) "The goose hissed and hastily retreated to the safe waters of Lake Cadillac. With its young to think about, the waterfowl wanted no part of a person walking down the street. That is, unless that person has a bucket of feed."
  
  
• Chesterfield new pumps to stave off flooding
  (Detroit Free Press, 6/21) "The Macomb County Public Works Office has started construction on a project to replace storm water pumps that will provide better flood protection for homes and businesses in the area."
  
  
• EPA project working in Gladstone
  (Escanaba Daily Press, 6/19) "An Environmental Protection Agency project to keep creosote out of Little Bay de Noc is working."

—  Wastewater

• Muskegon County moving on next phase of sewer work
  (Muskegon Chronicle, 6/21) "Muskegon County commissioners took a big step Tuesday toward replacing the huge Pump Station C on Muskegon's Ottawa Street, the biggest lift station in the county's sewage collection system."
  
  
• Chelsea wastewater resolutions adopted
  (Ann Arbor News, 6/21) "About 50 people packed the temporary Chelsea City Council chambers at the Washington Street Education Center on Tuesday night for a series of public hearings, the first of which involved a proposed $15.4 million improvement project for the city's wastewater treatment plant."
  
  
• American Legion to be hooked up to extended sewer system
  (Edwardsburg Argus, 6/20) "Edwardsburg village's sanitary waste water system was approved to extend east of the village on U.S. 12 Monday night by the Ontwa Township Board. This will include two parcels east of the American Legion. The motion by the board to extend the line was a 5-2 vote."
  

—  Landfill/Toxic Waste

• Moolenaar's dioxin bill passed by committee
  (Midland Daily News, 6/21) "The most recent round of dioxin-related legislation proposed by Midland State Rep. John Moolenaar has the support of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality — something that previous attempts did not."
  

—  Everything Else

• Suspected piranha caught near Dollar Bay
  (Mining Gazette, 6/20) "For the past five years, Jim Tourtillott has owned and operated the Drive Thru Bait shop in Dollar Bay. During that time, anglers have often brought him odd and unusual aquatic species for inspection and identification."

Minnesota

—  Water Resources

• Mower County takes Austin officials on flood tour
  (Austin Daily Herald, 6/23) "A Wednesday afternoon bus tour of Lansing reminded Austin city officials that flood problems and solutions go beyond the city limits."
  
  
• Saving Lake Ossawinnamakee
  (Pine and Lakes News, 6/22) "The Eurasian watermilfoil invasion of Lake Ossawinnamakee has been controlled to the point where there are now just individual plants found in the lake."
  
  
• Balance matters, but zoning is what protects Mississippi
  (Minnesota Environmental Partnership, 6/20) "One thing just about everyone can agree upon is that the Mississippi River in St. Paul is a natural and cultural treasure. Mark Twain's river begins right in downtown Saint Paul, where the river opens up into an ancient glacial valley and the magnificent landscape looms wide from across the West-Side flats. St. Paul is where the Mississippi River grows up."
  
  
• Lakes can, should be protected
  (Fergus Falls Daily Journal, 6/20) "So, you're hearing more and more about shoreline practices and water quality these days. What's all the fuss, you ask?"
  
  
• Maple Lake residents wrestle with overgrown water plants
  (Paw Paw Courier-Leader, 6/19) "It's a problem that has many residents of Maple Lake contemplating what to do next. An invasive plant, the Eurasian watermilfoil (EWM) has become a menace to the nearly century-old man-made lake, located on approximately 160 to 170 acres northwest of downtown Paw Paw."
  
  
• Experimental treatment kills bacteria at Bush Lake Beach
  (Minnesota Environmental Partnership, 6/17) "An experimental treatment used to kill bacteria on the beach at Bush Lake Beach will continue this summer, according to Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department officials."
  
  
• Tougher lakeshore regulations are optional
  (MPR, 6/17) "The alternative standards are aimed at protecting the small, shallow Minnesota lakes and environmentally sensitive areas of large lakes that are still mostly undeveloped."
  
  
• MPCA issues Duluth water advisory
  (Duluth News Tribune, 6/17) "The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is recommending that people avoid contact with the water on the harbor side Park Point at 14th Street."
  

—  Wastewater

• Crosslake examines sewer mishap
  (Brainard Dispatch, 6/20) "The city of Crosslake is looking into repairs for a East Shore Boulevard resident that could affect the main sewer line."
  

—  Everything Else

• Houston County Airport improvements coming
  (Caledonian Argus, 6/20) "The AIP this year also includes installation of an aircraft fueling system; public restroom and well construction; and an airport storm water pollution prevention plan."
  
  
• Hopes for dedicated funding for environment are not extinct
  (Minnesota Environmental Partnership, 6/19) "When politics and conservation have a head-on collision, conservation usually will lose, especially in an election year. It doesn't always have to happen that way, and someday, a proposal to dedicate a portion of the state's sales tax probably will pass the Legislature on the worthy merits of improving our state's natural resources."
  
  
• Moss clears up hot tub problems
  (Timberjay News, 6/19) "Like many, David Knighton had marveled at the pristine lakes of northern Minnesota. Knighton, a physician and successful entrepreneur, wanted to find out what made the water so clear."

Ohio

—  Water Resources

• Agency aids Port Clinton in protecting shore parcel
  (Toledo Blade, 6/21) "A national nonprofit agency that helps communities find money to develop parks and green space is working with Port Clinton to buy nearly four acres along the Lake Erie shore."
  
  
• Report in from EPA on quality of Sugar Creek water
  (New Philadelphia Times Reporter, 6/20) "Several area farmers, including Canal Fulton’s Bob Slicker and Strasburg’s Jim Rowe, wanted to get this message out in light of a new state report on the Sugar Creek Watershed."
  
  
• Lawrence County River Sweep nets 2,360 pounds of trash
  (Ironton Tribune, 6/20) "The collection was an odd assortment: a mattress, a microwave, an old chair. 'Someone’s been living down there,' Stephanie Helms said as she looked over the list of discarded items collected Saturday from the Indian Guyan Boat Ramp."
  
  
• Corps plans to rehab locks
  (Cincinnati Post, 6/19) "The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has scheduled a public hearing June 29 in Covington on the corps' proposed plan to improve Ohio River navigation by replacing and rehabilitating aging locks."
  

—  Wastewater

• New sewer line to help Perry residents
  (Canton Repository, 6/21) "A waste water holding tank still is being planned for a Perry Township neighborhood."
  
  
• Seneca County sewer rates to rise
  (Tiffin Advertiser Tribune, 6/21) "Residents in Fostoria's Hammer-Heinsman Subdivision of , Honey Creek Subdivision, the county complex and U.S. routes 23 and 224 sewer systems can expect an increase in sewer rates, according to Seneca County Sewer District Director Paul Harrison."
  
  
• New Alexandria sewage plant ahead of schedule
  (Cincinnati Post, 6/20) "Construction of a sewage treatment plant in Alexandria, Ky. is ahead of schedule, and the facility could open at the end of summer 2007, two to three months earlier than expected."
  
  
• Medina Business must wait longer for sewer decision
  (Akron Beacon Journal, 6/15) "The toilets won't be flushing at a Medina business anytime soon. Liquid Resources of Ohio, a company on West Smith Road that transforms unsold beer and soda into ethanol fuel, was in court today -- hoping a judge would order that its connection to the county sewer system be re-established. But company officials left the Medina County Courthouse disappointed."
  
  
• Ohio's only ethanol plant cut off from sewer system
  (News Net 5 Cleveland, 6/10) "Sewer officials disconnected the sanitary sewer line to Ohio's only ethanol plant, saying the facility is discharging an illegal byproduct into the system."
  

—  Toxic Gas

• Troy: Cancer-causing gases found
  (Dayton Daily News, 6/18) "Testing of buildings at the edge of a 20-block area east of downtown Troy has found concentrations of carcinogenic gases 'at levels of concern.'"

Wisconsin

—  Water Supply

• Group suing Halquist seeks Sussex water
  (Sussex Sun, 6/21) "A group of Lisbon residents who sued Halquist Stone Co. almost exactly two years ago for the damage they claim the company's quarry blasts did to their wells now want to add the Village of Sussex and the Town of Lisbon to their lawsuit."
  
  
• Cities say they won't meet water deadline
  (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, 6/19) "Waukesha and New Berlin disclosed Monday that they would not meet the federal deadline to rid their drinking water of potentially dangerous levels of radium, prompting a state official to say he believes that other Wisconsin communities also will fail the same clean water mandate."
  
  
• Reform Madison's water utility
  (Wisconsin State Journal, 6/17) OPINION: "Madison families should be confident that their tap water is of good quality, and they should be confident that the city's water utility will keep it that way."
  
  
• Earl opposes selling Lake Michigan water to Waukesha County
  (Janesville Gazette, 6/17) "Former Wisconsin governor Anthony Earl says it would be absolutely wrong to for Milwaukee to sell Lake Michigan water to Waukesha County."
  

—  Water Resources

• Ethanol plant fined for Clean Water Act violations
  (Waste News, 6/22) "Ace Ethanol LLC and John S. Olynick Inc. will pay $61,000 for alleged federal Clean Water Act violations at the company´s Stanley, Wis., plant."
  
  
• Dredging begins at Sheboygan River site
  (Yahoo News, 6/21) "U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 said today that a new phase of cleanup at the upper river portion of the Sheboygan River and Harbor Superfund site begins this week."
  
  
• Spooner area conference will explore lake issues
  (Spooner Advocate, 6/21) "Waterfront property owners, local decision-makers, and lake enthusiasts will gather Friday, June 30, at Telemark Resort and Convention Center in Cable to learn about lake issues and to share ideas and tools for assuring their continued protection."
  
  
• Grand Chute tackles pond safety
  (Appleton Post Crescent, 6/20) "Julie Hidde's 4-year-old granddaughter, Olivia, drowned last August in a stormwater pond near her home in Blaine, Minn. Now the Grand Chute woman is trying to prevent the same thing from happening to children in the town."
  
  
• Danger on our beaches problem we can address
  (Manitowoc Herald, 6/18) EDITORIAL: "Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water... That catch line from the box office hit movie sequel "Jaws 2," could apply to some of our Lake Michigan beaches this summer thanks to high bacteria levels."
  

—  Solid Waste

• Incinerator operators ask board for waste control ordinance
  (Chetek Alert, 6/21) "The operators of the county's waste-to-energy plant revealed their plans to push for a new county ordinance to control the flow of waste generated within the county during the Barron County Board of Supervisors meeting held Monday, June 19."
  

—  Everything Else

• Spooner: Wal-Mart paid for infrastructure tabs
  (Spooner Advocate, 6/21) "One concern thrown at Wal-Mart’s possible Supercenter project at the northwest corner of Cty. Hwy. H and Hwy. 53 in Spooner is that taxpayers might eventually end up subsidizing or footing the bill for infrastructure work such as highway, water and sewer improvements."
  
  
• Carbon dioxide levels up dramatically
  (Madison Capital Times, 6/21) "Emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, thought by most scientists to be a cause of global warming because it tends to trap the sun's heat near the Earth, rose 78 percent in Wisconsin from 1960 to 2001, according to a new analysis of government data by the Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group."