I read a Boston version every morning.
"Texas ready to tap sewage amid severe drought; $13m reclamation plant will provide drinking water" by Angela K. Brown, Associated Press / August 14, 2011
FORT WORTH - In parched West Texas, it is often easier to drill for oil than to find new sources of water.
So after years of diminishing water supplies made even worse by the second-most severe drought in state history, some communities are resorting to a plan that might have seemed absurd a generation ago: turning sewage into drinking water.
Bottoms up, Texans!
Construction recently began on a $13 million water reclamation plant believed to be the first of its kind in Texas. And officials have worked to dispel any fears that people will be drinking their neighbors’ urine, promising that the system will yield clean, safe water.
Would you believe any government in AmeriKa anymore?
Some residents are prepared to put aside any squeamishness if it means having an abundant water supply.
“Any water is good water, as far as I’m concerned,’’ said Gary Fuqua, city manager in Big Spring, which will join the cities of Midland, Odessa, and Stanton in using the water.
When the water finally reaches the tap, Fuqua said, its origin is “something I wouldn’t think about at all.’’
Similar plants have been operating for years in Tucson, parts of California, and in other countries. Water specialists predict other American cities will follow suit as they confront growing populations, drought, and other issues.
“It’s happening all over the world,’’ said Wade Miller, executive director of the WateReuse Association based in Alexandria, Va. “In some places . . . resources are down to very low levels, and this is one of the few resources available.’’
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John Grant, the water district’s general manager, said the new system could actually improve the taste of the region’s water by removing the minerals and salt that give it a distinctive briny flavor.
Got a long tall glass for ya.
The idea to recycle sewage isn’t new. Fort Worth and other cities across the nation have long used treated wastewater to water grass and trees and irrigate crops.
Is that why plant crops come up with e.coli?
But the new treatment plant in West Texas will be the first in the state to provide drinking water.
Yeah, drink up -- and don't worry about the cramps and diarrhea.
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station have been drinking recycled urine and sweat since 2009 - and consistently give the water good reviews.
And that is supposed to convince me?
For years, NASA had been working on equipment that would enable astronauts to recycle their wastewater for drinking, cooking, and bathing. The system was launched to the space station in late 2008; it took several months to conduct enough tests - in orbit and on the ground - to ensure the water was safe to consume.
Since the space shuttle fleet was retired last month, the space station’s recycling system is needed more than ever. Shuttles can’t deliver fresh water, and the agency says astronauts will need such recycling systems on future missions to an asteroid and Mars.
But some earth-bound people still need a little convincing.
“It just doesn’t sound very right, does it?’’ asked Liz Faught of Odessa. “I don’t want to drink it.’’
Let's see the governor down a glass.
Still, she had confidence that any public health concerns would be addressed long before the water arrives in the cities.
Then she's an idiot.
Cancer leaked into the Connecticut River here, Japan has spewed radiation all over the planet, the government has covered up the oil spill Gulf, and on and on.
But they are telling you the truth about shit water.
The slightest suggestion of urine in drinking water can make people uneasy.
In June, officials in Portland, Ore., sent 8 million gallons of treated drinking water down the drain after a man was caught on a security camera urinating into a reservoir. City leaders said they did not want to distribute water laced, however infinitesimally, with urine.
The wastewater recycling process is long and complex.
Does this water taste funny to you?
The first steps remove salt and impurities such as viruses and even traces of medicine.
Yeah, why are there PHARMACEUTICALS in our WATER?
Then the wastewater is channeled into a lake or reservoir, where it is blended with fresh water and eventually gets pumped into a water treatment facility.
Mmmmmmmmmmm!
There, it undergoes several more rounds of cleaning, disinfection, and testing before finally reaching home faucets.
So we are told.
When the project was presented several years ago, there were no major protests during public hearings, Grant said.
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Why not jut dump the water in the lake?
"Relentless drought extending toll to wildlife; Heat marks set in Texas, Okla." August 09, 2011|By Ramit Plushnick-Masti, Associated Press
CANADIAN, Texas - In a muddy pile of sand where a pond once flowed in the Texas Panhandle, dead fish, their flesh already decayed and feasted on by maggots, lie with their mouths open. Nearby, deer munch on the vegetation equivalent of junk food, and wild turkeys nibble on red harvester ants - certainly not their first choice for lunch.
As the state struggles with the worst one-year drought in its history, entire ecosystems, from the smallest insects to the largest predators, are struggling for survival.
Related: Ex-Celtics center arrested in Texas after nightclub outburst
Still wet there, huh?
The foundations of their habitats - rivers, springs, creeks, streams, and lakes - have turned into dry sand, wet mud, trickling springs, or, at best, large puddles....
Fish kills have already happened in parts of the state, including not far from the Panhandle’s Canadian River, which in some places has been reduced to barely a puddle. In West Texas, O.C. Fisher Lake has been so depleted that fish have died from a lack of oxygen, and bacteria have turned the remaining water red.
Without water, animals struggle with thirst. Few plants grow.
Without plants, there are fewer insects. No insects result in low seed production. The animals that rely on seeds and plants for nutrition have low reproduction. Predators that rely on those animals as a food source remain hungry as well, and they reproduce less....
The long-term impact from the drought will cross state lines and country borders because Texas is so large and its ecosystems diverse.
For example, birds that migrate south in the winter will find little food and water this year in Texas, so they will have to fly even farther south and expend more energy. As a result, they could reproduce less.
Some of those birds fly to Central America, where there has been a lot of rain and more insects than usual, for part of the year. But because of the drought in Texas and the Plains, there may not be enough birds to consume the insects, said Jeff Bonner, a wildlife biologist with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department....
The impact on species also could last for years after the drought officially ends. Quail normally nest in grass grown a year earlier, but because of the drought, there has been almost no grass growth this year. That means many quail won’t be able to nest next year, Bonner said.
With deer, the true impact may not be revealed for six years, when the low reproduction rates caused by the drought will leave an age gap between older bucks and younger deer.
John Baccus, a wildlife biologist at Texas State University in San Marcos, said he is most immediately concerned with bats and songbirds, both of which rely on insects for food. He believes that some females will not have any offspring this year due to a poor diet. Whatever babies are born will probably have a low survival rate because they are entering a world with a scarce food supply.
Already, Baccus said, he has noticed white-tailed deer that are skinnier than usual, their ribs jutting out. As a result, the mothers are producing less milk and the newest crop of fawns will be weaned at subpar weight....
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Also see: Texas is Hot
Let's go to church so we can cool down:
"Copper is hot; churches, too; Thieves destroying air conditioners to sell metal inside" August 12, 2011|By Dan Frosch and Manny Fernandez, New York Times
HOUSTON - This summer, copper thieves have been keeping law enforcement officials busy throughout Texas and around the country....
While thefts of copper, platinum, and other metals have long been a problem in many cities and towns, the focus on air-conditioning units during the record-breaking heat this summer has turned what can seem like a minor crime into a major disruption.
Numerous law enforcement agencies said air-conditioner-related crimes were on the rise, forcing many departments to create or bolster special units that focus full time on metal thefts....
The criminals are most often not seasoned professionals, law enforcement officials say. Many are drug addicts or homeless men desperate for a couple of hundred dollars, and they tend to work sloppily and slowly....
Then why all the extra manpower, etc? These guys should be easy to catch.
Though some of the thieves are apprehended quickly, others are never caught....
Sigh.
F*** off, you mixed message, pos media!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry, readers, it must be the heat.
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Update: Polygamist leader gets life in prison in sexual assault case
