Filter Devised at Pitt Could Help with Gulf Oil

A filter with a polymer coating that allows water to flow through while capturing oil is being touted as a tool that could be used in the Gulf. Di Gao created the filter and is a professor with the University of Pittsburgh's Department of Engineering. He says it only costs about 10¢ a square foot to produce and is hydrophilic, meaning it bonds with hydrogen molecules in water and oleophobic, meaning it repels oil. Gao says he envisions long trough-like filters that are attached to boats and would skim the oil off the water's surface, collecting oil while allowing the water to move through. He says they've successfully tested the reusable filter and it's an environmentally friendly alternative to the chemical dispersants as well as other mop up materials that have to be disposed of. Gao is trying to get in contact with officials who make the clean-up decisions regarding the filter.

A video demonstration of the filter is linked below.

Water and Energy Nexus Discussed

A group of water and energy development experts gathered for a panel discussion at the U.N sponsored World Environment Day conference in Pittsburgh last week where calls were made for an energy policy that not only takes into consideration energy needs and climate change but also the role that water plays in the production of energy. Kathleen Miller of the National Center for Atmospheric Research says energy and water are closely tied. She says it takes water to make energy and it takes energy to clean water. Energy production is the largest user of water worldwide but falls substantially when it comes to water consumption. Duke Energy Vice President for Sustainability Roberta Bowman says her company returns to the environment 98% of the water it uses in the production of energy. Duke’s numbers are higher than many electricity-generating companies due to its intense use of hydropower to spin turbines. Bowman says the availability of water can make or break energy production of all kinds. She says plants are having to shut down in the summer due to a lack of water for cooling and as companies design plants they are having to take into consideration drought scenarios never before imagined.
Westinghouse Chief Technology officer Kathryn Jackson says it took decades to link energy policy and climate policy, now water police needs to be added to the mix. She says companies are dealing with water issues every day as they plan new power plants. She says those companies need to know what regulations will be in place and what policies they will be living with in the future because an investment in a new power plant takes years to recover and the facility may have a lifespan measured in decades. She says if there is no comprehensive energy-water policy regulators will be trying to play catch-up on the back end.
Bowman says water and clean air needs at times but heads. She notes that it usually takes more water to run a power plant with fewer emissions tan one with a more dirty smokestack. However, she says she is optimistic. Bowman says universities and research and development department are full of scientists trying to figure out new ways to produce clean electricity using less and less water.

Water and Health Subject of Panel

A panel of experts in the field of water quality and supply and its impact on health gathered as part of the world Environment Day conference in Pittsburgh Thursday and they shed some light on a few lesser known aspects of the broad topic. Virginia Tech researcher Marc Edwards warned that some of the newest water conservation techniques are having unintended negative consequences. He studied several new buildings that employed methods such as rainwater capture and water recycling and found that the measures were so successful that the flow of water from the municipal water system was slowed to a trickle. That resulted in water sitting in the building’s plumbing for as much as three weeks before it made it to a drinking fountain. “Like milk, water has a limited shelf life,” says Edwards. He says while the water sat in those pipes it picked up dangerous levels of lead, bacteria grew and the water had “serious taste and odor problems.” Edwards says this type of issue will need to be addressed as water conservation efforts expand.
Herbert Buxton of the U.S Geological Survey says the way we monitor chemicals in water is not holistic enough. He says it is not enough to set acceptable levels for individual chemicals and then monitor them in water systems. He says we need to start looking at all of the chemicals in a body of water with an eye on how they interact. He points to natural and synthetic hormones and chemicals that impact human and animal hormonal systems. He says a situation could arise where no one level is high enough to cause concern but when added together the chemicals could impact the reproductive life of the animals that live in the water and the humans that use it.
“Water Health” Author Dr. Mike Magee has traveled around the world learning about how communities survive with and without clean water. He says irrigation has a direct link to poverty levels and the health of humans. He notes that in India, regions where irrigation is available, 30-percent of the population lives in poverty, while in areas without irrigation, 70-percent of the population lives in poverty. He says irrigation and the ability to stave off famine also go hand-in-hand.

U.N Environment Conference Opens in Pittsburgh

Several hundred peopled gathered at the David Lawrence Convention Center for the annual United Nation’s World Environment Day, which this year is focused on water. With panels on the confluence of energy and water, water’s roll in keeping humans healthy and water as an economic driver the conference was a mix of finding better ways to use water assets and finding new ways to get water to those who are considered water instable. Those who are water instable do not have enough water to survive. David Ainsworth heads the UN’s Conservation and Biodiversity effort. He says water is constantly moving. It is flowing down steam, evaporating and falling as rain and snow. He says as it moves we use it in many different ways. We use it for personal use, industrial use, and for economies. He says, “What we need to do is find a way to use it in ways that do not destroy the ecosystems that provide it.” Presenters at the conference say one billion people, or about a sixth of the world’s population, lack access to clean drinking water today and with demand growing faster than supply two thirds of the world’s population will face intermittent water shortages by 2025. And it is not just a third world problem. In the US, all of the contiguous 48 states but North Dakota are expected to see water supply conflicts of some type by the same year.

Mon Valley Water Service Restored

Pennsylvania American Water has lifted a mandatory conservation notice for customers in Clairton, Elizabeth Borough, Elizabeth Township Liberty, Lincoln, West Elizabeth, Dravosburg and Glassport. Water storage tank levels have been restored to normal levels following a major water main break Tuesday in West Elizabeth. Customers can resume using water for showers, dishwashing, flushing, cooking or drinking. Penn American Water has restored service to those customers impacted by the water main break.

Water Buffalo Helps Water Customers

Pennsylvania American Water says it now has a water buffalo at the West Elizabeth Methodist Church (730 Fifth Street, West Elizabeth) where customers can get water for flushing, hand washing and other larger volume activities. Bottled water is still available at the same location. Customers are being told to bring their own containers. A water main break yesterday prompted Penn American to issue a mandatory water conservation notice in Clairton, Elizabeth Borough, Elizabeth Township, Liberty, Lincoln, West Elizabeth, Dravosburg and Glassport. Customers may see low pressure or no pressure at all. The company says it will notify customers when service has been restored at its web page under the Alert Notifications section. When service resumes a boil order will likely be in place until the system is fully operational.

Clean Air, Water Acts Arrive at Pgh City Council

Environmental activists, union members, and several community organizations gathered outside Pittsburgh City Council Chambers today to support new legislation aimed at cleaning the city’s air and water.

Councilman Bill Peduto’s Clean Water Act of 2010 would require publicly-funded developers to try to contain storm water runoff. Its partner bill, the Clean Air Act, would mandate that diesel-powered construction vehicles be retrofitted with cleaner exhaust systems or replaced with cleaner vehicles.

Council members Bruce Kraus, Natalia Rudiak, and Doug Shields also support the bills.

Pittsburgh United Executive Director Barney Oursler says Council should have six yea votes in order to get the measures passed, because Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s administration might not back the legislation.

Oursler says his group is working to garner support for the bills in Councilman Patrick Dowd’s district.

“We’re going to keep on pushing other Council members until we get to six, seven, eight, and nine, as we did with prevailing wage,” says Oursler. “We will win, but we will only win because we work really hard and stick together.”

Service Employees International Union spokesman Sam Williamson says Pittsburgh residents deserve clean rivers and clean air.

“We deserve a government that ensures that when we use public money, taxpayers’ money, to fund private development, we’re going to make our environment cleaner, not dirtier,” says Williamson.

Army Corps Ready for Flooding

Local Army Corps of Engineers officials say they will update state and local emergency agencies on the status of waterways in the region when the record February snowfall begins to melt.

Chief of the Readiness Office T.J. Fichera says the Corps communicates with the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, the National Weather Service, and county emergency agencies to prepare for possible floods.

Fichera says one example of the things they’re telling these agencies is that certain high-altitude reservoirs like the Youghiogheny, Tiger, and Stonewall Jackson Reservoirs have the capacity to take in a good deal of snowmelt because of their elevation.

Chief of the Corps’ Water Management Branch Werner Loehlein says we have yet to see a significant snowmelt, meaning that most of the water stored in the snowfall is still there.

Loehlein says the snow only looks like it has melted because sunshine melts the top layer, which compacts the snow beneath it.

The hydrologist says there is still potential for flooding, especially if temperatures rise quickly and it also rains. He says the Monongahela River’s tributaries are at the most risk, including the Youghiogheny and Cheat Rivers.

Hearing Scheduled for "Opt-out" Waterline Insurance

Pittsburgh City Council resolved Thursday to host a special meeting for residents to speak on the “opt-out” waterline insurance instated by the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority.

The insurance charges customers $5 per month in exchange for covering possible problems with many water and sewer pipes running from the street to structures. Those pipes are the responsibility of the landowner.

The PWSA used to offer an “opt-in” version of the insurance, but changed their policy to opt-out because few property owners took them up on the offer. The insurance now covers water pipes 2 inches or less wide, and sewer pipes 8 inches or less in diameter.

The problem is that many residents whose pipes don’t fit these measurements are still being charged.

Councilman and water authority Board Member Patrick Dowd says since governmental entities can legally use opt-out programs, there’s not much Council can do to change this policy.

Dowd says he’d like to work with the water authority to allow more pipe sizes to be covered. He says for people who have this insurance, it would cost less than $2000 for 30 years.

“In fact, $2000 is a bonus, a bargain relative to the woman that I talked to in the East Liberty portion of our district who had to pay $15,000 to have her sewer line repaired,” says Dowd.

He says anyone who wants to drop the coverage can contact the PWSA to get a full refund before June.

PA Awards $58 Mill for Water Infrastructure

Nearly two-dozen dam and flood control projects across the commonwealth will benefit from the first round of grants awarded through the H-2-O P-A program. They come nearly a year after Governor Rendell signed the initiative into law, setting aside $800-million for infrastructure efforts. Of that amount, nearly $47-million will be spent on 17 dams deemed to be "high hazards." Scott Dunkelberger, who heads the Commonwealth Financing Authority, says they also awarded funding for five flood control projects, totaling about 11-million dollars. Dunkelberger notes the next round of grants is to be awarded in July. Those will focus on drinking water and wastewater plants. Among the High Hazard Dam projects approved in the first round;

$1 million to the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission for the Upper
Hereford Manor Lake Dam renovation and $2.2 million for the Lower Hereford Manor Lake Dam renovation project, both in Franklin Township, Beaver County.

$2 million to Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission for the Canonsburg Lake Dam renovation project, North Strabane Township, Washington County.

$4.5 million to Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission for the Dutch Fork Lake Dam renovation project, Donegal Township, Washington County.

$483,831 to West Leechburg Borough to assist with the $646, 831 West
Leechburg Dam removal and Passive Park project, West Leechburg Borough, Westmorland County.

$2.7 million to the Highridge Water Authority for Sugar Run Dam rehabilitation, St. Clair Township, Westmorland County.

Included in the five flood control projects is $2.12 million to Indiana University of Pennsylvania to assist with Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex flood control project, White Township, Indiana County and $750,460 to Hempfield Township to assist with Fort Allen Watershed flood protection, Hempfield Township, Westmoreland County.