The following is a transcript of the Apr. 9, 2012, edition of the WaterWorld Weekly Newscast.
Hi, I'm Angela Godwin, digital media editor for WaterWorld magazine, bringing you this week's water and wastewater news headlines. Coming up...
• Tool provides asset management best practices
• Importance of water education recognized
• NRDC report reveals state climate-readiness
• Six water main breaks in L.A. on same day
• More leaks at Fukushima
[story1]
A recently redesigned tool from the Water Environment Research Foundation provides wastewater and drinking water utilities guidance on best practices and processes for developing an effective asset management program.
The Sustainable Infrastructure Management Program Learning Environment -- or SIMPLE -- is a web-based knowledge management tool that is the basis for the U.S. EPA's Advanced Asset Management Workshops.
SIMPLE provides access to interactive training aids, guidelines for small utilities, practical downloadable asset management program templates, and more.
The new design offers two levels of access: the free Introductory Level, and the paid Practioner Level.
For more information, visit werf.org.
[story2]
This week, we continue our coverage of the winners of 2012 U.S. Water Prize, a program recognizing innovative, watershed-based approaches to water sustainability.
One of the six recipients is Project WET Foundation, being recognized this year for its extensive grass-roots network of school and community educators committed to confronting water challenges with education.
The organization publishes award-winning water education materials and lesson plans, as well as games and activities focusing on watershed protection, water quality, water conservation, and more.
We asked Project WET's founder Dennis Nelson why it's so important to provide water education to children:
[soundbite from Dennis Nelson]
For more information about Project WET, visit projectwet.org.
On April 23, all of the U.S. Water Prize awardees will be recognized at a special ceremony in Washington, DC. In the meantime, be sure to tune into the WaterWorld Weekly newscast over the coming weeks as we will continue to share the winners' stories.
[story3]
The Natural Resources Defense Council has released a report analyzing climate preparedness levels in the U.S.
NRDC looked at all 50 states and found that only nine have taken comprehensive steps to address water-related impacts of climate change, which include more severe and frequent storms, intense rainfall, sea-level rise, warmer water temperatures, and drought events.
The majority of states -- 29 of them -- have done little or nothing to prepare for water-related climate impacts.
The report is called "Ready or Not: An Evaluation of State Climate and Water Preparedness Planning." You can find out more at nrdc.org/water/readiness.
[story4]
On the same day Los Angeles Department of Water and Power General Manager Ron Nichols requested significant increases to water and power rates, six water main breaks caused havoc, disrupting water service in the affected neighborhoods.
The breaks were reportedly caused by a change in pressure when DWP had to switch water sources to accommodate an inspection of the Lower Franklin Canyon Reservoir.
Crews were eventually able to repair the sixty-year-old, 8-inch water main.
Water breaks are not unusual for DWP -- with an average of about 4 or 5 breaks per day.
Nichols said the water rate increase he's proposing -- 5% over two years -- will allow the department to replace about 150,000 feet of water pipe a year.
[story5]
In international news, more leaks are being reported at Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.
In this latest incident, one of several over the past few weeks, as much as 12 tons of radioactive water leaked from a pipe connecting a desalination unit and a tank.
Tokyo Electric Power Company stopped the leak, but said some of that contaminated water may have leaked to the ocean through a drainage ditch.
Doubts about the stability of the plant are escalating after last week's endoscopic inspection of the containment chamber in Reactor No. 2. The examination revealed radiation levels ten times higher than a fatal dose and very low levels of cooling water.
For WaterWorld magazine, I'm Angela Godwin. Thanks for watching.
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