U.S. officials prepare to destroy Syrian chemical weapons at sea

 How to control cross connections in your home

Manganese

 by Gene Franks

Manganese is a naturally occurring mineral that is present in soils, rocks, and sediment. It is a beneficial mineral found abundantly in many common grains and vegetables.  It is essential to human nutrition, but in water it is generally regarded as unhealthy for humans in concentrations of as little as 0.5 parts per million.

In deep water wells, manganese can be found in concentrations as high as 2 to 3 parts per million, although amounts are usually smaller. As little as 0.05 parts per million (ppm) can cause black and brown staining. Manganese often exists with iron, and the two together often make chocolate-colored brown stains.

In general, manganese is difficult to remove from water because removal depends on its state of oxidation, the pH of the water, the presence of other minerals, and the TDS (total dissolved solids) of the water being treated. Another complication is that manganese often appears along with iron and hydrogen sulfide.

Evidence of manganese is often first seen in dishwashers because detergents raise the pH of the water high enough (>8) to allow manganese to precipitate (come out of solution and take on a solid, visible form). Another place to look for manganese is in toilet tanks, where it often appears as a floating film on the surface of the water. Shining a flashlight on the surface of the water makes the manganese film more obvious.

Forms of Manganese

Like iron, manganese in water takes on two forms.

The first and the most common is technically called manganous manganese. In this state the manganese is completely dissolved in the same way that sugar or salt are dissolved in water. To be removed with a filter, manganous manganese must first be “precipitated.” It can, however, be removed by a water softener only in this form.

After precipitation, manganous manganese becomes a solid and no longer remains in solution. It can turn water black. This form is called manganic manganese. Precipitated manganese is easily removed by a filter, but it is not removed well by a water softener.

It is important to understand that a water softener is an ion exchanger, not a filter. It deals with Un-precipitated ions. Filters can’t remove manganese or iron in their un-precipitated state.  Softeners can serve as filters for precipitated manganese,  but they are poor filters at best.

Removing Manganese from Water

The water treatment for manganese is similar to that for iron although there are some important differences, mainly involving pH. Removing manganese with a filter requires a higher pH than iron. Removing manganese with a filter is usually easier if iron is present.

Removing Manganese with a Water Softener

If conditions are right, a water softener is the best tool for removing manganese. The softener can handle significant quantities of manganese, but it only works well if all the manganese is un-precipitated and remains un-precipitated. Precipitated manganese is not only poorly removed by the softener, but it is especially harmful to the softener resin.

Here are the conditions that most affect a softener’s performance as a treatment for manganese:

TDS: Softeners remove manganese best if the total dissolved solids (TDS) of the water is low. When TDS is high, other minerals in the water compete with the manganese for space on the resin and can even displace manganese which has attached to the resin. Water with <500 ppm TDS works best for manganese removal by a water softener.

Dissolved Oxygen: Water with a low dissolved oxygen level lends itself best to manganese reduction by ion exchange. This is true simply because high oxygen levels promote precipitation of manganese to a physical form that is hard for the softener to handle. The opposite, as we shall see, is true if manganese is being treated with a filter. [This applies as well to the presence of oxidizers other than oxygen. To remove manganese with a softener, the water should not be chlorinated or treated with other oxidizers like ozone, hydrogen peroxide, or potassium permanganate.]

 pH: There are mixed recommendations from experts on this topic, but logically pH needs to be lower than 8 if a softener is to remove manganese as an ion. The pH must be low to prevent precipitation which occurs at higher pH levels. This is also contrary to what is needed for manganese removal with a filter.

As is also true with iron, when treating manganese with a water softener it is best to use a high salt dosage and keep service run short to avoid mineral build-up on the resin. Frequent regeneration is important.

Removing Manganese with a Filter

To remove manganese from water with a filter, a high pH reading and a sufficient oxygen content are necessary to insure precipitation. Although different filter media have different requirements, in most cases a pH greater than 8 is needed for effective manganese removal. Very active media such as Filox will work at a lower pH. Standard media like Birm may need a pH as high as 8.5 to effectively remove manganese.  In most cases, an oxidizer like chlorine, air, ozone, or potassium permanganate is used as a pretreatment to filtration. Amendment of pH is also often needed.

Removal of manganese with a filter can vary from very simple, with any good granular medium, to a much more complicated two or three step process which requires adding an oxidizer and a pH amendment step.

 Simple Filter 

Manganic manganese can be easily removed by a simple filter. If the amount is very small, a cartridge-style sediment filter will serve. If a significant amount of manganese is involved, a backwashing filter containing multi-media (sand, garnet, anthracite, for example), Filter Ag, ChemSorb, Micro Z, or any good sediment reduction medium can be used.

Catalytic Media

In cases where un-precipitated manganese is present in a relatively low concentration and the oxygen content and the pH of the water are reasonably high, manganese can be handily removed with filter media that serve as catalysts to change the manganese to its precipitated form. Media such as Birm, Filox, and Katalox Light will cause the manganese to convert to its physical form,  then filter out the precipitated manganese in the same operation. Backwashing the filter then rinses away the trapped contaminant and restores the filter bed. Filters of this type are very effective if conditions are right, and they seem to work best if there is more iron in the water than manganese. Catalytic media filters can also be used after pretreatment with an oxidizer, as described below.

Pretreatment/Oxidation Filters 

Pretreatment usually means a free-standing oxidizer, but it can also include pH enhancement.

Aeration 

Pretreatment with air can be done in a number of ways. The oldest is with a “venturi” setup that is installed before the well’s pressure tank to draw air into the water line. The venturi is usually followed by a small vent tank that gives the air time to oxidize the manganese and to get rid of excess air. The water then goes to the filter, where the manganese is removed. A more aggressive and more effective system uses a larger treatment tank into which air is fed from a small air compressor. Air is compressed into the top third of the tank and oxidation occurs quickly as the water being treated falls through the pocket of compressed air. The filter follows the aeration tank. A variation on the compressed air system does the aeration in the filter tank itself, using, again, the top third of the tank and relying on an air draw feature supplied by the filter’s control valve rather than a compressor. All three aeration methods can be effective. 

Closed Tank Aeration System that is fed by a small compressor. The top third of the tank holds a pocket of compressed air.  Air is a powerful and reasonably rapid oxidizer.

Aeration, of course, assures that the dissolved oxygen required for manganese removal is present, but pH is still a concern. A calcite tank can be added before the filter, but with the high pH requirement of manganese, soda ash or caustic soda injection usually works better.

When the water is properly pretreated with air and a pH enhancer, any good filter medium will remove manganese. Best results are gained, however, by using a top grade iron medium like Filox.

Chlorination 

Chlorine is a strong oxidizer, but it requires more “residence time” than air.  Chlorination can be done via a pellet dropper (dry pellet chlorinator), which drops calcium hypochlorite pellets into the well itself, or with a feed pump which injects liquid chlorine under pressure into the water line. If the pump is used, a retention tank must be added to give chlorine time to do its work. At least 20 minutes residence time is usually recommended.

As with aeration, the chlorination step must be followed by an iron filter. The choice again is wide, but one of the standard filters that works well independently or following aeration, Birm, cannot be used with chlorine. Carbon works well if the amount of manganese is small, and catalytic carbon works better than standard carbon. Carbon has the advantage of removing the chlorine along with the manganese.

When chlorine is fed by a pump, a pH increaser like soda ash can be injected along with the chlorine.

Potassium Permanganate 

Potassium permanganate, a strong oxidizer, is used almost exclusively with filters using greensand as a medium. It is usually drawn into the filter during its regeneration stage.  Greensand filters are effective removers of manganese, iron, and odors, but they are generally more difficult to maintain and are, therefore, not a favorite with owners of residential wells.

Ozone and hydrogen peroxide are also powerful oxidizers of manganese, but since they are less frequently used in residential treatment, they aren’t being considered here.

More information about products that remove manganese:

Filox Filters (for iron, manganese, and hydrogen sulfide reduction).

Aeration Systems for Iron & Sulfide

Chlorine and Chemical Feed Systems

Single Tank Aerators for Iron and Sulfide

Water Softeners

In Ireland, Water Will No Longer Be Free

By Sandra Postel

Ireland is surely one of the greenest countries in the world, but its management of freshwater in recent times has been anything but green.

Some 41 percent of the nation’s drinking water leaks out of delivery pipes – twice the UK average. That’s a costly loss given the expense of treating and pumping that water to the nation’s 4.6 million people.

Household water demand per person is estimated to average 102 gallons (386 liters) per day, double or triple that in other European countries and about the same as in the United States, where national usage is driven up by irrigation of large suburban lawns, especially in the drier west.

And with Dublin now running short of water, most of the talk about filling the gap focuses on capturing more supply from the Shannon River or other sources.  There’s been relatively little mention of conservation or curbing demand.

Much of this excess and waste traces back to a simple and perhaps startling fact:  In Ireland, households do not pay for water.  It is free, no matter how much is used.  And no one knows how much any particular household uses, because Ireland – alone among European countries – does not meter water usage.

But change is afoot in the Emerald Isle.

Last week, I visited Ireland at the invitation of the Mayo County Council’s Enterprise and Investment Unit to participate in an event at the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology calledClean Water 2040: From Local to Global, What is the Future of our Water Resource Management?”  The forum was part of Ireland’s National Science Week.  And while I spoke on the global water challenge on behalf of National Geographic and our Change the Coursepartnership, the audience of water professionals and the public gathered there in the western city of Castlebar was quite keyed to the national reforms under way– in particular the new Irish plan to install more than 1 million water meters by the end of 2016 and to begin charging for water.

Primary responsibility for that transformation falls to Irish Water, a new enterprise that consolidates the water services provided by 34 local authorities.  Headquartered in Dublin, but with eight regional offices, Irish Water will work to fill a backlog of investment needs – including leak repair – that has resulted from more than a century of underinvestment in water services.

“Irish Water is on track to deliver the key milestones in one of the largest reform projects in the history of the Irish state,” said John Tierney, Irish Water’s managing director.

The first meter went in the ground about three months ago, on August 12, in Kildare, Tierney reported.   Dublin got its first meter on October 13.  All together, nearly 30,000 meters have been put in place.

For consumers accustomed to free water, the rubber will hit the road when billing begins, scheduled for the first quarter of 2015.

Particularly in hard economic times, the new fees may rankle the public.  But the International Monetary Fund and other financial institutions conditioned Ireland’s debt bailout on the institution of a more self-sustaining water revenue structure – a sensible request, though perhaps painful in a country where unemployment tops 13 percent.

But as Professor Frank Convery, senior fellow with the University College of Dublin (UCD) Earth Institute and chair of the think tank Publicpolicy.ie, wrote in a recent opinion piece in the Irish Times, “Unless we introduce coherent and effective water pricing, and use it to help us all become water savers, we are doomed to a decade of continuing periods of water rationing with all the costs, economic and social damage and inconvenience that this will entail.”

Irish Water’s Tierney estimates that the nation’s water systems need about €600 million ($812 million) per year in capital investment to fix leaks, upgrade infrastructure, and generally get on a more sustainable footing.

It bothers Tierney that so much water brought up to drinking quality through expensive treatment methods seeps out of leaky pipes or otherwise gets squandered.

“If you waste water after having gone through that (treatment) process, it’s a sin,” Tierney said to the group gathered at GMIT.

Sean Corrigan, manager of the Kilmeena, Ballycroy and Killeen Group Water Schemes in County Mayo pointed out that much leakage may be occurring in homes, not in the distribution network, and until metering and pricing motivate households to look for leaks, the problem will go uncorrected.

For my part in the day’s discussion, I recounted the conservation success of Boston, Massachusetts, a city similar to Dublin in climate and size, and which faced a like need to fill a gap between supply and demand back in the mid-1980s.

Like Dublin today, Boston back then was considering expanding its supply by diverting water from the Connecticut River and storing it in the Quabbin Reservoir.  Instead, pushed by conservation and citizens groups, the state water authority invested aggressively in demand management – including leak repair, pricing, education, and retrofits of faucets and other home water fixtures.

From its peak, greater Boston’s water use has dropped 43 percent.  Usage today is back where it was fifty years ago.  And the conservation strategy cost about half as much as the river diversion would have, saving ratepayers money and the river from ecological harm.

It’s a success Irish Water might take to heart.

Tierney said he hopes to see Ireland become one of the most water-resilient countries in the world. “

That’s a prize worth fighting for,” he said.

But winning it will take a good deal of water reform – and metering and pricing are the right places to start.

Source: National Geographic.

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Home of British fishing ‘being destroyed by chemicals in cleaning products’

by Hayley Dixon

 

The River Test. The rivers Test and Itchen, famous for their fly fishing, have been found to contain dangerous levels of phosphorus.

 

The home of British fishing is under threat of destruction from chemicals found in dishwasher tablets, experts have warned.

Their waters support a rich diversity of mammal, bird, fish, invertebrate and plant communities, including trout, chubb, tench, grayling and bream.

The Test – which has even attracted former US President George Bush Snr to its banks – is known as the “Mecca” of the sport and is thought to have been popular since the 1880s.

The Environment Agency said the Itchen failed a recent chemical quality test, and officials expect it to fail again in 2015. This now puts the river in the “at risk” category.

The issue was discussed at the Chalk Stream Headwaters Forum, in Winchester, Hants, this week.

Dr Steve Rothwell, from the Vitacress Conservation Trust, said: “The UK is unusual in Europe because many EU countries long ago banned detergent products with phosphorus and the UK never has.

“In Hampshire phosphorus is a big problem. You get too much algae growing in the rivers as a result and it starts to out-compete the other plants you want.

“We know septic tanks are a problem. The chalk streams are so clear because they lack phosphorus, but if you add any it’s like adding fertiliser and you get all this growth.”

Birmingham University academic Alex Poynter, who has researched the issue for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, said the number of cleaning products in the UK containing phosphorus is “quite scary”.

The problem is made worse in rural areas because many homes use private drainage, and pollutants can find their way into rivers from septic tanks.

Agricultural run-off, with fertilisers washed off the land and into rivers, also contributes to elevated phosphate.

Graham Roberts, from the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, called the condition of the Itchen “disgusting”.

He said: “No water should be discharged with a quality worse than when it was abstracted. This is not an unreasonable aim to have.

“This is a real menace and changing the whole ecology of the river. It’s not rocket science, and needs to be sorted.

“I have had 27 phone calls and over 109 emails recently, particularly pertinent to the River Itchen.”

There are 161 chalk streams in Britain – 95 per cent of the world’s total – and most are located in the south-east of England.

An article on the fishing website fishpal.com describes the Test and Itchen as “stunning”.

It says: “Both rivers are stunning and hold any number of opportunities for visiting fishermen for most of the year, keen to enjoy the experience of challenging, exciting fishing on gin clear streams.”

The 39-mile-long river Test rises from the Upper Chalk near the village of Ashe, drains 480 square miles, and average annual rainfall of 32 inches.

Water quality in its upper reaches is so good that it is used for washing and processing paper used in the production of British banknotes.

The 28-mile-long Itchen rises from the upper chalk near New Cheriton, has a catchment area of 280 square miles, and an average rainfall of 34 inches.

Source: The Telegraph

Pure Water Gazette Fair Use Statement

By Tanya Lewis

The toilet — one of life’s most mundane objects — plays a fundamental role in society.

Yet more than a third of the world’s population lacks access to even a basic pit latrine, and the problem may get worse. A recent statistical analysis predicts theworld population will hit 11 billion by 2100. From preventing illness to fostering education, here are five ways toilets change the world:

1. Keeping people healthy

Jellyfish Winning the Fight for Food–Against Humans

by Peter Hannam

When it comes to jellyfish on Australian beaches, getting stung may be the least of our worries.

Catostylus Jellyfish

Earlier this year, Whyalla faced a wipe-out unrelated to the predicted effects of the carbon tax when a massive jellyfish bloom threatened local fisheries and ecosystems.

Last month, the Oskarshamn nuclear plant in Sweden shut down a reactor after jellyfish clogged its seawater pipes, the latest in a series of similar incidents.

”Most people just don’t have any idea about the havoc that jellyfish are causing,” said Lisa-ann Gershwin, a CSIRO research scientist and author of Stung! On Jellyfish Blooms and the Future of the Ocean. ”It’s right around Australia.”

Deadly box jellyfish and their peanut-size irukandji relatives are spreading further south along the Queensland coast as waters warm, harming tourism.

But a bigger threat is likely to come to fisheries in much cooler waters that are already being crowded out by blooms, many of them non-stinging jellies.

Virtually everything humans do to the biosphere seems to be to the advantage of jellyfish. Overfishing is removing their predators, such as anchovies, while discarded plastic bags choke sea turtles on the hunt for jellyfish.

Sweden’s Oskarshamn nuclear plant shut down a reactor after jellyfish clogged its seawater pipes.

Warmer seas resulting from the build-up of greenhouse gases also happens to be to the jellies’ liking, especially as breeding seasons are lengthened. Since warmer water holds less dissolved oxygen, predator fish spend more of their precious energy breathing.

”Warming water is a disaster for things that breathe and a dream come true for things that don’t breathe much,” such as jellyfish, said Dr Gershwin, who will speak at TEDxMelbourne on December 3. ”It amps up their reproduction, it amps up their growth rates … they breed more.”

Not that the jellyfish need much help to reproduce. Despite most jellyfish lacking specialised digestive, respiratory and even central nervous systems, the nebulous, often pulsating creatures have developed a variety of ways to breed over the past 500 million years.

Cloning, self-fertilisation and copulation are among the methods of different jellyfish species, while Turritopsis dohrnii has been dubbed a ”zombie jelly” for its apparent immortality. Cells from the corpse of this jellyfish can reform into a polyp and resume breeding.

As invertebrates, jellyfish lack carbonate hard parts, unlike many rivals and predators, meaning they are coping better as the oceans acidify due to increased carbon dioxide.

”They’re the last [ones] standing when everything else is disintegrating,” she said.

The problem is not just population explosions jamming up pipes and filling fishing nets but also the destruction of fish stocks, as jellies eat fish larvae and vital plankton. Jellyfish, in effect, eat ”up the food chain”, Dr Gershwin said.

”We’re in the weird, unexpected and incomprehensible position of being in competition with jellyfish – and they’re winning,” she said.

”It’s actually really scary.”

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

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  Iron in Well Water

Gazette Introductory Note:  Iron is among the most persistent problems faced by residential well owners.  It is also among the least understood.  The following article from the Minnesota Department of Health website is a concise overview of the iron issue.  Our main website, www.purewaterproducts.com, has in-depth information on the treatment of iron by a variety of methods.  We also welcome phone or email information requests about treatment of iron issues in residential wells.–Gene Franks, Pure Water Products.

What do these have in common – a taconite mine in northern Minnesota, the color of your blood, a rusty pail, and yellow or red stains on sinks and plumbing fixtures? The answer is – Iron. Iron is the fourth most abundant mineral in the earth’s crust. Soils and rocks in Minnesota may contain minerals very high in iron, so high in fact, that taconite can be mined for its iron content. Iron gives the hemoglobin of blood it’s red color and allows the blood to carry oxygen. The iron in a metal pail turns to rust when exposed to water and oxygen. In a similar way, iron minerals in water turn to rust and stain plumbing fixtures and laundry.

Iron in Well Water

As rain falls or snow melts on the land surface, and water seeps through iron-bearing soil and rock, iron can be dissolved into the water. In some cases, iron can also result from corrosion of iron or steel well casing or water pipes.

Health Concerns

Iron in well water usually does not present a health problem. In fact, iron is needed to transport oxygen in the blood. The human body requires approximately 1 to 3 additional milligrams of iron per day (mg/day). The average intake of iron is approximately 16 mg/day, virtually all from food such as green leafy vegetables, red meat, and iron-fortified cereals. The amount of iron in water is usually low, and the chemical form of the iron found in water is not readily absorbed by the body. Iron bacteria, that may be associated with iron in water, are not a health problem.

Iron may present some concern if certain bacteria have entered a well, since some pathogenic (harmful) organisms require iron to grow, and the presence of iron particles makes elimination of the bacteria more difficult.

Iron Problems

Iron in water can cause yellow, red, or brown stains on laundry, dishes, and plumbing fixtures such as sinks. In

Iron Stains

addition, iron can clog wells, pumps, sprinklers, and other devices such as dishwashers, which can lead to costly repairs. Iron gives a metallic taste to water, and can affect foods and beverages – turning tea, coffee, and potatoes black.

Forms of Iron

Iron can occur in water in a number of different forms. The type of iron present is important when considering water treatment. Water that comes out of the faucet clear, but turns red or brown after standing is “ferrous” iron, commonly referred to as “clear-water” iron. Water which is red or yellow when first drawn is “ferric” iron, often referred to as “red- water” iron. Iron can form compounds with naturally occurring acids, and exist as “organic” iron. Organic iron is usually yellow or brown, but may be colorless. Water containing  iron bacteria is said to contain “bacterial” iron.

Testing

Yellow or red colored water is often a good indication that iron is present. However, a testing laboratory can determine the exact amount of iron, which can be useful in determining the best type of treatment. In addition to testing for iron, it can be of value to also test for hardness, pH, alkalinity, and iron bacteria. County health departments may offer some of these tests. Private testing laboratories can be contacted about their services and fees. Most advertise in the phone book under “Laboratories-Testing.”

The amount of a dissolved material in water is usually reported as the number of milligrams per liter (mg/L). This is the weight of material in 1 liter (approximately 1 quart) of water. A milligram per liter is approximately equal to 1 part per million (ppm). Iron in amounts above 0.3 mg/L is usually considered objectionable. Iron levels are usually less than 10 mg/L.

Controlling Iron

The most common method for controlling iron in water is water treatment. In some circumstances, another alternative is to use a different water source that is low in iron, such as a public water system or a well drawing water from a different water-bearing formation. In some cases, a new well may be an option, however, it is difficult to predict what the iron concentration will be. Neighboring wells may be an indicator, but the iron content of two nearby wells may be quite different. 

Water Treatment

Treatment of water containing iron depends on the form(s) of the iron present, the chemistry of the water, and the type of well and water system.

Clear-water iron is most commonly removed with a water softener. Manufacturers report that some units are capable of removing up to 10 mg/L, however 2 to 5 mg/L is a more common limit. A water softener is actually designed to remove hardness minerals like calcium and magnesium. Iron will plug the softener, and must be periodically removed from the softener resin by backwashing. Also, if the water hardness is low and the iron content high, or if the water system allows contact with air, such as occurs in an air-charged “galvanized” pressure tank, a softener will not work well. Ion exchange water softeners add sodium to the water which may be a concern for persons on a sodium restricted diet.

Red-water iron can be removed in small quantities by a sediment filter, carbon filter, or water softener, but the treatment system will very quickly plug up. A more common treatment for red-water iron and clear-water iron in concentrations up to 10 or 15 mg/L is a manganese greensand filter, often referred to as an “iron filter.” Aeration (injecting air) or chemical oxidation (usually adding chlorine in the form of calcium or sodium hypochlorite) followed by filtration are options if iron levels exceed 10 mg/L.

Organic iron and tannins present special water treatment challenges.Tannins are natural organics produced by vegetation which stain water a tea-color. In fact, the tannins in coffee or tea produce the brown color. When tea or coffee is made with water containing iron, the tannins react with the iron forming a black residue. Organic iron is a compound formed from an organic acid and iron. Organic iron and tannins can occur in very shallow wells, or wells being affected by surface water. Organic iron and tannins can slow or prevent iron oxidation, so water softeners, aeration systems, and iron filters may not work well. Chemical oxidation followed by filtration may be an option.

Well Treatment

Iron bacteria are organisms that consume iron to survive and, in the process, produce deposits of iron, and a red or

Iron Bacteria

brown slime called a “biofilm.” The organisms are not harmful to humans, but can make an iron problem much worse. The organisms naturally occur in shallow soils and groundwater, and they may be introduced into a well or water system when it is constructed or repaired.

Treatment options for elimination or reduction of iron bacteria include physical removal, heat, and chemical treatment. The most common treatment is “shock” chlorination of the well and water system. See Iron Bacteria in Well Water. Remember, iron bacteria need iron to survive. Eliminating the bacteria will not eliminate the iron – both well treatment for the bacteria, and water treatment for the iron will be needed.

Source:  Minnesota Department of Health.

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The Ogallala Aquifer Is Being Pumped Dry by Texas Farmers

Excerpted from the Texas Tribune: Texans Look Beneath the Surface for Water by Neena Satija

The Ogallala Aquifer is one of the largest groundwater resources in the country, stretching across eight Western states, supplying drinking water for millions and supporting an estimated 25 percent of the nation’s agricultural production.

In the past 60 years, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, the aquifer has been pumped so heavily that water that has built up over 10,000 years is quickly depleting. Unlike most aquifers in Texas, the Ogallala gets very little water from “recharge” — the process by which rain percolates through the ground and replaces lost groundwater. 

Yet when the High Plains district suggested setting pumping limits on the Ogallala for the first time in 2011, the board faced a public outcry. Farmers attended meetings in droves, calling district leaders “socialists” and “tyrannical.” Under the new rules, pumping would be limited to about 570,000 gallons per acre per year in 2012, and restrictions would get more severe in the following years. The district’s board quickly backed down, saying no one would be penalized for violating the rules for at least a year. 

“I was shocked,” J.O. Dawdy, who grows cotton in Floyd and Lubbock counties, said of the restrictions. “It’s too cut and dry. There’s just no allowances for variations.”

Dawdy said that the past two years have been so dry that he needed to pump at least 760,000 gallons per acre each year on much of his land to produce a viable cotton crop. Exceeding the limit could have made him subject to fines as large as $2 million, he said.

“My choice would have been either to have no crop or expose myself to those kind of fines,” Dawdy said. “I would have been out of business either way.”

Dawdy has joined a group of high plains farmers called the Protect Water Rights Coalition. Such groups have helped replace the general manager of 12 years and four of the five members on the High Plains’ water district board with more conservative property rights advocates. Last week, board members voted to extend the moratorium on enforcing the new rules for another year.

Dawdy said farmers can conserve the Ogallala through improved technology and irrigation techniques, in which he has already invested thousands of dollars.

“We’re aware that it’s a dwindling resource. We’re trying to take care of it. We feel like we’re in a position to take better care of it rather than some bureaucracy, or some committee in Austin,” he said.

But without enforceable pumping regulations, it’s unclear whether water-heavy crops like cotton could continue to be produced in the next half-century. C.E. Williams, general manager of the neighboring Panhandle Groundwater Conservation District, which also manages the Ogallala, compares the aquifer to a financial resource.

“I don’t care how big your bank account is. If you’re taking dollars out and you’re putting pennies in, there’s going to be an end to the road,” Williams said.

The Panhandle district introduced pumping regulations in 1999 but didn’t begin regular enforcement until 2004. Users can’t pump more water than would contribute to a 1.25 percent decline in the Ogallala’s levels annually. For many farmers, Williams said, that amounts to an allowance of 400,000 to 500,000 gallons per acre of land per year.

“You’re not going to please everybody all the time,” Williams said. “But as a general rule, we’ve had fairly good buy-in from the general public.” He said that his district’s rules were probably less controversial because, unlike the High Plains district, they weren’t implemented during one of the most severe droughts in recent memory.

But Williams is worried that even those rules could come under attack in the wake of a recent judgment in a lawsuit against the Edwards Aquifer Authority by Glenn and JoLynn Bragg, pecan growers in Hondo. A Texas appeals court ruled that the Braggs’ property had been taken from them when the Edwards Aquifer Authority limited their ability to pump water under their land to sustain their pecan grove.

Dawdy, the cotton farmer in the High Plains district, said that if the district there seriously implemented pumping regulations, he would likely resort to a lawsuit.

Farmers aren’t the only users in the Panhandle who are fighting for water. The growing city of Lubbock has become more reliant on groundwater since its reservoir, Lake Meredith, is now empty. But utility officials there are also keenly aware that the Ogallala has a limited supply of water.

State Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, chairman of the Senate Natural Resources Committee, said districts like the Panhandle and the High Plains, which both manage the same water resource, must work together. Otherwise, the state will have to get involved and force them to cooperate.

“I’ve said, guys, either y’all get together, do this on a voluntary basis, or you’re going to force the Legislature to address it,” Fraser said. “I’m just putting a warning out that you need to solve your own problem, or you’re going to back us into a corner.”

Any attempt to impose statewide control on a locally controlled resource in rural, conservative Texas is sure to be a battle. Efforts to require meters on wells in the High Plains district to allow better data collection were met with opposition, and were shot down in 2012 by moratoriums that were extended last week.

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The Three Types of Chlorine Used in Water Treatment

by Pure Water Annie

 Pure Water Occasional Technical Wizard Pure Water Annie Explains the Different Forms of Chlorine Used in Water Treatment. This Really Isn’t Very Interesting, but It’s Something Worth Knowing

The most common use of chlorine in water treatment is to disinfect water, but it has other benefits. As a disinfectant, chlorine has drawbacks, but it also has benefits. Other methods of disinfection such as ultraviolet and ozonation are effective at killing pathogens but they do not provide a residual to prevent pathogen regrowth as chlorination does. When treatment plants are distant from the point of use, chlorination is the best way to provide safe water to the end user. Municipal water providers usually rely on measurements of “chlorine residual”—the amount of chlorine remaining in the water after it reaches its destination—as proof of safety. Residual requirements vary, but typical residual goal would be for 0.2 to 1 mg/L.

In addition to disinfection, chlorine is effectively used to oxidize iron, manganese and hydrogen sulfide to facilitate their removal, to reduce color in water, and to aid in such treatment processes as sedimentation and filtration.

Chlorine and pH

In general terms, the lower the pH of the water, the more effective chlorine is as a disinfectant. Again, speaking generally, a reason for dosing effectively is that chlorination raises the pH of water, so overdosing often raises the pH to levels where chlorine does not work effectively as a disinfectant. More is not always more powerful.  Chemically, this has to do with the relationship between the two constituents of chlorine that together are often referred to as “free chlorine”–hypochlorus acid and hypochlorite ions. Hypochlorus acid is the more effective disinfectant and it dominates at lower pH levels, so a lower pH is preferred for disinfection. Conversely, a higher pH is needed for water treatment strategies that depend on chlorination to oxidize iron and manganese.

Types of Chlorine Used in Water Treatment

“Pure chlorine” is seldom used for water treatment. The three most common chlorine-containing substances used in water treatment are chlorine gas, sodium hypochlorite, and calcium hypochlorite. The choice of the chlorine type to be used often depends on cost, on the available storage options and on the pH conditions required. Chlorination affects pH and pH affects results—a fact that is commonly overlooked in home water treatment.

Chlorine Gas

Chlorine gas is greenish yellow in color and heavier than air. Its high toxicity makes it an excellent disinfectant for water but also a hazard to humans who handle it. Chlorine gas, of course, is a deadly weapon when used in chemical warfare. It is a respiratory irritant and can irritate skin and mucous membranes and can cause death with sufficient exposure. Because of chemical changes that occur when it is introduced into water, chlorine gas is no more toxic to humans when used to treat drinking water than other forms of chlorine. Chlorine gas, which is actually sold as an amber-colored compressed liquid, is the least expensive form of chlorine and is, consequently, the preferred type for municipal water systems.

Calcium Hypochlorite

Calcium hypochlorite is manufactured from chlorine gas. It is best known as chlorine pellets and granules in residential water treatment. It is a white solid with a very pungent odor and it can create enough heat to explode, so it must not be stored near wood, cloth or petroleum products. Calcium hypochlorite increases the pH of the water being treated.

Sodium hypochlorite

Sodium hypochlorite is a chlorine-containing compound most easily recognized as household bleach. It is a light yellow liquid that has a relatively short shelf life. It is the easiest to handle of all the types of chlorine.  Sodium hypochlorite also increases the pH of the water being treated. A lower concentration of chlorine in this form is needed to treat water than with calcium hypochlorite or chlorine gas.  Regular household bleach, “Clorox,” is usually about 5.25 percent chlorine.  That doesn’t seem like much, but it’s 52,500 parts per million, so a small amount of liquid bleach can treat a lot of water.