Water Supply
Unchecked algal blooms are a green menace
September 21, 2015The Lehigh Valley region is blessed with an abundance of water, and for many residents, the summer involves relaxing at a lake, river, pond or creek — be it fishing, boating, swimming, or just sitting next to the water. If you’ve spent any of that time in mid-July and August, you’ve likely seen a fair amount…
Where does groundwater come from?
September 9, 2015We talk a lot about groundwater, but it’s been a while since we’ve explained what, exactly, it is. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, there’s ground water pretty much everywhere on earth. It varies in amount and in distance from the surface. “The water table may be deep, such as under a hillside, or shallow…
Dumpster pools and hydrants are not the way to chill out
August 4, 2015Philadelphia’s Dumpster pools have been all over the news, so it seems a good time to remind everyone (especially with a wave of 90-degree-plus weather predicted for later this week) that it is NOT cool to use hydrants — or Dumpsters — to beat the heat. While the idea of using a trash receptacle for a pool is…
Tired of the rain? Save some before it goes away
July 8, 2015With all the rain we’ve had recently, saving some water for a (non-) rainy day is probably the last thing on your mind. Yet it’s actually the perfect time to think about it, because waiting until your garden is dry and the plants are wilted and brown is too late. A rain barrel is the…
The land of 10,000 lakes — and a lot of pollutants, too
June 25, 2015Apparently not even the far reaches of Minnesota — known as “the land of 10,000 lakes” — can escape source water pollution. A story from Pollution Online states that scientists have found a host of drugs in 11 lakes and four rivers, even in remote areas. Among the drugs found were those used in certain X-rays,…
Help us celebrate National Drinking Water Week!
May 6, 2015Join us as we celebrate our most important natural resource: clean drinking water. “Drinking Water Week is an important time to understand our drinking water – from source to tap,” says American Water Works Association Chief Executive Officer David LaFrance. “To understand the process is to truly appreciate the hard work and dedication that…
Snow no! Winter multiplied Central New York’s water line woes
March 26, 2015Parts of the northeast were hit with one of the coldest, snowiest winters on record this year, and in Central New York, it’s taken a serious toll on the water infrastructure — so much so that many residents had to resort to using melted snow to flush toilets. It’s been so tough on pipes that…
U.S. could be headed for far-reaching megadrought
February 23, 2015A Washington Post story reports that the drought that’s been gripping the southwest is relatively minor compared with what could be coming down the pike. According to the article, a study by researchers from NASA, Cornell and Columbia universities states that “there is an 80 percent chance” that an extended drought called a megadrought “will strike…
LCA’s Chief Executive Officer takes a stand on nutrient pollution
February 6, 2015Last August, the City of Toledo issued a city-wide “do not drink” water advisory due to their detection on cyanotoxin microcystin in the drinking water. This contamination event occurred due to a large algal bloom in Lake Erie. What causes such an event? Nutrient pollution. This term is used to describe the influx of nitrogen, phosphorus…
That pesky snowfall is actually good for the water supply
January 25, 2015As we find ourselves in the middle of a second snowstorm in just a few days, it’s as good a time as any to think about how much of that snow ends up in our drinking water. Although snow can pile up quickly, an inch of snow and an inch of rain are very different…