LINCOLN, Neb. – On this World Water Day, Nebraskans are being asked to step up conservation to help people, not only in the U.S. but around the world.

According to the United Nations, more than 663 million people live without a safe water supply close to home.

Although it isn't at crisis level in most states, lead-poisoned drinking water in Flint, Mich., has elevated concerns.

It's also an issue that Dan Haseltine with the band Jars of Clay holds close to his heart. During a trip to Africa to visit areas devastated by the AIDS crisis, he says the band was shocked to see people digging for water in dry riverbeds.
"And it didn't take long to kind of put some of the pieces together that if people are wrestling with this disease that destroys the immune system, and then they're having to drink water that is filled with bacteria and disease, it was the water ultimately that was killing people," he said.

Haseltine helped start "Blood:Water," which partners with African grassroots organizations to fight HIV/AIDS and the water crises. The group also encourages people to have some fun with conservation efforts.

One suggestion is a "water challenge," which could mean drinking only water for a number of days - or even going without it for an entire day.

Daniella Bostrom Couffe, communications manager for UN-Water, which coordinates water-related issues for the United Nations, says the small ways people save water throughout the day can make a difference.

"In your home, you can do just simple things as turning off the tap when you brush your teeth, or you can stop putting oil or leftovers in the plug hole [drain] so that the wastewater becomes easier to treat and then to reuse," she said.

Haseltine believes getting involved in the effort to bring clean water to those in need can also be an important break - a good way to focus on something other than the political strife in America.

"We just need a breath," he added. "We need somebody to tell us a better story that we can connect with, something that just means a little bit more."


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City water leaders in Des Moines are considering a $50 million plan to use Mother Nature as a giant water filter to remove nitrates from the city's drinking water.

While they occur naturally, nitrates can be hazardous if consumed in large amounts. They have posed health problems in the Midwest for decades, partly the result of fertilizer and manure runoff into groundwater, which eventually makes it into tap water.

Ted Corrigan, CEO and general manager of Des Moines Water Works, said they are considering a process thousands of years old to remove nitrates, by drilling radial collector wells into the bedrock near the Des Moines River, and then allowing the ground to do the work.

"The time that it takes for the water to move through the ground helps clean it up a little," Corrigan explained. "It's literally filtered through 30, 40, 50 feet of sand."

He pointed out the radial collector wells would be an addition to the current mechanical methods Des Moines already uses to remove nitrates, which cost about $10,000 a day every time they run. The wells can filter about 25 million gallons of water a day.

The city relies on the Des Moines River for most of its drinking water, but its nitrate levels spike in the winter. Corrigan noted water in the collector wells could also be stored for use when the river water exceeds safe drinking standards. He added the stored water would also help meet the demands of a growing population.

"You know, we keep kind of chasing this problem," Corrigan observed. "As we grow, we put more tools in the toolbox. Radial collector wells are kind of another tool that we can use to source low-nitrate water. It's another option for us to implement, to meet growing demands and maintain water quality."

He emphasized Des Moines awaits a report from the U.S. Geological Survey this spring before digging its wells.

While Connecticut elected officials want to import hydroelectric power from Canada, one group said the option would not be as environmentally conscious as it might seem.

Hydropower turbines are known for injuring or killing the migrating fish passing through them. Environmental advocates feel other considerations must be made, especially as the U.S. moves further on the path toward renewable energy.

Rhea Drozdenko, the Connecticut River Conservancy's river steward in Connecticut, noted some of the dam operators do make adaptations for fish populations, but they could be doing more.

"There are things like fish ladders that help those migratory fish get from the river to the reservoir above," Drozdenko acknowledged. "But a lot of those fish ladders were made, like, 20 years ago, and they aren't actually as effective as promised."

She added updating the fish ladders would be an option. As Connecticut residents face rising power prices, Drozdenko said her organization sees importing hydropower as a temporary solution, with costs going beyond a customer's electric bill. They would also rather see local solutions instead of the state outsourcing its power needs.

Despite the advances in technology, including different types of turbines to generate power, hydroelectric dams also affect river health, and other plant and wildlife species.

Kathy Urffer, the Connecticut River Conservancy's river steward in Vermont, thinks improvements can be made, but it is important to look at all the effects of all the options for energy sources.

"When you start to look at each potential source of energy -- there's wind, there's solar, there's hydro, there's coal -- each one of them has impacts in different ways," Urffer explained. "And different intensity of impacts, even in terms of the sizing of each facility or where it is placed. "

She added there could be easier ways to add renewable energy to the mix in Connecticut with few downsides for the environment. The state already has 13 dams producing electricity.

The State Water Board now says it will take another two years to finalize the San Francisco-San Joaquin Delta water management plan, and it is proceeding with voluntary agreements with water agencies in the meantime.

Conservation groups spoke out at a workshop held by the board late last week - and some are asking the board to scrap the voluntary agreements.

Ashley Overhouse - California water policy advisor with Defenders of Wildlife - said a new plan to put more water into the estuary is crucial since four species of native fish have made the federal endangered species list since 1992, bringing the total to 6.

"At this point, we're trying to avoid extinction for most native fish populations that rely on the Bay-Delta," said Overhouse. "We're talking about not just delta smelt, we're talking about all runs of salmon, longfin smelt, and sturgeon. They would be completely wiped out."

Over-pumping of freshwater, pollution and climate change contribute to poor water quality. Multiple water agencies pump water from the delta and send it to the farms of the Central Valley and to cities in Southern California.

Other agencies are resisting entreaties to release more water into the delta. The group representing public water agencies, the State Water Contractors, spoke out in favor of the board's decision to move forward with the voluntary agreements.

Overhouse said the whole process has dragged on far too long.

"One of the reasons why this has been held up is due to political reasons," said Overhouse. "Water agencies have delayed the planning process significantly in order to negotiate the amount of water that they would have to release."

The water board is taking public comment on the report that establishes the scientific basis for the voluntary agreements, now through February 8.

The Bay-Delta plan is supposed to be updated every three years but the last major update took place in 1995.