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The Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced the first full water supply allocation since 2006, benefiting 27 million residents across California after a record winter. With reservoirs nearing capacity and snowmelt runoff starting to occur, DWR now expects to deliver 100 percent of requested water supplies, up from just 5 percent announced before the record-breaking winter. The Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced this week that it would deliver 100% of the requested water supplies to cities and agricultural operations across California. This marks the first time since 2006 that the state’s canals, pumps, and reservoirs have been able to...

A group of hazardous synthetic chemicals called PFAS, which don’t break down in the environment, have been found in rainwater across the globe at levels which make it unsafe to drink, according to a new study. Link to The Science: Stockholm University

American researcher David Johnson has advanced a theory that Nasca Lines may be related to water. He thinks that the geoglyphs may be a giant map of the underground water sources traced on the land. The Nasca Lines are located in the Peruvian desert, about 200 miles south of Lima. The assortment of perfectly-straight lines lies in an area measuring 37 miles long and 1-mile wide... While looking for sources of water, he noticed that ancient aqueducts, called puquios, seemed to be connected with some of the lines... Johnson gave each figure a meaning: the trapezoids always point to a...

The process of coastal groundwater discharge makes it possible for humans to collect drinkable freshwater directly where it emerges at the coast of the island... "The porous volcanic soils quickly absorb rain, resulting in a lack of streams and rivers," Lipo said. "Fortunately, water beneath the ground flows downhill and ultimately exits the ground directly at the point at which the porous subterranean rock meets the ocean. When tides are low, this results in the flow of freshwater directly into the sea. Humans can thus take advantage of these sources of freshwater by capturing the water at these points." ...He...

In one of the most arid regions in the world a series of carefully constructed, spiralling holes form lines across the landscape. Known as puquios, their origin has been a puzzle -- one that could only be solved from space. The holes are from the Nasca region of Peru -- an area famous for the Nasca lines, several enormous geometric images carved into the landscape; immaculate archaeological evidence of ceremonial burials; and the rapid decline of this once flourishing society. What adds to the intrigue in the native ancient people of Nasca is how they were able to survive in...

Aboriginal people built water tunnels Judy Skatssoon ABC Science Online Wednesday, 15 March 2006 The rainbow serpent, a key Aboriginal Dreamtime creation symbol, is closely connected with Indigenous knowledge of groundwater systems (Image: Reuters) Indigenous Australians dug underground water reservoirs that helped them live on one of the world's driest continents for tens of thousands of years, new research shows. The study, which is the first of its kind, indicates Aboriginal people had extensive knowledge of the groundwater system, says hydrogeologist Brad Moggridge, knowledge that is still held today. Some 70% of the continent is covered by desert or semi-arid...

An Oregon couple has been told they must destroy a 2-acre pond on their land — the property’s most attractive feature — because the government said so. Although Jon and Sabrina Carey purchased the 10-acre property near Butte Falls two and a half years ago, the pond has been in place for 40 years — but that fact doesn’t matter to the Jackson County Watermaster’s Office. “I basically bought a lemon,” said Jon, who became teary-eyed at the edge of the partially ice-covered body of water being targeted by government, in an interview with the Mail Tribune. “That’s how they...

The situation is very bad. It seems that water in the area is contaminated due to algae in the area, mostly in Lake Erie, which releases a toxin called microcystin when it decays. The algae grows best in warm, shallow waters like those of Lake Erie. It can’t be boiled, boiling only concentrates the toxin. What about filters? Even filters such as Berkey filters have their limitations. They are capable of filtering pathogens and microorganisms, but getting rid of a cyanotoxins is a different story. The way I would deal with the situation would be this: I’d drink the water...

Gary Harrington, the Oregon man convicted of collecting rainwater and snow runoff on his rural property, went to jail today. ... Gary Harrington will be serving in jail until September 2014 for collecting rainwater. ... “I’m sacrificing my liberty so we can stand up as a country and stand for our liberty,” Harrington told a small crowd of people gathered outside of the Jackson County (Ore.) Jail.

One has to ask you “who owns the rainwater that falls from the sky?” If you said the property owner then I’m sorry to say you are ‘dead wrong’. Gary Harrington has been in the news as of late and this week he entered a local jail to serve 30 days for collecting rainwater on his property. The issue at heart is the dispute of who really owns the water, snow and collective run-off that falls from the sky. Gary Harrington will begin serving a 30 day jail sentence for refusing to back down on that issue that surrounds his...

OREGON — An Oregon resident with 3 massive man-made ponds on his property is sentenced to 30 days in jail after being found guilty (again) of collecting rainwater without a permit.

– A rural Oregon man was sentenced Wednesday to 30 days in jail and over $1,500 in fines because he had three reservoirs on his property to collect and use rainwater. Gary Harrington of Eagle Point, Ore., says he plans to appeal his conviction in Jackson County (Ore.) Circuit Court on nine misdemeanor charges under a 1925 law for having what state water managers called “three illegal reservoirs” on his property – and for filling the reservoirs with rainwater and snow runoff. “The government is bullying,” Harrington told CNSNews.com in an interview Thursday. “They’ve just gotten to be big bullies...

In the first installment of this two part series, we examine the factors that are influencing how individuals, major corporations, and other countries, are rethinking the most basic, yet vital resource all, water. In part two, we take a detailed look at an increasingly popular alternative to the municipal water system, Rainwater Harvesting. Part two further explores the pros and cons, basic components, and key factors to consider in designing a rain water harvesting system...

Low-level radiation in Massachusetts rainwater BOSTON | Mon Mar 28, 2011 12:16pm EDT BOSTON (Reuters) - Trace amounts of radioactive iodine linked to Japan's crippled nuclear power station have turned up in rainwater samples as far away as Massachusetts during the past week, state officials said on Sunday. The low level of radioiodine-131 detected in precipitation at a sample location in Massachusetts is comparable to findings in California, Washington State and Pennsylvania and poses no threat to drinking water supplies, public health officials said.

(NaturalNews) Many of the freedoms we enjoy here in the U.S. are quickly eroding as the nation transforms from the land of the free into the land of the enslaved, but what I'm about to share with you takes the assault on our freedoms to a whole new level. You may not be aware of this, but many Western states, including Utah, Washington and Colorado, have long outlawed individuals from collecting rainwater on their own properties because, according to officials, that rain belongs to someone else. As bizarre as it sounds, laws restricting property owners from "diverting" water that falls...

The high levels of fluoride that occur naturally in some drinking water can cause tooth and bone damage and should be reduced, the National Research Council said Wednesday. The study did not analyze the benefits or risks of adding fluoride to drinking water. Instead it looked at the current maximum limit of 4 milligrams per liter. Approximately 200,000 people live in communities where that level occurs naturally in water. The Council suggested further studies to establish a new maximum level, but noted that the problems associated with exposure to fluoride are very small at 2 milligrams per liter and less....