Water

 ajc.com - August 23rd, 2014 - Ben Lawsom

A crippling drought in the western United States has lifted the Earth's crust by nearly a sixth of an inch in that region and just over half an inch in California's mountains.

The loss of 63 trillion gallons of groundwater—enough to cover the United States, west of the Rocky Mountains, in four inches of water—caused the shift.

In addition to this information, a study published in the journal Science on Thursday also shows that the soil is rising due to a lack of groundwater to weigh it down.

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Algae near a Toledo water intake crib in Lake Erie. Photograph: Haraz N Ghanbari/AP

theguardian.com - Associated Press in Toledo - August 4, 2014

A water ban that had hundreds of thousands of people in Ohio and Michigan scrambling for drinking water has been lifted, Toledo’s mayor announced Monday.

Mayor D Michael Collins lifted the ban at a Monday morning news conference, and said the city’s drinking water is safe.

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National Wildlife Federation CEO Collin O’Mara checks out the algal bloom in Western Lake Erie near the water intake facility for the City of Toledo during a visit to the site with local and national officials and local media. Toledo Free Press photo by Sarah Ottney

toledofreepress.com - August 3, 2014

The City of Toledo issued an urgent water advisory early Saturday morning. The advisory is still in effect as of Sunday.

City of Toledo residents and regional residents (including portions of Lucas, Wood, Fulton and Monroe counties) who receive water from the city are asked to not drink city water until further notice, including water that has been boiled. Water should also not be given to pets.

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Of 178 homes whose water was shut off last week, 79 had restarted their supplies, triggering $21,750 in fines on top of what the residents already owed. Photograph: James Fassinger

The beleaguered city says a water shutoff is essential to recoup $89m in overdue bills. But the decision has outraged thousands of Detroiters – who have taken matters into their own hands

theguardian.com - by Jon Swaine - July 21, 2014

When the coast is clear, and the trucks from the contractor shutting off water for the city of Detroit have rolled away, the men with water keys come.

They offer residents whose supply has just been shut off a tempting deal. For $20, they will use their tools to turn the water main back on immediately, and illegally, sparing the household the agonising days spent without showering, cooking or flushing that have already been endured by at least 16,000 of their neighbours so far this year.

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