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The following is a transcript of the Dec. 1, 2011, edition of the WaterWorld Weekly Newscast.
Hi, I'm Angela Godwin, digital media editor for WaterWorld magazine, bringing you this week's water and wastewater news headlines. Coming up...
• Driller to stop Dimock water deliveries
• Water worker caught moonshining on town property
• Water main break under investigation in San Francisco
• Israel threatens to cut Gaza water, power
[story1]
A judge last week denied issuance of an emergency order that would have compelled Cabot Oil and Gas to continue supplying water to eleven families in Dimock, Pennsylvania.
Cabot has been providing those residents with bulk and bottled water since 2009, after state regulators found the company drilled faulty gas wells that allowed methane to escape into the town's aquifer.
A September 2010 agreement between Pennsylvania DEP and Cabot would have seen Dimock residents connected to a municipal water supply but that $11.8 million plan was later abandoned.
Instead, in December 2010, Cabot agreed to provide residential water treatment systems to remove methane from the residents' drinking water, a plan that would cost Cabot less than half that of building a water line.
Now having escrowed the funds necessary to do that, Cabot requested -- and was granted -- permission from DEP to discontinue the water deliveries.
The eleven families plan to challenge DEP's actions in the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board.
[story2]
A water department employee in Groton, Massachusetts, has decided to retire after being put on paid leave for making moonshine -- at the town water treatment plant.
The employee, whose identification has not been confirmed, allegedly set up a still at the Baddacook Water Treatment Plant.
The equipment was confiscated by police and an investigation found that Groton's water supply was never compromised.
Town Selectman Peter Cunningham told reporters the still was just somebody's "hobby."
Police would not confirm whether they intend to pursue the investigation, but Town Manager Mark Haddad said that from his perspective, since the individual no longer works for the town, the investigation is over.
[story3]
Officials in California are investigating what could have caused a water main break last week that shot a 60-foot geyser into the air and spilled over a million gallons of water in a South San Francisco neighborhood.
According to SFPUC officials, just two weeks ago the segments of pipe in question were upgraded and put back into service.
A small leak reported Friday morning turned into a major line break an hour later.
According to David Briggs, manager of the local and regional water system for SFPUC, the source of the break appears to be on a 12-inch pipe that was connected to a 60-inch pipeline.
It took workers about three hours to completely shut the line.
No injuries were reported but about a dozen homes and ten cars sustained damaged.
Officials said that over the next few days, they expect to have more information about what exactly caused the break.
[story4]
Danny Ayalon, Israel's deputy foreign minister, said Israel would consider cutting water and power supplies to the Gaza Strip if Palestine continues to pursue reunification with the militant group Hamas.
Ayalon was responding to a recent meeting between the two entities.
Israel provides about 5% of the Gaza Strip's water and around 60% of the electricity.
Ayalon's comments were dismissed as hollow by a Hamas spokesperson.
Back in 2007, Israel threatened to cut Gaza's water and power supply when Hamas came to power but issued fuel and electricity restrictions instead.
Israel is bound by international law to safeguard the access of Gaza's population to basic humanitarian needs, including power and water.
For WaterWorld magazine, I'm Angela Godwin. Thanks for watching.
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