Can wetland restoration cool the planet?

(American Chemcial Society)
Wetlands are champions at carbon storage, but they also release methane, a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than CO₂. Scientists are boosting research efforts to determine whether the cooling power of carbon storage outstrips the global warming potential of methane in wetlands. They are finding that the greatest cooling occurs from saltwater marshes.

Jim Nickles/USGS
In the future, farmers could be paid to grow cattails and tules on this “carbon farm” in the Sacramento−San Joaquin River Delta.

This summer, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) announced that it was launching a $12.3 million project to capture carbon by growing tules (a species of sedge also known as bulrushes) and cattails in wetlands created on abandoned farmland on islands in California’s Sacramento−San Joaquin River Delta. Two months later, the carbon-storing capacity of wetlands headlined 2 days of workshops at the September 16 meeting of the Association of State Wetland Managers in Portland, Ore.

The USGS project has captured eye-popping amounts of carbon—an average of 3000 grams of carbon per square meter per year (g-C/m²/yr) over the past 5 years. For comparison, reforested agricultural land, eligible for carbon credits under the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, socks away carbon at a rate much less than 100 g-C/m²/yr, says Gail Chmura, a biogeochemist at McGill University (Canada).

Wetlands capture carbon by incorporating CO₂ from the air into new plant growth, explains Roger Fujii, a soil chemist with USGS. When the plant material dies, near-constant water cover keeps oxygen out of the rich mud, slowing decomposition that would otherwise emit CO₂. Undisturbed wetlands are so effective at accreting carbon that their organic peat soils can be 60 feet deep and 7000−10,000 years old, he says.

USGS is now expanding the delta project to see whether it can regain the land elevation lost since farmers drained the delta island marshes 100 years ago, causing the soil to decompose, emit CO₂, and subside, Fujii says. A secondary goal is to find out whether the extraordinary carbon storage capacity of the tule and cattail “farms” could be sold as carbon credits on California’s upcoming CO₂ cap-and-trade market, he says.

Scientists are excited by the prospect of selling wetland carbon credits because the sales could provide money and an additional reason for restoring wetlands, says Scott Bridgham, an ecosystem ecologist at Oregon State University. “But if you don’t know what the methane emissions are, you can’t assume there is a net climate-cooling impact,” he says.

The low oxygen conditions that promote carbon storage also promote release of methane, explains Ramesh Reddy, a biogeochemist at the University of Florida. Microbes prefer using oxygen to produce energy, but if they can’t get oxygen, they can use other electron acceptors such as iron oxides, sulfate, and CO₂. When they use CO₂, they emit methane, he says.

Because the tiny traces of methane gas from microbes are hard to measure, very few data are available on methane releases from wetlands, Bridgham says. He recently coauthored a chapter in The First State of the Carbon Cycle Report, in which he concluded that the climate-warming potential of methane very likely cancels out the climate-cooling potential of CO₂ storage for most North American freshwater wetlands.

Because saltwater is high in sulfate, microbes in saltwater marshes don’t have to use CO₂ as an electron acceptor, and therefore they produce negligible amounts of methane, Chmura says. She estimates that North American salt marshes sequester an average of 210 g-C/m²/yr. These hefty rates, along with an ability to accrete carbon faster as the sea level rises, make saltwater marshes ideal sites for restoration and carbon storage, she says.

Although the USGS project doesn’t have a reliable estimate of methane emissions from the experimental plots, initial measurements suggest that these emissions may not cancel out the climate-cooling potential of the CO₂ storage, says Brian Bergamaschi, a biogeochemist with USGS. He and his colleagues are researching ways to add nutrients to the wetlands and to make water levels fluctuate to maximize carbon storage while minimizing methane emissions.

Get the lead out

Sixteen months ago, Toronto discovered a cancer under its streets.

Old lead pipes, installed in the 1950s and earlier, was leaching the potent neurotoxin into tap water -- posing a serious health risk to pregnant women and children in particular.

Toronto responded to the provincial order to test drinking water in this city by warning residents living in older homes to flush their taps for at least five minutes before drinking from them, to expedite a lead pipe replacement program and distribute water filters to low-income families.

An investigation by the Sunday Sun has revealed that not only has little progress been made to deal with the lead, tests show the problem has gotten worse.

more from the Toronto Sun

Weak flood defences 'risking lives'

Recent flood events in Nepal, India and Bangladesh that displaced millions have stoked fears that defences along rivers in the region may not withstand climate change-induced floods, and could result in bigger catastrophes.

Experts say many infrastructures are becoming weaker while the rivers' flows are getting stronger - a classic setting for projected climate change calamities.

Most floods this year were monsoon-related and many would argue they had nothing to do with changes in the climate.

However, the Kosi disaster in eastern Nepal that left millions of Nepalese and Indians homeless was a different story altogether. The devastation was the result of human mistakes.

The embankment along the Kosi was not properly maintained, resulting in it being overrun by the meandering river even when there was no flood.

The event has forced experts to imagine what could happen if rivers like the Kosi swell as the projected impacts of climate change take hold.

"It is entirely possible that some of the existing structures could prove inadequate and possibly dangerous," said Rajendra Pachauri, head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

"They might not be able to withstand higher frequency and intensity of floods in the region," he told the BBC.

Weakest link

It isn't just Kosi that has exposed the structures' vulnerability.

Crumbling embankments are being washed away by floodwater

The recent monsoon season, which ended last month, also washed away some weaker spots of the defences along other rivers in the region.

Indian media reported that water from the Bramhaputra breached embankments at many key sites in Assam state.

In neighbouring Bangladesh, the Jamuna River also burst through embankments.

"In Jamuna, the disaster was Kosi-like," said Ainun Nishat, a water resources engineering professor in the IUCN Bangladesh office.

"Just like in Kosi, the embankment of Jamuna has become weak as many of its sections are still built using sand, so it failed to withstand the pressure and there was flooding."

In western Nepal, smaller rivers - tributaries to Ganga - wreaked havoc, displacing tens of thousands as well as damaging embankments, culverts, and even highways.

By the time these swollen rivers merged into big rivers such as India's Ganga, the scale of the disaster had multiplied.

In Uttar Pradesh state, for instance, nearly three million people in 5,000 districts had been affected.

Relief officials said 7,000 houses in the state had collapsed and 350,000 had been partially damaged.

More from the BBC...

As water level drops at Diamond Valley, rationing becomes more likely

Diamond Valley Lake, the giant regional reservoir in Riverside County, has been called the "jewel" of Southern California when it comes to pleasure boating and bass fishing.

But the jewel has been tarnished by the water woes gripping Southern California.

The water level in the 4,500-acre lake near Hemet is down by nearly 40%, and on Monday the lake's owner, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, will close the boat ramp.

Anglers have watched for months as the water level has declined, leaving a bathtub-style ring around the 20 miles of shoreline.

"It's just gotten worse and worse every day," bass fisherman Clint Sumner, 41, of Escondido said as he eased his 21-foot Ranger into the water this week.

Opened in 2003 at a cost of $2 billion, Diamond Valley was meant to be the major drinking-water storage facility for thirsty Southern California, as well as an insurance policy against a traumatic cutoff of water. It's the largest reservoir in Southern California.


more from the LA Times

Drought still grips Georgia despite rains

October 9th - (AJC)

Rain has been so rare in these parts, it was greeted like snow by the Gwinnett County Extension Service office on Wednesday.

“I have been running to the window all day,” director Robert Brannen said. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen this much rain.”

About an inch was expected to fall through midnight, and more today. Atlanta hasn’t seen that much rain since the remnants of Hurricane Fay came through in late August. September was extremely dry.

Despite the reprieve, signs of drought are all around, especially at Lake Lanier. The federal reservoir, metro Atlanta’s primary source of drinking water, has dropped more than two feet since Sept. 1 and is about 17 feet below full.

If Lanier falls three more feet, it would reset the record low level of 1,050.79 feet above sea level, established last Dec. 26.

But for homeowners tired of looking at wilting plants and parched lawns, this rain should go a long way. “They’ll all perk up,” Brannen said.

Brannen, who teaches gardening tips to homeowners and landscapers, said it’s a good time to plant shrubs and trees.

Outdoor watering restrictions are looser for new landscapes, and even established plants and grass are allowed 25 minutes of water from a hand-held garden hose up to three days a week.

DROUGHT UPDATE
Rainfall measured at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport
................Rainfall........Normal ......Pct of normal
Last 30 days......0.28 inches ....3.9 inches ......7%
Last 90 days ....10.12 inches....12.19 inches ....83%
Last 180 days....16.58 inches....23.51 inches ....71%
Last 365 days....38.12 inches....50.28 inches ....76%
Source: National Weather Service

Invasive species law stalls as threats to Great Lakes grow

The latest unwanted guests to crash the Lake Michigan party don't look much like troublemakers. About a dozen of them can fit on the face of a dime.

But the spread of the New Zealand mud snail into yet another Great Lake represents a particularly frustrating chapter in the battle to protect the region's waters from invasive species.

Less than six months ago, Congress appeared on the verge of passing historic legislation to halt the introduction and spread of invasive species in the nation via ballast water. Members of the U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly -- 395-7 -- to approve the Coast Guard Re-Authorization Act, which would have required ocean-going ships that travel the Great Lakes to treat their ballast before discharging it.

But since then, differing opinions on which federal agency is best suited to deal with ballast water, taken in by ships for stability, have ground the machinery to a halt. The Senate version of the Reauthorization Act passed a subcommittee but went no further.

At a time when estimates show invasive species may cost the Great Lakes region as much as $200 million a year in damages, the legislation appears dead. No action is expected before the close of this year's legislative session occupied by a presidential election and economic worries.

While the delays continue, species like the mud snail continue to show up in new places and a new invasive species appears in the region every 28 weeks, according to estimates from Chicago-based conservation group Alliance for the Great Lakes.

"April was a very exciting time, but things have definitely changed," said Jennifer Nalbone, campaign director for Great Lakes United, a Buffalo, N.Y.-based international coalition backing efforts to protect the lakes.

More from the Detroit News...

Jakarta sinks as citizens tap groundwater

JAKARTA, Oct 7 (Reuters) - It's one of the fastest-growing megacities in Asia. But some doomsters predict large parts of Indonesia's coastal capital could be under water by 2025.

The reason? Unchecked groundwater mining.

"Goundwater extraction is unparalleled for a city of this size," Almud Weitz, regional team leader of the World Bank's water and sanitation programme, said in an interview for Reuters Environment Summit.

"It's like Swiss cheese. People are digging deeper and deeper and so the city is slowly, slowly sinking. That is why tidal floods are occurring in poor areas on the coast."

Jakarta is one of Asia's more densely populated cities, but experts say it has one of the least developed piped water networks, pushing many residents as well as mushrooming megamalls and skyscrapers to increasingly suck out groundwater.

According to some estimates, Jakarta has a water deficit of about 36 million cubic metres (1.28 billion cubic feet) a year and much of the groundwater is contaminated with faecal matter because of leaky septic tanks.

As the city of around 10 million sinks and sea levels rise because of climate change, Jakarta has become more vulnerable to flooding and the threat of severe tidal surges remains grave.

In recent years, Jakarta, a city criss-crossed by 13 rivers and many canals built by its former Dutch rulers, has been devastated by massive flooding triggered by tropical rains and the incursion of sea water.

A study by a Dutch consultant for the World Bank showed that by 2025, the city could be between 40 and 60 centimetres lower than it is now, if nothing is done to check the crisis.

"An ever-growing population, densely populated residential areas, rapid infrastructural development, a diminishing number of green areas and catchments, plus six months of near-constant rain --- you have a recipe for flood disasters which literally paralyse the city," the World Bank said in a statement when the study was released in April.

The Bank is supporting a flood management initiative with the local government.

Swathes of the teeming city were swamped and Jakarta's main airport was shut for hours earlier this year following heavy flooding caused by the combination of unusually high tides and the effects of subsidence from excessive extraction of groundwater.

More from Reuters...

Utilities cross the Divide to start negotiating water-moving plans

Kyle Heitmeyer and Beau Woodward use a new vacuum technology to remove sediment from a Fraser River tributary. Grand County officials are looking for ways to soften the impact of more diverted water. (Joe Amon | The Denver Post)

On Labor Day in 2006, Wes Palmer, foreman at Skylark Ranch outside of Kremmling, single-handedly dried up the Colorado River.

Palmer opened the head gate to the ranch's irrigation ditch and cut the already low flow by about 40 percent. When he was done collecting some of the fall allotment for the Skylark, there was barely enough water to wet the rocks in the riverbed.

"It was a holiday weekend and the fishing lodges were full, and I dried up the Colorado," Palmer said, shaking his head.

The episode underscores the delicate balance in the upper Colorado and Fraser rivers, which supply both Grand County and Front Range cities and suburbs.

It is a balance Grand County officials and managers for Denver Water and the Northern

Colorado Water Conservancy District are trying better to strike.

The two sides of the Continental Divide are engaged in a first-of-its-kind negotiation over moving more water to the Front Range — the two water companies are planning $410 million in new projects to provide an extra 16 billion gallons — while protecting the mountain streams and rivers.

"It is a change of mind-set on both the east and west slopes," said Grand County Commissioner James Newberry.

For Denver Water it is the first time the utility has "been willing to sit down and discuss this," said Dave Little, manager of water-resource planning.

"The question is how to do what we need to do with a lighter footprint," Little said.

Denver needs the water to meet projections showing the city's thirst will exceed its supply in eight years — with demand growing 50 percent to 375,000 acre-feet.

And without new water, growing northern suburbs such as Broomfield will be unable to turn large, open tracts into homes.

For Grand County — where fishing, kayaking, skiing and tourism generated almost $170 million in revenue in 2003 — maintaining the health and flow of streams is an economic concern as well as environmental one.

As it is, about 60 percent of the county's waters measured at the confluence of the Colorado and Fraser were shipped to the Front Range between 1991 and 2001, according to a Northwest Colorado Council of Governments analysis.

The new projects would remove another 10 percent.

"We are at a tipping point," Newberry said. "We can't have any more diversions without some mitigation."

Newberry knows how bad it can get because on that Labor Day in '06, he went onto Skylark Ranch to take a look at the Colorado.

"The river was as low as I'd ever seen it," he said.

 More from  The Denver Post

ZAMBIA: Coping with less and less water

KAOMA, 1 October 2008 (IRIN) - Deforestation has affected the water cycle in one of Zambia's largest charcoal-producing regions, forcing residents to adopt unsustainable farming practices in the wetlands, say experts.

Since the 1990s, several perennial streams in the Kaoma district of Western Province have become seasonal and some have even dried up, while the water level in the Luena River, which flows through the town of Kaoma, has dropped, say residents.

Morris Muchinda, director of the Zambia Meteorological Department, said there was a correlation between the streams drying up and charcoal production, which began in the district on a fairly large scale in the 1990s.

Zambia is one of the Food and Agriculture Organisation's top ten countries with the highest annual deforestation rates. Most of the trees are used as firewood or to produce charcoal.

Trees draw ground water up through their roots and release it into the atmosphere, so when forests are removed the region cannot hold as much water, which could lead to a drier climate, said Muchinda.

Deforestation also affects the carbon cycle warming up the atmosphere, and is responsible for 1.6 billion tonnes of carbon emissions every year, amounting to one-fifth of the global total.

According to the Indonesia-based Centre for International Forestry Research, this is more than the combined total contributed by the world's energy-intensive transport sectors. Some estimates put the contribution of deforestation to climate change at almost the same level as fossil fuel use in the United States.

Rainfall in Kaoma town has declined over the past three decades. Between 1960 and 1970 the town recorded an average rainfall of 945mm; from 1971 to 1980 this declined slightly to 943mm, before slumping to 839mm between 1981 and 1990. By 2000, the figure had fallen to 823mm.
More From UN's IRIN article

Harsh Review of Restoration in Everglades

MIAMI — The eight-year-old, multibillion-dollar effort to rescue the Everglades has failed to halt the wetlands’ decline because of bureaucratic delays, a lack of financing from Congress and overdevelopment, according to a new report.

The 287-page study by the National Research Council, a biennial review required by Congress, warned that South Florida’s stunning river of grass was quickly reaching a point of no return. Without “near term progress,” the report said, more species will die off “and the Everglades ecosystem may experience irreversible losses to its character and functioning.”

William L. Graf, chairman of the committee that wrote the report, put it more simply. “There is no other place like this,” Mr. Graf said. “It’s existed for 5,000 years this way, and we’re in danger of losing it for our kids and their kids.”

The harsh review of the federal effort, known as the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, or CERP, comes in the midst of what could be a major shake-up. Florida is negotiating a proposed $1.75 billion purchase of nearly 300 square miles of farmland from the United States Sugar Corporation to add storage space for millions of gallons of water south of Lake Okeechobee.

The plan, which is expected to be finalized by the end of the year, was praised by the National Research Council. But with the acquisition’s impact at least a decade away, the report’s authors concluded that it would not be a panacea.

“The bottom line,” said Mr. Graf, a professor of geology at the University of South Carolina, “is I don’t think we can wait and see what happens.”

He emphasized that there were larger problems that needed to be fixed. Money remains the most obvious. The restoration plan, finalized in 2000, made the federal government and Florida equal partners, but Congress has failed to match the state’s commitment of more than $2 billion.

Behind the shortfall, the report found, is a planning and appropriations process that requires the Army Corps of Engineers to show the benefits of each project individually, making it difficult to get money for the interconnected plumbing and environmental components of the Everglades effort.

Mr. Graf said progress could be forthcoming because the corps and Congress seemed open to rewriting the rules so projects could be clustered. And an amendment in the stopgap spending measure the House passed last week could, 19 years after Congress approved it, create a $225 million, one-mile bridge on the Tamiami Trail to let water flow south toward Florida Bay, alleviating a significant clog.

By Damien Cave, New York Times, Sept. 29. 2008.

Pipes but no water: A need grows in Egypt

The women line up at a well, jugs in hand and on their heads, to draw water. It is a pastoral scene celebrated in paintings and in Middle Eastern lore from ancient times.

This tableau, however, is in a treeless alley in 21st-century Cairo, the biggest city in Africa. As the Nile River flows abundantly by to the east, residents in the Saft al-Laban neighborhood carry out a ritual of desperation, not tradition.

Forty percent of Cairo's 17 million inhabitants get drinking water for no more than three hours a day, according to the Egyptian government's National Research Center. At least four large districts receive no water at all from the municipal system, including a swath of Saft al-Laban, home to 100,000 people.

more from the International Herald Tribune