Biofuel production is having a profound impact on water demand, according to a United Nations report. “Despite their potential to help reduce dependence on fossil energy, biofuels with current technology are likely to place a disproportionate amount of pressure on biodiversity and the environment,” says the UN’s World Water Development Report 3. “The major problem […] Read more
Tag Archives Technology — page 4
Biofuel may have bad rap as water user
Effluent water proves useful for farm irrigation
Rick Swenson doesn’t turn off his irrigation pivot when the wind blows and the temperature soars. He cranks it up and keeps the water pumping. He’s irrigating his crops and acting as a disposal system for the City of Moose Jaw’s waste water treatment facilities. “There’s no drip nozzles around here,” the Saskatchewan farmer said. […] Read more
Managing water that falls from the sky
Cloud seeding is a growing industry around the world, aimed at harvesting rain and snow. In Canada, however, the emphasis has been more on softening the blow inflicted by hailstorms. Cloud seeding is a way of modifying weather by attempting to draw more moisture out of rain clouds, or change the precipitation that falls. It […] Read more
Measuring tools: probes, meters and pillows
It’s easy to look out the window and conclude that four inches of snow fell overnight, but accurately measuring snow depth is challenging, says Alf Warkentin, director of flood forecasting for Manitoba Water Stewardship. “It’s never as accurate as we’d like it to be. The snow is very difficult to measure.… You can do a […] Read more
Gardiner dam tops the list
Spring thaw isn’t on the minds of most Canadians yet, but water forecasters have been thinking about melting snow for months. “Nov. 1 is called the start of the new water year because basically any precipitation that falls, for the most part, from (November) on in is going to be snow and won’t show up […] Read more
Irrigation allows production of 40 crops
The first homesteaders to settle in what is now southern Alberta realized that irrigation would make the difference to their survival. By the late 19th century, private groups were building canals and water delivery systems, and in 1910 the Canadian Pacific Railway embarked on two projects south of Calgary called the Eastern Block and the […] Read more
Whatcha gonna do when the well runs dry?
What are we going to do when our new well runs dry? Dig a deeper one. What are we going to do when that one runs dry? Drill deeper again and ask why the wells keep running dry. The prairie moisture cycle has been disrupted. Nobody disputes that point. But how badly is it disrupted […] Read more
How to invest in water: a tricky business
San Francisco, California (Reuters) – A global water crisis is looming, but the path to profits is a muddy mess of regulated industries, giant companies with small water operations, and start-up technologies. For Alex Miles, who once ran a water hedge fund and now manages $350 million at Kingfisher Capital, successful investing in water means […] Read more
Pothole drainage: managing wetlands
Potholes have been a major water issue since farmers first arrived on the Prairies in the mid-1800s. Draining potholes was inevitable if the Prairies were to become productive and support a growing population. Seventy percent of potholes have since disappeared, according to the 2008 Canadian Wetland Inventory. Satellite imagery shows that the remaining prairie wetlands […] Read more
The Western Producer – Dec. 10, 2009 edition – PDF format
Click here to download The Western Producer – Dec. 10, 2009 edition in PDF format.
