By BRAD RICH

Tideland News Writer

The designs are complete, easements have been obtained and the N.C. Coastal Federation will soon file for necessary state and federal permits for the long-awaited improvements at two Cape Carteret storm water ponds that have been non-functional eyesores in recent years.

Dr. Lexia Weaver, coastal scientist for the federation, based in the nearby Ocean community, said she hopes the work to turn the Cape Carteret Baptist and Presbyterian church ponds into functioning wetlands can begin before the end of this year.

The project, on which the federation expects to spend $300,000 or a little more, will not only improve the aesthetics of the area right off N.C. 24 in the heart of Cape Carteret but also should improve water quality in Deer Creek, which gets the storm water runoff the ponds held and filtered before the ad-hoc system ceased to function properly. That runoff comes from adjacent properties on the same side of the road, but also from N.C. 24 and from the commercial development, including the Lowes grocery store and Lowes Home Improvement store on the other side of the highway.

Were excited that were almost ready to start, Weaver said. Well be meeting with the church leaders and the town officials in the next couple of weeks to make sure they know exactly whats going to happen. And were in the process of setting up a meeting with the agencies (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, because wetlands are involved; the N.C. Division of Coastal Management; and the N.C. Division of Water Quality) to learn exactly how we need to proceed.

Theres a chance, Weaver said, that the state and federal permits would have to be separate, which might slow down the process. But at the very latest, she expects work to begin shortly after the beginning of 2015.

Cape Carteret commissioners, during their meeting on Sept. 9 in town hall, said they are eager to see the project started. Mayor Dave Fowler appointed building inspector Brandon Hawks, town attorney Mike Curtis and Commissioner Eddie Seegers to serve on the committee to meet with the federation, church and state officials for that pre-application session on the site. Commissioner Richard Hunt will attend if Seegers is unavailable that day.

Weaver said the design for the project is innovative and will be aesthetically pleasant.

The storm water will first enter the smaller upper (farthest from Deer Creek) of the two basins, on the Baptist property. This pond will be reconstructed to have sand and rock layers below the planted vegetation and will serve as a bio-retention area, filtering as much of the pollutants as possible from the collected storm water.

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Cape Carteret ponds due for makeover

Pittsburgh, PA (PRWEB) September 11, 2014

A light can really add a decorative touch to a water feature, but it is not always easy to install one. As a solution, an inventor from Powder Springs, Ga., developed the AQUA LIGHT.

The accessory offers an inexpensive way to light a pool or other water feature. It features an environmentally friendly, easy-to-use design. The light is designed to be convenient, cost-effective, portable, rechargeable and decorative. It is usable with swimming pools, waterfalls, ponds, jacuzzis, etc. In addition, the device is producible in different sizes and colors.

The inventor's personal experience inspired the idea. "My swimming pool does not have a light," he said. "In order to install one, I'd have to dig up the pool and replace the liner. To avoid this, I came up with a better lighting option."

The original design was submitted to the Atlanta office of InventHelp. It is currently available for licensing or sale to manufacturers or marketers. For more information, write Dept. 12-AAT-1489, InventHelp, 217 Ninth Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, or call (412) 288-1300 ext. 1368. Learn more about InventHelp's Invention Submission Services at http://www.InventHelp.com - https://www.youtube.com/user/inventhelp

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InventHelp Client Develops Light for Water Features (AAT-1489)

The scramble for Karachi's scarce water resources

By Moosa Kaleem and Maqbool Ahmed

Imagine a city that requires 1,000 million gallons of water every day and then imagine a system that, even in the best case scenario, can carry only half of that water to the city. It is inevitable that dishonest officials, unscrupulous elements, profiteers and even crime rackets see this shortage as a window of opportunity to make a quick buck. Quite naturally, those vested in its failure would like to keep the system as inadequate and inefficient as it always has been. This is Karachi and a summary of its water woes for you.

Almost all of Karachis water supply comes from two main sources Keenjhar Lake, about 120 kilometres to the northeast of the city and Hub Dam, which is 60 kilometres toward the northwest. The original design capacity of both sources stood at 583 million gallons daily (MGD) and 100 MGD respectively, but these have decreased considerably due to poor upkeep of water transporting machinery, theft and, in the case of Hub Dam, paucity of rainfall.

Since February 2014, Hub Dam has been providing only 24 per cent of the water it is meant to replenish Karachi with, say sources in the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) which oversees the transportation and distribution of water in the metropolis. Similarly, the quantity of water coming from Keenjhar Lake, falls well short of what it should be. Meters installed at a pumping station right outside Karachi show that the city has been getting only 400 MGD to 415 MGD of water from the lake for the last six months, claims Mohsin Raza, the general secretary of the Peoples Labour Union, an association of the KWSB employees.

Hub Dam was constructed in 1982 and since then its water storage has decreased in a big way. Over the last two years, rains have been few and far between in the catchment area of the dam, spread over 3,410 square miles, and the water stored here is just five feet above what in technical terms is called dead level. If the reservoir could store water to its maximum capacity, its water level would be 63 feet above the dead level. The latter depth has not been achieved in recent years.

The major source of potable water for Karachi, therefore, remains Keenjhar Lake. Spread over 60 square kilometres, the lake has a storage capacity of 0.524 million acre-feet (MAF) of water out of which 0.393 MAF can be transported out of the lake through canals. Keenjhar is an artificial lake which was built in the 1950s after two natural lakes in Thatta district of Sindh, Sunehri Lake and Kalri Lake, were joined and then linked to the Indus river to serve as a reservoir and supply water to domestic, commercial and industrial consumers in Karachi as well as to irrigate 352,000 acres of land in Thatta. A canal originating from Kotri Barrage at the Indus, Keenjhar-Baghar (KB) Feeder (Upper), carries 9,100 cubic feet per second (cusec) of river water to the lake and another canal, KB Feeder (Lower), takes the water from the lake to the fields in Thatta district.

Through a third system of canals, water from the lake travels 120 kilometres to reach Karachi. It covers 46 kilometres of this distance in a series of open canals the first one of which is a 29-kilometre long Keenjhar-Gujjo (KG) canal which originates from a point called Chilya at the southern end of the lake.

This canal was constructed in 1978. Earlier, water to Karachi was supplied through KB Feeder (Lower) canal, says Muhammad Iqbal Paleejo, an executive engineer at KWSBs canal maintenance division.

The bed and the banks of the KG canal were reinforced with concrete in 1993 and, in 1997, the canal authorities acquired an additional 250 feet of land along each of its sides to further protect it from soil erosion and facilitate its maintenance and desilting. Travelling along the canal, however, one finds a number of fish farms on both sides, all getting water from the canal. At other places, farmers can be seen using water from the canal to irrigate their fields.

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Reservoirs of problems

There are few things as delicate as a bats ear. Thin, dark brown skin is stretched over fragile cartilage. In certain light, they are nearly translucent. The inside ridges look like a washboard for a dolls house.

I know this because I nursed an injured baby bat back to health. I got a close look at the dainty, cavernous ears, miniature teeth and fuzzy body of our local long-eared myotis bat.

It had been a week of nocturnal activity. Two bats had perished in our overhead fan above the bed. Ill spare you the details on that. The next night, I was startled by a fluffy ball careening across my bathroom floor. The bats movements were jerky; he pivoted on clawed feet, spreading his wings wide across the tiles.

I wrapped him in a towel and put him outside, hoping hed fly off into the night. But the next morning, he was still there, nestled between the deck and the house siding.

After consulting the internet, Wolf Hollow Wildlife Rehabilitation Center and Islands Sounder resident wildlife expert Cali Bagby, I filled a dropper with water and tried to rehydrate him. He eagerly opened his tiny mouth, gulping down drop after drop. The rows of tiny teeth and his miniscule pink tongue were incredible.

After transporting him to the branches of a nearby tree, at the recommendation of Wolf Hollow, we hoped for the best. Incredibly, he was gone the next day. I like to think he is patrolling the night sky near our house.

The experience brought up a lot of questions and concerns. Facebook comments ranged from Install a bat house to Does a vampire live with you? to Contact the health department immediately; rabies are a concern.

After talking with the county health department, it turns out I probably shouldnt have been handling the bat, but the risk of rabies is low.

If you find a bat that is not doing well and is around people, it could have rabies, said County Environmental Health Specialist Gary Covington. In the summer, we get maybe an average of one possible victim per month. It is generally from presumed exposure after finding a bat in sleeping quarters. But weve never had any people in San Juan County turn up with a positive rabies infection.

Low risk of rabies

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Mysterious, good, bad? Bats unveiled

Gov. Neil Abercrombie on Thursday announced the release of the more than $15.5 million in funding for various capital improvement projects for Department of Transportation highways and facilities statewide. Nearly $300,000 is headed to the Big Island for two South Kohala projects.

The Waimea Baseyard Wastewater System will receive $250,000 in additional design and construction funds for a new wastewater system that complies with state Department of Health and federal Environmental Protection Agency requirements.

Some $47,000 in additional land and design funds was also released to construct a new dedicated right-turn lane, increase existing turn-lane lengths, and install a new acceleration lane at the intersection of Queen Kaahumanu Highway and Kawaihae Road, according to Abercrombie.The extra funding was needed because of unanticipated archaeological sites that were encountered during the design of the project that required an archaeological survey. Land funds are being used to acquire three zoned agricultural parcels from the Queen Emma Foundation.

These funds will allow priority repair and maintenance projects to move forward, improve safety along our state highways, and in the process give a boost to our economy through job growth in construction, Abercrombie said.

Other projects around the state receiving funding, which were previously identified by state legislators, include:

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Governor releases $300K for two Big Island projects

More than 14,000 stormwater ponds are estimated to have been dug for development on the coast, and more are coming. Staff Photo

Across a Lowcountry landscape where few natural inland ponds are found, more than 21,000 acres of man-made ponds now collect rainfall that otherwise would filter into the ground or run off.

More are dug every day.

Nobody fully understands yet how development stormwater ponds hurt or help the overall coastal environment, much less how to manage them. But an effort is underway to find out.

Seven research schools and agencies have agreed to work with the S.C. Sea Grant Consortium, which is seeking funds to bring a "more bang for the buck" approach to various stormwater projects underway. The idea is to collaborate on the efforts, to find answers for community concerns about the ponds.

The initiative is being launched with $200,000 in combined state and federal grants.

It's long been needed. The ponds have been installed with new buildings for a quarter century. They sequester pollution, such as gasoline, oil, pet waste, fertilizer nutrients, garbage and varnish from lawns and streets, that otherwise would run into the waterways.

But as The Post and Courier reported in July, the build-up of toxic sediment makes the ponds tougher to handle and a high-dollar hazardous substance removal job waiting to happen.

Meanwhile, marine life-killing "algal blooms," a chronic problem in the ponds, have begun to occur in the ocean along the developed Grand Strand beach.

"We don't have a good handle on the characteristics of the ponds and the elements they're bringing in. There's concern out there that people don't know what they have (with the ponds), what the responsibility is and what it means over time," said Rick DeVoe, consortium Grant director

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S.C. universities collaborating with Sea Grant Consortium to study stormwater ponds

Corner-cutting, cost savings a 'pattern of behaviour,' mining consultant alleges.

Fly-over view of aftermath of tailings pond breach at Mount Polley mine. The same owner, Imperial metals, owns Red Chris mine, where same contractor built tailings pond. Source: Cariboo Regional District.

Imperial Metals Corporation is facing fresh scrutiny of its other major mines across British Columbia in the wake of the Mount Polley dam breach.

Last Monday, the impoundment dam near Likely, B.C. collapsed, dumping 14.5 million cubic metres of tailings into the watershed. Reports have since revealed the firm was warned about dam safety and dangerous tailings levels by employees, their blockade near the Red Chris site near Iskut, B.C. (roughly 500 kilometres northwest of Smithers) by members of Tahltan nation launched on Aug. 8.

The Red Chris impoundment is contained by an earthen dam reportedly similar to the one at Mount Polley, and is designed by the same United Kingdom-based company, AMEC, which took over engineering at the Mount Polley site in 2011 before the tailings dam was raised in height to accommodate rising levels of waste.

One mining consultant familiar with the design and plans for the company's Red Chris project said that the problems weren't just at the Mount Polley site, but asked that his identity not be published due to fears it could hurt his chances of being employed in the industry.

At Red Chris mine, he alleged, the company resisted calls to install a protective lining material across the bottom of the tailings pond or some other measure to reduce tailings leaching from the pond, as recommended by local First Nations, and said the company has not done many of the tests recommended in a 2013 report on the risk of leaks. In addition, he alleged the company has tried to cut costs when it comes to modeling software around impoundment leaks, leading to inadequate data.

He alleged there is pattern that boils down to a lack of "proven contingencies" at Red Chris, a term denoting the actions taken triggered by "undesirable outcomes at the mine site."

"These are what would appear were missing at Mount Polley too," he said. "They don't want them because once you have a proven contingency, then you have a trigger, once you have a trigger then you need monitoring. It all costs them a lot of money."

In addition, the consultant argued, "There's a pattern of behaviour around trying to achieve the least-cost monitoring... They want to get the least onerous monitoring conditions in their permit as possible."

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Imperial Metals Faces Scrutiny over Other Mines' Safety (in News)

Some Winonans have big dreams for the new bridge: a staircase zigzagging down from the new bridge to Second Street where pedestrians can quickly get from Levee Park to Latsch Island and three blocks of brand new parkland running from Fourth and Huff streets to the river. However, the city of Winona and the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) are planning for the possibility that neither entity will be willing to pay for some of those dreams specifically the staircase and that the city may seek to redevelop the land between Huff Street and the bridge, according to emails obtained by the Winona Post.

After Mn/DOT selected the least expensive design for the new bridge the concrete box girder amid complaints by some city leaders and citizens that the design was unsightly, the state agency formed a group of local citizens dubbed the Visual Quality Committee (VQC) to guide efforts to improve the bridge's visual appeal. The VQC made recommendations on details from bridge color to lighting, and on bigger design elements including pier design, lookouts, parklike landscaping and trails beneath the bridge, and staircase descending from the new bridge's bicycle and pedestrian lane.

Mn/DOT announced in February that the city would need to pay for many of the recommendations. Since then, Winona City Manager Judy Bodway, Mn/DOT Project Manager Terry Ward, and their respective staffs have met several times to negotiate design details and a cost-share agreement. While many of the VQC recommendations are expected to be incorporated into the final design, city staff will have plenty of say, as well.

"We're working with city staff and their desires at a staff level," Ward said of the bridge design details in an interview. "We've done very little final design work on the site plans and we're still making sure what's going into final design is going to hit the mark," he added, referring to the area beneath and beside the bridge.

Bodway and Ward met to discuss cost sharing and the VQC recommendations for the first time on April 14 for about an hour. In an email, Ward explained the purpose of the meeting to Bodway, "I have some preliminary cost estimates of site amenities and bridge items, just to start to get a feel for where the city (you) would like to take things. High-level conceptual costs for now."

In May, Ward emailed to arrange another meeting. "Our final design team is starting to work on the site plans underneath the existing and new bridge. Before we get too [far] along, would you like to have a meeting with your team to make sure we are headed in the right direction? If so, we could also provide an overview of our drainage and storm water management."

Storm water ponds reflect potential city development plans

Mn/DOT must install a series of storm water ponds beneath the new bridge to accommodate runoff from the structure. City leaders have expressed some interest in the opportunity to redevelop temporary right-of-way, properties that Mn/DOT will seize or buy for the project and then sell back to their original owners at market value, or if the owners decline to the city for a dollar. A consultant for the city included plans for a 100,000-square foot river interpretative center and a large parking lot to be installed next to the storm water ponds as part of the Levee Park Vision Plan. Mayor Mark Peterson's Levee Park Committee discussed the possibility of a new office building and interpretive center for the Fish and Wildlife Service near or in Levee Park during a nonpublic meeting last fall. At a meeting before the City Council in February, Ward hinted that if the city had any interest in building beside the bridge, Mn/DOT's storm water ponds could be enlarged to accommodate runoff from additional development in the area.

Ward and Bodway finally met again in late June. After the meeting, Ward sent a follow-up email detailing the design changes Mn/DOT planners were working on based on the city feedback, including changes to the ponds and "other site landscape options with and without maximization of redevelopment areas."

Design option to nix staircase follows meeting

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Fate of new bridge staircase uncertain

IT'S PONDEMONIUM ON NAT GEO WILD! NEW SERIES POND STARS GIVES MOTHER NATURE A HAND, TRANSFORMING DREARY BACKYARDS INTO TRANQUIL RETREATS

With Koi Ponds, Waterfalls and Revitalized Backyard Habitats, The Pond Stars Help People Reconnect with The Wild in Their Yards

Pond Stars Premieres Friday, September 5, at 10 PM ET/PT on Nat Geo WILD

(WASHINGTON, D.C. - AUGUST 6, 2014) In today's fast paced, electronically dependent world it's harder than ever to connect with nature on a daily basis. That's where the Pond Stars step in, redecorating yards one home at a time to create an escape from everyday life and to connect with wildlife right outside the door. The new series Pond Stars premieres Friday, September 5, at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Nat Geo WILD. (For more information, visit http://www.natgeowild.com and follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/NGC_PR.)

Pond Stars follows Chicago-based water feature specialists at Aquascape, Inc. (www.aquascapeinc.com) as they combine technology with natural design principles to create beautiful, low maintenance water features that transform landscapes into retreats. The team tackles everything from decorative fountains to entire backyard remodels to major overhauls on ponds gone wrong.

Nat Geo WILD cameras follow every projectst a time. the dynamic trio create aquatic escapes one bacyard from the initial concept to the finished landscape. Ponds are dug, rocks are selected, wildlife is carefully chosen, and the plants and flowers are installed, all while highlighting the science of water features and how they invigorate the surrounding ecosystem. The team negotiates electrical wiring, thousand-pound boulders, and out-dated technology for a zoo habitat project. They install a 30-foot pond complete with underwater camera for a football team owner, and replicate a brown trout stream in a client's backyard. All in a day's work for the Pond Stars.

Meet The Pond Stars

Dive into a world of water features with Greg Wittstock (www.twitter.com/ThePondGuy), one of the most experienced backyard pond builders in the country. Greg owns Aquascape, Inc., the largest supplier of professional and hobbyist water feature products in the world. He is the Pond Stars boss and loves helping people reconnect with nature in their yards. Greg is joined by Ed, a scientist focused on the water environment of the project, and Brian, the foreman, who manages all of the construction. New guy Chris is along to learn the ropes. Together they build aquatic escapes one backyard at a time.

Premiere episodes include:

Pond Stars, Turtle Power Premieres Friday, September 5, at 10 p.m. ET/PT The Pond Stars come out of their shell in Atlanta tackling two wild projects in just five days. The first job is for an environmental center, creating a pond specifically for rescued turtles. The turtle pond will be used as an outdoor classroom for an upcoming kids camp, IF the team can finish in time. The second project is for the birds, literally. Greg and his guys build a 35-foot waterfall and 600-gallon, underground reservoir that will have wildlife flocking to this suburban backyard.

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New Series "Pond Stars" Transforms Dreary Backyards into Tranquil Retreats, Premieres Sept. 5 at 10 PM

By Paul Wahl & Alicia Miller

SUN SAILOR NEWSPAPERS/SUN PRESS NEWSPAPERS

In the coming months, delays on I-494 north of Plymouth will more likely be attributed to construction than to congestion.

Representatives of Plymouth and Maple Grove gathered July 23 near the entrance to the Begin golf course to formally kick off the much-awaited project to add a third lane to the freeway among other improvements.

Maple Grove Mayor Mark Steffenson, Dennis Smith (candidate for State Representative) and State Senator Warren Limmer help break ground for the expansion of Interstate 494. A third lane will be added between Highway 55 and the Fish Lake Interchange in Maple Grove. (Photo by Ken Ashfeld)

The project will commence at Highway 55 and finish at the Fish Lake Interchange in Maple Grove.

City officials said it was difficult to determine whether to have a groundbreaking or a ribbon-cutting, so they opted to bring in a large pile of dirt to be used for the ceremony.

Nearly everyone who spoke referred the more than 15 years the project has been in the works.

Mayor Kelli Slavik said she and council members were thrilled to celebrate the beginning of a project that will help ease congestion for motorists on the last two-lane stretch of the corridor. The project will make the commute safer, improve transportation and area commerce and improve the quality of life for motorists, she said, as vehicles sped by on nearly I-494.

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I-494 widening project kicks off