Related Press
July 06, 2009
Gonzales Inquirer
As Guadalupe River Reaches Critical Levels, TSEPA Contends: Not Enough Water for Exelon
With the Guadalupe River reaching critical levels, members of Texans for a Sound Energy Policy Alliance (TSEPA) today question how the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (GBRA) and Exelon continue to believe that there is enough water for the proposed Exelon nuclear power plant near Victoria.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported that much of the Guadalupe River was running at less than 10 percent of its normal flow. On June 22, 2009 the Victoria Advocate reported that a city official confirmed the Guadalupe River dropped so low over the weekend that the city of Victoria had to stop pumping water for a few hours.
June 23, 2009
Victoria Advocate
Victoria’s Choice: the nuke, or the Guadalupe and the whooper?
I suppose I can respect why the city of Victoria thinks its water needs are covered by spending millions of dollars on water rights - it’s their job to make sure they’ve secured enough water for the city - at least on paper. But those rights have little value if there is no water in the river.
June 23, 2009
Victoria Advocate
Guadalupe River Reaches Critical Level
What’s the outlook for the Guadalupe River?
“Unfortunately, it’s not real good,” said Mark Lenz, a National Weather Service hydrologist.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported that much of the Guadalupe River was running at less than 10 percent of its normal flow.
June 23, 2009
San Antonio Express-News
New Power-Plant Drain On Rivers Sparks Debate
New power plants planned along the lower Colorado River could use the same water supply that was denied San Antonio for future growth.
The driving force is simple. Power shortages are forecast for Texas’ future - shortages that power companies are rushing to meet with new plants.
But experts, environmental groups and others are beginning to question whether there is enough water available to serve the massive facilities.
June 10, 2009
Financial Times
NRG Argues Exelon Hostile Takeover Not A Done Deal
NRG, the US power generator, is objecting to talk by Exelon that it will have its hostile takeover of NRG completed by the end of the year to form the largest US power producer.
NRG, which has been pushing back against the $6.2bn bid, notes that the approval from FERC (Federal Regulation and Oversight of Energy) regulators, granted last week, in no way guarantees the deal will go through. Indeed, NRG says, numerous approvals still must be obtained:
June 10, 2009
The Texas Observer
Silent Springs
Sixty feet below the shimmering surface of Jacob’s Well, an artesian spring that for thousands of years has pulsed iridescent blue-green water from the Trinity Aquifer to the surface, a sophisticated instrument measures the spring’s vital signs. The results are beamed almost instantaneously to the Internet.
These days the gauge detects only the thinnest of pulses.
June 10, 2009
Water and Wastewater News
Southeast U.S. Water Goes to Power Plants, Report Says
Water and Watts, the third report in a three-part series about energy issues in the region, notes that approximately two out of every three gallons of freshwater withdrawn in the Southeast United States are sent to thermoelectric power plants, which are mostly coal-fired and nuclear.
These plants require about 40 billion gallons of freshwater each day — nearly equal to the total daily freshwater withdrawals required to meet public supply needs for the entire nation.
June 10, 2009
The New York Times
Heading to Texas, Hudson’s Toxic Mud Stirs Town
EUNICE, N.M. — There are not many towns in America that would welcome the 2.5 million cubic yards of toxic sludge being dredged from the bottom of the Hudson River in New York, but to hear Mayor Matt White tell it, Eunice is one of them.
Storing waste nobody else wants means more jobs, Mr. White said, and the oil workers here are used to living with hazards. After all, there are several oil wells in the town itself. One of them is a block from City Hall.
June 10, 2009
Examiner.com
$57.8 Million in grants to support land acquisition and conservation planning for endangered species
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced more than $57.8 million in grants to 27 states to support conservation planning and acquisition of vital habitat for threatened and endangered fish, wildlife and plants. The grants, awarded through the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund, will benefit numerous species ranging from the desert tortoise to the Indiana bat.
June 10, 2009
Morris Daily-Herald
Exelon: Tritium leak found early
Exelon Nuclear is digging deep today for the source of a tritiated water leak at Dresden Generating Station at Morris.
The incident – discovered via a monitoring well on Tuesday, June 2, and officially confirmed Thursday, June 4 – is confined within the station site. This is the second incident of its kind for Dresden, which successfully capped off and replaced a leaking pipe in December 2006.
News & Events
Nuclear plant proponents overlook drought’s realityTwo recent Express-News articles were highly predictive of South Texas’s future: “This dry spell may be the drought of record” and “Energy giant wants to keep Guadalupe River water rights.” The two highlight the relationship between nuclear power and water.
Global warming studies predict South Texas will experience longer and more severe droughts.
The future is here and its reality is staring us in the face.
Paper water rights deceptiveCentral Texas is experiencing one of the worst natural droughts of the last 50 years. It’s dry and we all know it - we feel it. And during such times, it makes a lot of sense to seriously question our state and local water policies. When it rains, we have enough for all of our dreams. It is when we are dry that reality appears.
TSEPA: GBRA Sells Guadalupe Water Rights to Exelon Amidst Basin-Wide DroughtVICTORIA, TX - Texans for a Sound Energy Policy Alliance (TSEPA) today questioned the logic of the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority’s (GBRA) decision to extend its water reservation agreement with Exelon while simultaneously requesting others to conserve.
With the Guadalupe River Basin experiencing Stage 2 drought conditions, GBRA encouraged all users to limit their water usage. Additionally, GBRA was forced to increase the release rate from Canyon Lake into the Guadalupe River in order to meet the current water supply demands for its downstream user, the City of Victoria. At the same time, GBRA accepted $1.1 million from Exelon to reserve 75,000 acre-feet from the Guadalupe for its proposed nuclear power plant near Victoria.