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Going With the Flow: Hogtown Creek Floodplain & Green Acre Park

Alec Kissoondyal
News Feed
Monday, September 20, 2021

Green Acre Park is an important stop along the creek’s journey and another example of how a community exists side by side with the natural resources that sustain it. For the residents that live near the park, and for the city of Gainesville as a whole, the protection and preservation of Hogtown Creek is vital to ensuring that future generations will have clean drinking water for years to come.

           Located near the Sugarfoot subdivision in Gainesville, Green Acre Park is a hidden gem of the community and another step in Hogtown Creek's journey to the Floridan Aquifer.

           The official Friends of Nature Parks website states that the park provides a “mix of recreational opportunities. A playground and open field in the center of the park provide for active recreation, while trails pass through the park’s live oak hammock, offering a place for quiet strolls or bike-riding. The park also protects part of the Hogtown Creek floodplain."

           As the description implies, the creek spreads out into a floodplain swamp near the park. This step in the creek's journey is vital, as the floodplain filters out some of the pollutants accumulated by the creek as if flows through the city. Certain features of the park are designed to protect the floodplain from further contamination, and visitors can witness this firsthand as they traverse the main trail.

           The trail passes over an elevated tract of land that separates the floodplain from the neighborhood on its border. This portion of land creates a natural barrier that prevents pollutants from the neighboring houses from seeping into the floodplain. Likewise, it prevents the neighborhood from becoming inundated with water when the floodplain overflows during periods of heavy rainfall.

           The floodplain is not a cure-all, however, and many of the pollutants in the water continue to be deposited into the aquifer as the creek heads toward its destination. Because of this, the Friends of Nature Parks website also emphasizes that visitors should “stay on the established trails and keep pets on a leash at all times. Motorized vehicles, camping, fires and digging are prohibited."

           Green Acre Park is an important stop along the creek’s journey and another example of how a community exists side by side with the natural resources that sustain it. For the residents that live near the park, and for the city of Gainesville as a whole, the protection and preservation of Hogtown Creek is vital to ensuring that future generations will have clean drinking water for years to come.

Read the full story here.
Photos courtesy of
Alec Kissoondyal
Alec Kissoondyal

Alec Kissoondyal is an intern at Cinema Verde and a student at the University of Florida currently pursuing a degree in English. He is also a writer for Narrow Magazine and an ambassador for the Florida Hemingway Society. His poetry and fiction have been published in Zephyr literary journal. In his spare time, Alec enjoys reading, creative writing, exploring nature parks, and listening to anything released by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.

Nearly 130,000 children exposed to lead-tainted drinking water in Chicago

Study says the 19% of kids using unfiltered tap water have about twice as much lead in their blood as they would otherwiseSome 129,000 Chicago children under the age of six are exposed to poisonous lead in their household drinking water because of lead pipes, according to a study published Monday.The study used artificial intelligence to analyse 38,000 home water tests conducted for the city of Chicago, along with neighborhood demographics, state blood samples and numerous other factors. Continue reading...

Some 129,000 Chicago children under the age of six are exposed to poisonous lead in their household drinking water because of lead pipes, according to a study published Monday.The study used artificial intelligence to analyse 38,000 home water tests conducted for the city of Chicago, along with neighborhood demographics, state blood samples and numerous other factors.It found that Black and Latino residents are more likely to have lead-contaminated water because of lead pipes. And it estimated that the 19% of Chicago children who use unfiltered tap water as their primary drinking source have about twice as much lead in their blood as they would otherwise.“These findings indicate that childhood lead exposure is widespread in Chicago, and racial inequities are present in both testing rates and exposure levels,” said the study, published by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Health in Jama Pediatrics. “We estimated that more than two-thirds of children are exposed to lead-contaminated drinking water.”The federal government has said that there is no safe level of lead in drinking water. Studies have shown that even small amounts of the highly poisonous metal can affect childhood brain development and contribute to preterm births, heart problems and kidney disease. Yet Chicago still has 400,000 homes served by potentially-water-contaminating lead service lines – more than any other US city.“I think residents have reason to be concerned,” said public health professor Benjamin Huynh, who authored the study with Elizabeth Chin and Mathew Kiang. “I think this should be a call to get your water tested for lead, see what the results are, then make your decisions accordingly.”Huynh said the idea to conduct the research came after seeing the Guardian’s analysis of 24,000 city water tests, which found one third of home water tests had more lead than the federal limit for bottled drinking water, which is 5 parts per billion (ppb).The Johns Hopkins study used a more stringent measure, and flagged as concerning any home tests that detected more than 1 ppb. Huynh said this is based on the fact that no level of lead consumption is considered safe and lead service lines can often create spikes in lead levels that go undetected, especially after they are disturbed by nearby construction. Similarly, the American Academy of Pediatrics has called for state and local governments to limit the lead in school drinking fountains to no more than 1 ppb.The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a municipal “action level” of 15ppb, meaning that cities are only required to notify the public when at least 10% of a small sample of homes tested are above that amount.By this measure, Chicago is in compliance.While the EPA is proposing to require most cities around the nation to remove all lead service lines within 10 years, it is giving Chicago 40 years to do so because of the large number of unreplaced pipes in the city.“If we’re looking at 40 more years of contaminated drinking water, what does that mean for the children?” Huynh said. “What can we do about that in the meantime?”skip past newsletter promotionOur US morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it mattersPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotionChakena Perry, Chicago water advocate for the Natural Resources Defense Council, called for the city to distribute water filters to families with lead service lines and do everything possible to speed up the work to remove them.“Clean drinking water is something that everyone deserves no matter their zip code or their life circumstances,” said Perry.City officials did not immediately respond to a request for a response Monday. The city’s newly elected mayor Brandon Johnson has vowed to replace 40,000 lead lines by 2027.But the study authors and other experts say this is not enough.“With 400,000 lead service lines, Chicago officials need to be way more aggressive in protecting their children and the population in general,” said water safety engineer Elin Betanzo, who was one of the first to flag Flint’s lead water issues. “There’s really no reason for anybody to be drinking lead in their water.”

Mystery surrounds sudden increase in steelhead trout deaths near California water pumps

Environmentalists are calling for federal intervention after 4,000 threatened fish were killed by pumps operated by the State Water Project and the Central Valley Project.

California environmental groups are urging a federal court to intervene amid a “dramatic increase” in the deaths of threatened steelhead trout at pumps operated by state and federal water managers. Since Dec. 1, more than 4,000 wild and hatchery-raised steelhead have been killed at pumps in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, according to public data for the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project. The agencies are now at about 90% of their combined seasonal take limit, which refers to the amount of wild steelhead permitted to be killed between January and March under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. A coalition of environmental and fishing groups — including the Golden State Salmon Assn., the Bay Institute and Defenders of Wildlife — are involved in ongoing litigation that seeks to challenge current federal operating plans in the delta, an estuary at the heart of the state’s water supply. They say the protocols are largely based on outdated rules dating to the Trump administration and are asking the court to require several modifications to better protect fish, including setting targets for water temperatures and upstream storage in Shasta Lake. The cause of the recent uptick in fish deaths is unclear, but the sudden increase in steelhead at the pumps is unusual, according to Ashley Overhouse, a water policy advisor with Defenders of Wildlife. About 2,100 live steelhead have also been collected from fish screens at the pumps and released downstream, a process known as “salvage,” data show. Steelhead trout fingerlings swim in a raceway pond at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Feather River Hatchery in 2021. (Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images) “We would appreciate additional monitoring, genetic sampling and, frankly, transparency [around the] increase in fish kills like this across any of the threatened and endangered species that rely on a healthy Bay Delta estuary that are dying at the pumps,” Overhouse said. “Because this is not the first increase in a fish kill over the last four years, and I don’t think, unfortunately, it will be the last.” Aggressive and impactful reporting on climate change, the environment, health and science. The Central Valley Project — a massive network of dams, reservoirs and canals operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation — is a key source of water for agricultural users in the southern part of the state. The State Water Project, operated by the California Department of Water Resources, is a similar network that provides water to about 27 million residents. But because the federal and state agencies coordinate their operations and pump jointly, the “fish death … and salvage are attributed to both parties,” Overhouse said. Central Valley steelhead are federally listed as a threatened species. A type of rainbow trout, they are a distinct population that migrate from the American River and San Joaquin River, two major tributaries of the delta. Like salmon, they are born in fresh water, migrate to the ocean, and then return to rivers as adults to spawn.“These fish that are trying to make their way out to the ocean … then get sucked into the pumps,” said Scott Artis, executive director of the Golden State Salmon Assn. “And so we end up with less and less fish making it out to the oceans, and that’s less fish that return.”The deaths of steelhead are an indicator of how the pumping is harming various fish species, and chinook salmon are also among the species that have been killed in recent weeks, Artis said. Since Dec. 1, 1,274 threatened spring-run chinook salmon and 353 endangered winter-run chinook salmon have been killed in the pumps, including wild and hatchery-raised salmon, the latest data show.Salmon populations have declined in recent years, and last year regulators decided to shut down the fishing season for fall-run chinook along the coast. A decision about this year’s salmon fishing season has yet to be announced, but it’s expected to be heavily restricted or shut down again this year. But increasing steelhead deaths due to water pumps are symptomatic of the severe stresses fish populations are experiencing, and demand changes to how the state’s water systems are managed, Artis said. “This is a big overarching problem of how this whole system in California works with these pumps and with the water diversions,” he said. “We need to reduce the amount of water that’s being pumped, and that would actually help mitigate and reduce the impact to steelhead that are being sucked into these pumps.”The latest increase in fish deaths is not the first time environmental groups have clashed with water agencies over the delta — a delicate ecosystem that has in recent years been imperiled by heavy water withdrawals for agriculture and cities. Bureau of Reclamation officials said they are working with the Department of Water Resources to reduce pumping at the Harvey O. Banks pumping plant and the nearby Jones pumping plant in two main channels in the south delta — the Old and Middle rivers. The reductions are being made “due to a large number of Central Valley steelhead being observed and collected at the Skinner Delta Fish Protective and Tracy Fish Collection facilities upstream of the pumping plants,” the agency wrote in a statement. Officials with both agencies acknowledged that the fish can be vulnerable at pump screens during the wet and snowy months that coincide with their movement through the delta. But late winter and early spring are “also an important time for DWR to capture and move water into storage,” said Ted Craddock, deputy director with the State Water Project.He noted that the agency operates its pumps in accordance with state and federal permits, including rules that require reduced pumping when endangered fish move into the vicinity of the pumps. It reduced pumping in January when delta smelt and winter-run chinook salmon were observed in the area, and again in February when steelhead moved in. Despite the reduction, steelhead continued to be collected at the fish screens, Craddock said, including a small portion that were not wild but “poorly marked hatchery fish” that are not protected under the 2019 rules, formally known as the National Marine Fisheries Service Biological Opinion. “DWR hypothesizes that many wild steelhead moved into the vicinity of the pumps prior to the large storms last week and are subsequently [resting] near the pumps,” he said. “Given current lower pumping levels and high flows as result of the storms last week, DWR does not believe the SWP is drawing additional steelhead near the pumps.”Even so, the agency on Monday again reduced its pumping from 2,400 cubic feet per second to 600 cubic feet per second, “which may help steelhead rearing near the SWP pumps to move quickly downstream en route to the ocean,” Craddock said. “In fact, since the initiation of the March 11 pumping reduction, DWR has not collected any steelhead at its fish screens.” He added that the agency plans to initiate a study on Friday to track the movements of steelhead and assess whether the pumping reduction is effective. The DWR is also making new investments in steelhead monitoring, including using new DNA technology to identify the origin of steelhead showing up at the fish screens. The San Joaquin River flows past Dos Rios Ranch Preserve near Modesto. (Loren Elliott / For The Times) Meanwhile, federal officials are also working with the Bureau of Reclamation to reexamine the 2019 biological opinions that govern the state and federal operations, including proposed thresholds for losses of salmon and steelhead at the delta pumping facilities.Under the proposal, weekly loss thresholds would “prompt action before disproportionate impacts on steelhead occur in a single week,” said Michael Milstein, a spokesperson for NOAA Fisheries. This would be a change from the current approach, which uses seasonal loss thresholds to trigger management actions.The Bureau of Reclamation is also proposing to develop a steelhead science plan, which would include a “juvenile production estimate” framework for the San Joaquin and Sacramento river basins, he said. That estimate “can then be used to develop loss criteria for steelhead that are scaled according to population size and trends instead of historic loss levels, which is what is currently used.”This sort of estimate is already used for management decisions regarding endangered winter-run chinook salmon, Milstein said, and is “recognized as a scientifically durable approach.”The evaluation of the biological opinion is expected to be completed by the end of this year, Milstein said. Until then, the water agencies are operating under interim plans that are supposed to be reviewed and approved by the court every year, with 2024’s update still pending. Artis, of the Golden State Salmon Assn., noted that the fish deaths have occurred at the pumps despite increased flows from recent storms. “Even with more water out there, there’s still a lot of water diversions that are happening,” he said. “If you can reduce the pumping, then you don’t have quite that pull, that suction through there, that can just basically grab those baby fish.”The steelhead deaths add more ammunition to the ongoing tug-of-war between environmentalists and the state water managers, who are also deadlocked over a proposed plan to build a $16-billion, 45-mile tunnel that would move more water out of the delta to regions to the south. State officials have touted the Delta Conveyance Project as a critical climate adaptation strategy and a key component of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s strategy for a hotter, drier California.Overhouse, of Defenders of Wildlife, said she believes it is possible for the state to achieve both goals — water capture and wildlife protection — at the same time. “It is not something that is easy — they are the most complex water projects, arguably, in the world,” she said of the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project. But increasing storage along the upstream reservoirs would make it easier for the agencies to better utilize stormwater runoff, and to hold water for movement through the system later in the year.“While I recognize how important these operations are, it is still my belief that it can be achieved — both higher end-of-year storage as well as meeting those pumping needs,” Overhouse said. “And most importantly ... protecting the threatened and endangered species that rely on this estuary.” Newsletter Toward a more sustainable California Get Boiling Point, our newsletter exploring climate change, energy and the environment, and become part of the conversation — and the solution. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.

Water firms’ profits in England and Wales almost double since 2019, find Lib Dems

Party to call for measures to stop companies prioritising profit over environment at spring conferenceWater companies in England and Wales have almost doubled their profits since 2019.During this parliament, which started in 2019, pre-tax profits at water companies have climbed by 82%, according to a Liberal Democrat analysis of Companies House data. Continue reading...

Water companies in England and Wales have almost doubled their profits since 2019.During this parliament, which started in 2019, pre-tax profits at water companies have climbed by 82%, according to a Liberal Democrat analysis of Companies House data.It found that in 2022-23, England’s water firms made £1.7bn in pre-tax profits. This is up 82% since 2018-19, when the same companies made £955m. Since 2018-19, water firms have made £4.2bn in pre-tax profits.At the Lib Dem spring conference, which starts on Friday, the party will announce a range of measures to stop water companies from prioritising profit over the environment. It will call for an additional 16% levy on top of corporate tax for water firms, and ask for this to pay for river cleanups and also the salaries of environmental journalists in each region. The party is dubbing this a “sewage tax”.Water companies plan to increase bills by up to 40% by the end of the decade in order to pay for infrastructure improvements such as fixing leaky pipes and building new sewers. A large chunk of water bills, 28% in the case of Thames Water, also goes to servicing debt.The Lib Dem leader, Ed Davey, said: “These eye-watering profits are a national scandal. Whilst our rivers, lakes and coastlines get destroyed by raw sewage, these polluting firms are laughing all the way to the bank. Frankly, the whole thing stinks.The Lib Dem leader, Ed Davey, said that under the Tories ‘water firms have prospered and got away with environmental vandalism’. Photograph: Thomas Krych/Zuma Press Wire/Rex/Shutterstock“This is concrete proof that under the Conservatives, water firms have prospered and got away with environmental vandalism. Britain needs a new wave of local journalists to hold polluting companies to account.“This bold plan will increase public awareness of environmental tragedies, and help hold powerful companies to account. There are so many stories to tell in local communities, and it seems fitting that the water firms pay up to fund the next generation of sewage sleuths.“I was proud to launch our party’s campaign on this issue three years ago, and thrust water quality into the Westminster spotlight. Liberal Democrat activists across the country are spearheading the fight against polluting and profiteering water firms.”Water UK, which represents the water industry, has been contacted for comment.

A new era of growth in the dry West faces water woes

As Western states juggle expansion and water scarcity, communities from Las Vegas to Phoenix are hitting the brakes on development.Jennifer Yachnin reports for E&E News.In short:Recent legal and executive actions across Western states are limiting new construction due to the scarcity of water resources, underscoring the clash between booming populations and dwindling water supplies.The Nevada Supreme Court ruled against a large development outside Las Vegas, highlighting the challenges of balancing growth with environmental sustainability and water rights.Efforts to reduce water consumption in places like southern Nevada, through more efficient homes and restrictions on water use, point towards possible solutions amidst growing concerns.Key quote:"The era of limits is upon us."— Kathy Jacobs, director of the Center for Climate Adaptation Science and Solutions at the University of ArizonaWhy this matters:Communities across states like California, Arizona, and Nevada are grappling with the reality that water, once considered an abundant resource, is now a critically limited one. In 2022, Arizona experienced the worst drought conditions in more than 1,000 years, which dried up reservoirs, exposed regulatory loopholes and further exposed environmental injustice.

As Western states juggle expansion and water scarcity, communities from Las Vegas to Phoenix are hitting the brakes on development.Jennifer Yachnin reports for E&E News.In short:Recent legal and executive actions across Western states are limiting new construction due to the scarcity of water resources, underscoring the clash between booming populations and dwindling water supplies.The Nevada Supreme Court ruled against a large development outside Las Vegas, highlighting the challenges of balancing growth with environmental sustainability and water rights.Efforts to reduce water consumption in places like southern Nevada, through more efficient homes and restrictions on water use, point towards possible solutions amidst growing concerns.Key quote:"The era of limits is upon us."— Kathy Jacobs, director of the Center for Climate Adaptation Science and Solutions at the University of ArizonaWhy this matters:Communities across states like California, Arizona, and Nevada are grappling with the reality that water, once considered an abundant resource, is now a critically limited one. In 2022, Arizona experienced the worst drought conditions in more than 1,000 years, which dried up reservoirs, exposed regulatory loopholes and further exposed environmental injustice.

EPA orders Watts metal recycler to prevent water pollution

Federal regulators are requiring S&W Atlas Metal & Iron, one of Los Angeles' oldest metal recyclers, to upgrade its stormwater treatment system.

A crane lifts scrap metal at Atlas Iron & Metal Co., in Watts, in June 2020. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ordered a scrap metal recycler in Watts to take action to prevent chemicals from washing into local storm drains and drifting onto the campus of a neighboring high school.Federal regulators are requiring S&W Atlas Metal & Iron, one of the city’s oldest metal recyclers, to upgrade its stormwater treatment system and limit metallic debris from migrating off its property. The facility is next to Jordan High School, where students and staff have long complained that school grounds have been coated in metallic dust and pelted with metal shrapnel.In recent years, as heavy rains have showered Los Angeles, the scrap yard’s operations have allowed polluted stormwater to drift onto the high school grounds, according to the EPA.Federal investigators also found stormwater discharged from the facility contained copper, iron, zinc and aluminum above federal standards. This industrial wastewater flows into Compton Creek, a tributary of the Los Angeles River.Federal regulators accused Atlas’ operators of not implementing the proper controls to mitigate pollution from leaving their site. It called on Atlas to make improvements to its stormwater management system to comply with federal water pollution rules, or else the facility could face civil penalties.“Tackling the harmful pollution carried in stormwater is a vital part of the Clean Water Act. This order requires Atlas to improve their stormwater treatment and eliminate any water pollutant discharge from leaving the site and reaching Jordan High School,” said Martha Guzman, EPA Region 9 administrator. “EPA is committed to protecting human health and the environment by reducing exposure to lead and heavy metals, especially for children and communities with environmental justice concerns.”LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho applauded the federal intervention, saying he hope it serves as a stern warning for other polluters that are located near district campuses.“It sends a powerful message, not only to [Atlas], but to other entities whose close proximity to schools and to residences poses an imminent health risk. And this isn’t just symbolic in this case. It will go a long way in terms of empowering the district with future actions to protect the health and well-being of our students and the community surrounding our schools.”Under the agreement with the EPA, the facility operators have vowed to comply with federal water rules, although they did not admit to wrongdoing.“Atlas Iron and Metal is committed to safe, responsible, and environmentally conscious operations in Watts,” said a spokesperson for Atlas. “The agreement to further enhance our existing stormwater management program reaffirms that commitment to the community and our neighbors, which extends to working cooperatively and in good faith with government regulators.”Atlas Iron & Metal has been mired in legal issues over the last several years. In 2020, Los Angeles Unified School District has filed a federal lawsuit against the facility for “continuing to allow dangerous, sharp metal projectiles, fine metallic dust and other objects to be launched or emitted from their property.” Soon after, the Los Angeles City Attorney also sued the facility alleging, in part, that its scrap metal piles and a makeshift wall of cargo containers violated city rules.Last year, Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón charged the company and its father-and-son owners, Gary and Matthew Weisenberg, with 22 felonies and two misdemeanors. The criminal complaint alleges the scrapyard illegally disposed of hazardous materials, including brain-damaging lead, on at least five occasions between July 2020 and August 2022.Their next scheduled court date is April 24. Newsletter Toward a more sustainable California Get Boiling Point, our newsletter exploring climate change, energy and the environment, and become part of the conversation — and the solution. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.

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