News & Public Affairs

Florida's drought; unreasonable private sewer rates

04/30/12 Jon Butts
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Tags: drought, water, sewer, humanure, Earth Ship

We started today’s show with an interview with Robyn Felix with the Southwest Florida Water Management District. Yep, it’s dry and looks like it’ll be that way for another month. On water conservation the first thing Robyn mentioned was checking for leaks and there’s more in www.watermatters.org about finding them. Joining the show next was a resident of Polk County whose sewer rates recently tripled. Kelduyn Garland claims that Aqua Star, her sewer provider that’s owned by an out of sta...

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Palestinian Playwright Uses Peaceful Methods to Challenge Israeli Occupation

04/23/12 Robert Lorei
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Tags: Dr. Abdelfattah Abusrour, Beautiful Resistance, non-violence, Bethlehem, peace activist, Alrowwad, Israeli occupation, human rights, water

Good morning, welcome to radioactivity. I'm Rob Lorei. Coming up today we'll speak with a Palestinian peace activist. Award-winning Palestinian playwright Dr. Abdelfattah Abusrour (Abed) is the initiator of “Beautiful Resistance” and director of Alrowwad, an independent center for artistic, cultural and theater training for women and children. Located in Aida Refugee Camp, Alrowwad aims to replace the ugliness of violence with the beauty of creativity. By telling about the success of “Bea...

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Tampa City Council passes update to summertime fertilizer restrictions listen

04/20/12 Samuel Johnson
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Tags: Water, Fertilizer, Environment

Tampa has an ordinance that restricts the sale and use of fertilizer during the summer months to cut down on water pollution. Thursday the council unanimously made minor changes to that ordinance.

The city council chamber was full of citizens and members of interest groups wearing pink stickers. The stickers reminded the council that they agree with the fertilizer ordinance and that it shouldn’t be watered down. The ordinance is intended to inhi...

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Alafia River may be the answer for a thirsty region: Tampa Bay Water listen

02/20/12 Janelle Irwin
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Tags: Alafia River, Tampa Bay Water, Sandra Murman, SWFWMD, water

The Alafia River in south Hillsborough County has been a source of water for the Tampa Bay region since 2003. It accounts for about one fifth of the supply. But Alison Adams, a senior manager for Tampa Bay Water, said more needs to be pumped from the river to meet rising consumption. Right now the utility is allowed to ...

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Tampa Bay Water will see HDR Engineering in court; hopes to retrieve $90 million or so listen

02/20/12 Janelle Irwin
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Tags: Tampa Bay Water, water, Richard Harrison, C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir, reservoir

Cracks in the new C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir were found in 2006. Then, Tampa Bay Water filed suit against the companies responsible for the damages including HDR Engineering. After a series of back and forth negotiations, the Tampa Bay Water Board voted unanimously today to approve an expedited process called a summary jury trial. The lawyer Tampa Bay Water has hired for the case, Ri...

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Florida reclaimed water bill encourages more reuse, but may privatize the supply listen

01/18/12 Janelle Irwin
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Tags: HB 639, reclaimed water, Bob Buckhorn, Charlie Miranda, Tampa Bay Estuary Program, Audubon, Eric Draper, Bob Graham, Legislative session 2012, Dana Young, 2012 Legislative session, water

Yesterday, a Florida House subcommittee passed a bill that would shift control of reclaimed water away from water management districts and into the hands of utilities. Even though the 12 to 2 vote shows support from representatives, not everyone thinks it’s a good idea.

Only hours before yesterday’s agriculture and natural resources subcommittee session, former U.S. Senator Bob Graham, a Democrat, urged lawmaker...

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Tampa Bay Water opposes hunting on Cypress Creek wellfield public land listen

12/20/11 Atecia Robinson
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Tags: SWFWMD, water, hunting, Tampa Bay Water

Southwest Florida Water Management District’s proposal to allow hunting on some public land met opposition Monday from Tampa Bay Water. The board of directors of Tampa Bay Water opposed changes to SWFWMD’s land management plan that would allow hunting at the Cypress Creek wellfield.

Pinellas County Commissioner and Tampa Bay Water board member [Neil Brickfi...

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State Rep. Franklin Sands explains his backing of a tax on bottled water

12/08/11 Robert Lorei
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Tags: Franklin Sands, HB 781, Florida freshwater springs, aquifer, water, taxes

On the first part of today's program: State Rep. Franklin Sands, D-Weston, has filed a bill in Tallahassee to collect a fee from bottled water companies that derive profits from the free pumping of millions of gallons of water daily from Florida’s springs and other water bodies. Last week Sands’ filed House Bill 781 which would charge large users of Florida's water supplies 5 cents a gallon. I spoke with him earlier today.

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SWFWMD considers allowing hunting on some properties, but there's opposition listen

12/06/11 Janelle Irwin
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Tags: SWFWMD, hunting, environment, guns, swiftmud, water

The Southwest Florida Water Management District, or SWFWMD, is considering opening more of its public land for hunting. Recreational users like horseback riders and hikers are squaring off against the hunters to stop the plan from proceeding.

Opponents of increased hunting on three SWFWMD properties are staking much of their debate on the financial burden it could put on the agency. Those properties are [Cypress Creek Prese...

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Water managers: shortages need to be addressed, and can be listen

11/01/11 Janelle Irwin
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Tags: water, Water conservation, water shortage, sustainability, USF, Patel Center for Global Solutions

Florida may not be facing an immediate water crisis, but ongoing water restrictions and ever-receding water levels in lakes and rivers shows there is still cause for concern. Today at USF’s Patel School of Global Sustainability, water management professionals brainstormed how to make consumption more efficient. Addressing the problem might wreak a little havoc at first but the school’s director, Dr. Kalanithy Vairavamoorthy, said without the initial burden, changes won...

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