Perhaps counterintuitive, but interesting
January 9, 2013

Lots of farm fields in Iowa have drainage tile systems, which help carry away excess stormwater in order to prevent fields of crops from turning into marshes (much of the state used to be covered in natural wetlands). But in a drought year like 2012, one would intuitively expect that drainage tile might have injured crops by taking away moisture. But a story in the Cedar Rapids Gazette suggests that tiled fields tended to have better crop yields than comparable non-tiled fields, possibly because the tiling systems may have encouraged the crops to grow better root systems.

Tiling and other drainage practices remain somewhat contentious, though, since they may encourage the runoff of nutrients into waterways -- which may in turn contribute to high nitrate levels in raw sources of drinking water.


"People respond to incentives"
January 15, 2013

The phrase "people respond to incentives" is a reference to a widely-used introductory textbook about economics written by Harvard professor Greg Mankiw. And it's true -- normal, self-interested people will behave differently if a different set of incentives is put before them. And it is with that understanding of human nature that the city of Lincoln is considering a rate structure for water use that would help to discourage people from using large amounts of water when the city's supplies are low due to drought. Or, put another way, to encourage them to conserve by giving them financial incentives to do so. It's only at the study stage for now and will be more broadly discussed in a few weeks, but setting a rate structure that reflects the simple reality that a price that is too low when demand remains high and supply falls too low will only result in shortages -- or, as water customers might know them, mandatory water-use restrictions. Prices that fluctuate in order to incentivize conservation may be a way to escape mandatory restrictions.


Think of the water crews
January 16, 2013

A maintenance crew from Omaha's Metropolitan Utilities District had to fix a break in a 12" water main in the middle of the night this past weekend. Temperatures at the time were in the single digits, so the water that escaped the main created an ice slick on the street. So while a water-main break can create an inconvenience for the customers who are affected, it's often an even worse situation for the utility crews who have to endure harsh conditions to fix them.

Cold weather and the region's drought are a bad combination for water mains throughout Iowa and Nebraska. Cold weather creates problems since the pipes, fittings, water, and surrounding soil all expand and contract differently along with temperature changes, and this impact is even more pronounced when the mains consist of old pipe that has weakened over time. The drought just makes things even worse, since it has caused the ground to shift and crack in lots of places -- an impact noticeable with the many foundation cracks and other damage experienced throughout the area this past year. All of this adds up to a challenging year for the crews who do the work to get essential water services back into operation -- and a tip of the hard hat is due.


January 30, 2013


"When the well's dry, we know the worth of water"
January 31, 2013

The quotation comes from Benjamin Franklin's "Poor Richard's Almanack", but it's highly relevant today as the Lower Elkhorn NRD (which serves much of northeastern Nebraska) evaluates whether to limit the amount of groundwater that can be used to irrigate crops in the area. The severe drought has caused some domestic water wells to literally run dry, leaving some households without a drinking water supply. But agricultural users say that without enough water for irrigation, their crops will dry out and that, in turn, would be devastating to the local economy. The NRD voted last week to impose some limits on crop irrigation and will require any new work on domestic wells to make them deep enough to resist going dry when irrigators are using the water as well.



Past water and wastewater news updates