According
to a recent study by the U.S. Geological Survey, human activities are impacting
ground water resources. In study of 30 randomly selected public water-supply
wells, there was a correlation found between increasing populations and increases
in contamination.
Though
a worldwide problem, arsenic contamination of drinking water does not have a
universal solution. Instead, recent work on arsenic-tainted wells shows that
appropriate treatment varies, depending on the source of the contamination.
In late November, the ANDRILL drilling team passed the 3,000-foot mark in rock core pulled from beneath the sea floor in McMurdo Sound, and with a remarkable recovery rate of more than 98 percent. The expected final total should exceed more than 3,600 feet – the second-deepest rock core drilled in Antarctica.
With the firestorms that swept through Southern California having gotten under control, state officials are turning their attention to an even more serious, long-term problem that will most likely affect not only California but several states. The concern: water.