On April 20, 2010 the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, located about 41 miles southeast of the Louisiana coast exploded. The explosion and subsequent fire resulted in the sinking of the drilling rig and the deaths of 11 workers. The same blowout that caused the explosion also caused an oil well fire and a massive offshore
More than 85% of the world’s oyster reefs have been lost since the 1900s, through over-harvesting of the species, increased coastal development, destruction of wetlands and increased water pollution. Oysters could one day be the answer to the complex question of how to protect California’s disappearing coastline. While a project to restore oyster populations is
Environment and Water Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Zaini Ujang said that the cleaner rivers in the Klang Valley was due to less human interference such as industrial waste and construction works, which contributes to murkey grey waters and general pollution. Globally, countries have seen their waterways clear up and native animals return as human activity
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is taking some innovative, and perhaps unusual, steps to keep Asian carp (the silver and bighead carp in particular) from infesting the Great Lakes. In the next several years several layers of protection will be used to thwart the arrival of the carp by way of the Chicago-area rivers
Invasive aquatic plants represent a serious problem in many lakes and waterways. To combat the aquatic weed infestation, herbicides are often applied directly to the water to kill the plants. Many of these herbicides are quite toxic and while permits are required prior to the application there may be flaws with the permit process. Aquatic
The water of Half Moon Lake in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, will hopefully be clearer once the city’s parks, recreation, and forestry division is done harvesting the aquatic vegetation. Due to the significant amount of floating weeds throughout the lake, the city and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources are working together to solve the problem.
About 40 trailers full of vallisneria americana, or eelgrass, have been removed from a site on the river nearby the Hamburg Road bridge since Monday, and about another 30 truckloads will be removed by Friday, said Pat Hohl, township supervisor. A Professional Lake Management Inc. crew is using operator-run machinery to harvest, or chop, the
The sweet seep of autumn rain is bringing coho salmon back home to their natal streams all over the Puget Sound basin in Washington State— where too often they encounter a bitter truth: pollution in a shocking 40 percent of their home range so bad it can inflict a swift death. The culprit is stormwater,
Wisconsin is the birthplace of modern aquatic plant harvesters. The industry has grown in response to what most Americans consider a problem: Too many plants interfering with the recreational use of our lakes and waterways. The first machine was built in response to fussy Chicago housewives! Around the turn of the century, ice was harvested