DATASTREME WES WEEK SIX: 13-17 October 2003

• Matthew brings heavy rain to Louisiana -- Tropical Storm Matthew made landfall along the Louisiana Gulf Coast on Sunday morning, accompanied by torrential rains that resulted in flooding southeast of New Orleans as up 12 inches fell in some locations. [CNN]
• Japan hit by another typhoon-- Typhoon Ma-on, accompanied by maximum sustained winds of 100 mph and torrential rain, reached the eastern coast of Japan last Friday resulting in the deaths of at least two people. This typhoon (the equivalent of a hurricane in the western North Pacific) was a record eighth typhoon to strike Japan this year [USA Today]
• Oil spill clean-up from Ivan is slowed by weather--Efforts have been slowed for clean-up and repair operations that were to bring the oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico back to full operation following their encounter with Hurricane Ivan three weeks ago. Rough seas associated with blustery weather have been largely responsible for the slow return.[ENN]
• Loss of water blamed on a strike--More than 20,000 customers of a Puerto Rico water utility were without water late last week because of a strike by at least 4000 workers. [ENN]
• Water woes continue across the West -- While several areas received sufficient rain to help replenish several reservoirs, water levels on most of the reservoirs across the West continue to fall as a result of the protracted drought that in some region may be the worst in more than a century. The extremely low reservoir levels have led to major water woes. [US Water News Online]
• An institute set to study impact of dew and water droplets -- The University of California, Irvine is establishing an Environmental Molecular Science Institute that will focus on the molecular-scale boundary between liquid water droplets and the air in an attempt to understand how chemical reactions at this interface could affect atmospheric pollution and climatic change. [University of California, Irvine]
• Western drought possibly linked to a warming trend -- A team of scientists that included those from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University recently reported that based on their tree-ring analysis of drought across western North America over the last 1200 years, the current severe drought may be associated with a warming trend that could be occurring over the tropical Pacific Ocean. The team also produced a North American Drought Atlas CD-ROM. [EurekAlert!]
• A new approach used to restore acidified streams -- Scientists at an experimental forest in New Hampshire's White Mountains have been using a new approach to remedying the deteriorating water conditions of streams of eastern North America acidified by acid precipitation through the use of Wollastonite, a calcium silicate mineral that appears more effective than previously used limestone. [EurekAlert!]
• New chemical evidence could aid in revealing Martian water record -- Geologists at Indiana University and Los Alamos National Laboratory urge that magnesium sulfate salts are found on Mars, that it should be analyzed on-site in an attempt to assess the chemical record of water on that planet. [EurekAlert!]
• Celebrate Earth Science Week -- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to include the National Weather Service, along with NASA, the US Geological Survey and several professional scientific organizations such as the American Geological Institute have recognized this coming week (10-16 October) as Earth Science Week to help the public gain a better understanding and appreciation for the earth sciences and to encourage stewardship of the Earth. This year's theme will focus on Natural Hazards and the ways that earth scientists study hazards, to include hurricanes, floods and drought, in order to understand their causes and minimize their impact on society. [American Geological Institute]
• Global and US Hazards/Climate Extremes -- A review and analysis of the global impacts of various weather-related events, including drought, floods, and storms during the current month. [NCDC]
• Global Water News Watch -- Other water news sources can be obtained through the SAHRA Project at the University of Arizona [SAHRA Project]
• Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Concept of the Week: Bottled Water

During the 1990s, bottled water soared in popularity among Americans. Today, they spend more than $7 billion a year on bottled water. Although 120 to 7500 times more costly per gallon than tap water, the demand for bottled water (especially in individualized containers) continues to climb for several reasons including convenience, health concerns, and dissatisfaction with the quality and taste of municipal tap water. Furthermore, clever ad campaigns have been very successful at persuading consumers of the advantages of drinking bottled water.

Although enamored by bottled water, the U.S. consumer is confronted by a variety of different brands (more than 900), and a potentially confusing terminology on labels mostly having to do with the source of the water. According to the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA), bottled water is defined as drinking water that is sugar-free, calorie-free, and contains no sweeteners or chemical additives other than small amounts of flavors or extracts. Bottled water may also have trace amounts of sodium. Beverages containing 1% or more by weight of flavors or extracts are classified as soft drinks. Soda water, seltzer water, and tonic water are considered soft drinks not bottled water because they may contain sugar and are not calorie-free.

About 75% of all bottled water comes from the subsurface. Bottled water from a well that taps a confined aquifer under hydrologic pressure is artesian water or artesian well water. Mineral water is groundwater that contains at least 250 parts per million (ppm) of dissolved solids from natural sources (i.e., dissolved bedrock, and sediment). Sparkling water contains dissolved carbon dioxide undiminished in concentration from its natural source. Spring water is groundwater that flows naturally to the surface of the Earth where an aquifer intercepts the ground. Well water is bottled water withdrawn from a hole drilled or bored into an aquifer. Collectively, all bottled water from subsurface sources is called natural water.

The quality of bottled water from the subsurface benefits from natural filtration as groundwater slowly seeps through permeable Earth materials. Nonetheless, in many cases bottlers employ additional purification steps such as applying ozone and/or ultraviolet light as disinfecting agents. Bottled water producers who use municipal sources (about 25% of the supply) typically (but not in all cases) reprocess the water for improved quality and taste through distillation, reverse osmosis, deionization, filtration, and/or ozonation. Labels on their products may include the terms purified water or distilled water. These same labels may include the statement "from a community water system," or "from a municipal source" meaning tap water.

While efforts at quality control of bottled water are designed to protect public health, a study by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) published in March 1999 raised some questions about whether enough is being done. The NRDC tested the quality of 1000 bottles of 103 brands of bottled water and found that not all the tested water was of high quality and some samples contained contaminants (http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/nbw.asp). Although the industry has strict standards and both federal and state governments regulate bottled water quality, the NRDC argues that existing regulations are not adequate. The NRDC recommends that the Food and Drug Administration set strict limits for contaminants in bottled water and that bottled water standards be at least as strict as those applicable to municipal (tap) water supplies.

Concept of the Week: Questions

1. By convention, bottled water is drinking water that is both sugar-free and calorie-free. [(True)(False)]
2. The source of most water in bottled water is [(subsurface)(surface)] reservoirs.

• 11 October 1737...Deadly cyclone and storm surge of 42 ft raced up the Hooghly River in India and through the city of Calcutta destroying an estimated 40,000 boats and drowning as many as 300,000 people. (The Weather Doctor)
• 11 October 1846...A very intense hurricane caused great destruction on the Florida Keys. Key West was virtually destroyed with 5 feet of water reported in the city. Fort Taylor was reduced to ruins. (Intellicast)
• 11 October 1954...A deluge of 6.72 inches of rain in 48 hours flooded the Chicago River, causing $10 million in damage in the Chicago area. Unofficial reports indicated as much as 12 inches of rain fell. (9th-11th) (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
• 11-12 October 1995...Heavy rain contributed to flooding along parts of I-75 near Ocala, FL. Five sinkholes up to 10 feet deep and 15 feet wide turned I-75 into a parking lot, as traffic was backed up for more than 5 miles. (Accord Weather Calendar)
• 12 October 1886...A hurricane made landfall between Sabine Pass, TX and Johnson's Bayou, LA. Tidal waves were said to be as high as 2-story buildings. The surge extended 20 miles inland, with 150 people killed. Survivors clung to trees or floated on mattresses. Only two of 100 homes in Sabine Pass were reparable. (Accord Weather Calendar)
• 12 October 1954...Hurricane Hazel pounded Haiti and the island of Hispaniola with winds of 125 mph. Many villages were reported totally destroyed and more than 1000 Haitians die. (The Weather Doctor)
• 12 October 1962...Remnants of Typhoon Freda struck the Pacific Coast of British Columbia's Vancouver Island. Wind speeds at Victoria reached 44 mph with gusts to 87 mph. Seven people died as a result of this storm that also caused $10 million in damage. (The Weather Doctor)
• 12 October 1979...The lowest observed sea-level barometric pressure (870 mb or 25.69 inches of mercury) was recorded near Guam in the western Pacific Ocean at the center of Typhoon Tip. (The Weather Doctor)
• 14 October 1755...Red dust that was likely transported from the Sahara Desert spread across Europe. Red rain fell at Locarno, Switzerland, while red snow fell on the higher elevations of the Alps. (Accord Weather Calendar)
• 14 October 1957...Floodwaters roared through a migrant labor camp near the town of Picacho, AZ flooding fifty cabins and a dozen nearby homes. Some 250 migrant workers lost their shelter. The month was one of the wettest Octobers in Arizona weather history. (The Weather Channel)
• 15 October 1947...A hurricane made a hairpin turn off the Georgia coast after being seeded with dry ice. The storm moved over Savannah and into Georgia. (Intellicast)
• 15 October 1954...Hurricane Hazel struck the Carolina coastline near Cape Fear, NC. The hurricane (a category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson Scale) demolished every pier along a 170-mile stretch from Myrtle Beach, SC to Cedar Island, NC, and obliterated rows of beach homes. At Long Beach, 300 homes vanished; no debris remained. Hurricane Hazel also destroyed 1500 homes as it moved inland with 17-foot tides. Winds between Myrtle Beach, SC and Cape Fear, NC gusted to 150 mph. Later, the remnants of Hazel moved northward into Ontario and became the most remembered storm in Canadian history. Winds gusted to 75 mph and as much as 7.2 inches of rain fell. Eighty people died, mostly from flooding in the Toronto area (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel) (The Weather Doctor)
• 15 October 1965...Fort Lauderdale, FL was deluged with 25.28 inches of rain in a 48-hour period causing considerable road and street damage and inundating numerous homes and recently planted vegetable fields and homes. (Intellicast)
• 15 October 1999...A waterspout (a tornado over water) moved onshore at Fort Lauderdale Beach, FL and blew out a plate glass window in a bar, injuring 8 patrons. The waterspout also overturned a vehicle and caused other significant damage on Los Olas Blvd. (Accord Weather Calendar)
• 16 October 1880...A blizzard struck eastern South Dakota and southern Minnesota blocking railroads. Snowdrifts persisted throughout the following very hard winter. (Intellicast)

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Prepared by AMS WES Central Staff and Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
© Copyright, 2004, The American Meteorological Society.