Knoxville water pollution remains a concern for professionals, environmental groups.
The sunlight bounces off the flowing water of the Tennessee River and connecting streams.
It might be a picturesque scene for residents, but what lays in the water is a concern for professionals and environmental groups in the Knoxville area.
“The Tennessee River has routinely listed as one of the top 20 most populated rivers in the U.S.,” according to Dr. Mike McKinney, a professor of Environmental Science at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Then, increasingly agricultural, we have a lot of runoff from tomato farms and crops,” McKinney said.
“We have funded a $38,000 research lab on second creek to monitor the water quality and water pollution…that will go over for three to four year period,” according to Preston Jacobsen, a sustainability manager at UTK’s Office of Sustainability.
Creeks are a lot worse than the rivers.
Water pollution has also affected Knoxville’s drinking water.
Knoxville’s drinking water comes from the Tennessee River and although the water is filtrated, some chemicals are still present in the water, according to McKinney.
Knoxville residents can help reduce Knoxville’s water pollution by getting involved in cleanup efforts and promoting environmental awareness, according to Jacobsen.

New Lawsuit Filed in Next Chapter of Dimock, Pennsylvania, Fracking Water Pollution Saga.
Kemble lives around the corner from the embattled Carter Road, where his neighbors have been struggling for years with a similar water pollution suit against Cabot.
However, the judge in their case recently overturned the verdict amid an ongoing dispute over the legality of evidence the families’ attorney referenced during the trial.
The Timeline After Kemble filed a complaint with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the lawsuit outlines that Cabot agreed to a consent order in 2009.
Kemble says that doing so led to groundwater contamination, causing his well water to become “brown and cloudy.” In 2009, Costello I was wrapped into the consent order, and in 2013 the Pennsylvania DEP ordered that Cabot plug the well.
Cabot chose to use the horizontal drilling technique on three of them.
The complaint alleges that this led to further discoloration of Kemble’s water, “turning [it] black, like mud, [with] a strong chemical odor” once fracking began in November 2012.
Cabot has already weighed in on the lawsuit and its claims, and is of the opinion that they are without merit.
“Cabot intends to vigorously defend the lawsuit.” Kemble formerly worked for the drilling industry for nearly four years.
DeSmog previously reported that Kemble has developed bladder cancer, which he thinks is linked to the drilling activity.

Hi, I’m Angela Godwin for WaterWorld magazine, bringing you water and wastewater news headlines for the week of March 20th.
Coming up… Water, wastewater funding takes hit in Trump budget proposal Water accelerator showcases winners, finalists Utah water data ordered to be made public Study finds water quality impacted by ‘legacy phosphorus’ The Trump administration released its proposed budget last week, which includes several cuts impacting water, wastewater and environmental programs across the nation.
However, this proposal guts the USDA infrastructure budget which has funded rural infrastructure for the past 70 years."
The budget also proposes a 31% cut to the Environmental Protection Agency, which would impact funding for enforcement, water pollution cleanup programs like the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, and the Superfund toxic cleanup program.
Water innovation accelerator Imagine H2O showcased the winners and finalists of its 8th annual innovation program last week.
Twelve water data startups were selected from 180 applicants from 30 countries.
Top honors went to Utilis for its cost-competitive satellite imagery solution to detect leaks in water distribution systems.
The database used by the state of Utah to calculate its annual water usage and future water needs should be public information.
Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison have released a study that suggests phosphorus buildup in soils can have a long-lasting impact on water quality.
The scientists suggest that solutions be focused on "stopping phosphorus from going onto the landscape or mining the excess amount that is already built up.” You can learn more about their research at wisc.edu.

Hiawatha Lane housing complex could be coming, $2.5m for pipe clears RTM.
A 1,600-foot long sewer extension from Davenport Avenue to Hiawatha Lane would also be required for the development to move forward.
The pump upgrade would cost Summit around $150,000, according to Edwards.
“So by doing this, it really does allow for, it’s a big development hurdle that if anyone wants to develop in the Saugatuck area or Hiawatha area will basically have the capacity.
“You can’t take a risk of failure and this condition here, we’re dealing with the potential risk of failure.
Plastic will last longer with the corrosive environment,” Edwards said.
Set to begin work in July, over an eight-week stretch, the replacement will require the entirety of the lot 5 commuter parking lot (next to the Black Duck Café) to be shut down for that time.
“Unfortunately, it will be Chief Foti’s (Koskinas) nightmare, but we’ve coordinated with him and there will be alternative parking.” , the attorney representing Summit Saugatuck, said that the town’s Department of Public Works has been saying since September 2015 that the force main pipe and pump station upgrade will happen this summer.
The Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) has advised Summit that its earlier application in 2016 for a sewer extension was premature and that it needed to wait until the work was completed.” In an August 2016 interview, Bloom said that the town denied Summit’s application for a sewer extension because the replacement and repair projects would take two to five years to complete.
“They (the town’s Water Pollution Control Authority) denied it because, at present, the pump station behind Black Duck Cafe needs repairs and there’s a force main pipe, which goes under the Saugatuck River to the sewer treatment plant, that has to be repaired,” Bloom said.

County Conservationists Ask Joint Finance Committee To Restore Their Funding.
County conservation officials are calling on lawmakers to restore funding aimed at helping them work with farmers to reduce water pollution.
Gov.
Scott Walker’s budget proposal provides $8 million for the state’s 72 county conservation offices.
"What is at stake is the 80 year Wisconsin tradition of public – private partnerships to protect land and water resources," he said.
"That is the legend of John Muir, Aldo Leopold and the vast majority of Wisconsin citizens."
Dunn County Conservationist Dan Prestebak testified that he’d like to see funding restored to $9.3 million, the level set in the 2011-2013 state budget.
"We see our list of impaired waters growing.
More than 100 people attended Wednesday’s Joint Finance Committee Hearing.
Other prominent issues brought up during the day testimony included calls to maintain Gov.

Ministry asks for quick action to mitigate effects.
China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) on Wednesday confirmed there are two large pits of sewage in North China, urging the local government to conduct examination of underground water and ease the impact on the neighborhood.
Xiang Chun, head of the NGO, told the Global Times that the two pits in Dacheng county are located in suburban areas, while the one in Jinghai district in Tianjin, which covers an area of 150,000 square meters, is in the middle of farmland.
According to the MEP, Dacheng government said that the two pits were caused by digging years ago and was polluted in 2013 by illegal pouring of sulfuric acid.
The government has been dealing with the polluted pits all the time, but the pollution control work hasn’t been done yet.
These pits have been there for almost six years, but they did not cause us any inconvenience because they are nowhere near residential areas, a villager surnamed Chen from Zhaofu township told the Global Times on Wednesday.
Water in these pits is rust-colored and in some areas, the water’s pH level has already reached 1, said Xiang.
The pH scale measures the acidity or alkalinity of a liquid, and ranges from 0 to 14, with 7 being neutral and anything below 7 acidic.
In 2014, an industry owner surnamed Li in East China’s Anhui Province was sentenced to six months in prison and fined 10,000 yuan for using sewage pit to discharge pollutants, because his behavior severely damaged the environment, the China Environment News reported in 2015.
Groundwater pollution is more serious in North China than other parts of the country because the ground water level in this area is relatively low, which makes it easier for the pollutants to reach groundwater, Ma said.

Gazette opinion: Montana’s Earth Day challenge.
Want to know how healthy or unhealthy today’s air is in your community?
Clean air, clean water and healthy landscapes are integral to our quality of life in Montana.
On Earth Day 2017, which will be observed on Saturday, the health of our planet is threatened by changes in climate.
In America, people are driving more fuel-efficient cars, choosing energy-saving appliances and conserving energy to save money — and the planet.
One Trump order aims to trash plans to reduce the emissions that are exacerbating climate change.
The weight of scientific evidence suggests that we have to reduce our air pollutant emissions to slow down climate change.
There’s much we can do by choosing to reduce our personal contributions to air and water degradation.
Write letters to The Gazette to express your opinions.
Write to your state legislators and to your Congressional delegation.

China to monitor water pollution spending.
BEIJING, April 19 (Xinhua) — China unveiled new measures Wednesday to prevent misuse of water pollution funds.
A performance rating framework will be set up to assess whether the money is spent wisely and whether the anti-pollution project is well managed, according to a statement jointly released by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Finance.
After a comprehensive review on their performance, fund users will be graded on a four-tier rating system, and local authorities will reward the good, and punish the bad, the statement said.
The detailed guideline came as authorities try to rein in the misuse of environmental funds.
China’s top auditor has found that 17.6 billion yuan (about 2.56 billion U.S. dollars) of fiscal funds for pollution control and resource management in 2016 were not used effectively.
A total of 397 water protection projects had failed to achieve the desired effect, and some environment funds were not distributed in accordance with special protection plans, according to the National Audit Office.

Take small bites out of Earth Day to make it more digestible.
Earth Day can be overwhelming.
I try not to think globally about Earth Day, despite its name, and more of a reminder to start some good environmental deeds in a small way, stretch them throughout the year, and blend them into my everyday life.
I would never suggest breaking your coffee habit, but at least try to break the senseless habit of excess paper consumption and the destruction of trees.
Bring a reusable cup for your next coffee break.
Idling cars are the devil’s work.
Cars run on fossil fuels, which along with coal-burning power plants, are the biggest contributors to the greenhouse gases that cause climate change.
Don’t give up your car (although doing that, at least once a week, and buying a fuel efficient car are things to ponder), but decrease the amount of time your exhaust is spewing into the atmosphere, otherwise known as idling.
If you do use plastic bags, make sure to recycle them at stores that distribute them.
You can also recycle plastic bread bags, cereal bags and those pesky newspaper bags.

China To Monitor Water Pollution Funds.
BEIJING, (Pakistan Point News – 19th Apr, 2017 ): China unveiled new measures Wednesday to prevent misuse of water pollution funds.
A performance rating framework will be set up to assess whether the money is spent wisely and whether the anti-pollution project is well managed, a statement said jointly released by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Finance.
After a comprehensive review on their performance, fund users will be graded on a four-tier rating system, and local authorities will reward the good, and punish the bad, the statement added.
The detailed guideline came as authorities try to rein in the misuse of environmental funds.
China’s top auditor has found that 17.6 billion yuan (about 2.56 billion U.S. dollars) of fiscal funds for pollution control and resource management in 2016 were not used effectively.
A total of 397 water protection projects had failed to achieve the desired effect, and some environment funds were not distributed in accordance with special protection plans, according to the National Audit Office.
APP/Xinhua/qzi/ahn