#pipeline contract

Pipeline contract: FG must pay ex-militants, says Asari-Dokubo

Former Niger Delta militant leader, Mujahid Asari-Dokubo, has called on the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to pay contractors of the oil pipeline surveillance project in the country. (more…)

H2bid.com announces that it is providing a service that it is helping companies find contracts in the global water utility industry. H2bid.com is the world’s largest clearinghouse for water utility contract opportunities. Bids, tenders, and requests for proposal from all over the world are updated regularly. H2bid.com exclusively focuses on providing leads for companies seeking water utility contracts. Free email bid alert are sent to those who have signed for it when a business opportunity is posted on the site. The alert email is sent every day and for every bid posting. The membership plans are cost effective and can be viewed at http://www.h2bid.com/userplan.aspx. There are advertisement opportunities for manufacturers to advertise to water utility vendors. Advertising opportunities are listed at http://www.h2bid.com/adpage.aspx. In addition to making procurement an easy and accessible task, H2bid offers other related services like a collaboration site for contractors and subcontractors, a catalog site, and an auction site. H2find.com helps contractors and subcontractors collaborate with each other for the purpose of partnering on water and wastewater projects. Check out www.h2find.com. Vendors serving the water industry can apply for commercial financing online at H2bid Finance www.h2bidfinance.com H2catalog.com – www.h2catalog.com – is an online catalog that allows vendors to display their products for potential buyers. H2bid also offers a unique bid research service, providing vendors with access to information about previously-awarded water utility contracts, local contact persons within a US utility, and other customized research requests. More information about H2bid Research is available at http://www.h2bid.com/h2bidresearch.php. H2bid produces original articles on water issues and a plethora of other information at the H2bid Blog - www.h2bidblog.com. The blog publishes thought-provoking articles on water related issues around the world.

As readers of this blog may be aware, the State of California has been facing many challenges with respect to its freshwater management, endangered species, and agriculture. In November, 2009, the state took a step forward to face those challenges in the form of four bills that total over $11 billion in funding directed toward the state’s river systems, lakes, and other water management projects. The bills cover four major areas of water management. The first, Senate Bill No. 1 addresses the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta area and lays out a plan for reestablishment of the natural wetlands while preserving the state’s fresh water resources. The second bill, Senate Bill No. 6 requires that localities monitor groundwater levels to avoid pumping aquifers dry. Senate Bill No. 7 aims to bring urban and agricultural water users to the table to begin a real discussion about water conservation. Finally, Senate Bill No. 8 addresses the practice of water diversion and seeks to set up a more equitable playing field for all the state’s water stakeholders. Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Plan The Delta Plan, as it is called, establishes the twin goals of providing a more reliable water supply along with restoring and enhancing the Delta ecosystem. To accomplish these goals, the new law establishes the Delta Stewardship Council; the Council, staffed by seven appointed members who are intended to bring a balanced, state-wide view to the Council. The Council’s mandate sets both goals as “coequal” that is, conservancy and water availability must both be pursued and neither may trump the other in priority or urgency. Additionally, the law directs state agencies and local governance boards to definitively establish water levels that are needed to maintain the biodiversity in the region. Funding from a recent ballot-initiative will be directed toward improving the pumping stations and flood control mechanisms such that these critical operations continue but the biodiversity of the Delta can be maintained. Groundwater Monitoring For the first time in the state’s history, California will require local agencies to monitor groundwater levels in both drought years and so-called “normal” years. This is critical to avoiding the water “slump” problem that was identified by this blog some months ago. Namely, during the drought years, conservation lags behind the drought – in effect the conservation doesn’t usually begin until the drought is well underway and the aquifer water levels are reduced. Then, when the normal rains come again, the conservation abruptly ends – without ever giving the aquifer an opportunity to replenish. This abusive cycle results in dangerously low water levels and an unpredictability to water availability in the longer term. The new law seeks to avoid these risks through constant monitoring – drought or rainy. Statewide Water Conservation Senate Bill No. 7 requires urban water agencies to reduce water consumption by 20 percent per capita by 2020. The importance of this action cannot be overstated. For the first time, the State of California is actively seeking to stabilize or even reduce overall water use. These agencies have wide latitude in how best to achieve the reduction goal but mechanisms include penalties for offenders and increased funding for agencies that need capital to implement conservation plans. The bill goes further by requiring agricultural water use planning for the first time in the state’s history. These plans will look at ways of delivering water to growers in a more equitable manner and also seek to implement best practices aimed at conservation in the agricultural fields with a goal of replacing ever-increasing water use with improved sustainability in agriculture Water Diversion and Use The state will be directing hundreds of millions of dollars at multiple projects aimed at securing the reliability of the state’s water supply. Included in these projects will be flood protection projects that will reduce the risk of levee failures that would jeopardize water conveyance. Additionally, the State will pursue integrated regional water management projects to reduce dependence on the Delta, which currently accounts for a large portion of the State’s fresh water sourcing. Governor Schwarzenegger and state lawmakers showed a cooperative spirit, working together to craft these bills. Though the challenges facing the state were demanding and the problems offered no easy answers, the solutions that they’ve come to appear solid. While these bills may not solve every water-related problem that California is facing, they do appear to set the state on a path toward sustainable water solutions.