Author: Kavita Jain-Cocks

Kavita Jain-Cocks has been an intern at the Columbia Water Center since October 2010. She is a second year undergraduate student in Columbia University’s School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Columbia University to Monitor NYC Waterways

Dr. Wade McGillis of Columbia University’s Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory is the Lead Principal Investigator on a new project entitled “NYC Sustainable Urban Water Quality: the Earthwatch Institute Freshwater Program”, set to take place through January 2017. Dr. McGillis and his staff will be working in partnership with the Earth Watch Institute to deliver this…
Tensiometers in Punjab

So far, tensiometers have been tested in four central districts of Punjab, initially with more than 500 farmers the first year, and then peaking with an additional 4,500 farmers in 2011 before testing was scaled back. Data showed, on average, a 30 percent reduction in the water used in the test plots when compared with…
Should Universities Ban Bottled Water?

Recently deciding to end the sale of bottled water on its campus, the University of Vermont joins a growing group colleges and universities attempting make more environmentally friendly decisions. Although largely student driven movements, these changes are not always met by acceptance and praise by everyone in the community.
High Hopes and Low Expectations for 17th UN Climate Change Conference

Numerous please for comprehensive action aimed at the 17th United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa have been issued. However, many doubt that meaningful policies will be passed and have criticized the United States’ position in these talks.
China’s Decade Plan for Water

For the first time, China’s No. 1 central document outlining the government’s priorities for the coming year focuses on the construction of water resources acknowledging its importance as a “strategic resource” and its necessity to the economy.
Pharmaceuticals in the Water Supply: Is this a threat?

According to the GAO, a “study focused on untreated source water used by public drinking water systems” found that 53 of 74 sites tested had at least one pharmaceutical present, and in 2010 the EPA showed that 54 active pharmaceutical ingredients and 10 metabolites, the product of biological changes to a chemical, had been found…
Portland Opposes a Federal Rule due to a “Unique Water Source”

In Portland, Oregon Federal Water Treatment Rule LT2 faces opposition due to high water costs and what its City Commissioner describes as its “unique water source”.
$New York Times Raises Concerns about Hydrofracking$

New York Times Raises Concerns about Hydrofracking

An article in the New York Times has prompted debate over the effects of hydrofracking, a means of obtaining natural gas, on drinking water supplies.
Record-Breaking Amounts of Snow Raise Problems for Cities

These record breaking amounts of snow have caused numerous concerns both economical and environmental and as snowfalls pile up cities run out of room to put the snow. One suggested solution was to dump the snow into waterways even though it became a mixture of many pollutants including, but not limited to, motor oil and…

Columbia University to Monitor NYC Waterways

Dr. Wade McGillis of Columbia University’s Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory is the Lead Principal Investigator on a new project entitled “NYC Sustainable Urban Water Quality: the Earthwatch Institute Freshwater Program”, set to take place through January 2017. Dr. McGillis and his staff will be working in partnership with the Earth Watch Institute to deliver this…
Tensiometers in Punjab

So far, tensiometers have been tested in four central districts of Punjab, initially with more than 500 farmers the first year, and then peaking with an additional 4,500 farmers in 2011 before testing was scaled back. Data showed, on average, a 30 percent reduction in the water used in the test plots when compared with…
Should Universities Ban Bottled Water?

Recently deciding to end the sale of bottled water on its campus, the University of Vermont joins a growing group colleges and universities attempting make more environmentally friendly decisions. Although largely student driven movements, these changes are not always met by acceptance and praise by everyone in the community.
High Hopes and Low Expectations for 17th UN Climate Change Conference

Numerous please for comprehensive action aimed at the 17th United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa have been issued. However, many doubt that meaningful policies will be passed and have criticized the United States’ position in these talks.
China’s Decade Plan for Water

For the first time, China’s No. 1 central document outlining the government’s priorities for the coming year focuses on the construction of water resources acknowledging its importance as a “strategic resource” and its necessity to the economy.
Pharmaceuticals in the Water Supply: Is this a threat?

According to the GAO, a “study focused on untreated source water used by public drinking water systems” found that 53 of 74 sites tested had at least one pharmaceutical present, and in 2010 the EPA showed that 54 active pharmaceutical ingredients and 10 metabolites, the product of biological changes to a chemical, had been found…
Portland Opposes a Federal Rule due to a “Unique Water Source”

In Portland, Oregon Federal Water Treatment Rule LT2 faces opposition due to high water costs and what its City Commissioner describes as its “unique water source”.
$New York Times Raises Concerns about Hydrofracking$

New York Times Raises Concerns about Hydrofracking

An article in the New York Times has prompted debate over the effects of hydrofracking, a means of obtaining natural gas, on drinking water supplies.
Record-Breaking Amounts of Snow Raise Problems for Cities

These record breaking amounts of snow have caused numerous concerns both economical and environmental and as snowfalls pile up cities run out of room to put the snow. One suggested solution was to dump the snow into waterways even though it became a mixture of many pollutants including, but not limited to, motor oil and…