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Newsletter of the V.1. Planning Office and the V.l. Water Resources Research a Sitar a Ps te Caribbean Research Institute 809/774-1252 College of the Virgin Islands, St.Thomas, US.Virgin Islands 00801 Ext. 250 eee Vol. 3. No. 4 August - October, 1980 NEW DIRECTOR AT CENTER Dr. Richard D. Champney has been appointed director of the Water Resources Research Center. Dr. Champney replaces Dr. Roger Peebles who served as director from 1977 until March 31, 1980. Henry H. Smith, CRI research associate, was named acting direc-— tor during the interim. Dr. Champney comes to the Virgin Islands from Washington, D.C. where he was affiliated with the U.S. Department of Interior for five years. He held positions at the Bureau of Land Management and the Office of Surface Mining. Most recently he administered the Mining and Mineral Resources Research Institute program of the Office of Surface Mining. Prior to federal employment, Dr. Champney worked in various capa- cities in the field of geology in Arizona, Michigan and Colorado. He is originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He obtained the doctoral degree in geology in 1971 from the Uni- versity of Arizona at Tucson. The subject of his dissertation as "Studies of Geologic Struc- tu res by Paleomagnetic Methods." WELLS AND DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM BEING STUDIED A project that is investigating the microbial quality of water from the public distribution system and from old dug wells in the town areas of St. John, St. Croix and St. Thomas has been started at the WRRC. The principal investigator for this pro- ject is Dr. Harvey Winters of the Fairleigh Dickinson University. Because of the age of the public water distribution systems in the Virgin Islands and the fluctuating pressures in the water lines due to rationing, many opportunities exist for water being distributed by this means to become contaminated from water leaking into the systems. There are documented cases of illness caused by use of this water. At the same time, several old wells scattered throughout the towns that were once a major source of water have been,in many cases, sealed. It was feared that water from these wells might be hazardous to public health. With these situations in mind, the study being undertaken will ascertain the microbial quality of water from these sources and determine whether pathogenic microorganisms are present in sufficient numbers that may be harmful to man. INTERESTING PUBLICATION A recently received publication, writ- ten jointly by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Farmers Home Associa- tion, Veterans Administration and the, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is entitled "Water Con- servation in Housing Assistance Programs." Approximately 50 possible actions to achieve water use conservation were studied and this resulted in publica- tion of the report. Topics discussed in the report include: - The potential for residential water use conservation. - Ideas considered - Actions recommended for early implementation. - Actions recommended for short term study. - Related issues. A copy of their report is available for review at the Water Center. * * * * WAA TA' STATISTICS Rainfall( Inches) Aug. Sept. Oct. St. Croix A.H. Airport LL 2.13 . 56 Annally 3.73 5.57 1.19 Sprat Hall 2.72 7.60 2.20 St. Thomas Fort Mylner 3.88 6.01 7.29 Dorethea 4.31 7.05 10.37 Red Hook 3.83 3.81 5.08 St. John Cruz Bay 3.85 2.54 6.69 Catheringberg 3.91 3.16 5.10 Water in Storage at Public Works (1000 gallons) St. Thomas 18,328 9,399 27,909 St. Croix 1,752 1,752 1,752 * * * * WEATHER STATION AT CVI In conjunction with the project "Land Use Runoff and Recharge on Selected Watersheds in the U.S. Virgin Islands", the WRRC has established a weather moni- toring station on the St. Thomas campus of CVI. This station is primarly intended to measure the various components of the water budget. A recording evapori- meter measures evaporation while a recording rain gage measures rainfall. Soil moisture blocks are being installed to measure changes in soil moisture. It is planned that this station will remain active even after the project ends. * * * *