Drought drains South Carolina lake

A decaying highway, plunged deep underwater after Lake Hartwell was dammed in the 1950s, sits exposed once again across what remains of the bay outside Big Water Marina.

It's a depressing reminder of the toll from a stubborn Southern drought that only recently began to abate with replenishing rains this fall. Much of the region has recovered, but a ring stretching from northeast Georgia to the western Carolinas remains stuck in "extreme" drought.

And Hartwell, a massive 56,000-acre lake straddling Georgia-South Carolina state line, is near the epicenter. Even after a spate of recent downpours, its water line is nearly 18 feet below normal levels.

"We never thought we'd see it. We never thought the lake would go this far down," said Jane Davis, who built the marina from the ground up with her husband. "Everyone needs water, but Hartwell has finally given more water than it can take."

Forecasters say there's no telling when the drought will end.

"When you start looking at an area like that that's been under duress so long, even one or two rain events aren't going to completely wipe away the long-term problems," said Brian Fuchs, a climatologist with the National Drought Mitigation Center...

--Deseret News

Wisconsin plant treats wastewater with sugar, molasses

Ingredients better suited for a cookie recipe are being used to treat Janesville's wastewater.

Workers are dumping sugar and molasses into the wastewater at the treatment plant.

Utilities director Dan Lynch said that the ingredients replace chemicals that aren't as friendly to the environment...

--WISC TV.com

Rubber sidewalks flex their muscle in Poynette, Wisconsin

Environmentally Friendly Sidewalks Save Trees

Poynette, Wis. -- Village officials in Poynette are bouncing with pride with their groundbreaking move to save some of the city's oldest trees.

Tree-lined streets are majestic and beautiful, but they come at a cost, WISC-TV reported."What was happening was the roots further down were lifting the soil and that was lifting the concrete," said Poynette Village Commissioner Dennis Lynn.

It's a problem faced along many urban streets: older trees breaking through sidewalks and causing dangerous obstacles for walkers...

--WISC TV