Tapped Out Campus Premiere on April 10th
By PLU Marketing & Communications
and Valery Jorgensen '15
Pacific Lutheran University’s MediaLab has won a 2014 Grand Prize Award from the National Broadcasting Society-Alpha Epsilon Rho for its documentary film Tapped Out: Unearthing the Global Water Crisis.
Tapped Out, which premiered publicly in Seattle in October 2013 and will debut on the PLU campus at 7 p.m. April 10, won in the Video Documentary category at the 51st Annual National Broadcasting Society Electronic Media Competition Awards Ceremony in Los Angeles on March 15, 2014.
What: The PLU premiere ofTapped Out, followed by a panel discussion.
When: 7 p.m. April 10.
Where: Studio Theater, in PLU’s Karen Hille Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.
Admission: Free and open to the public.
For more information:http://tappedoutdoc.weebly.com/
MediaLab is an award–winning, student-run media organization within PLU’s School of Arts + Communication. Overseen and advised by faculty and staff, MediaLab exemplifies PLU's commitment to student-faculty research while offering students hands-on learning opportunities.
Tapped Out was created by a team that includes Haley Huntington '14, a Business major; Communication majors Katherine Baumann '14 and Kortney Scroger '14; and junior Valery Jorgensen '15.
Huntington, who served as a senior producer on the film, said the award is extremely gratifying.
“Winning a National Broadcasting Society Award is great news for us,” said Huntington. “My fellow filmmakers and I worked hard to make the documentary thought-provoking and influential. So it’s a great feeling to be acknowledged with such a prestigious national award.”
“It is great having all of our hard work be recognized,” said Scroger, chief videographer and editor of the film.
Tapped Out focuses on water-related issues across North America and investigates how pressures on water, including drought, floods, population growth, and pollution, are resulting in new and innovative thinking. From Canada to Texas, and from Washington, D.C., to the Gulf of Mexico, the team discovered stories of drought, water mismanagement and water scarcity in unexpected places.
During research and production of the film, the students conducted dozens of interviews, meeting with citizens; farmers; activists; officials from the United Nations, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation; and representatives of many other public and private organizations.
This National Broadcasting Society award adds to several other recognitions received by Tapped Out, including a 2014 Rising Star Award from the Canada International Film Festival and two Accolade Awards of Merit from the Accolade Merits of Excellence.
The team accepted the Rising Star Award in Vancouver, B.C. ,over spring break.
“It is so much fun spending time with each other and celebrating all that we have accomplished,” said Baumann, a senior producer of the film.
Along with the film awards, graphic designer Taylor Cox also won a Bronze Award in the 27th International Mercury Competition for her design and brand work. The Mercury Awards honor excellence in fields of public relations. Cox was awarded a 2014 Mercury Excellence Award in the Non-Profit/Public Affairs Campaign Designs category.
Since its establishment in 2006, MediaLab has received more than two dozen national and international honors, including four Emmy nominations and one Emmy win in 2009.
The National Broadcasting Society-Alpha Epsilon Rho is a student and professional society of more than 85 chapters on college, university and community college campuses.
MEDIALAB WINS 2014 NATIONAL BROADCASTING SOCIETY AWARD
PLU MediaLab production wins award
BY DEBBIE CAFAZZO
Tacoma News Tribune December 18, 2013
A student-produced documentary from Pacific Lutheran University's MediaLab has won two awards of merit from the Accolade Competition of Southern California.
The documentary, "Tapped Out: Unearthing the Global Water Crisis," premiered in Seattle in October. It earned Accolade awards in two categories: short documentary and use of film/video for social change.
A four-student team created "Tapped Out," which focuses on water-related issues across North America.
For more information about the documentary, visit http://community.plu.edu/~ml/
The documentary, "Tapped Out: Unearthing the Global Water Crisis," premiered in Seattle in October. It earned Accolade awards in two categories: short documentary and use of film/video for social change.
A four-student team created "Tapped Out," which focuses on water-related issues across North America.
For more information about the documentary, visit http://community.plu.edu/~ml/
MEDIALAB AT PLU RECEIVES INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION
Dec. 4, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Amanda Brasgalla
MediaLab Public Relations Associate
[email protected]
651-285-5614
PARKLAND, Wash. - MediaLab at Pacific Lutheran University has won two Awards of Merit from The Accolade Competition of Southern California for its 2013 documentary Tapped Out: Unearthing the Global Water Crisis.
Tapped Out, which publicly premiered in Seattle in October 2013, won in the categories of “Short Documentary” and “Use of Film/Video for Social Change.” MediaLab General Manager Haley Huntington said the awards are gratifying and rewarding.
“Winning two Accolade Awards of Merit is great news for us,” said Huntington, who also served as a senior producer on Tapped Out. “Our team worked hard to make the documentary thought-provoking and influential, so it’s a great feeling to be acknowledged.”
Created by a team that included Huntington, a Business major, and three other Pacific Lutheran University students, Tapped Out focuses on water-related issues across North America. From Canada to Texas, and from Washington D.C. to the Gulf of Mexico, the team discovered stories of drought, water mismanagement and water scarcity in unexpected places. Senior Communication majors Katie Baumann and Kortney Scroger, as well as junior Valery Jorgensen, rounded out the research team.
During research and production of the film, the students conducted dozens of interviews, meeting with average citizens, farmers, activists, officials from the United Nations, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and many other public and private organizations.
These Accolade awards add to more than a dozen other national and international recognitions MediaLab has received, including four Emmy nominations and one Emmy win in 2009. The Accolade recognizes film, television, videography and new media professionals who demonstrate exceptional achievement in craft and creativity, and those who produce standout entertainment or contribute to profound social change. Thomas Baker, Ph.D., chair of The Accolade, praised the recent winners.
“The Accolade is not an easy award to win. Entries are received from around the world. The Accolade helps set the standard for craft and creativity,” Baker said. “The judges were pleased with the exceptionally high quality of entries. The goal of The Accolade is to help winners achieve the recognition they deserve.”
For more information about Tapped Out, or other MediaLab projects and productions, please visit: www.plu.edu/~ml, or call Amanda Brasgalla at 651-285-5614, or email [email protected].
About MediaLab at PLU:
MediaLab is an award–winning, student–run media and applied research organization located in the School of Arts + Communication of Pacific Lutheran University. Students work on projects across the media spectrum, including market research, photography, graphic design, web design, writing, video, public relations, event planning, and more.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Amanda Brasgalla
MediaLab Public Relations Associate
[email protected]
651-285-5614
PARKLAND, Wash. - MediaLab at Pacific Lutheran University has won two Awards of Merit from The Accolade Competition of Southern California for its 2013 documentary Tapped Out: Unearthing the Global Water Crisis.
Tapped Out, which publicly premiered in Seattle in October 2013, won in the categories of “Short Documentary” and “Use of Film/Video for Social Change.” MediaLab General Manager Haley Huntington said the awards are gratifying and rewarding.
“Winning two Accolade Awards of Merit is great news for us,” said Huntington, who also served as a senior producer on Tapped Out. “Our team worked hard to make the documentary thought-provoking and influential, so it’s a great feeling to be acknowledged.”
Created by a team that included Huntington, a Business major, and three other Pacific Lutheran University students, Tapped Out focuses on water-related issues across North America. From Canada to Texas, and from Washington D.C. to the Gulf of Mexico, the team discovered stories of drought, water mismanagement and water scarcity in unexpected places. Senior Communication majors Katie Baumann and Kortney Scroger, as well as junior Valery Jorgensen, rounded out the research team.
During research and production of the film, the students conducted dozens of interviews, meeting with average citizens, farmers, activists, officials from the United Nations, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and many other public and private organizations.
These Accolade awards add to more than a dozen other national and international recognitions MediaLab has received, including four Emmy nominations and one Emmy win in 2009. The Accolade recognizes film, television, videography and new media professionals who demonstrate exceptional achievement in craft and creativity, and those who produce standout entertainment or contribute to profound social change. Thomas Baker, Ph.D., chair of The Accolade, praised the recent winners.
“The Accolade is not an easy award to win. Entries are received from around the world. The Accolade helps set the standard for craft and creativity,” Baker said. “The judges were pleased with the exceptionally high quality of entries. The goal of The Accolade is to help winners achieve the recognition they deserve.”
For more information about Tapped Out, or other MediaLab projects and productions, please visit: www.plu.edu/~ml, or call Amanda Brasgalla at 651-285-5614, or email [email protected].
About MediaLab at PLU:
MediaLab is an award–winning, student–run media and applied research organization located in the School of Arts + Communication of Pacific Lutheran University. Students work on projects across the media spectrum, including market research, photography, graphic design, web design, writing, video, public relations, event planning, and more.
MediaLab Filmakers Wade into Global Water Crisis
By Amanda Brasgalla '15
Published In PLU's Newsroom 10/21/2013
See it as published here: http://www.plu.edu/news/2013/10/tapped-out/home
Four PLU students who spent more than a year researching water problems around the world will premiere a new documentary film this coming weekend titled “Tapped Out: Unearthing the Global Water Crisis.”
“Tapped Out” focuses on water-related issues in the U.S., Canada, and elsewhere. Specifically, the research team traveled across North America – from the Puget Sound Region to the Rocky Mountains, Texas, the Gulf of Mexico, the East Coast and the Great Lakes – to study areas adversely affected by drought, population growth and questionable management practices.
"Tapped Out" premieres at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26 at the Seattle Central Public Library, 1000 Fourth Ave. Find out more about Tapped Out.
Kortney Scroger ‘14, a PLU senior communication major who served as the film’s chief videographer and editor, said while the news media almost exclusively report about water scarcity in developing parts of the world, “Tapped Out” uncovers serious water challenges right here in North America.
“It’s an attempt to communicate the current status of water and how the developed nations aren’t as prepared as we think that they are,” Scroger said. “We don’t have as much water as we think we do.”
Scroger, along with senior communication major Katherine Baumann ‘14, senior business major Haley Huntington ‘14, and junior Valery Jorgensen ‘15, a communication major, studied water-related topics for more than a year.
The students are all members of MediaLab, the multimedia applied research program within SOAC that produces documentaries and other media content for external audiences and clients. The organization has been nationally recognized for many of its productions, four of which have received Emmy Award nominations over the last six years, including one Emmy win in 2009.
The “Tapped Out” team spent much of early 2013 traveling more than 10,000 miles across the U.S. and Canada to produce the film. To learn about the current state of the world’s oceans, rivers, lakes, glaciers and aquifers, the team conducted dozens of interviews with geologists, hydrologists, officials from the United Nations, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, business leaders, representatives of environmental organizations, average citizens and many others.
Others interviewed for the film included global water expert and author Maude Barlow. A Canadian who is in constant demand on the worldwide lecture circuit as a guest speaker and water issues consultant, Barlow is co-founder of the Blue Planet Project and serves as National Chairwoman of the Council of Canadians.
Population growth, pollution, climate change and incorrect public assumptions and attitudes all represent threats to water resources around the world, according to Barlow.
“If there’s one thing to know about water,” said Barlow, “is that the lesson you learned in grade six, that you can’t run out of it, that it’s there forever, is wrong.”
“Tapped Out” premieres at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26 at the Seattle Central Public Library, 1000 Fourth Ave. More information about the film can be found out at:http://tappedoutdoc.weebly.com/
Ultimately, the documentary’s objectives are to provide thought-provoking information and increase overall public awareness, said Huntington.
“We’re just so blessed with all of this rain that we get” in the Pacific Northwest, Huntington said. “There are people in Texas and other parts of the world that would die for the amount of rain we have.”
Published In PLU's Newsroom 10/21/2013
See it as published here: http://www.plu.edu/news/2013/10/tapped-out/home
Four PLU students who spent more than a year researching water problems around the world will premiere a new documentary film this coming weekend titled “Tapped Out: Unearthing the Global Water Crisis.”
“Tapped Out” focuses on water-related issues in the U.S., Canada, and elsewhere. Specifically, the research team traveled across North America – from the Puget Sound Region to the Rocky Mountains, Texas, the Gulf of Mexico, the East Coast and the Great Lakes – to study areas adversely affected by drought, population growth and questionable management practices.
"Tapped Out" premieres at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26 at the Seattle Central Public Library, 1000 Fourth Ave. Find out more about Tapped Out.
Kortney Scroger ‘14, a PLU senior communication major who served as the film’s chief videographer and editor, said while the news media almost exclusively report about water scarcity in developing parts of the world, “Tapped Out” uncovers serious water challenges right here in North America.
“It’s an attempt to communicate the current status of water and how the developed nations aren’t as prepared as we think that they are,” Scroger said. “We don’t have as much water as we think we do.”
Scroger, along with senior communication major Katherine Baumann ‘14, senior business major Haley Huntington ‘14, and junior Valery Jorgensen ‘15, a communication major, studied water-related topics for more than a year.
The students are all members of MediaLab, the multimedia applied research program within SOAC that produces documentaries and other media content for external audiences and clients. The organization has been nationally recognized for many of its productions, four of which have received Emmy Award nominations over the last six years, including one Emmy win in 2009.
The “Tapped Out” team spent much of early 2013 traveling more than 10,000 miles across the U.S. and Canada to produce the film. To learn about the current state of the world’s oceans, rivers, lakes, glaciers and aquifers, the team conducted dozens of interviews with geologists, hydrologists, officials from the United Nations, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, business leaders, representatives of environmental organizations, average citizens and many others.
Others interviewed for the film included global water expert and author Maude Barlow. A Canadian who is in constant demand on the worldwide lecture circuit as a guest speaker and water issues consultant, Barlow is co-founder of the Blue Planet Project and serves as National Chairwoman of the Council of Canadians.
Population growth, pollution, climate change and incorrect public assumptions and attitudes all represent threats to water resources around the world, according to Barlow.
“If there’s one thing to know about water,” said Barlow, “is that the lesson you learned in grade six, that you can’t run out of it, that it’s there forever, is wrong.”
“Tapped Out” premieres at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26 at the Seattle Central Public Library, 1000 Fourth Ave. More information about the film can be found out at:http://tappedoutdoc.weebly.com/
Ultimately, the documentary’s objectives are to provide thought-provoking information and increase overall public awareness, said Huntington.
“We’re just so blessed with all of this rain that we get” in the Pacific Northwest, Huntington said. “There are people in Texas and other parts of the world that would die for the amount of rain we have.”
Diving into "Tapped Out Unearthing The Global Water Crisis"
By: Katie Baumann '14
Appeared on PLU Newsroom web page 7/18/13
l
Water does not have feelings.This massive force of nature does not have a conscience. Water does not feel remorse when it washes away entire communities or takes a life. It does not accept the idea that we as humans want water to stay within what we deem to be its safe boundaries. There is no obedience class for a river and no way to persuade water to stay at a certain level or fall from the sky
Throughout history, humans had to adjust around where water was, or face extinction. However, as technology has evolved, the line between what humans can and cannot control is becoming increasingly muddled. Rivers are controlled with dams, levees and other complex forms of engineering. Populations live in locations where, without human manipulation of water, they would otherwise be unable to survive.
Humans are becoming increasingly capable of fending off Mother Nature and doing what works best for industry. Still, there are times when she gets the better of us. Low water levels along the river have been causing problems for traffic along our nation’s most significant aquatic thoroughfare. The ripple effect from these issues can reach far and wide, on both national and international scales.
We kicked off our trip in St. Louis, MO, examining how the drought that has been plaguing the Midwest this year has impacted industry that operates on the Mississippi River.
After four days in the heartland of America, our plan was to head south to New Orleans, covering Mississippi related stories on our way and conclude with four days spent around our nation’s most influential port. With a full schedule of interviews and b-roll collecting, this was sure to be an exhausting yet invigorating 10 days.
During our months of research leading up to our time in St. Louis, I made contact with the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the governmental organization who has been responsible for the work being done to keep the Mississippi River open and operational.
In and around St. Louis, MO, the Mississippi River has been at an alarmingly low level for months. Caused by a combination of an elongated period of drought and the River’s natural fluctuation during the winter months, these low water levels have inflicted significant issues for industry that operates on the river.
During our time in St. Louis, we visited US Army Corps of Engineers and were able to speak with some incredible individuals. First, we visited the Water Control division who oversee the complex systems that regulate reservoirs and water levels to keep the river operational. That was a mind-boggling experience, trying to keep up with the expiation of everything these experts monitor. To say working in this division of the USACE is full time commitment would be an understatement.
The secondary division of the USACE we were able to spend time with was at the Applied River Engineering Center (AREC) where we saw the astounding manipulations being done to the Mississippi River. These engineering feats are not only improving the efficiency of the river, but are also helping to rebuild and redistribute suitable habitat for the wildlife that populate the area.
With the issues relating to low water in this portion of the Mississippi, barges cannot carry as much weight or they will run aground, the navigational channel is not wide enough to accommodate the typical traffic, tows of barges are being delayed for days. AREC works to prevent problematic delays and shipping concerns.
While the engineers who work at AREC strive for the most permanent solutions possible, with a body of water as dynamic and unpredictable as the Mississippi sometime immediate fixes must be employed. One such solution is dredging, or the pumping of sediment out of the navigational channel of the river and relocating it to the sides of the river. In some areas dredging, or the digging out of sediment sitting at the bottom of the river channel, has been going on day and night for more than half a year.
Over time, this sediment makes its way back into the channel due to natural erosion. Consequently, consistent river engineering is necessary to keep the waterway fully operational.
We were able to spend an afternoon on the Dredge Potter, the vessel who had been fully operational 24/7 for more than half a year as of January 2013. Seeing the amount of work being done to keep the river open and fully operational drastically put the issues that waterway is experiencing into perspective.
One of the most impressive realizations I took away from our time with the USACE is how serious of a ripple effect the problems being experienced on the Mississippi River can have on our bustling nation.
If the river were to shut down, somewhere around $45 million would be lost daily. The impacts of a river closure would reach far and wide. A typical barge carries as much cargo as 70 or more semi trucks. If barge tows are unable to operate on the river, the goods they would otherwise transport must be delivered from point A to point B and would be placed on trucks. As a result, roadways would experience a significantly higher saturation of large semi trucks that would slow traffic, damage infrastructure, increase the consumption of fossil fuels, and release additional pollutants into the air. Gasoline prices would rise, causing trucking companies to charge more for their services. Farmers and agriculture industry would then have to react by also raising prices, causing the cost of food to escalate around the country, and possibly worldwide. The impacts of a river closure would not stop there, but would continue to ripple through society.
Saying our goodbyes to St. Louis, we piled into our trusty rental mini van, nicknamed “Starship Enterprise,” and headed south. Our end destination was New Orleans, LA, only a mere 14 hours south of where we were. Along the way, however, we had a couple of stops to make.
The first was Thebes, IL, where an impressive amount of river construction was going on. The river’s low levels had revealed sheets of rock along the river bottom that were causing issues for passing vessels. To mitigate the issue, the USACE developed a plan to remove the rock via controlled explosions along the river bottom and dredge out the rubble to add a foot and a half of dept in order to keep the river operational until spring rains.
In Thebes, we spoke with local history expert and owner of Thebes Landing: Trailer park and campground, Neal Day. He explained how the river construction had impacted the small community, which as very minimally. What I found even more interesting were Day’s thoughts and memories on how the river itself had influenced Thebes and surrounding communities.
Day’s point that resonated with each member of the documentary team was that water does not care about anyone or anything. It is a force of nature with no continence. Disasters caused by water are not done out of malice, but are simply nature acting as it should: Naturally.
When asked if he thought humans should stop intervening in nature by manipulating the Mississippi, Day shook his head. He said that it was too late. There are too many things that rely on the river to remove human influence. It was becoming increasingly clear that, as far as the Mississippi River was concerned, as a society, we have come too far with our technological advancements to ever go back. After this explanation, I remember thinking to myself there’s that ripple effect again.
Saying thank you to Neal Day and Thebes Landing, we hopped back in the mini van and continued to Cairo, IL, a town several miles south. Cairo had experienced devastating flooding some years ago and had never fully recovered. Driving through this run-down community, Day’s assertions that water does not care what happens when it escapes the river’s banks.Stopping only to grab some quick b-roll, we powered through Cairo and on to New Orleans. With an interview early the next morning we spent the drive drafting questions, reviewing previous interviews and sorting out the stories we had collected so far. The feeling was mutual: This project is going to be incredible.
In New Orleans, our interview schedule was full once again. Starting off, we met with the USACE in New Orleans to discuss how low water levels had been impacting the city’s fresh water supply. Incidentally, as their colleagues upstream dealt with low water problems, downstream the shrinking fresh water was causing stress as well. With receding freshwater, saltwater from the Gulf was creeping up the river channel, getting dangerously close to the pipes that draw drinking water for the city and surrounding areas.
However, in a moment of engineering genius, Chris Accardo from the USACE explained to me in his interview that they had set out to build an underwater sill, or wall, that would keep the dense and dangerous saltwater away from the city’s fresh water supply. This underwater wall was resourcefully built from previously dredged material from upstream and would wash away as spring rains came and replenished the river.
Crisis averted, the people of New Orleans can continue to breathe easy that their drinking water is safe. However, after looking at the heavily trafficked waterway from which their water is drawn from, each of us could agree that we would still think twice about drinking out of the tap. After all, we were told in St. Louis that, by the time the water in New Orleans reached the city, it had been used an average of 26 times.
In this part of the country, there are problems beyond the Mississippi waiting to be explored as well. One such issue is that of wetland disappearance along the Louisiana coastline.
Collectively, Louisiana is losing football field sized chunks of wetlands an hour. With the amount of human intervention along the Mississippi River preventing seemingly harmful flooding, wetlands are unable to rebuild themselves with the river nutrient rich silt that would otherwise be deposited as river waters escaped their banks. Being overcome with saltwater, these vital portions of land are disappearing at alarming rates. There is that interconnectedness again.
We spoke with Matt Rota of the Gulf Restoration Network and Andrew Barron of the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program who both explained why we should be aware of this dissipating resource. With New Orleans sitting below sea level, catastrophic storms, such as Katrina in 2005, wreak havoc. So why would we not protect what could protect us?
Wetlands act as a buffer for hurricanes and other tropical storms coming off the Gulf, decreasing their intensity and potential damage. However, as these wetlands disappear, as do their beneficial qualities.
Wrapping up our travels, my mind was buzzing with questions. How do we fix these problems? What happens if they persist? Are there any permanent solutions? And, if not, how will humans adapt to eminent changes?
While only time will truly be able to answer those fully, I am hoping that as the documentary team continues research and production of “Tapped Out,” we will be able to shed light on some promising solutions as well.
Appeared on PLU Newsroom web page 7/18/13
l
Water does not have feelings.This massive force of nature does not have a conscience. Water does not feel remorse when it washes away entire communities or takes a life. It does not accept the idea that we as humans want water to stay within what we deem to be its safe boundaries. There is no obedience class for a river and no way to persuade water to stay at a certain level or fall from the sky
Throughout history, humans had to adjust around where water was, or face extinction. However, as technology has evolved, the line between what humans can and cannot control is becoming increasingly muddled. Rivers are controlled with dams, levees and other complex forms of engineering. Populations live in locations where, without human manipulation of water, they would otherwise be unable to survive.
Humans are becoming increasingly capable of fending off Mother Nature and doing what works best for industry. Still, there are times when she gets the better of us. Low water levels along the river have been causing problems for traffic along our nation’s most significant aquatic thoroughfare. The ripple effect from these issues can reach far and wide, on both national and international scales.
We kicked off our trip in St. Louis, MO, examining how the drought that has been plaguing the Midwest this year has impacted industry that operates on the Mississippi River.
After four days in the heartland of America, our plan was to head south to New Orleans, covering Mississippi related stories on our way and conclude with four days spent around our nation’s most influential port. With a full schedule of interviews and b-roll collecting, this was sure to be an exhausting yet invigorating 10 days.
During our months of research leading up to our time in St. Louis, I made contact with the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the governmental organization who has been responsible for the work being done to keep the Mississippi River open and operational.
In and around St. Louis, MO, the Mississippi River has been at an alarmingly low level for months. Caused by a combination of an elongated period of drought and the River’s natural fluctuation during the winter months, these low water levels have inflicted significant issues for industry that operates on the river.
During our time in St. Louis, we visited US Army Corps of Engineers and were able to speak with some incredible individuals. First, we visited the Water Control division who oversee the complex systems that regulate reservoirs and water levels to keep the river operational. That was a mind-boggling experience, trying to keep up with the expiation of everything these experts monitor. To say working in this division of the USACE is full time commitment would be an understatement.
The secondary division of the USACE we were able to spend time with was at the Applied River Engineering Center (AREC) where we saw the astounding manipulations being done to the Mississippi River. These engineering feats are not only improving the efficiency of the river, but are also helping to rebuild and redistribute suitable habitat for the wildlife that populate the area.
With the issues relating to low water in this portion of the Mississippi, barges cannot carry as much weight or they will run aground, the navigational channel is not wide enough to accommodate the typical traffic, tows of barges are being delayed for days. AREC works to prevent problematic delays and shipping concerns.
While the engineers who work at AREC strive for the most permanent solutions possible, with a body of water as dynamic and unpredictable as the Mississippi sometime immediate fixes must be employed. One such solution is dredging, or the pumping of sediment out of the navigational channel of the river and relocating it to the sides of the river. In some areas dredging, or the digging out of sediment sitting at the bottom of the river channel, has been going on day and night for more than half a year.
Over time, this sediment makes its way back into the channel due to natural erosion. Consequently, consistent river engineering is necessary to keep the waterway fully operational.
We were able to spend an afternoon on the Dredge Potter, the vessel who had been fully operational 24/7 for more than half a year as of January 2013. Seeing the amount of work being done to keep the river open and fully operational drastically put the issues that waterway is experiencing into perspective.
One of the most impressive realizations I took away from our time with the USACE is how serious of a ripple effect the problems being experienced on the Mississippi River can have on our bustling nation.
If the river were to shut down, somewhere around $45 million would be lost daily. The impacts of a river closure would reach far and wide. A typical barge carries as much cargo as 70 or more semi trucks. If barge tows are unable to operate on the river, the goods they would otherwise transport must be delivered from point A to point B and would be placed on trucks. As a result, roadways would experience a significantly higher saturation of large semi trucks that would slow traffic, damage infrastructure, increase the consumption of fossil fuels, and release additional pollutants into the air. Gasoline prices would rise, causing trucking companies to charge more for their services. Farmers and agriculture industry would then have to react by also raising prices, causing the cost of food to escalate around the country, and possibly worldwide. The impacts of a river closure would not stop there, but would continue to ripple through society.
Saying our goodbyes to St. Louis, we piled into our trusty rental mini van, nicknamed “Starship Enterprise,” and headed south. Our end destination was New Orleans, LA, only a mere 14 hours south of where we were. Along the way, however, we had a couple of stops to make.
The first was Thebes, IL, where an impressive amount of river construction was going on. The river’s low levels had revealed sheets of rock along the river bottom that were causing issues for passing vessels. To mitigate the issue, the USACE developed a plan to remove the rock via controlled explosions along the river bottom and dredge out the rubble to add a foot and a half of dept in order to keep the river operational until spring rains.
In Thebes, we spoke with local history expert and owner of Thebes Landing: Trailer park and campground, Neal Day. He explained how the river construction had impacted the small community, which as very minimally. What I found even more interesting were Day’s thoughts and memories on how the river itself had influenced Thebes and surrounding communities.
Day’s point that resonated with each member of the documentary team was that water does not care about anyone or anything. It is a force of nature with no continence. Disasters caused by water are not done out of malice, but are simply nature acting as it should: Naturally.
When asked if he thought humans should stop intervening in nature by manipulating the Mississippi, Day shook his head. He said that it was too late. There are too many things that rely on the river to remove human influence. It was becoming increasingly clear that, as far as the Mississippi River was concerned, as a society, we have come too far with our technological advancements to ever go back. After this explanation, I remember thinking to myself there’s that ripple effect again.
Saying thank you to Neal Day and Thebes Landing, we hopped back in the mini van and continued to Cairo, IL, a town several miles south. Cairo had experienced devastating flooding some years ago and had never fully recovered. Driving through this run-down community, Day’s assertions that water does not care what happens when it escapes the river’s banks.Stopping only to grab some quick b-roll, we powered through Cairo and on to New Orleans. With an interview early the next morning we spent the drive drafting questions, reviewing previous interviews and sorting out the stories we had collected so far. The feeling was mutual: This project is going to be incredible.
In New Orleans, our interview schedule was full once again. Starting off, we met with the USACE in New Orleans to discuss how low water levels had been impacting the city’s fresh water supply. Incidentally, as their colleagues upstream dealt with low water problems, downstream the shrinking fresh water was causing stress as well. With receding freshwater, saltwater from the Gulf was creeping up the river channel, getting dangerously close to the pipes that draw drinking water for the city and surrounding areas.
However, in a moment of engineering genius, Chris Accardo from the USACE explained to me in his interview that they had set out to build an underwater sill, or wall, that would keep the dense and dangerous saltwater away from the city’s fresh water supply. This underwater wall was resourcefully built from previously dredged material from upstream and would wash away as spring rains came and replenished the river.
Crisis averted, the people of New Orleans can continue to breathe easy that their drinking water is safe. However, after looking at the heavily trafficked waterway from which their water is drawn from, each of us could agree that we would still think twice about drinking out of the tap. After all, we were told in St. Louis that, by the time the water in New Orleans reached the city, it had been used an average of 26 times.
In this part of the country, there are problems beyond the Mississippi waiting to be explored as well. One such issue is that of wetland disappearance along the Louisiana coastline.
Collectively, Louisiana is losing football field sized chunks of wetlands an hour. With the amount of human intervention along the Mississippi River preventing seemingly harmful flooding, wetlands are unable to rebuild themselves with the river nutrient rich silt that would otherwise be deposited as river waters escaped their banks. Being overcome with saltwater, these vital portions of land are disappearing at alarming rates. There is that interconnectedness again.
We spoke with Matt Rota of the Gulf Restoration Network and Andrew Barron of the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program who both explained why we should be aware of this dissipating resource. With New Orleans sitting below sea level, catastrophic storms, such as Katrina in 2005, wreak havoc. So why would we not protect what could protect us?
Wetlands act as a buffer for hurricanes and other tropical storms coming off the Gulf, decreasing their intensity and potential damage. However, as these wetlands disappear, as do their beneficial qualities.
Wrapping up our travels, my mind was buzzing with questions. How do we fix these problems? What happens if they persist? Are there any permanent solutions? And, if not, how will humans adapt to eminent changes?
While only time will truly be able to answer those fully, I am hoping that as the documentary team continues research and production of “Tapped Out,” we will be able to shed light on some promising solutions as well.
The Dispatch
"Student-produced documentary stirs environmental concscience" By Leah Traxel
Appeared in The Dispatch on May 13th, 2013. Find article as it is displayed here: http://www.dispatchnews.com/?p=2412
When rain falls on natural soil, it gets soaked up by the land and filtered as it sinks underground.
However, on paved roads and urbanized areas surrounding most of Puget Sound, that rain, now called stormwater, picks up everything on the surface, from oil that leaks from your car to animal feces, and carries it into the Sound. Besides being disgusting, that’s bad news for the humans and animals that rely on the Sound for various aspects of their livelihood.
This polluted stormwater runoff is one of the most prevalent forms of contamination in the Sound, and lots of nearby residents don’t realize what causes it.
But a local team of dedicated students hopes to create something to change these behaviors.
One year ago, Katherine Baumann and Haley Huntington began to research water-related issues in North America. The women are students at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma and part of a student-run, on-campus organization called MediaLab. The group produces public relations, visual arts and journalism work for local organizations that are looking for low-cost but professional-grade products.
With the help of MediaLab’s faculty advisor, Robert Wells, Baumann and Huntington started strategizing what issues were pertinent to the water situation in the United States and Canada, and how to promote awareness.
Last fall, fellow MediaLab member Kortney Scroger joined the team as chief videographer and editor, and the team decided to pursue creating a documentary about water issues in North America and what people can do to mitigate them.
Alicia Lawver from the Puget Sound Partnership said that the major culprits in exacerbating the pollution might not be the usual suspects.
The Puget Sound Partnership focuses conservation and restoration efforts on the Sound by promoting collaboration between community members and other organizations.
“When you think of pollution, people think of industry. We have ways to monitor and stop that,” said Lawver, who noted that there are enforceable laws and regulations to prevent environmental abuse from companies. “A lot of the pollution comes from residential neighborhoods.”
Lawver said people don’t realize how much things like not picking up after animals, using unnatural fertilizers and chemical lawn treatments, and washing cars in the street can negatively impact the runoff.
“When you multiply that by 4.5 million people around the Sound, it’s a lot of cleanup,” Lawver noted. “There’s no one place we can point and say hey, you, stop that.”
The students, all part of PLU’s School of Arts and Communication (Baumann and Scroger are majoring in it, Huntington is minoring), have investigated drastic water-related situations, including extreme drought in the southern United States, pollution and contamination in New York, Florida and Puget Sound, and severe melting in northern Canada and the Arctic Circle.
“I’m really excited to not only help increase public education, but also increase my own understanding of water issues,” said Huntington, a senior producer on the crew. “Especially those occurring in our own backyard.”
The team is only beginning their journey. In January, they traveled to the midwest to investigate issues on the Mississippi River, from St. Louis to New Orleans. They will be on the road again from late May until mid-June recording severe water situations from California to Washington, D.C. and Canada, and finally taking a close look at Puget Sound.
The movie premieres Oct. 26. Until then, you can follow the movements of the production team at www.tappedoutdoc.weebly.com, where they will post videos and journal the filming process.
For those who want to mitigate any contribution they might be making to pollution in the Sound, Lawver said it can be easy.
“We recommend people avoid polluting activities,” said Lawver. “Take your car to a commercial carwash, since washing your car in the street causes soap to go into storm drains, clean up after your pets, use natural fertilizers on your lawn, and get your car checked regularly to avoid oil leakage.”
For more information on Puget Sound, its endangerment and how you can help, visit the Puget Sound Partnership’s website at psp.wa.gov, or look at Puget Sound Starts Here, an organization dedicated to educating local residents how their actions and behaviors have a direct impact on the Sound. The organization celebrates Puget Sound Starts Here month in May, so check out their website (pugetsoundstartshere.org) to find information about local events.
When it comes down to it, the movie addresses some complex issues, but for the crew, the idea is simple. “Our natural resources are something that should be appreciated, not taken for granted or abused,” Huntington said.
[Leah Traxel is a junior majoring in communications at Pacific Lutheran University. She is a member of MediaLab.]
January 13, 2013
PRESS RELEASE
Alex Devine – Public Relations Associate
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Cell: 509-945-5717
January 13, 2013
Email: [email protected]
MEDIALAB INVESTIGATES GLOBAL WATER CRISIS
ST. LOUIS, Jan. 13, 2013 -- “The Big Muddy” is shrinking.
For months, portions of the Mississippi River have been plagued with near-crippling drought that has endangered this major aquatic highway’s operations. Three members of MediaLab, the award-winning multi-media services agency at Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) in Tacoma, Wash. touched down at Lambert International Airport on Sunday Jan. 13 to investigate this issue and begin filming MediaLab’s newest documentary: Tapped Out: Unearthing the Global Water Crisis.
Tapped Out’s Chief Videographer and Editor is junior Communication major Kortney Scroger, who is excited to focus her lens on the issue of water scarcity.
“I am very excited to apply my skills on a project of this importance,” said Scroger.
The team’s 10-day itinerary includes a nearly 700-mile trek down the Mississippi from St. Louis to New Orleans. Along the way the team expects many opportunities to learn about the complexities of this issue.
Research for “Tapped Out” has been underway since Fall 2011. Senior Producer and junior Business major Haley Huntington looks forward to seeing her research come to life on the big screen.
“I have been working on this project for about a year now. It has been really interesting to explore the issue of water scarcity and its many angles,” said Huntington.
Katie Baumann, junior Communication major and Senior Producer of "Tapped Out," has a particular passion and personal interest in uncovering the dangers posed to global water supplies.
“Most people only see life occurring above water. We can easily forget the world that resides below the surface, and that the two environments are tightly intertwined,” said Baumann.
As an Advanced Open-Water Certified scuba diver, Baumann hopes to better understand preservation and conservation issues.
"Tapped Out: Unearthing the Global Water Crisis" is set to premiere Saturday, Oct. 26, 2013 in the Seattle Public Library’s Microsoft Auditorium.
For more information about MediaLab, or “Tapped Out: Unearthing the Global Water Crisis,” please visit www.plu.edu/~ml, or contact Alex Devine at 509-945-5717 or [email protected].
MediaLab, a student-run multimedia organization established at PLU in 2006, provides students with an array of pre-professional opportunities in various forms of mass communication, such as videography, journalism, photography, marketing, public relations, graphic design, and advertising. For more information about MediaLab, please visit www.plu.edu/~ml.