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57-440: Previously, it had been a 10-foot-deep (3 m) freshwater lake, popular for recreation, until human activity caused an unusual disaster on November 20, 1980, that changed its structure and the surrounding land. In petroleum geology , the formation of a salt dome often pushes terrain upward from the surrounding land, while also creating a subterranean salt dome trap , holding petroleum deposits. On Thursday, November 20, 1980,

114-539: A desert climate often face physical water scarcity. Central Asia , West Asia , and North Africa are examples of arid areas. Economic water scarcity results from a lack of investment in infrastructure or technology to draw water from rivers, aquifers , or other water sources. It also results from weak human capacity to meet water demand. Many people in Sub-Saharan Africa are living with economic water scarcity. An important concern for hydrological ecosystems

171-566: A 34,000 mile distribution system that is part of a network of eight interstate pipelines. AGL Resources acquired Nicor Inc. in merger, which was completed in December 2011. Virginia Natural Gas was founded in 1850 and provides natural gas service to more than 275,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in southeastern Virginia. It serves the communities of Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Hampton, Newport News, Williamsburg, and Hanover Counties. The company continues to be one of

228-526: A collection of 17 interlinked global goals designed to be a "blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all". Targets on fresh water conservation are included in SDG 6 (Clean water and sanitation) and SDG 15 (Life on land). For example, Target 6.4 is formulated as "By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity and substantially reduce

285-402: A drinking water supply it remains vital to protect due to its ability to carry contaminants and pollutants from the land into lakes and rivers, which constitute a significant percentage of other people's freshwater supply. It is almost ubiquitous underground, residing in the spaces between particles of rock and soil or within crevices and cracks in rock, typically within 100 m (330 ft) of

342-574: A half a million residential, small business, large commercial and industrial customers in several states. Elizabethtown Gas was founded in 1855 and is headquartered in Union, New Jersey . It delivers service to more than 277,000 residential, business and industrial natural gas customers in New Jersey, making it he state's smallest energy provider. The utility serves Union, Middlesex, Sussex, Warren, Hunterdon, Morris and Mercer counties. In 2004, Elizabethtown Gas

399-428: A larger salt content. Freshwater habitats can be classified by different factors, including temperature, light penetration, nutrients, and vegetation. There are three basic types of freshwater ecosystems: Lentic (slow moving water, including pools , ponds , and lakes ), lotic (faster moving water, for example streams and rivers ) and wetlands (areas where the soil is saturated or inundated for at least part of

456-443: A salt mine. The rig's 14-inch (36 cm) drill assembly had become stuck at 1,228 feet (374 m) two-and-a-half hours before the drilling rig began to tilt. The drill assembly punctured the salt mine beneath the lake, and the water entered the mine. Over the course of several hours, the fresh lake water dissolved the salt and enlarged the hole, causing the lake to drain into the mine. The Mine Safety and Health Administration

513-519: A single factor. Groundwater showed greater resilience to climate change than expected, and areas with an increasing threshold between 0.34 and 0.39 aridity index exhibited significant sensitivity to climate change. Land-use could affect infiltration and runoff processes. The years of most recharge coincided with the most precipitation anomalies, such as during El Niño and La Niña events. Three precipitation-recharge sensitivities were distinguished: in super arid areas with more than 0.67 aridity index, there

570-455: A single tank. The 934-acre (3.78 km ) site was designed to accommodate a second tank of equal capacity if warranted. This plant receives supply from three pipelines and can deliver an equivalent of 400,000 Mcf/day of peak send-out to AGL's Atlanta market. Southern Company Gas also owns and operates an LNG plant in Macon, Georgia . This plant's single tank storage capacity is 18,900,000 gallons or

627-507: Is Sequent Energy Management's Illinois- based brand for providing Commercial and Industrial customers’ natural gas procurement services. Founded in 1998, Nicor Enerchange is a wholesale natural gas supplier to the Midwest market. Jefferson Island Storage & Hub (JISH) is a salt dome natural gas facility and is located near Erath, Louisiana ( Vermillion and Iberia parishes). At JISH, two underground salt caverns are used to store gas before it

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684-604: Is an American Fortune 500 energy services holding company headquartered in Atlanta , Georgia . The company's operations consist of natural gas distribution , wholesale services , retail operations , and midstream operations . Southern Company Gas is one of the largest natural gas distribution companies in the United States. The company serves approximately 4.5 million utility customers through its regulated distribution subsidiaries across four states. Southern Company Gas made

741-655: Is an alternative natural gas supplier offering energy plans to residential and small business customers in the Nicor Gas, Peoples Gas and the North Shore Gas service areas. Nicor Advanced Energy is certified with the Illinois Commerce Commission . Established in 1991, Nicor Solutions offers energy-related billing services for residential and small business customers. SouthStar provides natural gas supply, transportation and other related services, serving more than

798-516: Is capable of adding up to 14,400 Mcf/day into the VNG system by trucking LNG from the Chesapeake plant to the vaporization plant. Southern Company Gas retail operations include four companies that provide natural gas and offer natural gas-related services, with millions of customers in dozens of states across the U.S. Nicor Advanced Energy was established in 2004 as an unregulated affiliate of Nicor Gas . It

855-449: Is consumed through human activities than is naturally restored, this may result in reduced fresh water availability (or water scarcity ) from surface and underground sources and can cause serious damage to surrounding and associated environments. Water pollution also reduces the availability of fresh water. Where available water resources are scarce, humans have developed technologies like desalination and wastewater recycling to stretch

912-416: Is critical to the survival of all living organisms . Many organisms can thrive on salt water, but the great majority of vascular plants and most insects , amphibians , reptiles , mammals and birds need fresh water to survive. Fresh water is the water resource that is of the most and immediate use to humans. Fresh water is not always potable water , that is, water safe to drink by humans . Much of

969-452: Is extracted for human consumption. Agriculture uses roughly two thirds of all fresh water extracted from the environment. Fresh water is a renewable and variable, but finite natural resource . Fresh water is replenished through the process of the natural water cycle , in which water from seas, lakes, forests, land, rivers and reservoirs evaporates, forms clouds , and returns inland as precipitation. Locally, however, if more fresh water

1026-479: Is particularly crucial in Africa, where water resources are often scarce and climate change poses significant challenges. Saline water in oceans , seas and saline groundwater make up about 97% of all the water on Earth . Only 2.5–2.75% is fresh water, including 1.75–2% frozen in glaciers , ice and snow, 0.5–0.75% as fresh groundwater. The water table is the level below which all spaces are filled with water, while

1083-724: Is put into pipelines and sent to residential and commercial customers. These caverns have a total capacity of 9.4 billion cubic feet and connect to the Henry Hub via the Sabine pipeline . Southern Company Gas owns and operates four LNG peak-shaving facilities, which supply gas at peak use times. The largest, the Riverdale LNG plant in Riverdale, Georgia , has storage capacity of 31,080,000 gallons or 2,560,000 million cubic feet (Mcf) of natural gas in its two tanks. Located south of Atlanta,

1140-826: Is securing minimum streamflow , especially preserving and restoring instream water allocations . Fresh water is an important natural resource necessary for the survival of all ecosystems . Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of water bodies , with a negative impact on their uses. It is usually a result of human activities. Water bodies include lakes , rivers , oceans , aquifers , reservoirs and groundwater . Water pollution results when contaminants mix with these water bodies. Contaminants can come from one of four main sources. These are sewage discharges, industrial activities, agricultural activities, and urban runoff including stormwater . Water pollution may affect either surface water or groundwater . This form of pollution can lead to many problems. One

1197-722: Is supplied by two pipelines and can deliver up to 90,000 Mcf/day to the Chattanooga Gas market. Southern Company Gas, through Virginia Natural Gas (VNG), also owns some storage capacity — 752,174 Mcf equivalent — in the Columbia Natural Gas Company-operated Chesapeake LNG facility. This plant is located at the end of the Columbia pipeline that supplies VNG's south system. To more fully utilize this contracted capacity, VNG constructed an LNG vaporization plant adjacent to its propane plant in 2002. This system

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1254-420: Is the degradation of aquatic ecosystems . Another is spreading water-borne diseases when people use polluted water for drinking or irrigation . Water pollution also reduces the ecosystem services such as drinking water provided by the water resource . Uses of water include agricultural , industrial , household , recreational and environmental activities. The Sustainable Development Goals are

1311-531: The Amazon River . The atmosphere contains 0.04% water. In areas with no fresh water on the ground surface, fresh water derived from precipitation may, because of its lower density, overlie saline ground water in lenses or layers. Most of the world's fresh water is frozen in ice sheets . Many areas have very little fresh water, such as deserts . Water is a critical issue for the survival of all living organisms. Some can use salt water but many organisms including

1368-1164: The Fortune 500 list in 2015, Forbes 2000 in 2006, and is a member of the S&;P 500 Index. In 2016, Southern Company acquired AGL Resources and renamed it Southern Company Gas . Southern Company Gas distribution operations feature four utilities that deliver natural gas to approximately 4.5 million customers and is the largest component of the business. As of February 2014, the distribution operations consist of Nicor Gas in Illinois , Atlanta Gas Light in Georgia , Virginia Natural Gas in Virginia and Chattanooga Gas in Tennessee . The utilities construct, manage and maintain intrastate natural gas pipelines, distribution facilities and storage facilities. They also respond to and repair gas leaks and other requests for service and are responsible for meter reading. Most of their customers buy their natural gas directly from

1425-657: The Green Sahara periods) and are not appreciably replenished under current climatic conditions - at least compared to drawdown, these aquifers form essentially non-renewable resources comparable to peat or lignite, which are also continuously formed in the current era but orders of magnitude slower than they are mined. Fresh water can be defined as water with less than 500 parts per million (ppm) of dissolved salts . Other sources give higher upper salinity limits for fresh water, e.g. 1,000 ppm or 3,000 ppm. Fresh water habitats are classified as either lentic systems , which are

1482-508: The earth 's fresh water (on the surface and groundwater) is to a substantial degree unsuitable for human consumption without treatment . Fresh water can easily become polluted by human activities or due to naturally occurring processes, such as erosion. Fresh water makes up less than 3% of the world's water resources, and just 1% of that is readily available. About 70% of the world's freshwater reserves are frozen in Antarctica . Just 3% of it

1539-846: The Southern Company Gas utilities. However some customers in Illinois and all of the customers in Georgia buy natural gas from their choice of retail marketers due to deregulation in these states. Each subsidiary provides these primary services: Atlanta Gas Light , is the largest natural gas distributor in the Southeast and is headquartered in Atlanta . It was founded in 1856 to install gas streetlights in Atlanta. The company now distributes natural gas to more than 1.6 million residential, commercial, and industrial customers in 200 communities throughout

1596-494: The area above this level, where spaces in the rock and soil contain both air and water, is known as the unsaturated zone. The water in this unsaturated zone is referred to as soil moisture. Below the water table, the entire region is known as the saturated zone, and the water in this zone is called groundwater. Groundwater plays a crucial role as the primary source of water for various purposes including drinking, washing, farming, and manufacturing, and even when not directly used as

1653-421: The available supply further. However, given the high cost (both capital and running costs) and - especially for desalination - energy requirements, those remain mostly niche applications. A non-sustainable alternative is using so-called " fossil water " from underground aquifers . As some of those aquifers formed hundreds of thousands or even millions of years ago when local climates were wetter (e.g. from one of

1710-461: The damage caused. The Mine Safety and Health Administration released a report on the disaster in August 1981 which exhaustively documented the event but stopped short of identifying an official reason for the disaster. The mine was finally closed in December 1986. Since 1994, AGL Resources has used Lake Peigneur's underlying salt dome as a storage and hub facility for pressurized natural gas. There

1767-493: The drill assembly of a Texaco contracted oil rig , just offshore of the salt dome-caused Jefferson Island (itself in the east southeast section of Lake Peigneur), pierced an inactive third level of the Diamond Crystal Salt Company salt mine . The hole produced a vortex that drained the lake into the mine, filling the enormous caverns that had been left by the removal of salt. The mine, in operation since 1919,

Lake Peigneur - Misplaced Pages Continue

1824-507: The drilling operation, a tugboat , many trees, and 65 acres (26 hectares) of the surrounding terrain, including much of Jefferson Island. So much water drained into the caverns that the flow of the Delcambre Canal that usually empties the lake into Vermilion Bay was reversed, causing salt water from the Gulf of Mexico to flow into what was now a dry lakebed. This backflow created for a few days

1881-417: The equivalent of 1,501,983 Mcf. Although the plant is capable of delivering up to 150,000 Mcf/day, the pipeline system exiting the plant can accommodate a delivery of less than half that volume, of only 70,000 Mcf/day. In Tennessee, Chattanooga Gas, another Southern Company Gas subsidiary, receives peak day supplies from the company's Chattanooga plant, which holds the equivalent of 1,186,035 Mcf. This facility

1938-532: The fastest-growing natural gas distribution companies in the country. Additional services include: Formerly the natural gas operations of Dominion Virginia Power , VNG was sold to Consolidated Natural Gas in 1990. When CNG was acquired by Dominion in 2000, VNG was sold to AGL Resources. Wholesale services engages in natural gas storage, gas pipeline arbitrage, and provides natural gas asset management and related logistics services for most of our utilities, as well as for non-affiliated companies. Nicor Enerchange

1995-527: The freshwater flow to be measurably contaminated both by insoluble solids but also by the soluble components of those soils. Significant quantities of iron may be transported in this way including the well-documented transfer of iron-rich rainfall falling in Brazil derived from sand-storms in the Sahara in north Africa . In Africa, it was revealed that groundwater controls are complex and do not correspond directly to

2052-547: The great majority of higher plants and most mammals must have access to fresh water to live. Some terrestrial mammals, especially desert rodents , appear to survive without drinking, but they do generate water through the metabolism of cereal seeds, and they also have mechanisms to conserve water to the maximum degree. Freshwater ecosystems are a subset of Earth's aquatic ecosystems . They include lakes , ponds , rivers , streams , springs , bogs , and wetlands . They can be contrasted with marine ecosystems , which have

2109-438: The mine at the time of the accident escaped, with six employees later given awards by Diamond Crystal for heroism. Their successful evacuation was thanks to the mine's electrician who noticed a torrent of water and sounded the alarm, as well as the employees' discipline and training making their escape via the only elevator in an orderly fashion. The crew of seven on the drilling rig fled the platform shortly before it collapsed into

2166-468: The mine. In 1983, Texaco and the drilling contractor Wilson Brothers paid US$ 32   million (equivalent to $ 98 million in 2023) to Diamond Crystal, while Texaco, Wilson Brothers and Diamond Crystal also paid a total of $ 12.8   million (equivalent to $ 39.2 million in 2023) to the Live Oak Gardens botanical garden and plant nursery , in out-of-court settlements to compensate for

2223-419: The new depths of the lake. A fisherman who was on the lake at the time piloted his small boat to shore and escaped. Days after the disaster, once the water pressure equalized, nine of the eleven sunken barges popped out of the whirlpool and refloated on the lake's surface. On the date of the disaster, the oil rig was conducting exploratory drilling in the lake alongside a salt dome under the water, that contained

2280-438: The number of people suffering from water scarcity ." Another target, Target 15.1, is: "By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands , mountains and drylands , in line with obligations under international agreements." Subnotes AGL Resources Southern Company Gas , formerly AGL Resources ,

2337-413: The others as well. Water scarcity (closely related to water stress or water crisis) is the lack of fresh water resources to meet the standard water demand. There are two types of water scarcity. One is physical. The other is economic water scarcity . Physical water scarcity is where there is not enough water to meet all demands. This includes water needed for ecosystems to function. Regions with

Lake Peigneur - Misplaced Pages Continue

2394-533: The plant is supplied by two interstate pipelines for supply. It is connected to the Atlanta Gas Light beltline pipeline system for distribution of gas to the Atlanta market. The plant is able to deliver 400,000 Mcf/day of gas during peak send-out. The Cherokee LNG plant, located north of Atlanta in Ball Ground, Georgia , has storage capacity of 25,242,957 gallons or 2,020,237 Mcf equivalent of natural gas in

2451-639: The previous year. Its 2012 net revenue was $ 3.9 billion compared to $ 4.7 billion in 2013. The company's earnings per share increased 33 cents from $ 2.31 in 2012 to $ 2.64 in 2013. The chairman, president and CEO of Southern Company Gas is Jim Kerr. The executive vice president and chief financial officer of Southern Company Gas is Grace Kolvereid. Southern Company Gas cites four areas of focus in its corporate social responsibility program: energy assistance, education, environmental stewardship and community enrichment. Additionally, all of Southern Company Gas's 6,094 employees are welcome to participate in

2508-421: The sea if windy conditions have lifted drops of seawater into the rain-bearing clouds. This can give rise to elevated concentrations of sodium , chloride , magnesium and sulfate as well as many other compounds in smaller concentrations. In desert areas, or areas with impoverished or dusty soils, rain-bearing winds can pick up sand and dust and this can be deposited elsewhere in precipitation and causing

2565-752: The state of Georgia . Additional services include: Chattanooga Gas provides retail natural gas sales and transportation services to approximately 62,000 customers in Hamilton and Bradley counties in Tennessee. It was founded in 1890 and is headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee . In 1988, Atlanta Gas Light acquired Chattanooga Gas Company. Nicor Gas was founded in 1955 and it is the largest natural gas distributor in northern Illinois, serving 2.2 million residential, commercial and industrial customers in more than 650 communities. Nicor Gas customers are connected to

2622-420: The stillwaters including ponds , lakes, swamps and mires ; lotic which are running-water systems; or groundwaters which flow in rocks and aquifers . There is, in addition, a zone which bridges between groundwater and lotic systems, which is the hyporheic zone , which underlies many larger rivers and can contain substantially more water than is seen in the open channel. It may also be in direct contact with

2679-636: The surface, and soil moisture, and less than 0.01% of it as surface water in lakes , swamps and rivers . Freshwater lakes contain about 87% of this fresh surface water, including 29% in the African Great Lakes , 22% in Lake Baikal in Russia, 21% in the North American Great Lakes , and 14% in other lakes. Swamps have most of the balance with only a small amount in rivers, most notably

2736-468: The tallest waterfall ever in the state of Louisiana, at 164 ft (50 m), as the lake refilled with salty water from the Delcambre Canal and Vermilion Bay. Air displaced by water flowing into the mine caverns erupted through the mineshafts as compressed air and then later as 400-foot (120 m) geysers . Although there were no human deaths, three dogs were reported killed. All 55 employees in

2793-469: The time). Freshwater ecosystems contain 41% of the world's known fish species. The increase in the world population and the increase in per capita water use puts increasing strains on the finite resources availability of clean fresh water. The response by freshwater ecosystems to a changing climate can be described in terms of three interrelated components: water quality, water quantity or volume, and water timing. A change in one often leads to shifts in

2850-657: The underlying underground water. The original source of almost all fresh water is precipitation from the atmosphere , in the form of mist , rain and snow . Fresh water falling as mist, rain or snow contains materials dissolved from the atmosphere and material from the sea and land over which the rain bearing clouds have traveled. The precipitation leads eventually to the formation of water bodies that humans can use as sources of freshwater: ponds , lakes , rainfall , rivers , streams , and groundwater contained in underground aquifers . In coastal areas fresh water may contain significant concentrations of salts derived from

2907-872: Was concern from local residents in 2009 over the safety of storing the gas under the lake and nearby drilling operations. Freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids . The term excludes seawater and brackish water , but it does include non-salty mineral-rich waters , such as chalybeate springs. Fresh water may encompass frozen and meltwater in ice sheets , ice caps , glaciers , snowfields and icebergs , natural precipitations such as rainfall , snowfall , hail / sleet and graupel , and surface runoffs that form inland bodies of water such as wetlands , ponds , lakes , rivers , streams , as well as groundwater contained in aquifers , subterranean rivers and lakes . Water

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2964-461: Was constant recharge with little variation with precipitation; in most sites (arid, semi-arid, humid), annual recharge increased as annual precipitation remained above a certain threshold; and in complex areas down to 0.1 aridity index (focused recharge), there was very inconsistent recharge (low precipitation but high recharge). Understanding these relationships can lead to the development of sustainable strategies for water collection. This understanding

3021-418: Was made up of several levels up to 1,500 feet (460 m) below the surface. Each tunnel was about 100 by 80 feet (30 m × 24 m). Pillars of salt had been left in place to support the ceiling at each level. The pillars were dissolved by the encroaching fresh water and caused the mine tunnels to collapse. The resultant sinkhole swallowed the drilling platform, eleven barges holding supplies for

3078-531: Was purchased by AGL Resources. Additional services include: Elizabethtown Gas was sold to South Jersey Industries in July 2018. Elkton Gas was founded in 1863 and provides natural gas service to approximately 6,000 residential and commercial customers in the greater Elkton area of Maryland's eastern shore, near the Delaware border. The company became part of AGL Resources in 2004. Additional services include: Elkton Gas

3135-484: Was sold to American Water Works Company , Inc. in June 2018. Sequent Energy Management was a Houston-based subsidiary of Southern Company Gas and was primarily involved in asset optimization and energy marketing and trading. It was established in 2001. Sequent Energy Management was sold to Williams Company in July 2021. According to CNNMoney , in 2013 AGL Resources reported a $ 8 million increase in net revenue against

3192-891: Was sold to South Jersey Industries in July 2018. Florida City Gas was founded in 1946 provides natural gas service to more than 104,000 residential and commercial customers in Miami-Dade, Brevard, St. Lucie, and Indian River counties. Florida City Gas became part of AGL Resources in 2004. Additional services include: Florida City Gas was sold to NextEra Energy in July 2018. Pivotal Home Solutions offers home repair and maintenance services that can be customized for customers in Connecticut and Massachusetts, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. Pivotal Home Solutions also offers natural gas appliance leasing in Florida and Massachusetts. Pivotal Home Solutions

3249-419: Was unable to determine blame because they could not determine whether Texaco was drilling in the wrong place or if the mine's maps were inaccurate. Evidence that could have confirmed the cause was washed away in the maelstrom . Engineers from Texaco and Diamond Crystal worked together after the fact and pinpointed the likely location of the hole within a mined out portion of the 1,300-foot (400 m) level of

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