When Don Dunnington and Joe Taylor offer up a book on blogging for free, my company, Integrated Resource Management, LLC, jumps! We have long considered starting a corporate blog, and will read the book with relish.

I thought I'd try to earn the book by updating an old column of our weekly water newsletter, The Weekly Leak (just starting up again after a year-long hiatus), on water news resources on the Internet. At the time (2005) there weren't too many water blogs to be found--now I find a few. It is clear, though, that the "hard" news web sources still dominate, though it is smart for such sources--like Water and Wastewater.com--to venture a blog of their own (it's surprising how few have actually done so).

The following are the online sources of water journalism from which I constantly benefit (and steal links):

• Water and Wastewater.com - Our host, and the best source of water industry information available both online and via an excellent free email newsletter.
• Brown & Caldwell Water News - Publishes highly respected free newsletters with links to news stories covering Arizona and the Southwest, California, Florida, the Great Lakes, the Northeast, the Pacific Northwest, and the Southeast. Includes an affiliated Water Jobs website.
• WaterTech Online - The tradinghouse for the water technology industry, published by National Trade Publications Inc. Huge readership.
• Water Strategist Community - The place to go for information on water marketing, financing and policy. Best known for its comprehensive (and expensive) monthly Water Strategist publication--worth every penny to those in the business--but also offers original, insightful news stories on its website for free.
• Safedrinkingwater.com NEWS - Excellent free weekly newsletter for water quality and treatment professionals. Provides news links and commentary on particular contaminants and water quality issues.
• WaterWorld Magazine - A great free online and print resource for water professionals.
• WaterWebster - Impressive independent water news website supported by private contributions. Aims to be “the Web's best source of information, daily news, links, services and contacts for water-related topics.”
• U.S. Water News - A major news site and resource for water professionals. Publishes a good daily email newsletter and an excellent newspaper-style print monthly.
• Argentco.com - Publisher of two periodicals with original articles on water law--the Western Water Law & Policy Reporter and the California Water Law & Policy Reporter--which are authoritative, in-depth, and prohibitively expensive (you can get quite a bit from their free summaries).

Now for the blogs (excluding, of course, the one you're already reading):

• Water Secrets Blog - The first consistent water blog I found, surreptitiously put out by a corporate escapee currently somewhere in Oregon hocking filters. It’s decent, short, and comes with pictures.
• To the Last Drop - A great blog started by a UCLA hydrology student. I check it regularly for stories I missed.
• Water Resources - A blog maintained by an ecological engineer and a water lawyer, beautiful resource.
• The Politics of Water - A blog that showed great promise, but unfortunately went defunct sometime in 2005.

As for our own newsletter, its audience consists of water professionals, industrial clients and random hangers-on alike, so we aim to provide general water information without losing that specialized edge, offering news links on California and national issues; quantity, quality and business sector considerations; and, finally, global, interstellar, interspecies and intrinsically goofy spheres of interest. I think it would make an interesting blog, and we would like to make it into one someday--if we can ever figure out how.

Of course, we’d also like you to hire IRM to help deal with the more immediate resource issues impacting your business or community, but that would be shameless self-promotion, and we don't want to miss our chance to win the free book!

Justin Scott-Coe
Editor, The Weekly Leak
Integrated Resource Management, LLC

The idea to do this weblog started with an interview at IAOCblog.com, hosted by the International Association of Online Communicators.  It was in a Q&A with Joe Taylor, during IAOC's first week of blogging devoted to discussions about industrial companies.

We talked about how his two industrial websites PowderandBulk.com and WaterandWastewater.com have helped form a sense of community among his regular visitors, and I asked him if any of his regulars had sought to further the community spirit. He replied:

"Some of the regulars have suggested that we should build a tree house or start a club.  There is a feeling among process engineers dealing with water treatment issues, that they don't have a way to congregate online with their peers.  Who knows, maybe a blog could help serve that end."

So here's Joe's water blog.  And you're welcome to dig right in and add your own ideas on how this community should be built.  Whether you are a designer of water treatment systems, or a operator of wastewater plant or a maker of the machinery, here is a place where you can tell us about what you do, how you do it and how it might be done better.

There are two ways you can add your own thoughts:  You can comment on posts by others, and you can contact me, your moderator, to become an "author," which means you can be master of your own content.  There are no dues for this club and you can subscribe for free to receive our feeds in your RSS news reader (learn more here about RSS) or subscribe to our email alerts.

If you need to get an RSS reader, try Bloglines or Newsgator.  Both offer a number of ways to subscribe to and view your weblogs, including a personalized "my blogs" web page.

Of course like any voluntary association, the value your find here will be proportional to the effort you put into it.  Become a regular reader, and you'll know a lot more about your industry and how your peers are solving similar problems.  Comment on the thoughts posted by others, and you will become a more involved member of the community.  Offer to post your own content, and you will come to be viewed as a leader in your community.

And while we want this club to serve your professional needs, in the spirit of a true "club house" we also want you to have some fun.  Our "Gone Fish'n" section lets you share your favorite pass times and interests.  We also know our readers are travel widely, for business and pleasure, and you're invited to share your favorite restaurants and travel tips or experiences.

For those attending the major trade shows, we invite you to vote on the best hotels and restaurants (and the best bargains) in the convention city and post your reviews.

Don Dunnington