JCPS Collecting Bottled Water, Donations for Harvey Relief.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS) — Inside the school gym at Fern Creek Elementary School are cases upon cases of bottled water, piled on top of each other, with shoes, shirts and other supplies resting on top of the makeshift wall of bottles, all of which will be going to Texas.
"It’s actually amazing to help someone else out, especially whenever this bad destruction happened down in Texas," Sophia Lane, a 3rd grader at Fern Creek, said.
"They seem to have an enthusiasm and excitement for it," JCPS Interim Superintendent Dr. Marty Pollio said.
"I think kids want to be in school making a difference."
Pollio said the project began when a former colleague now in Houston sent a message Tuesday asking the school district to help in the relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, a request Pollio said the schools were quick to step up to meet, with students’ families, staff and businesses bringing in hundreds of cases of water along with other supplies.
"Any opportunity we have to do that, we want to capitalize on that, and this is a great feel-good opportunity where everyone feels like they’re making a difference," he said.
"I was just surprised," Annabelle Whitfill, a 3rd grader, said.
"My mom told me about the hurricane, but I didn’t know I was going to be here for it."
"A child sees an opportunity that I can make a difference, whether it’s very small or very big, in someone else’s life that I don’t even know, I think is the type of learning that our kids need to experience and do," he said.

Hoosick Falls free bottled water program comes to an end.
HOOSICK FALLS, N.Y. (NEWS10) – A free bottled water program is ending at a supermarket in Hoosick Falls.
Charlie Russell has drank bottled water for two years after learning the municipal water and some private wells were contaminated with the chemical PFOA.
A filter at the water plant has shown non-detect levels of the chemical for a while, but Russell will still only drink bottled water.
“You can’t drink it,” he said.
Donna Niles lives in the Town of Hoosick.
“No, we drink bottled water,” she said.
Niles said she’ll purchase her own bottled water but worries for others.
Results from July show PFOA is still non-detectable in the municipal drinking water.
“I know the filters are doing their job.” But for some, a feeling of deep mistrust remains.

Famsa trucks in bottled water to Houston area flood victims.
DALLAS — Famsa Furniture has partnered with most of its vendors to send more than 100 pallets of water to Texas customers, employees and other victims of Hurricane Harvey.
The Top 100 company, part of Monterrey, Mexico-based Grupo Famsa, said it reached out to its network of stores throughout Texas and Chicago, as well as vendors and other partners, who have joined the effort, including Acme, Affordable, Anffer, Ashley, Classic and Basic, Crownmark, Dafel, Electrolux, ESI, Forestal Alfa, General Procurement, Home Elegance, ISSA, Kith, Lester, LIZ, Ponderosa, Powell, Sandberg, Simmons and Venecia.
The Famsa-organized relief effort has brought into Houston more than 100 full pallets of bottled water, “one of the most needed items currently on the relief effort list,” the retailer said in a release.
“The distribution of a minimum of two large cases of bottled water to hundreds of families displaced or affected by Hurricane Harvey, through the network of four Famsa Furniture stores in Houston may seem like a small step of help for the Houston communities through the recovery process, but is fulfilling an essential need just as flood waters start to recede and families are able to move around again and assess damages,” the company said.
The retailer also is reaching out customers to provide “orientation on how to get property insurance claims started (if they were purchased at a Famsa Furniture store), reminding them of the coverage and protection from natural disasters, and educating them on property insurance process and their options in case of product losses due to the floods.” Famsa customers affected by Harvey can call customer service at 1-866-883-2672 to talk to a representative about options regarding pending payments and other assistance “to relieve the financial burden of customers affected by the storms,” the retailer said.
“All Famsa Furniture executive and operational teams have expressed how deeply saddened they are by the devastation, and how inspired they are by the resilience and humanity we are all witnessing in Houston,” the company said.
“They have also re-iterated their commitment to help the Houston community, their employees and customers recover from this unprecedented event.” The company told Furniture Today it suffered only minor damages to some of its stores in Harvey’s path.

Moab water potentially contaminated, west side on ‘bottled water only’ order.
MOAB — The water in Moab may potentially be contaminated, and neighborhoods on the city’s west side are on a "bottled water only" order, the City of Moab and the Southeast Utah Health Department announced Thursday afternoon.
The order affects residents of 400 North west of 500 West and includes all of the Grand Oasis mobile home park; residents on West Hale Drive west of Alberta Court and residents of Stewart Lane, Apple Lane and River Sands Road.
It also affects River Sands Drive and Portal Vista Loop in the Portal Vista subdivision, as well as any homes located west of 500 West on 400 North extending to the city’s sewer treatment plant, according to the City of Moab.
Residents in the affected areas are advised to only use bottled water until noon on Saturday or until the order is lifted.
A recreational vehicle parked at the Entrada housing development construction site near 400 North dumped chemicals and black water onto the ground at a water hydrant, Moab City Public Works officials said.
These substances may have seeped into the water lines connected to the hydrant.
This article will be updated as more information becomes available.

Is Arrowhead bottled water really spring water?
Under federal regulations, the FDA defines spring water as water that “flows naturally to the surface of the earth.” The water may be collected at a spring or through a borehole tapping the underground source that feeds the spring Among other things, regulators may ask bottling plants to demonstrate that “an appropriate hydraulic connection exists between the natural orifice of the spring and the bore hole.” The regulations also include another specific requirement: water must keep flowing “to the surface through a natural orifice.” To investigate the matter, Desert Sun journalists spent a day visiting several of Nestle’s water sources on the mountainside, and there were no signs of any flowing water on the ground – just ferns, thorny bushes, granite boulders and dusty soil.
“There’s no spring naturally running,” Frye said, standing beside one of the company’s water-collection structures.
FDA reviewed the information and has now clarified for the Forest Service that FDA has no issue with the company’s continued labeling of the water as ‘spring water.’” The issue of whether water piped from the forest legally qualifies to be sold as “spring water” could turn into yet another challenge for Nestle as the company tries to keep its lucrative bottled water operation going in the national forest.
California regulators have also spent more than a year investigating whether Nestle holds valid water rights, and a separate trove of documents, released to The Desert Sun by the State Water Resources Control Board, shows the investigation is turning out to be complicated, with a great deal of back-and-forth between state officials and the company’s lawyers on its water rights claims.
Nestle Waters operates five bottling plants in California.
On its website, the company says Arrowhead bottled water comes from 13 “mountain spring sources in and West of the Rockies.” It lists the namesake Arrowhead Spring as a single site, calling it “our original spring source.” Investigating water rights Regulators at the State Water Resources Control Board began an investigation last year in response to complaints by several people, including Frye, who questioned whether Nestle actually holds valid water rights.
In response to a request by The Desert Sun under the California Public Records Act, the board recently released documents relating to its investigation, including emails, letters and other documents it received from Nestle.
Frye, however, has studied the historical documents in detail and thinks the company doesn’t have valid rights.
Reaching one of the water tunnels that was built in 1940s, Frye stood by its metal door.

Moab issues ‘bottled water only’ order for some residents over water contamination concerns.
MOAB, Utah — The City of Moab announced a “bottled water only” order for portions of the city due to concerns about contaminated drinking water.
According to a post from the city, the Southwest Utah Health Department issued a notice about the drinking water, which affects residents of 400 North who are west of 500 West.
The area includes several neighborhoods, which are outlined in the map embedded in the Facebook post below.
Residents in the affected areas are urged to only drink bottled war for the next 48 hours, starting as of noon Thursday.
The potential contamination occurred at a water hydrant located on the construction site of an Entrada housing development adjacent to 400 North.
Public Works Officials say it appears that chemicals and black water from a recreational vehicle parked at the construction site was dumped on the ground near the hydrant, and the contamination may have seeped into the water lines near the hydrant.
The city says they will provide updates as they learn more about the issue.

Thousands of people are without water in Beaumont, Texas, adding to the misery of extreme flooding that has left large swaths of it and neighboring towns underwater.
The lack of water is also forcing a large hospital to shut down — including its emergency services.
"Due to the failure of the city’s water pump, it is in the best interest of our current patients to transfer to other acute care facilities," Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas said Thursday morning.
"Due to the city-wide lack of services, we have no other alternative but to discontinue all services which will include emergency services.
This is being done immediately."
In neighboring Port Arthur, the mayor said Wednesday, "Our whole city is underwater right now."
From Beaumont, NPR’s Debbie Elliott reports for our Newscast unit: "Thousands of people are displaced and living in shelters in Beaumont and Port Arthur, as crews try to rescue others still trapped by floodwater.
Overnight, Beaumont lost both of its water sources.
FEMA Director Brock Long says the military will help get water to the city’s nearly 120,000 residents."
As Harvey moved over Louisiana, the system did not bring the intense devastation it imposed in the past week.

Residents are being warned to ‘get out or die’ as waters in a nearby reservoir rise in an east Texas county and Harvey continues to move northeast towards Louisiana, bringing more rain and floods as people continue to evacuate and fill already overcrowded shelters.
Despite the fact that Harvey has been downgraded from a tropical storm to a tropical depression, the National Hurricane Center warned of continuing flooding in parts of southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott warned residents that the worst of Hurricane Harvey is not over and that it will take months for the state to recover from its devastating floods.
In Beaumont, 26 inches of rain have already fallen and another 10 inches are due to fall before Harvey moves away and on to its next victim – Louisiana.
When he left around 2.30am Wednesday, there were 80 to 100 people sheltering there.
Search and rescue missions are still underway and the number of people still trapped in their homes is unknown.
As waters continue to rise, public health officials are warning that flooding increases the risk of illnesses ranging from skin rashes to bacterial and viral infections and mosquito-borne disease.
Mayor Turner also said Tuesday the city has asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency for more supplies, including cots and food, for additional 10,000 people, which he hopes to get no later than Wednesday.
About 500 people were evacuated Monday night and early Tuesday from flooded neighborhoods in southwest Louisiana, and about 200 spent the night in area shelters, Edwards said.
… Public health fears as diseases spread by flood water threaten Hurricane Harvey survivors US public health officials warned Monday that flooding increases the risk of ills ranging from skin rashes to bacterial and viral infections and mosquito-borne disease.

Beech Grove to collect bottled water to assist in Hurricane Harvey relief.
BEECH GROVE, Ind.
(WISH) — The city of Beech Grove plans to collect bottled water in helping with those affected from Hurricane Harvey.
The donations are set to be collected from September 1 at 8 a.m. through 8 a.m. on September 4 at City Hall on 806 Main Street.
There will be signs in place to direct donations to the proper drop off location along the sidewalk.
From there, all donations will be taken to either the American Red Cross, Midwest Food Bank or Gleaners Food Bank.
They are urging that only bottled water donations be made as cash, food or any other item will not be accepted.
If you have any other questions or seek additional information, you are urged to contact the mayor’s office at 317-803-9111.
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Best Buy ‘deeply sorry’ for selling high priced bottled water right before Hurricane Harvey.
Best Buy said Wednesday that it is “deeply sorry” for charging over $42 for packs of bottled water in Houston as Hurricane Harvey approached land.
Walmart.com sells 24 packs of 20 ounce bottles of Dasani water for several dollars cheaper ($34.20) and 24 packs of 16.9 ounce Dasani bottled water for around $14 less than Best Buy’s price ($28.74).
The individual who posted the photo said the overpriced water was for sale in Cypress, Texas, a suburb northwest of Houston.
You should be ashamed.
Best Buy responded in a statement later the same day.
A company spokesman called the whole thing a “big mistake,” CNBC reported.
The mistake was made when employees priced a case of water using the single-bottle price for each bottle in the case,” the spokesman added.
According to CBS News, bottled water at one store sold for as much as $100 per pack.
Texas Gov.