On his first day in office, Delhi’s new Water Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam said that the water scarcity before the Delhi civic elections could have been politically motivated. Gautam on Saturday said in a press conference that he has instructed Delhi Jal Board officials to look into the matter of faulty water bills that residents had received prior to the elections. “Many people, whose water bills use to…

Ahead of Donald Trump’s trip to Israel this week, a bipartisan group of congressmen and women called upon the president to address the critical situation of cross-border water scarcity and contamination. In a letter written following consultations this March with regional environmental group EcoPeace Middle East, the legislators stressed the idea that “water is an issue of mutual interest” between Israelis and Palestinians and a subject that has “seen great progress in recent months.” Nonetheless, providing safe drinking water to residents of both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and curbing sewage discharge from the latter onto the shores of Israel require immediate international intervention, the parties argued. “In your effort to build peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and to further peace negotiations between their leadership, we urge you to prioritize the issue of water,” the letter said. The letter, which was sent to the president last week, was drafted by Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon), Ted Poe (R-Texas), William Keating (D-Massachusetts), Jackie Walorski (R-Indiana), Gerald Connolly (D-Virginia), Tom Marino (R-Pennsylvania), Grace Meng (D-New York), Blake Farenthold (R-Texas), John Conyers Jr. (D-Michigan) and Dave Reichert (R-Washington). “Any US strategy for Middle East peace must deal with water insecurity in Gaza and the West Bank,” Blumenauer said. “We…

On his first day in office, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s new Water Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam said that the water scarcity before the Delhi civic elections could be politically motivated. Gautam, who replaced Kapil Mishra, said in a conference that he has instructed the Jal Board officials to look into the matter of faulty water bills prior to the elections. “Many people whose water bills use to be negligible or zero,…

Water scarcity to worsen in Yellandu.
Drinking water scarcity triggered by drastic depletion of ground water resources and water level in Yellandulapadu tank in this coal town may take a turn for the worse if the wastage of water through leakages in the pipeline network were not plugged in a mission mode.
The coal town is already beset with drinking water shortage due to the huge gap between the demand and supply of water.
The poor maintenance of the water distribution system has aggravated the drinking water scarcity in the town having a population of around 50,000.
The drinking water needs of the denizens of the coal town are being met mainly from the borewells dug at Kotilingala old well on Mahabubabad road, Yellandulapadu tank and the treated mine water from the Singareni Collieries Company Limited’s 21 Incline underground coal mine.
Leakage of drinking water from the more than two decades old obsolete pipelines at Jagadamba Centre and elsewhere in the town is resulting in wastage of precious water in the midst of peak summer, deplored Sarangapani of Station Basti locality.
Judicious utilisation of the available water resources holds the key to tide over the present water scarcity.
The damaged pipelines should be immediately replaced to improve the distribution system, he suggested.
Funds allocated The State government has allocated ₹5.25 crore to upgrade the pipeline network and improve the drinking water distribution system, Yellandu Municipality vice-chairman Basa Srinivasa Rao said.
Efforts are on to expedite execution of works on strengthening of the pipeline network, he said, adding that the Mission Bhagiratha project envisages provision of 11.32 MLD to fully cater to the water needs of denizens of Yellandu over the next few decades.

During hot summer metro city like Mumbai hardly face any water cut, but there are tribal villages approximately 80-90km away from the Maximum city which are struggling for every drop of water. During hot summer metro city like Mumbai hardly face any water cut, but there are tribal villages approximately 80-90km away from the Maximum city which are struggling for every drop of water. Being so close to Mumbai, as compared to Marathwada, tribal people are facing lot of problems to get water every day. Dry wells, women balancing water buckets on their heads, small children helping their parents to fill the water. All these are really heart touching visuals from the tribal village near Mumbai called Bangar Wadi. To fetch water, a young man has entered in the empty well and with help of leaf he is filling water in a metal bucket. The way he climbs with that filled metal bucket is dangerous. But, water scarcity has forced these people to take this risk or go to that extent. DRY WELLS There are total 3 public wells in this village out of which two are totally dry. One well, which is at the entrance of village, gets water when any NGO or govt tanker comes and fills water in it. When we reached at that well, govt tanker had filled up water in the well and that’s why there was crowd gathered around it. Such crowd is not a regular scene here as today was the second time govt tanker had come since April. Thus, every one wanted to fill up maximum buckets as early as possible. “Every year, we face this situation. Govt doesn’t pay that much attention to our problem. They constructed two wells in our village, but it is of no use. Water doesn’t remain in these wells for longer period.” said a local villager Sitaram Bangar. After this, we moved to nearby village called More Wadi. This is another small tribal village with a population of approximately 100 to 140 people. When we reached here, people in anticipation of water tanker had already gathered with their buckets. Small children were…

Agencies Consolidate Partnerships for SDG Implementation.
10 May 2017: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and the World Bank have signed a framework agreement to strengthen the fight against hunger and poverty, especially in situations of protracted crises and fragility.
The Near East and North Africa regional programmes of FAO and the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) have agreed to extend their current partnership until 2020, further aligning their respective strategic programmes and priorities with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Zero hunger is the focus of SDG 2, while SDG 6 addresses clean water and sanitation and SDG 15 covers life on land.
The last Goal, SDG 17, addresses partnerships for achievement of the Goals.
The framework agreement between the World Bank and the FAO, which was signed on 10 May 2017 in Rome, Italy, aims to consolidate the agencies’ longstanding partnership in the agriculture and rural development sector.
FAO’s support will include providing technical expertise to improve rural livelihoods, efficient food production and distribution, and the sustainable management of natural resources.
The FAO-ICARDA partnership, which focuses on the agencies’ programmes in the Near East and North Africa region, was announced during a joint technical meeting in Cairo, Egypt, in April 2017.
Over the past three years the partnership has promoted sustainable agricultural development and management of water and land resources to enhance food security and improve livelihoods in the region.
Joint activities have focused, inter alia, on: scaling up improved water management technologies and practices; strengthening implementation capacity; and addressing rural gender inequalities and accelerating women’s empowerment in rural communities in the region.

When I was enrolled in university, my political science courses discussed future conflict and migrations resulting from water scarcity. I did not think that I would see evidence of this so soon after graduation. A government geological study notes that there is a major cone of depression in the Memphis area as a result of long-term pumping of water at municipal and industrial well fields. This problem is in addition to the $615,000,000 lawsuit from Mississippi against Tennessee challenging the intense pumping of aquifer water in Memphis. This pumping has allegedly caused a depression in the Mississippi water table and altered the direction that water moves underground. This issue of our water aquifer is not a fad of environmentalism, nor is it a fund-raising platform for the Sierra Club. This is the kind of issue that will come to define our era, and Memphians are at the forefront of it in a very real way. With climate change altering rain patterns and, ultimately, aquifer recharge rates, it seems foolish to blindly obligate millions of gallons of this precious resource to the Tennessee Valley Authority for its proposed use in the cooling of their new natural gas plant here. A 2015 study cited that just 6 percent of groundwater is replenished within a “human lifetime” of 50 years. The water we drink from the Memphis Sand Aquifer is 2,000 years old. Let that sink in. While water may be a renewable resource, it is finite in quantity and vulnerable to contamination. Brian Waldron, a researcher at the Ground Water Institute, has warned, “We don’t really know the…

Students develop machine that generates potable water from air.
Summary: MANGALURU: A unique machine designed by four final year engineering students of Shree Devi Institute of Technology (SDIT) is capable of generating potable water from thin air These budding engineers have developed ‘Rooftop Water Generating Machine’ as part of their study project which they are required to undertake.
This technology offers pure drinking water 365 days a year and it is an environmentally safe source of sustainable water," he said.On the functioning of rooftop water generating machine , Harsha said the machine consists of a compressor, evaporator coils, condenser, air filter and water collecting tank.
In monsoon when adequate natural water is available, the machine can switch over and double as a water purifier ," said SDIT principal Dileep Kumar K. The machine, which was designed spending about Rs 35,000, is capable of producing around 50 litres of water per day, he said.
In addition, an external power source is required to activate and run the machine.The machine first sucks air from the atmosphere.
MANGALURU: A unique machine designed by four final year engineering students of Shree Devi Institute of Technology (SDIT) is capable of generating potable water from thin air These budding engineers have developed ‘Rooftop Water Generating Machine’ as part of their study project which they are required to undertake.
The machine, which was designed by students Kartik K Jadhav, Prithesh D K, Prithesh Naik A and Rajath J K works on the principle of extracting water by condensing the water vapours found in the atmosphere in the form of humidity.Harsha GO, assistant professor in the department of mechanical engineering, who guided the students, said the machine will provide an effective solution to water scarcity.
The machine, which was designed spending about Rs 35,000, is capable of producing around 50 litres of water per day, he said.
"At a time when water scarcity is hitting everyone badly especially during summer, this innovative equipment invented by the students could provide a cheap, effective and permanent solution.
This technology offers pure drinking water 365 days a year and it is an environmentally safe source of sustainable water," he said.On the functioning of rooftop water generating machine , Harsha said the machine consists of a compressor, evaporator coils, condenser, air filter and water collecting tank.

Water scarcity shuts down two TNPL units.
Summary: Tamil Nadu Newsprints and Papers Limited says pulp production has been stopped because of severe water shortage.
Drawing water from the Cauvery by the TNPL should not affect the combined drinking water schemes.
Tamil Nadu Newsprints and Papers Limited says pulp production has been stopped because of severe water shortage.
File photo With the Cauvery running dry and the delta region reeling under a severe drought, the Tamil Nadu Newsprints and Papers Limited, one of largest bagasse-based paper mills in Asia, has shut its two units at Pugalur due to acute water scarcity.
To make things worse, the additional borewell sank by TNPL reportedly failed.
Following this, the TNPL closed its two of its three units temporarily.
The third unit is on the verge of suspending its operation.
“We have no other option except to scale down production.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/water-scarcity-shuts-down-two-tnpl-units/article18470641.ece Subscribe to Trichy News

The rising issues related to the scarcity of clean and healthy water is one of the major factors boosting the demand for UV disinfection technology across the globe.
The market is estimated to reach a value of US$6.73 bn by the end of 2025, exhibiting an impressive 17.40% CAGR between 2017 and 2025.
In addition, the advancements in technology and innovations are anticipated to benefit the market players and augment the global UV disinfection equipment market in the next few years.
The increasing awareness among consumers concerning the advantages of using UV disinfection technologies is anticipated to encourage the growth of the overall market in the next few years.
Furthermore, the rising concerns over water scarcity and the growing need for wastewater treatment are expected to offer lucrative opportunities for the market players in the near future.
Moreover, the introduction of effective technology and new products are likely to encourage growth.
The rising contribution from the U.S. and the presence of several leading companies are anticipated to encourage the growth of the North America market in the next few years.
Europe is expected to follow North America and register a healthy growth in the near future.
Furthermore, Asia Pacific is predicted to offer potential growth opportunities for the players operating in the UV disinfection equipment market in the next few years.
The increasing investments in order to offer effective wastewater treatment technologies are likely to accelerate the growth of the Asia Pacific market in the coming years.