Media Note Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC Today the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development are releasing the U.S. government’s Global Water Strategy.
Globally, three in ten people lack safe drinking water in their homes, and six in ten people lack safe sanitation.
Water scarcity is forecasted to intensify in the years and decades ahead.
A predicted two-thirds of the world’s population will live in water-stressed conditions by 2025.
These challenges have the potential to spread disease, undermine economic development, exacerbate migration pressures, increase civil unrest, reduce trade and export opportunities, and prevent countries from advancing policies and programs important to the United States.
The Global Water Strategy envisions a water-secure world, where people and nations have the water they need to be healthy, prosperous, and resilient.
To advance the Strategy, the U.S. government will work with partner countries and key stakeholders to achieve four interrelated objectives: (1) increasing access to sustainable safe drinking water and sanitation services, and promoting hygiene; (2) protecting freshwater resources; (3) promoting cooperation on shared waters; and (4) strengthening water governance and financing.
For a copy of the U.S.
Global Water Strategy please visit: http://www.state.gov/e/oes/rls/rpts/globalwaterstrategy/index.htm and www.usaid.gov/what-we-do/water-and-sanitation/us-global-water-strategy.
For more information, contact Tory Peabody at PeabodyVW@state.gov.

Srikakulam: As many as 1,345 government schools in 38 mandals in the district would get running water.
At present, government schools are facing water scarcity for running water in toilets, bath rooms and for washing purpose.
To overcome the issue, District Collector, K Dhanunjaya Reddy took up initiative by involving Rajiv Vidya Mission (RVM) and Education Department officials.
Noted private industrial units, Dr Reddy’s Labs, Trimex Sands, Concast Ferro-alloys, Vamsadhara Paper Mill, Nagarjuna Agri-Chemicals, Aurobindo Pharma, Andhra Organics, Parry Sugars, Varam Power Project, Transworld Garnet and other 29 industrial and corporate companies have been entrusted the duty under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) scheme.
The 39 industrial and corporate units would provide water facility in 1,345 schools covering all the mandals with Rs 10 crore fund.
With the water facilities, toilets, bath rooms and wash basins would be used from next academic year.
Schools selected for water supply facility with mandals: Santhabommali- 88 schools, Srikakulam- 82 schools, Kotabommali-77 schools, Amudalavalasa- 52, Polaki-51 schools and Kanchili – 46 schools.
`We have identified that toilets and washing rooms remained unused in most of schools due to lack of water.
To overcome the problem, we proposed funds from private companies under CSR scheme for which District Collector approved,’ RVM project officer (PO) S Trinadha Rao told The Hans India.
‘We are providing funds with pleasure for schoolswhere poor students are studying and it is a good service towards society’ opined Managing Director (MD) of Varam Power Plant.

The high court rejected an appeal filed by a citizen by the last name of Rodríguez against the Public Services Company of Heredia (ESPH, its initials in Spanish).
However, based on the report that identified areas subject to water scarcity, the company rejected his application for the permits.
The water survey revealed serious supply risks and led the ESPH to decide on August 8, 2014, that it would not grant new water connections in the areas of Concepción (San Rafael de Heredia) and Concepción, Santa Elena, and Breña de Mora (San Isidro de Heredia).
The restrictions apply to urbanizations, developments, new services for houses, and additional meters.
Part of the court’s resolution states, “(…) studies and technical reports show that there is no flow capacity to provide the services requested by the appellant to carry out a development project.
In this sense, the lack of provision of drinking water service is not an arbitrary decision, nor is it unfounded, but it is based on the material impossibility, by the lack of water resources.” There is a lot of demand for water in certain areas, and funding to conduct research into new sources have not yet been authorized, said Allan Benavides, manager of the ESPH.
“The company has never stopped looking towards the future, and we will maintain the temporary restrictions until we reach a consistent supply of water that can sustain local development,” added Benavides.
The restrictions on water permits for buildings in these higher elevations of Heredia‘s province will expires August 8, 2018.
The ESPH is analyzing whether they will lift the restrictions then or extend them.
In June 2014, the Municipal Council of Paraíso, Cartago agreed not to grant new water connections for developments until the water supply problems are resolved.

“Water is life” is such a common expression that we use it almost as a cliché.
However, that phrase is probably one of the most powerfully true messages the whole creation bears witness to.
If, as we learn from geography, the earth is 2/3 water, and science says the human body is 70% water, then it goes without saying that no life can be sustained without water.
From an early age we have been taught the water cycle and how it sustains life, but we still continue to take it for granted.
We pollute water basins, rivers, and even the atmosphere that provides us with this precious commodity.
So, once again, let’s try to consider the extremely important message that water is everything and water changes everything.
This article focuses on two existing scenarios, based in my two favourite countries in the world, to try and drive home the point that water is truly the centre piece of all life, and its availability – or lack thereof – is quite literally a matter of life and death.
This planet is given to us to take care of.
If we are faithful in doing our part, it rewards us in sustaining our lives.
So when we misuse, mishandle, and misappropriate the natural resources found on Earth, water being by far the biggest and most vulnerable of all, then the consequences are far reaching and devastating.

James Kung’u from Kenyatta University in Kenya assesses migration in the context of climate change and conflicts over water resource.
Water resources must be managed better, Kowenje argues, and international cooperation can help.
When people leave an area, water demand is reduced there.
However, it increases in the places the people move to.
Both the influx of people and climate change are aggravating water and livelihood problems.
Arwa Hamaideh from the University of Jordan agrees.
Her country is struggling to accommodate masses of people.
The main challenge is ensuring that the basic human needs of the refugees are met.
The refugee crisis is not a temporary matter, so Jordan needs financial help, Hamaideh demands.
She emphasises that climate change is causing problems that are further exacerbated by the influx of migrants.

The Kaduna State Government says it plans to spend N10 billion to provide potable water and sanitation in urban and rural communities of the state in 2018.
The Director, Monitoring and Evaluation, Ministry of Water Resources, Mr Josiah Gajere made the disclosure while defending the ministry’s budget before the state Assembly Committee on Water Resources.
He said the ministry would focus on the rehabilitation of water treatment plants to provide adequate water to the people.
The director stressed that provision of potable water to the citizenry was the responsibility of government and necessary in improving the living condition of people and curtailing water borne diseases.
Gajere told the committee that the perennial water scarcity in Zaria would soon be over when ongoing construction of reservoirs and pipelines network was completed by the end of March 2018.
He said that some of the projects being executed by the ministry were being funded by the Africa Development Bank and Islamic Development Bank.
Responding, chairman of the committee, Hashimu Anchau pledged to support the ministry to achieve its target.
He commended the ministry “for a job well done in 2017”, adding that the officials must replicate the efforts in 2018 so as to end potable water supply problems in the state.
(NAN)

(MENAFN – Tribal News Network) BUNER, 31 October: The people of Bampokha village of Buner are facing acute water shortage due to excessive power load-shedding and low voltage.
The area people said tube-wells could not be operated due to outages and low voltage and people are bringing water in tankers.
Bampokha area was known for water scarcity since long.
Tube wells were installed in the area to address the problem of water shortage.
However, these tube wells have been rendered useless due to lack of electricity.
The local people said they pay heavily to bring water tankers despite existence of tube wells in their area.
They said they pay Rs400 per month in the head of tube well bill, while they also had to spend Rs1,500 for bringing water through tankers.
They demanded the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and district administration to install solar system in the main tube well of the village to rid them of this troublesome situation.

But recent studies suggest the kingdom, a Western ally and refugee host nation with a growing population, is being hit particularly hard by climate change, getting hotter and drier than previously anticipated.
But addressing the problem would require cross-border cooperation, a commodity as scarce as water in the Jordan River basin shared by Jordan, Israel, the Palestinians, Syria and Lebanon.
Jordan’s flagship Red Sea desalination project, which includes a water trade with Israel, has faced repeated delays, most recently because of a diplomatic crisis that led to a scaling back of cross-border contacts since the summer.
Water flows to Jordan from the Yarmouk River, which originates in Syria, would remain low due to droughts and diversion, regardless of when the civil war ends.
The results, published in the journal Science Advances and based on improved data analysis tools, suggest the impact of climate change is likely to be more severe than anticipated, said Steven Gorelick, head of the university’s internationally supported Jordan Water Project.
Jordan would desalinate Red Sea water, sell some to nearby southern Israel and pump the brine into the Dead Sea to raise water levels there.
The ongoing diplomatic crisis, triggered by the fatal shooting of two Jordanians by an Israeli Embassy guard in Amman in July, also contributed to delays by reducing cross-border contacts, said Subah, the Water Ministry official.
"If it’s regional, if it’s on our own, we will go in this direction."
"That’s why, from a political perspective, it’s easier for the government to increase the supply and maintain the status quo."
Separately, the group’s master plan outlines 127 projects with an investment value of $4.6 billion to help rehabilitate the Jordan River and the Dead Sea and grow the Jordan Valley’s economy almost 20-fold by 2050.

Due to a cyclone formation over the Bay of Bengal, the weather department has predicted more and heavy rainfalls in the coming days.
Traffic in Chennai came to a grinding halt in several locations like the arterial GST Road and Anna Salai, affecting traffic bound for airport and other outskirt areas.
The showers caused traffic snarls and inundation, though it brought cheers in several parts hit by water scarcity.
Weather blogger Pradeep John has forecast above normal rainfall this northeast monsoon due to a favourable Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO).
Chennai is bracing itself for another possible deluge with the Met office predicting heavy to very heavy rainfall across coastal Tamil Nadu over the next five days.
Along with this, Northeast Monsoon is also now active over the region.
More spells of rain likely to occur and temperature of the city may vary between 28 and 24 deg Celsius respectively.
But the rain is not expected to be as heavy it was 2015 when Chennai was flooded for three days.
Several schools in the state were closed ahead of schedule as the city experienced heavy showers.
He said the corporation had over 450 water pumps which would be used in low-lying areas to bale out water in the event of water logging.

Water treatment plant at Taba, which is being constructed, will cater to about 100,000 people in Taba, Jungshina, Pamtsho, Hejo, Samtelling, Langjophakha, Yangchenphu, and Changiji in Thimphu Construction of water tanks at Pamtsho, Samteling, and Langjophakha has also begun.
Thimphu Thrompon Kinlay Dorjee said that although there was enough water at the sources, about 30 percent of water supplied was lost on the way.
“In Chubachu, Norzin Lam, and the Centenary Farmers’ Market area, the water pipes were laid in the 1990s and 1980s, which were small.
Now that the number of houses have increased, and so have demand for water.” He added that the pipes had leakage due to rust.
“The replacement of distribution network at Thimphu core area such as Changzamtok, Chubachu and Hongkong Market needs to be done.” Distribution work for Changzamtog will soon begin.
The water treatment plant is part of Central Water Supply Scheme consisting of two projects – construction of water treatment plant and construction of intake and transmission main from Dodena to Taba, distribution lines and clear water reservoirs.
Thrompon said that the water treatment plant at Taba would be connected with the water source at Dodena, which is about 15km from Taba.
“Work at Dodena started February this year.” Thrompon added that the current water source at Dodena would not dry during the dry seasons and maintain the water supply consistent.
By next year when the work completes, Thimphu city will not have any water problem in the city.” Works and human settlement minister Dorji Choden, officials of the ministry, thromde officials and representatives of the World Bank attended the ground-breaking ceremony at Taba yesterday.
Phurpa Lhamo