LAHORE: Lahore Mayor Colonel (r) Mubashir Javaid Saturday inaugurated a water filtration plant in Shalamar Town area of the provincial capital.
The plant was set up by Coca-Cola Beverages Pakistan Limited (CCI Pakistan) as part of its social responsibility programme. The plant processing capacity is 2,000 litres per hour and can serve over 20,000 people every day. The CCI has so far installed 24 filtration plants in various cities of Pakistan, including Karachi, Rahim Yar Khan, in partnership with the World Wild Life Fund (WWF) and other organisations.
Appreciating the efforts of the CCI, the mayor said that the company had contributed to the community’s welfare by providing access to safe drinking water. Speaking on the occasion, CCI Country Manager John Galvin said, "In our pursuit of protecting the water resources that sustain communities, this water filtration plant has been built with the humble contribution of CCI in partnership with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to provide clean and healthy drinking water to the community of Baghbanpura."
He went on to say, "Keeping alive the mission of the CCI, 24 water filtration plants have been installed in various parts of the country.
WWF-Pakistan Director General Hammad Naqi Khan said that Pakistan was a water-stressed country and was nearing the threshold of water scarcity. We support such programmes and partnerships which aim to address this massive challenge."

The dam, about 450 miles from the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, will generate 6,450 megawatts at full capacity — more than three times the energy produced by the Hoover Dam.
The Nile provides nearly 100 million Egyptians with virtually all their water.
That estimate was based on computer models, said Hany Hamroush, professor of geology and geochemistry at the American University in Cairo.
Egypt’s population has almost tripled in the past 50 years to 97 million. Egyptians now have 15 times less water per person than the average American.
Authorities are taking drastic measures to protect the Nile’s banks from urban sewage and industrial waste.
“Where does their sewage go?” el-Sissi asked at the time.
The U.S. Agency for International Development is spending $14.8 million for Egyptian pumping projects at six key world heritage sites.

By Christine Lagat NAIROBI (Xinhua) — The Kenyan government should channel new resources towards modernization of urban sewerage infrastructure in order to contain a cholera outbreak that has claimed dozens of lives since last year, an official from a pan-African health lobby said on Wednesday.
“The resurgence of cholera in several parts of Kenya has revived a national discourse about the disease.
A report from the ministry of health indicated that a cholera outbreak had affected 2,210 people in 16 counties by mid-August this year.
So far, 32 people have died from cholera in the worst affected counties and the toll could rise against a backdrop of weak surveillance and response strategy.
Gitahi noted that climatic shocks, ill-equipped health facilities and limited investments in rural sanitation have worsened the burden of water-borne diseases in Kenya.
“We need stricter enforcement of public health standards and constant disease surveillance for cholera and other public health threats,” said Gitahi, adding that prosper housing and improved living conditions are key to preventing cholera outbreaks in urban areas.
He revealed that Amref Health Africa has partnered with industry to improve the capacity of community health workers in Kenya to detect and treat cholera cases.
They can help keep communities out of danger through hygiene education, surveillance and treatment,” said Gitahi.

Israeli technology that captures humidity to supply potable water out of the air will be sent to Puerto Rico to help the island with the water scarcity it has been dealing with as a result of the devastation caused by hurricane Maria.
On Wednesday afternoon, David Efron, Israel’s honorary consul in Puerto Rico, said he was making the relevant arrangements for the machine to be delivered from Miami. The Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration (PRFAA) is also cooperating in the efforts, reports local daily El Nuevo Día.
The equipment could arrive in the island next week provided that PRFAA and the consul can find a cargo plane to transport it. Authorities have yet to determine the location where the machine will be installed, according to the daily.
According to Efron, the machine -which weighs between 1 to 2 tons- uses filters to purify the air and can produce up to 5,000 gallons of water a day.
The machine is being provided to supply water to Puerto Rico by the Israeli government, the honorary consul said.
In recent years, a number of Israeli firms have been at the forefront of potable water-producing technology, including the development of atmospheric water generating devices, such as the one described by Efron.

Menawhile hydroelectric schemes which were built along the Jordan’s course have been abandoned.
In the early 1960s, Israel opened a major dam diverting water from the Sea of Galilee for crops on adjacent lands.
For Jordan in particular, the diversion of the waters of the country’s main river has been a disaster.
Other factors have contributed to the country’s water scarcity problems.
Clearly, such a growth in population over a relatively short timespan puts severe strain on water and other resources.
Israel is releasing more water from the Sea of Galilee into the Jordan and, in some areas, flows have improved.
In a complex series of water swaps, freshwater from the desalination plant will be sold to Israel’s southern Arava region, while Jordan will buy water from the Sea of Galilee and the Palestinian Authority will purchase water from an Israeli desalination plant.
Scientists say the shrinkage is not only because the amount of water from the River Jordan entering the Red Sea has declined but also through increased evaporation caused by higher regional temperatures.

Nearly 30 million hectares of cropland worldwide is likely to be irrigated with untreated wastewater – 50% more than previously estimated, a study reveals.
Vital infrastructure, including wastewater treatment plants, is failing to keep pace with population growth; more than 80% of wastewater produced globally enters the environment without treatment.
For farmers, although it is dangerous, untreated wastewater also has benefits. It provides a reliable source of water for irrigating crops, and it has a higher concentration of nutrients than other water sources.
Many of those crops are consumed as street food by around 800,000 people, but studies have shown that the crops are often teeming with E. coli bacteria. So, what is the global extent of this problem?
In addition, the scientists assessed indirect or de facto wastewater use, where wastewater enters rivers and streams and is used downstream.
The study, published in Environmental Research Letters (ERL), found that 65% of all irrigated croplands within 40 km downstream from urban areas – amounting to more than 35 million hectares – were in catchments with high levels of dependence on urban wastewater flows.
Thebo and her colleagues estimate that worldwide some 885 million urban residents are exposed to serious health risks as a result of routine irrigation with highly polluted water.
"To feed the growing population, wastewater irrigation is going to play an important role, but we need to improve safety," said Drechsel.

Omuthiya — Over the past few days taps in Omuthiya have been running dry while some households experienced weak flow due to low pressure in the pipes, a situation attributed to the electricity cutting out intermittently, which in turn leaves the pumps at reservoirs without sufficient power to pump water.
Omuthiya CEO Samuel Mbango in a telephonic interview said they were working hard on addressing the problem, which has become a daily occurrence exacerbated by the long distances Namwater technicians have to travel to the town to repair the pumps.
The technicians are stationed at Ondangwa, which presents a challenge for them to address the issue timeously when the need arises.
"Sometimes this happens in the night and those people are far and sometimes cannot travel that time and only work on it in the morning. So, if it happens that the power trips in the night, it means there will be no water pumped, which leaves the taps dry. On the other hand this creates low pressure," Mbango explained.

Arizona’s future is closely tied to its water supply – and that makes an updated water accord between the United States and Mexico critically important for our state.
Mexico will continue its pledge to take reductions in its allotment of Colorado River water if a water shortage is declared on the river – that’s something U.S. states are required to do, with Arizona and Nevada first in line to lose water.
It establishes a Binational Water Scarcity Contingency Plan, in which Mexico agrees to join U.S. states in temporarily taking less water from Lake Mead to prevent the declaration of a shortage.
Arizona and Nevada would suffer cutbacks in Colorado River water allotments first if that happens.
Since 1944, the United States has had a treaty with Mexico regarding the Colorado River and the Rio Grande. Mexico has rights to Colorado River water and its participation in long-range water planning is essential.
Negotiated by representatives of both United States and Mexico, as well participation from U.S. states, this accord furthers cooperation and long-term planning to prevent the need for crisis management.

Thermoelectric plants include coal, nuclear, oil, and natural gas.
Using a new approach in computational modeling, Ganguly and his colleagues found that by the 2030s, about 27 percent of America’s power production will be severely impacted by future droughts and warmer, scarcer water.
What does an impact in power production due to water stress look like to the average consumer?
The stress on power generation may be especially severe when power is also most in demand. For example, in drought conditions when water is scarcer and warmer, there may be an increase in the need for air conditioning—which further stresses power production. A rise in utility bills may be the direct and immediate result.
Outages, both planned and unplanned, are likely, which may in turn impact other lifeline sectors such as transportation and water distribution or wastewater, as well as communication and cyber infrastructures.
Water stress in the context of power production includes measures of water scarcity combined with warmer waters. Water above certain temperatures may be less useful for cooling and would likely reduce the efficiency of the power generation process.

Demand for water is exceeding supply capabilities under the current infrastructure, and governments will struggle to find the finances to make the improvements that are needed.