One of the challenges is that bacteria from rivers can flow into groundwater sources, polluting what may have been potable drinking water.
Current methods of testing water safety can be expensive and time consuming.
Then they have to test the samples to determine which types of bacteria are present.
Working with fellow doctoral student Ran Ran and undergraduate student Derek Tran, Sun is developing a new method that’s faster, easier to use, and portable.
Traditionally, in order for scientists to measure what types of bacteria are present in water, they push the water sample through a column of soil or sand that’s native to the riverbed where the sample came from.
However, researchers find that some bacteria will squeeze through the soil column and make it to the other side.
Since it’s not adhering to the soil or sand, it may hitch a ride on the river current all the way into a town’s source of drinking water and make people sick.
While the traditional strategy for measuring bacteria works, Sun knew he could make it more efficient.
Instead of using a soil column to push water samples through, his method uses a microchannel.
To make this system portable, Sun knew he wanted the microscope to be able to connect with a cellphone.

Will a water security bill resolve lack of access in India?.
The “Water Security Bill” aims to give the legal right to clean water to every citizen of India.
The non-profit Jan Jal Jodo Abhiyan (JJJA) released the bill in a press conference of July 25.
Singh believes that if accepted by the government, the bill will help to ensure groundwater availability, effective protection against river pollution and guarantee clean drinking water for the population.
“Equally vital and significant as the right to food, the required impetus is missing to accept and promote the right to water as a fundamental right.
But why do we need a water security bill?
The bill attempts to address issues related to water crisis, exploitation and shortage.
The JJJA began in 2013 with the objective to ensure all round water security and community rights along with the protection of ponds, lakes, and rivers through community participation in a water literacy campaign.
In the last four years, the civil society organisation has tried to bring awareness among people for water-related issues through community involvement and participation.
Over 200 national workshops, seminars and public gatherings have been organised so far to address the issue.

Agriculture and environmental justice advocates are supporting legislation to create a fund for clean drinking water projects.
The bill, introduced by state senator Bill Monning (D-Carmel), is backed by the unlikely alliance of environmental justice groups and agriculture – two sides that have often sparred over environmental regulations.
Unlike other funding mechanisms such as bonds, the fund could be used to pay for the operation and maintenance of water treatment plants, and not just for their construction.
Advocates for the bill have called it the missing link needed to close the gap on the state’s drinking water crisis where over 1 million Californians don’t have access to safe drinking water, with small, rural communities in the San Joaquin Valley particularly hard-hit.
“It’s a drinking water crisis that is brought about in large part because there is a gap in the funding regime in terms of how we fund safe drinking water,” says Jonathan Nelson of Community Water Center, another group supporting the bill.
“We have funding to do things like build a treatment plant for those that need it, but there is no funding to be able to operate it and maintain it, which means those communities that typically need drinking water treatment the most, often are the hardest pressed to afford it or simply can’t afford it at all.” He noted there are also an estimated 2 million people in the state who either rely on private wells or very small water systems that are not regulated closely or at all.
“We need safe, clean water, but we also need assistance.” She says some community members, especially those with children, are struggling to pay new water rates.
Devil Is in the Details On the fourth floor of the Capitol building, dozens of SB 623 supporters who had previously gathered on the steps outside for a brief rally took turns filing into the packed hearing room to officially voice their support for SB 623 in front of the Assembly’s Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee.
But as Monning, the bill’s author, told the committee when it was time for its members to ask questions about the legislation, “The devil is in the details.” While the vision of the bill – to provide a fund for safe drinking water – is broadly supported, some key details of how that happens are not.
The group and its allies also contend that the fund should not be used for capital improvements like constructing treatment plants, which already have existing funding sources.

Agriculture and environmental justice advocates are supporting legislation to create a fund for clean drinking water projects.
The bill, introduced by state senator Bill Monning (D-Carmel), is backed by the unlikely alliance of environmental justice groups and agriculture – two sides that have often sparred over environmental regulations.
Unlike other funding mechanisms such as bonds, the fund could be used to pay for the operation and maintenance of water treatment plants, and not just for their construction.
Advocates for the bill have called it the missing link needed to close the gap on the state’s drinking water crisis where over 1 million Californians don’t have access to safe drinking water, with small, rural communities in the San Joaquin Valley particularly hard-hit.
“It’s a drinking water crisis that is brought about in large part because there is a gap in the funding regime in terms of how we fund safe drinking water,” says Jonathan Nelson of Community Water Center, another group supporting the bill.
“We have funding to do things like build a treatment plant for those that need it, but there is no funding to be able to operate it and maintain it, which means those communities that typically need drinking water treatment the most, often are the hardest pressed to afford it or simply can’t afford it at all.” He noted there are also an estimated 2 million people in the state who either rely on private wells or very small water systems that are not regulated closely or at all.
“We need safe, clean water, but we also need assistance.” She says some community members, especially those with children, are struggling to pay new water rates.
Devil Is in the Details On the fourth floor of the Capitol building, dozens of SB 623 supporters who had previously gathered on the steps outside for a brief rally took turns filing into the packed hearing room to officially voice their support for SB 623 in front of the Assembly’s Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee.
But as Monning, the bill’s author, told the committee when it was time for its members to ask questions about the legislation, “The devil is in the details.” While the vision of the bill – to provide a fund for safe drinking water – is broadly supported, some key details of how that happens are not.
The group and its allies also contend that the fund should not be used for capital improvements like constructing treatment plants, which already have existing funding sources.

FPCCI stresses steps for water, food security.
ISLAMABAD: The Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) on Wednesday called on the government to step up efforts for ensuring food and water security.
“The challenge of feeding a population that is to grow in both size and consumption in the coming decades looms large while the availability of water used for food production is getting scarce,” said Atif Ikram Sheikh, Chairman FPCCI Regional Committee on Industries in a statement.
“The government should establish a department comprising resource economists and scientists who can study food resources, food security, and agricultural sustainability and monitor/evaluate changes in groundwater and land systems.” Moving ahead, Sheikh underscored the need for the government to remodel agriculture and food policies in the light of looming threat of climate change.
“We need to adopt solar-powered drip irrigation technology, which can improve the nutritional status of entire regions,” said he adding, a big portion of the country’s population is considered food insecure due to the high cost of food.
The FPCCI official again stressed that the government should improve food and water availability in urban and rural areas using all available means as some sixteen million people lack access to clean drinking water in Pakistan.

No improvement in drinking water for elementary schools over 6 years.
Nagaland reported the sharpest drop of 14-percentage points in the proportion of schools with functional drinking water provisions from 37% in 2010 to 22.56% in 2016, followed by Madhya Pradesh (78.51% to 73%) and Kerala (85.66% to 80.5%).
The decline in drinking water facilities, even with resources and policy directed towards the construction of new water provisions, suggests that maintenance and regular evaluation of old infrastructure is important.
In Maharashtra, for instance, the proportion of schools with facilities for drinking water, functional or not, increased from 81.3 to 85.49% between 2010 and 2016.
But the proportion of schools with usable drinking water declined marginally from 68.98 in 2010 to 67.1% in 2016.
In no state in India did more than 90% schools have a usable water facility, according to ASER 2016.
States with the lowest proportion of schools with usable water facility included Nagaland (22.56%), Meghalaya (19.84%) and Manipur (15.25%).
(Bhattacharyya leads the water and sanitation activities of ASER Centre.
Reprinted with permission from IndiaSpend.org, a data-driven, public-interest journalism non-profit organisation.
You can read the original article here

FPCCI calls for improved food, water security.
Islamabad: The Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) on Wednesday called for improved food and water security.
The challenge of feeding a population that is to grow in both size and consumption in the coming decades looms large while the availability of water used for food production is getting scarce, said FPCCI Regional Committee on Industries Chairman Atif Ikram Sheikh.
He said government should establish a department comprising resource economists and scientists who can study food resources, food security, agricultural sustainability and monitor, and evaluate changes in groundwater and land systems.
Our government needs to remodel agriculture and food policies in the light of looming threat of climate chang.Atif Ikram Sheikh said that solar-powered drip irrigation technology can improve the nutritional status of entire regions which must be adopted.
A considerable portion of our population is considered food insecure due to the high cost of food which is a threat that must be tackled through investment in water and food security.
He said that the government should improve food and water availability in urban and rural areas using all available means as some sixteen million people lack access to clean drinking water in Pakistan.
The majority of the people cannot afford to buy clean water.

Two Dakota Access protesters say they purposely damaged the pipeline.. Today, outside offices of the Iowa Utilities Board, Ruby Montoya and Jessica Reznicek cited several instances where they used torches to cut through empty pieces of pipeline and pipe valves and burned construction equipment.
The pair’s activity started the night of November 8, Election Day.
After describing the vandalism, the pair began to remove letters from the Utilities Board sign and were arrested by state troopers.
“To all those that continue to be subjected to the government’s injustices, we humbly stand with you,” Reznicek said.
“And we ask now that you stand with us.” An Iowa Sierra Club lawyer condemned their actions.
Another activist thanked the two for their courage as they were carted away.
And a spokesperson for a pro-pipeline group called them “violent criminals.” Opinions seem as mixed as those over the pipeline itself.
Both Reznicek and Montoya have been arrested before for involvement in protests.
“The system is broken and it is up to us as individuals to take peaceful action and remedy it,” Montoya told reporters.

Government of Canada to End Long-Term Drinking Water Advisory at White Bear First Nation in Saskatchewan.
WHITE BEAR FIRST NATION, SK, July 25, 2017 : Everyone in Canada should have access to safe, clean, and reliable drinking water.
Today, the Honourable Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs, announced new investments that will lead to the elimination of the long-term drinking water advisory in White Bear First Nation.
The approximately $9.2 million will help replace the community’s water treatment system, enabling more than 800 residents to access clean water for the first time in over five years.
The project, expected to be complete by December 2018, is part of Canada’s commitment of $1.8 billion to improve water infrastructure and strengthen Indigenous communities.
This is reconciliation in action."
Having access to clean, safe and dependable water is critical for the long-term prosperity of our community, as we continue to grow in terms of our population and economic base.
Chief Nathan Pasap White Bear First Nation Quick Facts •As part of its long-term strategy, the Government of Canada is working with First Nations on sustainable approaches to provide safe drinking water for communities, and to prevent new long-term advisories from happening.
•Budget 2016 provides $1.8 billion over five years to significantly improve on-reserve water and wastewater infrastructure, ensure proper facility operation, maintenance, and support the training of water system operators, in addition to $141.7 million over five years to improve drinking water monitoring and testing on reserve.
•Committing investments over five years allows for long-term planning to improve on-reserve water and wastewater systems.

Nobody went home satisfied last week when state legislators finally adjourned after a record 193-day slog.
Jay Inslee said in a news conference statement (more like an understatement).
Failing to pass a two-year capital budget for the first time in memory leaves $4 billion in a lockbox.
This is money that should be building schools and mental health facilities statewide, funds to prevent wildfires and homelessness, investments to boost local economies with infrastructure projects from Algona to Zillah.
First, it should be noted that the U.S. was one of 41 countries that abstained from the historic UN resolution.
Second, a cursory reading of the resolution shows that it focuses on the 884 million people in poor countries who lack access to safe drinking water and the more than 2.6 billion deprived of basic sanitation.
The grim toll: an estimated 1.5 million children under age 5 die each year from water- and sanitation-related diseases.
To equate a global humanitarian crisis with Washington property-rights disruptions shows a clear case of tone-deafness.
Republicans accuse Democrats of running and hiding from a permanent Hirst fix, and maintain that rural landowners are being denied a human right.
Perhaps state lawmakers and their surrogates need time to reflect on how our problems pale in comparison to much of the rest of the world.