To comply with these new state laws, the DOE has been testing all water outlets in all New York City schools for lead.
As part of this new state regulation, notification letters on the results must be sent to school staff and parents of students.
You may also access your school’s results on the DOE’s Water Safety website.
Since then, the UFT Safety and Health department receives all reports from the DOE and is monitoring the testing to ensure notification and remediation occurs according to these new laws.
We are also recommending that chapter leaders walk through their schools to ensure that where there were elevated levels that those particular sinks or fountains are not used for drinking.
If the lead levels are below the state standard of 15 parts per billion (ppb), it can be returned to service and the sign be removed.
If not, further remediation is required until test results show that lead levels are below 15 ppb at that outlet.
As for the health effects and potential exposure, we are recommending to members who frequented an outlet with elevated levels and think they have been exposed to lead to ask their doctors for a blood lead test.
The water we source from the city is rigorously tested to ensure that it is safe; however, it may pick up lead once it enters a school building with lead in its plumbing system and especially after the water sits for long periods of time in pipes that may contain lead.
Do let the UFT Safety and Health Department know if you have a diagnosis of elevated blood lead levels in your school.

New technologies are offering innovative ways for cities to ensure there is an adequate supply of safe, clean water Water sustainability is a growing challenge for cities worldwide.
However, the situation is so severe, Cape Town also needs to look at how it can access additional water.
The city recently put out a city-wide request for new ideas, for example, and the water department also has a new technologies unit, specifically in place to look out for new innovations and assess their relevance for Cape Town’s needs.
Cleaning water closer to home A lack of local drinking water sources has been a long-term challenge in the City of San Diego – now, advanced technology and improved public support are changing this.
Historically, San Diego has relied on importing between 80 and 90 per cent of its water supply from the Colorado River and Northern California Bay Delta.
“With limited local control over our water supply, the City of San Diego is more vulnerable to droughts, climate change and natural disasters,” explains J. Brent Eidson, External Affairs, Deputy Director, Public Utilities, City of San Diego.
Although new technologies are helping to solve city challenges, they have to be rigorously tested first, says Eidson.
In the city of Charlotte in the US, 61 commercial buildings were able to reduce their energy consumption by 19% over five years, which equated to $26 million in energy bill savings.
We are now hoping to have the same results with drastic water consumption reduction.” In partnership with technology company Itron and Charlotte Water, Envision Charlotte is running a pilot network of smart water meters in 18 of its uptown commercial buildings.
The buildings share a dashboard but the data is anonymised.

Schumer: Mattis should expedite Stewart cleanup.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer is calling on Defense Secretary James Mattis to expedite cleanup of toxic chemicals at Stewart Air National Guard Base as he and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand announced Tuesday that a spending bill passed by a Senate committee last week includes provisions spurred by the contamination.
In a recent meeting with Mattis, Schumer said he demanded that the Department of Defense speed up its investigation and cleanup of perfluorooctane sulfonate, or PFOS, a chemical found in foams used to extinguish aircraft fires.
High levels of the toxic chemical, which has been linked to cancers and other health problems, forced the closure of the City of Newburgh’s primary water supply more than a year ago and led to the designation of the base as a state Superfund site last August.
Federal and state officials have been demanding that Stewart move quicker to address the contamination and end discharges of wastewater into Silver Stream, which was determined to have carried the chemical into Newburgh’s Washington Lake.
“The DoD has tried to circumvent liability instead of honoring its responsibility to taxpayers and innocent families,” Schumer said.
One provision would give DoD authorization to clean up contamination at Air National Guard and Reserve bases.
In addition to Stewart Air Base, contamination from PFCs has been tied to Gabreski Air National Guard Base in Suffolk County.
The NDAA also includes $7 million in funding so the Centers for Disease Control can study the health impacts on people exposed to the chemicals through drinking water and the levels at which health problems occur.
“These provisions would allow the Air Force to address this crisis head-on and work with communities in New York to clean up and restore public-water supplies around the Air National Guard bases so residents can have access to clean drinking water,” Gillibrand said.

LN: One-third of Czechs know UN sustainable development goal.
Prague, July 18 (CTK) – One-third of Czechs know the U.N. goals in sustainable development, such as access to drinking water, according to a poll conducted by the Ipsos agency along with the Association of Social Responsibility and released in Lidove noviny (LN) today.
They include fighting extreme poverty, securing access to education, health care and drinking water for all and restricting corruption.
The poll conducted on 1000 respondents shows that 35 percent of Czechs know the sustainable development goals and they have noticed that their government adopted this commitment of a fair approach to the planet.
In the group of young people aged 18-24 years, even 50 percent are aware of the goals.
Sixty-six percent of respondents say it is primarily up to the government to see to sustainable development, while 49 percent would mainly leave this effort to international organisations.
On the contrary, young people under 24 stress that individuals must be involved in sustainable development, LN writes.
It also says that more and more Czechs realise that drinking wanter cannot be taken for granted, which was influenced by frequent dry seasons.
The Czech Republic was particularly praised for its access to drinking water, LN writes.
They plan to present its annual report in New York today to accompany an official assessment of the sustainable development goals fulfilment in the Czech Republic, prepared by the government, LN writes.

Gwen Chamberlain Water is Life.
But that’s not the case around the globe.
Now there’s an opportunity to help support three organizations whose missions protect clean water or increase access to it.
On Sept. 16, a simple walk along the Keuka Outlet Trail can help support these three organizations: ‒ Friends of The Outlet: These volunteers work to protect and improve the Outlet Preservation Area which surrounds most of the Keuka Outlet, an important waterway between Keuka and Seneca Lakes.
‒ HTSCongo works to provide clean drinking water near homes in remote villages and sanitation facilities to schools, hospitals and clinics in the third world.
The Walk for Water is an opportunity for everyone to help raise funds to support the efforts of these three groups.
Walkathon organizers have set up two teams — one for Seneca Lake and one for Keuka Lake.
Walkers can help their lake’s team earn bragging rights for the most walkers and the most funds raised.
Sign up to walk any distance along the trail between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Sept. 16 starting from the Boat Launch off Keuka Street in Penn Yan.
For more information about the walk, and to register ($25 per individual, $50 for a family of up to four members), visit http://htscongo.org/walkforwater.html

The surveys, conducted by a Water Resources team from the Secretariat of the Pacific Community’s Geoscience Division, have mapped new sources of underground water in Qerelevu and Nanuku-Wailevu.
The initiative, funded by the European Union and implemented through the SPC’s Micro Projects Program, was carried out near a number of communities who are yet to be connected to the Water Authority of Fiji network and have a history of water shortages.
“Access to safe, reliable water for drinking and farming is essential for healthy, productive communities.
Due to the increased demand and the impact of extreme weather events, this access remains a challenge for some communities.
Sources of groundwater can be tapped to help meet demand, but it takes expert knowledge, specialist equipment and sustainable management.
SPC’s Water Resources adviser, Peter Sinclair, said the surveys—which use sophisticated geophysical electrical resistivity equipment—have detected places where there are likely to be sources of fresh underground water that could be potentially tapped.
“The areas surveyed currently rely on a combination of collected rainwater, springs, or shallow wells.
“Groundwater from deeper sources has the distinct advantage that it is less impacted by droughts and cyclones, and so it offers greater reassurance of a safe water supply.
Identifying the sources of new water supplies is just the first step in the process but it is a significant one as the information can be used to develop future water supply systems as needed.
“The best approach for ensuring safe and resilient water supply to rural areas is to work within the physical and social limitations of the communities for which the water supplies will be used, operated and maintained,” Sinclair said.

Mountain Valley Pipeline opponents focus on safety of region’s water supply.
They said environmental reviews haven’t done enough to evaluate the impact of the pipeline both during and after construction, on the Roanoke River, the Spring Hollow Reservoir, ground water supplies and countless creeks throughout the region.
"Imagine this right here, right here in this little tributary to the Roanoke River," said Tammy Belinsky pointing to a map of Roanoke County.
"Deschutes and Ballast Point didn’t come here because the water sucked," said Mike Pensinger.
"They came here because the water’s good and the quality of life is good.
So do we let this impact us to the point where these people who have put millions of dollars into our economy make a second choice about what they’re doing?"
And the company promises other precautions both during and after construction to ensure water quality.
Following is a statement from the company: "As stated in the Final Environmental Impact Statement issued by the FERC, MVP constructions activities are not likely to significantly impact groundwater resources because the majority of construction would involve shallow excavations.
To begin, by adhering to the Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures Plan specifically designed for the project, MVP would prevent or adequately minimize accidental spills or materials leaks during construction activities.
Finally, MVP would identify drinking water resources within 150’ of construction or 500’ in karst topography areas and conduct pre-construction water quality and water yield surveys on water resources where access was granted to conduct such surveys.

Mountain Valley Pipeline opponents focus on safety of region’s water supply.
They said environmental reviews haven’t done enough to evaluate the impact of the pipeline both during and after construction, on the Roanoke River, the Spring Hollow Reservoir, ground water supplies and countless creeks throughout the region.
"Imagine this right here, right here in this little tributary to the Roanoke River," said Tammy Belinsky pointing to a map of Roanoke County.
"Deschutes and Ballast Point didn’t come here because the water sucked," said Mike Pensinger.
"They came here because the water’s good and the quality of life is good.
So do we let this impact us to the point where these people who have put millions of dollars into our economy make a second choice about what they’re doing?"
And the company promises other precautions both during and after construction to ensure water quality.
Following is a statement from the company: "As stated in the Final Environmental Impact Statement issued by the FERC, MVP constructions activities are not likely to significantly impact groundwater resources because the majority of construction would involve shallow excavations.
To begin, by adhering to the Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures Plan specifically designed for the project, MVP would prevent or adequately minimize accidental spills or materials leaks during construction activities.
Finally, MVP would identify drinking water resources within 150’ of construction or 500’ in karst topography areas and conduct pre-construction water quality and water yield surveys on water resources where access was granted to conduct such surveys.

NAYMOTE Engages Youthful Representative Aspirants.
Monrovia – The National Youth Movement for Transparent Elections (NAYMOTE) has begun series of community forums for youthful representative candidates in the pending Presidential and Legislative Elections.
According to NAYMOTE, The forum, under the theme “Youth Voices: A Conversation on the Youth Votes 2017” is intended to provide opportunity for youthful candidates to explain, if elected, their plans for ensuring that citizens have access to safe drinking water, sanitation and electricity.
Several youthful representative candidates vying for seats in Montserrado County, speaking at the start of the event at the Center for the Exchange of Intellectual Opinions (CEIO) on Carey Street in Monrovia attributed the slow pace of Liberia’s development to massive corruption and the failure of government to implement key national policies.
Benjamin Wehye, opting to unseat Rep. Thomas Fallah of District #5, Samuel B. Jacobs of District #6, and Ms. Daintowon Paybayee vying to unseat Rep. Saah Joseph of District #13, accused the current batch of lawmakers of the 53rd Legislature of not exercising their oversight responsibilities to the fullest and vowed to be the voices of their people when elected come October, 2017.
The laws are already there, and we will make sure that they are implemented.
The issue of electricity is in our oversight responsibility; and because the policies are already there, we are going to make sure that those facilities come down to your districts,” averred Daintowon Paybayee.
We live in a place where customer service has become a nightmare; to the extent that those who have the money and want to bring water and sewer in their homes will have to run after it for one year.
“For his part, Samuel B. Jacobs described electricity, road and water as major priority and noted until they are addressed, the country will remain stagnated.
NAYMOTE, giving the program’s overview, disclosed that young people, ages 18-35 years, constitute over 55% of the registered voters in Liberia, but the dividends of their participation in decision making and political processes are lacking.

Studies by water utilities, engineers, and advocacy groups estimate [PDF] that making all the needed investments in U.S. water infrastructure would add $220 billion and 1.3 million jobs to the U.S. economy annually.
Public consumption makes up 11 percent, while mining and industry comprises another 5 percent.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that the country will need to spend $632 billion over the next decade on infrastructure including pipes, treatment plants, and wastewater management facilities.
At the same time, federal support has dried up: according to Congressional Budget Office numbers, the federal contribution to national water infrastructure spending has fallen from 63 percent of the total in the 1970s to just 9 percent in 2014.
How is supply regulated?
Under both laws, the federal government, through the EPA, sets pollution limits and regulations for all discharges into drinking water supplies, including surface waters and wastewater treatment output, while states are responsible for day-to-day implementation and enforcement.
The Colorado River, in particular, has become a major source of concern.
A primary role is to authorize financing for water projects through what are known as the State Revolving Funds.
Since its creation in 1987, the Clean Water State Revolving Fund has provided states with over $111 billion in low-interest loans.
Some in Congress have proposed various mechanisms for increasing federal contributions to the water system.