Meetings set on Waukesha water pipeline routes.
WAUKESHA — The Great Water Alliance, a new program designed to carry fresh water from Lake Michigan to Waukesha, treat it, and return the same amount, is hosting community open houses regarding the pipeline alignments today and Thursday.
The public is encouraged to attend this first series of meetings, meet project team members, review return flow route alternatives, and discuss the program.
“We’ve been meeting with the leaders of our partner communities and want those who reside or do business in those communities to know more about our proposed plans for constructing these pipelines and how they may affect them.” Under terms unanimously approved by the eight Great Lakes governors and two Canadian premiers, Waukesha may access up to 8.2 million gallons a day of drinking water from Lake Michigan and return the same amount to the lake.
Current plans call for constructing a pipeline to carry Lake Michigan water through the communities of Franklin, Muskego, and New Berlin to Waukesha for use as the city’s water supply.
A second pipeline will return treated water to an outfall point in Franklin that empties into the Root River, ultimately flowing back to Lake Michigan.
Three route alternatives are being considered.
Construction is expected to begin in early 2020 with completion in 2023.
• From 5:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday June 28, at Muskego High School, Room 243, W185 S8750 Racine Ave.
Residents can examine maps of the three alternative routes and offer comments, learn more about why Waukesha is making use of Lake Michigan as its drinking water source, and how the highly treated water will improve the health of the Root River.

Ground breaking for upgrades to Shawinigan’s drinking water plant held.
This project is receiving more than $48 million in joint financial assistance from the governments of Canada and Quebec under the Major Infrastructure Component of the Building Canada Fund‒Quebec.
"We are committed to investing in local infrastructure that ensures Canadians have access to solid, modern water services," said François-Philippe Champagne, minister of international trade and member of parliament for Saint-Maurice–Champlain.
To meet the requirements of the Quebec Department of Sustainable Development, Environment and the Fight Against Climate Change, the City of Shawinigan is starting the construction of two new water treatment plants this year, one for water drawn from Lac des Piles and the other for water from Lac à la Pêche.
The project to upgrade the drinking water infrastructure also includes modifying the water supply system to connect the Saint-Georges and Lac-à-la-Tortue sectors to the Lac à la Pêche water supply system.
This change is required because the City of Shawinigan should not draw more than 7,500 m3 per day from Lac des Piles.
In 2014, the provincial government agreed to this request and at this point, we were able to sit down with the federal and provincial governments to determine the right financial package," said Michel Angers, mayor of Shawinigan.
The Government of Canada will provide more than $180 billion in infrastructure funding over 12 years for public transit, green infrastructure, social infrastructure, transportation that supports trade, and Canada’s rural and northern communities.
This amount includes $5 billion available for investment through the Canada Infrastructure Bank.
Under the 2017‒2027 Quebec Infrastructure Plan, the Quebec Department of Municipal Affairs and Land Occupancy will invest a total of $15 billion in infrastructure thanks to $7 billion in government financial support.

IFC Seeks To Raise $500 Million To Back Infrastructure Projects In Emerging Markets.
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has reached agreements to raise US$500 million for an innovative program to mobilize funds from institutional investors for infrastructure projects in emerging markets.
The IFC signed an agreement with Eastspring Investments, the Asian asset management business of Prudential PLC, to raise the capital.
Eastspring is the first Asian investor to participate in the program, known as MCPP Infrastructure.
"This new partnership with Eastspring will help bring reliable power, roads, and other critical infrastructure to areas where they are urgently needed.
IFC will continue to work with governments and investors to mobilize additional resources for infrastructure development in developing countries."
More than 1.2 billion people worldwide have no access to electricity.
More than 660 million people don’t have a clean source of drinking water and one in three people worldwide lack access to sewage infrastructure.
IFC’s MCPP program seeks to raise US$5 billion from global institutional investors to modernize infrastructure in emerging markets by 2021, opening up a new stream of capital flows to improve power, water, transportation, and telecommunications systems in developing countries.
IFC provides a limited first-loss guarantee on the program’s investments to meet the risk-reward profile that institutional investors require, with support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.

Hydro International acquired by agri-energy Irish firm BHSL.
LONDON, England – Water and wastewater company Hydro International has been acquired by fellow Irish agri-tech business BHSL for what is understood to be in excess of €5 million.
As part of the deal, Hydro will be merged with BHSL which specialises in converting poultry manure into fuel for agricultural energy-generation, to create a BHSL-Hydro division.
The Hydro deal is the first step by the company to expand the range of applications for its fluidised bed combustion (FBC) technology.
The acquisition follows the closing of a €7 million new round of equity from the Irish firm, in total raising a total of €12 million over the last 12 months for expansion.
Declan O’Connor, managing director at BHSL, reportedly said: “Hydro International is an excellent fit for BHSL and the acquisition supports our strategy to expand into a broader environmental solutions business, focused on extracting value from waste products.” Earlier this month BHSL was shortlisted for the Irish Times Innovation awards.
### Read more Hydro International earns exporter of the year award for South American growth

Printing Company CEO to Cycle 3,000 Miles Across U.S. to Aid Wheels4Water Initiative.
As a community and business leader in Phoenix, Narducci was struck by the concept that for $40, a person could have access to clean water, hygiene and sanitation for life.
In 2014, he played a support and fundraising role in the team’s ride from Boston to Chicago that provided 2,500 people with clean water for life.
On September 10th, Narducci and his fellow Wheels4Water team members will begin riding more than 3,000 miles from San Diego to Jacksonville, Fla., in 10 days with the goal of raising $200,000 to provide the Kaliro district of Uganda,with clean water and sanitation education for life.
More than $70,000 was raised as a result of last year’s ride, which also included fundraising support from cycling communities across the United States.
Narducci’s story is one of transformation.
He described what a community without clean water looked like, and the profound impact it had on him, when he went to Uganda for a site visit prior to the installation of a clean water source: “Witnessing a young woman in Uganda who was getting water for her daily use retrieve water from the same source that animals were drinking out of and defecating in was heartbreaking … we just sat there and wept because it does not have to be this way,” he says.
“We can fix it.
So, for as little as $40 — a person will be provided with clean water, hygiene and sanitation education for life,” he adds.
“This is something that is definitely something worth doing.” So far, Wheels4Water has provided clean water and sanitation to more than 6,000 people living in communities across Uganda, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

IDE to meet record low boron levels in Taiwan with SWRO industrial solution.
KADIMA, Israel – Taiwanese oil company Formosa Petrochemical Corporation (FPCC) has commissioned IDE Technologies to deliver a 105,000 m³/day seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant.
To be located at the Mai-Liao Power Corporation in Yunlin County, Taiwan, the plant will produce high-quality water for industrial applications.
As part of the contract, IDE will design, supply and install equipment, commission the plant, and supervise operation and maintenance for two years.
FPCC has an urgent need to produce its own water supply after the government reduced water its rights from natural sources to support agriculture.
The desalination plant will use IDE’s boron removal system, which the company claimed will be the world’s first to reach the extremely low and challenging boron concentration level requirement of less than 0.01 ppm.
It will also comply with the local regulations for discharge of blowdown water.
To date, Israeli company IDE has secured projects in China and India across Asia, so the FPCC deal represents a welcome break into Taiwanese market.
Amnon Levy, CEO of IDE Projects, said: “The quality of the boron in this plant is extremely low, which was an exciting milestone for us to reach.
With our technology, we’ve managed to produce an industry-first of this magnitude while maintaining high water quality.” ### Read more

Two in three Americans believe their community’s clean drinking water is at risk Most Americans believe significant investments in water infrastructure are needed to avoid future water crises Americans expect cross-sector collaboration from governments, businesses and environmental organizations to secure a clean water future STAMFORD, Conn. – (June 28, 2017) Access to clean drinking water and the nation’s water infrastructure are major concerns for Americans across the country, according to “Perspectives on America’s Water,” a new study.
Yet, 61 percent of American consumers and 66 percent of experts characterized water problems as a crisis or major issue for the United States.
The study found that two in three Americans (66 percent) believe their own community’s clean drinking water is at risk, while 59 percent say a major overhaul of U.S. water infrastructure is needed to avoid that possibility.
At Nestlè Waters we believe that access to safe and secure drinking water is a fundamental human right and we know we all have a role, responsibility and obligation to contribute to making this a reality.” Concerns About Cleanliness and Safety Many American consumers and experts question whether the tap water in their home (36 percent and 30 percent, respectively) and schools (40 percent for both) is clean and safe.
Forty-two percent of Americans surveyed believe water will become less available in the next 10 years, and two-thirds (66 percent) believe water crises will have widespread consequences for individuals, businesses and the United States overall.
Experts are especially likely to say climate change is impacting clean drinking water (76 percent) and are more likely than American consumers overall to say this impact will increase over the next 10 years (58 percent).
In terms of specific infrastructure improvements, Americans believe it is necessary to prioritize early detection systems that identify contamination in the water supply (64 percent), more efficient water collection and purification methods (52 percent) and infrastructure to increase water access, quality and capacity (48 percent).
American consumers expect local (71 percent), state (71 percent) and federal governments (65 percent) to play a role in ensuring people have access to clean drinking water, as well as consumers (39 percent) and businesses (35 percent).
That is why we are committed to using these insights and skills to engage with our employees, suppliers, communities as well as non-profits, policymakers and other stakeholders who care deeply about the sustainability and the security of America’s water supply to drive innovation and collaboration to ensure a clean, safe and secure water future for generations to come.” Methodology PSB, on behalf of Nestlé Waters North America, conducted an online survey among 6,699 American adults in May 2017.
Brands such as Nestlé® Pure Life®, Poland Spring®, Perrier, and S. Pellegrino® have driven Nestlé Waters North America to be the third largest non-alcoholic beverage company by volume in the U.S. Based in Stamford, Connecticut with over 8,500 employees nationwide, Nestlé Waters is committed to reducing its environmental footprint across operations.

How far would you go to get water?.
Most of the water that these women and children collect is incredibly dirty and unsafe for consumption – in fact, nearly two billion people around the world have to face the tough decision between drinking dirty water that could make them sick, and not drinking at all.
How far would you go to get water?
Each trip is an hour and a half one way, meaning she spends a total of nine hours each day fetching water.
“At times when the river is not flowing and the water is just stagnant, I take my hoe and dig by the river bed.
“The time that we are wasting walking up and down to fetch water is productive time that is wasted.” Fetch the same stuff that people and animals bathe and toilet in?
Go without for days at a time?
And when we are healthy we can go to school, and learn, and grow.” Once families had used up the clean water they got from the tank – what they obtained from the water tank usually lasted only a day or two – they’d get whatever they could from the nearby saltwater lake, or by digging holes in the dry river bed and extracting the water from there.
This crisis forced people to make incredibly tough decisions between water and health.
We always work with local people, ensuring that they lead our developments based on what they believe the best solution for them and their community is.

Climate Change And Its Effect On Indigenous People – Analysis.
[i] In Colombia, they live in La Guajira department.
La Guajira is home to the continent’s largest open-pit coal mine.
In the past, the course of the Aguas Blancas creek was changed by El Cerrejón for its own benefit.
[xii] In August 2016, the Supreme Court of Colombia ordered the opening of the Ranchería River and expressed its concern about the deaths of a number of children associated with the lack of water and malnutrition.
The community leaders are doing their best to help their people.
Without such water supply, many more indigenous people will die.
[i] “Indigenous Wayuu,” Off 2 Colombia, Accessed June 14, 2017, http://off2colombia.com/indigenous-wayuu.
[x] “The human right to water and sanitation,” United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Accessed June 14, 2017, http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/human_right_to_water.shtml.
[xxi] “Climate Change Impacts in Latin America,” World Wildlife Fund, Accessed June 14, 2017, https://www.worldwildlife.org/climatico/climate-change-impacts-in-latin-america.

At that time, Agarwal owned Panama Water Management, a company that worked with the government on water treatment projects.
The JanaJal machines making a rapid pan-India foray is one of the viable solutions that can take care of the ‘3C’s’ – cleanliness, convenience (read widespread distribution) and cost.
The issue in India, says Parag, is that the water changes after every 100 km or so.
It typically takes around three-four weeks to instal the first JanaJal water ATM in a specific area, but subsequent installations take less time.
"We want to create jobs for the community where the ATM is located," says Parag.
The company currently charges Rs 5 per litre, which could come down depending on the location and the company’s business and financing model around that particular water ATM.
Over the past four years, the brothers have invested over Rs 7 crore in the company, and they claim JanaJal has earned Rs 1.7 crore in revenues in the financial year 2016/17.
There is competition from its ilk – from companies such as Sarvajal and Amrutdhara Water Services.
What works for these companies (if they want to focus on volumes) is a franchise model that ensures all the water kiosks under the companys umbrella, the hygiene, and the operators communication skills are standardised, says Jagannarayan Padmanabhan, Director at CRISIL Infrastructure Advisory.
There is a further fillip to growth as in February this year, US-based social impact fund Tricolor Cleantech Capital committed to invest up to $5 million over the next two-three years.