Press release: CFWNC’s Pigeon River Fund Awards $182,440 in Water Quality Grants Projects benefit Buncombe, Haywood and Madison counties The Pigeon River Fund of The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina recently awarded $182,440 to environmental groups working to improve surface water quality, enhance fish and wildlife habitats, expand public use and access to waterways and increase water quality awareness in Buncombe, Haywood and Madison counties. Since 1996, the Pigeon River Fund has distributed $6,371,037 in grants. The most recent Pigeon River Fund grant recipients are: Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation – $16,000 to engage regional stakeholders and professional planners in developing an integrated, comprehensive plan for the recent 5,329-acre addition to the Blue Ridge Parkway at Waterrock Knob. French Broad River Academy – $14,960 to develop wetland areas on the school’s campus, adjacent to the French Broad River, to reestablish a natural area that will help filter rainwater and runoff before it makes its way into the French Broad River. Haywood County Schools – $2,000 to install a water collection system in the Pisgah High School Pulp and Paper Technology Lab, reducing the wastewater that must be…

Press release: CFWNC’s Pigeon River Fund Awards $182,440 in Water Quality Grants Projects benefit Buncombe, Haywood and Madison counties The Pigeon River Fund of The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina recently awarded $182,440 to environmental groups working to improve surface water quality, enhance fish and wildlife habitats, expand public use and access to waterways and increase water quality awareness in Buncombe, Haywood and Madison counties. Since 1996, the Pigeon River Fund has distributed $6,371,037 in grants. The most recent Pigeon River Fund grant recipients are: Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation – $16,000 to engage regional stakeholders and professional planners in developing an integrated, comprehensive plan for the recent 5,329-acre addition to the Blue Ridge Parkway at Waterrock Knob. French Broad River Academy – $14,960 to develop wetland areas on the school’s campus, adjacent to the French Broad River, to reestablish a natural area that will help filter rainwater and runoff before it makes its way into the French Broad River. Haywood County Schools – $2,000 to install a water collection system in the Pisgah High School Pulp and Paper Technology Lab, reducing the wastewater that must be…

In February of 2017, the Pacific Institute released a white paper entitled Drinking Fountains and Public Health: Improving National Infrastructure to Rebuild Trust and Ensure Access, which highlighted the limited evidence of a link between illness and disease outbreaks and drinking fountains. The report found that most problems could be traced to contamination from poor cleaning and maintenance or old water infrastructure in buildings, and called for comprehensive testing of drinking fountains, implementation of standard protocols for fountain maintenance, and a nationwide effort to replace old water infrastructure, which can be the source of lead and other contaminants. One aspect of efforts to expand access to fountains is to take a look at current drinking fountain technology and identify features that can help ensure their quality, convenience, and reliability. Ultimately, these features can help increase public confidence and access to high quality and affordable tap water. A gallon of tap water from typical municipal water systems costs about half a cent, making drinking fountains the cheapest hydration source available in public spaces (and of course, almost all public fountains are completely free to the user). This cost may increase somewhat depending on the purchase, installation, and maintenance costs for each drinking fountain, but it remains far cheaper than the cost of bottled water, which typically ranges from $1 to $5 per gallon, or about 200 to 1,000 times more than tap water. (High-end bottled waters can be even far more costly.) These costs do not include the environmental costs of the bottled water industry. With many useful features that increase water quality and convenience, drinking fountains need no longer be the forgotten relics of the past. Cities, park districts, schools, hospitals, and other entities managing public spaces can offer fountains with many available options, including vandal resistance, freeze resistance, refrigeration, bottle filling, and filtration. Josselyn Ivanov provides a useful infographic of drinking fountain typologies, some of which are described below. Drinking fountains located outside will need to include features to help weather the elements, such as exposed aggregate finishes to prevent corrosion. Extremely durable cast iron fountains can withstand harsh weather, but are not appropriate for beach settings as they are prone to rusting when exposed to a constant high-moisture environment. Stainless steel fountains are more suitable in such cases; in fact, they are one of the most popular fountain types due to minimal maintenance needs and low cost. Vandal-resistant fountains are a great fit for high-traffic areas as they are equipped with heavy-duty parts such as galvanized frames and steel cabinets, which protect against damage and wear. In cold regions, a freeze-resistant feature allows fountains to continue to function by preventing damage from pipe freezing and breakage. (These units must be connected to waterlines buried below the frost line in order to prevent the incoming water from freezing.) Photo: Peter Gleick, London, UK Other fountain features can be added to cater to users’…

Visitors to the St. Clements Arena and Hawkesville Community Centre can now enjoy state of the art hydration stations. The addition of the hydration stations are part of theme-two of the Healthy Kids Community Challenge (HKCC), ‘Water Does Wonders.’ The Waterloo Region is one of the 45 communities across Ontario taking part in the HKCC. The goal of the movement is to unite communities with the common goal of promoting children and their families health through physical activity and healthy eating. The theme, ‘Water Does Wonders’, encourages children and families to choose water when reaching for a drink rather than sugar-sweetened beverages. There are several initiatives across the region as part of the challenge to promote water as the beverage of choice including the implementation of the noted hydration stations and highlighting non-profit agency Blue W. Blue W, a community-based program, helps people identify where they can easily find clean, free and public water sources to fill reusable bottles through their online mapping tool and smartphone application. The stations provide water for bottles and to be used as a drinking fountain. “It records…

NI Water has issued a warning after members of its staff came under threat while closing fire hydrants that had been vandalised by young people. During the last few days of warm weather, NI Water have been dealing with incidents in the Ligoniel and New Lodge areas. The incidents have caused some homes and businesses to suffer low water pressure or no water at all. Staff members have also come under threat from local youths when they try to close the hydrant down, with workers having to return late into the night when the crowds have gone, A spokesman said: “This is totally unacceptable behaviour towards staff who…

"The people of Ogoni still cannot have access to safe drinking water, not to talk of electricity, basic schools and roads," he told AFP.
The Anglo-Dutch energy giant also agreed to start a clean up of two devastating oil spills in 2008, following a three-year British legal battle that was settled out of court.
In June 2016, Nigeria’s Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo formally launched the project, which the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said could take 30 years.
So far, however, only $10 million of the initial $1 billion programme has been released.
"The fact is that Ogoni still drinks poisoned water and remains polluted and these cannot be changed by internal processes and media promotions," said Nsuke.
Fish and carcinogens Ignatius Feegha, 41, used to catch fish as a child in the waterways of the Niger Delta.
"I used to wake up around 5:00 am with my father to fish and would come back with baskets of fish before going to school," said the civil servant.
"We can’t see no fish in this water because the water is stained with crude oil," he said.
So Shell, which had already engaged two companies to do the job, had to back out," he added.
Agbulu said Shell was not ready to give cash to the youths and since they would not allow the contractors to handle the job, decided to suspend the clean-up.

"The people of Ogoni still cannot have access to safe drinking water, not to talk of electricity, basic schools and roads," he told AFP.
The Anglo-Dutch energy giant also agreed to start a clean up of two devastating oil spills in 2008, following a three-year British legal battle that was settled out of court.
In June 2016, Nigeria’s Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo formally launched the project, which the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said could take 30 years.
So far, however, only $10 million of the initial $1 billion programme has been released.
"The fact is that Ogoni still drinks poisoned water and remains polluted and these cannot be changed by internal processes and media promotions," said Nsuke.
– Fish and carcinogens – Ignatius Feegha, 41, used to catch fish as a child in the waterways of the Niger Delta.
"We can’t see no fish in this water because the water is stained with crude oil," he said.
Signs beside boreholes warn residents not to drink the water.
So Shell, which had already engaged two companies to do the job, had to back out," he added.
Agbulu said Shell was not ready to give cash to the youths and since they would not allow the contractors to handle the job, decided to suspend the clean-up.

Hydrant vandalism disrupts Belfast water supplies.
Young people have been warned that vandalism of fire hydrants is not "harmless fun", with disruption being caused to water supplies over four days in north Belfast.
SDLP MLA Nichola Mallon has also urged NI Water to put a more robust system in place to prevent tampering with hydrants.
Ligoniel and New Lodge are among the areas that have been affected.
NI Water said some staff had come under threat as they tried to close hydrants.
"There have also been incidents where NI Water staff have come under threat from local youths when they try to close the hydrant down, having to return late into the night when the crowds have gone," NI Water said.
‘Unthinkable scenario’ "This is totally unacceptable behaviour toward staff who are trying their best to do their job and protect the water supply to customers.
"The whole community needs to help us put a stop to this behaviour before the unthinkable scenario occurs where a fire breaks out and there is no water for the NI Fire & Rescue Service to deal with the fire."
Ms Mallon said the disruption began on Sunday.
"Some young people might think this is harmless fun, it is not, it is causing serious disruption to people’s lives.

Heat check: If your urine is this color, experts say you may be in trouble.
With the temperature predicted to reach 109 degrees Thursday, there’s a way to know if you are drinking enough water: Check your urine color.
That’s the word from the Sacramento County Office of Emergency Services and the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.
Sacramento County OES posted a chart on Facebook titled “Are you hydrated?” The chart shows urine colors of a hydrated person compared to someone who is dehydrated.
“Urine color is a practical and viable marker of hydration in most people,” said Dr. David S. Yee, a urologist and urologic oncologist with Sutter Roseville Medical Center.
As a person sweats, the body loses water and electrolytes, according to the CDC.
Drinking water and replenishing electrolytes is needed to keep the body functioning.
Bill Lindelof: 916-321-1079, @Lindelofnews Related stories from The Sacramento Bee Hot fun at ‘the perfect place,’ Folsom Lake Sick of Sacramento days above 104°?
Scientists say your kids will see a lot more of them ‘It was a pretty dire situation.’ Sacramento senior complex lost A/C at worst time Extreme heat can be fatal.
Sign up today for a 30 day free trial of unlimited digital access.

Wells have been around for over 8,000 years.
Water wells are constructed to Minnesota Department of Health’s extensive code and provide a safe and affordable drinking water source.
Their reasoning is because they want to protect the city aquifer from a new well contaminating it.
Out of 118,000 wells drilled in the last 10 years in Minnesota, not one has been documented to have caused contamination to any aquifer.
This is coming from the MDH, DNR and MPCA.
Also, according to MDH, there are over 73,000 wells in various cities in Minnesota, and there has not been one documented case of contamination due to these wells.
Minnesota has been a riparian rights state for over 100 years.
There are also the cost savings to irrigating your lawn.
An average household to irrigate their lawn costs roughly $600-$700 a year on city water.
Pumping the same amount of water out of a private well will cost about $48 yearly in power.