Ottawa funds clean water project for Enoch Cree Nation.
It’s been years since Enoch Cree Nation has had safe drinking water running from its taps.
Because of this, the First Nation community has had to rely on potable water brought in from neighbouring communities.
But now, the wait is over.
The $12.5-million project is part of the federal government’s plan to provide First Nations communities across the country with access to safe, clean drinking water.
At Enoch, it will include the construction of a new water supply line, water reservoir and pump house for the local First Nation.
“Working in partnership with Enoch Cree Nation, our government is supporting sustainable solutions to address water infrastructure on-reserve while ensuring water system operators have the training they need to succeed.” Morin is pleased by what the project will mean for the community — both in the daily life of residents and from a business perspective.
Committing investments over five years allows for long-term planning to improve on-reserve water and wastewater systems.
In November 2015, there were 77 long-term drinking water advisories affecting public systems on reserves funded by Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada.
As of January 2017, there were 71.

STUDY: Viral infection may be linked to 2014 Toledo water crisis.
Microcystis, the cyanobacterial organism responsible for scum-like algal blooms in Lake Erie.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
ANN ARBOR, MI, JUNE 2, 2017 — A virus that infected the cells of cyanobacteria from Lake Erie’s 2014 algal bloom may have played a role in releasing more toxins from the bloom, according to a study published by Environmental Science and Technology.
The study, led by researchers at the University of Tennessee and James Madison University, examined the physiological traits of Microcystis, the cyanobacterial organism responsible for Lake Erie’s algal blooms.
The study showed that the Microcystis cells from 2014 had a viral infection.
The toxins from algal blooms are usually trapped within the cell until the cell dies, but viral infections can cause cells to break open, releasing the toxin into the water.
According to a news release by the University of Michigan, "The scientists documented the viral infection by sequencing RNA from the Toledo water samples.
They also used mathematical models to simulate how the algal blooms moved through water: satellite images were used to pinpoint where the blooms were on certain days and computer models filled gaps in between."
Researchers hope the study will help scientists figure out why cases of algal blooms have grown in the last few years.

Measurement engineering and process automation specialist Endress+Hauser has further expanded its production facilities in the United States.
In Greenwood, Indiana, the company has built a new $8 million plant for temperature measurement production.
"The expansion will allow us to produce our analyzers in even higher volumes and with the quality that our customers around the world demand," said Tim Harrison, managing director of Kaiser Optical Systems.
The new plant will produce sensor elements, thermometers and thermowells as well as transmitters, system components and recorders.
"The new facility demonstrates Endress+Hauser’s commitment to the market and customers in North America.
While producing for its home market in the US, the Greenwood facility also supplies customers in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Chile quickly and flexibly with customized products.
The company relies on a dense, nationwide network of select representatives to service customers.
In the US Endress+Hauser produces instrumentation for flow, level, pressure and temperature measurements, liquid analysis technology, Raman spectroscopy instruments and laser-based gas analyzers.
The Group employs more than 850 people in the US.
The Endress+Hauser Group Endress+Hauser is a global leader in measurement instrumentation, services and solutions for industrial process engineering.

Uganda: 1 Million Residents in Wakiso Use Unsafe Water, Says Cao.
However, in many rural and peri-urban areas in Uganda, access to clean water is still a distant dream.
Latest figures indicate that safe water coverage currently stands at 43 per cent, which translates to only 860,000 residents with access to safe and clean water compared to the estimated population of two million people residing in the district.
This means that about 1.14m residents draw water from unprotected sources.
"In fact, we need to guarantee provision of certain basic needs for our people and clean water is among them," he said in an interview on Wednesday.
Wakiso is currently pushing for a city status, but the district is still faced with myriad challenges, ranging from poor road network, poor urban planning, especially in Nansana Municipality, poor health services and dilapidated public schools.
"While we think about developing the country, Wakiso District should be the priority district.
Its development will ease the pressure on Kampala city," Mr Lokuda said.
Wakiso District director of water services, Eng Isaac Galabuzi is optimistic that provision of water will improve with time.
As the Financial Year comes to close, the district has so far drilled 20 boreholes, two motorised wells, 30 hand dug wells, rehabilitated 16 boreholes, designed two rural growth centres piped water supply systems and 269 water sources tested.

The journey is perilous, filled with traps, dust storms, and a number of other obstacles, requiring players to react fast and always stay on the move.
Developer Inkline Studio is based in Beirut, Lebanon, and have been working on Ayo: A Rain Tale for PC.
Ghaith Fleifel, the founder of Inkline and lead developer on Ayo, explained what their motivation was behind the title, saying in the press release… “We want Ayo: A Rain Tale to help raise awareness about the daily hardships faced by those who live in the Sub-Saharan region.
Ayo represents every child who courageously takes on the job of fetching water for their family.
It’s a story that must be told, and we’re confident that games – the preeminent interactive media of our time – are the perfect way to do so.” This isn’t just about virtue signaling, though.
I must say that it’s about time some developer finally try utilizing a different kind of visual aesthetic for their game.
Today’s gaming industry has some of the most advanced and diverse tools on the market, but so many games look identical to one another.
The developers obviously wanted a more over-the-top approach to an adventure based on a real-life crisis.
As for Ayo: A Rain Tale, the game is due out for release on PC.
So if you’re interested in this adventure platformer, feel free to check it out.

Crude Oil Begins To Flow Through Controversial Dakota Access Pipeline.
Crude oil is now flowing through the Dakota Access Pipeline, despite months of protests against it by Native American tribes and environmental groups.
It is expected to transport approximately 520,000 barrels of oil daily.
"But protests led to delays in permitting the final stretch of the pipeline under the Missouri River in North Dakota."
At least 761 people were arrested during the standoff, according to The Associated Press.
They fear that a pipeline leak could contaminate their drinking water and sacred lands.
"The tribe wants a judge to shut the pipeline down and says a thorough environmental review of the project must be completed," Sisk added.
During President Trump’s first month in office, he reversed a decision by the Obama administration and called on the Army to expedite the approval process for the section of the pipeline that had not yet been built.
As The Two-Way reported, a federal judge in March denied a motion for a preliminary injunction to stop construction, clearing the way for the completion of the pipeline.
The Associated Press described what happened: "The Dakota Access pipeline and a feeder line leaked more than 100 gallons of oil in western North Dakota in separate incidents in March, and the Dakota Access line leaked 84 gallons of oil in northern South Dakota in April.

New York’s Online Water Portfolio Shares Drinking Water Data by ZIP Code.
Not just Canandaigua drinking water, but all public drinking water statewide is broken down into what it’s made of at "What’s In My Water?"
The site includes information on the presence of contaminants found through state and federal laboratory testing, and the location and nature of some potential threats to local drinking water, all searchable by ZIP code and maps.
"Access to clean drinking water should not be a privilege," according to Ahearn.
You can search by ZIP code for information on your public drinking water supply for recent testing data contained in government records.
This data contains information on the presence of detected regulated contaminants and unregulated contaminants.
For example, checking on drinking water in the city of Canandaigua, you see coliform as a regulated contaminant was in violation from June 1, 2007 to June 20, 2007.
Anestoria Shalkowski, NYPIRG Clean Water Project coordinator, said the research project was done to provide a "one-stop-shop" for information about your local public drinking water.
"It became very important for New Yorkers to be able to see what are the public health threats to our drinking water and groundwater resources within the state, particularly after Flint, Mich., and Hoosick Falls, [N.Y]," Shalkowski stated.
New York state has 2,324 active community-based public water systems that collectively provide the tap water to about 80 percent of the state’s population, or 16 million people.

New York’s Online Water Portfolio Shares Drinking Water Data by ZIP Code.
Not just Canandaigua drinking water, but all public drinking water statewide is broken down into what it’s made of at "What’s In My Water?"
The site includes information on the presence of contaminants found through state and federal laboratory testing, and the location and nature of some potential threats to local drinking water, all searchable by ZIP code and maps.
"Access to clean drinking water should not be a privilege," according to Ahearn.
You can search by ZIP code for information on your public drinking water supply for recent testing data contained in government records.
This data contains information on the presence of detected regulated contaminants and unregulated contaminants.
For example, checking on drinking water in the city of Canandaigua, you see coliform as a regulated contaminant was in violation from June 1, 2007 to June 20, 2007.
Anestoria Shalkowski, NYPIRG Clean Water Project coordinator, said the research project was done to provide a "one-stop-shop" for information about your local public drinking water.
"It became very important for New Yorkers to be able to see what are the public health threats to our drinking water and groundwater resources within the state, particularly after Flint, Mich., and Hoosick Falls, [N.Y]," Shalkowski stated.
New York state has 2,324 active community-based public water systems that collectively provide the tap water to about 80 percent of the state’s population, or 16 million people.

Improving the Lives of Women and their Communities with Clean Drinking Water.
In many parts of the world, drinking water is so scarce that women must spend hours each day walking to collect it, transport it back to their communities, and boil it so that it’s safe to drink.
“A five gallon bucket of water can weigh 40 pounds and carrying it is a struggle,” says Malcolm Morris, Chairman Emeritus of Living Water International.
“I’ve seen everything from women suffering miscarriages to their spines compressed because of the heavy load.” Living Water is one of the OPIC partners bringing clean water to remote communities.
Living Water, a faith-based nonprofit in Houston, was formed in 1990 to help expand access to drinking water around the world so that those in remote communities could establish safe and secure sources of water close to their homes.
With the support of OPIC financing, Living Water was able to purchase new drilling rigs to more efficiently access water and provide safe water to over five million people.
“Every community that gets clean water gets more prosperous,” says Morris.
“Women are not spending all day collecting water.
They have more time and sometimes they establish small businesses creating jobs and income for other members of their community.”

SACRAMENTO – The California State Senate today passed important legislation authored by Senator Connie M. Leyva (D-Chino) on a 39-0 vote to ensure that K-12 students across California have access to clean drinking water at school.
The bill will help to prevents students, teachers and other people from drinking contaminated water at schools that find significant sources of lead or other harmful contaminants Testing of drinking water at several San Ysidro School District schools earlier this year found high levels of lead and other contaminants.
Though the school district acted promptly to address the issue, those water fixtures had been in use since the early 1970’s.
In the Inland Empire, Chino Valley Unified School District had also identified issues with lead in their drinking water in 2013.
While these individual school districts may have acted promptly once the contamination problems were found, other school districts across California could still have unsafe drinking water due to old plumbing.
“Lead contaminated water can seriously hurt the lives and education of children.
By incentivizing schools to test water sources and address contamination through better access to state grants, SB 210 will finally give local schools the tools they need to protect schoolchildren from drinking unsafe water during the school day.” Senator Leyva introduced SB 334 in 2015 which sought to require that schools test their water sources and provide children with clean water.
Despite strong bipartisan support, Governor Brown vetoed the bill and directed the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to develop testing procedures for schools.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), exposure to lead and other contaminants is a significant health concern for young children, especially because they are more susceptible than adults to lead’s harmful effects.
Now advancing to the Assembly, SB 210 is supported by the American Heart Association / American Stroke Association, California School Boards Association, California State PTA, Children Now, Community Water Center and the Food Bank of Contra Costa & Solano County.