Guatemala and U.S. Plan to Supply Drinking Water to Remote Communities.
The Guatemalan Army and the Seabees join forces to deliver better services to the most remote communities.
The Guatemalan Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S.
The course was part of a training program for infrastructure projects that the engineering corps will carry out in August to provide drinking water to remote communities in Guatemala.
This is bigger equipment with greater capacity, and it’s more complex than the percussion drilling equipment that we have in our service organization,” said Second Lieutenant Alfonso José Jiménez Dubon, an engineering officer and commander of the Guatemalan Army Corps of Engineers’ Water Squad, who attended the training.
During the course, service members shared information and experiences about the features of the area where the infrastructure projects in their respective countries will be implemented.
For example, the Colombian Army will be working in a strategic desert area, the Honduran Army will be drilling wells in a mountainous area, and Guatemalan service members will be in a region that is close to the sea.
In this assignment, both of the Guatemalan service members who took part in the drilling course will assist the U.S. experts in the infrastructure projects in Puerto Barrios.
“A couple of wells will provide potable water to outlying communities on the Atlantic coast of Guatemala and to the military unit [Marine Brigade] in Puerto Barrios.
In 1999, officers from U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) documented the general situation with water resources in Guatemala, so they could provide accurate information to U.S. military researchers, plan various joint engineering exercises intended to provide humanitarian assistance to the civilian population, and help ensure that the Guatemalan government could maximize its use of water resources.

75th Safe water station opened in Telangana.
Safe Water Network and Honeywell India on Tuesday launched their 75th water station, providing safe water access to more than 200,000 people in Telangana districts affected by groundwater contamination, including from fluorides.
They also announced that they will add 75 more safe water stations in 2018.
These locally-owned and locally-operated safe water stations deploy state-of-the-art six-step treatment process, including reverse osmosis and ultraviolet to purify water, they said in a statement here.
Unique technology interventions such as solar power, water ATMs, and remote monitoring system ensure uninterrupted and sustainable supply of clean drinking water.
The initiative has generated over 200 local livelihoods contributing to drudgery reduction amongst women.
"Safe water stations in Medak district is empowering local community by providing safe drinking water access to over 50,000 people for their good health.
The price is affordable and the program is sustainable," said District Collector Bharathi Hollikeri.
It allows children to go to school every day, parents to work and improve living standards – it can transform lives," said Honeywell India President Vikas Chadha.
ms/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Graphene Sieve Turns Saltwater into Drinking Water.
This is good news for Coleridge’s ancient mariner and for everyone in need of fresh water.
According to the United Nations, 85 percent of the global population lives in the driest half of the planet, 783 million people do not have access to clean water, and almost 2.5 billion do not have access to adequate sanitation.
Desalination, or removing salt from seawater to make it drinkable, is not a new idea.
Speaking of other membranes, yes, there are already several large desalination plants around the world trying to use polymer-based membranes to filter the salt out of seawater, but the process is too inefficient and expensive for widespread use.
Thus, finding a way to turn seawater into drinking water more quickly and with minimal expense has been a key goal in the latest research.Rahul Nair from the University of Manchester is optimistic.
We also demonstrate that there are realistic possibilities to scale up the described approach and mass-produce graphene-based membranes with required sieve sizes.”Graphene oxide membranes have long been considered a promising candidate for desalination, but successfully removing salt requires the holes in the graphene oxide membrane the water passes through to be incredibly tiny.
Even though this new desalination technology is restricted to the laboratory for now, in the not-too-distant future it may be used to change an extremely abundant resource—seawater—into a very rare one—drinkable fresh water.
Tunable sieving of ions using graphene oxide membranes.
doi:10.1038/nnano.2017.21 Featured image: Graphene oxide desalination sieve.

Wells running dry, limiting access to drinking water in Sarasota County.
SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA)- The lack of rain has left some families who depend on wells with hardly any water to drink.
“Almost 15 years, I’ve never experienced this,” Seymour said.
It isn’t a rural area, but many people depend on wells as their main source of water and without it, they’re scrambling.
Stolzfus lives next door and ran a water hose from his well to help Seymour, but he’s low on water too.
People in some areas are able to get connected to the county water supply if they’re close enough to water lines.
“In most cases, next day service to get people connected so they don’t have to deal with the issue any longer than necessary,” Public Utility Manager David Cash said.
It isn’t an option for Seymour.
Some residents in Sarasota County use well water to water their lawns and Cash said there is a water restriction in place.
Cash said it limits water use for lawns to one day a week on either Tuesday or Thursday depending on the resident’s address.

Wells running dry, limiting access to drinking water in Sarasota County.
SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA)- The lack of rain has left some families who depend on wells with hardly any water to drink.
“Almost 15 years, I’ve never experienced this,” Seymour said.
It isn’t a rural area, but many people depend on wells as their main source of water and without it, they’re scrambling.
Stolzfus lives next door and ran a water hose from his well to help Seymour, but he’s low on water too.
People in some areas are able to get connected to the county water supply if they’re close enough to water lines.
“In most cases, next day service to get people connected so they don’t have to deal with the issue any longer than necessary,” Public Utility Manager David Cash said.
It isn’t an option for Seymour.
Some residents in Sarasota County use well water to water their lawns and Cash said there is a water restriction in place.
Cash said it limits water use for lawns to one day a week on either Tuesday or Thursday depending on the resident’s address.

Nicki Minaj Helps Provide Clean Water to Village in India.
According to the post, her contributions have allowed the town to build a computer center, a tailoring institute, a reading program and two wells.
“Blessings to India.
Our work is far from done.
I’ll tell you guys more about my charity work in the near future in case you’d like to be a part of it.
Love” The second image shows women praying, while Minaj wrote the caption, “I’m so proud of our sisters in India.
God is so good.
Their desire was to have water wells & places where they can worship, places where they can learn technology, computers, reading, etc.
We’re just getting started.
These women are us and we are them!” Check out the posts below.

Nicki Minaj Has Been Quietly Donating Money To An Indian Village For Years.
That last part is no small thing to any village in India, where finding a source of clean untainted water is difficult and expensive.
Of that number, nearly 76 million are without access to clean drinking water.
The alternative for poor people who do not have access to a pump well is to risk using dirty water.
Of course, India isn’t the only country where citizens lack access to clean water.
There are an estimated 663 million people around the world that lack access to this fundamental need.
Charities To Help Nicki used this opportunity to let her fans know of her charity work and get them involved.
While she hasn’t yet released information on the charity that she works with, there are some well known nonprofit organizations whose goal is to provide people around the world with access to potable water.
Nicki Minaj’s music may not appeal to everyone, but her philanthropy is something everyone can love.
This nonprofit covers its operating costs through private donations, so 100% of public donations go to fund water projects around the world.

Nicki Minaj Helped Bring Fresh Water To A Village In India.
Here’s a heartwarming little pick-me-up to brighten your Monday.
Nicki Minaj has been giving money to a small village in India for the last couple of years, a little-known fact she shared with followers this weekend.
"This water is going to bless this village," he says.
"This is the kind of thing that makes me feel the most proud," the singer wrote.
"The money I’ve sent to this village in India for the last couple years [via my Pastor Lydia Sloley], has gotten them a Computer Center, a Tailoring Institute, a Reading Program and 2 WATER WELLS."
Our work is far from done.
Love."
A second Instagram shows the women receiving two Singer sewing machines to make their own clothes.
She finished, "We’re just getting started.

Opponents of a proposed natural gas pipeline in Virginia are starting a divestment campaign, a tactic that has grown in popularity among climate and anti-pipeline activists in recent years, to persuade banks to end their financing of the Mountain Valley Pipeline.
Landowners and environmentalists opposed to the southwestern Virginia pipeline are calling on customers to move their money out of the top six U.S. banks behind the pipeline, led by Bank of America and Wells Fargo.
“Our analysis shows that Bank of America and Wells Fargo are signed up to funnel the most money into this polluting pipeline,” said Lorne Stockman, a senior research analyst at Oil Change International who co-authored a new report on how the Mountain Valley Pipeline would be financed.
In February, Seattle’s city council, for example, voted to sever the city’s ties with Wells Fargo over the bank’s funding of the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Opponents of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a 301-mile, $3.5 billion pipeline project, are hoping their divestment campaign also captures the attention of cities and institutions that do business with the banks financing the pipeline.
“The corporate funding of EQM is directly linked to the Mountain Valley Pipeline project, which strengthens the call for divestment,” Oil Change International’s Trout said.
“As discussed in the company’s quarterly and annual filings, the credit facility is available, should EQM choose to use it, to support any of EQT Midstream Partners’ several projects and programs,” EQM said.
Bank of America, Wells Fargo, PNC, SunTrust, and U.S. Bank are each funding EQM’s credit facility and each purchased significant amounts of EQM’s recently issued senior notes, according to Oil Change International.
Roanoke, Virginia-based RGC Midstream entered into a five-year $25 million credit agreement with Union Bank & Trust and Branch Banking & Trust in December 2015 for the express purpose of financing its 1 percent stake in the Mountain Valley Pipeline, Oil Change International explains in the report.
Wells Fargo, PNC, and SunTrust are each funding EQM with $86 million, while U.S. Bank and BNP Paribas follow at roughly $76 million, according to Oil Change International.

Nicki Minaj Has Been Secretly Donating Money For Years To An Indian Village.
The Water Crisis In India India has a population of over 1.3 billion people, over four times the number of people in the United States (321.4M).
Of that number, nearly 76 million are without access to clean drinking water.
The alternative for poor people who do not have access to a pump well is to risk using dirty water.
Of course, India isn’t the only country where citizens lack access to clean water.
There are an estimated 663 million people around the world that lack access to this fundamental need.
Charities To Help Nicki used this opportunity to let her fans know of her charity work and get them involved.
While she hasn’t yet released information on the charity that she works with, there are some well-known nonprofit organizations whose goal is to provide people around the world with access to potable water.
This nonprofit covers its operating costs through private donations, so 100 percent of public donations go to fund water projects around the world.
At the end of the day, Nicki Minaj’s music and her taste in men or clothing may not be your cup of tea.