Islamabad-Next to Oxygen, safe and clean drinking water is exponentially indispensable as well as utmost important for human survival since around 75 per cent body is water. Notwithstanding being extremely essential for human body, over 38 million people do not have an access to clean and safe drinking water in the country, rather its paucity is surging. Federal capital is faced with scarcity of potable water let alone other parts of the country are being supplied safe drinking water. Long queues of people holding bottles at filtration plants in the federal capital territory lend credence to safe water outage. Mineral water companies are capitalizing the situation of water shortage and getting their water business flourished day-by-day in the name of supplying safe drinking water. As the residents are already worried about irregular supply of water in the Federal Capital, the situation is going to get worse owing to the onslaught of sizzling summer approaching swiftly. Talking to APP, Azaz Malik, a resident of Sector F8/1 said the issue was almost a decade old now but Capital Development Authority (CDA) could not come up with a sound plan. “The only solution to the issue for the civic body lies in supplying water through tankers. But this remedy also went ineffective besides being controversial among citizens,” he said. When contacted, CDA Spokesperson Mazhar Hussain said sufficient potable water was being supplied to the capital city from the existing sources and no abnormal situation…

Health authorities still not satisfied all Christchurch drinking water is safe.
Canterbury health authorities are still not satisfied 80,000 Christchurch residents have access to safe drinking water, despite shallow wells no longer being used.
Canterbury medical officer of health Dr Alistair Humphrey ordered the council to provide an assurance the water being supplied to residents in suburbs was safe.
* Chlorinating water in Christchurch’s northwest is off the table * Water in Christchurch’s northwest could be chlorinated * Health officials want assurance D-rated northwest Christchurch water supply safe * Christchurch’s drinking water contaminated 125 times in four years * Positive E coli tests ‘not surprising’ in Christchurch untreated water supply * Chlorination extends to Hastings after E coli found in tanker with ‘clean’ water In response, the council decided to spend an extra $480,000 to accelerate a $16 million programme to replace all 22 shallow wells.
The wells still needed to be available for an emergency event and could only be fully decommissioned when all the new deep wells were in service, council three waters and waste planning and deliver manager John Moore said.
This was not expected to happen until June 2019.
He said once he received the information that the new bores met groundwater security criteria he would be satisfied the residents would have access to safe drinking water.
"CDHB is aware of the council’s timeframes and to date has not raised any concerns or indicated that they believe that the shallow bores pose an untenable risk."
Water from the shallow wells had a "D" risk grading, which was classed as an unsatisfactory level of risk.
– Stuff

Cool, clear water request impresses.
A man thirsty for filtered water drinking fountains in the main street of Lawrence has been told he put forward one of the most concise proposals seen by the local community board.
At a Lawrence-Tuapeka Community Board meeting on Wednesday, Waihola resident Tim Dickie asked the board to consider installing filtered water fountains in the main street, Ross Pl, so tourists and residents had access to clean, free water.
“While working in the main street on a hot day, my workmate and I were both seeking water.”
Once they realised the only options were to buy a bottle from a store or ask a local business, Mr Dickie concluded the main street needed a drinking fountain.
He suggests the fountain should include a tap for filling up drink bottles and dog water bowls.
Mr Dickie added “locals of all ages” could have access to free filtered drinking water at any time of the day.
Mr Dickie researched several designs for the fountain, including some which tapped into the history of Lawrence.
Depending on the design chosen, it could cost anywhere between $2000 to $5000.
The board decided to ask the council to provide a feasibility report on installing a fountain in Ross Pl.

E coli still in Hutt drinking water leading authorities to continue chlorination.
Chlorine is to continue being added to Lower Hutt’s water supply as a precautionary safety measure after E coli contamination was detected.
The Hutt City Council said the chlorination would continue while investigations into the source of the recent positive E coli test results were under way, and emphasised that the water remains safe to drink.
A sample from a bore in the Waterloo wellfield returned a positive E coli test result on April 12 – the third positive result in five months from water sourced from the Waiwhetu aquifer.
* Chlorine added to water in Lower Hutt as precautionary measure * Wellington Water to stop chlorination of water in Lower Hutt * Prime minister talks down mandatory water chlorination * CuriousCity: How Wellington’s drinking water is kept free of contamination Recent water quality testing across the aquifer had shown an increasing amount of bacteria activity, which had resulted in the council’s decision to continue chlorinating the water.
We immediately chlorinated Lower Hutt’s water supply in response to the recent positive E coli test and we’ll continue to chlorinate while we investigate the source of these positive results".
Lower Hutt mayor Ray Wallace said safe drinking water was of the utmost importance.
"We know many residents really value access to unchlorinated aquifer water but public safety will always be our number one priority.
Wellington Water acting chief executive Mark Kinvig said the cause of the positive test results was not known yet, but it was possible it was related to the November 2016 Kaikoura quake.
– Stuff

Texas chooses the fossil fuel CEO behind Dakota Access to guard its parks and wildlife.
Dallas billionaire and longtime pipeline exec Kelcy Warren was appointed by Gov.
Kelcy Warren, CEO of Energy Transfer Partners, has had a long career in the fossil fuel business.
While the months-long fight over his company’s controversial Dakota Access Pipeline and slump in oil prices contributed to what Warren called the “toughest year of my career,” things seem to be looking up for the Dallas billionaire.
Donald Trump is now president and Warren’s nomination to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission on its way to approval.
Greg Abbott (R) to help steward the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department — the stated mission of which is to “manage and conserve the natural and cultural resources of Texas” and ensure present and future generations have access to hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation opportunities.
Protesters were met with a militarized police force reportedly armed with water cannons, pepper spray, and rubber bullets.
Louisiana residents are fighting ETP’s Bayou Bridge Pipeline, the tail end of Dakota Access, which would carry 480,000 barrels of oil per day through multiple watersheds and long stretches of fragile wetlands.
For months, protesters gathered in Texas to fight the construction of the Trans-Pecos pipeline, which was recently completed and will carry fracked gas to Mexico.
The full Texas Senate will vote on Warren’s appointment to the Parks and Wildlife Commission later this year.

Mills: Getting the lead out of our water.
Though major health consequences thankfully have been rare so far, we’re nearing a crisis point of our own.
The objection stems from the proposal to make water utilities responsible for covering costs of replacing lead service lines (which at least 176,000 Wisconsin water customers have, half in Milwaukee County alone).
Currently, the law only allows utilities to replace pipes up to property lines, leaving homeowners responsible for the cost of replacing the rest.
But the state placed limits on local property taxes in 2006, and further tightened the restrictions in 2011, making it cost prohibitive for cities to take on pipe replacement projects.
WMC tried to use Madison as an example of a city that had done it, but Madison actually represents why this can’t be left entirely up to cities.
Madison first found high levels of lead in its drinking water in the early 1990s, but it took until 2001 to begin a project to replace them.
That only came after what’s been described as a “bruising” political fight over how to pay for work on private property (which this new bill addresses).
Thankfully, Madison was also able to start its project before those state limits on property taxes went into place, and it was completed in 2007.
Meanwhile, the city of Milwaukee estimates it will take 50 years to replace all of its lead pipes.

One Weekend.
On Saturday, May 6, 2017 at Timber Creek Park, Kitchen 519 is sponsoring World Vision’s Global 6K for water.
In-person registration begins at 9:00 a.m. Six kilometers is the average distance that people in the developing world walk for water — water that is often contaminated with life-threatening diseases.
World Vision is the largest nongovernmental (NGO) provider of clean water in the developing world, bringing a new person clean water every 10 seconds as part of their full solution to end poverty.
In 2015, World Vision provided access to clean water to 2.3 million people.
According to World Vision, in 1990, 76 percent of the world had access to improved drinking water.
“My family sponsored kids when I was growing up and I’ve donated to them.
Because she is a restaurant owner, Smarrito recognizes and appreciates all of the community support she has received.
This affords her the opportunity to make a greater impact, she said.
Day of 6K registration begins at 9:00 a.m. and walkers have up to 2:00 p.m. pm to complete 6K.

Philippines Partners Celebrate World Water Day.
Partners in the Philippines celebrate World Water Day with us.
TSKI branches throughout Philippines conducted activities for TSKI staff and clients to bring the campaign theme to life.
TSKI also circulated informational material to its branch offices on wastewater management and tips for conserving water at home.
Staff members also gave talks highlighting the importance of water conservation and proper water management with client households and the local community members.
TSPI World Water Day Celebration TSPI celebrated their first World Water Day this year by hosting three interactive activities: a social media awareness campaign led by branch staff, a slogan contest, and a poster contest.
Building off of UN’s 2017 World Water Day theme “Why wastewater?” staff members were encouraged to share their ideas on reusing wastewater on Facebook with the hashtag #WhyWastewater, and develop slogans and artwork posters to help bring the 2017 theme to life.
CEVI Joins World Water Day Celebrations Community Economic Ventures, Inc. (CEVI), based in the Philippines, joined the World Water Day Celebration by having a quick tour at Bohol Water Utilities, Inc. (BWUI).
To participate this year’s theme, CEVI staff went meatless for a day as their way of reducing wastewater.
Studies found that growing and consuming meat products require more water compared to grains and vegetables.

The numbers are in: Water is key to poverty reduction and health.
Today, on World Water Day, we are humbled by the fact that over 663 million people on the planet still live without access to safe drinking water; 2.4 billion people lack access to basic sanitation services, such as toilets or latrines.
New findings from the WASH PD initiative (led by the World Bank Water Global Practice in collaboration with Poverty, Governance, and Health, Nutrition, and Population) for the first time advances our understanding in a systematic manner of the relationship between poverty and WASH at the country level.
Our deep analysis of 18 countries—across six regions—provides us with new evidence of realities that must be acknowledged, and shows without a doubt that we must work together across sectors if we are to find solutions with sustained impacts on the ground.
Quick facts from around the world: In Mozambique, 90 percent of the poorest mothers lack access to antenatal care and 90 percent of underweight mothers only have access to unimproved sanitation In Nigeria, 61 percent of the rural population lives more than 30 minutes away – and 34% lives more than 2 hours away – from a functioning water source In Tajikistan, households in the Sugd Region report getting piped water 1 day per week In Pakistan, despite improvements to nutritious food, reductions in open defecation and poverty, childhood stunting has stayed constant at 43 percent.
Construction of unimproved toilets and persistent water quality issues are not helping reduce this burden In Indonesia, it is estimated that only 5 percent of urban wastewater is safely treated and disposed In Tunisia, the richest 20 percent of households receive an estimated 27 percent of water subsidies, while the bottom 20 percent of households receive only 11 percent of the subsidies In Ecuador, 93 percent of people in urban areas and 76 percent in rural areas has improved access to water services but still, 24 percent of the rural population drinks contaminated water What we’re learning is telling: Our initiative reveals critical gaps in policy, or between policy and implementation, which leads to poor service delivery.
Working with Governance colleagues at the World Bank is stretching us beyond our water sector lens, and it is becoming abundantly clear that service delivery is many times hindered by inter-governmental fiscal and administrative systems and the interplay with politics.
This may not come as a surprise to those who work with these issues on the ground, but now we have the numbers to prove it.
Children living in city slums are 5 times less likely to have access to improved sanitation and also 1.5 times more likely to be stunted than other inhabitants in Dhaka.
The constraints are clearly not only technical in nature – the challenges are many times administrative or political.

Access to clean drinking water for Kainantu District after 20 years.
Previously, access to water was available and set up during the colonial era, but over the long years the pipes had deteriorated and water was not able to reach all of Kainantu.
Today, the Kainantu Water Supply Project Official Commissioning was well welcomed by residents.
With K10 million funding from the European Union, the Kainantu Water Supply Project was long coming, it took seven years to finally bring clean water to Kainantu.
Chief Operational Officer for Water PNG called on the people of Kainantu to take care of the service provided.
He explained to the people of Kainantu that Water PNG was mandated by the government to provide the essential service.
Eastern Highlands Province contributed almost K4,895,488.17 to the Kainantu water supply project.
Rhoda Tosa is the ward one councillor in the Kainantu urban LLG, she explained that when there was no water easily accessible, women would dig water holes to fetch water.
While ward 4 councillor, Chriscilla Abiko, said the hospital would most improve from the water supply.
Abide said water borne diseases were one of the biggest killers in Kainantu.