US supplies Vietnam with additional emergency drought assistance

originally posted on July 6, 2016

 

The U.S. government has provided an additional US$500,000 in emergency assistance to help those who have been affected by the worst drought and saltwater intrusion Vietnam has faced in decades, the American ambassador to the Southeast Asian country announced on Tuesday.

The additional aid will support vital programs to ensure that tens of thousands of people in need can harvest rainwater and have access to safe drinking water, according to Ambassador Ted Osius.

“It further demonstrates America’s steadfast commitment to helping the Vietnamese people as they recover from the repercussions of this devastating drought and other impacts of climate change,” the U.S. ambassador said.

Twenty-two out of 63 Vietnamese provinces and cities have been impacted by the recent drought and subsequent intrusion of saltwater into the Mekong River Delta, which are negatively impacting people’s livelihoods.

With this new funding, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is working with the Vietnam Red Cross to provide water containers, saltwater filtration systems, water purification tablets, and disseminating good sanitation and hygiene practices to help prevent the spread of diseases.

The United States announced the initial disaster relief grant in April, the first assistance from an international partner, to help Vietnam respond to the drought and saltwater intrusion.

The latest aid took the U.S. government’s assistance to response to emergency and recovery operations to $850,000.

Since 2000, the United States, through USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance, has provided approximately $12 million in disaster response, preparedness and risk reduction assistance for Vietnam.

USAID programs have reached more than one million people in nearly 150 communities with disaster preparedness services.

White Mountain Apache, lawmakers seek monies to finish dam

Tribe wants to access federal water-rights settlement funds

by Emily Zentner, originally posted on July 5, 2016

 

WASHINGTON — The federal government needs to “honor its commitment” to the White Mountain Apache and let the tribe use funds from a federal water-rights settlement funds to continue work on the Miner Flat Dam, lawmakers said June 29.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., told a Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing that the shift in funds is needed to help the tribe head off a “drinking water crisis.”

“The federal government made a deal with the White Mountain Apache six years ago that we would build the Miner Flat Dam,” McCain said in his opening statement. “I believe it’s pretty obvious that we have an obligation to meet the terms of the water settlement.”

That settlement included $126 million in funding for construction of a rural water system for the tribe, including a dam and reservoir, a water treatment plant, and pumping and distribution systems.

Under a bill introduced by McCain and fellow Arizona Republican Sen. Jeff Flake, the tribe would be allowed to tap into part of a separate $113.5 million fund that was to be used for cost overruns and related projects like fish hatcheries, watershed health and other items.

An Interior Department official at the hearing balked at the request, saying the department wants to see the dam finished but needs to see more details from the tribe.

“The Bureau of Reclamation needs to be provided with designs and estimated cost overrun,” said Letty Belin, senior counselor to the department’s deputy secretary. “We can’t support this legislation at this time.”

But Belin said the department plans to meet with White Mountain Apache officials as early as this week to discuss those details and hopefully come to an agreement on the funding.

White Mountain Apache Vice Chairman Kasey Velasquez testified that the dam is a critical issue for the tribe.

Velasquez, in Washington to testify on the bill, said the tribe’s groundwater supply is declining, and its only viable source for drinking water was the water that the dam would allow them to use from the White River.

“There is also natural arsenic in our groundwater,” he said. “We have to blend it to meet EPA standards.”

Velasquez testified that cost overruns on the dam project stemmed from concerns raised by engineers during the planning process about “seepage and stability concerns” in the dam’s foundation.

Despite the concerns raised by the Interior Department, Velasquez said he is hopeful that the project will be completed. It will have a simple but profound effect on the White Mountain Apache when it is finished, he said.

“As I testify before you today, I am mindful of an image and a hope that I’ve held for years,” Velasquez said at the hearing. “That I would be fortunate, and our tribal members be fortunate to live long to see a child or a adult … open a faucet on a kitchen sink to fill a glass of water – something they cannot do today.”

Finding New Ways to Access Clean Water

originally posted on July 5, 2016

 

A 19-year-old woman uses scrap metal for innovation.

In Sierra Leone, just over 50% of the population has access to safe drinking water. It is a rare and expensive commodity.

Nineteen-year-old Khadija is an innovator. Watch her create solutions to help her community make access to water safer much easier.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy.

US provides $500,000 for drought relief in Vietnam

originally posted on July 5, 2016

 

US Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius announced on Tuesday that the US government has provided an additional US$500,000 in emergency assistance to help Vietnamese who have been affected by the worst drought and saltwater intrusion in decades.
This aid will “support vital programs to ensure that tens of thousands of people in need can harvest rainwater and have access to safe drinking water,” Osius said in a statement.
“It further demonstrates America’s steadfast commitment to helping the Vietnamese people as they recover the repercussions of this devastating drought and other impacts of climate change,” he said.
With the new funding, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) is working with the Vietnam Red Cross to provide water containers, saltwater filtration systems and water purification tablets as well as disseminate good sanitation and hygiene practices to people affected by the recent drought and saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta region to help prevent the spread of diseases.
In April, the US government provided $350,000 to help Vietnam cope with the drought and saltwater intrusion.
Since 2000, the US, through USAID’s Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance, has provided approximately $12 million in disaster response, preparedness and risk reduction assistance in Vietnam.

Israel Cutting Palestinians Off From Their Own Water Supply

According to an experienced reporter on Palestine, 50 percent of the water to a city of 40,000 people has been cut off during Ramadan, a time ‘when people need to have access to food and water more than any other time.’

by Kit O’Connell, originally posted on June 30, 2016

 

JERUSALEM — Apartheid Israel is limiting access to water in Palestine, a long-standing practice that’s only intensified during the holy month of Ramadan, when access to water becomes even more important than usual.

Cuts in water supply are hitting the Occupied West Bank especially hard, Al-Jazeera reported on June 23.

“Water shortages and cuts have … been reported throughout the northern Jenin and Nablus districts of the West Bank, although Israel’s Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) unit, the Israeli body in charge of the occupied West Bank, denied water had been cut or reduced at all,” wrote Sheren Khalel.

Saleh Afaneh, head of water and wastewater for Salfit, a city in the northern part of the West Bank, told Khalel that his community is only receiving 30 to 40 percent of its normal water allowance from Israel.

“On the first day of Ramadan, the water stopped for 24 hours, with no notice,” Afaneh said. “Since then, it has been coming in at less than half the capacity. We’ve done everything we can to try and make residents comfortable, but this is a crisis.”

Most Palestinians are Muslim, and during the holy month of Ramadan, they abstain from eating or drinking water from dawn until dusk.

Having access to water for drinking and food preparation during the pre-dawn and post-sunset hours is particularly crucial during the holy month, which makes the blockade especially devastating, reported Ramzy Baroud, editor of The Palestine Chronicle, in a June 17 interview with RT.

“[P]eople need to have access to food and water more than any other time because of the Iftar, because of breaking the fast and now they are being denied that access,” Baroud said.

According to Baroud, Jenin, a city of about 40,000 people, also located in the northern part of the West Bank, is down to about 50 percent of its normal water supply.

The issue of access to water in Palestine is an ongoing one, Baroud noted.

“Throughout its history of conflict with the Palestinians, Israel has done so much to ensure that Palestinians don’t have access to water — not only as a form of collective punishment, but to also ensure that the Palestinians do not develop their economy because it is reliant on between 14 to 20 percent on agriculture,” he argued.

Controlling Palestinian agriculture allows Israel to profit from both the water supply itself and the few exports it allows to reach foreign markets. Not only have human health and agriculture suffered under the blockade, it’s also stunted the region’s traditional flower growing and many other industries.

According to Khalel, the World Health Organization recommends that every person should have access to about 100 liters of water per day for all their needs, from cooking to washing to drinking. Israelis typically receive about 240 to 300 liters per day, while Palestinians, on average, receive just 73 liters per day.

An additional 180 especially impoverished communities within the “Area C” region of the Gaza Strip are not connected to any running water, and some Palestinians spend as much as one-fifth of their salary on water.

But according to Baroud, that water isn’t Israel’s to sell in the first place.

“The tragedy of all tragedies is that the water that Israelis are holding back from Palestinians is actually Palestinian water,” he told RT. “So, this is really important to keep in mind. Israel steals the water of the Palestinians from the West Bank aquifers, repackages and sells them the water back and now they are actually cutting them off from the very water they stole from the Palestinians in the first place.”

 

 

Access to potable water eludes Kotokuom residents

originally posted on June 30, 2016

 

Illegal gold mining activities is depriving residents of Kotokuom access to potable water as the only water body in the community is heavily polluted.

Residents blame the pollution on local authorities for giving out lands around the Offin River for mining operations. Kotokuom is a small farming community in the Atwima Mponua District with about 85 per cent of residents solely dependent on farming as their main source of livelihood.

But the worrying practice of galamsey is gradually taking root in the community, leading to the destruction of farmland and the only alternative source of drinking water for residents. Currently, over 1,000 residents are served by one borehole facility.

They queue for hours to fetch water from the borehole, which frequently breaks down. Most residents have resorted to drinking only sachet water, as they suspect the borehole is also polluted.

“Clean water is a luxury in this community. We have to go through a lot before we get clean drinking water because of the greediness of some individuals and group of persons who want to get money at the expense of our health,” said one resident, Maryama Mumuni.

The people of Kotokuom are disheartened that their livelihoods will be sacrificed for individual’s selfish interest. Kwame Danso said the youth in the area will resort to any means to stop the galamsey activities. He complained about the rampant cases of water borne diseases such as diarrhoea and dysentery among residents.

“The water from the borehole is sometimes milky and not fit for drinking purpose, but some of us have no choice than to drink the contaminated water. This has led to high prevalence of water-borne diseases in this area,” he said.

A visit to the Kotokuom health centre confirmed the high rate of water-borne diseases in the area. The facility has recorded over 100 cases of water borne diseases since the upsurge of galamsey in the area.

The illegal mining activities started in the area barely a year ago and residents fear the activity will further worsened poverty in the area if not stopped.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6 talks about ensuring universal access to safe and affordable drinking water to all by 2030.
But until the illegal mining is stopped and an additional borehole facility provided to the community, residents of Kotokuom will continue to struggle in search of potable water for drinking and other domestic purposes.

Protecting and restoring water-related ecosystems such as forests, mountains, wetlands and rivers is essential if Ghana is to mitigate water scarcity and achieve SDG 6 target.

The Caribbean Water Problem

Solving the Caribbean Water Problem

by Keith White, originally posted on June 30, 2016

 

As the drought within the Caribbean wears on, countries in the region face great risk, as their tourism-based economies rely heavily on clean, sustainable water sources – and that doesn’t even begin to address the challenge of providing clean water to sustain agricultural initiatives or maintain the health of their own people.

Drought warnings issued by the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) in February were supposed to only last through the end of March, with a worst case scenario leaving some Caribbean countries water scarce through the end of the region’s dry season, which ended May 31. Yet the Caribbean continues to struggle as water remains limited, with many depending on the upcoming hurricane season to bring rain and relief to what some have called the worst drought in years.

Drying out

With as many as 25M visitors descending on the region annually, having clean water sources for guests for consumption and bathing is crucial to customer service in the bustling tourism industry, one of the Caribbean’s greatest economic sectors, bringing in $49B in 2013.

Last year, many large hotels in Puerto Rico were restricting water usage by up to 50% in order to keep supplies at levels adequate for service. One hotel in St Lucia went as far as to turn off water in hotel rooms during the day, leaving guests without resources to bathe – not the greatest way to leave an impression and keep people coming back.

While no longer a major economical contributor, the region’s agriculture sector remains steadfastly important as it contributes greatly to domestic food supply while also providing job opportunities. Farmers in the Caribbean last year lost more than $1M in crops – including coconuts, cashews, rice, beans, and citrus fruits – as well tens of thousands of dollars in livestock. The drought has left farmers without a sustainable water source, ravaging crops and leaving citizens of the Caribbean on the precipice of a food crisis as well.

Technology fills conservation’s void

Government officials around the globe have implemented strict water conservation guidelines but it’s increasingly apparent that those efforts will fall short. Resources must be put toward commercialized technologies that can provide immediate relief and bring clean, consumable water to those in the Caribbean and across the globe. There is existing technology – like atmospheric water generation – that can positively impact water scarcity in just days, while also providing a sustainable source for the long term.

Atmospheric water generation extracts the water directly from water vapor that exists in the air we breathe, transforming humidity into an abundant source of clean water. Using a refrigeration-based process, moist air is passed over a cold surface, which condenses the moisture into droplets that are captured, filtered, sterilized, and stored for use.

Water can be produced using 100 percent outside air, in areas with humidity levels as low as 40 percent – ideal for the Caribbean climate. Most systems run on simple electricity, and only need modest maintenance consisting of filter changes and general cleaning, resulting in a simple “plug-and-play” water generator that for the most part operates and maintains itself.

Water is the world’s most abundant resource – 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered in it – but it’s not always readily available when and where it’s needed most. The Caribbean islands are surrounded by water, yet the worst drought in years persists. By relying on technology, the impact of the drought in the Caribbean can be lessened, and its people can continue to live healthy lives.

Keith White is the founder and CEO of Ambient Water, an atmospheric water generation technology company providing solutions that produce water from the humidity in the air. Its flagship systems include the Ambient Water 400. AWG units built on the AW 400 platform are capable of producing anywhere from 400 gallons per day, as is the case with the AW 400, to several thousand gallons per day from larger units.

Commentary: El Nino leaves many without access to safe, consumable water in the Caribbean

by Keith White, originally posted on June 30, 2016

 

This past February, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) reported that several countries within the region had been issued immediate drought warnings by the Caribbean Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH).

Antigua, Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, northern Guyana, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent, Grenada, the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and northern Suriname all joined an increasingly growing list of countries around the globe that struggle to produce a reliable source of water that can sustain both their citizens and their economies.

The drought warnings were only to last through the end of March, with the bleakest outlook suggesting Caribbean countries could remain water scarce through the end of the region’s dry season, which was May 31. Yet the region continues to struggle as it hopes for rain during the impending hurricane season, still trying to bounce back from a drought – some calling it the worst in years – that dried up water reserves and decimated crops.

As the drought wears on, countries within the Caribbean face great risk, as their economies based in tourism rely heavily on clean, sustainable water sources – and that doesn’t begin to address the issues of agriculture and clean water sources for their own people.

Feeling the impact

Tourism is one of the Caribbean’s greatest economic sectors, bringing in $49 billion in 2013, which represented 14% of the region’s gross domestic product. With as many as 25 million visitors descending on the region annually, having clean water sources for guests for consumption and bathing is crucial to customer service. Last summer, most large hotels in Puerto Rico were cutting back water usage by up to 50% in order to maintain an adequate supply. One hotel in St Lucia went as far as to turn off water in hotel rooms during the day – not the greatest way to leave an impression on guests.

While no longer a significant portion of the region’s GDP, its agriculture sector is crucial as it contributes heavily to domestic food supply and provides employment. It was reported last year that the Caribbean lost more than $1 million in crops – including coconuts, cashews, rice, beans, and citrus fruits – as well tens of thousands of dollars in livestock. Without a sustainable water source, crops will continue to die and citizens of the Caribbean could enter a food crisis as well.

Conservation not enough – technology can help

From California to Latin America to the Caribbean, government officials have implemented extreme conservation guidelines but clearly these efforts will not be enough to provide relief, both immediate and long term. Instead, government officials must put resources behind available technology that can provide immediate solutions and bring clean, consumable water to those in the Caribbean and across the globe. Technology exists – like atmospheric water generation – that can positively impact water scare regions in just days.

Atmospheric water generation extracts the water directly from water vapour that exists in the very air we breathe, transforming humidity into an abundant source of clean water. Using a refrigeration-based process, moist air is passed over a cold surface, which condenses the moisture into droplets that are captured, filtered, sterilized, and stored for use. The air is chilled to the dew point, and the moisture is condensed and filtered to the point of purity that it could be consumed.

Water can be produced using 100 percent outside air, in areas with humidity levels as low as 40 percent – ideal for the Caribbean climate. Most systems run on simple electricity, and only need modest maintenance consisting of filter changes and general cleaning, resulting in a simple “plug-and-play” water generator that for the most part operates and maintains itself.

Water is the world’s most abundant resource – 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered in it – but it’s not always readily available when and where it’s needed most. The Caribbean islands are surrounded by water, yet the worst drought in years persists. By utilizing available technologies, the impact of the drought in the Caribbean can be lessened, and its citizens can continue to live healthy lives.

Water restored to Dick Conner inmates

by Katie Higgins, originally posted on July 2, 2016

 

People in the town of Hominy were asked to conserve water as the correctional facility went without.

The Connors Prison Facility did not have running water since Saturday. It was restored a week later.

Wednesday, Osage County Emergency Management and the Department of Corrections began working to get it fixed.

Most of the facility is not air-conditioned.

The Department of Corrections reached out to the National Guard for help Tuesday.

The National Guard arrived Wednesday with bottled water and trucks filled with thousands of gallons of water.

Officials said the issue began as a Department of Corrections water line issue.

They said they fixed it on their end, and now an issue on the city of Hominy’s side is preventing the water from being pumped into their tank.

Emergency management officials said it will be at least Tuesday before water is restored.

More than 1,300 inmates use 30,000 gallons of water there.

Officials said when water is restored, the city of Hominy will be filled first, then the prison water tank will be filled.

A release said water was restored a Saturday, June 25, and facilities are returning to normal.

Province failed the public by withholding water test results: Privacy Commissioner

by Stephen Hume, originally posted on June 29, 2016

 

B.C.’s environment ministry failed its public duty to fully disclose test results regarding suspected contamination of community drinking water from liquid manure used as farm fertilizer above an aquifer in the North Okanagan, Information and Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham ruled Wednesday.

She ordered environment minister Mary Polak’s department to disclose soil test results and other associated documents related to the Hullcar aquifer in the township of Spallumcheen.

Polak said her department would release all relevant documents immediately and accepted Denham’s recommendation that ministry staff be properly trained to respond to such requests for information in the future.

“The commissioner did not suggest the ministry was not doing its job as a regulator and concluded that by releasing this information, public confidence may be restored in the ministry’s approach to this issue,” Polak said in a media release. “Government continues to work with the local community and we are taking all necessary actions to ensure the residents of Spallumcheen have safe drinking water while preserving the region’s agricultural economy.”

The aquifer, which supplies several hundred households with drinking water, has been under a public health advisory since July 2014, when levels of nitrates in tap water that had been trending upward since 2011 finally exceeded Canadian safety levels.

Public health authorities warned that high nitrate levels were hazardous to nursing mothers, babies and toddlers, people with suppressed immune systems such as cancer patients on chemotherapy, and those with chronic illnesses or who take medications that can interact with nitrates, like some of those prescribed for controlling blood pressure. And the advisory warned that nitrates increase the risk of stomach cancer.

Nitrate pollution has been associated with cattle manure and a large dairy operation had been applying liquid manure as fertilizer on fields immediately over the aquifer under authorization from the environment ministry.

Denham said that while there was no suggestion the province had not been diligent in addressing the water contamination problem – it subsequently struck a multi-ministry task force to deal with it — failure to fully disclose the requested soil test results had contributed to lack of public confidence in regulatory approvals of manure applications.

“If public bodies were more open with information, it would serve their own interest as much as the public interest and leave little room for suspicion sometimes held by stakeholders, and by some members of the public and the media,” the commissioner said.

But Denham also found the ministry failed to make reasonable efforts to assist in information access and said government has a duty to assist, not obstruct, such requests.

“Public bodies need to aid applicants throughout the freedom of information process. Applicants should never have to defend their motives for requesting information,” she said. “This report is a reminder to all public bodies about their many obligations to the public under B.C.’s access and privacy laws.”

Denham called on government to make it a policy to proactively disclose information “whether or not disclosure is required by access to information and privacy laws.”

Private water users, the board of the Steele Springs Waterworks District (which supplies about 250 clients), the mayor and council of Spallumcheen and members of the provincial legislature all repeatedly requested that the ministry disclose soil test results and analysis justifying the continued application of liquid manure despite rising nitrate levels.

“This information is in the public interest and should have been proactively disclosed,” said a statement from NDP MLA George Heyman, who pursued the matter doggedly during successive question periods. “It is no wonder the residents of Spallumcheen lack confidence.”

Polak had refused to release the complete results, saying that to do so would violate copyright.

However, Denham ruled that the government’s own legislation clearly provides for waiving of copyright protections in disclosure of information that’s required to be reported to government by law, particularly where there’s a public health component.

“I am troubled by the minister’s statement that the Copyright Act applies,” Denham said.

Calvin Sandborn, director to the Environmental Law Centre at the University of Victoria, which asked the commissioner to investigate provincial refusals to disclose soil test results and challenged its reasons for doing so, said he was also troubled by Denham’s finding.

He described Polak’s statements to the legislature and the township of Spallumcheen citing copyright as “flagrantly incorrect” and “absolutely untrue.”

“I think the minister should go back to the legislature and apologize,” he said in a telephone interview from Oregon, where he’s on vacation. “She needs to explain why she made those statements.”

“The government hid behind the professional reliance model that it has adopted, in which a Qualified Professional must be hired and paid for by the farmer, but is directed by the ministry,” said Al Price of the Save Hullcar Aquifer Team, a local citizens group concerned about contamination of drinking water.

“Soil test results should reveal whether the Ministry of Environment allowed too much effluent to be spread on the field of concern or not,” Price said.

“What continues to baffle us is why the government is fighting so hard to protect an industrial dairy farm and appears to be willing to sacrifice the public health of more than 350 people, including members of the Splatsin Nation, to do so.”