A TOTAL of 120 villagers of Malabe in Wainibuka, Tailevu, now have access to piped drinking water after the completion of their $100k Rural Water Project.
The project included the upgrading of the existing dam, the installation of a two-inch strainer and a two-inch outlet valve, the replacement of the galvanised two-inch water main with PVC pipes from the dam to the reservoir, and the construction of a 10,000gallon ferro-cement water tank.
The project also saw the extension of the 32-inch water main to new settlers in the village.
Water Authority of Fiji chief operating officer Samanmal Ekanayake said the people of Malabe had assisted the WAF crew members in undertaking the project.
“This empowers the water committee to be responsible for ongoing maintenance and repairs, thus ensuring the longevity and sustainability of their village water supply system.
For this project, the village water committee received $1640 as payment for the village assistance provided,” said Mr Ekanayake in a statement.
The villagers were drinking directly from the dam and there was no storage tank for water, and they often resorted to using the Wainibuka River for bathing and washing.

Yet for all that celebrity firepower, now four years on, do the residents of Flint have clean drinking water?
Yet, today, more than 12,000 homes are still without access to clean water.
Public protests had forced the free distribution of bottled water to Flint residents.
How damaging is lead in drinking water to children?
While Flint was experiencing the worst point in its water crisis, only two hours away in Evart – small town America, with clean streams and an untainted aquifer – the corporate multinational, Nestle, was pumping the equivalent of 100,000 times an average Michigan resident’s water use into plastic bottles for sale at $1 a bottle across the American Midwest.
Two hours from Flint, Nestle is bottling millions of gallons of Michigan’s water for just $200 a year.
In poor communities like Flint, the health problems caused by lead exposure are simply added on to the other challenges associated with poverty, high levels of violence, reduced access to quality medical care, and low-performing public schools.
The story of water in the US is the quintessential American story of wealth, class, race and privatisation of national resources running roughshod over human rights and equality.
In poor communities like Flint, the health problems caused by lead exposure are simply added on to the other challenges associated with poverty, high levels of violence, reduced access to quality medical care, and low-performing public schools.
"We were like, no, something’s not right here …" One of Walters’ children was diagnosed with lead poisoning, the others testing positive for lead exposure.

According to a 2014 University of Arizona study, 75 percent of the water used to irrigate courses in the Prescott active management area is effluent, compared with only 21 percent in the Phoenix active management area.
Yet nearly three-quarters of the water used for all Arizona golf courses is pumped from the same sources as drinking water, according to the Arizona Department of Water Resources’ most recent reports from 2016.
Arizona as a whole still relies heavily on groundwater needed for drinking and other uses by residents, state officials said.
“Groundwater is about 48 percent,” said Jeff Tannler, active management director for the Arizona Department of Water Resources.
“From a cost perspective, water was one of their biggest costs that they had as a golf course operator,” said Ron Hilgart, managing principal of HilgartWilson, a land-planning, engineering, construction management and surveying firm working with Moon Valley.
“As we tried to evaluate different options, Lookout Mountain Golf Club came along and said that they would also have interest in finding a solution.” With two privately owned Phoenix courses on board, the group went to the city to propose a development agreement, deferring the cost of water bills while constructing a pipeline to pull raw water from the Arizona Canal.
“(Phoenix) is paying about one-third of the cost to get the line to Cave Creek.” Non-potable water costs 40 percent less than drinkable water, so the courses stand to benefit over time.
By state law, Hilgart said, golf courses are limited to about 90 acres of turf if they rely on groundwater, but “during peak hot weather months, (a course) could be using a million gallons a day.” “The effluent use has increased over the years as more golf courses have the infrastructure available to them for effluent or reclaimed use,” said Tannler.
“We do realize that not all golf courses have access to reclaimed or effluent water supplies.” Tannler said the department’s management plans contain incentives for using effluent, either partially or fully.
Still, the Arizona Department of Water Resources receives only reported figures from those 240 golf courses within the five active management areas.

Access to sanitation services for households in Dakar remained very difficult in the first quarter of 2018, the results of a recent socio-economic survey conducted by the Directorate of Forecasting and Economic Studies (DPEE) show.According to the survey, only 26.8 percent of households in Dakar have access to sanitation; most households in Dakar have ample access to drinking water with a rate of 91.6 percent; and a higher rate was recorded for access to electricity supply (95.1 percent).
In the field of education, the average schooling rate for children over the age of six years stands at 88.1 percent in Dakar.
The rate is 89.6 percent in average families, compared to 85.7 percent in large families.
“The proportion of households with working children under 18 years is 2.1 percent (2.6 percent for large families, against 1.2 percent in average families)”.
In addition, 12.8 percent of large families have third-party children, compared with 3.7 percent for average families.
With regards to food, the majority of the families surveyed (80.1 percent) provide three meals a day, compared to 12.4 percent of households that eat only two meals a day.
Inflation and power cuts were the main shocks suffered by households in the first quarter of 2018.
Thus, 50.2 percent of respondents complained of an increase in the general level of consumer prices, while 29.3 percent of households are affected by power cuts.
Job loss and the incapacity of the main source of support respectively were complained of by 2.5 percent and 1.3 percent of the respondents.

Goa brims this time of the year.
The rivers churn to run mud-flecked red to the wind-blown shore.
All this is cool relief after the sweltering summer months, as the wells and groundwater become replenished straight from the skies.
Just a couple of weeks from now, revellers will celebrate the carnival of Sao Joao, where everyone gets wet while loving every minute of it.
But even as we luxuriate in this climatic blessing, there are grave warning signs in other parts of the country.
The city, built for 25 thousand residents in the colonial period, is now home to 10 times as many.
Its already overburdened infrastructure is sorely tested by four million tourists per year.
According to the ministry of water resources’ own data, annual per capita water availability fell 15% between 2001-2011 and will fall another 13% by 2025, followed by 15% again by 2050.
Of all the groundwater extracted in the world, more than a quarter is pumped out in India, which is significantly more than China and the United States combined.
Thousands of age-old wells have become polluted and unusable.

These chemicals rose to a high level of concern in Alaska when water samples requested by Alaska’s Department of Environmental Conservation revealed extensive contamination around Fairbanks in 2015.
The greater Fairbanks area is currently home to three substantial groundwater contamination sites containing levels of PFAS above the current Environmental Protection Agency Lifetime Health Advisory limit.
The state’s work on PFAS is a coordinated effort.
The Department of Environmental Conservation addresses regulation and cleanup of these chemicals and the Department of Health and Social Services addresses human health exposure concerns.
Currently, the Department of Environmental Conservation is working to limit use of firefighting foams containing theses chemicals and ensure that residential and commercial water wells in high-risk areas are being tested and that those responsible for the contamination provide alternative drinking water to those with wells affected above the advisory levels.
Additionally, Department of Health and Social Services staff have provided informational resources to the public and attended numerous public meetings where they have presented health information and answered people’s questions about the potential health effects of PFAS.
Department of Health and Social Services staff also collaborate closely with other state health agencies that are working to address PFAS contamination in their respective jurisdictions and with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, which provides national guidance and assistance on PFAS.
Until more data become available, the state of Alaska is using the best available science to inform Alaskans about the health risks and to ensure access to safe drinking water at locations impacted by these chemicals.
To learn more about DHHS’s work on PFAS and for information on human health concerns, visit goo.gl/jbjdVx.
Stacey Cooper is a Health Assessor in the Environmental Public Health Program at the State of Alaska Department of Health and Social Services.

During the recent California drought, we conserved water, deepened our wells or drilled new ones to sustain water supply to our properties.
Whether you believe humans are causing this change or it’s just climate fluctuation — it’s happening.
Since California’s water is primarily in the north while 75 percent of the water usage is in southern California, we have awe-inspiring aqueducts traversing the state.
However, those water systems cannot meet current demand.
By 2022, the new indoor water standard will be 55 gallons per person, per day.
Conserving precious resources is both a conservative value and an environmental one — so we should all support these bills.
The California Democratic Party’s (CDP) water policy prioritizes conservation, stormwater capture and potable recycling over desalination and dam building.
One million Californians lack access to safe drinking water, primarily in rural areas.
Please vote yes to fund clean water for Californians.
Jan Bell is the Auburn Area Democratic Club’s president.

STOCKHOLM, June 9 (Xinhua) — Groundwater levels are sinking fast in parts of Sweden, endangering the supply of clean water from wells and waterworks amid an enduring heat wave in the Scandinavian nation, Swedish Television reported on Saturday.
"While the municipal water supply should not be under threat, there are local deviations," said Bo Thunholm of the Geological Survey of Sweden, which is responsible for monitoring groundwater levels across the country.
Some groundwater storages in southern and central Sweden are now nearing record-low levels.
According to the Geological Survey of Sweden, levels in some smaller storages have not been this low since 1968, which is when the Geological Survey of Sweden started monitoring the groundwater supply.
Around a million residents, in both permanent and temporary dwellings, access drinking water from private wells and that is where the situation is most critical.
The latest measurement was carried out in the middle of last month.
But as the heat wave has continued since then, the groundwater levels today have also further dropped.
"Even if the situation is not critical," Thunholm said, "one should be vigilant and exercise caution".

Studies have shown that uranium-contaminated drinking water can cause severe health problems such as chronic kidney disease.
"Nearly a third of all water wells we tested in one state, Rajasthan, contained uranium levels that exceed the World Health Organization and US Environmental Protection Agency’s safe drinking water standards," said Professor Avner Vengosh.
Professor Vengosh, who researches geochemistry and water quality, said: "By analysing previous water quality studies, we also identified aquifers contaminated with similarly high levels of uranium in 26 other districts in northwestern India and nine districts in southern or southeastern India."
"Developing effective remediation technologies and preventive management practices should also be a priority."
They measured the isotope ratios in a number of the samples and compared them to data from 68 previous studies of groundwater geochemistry in 16 Indian states.
However human activities, especially groundwater being over-used for agricultural irrigation, may be contributing to the problem, said Ms Coyte.
India’s acquifers are mostly composed of clay, silt and gravel which have been carried down from the Himalayas by streams and uranium-rich granitic rocks.
When these acquifers are over-pumped, their water levels decline causing the minerals to oxidise and effectively enrich the uranium in the shallow groundwater that’s left behind.
"One of the takeaways of this study is that human activities can make a bad situation worse, but we could also make it better," Professor Vengosh said.
"Including a uranium standard in the Bureau of Indian Standards’ drinking water specification based on uranium’s kidney-harming effects, establishing monitoring systems to identify at-risk areas, and exploring new ways to prevent or treat uranium contamination will help ensure access to safe drinking water for tens of millions in India," he said.

KABUL: Signing contracts for 99 water supply projects with development councils, Rural Rehabilitation and Development Minister Mujib Rahman Karimi said nearly 17 million people needed help to find access to clean drinking water in the country.
The projects would be implemented in Kabul, Khost, Balkh, Badghis, Jawzjan, Samangan, Panjshir, Takhar, Ghazni, Parwan, Ghor, Badakhshan, Nangarhar, Bamyan, Daikundi, Helmand, Zabul, Paktia, Faryab, Kandahar and Nuristan provinces.
Karimi told a ceremony here that the projects signed with development councils would cost more than 240 million afghanis financed by the Ministry of Finance and UNICEF.
He said the projects included digging deep wells for clean water, building water supply networks, water reservoirs and building an irrigation canal.
These projects would create 176,000 working days and benefit more than 22,000 families once implemented, Karimi said.
He added currently 17 million people (63 percent of population) in Afghanistan needed help in finding access to potable water and 53 present of these people lived in rural areas.
About drought in the country this year, he said his ministry had developed a national water supply program for reducing the drought pressure.
According to an MRRD survey, around 20 provinces face drought while nine provinces face acute shortage of water.