WASHINGTON – Senators John Hoeven (R-ND), chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs (SCIA), and John Barrasso (R-WY), chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), today highlighted several key provisions for Indian Country included in America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 (S. 2800).
“America’s Water Infrastructure Act will help facilitate critical water resources development projects in Indian Country, including improving aging irrigation systems, enhancing dam safety and flood protections, and helping ensure access to clean drinking water,” said Hoeven.
“These bipartisan measures reflect the close collaboration between the Indian Affairs and EPW Committees, as well as our shared commitment to advancing priorities for tribal communities.” “On the Wind River Reservation, many ranchers and farmers depend on the Bureau of Indian Affairs to deliver their water and to maintain the dams which protect the community,” said Barrasso.
“The same is true for tribes across the country.
America’s Water Infrastructure Act will hold Washington accountable to preserve these systems.
The bipartisan legislation will also help provide clean drinking water to Native communities.
This bill is a boost for tribal communities in Wyoming and across Indian Country.” Specifically, the America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 would: Reauthorize and increase funding for the Tribal Partnership Program, which facilitates the design and construction of a water resources development project that will substantially benefit Indian tribes and is located primarily within Indian Country.
Reauthorize the Indian Irrigation Fund and extend resources to help repair, replace and maintain aging tribal irrigation projects through 2028.
Require the Secretary of the Interior to evaluate the impact of the construction of the Bonneville, John Day and Dalles dams on Indian tribes in Oregon.
The legislation was recently unanimously reported favorably by the EPW Committee and now awaits consideration by the full Senate.

WASHINGTON, D.C. June 6, 2018 – Today, U.S.
Senator Kamala D. Harris introduced the Water Affordability Act of 2018, legislation that would help low-income families across the country pay for rising sewer and water bills.
As municipalities work to comply with The Clean Water Act, the cost of compliance is placing a high burden on low-income families who pay for sewer and water utilities.
The Water Affordability Act would direct the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a pilot program, named the Low Income Sewer and Water Assistance Program (LISWAP), to award grants for public water utility companies to assist low-income households with bill repayment.
Access to affordable clean water is a fundamental right,” said Senator Harris.
“The Water Affordability Act is an important step in addressing this urgent need and we look forward to continuing to work with Senator Harris and our community partners to ensure that all communities across the country have access to safe and affordable drinking water and sanitation services.” “We commend Senator Harris for addressing such a critical issue.
“No one should have to suffer from lead contamination, untreated sewage, or polluted runoff, as these problems have severe impacts on the health, safety, and economies of our communities.
Senator Harris saw the need and is working to address one of our country’s greatest challenges by creating meaningful water infrastructure legislation that provides and promotes clean, affordable water for all while protecting our environment and our communities.” “Every human has a right to safe, clean and affordable water,” said San Francisco Public Utilities Commission General Manager Harlan L. Kelly.
This proposed grant program will bring us one step closer to making that a reality.” “The Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) is pleased to support The Water Affordability Act by U.S.
“This bill establishes a grant based pilot project to help those most in need pay their sewer and drinking water bills.

Rural communities in northern KwaZulu-Natal can breathe a sigh of relief as they will no longer have to walk long distances to fetch water.
Thanks to a massive water project undertaken by Mhlathuze Water on behalf of the Department of Water and Sanitation 6 000 households now turn on a tap for a drink of water.
The R96 million project involved the installation of water supply infrastructure to nine wards in deeply rural communities in Nongoma and Abaqulusi Municipalities under the Zululand District in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
Not only has the project delivered water to these rural communities it has also helped create about 200 jobs during its implementation phase.
Mhlathuze Water Interim CEO Mthokozisi Duze says they are pleased to be a part of the writing of a new chapter in the lives of the largely rural communities.
“We are extremely elated that finally, people who had never before had convenient access to safe drinking water at the turn of a tap, are finally able to do so,” he notes.
“This project to supply water to the communities of Nongoma and Abaqulusi is ongoing and our goal is to ultimately see everyone effortlessly accessing this precious liquid,” he concludes.

This column is meant to monitor and report on issues that concerns the people of the rural communities in terms of how their development is hindered or facilitated.
Rural development is a process that aims to improve the standard of living of people living in rural communities.
The group includes small scale farmers, tenants and the landless.
Increasing the population’s access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation, dramatically reduces their susceptibility to water-borne diseases and increase their likelihood, especially for women and children, from incurring additional expenses related to treatment.
In The Gambia, efforts to ensure access to safe drinking water have been effective over the past years, according to Government records.
Looking at the sub-national level in general, the water supply situation improved in all six regions of the country.
However, water supply depends on available electricity.
Therefore, the issue continues to be a major problem in rural health and education facilities as well as at the household level.
Government plans to improve the operation and maintenance arrangements for water and sanitation facilities and mobilize stakeholders in the water and sanitation sectors so as to improve governance of water resources and address climate change issues.
Special attention should be dedicated to increase equitable access of the entire population of the country and, particularly, in the rural areas, to safe drinking water and sanitation services.

Cities and villages in northern and central India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, southern Madagascar and southern Mozambique are facing acute water scarcity threatening the lives and livelihoods of millions, new analysis by WaterAid shows.
While underground aquifers in other areas such as northern Australia and California are also facing serious depletion, it is the world’s poorest regions and nations which will feel the strongest impact, as large numbers of their residents have already struggled historically to access to a reliable, safe source of water.
We need to step up efforts to mitigate climate change, to help the poorest countries adapt to the change already upon them, and to ensure nations are making the most of this precious resource by prioritising and financing access to water, sanitation and hygiene for all."
In India, 163 million people are without access to clean water close to home, or 15% of all rural residents and 7% of all urban residents.
Despite almost-annual monsoon flooding, fresh water that is safe to drink is an increasingly precious commodity, from depleted groundwater sources, dwindling rainfall and rising seas that leave water saline.
Some 17.5 million people in the country are without access to clean water close to home, including almost 40% of rural residents.
Some 14.7 million people in the country are already without access to clean water close to home.
Since 1981, WaterAid has reached 25.8 million people with clean water and 25.1 million people with decent toilets.
· 844 million people in the world – one in nine – do not have clean water close to home.
[5] · To find out if countries are keeping their promises on water and sanitation, see the online database www.WASHwatch.orghttp://www.WASHwatch.org [1] WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene: 2017 update and SDG Baselineshttps://washdata.org/reports [2] WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene: 2017 update and SDG Baselineshttps://washdata.org/reports [3] washwatch.org [4] World Health organization (2012) Global costs and benefits of drinking-water supply and sanitation interventions to reach the MDG target and universal coverage [5] www.wateraid.org

Since early 2017, intercommunal fighting has displaced 1.4 million people, who fled from widespread violence and severe human rights violations in the Kasai crisis.
“A child that is suffering from severe acute malnutrition and at risk of dying is something that is already happening and children are dying because they are not getting the assistance they need …” “We have noticed a diminishing in the intensity of the conflict which is causing thousands to return home, and the problem there is, there is little to no capacity to provide assistance to all those people seeking to rebuild their lives,” Abeer Mezher, Kasai area manager for the Norwegian Refugee Council explained.
Mezher said current patterns mimics what she calls “pendulum migration,” where returnees are displaced to search for humanitarian assistance after coming back home to destroyed property and burned fields.
The United Nations Children’s Fund estimates that 770,000 children under age 5 in the region are suffering from malnutrition, with more than half of those facing starvation from severe malnutrition.
“A child that is suffering from severe acute malnutrition and at risk of dying is something that is already happening and children are dying because they are not getting the assistance they need due to inaccessibility or because they are still displaced or because of lack of resources,” UNICEF DRC Communications Director Yves Willemot noted.
However, Willemot also explained that severe acute malnutrition can be reversed within a matter of days without any long-term consequences for the child.
Local health centers were also provided “therapeutic foods,” namely vitamin-enriched pasta, to distribute to the families of children categorized as severely malnourished.
Since last year, UNICEF has also supported some 70,000 of the most acute malnutrition cases and has complimented the World Food Programme’s food distribution activities and the Food and Agriculture Organization in restarting agricultural production through seed disbursements, Willemot explained further.
For the Kasai region alone, Willemot said UNICEF is seeking $88 million to fully implement its programs, with $45 million directly related to the nutritional component of its humanitarian assistance in the area — of which 25 percent is currently funded.
In April, $528 million were pledged at a U.N.-led donor conference for the various humanitarian needs in the country, still less than half of the $1.6 billion requested in the 2018 DRC Humanitarian Response Plan.

Environment Minister Hannah Blythyn will name the 870 mile Wales Coast Path as the first location for the roll out of a Refill scheme for Wales as part of the Welsh Government’s ambition to become the world’s first refill nation.
Walkers will be able to access free drinking at key communities along the path, which runs from Queensferry in Deeside to Chepstow in Monmouthshire -under Government plans to improve access to drinking water in public places across Wales.
As the first delivery phase of a ‘Refill Nation’ the Minister will commit to delivering Refill into communities along the Wales Coast Path within the next year in a bid to reduce the use of single use plastics.
The Welsh Government will work with towns, villages and food and drink businesses to sign up to become refill points.
Those signed up to the free water scheme will be visible to walkers through window stickers and be listed in a bi-lingual refill app.
The app will provide the public with a list of locations where free drinking water is available making it easier for people to refill their water bottles without needing to purchase further single use beverages.
In a further bid to improve the management of plastic waste, the Minister also said that the £6.5 million Circular Economy Capital Investment Fund would be prioritised on the recycling of plastics.
Hannah Blythyn said: “I’m delighted to announce today that the Wales Coast Path will be the first location in our drive to make Wales the world’s first refill nation.
This is just the first step in our ambition to become the world’s first ‘Refill nation’.
“2018 is Wales’ Year of the Sea and with the Volvo Ocean Race here in Cardiff, it’s great to be able to make this announcement at the Environment Summit, which is an important step towards eliminating plastic from our seas.” [📷 panoramio.com]

Just how long interim funding will play a central role in responding to water issues depends on implementing long-term solutions to contamination and groundwater depletion.
But the lingering impact of the drought, especially on groundwater supplies, means some still rely on emergency water tanks while they wait for long-term solutions.
This is particularly true in the San Joaquin Valley, where more than 300 domestic well users whose taps have run dry continue to use tanks provided by the state through a program originally slated to end in June.
With the help of emergency funding requested by Assembly member Joaquin Arambula (D-Kingsberg), whose largely rural district is in the valley, the emergency water supply program will likely continue another year at a cost of $3.5 million.
Also included in the emergency relief efforts is $10 million to address failing domestic wells and septic tanks, and $10 million for the Drinking Water for Schools Program that funds treatment solutions for schools that struggle with contamination.
That number does not include people who rely on domestic wells.
In the interim the state is also pushing consolidation, where those with failed wells or unsafe septic systems are connected to nearby systems in working order.
A University of California, Davis study found that two-thirds of residents in disadvantaged San Joaquin Valley communities without safe drinking water lived within a mile of a system meeting clean water requirements.
The fund is included in Governor Jerry Brown’s budget as a trailer bill, and may undergo changes before the final budget faces a vote.
Which means emergency water needs could still require short-term funding solutions, such as those in Arambula’s request.

Written by CDFA Secretary Karen Ross and California State Water Resources Control Board Chair Felicia Marcus via Sacramento Bee Sacramento, California – When we read about drinking water problems like those in Flint, Michigan, it’s easy to think that would never happen here.
And we’ve consolidated smaller systems in communities like East Porterville, where clean water now flows into hundreds of homes that were without it.
Bond funds and loans can’t be used to cover these costs, but without these resources, small systems don’t qualify for the funding that is available to cover the capital costs of these projects.
The governor’s proposed budget includes a new Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund created from fees on fertilizer, dairies and livestock, and a fee of less than a dollar a month assessed on water bills.
And most critical, it will help cover ongoing water treatment costs, providing the last piece of the puzzle for small systems that are currently unable to get grants and loans and hire qualified managers.
Let’s be clear: Existing funds would not provide the kind of multi-year funding guarantee needed to secure capital financing and maintain critical water infrastructure 24 hours a day.
The proposed dedicated funding source will not compete with other general fund needs and will provide the state with essential infrastructure investment and public health protection over time.
Using fees to pay for the state’s basic needs makes good sense.
The proposed drinking water fee of less than a dollar a month has the same clear connection to addressing a critical need – and costs even less.
That is why we are urging members of California Legislature to approve the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund this session.

More commonly known as "DAPL", what was once a national flashpoint between law enforcement and fossil fuel opponents has been largely forgotten.
The Dakota Access Pipeline’s safety record to date is quite impressive—the pipeline has been entirely free from significant incidents.
Energy Transfer Partners, the company that had the pipeline built, says that it intentionally overbuilt the line, often going above and beyond federal safety regulations.
This despite data from the federal government, which continues to show that pipelines are extremely safe.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the federal agency responsible for oversight safety of the nation’s 2.6 million miles of lines, pipelines remain the safest way to transport large volumes of energy products.
Without new pipelines like DAPL, oil will be forced onto rail cars, trucks, and even barges which would undermine environmental safety given recent news from the U.S. Department of Energy that America continues to producer more oil and gas than any other nation.
The Energy Department’s Energy Information Agency says that since 2008, “U.S.
petroleum and natural gas production has increased by nearly 60 percent.” The agency says that “production is expected to increase, reaching 17.6 million b/d in 2018 and 19.1 million b/d in 2019, up from 15.6 million b/d in 2017.” Continuing domestic production requires supporting infrastructure, and when it comes to safety, efficiency, and cost, pipelines will remain the preferred choice of transportation for decades to come, or until the country no longer needs oil and gas products to support the economy.
The Dakota Access Pipeline has much to celebrate on its first year in service.
For proponents, it shows once again that oil can be safely transported in significant volumes.