Dhaka, Mar 15 (UNB) – Representatives of the members of the High-Level Panel on Water (HLPW) have handed over the HLPW outcome to the UN Secretary General (SG) António Guterres and Senior Representative of the World Bank President at SG’s office in the UN Headquarters.
Permanent Representative (PR) of Bangladesh to the United Nations, Ambassador Masud Bin Momen joined the event on behalf of Prime Minister and Panel member Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday, said a press release on Thursday.
After handing over the outcome documents, Ambassador Masud said the outcome package that they have handed over on behalf of “our leaders will provide the governments and all stakeholders guidance to carry out meaningful water actions to implement the SDGs and to create a water-secure world for all.” Mentioning that water and environment remains at the center of the development priorities of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina the PR said under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visionary leadership, Bangladesh has earned global recognition as a champion for ensuring safe drinking water and sanitation for all.
"In a country of more than 160 million people, nearly everyone can access safe drinking water.
Now, our target is to ensure direct access to safe drinking water for all by 2020," he said.
Ambassador Masud also mentioned that Bangladesh values water as a right, and as a tool to ensure human dignity.
He expressed his sincere appreciation to the High Level Panel on Water leaders for their commitment, guidance, and hard work.
Mentioning that climate change and frequent disasters have exacerbated the crisis of safe water across the world, the Secretary General assured that the proposals for accelerated water actions of HLPW leaders would be taken very seriously by the UN system.
SG also hoped that the governments of member states would also take guidance from these recommendations while implementing water actions at the national level.

Representatives of the High-Level Panel on Water (HLPW) have handed over the HLPW outcome to the UN Secretary General (SG) António Guterres and senior representative of the World Bank president.
Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations Masud Bin Momen joined the event at UN secretary general’s office in the UN headquarters on behalf of the prime minister on Wednesday, said a press release on Thursday.
After handing over the outcome documents, Ambassador Masud said the outcome package that they have handed over “will provide the governments and all stakeholders guidance to carry out meaningful water actions to implement the Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs] and to create a water-secure world for all.” Mentioning that water and environment remains at the centre of the development priorities of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Masud said under the premier’s visionary leadership, Bangladesh has earned global recognition as a champion for ensuring safe drinking water and sanitation for all.
“In a country of more than 160 million people, nearly everyone can access safe drinking water.
Now, our target is to ensure direct access to safe drinking water for all by 2020,” he said.
The ambassador also mentioned that Bangladesh values water as a right, and as a tool to ensure human dignity.
He expressed his sincere appreciation to the HLPW leaders for their commitment, guidance, and hard work.
Mentioning that climate change and frequent disasters have exacerbated the crisis of safe water across the world, the UN Secretary General (SG) António Guterres assured that the proposals for accelerated water actions of HLPW leaders would be taken very seriously by the UN.
António Guterres also hoped that the governments of member states would also take guidance from these recommendations while implementing water actions at the national level.

Today’s “crisis in water and sanitation is—above all—a crisis of the poor,” says the UN Development Program study: “Beyond Scarcity: Power, Poverty and the Water Crisis.” “No intervention has greater overall impact upon national development and public health than the provision of safe drinking water and proper disposal of human waste,” a report stated.
There are two ways malunggay seeds can treat water.
“Treatments with moringa solutions have been found to remove 90 [percent] to 99.9 percent of the impurities in water.” In general, one malunggay seed kernel can treat 1 liter of water.
Here’s how to use malunggay seeds in treating water.
Shell the seeds (remove the seed coat) to obtain clean seed kernels; discard discolored seeds.
Mix the paste and once cup of clean water into a bottle and shake for one minute to activate the coagulant properties and form a solution.
When the particles and contaminants have settled to the bottom, the clean water can be carefully poured off.
Let it cool for few more minutes before drinking the water.
“First, the process of shaking and stirring must be followed closely to activate the coagulant properties; if the flocculation process takes too long, there is a risk of secondary bacteria growth during flocculation,” the Echo says.
It is acceptable for drinking only where people are currently drinking untreated, contaminated water.” Meanwhile, election is fast approaching.

I went a week without water to try and see how much we really use it.
There are many simple ways to conserve, from turning off the tap while brushing your teeth to taking shorter showers.
Yet at the same time, the average American household uses more than 300 gallons of water per day.
Drinking, bathing, cooking, washing my hands, watering my plants; I thought I prepped for it all.
From dish-washing to using it to make drinks or to cook meals, it is unavoidable.
When it came down to it, I found that there were 12 ways in my everyday life that required immediate access to water.
Aside from the obvious drinking, bathing, and cooking mentioned above, things like doing the laundry, and ironing were out of the question.
The few I could find, pure coconut waters and juices, were extremely high in sugar.
In coconut water alone, I was averaging 36.4 grams a day.
So when the week did finally end, I started to research ways that I could be more mindful of my consumption.

"It is evident that the state-supported bottled water programs are still a critical resource for a large number of Flint residents, with bottled water being used for a variety of daily tasks," says the survey report titled, "From Crisis to Recovery: Household Resources."
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has warned of the potential for particulate lead releases from transmission pipes into the water supply in Flint because of the widespread underground digging for service lines.
Too many people have come to rely on bottled water and too few feel comfortable changing water faucet filters, don’t have a filter installed, or don’t have running water at all, Villarreal said.
Of those surveyed, 15 percent did not have a faucet filter in their homes and another 5 percent who have a filter either wait six months or longer to change the cartridge or don’t change it at all.
When asked how confident they were in replacing filter cartridges, about 36 percent ranked their confidence level between "not at all" confident to "somewhat confident," according to the survey.
"The only information collected has been the number of door knocks and the number of conversations, suggesting that resident confidence in filter use isn’t a priority."
Slightly less than 10 percent of respondents said they are using bottled water to flush their toilets, an indication that they might not have any running water in their home, Villarreal said.
Taken in December, the survey was proposed and developed by work groups and service providers that operate as a part of the Flint Action Coordination Team, a group organized by Weaver with guidance from the Greater Flint Health Coalition.
70 percent of those who answered the survey reported not knowing the composition of their service line.
"Not knowing the level of lead in their own water, residents may err on the side of caution, choosing to trust bottled water more than filtered tap water," the report says.

BHUBANESWAR: The State Cabinet on Wednesday approved several schemes in health and drinking water sectors, including the universal eye health programme, with an expected expenditure of around `2,000 crore to cater primarily to rural population.
The eye health programme, to be implemented for a period of five years from 2018-19 with an estimated cost of `682 crore, aims to generate a baseline data of prevalence of eye diseases in the State through a sample survey, Chief Secretary A P Padhi told mediapersons after the Cabinet meeting.
All diabetic and glaucoma patients will be screened regularly to reduce the prevalence of irreversible blindness in the State, he added.
Five lakh spectacles will be distributed to students under the programme, the Chief Secretary said and added that mobile eye care van will be stationed at all the 30 districts.
Besides, eye care facilities in seven medical colleges will be upgraded, he said.
The Cabinet approved a new scheme, ‘Strengthening of ancillary services in public health facilities’ with a budget of `550.24 crore for five years from 2018-19 to cover 1,814 health institutions.
The Chief Secretary said cleaning and security services implemented in first referral units (FRUs) through outsourced units will be augmented from April 1, 2018 under the new scheme.
The scheme will be implemented under the overall guidance of the Rogi Kalyan Samiti (RKS), he said.
The estimated cost for provision of free diagnostic and dialysis services for all types of patients at public health facilities will be around `596.28 crore for five years.
Universal eye health programme The Council of Ministers approved the budget for 2018-19, which is likely to touch `1,20,000 crore The eye health programme aims to generate a baseline data of prevalence of eye diseases in the State through a sample survey Five lakh spectacles will be distributed to students under the programme Provision of `1,000 crore in 2018-19 under BASUDHA scheme to ensure every rural household has access to safe water Proposal for amendment to Odisha Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1956 to enforce the provision of display of signboard in Odia language prominently by the employers of all shops and commercial establishments of the State approved

The Ugandan Water Project will hold its ninth annual 5K Run/Walk at 9 a.m. on April 21 at the Rand Lodge in Powder Mills Park, 154 Park Road, Pittsford.
This fundraising event supports the mission of the Ugandan Water Project to partner with U.S. sponsors in bringing safe, accessible drinking water to communities in the East African nation of Uganda.
“The 5K is our largest public fundraiser.
The impact that our runners and volunteers have on what our organization is able to accomplish each year is significant, enabling us to continue our work in Uganda,” said UWP’s Executive Director James Harrington.
UWP hopes to raise over $25,000 at this year’s run, helping to expand UWP’s reach and effectiveness in Uganda.
For every dollar raised, one more person in Uganda gains access to clean drinking water.
This early season road race includes RFID chip timing and a race T-shirt for runners as well as live music, food and refreshments and handmade Ugandan crafts as well as RF chip bib timing and a race T-shirt for runners.
Open to the public, runners can choose to register as a runner or walker or to be a sponsored runner and raise funds, waiving the race fee and becoming eligible to win top fundraising prizes.
This year’s prizes include a Nintendo Switch, a Sawyer Products recreation gift pack and gift cards to local merchants.
Visit ugandanwaterproject.com/5k for more information.

BHUBANESWAR: The state cabinet today approved several schemes in the health and drinking water sectors including the universal eye health programme with an expected expenditure of around Rs 2000 crore to cater primarily to rural population.
The eye health programme to be implemented for a period of five years from 2018-19 with estimated cost of `682 crore aims to generate a baseline data of prevalence of eye diseases in the state through a sample survey, chief secretary AP Padhi told mediapersons after the cabinet meeting.
Five lakh spectacles will be distributed to students under the programme, the chief secretary said and added that mobile eye care van will be stationed at all the 30 districts.
The cabinet approved a new scheme, ‘Strengthening of ancillary services in public health facilities’ with a budget of `550.24 crore for five years from 2018-19 to cover 1814 health institutions.
Out of the total cost, `123.88 crore will be met from the National Health Mission (NHM) fund and `426.36 crore will be provided from the state budget, Padhi said.
The chief secretary said cleaning and security services implemented in first referral units (FRUs) through outsourced units will be augmented from April 1, 2018 under the new scheme.
Subsequently, it will be further strengthened with additional services linen and laundry, lift services wherever required through fresh tendering process.
The scheme will be implemented under the overall guidance of the Rogi Kalyan Samiti (RKSs), he said.
The estimated cost for provision of free diagnostic and dialysis services for all types of patients at public healh facilities will be around Rs 596.28 crore for five years.
Besides, the scheme also aims to increase minimum supply level in pipe water project from 40 litres per capital per day to 70 litres per capita per day.

About 100 state residents who lack access to clean drinking water will head to the Capitol today and join with several lawmakers to support Brown’s proposal, which the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Resources and Transportation will discuss during a hearing at 11 a.m. in Room 447.
"No one in this state should have to be exposed to contaminated water."
Supporters of Brown’s fund include environmental and agricultural groups who argue immediate action is necessary to save residents from contaminated drinking water.
Brown’s plan would put the State Water Resources Control Board in charge of collecting fees from residents and businesses that use public water systems.
Brown’s 2018-19 budget proposes $4.7 million to "take initial steps toward implementation" of the new fund, which includes hiring staff, developing fee collection systems and assessing how much ongoing funding may be needed to fix contaminated water systems.
Pedro Hernandez said long-term support for clean drinking water programs is needed as other funding sources, such as Proposition 1, dry up.
The Association of California Water Agencies does not support Brown’s current proposal due to its proposed tax on water users.
ACWA and more than 135 public water agencies are instead proposing an alternative funding plan to ensure clean drinking water for state residents.
"For that small fee, residents in California could help support other residents’ rights to clean drinking water," he said.
WALK OUT: California political leaders will participate in the National School Walk Out taking place around the country today in protest of gun violence following last month’s school shooting in Parkland, Florida.

Lead, in particular, has been used in paints, ceramic glazes, jewelry, toys and in pipes.
Current commercial methods to remove heavy metals including lead from municipal drinking water can be expensive in terms of money and energy and are inefficient.
That ability, plus the large surface area and chemical tunability of MOFs make them a promising material to remove heavy metals selectively from water.
The researchers created a water-stable MOF/polymer composite with cheap, environmentally and biologically friendly materials and tested its ability to remove heavy metals from water.
It had one of the highest reported removal capacities to date, removing over 1.6 times its own weight of mercury and 40 percent of its weight in lead.
The researchers tested the MOFs in solutions with lead levels similar to those found in contaminated water samples from Flint, Michigan.
The researchers also demonstrated how the material could be regenerated easily without toxic products.
Drinking water contamination with heavy metals, particularly lead, is a persistent problem worldwide with grave public health consequences.
Further, the composite properties are well-maintained in river and sea water samples spiked with only trace amounts of lead, illustrating unprecedented selectivity.
The material is further shown to be resistant to fouling when tested in high concentrations of common organic interferents, like humic acid, and is fully regenerable over many cycles.