Islamabad A vast number of people in the outlying areas of Pakistan stand deprived of clean drinking water with thousands of people lacking access to this most essential need.
The oil and gas company MOL Pakistan, sensing the gravity of the situation, has taken action to overcome this issue to aid people living in its operational areas.
The exploration and production giant has made investments amounting to billions of dollars over the years in Pakistan, and also works for the goodwill of its people.
MOL Pakistan embodies caring corporatism that does not sacrifice social obligations and ethical values at the cost of monetary pursuits.
MOL Pakistan has played a vital role in the provision of clean drinking water to the underprivileged segments of Pakistani society.
Till date, the company has spent more than Rs.
90 million in executing effective water supply schemes in the most deprived districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including Karak, Hangu, Bannu and Kohat.
On account of its active presence in the area, MOL Pakistan has directly executed and funded several water supply schemes including the installation of hand pumps in several locations.
In Hangu, one of the most underdeveloped villages, Nizrab Banda, has received clean drinking water, thanks to a water supply project sponsored by MOL Pakistan.
Many villages located along the Bannu-Kohat Road have been afflicted by serious water-borne illnesses due to a lack of access to clean water.

A silent crisis has been brewing under our feet.
For those who are not aware of the problem, we are talking about a crisis that gets worse by the minute under the ground we step on.
Certainly, the alarm signals do not seem to be sounding.
In a sense, this reaction is understandable.
The younger generations simply “buy” purified and bottled water in one of its various “commercial” presentations; that is to say, that for a growing number of Yucatecans the mere concept of drinking water implies purified H2O in a bottle.
But the normal becomes questionable when we consider that 30 years ago many Yucatecans drank water “from the tap”, or “well”, not to mention that in several countries around the world buying bottled water is almost unthinkable -for example, in Scotland there are no jug water and it is equally safe to drink water from any tap in a house or business.
In Yucatan, half of the houses evacuate their wastewater containing all kinds of waste – mainly fecal waste – to the subsoil through sumps.
As a society, we need to accept the responsibility of properly informing ourselves and to guarantee our rights to access water, to enjoy a healthy environment.
Because, if we leave the issue in hands of our government, instead of informing us or tackling the problem, our leaders will keep on unceremoniously throwing us into the arms of the bottling companies -with the economic, social and environmental costs that this represents- Our Federal and State governments are not showing consideration towards clearly fundamental (and not renewable) resources, which deterioration implies a direct harm to the quality of life in Yucatan.
Antonio Salgado Borge, PhD in Philosophy (University of Edinburgh).

3M Co. has agreed to pay the state of Minnesota $850 million to settle a major case alleging the manufacturer damaged natural resources and contaminated groundwater by disposing of chemicals over decades, Minnesota’s attorney general announced Tuesday.
The state was seeking $5 billion from Maplewood, Minnesota-based 3M in a case that focused on the company’s disposal of chemicals once used to make Scotchgard fabric protector and other products.
"We’re pleased with the settlement.
We think the settlement will help solve a problem in Minnesota.
It’s been a problem that has been a long time in the making for many decades," Swanson said.
Swanson said 3M will pay the state in one lump sum within the next 15 days.
The company began producing PFCs in the 1950s and legally disposed of them in landfills for decades.
The state and 3M reached a deal three years later requiring the company to spend millions to clean up landfills and provide clean drinking water to affected communities.
But Minnesota sued in 2010, alleging 3M researched PFCs and knew the chemicals were getting into the environment and posing a threat to human health.
Since the Minnesota lawsuit was filed in 2010, concerns over PFCs have grown.

The traditional model of water governance through state or public water utilities, and the market based privatisation of water supplies that gained momentum in the early twentieth century, have failed to effectively address growing urban water demand.
And so other institutional and management systems have emerged in some urban and peri-urban areas.
Community based water supply models have been common in rural areas for some time.
Community public partnerships typically involve a community – or an elected body within that community – working with a public or state owned water utility.
Technical and financial management have improved.
Questions have been raised about the extent to which improvements in management, accountability, and the number of water points has led to better water access at the household level.
But they are gradually emerging in some of sub-Saharan Africa’s urban spaces.
These arrangements, also known as community-based self-provision, allow communities to form their own institutions for water delivery without formal connections or partnerships with utility operators or municipal governments.
Successful communities were able to get both local and international donors on board to provide them financial support.
But communities cannot do it all alone.

Reliable access to clean water for drinking, agriculture and sanitation is one of the biggest challenges facing the 135 million people who live in Africa’s Sahel region.
Fortunately, this vast area—covering 5 million square kilometres from western Africa to central and northern Africa—is also home to rich bodies of water underground.
Through a technical cooperation (TC) regional project carried out from 2012 to 2017, the IAEA provided equipment and trained local scientists from 13 Member States—Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Ghana, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Togo—to help manage these joint water resources in support of sustainable socioeconomic development.
Water resource management capacities in the region have been enhanced, and an active and engaged network of local counterparts is now in place.
Building on the scientific evidence acquired during this earlier TC regional project[1], as well as complementary data from current and previous IAEA and development partner activities in the region, the IAEA and these same Member States recently launched a new TC regional project[2] to address remaining capacity and information gaps through additional and improved data collection and interpretation, and training.
Experts presented the IAEA’s Water Availability Enhancement (IWAVE) methodology and approach, working with counterparts implementing this framework to agree on roles, responsibilities, and mechanisms for coordination and communication.
The meeting also covered case studies and identified a series of IAEA activities, from supporting post-graduate technical education to equipping national laboratories, that will help participating countries achieve self-reliance in analytical work.
[1] RAF7011 ‘Integrated and Sustainable Management of Shared Aquifer Systems and Basins of the Sahel Region’.
Australia provided in-kind contributions.
[2] RAF7019 ‘Adding the Groundwater Dimension to the Understanding and Management of Shared Water Resources in the Sahel Region’

Uttarakhand Ravi S Singh New Delhi, February 18 Union Drinking Water and Sanitation Minister Uma Bharti will launch national drinking water programme “Swajal” from Uttarakashi district in Uttarakhand on February 20.
Introducing the programme, she said it would be implemented in six states, including Uttarakhand, as a pilot project.
Swajal is a community-owned programme for sustained potable water supply.
She spoke about employment generation expected from the implementation of ‘Swajal’ and the next level of activities under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin), i.e. solid and liquid waste management, under which a convergence-based programme is being launched next week.
A proposed “Ganga Gram” programme will also be launched in Uttarkashi on February 20.
It will be a model for solid and liquid waste management for all Ganga-bank villages as well as country’s other ODF villages.
Spelling out the roadmap of implementation of cleanliness drive in rural India, she said it would be taken to the next level which included taking up many more places of historic-cultural importance for elevation to improved standards of cleanliness under the “Swachh Iconic Places initiative”.
The initiative was envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
She dwelt on “Galvanising Organic Bio-Agro Resources (GOBAR)-Dhan”- a “Waste to Wealth” initiative of the government announced by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the Budget address.
As many as 700 districts of the country will be provided access to biogas resources to recycle animal waste and convert it into wealth and energy under the initiative.

Nation Ravi S Singh New Delhi, February 18 Union Drinking Water and Sanitation Minister Uma Bharti will launch a new national drinking water programme named ‘Swajal’ from Uttarakashi district in Uttarakhand on February 20.
Introducing the programme, she said it will be implemented in six states, including Uttarakhand, as pilot.
Uttarakhand has been chosen for launching the first pilot.
Swajal is a community owned programme for sustained potable water supply.
Bharti said: “Swajal’s implementation and the following next level of activities under Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) will open avenues for generation of employment in rural-India.” Next level of activities under the Swachh Bhart Mission, include solid and liquid waste management under which a convergence-based programme will be kicked off next week.
A proposed ‘Ganga Gram’ programme will also be launched in Uttarkashi on February 20.
It will be a model for solid and liquid waste management for all Ganga-bank villages as well as country’s other ODF villages.
The initiative was envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
She dwelt on “Galvanising Organic Bio-Agro Resources (GOBAR)-Dhan”- a “Waste to Wealth” initiative of the government announced by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Budget (2018-19) address.
As many as 700 districts of the country will be provided access to bio-gas resources to recycle animal waste and convert it into wealth and energy under the initiative.

During the event, Lipchin, who was born and raised in South Africa, explained that Cape Town is not the only city in the world facing a water crisis; Sao Paulo, Brazil and Brisbane, Australia, have also recently faced similar situations.
This was a turning point for Israel.
“You have to manage water as stock.
Seventy to 80% of Israel’s drinking water supply comes from the sea [and is desalinated] but that’s not enough.
You have to value every single drop of water and put it into productive use.” Addressing the Cape Town crisis, Lipchin said he does not doubt that South Africa will be able to find a solution.
Lipchin also explained that to some degree there are similarities of water inequality in the townships in South Africa and in some of the Palestinian villages.
If I go to a township [in South Africa] or a Palestinian village, one of the problems there is that there is lack of infrastructure – there’s no drinking water network or sewage network.
We have on-site solar desalination units to treat the water on-site and is giving the farmers high-quality water that is increasing their crop yields and improving their socioeconomic position as they have greater income coming out of their agriculture.” He concluded by saying, “What we need for South Africa… is [to figure out] how to provide sufficient, safe and affordable water to those who are on a network and those who are not on a network.” DR. ANTHONY TURTON, a professor of the Center for Environmental Management at the University of Free State said, “The water crisis in Cape Town has forced us to a point where we cannot go any further with our paradigm of scarcity.” Turton explained that South Africa doesn’t have a water problem but rather a “pollution problem, a salt problem, or a problem about water at the wrong time, the wrong place, too far, too dirty – that is the problem.
So we must re-frame the problem, and we need this new paradigm of abundance.” “We must re-frame this problem… We must recover the water from waste, that is the first thing we have to do and we have to put time, energy and technology into that,” he said.
In the good years we have to recharge [ground water] and put it back.” He added that with climate change, “it’s not so much that we’re getting less water but it’s that we are losing more to evaporation.” He made it clear that using the right technology, governance and policy programs could vastly change the situation in South Africa.

To the editor: As environmentalists and policymakers look to South Africa’s "Zero Day," when Cape Town’s city water is predicted to be shut down, some might forget that a community twice the size of Pittsfield — Flint, Mich. — already faced and continues to face a "Zero Day" here in the United States.
In an era where with increasingly scarce resources, careful attention can be paid to the long-term aftermath of domestic state-of-emergencies.
The lessons learned will be particularly true for local communities that may at some point have little choice but yield control to external crisis management leadership.
Since March 2016, the EPA has not changed its recommendation that Flint residents not drink unfiltered tap water.
Clearly, it’s difficult to assess the true situation today because of significant delays in reporting.
For this reason, first-hand accounts from social justice non-profits like Flint Rising and Corporate Accountability carry significant weight.
According to these institutions, the few remaining distribution centers will soon be shut down, leaving people without ready access.
In sum, there is a forgotten drama playing out on American soil that’s multi-generational and affecting people’s health and emotional and economic well-being.
The lead actor is an ingredient that is essential for everyone’s life: water.
One option for current and future civic leaders at this time would be lend their creativity, cooperation and if possible charity on a city-to-city basis.

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Mass (WWLP) – Chemicals from a firefighting foam used at Barnes Air Base have been detected in Westfield’s water supply.
Testing done at Westover in 2017 found trace amounts of the chemicals from that firefighting foam in groundwater on base, but drinking water has not been contaminated.
According to Westover’s Environmental Engineering Chief, Jack Moriarty, Westover was using the firefighting foam in question until last year.
Nearly $400,000 was spent testing the water at Westover.
Moriarty said only trace amounts of the chemical were found in Westover’s ground water, and there’s no access Chicopee’s drinking water supply, which comes from the Quabbin Reservoir.
“I do, even though I think my sink water is clean, I still use filtered clean water,” Chicopee resident, Epi Sanchez said.
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