Effects from last year’s Havelock North water contamination ‘still being strongly felt’ – Katie Bradford.
All Blacks assistant coach Ian Foster said today he’s happy with the result of last night’s Rugby World Cup draw in Japan and admitted he’s glad New Zealand weren’t drawn in the "pool of death".
NZ are in Pool B alongside the Springboks and Italy with two other countries yet to be named.
Source: Breakfast New Zealand will face South Africa in the upcoming 2019 RWC pool stage along with Italy.
"We are pretty delighted with the pool," said Foster.
The All Blacks assistant says having South Africa in Pool B with them will give them a good challenge to prepare for the later stages of the competition.
"I think having South Africa there is going to be fantastic, it is going to guarantee that we will have to be at our best right from the start.
Foster said he was relieved not to have drawn the short straw, as England will be lining up in Pool C dubbed as the "pool of death" with France and Argentina.
"There will be a lot of interest in that pool and England will be wondering what they have done wrong.
"There will be a bit of pressure in that group."

Congress Budget Deal Protects Water Programs.
By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue The Trump administration’s talk of slashing environmental programs in fiscal year 2018 did not translate into big cuts in a 2017 spending agreement negotiated by Congress.
“The fiscal year 2017 deal seemed to indicate there is good bipartisan support in Congress extending to the full suite of programs that support clean and safe water in the United States.” Water Across the Budget The agreement’s water-related provisions are many.
The agency’s two main water infrastructure loan programs are funded at the same level as in 2016: $US 1.4 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and $US 863 million for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund.
Combined with funding from a bill signed in December, the program will be able to loan just over $US 3 billion for large water projects.
Notice does not need to be “immediate.” Jennifer Caddick of the Alliance for the Great Lakes, an advocacy group, told Circle of Blue that though there is a long history of bipartisan support in Congress for the Great Lakes, the administration’s pronouncements that the restoration fund should be cancelled in 2018 is a cause of concern.
The agreement provides $US 67 million for construction of federal reservoirs or state-owned water storage projects.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s rural water loan and grant program is allocated $US 571 million, an increase of $US 48 million.
Certain firefighting foams — class B aqueous film forming foams — that are used for putting out petroleum fires have contaminated drinking water wells on bases and in nearby communities.
Aaron Clark, spokesman for Fitzpatrick, said that the report will be “a positive step towards remediating the contamination in our water supply.” But Fitzpatrick will continue to seek legislation requiring a health study of those affected by contaminated wells.

With livestock contamination of drinking water a growing concern in Wisconsin, the Department of Natural Resources has quietly started efforts to provide temporary water supplies to people with tainted wells. The DNR posted an update on its website in April that said it would provide temporary emergency drinking water when tests show that a water supply is contaminated and is likely due to groundwater contaminated by manure, a person on the property contracts a water-borne illness or there is a sudden change in color or odor of well water, Two environmental groups issued statements Tuesday announcing the state initiative. Afterward, the DNR said in a statement the agency used aspects from several programs under existing law to set up the water program. It also notified authorities in Kewaunee County, where well contamination has been most severe. The program’s low-key rollout on a high-profile issue perplexed environmental groups who say the agency has been reluctant to criticize the farm community over manure spreading. “This relief…

Recent news on cholera outbreaks.
May 9 – Yemen war: Surge in cholera outbreak kills 34 – WHO – The World Health Organisation says 2,022 suspected cases of cholera and acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) were reported between 27 April and 7 May.
May 9 – IOM Responds as Cholera Outbreak Spreads in South Sudan – Relief agencies are responding to cholera outbreaks across the country, with nine counties currently reporting active transmission, including three in Jonglei alone.
May 9 – Haiti sees decrease in suspected cholera cases – (PAHO) says the number of suspected cholera cases reported in this French-speaking Caribbean country, up to April 8, 2017, has decreased when compared to the same periods in 2015 and 2016.In its latest report, PAHO says to date 4,871 suspected cholera cases have been reported in Haiti, including 69 deaths.
This represents a 60 and 61 per cent decrease compared to the 12,373 and 12,226 suspected cholera cases reported during the same period in 2015 and 2016, respectively.
May 5 – As rainy season starts, UN health agency warns of cholera outbreak in drought-hit Somalia – Somalia is suffering from the largest cholera outbreak in the past five years and the number of people killed is expected to double by the end of June, the United Nations health agency.
The UN World Health Organization (WHO) reported close to 32,000 cases of cholera, including 618 deaths, since the beginning of the year.
May 6 – Nagpur – After 4 years, cholera makes a comeback – After a lull of four years, cholera, the deadliest of all water borne diseases has raised its ugly head again.
About 31 positive cases of cholera have been recorded between April 1, 2016 and March 31, 2017.
May 1 – Ghana – Health Service reminds regional directors to be alert for cholera outbreak – The Ghana Health Service has reminded of its cholera alert to all regional health directors and warned of the risk of an outbreak in 2017, has increased by the onset of the rains and potential flooding in some communities.

How exactly might a software solution optimise de-icing at an airport?
Our decision support system ensures consistency in decision-making, based on historical data and operational guidelines.
For more than 10 years, we have been working closely with Schiphol Airport, one of Europe’s largest, to improve and expand our de-icing software on an annual basis.
One of the exciting projects that we are currently working on is upgrading our water quality software within our new mobile decision support framework.
Secondly, it is important to monitor the effect of the decision.
Finally, the collected data should be used to improve the process.
Charts and management reports will allow you to easily see how the process can be optimised.
More than 10 years later, with the right team of people and in close cooperation with large airports, we have shown that processes can be greatly optimised by combining data analyses with software applications.
This ensures effective long-term software solutions.
Therefore, in a year’s time, we will have launched several new projects, while our existing software will be even better than it is today.

Directed by Stephanie Soechtig and Jason Lindsey, Tapped is a 2009 documentary that examines the economic and environmental impact of the water bottle industry.
The film exposes many of the health risks and misconceptions surrounding bottled water, including its reliance on oil.
The Clean Water Act took effect 40 years ago Thursday.
In 1972, stormwater pollution was nowhere near a top priority.
How bad is it?
An Ocean of Plastic – PBS There’s a place in the center of the Pacific Ocean where all currents converge, and swirls of colorful confetti billow through otherwise blue waters.
No one knows exactly how big it is, but some scientists estimate it to be twice the size of Texas.
RESEARCH ☠BP☠ THE LARGEST OIL SPILL IN HISTORY -What BP Doesn’t Want You to Know About the 2010 Gulf Spill -An agonizing 87 days passed before the BP oil spill was finally sealed off.
more like the Horiffic Pacific Garbage Patch which is a gyre of human-based marine pollution now floating in the central North Pacific Ocean located roughly between 135°W to 155°W and 35°N and 42°N.
Please help spread awareness about ocean acidification by pinning these before-and-after photos and starting the conversation about ocean conservation.

Companies must stop ignoring the problem of consumption.
The World Resource Institute calls it "the elephant in the room" and says businesses need to ask tough questions about their economic models.
Over the past two decades, businesses have come a long way in their conversations about sustainability and climate change.
What was once an unknown or avoided term has become part of mainstream corporate-talk.
Many companies now have strategies for reducing emissions, implementing renewable energy, and mitigating deforestation and water pollution.
In a new report, the WRI calls on businesses to face the hard truth about consumption: “Most businesses’ growth is still predicated on more people buying more goods.
The world will have more than 9 billion people by 2050, and the middle class will have swelled by 3 billion by 2030.
A continuation of business as usual would mean not just a slight additional strain, but three times as much consumption of the planet’s already overused resources.” This topic tends to be avoided in corporate boardrooms because it challenges the traditional business model that has proven so economically successful; but the WRI argues that a transition to alternative models of providing goods and services to consumers is inevitable.
It’s better for companies to get on board with this now, to start exploring and innovating, to figure out ways of “delinking from increasing resource and environmental impact,” than to be irrelevant and outdated with the inevitable arrival of more transformational companies in the near future.
The WRI’s paper makes three recommendations as a starting point for businesses to become aware of resource limitations: 1.

Philippine Cargo Volume Slows.
Philippine Ports Authority data has revealed cargo volumes grew 4% less this year due to a decline in exports and mining.
Ports that posted container volume growth included NCR North, Davao, Batangas, South Harbor and the Manila International Container Terminal.
Manila Ports handled around 85% of the total cargo volume to and from the Philippines, maintaining “very healthy” utilization rates.
Total container volume totalled 1.521 million TEUs, with 4.08% growth, of which domestic containers posted a 7.71% increase while foreign boxes registered a “measly” 1.61% increase.
Total cargo volumes for the authority were around 4.15% higher in Q1 2017 than they were in Q1 2016.
Contributing to the total, domestic cargo volume grew by 4.91% while foreign cargo volume grew 3.57% from the same quarter last year.
“While we posted volume growth for the period, the growth pace, however, is slower.
Last year, we registered some 8% growth in volume compared to the 4% for the same period this year.
“The slower pace is due primarily to the overall decline in export cargo volume, which dropped 8% for the first quarter compared to last year.” Technical Paper:New Central Gate at ICTSI’s flagship Manila International Container Terminal

China Shuts Down Coal Mines and Forces Them To Plant Trees.
In an attempt to promote the new green mining plan and further reduce high pollution levels, China has ordered its coal mines to now plant trees and cut down on their noise production while simultaneously sealing off their facilities from the outside world.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Land and Resources has issued a statement saying that all newly built mines would have to meet the green requirements while existing mines would be forced to upgrade their facilities in order to be compliant.
In addition, a closed management system is expected to be implemented such that all production, transportation and storage is covered and extracted coal is no longer seen in an attempt to protect the environment.
This is a huge contrast with China’s past, wherein thousands of mines were built without considering the consequences to the surrounding environment.
In addition to the planting of trees, more sector-driven orders are expected to be given in an attempt to stop the extreme overcapacity problems, curb illegal production and further reduce air and water pollution levels.
In addition, China’s Land Ministry issues a statement saying that raw coal washing rates would be raised to approximately 100 percent at all new mines while wastewater recovery rates would be brought to a level of above 85 percent.
In the near future it is expected that coal mines would be forced to established dedicated research and development areas that will be funded with at least 1 percent of the mines income from the previous year.
In addition, these research and development areas will have to ensure training for workers and coverage of work-related illnesses.
These centres will also be expected to set up some form of storage sites for metallurgic miners to assist in preventing contamination of nearby land and water resources.

For the last 15 years, Parkar has been campaigning against river pollution in the area, engaging with the officials of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) as well as the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) which maintains the belt.
Of the 156 locations where the CPCB has set up its monitoring units on the 49 rivers and tributaries in the state, 153 do not meet the water quality criteria, according to the CPCB.
Pune attracted 45% of the notices (2,392 of 5,276) issued to polluting factories between 2011 and 2016.
These regions, along with Navi Mumbai, are among the top six in the list of regions served the most notices by the MPCB.
In Kolhapur, which has the second-highest number of defaulting factories, 64% of red-category notices were issued to medium and small-scale units.
One malfunctioning effluent plant can raise pollution levels down an entire belt The lax monitoring of and prosecution for water pollution in the state means that Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) routinely flout environmental guidelines on discharging untreated effluents into rivers.
As Boralkar pointed out, medium and small-scale industries depend on common plants for the mandatory treatment of their chemical waste.
Currently, Maharashtra has 24 CETPs; five more are set to come up.
Three years before that, in 2013, the level of pollutants in treated effluent was found to be “dangerously high” at three CETPs in Pune.
He doesn’t think much of the MPCB issuing 5,000-odd notices to erring industrial units in five years.