DNR to provide clean drinking water for contaminated wells.
LUXEMBURG (WLUK) — The DNR is planning to provide clean drinking water to people whose wells are contaminated by manure runoff.
So Wagner and his family drink bottled water.
"I only get one gallon of water per hour," Wagner told us As a Kewaunee County Board Member, Wagner is happy to hear about the DNR’s program to provide clean water to his constituents dealing with similar struggles.
Wagner told FOX 11 he can’t benefit from the DNR’s program because the water that comes out of his well is only contaminated with nitrates, not bacteria.
We still haven’t found any bacteria, which is a good thing," he explained.
Wagner said this is a good step, but… "How come this didn’t come out sooner?"
In statement the DNR said several programs worked together to take this step as quickly as possible.
A group of farmers called ‘Peninsula Pride Farms’ already offers clean drinking water.
That year-old program is for people with contaminated wells in the Kewaunee and Southern Door area.

Havelock North water contamination inquiry finds authorities failed to adhere to high standards of care.
Hastings District Council, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council and drinking water authorities all failed to adhere to the high standards of care and diligence necessary to protect public health, the Government inquiry into the Havelock North gastro outbreak has found.
More than 5000 people were struck down from last August’s e-coli contamination.
Source: 1 NEWS The inquiry findings are being released today at the Hastings District Court.
The Government inquiry has now released its findings.
Source: 1 NEWS Around 5500 people fell ill with a gastro illness in August last year and it’s believed three people died as a result of a campylobacter outbreak.
It says the DHB responded well to the outbreak, but the District Council had some major failings.
It failed to have an emergency response plan, didn’t put a boil water notice out in time, and failed to have an up to date contact list for vulnerable individuals, schools and childcare centres.
The inquiry found the relationship between the district and regional councils was dysfunctional and a lack of collaboration resulted in a number of missed opportunities.
Water in Havelock North and Hastings will be chlorinated for at least another year.

Press Release – Hastings District Council The Hastings District Council has welcomed the findings of the Government Inquiry into the contamination event that affected Havelock Norths water supply in August 2016.Hastings District Council response to Government Inquiry into Havelock North water contamination The Hastings District Council has welcomed the findings of the Government Inquiry into the contamination event that affected Havelock North’s water supply in August 2016.
Mayor Lawrence Yule particularly acknowledged the Inquiry findings regarding the cause of the contamination which was based on the work of the science caucus established by the Inquiry.
“This resulted in contaminated water being sucked into the water supply through Brookvale Bore One while it was operating in the normal manner.” “The Inquiry is clear that Hastings District Council did not cause the contamination to occur,” said Mayor Yule.
“These include maintenance inspections and maintenance record-keeping, the standard of planning and contingency documentation required under the New Zealand Drinking Water Standards, compliance with requests from the Drinking Water Assessors, and the effectiveness of working relationships with other agencies involved in drinking water safety.” “Council is fully committed to addressing and fixing the deficiencies highlighted by the Inquiry to ensure the safety of drinking water in the future,” said Mr McLeod.
· Improving risk management and legal compliance systems.
· Further age testing of aquifer water.
This is underway and will be finalised and reported to Council within the next month once the Inquiry findings have been carefully studied and considered by the review team.
“This event had a huge impact on our community,” said Mr Yule.
“We feel deeply for those people affected by the outbreak, particularly those families who lost loved ones and those that are afflicted by ongoing impacts.
Ends

RAPID CITY, S.D. – Black Hills residents are taking advantage of public hearings regarding a potential uranium mine near Edgemont. Powertech and Azarga have applied for permits from the Environmental Protection Agency for a two-part project: first, to create a uranium mine, and second, to allow the companies to dispose of waste deep underground. Tuesday featured the second of two EPA hearings in Rapid City, where concerned residents voiced their opposition against the Dewey Burdock Uranium Project. Opponents fear the operation, particularly the underground waste portion of the project, could…

Students from Cedar Hollow School in Grand Island learned some important lessons about water and had some fun at the same time at the 29th annual Children’s Groundwater Festival on Tuesday at Central Community College.
"What we are doing is trying to teach kids how to better preserve and take care of our aquifer systems and overall groundwater usage," said Kathryn Langrehr, GISH environmental science teacher.
The GISH students, many of whom attended the Children’s Groundwater Festival as fourth-graders, constructed the stations and also were the instructors for Water Island.
Each station had a different game about such topics as aquifers, domestic water use, the difference between salt and fresh water, pollution, flooding and infiltration.
"We want to teach them the basic of these systems," Langrehr said.
It is the water we drink."
The GISH students taught the fourth-graders through kinesthetic learning, in which students carry out physical activities instead of listening to a lecture or watching a demonstration.
"The fourth-graders are able to move around and get their hands on the projects, like how to make a filter," Langrehr said.
"It is dealing with the whole growth mindset in reaching them."
By allowing the high school students to take the initiative, she said, they learned about leadership.

EPA awards Oklahoma with $855,000 grant to protect water quality.
The Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $855,000 to the Oklahoma Office of the Secretary of Energy to support management of nonpoint-source water pollution, officials said in a news release.
Nonpoint-source pollution is caused by rainfall or snowmelt moving over the ground, and runoff picks up natural and man-made pollutant as it flows.
The pollution can be hard to manage because it cannot be traced to an official source, officials said.
“Improving the Nation’s water is one of EPA’s highest priorities under the Trump administration,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, who was Oklahoma’s attorney general before taking a position in President Donald Trump’s administration.
“This grant funds state-led programs that are working for communities throughout my home state of Oklahoma."
The EPA’s grant will help Oklahoma fund nonpoint source pollution management projects, including controlling animal wastes, sediment, pesticides and fertilizers, officials said.
“Oklahoma has shown great success in improving water quality by working directly with landowners to reduce nonpoint-source pollution,” said Michael J. Teague, Oklahoma‘s secretary of Energy and Environment.
“This award will continue to assist the Oklahoma Conservation Commission and partners to improve our state’s waters.”

Winslow Town Council delays vote on agreement with resident over well water dispute.
The agreement would release Caleb Albert from penalties for violating a setback requirement, while allegations of salt contamination against the town would be dropped.
The town’s code requires that structures maintain a 15-foot setback from the property line.
The town is entering into the agreement because the property is near its municipal salt and sand storage area, which is uncovered.
Albert paid to connect his house to the municipal water supply to avoid potential water contamination at the property.
The agreement says that, “considering the continuing violation of the Winslow Code’s setback requirement … but also mindful of the expenses incurred by the Property Owner” in connecting the lots to the water supply, the town agreed to waive its rights as long as Albert waived the right to claim the town owed him money.
In 2015, Cory Dow, who lives across from Albert’s properties, found that his well was contaminated with sodium and chloride, or salt.
In a water test from April 2015, the water in Dow’s well measured 2,800 milligrams of sodium per liter.
But the town government had its own study done, which suggested it was not at fault and that the contamination was probably caused by someone purposely pouring salt into the open well.
Another town-issued report completed over the summer of 2016 said the salt and sand pile was a potential source of the contamination.

EPA studies creek contamination.
A handful of Osage County oil producers may need to temporarily suspend operations while federal officials attempt to determine the source of salt water contamination in a creek branch northwest of Pawhuska.. For now, producers in the affected area near Bird Creek will be asked to submit daily production reports to investigators with the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA administrator Sam Coleman said.
For several months, the slow-moving pool of salt water and oil was being monitored.
Since the creek eventually would discharge into Bluestem Lake, the city eventually took the precaution of switching to Lake Pawhuska for its municipal water needs.
The source of the salt water found in Bird Creek still has not been determined, officials said.
As a result, more than a mile of pasture land has been declared unuseable.
Tests were subsequently conducted which indicated the damaged pipe was allowing contaminated water to leak into the freshwater creek.
The environmental experts worked quickly with preserve staff to isolate the pollutants.
Pumper trucks were used to take water from a pond beneath the damaged pipe and a series of ditches were dug for collecting the contaminated water until it could be pumped away from the runoff area.
Officials said the salt water that previously spilled into Sand Creek should cause no problems downstream.

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 Wednesday 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. RELATED: Can manure from so many cattle be safely spread on the land? The program’s low-key rollout on a high-profile issue perplexed environmental groups who say the agency has been reluctant to criticize the…

Ohio officials: it will take decades for wetlands to recover after major pipeline fluid spill.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has told Energy Transfer Partners — the same company building the Dakota Access Pipeline — that it owes the state $430,000 for “inadvertent” damage to pristine state wetlands.
“It’s a tragedy in that we would anticipate this wetland won’t recover to its original condition for decades,” Ohio EPA spokesman James Lee told ThinkProgress.
At the time, ETP said bentonite is “a nontoxic, naturally occurring material that is safe for the environment” and denied that the discharge was dangerous.
The company also contends, according to a letter from the Ohio EPA to federal regulators, that the state lacks the “authority to enforce violations of its federally delegated state water pollution control statutes.” It does not deny that the spill occurred.
Ohio EPA director Craig Butler has sent a letter to FERC asking for the agency’s support in holding ETP accountable.
He told the Washington Post that ETP’s response to the violations was “dismissive” and “exceptionally disappointing.” These are exactly the kind of incidents and actions that worry environmentalists who are trying to stop pipelines going through sensitive areas.
ETP’s Rover pipeline is just one of the myriad natural gas and oil pipelines that are under construction in the United States.
Improvements in hydraulic fracturing technology and horizontal drilling have spurred a boom in natural gas extraction in the Marcellus Shale basin under Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, as well as an uptick in Oklahoma and Texas, which were already big oil and gas producers.
When finished, the Rover pipeline will bring 3.25 billion cubic feet of gas each day from the region through West Virginia, Ohio, and Michigan to Ontario, Canada.