Philly Councilwoman Helen Gym asked school district officials if they planned to address the faulty drinking fountains in city schools, during day one of school district hearings Tuesday.

-by Jenny Dehuff, originally posted on May 17, 2016

 

sk Councilwoman Helen Gym, and it’s not just the school district’s budget that’s nearly bone-dry. It’s the students who are parched, too.

Gym made an issue of the number of working and safe drinking fountains in city schools during day one of hearings on the school district before City Council’s Committee of the Whole on Tuesday.

Gym asked School District Superintendent William Hite and Chief Operating Officer Fran Burns if they planned to make the “water access issue” a priority this fall as they prepare their budget for fiscal years 2017 through 2021.

Last week, Gym introduced legislation that would required the school district to live up to the plumbing code – one working water fountain per 100 students and one on each floor of every district-owned school in the city.

“Water access has been a major, repeated concern by and for students and families in the school district,” she said Tuesday.

“But more than just access to water – students complain about quality of water. There’s been research around hydration stations. …We’re talking about investments of less than a$1 million if you add it in – three per school – to guarantee cold, fresh, and safe water access to young people.”

Burns said, “It’s absolutely a priority. But in terms of the funding, we will look for the funds to make it happen.”

District officials declined to elaborate further.

For this upcoming fiscal year, Hite said that the school district is not requesting additional funding from the city and state above the currently proposed amounts, as they have in years past. Over the next five years, the district plans to invest more than $440 million toward the school district’s strategic plan.

Public testimony on the school district resumes Wednesday.

by Rob Schofield, originally posted on May 17, 2016

 

There are a lot of serious indictments that can be leveled at a public official. Corruption, ineptitude, disloyalty – the list of potential offenses is a lengthy one. At some basic level, however, it’s hard to imagine a more damning allegation than that he or she knowingly jeopardized the physical health and wellbeing of his or her constituents.

Several years ago, the Governor of Illinois went to jail as a result of a bribery scandal that took place during his tenure as Secretary of State. What made his crime so heinous and universally decried, however, was not so much the actual offense – the sale of truck driver licenses to unqualified individuals – it was fact that one such sale led to the death of six children in a minivan that was rear-ended by one of the unqualified drivers.

by Kimberly Houghton, originally posted on May 17, 2016

 

MERRIMACK — Groundwater contamination has been discovered at the former town landfill, prompting state officials to begin another round of private well sampling to determine the extent of the problem now facing several communities in southern New Hampshire.

As part of the state’s ongoing water contamination investigation, elevated levels of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) have been detected at the old landfill in Merrimack, which is situated on a 25-acre parcel near the existing Merrimack Transfer Station on Fearon Road.

Jim Martin, public information officer with the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, announced Tuesday that eight out of 10 monitoring wells adjacent to the landfill detected PFOA at levels above 100 parts per trillion, the threshold set by DES to begin distribution of bottled water.

“We began heading out into the field today to knock on doors and begin collecting more (water) samples,” said Martin. “There are some neighborhoods to the north of that area, and the south.”

At least one of the wells at the landfill detected PFOA at 2,200 ppt, which is significantly higher than the federal advisory level of 400 ppt.

The former landfill property includes two unlined landfills that operated from the early 1970s to 2003, according to a release, adding both landfills received solid waste from local residences and businesses.

“We don’t know what the source of the (PFOA) is at the landfill. We are going to be working with the town of Merrimack and requesting that a record search be done to look into waste disposal records for the landfill,” said Martin.

The landfills were capped with an impermeable membrane in 2004, with groundwater monitoring beginning in 1987 and continuing under a groundwater management permit issued by NHDES, states the release. However, Martin said Tuesday that the state never tested for PFOA at the landfill until now.

In light of the newly detected PFOA at the former landfill, DES is beginning to sample private residential wells in the vicinity of the site, although an exact radius has not yet been determined.

“We most likely will be testing homes in Bedford as well,” he said, explaining the old landfill is housed near the Merrimack border with Bedford.

So far, 73 wells within Merrimack, Litchfield and Amherst have detected elevated levels of PFOA above 100 ppt., and more than 200 properties are receiving bottled water as a precaution — most of them located within a mile of Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics in Merrimack. PFOA contamination has also been discovered at the former Textiles Coated International plant in Amherst.

Town officials in Amherst have scheduled a public meeting with representatives from DES, which will take place at 7 p.m. tonight at Souhegan High School to discuss its most recent detection of PFOA in four private wells near the old Textiles Coated International site.

PFOA, most commonly known for its presence in Teflon, has been linked to at least three cancers and several other illnesses.

Lease specifies homeowners are responsible for their own drinking water

-by Yvonne Colbert, originally posted on May 17, 2016

 

A mini home park in Barrington, N.S., is under investigation by the provincial Department of Environment after not following orders to correct a contaminated water problem identified more than a year ago.

In addition, the department said the owner may not have informed residents of the contamination, leaving them to drink tainted well water for the past year.

The department issued a boil water order for residents of Anthony Mini Home Park on April 15, 2015. According to its website, “Boil water advisories are issued when sampling and testing detects higher than accepted amounts of coliform bacteria or if there are deficiencies with regard to chlorination or other forms of disinfection.”

The department was contacted by a park resident on April 21 of this year and began notifying residents of the unsafe water after learning that “prior notification from the park’s owner may not have been provided.”

Owner said he notified residents

The owner of the mini home park, Ken Anthony, told CBC News he notified tenants about the contaminated water at the time the boil order was issued.

“I would have sent a letter out to the superintendent and they would have passed it around to different homes,” he said.

Anthony disputes the department’s contention that, as a registered water supply, he is required to provide safe water to the park’s residents.

He provided CBC News with a partial copy of the lease which states that the landlord is not responsible for potable water, only the delivery of water. Homeowners “are responsible to supply their own drinking water at all times,” the lease says.

It goes on to say the landlord “takes absolutely no responsibility” if there is ever any coliform in the water.

‘Extremely expensive’

Anthony said homeowners are well versed in regards to the water problem.

Jamie Reynolds is a real estate agent who recently bought a home in the park and was listing one of the homes on the park when he spoke to CBC News.

“I think if you went and knocked on every person’s door in this mini home park that they would all tell you they don’t drink [the water],” he said. “It’s common knowledge. It’s not like he’s been hiding anything from anybody.”

Anthony said he has agreed to install a UV light to try and eliminate coliform from the water after one tenant complained but he’s still doesn’t feel it’s his responsibility to provide safe drinking water.

“It’s extremely, extremely expensive to put in a system that will guarantee [good water] and that’s why I put it over to the homeowner’s responsibility,” Anthony said.

Owner has been fined

The Department of Environment said two directives requiring the park’s owner to hire a qualified person to assess the wells and provide a recommended corrective actions plan acceptable to the department, have not been met.

“A summary offence ticket in the amount of $812.50 was issued to the park’s owner on March 24, 2016, ” department spokeswoman Heather Fairbairn said .

As for the owner’s contention that he doesn’t have to provide safe drinking water because of the clause in the tenant’s leases, Fairbairn said “the Anthony Mini Home Park has been operating as a registered water supply since 2001 and is therefore subject to the regulations.”

She said the department is working closely with the Medical Officer of Health on this matter and necessary enforcement actions are being undertaken to bring the park’s owner into compliance.

The mini home park is currently for sale.

-by Ayanna Runchie, originally posted on May 17, 2016

 

Access to clean drinking water has been an issue in developing countries throughout the world. In a country where 31 per cent of the rural population does not have access to clean drinking water, bottled water has become an increasingly high valued commercial product billed as having a spotless reputation.

Although the Ministry of Commerce could not provide a definitive number of trademarked brands, almost all of Cambodia’s water bottling companies siphon unprocessed water from local rivers or receive treated water from the Phnom Penh Water Authority.

However, even treated water can still run the risk of contamination. The Cambodian-owned Eurotech brand faced recent contamination challenges in March due to malfunctioning machinery.

The company has since recalled all of its contaminated products and is currently in the process of having its water tested through the Pasteur Institute, according to Jerry Thai, deputy director of Eurotech Import Export Company Ltd.

“This was a machine issue and it leaked out some dirt that did not show up during the filling process. It was not visible,” he said. “Later on you can see the [contamination], but during the time of production, you couldn’t.”

Although he said that the majority of the contaminated bottles did not make it outside the factory, the ones that did were immediately brought back to the factory.

Eurotech obtains its water from Phnom Penh Water Authority. The water is treated and filtered through reverse osmosis, and is certified by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

However, the water provided to the city from the Phnom Penh Water Authority is already clean enough for people to drink, claims the utility company.

“If you compare my water to the bottled water, I still think that some is lower quality,” said Ma Noravin, director of production and distribution for Phnom Penh Water Authority.

“We have a process and method to treat water. We check our water quality three times a day to see if it has changed. Additionally, we take 70 samples from customers’ houses a week to check for purity,” he said.

The water provided to Phnom Penh and nearby towns, such as Takhmao, is pumped from the Sap, Bassac, and Mekong rivers. It is then treated with chlorine and polyaluminium chloride. The filtering process is based on national water standards and WHO standards used by the European Union and the United States of America.

While the majority of bottling companies receive its water from Phnom Penh Water Authority, there are some companies that have looked further afield and who have to take more preventative measures.

Kulara Water Co Ltd is currently the only distributor of mineral water in Cambodia. The company’s Eau Kulen branded water is filtered through sandstone and collected from the foot of Kulen Mountain located in the Banteay Srei district of Siem Reap province.

“For us there is no competition because we are in a different market,” said Jacques Marcille, managing director of Kulara Water Co Ltd. While he said that the company brands itself as selling natural mineral water, it does have to compete with expensive imports like Evian and Vital.

Like many of the other bottled water distributors in Cambodia, Eau Kulen is certified by international Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) standards. However, Marcille claims that when it comes to reducing the risk of contamination, the core issue revolves around bottling.

“Sometimes bottles [for other brands] are made in a factory far from the bottling plant and during transport, picks up contaminants,” he said. “We make the bottles in the bottling plant itself.”

Marcille also argued that while HACCP certifies that a factory’s machinery is clean, it does not mean that employees practice international standards.

“The best [water quality] control is to routinely do the process yourself,” he said, adding that is the best way to ensure that the entire process remains clean.

by Veronica Miracle, originally posted on May 17, 2016

 

The affected community of Matheny Tract is just south of Tulare in an unincorporated part of the county, and a local hospital is stepping in to help with the water woes.

As one of Tulare County’s poorest communities, the water is contaminated. So, a little donation goes a long way.

“We’re from Tulare’s hospital,” a volunteer said. “Here in town and we’re bringing out water to every body in the community.”

From the water spigots in the tiny community, you’ll find toxic levels of arsenic, and, for years, the poor and underserved have been using it out of necessity.

On Monday, volunteers from Tulare Regional Medical Center brought water to more than 300 homes.

Daniel Gutierrez got a case. “We’ve been buying those bottled waters at those malls up there,” he said. “It’s been two or three years now.”

Gutierrez says they use the contaminated water for everything but drinking and cooking.

The World Health Organization says bathing in arsenic doesn’t pose any risks to humans but drinking it is a different story. The chemical is known to cause skin discoloration and even certain types of cancer.

“We use the contaminated water the grass and these bushes and stuff,” Gutierrez explained. “What else can you do?”

“It’s really unfortunate that 200 north of LA there are places that don’t have good potable water,” said Dr. Benny Benzeevi of Healthcare Conglomerate Associates. “We want to do whatever we can do to change that.”

The contamination issue is expected to be fixed on June 1 by the city, but, until then, cases of water in the community are a precious commodity.

 

State vows to make improvements

-by Kara Kenney, originally posted on May 16, 2016

 

INDIANAPOLIS — If you’re seeking information about the safety of your drinking water, it can be downright difficult to find those test results, according to a two month investigation from Call 6 Investigates.

Christy Julian of Elwood complained to the city and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) about concerns over her drinking water.

“The water is brown,” said, a 32-year resident of Elwood. “A couple times a week, it’s brown, and when it settles, all this stuff is at the bottom.”

Julian said the water is full of particles that are staining her toilet and plugging up her appliances.

“My kids are drinking this,” Julian said. “When we call, they tell us, ‘It’s safe, the kids are fine.’ I have a problem believing it’s safe.”

Julian is not alone.

In March, RTV6 spoke with even more Elwood homeowners concerned about the safety of their water.

“There was black stuff floating in the water,” said Jodi Alexander, Elwood resident.

After concerns arose in Flint, Michigan, about lead and devastating health effects, homeowners are eager for information about the safety of their drinking water.

Call 6 Investigates searched for recent and current information on the safety of Elwood’s drinking water, but ran into several roadblocks.

Utilities manager Glen Murray and Mayor Todd Jones both declined Call 6 Investigates requests to do an on-camera interview about Elwood’s drinking water.

The Madison County Health Department told Call 6 Investigates to contact the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.

So Call 6 Investigates went to IDEM’s website looking for test results that provide Elwood’s water is safe, as they told Julian and other homeowners.

Call 6 Investigates found the most recent lead and copper results were from 2014, and even those tests were unclear.

The state’s drinking water database does not indicate whether the test results show the water is safe or unsafe to consume.

Call 6 Investigates Kara Kenney asked IDEM’s drinking water Branch Chief Mary Hollingsworth to help navigate their website.

Hollingsworth struggled to find information, including drinking water inspection results, on the safety of Elwood’s drinking water.

Hollingsworth admitted the website is confusing and needs to be improved.

“I’m not going to deny that,” said Hollingsworth.

Access to drinking water information is a big sticking issue for the federal government amid outrage surrounding Flint.

Just this February, the EPA sent a letter to Indiana and others states asking them to enhance public transparency and accountability.

Call 6 Investigates found the IDEM website often does not spell out for people whether the levels are safe or not, and often uses insider lingo the public likely doesn’t know.

“There’s always room for improvement,” said Hollingsworth. “We’re looking at ways to explain things.”

At the request of Call 6 Investigates, IDEM collected samples from Christy Julian’s tap and tested it.

Results show high levels of manganese, which is considered a secondary contaminant.

“Health wise, it won’t affect you,” said Hollingsworth. “It just looks bad.”

IDEM’s results also said that a sample Christy Julian collected was high in iron as well.

The water is discolored related to Elwood flushing their water mains, and the fact that Christy Julian’s home is connected to a smaller water main, according to IDEM’s test results.

IDEM is working with Elwood and communities across the state to address aging infrastructure.

Many of the water mains and service lines across central Indiana are more than 100 years old.

The Citizens Energy water lab phone rings a lot lately with homeowners asking questions about lead.

“Our finished water coming from our plants has been non-detectable for lead,” said Mark Gray, Lab Services Manager. “I can’t remember a detection for lead. Most of the lead is from customers’ internal plumbing.”

Citizens Energy counts more than 50,000 lead service lines, the most of which are concentrated in older homes.

Indiana American Water estimates just over 1,000 lead service lines.

Replacing aging infrastructure is costly, and you the ratepayer end up footing the bill.

As for Christy Julian, she’s willing to pay more on her water bill if it means clean water.

“It’s not going to be an easy fix,” said Julian. “It’s going to take a lot of time and a lot of money, but in the meantime, we have to figure out a way to keep the people who live here safe.”

Hollingsworth said a Flint-type disaster will not happen on her watch.

However, aging infrastructure can bring contaminants into the drinking water and make it unsafe.

Water systems are typically inspected every three-to-five years.

Violators can be fined up to $2,500 a day.

The Town of Birdseye fired its water chief after IDEM raised concerns about the town failing to test for lead and other contaminants.

“We want to make sure everybody in this state has safe drinking water,” said Hollingsworth. “That’s our goal.”

The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission received a total of 644 complaints about water utilities, and so far in 2016 has received 171 complaints.

Most of the complaints pertained to billing issues.

IDEM also fielded dozens of complaints about water, including lack of water pressure, odors, and concerns about contamination.

If you have an older home, you may have lead pipes.

HOW TO TELL IF YOU HAVE LEAD PIPES:

Do a magnet test. If the magnet does not stick to the pipe coming into the house, try scraping it with a knife. Lead is soft and will scrape off the pipe and a shiny surface will appear.

If you do have lead pipes, experts say you should get them replaced or at least let the water run for several minutes on cold before drinking it.

CONCERNED ABOUT WATER SAFETY:

If you’re concerned about the safety of your water, you can call the utility directly, the county health department, IDEM or the Indiana State Department of Health.

Utilities are required to put out a water quality report every year, as well, and many agencies will test your water at the tap if you ask for it.

originally posted on May 16, 2016

 

Nestlé Egypt has begun recalling its bottled water products suspected to contain “unacceptable levels” of bacteria following a report from health inspectors that found some products to be contaminated, the company announced in a statement.

Last week, local media outlets reported that inspectors from the health ministry’s Health and Food Control Administration found high levels of algae and E. coli bacteria in tested water samples from bottling plants belonging to Nestlé and PepsiCo’s Aquafina in the Beheira and Sharqiya governorates. According to the investigators’ report, the bacteria levels found in the samples made the water “unfit for human consumption.”

According to the report, the issue arose with the 1.5 L bottles for the three companies, Nestlé’s 330 ml bottles and Aquafina’s 600 ml bottles. The health ministry ordered the companies to recall these bottles and present them to public prosecution for further investigation.

Nestlé confirmed in its statement, released on Saturday, that it has since recalled its 1.5 L and 330 ml bottles from the market.

The company maintained that the recall was a “precautionary measure” and that all of its products currently available for sale are “100% safe.”

Aquafina and Nestlé’s Pure Life control a combined 71 percent of Egypt’s bottled water market, according to a 2013 report from the Egyptian Competition Authority.

by Yathiraju, originally posted on May 16, 2016

 

BENGALURU: Residents of three areas coming under Padmanabhanagar ward complained about seepage of sewage water into the drinking water pipeline. The areas are Radhakrishna Layout, Gururaja Layout and Muneshwara Nagar.

However, BWSSB authorities took action after receiving complaints from the residents of 3rd Cross, 14th Main in Radhakrishna Layout and other two areas too. “We saw that the water from the taps was the colour of mud and foul-smelling. We informed the BWSSB authorities. They took water samples for testing and provided alternative drinking water through tankers,” said Latha, a housewife.

Lakshmi, a resident of the area, said they had to buy mineral water for essential needs and used borewell water till the BWSSB supplied drinking water. BWSSB authorities were quite helpful, Lakshmi said, acknowledging that action was taken immediately.

BWSSB staffers also took samples of water and tested them on the spot to tell the residents whether it is fit for drinking or not. Actress Sridevi, who lives in the area, said that instances of sewage water mixing with drinking water had occurred about four times in the last six months. “Fortunately, the BWSSB authorities took action. But we are unable to bear the foul smell emanating from an open UGD drain very close to our houses,” she said.

Padmanabhanagar Ward corporator Shobha confirmed that there were complaints of seepage of UGD water into the drinking water pipeline. “We were recently informed that residents of Muneshwara Nagar and Gururaja Layout are receiving water which was unfit for drinking. We alerted the BWSSB which addressed the problem,” she said.

Anjanappa, Shobha’s husband, said that  cases of contamination of drinking water persist after heavy rain. He said that hotels that let several items directly into UGD pipes are responsible for the UGD lines getting clogged, thereby leading to drinking water contamination.

When contacted, BWSSB authorities said that whenever they receive complaints from residents about contamination of water, they attend to them. “We receive calls from all localities of the city. We have to attend to 25 such complaints received between the first week of April and the first week of May,” the official said.

Sources in the office of the medical health officer of Padmanabha Nagar range, which covers eight wards, said they have collected 10 water samples from Bhuvaneshwari Nagar in Chikkallasandra Ward and sent them for testing.  Here, people have stopped drawing drinking water from the BWSSB water line because of contamination. The officer said that people here are procuring water from their own borewells.

Sources also said that the number of people being treated for contamination of water as outpatients was normal.

“We have written to the BWSSB to address the residents’ woes and are also creating awareness about drinking water contamination,” an official in the Primary Health Centre in BSK Stage II said.

 

 

by Carmen Chau, originally posted on May 15, 2016

 

PETERSBURGH, NY (NEWS10) – Community members in Petersburgh are voicing their frustrations after finding out the water bottles have run out at the Town Hall.

Several people have told News10ABC it’s been nothing but an inconvenience, especially felling like they’re left in the dark with no answers.

News10ABC talked to the Town Supervisor, who didn’t want to be on camera, and he admitted that he thought he ordered enough water but he was wrong.

“Water shouldn’t be running out,” said Emily Marpe who lives in Petersburgh.

It was Saturday at 11a.m. when water ran out at the Town Hall. People were then directed to go to Tops in Hoosick Falls, which many said is a drive that’s out of their way.

“We shouldn’t have to drive. For me, it’s 1.8 miles just to drive to the Town Hall back and forth, said Marpe.

In order to pick up water, people must have tickets that can be obtained at the Town Clerk’s Office, which is only open at certain hours.

“This town is getting more and more frustrated,” said Marpe.

Water was being distributed five hours a week at the Town Hall. People have been allowed to get one gallon per day.

But instead, people in the small town of Petersburgh find themselves filing their trunks over 20 miles away.

“They are pretty frustrated because some people have been getting water filters and all that in Hoosick Falls and nobody else has been getting them and it’s just very stressful and it’s irritating,” said Renee Wagner, who lives in Cherry Plain.

“There should just be an overabundance. It should be there,” said Marpe.

Emily Marpe said she bought a well for a reason but it’s no longer in use since tests showed it had PFOA levels of 2,100 parts per trillion.

The Town Supervisor told News10ABC actions are being taken. The DEC will be visiting on May 23 to do groundwater work and a design for the filter is already in place.

But the Petersburgh community said that’s not good enough.

“I need to see that this filter is going to work over a long period of time. You can’t just force me to start giving my kids this water,” said Marpe.

The meeting will take place at the Town Hall Monday at 7:30 p.m. and News10ABC will be there to cover it.

The Town Supervisor also told News10ABC he’ll be ordering more water Monday which will arrive Wednesday so people can continue to come to the Town Hall in Petersburgh to get their water.