By Scott StaffordThe Berkshire Eagle ADAMS — All water tests taken since the boil water order was issued Thursday have come up clear of any contaminants, but for now the advisory remains in effect until the state officially removes it, according to John Barrett, superintendent of the Adams Fire District.
He said the notice could come today but cautioned that the boil order is still in effect for now.
The issue started when samples taken on Aug. 20 came back the next day with an E. coli presence detected in the town water tank, Barrett said.
Resampling was done that day on the tank and the surrounding water system, and the results issued on Wednesday showed no signs of E. coli but did show the presence of total coliform bacteria at two homes adjacent to the water tank, which automatically sparked the boil water order.
He noted that all of these actions are required by DEP regulations.
All samples since then, Barrett noted, have been clear of any contaminants after being tested in a state lab.
Restaurants were hit especially hard.
As a result of this incident, the town and the fire district, which has authority over the water system, will be examining ways to improve communication between both organizations, and communications to town residents in emergency situations.
The town government has no authority over the Adams Fire District, noted John Duval, chairman of the Adams Select Board.
"The town and the fire district have to meet so we can have a plan for such incidents in the future," Duval said.

We know what happened when that untreated water leached lead from aging pipes, but in his story today for MLive, Flint journalist Ron Fonger revealed that before the water switch even happened, the state tested the Flint River and discovered rising levels of PFAS contamination.
Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances — or PFAS — are a family of chemicals that have been used in a wide range of products since the 1940s to help make them resistant to water, heat, and grease.
These chemicals can build up over time in the environment and in our bodies.
Exposure to PFAS has been tied to health problems, including cancer and damage to the thyroid and liver.
The MLive story indicates that this report from the DHHS was shared with the DNR, the Department of Environmental Quality, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the U.S. EPA.
But Ananich said the information was never shared with him or any Flint city officials.
“I was on a bi-cameral, bi-partisan committee that held hearings on the Flint water crisis," Ananich said.
This response from the governor’s office cites information the DEQ had in 2016.
Listen above to hear Ananich discuss what he says is a troubling culture among state officials, and what he believes should have been done.
This post was written by Stateside production assistant Sophie Sherry.

Residents lament lack of a permanent solution.
Hyderabad: Complaints of water pollution are pouring in from various parts of the old city after incessant rains.
The situation is more or less similar across the older parts of the city including Bahadurpura, Chandulal Baradari, Falaknuma, Azampura, Sultan Shahi, Rikabgunj and Charminar.
“Whenever it rains and sewerage lines get filled with rain and drain water, the water seeps into the drinking water lines.
When the board officials release the water, the dirty water is supplied for at least half an hour,” she complained.
Local residents said the board officials had planned to lay a new drinking water supply line, but despite the problem occurring for the second time after Ramzan, not much has been done.
Similar complaints have poured in from the Doodh Bowli area, where Yadaiah, a local resident pointed out that they faced problems when the sewerage lines in the area got choked.
At Rikabgunj, in the Charminar area, the residents complained about supply of polluted water for 20 minutes whenever the water was supplied by the board.
At Chandulal Baradari and Bilalnagar, the residents have been facing the polluted water problem for the last one year.
A woman, Syeda Ghousia, from Azampura complained that the families were forced to get purified water from private suppliers for fear of falling ill. More complaints have also poured in from areas of Falaknuma, Aliabad, Sultanshahi and other areas of the old city.

Robert Wilson is passionate about the environment.
That enthusiasm has translated into a major award for environmental leadership.
Wilson, the environmental services supervisor for the city of Petaluma, was chosen as an Emerging Leader by the California Water Environment Association for his outstanding dedication to the community and environmental sustainability.
Wilson received a call this year explaining his name had been shelved and he had been chosen for the 2018 award.
“He has such positive energy and enthusiasm that he transmits to his staff and really promotes positive relationships with people.” As the environmental services supervisor, Wilson is responsible for wastewater discharge, storm water, air quality and biosolids, water conservation, pollution prevention, recycled wastewater and pretreatment.
“It is a great career and I am happy to go to work every day.” Wilson is a respected figure within the environmental profession and is the former chair and current member of the Bay Area Pollution Prevention Group, a subcommittee organized under the Bay Area Clean Water Agencies.
The BAPPG is passionate about finding ways to engage with the community in a positive way to enact change.
Wilson and his dedicated team of eight work on programs like the Water-Wise House Call program which is run through the Public Utilities Department.
They also invite homeowners to take advantage of their Mulch Madness program, which sends technicians to replace mulch and provide cardboard, compost and an irrigation conversion kit.
“It would be equally impossible for me to accomplish what I do without the support I receive from the people I report to.”

Nor did it notify residents that their drinking wells could be contaminated with dry cleaning chemicals, known as perchloroethylene, so they could test the water themselves.
Kwik Shop knew it.” It had happened at least once before, at a dry cleaning site near Central and Tyler in Wichita, where the state waited more than four years between discovering contamination nearby and notifying residents of more than 200 homes.
Kansans aren’t required to use city water if they already have a well, and some Wichita neighborhoods still rely on private well water.
The Hufmans’ well had 49 parts per billion of PCE in it, nearly 10 times the allowed level.
About 400 dry cleaning facilities have registered with Kansas since the Dry Cleaning Trust Fund was created.
The KDHE says it didn’t have the money to deal with the site until the Environmental Protection Agency provided funding in 2013.
About 70,000 private drinking water wells are recorded with the state.
There have been other sites in the dry cleaning program where people were drinking contaminated water.
The 2016 legislative report about the fund says the KDHE had to shut down most work on cleaning up sites, due to money.
“The water would have been cleared up of bacteria, but they would’ve been drinking contaminated water,” Holt said.

With the approach of Ganesh Chaturthi festival, most clay idol makers are busy giving finishing touches to the deity, reports Bhiva P Parab With Ganesh Chaturthi around the corner local chitrashalas, the place where clay idols are made look busy these days.
Most clay idol makers are caught up with last moment work on the Ganesh idols.
However they said that, faith in Lord Ganesha keeps them going.
The idol makers added that, owing to the escalating cost of paint, labour and clay, the most of the time they face difficulties and decrease in the profits.
Overall idols which are worshipped by families at home are in the mid- range while, the Sarvajanik idols generally cost more than Rs 10,000.
For the clay idol makers the festival is a peak business time and they get themselves involved in the idol making keeping everything aside.
There are some clay idol makers in the state whose business was started by their forefathers.
Some artists get customers from neighbouring state of Maharashtra.
“It is easy to transport PoP idols but people who go in for them do not realize the environmental pollution caused when immersed in water,” said an idol maker.
According to the information available from the sources, the individuals selling Plaster of Paris idols get better profit than clay idols, however, the Plaster of Paris is not a naturally occurring material and when idols made out of Plaster of Paris are immersed in natural water bodies such as lakes, rivers and the sea, it causes water pollution.

News A quick sale and the negative press surrounding the superyacht Equanimity could encourage potential buyers to lower their bids for the vessel, according to a report in The Star today.
Tucker reportedly said currently there is no change in market sentiment for superyachts – those more than 24m in length – which have relatively few buyers.
He said that the Anastasia, which was built by the same shipbuilders but measuring slightly smaller at 76m, recently sold for €67.5 million (RM321 million) in line with market sentiment.
The government and 1MDB had cited DOJ’s allegations when filing its own suit at the Kuala Lumpur High Court to claim the vessel.
In its application, the plaintiffs asked the court to order the sheriff (acting registrar) to appraise and sell the Equanimity and its consumables, such as bunkers, fuel and lubricants, whether by public or private tender if an offer equal to or more than the appraised value of the vessel is received.
The yacht’s registered owner Equanimity (Cayman) Ltd had claimed that the vessel’s condition is deteriorating due to mishandling by the Malaysian government.
“Moreover, Malaysia has currently docked the yacht in a hazardous environment, in which toxins such as water pollution and nearby smoke are greatly damaging it.
He said a vessel like Equanimitywould need up to three generators plus an emergency generator, and running these 24 hours a day would not be an issue as long as they are maintained as per manufacturer specifications.
As for the alleged smoke and air pollution, Tucker said it could harm the paintwork if left uncleaned, but there would be no long-term problems if the crew routinely cleans the vessel.
The alleged water pollution would mean the Equanimity’s engineering department would have to clean the vessel’s see strainers, sea chest, and filters more frequently, while the deck crew would have to regularly clean the waterline.

Residual sandy‐clay to sandy‐loam soils range from a few feet to greater than 70 feet in thickness on a sandy dolomite bedrock.
Soil moisture samples were extracted at different depths from beneath two of the refuse cells using suction lysimeters.
Water samples were also bailed from these cells and pumped from a water table well beneath the landfill.
Monthly or less frequent analyses performed on water samples included Eh, pH, temperature, specific conductance, BOD, Cl, SO4, total alkalinity, NH3, NO2, NO3, PO4, Ca, Mg, Na, K, and total Fe.
The study showed that the quality and quantity of leachate beneath a landfill varies considerably with the topographic setting of landfill trenches or cells.
Upon reaching a depth of 14.5 feet after about 21/2 years or more, maximum values of these species in the leachate had been reduced by 83%, 80%, >99%, >99%, and 98% respectively.
In contrast, more water, including precontaminated surface and subsurface runoff from adjacent upslope cells; infiltrated a downslope cell, saturating the refuse.
Even after moving downward in the soil to a depth of 36 feet in 7 years, the leachate beneath this cell had a conductance of 6600 μmhos, 600 mg/1 Cl, over 9000 mg/1 BOD, 40 mg/l NH3‐N, and 100 mg/1 total Fe.
However, concentrations of BOD and redox sensitive species such as Fe and NH3 in the leachate have fluctuated in response to changes in the moisture content and temperature of the refuse.
Although renovation takes place, it is incapable of preventing highly contaminated leachate from moving to depths of 50 feet or more in soils beneath downslope cells.

MEDICA Trade Fair Germany 2018 – Venue for Medical Equipment Ad Messe Düsseldorf Learn more The Harare City Council has failed to cope with a rise in the number of people moving from rural areas into the city in search of a better life.
And also garbage collection.
“Increase in population has not been matched by a corresponding enhancement in the necessary infrastructure and services and has been a major challenge to Zimbabwean urban local authorities,” said Environment Minister Oppah Muchinguri Kashiri.
“Consequently, there has been an increase in urban solid waste generation not matched with sound waste management systems posing environmental and health hazards particularly to the urban population of Zimbabwe,” she said, in the Solid Waste Management Plan of 2014.
In 2014, a multi-ministerial Cabinet Committee on water pollution found the Harare City Council guilty of daily discharging 3 885 mega litres, or 19,43 million drums, of raw sewage into water systems around the capital city.
The smart city way This is the problem that faces the capital city, a complex and vicious cycle, a garbage and health problem, an ecocological nightmare shared by other cities and towns across Zimbabwe, a country where rural to urban migration has soared to 38,1 percent in 2010, from 10,6 percent 60 years ago.
As far as climate change impacts are concerned, it is important for Zimbabwean cities to increase resilience by facilitating and mainstreaming adaptation and disaster risk reduction measures in planning and development.
Cities contribute significantly to the production of greenhouse gases, the biggest cause of climate change.
Tarek Ibrahim, the MAFGAIB founder and president, believes his company has the sort of technology – plasma gasification – to help Zimbabwe’s garbage problem look something like electricity and bio-diesel, have it altogether disappear.
Ibrahim’s waste energy is self-powered.

“Our vulnerability to extreme rainfall has also increased as changes in land use and forest cover have altered the drainage patterns,” he adds.
Only one-third of the region is under natural vegetation, and much of this is degraded.
Glaciers are shrinking, even as warmer winters are leading to an increase in the frequency of snow avalanches in the western Indian Himalayas, posing a risk to the people of the region, many of whom are living at the threshold of natural disasters.
Also, pollution and solid waste management remain the biggest challenges in the Ganga basin, as well as in almost all the other major river basins in the country.
Maharashtra, which is one of the country’s most industrialised states, also has the most number of polluted river stretches (49).
For example, the Ganga-Brahmaputra basins have the highest number of freshwater turtle species in the world, amongst river basins.
The Sunderbans: A critically endangered ecosystem With rising sea levels posing a challenge to coastal communities all along the subcontinent, the world’s largest river delta along the eastern coast, the Sunderbans, stands as one of the most vulnerable regions to emergent threats posed by climate change.
Ramana Murthy, director, NCCR A recent report from the National Centre for Coastal Research, Chennai, points out that the West Bengal coast along the Sunderbans is the most vulnerable in the country to coastal erosion and has lost the maximum amount of land to sea—roughly 99 sq.
“The point is when we do not account for the geological volatility and ecological fragility of this region, are we not increasing vulnerabilities?
“While tourism is important for the economy of the island, the government should keep in mind the conservation of fragile ecology, unique biodiversity and culture of the islands.”