Marton residents blame foul brown water for rashes and blisters

A mistake at the water treatment plant is to blame for brown, foul-smelling water pouring from taps in a Rangitīkei town, but officials say it shouldn’t be making people sick.
Marton resident Michael Gough said the discoloration and smell had been an off and on problem for decades.
Advertise with Stuff "I thought something in our house was causing it.
I didn’t think it might be the water, until I saw other complaints of rashes and blistering after showers on social media."
​Aleesha Rubie​ said even after living in Marton for two years she still couldn’t believe how frequent the water problems were.
But that could also be a reaction to the more fragrant washing powders she’s been using to overpower the water’s "swamp smell" on their clothes, she said.
McNeil said Marton had struggled with brown water since it was founded.
The area’s water has high levels of manganese minerals, which causes a brown slime in pipes and waterways.
When the slime comes loose in the water system, the town’s water turns brown.
The new treatment regime has largely kept the water clear, but a recent misjudgment of the chlorine levels allowed the manganese into the mains, McNeil said.

ANC to blame for looming Gauteng water crisis – Solly Msimanga

Failing ANC to be blamed for Gauteng water crisis The failing ANC is to be blamed for the looming water crisis in Gauteng.
This follows reports that Gauteng is running out of drinking water as its dam levels have dropped drastically.
If the failing ANC was serious about ensuring that its citizens have access to adequate water supplies then they should have consistently maintained their water infrastructure.
The sewage contamination of the Vaal River is the major contributing factor to this water crisis.
Under the ANC’s watch, they have allowed sewage from the Emfuleni Local Municipality to flow into the Vaal River despite being warned that it will have a huge impact on water supply in Gauteng.
The raw sewage is causing water pollution.
The drinking water is now used to flush pollution out of the Vaal River system and, as a result, we are left with a water shortage.
Premier Makhura and the ANC have allowed our water infrastructure to collapse.
Come 2019, when the DA governs Gauteng, we will ensure that we maintain our infrastructure to deliver better services to the residents of Gauteng.
Statement issued by Solly Msimanga, DA Gauteng Premier Candidate, 2 December 2018

Big question on New Orleanians’ minds after east bank boil-water order? ‘Who do you blame?’

Cell phones across New Orleans vibrated with bad news on Saturday morning: The Sewerage & Water Board had issued a precautionary boil-water advisory for the city’s entire east bank.
So residents were advised not to drink unboiled tap water or use it to cook, brush their teeth or make ice until the test results are in Sunday.
In the meantime, they can safely use tap water if they boil it for at least one minute first.
Also, someone has to run to the store to stock up on bottled water and even soft drinks, because the soda fountain uses tap water.
On Oct. 19, an advisory was issued for the Lower 9th Ward after a pressure drop affected only that area.
Café Dauphine owner Fred Henry, 43, said that he lost business last month when potential customers decided not to drive across the Industrial Canal to a place where the water might not be potable.
This is unacceptable to me, to my colleagues on the City Council, and to the residents of New Orleans."
When a second tower is completed next year, the system should be able to forestall pressure drops for up to 40 minutes after a power loss.
Boil-water advisories now are issued whenever pressure drops below 20 psi.
Café Dauphine’s Casby said he drinks tap water without hesitation despite the warnings.

Golden’s landfill may not be to blame for water contamination

The issue with debris leaving the landfill site and ending up on Andrea Weissenborn’s property has been ongoing for years, and the CSRD has made an agreement to enter her property to clean up the waste on a regular basis.
CSRD workers had been visiting the Weissenborn property a couple of times a week to clean up the litter that ended up outside of the landfill, which Weissenborn believes is mostly carried there by ravens.
“In the past, we have been open to them cleaning it up, but it has never been satisfactory,” Weissenborn said.
“In the past, we thought that was just part of living next to a landfill.” Between June and October 2018, the CSRD collected more than 200 bags of litter from the Weissenborn property, weighing nearly 1,000 kg.
Over the next year, the CSRD plans to continue site improvements at the Golden Landfill, including completing the litter netting, which should help prevent litter from exiting the property, and they hope to continue discussions with the neighbouring property owner regarding increased buffer area acquisition.
Weissenborn also voiced concerns about water contamination in Town of Golden wells, but the CSRD’s hydrogeologist with Western Water Bryer Manwell, says the numbers aren’t out of the ordinary, and it would be difficult to tell if any contaminants came directly from the landfill.
“There is likely another source.” Manwell hopes to complete the well at the southwest of the property, and is recommending to drill another well in the valley bottom, somewhere between the landfill and the Town wells, but not too close to a roadway.
Westbound on the Trans-Canada Highway, and accident has snarled traffic coming into town at Golden View Road, at the Golden Upper Donald overpass, prompting emergency response.
Winter driving is in full effect, and drivers are expected to have winter-rated tires on all vehicles from October 1 to March 31.
Snowfall in Golden is expected to continue over the next three days, and sunny weather is expected on Saturday.

Heatwave blamed as record number of plastic water bottles found in Thames

Thousands of plastic bottles have been fished out of the Thames after the summer heatwave caused huge numbers of single-use water containers to be thrown away.
Volunteers collected nearly 3,300 bottles in just two hours last week from 18 sites along the river, bringing the total recovered this year to more than 36,500 — the highest annual number ever collected from the Thames.
For the first time during these collections, more water bottles were found than fizzy drinks containers, which campaigners said highlighted the need for drinking fountains in the capital.
The Big Bottle Count organised by the charity Thames21 and Zoological Society of London took place from Thamesmead in the east to Kew Bridge in the west.
Although the total number of plastic containers recovered was fewer than the 4,100 at last year’s event, water bottles accounted for half of all this year’s litter.
The most rubbish-strewn spots were Thamesmead, where 1,032 bottles were found, and Queen Caroline Draw Dock in Hammersmith, from where 544 containers were picked up.
Yellow and orange pay-as-you-go smart bikes were also found dumped among the foreshore debris.
Event co-ordinator Alice Hall said: “Londoners’ consumption of bottled water increased during the hot weather, which highlights the need for more fountains so people can get this basic resource for free, especially with more hot summers likely.
We need more refill points and fountains.
“Water bottles are routinely one of the most common plastic types found in the river, but over the summer the proportion of water bottles exceeded fizzy drink bottles for the first time.”

Greenwood water quality blamed on drought

GREENWOOD — According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, Sebastian County is currently experiencing a severe drought, and according to city and state officials, the lack of rain is to blame for the recent drop in water quality in Greenwood.
The operators of the plants are aware of it and they are doing what they can but until it rains and fills up the reservoir, they are going to struggle.” Stone said he has been in close contact with the James Fork Regional Water District, which provides the majority of Greenwood’s water, and the samples that the Department of Health has been receiving from James Fork have been shown to be safe.
Treatment plants are tested in 10 different areas each month and more frequently when there are any issues.
Donnie Sandifer, general manager at James Fork, said the reservoir is at its lowest point since it was built and is currently 16 feet below normal.
“The lake has turned over,” Sandifer said.
Bodies of water turn over when the warm surface water begins to cool.
As water cools, it becomes dense, causing it to sink.
This dense water forces the water on the bottom to rise, turning over the layers.
Greenwood purchases 80 percent of its water from James Fork during the winter months, according Greg Cross, water treatment director for the city.
Greenwood is under contract with James Fork to buy 15 million gallons each month.

Mazhama residents blame ‘water scarcity’ for serious condition of elderly woman

The residents blame water scarcity in the area for her condition.
Sara Begum, according to her relatives, had gone out to fetch water in her native Mazhama, as there has been no water supply to the village from last two months.
“She slipped, resulting in serious injury to her head,” said Manzoor Ahmad, Begum’s relative who was nursing her in the hospital.
“We have kept her on ventilator,” said Dr Farhat.
Residents of Mazhama are aghast over the incident and termed it as the government’s “callousness”.
“It’s really unfortunate incident and shameful on part of Public Health Engineering (PHE) department as women have to come out of their homes to fetch water,” they said.
However, authorities are denying that there is any water shortage in the village.
“There is no such problem.
It has happened some three to four days back, but we have resolved it,” said Nazir Ahmad, junior engineer of PHE in the area.
An organisation representing Kashmiri Pandits today asked Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to take up with the Centre the issue of pilgrimage to the ancient Sharda temple in Pakistan-adminstered Kashmir (PAK).

2nd Hanahan water line break in 2 days was "like a river," warming weather likely to blame

Crews responded to a water main break Thursday morning in North Charleston.
Dispatchers with the Charleston County Consolidated 911 Center tell us the break happened around 3:50 a.m. on Remount Road near Yeamans Hall Road.
We’re told the water was several inches deep for at least 200 yards.
The intersection was reopened around 6:00 a.m.
Heavy equipment was brought in around 6:45 a.m. Due to the water main break in the area, there is no water service at Matilda F. Dunston Primary School at this time, Charleston County School District officials say.
They say ground temperatures are much warmer than water in the pipes.
More water main breaks could happen, according to Charleston Water System.
The burst pipe on Remount Road was installed in 1926 , according to officials with Charleston Water Systems.
Thursday’s work marked the second time in as many days crews have been recalled to repair a water main break at Yeamans Hall and Remount roads.
——————– (ABC News 4’s Brodie Hart and Drew Tripp contributed information to this report.)

Beijing city officials shirking smog blame, China’s environmental watchdog says

Beijing city officials shirking smog blame, China’s environmental watchdog says.
“Some local cadres blame environmental problems on external causes,” the ministry’s Central Environmental Protection Inspectorate group said.
“They have insufficient understanding of the actual reasons involved, and where their own blame lies.” Since 2013, Beijing’s government has spent 68.3 billion yuan (US$9.92 billion or HK$77.1 billion) on environmental protection and cut coal consumption from 23 million tonnes to 9.5 million tonnes last year.
But the capital continues to choke on smog, due in large part to the tens of thousands of diesel vehicles on its roads.
Inadequate sewage treatment has also left local water sources with significant concentrations of pollutants, according to a report by Caixin.
China’s economic growth has taken a heavy toll on its environment, with factories and headlong urbanisation poisoning skies, rivers and soil.
While top leaders have pledged to take serious steps in the “war on pollution”, local governments have been criticised for lax enforcement of regulations.
Recent central government investigations found pervasive polluting by manufacturers in the urban cluster of Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and surrounding areas.
Some 72 per cent of 847 enterprises inspected earlier this week had committed environmental violations, a government statement stated.
Some companies had engaged in illegal production, while others emitted excess amounts of pollutants or had pollution control facilities that were not in operation or incomplete.