Cairo eateries not happy about the wait on safe water

CAIRO — Lost revenue, unclear communication and an unexpectedly long wait have contributed to resentment toward public works officials in the wake of a two-day forced closure of Cairo restaurants.
Adding to the frustration was what many restaurant owners and managers described as a lack of clear communication from city officials.
"I was getting up at 5 o’clock every morning to see if we would get to work," Pope said.
"We came in each day even though we didn’t get our hours," Mills said.
"They just said we could open back up when the boil water advisory is lifted.
Numerous restaurant managers and owners said they were confused about the city’s timeline for sending in the water samples to be tested.
Rutherford said she believed the city took too long to send in the water samples.
"There were hundreds of people out of work yesterday because they couldn’t test the water when it should have been tested," Rutherford said.
Rocuant added that he felt the water test should not have taken a day to produce results.
"They wasted hours," Pope said.

Cairo repairs water main, students to resume classes as normal

By: WCTV Eyewitness News CAIRO, Ga. (WCTV) — Students in Grady County will return to class as usual Thursday after being released early Wednesday due to a water main break.
Grady County Schools said in a statement that the City of Cairo completed repairs to the water main and that water pressure is expected to return to normal by the end of the day.
According to GCS, all schools will be open Thursday, and bottled water and hand sanitizer will be provided under the boil-water advisory.
The district issued the following notice on Wednesday: Good Morning, The City of Cairo has a water main break on the main line from the Airport.
Therefore, we will be releasing students from all schools at 9:00 this morning.
We apologize for the inconvenience.
City officials says the decision to close schools was made because the school cafeterias could not prepare and serve meals and sanitary conditions at the schools in Cairo could not be maintained.
Cairo Mayor Booker Gainor says city employees are currently working to correct the problem.
City officials say repairs could take until noon, if not longer, and it will be early afternoon or later before the water supply will return to normal.
Officials say once the distribution system is back up and functioning properly, the city will immediately begin taking water samples and transporting them to an EPD-certified lab operated by the City of Bainbridge.

Several water problems plague Cairo community

By: Noelani Mathews | WCTV Eyewitness News November 14, 2018 CAIRO, Ga. (WCTV) — Wednesday morning, a water main break in Cairo forced schools and restaurants to close for the day.
The city says the water should be back on by the end of the day, and that the break might help flush out another water issue in the community.
Some say they noticed it after Hurricane Michael and they’ve refused to use it ever since.
For the last several weeks, many are using bottled water for drinking and cooking.
"My concern is for them to get to the bottom of this.
Not just for my kids safety, but for all the kids," said Evers.
City leaders say an environmental specialist tested the water a week after the storm.
They found high levels of iron, which is causing the discoloration.
"The water was reported to be clean and safe to drink, however, the color of it just made people a little uneasy about the situation," the city said.
Some residents are still upset and skeptical.

75% of the world population to be hit by water scarcity: WYF speaker

CAIRO – 5 November 2018: The session titled “Day Zero: Water security in the wake of climate change” took place on Nov.5 in Sharm El Sheikh within the agenda of the 2018 World Youth Forum (WYF).
By 2030, 75 percent of the World Population will suffer from water scarcity.
1.8 million will be hit by drought.
Twenty-four to 27 million will be displaced as result of water scarcity,” Australian Member of the World Youth Parliament for Water (WYPW) Alex Whitebrook.
As forty percent of the world population are youth, water scarcity will affect young generations the most in the near future, President of WYPW, and Research assistant for the Dean of Agriculture and Food Sciences at the American University in Beirut (AUB) Lindsey Aldaco-Manner.
“We should train journalists to cover climate change topics so they would become the link between science and public,” Journalist and President of the Egyptian Youth Parliament for Water Amira Sayed.

Cairo among 11 cities most likely to run out of drinking water due to pollution: BBC

Cairo is among 11 cities across the world that are most likely to run out of drinking water due to untreated agricultural and residential waste, according to a BBC report published on Sunday.
In March 2017, Egypt’s Housing Minister Mostafa Madbouly said that the country had entered the water poverty phase, and that the annual amount of water supply per person had fallen to 700 cubic meters, compared to the global average of 1,000 cubic meters.
He added that the desalination of seawater is currently a very high priority for Egypt.
As the population continues to increase and drinking water resources remain traditionally fixed, it is expected that water availability per capita will steadily decrease.
“There is no longer any room but to go ahead, and very quickly, with desalinating sea water, and to make it a strategic choice for our national security at this stage,” Madbouly said in March, 2017.
Meanwhile, Egypt is in the process of constructing the largest seawater desalination plant in the world, located in the Suez Governorate’s coastal city of Ain Sokhna.
In January, President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi vowed to protect Egypt’s share of the Nile water and capitalize on its usage.
“This is our country,” Sisi said, “and water for agriculture and drinking must be secured for citizens from Aswan to Alexandria, so that no problem will occur later, and we [don’t] say that we are not ready for it.” “Egypt is currently carrying out the [world’s] biggest water treatment and desalination project, in case of any circumstances concerning the sharing of water,” said Sisi, according to Al-Ahram, referring to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) crisis, which could potentially threaten Egypt’s share of Nile water.
The water treatment and desalination project will cost LE70 billion, announced Sisi.
A 2014 survey of the world’s 500 largest cities estimates that one in four are in a situation of “water stress,” the BBC report says.

Protocol signed to provide drinking water, sanitation services

CAIRO – 2 November 2017: A cooperation protocol will be signed between the Ministry of Solidarity and the Holding Company for Drinking Water and Sanitation to provide drinking water and sanitation to Upper Egypt.
This comes under the “decent housing” initiative adopted by the Ministry of Social Solidarity to improve the environmental and health situations of vulnerable families.
This initiative aims to provide drinking water and sanitation services, as well as promote the infrastructure of houses.
According to the protocol, proper funding will be given to several NGOs to supply those lacking access to safe, readily available water and safely managed sanitation in villages in Upper Egypt.
The NGOs aim to implement the proper pipelines and sanitation systems needed for pure, drinking water.
“Financing contracts will also be signed with NGOs as the Ministry of Social Solidarity believes in the concept and the value of social responsibility to support communities and finance charitable, productive, health, educational and developmental projects,” said Minister of Social Solidarity Ghada Waly.
Many Egyptians, especially in rural areas and slums, lack access to adequate sanitation and clean water as their dwellings are not connected to the water system.
There are many villages in rural Egypt that continue to rely on water delivery and waste disposal systems that are outdated, unhygienic, and therefore, unsafe.
As a result, the situation with regard to safe drinking water, household sanitation, and the environment within these communities is far from satisfactory.
Consequently, Egypt, with the cooperation of numerous NGOs, could implement around 8,000 household connections, reaching an estimated 40,000 people in rural areas of the governorates of Assiut, Sohag and Qena, and in two poor informal settlements in the Cairo governorate between 2013 and 2016, according to a UNICEF report.

Here’s why Egypt’s Nile River is in danger

The dam, about 450 miles from the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, will generate 6,450 megawatts at full capacity — more than three times the energy produced by the Hoover Dam.
The Nile provides nearly 100 million Egyptians with virtually all their water.
That estimate was based on computer models, said Hany Hamroush, professor of geology and geochemistry at the American University in Cairo.
Egypt’s population has almost tripled in the past 50 years to 97 million. Egyptians now have 15 times less water per person than the average American.
Authorities are taking drastic measures to protect the Nile’s banks from urban sewage and industrial waste.
“Where does their sewage go?” el-Sissi asked at the time.
The U.S. Agency for International Development is spending $14.8 million for Egyptian pumping projects at six key world heritage sites.

Australian activist runs 300km along Nile River for water crisis

Australian activist runs 300km along Nile River for water crisis.
In a press conference on Sunday, Jolie said her global initiative entitled "Run for Water" aims to raise awareness and provide solutions that effectively contribute to solving the global crisis of water scarcity.
The 46-year-old Australian activist launched her initiative at the end of March, the goal of which is to shed light on the sixth United Nations Sustainable Development goals that urge the world to ensure water availability and sanitation services for all.
Jolie plans to run along rivers in Brazil, Australia, China, Egypt and the United Kingdom over the course of six weeks to draw the attention to the initiative’s goal and call on all concerned bodies to cooperate in order to ensure clean water availability and sanitation for everybody.
Egypt is the penultimate station in her long journey which already began on March 22 on the banks of the Nile River in Luxor and Aswan and ended in Cairo.
According to a press statement released by Luxor Governorate, Jolie said she was very happy to be in Luxor; she enjoyed a breathtaking view of the Nile and warm, welcoming reception from the friendly locals.
"Jolie has successfully finished her tour in Egypt and she will fly to England to resume her journey running along the River Thames in London; the capital’s river is 346km long and considered the longest river in England and the second longest river in the United Kingdom," said Mahmoud Ezz el-Din, one of Jolie’s companions.
Jolie said the problem of global water shortage allows an opportunity for innovation and leadership.
"According to recent statistics, there are 650 million people around the world living without water and by 2025 one-third of the world’s population will suffer from this problem," Jolie said.
On World Water Day 2012, Jolie launched "Thirst Foundation" to create a base of people and companies to work together to change consumer habits and attract societies to the sustainable water products.

Details sought of action taken to check air pollution

Details sought of action taken to check air pollution.
Kathmandu, April 11 The Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development has directed district coordination committees, metropolitan cities and municipalities of Kathmandu Valley to provide it with details of activities being undertaken to guarantee people’s right to live in a clean environment.
“All local levels are requested to explain in writing to the ministry as soon as possible what they have been doing to control pollution and protect human rights in accordance with the constitution and other laws in force while carrying out development activities in their jurisdiction,” read a letter written by Environment Management Section of the ministry yesterday.
Kathmandu has been dubbed as the seventh most polluted city in the world, thanks to environmental pollution.
Numbeo recently made public the pollution levels ranking of 290 cities around the world.
With pollution index 97.73, Kathmandu featured among the top ten along with Kabul, Afghanistan (103.92); Accra, Ghana (102.61); Tetovo, Macedonia (98.09); Faridabad, India (96.58); Cairo, Egypt (96.28) and Dhaka, Bangladesh (95.91); Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (95.34); Karachi, Pakistan (95.29) and Ghaziabad, India (95.27).
The cities were listed on the basis of air pollution and water pollution/accessibility followed by other pollution types.
PM 2.5 indicates the matter present in the air that are 2.5 microns or below.
These particles include dust, coal particles exited from power plants and home heating, car exhaust, and pollen from plants among others.
A version of this article appears in print on April 12, 2017 of The Himalayan Times.