QUETTA: The people of Gwadar get air thrown out of the faucet instead of water in their households as the two main sources of water supply to the coastal city are not of help since quite some time now.
Although living by the coast, residents of Gwadar and its environs have to depend on water tankers brought in from other areas since a. Akra Kaur Dam that would supply water has run dry and b. the only desalination plant for Gwadar city and its suburbs that makes seawater useable has been non-functional.
The level of water in Akra Kaur Dam — the sole source of clean water supply to Gwadar — started lowering three to four months back as there was no precipitation.
Since last year it rained comparatively less in October and November, the water level in Akra Kaur Dam could not be increased.
Another issue is of storage of the dam.
Even during those few months, the plant was not desalinating water as per its capacity of two million gallons – not more than 0.3 million gallons of water could be worked on, as per Public Health Engineering Department Balochistan.
At present, over 100 tankers are supplying water to Gwadar, but there is a need of 500.
PHE Executive Engineer Shakeel Ahmed said efforts were under way to make the desalination plant functional.
Locals are also counting on the promises made by Balochistan Chief Minister Sanaullah Zehri.
Nevertheless, the government cannot ignore the important of basic facilities in Gwadar more so because the port city is a strategic location of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Madhava Manthri dam structure across Cauvery to be rebuilt for potable water.
MYSURU,May16: Consecutive droughts and fall in reservoir levels in Cauvery basin have hit both irrigation and drinking water needs of Bengaluru and other towns.
This has forced authorities to rebuild the 900-year-old Madhava Manthri dam into a concrete structure across the river.
The dam with about one tmcft of water storage will address drinking water scarcity to an extent.
Madhava Manthri is the main source of water for 56 villages in Malavalli taluk, Purigali lift irrigation that irrigates 30,000 acres in Malavalli, a source for Muduguthore lift irrigation covering parts of T Narsipur and Belagawadi and also for hydel power project in Hemmige.
The state government has prepared a detailed project report (DPR) and invited tenders to construct the dam at a cost of Rs 70 crore as any delay will badly hit these projects and put public to hardships during drought.
Meanwhile, the Irrigation Department has completed modernisation of Madhava Manthri left bank irrigation canal that would check seepage and ensure that the farmers in tail-end also get water.
As the Krishnaraja Sagar reservoir is completely dried up, the officials utilised the situation and have reset the sluice gates at all the three levels in order to avoid wastage of water.
They have also completed modernisation of Ullahalli and Rampura canals in Kabini achukat.
Cauvery Niravari Nigam managing director Shivashankar said the water storage in these dams would be a great relief to meet drinking water needs of Bengaluru and other towns.

900-year-old dam in Karnataka to be rebuilt for drinking water.
MYSURU: Consecutive droughts and fall in reservoir levels in Cauvery basin have hit both irrigation and drinking water needs of Bengaluru and other towns.
This has forced authorities to rebuild the 900-year-old Madhava Manthri dam into a concrete structure across the river.
Madhava Manthri is the main source of water for 56 villages in Malavalli taluk, Purigali lift irrigation that irrigates 30,000 acres in Malavalli, a source for Muduguthore lift irrigation covering parts of T Narsipur and Belagawadi and also for hydel power project in Hemmige.
The state government has prepared a detailed project report (DPR) and invited tenders to construct the dam at a cost of Rs 70 crore as any delay will badly hit these projects and put public to hardships during drought.
Meanwhile, the Irrigation Department has completed modernisation of Madhava Manthri left bank irrigation canal that would check seepage and ensure that the farmers in tail-end also get water.
As the Krishnaraja Sagar reservoir is completely dried up, the officials utilised the situation and have reset the sluice gates at all the three levels in order to avoid wastage of water.
They have also completed modernisation of Ullahalli and Rampura canals in Kabini achukat.
Cauvery Niravari Nigam managing director Shivashankar said the water storage in these dams would be a great relief to meet drinking water needs of Bengaluru and other towns.
District Minister H C Mahadevappa said they are committed to rebuilding Madhava Manthri dam and complete pending works to implement drip and sprinkler irrigation in Talakadu Hobli in T Narsipur.

60% of Ghana’s water bodies polluted – Water Resources Commission.
Mr. Ben Ampomah, Executive Secretary of the Commission at a workshop in Ho, said the polluted water bodies were mostly in the south-western parts of the country, where illegal mining activities (galamsey) were widespread.
He was addressing a consultative workshop on “Dam safety regulation and Buffer Zone policy” which attracted Coordinating Directors from District Assemblies and other stakeholders in the Region.
Mr. Ampomah said apart from illegal mining, industrial waste, household disposals and farming, were the major causes of water pollution in the country, and thus charged traditional and local government authorities to help protect water bodies.
He commended the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources for the campaign against illegal mining and called for a concerted effort to sustain the campaign to improve the quality of water bodies in those areas.
Mr Ampomah said water bodies in the Volta Region were fairly good, but urged the Assemblies to protect buffer zones and desist from rezoning them for fuel stations.
“We must know that there is no waste land.
They protect river banks, prevent floods and help improve the quality of rivers and streams.
Mr Ampomah, therefore encouraged them, (Assemblies) to demolish structures located on waterways and buffer zones to prevent perennial floods with their related health challenges.
– Source: GNA

Buffer Zones To Be Extended To Stop Water Pollution In Dam, Catchment Areas.
Buffer Zones To Be Extended To Stop Water Pollution In Dam, Catchment Areas ISKANDAR PUTERI, May 8(Bernama) — The buffer zones in 14 gazetted damand catchment areas in Johorwill be extended to solve the problem of water pollution.
Chairman of the Johor Public Works, Rural and Regional Committee, DatukHasni Mohammadsaid the buffer zones would now be extended to 500 metres from the current 50 metres.
"However, this extension is still in the proposal stage by the JohorWater Regulatory Body (Bakaj)and will be submitted to the state government soon," he said at the Johor State Assembly sitting in Kota Iskandarhere today.
He was replying toa question from Dr Sheikh Ibrahim Salleh (PAS-Sungai Abong) who asked about the state government’s proposal to extend the buffer zones in dam and water catchment areas as a way to solve the problem of pollution.
Hasni said the supply of raw water in the dams and catchment areas must be maintained so that the supply of raw water to the treatment plants always met the standards of raw water set by the Health Ministry.
Hasnisaid in the second quarter of this year, Bakajwill installthree water quality surveillance units inSungai Johorto monitor pollution and as an early warning to water treatment plants to take action to prevent worse water disruption.
He said since early last year, the state government had frozen licences for all sand-mining activities in Sungai Johor.
The move was successful in reducing pollution in Sungai Johorin terms of turbidity and suspended solid wastes.
Source : http://www.bernama.com/bernama/state_news/news.php?cat=st&id=1354182

A drama is presently unfolding in the coastal city of Cape Town, South Africa, and maritime technology could offer a solution here and in other cities around the world.
Maritime Water Tankers During such times, converted tanker ships could carry potable water from a region of generous rainfall to a drought-stricken region.
Airborne kite sails are one of the technologies being used to assist in providing ship propulsion along routes where trade winds blow parallel to sailing direction.
A desalination ship could include both reverse-osmosis-membrane technology as well as thermal desalination technology to provide potable water.
Either a short-distance water pipeline would connect the desalination ship to the shore, or a water tanker ship would shuttle potable water from offshore desalination ship to shore-based water tanks.
Wind energy ships could use rotary turbines or airborne sails to directly drive water pumps that could produce sufficient pressure to sustain operation of reverse-osmosis desalination technology.
Small-scale, ship-based nuclear power could also provide energy for seawater desalination.
Modern day drought reduces hydroelectric power generation.
During modern drought periods, maritime based technology can achieve much in terms of providing temporary relief to drought-stricken coastal regions.
Maritime based technology can provide electric power and potable water on a seasonal basis to many locations around the world, thereby making such technology viable.

Reservoirs of HEP dams long- term solution to water woes.
KUCHING: A long-term solution to the water woes in Sarawak would be the usage of reservoirs of hydro electric power (HEP) dams as water sources.
Water pollution and/or salty water from rivers are hard to control but the control of water from dams can be assured.
Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg said he was thinking outside the box in solving the water issue and therefore came out with a long-term solution.
He mentioned the reservoir of Bakun HEP dam to solve the murky tap water in Belaga, salty water in Tanjung Manis and the Batang Ai HEP dam to solve salty water-linked problem in Sebuyau, for instance.
The Baleh and Murum dams would be used to solve water woes in the northern region, he added.
“All we need is grid piping system.
We have dams and so we will make use of them.
He said the state cabinet had agreed to appoint a consultant to do an overall study on the matter.
The idea is to pump water from the reservoirs of these HEP dams – in Batang Ai, Bakun, Baleh and Murum – to the water treatment plants.

DAILY DIGEST, weekend edition: City of Antioch files claim against DWR; Another giant California dam has downstream residents worried; Delta Council gets an earful; Sites JPA approves deal with Metropolitan; and more ….
In California water news this weekend, City of Antioch files claim against Department of Water Resources; Another giant California dam has downstream residents worried; Delta Council gets an earful; Sites JPA approves deal with Metropolitan; Lessons from Abu Dhabi on using renewables to power desalination; Trump appoints Valley water lobbyist to top Interior Department post; and more … In the news this weekend … City of Antioch files claim against Department of Water Resources: “The City has filed a claim with the State of California seeking relief for the Department of Water Resources’ (“DWR”) failure to perform specific key terms of an agreement between the State and Antioch dating from 1968 commonly referred to as the “1968 Agreement”.
Should state officials sidestep the issue as conditions worsen by the year?
… ” Read more from the Riverside Press-Enterprise here: Fix California’s dilapidated water system In regional news and commentary this weekend … DWR answers public’s questions, listens to concerns: ““I’m sorry.
Croyle, the acting director of the Department of Water Resources, answered questions and listened Thursday evening as people stepped up to a microphone and were heard during the first of the water agency’s community meetings about the Oroville Dam spillway disaster and evacuations.
Area firefighters are taking part in an intensive training down the Mokelumne River.
… ” Read more from the Stockton Record here: San Joaquin County pesticide use highest since 1990s Kern County: Where does all the water go?
… ” Read more from the Ridgecrest Independent here: Indian Valley Wells Groundwater Authority Southern California: Why a regional water district is raising its rate for pumping water: “A regional water district in charge of keeping the underground aquifer full is the latest water agency to cite the drought for raising its rates.
“Unfortunately, as in every water agency, as sales go down, revenue goes down and costs go up.” … ” Read more from the Whittier Daily News here: Southern California: Why a regional water district is raising its rate for pumping water Why more water could be in San Jacinto Valley’s future: “Eastern Municipal Water District is about to embark on a first-of-its-kind plan in Riverside County to increase the amount — and improve the quality — of groundwater in the San Jacinto Valley.
Maven’s Notebook where California water news never goes home for the weekend

Karnataka shows the way in utilising Kabani water.
Sulthan Bathery MLA I.C.
Balakrishnan told DC that though there were many projects on the anvil, none of them had materialised.
WAYANAD: While the farmers of Wayanad face acute water shortage and crop failure every year, Karnataka has been irrigating as many as 4.5 lakh hectares of farm land and producing 28 megawatt electricity utilising 147 TMC water from Kabani river that originates in Wayanad by constructing a series of dams.
But the state failed to construct even a good check-dam to utilise the water from the tributaries of Kabani, including Bavalippuzha, Mananthavadippuzha, Kannaramppuzha, Kadamanthodu and Muddallithodu that originate in the state.
According to the Kabani project report of the Karnataka irrigation department, the three dam projects– Beechnahalli, Sagare Dodekkare and upper Noogu– constructed close to Kerala border have a storage capacity of 90 TMC water.
The dams constructed spending Rs 1,000 crore cater to farmers spread over HD Kote, Nanjangode, T. Narasipur , Chamaraj Nagar, Yelandur, Gundelpett and Kollegal taluks of Karnataka.
Through the river water diversion projects, the water from Kabani also would reach the Tharkka dam, which was almost defunct due to water scarcity in the Tharkka river.
Sulthan Bathery MLA I.C.
Balakrishnan told DC that though there were many projects on the anvil, none of them had materialised.

Islamabad-Next to Oxygen, safe and clean drinking water is exponentially indispensable as well as utmost important for human survival since around 75 per cent body is water. Notwithstanding being extremely essential for human body, over 38 million people do not have an access to clean and safe drinking water in the country, rather its paucity is surging. Federal capital is faced with scarcity of potable water let alone other parts of the country are being supplied safe drinking water. Long queues of people holding bottles at filtration plants in the federal capital territory lend credence to safe water outage. Mineral water companies are capitalizing the situation of water shortage and getting their water business flourished day-by-day in the name of supplying safe drinking water. As the residents are already worried about irregular supply of water in the Federal Capital, the situation is going to get worse owing to the onslaught of sizzling summer approaching swiftly. Talking to APP, Azaz Malik, a resident of Sector F8/1 said the issue was almost a decade old now but Capital Development Authority (CDA) could not come up with a sound plan. “The only solution to the issue for the civic body lies in supplying water through tankers. But this remedy also went ineffective besides being controversial among citizens,” he said. When contacted, CDA Spokesperson Mazhar Hussain said sufficient potable water was being supplied to the capital city from the existing sources and no abnormal situation…