DENVER – A bill to make clean water in Colorado a priority passed the Rural Affairs and Agricultural committee Monday.
The bill, sponsored by Representative Barbara McLachlan and Representative Dylan Roberts, looks to help prevent water pollution from future hardrock mining operations in the state.
“Mining is central to Colorado’s history and always has been,” Rep. Roberts said.
“However, our state’s clean water must be a high priority.
This bill ensures that protecting our state’s precious water resources from high risks of pollutions is a top priority for future hardrock mining permits.” Mining operations have polluted over 1,600 miles of Colorado rivers and streams.
Colorado is one of seven states that allows “self-bonding,” which allows mines to operate with insufficient recoverable assets, leaving taxpayers vulnerable to potential cleanup costs.
“When there are mining accidents, taxpayers foot the bill and also suffer the consequences of the damage to the environment,” said Rep. McLachlan, whose district was impacted by the 2015 Gold King Mine spill.
The bill would end self-bonding for hardrock mines in Colorado and would explicitly include water quality protection.
It would also require mining license applications to set an end date for the cleanup of their operation.
The bill passed the committee 7-4 and is headed to the House floor.

From: Indigenous Services Canada February 4, 2019 — Ottawa, Traditional Algonquin Territory, ON — Indigenous Services Canada The federal government remains steadfast and on track in its commitment to end all long-term drinking water advisories on public systems on reserve by March 2021.
Today, the Honourable Seamus O’Regan, Minister of Indigenous Services, provided the department’s monthly progress update.
In January 2019, while no long-term drinking water advisories on public systems were lifted or added, four short-term advisories were lifted before becoming long-term.
The department currently projects that at least 15 additional long-term drinking water advisories will be lifted in the next six months.
Lifted short-term advisories in January 2019: Whitesand, in Ontario, lifted a short-term drinking water advisory from the Whitesand Public Water System on January 7.
The advisory had been in place since November 2018, and was lifted after the cistern was cleaned and disinfected.
Since November 2015, 78 long-term drinking water advisories have been lifted from public systems on reserve.
“Some months will show greater progress than others as we work to eliminate all long-term drinking water advisories on public systems on reserve by March 2021.
Since November 2015, 116 short-term drinking water advisories (lasting between two and 12 months) were lifted before becoming long-term.
Budget 2016 provided $1.8 billion over five years toward water and wastewater infrastructure.

PERINTON, N.Y. (WHEC) — Perinton residents no longer need to boil water before use.
The Monroe County Water Authority lifted the boil water notice on Sunday morning.
Repairs to the water main have been completed and water quality tests met federal and state water quality standards.

Many, if not most, of the 62 First Nations reserves in this country that lack a safe water supply are found in isolated areas, far from where most Canadians live.
Not only do they deserve access to drinking water that is not contaminated, that won’t give them a rash, make them sick or, in extreme cases, kill them; they have a right to it.
It is a fact of life in far too many Indigenous communities that their tap water is unfit for consumption without first being boiled.
When Justin Trudeau became prime minister in late 2015, there were no fewer than 105 long-term boil water advisories on First Nations reserves.
At that time, Trudeau’s promise to make these long-term drinking water advisories a thing of the past in every First Nations community by 2021 was greeted with disbelief.
Since November 2015, 78 long-term drinking water advisories have been lifted.
Life is better in those communities, even if they still face challenges unimaginable to most Canadians.
Moreover, the integrity of First Nations water systems can’t be judged solely by the number of water boil advisories.
Other federal government data suggest the improvements to those water systems aren’t as significant or permanent as the end of all those drinking water advisories might lead us to conclude.
Even so, the government has a long way to go.

Many, if not most, of the 62 First Nations reserves in this country that lack a safe water supply are found in isolated areas, far from where most Canadians live.
It is to the credit of the current Liberal government in Ottawa that in its quest for reconciliation with Canada’s Indigenous Peoples it is making real progress with its longstanding pledge to ensure every First Nation reserve has a safe supply of water for drinking, washing food and bathing.
But it is an indication of the enormity of the problem that the progress is both limited and halting.
It is a fact of life in far too many Indigenous communities that their tap water is unfit for consumption without first being boiled.
At that time, Trudeau’s promise to make these long-term drinking water advisories a thing of the past in every First Nations community by 2021 was greeted with disbelief.
Life is better in those communities, even if they still face challenges unimaginable to most Canadians.
Moreover, the integrity of First Nations water systems can’t be judged solely by the number of water boil advisories.
Other federal government data suggest the improvements to those water systems aren’t as significant or permanent as the end of all those drinking water advisories might lead us to conclude.
Even so, the government has a long way to go.
Yet this remains something Canada absolutely must do.

Microplastics are now found in essential drinking water sources.
Plastic pollution is finally receiving the attention it needs.
Scientists are carrying an increasing number of studies, while the general public gets access to information on the subject more than ever before.
These have recently been found pretty much everywhere scientists have looked.
I guess, it was just a matter of time before these dangerous pollutants reached one of our main sources of life- drinking water.
These particular type of aquifers are known for their highly porous geology.
This makes it very easy for surface water to penetrate.
What is more important to note here, however, is that such groundwater sources account for about a quarter of the entire supply of drinking water on a global scale.
The team collected and analyzed seventeen samples.
In the mean time, let’s all focus on raising awareness, and reducing the use of plastics as much as we can.

HOLSTEIN, Iowa (KTIV) – A boil order has been lifted for residents in Holstein, Iowa.
The order was lifted Thursday morning.
The water is safe to drink again.
People in Holstein had been advised to boil tap water before using it for cooking or drinking after two water mains broke earlier this week.
HOLSTEIN, Iowa (KTIV) – The city of Holstein, Iowa issues a boil advisory due to two water main breaks.
On Wednesday morning, city officials said it is recommended not to drink the water without boiling it first.
Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, and food preparation until further notice.
Officials said they will notify residents when the advisory is lifted.
If you have questions, call 712-368-4898.

With no other option, they are forced to buy drinking water from local traders who charge them Krishnagiri: In Mathakondapalli village, 10 kilometers from Hosur of Krishnagiri, almost all villagers draw drinking water from a local source, highly-contaminated water containing heavy minerals and other chemicals.
With no other option, they are forced to buy drinking water from local traders who charge them Rs 30 for 20 liters of bottled water.
Now, the villagers will save around Rs 1,000 every month, thanks to the initiative of private truck manufacturer, Ashok Leyland, which has installed water ATM at villages where the water contamination is high.
A reverse osmosis water purifying plant has been installed at Mathakondapalli village which will give safe drinking water to a population of around 4,000 people.
This is a plant operated and managed by the local community and has an ATM-based dispensation unit to levy a nominal charge towards maintenance cost of the unit.
Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) for Hosur, G. Vimal Raj, inaugurated the unit and asked Ashok Leyland to provide such a facility to another 10 villages that have no safe drinking water.
President, HR for Ashok Leyland, N.V. Balachandar, said, “We have launched the first of its kind safe drinking water project in association with Hinduja Foundation.
Availability of safe drinking water in our villages means lesser chances of water related ailments and will translate to better productivity and overall domestic environment.” According to Ashok Leyland officials, the firm has so far installed around eight water ATMs in Thiruvallur and Chennai, nine ATMs in Hosur, one in Namakkal and one in Sangagiri.
…

ST. PAUL — The Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities is supporting bills in the 2019 legislative session to provide $128 million for clean water infrastructure projects, officials said this week.
According to a press release, the bipartisan bill the coalition is supporting would help cities offset the growing demand for projects to upgrade and rebuild water treatment plants and other infrastructure.
The legislation, authored by Sen. Gary Dahms, R-Redwood Falls, and Rep. Jeanne Poppe, DFL-Austin, provides $128 million to general appropriation bonds.
“Cities are the front line of protecting our lakes and rivers from pollution, and making sure residents have clean water,” said Ron Johnson, Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities president.
“We are proud to play a role preserving Minnesota’s clean water legacy, but simply don’t have the resources to make the necessary improvements to their water facilities without assistance from the state.
The funding is especially critical this year, the release states, as several cities have been forced to put important projects on hold after funding in the 2018 session was delayed because of a lawsuit challenging the funding mechanism.

Water The Zambian government sets aside increasingly larger amounts of money for water access and sanitation each year, but less than half of that money winds up being spent in that sector.
“I can’t afford to get all my water from the tap,” Mwale says.
“It’s expensive.” The Zambian government has allocated huge sums of money to improve sanitation and access to water across the country, but many say they still struggle to get what they need.
In 2015, just 31 percent of Zambia’s 15.4 million people had basic sanitation services, according to UNICEF, the United Nations’ child-advocacy agency, and the most recent population statistics available.
The 2019 budget includes 1.98 billion kwacha ($165.8 million) for water supply and sanitation.
Yet, in a trend going back nearly a decade, less than half of that money is spent each year on those services, says Pamela Chisanga, the WaterAid country director in Zambia.
“We can avoid calamities such as cholera if people have access to clean and safe water.” Dennis Wanchinga, the minister of Water Development, Sanitation and Environmental Protection, doesn’t dispute that much of the money allocated for water supply and sanitation is spent elsewhere, but he notes that it’s not being wasted.
Mary Phiri, another Zambian who faces daily water problems, knows how dangerous the consequences of water scarcity can be.
“Sometimes children would drink water from the well meant for washing dishes, because to them, water is water, whether from the well or from the tap,” Phiri says.
Editor’s note: Mary Phiri and Prudence Phiri, GPJ, are not related.