According to WaterAid, a global advocacy group on water and sanitation, India has more than 63 million people that do not have access to clean drinking water, more than any other country in the world RBL Bank, one of India’s fastest growing Banks, in partnership with AquaKraft announced that it would provide Water ATMs (aquatm’s) across 20 rural branches spread across Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.
The aquatm’s will have a capacity of 500 to 1000 litres per day and will vend water at the IRCTC approved rates of Re 1/- for 300 ml, Rs.
3/- per litre & Rs.
5/- per litre.
The filtration process uses green technology leading to no wastage of water (unlike Reverse Osmosis) and works on gravity with very limited use of electricity.
These aquatm’s will be operated and managed by Women Entrepreneurs/SHGs / Youth Clubs and will be delivered in clay bottles instead of plastic in line with the green infrastructure project outlined by the Government of India.
Under this partnership, RBL Bank will provide access to the Water ATMs at each of the identified branches while Aquakraft will implement the initiative.
This innovation from Aquakraft of creating sustainable drinking water infrastructure across identified locations to leveraging the rural women to manage the same leading to livelihood creation is a compelling reason for us to enter into this partnership.
This will further create a positive impact on the lives of rural women who have to travel miles to have clean and safe drinking water.” “This is not just a mere CSR initiative, but a long-term integrated social development partnership.
We were very impressed by the focused approach of RBL Bank to make a difference to lives of women by emancipating them with their basic needs and hence structured this model.

Health effects on humans of Freon 22 in drinking water are unclear, but studies in laboratory animals have shown that exposure to high levels of airborne Freon 22 cause nervous-system and heart problems, according to the state Department of Health.
The chemical is in roughly 6 percent of about 1,000 operating public wells on Long Island, although usually in levels far below the state limit, said Paul Ponturo, senior water resources engineer at Melville-based H2M, a consultant for water systems across Long Island.
The two closed Glen Cove wells reached concentrations as high as 8.2 parts per billion.
Even without the wells, the city can meet residents’ water needs during cold-weather months, said Michael Colangelo, Glen Cove’s water service foreman.
“Buying water from another municipality is extremely expensive.” City officials said they hope to reopen a well that was closed in 2011 because of structural problems and Freon 22 levels just under the state limit.
A Dec. 28 report from Woodbury-based D&B Engineers and Architects, P.C., estimated that installing an air stripper to that well to remove Freon 22 and making repairs would cost more than $4.7 million.
An air stripper for the three Duck Pond Road wells could cost $7 million to $10 million and take up to three years for installation, Colangelo said.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation has started investigating causes of the Duck Pond Road well contamination, said Karen Gomez, the DEC’s regional engineer for water and remediation.
The source of the Roslyn well contamination was never found, despite “thorough investigations,” DEC officials said.
One way the chemical gets into groundwater and eventually into wells is through leaks in the hundreds of underground cooling systems across Long Island, Ponturo said.

Warriors for Clean Water claims Decatur’s water is contaminated with heavy metals and can cause kidney failure.
Decatur Utilities calls the claims unwarranted and unsubstantiated.
Here’s what Decatur Utilities wrote in a letter it sent to WAAY 31: “Decatur Utilities assures customers that its drinking water is safe Decatur Utilities monitored a press conference held today by Ron Mixon of Warriors for Clean Water and Dr. John Rose, DO (Doctor of Osteopathy).
The Decatur Utilities service area was lumped into a region referenced in a study alleging a link between levels of heavy metals in local drinking water and instances of kidney failure.
Decatur Utilities provides its customers with safe, clean drinking water that exceeds state and federal quality standards.
Contrary to the claim made by Mr. Mixon, DU’s water treatment process is multi-staged and includes screening, chemical addition, settling, filtration, and disinfection.
Decatur Utilities performs more than one million tests in-house and at third-party independent laboratories each year to monitor the level of contaminants in the drinking water provided.
Levels of other contaminants are well below the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM).
In August, Decatur Utilities received notification from the EPA that its Water Treatment Plant (WTP) had surpassed state and federal regulatory treatment standards for water quality for the fourth straight year (2013-2016).
“ Article Comments

Warriors for Clean Water claims Decatur’s water is contaminated with heavy metals and can cause kidney failure.
Decatur Utilities calls the claims unwarranted and unsubstantiated.
Here’s what Decatur Utilities wrote in a letter it sent to WAAY 31: “Decatur Utilities assures customers that its drinking water is safe Decatur Utilities monitored a press conference held today by Ron Mixon of Warriors for Clean Water and Dr. John Rose, DO (Doctor of Osteopathy).
The Decatur Utilities service area was lumped into a region referenced in a study alleging a link between levels of heavy metals in local drinking water and instances of kidney failure.
Decatur Utilities provides its customers with safe, clean drinking water that exceeds state and federal quality standards.
Contrary to the claim made by Mr. Mixon, DU’s water treatment process is multi-staged and includes screening, chemical addition, settling, filtration, and disinfection.
Decatur Utilities performs more than one million tests in-house and at third-party independent laboratories each year to monitor the level of contaminants in the drinking water provided.
Levels of other contaminants are well below the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM).
In August, Decatur Utilities received notification from the EPA that its Water Treatment Plant (WTP) had surpassed state and federal regulatory treatment standards for water quality for the fourth straight year (2013-2016).
“ Article Comments

THE Department of Education has directed all schools across the State to thoroughly flush all water pipes supplying drinking water to reduce the risk of potential lead contamination.
Schools have been asked to work with cleaners and gardeners to ensure the pipes supplying water to drinking fountains, sinks and wash hand basins are flushed within three days prior to the start of the school term on Wednesday.
The new measure follows concerns raised by ChemCentre’s chief executive Peter McCafferty that WA schools were at risk of lead contamination because water was often left stagnant in pipes over the summer holidays.
Mr McCafferty raised the concerns at a parliamentary inquiry last year into the Perth Children’s Hospital which examined a suite of problems that have delayed the opening of the $1.2 billion hospital, including lead contamination in the drinking water.
The State Government has blamed the brass fittings in pipes exposed to water left stagnant during commissioning for the hospital’s lead contamination.
Education Minister Sue Ellery However said while there was no evidence of elevated lead levels in the water at schools, she had asked the Education Department to introduce two new initiatives as a precautionary measure.
“Following the comments made by the ChemCentre Chief Executive, the Chief Health Officer, who has responsibility for the health of students in our schools, publicly advised a stringent risk management approach is in place and it did not require changing,” she said.
“For new schools opening in 2018, in addition to the current water quality analysis, the water will be tested for lead,” she said.
“The water should be checked and if any problems are found then it must be acted upon immediately,” she said.
According to the Education Department website five new primary schools will open in the Perth metro area this year in Wandi, Piara Waters (Aspiri PS), Aveley (Aveley North PS), Meadow Springs (Oakwood PS), Southern Grove PS in Southern River and Wellard.

Co-author: Claire L. Barnett, Founder and Executive Director, Healthy Schools Network* Part I: The problem and New York’s response Every school day, parents send some 55 million children to 130,000 public and private schools nationwide.
That’s why New York took a major step forward in addressing lead in school water in 2016 by becoming the first state in the country to pass a law requiring school districts to test potable water sources and systems in schools for lead.
Schools are the places where children spend the most time when not at home, making schools important places to address environmental hazards.
The federal Safe Drinking Water Act requires operators of drinking water systems to test and report on lead levels with an “action level” of 15 parts per billion (ppb) (which is supposed to trigger water system action to reduce lead levels).
Specifically, New York’s law requires public school districts and boards of cooperative educational services (BOCES) to test all potable water outlets for lead, provide free and safe potable water if an exceedance is found, provide parents with the test results, and post the results and remediation plans on the individual schools’ websites.
Schools are required to send both the test results and remediation plans to the State Education Department and the State Department of Health.
Simultaneously with the law’s enactment, the New York State Department of Health issued emergency regulations to implement the new law, providing more detail for school districts and BOCES.
The “action level,” meaning the threshold at which schools must act to reduce lead in water, is set at 15 ppb, the same action level established by EPA for operators of water systems.
If an exceedance of the action level is detected, schools must prohibit the use of that water outlet, pending implementation of a lead remediation plan followed by testing that shows no exceedance.
Next: Analyzing the results of testing for lead in New York State Schools *HS Network, the award-winning national advocate for children’s environmental health at school, has its feet on the ground in New York where it championed the first-in-the-nation state law requiring all public schools to test at the tap for lead.

Christchurch’s drinking water could be chlorinated for up to a year if councillors approve treatment in an effort to protect the public from potentially dangerous contamination.
An assessment of the city’s wells has found many are in disrepair and vulnerable to pollution from dirty surface groundwater.
* Christchurch’s water should be temporarily treated after report finds drinking wells ‘may be susceptible to contamination’ * Chlorinating Christchurch’s drinking water could cost $100m – council * Chlorinating water in Christchurch’s northwest is off the table * Health officials want assurance D-rated northwest Christchurch water supply safe * Christchurch’s drinking water contaminated 125 times in four years * Positive E coli tests ‘not surprising’ in Christchurch untreated water supply * Havelock North: a village that looks as ghostly as its residents Mayor Lianne Dalziel was only advised of the situation on January 15 when she returned to work after the Christmas break.
Canterbury medical officer of health Dr Alistair Humphrey has emphasised that water is safe for drinking but is calling for temporary chlorination to provide certainty.
A report outlining the issues and options to make water safe was still being drafted late Wednesday afternoon, giving councillors little time to consider them before making their decision.
It offers two alternatives – to accelerate work to reinstate the secure water supply status and temporarily chlorinate, which the council recommends, or to continue the work without treatment.
"Temporary chlorination would cease as soon as possible, when agreed by the drinking water assessor and the Canterbury medical officer of health.
Vulnerabilities in well heads were uncovered last year when engineers began an urgent programme of assessment triggered by a damning report into the Havelock North incident in 2016, when 5500 people fell ill from drinking contaminated water.
Repairing the compromised wells and treating water at the city’s 56 pumping stations would be completed by December and cost an estimated $1.75 million (including $600,000 to install temporary chlorination and $250,000 for ongoing chlorination).
In 2016, councillors went against staff advice and decided not to chlorinate water in north-west Christchurch while it decommissioned shallow aquifers found to be unsafe.

Today, the Honourable Jane Philpott, Minister of Indigenous Services, announced that the Department of Indigenous Services Canada will add close to 250 drinking water systems to the total number covered by the federal government’s commitment to ensure clean drinking water on public systems on reserve.
As a result, the Government will provide financial support to end 24 additional long-term drinking water advisories by March 2021.
The Government is ready to provide support if any additional drinking water advisories become long term or are at risk of becoming long term, on the more than 1,000 public drinking water systems on reserve covered by its commitment.
Budget 2016 provided investments of $1.8 billion over five years to significantly improve on-reserve water and wastewater infrastructure, ensure proper facility operation, maintenance, and support training of water system operations.
Five-year targeted investments provide communities with the necessary funding security in order to plan, design, and implement required upgrades.
Budget 2016 also includes $141.7 million over five years in new funding to improve drinking water monitoring and testing on reserve.
Quotes "First Nation communities working in partnership with the federal government have started or completed almost 350 projects to improve water and wastewater infrastructure on reserve.
As we move into 2018, many of these projects will be completed, and we expect at least 20 additional long-term drinking water advisories will be lifted by the end of the year.
We have a lot of hard work ahead, but our Government remains steadfast in our commitment – to lift all long-term drinking water advisories on public systems on reserve by March 2021."
Minister of Indigenous Services Related Products Associated Links Stay Connected You can subscribe to receive our news releases and speeches via RSS feeds.

This must be the year California changes that.
Opinion Last year, leading agricultural associations, public health organizations and environmental justice groups reached consensus on legislation that provides a sustainable, long-term solution.
Given the breadth of support and the urgency of the problem, Senate Bill 623 should top the agenda for the Legislature and Gov.
Jerry Brown.
It appears it may well be: The governor showed extraordinary leadership in his budget proposal, allocating $5 million in startup funds.
Many have unsafe levels of arsenic, which can cause cancer and other serious illnesses.
The families who rely on these unsafe water systems are forced to buy bottled water for drinking, cooking and washing, even as they pay monthly water bills.
But these funds cannot be used to help communities afford the ongoing cost of providing safe drinking water.
In addition, with the support of such influential farming groups as the Agricultural Council of California, it establishes a small fee on agricultural users to address nitrate contamination as they continue to reduce the impacts of nitrates on groundwater.
In 2017, that solution came together.

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-1469165980608-1’); }); The West Bengal Government is going to soon take up a major project to build drinking water supply pipelines across three districts of Bengal.
The tendering process for selecting the constructors is complete.Lakhs of people in the rural areas of the districts of Bankura, Purba Medinipur and North 24 Parganas will benefit from the project.
In fact, after the project is fully implemented, every household in the three districts will have access to clean drinking water.The Public Health Engineering Department is going to start work on the laying of the pipelines in early 2018.
By 2020, the formidable issue of drinking water scarcity in the remote parts of these three districts will be a matter of the past.
The approximately three-year time period is natural, being a project on such a large scale.The Asian Development Bank is providing financial aid for the project.UNI SJC KK — (UNI) — C-1-1-DL0212-1218896.Xml