South Florida stores order drinking water, hurricane supplies as jittery locals empty shelves

South Florida stores order drinking water, hurricane supplies as jittery locals empty shelves.
South Floridians swarmed local stores Monday, emptying shelves of drinking water and other supplies as Hurricane Irma strengthened to a Category 4 storm.
When he arrived at the Morningside Publix he decided to stock up.
More Videos 1:14 Hurricane Irma strengthens to category 4 as storm nears Leeward Islands Pause 0:36 Watch as Hurricane Irma spins through the Atlantic 0:38 Hurricane Irma’s menacing eye strengthens 5:08 Adam Gase news conference after Dolphins-Vikings 0:33 Hurricane warnings and watches in Caribbean as Irma approaches 0:46 Drivers pass growing wildfire near Los Angeles freeway 0:40 Hurricane Irma remains strong Category 3 as track shifts south 0:33 Hurricane Irma moving west 0:33 Hurricane Irma strengthens to Category 3, churns closer 1:16 UM running back Mark Walton on the running games success in the victory over Bethune-Cookman Video Link Embed Code Facebook Twitter Email Hurricane Irma strengthens to category 4 as storm nears Leeward Islands NOAA released new satellite imagery that shows a strengthening Hurricane Irma approaching the Leeward Islands.
Drinking water was sold out Monday at the Walmart Supercenter at 3200 NW 79th Street; Walmart’s public relations spokesman said the company had decided not to comment on storm supplies, saying “they are focused primarily on ensuring smooth operations and want to avoid a rush on stores.” At Sunset Harbor in Miami Beach, water was sold out Monday afternoon; a manager told shoppers it would be restocked Tuesday.
This scientist can show you Hurricane Irma now a Category 4, Governor Scott declares a state of emergency Everything you need to survive a storm The latest on how Hurricane Irma might affect Dolphins’ season opener As Hurricane Irma grows stronger, South Florida gears up for the storm Miamians stocking up on water at Walmart in case #HurricaneIrma impacts South Florida.
pic.twitter.com/d7K8DgjRLF — Joey Flechas (@joeflech) September 4, 2017 At home improvement stores like Lowe’s and Home Depot, store spokespeople said that the businesses are monitoring the storm and have plans to meet demand.
More Videos 1:14 Hurricane Irma strengthens to category 4 as storm nears Leeward Islands Pause 0:36 Watch as Hurricane Irma spins through the Atlantic 0:38 Hurricane Irma’s menacing eye strengthens 5:08 Adam Gase news conference after Dolphins-Vikings 0:33 Hurricane warnings and watches in Caribbean as Irma approaches 0:46 Drivers pass growing wildfire near Los Angeles freeway 0:40 Hurricane Irma remains strong Category 3 as track shifts south 0:33 Hurricane Irma moving west 0:33 Hurricane Irma strengthens to Category 3, churns closer 1:16 UM running back Mark Walton on the running games success in the victory over Bethune-Cookman Video Link Embed Code Facebook Twitter Email Hurricane Irma’s menacing eye strengthens Video from NASA of Hurricane Irma’s eye on Sept. 4, 2017.
“Today we have shipped more than 325 truckloads of product to Florida in preparation for the storm.
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Valpoi PWD to step up efforts against theft of potable water

The PWD water supply authority has decided to step up its efforts against water theft and excessive water use in Valpoi and surrounding areas.
In this regard, the official of PWD-Valpoi has decided to revive its anti-water theft squad to keep a tab on theft of potable water.
The move comes in the wake of ‘The Navhind Times’ report highlighting unavailability of water in remote villages of Valpoi.
A PWD official confirmed about the unavailability of water in remote areas of Valpoi and it was stated that during an inspection, several instances of meter tampering came to the fore.
After a discussion, the PWD will be forming a squad which will keep a check on water theft cases, it was informed.
Meanwhile, this reporter was informed that in Thane village due to ongoing work of laying new pipelines the water supply was less from Dabos plant, but not below permissible level.
According to PWD records, 13000 consumers, including household, commercial and construction, use per day nearly 20 MLD water in allotted jurisdiction.
We have found that few consumers are misusing the water by way of tampering, which is affecting the flow of water in this region,” said one of the officials of Valpoi PWD water supply.
However, the PWD believes that the drive will be successful only with public participation.
Meanwhile, it is also observed that many leakages do exist to the pipelines and these are needed to be plugged to avoid wastage of water.

Drinking water around the world

Drinking water around the world.
It’s scarce, unevenly distributed and causes mass migration – here are some facts about our drinking water.
The vast majority of that, about 97 percent, is sea water.
Between 1.7 and two of the remaining three percent is permanently trapped in glaciers, ice and snow.
Most of the little that remains is ground water or soil moist.
While that covers the needs in places like Germany, Sweden, Argentina or Canada, the Global Water Institute estimates that 700 million people in 43 countries currently suffer from water scarcity.
And conditions are set to get worse.
The UNCCD meanwhile predicts that by 2030, as many as 700 million people will be forced to leave their homes due to water shortages, aggravated by climate change.
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Fast Lab Results – US & Canada asbestostestinglab.com The distribution of drinking water is even more uneven.

World Water Week 2017

As the world observes 2017 World Water Week from August 27-September 1, over 180 million people lack basic drinking water in countries affected by conflict and unrest.
And for India, where per capita availability of fresh water declined by more than 50 pc in the past 50 years, preserving every drop of groundwater is critical to its water security.
Though there’s adequate fresh water for every one on the planet, inappropriate management and infrastructure makes thousands of people lose their life each year from diseases associated with inadequate water supply, sanitation and hygiene.
After all, how far can we go without clean water?
The theme touches the core of people’s daily lives and also looks at changes that needs to be made, especially by the primary water users, including industries, energy producers and farmers.
#WaterWomen Women play critical roles in aspects of water governance, yet they are visibly missing from the water dialogue.
Thus, to spread awareness about water week and promote the role of women as decision makers, water managers and effective water users, through #WaterWomen campaign and photo contest, SIWI aims to collect images that illustrate these important roles and tell the stories of women as invaluable water managers, decision makers and users.
This plant is the only source of clean water as tube wells in the vicinity have been found to be contaminated by arsenic.
Like Das, people in the Madhusudan Kati village, West Bengal had been drinking water from the wells for the last 20 years without knowing that the water was poisonous, till they found symptoms of illness, which doctors then detected to have been caused by the contaminated water in the village.
Apart from access to safe drinking water for women and children, performance of services and institutions, including schools and health centers, is also impacted.

180m lack access to drinking water—UNICEF

180m lack access to drinking water—UNICEF.
More than 180 million people lack access to basic drinking water in countries affected by conflict, violence and instability around the world, the United Nations Children’s Fund has warned.
The Fund estimates 75% of water and sanitation infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed in conflict-ridden northeast of Nigeria, leaving 3.6 million people without even basic water services.
In famine-threatened north-east Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen, nearly 30 million people, including 14.6 million children, are in urgent need of safe water.
Of the estimated 484 million people living in fragile situations in 2015, 183 million lacked basic drinking water services.
Around 15 million people in the country have been cut off from regular access to water and sanitation.
In Syria, where the conflict is well into its seventh year, around 15 million people are in need of safe water, including an estimated 6.4 million children.
In South Sudan, where fighting has raged for over three years, almost half the water points across the country have been damaged or completely destroyed.
“In far too many cases, water and sanitation systems have been attacked, damaged or left in disrepair to the point of collapse.
And in South Sudan, the cholera outbreak is the most severe the country has ever experienced, with more than 19,000 cases since June 2016.

Groups battle over state water safety bill

Senator Bill Monning (D-Carmel) announced on Aug. 23 the amended version of Senate Bill 623, which would establish the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund to finance infrastructure improvement projects across the state with the help of a coalition of environmental activists, agricultural industry representatives, and labor groups.
Proponents say the legislation was drafted in response to the some 300 water systems in California dealing with pollutant violations, such as arsenic, lead, nitrates, and uranium that have been linked to nausea and vomiting, cancer, reduced mental functioning in children, nervous system decline, miscarriages, and numerous other health issues.
“In Flint, Michigan, 100,000 people were exposed to unsafe drinking water, but right here in California more than 1 million Californians are annually exposed to unsafe drinking water,” Monning said in a statement.
The release said low-income rate exemptions would be provided for households under 200 percent of the federal poverty level.
“Even though agricultural practices of today significantly reduce or eliminate the potential for nitrates to reach the groundwater, farmers and researchers are continuing to seek opportunities to improve management practices,” the release said.
“Due to the challenges of reconciling nitrogen use by agriculture with human health and water resource protection, we have been working with the environmental justice community, as well as other stakeholders, for over a year in an effort to address the critical needs in disadvantaged communities relating to safe drinking water.
… SB 623 strikes the needed balance between providing the necessary resources for addressing critical drinking water needs, while protecting agriculture from certain nitrate related enforcement actions in the short-term.” The Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) opposes the bill in its current form.
In the letter, the association agreed with the intent of the bill and noted that a lack of safe drinking water in disadvantaged communities was a public health issue that needed to be addressed.
However, ACWA took issue with the types of funding Monning proposed.
“State law sets forth a policy of a human right to water for human consumption that is safe, clean, affordable, and accessible,” the letter says.

Drinking water around the world

Drinking water around the world.
Accessible fresh water is scarce, incredibly scarce when you look at the total amount of water on earth.
The vast majority of that, about 97 percent, is sea water.
Between 1.7 and two of the remaining three percent is permanently trapped in glaciers, ice and snow.
Most of the little that remains is ground water or soil moist.
The surface water, which we can easily access – lakes, rivers and swamps – only accounts for 0.01 percent of the world’s water.
While that covers the needs in places like Germany, Sweden, Argentina or Canada, the Global Water Institute estimates that 700 million people in 43 countries currently suffer from water scarcity.
And conditions are set to get worse.
The UNCCD meanwhile predicts that by 2030, as many as 700 million people will be forced to leave their homes due to water shortages, aggravated by climate change.
While in Europe and North America, it is used to shower and flush toilets, WHO statistics suggest almost 800 million people in the world have no access to it at all.

Groups battle over state water safety bill

Senator Bill Monning (D-Carmel) announced on Aug. 23 the amended version of Senate Bill 623, which would establish the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund to finance infrastructure improvement projects across the state with the help of a coalition of environmental activists, agricultural industry representatives, and labor groups.
Proponents say the legislation was drafted in response to the some 300 water systems in California dealing with pollutant violations, such as arsenic, lead, nitrates, and uranium that have been linked to nausea and vomiting, cancer, reduced mental functioning in children, nervous system decline, miscarriages, and numerous other health issues.
“In Flint, Michigan, 100,000 people were exposed to unsafe drinking water, but right here in California more than 1 million Californians are annually exposed to unsafe drinking water,” Monning said in a statement.
The release said low-income rate exemptions would be provided for households under 200 percent of the federal poverty level.
“Even though agricultural practices of today significantly reduce or eliminate the potential for nitrates to reach the groundwater, farmers and researchers are continuing to seek opportunities to improve management practices,” the release said.
“Due to the challenges of reconciling nitrogen use by agriculture with human health and water resource protection, we have been working with the environmental justice community, as well as other stakeholders, for over a year in an effort to address the critical needs in disadvantaged communities relating to safe drinking water.
… SB 623 strikes the needed balance between providing the necessary resources for addressing critical drinking water needs, while protecting agriculture from certain nitrate related enforcement actions in the short-term.” The Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) opposes the bill in its current form.
In the letter, the association agreed with the intent of the bill and noted that a lack of safe drinking water in disadvantaged communities was a public health issue that needed to be addressed.
However, ACWA took issue with the types of funding Monning proposed.
“State law sets forth a policy of a human right to water for human consumption that is safe, clean, affordable, and accessible,” the letter says.

UNICEF provides water kits, hygiene kits, temporary sanitation facilities for Marawi

UNICEF provides water kits, hygiene kits, temporary sanitation facilities for Marawi.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Tuesday said they are working hand-in-hand with other partners to address the concern on the lack of access to basic drinking water of chidlren affected by the Marawi siege.
“In response to the Marawi conflict, UNICEF has been working with the government and NGO [non-governmental organization] partners with support from the Government of Japan and the United Nations’ Central Emergency Response Fund to address critical needs of displaced children and their families, providing water kits, hygiene kits and temporary sanitation facilities," UNICEF Philippines Representative Lotta Sylwander said in a statement.
“Children’s access to safe water and sanitation, especially in conflicts and emergencies, is a right, not a privilege,” said Sanjay Wijesekera, UNICEF’s global chief of water, sanitation and hygiene.
More than 180 million people around the world affected by conflict, violence, and instability do not have access to basic drinking water, UNICEF warned on Tuesday, as World Water Week approaches.
According to a recent UNICEF and World Health Organization (WHO) analysis, of the estimated 484 million people living in fragile situations in 2015, a total of 183 million lacked access to basic drinking water.
In the Philippines, Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has the lowest coverage of basic drinking water services and sanitation facilities, UNICEF said.
According to UNICEF, "Only 62% of households in ARMM have access to basic water services and only 22% of households have their own hygienic toilets (compared to, respectively, 91% and 75% at the national level)."
When children have no safe water to drink, and when health systems are left in ruins, malnutrition and potentially fatal diseases like cholera will inevitably follow,” said Wijesekera.
—Akari Nakano/KG, GMA News

Addressing the contamination of Site 0153

IDEM said that despite the ground water contamination, the finished water is safe for consumption.
Drinking water in the area currently shows no trace of the chemicals that had been discovered in the ground water.
According to IDEM, Contamination Site 0153 was first reported in 2013.
The organization “has begun investigation into the sources of the contamination and … [will be] implementing a cleanup and monitoring plan.” When that testing was first performed, it was believed that the contaminants posed a major threat to the area’s drinking water.
According to a memo from IDEM to the EPA, it was then placed on the EPA’s National Priorities List.
The EPA classifies these “superfund sites” as sites that warrant further investigations after “known or threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants.” However, the memo reveals that the earlier test was “only a snapshot in time.” In April of 2016, further information from Citizens Water was provided to IDEM.
The cleanup will take several years, but the monitoring will last much longer.
At an Aug. 17 public meeting, lead project manager Ryan Groves announced that the investigation alone will take two to three years, while the cleanup process could last two to five years.
The cleanup process would not begin until after the conclusion of the investigation, meaning from start to finish, the project could last between four to eight years.
Site 0153’s contamination has brought together several groups, including Northwest Quality of Life, Flanner House, and the newly formed Indiana Environmental Justice Assembly (IEJA), supported by the Kheprw Institute, an Indianapolis-based nonprofit involved in diverse aspects of community development.