Tests find no detectable levels of toxins in drinking water.
Tests on drinking water revealed no detectable traces of arsenic and lead after the toxins were found in groundwater at a coal-fired power plant in Tennessee, a utility company said Thursday.
Memphis, Light, Gas & Water said in a statement that tests conducted by an independent lab on 10 wells that supply water to a pumping station near the Allen Fossil Plant came up below detectable limits for the toxins.
The Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation asked the utility to test water at the pumping station after excessive levels of arsenic and lead were found in wells that monitor pollution from coal ash ponds at the Allen plant, operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Memphis, Light, Gas & Water said initial test results had some traces of lead in two of the 10 wells at the pumping plant.
Spokesman Scott Brooks said the TVA, the nation’s largest public utility, doesn’t know the source of the toxins and is cooperating with state’s instructions.
The Sierra Club demanded for tests to be done after high levels of toxins at the Allen plant were revealed last week.
The Sierra Club and U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, a Memphis Democrat, have expressed concerns about the deep aquifer wells the TVA plans to use to cool the new gas plant.
"The operation of these high-powered wells in such close proximity to these materials that are contaminating our shallow aquifer could lead to contamination of the Memphis Sand, should there be any holes or breaches in the clay in the vicinity, which we just don’t know," Banbury said in a phone interview.
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Clean water services aimed at addressing injustice: VP Kalla.
Vice President M. Jusuf Kalla (left) witnessed the construction of the Umbulan Water Supply System in Umbulan Village, Winongan Sub-District, Pasuruan District, East Java, on Thursday (July 20, 2017).
(ANTARA Photo/Umarul Faruq) Jakarta (ANTARA News) – Fulfilling the clean water needs of the general public is one of the governments efforts to address injustice, Vice President M. Jusuf Kalla stated.
In fact, urban well-to-do families that have clean water connections can buy it at Rp6 thousand, while residents living on the outskirts of the city and having no clean water connections pay Rp40 thousand for it," he pointed out.
For its part, the government will constantly strive to give the general public wide access to clean water services at affordable prices, he emphasized.
"That is why the government must subsidize drinking water, regardless of how much it will spend.
As the poor have no access to clean water services, they have to pay economically more than the affluent families do, he said.
"The second issue is related to health.
The lack of clean water will lead to several health problems and diseases, thereby posing a problem to the nation in the long run," he added.
(Reported by Muhammad Arief Iskandar/Uu.S012/INE/KR-BSR/A014)

Bartlett Mitchell helps provide clean water to 5,000 people.
Independent caterer, Bartlett Mitchell, has ensured more than 5,000 people will have access to clean water with the donation of its 50th water pump via its Thirsty Planet water programme.
The company, which first launched the initiative to sell bottles of Thirsty Planet at participating client sites in 2013, donates four pence from every litre purchased to Pump Aid – a British charity that helps rural communities in remote sub-Saharan Africa to have a constant source of safe, clean, drinkable water by installing specialised water pumps.
To date, Bartlett Mitchell has donated enough funds to install more than 50 pumps, providing enough drinking water for people across the Mchingi district of Malawi.
As part of the initiative, Bartlett Mitchell allocates pumps to clients and, as their customers purchase enough water to procure a pump, the company is able to work with Pump Aid to build a new facility.
The ‘elephant pumps’, made from local equipment, are community driven and owned.
The community are trained to repair and maintain the equipment which ensures long-term and sustainable use of the pumps.
The programme forms part of the company’s ‘Fruitful World’ Corporate, Social and Environmental Responsibility activity which aims to encourage long-term profitability with maximum social responsibility and environmental care.
It has helped bring everybody together to support a very worthy cause.
“This positive social impact also supports our goal of remaining the UK’s most ethical and sustainable foodservice catering business.”

Despite the challenges, she says, government has invested resources and efforts to ensure every citizen gets access to clean water and excellent Sanitary services across the country.
Mandate RURA mandate in water sub-sector has been to regulate the provision of water services in a way that promotes fair competition, sustainable and efficient use of water resources and ensure that water service providers offer a good quality of service in regards to drinking water.
It is therefore important to keep the sector well regulated.
The same project has benefitted 450,000 Rwandans with good access to sanitation services.
Government recently enacted the National Water Supply and Sanitation Program with the objective of providing sustainable drinking water supply and sanitation services to rural communities with a view of improving their health.
In the last seven years, RURA has set new regulations and new tariffs for those operating in the water and sanitation sector in Rwanda.
There has been improvement in the water supply services coverage as per the EICV3 and EICV4 results.
The efforts to improve sanitation in the country have paid off with access to improved sanitation facilities increasing from 18% in 1994 up to 74.5% in 2015 and to the current 83.4% according to EICV4 statistics.
Messages on safe hygiene practices were provided through direct promotion activities with communities and training on sanitation and hygiene promotion.
Engineer Byigero, says all service providers are licensed and, currently, number to 23 providing sanitation services in Rwanda.

The report also shows that only one out of four individuals in Pakistan have access to clean drinking water.
Declaring something a human right means, as Kantians would argue, that human rights are universalisable.
If we use this understanding of human right as a guide, the question that arises is: who is obligated to ensure the provision of this water as a human right?
Therefore, one could argue that the responsibility lie with the formal and informal institutions created by the nexus of the heads of families, the corporate management and the state.
A report shows that in Pakistan more than 200,000 children die every year owing to the lack of availability and accessibility to sufficient water that is fit for human consumption.
Instead, it is cash crops, like sugarcane, that are sucking up a sizeable amount of our water resources.
We, the privileged citizens, are also responsible for the crisis of providing the poor citizens of the country access to water.
There is also a crisis of awareness and activism among the citizens.
When there is awareness about what people’s rights are and how they are being violated, we can expect a mass movement that is strong enough to shake and wake the government to fulfil their responsibilities and ensure the provision of water and other basic rights.
It is the entire nexus of the state, corporate owners and the privileged citizens that is responsible for the shortage of drinking water that is fit for human consumption.

Gwen Chamberlain Water is Life.
But that’s not the case around the globe.
Now there’s an opportunity to help support three organizations whose missions protect clean water or increase access to it.
On Sept. 16, a simple walk along the Keuka Outlet Trail can help support these three organizations: ‒ Friends of The Outlet: These volunteers work to protect and improve the Outlet Preservation Area which surrounds most of the Keuka Outlet, an important waterway between Keuka and Seneca Lakes.
‒ HTSCongo works to provide clean drinking water near homes in remote villages and sanitation facilities to schools, hospitals and clinics in the third world.
The Walk for Water is an opportunity for everyone to help raise funds to support the efforts of these three groups.
Walkathon organizers have set up two teams — one for Seneca Lake and one for Keuka Lake.
Walkers can help their lake’s team earn bragging rights for the most walkers and the most funds raised.
Sign up to walk any distance along the trail between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Sept. 16 starting from the Boat Launch off Keuka Street in Penn Yan.
For more information about the walk, and to register ($25 per individual, $50 for a family of up to four members), visit http://htscongo.org/walkforwater.html

These maps have been produced by the WASHwatch team, based on data from WHO/UNICEF’s 2017 Progress Report on Drinking Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene.
All data points after 2015 are WASHwatch calculations using the average rates of progress between 2000 and 2015.
Household sanitation is associated with lower risk of bacterial and protozoal enteric infections, but not viral infections and diarrhoea, in a cohort study in a low-income urban neighbourhood in Vellore, India.
The presence of a household toilet was associated with lower risk of bacterial and protozoal enteric infections, but not diarrhoea or viral infections, suggesting the health effects of sanitation may be more accurately estimated using outcome measures that account for aetiologic agents.
This article presents the development of a school handwashing programme in two different sub-Saharan countries that applies the RANAS (risk, attitudes, norms, ability, and self-regulation) systematic approach to behaviour change.
Sanitation practices and perceptions in Kakuma refugee camp, Kenya: Comparing the status quo with a novel service-based approach.
PLoS One, July 13, 2017.
Menstrual hygiene management among Bangladeshi adolescent schoolgirls and risk factors affecting school absence: results from a cross-sectional survey.
PLoS One, July 11, 2017.
3ders.org, July 14, 2017.

United Nations — More than two billion people lack access to clean and safe drinking water, according to a new report released by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Although significant progress to ensure access to drinking water has been achieved, there is still a long way to go to ensure the quality of water–deemed free from pollutants and safe for drinking.
While many countries like India have made it a top priority, many others haven’t been able to emphasise the issue yet," Sanjay Wijesekera, Chief of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene at UNICEF, told IPS.
This puts lives, especially of young children, at great risk.
"Every day, 800 children under the age of five die from waterborne diseases like diarrhoea.
Wijesekera added.
A lack of access to clean drinking water is also bad news for hygiene and sanitary levels.
While the global drop in open defecation from 20 to 12 percent between 2000 and 2015 is a welcome fact, the rate of decline, at just .7 percent every year, puts pressure on governments to do more.
Still, some countries like Ethiopia have combatted the issue of open defecation successfully.
Critical building blocks like stronger policies at the government levels and dutiful allocation of funds can go a long way," Wijesekera said.

North Palm River homeowners closer to enjoying fresh drinking water from their homes.
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. – Palm River homeowners are one step closer to ditching plastic water bottles and drinking fresh water straight from their homes.
Hillsborough County began the North Palm River Drinking Water Project on Monday afternoon.
Crews will be installing five miles of 6- and 8-inch diameter pipelines and approximately 90 fire hydrants.
Here is what the Hillsborough County Water and Sewer Projects website says to expect: Hillsborough County selected a design-build construction method for this project which will save time and money while minimizing public inconvenience The design engineer and constructor will closely collaborate on all aspects of the project to ensure the best construction solutions and the least community impact Construction will generally take place on weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. and will involve heavy equipment and some excavation Maintaining access to homes will be a priority To minimize impacts to the neighborhood and homes, most of the pipelines will be installed using trench less a construction method called directional drilling Homeowner Kevin Anderson no longer drinks the water from his own home.
Anderson has been through four hot water heaters and three different water softeners.
"I’ve been through probably three different water softeners in the last 12 to 15 years," Anderson said.
The first phase began east of 54th street, south of 12th Avenue and west of 70th Street.
Hillsborough County says here’s what to expect: The project team will work closely with local and state transportation authorities to develop traffic plans to keep residents moving safely Detours and lane closures will be clearly marked and flag men will help direct traffic Hillsborough County will notify emergency services in advance of detours and lane closures The project team will work closely with the neighborhood and nearby schools to keep residents informed and involved Hillsborough County commissioner Lesley Miller has championed for this project for over a decade.
Residents in the area can sign up to be connected to the municipal drinking water pipelines during in person sign up events on July 18, August 1 and August 18 at the 78th Street Community Library.

Algae to Blame for Strange Bandar Abbas Water Taste.
A senior water official in Hormozgan Province has attributed the strange taste of drinking water in Bandar Abbas to the presence of algae in reservoirs.
“While the algae are filtered out during the treatment process, the taste and smell remain,” he said.
“We’ve talked with the Hormozgan Regional Water Authority and hope to do that,” he added.
Ozonation is a process whereby water is treated with ozone gas in an effort to eliminate bad taste and smell.
It is also said to have disinfecting properties.
Qassmi reassured residents of the port city about the safety of water, emphasizing that despite “the odor and flavor, the water is safe to use”.
Home to 680,000 people, Bandar Abbas is a major port city in the Persian Gulf in southern Iran.
The province in general and Bandar Abbas in particular have had problems with water pollution for a while.
According to the provincial Department of Environment, 83,000 cubic meters of untreated wastewater and sewage are dumped into the coastal waters of the city every day from the refineries and the satellite town of Hadish as well as surrounding areas.