Suqia launches water projects in Somalia.
Dubai: The UAE Water Aid Foundation, Suqia, under the umbrella of the Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, has implemented two projects to provide drinking water to over 90,000 people in Somalia.
Suqia has implemented these projects in cooperation with the Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Charity and Humanitarian Establishment.
This is one of Suqia’s humanitarian projects to support international efforts to combat poverty and disease by finding sustainable and innovative solutions to water scarcity around the world.
The projects also support the ‘For You, Somalia’ campaign.
One project, in Ufayn in the eastern region of Somalia, included the building of a 300-cubic-metre water collection point near water springs at the foot of a mountain and 600 cubic metre water reservoirs.
The project also included repairing and replacing the three-kilometre pipeline network.
Solar-powered pumps will be provided to pump water from the ground reservoir to an elevated water tank in the town.
The project will make it easier for residents to access potable water, reducing the distance they have to travel to obtain water.
The project will benefit about 50,000 people in the town and neighbouring villages.

You could fill Shasta Lake 7 times with farm groundwater pumped during state drought.
Central Valley farmers pumped enough groundwater to fill an empty Shasta Lake seven times in order to keep their profitable orchards alive during California’s epic five-year drought.
Wade said they’re also diligently preparing to comply with the state’s pending groundwater laws when they start to take effect three years from now.
To estimate pumping rates during the two droughts that struck the state in the past decade, the researchers used NASA satellite data and “water-balance estimates,” which take into account how much water crops need during at temperatures, as well as rainfall, snowmelt and soil-moisture capacity.
In the first drought, the researchers estimated farmers pumped 16.5 cubic kilometers of water.
In the more severe drought, they pumped 40 cubic kilometers, according to the study published in Geophysical Research Letters.
Much of the the past 17 years has been dry with only a few wet winters in between, so the wet winter California just experienced only goes so far to recharge the state’s groundwater deficit, said Thomas Harter, a groundwater expert with the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences.
We would need many more above average to wet winters to make up what we’ve lost.” Meanwhile, an increase in pumping has exacerbated a number of problems in the Central Valley.
The findings come on the heels of a Sacramento Bee investigation published last summer that revealed new wells were going in faster and deeper than ever during the drought in California’s southern Central Valley farmbelt.
By one estimate, about 30 percent of the communities in Tulare County had problems with failing wells during the drought.

Drinking Water dept on a mission mode, to repair 4500 hand-pumps.
Jamshedpur: Drinking water and sanitation department officials of the city on Friday claimed that there is no crisis of driving water whether it be in rural areas or urban areas.
The superintending engineer of the department Rajendra Prasad, addressing scribes at a press conference, said the department was supplying sufficient water to people both in rural and urban areas.
“In rural areas, the per capita consumption of water is 40 litre while in urban areas the daily requirement per capital is 100 litre.
Our department is supplying enough water to the citizens on a daily basis,” said Prasad.
Prasad said the department had started repair of hand-pumps in the affected areas besides carrying out deep boring in certain areas.
Nodal officers have been deputed in all blocks in order to provide relief to the people.
The government has provided funds for this purpose.
In rural areas, there are a total of 22500 hand-pumps, out of which 18,000 are in functional state.
The remaining hand-pumps would be repaired.

Jigawa to distribute 5, 000 hand pumps, tube wells to farmers.
The Jigawa Government on Wednesday, said it would make available 5, 000 water pumps and tube wells in farmlands to check perennial water scarcity experienced by farmers in the state.
The state deputy governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Hassan, made this disclosure at the inauguration of a weed clearance exercise in Kirikasamma, Jigawa.
Hassan said the State Government had worked out modalities to construct tube wells in the 5, 000 hectares of farmlands to encourage irrigation agriculture.
He stated that one water pump and a tube well would be provided in each hectare of the farmlands.
Hassan said that the tube wells and water pumps would be provided to the farmers to address the problem and encourage production.
“This is to provide lands for cultivation and enhance effective utilisation of water and agricultural resources”.
The deputy governor lauded the community leaders for mobilising participation in agriculture, adding that the trend would encourage food production and enhance wealth creation in the society.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Hadejia valley project was initiated by the Federal Government in the 1980s to encourage irrigation activities, enhance fishery and water supply to communities.
The greater part of the river was ravaged by typher grass, which affected irrigation activities.

The Jigawa Government on Wednesday, said it would make available 5, 000 water pumps and tube wells in farmlands to check perennial water scarcity experienced by farmers in the state.
Hassan said the State Government had worked out modalities to construct tube wells in the 5, 000 hectares of farmlands to encourage irrigation agriculture.
He stated that one water pump and a tube well would be provided in each hectare of the farmlands.
“Farmers are experiencing water scarcity due to the blockage of channels by typha grass on Hadejia River.
Hassan said that the tube wells and water pumps would be provided to the farmers to address the problem and encourage production.
He disclosed that arrangements were underway to open up additional 5, 000 hectares of lands to expand the scope of the rice and wheat cultivation programme.
“This is to provide lands for cultivation and enhance effective utilisation of water and agricultural resources”.
The deputy governor lauded the community leaders for mobilising participation in agriculture, adding that the trend would encourage food production and enhance wealth creation in the society.
The Hadejia valley project was initiated by the Federal Government in the 1980s to encourage irrigation activities, enhance fishery and water supply to communities.
Related

SSO Solution Reduces Force Main Pressure.
One possible option was to completely revamp and upgrade a number of pump stations with new pumps, piping and the necessary control equipment to address increased flow and pressures.
Another option considered was to install a pressure reducing station (PRS) along the sewer force main system to reduce system pressures and thus increase capacity.
The Godwin DBS offered pumping equipment to provide additional capacity to handle wet weather flows and pressures and to minimize issues with SSOs during these events.
The HRSD design engineer provided design specifications to the Xylem team, and Xylem recommended two Godwin diesel-driven, critically silenced CD500M pumps with Final Tier 4 low-emission engines.
Given the historic sensitivities of neighboring Colonial Williamsburg, the pumps and fuel cubes were also customized to a specific color (Weathered Bark) to comply with county requirements.
A Customized Solution Xylem engineers customized the Godwin Advanced PrimeGuard Controller to tie into the HRSD supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system, to activate and control the pumps via local pressure readings.
The Xylem team engineered a solution for HRSD that allowed the Godwin DBS pump to automatically maintain a specific designed suction pressure setting by ramping the diesel engine up and down based on measured suction pressure levels.
Given the possibility for cold weather in its Virginia locale, HRSD required the system to be weatherized.
Long-Term Care Xylem customized the Godwin Advanced PrimeGuard Controller to address multiple HRSD requirements, including a tie-in to the HRSD network SCADA system.

An official at the wastewater treatment plant in the town said the volume of rain resulted in surface water getting into the sewage system.
Despite some discoloration of the water coming up through people’s sump pumps and drain pipes, it is mostly rainwater coming from the sanitary sewers, said Jeff Ritter, chief operator at the sewage treatment plant and water pollution control center.
Ritter said he was unable to determine how many homes were affected Friday.
"I do know that, if your house was built before a certain time, they have the sewer laterals go underneath their basement slabs.
He said the problem may have been exacerbated in cases where residents have their sump pumps illegally connected to the sanitary sewers.
"The sump pump is supposed to go to the storm sewer," Ritter said.
He said the town’s sewer system has cracks in it and compromised spots where ground water can get in, especially in cases where there has been heavy rainfall.
You can have a brand new sewer system with only five houses hooked into it, if you have this much water come down, you’re going to get flooded," Ritter said.
The town of Porter, village of Youngstown, and the village and town of Lewiston contribute to the sewage treatment plant in the town.
Our storm sewers have not been able to convey the water fast enough.

Report: Nestle appealing for pumping station.
OSCEOLA TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — Nestle Waters North America, Inc. has appealed a permit denial that disrupted a plan to pump more groundwater for a water bottling plant near Evart, WPBN reports.
Last month, the Osceola Township Planning Commission voted down a building permit that Nestle needs to put up a new pumping station at Spring Hills Camps.
That station would allow the company to draw some 400 gallons of groundwater per minute — 150 gallons more per minute than it currently pumps — to increase production at its nearby Ice Mountain bottled water plant.
Nestle filed an appeal Friday, according to WPBN, the NBC affiliate out of Traverse City.
The company has said the station would be “preferable” to alternatives like constructing a second water pipeline or bringing in water using tankers.
State regulators are still considering Nestle’s request to pump more groundwater, to which there has been vocal opposition.
**Correction: A previous version of this article stated the appeal was filed Wednesday; it was actually filed Friday.
Play Video Play Loaded: 0% Progress: 0% Remaining Time -0:00 This is a modal window.
Foreground — White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan — Opaque Semi-Opaque Background — White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan — Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window — White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan — Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Default Monospace Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Sans-Serif Casual Script Small Caps Defaults Done

The Indian government has honored its pledge to ensure rural people across four Cambodian provinces get desperately needed access to clean water.
Rural Development Minister Ouk Rabun told an inauguration ceremony in Tbong Khmum that the $12m grant had been promised in 2011 at the request of the Cambodia government.
Mr. Rabun said as many as half of all people in rural areas still do not have access to clean water and providing it was vital to improving their health.
“Cambodia and India have a close relationship,” he said, adding that India provided grant aid and cooperated with Cambodia in many areas.
“We are both developing countries and many Indian people live in rural areas.
India will continue to provide assistance to Cambodia as you need it.” One man who attended yesterday’s ceremony was 62-year-old Chranh Rith, a villager from Tunlung commune, who celebrated the arrival of the hand pumps.
“Before I drank water from the well, river or creek,” he said.
“There was no hygiene.
The water was filthy and contained the faeces of cows and buffalos.
“Now I’m so happy us villagers can use these hand pumps.

Aspinwall issues boil water notice to borough residents.
Aspinwall Borough officials have issued a boil water advisory for their water customers, after maintenance work on a Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority pump caused low or no water pressure Wednesday morning to about half of the borough’s 1,200 water customers.
Melissa Lang O’Malley, the borough manager, said the boil water advisory is in effect at least until noon Thursday, to allow the Allegheny County Health Department to conduct the required water quality tests.
The borough gets its water from the PWSA.
All residents of the borough were notified of the advisory via the municipality’s 911-robo call system.
Borough officials were alerted to the water problem Wednesday morning by customers reporting low or no water pressure and brown or discolored tap water in an area below Eighth Street.
That loss of water pressure was caused by PWSA maintenance workers who shut down a PWSA pump in Blawnox or O’Hara.
The water system must pass two tests before the advisory can be lifted.
The first bacteriological test was done around noon Wednesday.
The borough asked residents to check for updates.