Invoices detail hidden legal work in Hoosick Falls.
Hoosick Falls A law firm hired by Hoosick Falls to negotiate with two companies blamed for polluting water supplies billed the village tens of thousands of dollars to provide public relations advice and to serve as the gatekeeper for numerous Freedom of Information Law requests filed by news organizations.
More than 50 pages of invoices detailing the work of the Glens Falls law firm, FitzGerald Morris Baker Firth, were turned over to the Times Union late Monday in response to a formal request for the records that was filed by the newspaper in early January.
Mayor Rob Allen released the records after the village board voted unanimously Monday night to terminate its contract with the law firm — in part, he said, because of information that was revealed in the billing statements.
The information blacked-out in the invoices, when compared with the documents released by the village this week, indicates the law firm concealed details of its work that an open-government expert said should have been made public, including the firm’s work vetting and responding to Times Union FOIL requests.
"If something is included that reflects legal strategy, or legal opinion, or attorney-client privilege then yes, redactions could be made.
In another instance, the law firm redacted a reference to its contact with the village’s treasurer in January 2016 on the same day the Times Union requested a copy of its retainer agreement with the village.
The invoices indicate that portion of the settlement was something Saint-Gobain requested as early as December 2015, about a month into the negotiations.
Throughout the last 17 months, the invoices indicate that at times the law firm conducted research about the potential for municipalities to recoup money from corporate polluters such as DuPont, which previously manufactured PFOA and has paid tens of millions of dollars to settle personal-injury lawsuits and claims for pollution of water supplies.
In February, as public pressure intensified for the village board to revoke the settlement agreement — Borge was the only village board member to vote in favor of the deal — the invoices show the law firm researched cases where municipalities had filed lawsuits against corporate polluters and lost.

Chivas Brothers funds PhD to help combat effects of climate change on water supply Chivas Brothers, the Scotch whisky and premium gin business of Pernod Ricard, is today announcing plans to award £4,000 in grant funding to support key research into combating the effects of climate change on distillery water resources.
This research aims to identify solutions to preserve this key ingredient.
Research and development of mathematical models to help identify the best locations to manage water flow for other distilleries will be carried out at The University of Aberdeen, with the support of the James Hutton Institute.
Gordon Buist, Production Director at Chivas Brothers, said: “There are three ingredients that go into creating a single malt Scotch whisky – malted barley, yeast and water – and each is incredibly important to developing the depth of flavour and quality unique to The Glenlivet.
“As part of the project, we will support the student by providing them with the opportunity to work with our experienced environmental and sustainability team at The Glenlivet distillery, including access to a wide range of training, expertise and laboratory facilities.” Dr. Josie Geris, Lecturer in Hydrology at the School of Geosciences, University of Aberdeen, said: “We are pleased to be working with Chivas Brothers and the James Hutton Institute.
This project provides a unique opportunity for a research student to gain real world experience out in the field and identify solutions that will greatly benefit the whisky industry in the long term.” Chivas Brothers has a longstanding commitment to supporting further academic institutions in Scotland with students from both Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen and Edinburgh University completing one-year laboratory placements with the business over the last five years.
The company also supports research and development on behalf of the whisky industry, through the Scotch Whisky Research Institute, based in Edinburgh; and funds a bursary scheme for further education and vocational training in conjunction with the Scottish International Education Trust, which is open to employees and their family members.
Notes: About Chivas Brothers Chivas Brothers is the Scotch whisky and premium gin business of Pernod Ricard, the world’s n°2 in wines and spirits.
Chivas Brothers’ award-winning portfolio features some of the world’s most revered Scotch whisky brands including Chivas Regal, the world’s first luxury whisky and the No.1 Scotch whisky in China; Ballantine’s, Europe’s No.1 Scotch whisky; The Glenlivet, the single malt whisky that set the standard; and Royal Salute, the world’s only exclusively prestige Scotch whisky range.
Source : http://www.whiskyintelligence.com/2017/04/chivas-brothers-funds-phd-to-help-combat-effects-of-climate-change-on-water-supply-scotch-whisky-news/

Government’s emergency water supply ready for 500 villages nationwide.
In case of water shortage this summer, the government has set aside emergency water supply for 500 villages around Myanmar.
Rural Development Department director U Kyaw Thu Aung from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation said surveys have revealed that villages in Mandalay Region, Kayah and Rakhine states faced high possibilities of water shortages.
U Kyaw Thu Aung said the government had also allocated K81.5 million worth of fuel cost to township offices under the emergency water supply program, in case the villages face water shortages.
U Kyaw Thu Aung said the water shortage this time might not be as severe as last year’s but the government was not taking chances.
Due to the El Nino phenomenon last year, the department estimated over 1000 villages to face water shortages.
The severity of the problem was reduced following measures such as the digging of ponds and prioritised water distribution to villages in a 100-day program by the new government.
U Kyaw Thu Aung said the 368 ponds dug last year would help alleviate concerns of water shortage this year, by storing enough rain water.
Water shortages are common in Myanmar’s hot and dry zones, affecting all states and regions.
Those wells had been supplying water to locals.

Islamabad As the political parties are set to exploit water issue in Islamabad in their campaign leading to the next general elections, the Municipal Corporation of Islamabad (MCI) has claimed to meet the shortage in the next little over two years after completing water supply project from Indus River. The next general elections if everything goes smoothly would be held, next year and the water crisis in Islamabad is becoming hot issue for the election campaigns. The local leadership of two main opposition parties Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) have already started grilling the government and civic bodies for their failure to ensure sufficient supply of water to residents of the federal capital. Feeling that water shortage is the burning issue in Islamabad, the political parties have been staging demonstrations besides displaying banners across the federal capital. The Islamabad Mayor Sheikh Anser Aziz and his government have also been facing severe criticism from the opposition members and chairmen of his own party in the last three sessions of the MCI With the advent of early summer season excluding the last couple of days, the requirement of water had increased but the supply remained at 54 Million Gallons per Day (MGD) which is less than half of total capacity of water reservoirs like…

Contaminated water supply puts Shopian on brink of disease outbreak.
“We have been provided 24-hour water supply but the water is dirty, mixed with sand and mud.
This water is not fit for drinking,” Muhammad Amin Wagay from Pinjora said.
Tariq Ahmed Pir, a resident of Alyalpora said that the supplied water is so dirty that on occasions, domestic animals also refuse to drink it.
The authorities are not taking the issues seriously.
The drinking water supply feeder near Killora village for 36 villages of Rampathri area is filled with sand and mud up to 11.5 feet.
Authorities say due to the huge mixture of sand and mud with water these filters gets filled with sand and mud within three days and the department has no effective mechanism to clean them regularly.
“The contractors of Mughal Road put all the soil, sand and other material on the banks of rivulet, when snow starts melting and due to heavy rain all the mud flows into the river and contaminates the water,” a group of PHE employees said.
Beig said the issue of contaminated water supply is known to the chief minister.
About 25 water supply schemes get water from Rambiara Rivulet, our filtration plants only have capacity to filter the large dirty particles, he said.

Source of E.coli contamination in Wellington water still a mystery.
E.coli levels are still increasing in Wellington water, as officials try to track down the source of the contamination.
Lower Hutt’s water supply is being chlorinated, while artesian water wells in Petone and Dowse Square have been closed.
November’s Kaikoura earthquake is being put down as a possible cause of the contamination.
Lower Hutt mayor Ray Wallace said there was no issue more important than the safety of drinking water.
"We know many residents really value access to unchlorinated aquifer water, but public safety will always be our number one priority.
Wellington Water acting chief executive Mark Kinvig warned the situation wouldn’t get a quick fix.
"We’re carrying out investigations into the source but this is expected to take many months to complete."
Greater Wellington Regional Council chair Chris Laidlaw said they weren’t taking any chances with public health.
"We immediately chlorinated Lower Hutt’s water supply in response to the recent positive E.coli test, and we’ll continue to chlorinate while we investigate the source of the results.

Gaondongrem, Cotigao villagers look for water supply from Gaunem dam.
CANACONA: The Gaunem minor earthen dam project, which was initiated in 2011, taking into view the dire water needs of the people of Gaondongrem and Cotigao villages, has been completed, informed sources.
And, now it will be the Public Works Department which has to start work on building the necessary infrastructure like water treatment plant and network for the distribution of water to the villages.
Once the approval is granted, the necessary work will start, said D’Souza.
During the summer, the people from these areas travel long distances to fetch drinking water with pots on their heads.
Some dig holes near the rivulets and extract water using coconut shells.
The source said that the dam has a height of 27.75 metres and the rain water will be only source for the reservoir.
Since Canacona receives on average of around 110-120 inches of rainfall a year, it will suffice the storage, the source said.
The dam would help recharge ground water table, which will recharge nearby wells.
It may be recalled that the work on this project started in 2011 which continued up to 2012, but midway in 2013 the work was suspended following re-designing of the project by raising the dam height by 2 metres.

E coli still in Hutt drinking water leading authorities to continue chlorination.
Chlorine is to continue being added to Lower Hutt’s water supply as a precautionary safety measure after E coli contamination was detected.
The Hutt City Council said the chlorination would continue while investigations into the source of the recent positive E coli test results were under way, and emphasised that the water remains safe to drink.
A sample from a bore in the Waterloo wellfield returned a positive E coli test result on April 12 – the third positive result in five months from water sourced from the Waiwhetu aquifer.
* Chlorine added to water in Lower Hutt as precautionary measure * Wellington Water to stop chlorination of water in Lower Hutt * Prime minister talks down mandatory water chlorination * CuriousCity: How Wellington’s drinking water is kept free of contamination Recent water quality testing across the aquifer had shown an increasing amount of bacteria activity, which had resulted in the council’s decision to continue chlorinating the water.
We immediately chlorinated Lower Hutt’s water supply in response to the recent positive E coli test and we’ll continue to chlorinate while we investigate the source of these positive results".
Lower Hutt mayor Ray Wallace said safe drinking water was of the utmost importance.
"We know many residents really value access to unchlorinated aquifer water but public safety will always be our number one priority.
Wellington Water acting chief executive Mark Kinvig said the cause of the positive test results was not known yet, but it was possible it was related to the November 2016 Kaikoura quake.
– Stuff

Jajpur: The District Mineral Fund and the rural development (RD) department will launch a mega water supply project with an estimated cost of Rs 55.17 crore, much to the relief of thousands of people of Sukinda mining area.
The project envisaged at supplying water in the mine areas under Sukinda block will directly benefit 26,736 people of 25 villages under four panchayats.
The department has also sent a letter to the superintendent engineer for the release of tenders and other formalities.
Rampant mining has gradually affected the water quality and depleted the groundwater.
Although the mining companies are supposed to supply drinking water through tankers as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility programme, none of them seem to follow the guidelines.
There are about 30 water supply projects in the block but most of the pipelines release water with high chromite content.
Locals have no option but to depend of ponds and other water bodies, but these too are polluted due to release of untreated industrial waste.
As a result, the villagers fall victim to various diseases.
Keeping the water woes of people in mind, the administration had several years ago planned to launch a mega water supply project.
The DMF has already allocated Rs 33.92 crore for the project.

Boil Advisory: Beekman Water System.
MOREHOUSE PARISH, La.
(Press Release) – The Beekman Water System, Inc. is experiencing problems with the water supply.
Because of these problems, the water produced by the water supply system is of questionable microbiological quality.
Therefore, as a precaution, the Beekman Water System, Inc. is issuing a BOIL ADVISORY effective immediately.
This BOIL ADVISORY is to remain in effect until rescinded by the Beekman Water System, Inc.
It is recommended that all consumers disinfect their water before consuming it (including fountain drinks), making ice, brushing teeth, or using it for food preparation or rinsing of foods by the following means: + Boil water for (1) one full minute in a clean container.
The one minute starts after the water has been brought to a rolling boil.
Again, please be sure to disinfect your own water prior to consumption until you have been advised otherwise.
Upon such notification, the Beekman Water System, Inc. will then rescind the Boil Advisory and notify its customers that the water has been found to be safe.