Access to piped water increased in absolute number from 82 million urban dwellers with piped water in 2000 to 124 million in 2015, but the urban population served with piped water on the premises declined from 40 to 33 percent over the same period.
[1] The total population with improved sanitation services increased, and many countries in the region were able to meet their MDG goals, but most of that increase came from an increase in the access to piped water off premises and self-supply.
Only 30 percent of Africans have access to improved wastewater services, and more than 23 percent are practicing open defecation (Ibid.).
In addition, a vast majority of the African utilities do not provide wastewater services, and some that did in 2000-2006 dropped wastewater collection services due to high costs and technical difficulties.
Their performance showed some improvements between 2010 and 2013.
Access to sewer services is in its infancy in Africa — with very few utilities providing such services.
We used several measures of utility performance (looking at financial performance, operational performance and customer performance) and in general, we found that utilities are performing below global benchmarks.
Performance is also dependent on cost.
We found that the O&M costs of water services between 2010 and 2013 have been accompanied by an increase in the affordability of water services.
In the case of the World Bank, that will mean more attention to the efficiency of water sector investments, and the incentive structures in place that may affect utility performance.

Rainwater Harvesting.
That would be wrong.
It’s perfectly legal, providing you catch the rainwater off of an artificial, impervious surface, according to Michael Mattick, the Oregon Water Resources Department’s watermaster for district 2, which includes Lane County.
In other words, landowners nearby might have had the right to the water Harrington was storing and weren’t getting it.
Rainwater systems can be as simple as putting rain barrels under gutter downspouts, or as complex as constructing an underground cistern and water pump system.” Mattick says that after rainwater harvesting became a legal issue in Colorado in the 1990s — it was illegal to collect rainwater in barrels there until 2016 — Oregon was motivated to amend its own laws.
“It was just silent.” So under Oregon law since about 1995, you can collect rainwater, but you have to collect it off an artificial, impervious surface, like a roof or a parking lot.
You can’t build a dam or dig a big hole and catch rainwater and store it, but you could technically cover 10-acre parking lot in plastic sheeting, catch that rainwater in barrels and be good to go.
And some rainwater systems require permits.
Larger or more complex systems used for irrigation may require a building permit and stormwater review.
Indoor water that you plan to use for flushing toilets and clothes washing needs plumbing, electrical and possibly building permits if you install a cistern or underground tank.

Many industries suffered considerable losses.
According to reports, Malaysia has formally adopted the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) as the way to sustainably manage its water resources.
The National Water Resources Council, established in 1998, has provided a forum for a holistic approach in the planning and management of water resources.
Water is found in lakes and reservoirs, in flowing rivers and also as groundwater.
This includes both preventive and curative measures.
Sources of water supply need not be limited to surface waters.
Groundwater and even wastewater need to be explored for use.
This is not only for assessing water and its ecosystem, but also in implementing the supply-side infrastructural development works, water and wastewater treatment facilities, and demand-side innovative technologies and practices.
Water related research in Malaysia has been rather ad-hoc.
It is about “making water everyone’s business”.

The yield from borewells has come down, water purifying facilities are in a shambles, Metrowater has stopped supply in sumps and the Amma canteen workers get water primarily from unsafe sources.
But Metrowater has reduced supply to many of the canteens to once in four or five days.
According to estimates, normal operations have been affected in more than 50% of the canteens in various parts of the city as Metrowater supply has been irregular.
Another former councillor, Kalarimuthu, said workers of the canteen walk 50 metres to get water for the canteen.
“Only one of the two canteens in the neighbourhood of Ripon Buildings has Metrowater water supply and a borewell,” he said.
Decline in supply Chennai Corporation officials said more than 100 Amma canteens rely on borewells for water supply.
The supply of water in many such canteens has come down for the first time, said an official.
“Some Amma Canteens are unable to source water even for cooking,” said an official.
Metrowater has stopped giving water also to private operators, reducing commercial supply to hotels.
“The number of visitors to our Amma Canteen has reduced by 20% because of water scarcity.

Liberia: The Shocking Truth About Our Drinking Water.
On March 22, 2017, during the observance of World Water Day, UNICEF reported that by 2040, one in four children worldwide will be living in areas with extreme limited water resources, a realization that has already affected many children living in Liberia.
One of the major challenges in communities that have no access to functioning water supplies and functioning sewage systems, is drinking from contaminated or poisoned (chlorine) drinking wells; something that is done unintentionally.
According to the United States Center for Disease Control (CDC), one of the chemicals that is used and is accessible in the market to clear the bacteria and germs caused by nature’s natural microbes is chlorine, a chemical which, in its natural form, is a greenish-yellow gas and has a strong smell that is used as bleach, oxidizing agent and to disinfect in water during purification.
Presently in Liberia and many parts of the world, chlorine is normally sold in small water bottles filled with its powder residue, and sometimes the poisonous gas liquid.
It is sold as little as US$3 and without any questions from the consumer; they are told to drop it in their wells and to wait three days before drinking from them.
According to UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake, during the observance of World Water Day, "water is elemental; without it, nothing can grow.
Meanwhile, a family in Caldwell recalls that during the Ebola period many women and children became ill and lost their lives from drinking from contaminated or ‘poisoned’ wells.
"People would drink a cup and start vomiting; and before two or three days, die from stomach challenges," the family added.
It is proven that when chlorine gas comes into contact with moist body tissues such as the eyes, throat, and lungs, an acid is produced that can damage these tissues and causes: blurred vision; burning pain, redness, and blisters on the skin if exposed to gas.

Rainfall helps ease some drought concerns in Spartanburg County.
Hide caption Spartanburg Water reports Lake Bowen is nearly 2 inches above full pool.
TIM KIMZEY/Staff file Staff Writer @bmontgomeryshj Recent rains have helped replenish Spartanburg County’s water supply, though the county is still classified as being in a moderate drought, the CEO of Spartanburg Water said Tuesday.
Sue Schneider said lakes Bowen and Blalock are actually above full pool, which means they are overflowing with water.
Lake Bowen is nearly 2 inches above full pool and Lake Blalock about 1 inch above.
Earlier this month, the S.C. Drought Response Committee decided to keep Spartanburg County’s drought designation as moderate, the third of five levels.
Schneider said the variables that determine a drought can change from one area to the next.
“And our basin is strong, so we continue to have good water supply.” At its April 6 meeting, the drought response committee noted soil moisture across the state is below the five-year average, affecting spring planting of crops, and wildfire activity was 70 percent higher than usual in March and is expected to peak this month.
The committee will meet again in late May to discuss current drought conditions and change any drought statuses.
Along with Spartanburg, Cherokee and Union counties are also in a moderate drought.

Oil drilling plans in Stoughton could pose ‘an unacceptable risk’ to a public water supply, according to the Environment Agency.
The Bedhampton and Havant springs provide water to 34 per cent of people in the area managed by Portsmouth Water, which supplies Chichester, Bognor and a significant region of the South Downs.
Controversy over the plans for exploratory oil wells in Markwells Wood has centred around contamination risks to the water source for several months.
Applicant UK Oil and Gas said drilling would be safe and issued fresh documentation earlier this year in response to concerns.
But the EA’s second report found the revised information was still insufficient and urged the ‘precautionary principle’ to protect and manage the water source.
“Further evidence based assessment of the hydrogeology at the Markwells Wood site is needed to show potential risks have been identified and understood.” Around 2,000 objections have been made to the plans ,including campaign group Markwells Wood Watch, which crowdfunded its own hydrogeological report last month.
The group is now putting pressure on the EA to change the status of the area around Markwells Wood to a Source Protection Zone 1, a level that would prohibit all drilling.
It is hoped a refusal at the site, which falls within the South Downs National Park, would set a precedent in the area.
“Oil production in this area is simply too risky.” What do you think?
Send your view to letters@chiobserver.co.uk

My neighbour spread slurry and ruined the road – what can I do?.
Our resident solicitor tackles the issue of when it’s OK to spread slurry Dear Karen, my neighbour spread slurry on St Stephen’s Day.
It is for the Local Authority to take action under these air pollution regulations and you can certainly lodge a complaint with them.
Local Authorities and the Environmental Protection Agency have had successful prosecutions in relation to agricultural water pollution.
Roads Spreading of slurry from the road into fields is illegal.
The Department of Environment, Community and Local Government is the department with responsibility for the implementation the European Union (Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters) Regulations 2014, commonly known as the Nitrates Regulations.
Article 18 (2) (4) (d) of the Nitrates Regulations prohibits the application to land of organic fertilisers from a road adjacent to the land.
In 2011, Cork County Council threatened to enforce The 1993 Roads Act (Section 73) against farmers whose animal manure was left on roadways.
The Farmers Farmers have to consider a large number of factors when spreading slurry.
Farmers can also incur severe penalties in their farm payments should they be caught spreading slurry during the closed period.

DEHDADI DISTRICT, Balkh Province – Shiny new pipelines connect the water storage tank to the tanker parked beside the main road of Karmalik village.
The tanker provides sufficient drinking water for all the residents of the village.
Abdul Ahad, 45, is responsible for making sure every house in the village has access to water.
“When the water supply was disrupted, things were very difficult for us.
The village main road was being paved recently, making it easier for locals to transport goods, but the road works ruptured the existing water supply network.
With the supply system collapsing, households could no longer access drinking water through their pipeline system.
This was hard as well as unhygienic because stream water is not very clean,” says Aqela, 50, a resident of Karmalik village.
Every time we need water, we just turn on the tap in our homes and have access to clean water,” she says, smiling.
The village water supply network was restored by a Maintenance Cash Grant (MCG) awarded by NSP.
We have access to drinking water in our homes now,” says Abdul Ahad.

Kurnool district is reeling under acute water scarcity, said Deputy Chief Minister K.E.
Krishnamurthy on Sunday and directed Rural Water Supply officials to study the situation in all the gram panchayats and habitations in the district and forward a plan of action.
Addressing a review meeting with constituency in charges and officials in the Collectorate conference hall here, Mr. Krishnamurthy said Sunkesula dam dried up and asked the officials to explore alternative sources to mitigate the water shortage.
Ms. Akhilapriya directed restoration of Srirangapuram comprehensive protected water supply scheme to supply drinking water to eight villages.
Rajya Sabha member T.G.
Venkatesh sought an action plan to store Tungabhadra water in the Sunkesula dam as a permanent measure to mitigate water scarcity.
He suggested construction of ORHS tanks in all villages.
Vijayamohan had assured sanction of funds if proposals were forwarded.
Mohan Reddy, Kodumur MLA Mani Gandhi, Srisailam MLA B. Rajasekhar Reddy, Yemmiganur MLA B. Jayanageswara Reddy, former ministers K.E.
Prabhakar and Erasu Pratap Reddy and constituency in charges apprised the Deputy Chief Minister of the water woes in their areas.