The precautionary boil water advisory that was impacting some Hamden residents has been canceled on Saturday.

The Regional Water Authority said the initial precautionary notice was issued on Thursday afternoon after a 16-inch water main break. Repairs were completed Thursday night and service was restored.

Residents on High Rock Road, Hill Street, Laura Road, W Shepard Avenue, Paradise Avenue, Heathridge Road, Norman Road, Sterling Place, Laurel View Terrace, Dunbar Hill Road and Chauncy Road were advised to boil their tap water until a complete cycle of water-quality testing could be administered.

The RWA tested water samples from multiple sites in the affected area and said they have verified that there is no risk of water contamination from the loss of pressure in the distribution system.

The precautionary boil water advisory for those residents was canceled on Saturday.

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Originally Appeared Here

Postpone your lawn watering, car washing, laundry and other water-intensive chores until Tuesday afternoon, the Champlain Water District is advising Chittenden County residents.

The district issued the alert Sunday following an unscheduled slowdown at its water treatment facility, according to a press release.

The conservation measure affects about 75,000 residential and business customers in Colchester, Essex and Essex Junction, Jericho Village, Milton, Shelburne, South Burlington and Williston.

Ample supplies of pure drinking water are likely to remain on tap, the district release states, but dialing down non-essential use will ensure that county’s water tanks topped up — a critical factor in fighting fires.

Burlington residents are unaffected by the alert; the city’s department of public works has its own water purification plant.

Both utilities draw water from Lake Champlain, hundreds of feet from shore.

Contact Joel Banner Baird at 802-660-1843 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @VTgoingUp.

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Originally Appeared Here

The following discussion and analysis of our results of operations and financial
condition has been derived from and should be read in conjunction with our
interim unaudited consolidated financial statements and the related notes
thereto that appear elsewhere in this quarterly report, as well as the
“Presentation of Information” section that appears at the beginning of this
quarterly report.

Overview

We are an innovative water technology company that provides sustainable and
environmentally sound solutions to water-scarce regions. We use proven
technologies to create economically viable products that address the critical
shortage of clean drinking water in both domestic and foreign emerging markets.

Our goal is to address the vital issue of water quality and water supply by
providing an alternative, sustainable source of pure water at the smallest
possible environmental cost to global areas in need, while becoming a leading
company in providing decentralized, turn-key solutions using alternative energy
for the purification, desalination and distribution of clean drinking water.

To date, we have focused our activities on the formation of safe water
partnerships and the sale and installation of our products, with emphasis on our
AQUAtapTM Community Water Purification & Distribution systems throughout North
America, Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa, with specific attention to the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (the “DRC”) and Angola.

Corporate History and Background

We were incorporated under the laws of Delaware on February 25, 2010. From our
inception until the closing of the Share Exchange, we sought to provide dental
and other medical professionals with turn-key marketing solutions to generate
referrals from existing clients and new business from the general public through
our wholly owned subsidiary RPM Dental Systems, LLC (“RPM Kentucky”). RPM
Kentucky was formed on September 15, 2009, under the laws of the Commonwealth of
Kentucky, and we acquired RPM Kentucky on March 23, 2010.

Prior to the Share Exchange, we had minimal revenue and our operations were
limited to capital formation, organization and development of our business plan.
As a result of the Share Exchange, we ceased our prior operations and, through
Quest NV, we now operate as an innovative water technology company that provides
sustainable and environmentally sound solutions to water-scarce regions.

Quest NV was incorporated under the laws of Nevada on October 20, 2008 and
commenced operations on February 20, 2009. Its operations to date have consisted
of business formation, strategic development, marketing, technologies
development, negotiations with technologies companies and capital raising
activities. Prior to 2021, Quest NV had not generated any revenues since its
inception.

5

Acquisition of Quest NV

On January 6, 2012, we completed the Share Exchange whereby we acquired all of
the issued and outstanding capital stock of Quest NV in exchange for 2,568,493
shares of our common stock (on a pre-forward split basis), or approximately
62.74% of our issued and outstanding common stock as of the consummation of the
Share Exchange. Subsequent to the Share Exchange, we completed a 20 for 1
forward split of our common stock (the “Forward Split”) that became effective on
March 1, 2012. Pursuant to the Forward Split, the 2,568,493 shares described
above increased to 51,369,860 shares.

As a result of the Share Exchange, Quest NV became our wholly owned subsidiary
and John Balanko and Peter Miele became our principal stockholders. The Share
Exchange was treated as a recapitalization effected through a share exchange,
with Quest NV as the accounting acquirer and the Company as the accounting
acquiree.

In connection with and effective upon the closing of the Share Exchange, Josh
Morita, our former President, Chief Executive Officer, director and principal
stockholder, and Dr. Laura Sloan, our former director, resigned as members of
our Board of Directors and Mr. Morita resigned as our sole officer. Also
effective upon the closing of the Share Exchange, John Balanko and Peter Miele
were appointed to fill the vacancies on our Board of Directors created by the
resignations of Mr. Morita and Ms. Sloan. In addition, our Board of Directors
appointed Mr. Balanko as our President and Chief Executive Officer and Mr. Miele
as our Vice President and Secretary, all effective upon the closing of the Share
Exchange. On April 13, 2012, we also appointed Mr. Miele as our Chief Financial
Officer.

As a result of our acquisition of Quest NV, Quest NV became our wholly owned
subsidiary and we assumed the business and operations of Quest NV. We then
changed our name from RPM Dental, Inc. to Quest Water Global, Inc. to more
accurately reflect our new business operations.

AQUAtap Entities

In July 2021, we incorporated a new operating subsidiary, AQUAtap Global, Inc.,
a Wyoming corporation, that subsequently established a wholly owned subsidiary,
AQUAtap Global Investments Inc., a British Columbia, Canada corporation, in
November 2021. Through these entities, we expect to coordinate, facilitate and
manage our current, planned and future safe water partnerships throughout
Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean that provide clean water initiatives for
underserved communities. The AQUAtap entities, together with their strategic
global partners, plan to establish subordinate partnerships in various countries
and engage experienced local individuals and organizations for operational
expertise. We anticipate that this will enable the subordinate partnerships to
enter into public-private partnerships (commonly known as PPPs) with NGOs,
strategic investors and various levels of government.

Quest Water Solutions Inc., a British Columbia, Canada corporation and wholly
owned subsidiary of Quest NV (“Quest BC”), will remain as the technology
provider to our safe water initiatives. Quest BC is responsible for designing,
engineering and manufacturing our range of products, and it also sells these
water technology products directly to end users through our corporate sales &
marketing divisions and through global distributors and agents.

Business Overview

We provide sustainable and environmentally sound solutions to water scarce
regions. Our goal is to address the vital issue of water quality and water
supply by providing an alternative, sustainable source of pure water at the
smallest possible environmental cost to global areas in need, while becoming a
leading company in providing turn-key solutions using alternative energy for the
purification, desalination and distribution of clean drinking water.

6

We have developed a proprietary AQUAtap™ Community Water Purification and
Distribution System consisting of a self-contained water purification system
using either a reverse osmosis membrane or ultrafiltration membrane, powered by
photovoltaic solar panels and hosted in modified shipping containers. Each unit
is energy self-sufficient with minimal operational and maintenance costs. We
believe that this product represents the first truly environmentally sound
solution to drinking water shortages as it is autonomous, decentralized and
sustainable, and because each unit is capable of converting brackish, sea or
contaminated surface water into high quality drinking water at a rate of up to
100,000 litres per day.

In addition to the solar-powered water purification systems, we have also
developed a technology known as WEPSTM that produces potable water from humidity
in the atmosphere. WEPSTM technology works by converting humidity into water,
otherwise known as atmospheric water extraction.

Results of Operations

For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2022

Revenue

We did not generate any revenue during the three months ended March 31, 2022,
whereas we generated $150,000 in revenue during the same period in the prior
year. All of the revenue was attributable to a sales order and advance payment
from AQUAtap Oasis Partnership S.A.R.L., and was offset by $112,724 in cost of
goods sold, for a gross margin of $37,276. We anticipate that we will incur
substantial losses for the foreseeable future and our ability to generate any
revenues in the next 12 months continues to be uncertain.

Expenses

During the three months ended March 31, 2022, we incurred $144,635 in total
expenses, including $112,500 in management fees, $13,781 in professional fees,
$7,806 in transfer agent and filing fees, $5,250 in rent, $2,645 in automotive
expenses, $1,690 in office and miscellaneous expenses and $963 in telephone
expenses. During the same period in the prior year, we incurred $119,829 in
total expenses, including $107,500 in management fees, $5,250 in rent, $3,061 in
automotive expenses, $2,825 in office and miscellaneous expenses, $805 in
telephone expenses and $388 in transfer agent and filing fees. Except for the
minor increases in our professional fees and transfer agent and filing fees, our
expenses were relatively consistent between the two periods.

Net Loss

During the three months ended March 31, 2022, we incurred a net loss of
$144,635, whereas we incurred a net loss of $82,553 during the same period in
the prior year. Our net loss per share during the three months ended March 31,
2022 and 2021 was $0.002 and $0.001, respectively.

7

Liquidity and Capital Resources

As of March 31, 2022 we had $4,170 in cash, $21,513 in total assets, $3,836,523
in total liabilities and a working capital deficiency of $3,822,230. As of that
date, we also had an accumulated deficit of $10,147,844.

To date, we have experienced negative cash flows from operations and we have
been dependent on sales of our common stock and capital contributions to fund
our operations. We expect this situation to continue for the foreseeable future,
and we anticipate that we will experience negative cash flows during the year
ended December 31, 2022.

During the three months ended March 31, 2022, we spent $57 in net cash on
operating activities, which was identical to our $57 in net cash spending on
operating activities during the same period in the prior year. Although our net
loss in the current period increased as described above, it was offset by
certain changes in our operating assets and liabilities, notably the “due to
related company” and “unbilled costs” balances.

We did not spend or receive any cash in respect of investing activities or
financing activities during the three months ended March 31, 2022 or 2021.

During the three months ended March 31, 2022, our cash decreased by $57 as a
result of our operating activities, from $4,227 to $4,170. As of March 31, 2022,
we did not have sufficient cash resources to meet our operating expenses for the
next month based on our then-current burn rate.

Plan of Operations

Our plan of operations over the next 12 months is to continue to address water
quality and supply issues in the DRC through the installation of our AQUAtapTM
Community Water Purification & Distribution systems as well as the employment of
our WEPSTMtechnology, and we anticipate that we will require a minimum of
$946,000 to pursue those plans.

As described above, we intend to meet the balance of our cash requirements for
the next 12 months through advances from related parties as well as a
combination of debt financing and equity financing through private placements as
circumstances allow. We are not presently contacting broker/dealers in Canada
and elsewhere regarding possible financing arrangements, but we intend to
initiate such contact once the current cease trade order in effect against us in
the Province of British Columbia, Canada has been revoked. Regardless, there is
no assurance that we will be successful in completing any private placement or
other financings. If we are unsuccessful in obtaining sufficient funds through
our capital raising efforts, we may review other financing options.

During the next 12 months, we estimate that our planned expenditures will
include the following:

Amount
Description ($)
Equipment purchases 250,000
Management fees 430,000
Consulting fees 120,000
Professional fees 50,000
Rent 21,000
Advertising and promotion expenses 15,000
Travel and automotive expenses 30,000
Other general and administrative expenses 30,000
Total 946,000

8

Going Concern

Our financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis, which
implies we will continue to realize our assets and discharge our liabilities in
the normal course of business. As at March 31, 2022, we had a working capital
deficiency of $3,822,230 and an accumulated deficit of $10,147,844. Our
continuation as a going concern is dependent upon the continued financial
support from our creditors, our ability to obtain necessary equity financing to
continue operations, and ultimately on the attainment of profitable operations.
These factors raise substantial doubt regarding our ability to continue as a
going concern. Our financial statements do not include any adjustments to the
recoverability and classification of recorded asset amounts and classification
of liabilities that might be necessary should we be unable to continue as a
going concern.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements that have or are reasonably
likely to have a current or future effect on our financial condition, changes in
financial condition, revenues or expenses, results of operations, liquidity,
capital expenditures or capital resources that is material to investors.

Critical Accounting Policies

We have identified certain accounting policies, described below, that are
important to the portrayal of our current financial condition and results of
operations.

Basis of Presentation and Consolidation

The Company’s consolidated financial statements and related notes are presented
in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United
States, and are expressed in US dollars. Our consolidated financial statements
include the accounts of the Company; the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiaries
Quest Water Solutions, Inc., a company incorporated under the laws of the State
of Nevada (“Quest Nevada”), and AQUAtap Global, Inc., a company incorporated
under the laws of the State of Wyoming; and Quest Nevada’s wholly owned
subsidiary, Quest Water Solutions Inc., a company incorporated under the laws of
the province of British Columbia, Canada. All inter-company balances and
transactions have been eliminated on consolidation.

9

Foreign Currency Translation

The Company’s functional currency is US dollars. Transactions in foreign
currencies are translated into the currency of measurement at the exchange rates
in effect on the transaction date. Monetary balance sheet items expressed in
foreign currencies are translated into US dollars at the exchange rates in
effect at the balance sheet date. The resulting exchange gains and losses are
recognized in income.

The Company’s integrated foreign subsidiaries are financially or operationally
dependent on the Company. The Company uses the temporal method to translate the
accounts of its integrated operations into US dollars. Monetary assets and
liabilities are translated at the exchange rates in effect at the balance sheet
date. Non-monetary assets and liabilities are translated at historical rates.
Revenues and expenses are translated at average rates for the period, except for
amortization, which is translated on the same basis as the related asset. The
resulting exchange gains or losses are recognized in income.

© Edgar Online, source Glimpses

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Originally Appeared Here

May 20—Sometimes lessons in the classroom spark students’ desire to act and find a solution to world problems. That is exactly what happened this school year at Due West Elementary School.

After students in Courtney Chrzanowski’s fourth-grade class read “A Long Walk to Water,” the students researched to find out about the life today of one of the real-life characters in the book. They learned that the boy in the book went on to start the non-profit Water for South Sudan. Because of what they had learned in class, the fourth graders felt called to act. They wanted to raise funds for the organization and help those in need in another part of the world.

For their teacher, their desire to act supported her plan to provide the students with a service-learning project, which she does every year.

Their mission: Deliver sustainable quality-of-life services to and with the people of South Sudan by efficiently providing access to clean, safe water and improving hygiene and sanitation practices in areas of great need. The Due West students were able to accomplish their mission through the Iron Giraffe Challenge.

The students brainstormed how to raise money for the non-profit, then they helped plan and execute all the school fundraising events. Many students extended their fundraising outside school, coordinating fundraising efforts beyond the classroom.

“The students took it and ran with it,” their teacher said.

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Originally Appeared Here

Worldwide statistics surrounding access to safe drinking water, hand-washing facilities and sanitation can be staggering.

According to the most recent statistics from the World Health Organization and UNICEF, 2.2 billion people lack safe drinking water services, 4.2 billion lack safe sanitation services, and 3 billion lack basic facilities for hand-washing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 1 in 9 deaths among children worldwide are caused by diarrhea, a preventable and treatable condition.

Piney Point resident Isis Mejias holds a doctorate in environmental engineering from the University of Houston and from the University of Houston and has strived for more than a decade to provide children in developing countries with water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) systems.

“To really get health, we don’t only need clean water, but we need to have access to a toilet, proper drainage that takes the wastewater to a septic tank or wastewater treatment plant and adequate solid waste collection,” Mejias said. “And the third component in the WASH term is having access to hand-washing facilities with soap and the ability to clean the spaces where we live, the food that we eat and the kitchen utensils that we use.”

Mejias refers to WASH as the “holy trinity of health” because she says health cannot be achieved without every component present. Pathogen and disease transmission continues in an environment where one component is missing.

When Mejias began studying environmental engineering, she found that while people often focus on clean drinking water and fail to consider the need for sanitation and hygiene as well.

Although access to WASH impacts health, it also impacts less obvious areas of life like education, human rights and job opportunities.

Students in schools without restrooms or hand-washing facilities are more likely to miss school because they get sick more often from bacterial infections, for example. Mejias visited one Ugandan primary school where girls were forced to stay home for a week each month during their periods because there was no adequate place for them to change. Many of the girls drop out and never receive a secondary education, which limits their job opportunities compared to men.

Additionally, intestinal parasites caused by a lack of clean water or adequate sanitation can affect a child’s cognitive ability to learn and impact their future job opportunities after they drop out of school.

While these issues most often occur in communities far away from the United States, Mejias pointed to certain marginalized or minority communities right here in Texas whose schools don’t always have soap for their hand-washing facilities. This can expose students to infectious diseases like COVID-19.

During her time at UH, Mejias learned about Rotary International’s work in water and sanitation from Rotarian Bill Davis. Davis helped her raise $64,000 to establish a water distribution system at a Kenyan hospital. When Mejias traveled there, she realized she wanted to further pursue the environmental engineering field and started working toward her doctorate.

Davis urged Mejias to apply for the Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship, which is a program for graduate students researching in one of Rotary’s six areas of focus span that the organization’s wide range of volunteer projects. Through the scholarship, she researched low-cost water treatment technologies with bacteria resistant to metals from a contaminated river in Brazil.

Davis said working with Mejias has been a great experience.

“It has been an absolute pleasure working with Isis on WASH projects,” he said. “She is very dedicated, enthusiastic, knowledgeable and most importantly sees the project through to completion.”

After Mejias defended her thesis, she worked in Kenya and Uganda with Rotary projects. In Uganda, she assessed the WASH needs of 10 primary schools that had no water. A young Ugandan woman she met told her that just by being there and educating the communities, she was empowering many people to make changes in water, sanitation and hygiene.

“I realized that education was a very big role in my field or in my role as a WASH advocate,” Mejias explained. “And that’s why I decided to come back to Houston and open a nonprofit dedicated to water education.”

Global WASH is now a 501(c)(3) centered around empowering communities that had always lacked safe water through education that forges positive impacts. Also, through serving as a Rotary WASH Rag Ambassador, Mejias educates people about WASH and works to improve situations in communities around the globe.

She said awareness is a major key and that many people in the U.S. take safe, running water for granted. But she added the widespread Texas freeze in February 2021 that left many residents without water shed some light on the issue.

Mejias encourages people to be informed, spread the word about the importance of safe water, sanitation and hygiene, and financially support or get involved with organizations like Rotary International whose work aims to improve lives through WASH.

“I think if more people realize the connection between clean water and hygiene and the impacts of just education, job opportunities, prosperity, even gender equality, they’ll do more about it,” she said. “Anyone really can be a health advocate.”

For more information about Global Wash, visit www.globalwash.org. For more information about Rotary International’s work in WASH, visit https://tinyurl.com/39k65shj.

[email protected]

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Originally Appeared Here

Budgam, May, 20: The Deputy Commissioner (DC) Budgam, Shahbaz Ahmed Mirza Friday chaired a meeting to review the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), across the district at Conference Hall, here.

At the outset, the DC reviewed the status of progress of under construction Water Supply Schemes, Detailed project Reports, revising of Detailed action plan, tendering, work allotments under JJM.

The meeting was informed that 175 schemes shall be implemented under Rs. 1240 crores JJM project for the district Budgam.

It was informed that all 207 pipeline and ancillary works have been tendered and shall be opened shortly. The DC called for speedy resolution of all land dispute cases and NOC clearance from all concerned departments.

Elucidating further, the meeting  was informed that 558 pani Samitis have been formed, besides 7 labs established and over nearly 18k tests through Field Testing Kit have been conducted in the District so far.

The DC impressed upon the concerned to ensure fool-proof implementation of the JJM and in a way that it turns an example for the entire UT of J&K.

The chair was apprised that out of total 127555 total rural households, 70606 households shall be connected to supply tap water under various WSS under JJM by August- 15, 2022.

The DC also took the detailed review of estimations, rate revisions, re- tendering, allotments for construction of filtration plants, lift schemes, OHTs, retro fitting, reservoirs and laying of pipelines and other related works.

He said all OHTs works were authorized  for allotment while as pipeline tenders are most likely to be opened on May- 28.

Terming the JJM as major flagship programme, to ensure covering of all households, the DC urged   PRIs to coordinate as they have a major role to play to own and ensure smooth execution of JJM works in their areas.

Stressing on revising of VLP and DAP in next 15 days, the DC also appealed Panchayat to own these schemes and take over the infrastructure under proper guidelines.

 

 

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Originally Appeared Here

Revenue Minister K.K.S.S.R. Ramachandran has instructed Tamil Nadu Drinking Water Supply and Drainage Board officials to formulate a new drinking water scheme for Srivilliputtur municipality.

At a review meeting held with officials of TWAD Board and urban local bodies on the progress of execution of drinking water schemes and underground drainage schemes, he instructed the officials to take up the study.

“Srivilliputtur was getting water only once in 7 to 8 days. We hope to supply water on alternate days with the implementation of the new project,” he said.

Mr. Ramachandran, held the review in the presence of Virudhunagar Collector, J. Meghanath Reddy, and officials from various departments.

“The execution of various works are getting slowed down due to various reasons like non-cooperation from other departments and local bodies. At the meeting, I have instructed the officials of the concerned deparments to help the executing agencies for expeditious implementation of the works,” he said.

TWAD Board officials sought removal of encroachment near a pumping station in Virudunagar which was holding up the progress of the work. Similarly, State Highways officials were not cooperating for laying pipeline in Sattur. Similarly, for the combined drinking water project for Aruppukottai, Sattur and Virudhunagar municipalities, being executed at a cost of ₹444.71 crore, officials complained about a panchayat president not allowing to lay pipelines near Aruppukottai.

The Minister said that combined drinking water scheme for Aruppukottai, Sattur and Virudhunagar municipalities, being executed at a cost of ₹444.71 crore, would be commissioned by December 2022. “The people who are getting water in 7 to 8 days now and once in 15 days during summer, will get water on alternate days,” he said.

Similarly, he said that the underground drainage work in Rajapalayam town, at a cost of ₹251.20 crore, should be completed by December. “People of the town have been suffering due to dug up roads for long. It should be completed by December and all roads will be re-laid by then,” he said.

The progress of combined drinking water scheme for Rajapalayam and Sivakasi, at a cost of ₹543.20 crore and the underground drainage work in Sattur town at a cost of ₹37.66 crore was also reviewed.

District Revenue Officer R. Mangalaramasubramanian, Sivakasi Mayor I. Sangeetha, Municipal Chairpersons Madhavan (Virudhunagar) and Gurusamy (Sattur), Tirunelveli Regional Joint Directors of Municipal Administration Vijayalakshmi and Sermakani, Commissioners and officials from Highways were also present.

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Originally Appeared Here

Five Irish beaches have failed to retain blue flag status due to a deterioration in the quality of their water.

The five beaches that lost the flag this year are Bray South Promenade in Wicklow; Warren, Cregane Strand in Cork; Traught, Kinvara in Co Galway and both Carrowmore and Clare Island in Co Mayo.

One of the world’s most recognised eco-labels, the blue flag programme aims to raise environmental awareness and promote sound environmental management of beaches, marinas and eco-tourism boats around the world.

Beaches are required to have excellent water quality to qualify for the flag, but the rating for five beaches deteriorated to “good”, based on an analysis of bathing water samples over the past four bathing seasons.

In total, 85 beaches and 10 marinas were awarded the blue flag for 2022, an increase of two sites when compared to 2021, and the highest total since the programme began 35 years ago.

Seven beaches that were not awarded the flag in 2021 have been awarded for the coming bathing season. These are: Trá Inis Oírr in Co Galway; Fountainstown and Youghal Front Strand in Co Cork; Balcarrick, Donabate and Rush, South Beach in Fingal; Ballybunnion North Beach in Kerry and Ballymoney North Beach, in Co Wexford.

This is the first year Trá Inis Oírr, the main beach on Inis Oírr in Co Galway has been awarded a blue flag, while Fountainstown in Cork received the award for the first time since 1991.

Youghal Front Strand in Cork will fly the blue flag for the first time since 2011, and Balcarrick, Donabate in Fingal has been awarded a flag for the first time since 2016.

The flags are awarded by An Taisce, a charity working to conserve Ireland’s natural environment and built heritage.

Green coast award

In addition, 62 beaches received the green coast award for the 2022 bathing season, which recognises beaches for their clean environment, excellent water quality and natural beauty.

The green coast awards pay particular tribute to clean coasts groups, which are comprised of tens of thousands of volunteers who participate in community clean ups.

Ballynamona Beach in Co Cork was awarded a green coast award for the first time this year.

Cork is the county with the most green coast award beaches once again in 2022 with a total of 15.

Mornington in Meath and Oysterhaven in Cork, both of which were last awarded in 2020, have been awarded for the 2022 season.

Kilfarrassey in Waterford, which was last awarded in 2018, and Balcarrick Beach, Donabate in Fingal, last awarded in 2016, have both been awarded for the upcoming season.

Five beaches were awarded both a blue flag and a green coast award for the 2022 season.

They are: Balcarrick Beach, Donabate in Fingal, Dublin; Ballinskelligs in Kerry; Salthill and Silverstrand in Galway City and Trá Inis Oírr in Galway.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, Malcolm Noonan, Minister of State for Heritage, said this is the 35th year of the blue flag programme, which has become “an internationally recognised symbol of high standards in water quality, environmental management, environmental education and safety”.

“I am pleased to be presenting 95 blue flags and 62 green coast awards today and want to commend the great efforts made by local authorities, An Taisce, coastal communities and volunteers for their work around the country.”

Ian Diamond, coastal awards manager for An Taisce, commended the efforts of those who maintain standards.

“It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to manage a beach or marina to the excellent standards required by these award programmes,” he added.

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Originally Appeared Here

May 20, 2022

TOKYO – Nuclear regulators have endorsed a plan to release treated radioactive water stored at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant into the sea, but convincing local authorities and other entities to support the plan remains the challenging next step.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority’s initial assessment report agreed Wednesday that plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc.’s plan to discharge the treated water via a seafloor tunnel presented no safety problems, a decision that effectively meant the plan had passed the NRA’s assessment process. Attention will now focus on whether TEPCO and the central government can implement adequate measures to counter possible reputational damage to regional seafood and other industries due to the water’s release, as local consent is required for the plan to move ahead.

NRA Chairman Toyoshi Fuketa seemed acutely aware of this as he emphasized the planned release could be carried out safely.

“It’s scientifically unthinkable that there could be an impact on people’s health and marine products, but we very carefully examined the plan because many, many people are interested in and concerned about this issue,” Fuketa said at a press conference in Tokyo on Wednesday.

TEPCO applied for an evaluation of the discharge plan in December. The NRA held 13 review meetings through April that mainly assessed the technical aspects of the discharge facility’s safety, what steps would be taken in the event of a malfunction, and the impact discharging the treated water into the ocean would have on human health and the environment. During the assessment process, TEPCO was told to increase the number of flow meters installed to detect leaks of treated water, just in case these components break down. This addition increased the overall safety of the plan.

The nuclear watchdog will finalize its assessment report after a 30-day period during which the public can submit comments and opinions. The NRA then aims to approve the plan.

Millions of tons
TEPCO has started drilling and making other preparations for constructing the tunnel that will be vital for releasing the treated water offshore. However, approval from the Fukushima prefectural government and the local towns of Okuma and Futaba will be needed before construction can get into full swing.

Under the plan, the tunnel will be constructed to a spot about a kilometer out to sea from the nuclear plant, which suffered a triple meltdown from the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami. Contaminated water at the plant that has had most radioactive materials except tritium removed will be released from the end of this tunnel. TEPCO will dilute the treated water with seawater so the tritium concentration is less than one-40th of the government-set safety standard before it is discharged. Construction of the tunnel, monitoring of the water in the area and other operations will cost about ¥43 billion, which will come from reserve funds allocated for decommissioning the plant’s reactors.

Tritium, an isotope of hydrogen, can be found in rainwater and tap water. Tritium can exist as part of a water molecule, so separating it from water is difficult. As tritium decays, it gives off beta radiation, but this radiation’s range is only about five millimeters in the air so it has minimal impact.

The operation of nuclear power plants and the collision of cosmic rays from space with molecules in the atmosphere are two sources of tritium. Discharging from nuclear plants water containing tritium, after it has been diluted to a concentration below set standards, into the ocean and rivers is an internationally accepted practice.

As of May 12, about 1.3 million tons of treated water was being stored in tanks on the nuclear plant’s grounds. TEPCO has said these tanks will reach full capacity in summer or autumn next year. Continuing to store such a massive volume of treated water would impede decommissioning work at the plant, so the government decided in April 2021 on a plan to start discharging water into the ocean from the spring of 2023. Releasing all the stored water is expected to take several decades to complete.

Room to improve
Unlike other radioactive materials, tritium can be handled safely by just diluting it with water. However, the Fukushima Prefectural Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations and other entities are concerned that dumping the water could harm the reputation of the area’s marine products and other goods. These groups have resolutely opposed any treated water discharge. In 2015 TEPCO promised the prefectural federation that it “will not dispose of treated water without the understanding of relevant entities.”

In November 2021, the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry announced it would establish a ¥30 billion fund to support measures for alleviating reputational damage arising from the water discharge. For instance, if the price of marine products from the prefecture dropped because of harmful rumors about the treated water’s release, the fund would be used to buy up these products.

In a bid to ease the concerns of fishermen and fishery operators, TEPCO also is preparing to conduct a survey to determine whether flounder and abalone raised in treated water have any problems compared with those raised in regular seawater. The findings of this survey will be released to the public.

According to an online survey the Reconstruction Agency conducted in January, only 43.3% of respondents said they were aware of the plan to discharge treated water after it was significantly diluted into the sea. This finding revealed that the government and TEPCO have room to improve when it comes to disseminating information on this issue.

Construction delays
TEPCO has repeatedly pushed back the time frame for when it expects the storage tanks to reach full capacity. This date has changed from “around summer of 2022” to “autumn or later in 2022” to “spring of 2023” to, most recently, “summer or autumn of 2023.” Although this is the result of construction work that prevented rainwater from entering the reactor buildings and thereby generating less contaminated water, these shifting time frames also stir up distrust.

The nuclear plant covers an area of about 3.5 million square meters. According to TEPCO, most of the about 2.8 million square meters that is suitable for installing facilities has either already been built on or its usage has been decided.

“Installing even more tanks will be extremely hard,” a TEPCO official told The Yomiuri Shimbun.

A senior industry ministry official echoed this view.

“It’s not that there are no more usable sites left, but we can’t just keep building more and more facilities there forever,” the ministry official said.

In December, TEPCO announced a target date of June for starting full-fledged construction of the discharge facility. However, that schedule is already certain to be delayed. Completing the seafloor tunnel is expected to take about 10½ months, so it possibly will not be finished in time to start releasing water next spring as the government and TEPCO have hoped.

“A lot of work remains to be done, such as building a consensus with the local communities,” said University of Tokyo Associate Prof. Hiroshi Kainuma, a sociology expert. “The government should identify the causes of harmful rumors and take steps to counter reputational harm and devote more resources to sharing information, such as the results of the NRA’s latest evaluation of the discharge plan.”

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With water levels not receding even after two days of rain and some localities in the city continuing to resemble archipelagos, thousands of residents have been left with no water to drink or bathe as their underground tanks are filled with sewage.

BENGALURU: With water levels not receding even after two days of rain and some localities in the city continuing to resemble archipelagos, thousands of residents have been left with no water to drink or bathe as their underground tanks are filled with sewage.
When a TOI team visited the marooned Sri Sai Layout in Vaddarapalya (which had recorded 155mm of rainfall on Tuesday night) on Thursday, several residents, including kids and senior citizens, were seen wading through flooded roads with cans, covering a distance of over 1,000 metres to get drinking water for their families.
Ramesh, a contractor and resident, said: “It’s been three days and there is not even a single drop of water at home. The underground water sump is filled with raw sewage and is stinking. The water pump has also been severely damaged due to the silt. Tankers are refusing to come here and even if they do, there is no place to store the water. ”
Another resident said, “There are kids and senior citizens at home. For the past two days, there has been no water even to flush toilets. I have made about 10 trips to get water from a spot 500metres away while negotiating knee-deep water. Unable to judge the depth, I slipped and fell into the dirty water. All the drinking water cans have to be lifted to the terrace where we are staying for the time being. Ministers will come and go, but our situation will not change as I have been witnessing this for al- most a decade now. ”
While volunteers and BBMP officials carried food in tractors and distributed water bottles among the affected families, they hardly quenched their thirst. Sudharani, a resident of Horavamu-Agara, said, “A family of 5 or 6 persons is provided two or three 500ml bottles. It gets over in less than half an hour. One cannot go out as the water has not receded. There is a well in the compound but due to flooding, even that water has become turbid and unfit for use. ”
Even food packets elusive in some areas
In some localities, residents scrambled to get food packets too. “Whatever grocery we had stocked up for a month was washed away and is unfit for consumption even by animals. I have been waiting for officials to come and collect my credentials for payment of compensation.
Nobody has turned up, let alone supply food. Delivery boys refuse to come so far citing waterlogging. By the time volunteers reach this corner, the food packets would have been exhausted. Will BBMP officials provide us food after we die,” rued a resident.
MORE THAN 3K MEALS SERVED
TOI had reported about the plight of residents in Sri Sai Layout and Horamavu on Thursday. Moved by their ordeal, Akshaya Patra Foundation reached out to them — over 3,000 meals were served in Horamavu and Babusabpalya on Thursday evening. The foundation will be serving lunch on Friday. “While we served puliyogare for dinner, it’ll be tomato bath on Friday,” a volunteer said. A resident of Sri Sai Layout said, “We are thankful to TOI for highlighting our misery and getting locals much-required help. ”

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