Shamli: It seems the wait for clean drinking water in 21 villages in Shamli is not going to get over soon. The 43-crore project under the national rural drinking water supply program by NGT in Shamli district became defunct a few days after its inauguration in December, 2020 owing to a host of operational and maintenance issues. The woes continue to exist till today causing inconvenience to the public.
Executive engineer of Jal Nigam Deepak Kumar, said, “Under the NGT’s scheme, around Rs 43 crore has been spent to provide pure drinking water to the population of about 83,823 people of 21 villages in Shamli.”
Under the project, solar water pumps and overhead water tanks were installed with an aim to provide clean and safe drinking water to the villagers. However, over a period of time, the solar pumps became defective due to lack of maintenance and manpower. Thefts of equipment and the supply shortage of water cleaning agent chlorine also added to the woes.
Shailendra Panwar, who works as a pump operator in Khanpur Talwa Majra village told TOI, “The water supply had started on 25 December 2020 in the village, but from the beginning, the chlorine mixing machine was not installed on the tank. Since then, the villagers have been drinking only water without chlorine and due to a faulty solar panel, it is also difficult to fill the tank.”
Another operator of Bhikki Deh village, Vipin Kumar, said that due to the broken pipeline, the water tank gets exhausted quickly and people allegedly accuse Kumar of stopping the water. “There is some defect in the machinery of the pump including a solar panel and the chlorine has also run out.”
Meanwhile, locals of Fatehpur village said that two solar batteries have been stolen from the water tank installed in the village, due to which the chlorine machine has also stopped. They alleged that the operator posted here sells vegetables in nearby villages. Some similar instances were also found in Samaspur village.
Most of the operators of water tanks have complained about not receiving their salaries on time.
On this, Saurabh Tyagi, Jal Nigam’s junior engineer said, “The operators posted at each water tank in 21 villages have been asked to collect Rs 50 per month from the villagers, so that their salary can be collected and immediate steps will be taken for the redressal of the issues.”
[ad_2]

Originally Appeared Here

Pune: “We lay and repair pipelines for water supply in many houses of Pune, but we don’t get tap water to drink in our homes,” is the sentiment in almost every alternative house in Uruli Devachi, where a large a population of plumbers lives.
Nearly five years after they were merged in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) limits, the water scarcity in Uruli Devachi and Phursungi remains. Before the merger in 2017, residents banked on tankers for water. The dependence has only increased. in the next five years. Naturally, the residents’ demand for establishing a proper water supply network to provide tap water has become louder.
Barely 15km away from the core Pune city, tankers come to the villages once in two days just for around 10 to 20 minutes. At least 70-80 households depend on a tanker of around 10,000 litres.
The residents need to put in a lot of efforts to fill up the water containers in the limited time and stock up for two days. Many accidents occurred in the rush and some have suffered serious injuries.
“If the tankers give a miss for a day, we are left without water for four days. This happens mostly on Thursdays. The tanker service providers claim that they can’t fill up the tankers because of power cuts at the filling stations,” said Gajanan Borkar, a resident of Uruli Devachi.
“The water quality is a matter of concern for us. We often get contaminated water and have no option but to boil it before using it. This happens very frequently during monsoon. It leads to health hazards,” said Shailaja Barate of Uruli Phursungi.
According to PMC officials, the civic administration has increased the number of tankers for these areas in the last five years.
Nearly 175 tankers are sent to Uruli Devachi and Phursungi villages, or a population of around 2lakh.
Residents of the villages said the overhead water tanks were built and even some pipelines were laid. But since the work is half-done, this water supply infrastructure is of no use. They get water in taps in low pressure from canal and well once or twice a week, but it is not potable.
Aniruddha Pawaskar, the head of PMC’s water supply department, said, “The civic administration is working on improving the water supply network. Talks with Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran are under way for a scheme in these areas. Once it is completed, many households will get tap water.”
The Uruli Devachi and Phursungi residents claimed that the erratic timing of tankers made things difficult for them. “If tankers reach the designated spot after 9am, it becomes very tough for us to attend office on time,” one among them said.
“Plumbing is the main source of income for a majority us. Almost each household in this village has at least one person in the business. We have to fix our work assignments based on the tankers. It adversely affects our work,” said plumber Jalal Sayyad, who resides here.
[ad_2]

Originally Appeared Here

The Colorado River runs through Glenwood Canyon in this Sept. 23, 2020 file photo.

Despite persistent drought conditions, Glenwood Springs water supply can easily accommodate city users’ needs and more for the foreseeable future, Public Works Director Matt Langhorst said.

While snow water equivalent, aka snowpack, feeding the basins north of Glenwood Springs is 8% below average, Langhorst said the city’s main water sources — Grizzly and No Name creeks — provide more than enough water to meet the city’s needs, even in the dry years.

“If you take how much water comes off both No Name and Grizzly creeks, we could drop down a significant amount and still be good,” Langhorst said.

The first of two primary water sources, Grizzly Creek basin’s lowest snowpack was recorded in 1977, yet the basin still produced more than 4,000 acre feet of water that year. Glenwood Springs uses about 2,200 acre feet of water annually, Langhorst said.

Before pulling from Grizzly Creek, however, the city relies on No Name Creek, but no monitors are in place to monitor snowpack feeding the source.

“Usually in June or July, No Name gets low enough that we turn on the diversion for Grizzly Creek,” Langhorst explained. “We could still live on No Name Creek past July, but we would dry the creek up. We still want water going past the intake for aquatic life and other environmental uses.”

Glenwood Springs Public Works Director Matt Langhorst points out the burn scar directly above the city’s intake structure at No Name Creek in June 2021.
Shannon Marvel / Post Independent

On the high side, the Grizzly Creek basin produced more than 17,600 acre feet of water in 1986.

In addition to water rights on No Name and Grizzly creeks, Glenwood Springs has access to about 500 acre feet of water in the Ruedi Reservoir, southeast of the city, Langhorst said.

Growing demand?

City staff also pay close attention to water availability in relation to future development.

As project proposals flow into city hall, city staff measure the impact on the surplus using an Equivalent Residential Unit (EQR) of about 350 gallons per day for a standard four-bedroom home with two bathrooms.

“When you build, let’s say 300 condo units, they are not a full EQR,” Langhorst said. “(Each unit) is something less, because most will have less than four bedrooms, and it’s doubtful the majority have two bathrooms or 3,500 feet of lawn area.”

The city then applies the relevant EQR per development against its water model to determine whether city infrastructure and water supply can meet the demand.

“We know we can meet demand, but the water model helps us illustrate that,” Langhorst said. “As we look at what (proposed developments) do to our system, and so far it’s neutral.”

Ample water supply, however, doesn’t mean water restrictions are off the table. Langhorst said the city’s watering restrictions in recent years were implemented to facilitate repairs to water plant infrastructure and accommodate for historic spikes of sediment flowing into the system as a result of debris flows.

To alleviate stress on the system and lessen the likelihood of future restrictions, the city invested about $8.5 million in water infrastructure upgrades in anticipation to and as a result of the debris flows.

Following the infrastructure upgrades, the city can treat about 8.5 million gallons a day and store up to 6 million gallons.

On the hottest days, the city typically uses up to 4.5 million gallons a day.

Drier county, higher fire risk

Glenwood Springs’ drinking water supply might not be at risk as a result of the ongoing drought, but Garfield County could still get stuck with cotton mouth.

Brendon Langenhuizen, the Colorado River District director of technical advocacy, said one of the greatest risk factors presented by a county wide drought is increased fire risk.

“Drought slows regrowth on burn scars, which can lead to debris flows like those we experienced in 2021,” Langenhuizen said. “Also the warmer temperatures cause more moisture to evaporate from our soils.”

A massive debris flow, seen here in August 2021, sits in the Colorado River after washing down the Devils Hole drainage in Glenwood Canyon.
Chelsea Self / Post Independent

Drier soils lead to drier vegetation, which increases wildfire risk. Additionally, drier soils absorb more precipitation and snowpack, decreasing the amount of snow melt flowing into the county’s rivers and tributaries, Langenhuizen explained.

The current Natural Resources Conservation Service drought maps show Garfield County’s status as moderate.

“Last year at this time, we were seeing the flows in the Colorado River at about 50% of average,” Langenhuizen said. “This year, we’re seeing those flows at closer to 80% of average.”

River flows can indicate how quickly snow is melting in key watersheds, and river flow averages are gauged over a 30-year timeframe.

“Conditions are looking better this year,” Langenhuizen said.

Regardless of improved river flows, it’s too soon to say whether this year’s drought will be better or worse than years prior.

The monsoon season, which typically spans from June-August, could be the determining factor, he explained.

“We rely on those monsoonal rains,” Langenhuizen said. “And the forecast is calling for hotter, drier weather in the next three months. I’d rather it be the other way around.”

Whereas the county has plenty of drinking water, recreation and agriculture could be impacted by drought conditions, he said.

Early spring drought conditions can create more opportunities for anglers. But, later in the season, waterway temperatures rise due to a lack of snowmelt entering the rivers. Warmer waters stress fish, can cause fish kill and are generally viewed as bad for the fishing environment, said Lindsay DeFrates, a River District media specialist.

Less water in the river overall reduces other river recreation activities, such as stand-up paddleboarding, rafting and kayaking, DeFrates added.

While Garfield County’s water outlook for 2022 is looking up, DeFrates said the area has a long way to go before it clears its drought status.

“Because we’ve been in drought conditions for so long, our storage capacity in our reservoirs is drastically lowered,” she said.

Langenhuizen added, “Ideally, we need three to five really wet, back-to-back years before we could really consider ourselves out of the drought.”

Reporter Ike Fredregill can be reached at 970-384-9154 or by email at [email protected].

[ad_2]

Originally Appeared Here

Bhuban: Residents from riparian areas of Brahmani river in Bhuban town of Dhenkanal face acute drinking water crisis with mercury on rise and amid scorching heat of summer. Hundreds of them became vocal Monday demanding immediate solution to the issue.

“Brahmani is the second largest river in Odisha and a number of industries in neighbouring districts draw water from it for their day to day use. On the contrary, our families do not get a bucketful of water to quench thirst,” many residents of Bhuban town rued.

Drinking water shortage is a perennial problem here. Notified area council (NAC) and Public Health department in Bhuban have failed in fulfilling the basic requirement of residents, some alleged.

According the department sources, 20,85,000 litres of drinking water is being supplied every day to different households in Bhuban town. Fifteen wards in the civic area has 121 tube-wells, 98 water stand-posts including open wells, but do not suffice the need.

Residents of the wards such as Nos-2, 5, 9, 10 and 11 have been facing acute drinking water crisis.

On being contacted, junior engineer Sonali Nayak said, “Plans are afoot to set up two mega projects, two overhead tanks and two water treatment plants, in order to ensure availability of pure drinking water to the residents of Bhuban town.”

During summer, pure drinking water will be provided through tankers to areas facing scarcity, the JE Nayak added.

It is pertinent to mention, the civic body was accorded NAC status in 1971. As per 2011 census, its population was 22,187, which might have increased in the mean while. Several slums have mushroomed in suburbs of the civic area.

A master plan prepared earlier to supply pure drinking water to local denizens has suffered red tape.

PNN

[ad_2]

Originally Appeared Here

Gujarat: Water crisis in Gujarat’s Navsari village has severely affected the life of villagers there. The villagers are reluctant to walk 2-3 km to get drinking water.

The residents residing in this village of Gujarat have been facing shortage of water for a long time. Notably, in Navsari district, people are reluctant to drink contaminated water despite the highest rainfall in the state. Due to the shortage of drinking water, people have to walk 2-3 km to get drinking water.

Interestingly, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel laid the foundation stone of the Tidal Regulator Dam project at Vaghrech village on the banks of Kaveri River in Navsari in April 2022. According to the report published in The Indian Express, the project will provide water for irrigation to Bilimora and its neighboring 10 villages. A whopping sum of Rs. 250 crore is involved in the project.

As per the report, during the inauguration, the Chief Minister had said that the Vaghrech project will be completed in a time period of one year. “Under the Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav, the government had fixed target to supply potable water to the people. The entire world is struggling to face the challenges of global warming and climate change, and to overcome the needs of drinking water, the state government is working to recharge the ground water reservoirs,” the CM had asserted.

Meanwhile, State Minister of Water Resources and Water Supply Rushikesh Patel had stated that through this project the sea water entering into the Billimora and neighbouring coastal village during monsoon season, can be prevented.

[ad_2]

Originally Appeared Here

U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) touted water infrastructure victories that he secured for New Mexico as the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works considered the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) – legislation that authorizes Army Corps of Engineers water projects nationwide.

“As New Mexico continues to battle wildfires across our state, it’s absolutely critical that our water infrastructure is not only maintained but strengthened to meet the immediate needs of our communities during this challenging time,” Luján said. “I’m glad this legislation acts to update existing water infrastructure needs in our communities, allowing for safe water to drink and use. This legislation also expands opportunities for acequias by providing much needed cost-share relief and expands access to Tribal and Pueblo communities to receive federal funding to improve their capacity to combat the ongoing threats of climate change and prolonged drought.”

Senator Luján helped champion the following provisions:

• Increased the Acequia Irrigation System section of WRDA by $27 million, and expanded program eligibility so that Tribes and Pueblos will be eligible to access this funding. Reduced the cost share from 75% federal, 25% non-federal to 90% federal, 10% non-federal for economically disadvantaged areas. This program is carried out by Army Corps and provides assistance so that parciantes can implement more resilient diversion structures and manage drought and invasive species, and support research, development, and training for water management solutions;
• Increased Section 593, the Program for Central New Mexico from $50 million to $100 million to ensure drinking, waste, and storm water projects in Bernalillo, Valencia, and Sandoval counties can employ infrastructure to address flooding and improve water quality;
• Increased the Western Rural Water program by $55 million to provide communities throughout the West, including New Mexico, with much needed funds for drinking, waste, and storm water projects;
• Reduced the cost share for the Middle Rio Grande Flood Protection project from 65% federal, 35% non-federal to 75% federal, 25% non-federal.

[ad_2]

Originally Appeared Here

Ex-BJP corporator Divya Dhurde, along with other residents gheraoed Nehru Nagar zone office over water crisis, on Saturday

Nagpur: Hundreds of South Nagpur residents on Saturday staged a demonstration at Wanjari Nagar elevated storage reservoir (ESR) over their continuing water crisis. Residents wondered that at one end NMC is unable to supply tap water and on the other it distributes water through tankers.
Raising slogans against Nagpur Municipal Corporation, residents also tried to climb the ESR through the office of Orange City Water Limited there. However, city police foiled their attempt.
Congress leader Kiran Pandav, who led the agitation, termed the water crisis as artificial. “Due to the nexus between water tanker operators and water works officials, water supply system will never improve in South Nagpur. NMC will continue to create artificial scarcity so that tankers can operate smoothly,” he alleged.
Kavita Hingankar, one of the agitators, said not only south Nagpur, but the entire city is facing water crisis and “we united in fight against the inadequate water supply”.
Rupali Meshram, another demonstrator, pointed out that the BJP, which ruled NMC for 15 years, has been promising to provide 24×7 water supply across the city. “But even today we are not getting 24×7 water,” she said.
“Instead, we are being supplied water at very low pressure and many areas are getting contaminated water,” said Hingankar.
“The OCWL officials have assured to resolve the issue within couple of days,” said Pandav. If they failed, Pandav said, the residents will intensify their agitation further.
On Saturday, BJP’s ex-corporator Divya Dhurde had led an agitation of South Nagpur residents over inadequate water supply in her prabhag comprising Bhande Plot, Bapu Nagar and Mire Layout. “I have been raising the water crisis issue of South Nagpur since last four years, but no one paid heed,” she told TOI.
“Residents are expressing anguish that despite having three elevated storage reservoirs in my constituency, they continue to face water crisis,” Dhurde said.
“We met Nehru Nagar zone officials, who assured to resolve the crisis by Tuesday,” she added.
To a query, Dhurde pointed out that her prabhag is divided in two zones — Dhantoli and Nehru Nagar. Dhantoli zone residents have no water issue, while Nehru Nagar residents are being forced to depend on tankers.
Last week, residents of South Nagpur had given an ultimatum to the Nehru Nagar zone to resolve water crisis. The residents had warned that they won’t pay the water bills until the NMC assures water supply with good pressure to this part of the city.

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
[ad_2]

Originally Appeared Here

Our planet is absolutely swimming in water. More than 70% of Earth’s surface is covered in the stuff, making up a vast series of interconnected oceans. That water supports all of the life on Earth, but most of it isn’t drinkable. According to the United States Geological Survey, only 2.5% of the world’s water is freshwater, and much of it is locked up in glaciers, in the atmosphere, or so deep underground as to be out of reach. What remains is responsible for keeping global populations hydrated and alive.

In the 1995 film Waterworld, things get a whole lot worse when the ice caps melt. In the movie, melting ice covers the world in an unbroken sea, mixing up much of the previously available freshwater with seawater. Despite being surrounded by water, the Mariner — played by Kevin Costner — is reduced to filtering his own urine just to stay alive.

Things in the real world aren’t as bad as all that, but they aren’t as good as they could be. According to the World Health Organization, roughly one third of the global human population lacks reliable access to clean, safe drinking water.

Rounding up enough water for communities around the world involves building dams and reservoirs and pumping water across state or national boundaries. Factory-sized desalination plants have been built in coastal areas, pulling water from the oceans and removing the salt so that it can be safely consumed. Those systems, however, only serve communities with existing infrastructure, leaving developing communities out to dry.

Hoping to address this ongoing crisis, Junghyo Yoon, a scientist and engineer from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT, and colleagues, partnered with Eric Brack, a research chemist at the U.S. Army (DEVCOM) Soldier Center to develop a portable desalination device. Roughly the size of a suitcase, their device uses electricity to transform seawater or other non-potable water sources into fresh drinking water. The device was announced in a paper published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology.

“Our technology uses an electromembrane process called ion concentration polarization. When seawater travels through its water channels, it experiences an electric field which removes solids,” Yoon told SYFY WIRE.

Electromembrane processes aren’t new, but this new technology represents innovations making the whole process safer while also making it suitable for portable, individual use. Electrodialysis, another electromembrane process, uses alternative stacks of ionic and unionic change membranes to pull dissolved solids out of water. That successfully pulls salt out of water but doesn’t necessarily make it safe to drink. It could still contain pathogens or other contaminants which this new technology can address.

“What we’re really trying to do at DEVCOM soldier center is look at novel technologies to advance water purification. We need that for military use but it’s not just a military problem. Water security is huge, if we can create and foster future technologies to create better water security across the globe, that can help avoid wars over water,” Brack said.

This new device pushes water through water channels from left to right while an electric field is applied up and down. It successfully pulls out dissolved solids like salt, but also grabs hold of suspended solids like bacteria, viruses, and potentially heavy metals or chemical contaminants.

As water flows through the intake and moves through the electric field, it’s broken up into two separate streams. The first collects all of the solids and spits them back out into the ocean. The second collects purified drinking water. Given the amount of water in the oceans and the comparatively small amount of fresh drinking water being pulled out, there’s little risk of salinity or contaminants being significantly elevated. At present, the amount of fresh water being collected is relatively small, but scientists hope to improve the flow rate in the near future.

“In the lab, we achieved one liter per hour production rate. In field testing, we implemented a rate of 0.3 liters per hour. Roughly one can of drinking water every hour. Right now, we’re pushing to scale up to five liters per hour,” Yoon said.

Looking forward, the team is hoping their system could be improved even further, by at least an order of magnitude as compared to the current one liter per hour rate.

“Right now the goal is a liter an hour. We don’t have a lot of pre-filtration because we’re trying to optimize the technology itself, but with pre-filtration we could get that time down. I would like this to be able to support 10 to 12 people, so 10 liters per hour is what I’d like to get it to,” Brack said.

The full system uses roughly as much power as a cell phone charger, about 20 watts of power per hour, and can be powered by a 50-watt solar panel if access to electrical infrastructure isn’t available. According to Yoon, the team could have a finished prototype up and running over the next year or so. From there, their devices could be made commercially available or made available to communities in need through partnerships with global nonprofit organizations.

“Moving water around is a huge, costly, logistical burden. If we can create water at the source point, we can reduce the amount of bottled water we’re relying on,” Brack said.

Water security is a critical need, whether you’re living in the Waterworld or the real world, and technologies like these could make that a reality for billions of people who really need it.

[ad_2]

Originally Appeared Here

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The years-old demand for pure drinking water by residents of the Manglia area is now going to be fulfilled. They will no longer have complaints of contaminated and smelly water. Thousands of residents will now get pure drinking water from the Narmada. The problem of haphazard parking of petrol-diesel tankers will also be addressed.

The initiative by water resources minister Tulsiram Silawat and collector Manish Singh yielded results on Saturday. Indian Oil Company (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Company Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Company (BPC) have sanctioned about Rs 10 crore from their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds for the purpose. Initially, a cheque of Rs 2.5 crore was handed over to Silawat and collector Singh on Saturday. Development of the roads in the area will also be done with the sanctioned amount from the CSR funds.

Silawat said that then Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan had come on a visit to Manglia village. At that time, he had been briefed about the drinking water problem of the residents of the area. He took the problem seriously and ordered immediate action. According to his instructions, about Rs 10 crore has been sanctioned by the three oil companies from their CSR funds and the drinking water problem will be resolved soon through a coordinated action plan with the sanctioned amount and allocation received under Jal Jeevan Mission.

Singh said that this type of innovation is happening for the first time in the district, wherein development work will be done with the help of CSR funds. This was a big step, he said, towards providing pure drinking water. He asked representatives of the three oil companies to take special care of the fire safety arrangements in their respective depots.

Talking about the parking problem of the tankers at AB Road, Singh asked the oil companies to arrange for systematic parking for tankers and trucks. He instructed the SDM of the area to make available 4 acres to them for the purpose as soon as possible.

Representatives of the three oil companies expressed their gratitude to Silawat and Singh for allotting the land for parking and said this would solve a huge problem. ADM Ajaydev Sharma, Neeraj Rai and Arun Thakle of IOC, Yashpal Aneja of HPCL and Girish Athwale of BPC were present on the occasion.

Published on: Saturday, May 07, 2022, 10:50 PM IST

[ad_2]

Originally Appeared Here

PUNE At a time when many localities from the central parts of Pune are facing disrupted water supply, there was an additional problem of contaminated water supply at Bhonde Colony in Erandwane that the civic body has resolved on Saturday.

The problem persisted for more than a fortnight. The contaminated water has increased the illnesses in the locality, alleged residents claiming that many senior citizens have suffered from diarrhoea, vomiting, and fever, among other diseases.

According to Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) officials, water was contaminated after it seeped from the leaked drainage pipeline and mixed with the waterline. This led to dirty water with a bad odour being supplied in the house taps though the problem was later addressed.

Aniruddha Pawaskar, superintending engineer water supply department, said, “It is difficult to find the source of contamination in an open area. We worked day and night. We have found the root cause of the problem and restored a clean drinking water supply.”

Vasudev Krishna Apte, a senior citizen in the area, said, “For the past few days, I have had diarrhoea, vomiting because of the bad water. My entire family is sick. My wife, son and brother too experienced similar symptoms. Many residents from various buildings in the locality have fallen sick. ”

Dr Sanjeevani S Puntambekar, who has been treating some of the patients, said, “I assigned them some basic medicines to provide relief. This has happened for the first time in years.”

Saheb Sheikh of Nabilal Constructions, the government contractor handling the pipeline system, said, “It took me five days to find out the root cause of the problem. It did turn out to be difficult because these pipes were constructed more than forty years ago.”

Vasudeva Krishna Apte, a resident of Bhonde Colony, said, “The issue is solved now and we are getting clean water supply from Saturday morning.”

The disrupted supply of water is one of the major civic issues faced by the citizens in the Deccan, and peth areas over the last few days as the civic body is laying a new line under its 24×7 equitable water supply scheme.

[ad_2]

Originally Appeared Here