Farmers enrolled in the Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program (MAWQCP) have higher profits than non-certified farms, according to a recent study by the Minnesota State Agricultural Centers of Excellence. This marks the third year of data highlighting improved financial outcomes.

The “Influence of Intensified Environmental Practices on Farm Profitability” study examined financial and crop production information from farmers enrolled in the Minnesota State Farm Business Management education program. The 94 MAWQCP farms in the study saw 2021 profits that were an average of more than $16,000 or 6% higher (median of almost $32,000 higher) than non-certified farms.

Looking at three years of data, the average income was more than $25,000 higher for MAWQCP farms, or $16,000 higher for median income.

Other key financial metrics are also better for those enrolled in the MAWQCP, such as debt-to-asset ratios and operating expense ratios.

The three years of data serve as an early indicator of a positive return on investment for whole-farm conservation management farmers implement to become certified.

“We see that farms in the Minnesota Ag Water Quality Certification Program have major benefits on the environment, and now we see with three years of data that our certified farmers are, on average, also looking at better economic outcomes,” said Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen. “I encourage all farmers and landowners to look into the advantages of certifying their land and contact their local Soil and Water Conservation District for more information.”

“Minnesota Farm Business Management is excited to partner with the MDA to define the economic metrics around farmers who are water quality certified compared to their peers in the database,” said Keith Olander, Executive Director of AgCentric. “We have developed a three-year trend on the performance of these farms and find that those who are water quality certified use a management strategy that supports stronger farm profitability compared to their peers.”

To find details on the economic study, click here.

The MAWQCP puts farmers in touch with local conservation district experts to identify and mitigate any risks their farm poses to water quality. Producers going through the certification process have priority access to financial assistance. After being certified, each farm is deemed in compliance with new water quality laws and regulations for 10 years.

Since the program’s statewide launch in 2016, 1,197 farms totaling over 845,000 acres have been certified across Minnesota. Farms have added 2,414 new conservation practices, which protect Minnesota’s waters. Those new practices help to reduce of greenhouse gas emissions by over 44,000 metric tons each year.

Governor Tim Walz has announced a goal of enrolling one million acres by the end of 2022.

Farmers and landowners interested in becoming water quality certified can contact their local Soil and Water Conservation District or visit MyLandMyLegacy.com.

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Despite the geographical conditions, there would be no shortage of water and electricity in Rajasthan due to efficient management by the state government, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said on Friday.

The government’s top priority is to provide water to the villages. It will be ensured that people don’t face any problem in getting drinking water, he said after reviewing the works of energy, PHED, disaster management and Relief, MGNREGA and Gopalan departments. 

According to a statement, Gehlot said that top officials should visit different areas and inspect water and electricity supply arrangements. They should talk to people and solve their problems on the spot, he said.

The Chief Minister asserted that his government would ensure there is no shortage of drinking water in any district and directed officers that water is supplied through tankers on local demand. Rs 50 lakh has been provided to all district collectors for contingency works so that repair of hand pumps, water supply through tankers, and tubewell digging can be done immediately, Gehlot said. 

He said that regular power supply should be ensured in the state and directed officials to keep additional generators and transformers ready to meet any exigencies. At the same time, he appealed to the people not to waste water and electricity.

The chief minister directed the district collectors to make the working hours under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGA) start from 6 am to give the workers relief from the scorching heat. In a meeting to review the law-and-order situation in the state, Gehlot said his government has a zero-tolerance policy toward crime.

In view of the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr and Parshuram Jayanti festivals, the police should be proactive in maintaining law and order, he said and directed officials to identify those disturbing peace and take proper action against them.

(With PTI inputs)

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Monday May 9th, 5:30 to 6:30 

Join North Coast Communities for Watershed Protection’s Upcoming Meeting

At the meeting, we will update you on our efforts and offer a workshop that will teach you mapping tools. Find out exactly where your water comes from and empower yourself with tools to track clear-cuts and pesticide sprays in your area. We’ll also discuss upcoming volunteer opportunities and direct actions you can take to protect our forests and watersheds. We look forward to seeing you there!  Sign up here. Or register at our webpage healthywatershed.org 

An exciting upswell of momentum is building around Oregon’s forests and drinking watersheds right now. It’s the perfect time to reinvigorate our shared efforts to safeguard and restore our drinking water sources.

Our goal is to bring attention to the evolving coastal drinking water crisis—quality and quantity—resulting from corporate logging and pesticide spraying practices, and aspects of climate change (heat domes and the drought, for example).  

By law, all water in Oregon is publicly owned, regardless of who actually owns the land. All watersheds that supply wells, spring boxes, or municipal systems should be legislatively protected. As a matter of law, and in recognition of the necessity of clean and safe drinking water for all, there should be no more logging nor pesticide spraying in drinking water sources. 

We are advocating for the critical need to prioritize DRINKING WATER FIRST! 

North Coast Communities for Watershed Protection (formerly Rockaway Beach Citizens for Watershed Protection) is a grassroots group working, through education and advocacy, for better protections of the water we drink, the air we breathe, and the forests that sustain us.  healthywatershed.org |www.facebook.com/NCCWATERSHEDPROTECTION 

 

Contact us at: [email protected]

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Approval is the culmination of a 20-year effort

The Environmental Protection Agency has approved the Southern Ute Indian Tribe’s water quality standards under the federal Clean Water Act. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald file)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 8 announced its approval of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe’s water quality standards under the federal Clean Water Act.

The milestone approval culminates a 20-year effort by the tribe’s Environmental Programs Division. With the EPA’s action, the Southern Ute Indian Tribe becomes only the 47th federally recognized tribe, out of 574 nationally, to have tribal water quality standards approved by the EPA under the Clean Water Act.

The approval allows the tribe to protect the water quality of the lakes and rivers it uses for swimming, boating and fishing. The Southern Ute Indian Reservation includes lands within La Plata, Archuleta and Montezuma counties.

“EPA’s approval of the tribe’s water quality standards is the culmination of years of work by the tribe and its staff,” Melvin J. Baker, the tribe’s chairman, said in a statement from the EPA. “The tribal approval process included consulting with EPA and the State of Colorado and an outreach and engagement process with tribal members and stakeholders..”

The tribe provides drinking water and wastewater treatment for the nearby town of Ignacio, as well.

“We’re excited the Southern Ute Indian Tribe has achieved approval from the EPA on their water quality standards,” said Mark Garcia, the town’s interim manager.

Water quality standards are state, territorial, tribal or federal laws that determine the water quality goals for rivers, streams, lakes and wetlands. Water quality standards serve as the basis for several Clean Water Act programs, including issuing permits for discharges and assessing water quality.

The tribe’s water quality program monitors 23 aquatic sites across the Southern Ute Reservation, according to the tribal website. These sites include rivers, streams, wells, seeps, springs, lakes and ponds.

At each of the monitoring locations, chemical, physical and biological data are collected for three-year periods on a rotating schedule. General water quality monitoring occurs year-round using sonde probe technology and water sampling in all weather conditions. These water probes monitor dissolved oxygen, conductivity, temperature, turbidity and pH at 30 30-minute intervals for up to nine months during the year.

All data collected are uploaded into the EPA database, Water Quality Exchange Portal, which is available at www.waterqualitydata.us.

“EPA congratulates the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, the Tribal Council and Environmental Programs Division for their determination in building programs and expertise to protect valuable Tribal water resources,” said EPA Regional Administrator KC Becker. “We look forward to working together with the tribe as a partner in ensuring clean rivers, streams, lakes and wetlands for tribal members.”

The tribe’s water quality standards apply to many waters within the Southern Ute Indian Reservation, including portions of the La Plata, Animas, Florida, Los Pinos, Piedra, San Juan and Navajo rivers and portions of the Navajo Reservoir. With the approval of the standards, combined with the previous and separate EPA approval of Ute Mountain Ute Indian Tribe’s water quality standards, all federally recognized American Indian tribes with reservation lands in Colorado now have EPA-approved water quality standards.

In developing its water quality standards, the tribe collaborated with the state of Colorado and surrounding county and municipal governments, as well as other interested parties, to gather input about their proposed water quality standards. The tribe held a water quality standards public comment period from Aug. 23 to Oct. 22, including a public hearing on Oct. 7.

Based on comments received through the public participation process, the tribe revised its water quality standards, adopted the revised water quality standards on Feb. 8 and submitted them to the EPA on Feb. 15. The federal agency approved the tribe’s water quality standards after determining they are consistent with the requirements of the Clean Water Act and EPA’s Water Quality Standards Regulation.

The tribe’s water quality standards and supporting documents will be available on the SUIT Environmental Programs Division website, www.southernute-nsn.gov/justice-and-regulatory/epd.

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Nagpur: The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has increased water supply to the city by 30MLD, yet there are many areas where taps have no water supply.
A case in point is New Amar Nagar – a residential locality with around 60 families in south Nagpur. Their taps have had no water supply for the last two months now. Residents depend on private tankers to meet their daily water needs.
NMC is drawing almost 700MLD water every day from Pench reservoir and Kanhan river, and still some parts of the city continue to reel under crisis exposing the poor water supply system.
“There is no tap water for New Amar Nagar residents since February end. Despite complaints to Orange City Water Limited, and NMC water works department, nothing has been done to address the issue,” said residents. The New Amar Nagar residents are more anguished by the fact that an adjacent 150-flat housing society gets 24×7 water.
New Amar Nagar resident Rahul Shinde claimed that apart from acute water crisis for the last two months, daily water supply had dropped drastically over the last eight months.
Residents told TOI that earlier they got water supplied from the elevated storage reservoir at Omkar Nagar. About eight months ago, NMC started supplying water from an ESR at Mhalgi Nagar, which drastically reduced the water pressure and, subsequently, it was reduced to a trickle. “Now, no water is being supplied to us,” claimed Shinde.
Residents said this happened after an independent and direct connection was given to a 150-flat apartment scheme. The residents of the nearby localities had lodged a protest as they had feared the decision would create a water crisis in their locality.
Pravin Athalkar, another resident of the locality, said corporator Madhuri Thakre tried to resolve the issue and discussed the problem with OCWL officials. But the only thing we get are innovative excuses by the private firm, he said.
TOI also spoke to residents of Sai Leela Apartment in the neighbourhood, who have pasted a notice in their building which shows names of flat owners who will pay for private tankers by turn.
OCW spokesperson said the areas (New Amar Nagar, especially, Sai Leela Apartment, Behind Prerna Convent) comes under Hudkeshwar command area and potable water is supplied from Mhalgi Nagar ESR to these areas.
As these are tail-end portions from Mhalgi Nagar ESR, low pressure supply complaints are being reported from these areas especially in summers. The OCW team also agreed to resolve the problem.
About Shinde’s complaint, OCWL said the apartment of six flats is getting on average 1.2 to 1.5 units of water at its sump. Besides this, every four-five days water is being supplied to this apartment through a tanker to meet their demands. However, on Friday, due to a technical snag, water supply of the area was affected. OCW will provide water supply through tankers.
“NMC-OCW technical team is on the job and will shortly resolve the issue and ensure sufficient water to New Amar Nagar residents,” said the spokesperson.

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Water Treatment Works & Sewerage Works gets a boost with new technology.

GAST Clearwater has developed a disruptive technology and methodology to replace the Secondary Treatment & Dissinfenction stages of Wastewater & Sewerage Treatment facilities without using chemicals or biological elements.

The technology has been dubbed the “Tesla” of Water Treatment, earmarked to disrupt the water treatment industry just as electric vehicles have for the motor industry. Ironically, Tesla did not develop a new battery for its cars but merely improved its battery systems’ efficiency and effectiveness, namely lithium iron phosphate (LFP). GAST Clearwater holds a similar story with its technology developing two (2) new systems colloquially referred to as:

The Black Box (WMM – Withdrawal of Microorganism & Minerals Machine)

The Blue Box (CWD – Clearwater Device)

In effect, the ever-alluding nut has been cracked to find a way to “wash” water without the use of chemicals & biological treatments. The technology is obviously not a new way of building a “car” in this analogy a car is a water treatment solution, but the technology allows GAST Clearwater to provide cleaner water more sustainably and more cost-efficiently.

The technology in its current form is slated to revolutionize wastewater treatment, sewerage treatment, commercial water treatment solutions, cooling towers, ship ballast water management, carbonated and non-carbonated drink manufacturers, and many more industries globally.

This technology not only has the ability to develop new wastewater treatment & sewerage treatment facilities but is also offered as a “bolt-on” system to existing facilities or even facilities that want to save costs by eliminating their chemical & biological cost components, irrespective of their size.

GAST Clearwater predicts the majority of wastewater treatment & sewerage facilities can look to save close to 20% of their annual OPEX by switching to a GAST Clearwater system, more so a GAST Clearwater system on average costs 25% less to build vs. a current standard conventional facility which is a considerable saving on CAPEX.

In 2019, the United States alone had an estimated $81 billion capital investment gap for ailing or failing water treatment facilities; as such the GAST Clearwater technology could not have come at a better time.

GAST Clearwater is focusing on two distinct markets over the course of the next 12-24 months which can be broken down into two categories namely:

Real Estate – (Artificial Beaches, Lagoons, Surf Parks, Surf Lakes, Surf Lagoons)

Municipal & Infrastructure – (Waste Water Treatment Works, Sewerage Treatment Works)

In closing, water is becoming the most sought-after commodity on the planet and based on current projections, sometime in the near future, water will hold more value than gold itself. With new technologies like GAST Clearwater, it is now slowly becoming possible to be entirely “off-grid” not only with solar but now with water as well. As the world’s current ailing infrastructure cannot meet the demand, new sustainable and cost-effective technologies would need to be heavily invested in to help secure the future of mankind and GAST Clearwater seems to be leading the charge and carrying the torch with its new technology.

Media Contact
Company Name: GAST Clearwater
Email: Send Email
Country: United States
Website: https://www.gastclearwater.com/

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TALLAHASSEE —
The Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) joins water professionals across the country, May 1-7, in recognizing National Drinking Water Week 2022 and the vital role water plays in our lives. 

“People rely on safe drinking water every day for basic services such as cooking, cleaning, and bathing,” said PSC Chairman Andrew Giles Fay. “Drinking Water Week helps us better understand our role in protecting this valuable resource. If we make even some small changes daily, we can help conserve this precious resource year-round.” 

For water conservation tips, consumers can access the PSC’s Drop by Drop brochure and our Conservation House. Consumers can also find additional water conservation information on the PSC’s website. 

The following are some summer water conservations tips from the American Water Works Association (AWWA):

• Don’t overwater your lawn. Only water every three to five days in the summer and 10 to 14 days in the winter.

• To prevent water evaporation, don’t water your lawn during the hottest part of the day, or when it is windy.

• Only run the dishwasher and clothes washer when they are fully loaded.

• Defrost frozen food in the refrigerator or in the microwave instead of running water over it.

• When washing dishes by hand, use two basins–one for washing and one for rinsing—rather than let the water run.

• Use a broom, rather than a hose, to clean sidewalks and driveways.

• If you have a swimming pool, get a cover. You’ll cut water evaporation by 90 percent.

• Repair dripping faucets and leaky toilets. Dripping faucets can waste about 2,000 gallons of water each year. Leaky toilets can waste as much as 200 gallons each day.

About Drinking Water Week

For more than 40 years the American Water Works Association and its members have celebrated Drinking Water Week – an opportunity for both water professionals and the communities they serve to recognize the vital role water plays in our daily lives. Additional information about 2022 Drinking Water Week, including free materials for download and celebration ideas, is available here.

For additional information, visit www.floridapsc.com.

Follow the PSC on Twitter, @floridapsc.

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The prototype MIT device can generate clean drinking water from seawater with the press of a button (Credit: M Scott Brauer)

A portable desalination unit can remove particles and salts to generate clean drinking water from seawater using less power than a mobile phone charger, according to its developers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Weighing less than 10kg, the suitcase-sized device can also be driven by a portable $50 solar panel. It automatically generates drinking water that exceeds World Health Organisation quality standards, needing only the push of just one button.

Unlike other portable desalination units that require water to pass through filters, the MIT device uses electrical power to remove particles water.

Eliminating the need for replacement filters greatly reduces the long-term maintenance requirements, the developers said. This means it could be deployed in remote areas with severely limited resources, such as communities on small islands or aboard cargo ships. It could also aid refugees fleeing natural disasters or soldiers carrying out long-term military operations.

“This is really the culmination of a 10-year journey that I and my group have been on,” said electrical and biological engineer Jongyoon Han, senior author of a paper on the unit. “We worked for years on the physics behind individual desalination processes, but pushing all those advances into a box, building a system, and demonstrating it in the ocean, that was a really meaningful and rewarding experience for me.”

Commercial portable desalination units typically require high-pressure pumps to push water through filters, which are very difficult to miniaturise without compromising energy efficiency of the device, said first author Junghyo Yoon.

Instead, the MIT team’s unit relies on a technique called ion concentration polarization (ICP), which was pioneered by Han’s group more than 10 years ago. Rather than filtering water, the ICP process applies an electrical field to membranes placed above and below a channel of water. The membranes repel positively- or negatively-charged particles – including salt molecules, bacteria, and viruses – as they flow past. The charged particles are funnelled into a second stream of water that is eventually discharged.

The process removes both dissolved and suspended solids, allowing clean water to pass through the channel. Since it only requires a low-pressure pump, ICP uses less energy than other techniques.

ICP does not always remove all the salts floating in the middle of the channel, however, so the researchers also incorporated a second process, known as electrodialysis, to remove remaining salt ions.

The team shrunk and stacked the ICP and electrodialysis modules to improve their energy efficiency and fit them inside a portable device. The researchers designed the device for non-experts, with just one button to launch the automatic desalination and purification process. Once the salinity level and the number of particles decrease to specific thresholds, the device notifies the user that the water is drinkable.

The researchers also created a smartphone app that can control the unit wirelessly and report real-time data on power consumption and water salinity.

After running lab experiments using water with different salinity and turbidity (cloudiness) levels, they field-tested the device at Boston’s Carson Beach, generating a drinking cup of clear, drinkable water from seawater in about half an hour.

“It was successful even in its first run, which was quite exciting and surprising. But I think the main reason we were successful is the accumulation of all these little advances that we made along the way,” said Han.

The resulting water exceeded World Health Organization quality guidelines, and the unit reduced the amount of suspended solids by at least a factor of 10. The prototype generates drinking water at a rate of 0.3l per hour, and requires only 20W of power per litre.

“We are pushing our research to scale up that production rate,” said Yoon. The team also wants to address water quality issues that go beyond desalination, such as rapidly detecting contaminants in drinking water.

Also on the team were Hyukjin J Kwon, a former postdoc, SungKu Kang, a postdoc at Northeastern University, and Eric Brack of the US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (Devcom).

The research was funded, in part, by the Devcom Soldier Centre, the Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab (J-WAFS), the Experimental AI Postdoc Fellowship Programme of Northeastern University, and the Roux AI Institute.

The research was published online in Environmental Science and Technology.

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Content published by Professional Engineering does not necessarily represent the views of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

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CTCE-constructed Mbanza Congo Water Supply System Enhancement Project in Safe Operation for 900 Days

As of April 18, the urban water supply system enhancement project in Mbanza Congo, Angola, which was undertaken by the construction company of China Tiesiju Civil Engineering Group (CTCE), had been operating safely for 900 days.

The water supply system consists of a water intake pumping station, a water purification plant, two high level pools, transmission pipelines and public water access project. The project began construction on February 14, 2017, and was completed on October 30, 2019. According to the contract, the construction team will be responsible for the maintenance of the water supply facilities for 36 months after completion of the project, which will be officially handed over to local authorities on October 30 this year.

During the facility maintenance period, CTCE’s construction company arranged three Chinese employees to work and live at the water plant and join the 10 Angolan trainees from the local water company to maintain the facilities and ensure stable and healthy operation of the water supply system. Their excellent operation capability and high-quality service guaranteed the uninterrupted around-the-clock supply of clean and hygienic water for domestic use, ensured stable supply of safe drinking water for more than 15,000 households, and greatly improved the living conditions of local people, earning universal praise from the local water company and citizens alike. (Yan Sheng, Li Qian)

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Improved water service for residents of northwest Trigg County will be a reality following a grant presentation Thursday morning in downtown Cadiz.

Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman was in town to present the Barkley Lake Water District with a $376,651 grant check that will be used to replace water lines in the Prizer Point area of the county.

Barkley Lake General Manager John Herring said 13,000 feet of water lines will be replaced as a result of the funding.

click to download audioHerring said roughly 1,200 customers who get their water from the Siloam tank will see better water quality and water pressure once the work is complete.

He added the work is part of a continued effort to improve water quality in Trigg County. Recent work to replace the lift station near the old McUpton school has improved water service to the Cerulean area.

click to download audioThe funding comes from the Better Kentucky Plan’s Cleaner Water Program. Lt. Gov Coleman said improving rural infrastructure is important for the quality of life of its residents and appeals to economic development and expansion.

click to download audioThe grant requests were made through the Pennyrile Area Development District and funded by the American Rescue Plan Act and administered by the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority.

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