Warwick Smith/Stuff

The groundwater and soil contamination was caused by PFAS chemicals released from toxic firefighting foam around the Ōhakea air force base.

Ōhakea residents who have been drinking bottled water for three years due to contamination from the nearby air force base have finally got a running supply of clean water.

The Ōhakea Rural Water Scheme was opened by the Minister for the Environment David Parker and Manawatū District Council’s mayor Helen Worboys in Sanson on Tuesday.

The scheme was actioned after it was discovered in 2017 a number of households had been drinking water contaminated by toxic firefighting foam used during training at the air base.

A buildup of chemicals had run off into nearby groundwater. The type of foam, used mostly in training to fight fuel fires, was banned in 2006 because it contained poly-fluoroalkyl (PFAS).

READ MORE:
* Clean water scheme delayed for Ōhakea residents affected by toxic foam
* Ōhakea air base neighbours should have clean drinking water by Christmas
* Ōhakea water scheme to avoid PFAS contamination should be ready by Christmas 2021

NZDF

Air Force firefighters blast a crashed Devon with foam to prevent a fuel fire at Ōhakea air base in 2006.

Parker said on Tuesday the scheme came about following strong advocacy by Manawatū mayor Helen Worboys and Rangitīkei MP Ian McKelvie.

“The government is pleased to support this project with funding of $10.88m to help allay community concerns about the safety of the water you drink and use.”

The scheme was rolled out to deliver a new bore, reservoir, water treatment plant, and pipe network as well as connections to houses and farms.

Andy Russell, chairperson of a committee set up to advocate for the affected residents, said the water scheme has lessened the community’s fears around their personal health and the health of their land and production.

WARWICK SMITH/STUFF/Stuff

After the contamination was uncovered in 2017, the defence force setup water stations, including one at Ōhakea War Memorial Hall, to assist with community enquiries and the ongoing water testing progamme.

Worboys said the project team had face-to-face visits with residents and visited 97 properties in the area by mid-2021.

“The project reached everyone in the community eligible to receive water under the planned scheme. The visits helped with the details on where tanks should go, and how many units were needed.”

The scheme’s roll out and progress was affected by the covid lockdown in August 2021. There was also a delay following water sampling of the aquifer, which showed the water had a high level of iron and manganese.

A second filtration system was required to make the water potable for consumption.

With a reservoir in Sanson and a pipe network of 28 kilometres, the scheme would supply water to more than 80 properties.

The scheme can supply 1500 cubic metres of water a day through the treatment plant, and it includes the reservoir with a capacity for 1 million litres of water.

An additional $2 million of funding came from the Manawatū council.

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Engineers were at the site of a water main break in Port Huron near the regional water authority’s treatment facility in St. Clair County on Monday to determine a repair plan to restore safe drinking water for thousands who are three days into a weeks-long boil water advisory. 

Seven communities, approximately 133,000 people, will remain under a boil water advisory for two weeks while the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) investigates what caused the Saturday morning break. A new section of the 120-inch pipe arrived Monday, beginning the repair process that’s anticipated to take a week to complete. 

The 120-inch water transmission main distributes finished drinking water from GLWA’s Lake Huron Treatment Facility to communities in the northern part of its service area. The main is the largest in the regional water distribution system, according to GLWA.

The boil water advisory has been lifted for most communities initially impacted, but it is still in effect for residents in the following areas:

• Almont
• Bruce Township
• Burtchville Township
• Imlay City
• Rochester
• Shelby Township
• Washington Township

Along with the seven affected communities, a business in Greenwood and an industrial park in Romeo are also under the boil water advisory. GLWA has advised homeowners in the impacted area to refrain from watering their lawns while the advisory is in effect.

More:Here’s what you need to know about the water main break

More:Jury hung in Flint water crisis civil trial, mistrial declared

Residents should not drink directly from the tap before boiling water for at least one minute and cooling it first. Bottled or boiled water should be used for cooking, drinking, washing dishes and brushing your teeth. 

Crews isolated the main break Sunday, allowing engineers to begin inspecting the pipe and create a repair plan. The replacement pipe arrived on-site Sunday. 

Initially, 23 communities encompassing about 935,000 residents were impacted by the water main break, prompting a declaration of a state of emergency by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Sunday for Lapeer, Macomb, Oakland, and St. Clair counties. The declaration authorizes the Michigan State Police, Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division to coordinate state efforts to assist Michiganders impacted.

The pipeline is expected to return to service two weeks from Saturday, with one week for repairs and another for water quality testing. The advisory, according to GLWA, will remain in effect until results from sampling confirm water safety. 

Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel visited the site of the break in Port Huron on Monday morning, where he was able to inspect the pipe alongside engineers and GLWA officials. 

“Listening to the engineers and people who understand their craft, you know that they’re on it,” Hackel said. “You know that they’re trying to figure out how to expedite the solution, a solution that’s certain. I’m very confident that they’re doing what they need to do to make that happen.”

GLWA has compiled a FAQ for concerns regarding living under a boil water advisory and necessary precautions.  

Contact Miriam Marini: [email protected]

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As Announced, Free Water Supply Testing for Homeowners as a Part of Energy Transfer Criminal Conviction

HARRISBURG, PA —Earlier this month, Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced that Sunoco Pipeline L.P., and ETC Northeast Pipeline LLC (ETC), both subsidiaries of Energy Transfer, L.P. (Energy Transfer), were convicted of criminal charges related to their conduct during the construction of two major pipelines in Pennsylvania. As part of the agreement, Energy Transfer will pay for independent evaluations of water quality impacts for homeowners potentially impacted by the construction of the Mariner East 2 Pipeline and in some cases, offer approved mechanisms for restoring or replacing the impacted private water supplies.

The final deadline for residents to reach out to the Office of Attorney General to apply for a free water test for their home is this coming Friday, August 19th. Any interested party should reach out to the Office at [email protected]. So far, over 150 Pennsylvania residents have contacted our office for their water tests. Residents interested in receiving a water test should know that there are no distance limits from the Mariner East 2 pipeline that would impact their eligibility to apply for a water test.

An independent, professional geologist will review water testing and advise on water quality and impact. The panel of three professional geologists will be announced by the Office of Attorney General next week.

“We fought hard to require Energy Transfer to test residents’ water, because it goes to the heart of our criminal case and gives power to the people who were pushed aside by big companies and ignored by the institutions that were supposed to help them,” said AG Shapiro. “Residents who believe the Mariner East Two Pipeline has impacted your water, we need to hear from you by Friday.”

A fact sheet detailing the plea agreement is available HERE.

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Have you ever considered why Boothbay is the only one of the seven major Midcoast peninsulas that has a sizable town at its end? It’s because Boothbay is the only peninsula that has a public water supply. The surface water found towards the end of the Boothbay peninsula in Adams Pond and the Knickerbocker Lakes simply does not exist in such quantity on the other Midcoast peninsulas. And for more than 150 years, Boothbay’s public water supply has been critical to its economic health.

Starting as far back as 1869, residents of the Boothbay peninsula began to plan for a public water supply. Disputes over funding a water system led to Boothbay Harbor’s separation from Boothbay in 1889. It was also in 1889 when the predecessor to the Boothbay Region Water District first acquired rights to use the water in Adams Pond.

Today, almost every business, governmental organization and non-profit on the Boothbay peninsula obtains its water exclusively from our public water supply at Adams Pond and the Knickerbocker Lakes. Our schools and almost one half of all the homes in the lower peninsula also obtain their water from our public supply. So even if your home has a well to supply your drinking water, you still use the public water supply frequently and throughout the year.

If you eat at one of our local restaurants, the tap water they serve is from the public supply and the dishes you eat from were washed with water from our public supply; or

If your child attends a public school, the water they drink at school comes from our public supply; or

If your child attends the YMCA Camp at Knickerbocker Lake, your child will swim in water that is our public supply; or

If you visit one of our local breweries, the beer you drink was made with water from our public supply; or

If you have received health care at any of our local medical facilities, you can be assured that they rely on the public water supply; or

If you use one of our local public bathrooms, you use water from our public supply; and,

The local groceries all clean their stores and shelves with water from our public supply.

And how we love to use the water from our public supply … the average amount taken every year from Adams Pond and Knickerbocker Lake exceeds 200 million gallons! The Boothbay Region Water District supplies drinking water to more than 3,850 customers, 459 of which are businesses, nonprofits and governmental units. On a peak summer day, the people of the Boothbay peninsula can draw more than 1 million gallons from the public water supply.

The public water supply for the Boothbay peninsula is critical to the economic well-being of our entire community and the stores and businesses you rely on every day. In its 2015 Comprehensive Plan, the Town of Boothbay stated that … “Maintaining both the quality and quantity of the supplies for both the public and private water supply systems is a key issue for the community.” It is for that reason we ask everyone to consider joining our efforts to preserve the quality of our drinking water by conserving the watersheds for Adams Pond and the Knickerbocker Lakes.

The mission of the Boothbay Region Clean Drinking Water Initiative is simply – “To forever safeguard the Boothbay Region public drinking water supply through land conservation, education, stewardship and community collaboration.”

As of today, sufficient undeveloped land within the watersheds exists to realize the Initiative’s goals of conserving in its natural state about 75% of that land, but we do not expect that land to remain undeveloped for long. Like so many areas of Maine, the last two years have produced explosive growth on the Boothbay peninsula. Some estimates suggest that since 2019 sales of homes on the peninsula increased by more than 140%. The starting point for ensuring the peninsula’s quality of life and continued economic growth is to have an adequate supply of clean drinking water for everyone — residents and visitors alike.

If you would like to support our mission or for more information, please contact us at [email protected]

 

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UPDATE MONDAY 15 AUGUST – The boil water notice issued for the Methven township water supply has been lifted this morning after three days of clear testing. Normal operation of the plant has resumed and water quality has improved. Residents subscribed to the Council’s text alert service have been notified.

The Mount Somers boil water notice was lifted late last week, however the Methven/Springfield water supply remains on a boil water notice.

The Methven/Springfield water supply is still experiencing poor water quality at present. Adverse weather continues to hamper the recovery of the water supply for this area. A water tanker is located in Methven as a source of clean drinking water.

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Some residents in a Montreal borough are trying to determine why yellow water is flowing out of their taps — but to no avail, they say.

The taps of at least three triplexes on Saint-Henri’s St-Antoine St. have been affected for two weeks.

Resident Andre Duchesne said he and his neighbours reached out to the city for help but have not received any guidance.

“They say they’re going to look into it, and we didn’t get an answer,” he told CTV News.

Yellow water can be an indication of several things, from sediment to rust.

But without a clear answer on whether or not the water is safe to drink, he’s sticking to the bottled stuff.

Duchesne said he’s been through four cases in two weeks.

A few doors down, Sergio Crespo has the same issue and the same questions.

“We don’t know if it’s health or not, so we got a filter for the water,” he said.

Despite his best efforts, though, the water is still murky.

Crespo says he’s against plastic waste and didn’t want to resort to buying water bottles. But with no guidance from the city, he says he doesn’t know what else to do.

“We are paying taxes to have access to potable water at home, so what’s the point of that?” he said. “We should still have the service because Quebec is famous for having excellent water.”

In a statement sent to CTV News, the City of Montreal said the yellow hue results from aqueduct work in the area.

It said the issue is being worked on and advised residents to run the tap water until it’s clear.

“It can then be consumed,” the statement reads.

“Concerned citizens are invited to consult our website Montreal.ca or to call 311 and they will receive all information and instructions related to the situation.”

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Every morning since late June, Allen Ramirez has been part of a continuous trucking operation to keep water flowing for the people of Concan, a small town about 85 miles west of San Antonio.

Getting to work by 7 a.m., Ramirez pumps about 7,000 gallons from a groundwater well into an 18-wheeler that he then drives about 6 miles across town to four 50,000-gallon tanks. Then he pumps the truck’s contents into them. Filling the truck takes 45 minutes to an hour, and pumping it out takes another hour.

He then repeats the process for the rest of his workday, as does co-worker Douglas Pena in another truck. Both are contracted drivers hired by the Concan Water Supply Corp. Together, they fill the tanks eight to 10 times a day.

If either man falls behind, or a truck breaks down, or they interrupt their route for any reason, the tanks run the risk of drying up, leaving more than half the town without drinking water.

“This is about all we can do right now,” said Dick Earnest, general manager of Concan Water Supply. “We’re just keeping up with the water demand, but we have to do it constantly or we’ll run out.”

On ExpressNews.com: Frio River flow drops to zero as drought continues

Allen Ramirez checks the water level in his truck on Aug. 10. He and another truck driver hired by Concan Water Supply Corp. fill 7,000-gallon tanks with water from a well in Concan and use it to fill water tanks in other parts of the small town, repeating the process continuously. Drought has caused most of the wells for the community’s public water supply to go dry and put it at risk of running out of water in 45 days, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality website.

William Luther, Staff Photographer / Staff photographer

Amid the drought gripping South Texas, five of the eight groundwater wells in Concan have gone dry, leaving only two producing wells and one barely functioning well to supply the town. Residents can no longer water their lawns or fill their swimming pools, and from midnight to 6 a.m., the water is shut off.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality uses the following terms to describe the severity of a community’s water status:

• Outage: Water service interrupted

• Emergency: Could be out of water in 45 days or less

• Priority: Could be out of water in 90 days or less

• Concern: Could be out of water in 180 days or less

• Watch: Has a supply of water greater than 180 days

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Concan is emblematic of many Texas towns that are drying up and where water companies face decisions similar to those that Earnest has made. Months without rain and temperatures above 100 degrees have left most of South and Central Texas parched. Four towns, including Concan, have been designated by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality as suffering extreme shortage, meaning they’re at risk of running out of water in 45 days or less. Five towns are in priority shortage status, 13 are deemed concerning, and numerous others are being watched for possible water outage issues.

Concan Water Supply has so far spent $200,000 transporting water across town and is about to spend an additional half-million dollars to dig a new well that goes down about 1,500 feet into the Trinity Aquifer in search of water. But all its efforts are just acts of survival until the ultimate natural solution comes.

“The only way this gets better is if it rains,” Earnest said. “We’re all just hoping for rain. Without it, this is what we got to do.”

Noticeably different

Concan is known mostly as a summer tourist town. Texans from all over the state come every year to swim and paddle in the Frio River and walk along the trees and bluffs at Garner State Park. For many, the spot is a family tradition, where generations of parents have taken their families to vacation. Even now, as the Frio River dries up, people continue to come to Concan to relax.

The turnout is smaller than last year, however. The usually packed swimming spots, parking lots and boutique vacation shops are a bit less visited. And tubing, which is the most popular activity on the Frio, is canceled for the summer because of low water levels.

Cassie Siegal, the river cleanup and digital marketing coordinator for Uvalde County, said this summer has been noticeably different. In the last two years, there were more visitors because of the appeal of nature during the COVID-19 pandemic and the flow in the river. This year, people are popping into the Concan Visitor Center to ask about the drinking water and dried-up river locations.

The public bathrooms at the Visitor Center are shut off because the pipes are connected to Concan Water Supply. Flushing would put more strain on the system. A new candy and ice cream shop near the center is also fed by that water supply, which is unavailable for about an hour whenever the contracted truck drivers tap the well to fill their tanks.

For businesses that have been in Concan longer, the water issue is less severe because they draw from their own groundwater systems. But those wells could be at risk of drying up as well without adequate conservation.

Conservation in Concan

A sign on the Uvalde County Visitor Center building in Concan on Aug. 10 lets people know the restrooms in the building are closed due to water supply problems. The Concan Water Supply Corp. has been trucking water continuously from a still-producing well to public drinking water tank farms several miles away to keep water flowing to those parts of town.

William Luther, Staff Photographer / Staff photographer

At Neal’s Dining Room, a popular restaurant in Concan, manager Mitzy Santleben pours only small cups of water for customers to prevent waste.

“They’ll ask me for a big glass of water when they come in, and I just see how they do with a small one first,” Santleben said. “I mean, I’ll keep pouring again and again rather than see that water go down the drain.”

It’s just one of the measures big and small that people in Concan are taking to stretch their water supply as far as it will last.

Concan has about 200 year-round residents, but during the summer, thousands come and stay a few days to several weeks. It’s up to management and rental companies, Uvalde County and Concan Water Supply to inform newcomers about conservation standards.

Mostly, Earnest said, management companies do their part, but some show little or no interest in helping. And every day, the general manager gets multiple calls from visitors complaining about the water being shut off.

Meanwhile, Earnest practices what he preaches. At home, he sticks a hose in used bathwater to pump it through the bathroom window to water plants, and he dumps his dog’s water bowl into the birdbath. All water is recycled.

On ExpressNews.com: Catch and release: How the Bandera River Authority is saving fish from the drought

At Frio River Vacation Homes, co-owner Dwynette Meadows said most of her guests have been understanding about the water restrictions. Occasionally, she’ll get calls from upset visitors who get caught soapy in a shower when the water is turned off. But overall, she said, it’s been business as usual. Nearly all 47 rental homes have been booked every weekend.

Meadows and her husband, Mike, moved to Concan a year ago from Kingsville because they loved the area so much. Now, as Meadows answers calls at the vacation home headquarters, her husband drives water in a small tank from rental to rental, filling swimming pools. Because Concan Water Supply doesn’t allow residents to use its water to fill private pools, management companies must buy water elsewhere and truck it to Concan.

Because of the heat, pool water evaporates quickly, so it’s almost a daily job to maintain pool levels. But that doesn’t seem to bother the rental company too much.

“The whole town is doing its part to keep Concan up and running,” Meadows said. “We’re a community on this.”

Supply and demand

A trickle of water can be seen in the nearly dry Frio River on Aug. 10 at the Third Crossing near Concan. The official U.S. Geological Survey water gauge for the river in Concan reported a flow of 0 cubic feet per second on that day.

William Luther, Staff Photographer / Staff photographer

When the summer vacation rush subsides, the water supply will be easier to manage with fewer people using it.

Droughts are not uncommon in Texas, said Lucas Gregory, associate director of the Texas Water Resources Institute at Texas A&M University, but they are intensified when demand exceeds supply.

“There’s not a world of resources in the Concan part of the state,” Gregory said. “The full-time population out there is not one that demands a large potable water supply, so I think the biggest challenge that complicates the water supply is that (Concan’s) water infrastructure can’t keep up with the demand of all these vacation properties. They can’t access it fast enough.”

The last time Concan went through such a severe drought was in 2011, but Earnest said it didn’t have to truck water or dig a new well back then. This year, however, with more vacation homes and visitors, the water dried up much faster.

On ExpressNews.com: ‘Resilience to drought’: EPA officials laud SAWS multisource facility

Concan is just beyond the Edwards Aquifer, leaving Concan Water Supply to tap shallow groundwater — 200 feet deep — with much less capacity than a system as massive as the Edwards. Below that shallow groundwater, however, is the Trinity Aquifer, which could provide much more water to Concan. Already, the company has one well tapping the Trinity, but the water is not potable.

The new Trinity well that the company plans to dig would be about 1,500 feet deep, and officials hope it will provide drinking water. Normally, obtaining a permit for a new groundwater well from the TCEQ could take up to six months, but because of Concan’s emergency status, the digging should start in a few weeks.

In the meantime, the 7,000-gallon trucks will continue their perpetual loops — from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week. And Concan residents must continue conserving water all night, while vacation rental companies keep trucking water to maintain swimming pool levels.

But Meadows, a woman of faith, said she’s not worried — not for next year or the year after that.

“God will never give us more than we can handle,” she said. “So we’re handling it.”

Elena Bruess writes for the Express-News through Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. ReportforAmerica.org. [email protected]

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Originally Appeared Here

The state of Hawaii is still dealing with the fallout of the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility fuel leak, but the Navy and the state are moving forward with a new effort to protect Oahu’s watershed.

The plan gives the state a $14.9 million grant to work on a comprehensive water conservation project for the Waiawa watershed. That would involve protecting and updating the Pearl Harbor aquifer, planting more trees in upland forests and doing landscape work to better preserve and utilize waters on the island. It would also help protect the more than 7,000 acres of forest that sit above Joint Base Pearl Harbor. 

The money comes from the Department of Defense’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program (REPI) Challenge. Beyond the overall benefit to the state, the Navy is arguing that improving the overall watershed’s sustainability will help with long-term operational capacity for the Navy on the island of Oahu. 

The effort comes after the November 2021 disaster at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, where a leak contaminated the Navy’s water supply on the island with nearly 20,000 gallons of fuel. The leak also endangered the wider water supply for the island. A Navy report found a series of human errors that led to the disaster being as bad as it was. Although not directly commenting on the Red Hill incident, the Navy’s Thursday, Aug. 11 release on the grant acknowledged the wider community need for water resource conservation. 

“The Navy sees itself as part of the community, and with that role comes a responsibility to protect and preserve the land, water, and other natural resources which Hawaii’s people have honored and depended upon,” Meredith Berger, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations and Environment said in a prepared statement on the work. “Oahu’s water sources provide potable water across the island, and we expect these water quality improvements will benefit every resident of Oahu.”

The work funded by the grant will “safeguard drinking water supplies at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam (JBPHH) and protect the upland forests as a necessary action toward protection of the aquifer and the replenishment of water to support installation resilience and readiness,” according to the release. 

Currently there are plans to empty the fuel depot and eventually shut it down. Hawaii’s Department of Health rejected the Navy’s initial plan; the Navy has to submit a new one by September. 

The funding for the conservation work was first announced in June, but the period of work didn’t start until August. According to the release, the Department of the Navy and the University of Hawaii signed a memorandum of understanding to work on new ways to adapt for water resilience and climate change, with the Navy helping to provide services in the projects. 

The state and the Navy have not stated how long they expect the work to take. 

The latest on Task & Purpose

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Thames Water has been accused of repeatedly ignoring warnings about cuts to supplies and burst pipes in Surrey where hundreds of households had to endure three days without tap water at the height of this weekend’s heatwave.

Residents, including some that were vulnerable, had to queue for bottled water on Saturday in temperatures of well over 30C (86F) after a pump failure at Netley Mill treatment works.

By Sunday morning up to 1,000 homes began a third day without water. Supplies were restored to up to 9,000 homes, but many households still complained about low water pressure.

Thames Water apologised and confirmed it handed out bottled water to residents in Guildford, Surrey Hills, Dorking and Horsham while engineers worked to restore the supply.

Liz Townsend, a Liberal Democrat county councillor for Cranleigh and Ewhurst, called for Thames Water to be fined over the incident and said the company had failed to respond to numerous complaints about previous cuts in supplies.

“We’re completely exasperated,” she said. “We had a period last summer when there was just bottled water. We had no water in February during the storm, we had no water in the previous hot period at the beginning of July. And now another hot spell and we have no water.

“Our water infrastructure is not resilient enough to cope with all the new housing and the ageing pipes. Whenever they increase the pressure in the system, we get more and more bursts. I’ve been having talks with Thames Water for 10 years, and I’ve been up Westminster several times to raise it, but nobody takes any notice.”

Townsend wrote to Sarah Bentley, the chief executive of Thames Water, in July after a previous interruption in supply. The letter, seen by the Guardian, accused the company of taking months, and in some cases years, to repair burst pipes and said it reneged on a public commitment to provide residents with updates on water supplies.

Bentley has yet to respond.

A statement from Thames Water said: “Netley Mill water treatment works is now back in service and supply is gradually being restored to the local network. This will continue over the remainder of the day. We are very sorry that customers have been impacted especially at a time of high temperatures.

“When supplies do begin to return, we are asking customers to try to use this just for essential use initially. This will help us return supplies to everyone quicker. We are supplying bottled water to customers who we know need additional help. If anyone is unable to travel to a bottled water site they should contact us on 0800 316 9800 and we will provide assistance.”

Cranleigh is the latest village to run out of water after an official drought was declared in eight areas of England. Dozens of households in Northend, Oxfordshire have been reliant on just bottled water for the last five days.

Townsend said: “There was no water on Saturday for [between] 8,000 and 9,000 homes. We have got a trickle this morning. But between 500 and 1,000 households are still without water.”

Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you through the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning

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Residents were told that problems extracting water from a borehole meant that two local reservoirs were completely empty and a third was only a quarter full.

Townsend said Thames Water’s handling of the crisis had been appalling. She said some vulnerable people on the priority list were not sent bottled water, and farmers had no water for livestock.

She added: “There should be financial penalties. If they are not delivering water, people should get refunds. We have thousand and thousands of new houses coming into this area, and yet the basic water infrastructure cannot cope now with the existing number of houses.”

Townsend also called for failing water companies to be renationalised.

“It is such a precious and reducing resource that perhaps we should be looking at having more of a public ownership model for water,” she said.

Three water companies – Welsh Water, Southern Water, and South East Water – have all imposed hosepipe bans, while Yorkshire Water has announced that a ban will start on 26 August, and Thames Water is planning one in the coming weeks.

An amber weather warning for extreme heat remained in place on Sunday for large parts of the south, east, west, Midlands and north of England for a fourth day.

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Originally Appeared Here

Photos from Saturday’s Pure Water Days Parade and River Fest in Chippewa Falls.

This year marked the 45th annual Pure Water Days Celebration.

At one time Chippewa Falls was known for having the purest water in the world. They wanted to celebrate it. That is how it all started, nearly half-a-century ago. Now Pure Water Days is a multi-day event chock full of various performances, tours and public events in Chippewa Falls.

On Saturday, the Pure Water Days parade began on the corner of North Bridge and Cedar Streets and traveled down to the corner of Bridge and Spring Streets. The parade lasted an hour, and showcased more than 50 floats and entries.

To finish it off, the Cruise In Car Show blocked off Main Street so that people could show off their vintage and muscle cars.

Finally, RiverFest started as soon as the parade ended. It took place at Riverfront Park and featured games, food trucks, vendors, live music and other performances.

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Originally Appeared Here