A beach on Lake Hopatcong is closed to the public after two rounds of water testing in the area showed high levels of harmful algae blooms (HABs).

Colleen Lyons, administrator of the Lake Hopatcong Commission, confirmed the Crescent Cove Beach Club is closed due to sample results collected by the state Department of Environmental Protection Monday and last Wednesday, July 27.

The data on the DEP website showed concentrations of cyanobacteria, the type of algae in the blooms, at 450,000 cells per milliliter Monday and 308,750 cells per milliliter last week. Both readings are well above the threshold of 80,000 cells per milliliter that triggers an “advisory” from the state.

The latest test concentration is more than double the sample of 171,500 cells per milliliter taken in Crescent Cove July 15, which resulted in the lake’s first HAB advisory of the year. However, the beach remained open because the Sussex County Health Department determined the bloom did not affect the swim area.

The DEP website also shows an advisory from another test taken July 27 on Lake Musconetcong, which is located downstream from Lake Hopatcong and is part of its watershed. The Lake Musconetcong sample had a toxic algae concentration of 189,000 cells per milliliter.

Read next:NJ State Fair returns to Sussex County Friday with new twists. Here’s what you’ll see

The DEP recommends the public avoid “primary contact recreation” such as swimming and water-skiing in an area under an algae advisory. Drinking water and eating fish caught near the site are also discouraged. People should be cautious when performing “secondary contact activities” like fishing or boating.

Cyanobacteria, if ingested, can cause headaches, sore throat, nausea, abdominal pain, dry cough, diarrhea and blistering around the mouth. Direct contact with algae may lead to a skin rash. Animals exposed to cyanobacteria may experience lethargy, stumbling and loss of appetite.

Harmful algae grows more quickly in warm, nutrient-rich water, conditions lake officials say were prevalent in the area because of recent weather. The region experienced several days of high temperatures, and the heavy rain likely washed nutrients like lawn fertilizer and animal waste into the lake.

Last week, the Lake Hopatcong Commission authorized the use of an algaecide called GreenClean in a five-acre section of Crescent Cove to reduce toxic algae buildup in the area.

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Originally Appeared Here

• Water management authorities in Bangladesh have drawn up a plan to recharge, or refill, the aquifers serving Dhaka and other areas, which are being depleted by one of the highest groundwater extraction rates in the world.
• The plan calls for injecting storm water, reclaimed water, desalinated water and potable water into the aquifers, which, in the case of Dhaka, is falling by up to 3 meters (nearly 10 feet) a year.
• The country withdraws an estimated 32 cubic kilometers (7.7 cubic miles) of groundwater annually, 90% of which is used for irrigation and the rest for domestic and industrial purposes.
• Even though four of South Asia’s largest rivers run through Bangladesh, the country struggles to provide sufficient drinking water for its inhabitants, in large part because of pollution.

DHAKA — Bangladesh is looking to recharge its aquifers with storm water, reclaimed water, desalinated water and potable water, in an effort to ward off the depletion of this precious resource.

The Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) has finalized a draft national strategy for what it calls managed aquifer recharge (MAR), and submitted it to higher authorities for approval.

Bangladesh ranks sixth in the world for countries with the largest estimated annual groundwater extraction, according to the “U.N. World Water Development Report 2022.” By 2030, groundwater levels in the greater Dhaka area may drop by between 3 and 5.1 meters (9.8 and 16.7 feet) per year — approximately 70% faster than the current rate — according to a study by the Bangladesh Water Partnership (BWP) and supported by the 2030 Water Resource Group (2030 WRG).

Aquifers are vast stores of freshwater held in a permeable rock layer underground, and are usually “recharged,” or refilled, by surface water (typically rainwater) seeping into the ground. In cases where the rate at which water is extracted from the aquifer (usually via wells) exceeds the rate of recharge, managed aquifer recharge can inject water from other sources that typically wouldn’t reach the permeable rock. This includes storm water, reclaimed water, desalinated water and potable water, allowing for subsequent recovery or environmental benefit.

About 98% of Bangladesh’s population relies on groundwater for drinking water. Image courtesy of Abdul Goni.

“MAR can also be used for improving water quality of groundwater and controlling seawater intrusions in coastal aquifers,” said Anwar Zahid, director at the Directorate of Groundwater Hydrology under the BWDB.

“If the draft is approved, it will be placed for broad consultation, prior to the preparation of the final strategy,” he added.

The BWDB has already carried out MAR pilot projects in Dhaka and the Barind Tract, as well as in coastal areas, to improve the quantity and quality of groundwater, respectively.

The extensive use of groundwater in Bangladesh began after the country’s independence in 1971, driven by a shortage of safe drinking water. At present, about 98% of the population relies on groundwater for drinking water, while about 77% of irrigation needs are also met by groundwater sources.

The country withdraws an estimated 32 cubic kilometers (7.7 cubic miles) of groundwater annually, 90% of which is used for irrigation and the rest for domestic and industrial purposes, according to a joint study by the Directorate of Groundwater Hydrology and the World Bank.

“The water level in several parts of the capital Dhaka has now dropped 60-75 meters [200-245 ft] below the ground surface,” Zahid said.

According to the draft strategy, MAR will increase the availability of freshwater for drinking, agriculture, industry, and environmental protection. Along with Dhaka and the Barind Tract, the BWDB has also identified the Gazipur region and coastal areas as those facing major groundwater stress.

Replenishing the aquifers in Dhaka, Gazipur and the coastal areas can be done through rainwater harvesting, the plan says, while catchment management techniques will be more prominent in the higher Barind and Hill tracts.

“In urban areas, rooftop rainwater harvesting will contribute to reducing flooding and waterlogging,” the draft says.

About 77% of Bangladesh’s irrigation needs are met by groundwater sources. Image by Abu Siddique/Mongabay.

Industrialization, urbanization under threat

Outside of agriculture, a key consumer of water in Bangladesh is the country’s garment industry. Ready-made garments account for more than 80% of Bangladesh’s exports by value, and most of the 3,862 factories that produce them are concentrated in Dhaka and the surrounding districts of Gazipur and Narayanganj, as well as Chattogram, according to Mapped in Bangladesh (MiB), a four-year research initiative of the BRAC University.

A major part of the industry is the group of some 800 washing, dyeing and finishing factories, known in the trade parlance as WDF, which consume as much as 300 liters of water to produce 1 kilogram of fabric (about 36 gallons a pound) — six times more water than the prescribed international best practice.

The BWP and 2030 WRG study warns that by 2030, the upper aquifer of the greater Dhaka area may run out of water, especially in the dry season.

“This will likely affect the industrial zones … leading to widespread land subsidence and severe shortfall in drinking water supply from groundwater resources,” the study says.

A groundwater extraction system in Dhaka. Image by Abu Siddique/Mongabay.

As of 2016, more than 18 million people lived in what constitutes the greater Dhaka area, while city itself had a population of an estimated 11 million, with a growth rate about 3.6% annually, according to the study. It projected that by 2021, the Dhaka’s population would have reached 21.5 million, and 27.4 million by 2030.

Groundwater extraction rates may increase from 5.9 million cubic meters per day to 10 million cubic meters per day (1.6 billion to 2.6 billion gallons) by 2030, according to MiB. The average depth of the groundwater table may sink down to 132 m (433 ft), from about 78 m (256 ft) at present, in the next 10-12 years, the study says.

“This will likely have a substantial impact on the access to groundwater for industries. This is expected to also cause irreversible environmental consequences,” it adds.

In Dhaka, the water table is falling by 2-3 m (6.6-9.8 ft) per year, which is alarming, says Md. Ataur Rahman, a professor of water resources engineering at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET).

“If the current rate of groundwater abstraction continues, the reserved water may run out permanently. In that situation, getting pure water will be more difficult and costlier for city dwellers,” he said.

Experts suggest the government not allow any more new industries in the greater Dhaka area and shift the existing ones to the riverside so that they can use surface water for industrial use.

Outside of agriculture, a key consumer of water in Bangladesh is the country’s garment industry. Image by Abu Siddique/Mongabay.

The problem of unusable water

Even though four of South Asia’s largest rivers run through Bangladesh, the country struggles to provide sufficient drinking water for its inhabitants, in large part because of pollution.

A recent study shows the quality of water in many parts of Bangladesh has deteriorated, leaving a significant part of the population at potential threat of water pollution. The study looked at both conventional pollutants (heavy metals, pesticides, fecal pollution) and emerging contaminants.

“Concentration of heavy metals is higher in the water bodies close to the industrial zones,” said lead author Shafi M. Tareq, a professor of environmental science at Jahangirnagar University.

“These heavy metals concentrations in both ground and surface waters of Bangladesh often exceed the maximum permissible limit recommended by the WHO for drinking water,” he added.

The study also found fecal coliform present in water almost all over the country, along with various pesticides and, more recently, emerging contaminants such as antibiotic residue, fluorescence whitening agent and microplastics.

“Before the industries arrived, people mostly used pond water for cooking and domestic use,” said Sharmin Akter, a resident of the Savar area in Dhaka. “For drinking water, we used to rely on tube wells, but nowadays none of these sources work as pollution is very high and the water level has dropped drastically.”

People line up to collect groundwater from a community tap. Image courtesy of Abdul Goni.

The Bangladesh government at one point planned to supply purified water to Dhaka residents by treating the water from the surrounding rivers.

“The waters from Buriganga, Shitalakkha, Turag and Balu rivers are extremely polluted; and they do not carry sufficient water in the dry season,” said Rahman from BUET. “Now, the government is planning to bring water from Padma and Meghna rivers, which will involve extra cost, effort and energy.”

The Jahangirnagar University study identified overgrowth of population, industrialization, rapid urbanization, improper sanitation, and the use of agrochemicals as being responsible for the deteriorated quality of water in Bangladesh. It also recommended formulating and implementing strict laws on water quality in the country.

Tareq said enforcement of environmental laws in Bangladesh remains weak, and most people aren’t aware of environmental issues and sources of pollution.

“The government should take initiatives to educate people, using social or national campaigns, so that people can easily understand what is good and bad for them. At the same time, we need to develop a baseline database on the issue for further scientific study,” he said. “Most of the current data in both government and private levels are project-based.”

Banner image: People line up to collect groundwater from a community tap. Image courtesy of Abdul Goni.

Citation:   

Parvin, F., Haque, M. M., & Tareq, S. M. (2021) Recent status of water quality in Bangladesh: A systematic review, meta-analysis and health risk assessment. Environmental Challenges, 6, 100416. doi:10.1016/j.envc.2021.100416  

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Residents of a new informal settlement outside Winburg gather to fill containers with water from a pipe supplied by the municipality. Sana Ntho, 54, said the water either has to be boiled or disinfected before drinking. With no electricity available, and firewood a scarce commodity, she adds a spoon of bleach to every 20-litre bucket of water. Photos: Steve Kretzmann

• 64 of 96 sewage treatment works in the Free State are in a critical state.

• Only three out of 19 municipalities in the province have drinking water that meets minimum microbiological and chemical compliance standards.

• In Winburg, where sewage flows into its dam and the purification plant no longer functions, many people get their drinking water from the NG church borehole.

Retired coal mine worker Hendrik Tlaudi suffers from a “bad back” and has to take medication daily. But Tlaudi, who lives in a state-subsidised house with his widowed sister in Winburg, Free State, cannot simply pour a glass of water from the tap to help him swallow his pills. Like everyone else in the town, he has to boil it first or risk illness because the municipal water supply is often contaminated with bacteria from human faeces. But like most people living in the poorer section of the town and surviving on social grants, Tlaudi does not always have enough money to buy the electricity needed to boil the water. Sometimes his sister’s two teenage children have to go and forage for firewood.

Part of the reason Winburg’s water is contaminated is because the effluent released from the wastewater treatment works flows directly into the dam used for drinking water. This would be acceptable if the sewage was properly treated, and if the water purifying plant was functioning properly.

But the water purification plant appeared dilapidated and not functioning at all when GroundUp visited it in March. Entry was barred, but from the outside it was clear standard building maintenance had not taken place. Shrubs and small trees could be seen growing from the gutters and from cracks in the walls. In town, no one dares to drink the water.

Meanwhile at the water treatment works, a municipal worker showed us a critical pump that had not been working for three weeks for want of a fan belt. The aerator pump also did not have a fan belt, and the sludge remover did not have a hose.

“All I can do is add chlorine,” he said.

He said storm water from recent rains was flowing through the sewage ponds, stirring up the sludge, and spilling out to the dam from which drinking water was extracted. Sewage wasn’t even getting to the wastewater treatment works, he said, instead it was flowing to the dam from a broken down pump station further up the line. (The employee is not named as he was not authorised to speak to the media.)

For drinking water, total faecal coliforms (bacteria present in human and animal waste, of which there are many) can be a maximum of ten per 100ml and E.coli should be zero. But data on the national Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) Integrated Regulatory Information System (IRIS), shows Winburg’s municipal water supply currently meets national microbiological quality guidelines only 56% of the time. It complies with disinfectant standards just 11% of the time.

The dilapidated wastewater treatment plant in Winburg.

Data from the IRIS site also shows the wastewater treatment works are, in the words of the DWS’s Green Drop report, in a “critical state”, which means they “need urgent intervention for all aspects of the wastewater services business”.

There are three quality indicators for the effluent released from the sewage works into the environment: microbiological compliance, indicating the concentration of faecal bacteria, such as E.coli and enterococcus, in the water; chemical compliance, indicating the concentration of chemicals such as nitrates and phosphates which negatively impact ecosystems; and physical compliance, indicating turbidity (the clearness of the water), electrical conductivity and oxygen demand. The minimum compliance levels are set out in the wastewater treatment works’ authorisation issued by the DWS.

The Winburg wastewater treatment works, as of 18 June, scored zero for all three indicators. This is indicates that the municipality has not achieved the basic requirement of providing regular test results to the regulator.

A contractor who spoke on condition of anonymity said he oversaw upgrades to the sewage pump stations and refurbishment of the wastewater treatment works in 2020. As part of the contract the company installed a generator to ensure the works continued to function during load shedding. But he said after they completed the work, which included fixing the aerators essential to purifying the sewage, “some genius” in the municipality decided to move the generator to another facility. But the electrical lines ran through the generator so without it, there was no power at all at the wastewater treatment works. Rewiring it was a simple job for any qualified electrician, yet this was never done.

He said the company also advised the municipality that it needed to replace the town’s sewerage pipes, which were old asbestos pipes which were continually breaking. “They were breaking in people’s yards,” he said.

All effluent from the wastewater treatment works, as well as sewage from broken sewerage lines and pump stations flowed to the dam from which drinking water was drawn, but even if the water purifying plant at the dam was working properly, it wasn’t designed to clean water contaminated by sewage, he said.

Documents circulated in the municipal council meeting of June shows a consultant, a civil engineering firm, and an electrical and mechanical contractor were appointed to refurbish Winburg’s water purification plant in January 2019. “However, due to poor performance, both the contractor and consultant were terminated,” states the document.

A new consultant was appointed in August 2021, along with the same electrical and mechanical contractor, with a R25.6-million refurbishment budget. The document states the water purification plant was in a “dilapidated state”.

The plant required refurbishment of its mechanical works, electrical works, and piping. It also required civil work on its exterior, such as landscaping, surfacing of the road, roof works, and brick works.

The water treatment plant in Winburg, which purifies water for drinking, has shrubs and grass growing from its gutters and cracks in the walls despite a refurbishment contract worth R25-million awarded in August last year.

When GroundUp visited the site in March, it was clear no such exterior work had been done.

Brunhilde Rossouw, a councillor for Masilonyana local municipality, said the consultant and contractor arrived on site in August 2021 “but very, very little” work took place, with no work having been done since October. She said the contract with the consulting engineering firm had been stopped “due to illegal appointment”.

“We hear no more than that and they are also waiting for payment,” she said.

The council document states that the DWS had not paid invoices since August 2021, causing “huge delays” on the project. The contractors were not paid from September 2021 to February 2022.

Winburg falls within the Masilonyana local municipality, which includes the towns of Theunissen, Verkeerdevlei and Brandfort, the town where Winnie Mandela was banished for eight years by the apartheid government.

While Winburg’s failure to provide clean drinking water is striking in that the supply dam is polluted with untreated effluent from the wastewater treatment works, it is not unique. Drinking water supply fails to meet minimum standards throughout the Masilonyana local municipality. Data on the IRIS dashboard for June shows the drinking water in all four towns is contaminated by faecal bacteria, measured as microbiological compliance.

Verkeerdevlei had 0% for microbiological compliance, while Theunissen achieved 29%, Winburg 56%, and Brandfort 89%. The minimum standard for compliance is 97%.

Similarly, wastewater treatment works in all these towns are failing. All have failed to report effluent quality from their wastewater treatment works for over two years. These data are also reflected on an interactive map.

While Brandfort, although failing, performs best in terms of drinking water quality within the Masilonyana local municipality, supply is intermittent. Brandfort residents keep containers at hand and fill them up whenever there is water in the taps, as they do not know when water will come out their taps again. It can be days.

In Winburg, much of the town fetches clean drinking water from the NG church borehole on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Winburg residents, including those working for the municipality, walk home with containers of fresh water collected from the NG church borehole.

Free State water woes

The Masilonyana local municipality is just one of 19 municipalities in the Free State. As of June, only three municipalities in the province had drinking water which met minimum microbiological and chemical compliance standards. These were Tswelopele local municipality (Bultfontein and Hoopstad), Metsimaholo local municipality (Sasolburg, Deneysville, and Oranjeville) and Phumelela (Memel, Vrede, Warden).

Effluent data from June shows no municipal wastewater treatment plants met the minimum effluent standards set by the DWS. There is only one plant in the province that performs to standard, and it is operated by Sasol.

The Green Drop report of 2022, published on 1 April and covering the period July 2020 to June 2021, states 64 of 96 sewage treatment works in the Free State are in a critical state, achieving a score of 31% or less.

Of the 19 municipalities, 17 (including Masilonyana) were placed under regulatory focus for wastewater and given 60 days from the date of publication of the report to submit a detailed corrective action plan. The plan must map the activities, responsible persons, timelines, and expected improvements. The deadline would have been 31 May. Asked whether any corrective action plans had been received, the DWS failed to respond despite follow up calls.

Data visualisations by Yuxi Wang.

This investigation was produced in collaboration with the Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism and OpenUp, with the support of the Open Society Foundation.

© 2022 GroundUp. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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Originally Appeared Here

During the Madisonville City Council meeting on Monday, it was brought to the council’s attention that each year the water membrane filters are purchased and installed to ensure clean drinking water, and it is time to order again for this year, and next.

Mayor Kevin Cotton stated that the schedule has been extended this year due to a 60 week lead time, due to COVID and supply and demand issues. If ordered now, the new membrane filters are expected to arrive October 2023, so they are proposing to order two sets at a time, costing roughly $140,000.

Council members voted unanimously to take action and to purchase the new membrane filters with Suez Water Technologies through a non-competitive negotiation to ensure the process of clean drinking water for the community.

According to officials, it is in the best interest of the city to acquire the water filtration implementing of a partial tank drain backwash aeration operating system and membranes from Suez.

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Originally Appeared Here

[co-author: Edward Mahaffey]

The Environmental Protection Agency’s new drinking water health advisories for PFAS, released on June 15, 2022, included an advisory level of 10 parts per trillion (ppt) for hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid and its ammonium salt, collectively known as GenX. On July 14, 2022, Chemours, which manufactures GenX, petitioned the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit for review of the GenX health advisory. In its filing, Chemours argued that the health advisory was “arbitrary and capricious” by challenging EPA’s scientific assumptions, but Chemours also made a more radical argument: “The manner in which EPA has used its Safe Drinking Water Act authority to issue health advisories violates constitutional requirements, including the nondelegation doctrine, because EPA has utilized unfettered discretion to publish health advisories,” and had thus affected “the legal rights and obligations of companies, water utilities, and others across the country without sufficient legislative direction or regulatory safeguards.”[1]

Chemours’ suit was probably in part a response to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s letter to Chemours requiring it to “revise its Drinking Water Compliance Plan and Feasibility Study Report and provide public water or whole building filtration systems to any party with a private drinking water well contaminated by GenX chemicals in exceedance of 10 ppt.” This demand was in accordance with a consent order agreed to between the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, Cape Fear River Watch, and Chemours in 2019, requiring that Chemours provide water to substitute for any “private drinking water well that has been found through testing validated by DEQ to be contaminated by concentrations of GenX compounds in exceedance of 140 ng/L, or any applicable health advisory, whichever is lower.”[2]

The Legal Basis of Drinking Water Health Advisories

Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, EPA “may publish health advisories (which are not regulations) or take other appropriate actions for contaminants not subject to any national primary drinking water regulation.”[3] According to EPA, “[h]ealth advisories serve as technical nformation to assist Federal, state and local officials, as well as managers of public or community water systems in protecting public health,” but “are not regulations and should not be construed as legally enforceable Federal standards.”[4]

EPA’s procedure for issuing health advisories accordingly involves a “notice of availability” in the Federal Register when a new advisory is released[5] rather than a formal notice-and-comment procedure.

The Nondelegation Doctrine and the Major Questions Doctrine

Some media coverage of Chemours’ lawsuit places its constitutional arguments in the context of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in EPA v. West Virginia.[6] It is certainly plausible that the West Virginia decision, which used the major questions doctrine to strike down the Clean Power Plan, emboldened Chemours to make sweeping arguments against EPA’s authority, but it is important to note that the legal principles at issue in the two cases are quite distinct.

Under the major questions doctrine, in some “extraordinary cases” involving agency claims of regulatory authority over some kinds of significant issues, “something more than a merely plausible textual basis for the agency action is necessary. The agency instead must point to ‘clear congressional authorization’ for the power it claims.”[7] The nondelegation doctrine, however, limits the power of Congress to delegate authority even explicitly: Congress must provide an “intelligible principle” to guide Executive Branch decision-making.[8] The Supreme Court has acknowledged, however, “that in our increasingly complex society, replete with ever changing and more technical problems, Congress simply cannot do its job absent an ability to delegate power under broad general directives,” and thus the Court deems delegations constitutional “if Congress clearly delineates the general policy, the public agency which is to apply it, and the boundaries of this delegated authority.”[9]

In practice, federal courts strike down legislation as a violation of the nondelegation doctrine extremely rarely, and the Supreme Court has not done so since 1935. As two scholars wrote in 2017, “Nondelegation doctrine cases follow a predictable pattern. Every few years, a court of appeals invokes the doctrine to strike down a federal statute. The Supreme Court inevitably grants certiorari and overturns the appellate decision, holding that the statute is a constitutional delegation of legislative authority.”[10]

Advisories and Regulations

A plausible legal argument against EPA’s drinking water health advisories would probably need to show that the health advisories act as regulations in practice despite their theoretically advisory function. The major questions doctrine is clearly irrelevant to EPA’s power to establish genuinely advisory health advisories, because the statute grants EPA that power explicitly. Even under the nondelegation doctrine, however, the mere power to issue non-binding advisories could hardly be considered an essential legislative function.

While the new health advisory had a regulatory effect for Chemours, this happened only via the consent order. In its complaint, however, Chemours asserted that the health advisories have regulatory effects more broadly: “EPA health advisories are in fact regulatory in nature because they have significant legal consequences in numerous contexts including use by EPA and mandatory adoption in over 20 states.”[11] This line of argument will face serious obstacles. In the states where EPA health advisories are mandatory, they are mandatory only due to state law, and EPA will most likely argue that it uses health advisories only as a tool for its internal decision-making, rather than enforcing them as standards.

Perhaps the biggest obstacle to Chemours’ argument, however, is the Supreme Court’s reluctance to strike down laws under the nondelegation doctrine. Even given the Court’s recent willingness to limit agency decision-making in general signaled by West Virginia, the claim that EPA’s authority to issue health advisories violates the nondelegation doctrine faces an uphill battle.

[1] Petition at 1-2, available at https://www.law360.com/articles/1511838/attachments/0.

[2] https://deq.nc.gov/media/12453/download; https://deq.nc.gov/media/30218/download?attachment.

[3] 42 USC § 300g–1(b)(1)(F).

[4] 87 Fed. Reg. 36849.

[5] Id.

[6] https://cen.acs.org/policy/litigation/Chemours-challenges-US-EPA-drinking/100/web/2022/07.

[7] West Virginia v. EPA, slip op. at 19 (June 30, 2022), quoting Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA, 573 U.S. 304, 324 (2014).

[8] J.W. Hampton, Jr. & Co. v. United States, 276 U.S. 394, 409 (1928).

[9] Mistretta v. United States, 488 U.S. 361, 372-73 (1989).

[10] https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=9565&context=penn_law_review, 380

[11] Complaint at 11.

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Originally Appeared Here

Aug. 2, 2022

Crowds beat the heat with a dip in the Sound at Silver Sands State Park in Milford, Conn. on Tuesday, July 19, 2022. The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said certain bacteria was found in water samples from Milford’s Silver Sands and Middlefield’s Wadworth Falls state parks Tuesday.

Brian A. Pounds / Hearst Connecticut Media

Silver Sands and Wadsworth Falls state parks have been closed due to water quality, the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said Tuesday.

The states agency collects water samples from parks each week. The state Department of Public Health then analyzes the samples to determine if there are “certain indicator bacteria” in the samples.

These bacteria “are not disease-causing pathogens but are one of the tools used by public health and environmental protection authorities to evaluate the potential for contamination of waterbodies,” DEEP said in the report.

Officials retested Silver Sands State Park in Milford on Tuesday and the results are expected to come back Wednesday. Retesting at Wadsworth State Park in Middlefield is scheduled for Wednesday with results on Thursday.

Liz Hardaway is a breaking news reporter for Hearst Connecticut Media through the Hearst Fellowship Program.

She previously worked at the San Antonio Express-News to help cover city hall and local issues. She also worked at the Sun Newspapers in Southwest Florida as a general assignment reporter covering politics, business, and health. 

Liz graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University in 2018 with a B.A. in journalism. She enjoys cooking, reading and playing with her dachshund, Finn.

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Originally Appeared Here

By Morgan Conley (August 2, 2022, 1:07 PM EDT) — A chemical industry group wants the D.C. Circuit to vacate recent health advisories issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that lowered the levels at which certain PFAS chemicals are deemed safe in drinking water, arguing the agency’s action wasn’t rooted in sound science.

The American Chemistry Council challenged the EPA’s drinking water health advisories issued in June that significantly lowered the levels at which two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are considered safe in drinking water. ACC said in the petition for review Friday that the EPA’s health advisories for the two PFAS compounds, perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid,…

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News and research before you hear about it on CNBC and others. Claim your 1-week free trial to StreetInsider Premium here.

PETERBOROUGH, Ontario and ANKARA, Turkey, Aug. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — via NewMediaWire – Rainmaker Worldwide Inc. (OTC: RAKR) (the “Company” or “Rainmaker” or “RAKR”) has signed a Joint Development Agreement (“JDA”) with Miranda Water Treatment Systems (“MWTS”) whose primary operations reside in Ankara, Turkey.

“Both firms share a common vision of making safe drinking water available to the world,” stated Bulent Hatay, CEO of MWTS. “Drawing on our firms’ individual strengths and common synergies, we will be able to deliver life-saving solutions more effectively.”

MWTS delivers a complementary suite of products and services to RAKR’s Air-to-Water (“AW”) and Water-to-Water technologies (“WW”), with an installed base spanning 31 countries that are harmonious with RAKR’s footprint. Its state-of-the-art technology focuses on wastewater treatment systems for communities of up to 30,000 people as well as post-treatment systems and alternative techniques to manage septic tank needs for communities, hospitals, hotels, and more.

Over the past year, Rainmaker has restructured to expand the commercial side of its business including large projects in the Caribbean and Central America. This JDA allows for reciprocal distribution rights for all of RAKR and MWTS’ combined technologies and fosters a long-term technological integration strategy between the two companies.

Michael O’Connor, RAKR CEO, stated, “This is just the beginning of what we believe will be a fruitful long-term and strategic relationship. The depth of MWTS’ technical and manufacturing expertise is wide-reaching and will be extraordinarily beneficial to RAKR. Likewise, RAKR’s proprietary technology is ideal to complete our strategy of providing an end-to-end solution for our global customers. We will be announcing specific initiatives in the very near future.”

About Rainmaker Worldwide Inc.

Rainmaker Worldwide Inc. (OTC: RAKR) is a leader in affordable water solutions through a Water-as-a-Service business model. RAKR is headquartered in Peterborough, Canada. The Company provides economical drinking water at scale wherever it is needed. Rainmaker was recognized as the Best Community Impact Water Solutions Global 2020 by Capital Finance International. For the latest product information and FAQs, please visit www.rainmakerww.com.

About Miranda Water Treatment Systems

MIRANDA systems are designed to meet regionally applicable regulatory water purity standards. The leading product is Miracell™, a fully automated and scalable modularized wastewater treatment systems that are designed for permanent installations, as well as skid-mounted for temporary installations. These systems are highly scalable with a range of capacities from 50 to 30,000 populations with minimal energy requirement for optimal performance: including solar powered operations options. Other solutions offered include Reverse Osmosis, Ceramic Membrane Bioreactors, a varied range of Filtration Solutions and Sludge Dewatering systems. MIRANDA has over 700 installed water and wastewater treatment systems on six continents and in 31 countries. Sales and support efforts are conducted through a network of trained Distributors/Dealers and Resellers strategically located around the globe. For the latest product information and FAQs, please visit www.mirandawater.com.

Forward-looking Statements

Certain matters discussed in this announcement contain statements, estimates and projections about the growth of Rainmaker’s business, potential distribution partnerships and/or clients, and related business strategy. Such statements estimates and projections may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time. Rainmaker undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The recipient of this information is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

Investor ContactRainmaker Worldwide Inc.Michael O’ConnorExecutive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer[email protected]

Source: Rainmaker Worldwide Inc.

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Characterization of the clinoptilolite zeolite (CZ)

SEM analysis was used to study the morphological features of CZ. Figure 1a shows the SEM image of CZ. It can be seen that the sample has an irregular perforated crystalline texture, which is layered on top of each other. Such a pattern provides suitable adsorption sites for the absorption of different species of contaminants.

Figure 1

(a) SEM image and (b) XRD pattern and (c) adsorption desorption isotherm of CZ.

The sample structure was studied by XRD analysis. XRD analysis was assessed in the 2θ range of 5° and 50°. The XRD diagram (Fig. 1b) of clinoptilolite revealed diffraction peaks at 2θ values ​​of 9.7°, 22.4°, 26.8°, 30.2°, and 32.8°, which correspond to biotite (Bi), Clinoptilolite (Clp), quartz (Qtz), feldspar (Fel), and dolomite (Dol), respectively. These results are consistent with the XRD data of clinoptilolite reported in the literature39,40.

CZ structure information was determined by N2 gas adsorption analysis at 77.3 K in the relative pressure range (P/P0) of 0.998. The test sample was degassed for 2 h at 120 °C. The values of specific surface area, total volume of pores, and average diameter of pores were measured by the standard BET method. According to this analysis, the surface area, micropore volume, and pore diameter were 15.01 m2 g-1, 0.1947 cm3 g-1, and 0.0174 μm, respectively (Fig. 1c).

Central composite design (CCD)

In the present study, the parameters affecting the process were optimized using the CCD. The design of four parameters, including sonication time, adsorbent amount, pH, and contaminant concentration, was studied at five levels. The factors and experimental results are shown in Table 1. Experimental results and predicted results are shown in Table S1.

Table 1 The design of CCD.

Statistical analysis was conducted with version 10 of Design-Expert Software (DX 10). The response function and the obtained experimental data were fitted using the quadratic and linear effects of the independent variables and regression coefficients. Also, the analysis of variance (ANOVA) results were used to estimate significant differences between variables and their interaction. Regression coefficients and ANOVA of the quadratic equation of polynomials in removing contaminants are summarized in Tables S2 and S3. According to Tables S2 and S3, all linear effects (A, B, C, and D) and all quadratic effects (A2, C2, B2, and D2) were significant with a 95% confidence level. The F-value of all models was very high (at 95% significance), confirming the validity of the models. High values of R2 (more than 99% for all analytes) indicated good agreement of the model with experimental data. There was no significant difference between R2 and R2-Adj values, indicating a high correlation between the experimental and predicted results. Also, the insignificance of the lack of fit (P ˃ 0.05) revealed the good fitness of the predicted model. Adequate precision was employed to evaluate the adequacy of the models. The adequate precision is determined by comparing the predicted response values at the design points with the average prediction error. The adequate precision in this study was more than 4 for all models, suggesting that the model was acceptable. The two-level response of the second-order polynomial equation for CV, MG, Cd(II), and Pb(II) is shown in Eqs. 4–7, respectively.

$$ begin{aligned} % {text{Removal }}left( {{text{CV}}} right) & = + {87}.{13} + {1}0.{63}0{text{A}} + {8}.{text{68B}} – {9}.{text{56C}} + {8}.{text{69D}} \ & quad + 0.{text{19AB}} – 0.{text{81AC}} – 0.{text{24AD}} – 0.{text{53BC}} + {1}.{text{15BD}} \ & quad + {1}.0{text{3CD}} – {7}.{8}0A^{2} – {1}0.{31}B^{2} – {4}.{11}C^{2} – {5}.{48}D^{2} \ end{aligned} $$

(4)

$$ begin{aligned} {text{oval}};left( {{text{MG}}} right) & = + {9}0.{41} + {11}.{text{28A}} + {11}.{text{84B}} – {1}0.{text{46C}} + {7}.{text{21D}} \ & quad + {1}.{text{35AB}} – {1}.{text{89AC}} – 0.0{text{9AD}} – {2}.{1}0{text{BC}} – 0.{text{38BD}} \ & quad – 0.{text{19CD}} – {11}.{1}0A^{2} – {13}.{16}B^{2} – {6}.{3}0C^{2} – {5}.{1}0D^{2} \ end{aligned} $$

(5)

$$ begin{aligned} % {text{Removal}};left( {{text{Cd}}left( {{text{II}}} right)} right) & = + {87}.{25} + {8}.{text{98A}} + {7}.{text{49B}} – {9}.{4}0{text{C}} + {6}.{text{21D}} + {1}.0{text{8AB}} \ & quad + 0.{5}0{text{AC}} + {1}.{text{41AD}} – 0.{text{64BC}} – 0.0{text{7BD}} \ & quad + {1}.{text{18CD}} – {6}.0{6}A^{2} – {8}.{41}B^{2} – {5}.{49}C^{2} – {5}.{65}D^{2} \ end{aligned} $$

(6)

$$ begin{aligned} % {text{Removal }}left( {{text{Pb}}left( {{text{II}}} right)} right) & = + {91}.{72} + {7}.{text{12A}} + {8}.{text{74B}} – {8}.{text{64C}} + {3}.{text{81D}} + {1}.{text{39AB}} \ & quad – 0.{text{11AC}} + 0.{text{54AD}} + 0.{text{53BC}} – 0.0{text{6BD}} \ & quad + 0.{text{62CD}} – {6}.{97}A^{2} – {7}.{99}B^{2} – {5}.{98}C^{2} – {5}.{6}0D^{2} \ end{aligned} $$

(7)

In these equations, A, B, C, and D were the adsorbent amount (g), pH of the solution, analyte concentration (mg L−1), and sonication time (min), respectively. The next step in evaluating the proposed models is to analyze the residual graphs. Figure 2a–d show a good correlation between the experimental values and the predicted values. Regression models had a high R2, indicating the validity of the selected models.

Figure 2

Predicted versus actual removal efficiency plots (a) CV, (b) MG, (c) Cd(II), and (d) Pb(II).

Residuals, which are the difference between the experimental and predicted removal efficiency, are useful for evaluating the importance of a model. Figure 3a–d shows the normal probability compared to the residuals. As can be seen, the residual points create a straight line. These plots confirmed the applicability of the model.

Figure 3

Plot of residuals versus predicted (a) CV, (b) MG, (c) Cd(II), and d) Pb(II).

The normality of the data was studied with a plot of residuals’ normal probability. The normal plot of residuals in Fig. 4a–d indicates a random scatter of residuals compared to the expected values, indicating a satisfactory model fit.

Figure 4

The normal plot of residuals (a) CV, (b) MG, (c) Cd(II), and (d) Pb(II).

The three-dimensional (3D) plots

To assess the interaction of all four parameters, three-dimensional (3D) graphs were designed for the predicted responses based on the quadratic model. Response surface graphs are often employed to estimate removal efficiencies for different values of experimental parameters. Using the CZ adsorbent, this study investigated and optimized the parameters affecting the removal efficiency of CV, MG, Cd(II), and Pb(II). Three-dimensional diagrams of the simultaneous effect of adsorbent amount (A), pH (B), contaminant concentration (C), and sonication time (D) are shown in Fig. 5a–d.

Figure 5

Three-dimensional plots of the interaction effects between variables and removal of (a) CV, (b) MG, (c) Cd(II), and (d) Pb(II).

Figure 5a displays the simultaneous effect of the adsorbent amount and the pH of the solution on the amount of CV dye removal. The results show that the percentage of CV dye removal has increased with increasing the adsorbent amount to the extent that the intensity of changes decreases. The explanation for this increase is that with increasing the adsorbent amount, the number of active sites for the absorption of contaminants increases. According to the results, the optimum value for the adsorbent amount was 0.19 g. These results are consistent with Bagheri et al.41, who studied the removal of lead and cadmium from aqueous solutions. In this study, rGO-Fe0/Fe3O4-PEI nanocomposite was used as the adsorbent. Next, the effect of different variables such as the adsorbent dosage, ultrasound time, dye concentration, and pH on the amount of dye removal was examined. This study showed that the amount of dye removal increases with increasing the adsorbent amount41. Asfaram et al. (2015) employed ZnS:Cu nanoparticles loaded on activated carbon (ZnS:Cu-NP-AC) as an adsorbent for the removal of Auramine-O (AO) dye from an aqueous solution. They found that the percentage of contaminant removal increases with increasing the adsorbent amount42.

Figure 5a illustrates the effect of pH on CV removal efficiency. The 3D plot shows that the dye removal percentage increases with the pH. CV is a cationic dye, and since the adsorbent surface becomes positive in an acidic environment, less adsorption occurs on the adsorbent surface due to the electrostatic repulsion between the positive charges of the dye and the adsorbent. Hence, the removal rate of CV in acidic environments is low. Moreover, the percentage of lead removal also increased with increasing pH, and the maximum lead removal was achieved at pH 6 (Fig. 5d). Since the pHzpc of CZ is 3, there is a positive charge on the surface of CZ at pHs below 343,44,45. Therefore, at pHs lower than 3, the electrostatic repulsion between the positively charged metal and the positive charge on the adsorbent surface would reduce the lead removal rate. On the other hand, with increasing pH, the adsorbent surface becomes more negative; therefore, the adsorption of metal cation increases. As the pH increases, the metal ion removal efficiency initially increases and then decreases. The reason is that at pHs above 6, lead hydroxide (Pb(OH)2) and cadmium hydroxide (Cd(OH)2) are formed, which are insoluble and precipitate. Similar results have been reported by Palma-Anaya et al., Shi et al., and Rahimi et al.46,47,48.

The simultaneous effect of MG concentration and sonication time on the percentage of MG removal is shown in Fig. 5b. According to Fig. 5b, the removal efficiency decreased by increasing the dye concentration from 5 to 25 mg L−1. The explanation is that the surface of nanoparticles is saturated in the presence of a higher concentration of dye molecules. Dye molecules tend to aggregate on the outer surface of nanoparticles, reducing the adsorption rate. Hence, lower dye concentrations can be easily absorbed on the adsorbent surface. Chauhan et al.49 obtained similar results in removing bromophenol blue (BB) dye. The effect of various parameters such as pH, response time, dosage amount, and concentration of BB on the removal rate was also investigated. The results revealed that increasing the dye concentration reduced the removal rate, which is consistent with the present study results49. Also, Awual50 obtained similar results in investigating dye concentration’s effect on Cd(II) removal rate. This study applied the ligand-coated porous composite material as an adsorbent to remove Cd(II). According to the results, increasing the concentration of Cd(II) reduced the removal rate50.

Figure 5c exhibits the effect of sonication time on Cd(II) removal rate. The removal efficiency generally increases with increasing contact time and reaches a constant value in the equilibrium state. Therefore, sonication time can affect the contaminant removal efficiency due to its effect on the analyte mass transfer. Sonication time was assessed from 5 to 25 min. According to the results, Cd(II) removal was first increased with increasing the sonication time. However, no significant change in removal was observed after 22 min. The explanation is that in these conditions, the contact between the adsorbent and the metal ion is high, leading to mass transfer and removing the contaminants. Khalifa et al.51 obtained similar results in the removal of Cd(II), Hg(II), and Cu(II) ions using mesoporous silica nanoparticles modified with dibenzoylmethane. Arabkhani and Asfaram52 obtained similar results for removing MG dye from an aqueous solution using a three-dimensional magnetic polymer aerogel. This study investigated the effect of various parameters (e.g., adsorbent amount, initial dye concentration, temperature, contact time, and pH of dye solution) on the amount of dye removal. Consistent with the present study, the results indicated that the removal percentage increased with increasing the sonication time52.

Process optimization

One of the main objectives of this study was to identify the optimum conditions for maximizing the removal efficiency of contaminants using the proposed mathematical model53,54. For this purpose, numerical optimization was utilized to determine the desired values of each parameter and obtain the maximum removal rate. The results of contaminant removal optimization are presented in Table 2. The numerical optimization results showed that the maximum removal efficiency could be achieved with an adsorbent of 0.19 g, an analyte concentration of 10 mg L−1, a pH of 6, and a sonication time of 22 min. The obtained results were validated by conducting an additional experiment under optimum conditions. It was found that under optimum operating parameters, the experimental removal efficiency was more than 92.67% for all analytes, suggesting the model’s predictability for use in real conditions.

Table 2 Optimum conditions of removal of CV, MG, Cd(II) and Pb(II).

Effect of interfering ions

It is often very difficult to remove the desired analytes from different matrices containing different ions. For this purpose, the effect of interfering ions of Na+, Mg2+, Al3+, Ba2+, Fe3+, and F- was studied to obtain a minimum of 95% analyte adsorption signal in the presence of different anions and cations during the process. During the experiment, different ions at different concentrations were added individually to the solution containing CV, MG, Cd(II), and Pb(II), and tolerance limits were determined. Interfering ions and their tolerance limits are presented in Table 3.

Table 3 Effect of interfering ions on the removal of MG, MB, Cd(II) and Pb(II).

The reusability of CZ

The reusability of the adsorbent is a critical aspect that makes the adsorbent effective for practical applications. Therefore, the reusability of CZ was examined under optimized conditions to remove contaminants (Fig. 6). The CZ adsorbent was separated from the solution by centrifugation at 3000 rpm (for 10 min). The adsorbent was washed with 5 mL of HNO3 solution (0.1 M). Finally, the adsorbent was washed several times with distilled water and dried at 80 °C. This process was repeated after each experiment. It was observed that the removal efficiency decreased by about 10% after five consecutive runs. This result demonstrates that CZ adsorbent is reusable and stable for removing contaminants from environmental water samples.

Figure 6

The reusability of CZ in the removal of pollutants under optimized parameters.

Real sample analysis

The adsorption capacity of CZ was studied in various real water samples (e.g., tap water, well water, river water, and fish farm) to confirm the system’s efficiency. In this analysis, the proposed water samples with specific concentrations of contaminants were spiked under optimum conditions. After performing the relevant experiment, the efficiency of the CZ adsorbent was calculated using the given method (Table 4). Therefore, the adsorbent can effectively remove CV, MG, Cd(II), and Pb(II) from any wastewater.

Table 4 Removal of CV, MG, Cd(II) and Pb(II) in real samples.

Comparison CZ adsorbent with other adsorbents

According to the results, CZ adsorbent can be used as an adsorbent in the removal of CV, MG, Cd(II) and Pb(II). Table 5 shows some recent studies on various adsorbents in the removal of CV, MG, Cd(II) and Pb(II). CZ adsorbent showed the ability to remove CV, MG, Cd(II) and Pb(II) in a short time with high efficiency. Also, the proposed method has a smaller number of experiments than other methods in the literature, which results in less consumption of adsorbent and time. As a result, CZ adsorbent showed satisfactory performance in removing CV, MG, Cd(II) and Pb(II) from environmental water samples.

Table 5 Comparison of the CZ adsorbent with other adsorbents for removal CV, MG, Cd(II) and Pb(II).
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‘The actual lake is gone,’ Zapata County judge says

McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) — The two largest cities in the Rio Grande Valley have implemented mandatory water restrictions as water levels in two reservoirs hit near-record lows due to an ongoing drought.

McAllen Public Utility on Monday ordered Stage Two water restrictions, meaning residents and business owners can only water twice a week and during specific hours and depending on their location. And ornamental fountains without a recycling system must be turned off.

Brownsville Public Utility also ordered Stage Two water conservation regulations, which restrict when and where the 180,000 residents can run their sprinklers and wash vehicles.

The restrictions were put in place after the National Weather Service announced that Falcon International Reservoir, in Zapata County, and Amistad Reservoir, near Del Rio, Texas, were both near historic lows.

‘Dire situation’: Drought threatens Texas border county’s lone water supply

The situation is so bad in South Texas that officials are struggling to provide enough drinking water to the 15,000 residents of Zapata County, Border Report learned on a tour last week.

“Right now, the low water levels at Falcon Lake are threatening the water supply for Zapata County and the surrounding areas,” U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar said Monday. “The situation has already forced several local governments to implement their own drought contingency plans. We are urging residents to conserve water.”

In a tweet on Saturday, the National Weather Service called the situation “dire” and wrote that “water supplies are under stress as Amistad/Falcon combo water levels are nearing all-time lows.”

The National Weather Service wrote “only a tropical event can help” to bring water levels up in the South Texas border region.

(Graphic by the National Weather Service)

There is only 1 foot of water atop about 30 feet of mud and silt currently in Falcon Lake.

A portable generator brought in to try to siphon water from the lake still isn’t working, Zapata County Judge Joe Rathmell told Border Report on Monday afternoon.

Rathmell is working with Cuellar to try to get a $1 million federal emergency grant. They also are trying to extend piping under the river’s edge, Cuellar said.

Zapata County Judge Joe Rathmell stands atop a catwalk overlooking dwindling Falcon Lake on Thursday, July 28, 2022. (Sandra Sanchez/Border Report)

Rathmell gave Border Report a tour of diminishing Falcon Lake on Thursday, and at the time advocated that cities downstream in the Rio Grande Valley should be forced to conserve water.

He said the new conservation requirements implemented are a smart move.

“Our situation is worse and hopefully won’t head their way but I’m glad they’re getting prepared for it and trying to conserve so they won’t experience what we are experiencing,” Rathmell said.

Rathmell said that Falcon Lake is basically no more. It’s just an area where the Rio Grande river runs through.

“The actual lake is gone basically,” Rathmell said.

Meteorologist Bryan Hale, of CBS4 in Harlingen, said the Falcon Reservoir was only at 10% capacity on Monday. And Amistad was at 32%.

Stage Two restrictions are implemented when water levels at both Amistad and Falcon reach 25 percent.

Both reservoirs were built to preserve water between the United States and Mexico and help distribute water as it flows via the Rio Grande toward the Gulf of Mexico.

An international marker in the middle of Falcon Lake sits several feet exposed as water levels are below 11% on Thursday, July 28, 2022. The Rio Grande runs through the middle of the lake, which supplies all of the drinking water for rural Zapata County, Texas. (Sandra Sanchez/Border Report)

Leaders for McAllen and Brownsville said they recognized the need to conserve water now as triple-digit heat and drought continue to plague the border region.

“McAllen Public Utility is a responsible steward of our water and during the current drought that we find ourselves in, it is important that as residents of the community, we follow the mandatory water restrictions out of necessity to ensure a continued adequate water supply and pressure for the coming months,” said Mark Vega, general manager for McAllen Public Utility.

The Rio Grande is the main source of drinking water for McAllen, though the city also draws water from a well.

“Water conservation is vital to BPUB’s water supply,” said John Bruciak, Brownsville Public Utility Board general manager and CEO. “Conservation helps ensure that the city’s water supply can get us through these summer months.”

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