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20 fall ill after drinking contaminated water in Kampli

The victims are being treated at hospitals in Ballari, Gangavathi and Kampli

DHNS, Kampli,

• Jul 25 2022, 21:59 ist
• updated: Jul 25 2022, 22:09 ist

An 11-year-old girl died, while 20 others fell ill allegedly due to consumption of contaminated water at Gonalu village in Kampli taluk of Ballari district.

The deceased has been identified as Sukanya. She was a Class 5 student. A few persons complained of diarrhoea and vomiting and fell ill soon after they consumed water supplied by the gram panchayat on Sunday. They were immediately hospitalised.

The victim was treated at a community health centre at the village on Sunday and was sent home. Her condition deteriorated late Sunday night. She was taken to the centre on Monday, but died on the way.

The remaining are being treated at hospitals in Ballari, Gangavathi and Kampli.

The villagers alleged that supply of the contaminated water led to the incident. Pure drinking water at the village was defunct for the last two month. Villagers were dependent on borewells. The gram panchayat did not take any measures though the matter was brought to notice.

“Drinking water through the pipeline has been stopped after the incident. The officials are verifying the cause for the incident. The Centre will function till the cases of diarrhoea and vomiting are controlled,” said the DHO.

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BOARDMAN — It’s been more than two-and-a-half months since Mayra Colin found out the water coming from her kitchen tap in Boardman contained high levels of nitrates, which can cause serious health issues.

She’s still waiting for a permanent fix.

“We’re on the list to have a filter installed in the future,” she said in a text message on Monday. “We have been provided with bottled water and more recently, water jugs weekly.”

For three months, Morrow County officials have been testing the tap water of residents who rely on wells, and more than a month ago, the county commission declared an emergency over the contamination. The county is paying for bottled water deliveries, and a consortium of area businesses is paying for reverse-osmosis filters for homeowners in the area.

The state has provided some help – but no direct money, county officials said.

Jim Doherty, chair of the Morrow County Board of Commissioners wants the state to contribute $4 million to expand nitrate testing in the county, pay for reverse osmosis filter systems and help fund the digging of new wells.

That’s how much the state recently gave to Klamath County to subsidize the cost of new wells for homes where they’ve gone dry.

Regional state lawmakers told Doherty to wait until a meeting of the Legislature’s Emergency Board in September when county officials can request funds.

The contaminated water comes from the Lower Umatilla Basin, used by residents in Umatilla and Morrow County. It has become increasingly contaminated with nitrates during the last 30 years from farm fertilizers, animal manure and wastewater from the Port of Morrow and area food processors. Water that contains more than 10 parts of nitrates per million is unsafe to drink, according to the Federal Environmental Protection Agency.

Colin’s water tested more than three times that.

About 1,300 households rely on private wells in Morrow County. So far, the county has tested nearly 270 wells for nitrates, with nearly half showing high levels, according to Ana Pineyro, communicable disease specialist at the Morrow County Health Department. The highest so far has tested more than six times the EPA limit. Many people who rely on wells in Morrow County are Latino, officials at the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality said.

They’ve largely been ignored by state and local lawmakers and officials – and agencies. State officials do not regulate water quality in private wells.

At least two state lawmakers have met with leaders at the Port of Morrow, with area food processors and large area farm owners. And in June, the Eastern Oregon Economic Summit, sponsored by the Port of Morrow, included a regional water tour through Morrow and Umatilla counties, visiting farm and industrial sites. Morrow and Umatilla County’s regional leaders and state Sen. Jeff Merkley attended the summit.

The Oregon Health Authority has sent out fliers in English and Spanish to raise awareness about nitrates, testing opportunities and where residents can collect safe water.

Oregon’s Emergency Management Office also has helped, contributing two truckloads of bottled water, plastic jugs, temporary bottled water delivery and two temporary staffers to help with distribution. One was bilingual and worked on outreach to the Spanish-speaking community.

Gerald Boullesteer, right, shows Morrow County Commissioner Jim Doherty how he uses pool testing strips to test the water in the home of his recently deceased father-in-law, Don Drayton. Test of the filtered water revealed below 10 parts per million for nitrate, while a test of unfiltered water was between about 13 and 20 ppm. Boullesteer uses the filtered water even to brush his teeth.

Kathy Aney/For Oregon Capital Chronicle

Denial remains an issue

In January, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality fined the Port of Morrow in Boardman nearly $1.3 million for years of violating its wastewater permit and allowing hundreds of tons of excess nitrogen onto area farmlands above the already contaminated basin. The county board on June 9 declared an emergency over the contamination.

Food processing and agriculture businesses affiliated with the Port of Morrow are reimbursing the county for up to 350 water filters that cost $220 each. The county is paying for the installation of those filters for residents who need assistance, as well as the weekly water deliveries currently going to at least 80 households while they wait for filters, Doherty said.

There are 15 filters at the county Health Department, 50 coming by Friday, July 22, and 50 more ordered, according to the county’s emergency manager, Paul Gray.

A longer term solution depends on financial assistance from the state, Gray said.

“Shallow wells seem to be most contaminated,” he said. “Deeper wells don’t seem to have the nitrates. If we can fund new wells to be dug for underprivileged residents that would be helpful.”

More than 40% of people in Morrow County live below the federal poverty line, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

With just 20% of the private wells tested, Gray said he needs to increase awareness of the nitrate issue.

Several people recently told him the nitrate issue was nonsense while he was distributing water at a school in Boardman.

“Telling me, ‘We don’t need our wells tested, we’ve been drinking this for 50 years,’ and they leave,” he said. “It’s not going to cost them anything to get their well tested, and even if we put a filter in it’ll be free. Let us test, we’ll get it fixed.”

Doherty said the county has spent nearly $500,000 since April on the problem if the cost of public health and emergency management staff, as well as fuel for doing home visits, is included.

Residents are angry the state hasn’t helped fund fixes.

Some are “screaming bloody murder that their dollars shouldn’t go to this effort,” Doherty said.

Many want the state to step in, and local industries to continue to pay, he said.

They blame regulators for allowing the nitrate problem to worsen over the decades and say industrial farms, food processors and the Port of Morrow are responsible for portions of the nitrate pollution, he said.

Doherty has talked with Gov. Kate Brown and her water policy advisor, Courtney Crowell. A spokesperson for Brown said in an email that the governor “is committed to making state resources available to provide immediate relief and assistance to water users throughout the area.”

Crowell said Brown is coordinating with state agencies to set up a long-term outreach and water testing program and “working on developing a program and resources to address the drinking water situation in both Morrow and Umatilla counties,” Crowell said.

Ana Pineyro, communicable disease specialist at the Morrow County Health Department, left, talks with a resident in West Glen neighborhood of Boardman about nitrate contamination and asks to sample his tap water.

Alex Baumhardt/Oregon Capital Chronicle

Regional leaders largely quiet on issue

In the weeks following the emergency declaration, Doherty sought help from state Rep. Greg Smith, R-Heppner. Doherty said Smith, who is on the Emergency Board, recommended that Morrow County request funding from the board through the Environmental Quality Department or the Oregon Health Authority. The board meets Sept. 21 through 23, and Doherty is preparing a request.

Smith did not respond to multiple emails, calls or a text message from the Capital Chronicle requesting comment.

Gray said the Oregon Health Authority is trying to get funding to expand the testing of private wells throughout the state, provided the Oregon Legislature agrees during its session next year.

“There’s just no guarantee that money will happen,” Gray said.

Both the Morrow and Umatilla county board if commissioners asked Wyden and Merkley for $2.7 million from Congress for testing and filters. Their aides have met with Morrow County leaders at least once. Molly Prescott, a press secretary for Merkley, said both senators want to prioritize funding for the region’s drinking water in next year’s congressional spending.

“I expect to have news to report on this coming out of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, of which Senator Merkley is Chair, before August,” she wrote in an email. The counties could receive up to $1.6 million, and solely for testing because federal agencies are not allowed to use congressional money on filtration for private wells, Prescott said.

In Wyden’s virtual town hall, Boardman residents asked what he could do to help with the nitrate issue. He said he was working to pass the WASH Act, which would provide federal grants for private well testing in areas with contaminated drinking water. This bill, if passed, could take years to go into effect.

After the emergency was declared, Doherty met with an aide for U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz,R-Ontario, but no action came from it. Knox McCutchen, communications director for Bentz office, wrote in an email: “We are eager to help in any way we can, and we are currently in the process of identifying what federal assistance is available.”

State Rep. Bobby Levy, R-Echo, has met with Morrow County Commissioners, but her legislative aide, ​​Whitley Schiller said they have no plans for action.

Morrow County officials also spoke with state Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Athena. Hansell, also on the Emergency Board, said no one from Morrow County had asked him to pursue state money.

Doherty said he didn’t ask Hansell for money, but had hoped the senator would do more to find and direct state resources to the county in the aftermath of the emergency declaration.

Hansell has not met with anyone with contaminated well water in Morrow or Umatilla counties. Nor has he attended any community meetings on the issues.

“I haven’t been invited to anything at this point,” he said.

Hansell is in touch with Crowell, Brown’s water advisor. “I’ve told them if there’s anything I can do to help or to move the dial I will,” he said.

Hansell wrote to Brown requesting money for a postdoctoral student from Oregon State University to collect more data on where nitrate contamination is worst and at what levels.

“I know that’s long range and long term,” Hansell said. “I stand ready to go to bat through the emergency board.”

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Originally Appeared Here

Courtesy- Hope Volunteer Fire Department

HOPE, Ind. – The Hope Volunteer Fire Department (HVFD) recently received a donation of canned emergency drinking water from Anheuser-Busch to help provide critical hydration to its responders during this year’s wildfire season. Last week, Bartholomew County Beverage dropped off 98 cases of canned drinking water at HVFD.

Maintaining firefighters’ hydration during long incidents or disasters such as wildfires is a major safety concern.

The water was donated through a partnership with the National Volunteer Fire Council. Anheuser-Busch has a tradition of providing emergency drinking water and supplies for disaster relief efforts. The company periodically pauses beer production to apply its expertise to can clean, safe drinking water that is ready to distribute when disaster strikes.

Since 1988, the brewer has donated over 90 million cans of drinking water to communities impacted by natural disasters and other crises. Learn more about the program at www.nvfc.org/water.

HVFD is an all-volunteer department with 32 members who serve Hope and Hawcreek Township in northeastern Bartholomew County. It responds to an average of 475 emergencies annually.

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Originally Appeared Here

• An Oyinbo lady who is on a volunteering mission in Uganda was treated to a surprise on the occasion of her birthday
• The unsuspecting celebrant was scattered with water from all sides from her black acquaintances as she entered a compound
• The lady put up a hilarious defense as she collected a spray gun from a man while enjoying the moment

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A white lady has taken to social media to share how people in her host community celebrated her birthday.

The unidentified lady who is a volunteer in Uganda was treated to a water bash, a popular way of celebrating birthdays in some African countries including Ghana.

They celebrated her birthday in style.
Photo Credit: TikTok/@anana.real
Source: UGC

In the clip, she was entering a compound with a little kid when people already in waiting hit her from all sides with water.

Read also

Woman hawking with her child goes emotional, dances as young lady pays her house rent for a year in cute video

One man used a water spray gun, while others rained water on her using plastic containers.

PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see YEN.com.gh News on your News Feed!

The lady would later participate in the fun by collecting the spray gun from the man and ‘launching water attacks’ with it. Sharing the clip online, she wrote:

“Yes, Ugandans are fond of pouring water on the birthday person! This is such a fun way to celebrate and get surprised! Thanks to my family here ❤️We also ate cake and danced so hahahaha.”

Watch the video below:

Social media reactions

Nana Abena Wiredua A said:

“We do this a lot in Ghana….. We call it ponding….. So we pond you when its your birthday….. Gloria.”

Musa42 said:

“I believe that kind of happiness is brought by you, keep up the good work. I love the way how those guys are joyful.”

Read also

Massive reactions as pregnant lady rocks her hubby’s army uniform and boots, video stuns many

Brajessie1 said:

“The way the boy who welcomed u ran after entering .”He couldn’t risk even a single drop of water on him.”

kadeneithan said:

“I miss that Country lol , I spent 11 yrs there I also miss Posho only Ugandans can relate.”

mamman613 said:

“Oi this make me miss Uganda so much iven that red sand all over I miss that so much!!”

Young man stoned sachet water by a group of people

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh previously reported that a young man was ‘mercilessly’ stoned sachet water by people to mark his birthday.

In the clip shared on Twitter by @favogbuji, the unidentified man was pursued and halted at the point he noticed he was surrounded.

The men, without care, mercilessly hit him on all sides with pure water with some going as far as stoning him with a full bag of water.

Read also

Man captured on video receiving blessings from mum after he took her out of trenches

After failed attempts at shielding himself from their bashing, he took to his heels but was stopped right in his tracks by one who grabbed his two legs, and with the help of another, they flung him to the ground.

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Source: Legit.ng

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They first came up in the late 19th century — in Mumbai’s open-air markets, trading hubs, popular commute routes and busy junctions — in a philanthropic effort to make drinking water available to all. Now, they are making a comeback.

Mumbai’s civic body is planning to restore 18 ‘pyaus’ across South Mumbai and, in the process, create a heritage tourist circuit of these structures. Pyaus are drinking water fountains. Some were constructed with troughs for horses and cattle.

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is expected to carry out this restoration project — in the making for a number of years now — across Colaba and Bandra areas.

As an extension of this project, BMC is also considering tracing pyaus that have disappeared over the years and marking them with plaques or dummy installations, said an official of the corporation.

According to experts working on the project with BMC, 80–100 pyaus may have disappeared over the years. Some of these have been traced with the help of oral history, and by scanning old photographs and films.

The idea was mooted in 2018. Vaastu Vidhaan, a firm working for heritage conservation, submitted a proposal to the civic body for mapping 22 existing pyaus, which could be restored to create a heritage circuit.

Two years later, BMC picked four pyaus from this list of 22 — all housed in Veermata Jijabai Bhosle Udyan in Byculla — and began the process to restore them.

Over the past three years, it has also been separately restoring other pyaus across the city — the Vaswani pyau on Mint road, the Anand Vitthal Koli pyau on Gokhale Road, the Madhudas Kothari pyau at Dhobi Talao near Metro junction and the Kothari pyau opposite GPO in Fort. These are not part of the list of 18 in the current heritage circuit plan.

Rahul Chemburkar from Vaastu Vidhaan, who spearheaded the restoration project, said: “Pyaus are an important aspect of Mumbai’s socio-cultural history. Not only were they an expression of philanthropy, but are an icon of equality. Moreover, water is an integral socio-cultural element and pyaus express this. This concept inspired the idea of restoring them in an effort to preserve the historical identity of the city.”

Some of the pyaus up for restoration date back as far as the late 1800s, inscriptions on them show. These are some of them (among those mentioned in Chemburkar’s proposal to BMC): Sir Cowasji Jehangier’s Fountain at Dhobi Talao constructed in 1865; the Kessowji Naik pyau at Masjid Bunder (1876); the pyau at Don Taki in Kamathipura (1901); the Nawab Ali Ayaaz pyau and Sir Cowasji Jehangir’s fountain, both at Mazgaon (1865); the Seth Devram Keshawji Contractor pyau at at Maheshwari Udyan (1943).

A senior civic official from BMC’s heritage department said: “BMC began the restoration process with these four pyaus, and several smaller projects were undertaken to restore them across the city. Going forward, the plan is to restore the remaining 18 together, so that the circuit can be launched. The costing for the project is underway, on the basis of which administrative approval will be sought. Because of the magnitude of the project, we had earlier decided to take it up in parts, and pyaus were restored as isolated projects too.”

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Ghaziabad: The district health department has found the presence of contamination in drinking water samples at Swarn Jayanti Puram residential locality, where two children —aged five and seven — died on July 20 and 21 respectively due to diarrhoea, vomiting and other health complications.

Officials said that four of the five water samples they picked up for testing were found to have the presence of H2S (hydrogen sulfide), which indicates that the drinking water sources got mixed with sewerage.

The deaths of the two minors were reported from the locality’s residential pocket meant for the economically weaker sections (EWS). The colony is yet to be handed over to the Ghaziabad municipal corporation and is maintained by the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA).

The two agencies are already blaming each other over the two deaths after the health department wrote to them and also to the state administration.

According to local residents, about 20 persons, including 10-12 children are still suffering from ailments due to the water contamination.

“Our teams from Harsaon, Dasna and also from the integrated disease surveillance programme laboratory have been roped in. They collected the samples and are also treating people who have symptoms. The chlorination of water has also been taken up but it is a temporary measure. The agencies must check for any sewer line leakage which is resulting in mixing of dirty water to the drinking water source,” said Dr Rakesh Gupta, district surveillance officer.

Dr Gupta added that the four drinking water samples that failed the test contained the presence of H2S.

“This indicates that there is mixing of sewage in drinking water pipelines. The area around the locality has three ponds which are dirty and people also complained that hand-pump water also contained insects. Our teams are conducting regular visits,” Dr Gupta added.

GDA officials have blamed the corporation for the contaminated water. “The water from the ponds is overflowing and it is contaminated. People even reported that they spotted carcasses of animals in ponds. These areas are under the jurisdiction of the municipal corporation. On our part, we are supplying safe water through tankers and also making efforts so that overflowing water does not enter the locality,” said Rakesh Kumar Gupta, GDA chief engineer.

Corporation officials, however, refuted the claims and said that the issues have largely resulted on account of unclean surroundings and ill-maintained localities.

“The water contamination is the result of unhygienic and ill-maintained surroundings. On our part, we have carried out cleaning and beautification of the three ponds. The GDA must take up the maintenance of the locality as it is yet to be handed over to the corporation,” said Mahendra Singh Tanwar, Ghaziabad municipal commissioner.

The two children who died include five-year-old Krishna and seven-year-old Ankita.

Ankita’s father Manohar Singh said that the government must take responsibility for the deaths of the children.

“The locality is low-lying and water flows in from ponds and nearby areas. The ponds are unhygienic and filled with filth and we can term them as ‘jahar ka kuan’ (well of poison). There are some people who rear pigs and these animals mostly stay in the ponds. This creates more filth. We mostly rely on packaged water for drinking. We also never use submersible water as the groundwater is also not safe here. The water from the overhead tank is used only for washing, bathing etc.,” Singh said.

“My daughter suffered from diarrhoea on the night of July 20. Before we could take her for treatment the next morning, she died. There are about a dozen people who are admitted to the government hospital at Sanjay Nagar and these include one of my other daughters. Some families have already left the locality,” Singh added.

Residents said that since they belong to the poor strata of the society, they have been neglected with hardly any agencies paying heed to their safe drinking water needs and different sources have added to the water contamination.

“We have had drinking water issues for several years now. The nearby ponds are stinking and filthy and have complicated matters. The overhead tank water has the presence of insects. My son suffered severe complications on the afternoon of July 21 and died within four hours. My wife also died last year due to similar health issues and now my son also passed away. I am left with only a minor daughter. So, I have planned to shift to my native village in Baghpat,” said Anil Kumar, father of deceased Krishna.

“Since the water contamination started about a week ago, we are now forced to fetch water from nearby localities. We are also buying bottled water for consumption purposes. My son has also fallen ill like many others. We have two hand-pumps in our locality but they discharge filthy water. Clean drinking water is our main concern and different sources have compounded our problems,” said Sunil Kumar, another Swarn Jayanti Puram resident.

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The water from the U1 is filtered through 5 stages, hydrogenized, re-mineralized, and alkalized to help boost your health and immunity. It also means a lower dependence on bottled water and subsequently, lower exposure to microplastics. The best part? The U1 doesn’t need to be installed, can be carried with you when you shift apartments, and delivers both hot and cold water at the press of a button!

Designer: RKIN Water Systems

Click Here to Buy Now: $459 $699 (34% off). Hurry, only 30/65 left! Raised over $111,000.

Styled to look as slick as a coffee machine, the U1 water purifier from RKIN sits on any tabletop surface, with a one gallon water tank at the back. An interface on the front lets you access the U1’s multitude of features and settings, choosing from regular/hot/cold drinking water to even special settings like a ‘milk’ button that heats the water to the right temperature to mix with baby formula, or ‘coffee’ and ‘tea’ settings that heat the water to the perfect brewing temperature without any guess-work. Just the way a coffee machine dispenses coffee, the U1 dispenses perfectly pure drinking water, making it perfect for homes but even more for RVs, rented apartments, coworking spaces, and small offices/studios. The fact that it doesn’t need drilling, plumbing, or any pre-servicing makes it an easy plug-and-play appliance for clean water anywhere.

As simple as the words ‘clean water’ sound, the reality is much more complicated. Most parts of the world don’t have access to clean drinking water on-tap, and need extra appliances to filter their water. It’s also the leading cause of the adoption of bottled water in countries, causing an increase in plastic waste. With its 5-stage filtration system, U1 aims at giving you water that isn’t just clean but is healthy for you too. Once the one gallon container of water’s plugged into the back of the device, the U1 gets to work, first running the water through a sediment filter to trap dirt, dust, and other particulate matter.

Advanced Filtration System – With five stages, it removes up to 99% of all contaminants, including Fluoride, Chlorine, heavy metals like lead, and more.

Water then passes through an activated carbon filter to kill germs, a reverse osmosis filter to remove hard minerals and other harmful contaminants, and finally gets UV treated. The clean water is then re-mineralized through U1’s alkaline post-filter, which adds beneficial minerals, calcium, and magnesium to your water to help improve metabolism, increase energy, and maximize hydration. Finally, the U1 hydrogenates your water, making it a natural antioxidant that is said to reduce signs of aging and also improve muscle recovery after a workout (the hydrogenation feature can be toggled off too).

The U1 is easy to use, with a single touch-sensitive interface to guide you through the process. It comes with a detachable water tank at the back, and an optional turntable that lets you rotate the U1 to easily access the rear water tank whenever it needs refilling. The U1 ships ready-to-use right out of the box, although the company says the filters need annual replacing (depending on frequency of use). You can opt for an additional 2-year filter bundle that includes replacement filters and a reverse-osmosis membrane. Replacing the filters is as easy as popping off the U1’s lid and switching out old filters for new ones… and the best part is that the U1’s display will even tell you when to replace the filter, saving you the hassle of marking your calendar or needing to call a handyman! The U1 starts at $439 for its super early-bird backers and comes with a 1-year warranty and 1-year money-back guarantee.

Click Here to Buy Now: $459 $699 (34% off). Hurry, only 30/65 left! Raised over $111,000.

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Popular and affordable thirst quencher

Where does our drinking water come from?

Three quarters of the Swiss population regularly drink water from the tap. It is not only good for our health but also for purse. But where does our drinking water come from? And how do we get it at home?

This is a paid post brought to you by Air Up

We open the tap and enjoy clean drinking water. What is considered a luxury elsewhere is certainly a topic for us in Switzerland. Many people only realize what privileges we are allowed to enjoy in this country during the holidays.

Drinking water in Switzerland is obtained from three different sources. Of this, 40 percent is groundwater and spring water and 20 percent is lake and river water. Groundwater is fed by rain, snow and glaciers as well as seepage water. The reserves in underground cavities are enormous. They cover 150 billion cubic meters, which corresponds to the volume of all Swiss lakes. Basel-Stadt, for example, extensively uses groundwater that is enriched with Rhine waters and then biologically cleared into the forest floor. Cities like Zurich or Neuchâtel use their own lakes.

Our drinking water contains valuable minerals for the body such as calcium, sodium or magnesium, which the water absorbs through the layers of the earth and rock. Before it can be drunk, groundwater and surface water must first be cleaned in a drinking water treatment plant. On the other hand, spring water does not need to be treated. After treatment, the water is stored in a tank and then pumped through pipes to individual houses.

A high quality natural product

The water provided in Switzerland meets very high quality standards and meets strict hygiene and safety guidelines. Quality checks are carried out by the Federal Office of Food Safety and Veterinary Medicine (FSVO) and the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) based on criteria set forth in the World Health Organization (WHO) Protocol on Water and Health. It can be drunk from any tap without any health risks. Tap water also has a better ecological footprint than bottled mineral water.

taste by smell

Are you drinking too little water? Then you are like many people. With the innovative Hydration System by Air, drinking water has never been this easy! A drinking bottle that is unique in the world, which only gives flavor to water through aroma – without sugar or other additives. This is made possible by our durable BPA free Triton drinking bottle and our specially developed aroma pods with over 27 different flavours. When drinking from an Air Up bottle, scented air is added to the water, which our brain then perceives as taste.

Are you drinking too little water? Then you are like many people. With the innovative Hydration System by Air, drinking water has never been this easy! A drinking bottle that is unique in the world, which only gives flavor to water through aroma – without sugar or other additives. This is made possible by our durable BPA free Triton drinking bottle and our specially developed aroma pods with over 27 different flavours. When drinking from an Air Up bottle, scented air is added to the water, which our brain then perceives as taste.

In Switzerland, 100 percent of households have drinking water. And it is widely used. In 2020, each Swiss citizen consumed an average of about 294 liters per day. A good sixth of it literally ends up in the toilet when the toilet is flushed.

Incidentally, it is the municipality’s job to supply drinking water to the population. In doing so, it must be ensured that the water is of correct chemical and microbiological quality and is available in sufficient quantity.

0.2 wrapper per liter

According to a survey by GFS-Zurich, 75 percent of the Swiss population regularly drink from the tap to quench their thirst, and 60 percent do so several times a day. Only a tenth of a glass of Heinenberger never or only rarely reaches for it. Our drinking water is not only fine but also cheap. The average price of water is two francs per 1000 liters. In other words, a liter costs just 0.2 centimeter.

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This post was created by Ringier Brand Studio on behalf of a client. Content is journalistically produced and meets Ringier’s quality requirements.

Contact: Email & Brand Studio

This post was created by Ringier Brand Studio on behalf of a client. Content is journalistically produced and meets Ringier’s quality requirements.

Contact: Email & Brand Studio

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The Chinese have a dilemma: three-quarters of the water is in the south, while three-quarters of the farming is in the north.

Yangtze River is in the south and must feed three quarters of its population in the south whereas Yellow River, Liao River, Hai River and Huai river are in the north and only one-quarter of their population needs it… Water p.268

It is always important to imagine a worst-case scenario in planning for the survival of a multitude, especially when it comes to the basic things of life which are taken for granted by leaders in Africa, especially Nigeria – the country with the highest number of Black/Brown people.

China is becoming, almost, a best practice template on how to combine human resources and other resources in seeking the prosperity of a nation. There are fault lines, no doubt, especially when human freedom to choose “to live or die” is based on how much human intends to relate with others in pursuit of pleasure and joy.

China’s elites are not sleeping for the interest of its over 1.4 billion people. It is also, eagerly, proposing for investment in the replenishing of the west and central Africa’s Lake Chad which Francophone speaking neighbours of Nigeria, far and near, are seeking for better-negotiating terms to allow to take off, as they often sit in Sudan for that. Don’t blame them if only you know what western Sudan means to the Arab and why France is to be appreciated for breaking the bond between the west and main Sudan. A Saudi prince once sponsored a study on how to tow the icebergs in Antarctica to Mecca as if Africa and South America, very close to Antarctica, are fools. Kaddafi built a tunnel or piping system, that was about squeezing the lives of African ground waters and aquifers (Lakes and groundwaters in Africa could have suffered it also) if not for the intervention of its neighbouring countries – especially Egypt, Chad and Algeria. 

So, like the land use law that makes land in Nigeria to be invested in the State Governors who know best how to secure their people against encroachment by powerful people, so also the “intestines” of the land that contain ground waters, aquifers, lakes, etc must be allowed to be guarded by the State Governors, also, as the Federation is known as Nigeria falters.

If Nigeria’s leaders had been faithful to the constitution that insists on a federal structure like USA’s, no sensible federal lawmaker would have worried themselves with bills that call for water resource management in Nigeria instead of seeing how Nigeria could benefit more in the use of waterways, Lake Chad Basin and better dredging of the Rivers Niger and Benue that link Nigeria with other countries.

In effect, it is expected that good governance in Nigeria starts with evaluating State Governors who are able to make potable water available to their populace as water remains abundant in Nigeria. Just like a Water expert, Marq de Villiers, states that Nigeria has lots of water and more than half the population (and I say ¾) goes without safe drinking water. It is the same as Africa sub-Sahara, as a whole, where Nigeria rules from the “immediate south of the Sahel” with great lakes like Lake Chad, Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika, Lake Nyasa, completely left unharnessed and uncared for as the majority of Africans live without potable water.

It is worth stating that the Arab region, that is the Maghreb, has almost 100 per cent of its population enjoying potable water. And they faithfully rely on the wise saying that: No man must abuse a well (groundwater and rivers), if the immediate owner has a surplus, he must provide it to strangers and their cattle, but he has no obligation to provide it for irrigating crops (Note: No obligation).

This is where they contend with Israel and even Egypt which is ¾ deserts. And both somehow lean to waterways, rivers and groundwater use as seen by the Western world that says: “use it or lose it”, that is, if you are the owner of the water and you fail to put it to constructive use, you lose it. Egypt has applied it to oppress weak African countries and Israel uses it to oppress in all corners, even remotely Africa.

In effect, Nigerian lawmakers whether National or Sub-National should start questioning the executive arms of their respective jurisdictions on why water, so much so abundant in Nigeria is not properly put to constructive use as the majority of Nigerians suffer from water-borne diseases.

Like land-use law that has been able to allow Governors to curtail the wrong use of land resource in the states, there should also be a vigilant and constructive use of water as profiled in each state’s aquifer, lake, groundwater, spring, and waterways for the prosperity of such state and its people.

Today, China imports water, and even clean air, which is all derivable from land that produces water. It is also a derivative of land use law which no Federal law should pry its nose on. I had once wondered how Eko Atlantic in Lagos came to be and I discovered great shareholding interests that spread almost all the world – East and West divide of the world and, indeed, it calls for applause for whoever initiated it as it created a source of wealth that could be enjoyed for long by the government of Lagos State, though not necessarily the original coast inhabitants.

That is also a twin coverage law of land and waterways. No one insinuates the Atlantic Ocean here even when it is encroached on. That is how it happens also in the USA where federal structure permits a state like California or Washington to infringe on waterways or rivers that do not originate from the two states but must have great Governors who could negotiate for what they term constructive use of water, and even pay for it or cause the principle of “use it or lose it” to apply (see California oppressing Navada and Arizona).

One expects Nigerian lawmakers to think very well and forget dabbling into water issues that could create more disharmonies in Nigeria like oil is already creating. Water is life and it must not be made a law instrument that could tear Nigerians apart as it does surreptitiously in the Middle East.

• Victor C. Ariole is a Professor of French and Francophone Studies University of Lagos.

 

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Over the years, the Seacoast has faced many threats to its soil, waterways, and drinking water. We now face another threat to all three.

Texas-based Million Air proposes to build a 90,000-gallon, industrial-sized aviation fuel farm at Pease. Million Air plans to build it next to wetlands and pave a road through them. These sensitive wetlands are connected to the Pease drinking water supply and the North Mill Pond. Storing and handling chemicals like jet fuel and deicing fluid on that sensitive site poses a large-scale risk that cannot be allowed to fly under the radar.

Here are our top concerns, which witnesses raised with the Department of Environmental Services (DES) Wetlands Bureau during its hearing or public comment period on Million Air’s wetlands permit application: Spills at Million Air’s site could reach our drinking and surface water.

Previous story:Million Air’s big project at Pease, opposed by competitor, faces environmental scrutiny

The Haven well’s water supply is part of the $60-million-plus remediation effort at Pease. The citizens group Testing For Pease expressed concern that this project could jeopardize the progress made to remediate contamination at Pease. We agree. A hydrologist, Danna Truslow, who presented to the DES Wetlands Bureau, identified these key concerns: 

• These wetlands are connected, both naturally and via the defunct city well heads called “Gosling Station” to the Haven well’s underground water supply. The Haven well is a primary source of water serving Pease and part of Newington.
• These wetlands drain into Hodgson Brook, which runs through our residential neighborhoods and into the North Mill Pond and Piscataqua River. A spill on this site could make its way into the community outside Pease.
• The “impact of this project must be viewed in regional and local perspectives.”

We agree. On a more basic level, Million Air’s site development plans very likely underestimate the wetlands impact of this project. An engineer told the Wetlands Bureau that Million Air’s site proposal shows significantly smaller wetlands than were shown in a 2017 study of the same site by a different developer who decided not to build. The community should demand an independent study to identify this project’s total wetlands impact.

Unfortunately, Million Air’s proposal is moving forward with momentum. The DES Wetlands Bureau recently approved Million Air’s wetlands permit application. While this seems contrary to DES’ protective role, the Wetlands Bureau does not base its decision on operations next to wetlands. So the permit does not comment on the wisdom, safety, or potential environmental impact of Million Air’s proposed operation. The permit is not a safety endorsement, nor does it establish or prove that the project is safe for us or our water.

Given the Wetlands Bureau’s limited purview, the wetlands permit does not address any of the risks or overwhelming scientific data that was submitted in opposition to Million Air’s proposed project. The permit fails to mention that Pease has other available sites without wetlands where Million Air could run its operation without jeopardizing the environment and our water supply.

The permit should serve as a wake-up call, a reminder of our past issues with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS contamination), and a warning about the risk to our future.

Wherever this project goes next for approval, including the Pease Development Authority (PDA) Board, decision-makers should weigh the public good against one Texas-based private business’ economic gain. This is especially true when Million Air could develop this project on one of Pease’s available safer, non-wetlands sites. The PDA Board will have the ultimate decision to grant or deny a lease to Million Air. The PDA Board also has the authority to propose safer non wetland sites to Million Air, if they are concerned about the risks.

The Portsmouth Conservation Commission unanimously opposed this project, but the wetlands permit was issued anyway. More must be done. City councilors, Select Boards, community leaders and especially Seacoast residents must make their opposition heard.

One thing that is obvious is that there are well-founded concerns and questions without good answers. Those who forget their Pease history are doomed to repeat it. We must protect these wetlands and our local water supply as well as ensure the safety of our lives and the lives of future generations.

Dania Seiglie lives in Rye. Dudley Dudley lives in Durham and in 1976 was the first woman elected to the New Hampshire Executive Council.

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