U.N. report: Polluted water kills about 2.2 million a year; wars claim fewer victims per year
(CNN) March 22, 2010 - Contaminated and polluted water now kills more people than all forms of violence including wars, according to a United Nations report released Monday that calls for turning unsanitary wastewater into an environmentally safe economic resource.
"At the beginning of the 21st century, the world faces a water crisis, both of quantity and quality, caused by continuous population growth, industrialization, food production practices, increased living standards and poor water use strategies," the report by the U.N. Environmental Program says.
As a result, "it is essential that wastewater management is considered as part of integrated, ecosystem-based management that operates across sectors and borders, freshwater and marine."
The report defines wastewater as a combination of fertilizer runoff, sewage disposal and other animal, agricultural and industrial wastes.
According to the report -- titled "Sick Water?" -- 90 percent of wastewater discharged daily in developing countries is untreated, contributing to the deaths of some 2.2 million people a year from diarrheal diseases caused by unsafe drinking water and poor hygiene. At least 1.8 million children younger than 5 die every year from water-related diseases, the report says.
To read entire article, please go to:
www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/03/22/united.nations.water.report/index.html
Experts to analyze Hudson River PCB dredging reports
ALBANY, NY, February 16, 2010 (Water Tech) —This week, independent experts will begin analyzing two technical reports on the first year of PCB dredging from the Hudson River, the Times Union reported.
The reports, filed by General Electric and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), delivered the first results from the nation’s largest Superfund cleanup project, the article stated.
GE plants discharged PCBs, now known to be probable carcinogens, into the Hudson River for decades before they were banned in 1977, according to the story.
EPA believes the project, which will dredge another 30 miles of the river, is on schedule to be completed in five years, the article reported.
Multi-Pure Commentary:
Multi-Pure Drinking Water Systems have been certified by NSF International, under Standard 53 to reduce PCB.
$18.6 million in Recovery Act funds awarded for water system upgrades
JEFFERSON CITY, MO, February 22, 2010 (Water Tech) — Missouri Governor Jay Nixon announced that the Department of Natural Resources has awarded $18.7 million in grants and loans to seven communities for wastewater and drinking water infrastructure upgrades, according to a press release.
A portion of the funding, which was provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will go towards green infrastructure, water and energy efficiency and environmentally innovative projects, the release stated.
The communities receiving the funds are: Joplin, California, Wardsville, Fremont Hills, Carterville, Cassville and Ste. Genevieve.
Complaint filed against L.A. County Flood Control District for stormwater violations
LOS ANGELES, February 23, 2010 (Water Tech) — The California Regional Water Quality Control Board has issued a complaint against the Los Angeles County Flood Control District for stormwater violations and recommended $275,000 in fines, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The complaint alleges that the Flood Control District allowed bacterial pollution to flow into Marina del Rey for over two years, according to the story.
The board cited 186 violations of the district’s storm water permit from 2007 to 2009, the article stated.
“Basically, this makes the water unsafe, unhealthy for recreation,” said Samuel Unger, the water board’s assistant executive officer and principal engineer.
City of Lubbock fined for wastewater violations
LUBBOCK, TEXAS, March 1, 2010 (Water Tech) — The city of Lubbock has been fined $50,580 for environmental violations at its wastewater plant, according to an article on kcbd.com.
According to officials, the plant exceeded the limits of its state permit several times in 2008 and 2009, the story reported.
The city, which denied any wrongdoing but agreed to pay the fine, has been given 730 days to correct the violations, according to the article.
Communities file law suit over atrazine contamination
CRESTON, IOWA, March 9, 2010 (Water Tech) — Sixteen communities in six states have filed a federal lawsuit against the Swiss corporation Syngenta AG and its Delaware-based subsidiary, Syngenta Crop Protection Inc., for polluting water supplies with the agricultural herbicide atrazine, The Iowa Independent reported.
The suit seeks damages to pay for the chemical’s removal from local drinking water, according to the story.
Although atrazine has been banned in Europe for potentially dangerous health effects, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maintains that the concentrations of the chemical measured in drinking water pose no threat to public health, the article stated.
“What Syngenta can say is that EPA re-registered atrazine in 2006, stating it would cause no harm to the general population,” Syngenta Spokesman Paul Minehart said. “In the current economy many organizations, including water systems, are looking for additional sources of revenue. It is not surprising that some water systems would say they cannot afford additional filtering but, for atrazine, there is no need.”
Multi-Pure Commentary:
Multi-Pure Drinking Water Systems have been certified by NSF International, under Standard 53 to reduce Atrazine, a VOC.
Brooklyn officials plead to New York governor for drinking water protection
BROOKLYN, NY, March 12, 2010 (Water Tech) — Members of the city’s congressional delegation are calling on New York State Governor David Paterson to protect their drinking water supply, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported.
The March 11 story said six members worry companies, drilling for natural gas reserves, will hurt their drinking water source in the Catskills. Water comes from under a large rock formation known as the Marcellus Shale. The water supply, which serves over 9 million people, also comes from Delaware Valley.
Hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) is slated for the water supply areas to try and find sources of natural gas.
Opponent and Congresswoman Yvette Clarke said in the story, “It is imperative that we continue to protect the city’s water supplies from any and all pollutants that threaten public health. As New Yorkers, we must find a balance between ending our dependence on foreign oil and protecting our drinking water.”
Toxic pollution from abandoned chemical plant worse than previously thought
DELAWARE CITY, March 16, 2010 (Water Tech) — New tests have revealed that pollution from a defunct chemical plant near Delaware City is much worse than officials previously believed, The News Journal reported.
Concentrations of benzene, a known carcinogen, in the groundwater around the former Metachem Products plant are thousands of times higher than the federal government’s drinking water safety limit, according to the story.
At least six other toxic chemicals were also found near the site, the article stated.
The abandoned plant is located above the Patomac aquifer, which provides drinking water to residents in Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia, according to the report.
Scientists are unsure about how the contaminated water will travel underground, the article stated.
Multi-Pure Commentary:
Multi-Pure Drinking Water Systems have been certified by NSF International, under Standard 53 to reduce Benzene, a VOC.
EPA announces new strategies for safe drinking water
WASHINGTON March 22, 2010 (Water Tech) — In a speech today at the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) annual conference in Washington, D.C., US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa P. Jackson announced that the agency is developing a broad new set of strategies to strengthen public health protection from contaminants in drinking water, according to a press release.
The new strategies are meant to streamline decision-making, expand protection under existing law and promote cost-effective new technologies to meet the needs of rural, urban and other water-stressed communities, the release stated.
According to the release, the shift in drinking water strategy is organized around four principles: Address contaminants as a group rather than one at a time so that enhancement of drinking water protection can be achieved cost-effectively; foster development of new drinking water treatment technologies to address health risks posed by a broad array of contaminants; use the authority of multiple statutes to help protect drinking water; and partner with states to share more complete data from monitoring at public water systems.
Additionally, EPA announced that scientific advances allow for stricter regulations for the carcinogenic compounds tetrachloroethylene, trichloroethylene, acrylamide and epichlorohydrin, the release stated.
Within the next year, EPA will initiate rulemaking efforts to revise the tetrachloroethylene and trichloroethylene standards using the strategy’s framework. A revision of epichlorohydrin and acrylamide standards will follow later, according to the release.
“To confront emerging health threats, strained budgets and increased needs — today’s and tomorrow’s drinking water challenges — we must use the law more effectively and promote new technologies,” said Jackson. “That means fostering innovation that can increase cost-effective protection. It means finding win-win-win solutions for our health, our environment and our economy. And it means broad collaboration. To make our drinking water systems work harder, we have to work smarter.”
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