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International Water News

Read WaterWebster Special Reports:

• African Well Fund, Wells financed by U2 fans bring 'fresh life' to Africa

• CARE, Water for life: CARE’s work to end the global water crisis

• Engineers Without Borders - USA brings water to 30,000 in Rwanda  (Note: This version contains photos and charts and may download too slowly for dial-up connections. For the full report without the charts and photos, click here

• Water is Key: A Better Future for Africa by Gil Garcetti; edited by Peter Gleick; Garcetti's photographs of the hope that safe water brings to West Africa. 2007 Balcony Press (for the quick download text-only version, click here)

• YouthInkWell, Books by California teens translate into safe drinking water in Ethiopia and Uganda©

  (For a text-only, quicker view of this story, click here.)

World Water Week in Stockholm and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI)

Also visit WaterWebster's special sections:

The 2008 Myanmar cyclone

The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami

The African Drought

Myanmar cyclone Nargis news updates

Floods cut off aid in Haiti

Devastation wreaked by tropical storms overwhelmed rescue efforts in Haiti yesterday and left thousands of people stranded with no food or drinking water as another hurricane approached. Aid agencies and United Nations peacekeepers mobilised to help, but submerged roads and bridges cut off an estimated 250,000 people who were becoming increasingly desperate. Flood waters receded as tropical storm Hanna moved north, but the respite will be brief if Hurricane Ike, a category 3 storm, slams into the Caribbean country tomorrow, as some forecasts predict. Hanna was the third storm to hit the impoverished country in three weeks, leaving more than 200 people dead and unleashing what President René Préval called "catastrophe". The UN estimates that 650,000 Haitians have been affected, of which a third are in urgent need of aid. The Guardian_ 9/6/08

Authorities in India already battling a massive deluge face more floods

Water levels have receded slightly in some parts of easter India's Bihar state, which is facing its worst flooding in 50 years, but officials told villagers not to return home from temporary shelters yet. The floods have forced more than three million people from their homes, destroyed 250,000 acres of farmland and killed at least 90 people. But reports suggest the death toll may be much higher after the Kosi river, which originates in Nepal, burst a dam last month and unleashed huge amounts of water downstream in Bihar. Millions are now living on embankments, roads and in overcrowded camps in filthy conditions. Aid agencies said this makes them extremely vulnerable to infections and water-borne diseases in the absence of clean drinking water. Planes are continuing to drop packaged drinking water, bread and tarpaulin sheets for marooned villagers who waved from rooftops to attract attention. ITN_ 9/5/08

$37 billion in Australian water projects on the books

An unprecedented A$30 billion (NZ$37.06b) will be spent on new water infrastructure for cities over the next decade in an effort to put an end to harsh water restrictions in Australia. The Water Services Association of Australia, in its annual report card on the state of cities' water supplies, has found more money is being spent than ever before. The association's executive director Ross Young said the long-term goal of the water supply industry was to put an end to permanent water restrictions by securing new sources of water. Mr Young said that the combination of climate change and population growth was driving a boom in water infrastructure. The atypical rainfall patterns associated with climate change are causing a change in the approach to water supply with large dams playing less of a part in modern city water supply planning. The practice of recycling waste water for human consumption is becoming more popular with the amount of waste water recycled for human consumption more than doubling since 1999. According to the report, much of the country's water infrastructure is over 50 years old and in need of an overhaul. AAP/Stuff.co.nz_ 9/4/08

Call for major work on Dutch water defences

65 billion euros?
A committee charged with conducting a thorough investigation into the effects of sea-level rises on the Netherlands delivered its findings on Wednesday.  It concludes that rising sea and river levels make it imperative that action be taken as soon as possible to provide ten times the present level of safety. Operations should include the pumping of sand onto the North Sea coast and there should be new shipping channels where necessary.  The proposed action programme will cost between 1.2 and 1.6 billion euros per year until 2050. The money will come from a special Delta fund financed by loans and gas revenues to ensure that the project is not affected by political or economic developments. Radio Netherlands Worldwide_9/3/08

UN chief says insufficient progress made on water

One billion people worldwide lack access to safe drinking water and countries must try harder to reach their goals on sanitation, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said on Monday. "There has been progress towards achieving the water and sanitation Millennium Development Goals, but not enough," Ban said in a speech at the water-themed International Exposition in Zaragoza in northern Spain. The goals, signed by U.N. member countries in 2000, aim to halve the number of people without access to safe drinking water by 2015. But the fall so far has only been 10 percent, due to population growth and persistent poverty, the UN chief said. About 1.2 billion people have gained access to improved water sources since 1990, while estimates indicate the world population will rise to 9 billion from 6.5 billion by 2050. Reuters_ 9/1/08

August, 2008

UNDP Moldova helps hundreds of families get access to drinking water

About 110 families in Larga Noua village of Cahul district got access to drinking water as part of a community development project implemented within the framework of the Integrated Local Development Program/UNDP Moldova. The villagers did not have access to the centralized drinking water supply system. As many as 105 residents helped extend the water pipeline by more than 2,500 meters and were paid by 1,000 lei on average for their work. “Earlier, the tractor was bringing water in tanks once in 2-3 weeks. Now we have running water at faucets in the court. Soon we will make a bathroom in the house,” said Maria Bohcevan, a resident of Larga Noua. Moldova.org_ 8/29/08

Boil water warning issued for 45,000 in Wales

Welsh Water has warned 45,000 people in north Wales to boil their drinking water because of an increase of bacteria in reservoirs supplying the area. The company said the warning is likely to remain operative for at least two weeks while investigations take place. The water comes from the Mynydd Llandegai water treatment works, which takes supplies from the Marchlyn Bach and Ffynnon Lligwy reservoirs. The bacteria is cryptosporidium, a parasite found in humans and animals which can cause temporary diarrhoeal illness. Its eggs are killed by boiling water. News Wales_ 8/30/08

Water is 'blue gold': Montreal think tank
Large-scale fresh water exports would be a "wealth-creating idea" for Quebec and all of Canada," the Montreal Economic Institute said today. "We should look seriously at developing our blue gold," the think tank said in a study.  The cost of seawater desalination will ultimately determine the commercial value of fresh water and whether the heavy investment in infrastructure would be justified. "Even if the province were to charge a royalty of just 10 per cent on fresh water exports, that would bring in $6.5 billion a year in income, or five times the dividend now being paid by Hydro-Quebec to the Government, said MEI chief economist Marcel Boyer. Montreal Gazette_8/27/08

Landslide cuts water supplies to 30,000 in Ireland's north Kerry

Up to 30,000 people in north Kerry will be without a water supply from today after a landslide of elevated blanket bog in the Stacks Mountains polluted water courses and threatened reservoirs. The slow slide, which began on Friday afternoon, came to a stop late on Saturday night, reaching over two kilometres in length and up to 55m wide in places. The mud seeped into north Kerry's most important water sources as well as angling rivers the Smearlagh and the Feale. Boil-water notices were issued to a number of villages yesterday and Kerry County Council said supplies could be affected for some time. The Council took the decision yesterday to cut off supplies to the reservoirs supplying these areas after the rivers from which they source their water turned brown. The residue from the landslide was "vast" and the rain would probably continue to wash the soil and peat into the rivers, said senior executive engineer with the council Brian Sweeney. Kerry County Council did not speculate on the cause of the landslide, but pointed to recent heavy rainfall as a factor. It was impossible to say when water supplies would return, he added."It's not looking good at this time." Irish Times_ 8/25/08

US $75 million to be invested in Columbia water plan: Official

A total of 140 billion (US$75 million) is expected to be invested in Colombian department Risaralda's water plan over the next four years, the department's governor Víctor Manuel Tamayo told Business News Amearicas. The project will include infrastructure improvements and aims to make potable water, sewerage and waste collection services self-sustainable through institutional improvements, water viceminister, Leyla Rojas said. Over the weekend, President Álvaro Uribe, together with Rojas and other authorities, signed a decree to create the department's new water utility, Empresa Aguas de Risaralda, the departmental government reported in a release. The utility will be responsible for handling potable water, sewerage and basic sanitation services in the department. Business News Americas_ 8/25/08

'Water Mafias' put stranglehold on public water supply

Worldwide corruption driven by mafia-like organizations throughout water industries is forcing the poor to pay more for basic drinking water and sanitation services, according to a new report released this week at the World Water Week conference in Stockholm, Sweden.  If bribery, organized crime, embezzlement, and other illegal activities continue, consumers and taxpayers will pay the equivalent of U.S. $20 billion dollars over the next decade, says the report. "The water sector is one of most corrupt after health and education," added Håkan Tropp, chair of the Water Integrity Network (WIN), an advocacy group and report co-author.

Skyrocketing Prices

In developing countries, corruption bumps up household water prices by at least 30 percent, experts say.  In Honduras, for example, residents who either cannot afford connections to centralized water systems or live in places where water is not easily accessible pay 40 percent more for informal water supplies, said TI's Donal O'Leary. In Bangladesh and Ecuador, mafia-like groups often collude with public water officials to prevent access to cheap water services.  The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) estimates that countries such as El Salvador, Jamaica, and Nicaragua spend more than 10 percent of their income on water services, in part due to corruption. In comparison, those in developed nations such as the United States pay approximately 3 percent.  National Geographic News_8/22/08

Wastewater fears for urban farms

Urgent action is needed to remove pollutants from urban wastewater, which is often used in cities to grow food, an international study has warned. Data collected by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) found that 85% of cities discharged the water without any appropriate treatment. With many developing nations swiftly urbanising, the authors said people were at increasing risk of disease. The findings are being presented at an international water summit in Sweden. BBC News_ 8/18/08

download the full IWMI report pdf

Winner of Stockholm Water Prize criticizes biofuels and urges people to eat less meat

The winner of the Stockholm Water Prize criticized the growing use of biofuels Monday and urged people to eat less meat to help cut the amount of water used in food production. British professor John Anthony Allan said the effect of the growing use of biofuels "is too frightening to even begin to realize." Allan, 71, of King's College, London, was awarded the 2008 water prize for his concept of "virtual water," which measures the amount of water used in industrial and food production. He was speaking to the AP on the sidelines of the World Water Week, a conference attended by 2,500 scientists, politicians and officials from 140 countries. Allan will receive the US$150,000 (€95,000) cash award at a ceremony in Stockholm City Hall on Thursday. AP/International Herald Tribune_ 8/18/08

Dam water storage down in Iran

The volume of water stored in dams nationwide in Iran has declined by 46% compared to the amount last year, said deputy minister of energy for water affairs, MNA reported.  Speaking to IRNA, Rasoul Zargar said that the volume of water in dams has decreased from 20 billion cubic meters in the past year to 11.1 billion cubic meters this year.  According to officials with Agriculture Jihad Ministry, the drought has led to a decline in agricultural products by only 15 percent.  Some 2,500 grams of agricultural products are produced in the world for each cubic meter of water, but in Iran the figure stands at between 600 and 800 grams. Iranmania_8/14/08

Phiippines' Maynilad Water seeks to provide water to customers fulltime by 2012

In a statement, Maynilad Water Services Inc. said it had borrowed $365 million to partially fund its program to rehabilitate the pipe network throughout the West Zone and significantly reduce system losses four years from now. Maynilad’s plan involves replacing old pipes and building new water facilities to provide 24 hours of water supply at a good pressure to 100% of the West concession by 2012. Aside from beefing up the investment for pipe rehabilitation and network expansion lined up in the next four years, part of the loan proceeds will be used to bring down the company’s nonrevenue water — or unbilled water due to leaks and illegal connections — to 40% or lower from its current level of 66%. GMA News_ 8/13/08

Australia could import water from Japan
A Japanese company is looking into plans to export water to Australia in large ships for agriculture and industrial use.  Nomura Research Institute is exploring the idea and proposes delivering the water on ships that carry Australian coal to Japan's second-largest steelmaker, JFE Holdings, which has a mill in Kawasaki, near Tokyo.  It said water shipped to Australia would be purified water recycled in Kawasaki after industrial use.  US news agency Bloomberg reported that representatives from Nomura were to come Queensland next month to discuss the plan, as the state looked for ways to boost water supplies.  But a spokesman for Queensland's Minister for Water Craig Wallace said there was no planned deal to import water from Japan.  Japan is the second most water-affluent country behind Canada in the developed world, and is in the process of expanding water exports to take advantage of the growing demand. HeraldSun.com.au_8/7/08

In Yemen, a race for proft is hastening a water crisis

Across the countryside of this nation on the heel of the Arabian Peninsula, the pumps and drills roar. Wildcatters bore as much as 1,000 feet into the earth and draw out the valuable liquid. They pump it into tankers and haul it away to sell to the highest bidder. But soon the reservoirs will run dry. As Yemen's exploding population draws out more and more water from the parched land -- mostly to help feed a voracious appetite for khat, a mildly narcotic plant -- the bone-dry nation's very existence is threatened. At least two-thirds of Yemen's water consumption goes to growing the plant, a social lubricant used by as much as 90% of Yemeni men and a quarter of the women. Los Angeles Times_ 8/3/08

Environmentalists concerned over Red Sea-to-Dead Sea canal plans

Environmental groups have expressed concern about plans to build a canal between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea - transferring water from the former to save the latter. They say not enough research has been done and alternative options have not been checked. "We are concerned about what will happen to the Dead Sea when this amount of marine water is pumped into it," said Gidon Bromberg of Friends of the Earth Middle East, at a 30 July public hearing organised by the World Bank in Herziliya, which followed two others in Ramallah and Amman. The Red-Dead project would take water out of the Red Sea, desalinating some of it for use as drinking water, which would be used for Israelis, Jordanians and Palestinians. The rest of the water would go to help save the Dead Sea. The level of the Dead Sea continues to drop at the rate of about one metre per year and has lost about a third of its volume, mainly in the last 30 years. IRIN_ 8/1/08

July, 2008

Canadian residents want to run water commission

Local control vs. big government, consultants
Chris Bell, chairwoman of the Local Service District (LSD) of Cardwell is thrilled Penobsquis residents are getting their water, but she questions why there have been broken promises over who will run it.  Construction has started on a new water system for Penobsquis residents. It could be in service by late November or early December.  Next month will mark five years Chris Bell has had to run her household without her own water. And since that time, fellow representatives on the LSD committee and others in the once-quiet community have been rallying for a new water system to restore what they believe was lost due to big industry intrusion.

Bell is livid, however, that the Department of Local Government will not establish the water commission promised all along to allow the community to set its own water rates and control its own service.  "The LSD has not been involved in any decision-making whatsoever," Bell said.  "It's all been done by the Department of Local Government and (project consultants) ADI. They will decide the residential and industrial user fees, they will decide when the bills come out.  They have been deciding all of it. It's our water, yet we have no say in how it's going to be run." Telegraph Journal_7/31/08

A month after Typhoon Frank, flood-hit communities in the Philippines still have no drinking water

The June 22 flood contaminated almost all of municipalities' water sources—from shallow wells, deep wells and even the facilities of the Metro Iloilo Water District. Water for drinking in badly hit areas is currently sourced from treatment facilities on loan from other government agencies and private organizations. But the water these facilities provide is not enough to meet the needs of the townsfolk. In Pavia, for example, 40 percent of the town's households still have no access to potable water and some residents in interior villages have to go to the town proper to get drinking water or buy bottled water, according to Hisancha. However, potable water may soon be available in water-starved communities in Iloilo, particularly in flood-stricken towns. A water purifier has been developed by the Industrial Technology Development Institute (ITDI), one of the research and development institutes of the Department of Science and Technology. Visayas Bureau/Inquirer.net_ 7/27/08

Iganga, Uganda, gets piped water

Water state minister Jennifer Namuyangu has urged residents of Iganga town to effectively use the newly-installed piped water to avoid catching water-borne diseases. “It is a human right to have access to safe water. The National Water and Sewerage Corporation charges for water are affordable. Therefore, I urge you to use piped water because water from wells is exposed to sewage,” she said on Thursday. Namuyangu made the remarks while commissioning a sh13.5b piped-water project at Iganga Town Council Primary School. The minister advised the residents to avoid constructing latrines and instead opt for toilets because they are comfortable and user-friendly. Kigulu South MP Milton Muwuma urged the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) to connect the neighbouring villages to the water supply grid to widen its clientele base. New Vision_ 7/27/08

Turkish firm to begin work on huge Jordanian water project

Thirsty Jordan announced on Sunday that a Turkish firm will begin work next week on a near-billion-dollar project to supply the capital with water from an ancient southern aquifer. Water Minister Raed Abu Soud said GAMA Energy will next Sunday launch the 990-million-dollar plan to extract 100 million cubic metres (3.5 billion cubic feet) of water a year from the 300,000-year-old Disi aquifer 325 kilometres (200 miles) south of Amman. Infrastructure work on the much-delayed project in the desert kingdom is expected to take around four years, the state-run Petra news agency quoted Abu Soud as saying. Jordan's overall population of nearly six million is growing by almost 3.5 percent annually, and it is one of the world's 10 most water-impoverished countries, relying mainly on rainfall to meet its needs. AFP_ 7/27/08

A million Australians in prime agricultural area face drinking water shortage if drought goes another year

A report released Sunday on the state of the nation's largest river system said the situation was critical in the Murray-Darling system, which provides water to Australia's "food bowl", a vast expanse of land almost twice as big as France that runs down the continent's east coast. Australia is in the grip of the worst drought in a century, which has stretched for more than seven years in some areas and has forced restrictions on water usage in the country''s major cities. The report said the Murray-Darling system, accounting for more than 40 percent of the gross value of Australia's agricultural production, should provide enough drinking water for 2008-09. But the report from senior federal and state government officials warned there could be problems supplying drinking water after that if rains did not come. The Murray-Darling Basin stretches from Queensland in the north, through New South Wales to Victoria in the south and South Australia. AFP_ 7/20/08

Northern Cyprus to get water pipeline from Turkey

A 70-mile pipeline will carry drinking water from Turkey to northern Cyprus under a plan announced Saturday by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday. He said construction would begin in June 2009 and the project should be completed within three years. Cyprus is suffering one of its worst droughts in modern history. AFP_ 7/19/08

Greek tanker with much-needed drinking water for Cyprus discards it due to contamination

The ship pumped 40,000 cubic metres of water into the ground rather than a reservoir because delays had made the water unsuitable for consumption. After four years with no substantial winter rainfall, Cypriot water reserves are at their lowest since 1908. The tanker arrived at an offshore pumping station near the port of Limassol at the end of last month, but as it took two weeks to complete pipes to the reservoir, it was deemed unsafe for drinking. BBC News_ 7/16/08

French nuclear leak pollutes water

A nuclear power plant in a tourist region of southern France has been closed after a uranium leak polluted the local water supply. France's nuclear safety authority, ASN, cited a "series of faults and human negligence that is not acceptable" when it ordered the closure of the Tricastin nuclear plant in the Vaucluse region of Provence on Friday following an inspection. The plant is one of 58 in France. During the leak on Monday night, 75 kilograms of untreated liquid uranium spilled into the ground. Residents have been told not to drink water or eat fish from nearby rivers. Swimming, water sports and irrigating crops with the contaminated water are also forbidden. ASN said it would recommend to local councils that they keep precautionary measures in place for at least a week. But site operator Socatri, a subsidiary of French nuclear giant Areva, said it would permanently shut down the plant as part of a previously planned upgrade. Sydney Morning Herald_ 7/13/08

Israel not along in water troubles

Israel's water problems may look grave, with the Kinneret dropping to new lows and the price of water set to rise, but other countries - such as Australia and Jordan - are facing similar, if not worse, crises due to the scarcity of this resource, according to Israeli water experts. Still, the water problem in Israel is "very serious," said Uri Schor, spokesman for the Water Authority, which last Tuesday released a short-term emergency plan to stem the "worst water crisis in the nation's history." The plan will raise prices on water used for gardening to reduce usage and will pump water from tributaries that flow into the Kinneret. "The main concern is to cut down the demand for water," Schor said. In addition, the Water Authority plans to invest NIS 12 billion in infrastructure, desalination, sewage treatment and conservation education over the next five years, the Post reported Tuesday. Jerusalem Post_ 7/12/08

Three meter mistake leaves Cyprus thirsting for water

A week after a ship carrying badly-needed water from Greece arrived off the coast of Cyprus, the thirsty island still is waiting to receive the first drop, thanks to a 3.5-metre (10-foot) miscalculation with the final section of an undersea pipeline. The specially-built 1,320-metre undersea connecting pipe from the ship to the shore is not long enough after experts apparently miscalculated the length. The drought-parched island is in desperate need of additional water supplies from Greece to replenish dwindling reserves, but it now has to wait until the problem is fixed. A Cypriot shipping firm is to ferry a total of eight million cubic metres (280 million cubic feet) of water from Greece to help ease the holiday island's water crisis. The entire deal will cost the government more than 40 million euros (62 million dollars) but still only meets half the island's estimated shortfall of 16 million cubic metres by the end of this year. AFP/Yahoo_ 7/7/08

African Development Bank extends loans and grants to Malawi for water infrastructure

Efforts by Malawi to achieve sustainable development and poverty reduction received a boost on Wednesday in Tunis, where the Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group approved a loan and two grants for about US$ 47.24 million, to finance the country's National Water Development Program (NWDP).

The money will be used to provide the country with urban and rural water supply as well as promote resource management and capacity building in the water sector.  The objective of the programme is to ensure the sustainable provision of adequate water and sanitation services to the people of Malawi.  All Africa_7/3/08

Children in China school ill after water poisoned

More than 60 children fell ill after drinking water that may have been deliberately poisoned at a primary school in southern China, state media reported on Tuesday. Thirty-four were still in hospital, suffering from headaches and nausea, and the rest were under observation at their rural school in Guangxi province after drinking the water in their school canteen, the official Xinhua news agency reported. The water in the school's storage tank smelled of pesticide and police found an empty bottle that they suspected of containing the poison, Xinhua said. While the investigation is continuing, local education officials have already accused the school of mismanagement, it added. Reuters_ 7/1/08

June, 2008

Drought-stricken Cyprus gets its first water delivery from Greece

Parched Cyprus took its first delivery of water by ship from Greece on Monday to stave off a drought which has sapped water reserves to critically low levels and triggered emergency rationing. A tanker containing some 40,000 cubic metres of drinking water -- more than double the quantity held in all of the Mediterranean island's 17 main reservoirs -- anchored off Cyprus's southern coast close to midnight (2200 GMT). Its discharge into the island's main water network was expected to commence later this week, contingent on the results of tests for its quality. Cyprus is suffering one of the worst droughts on record, triggering emergency rationing to households, expediting plans for desalination units and sending devout Christians into churches to pray for rain. Reuters_ 6/30/08

Uganda sets 2015 as target date for most of the nation to have clean water

More than 23 million people in Uganda will have access to safe water by 2015, according to the commissioner for water production. Richard Cong said the water ministry's drive to avert water-borne diseases would cost over sh2.6 trillion. Our vision is to make sure 77% of the rural people have safe water by 2015 and 100% in urban centres. New Vision_ 6/29/08

World Health Organization  reports lack of safe water, sanitation and hygiene urgent health issues worldwide

In its report, WHO researchers, led by Annette Prüss-Üstün, said about 10% of worldwide diseases could be prevented by improvements related to drinking-water, sanitation, hygiene and water resource management. Among the top water and sanitation-related diseases were diarrhea, malnutrition, intestinal nematode infections, trachoma, infections from contact with sewage, like schistosomiasis, and mosquito-borne diseases like lymphatic filariasis and malaria. WHO_ 6/27/08    download the full report

Source of cryptosporidium in UK's Northamptonshire water supply located

Anglian Water said the bug was found in treatment works at Pitsford Reservoir. The firm had advised 250,000 customers in the Northampton and Daventry area to boil tap water after the discovery of the bacteria in supplies on Wednesday. A spokesman said half of the customers will be able to use tap water as normal by the end of next week, with the remainder back within three weeks. Ultra-violet light is being used at the treatment works to make the bug harmless.  BBC News_ 6/27/08

Asia-Pacific region launches KnowledgeHubs network to solve water problems

Twelve organizations from across the Asia-Pacific region today launched a network to share solutions for improving water management to tackle the region's many pressing water challenges. The network, known as "KnowledgeHubs," (http://www.apwf-knowledgehubs.net/) is an initiative of the Asia-Pacific Water Forum, which was established in 2006 with support from Japan and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to promote leadership and boost investment in the water sector. Some 650 million people in the Asia-Pacific region lack access to clean water and 2 billion are without adequate sanitation, said a news release announcing the regional information network. KnowledgeHubs is supported by ADB, Singapore's national water agency PUB, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education. At the launch, Ravi Narayanan, Vice Chair of the forum's Governing Council, introduced the 12 founding members of KnowledgeHubs. They are PUB WaterHub, Singapore; International Centre for Water Hazard and Risk Management, Japan; National Hydraulic Research Institute of Malaysia; Center for River Basin Organizations and Management, Indonesia; Korea Water Resources Corporation, the Republic of Korea; Center for Hydroinformatics in River Basins at the Yellow River Conservancy Commission, the People's Republic of China; Institute of Water Policy at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Singapore; International Water Management Institute, Sri Lanka; Central Asia IWRM Resource Center, Uzbekistan; Pacific IWRM Resource Centre, the Fiji Islands; International Research and Training Center on Erosion and Sedimentation, the People's Republic of China; and the International WaterCentre, Australia. News Release/ACN/NASDAQ_ 6/2708

Report:  Beijing faces collapse due to water crisis
Beijing's water crisis is so critical that the city is facing economic collapse and the need to resettle part of its population in coming decades, a leading Canadian development policy group said Friday.  Experts predict the Chinese capital could run out of water in five to ten years, according to Grainne Ryder, policy director at Probe International.  According to the report, called "Beijing's Water Crisis: 1949-2008 Olympics," Beijing's 200 or so rivers and streams are drying up, and the city's reservoirs are almost empty.
Beijing would potentially have to start shutting down industry, she said, as the city would be incapable of supporting current levels of infrastructure or population. Nine consecutive years of below-average rainfall combined with rapid urban expansion, dumping of wastewater and sewage into Beijing's waterways, and over-pumping of groundwater mean the city of 17 million people is fast exhausting its water supply.  Speaking at the launch of a report on Beijing's water crisis just six weeks before the "Green Olympics" in August, Ryder said authorities had already discussed moving people out of the capital to other cities.  This scenario, while extreme, highlights Beijing's current water crisis.    Click here to download the full report.   AFP and PI_6/27/08

Highly polluted water contaminates the water supply in sections of two states in India

Two days after highly polluted water flowed in Punjab canals, the drinking water supply in five districts of Rajasthan and Muktsar was hit on Saturday. As the water supply and sanitation board (WSSB) stopped taking the water supply from the canals, fearing outbreak of water-borne diseases, it started rationing drinking water to residents. Fearing the worse, the Rajasthan public health department has also started rationing water, providing drinking water to residents on alternate days. In Gidderbaha, Malout and Muktsar, the home district of Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal, drinking water is being provided once a day against twice a day earlier. But the water crisis is more severe in Rajasthan, where the state public health department has not taken water supply from the Indira Gandhi Canal for the past two days. The water flowing in the canals was even worse than sewage. It was emitting foul smell and dead and rotten fish could be seen floating on the surface, said Dinesh Nagori, executive engineer, public health department in Sriganganagar. Times of India_ 6/22/08

Drought could cause power blackouts in Iran

Iranians must cut their electricity consumption by 10 percent or face daily power cuts because of a severe drought and low production at hydroelectric power plants, officials warned Saturday. News reports inside Iran said in Tehran, the capital, that could mean up to four hours of blackouts each day. Energy Minister Parviz Fattah warned in May that Iran will face severe electricity shortages and power cuts this summer due to "the drought and the lack of water" in dams. AFP_ 6/21/08

Water quality concerns with outflow from China's "quake lake"

A county seat with more than 100,000 residents has stopped drawing water from its original Fujiang River source with the arrival of the runoff from China's main Tangjiashan "quake lake." Tongliang County in Chongqing Municipality had instead resorted to two standby reservoirs. They contained more than 20 million cubic meters of water and could ensure supply for three months, said Zhao Wuqiang, a local government publicity official. The runoff from Tangjiashan, packing mud, sand and flotsam proved difficult for the local water plant to purify. The pollution was not serious, Zhao added. Xinhua_ 6/12/08

China quake lake water surges safely through cities

A huge volume of water Tuesday surged from a lake created by China's massive earthquake, safely plunging downstream through an area where hundreds of thousands had been braced for disaster, officials said. The mammoth effort to drain Tangjiashan lake -- where floodwaters behind a landslide had threatened to burst through the wall of rubble to submerge low-lying towns -- was declared a success by officials who said the crisis was over. But with the risk of man-made drainage channels collapsing under pressure from the water charging through them, there was still a danger of sudden tidal waves. The official Xinhua news agency reported late Tuesday that a crest of flood water, carrying with it trees, TVs, refrigerators and the bodies of earthquake victims, had surged safely past the city of Mianyang in southwestern Sichuan province. CNN_ 6/10/08

China says "quake lake" rising despite drainage

A lake created by the Chinese earthquake which threatens to unleash a devastating flood is still rising despite urgent efforts to drain the waters off safely, Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday. Troops fired missiles and used dynamite to help blast out a sluice channel to drain off a huge volume of water which has built up behind the mud-and-rock dam at Tangjiashan. Landslides blocked the Tongkou River in last month's 7.9 magnitude quake, creating the biggest of more than 30 "quake lakes" formed by a disaster which has already killed 69,000 people. Worried that it could burst in a sudden rush, officials have evacuated more than 250,000 people from downstream areas. A strong aftershock hit the region on Sunday evening, shaking the dam for about 20 seconds and causing what a Xinhua reporter described as massive landslides in surrounding mountains. Some 600 armed police and soldiers have worked for six days to dig a 475-metre channel to run off water from the lake in Beichuan County. Reuters_ 6/8/08

Water drains from earthquake-formed lake in China

Water flowed slowly into a manmade spillway Saturday from a swollen lake formed by a landslide in China's devastating earthquake, easing the immediate threat of a flood that had led to the evacuation of more than 250,000 people. Engineers were monitoring bridges and river banks downstream to see if they would hold under the rush of water, and work crews were trying to dig a secondary channel to improve the flow, China Central Television and the Xinhua News Agency reported. The water that had been building behind the landslide for nearly four weeks appeared to stabilize, the State Council, China's Cabinet, said in a report posted on its Web Site. Although experts said the potential for flooding remained, the government seemed relieved and people who have been evacuated to cramped camps for safety anticipated going home. AP_ 6/7/08

India-Pakistan water project talks inconclusive

The second day of the ongoing talks between Pakistan and India on various water projects remained inconclusive on Sunday. Six technical questions were raised by Pakistan before the Indian team, but only four were discussed. “The Indian side has not given satisfactory responses to the queries raised by Pakistan,” Pakistan Indus Water (PIW) Commissioner Jamaat Ali Shah said. Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) commissioners of both the counties briefed the media after the talks. PIW Commissioner Jamaat Ali Shah briefed the media about Pakistan’s technical reservations over the Kishan Ganga Dam project. He said the remaining two questions would be discussed in a session on Monday (today). Shah said Pakistan had reservations over the storage capacity of the proposed dam, diversion of a river over which the dam was to be constructed and the de-silting process, adding that Pakistan also had reservations on the Indian formula of water storage. Daily Times_ 6/2/08

Troops draining lake created by China earthquake

Fears of a devastating flood from a lake formed by the Sichuan earthquake eased on Sunday after hundreds of soldiers and engineers successfully completed a channel for draining away the rising water. The authorities had evacuated 197,000 people and drawn up plans to move as many as another 1.3 million because of the risks posed by a collapse of the Tangjiashan lake, one of 30 created by landslides touched off by the quake. The official death toll from the May 12 quake rose slightly on Sunday to 69,016, with 18,830 still missing in remote parts of the mountainous southwestern province. More than 15 million have been evacuated from the areas hit by the quake, the government added. Xinhua/AP/International Herald Tribune_ 6/1/08

May 2008

More people being evacuated from swollen lake area in southwest China

Chinese emergency workers are aiming to evacuate another 80,000 people from the area downstream of a swelling earthquake-induced lake by midnight on Tuesday. Altogether 158,000 people will have to move from their homes if Tangjiashan Lake bursts its banks. So far, more than 100,000 people in Mianyang City have been relocated. Two other plans require the relocation of 1.2 million people if half of the lake volume is released, or 1.3 million if the barrier of the quake lake fully opens. On Tuesday, at least 600 engineers and soldiers were working around the clock to dig a sluice for the blockage with the aid of 29 excavators and bulldozers. The evacuation was necessary because the water level in the quake lake has continued to rise and the diversion channel won't be in place until June 5, experts with Mianyang quake relief headquarters said on Tuesday. Tangjiashan, the biggest of 35 lakes formed in the quake, is inaccessible by road and can only be reached by foot or air. Xinhua_ 5/27/08

China preparing to drain swelling quake lake; 100,000 to be evacuated

Rescuers are preparing to dynamite the barrier of a swelling earthquake-induced lake at risk of bursting and threatening thousands of people downstream in southwest China. Experts have proposed a water diversion channel to drain Tangjiashan Lake, formed by landslides that blocked a river known as the Jianhe after the May 12 earthquake in Sichuan Province. Professionals and materials are airdropped for operations to blow a barrier lake at Tangjiashan, Beichuan County, which was formed by landslides after the May 12 earthquake and now blocks the river Jianhe. Tangjiashan, one of 35 such lakes, is inaccessible by road and can only be reached by foot or air. Liu Ning, Ministry of Water Resources of China chief engineer, who is in Tangjiashan to oversee the diversion, said the lake's water level was 725.3 meters on Monday, only 26 meters below the lowest part of the barrier, he said. "Around 100,000 (people) would be evacuated to ensure the safety according to the current drainage plan," Liu told the Shanghai-based Oriental TV. "It's better for them to complain about the trouble that the evacuation would bring than to shed tears after the possible danger," he added. Xinhua_ 5/26/08

More than 1 million still lack clean water in southwest China after quake

Almost two weeks after a major earthquake hit southwest China, 1.08 million people in the southwestern province of Sichuan still lack sufficient clean drinking water, an official told reporters here on Sunday. Measures would be taken to solve the problem by May 31, according to E Jingping, Vice Minister of Water Resources. The 8.0-magnitude earthquake on May 12 left more than 9 million people without potable water. So far, supplies have resumed in all six provinces that were affected, except for part of Sichuan Province, he said. Xinhua_ 5/25/08

Spain's drought: a glimpse of our future?

Barcelona is a dry city. The Catalan capital's weather can change from one day to the next, but its climate, like that of the whole Mediterranean region, is inexorably warming up and drying out. And in the process this most modern of cities is living through a crisis that offers a disturbing glimpse of metropolitan futures everywhere. Its fountains and beach showers are dry, its ornamental lakes and private swimming pools drained and hosepipes banned. Children are now being taught how to save water as part of their school day. This iconic, avant-garde city is in the grip of the worst drought since records began and is bringing the climate crisis that has blighted cities in Australia and throughout the Third World to Europe. A resource that most Europeans have grown up taking for granted now dominates conversation. Nearly half of Catalans say water is the region's main problem, more worrying than terrorism, economic slowdown or even the populists' favourite – immigration. The political battles now breaking out here could be a foretaste of the water wars that scientists and policymakers have warned us will be commonplace in the coming decades. The Independent_ 5/24/08

Restoring water supply to China's quake areas 'arduous task'

Authorities are facing an arduous task to restore water supplies to areas hit by last Monday's earthquake, an official has said. Shao Yisheng, general secretary of the China Urban Water Association, said 7,800 km water pipes were damaged in the quake, although supplies in the worst-hit areas have been "basically" restored. The association has called on its members across the country to dispatch professional repair teams to disaster areas, some of which have already arrived. The water supply to the 11 million people of Chengdu, the Sichuan capital, was largely unaffected, it said. However, in medium-sized cities such as Dujiangyan, Mianzhu and Shifang, which are close to the quake's epicenter, supplies have been severely affected due to damaged equipment and contamination, the department said. As a result of leaks, the water pressure in those cities is less than a third of its normal level, it said. In areas close to the epicenter, including Beichuan and Wenchuan, water supply facilities have been totally destroyed, the official said. China Daily_ 5/22/08

'Quake lakes' on China river to be fixed; thousands evacuated

Water resources officials working in China's quake-stricken areas said Wednesday they have made plans to repair damage to a river that threatens to burst. The upper stream of the Qianjiang River near Beichuan County was damaged in the May 12 earthquake, forming "quake lakes" as water was shoved from its bed by rock and mud slides sent off by the earthquakes. On Saturday, thousands of people were evacuated from Beichuan as officials warned of flood risks. Officials from the Ministry of Water Resources, the Yangtze River Water Resources Commission, the Hydro-power Plant Branch of the Armed Police and Sichuan provincial officials discussed plans to address the risks in an emergency meeting on Wednesday afternoon. Zhu Bing, deputy head of the provincial water resources department, told a news conference on Wednesday that there are about 33 such quake lakes in nine counties in Sichuan. He said plans are being made to repair dams and embankments before the rainy season starts in June. Xinhua_ 5/21/08

Landslides from China earthquake form 21 lakes, 'no danger yet'

Twenty-one lakes have formed after landslides blocked rivers in Sichuan, but they "do not pose a serious danger at the moment", the vice-governor of the province said on Sunday. Expert teams have reached all the lakes to monitor the situation, Li Chengyun told a media briefing, adding that various water projects in the province are basically safe. His remarks came after thousands of people were evacuated from Beichuan county from Friday as a precaution. The government will evacuate people in the downstream areas of the lakes as soon as situation warrants, Li said. Massive landslides following the magnitude-8 earthquake on May 12 have dammed rivers and lakes in several counties, posing a threat to downstream areas. The earthquake and the aftershocks also damaged some water storage facilities in Sichuan Province, though no burst reservoirs were reported. China Daily/Xinhua_ 5/19/08

Water crisis in India's Lucknow area leads to demonstrations

Residents of Babuganj took to streets in protest against the water crisis plaguing their locality for the past several days. They staged a sit-in and threatened a mass protest if water situation did not improve in coming days. The demonstration was led by Mankameshwar ward corporator Ranjeet Yadav, who claimed that despite repeated reminders authorities had failed to lend ears to their woes. Lucknow Jal Sansthan (LJS) officials said that tubewells need to be rebored to ensure water supply to this densely populated area. It was in this context that the state government had recently decided to bore around 60 tube wells to thwart the rising water crisis in the state capital. TimesOfIndia_ 5/19/08

Thousands flee on flooding fears after China quake

Thousands of Chinese fled their homes on Saturday amid fears a lake could burst its banks, hampering rescue efforts after the deadliest earthquake in more than three decades killed about 29,000 people. A paramilitary officer had told Reuters earlier that the likelihood of the lake bursting its banks was "extremely big". Reuters_ 5/17/08

Chinese families trek for days to find quake victims; Fights reported over water

On the buckled road to the epicentre of China's deadliest earthquake in decades, the stream of refugees fleeing collapsed homes and unburied corpses is almost outnumbered by a flow of anxious families trekking in. And hundreds of people desperate for news of their families have decided they can no longer bear the wait, even though they are ill-prepared for dangerous treks of up to 70 km (44 miles). Those leaving warned that people were fighting over food, medicine and water in some of the worst hit towns -- but many hunting for loved ones seemed oblivious to the dangers ahead. "We have enough water for one day, after that we'll just have to see," said Chen Fubin, who had rushed from her home by the coast to try and find her parents in Wenchuan -- at least two days' walk away along a road littered with broken bridges, landslides and rivers swollen by torrential rain. These unofficial search parties are extra work for officials already struggling to provide food, water and shelter to worst-hit areas. But no one wants to turn them away. Reuters_ 5/17/08

UK regulator Ofwat ready to break up water monopolies

Homeowners could eventually choose their water supplier under proposals by Ofwat, the industry regulator. In the second part of its review into the sector, Ofwat calls for the water and sewerage markets to be opened up progressively, starting with small business customers and extending to households. Large water users, such as hospitals and industrial plants, have been able to switch suppliers for more than two years. However, not one of the 2,200 eligible businesses have switched in that time. At present, in England and Wales, water and sewerage companies operate local monopolies, using their own water resources - including rivers and reservoirs - to provide water and sewerage for the businesses and homes in their area.

Times Online_ 5/16/08

Earthquake damage poses flood risk to China's dams

Water Resources Minister Chen Lei said there was evidence of damage to almost 400 dams in the region of Sichuan province. He said there were also "prominent problems in safety and flood prevention" in reservoirs and hydropower stations in the affected areas. The extent of the danger at hydropower stations remains unclear because management systems are "not smooth", he added. Urgent attention is being paid in particular to medium-sized dams close to the town of Wenchuan, after an official warned that problems at the nearby Tulong reservoir. The Zipingku dam is upstream from the Dujiangyan irrigation system, which has supplied water to Sichuan's fertile eastern plains for more than 2,000 years. While the 156m-high (511ft) dam has been declared structurally safe, about 2,000 troops have been sent there to help with emergency repairs. BBC News_ 5/15/08

Power outages slated for Ethiopia capital because of low water levels

The Ethiopian capital faces a lengthy power outage until next month because of reduced water levels in the country's hydro-electric plants, a state-owned generator said Monday. Addis Ababa, a city of 5 million, will have no power for up to three days a week, the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation said in a statement. AFP/NASDAQ_ 5/12/08

Single water bill being discussed in Northern Ireland; Charging for water has proved very controversial

Executive ministers are discussing whether consumers will receive a separate water bill next spring, BBC News understands. This would go against an independent review which last year recommended that water charges should be included in a single bill together with the rates. BBC News_ 5/12/08

China turns to algae-gobbling carp, hoping to clear country's fetid lakes

When spring warms into sultry summer, China's Lake Chaohu turns slimy and stinky as algae fed by sewage, farm and factory runoff bloom leave it toxic and undrinkable. Across the country, officials desperate to meet a national goal of restoring China's severely polluted lakes by 2030 are dumping tons of voracious fish into lakes in hopes they'll gobble up the algae infestations. Other countries have tried this in sewage treatment pools or drinking water reservoirs with mixed success, but nowhere else has it been attempted on such a large scale. Workers dumped 1.6 million silver carp fry into Chaohu Lake in February in the largest such project in China. They expect each fish to eat as much as 45 kilograms of algae as they grow, helping to ensure clean drinking water for more than a million people. AP/canoe_ 5/4/08

In rural Pakistan, naturally-occurring fluoride contaminates water supply

The residents of the village of Achhro Thar (White Desert), 80 km from Khipro, District Sanghar, and 50 km from the Indian border, told the Daily Times that in the last three years, at least 17 from the Hajam and Rajar clan have died and dozens have been paralyzed. The Ideal Rural Development Programme (IRDP), a local organization, organized a visit of the area for journalists and the residents shared never-ending stories of their miseries. “Many of those who died were disabled before their death and civil society workers say they died because of the contaminated water,” said Muhammad Hashim Hajam, chieftain of the Thooraho village. The source of the fluoride is likely underground granite mountains. Although granite mountains have been present since ancient times, environmental changes and increasing population are causing the increase in fluoride levels. The increased fluoride levels affect teeth, bone, nervous system, senses and movement, while the increased salts in the body cause increased blood pressure, which damages the kidneys. Daily Times_ 5/4/08

Newly discovered water, oil and gas surveyed in Afghanistan

Policymakers, potential private investors, and the public received valuable new information to help identify fault lines and the potential location of undiscovered water, oil and gas, and non-fuel mineral resources in Afghanistan.  Data were collected by U.S. Geological Survey scientists, who flew over Afghanistan and conducted an airborne geophysical and photographic survey of the country. "Afghanistan has significant natural resource potential, but much of the country's potential remains unknown," said USGS Director Mark Myers. "The geophysical survey provides objective, unbiased information and will enable scientists to better define areas for future exploration and development."  Science Daily_5/1/08

Safe Water? Lessons from Kazakhstan

Despite significant efforts to improve access to safe water and sanitation, a new report co-authored by an expert at The University of Nottingham, argues that much more needs to be done. A major survey in Kazakhstan found that, despite meeting the UN definition of what constitutes safe water, a large number of people reported suffering from illnesses like hepatitis and gastroenteritis. A key United Nations Millennium Development Goal is to halve the number of people without access to safe drinking water and sanitation by 2015. This is seen as crucial to reducing poverty and infant mortality. But, as the research shows, the MDG definition is too narrow and can be misleading. If the definition is used, it shows that over 90 per cent of people in Kazakhstan have access to safe water and sanitation. But the definition does not take into account the distribution, supply, quality and reliability of the supply. When these factors are considered, the actual number of people with access to safe water drops to less than 30 per cent. Science Daily_ 4/30/08

Cyprus to import water from Greece to fight worst drought in 100 years

The drought-stricken eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus will begin importing water from neighbouring Greece within the next two months in order to deal with a severe water shortage, reports said on Tuesday. The island's 109 reservoirs have reached dangerously low levels and its two desalination plants are unable to keep up with industry and household demand. Cypriot officials signed a contract with a local company, Ocean Tankers, to import approximately 8 million cm³ over the summer period starting at the end of June. News 24_ 4/22/08

Multi-million dollar plan to pump water to Jordan's capital

Jordan on Sunday announced that a multi-million dollar project would begin in June to supply the capital with water from an ancient southern aquifer 325 kilometres (200 miles) away. "The capital will get water from the aquifer for the coming 100 years," Water Minister Raed Abu Soud told reporters, adding that the project in the desert kingdom was expected to be completed within three and a half years. Jordan, one of the 10 most water-impoverished countries in the world, depends mainly on rain to meet its needs. "GAMA Energy will carry out the project, which costs 702 million dinars (990 million dollars), on a build, operate and transfer basis under a 25-year-concession agreement," Water Minister Raed Abu Soud told reporters. AFP/Yahoo_ 4/20/08

Canada takes steps to ban most plastic baby bottles

The Canadian government moved Friday to ban polycarbonate infant bottles, the most popular variety on the market, after it officially declared one of their chemical ingredients toxic. Nalgene brand water bottles had used bisphenol-a, which some studies in animals linked to hormonal changes. The action, by the departments of health and environment, is the first taken by any government against bisphenol-a, or BPA, a widely used chemical that mimics a human hormone. It has induced long-term changes in animals exposed to it through tests. Also on Friday, Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, said he intended to introduce on Monday a bill that would ban many uses of BPA-related plastics. It would prohibit them in all children’s products, including nonfood items they may put in their mouths, as well as in any product used to contain food or beverages. The toxic designation will allow Canada eventually to ban the manufacture, import or sale of baby bottles made with polycarbonate. Polycarbonate, which dominates the North American baby bottle market, mimics glass but is lighter and shatter-resistant. New York Times_ 4/19/08

Egypt to cut rice planting to save water

Egypt, Africa's largest rice exporter last year, will reduce the land allocated for planting the grain to save water and encourage farmers to grow more corn, Agriculture Minister Amin Abaza said. Egypt plans to cut the area from 1.8 million acres (728,434 hectares) planted to the grain in 2007-08, he said. ``Rice consumes more water and we want to make sure we are using our water in the most efficient manner possible,'' Abaza said in an April 15 interview in New Delhi. ``Our problem is with water shortages and we need to modernize our irrigation system.'' Abaza's decision, combined with the country's ban on rice exports for the next six months, may further reduce global stockpiles that helped push prices to a record. Egypt exported 700,000 metric tons of the grain, a staple food for half the world, this year.  Bloomberg_4/17/08

Middle East water crisis warning

Poor water quality hurt GDP: World Bank
Governments in the Middle East and North Africa need to invest now if they want to avoid severe water shortages in the future, the World Bank has warned.  The amount of water available per person in the arid region will halve by 2050, a report from the bank estimates.  It blames climate change and population growth for new pressures on supplies.  The bank's report suggests agriculture is a key target area.  With 85% of water-use devoted to agriculture, the report suggests countries such as Morocco will have to cut back on irrigation and switch to crops that require less water but earn more money.  According to its figures, declining water quality has already knocked around 1% off gross domestic product in Morocco, Algeria and Egypt, and nearly 3% in Iran. "We've simply got to reduce the amount of water used, especially in agriculture," said Julia Bucknall, natural resource management specialist at the World Bank.  "If we plan for the future, it's a lot simpler than crisis management further down the line," said Ms Bucknall.  BBC_4/11/08

India's Uttar Pradesh government charges nearly 2,000 farmers with stealing water

The state government has booked nearly 2,000 farmers in drought-stricken Bundelkhand on a rare charge — that of stealing water. The move has provoked an outcry from local farmers and politicians who argue that water should be available to all, free of charge — an issue being debated across the globe. “If a single farmer is arrested, we’ll fill the jails with thousands of farmers,” threatened peasant leader Ramratan Gurudev from Mahoba, the district where 12 first information reports have been registered against 1,924 farmers at three police stations. Legal experts said the farmers, if convicted, could be jailed for six months to five years. The FIRs were drawn up after the state irrigation department complained of farmers pumping out water from six canals meant to serve only select areas, Mahoba police chief A.K. Mishra said. The drought has dried up most of the irrigation canals, from which the farmers used to draw water against a tax. The Telegraph India_ 4/6/08

Canadian trade minister affirms prohibition on bulk water exports

There is no need to ban bulk water exports to other countries because such activities are already prohibited, says Canada's federal Trade Minister David Emerson. “There are those who will allege that NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement) could require us to export bulk water or face trade remedies. That is in fact not true,” said Emerson, following Question Period. He responded to questions from reporters about calls by the Polaris Institute and other groups to impose a ban and renegotiate aspects of NAFTA concerning water. “Water under NAFTA is acknowledged not to be a traded good," he said. "It‘s not a commodity in the trade sense and indeed there is a clear prohibition in Canada on any removal of water from trans-border water basins including for the purpose of export.” Emerson said his government is working on the issue from an environmental perspective and that imposing a ban on exports of water would implicitly be admitting that it could be traded. “Our whole approach has been to treat water as something that has to be managed in an ecosystem context and it’s not a tradable product,” he said.  Canadian Economic Press_4/3/08

Malawi: Water utility over-stretched and under-maintained

Water cuts that sometimes last up to three days have become a fact of life in Malawi's commercial hub of Blantyre. And, the parastatal Blantyre Water Board (BWB) -- the city's sole water supplier -- has warned that the cuts are likely to persist until 2013 as it replaces dilapidated water pumps with new equipment. The '2007 Malawi Millennium Development Goal Report' indicates that the country is making good progress towards reaching the MDG target which calls for the reduction by half of the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water. The report states that access to water has improved significantly, from slightly over 47 percent in 1992 to 75 percent in 2006. But the state of affairs in Blantyre could overshadow this achievement. During a recent media tour of BWB's main intake facility at Walker's Ferry on the Shire River in the southern district of Mwanza, superintendent Clive Bismarck explained that transformers have been breaking down at the point where the water is pumped from river to pipeline. The transformers currently in use were installed in 1963. Bismarck added that the utility has begun repair operations and the installation of new and improved machinery that will ensure a more reliable water supply for Blantyre. Malawi has emerged as one of the fastest urbanising countries in the world with an urban population growth rate of 6.3 percent compared to 0.5 percent in rural areas, according to the United Nations Centre for Human Settlement. Persistent water shortages cause city residents to flush their toilets less frequently and to compromise on other basic elements of household hygiene such as dish washing. As a result, unpleasant odours emanate from houses and the risk of water-borne diseases has become a constant problem. Cholera used to occur mainly in the rainy season when contaminated water entered the distribution system as a result of floods. Now, there are instances of the disease throughout the year, as poor hygiene is conducive to the spread of the Vibrio cholera bacterium. Inter Press Service/allAfrica.com_ 3/29/08

Israeli scientists find prescription drugs in water used for irrigation

Scientists are concerned that pharmaceuticals - including anti-depressants - could seep into the groundwater that is used for drinking water after a variety of medications have been found in the country's treated waste water for irrigation. The disturbing findings came to light in tests conducted over the past year by researchers from Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University.  The treated waste water was tested by Dr. Benny Chefetz of Hebrew University's Faculty of Agriculture in Rehovot and Tel Aviv University's Dr Dror Avisar.  Chefetz's findings indicated anti-depression medication, painkillers and anti-cholesterol drugs, as well as medication to treat epilepsy and heart medication.  "I found a variety of drugs and I am sure that further testing will reveal more types of pharmaceuticals," Chefetz stated. "We have not tested groundwater, but we have found that some of these medications are not held back by soil but move through it rapidly. I have almost no doubt that some could get into the drinking water." Haaretz.com_3/28/08

UN experts focus on water 'footprint'

It's not only our carbon footprint we should worry about, U.N. experts say. They warn about our growing water footprint.  Nearly half the people on Earth, about 2.5 billion, have no access to sanitation, many of them in urban slums. The world's cities are growing by 1 million people a week, and soon their aging water systems will not cope. Farming demand on water is increasing.  The threat of climate change has drawn attention to the carbon footprint, the amount of greenhouse gases produced by human activity. Now scientists have begun calculating a water footprint, the amount of water needed to produce goods or services.  Engineers are experimenting in a dozen cities from Lima, Peru, to Beijing to find ways to ease the pressure on water resources.  The projects, run by the U.N. Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization and funded by the European Union, include turning rooftops into gardens, capturing and recycling rain, recharging underground reservoirs with waste water, and swapping traditional flush sanitation for dry toilets.  Associated Press_3/27/08

In Afghanistan, 70 percent lack safe drinking water

About 70 percent of Afghans do not have access to safe drinking water, a government minister said Tuesday at the opening of the first of a chain of hydrological stations to monitor water supply. "Only 30 percent of people have access to the safe drinking water while in rural areas it's only 15 percent," Deputy Minister for Energy and Water Shojaudin Ziaie said at the event at Qargha dam just outside Kabul. The Qargha hydrological station is the first of 174 to be erected across Afghanistan to measure water resources, including rainfall, as well as water quality and levels, Ziaie said. The $6.8 million World Bank funded-project will help scientists collect data about water resources over a period of about two years. AFP/TODAYonline_ 3/26/08

Irretrievable pollution looms at key Israeli water sources

Israel's natural water sources will drop so dangerously low by the end of this year that there is a major risk of some of them becoming irretrievably polluted and thus unusable, according to the shocking new forecast from the Water Authority. "We will definitely fall below the bottom red lines in all three main water sources this year," Water Authority spokesman Uri Shor told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday after the Authority revealed that Israel is facing its most severe water crisis in the past decade. Israel's three main natural water sources are Lake Kinneret, the mountain aquifer and the coastal aquifer. There are also two desalination plants currently at full production; three more are being built, but even the first of these won't be completed until the end of 2009. The risk of pollution is acute at the two aquifers, Shor said, where "falling below the red lines means there is a significant chance the water will become polluted. In the aquifers, that means saltwater mixing with the fresh water." "By the end of the summer, [the water level may be so low that] we may not be able to pump water out of Lake Kinneret at all," he continued. Until the next desalination plant begins working, "we are at the mercy of the heavens." However, experts say it is not only up to the heavens, and that much can be done by the humans on the ground to use water more efficiently, squander less, and raise awareness of the gravity of the problem. Jerusalem Post_ 3/21/08

Greece to supply water to Cyprus

The Greek government has agreed to offer Cyprus eight million cubic metres of water.  However, due to the lack of infrastructure, the water can’t be transported until July.  Cyprus' Agriculture Minister Michalis Polynikis said there will be serious water shortages by the end of 2008. Cyprus has 50 million cubic metres of water to last until the end of the year, well short of the 66.7 million cubic metres it needs.  Polynikis told the committee his Greek counterpart had responded positively to Cyprus’ request for water, however, for the water to be transported, a 400 metre pipe needs to be built at Elefsina in Greece and a four kilometre conveyor in Limassol, one kilometre of which needs to be undersea. “It appears the issue of reducing water consumption is a necessity,” Polynikis said after the meeting. Cyprus Mail_3/21/08

"Water for All" project to cover 80 percent of Angola's population

The "Water for All" project, designed to supply drinking water to rural areas, will benefit about 80 percent of the country’s population, as from 2012. This was said Thursday in Caxito city, northern Bengo province, by the minister of Energy and Water, Botelho de Vasconcelos. The minister who made the announcement during a visit for assessment of the progress of works, said the project will increase annually by 20 percent the supply of drinking water to the population, so that 80 percent of the country’s population gains access to treated water by 2012. According to the official, the steering project of the drinking water abstraction, treatment and distribution system will start functioning next April, and Cabiri commune, in Bengo province, was selected to host the official starting phase of the venture. Angola Press_ 3/15/08

More than 100 million Europeans lack access to safe drinking water: UN

More than 100 million Europeans still lack access to safe drinking water, resulting in the deaths from diarrhoea of nearly 40 children every day, the United Nations reported today, noting that many people across the region do not enjoy the basic human right to healthy water. More than 170,000 cases of water-related diseases – including over 120,000 cases of viral hepatitis A – were reported in 2006. In Eastern Europe, some 16 per cent of the population does not have access to drinking water in their homes, while in rural areas, more than half of all people do not have a reliable supply of safe water and adequate sanitation. A new and independent Compliance Committee has been created to promote the prevention, control and reduction of water-related diseases and to increase the number of Europeans access to adequate sanitation. News Release_ 3/14/08

Ghana: UNICEF and EU team assesses water and saniutation approach to guinea worm eradication in the north

The Head of the European Union Delegation in Ghana Mr. Filiberto Sebregondi and UNICEF Ghana Country Representative, Dr Yasmin Ali Hsque, have paid a two-day visit to the Northern region to assess the oncoming collaborative efforts to improve availability of safe water and sanitation facilities, and the eradication of Guinea Worm. They met with beneficiaries of the ongoing projects and traveled to observe a water filtration system to prevent guinea worm infection. They also visited a containment/treatment centre for guinea worm patients, and a rural community initiative preventing open defecation and building latrines through the Community-Led Total Sanitation project. The project began in June 2007 when UNICEF Ghana received a pledge of Euro 15 million from the Ghana Delegation of the European Commission in response to a project titled "Integrated Approach to Guinea Worm Eradication through Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene in the Northern Region, Ghana". A total of Euro 20 million has been pledged for the project over four years, which includes a Euro 5 million contribution from UNICEF. Developed in consultation with all stakeholders, a key objective of the project is the eradication of guinea worm in the Northern region. Public Agenda/AllAfrica.com_ 3/14/08

Nigeria: Water vendors protest borehole water price increase at Mararaba

At Aso area of Mararaba, vendors shunned boreholes that stuck to the N10 price increase while those that maintained the former price were patronized. A water vendor, Chinedu said those that increase the water prices were been unfair to the vendors. "We have contributed a lot to the growth of some of these boreholes around here and I see no reason for the present increase," he said. One of the borehole owners, Mr Akan said a meeting of all borehole operators in the area is being planned so that all borehole operators would come out with a comprehensive price list that would be binding on all members. Last week, water vendors at Nyanya embarked on a similar protest. The vendors organized some of their members into a monitoring team and harassed their members that were seen selling water around Nyanya. Our reporter noticed members of the monitoring team using clubs and stones on erring members of the association in order to enforce the strike. Daily Trust (Abuja)/allAfrica.com_ 3/14/08

Zamzam water to be distributed among India's Haj pilgrims

The government of Saudi Arabia has agreed to allow India to transport holy zamzam water in bulk in the wake of troubles the Haj pilgrims faced in receiving it this year, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Friday. Admitting that the Haj pilgrims this year had to face some problems due to a "mismatch" in communications, Mukherjee said the government had taken up the matter with Saudi Arabian authorities. "The Saudi Arabian government has agreed to allow India to transport the zamzam water in bulk as a one-time exception. Diplomatic missions will make arrangements to bring it here and it will be distributed to all registered Haj pilgrim centres and then to the registered pilgrims," Mukherjee said in the Lok Sabha. The minister pointed out that the airlines do not permit carrying the holy water in bulk. Raising the matter, Ramjilal Suman of the Samajwadi Party said this year several Haj pilgrims had not received the holy zamzam water which they consider as a precious gift from Makkah. Last year, 157,000 Indians performed the Haj while 110,000 of them availed the government facilities. IANS/New Kerala_ 3/14/08

Israel facing worst water crisis in past decade

The past winter's meager rainfalls and sharp rise in domestic water consumption have brought Israel to the most acute water crisis in the past decade. The country's main water sources are expected to drop below the safe minimum levels by the end of the summer, which threatens the water quality. The Water Authority will have to take conservation measures while drilling for water in an effort to increase the supply. Altogether, the past four years' accumulated deficit is almost a billion cubic meters. Last month - the last main winter month - the Hydraulic Service's monitoring stations did not register a single significant rise in any of Israel's streams. Dropping water levels endanger the water quality, mainly in the coast and western mountain aquifers. The lower the fresh water level, the more sea water or salt water enters the aquifers from deep in the ground. Domestic water consumption is expected to reach an estimated 796 million cubic meters by the end of the year, 134 million cubic meters more than it was at the beginning of the decade. This amount is almost equal to the production of the Ashkelon and Palmahim desalination plants, wiping out the two plants' contribution in less that ten years. Haaretz_ 3/11/08

Queen Elizabeth II says water becoming a source of conflict

Competition for fresh water is becoming a potential source of war, Queen Elizabeth II said, urging governments and business to do more to protect the environment and fight global warming. The Nile River illustrates the challenges facing the global environment, the Queen said today in a speech to mark Commonwealth Day. The Commonwealth is an association of 53 nations, most of them former British colonies. Commonwealth leaders last year met at the Nile's source in Lake Victoria to craft a plan to fight climate change. The Queen's comments, published on her Web site, add to remarks last week by the U.K. government's chief scientific adviser, John Beddington, who said that waning food and water security are ``enormous problems'' that are evolving on a faster timescale than climate change, to which they are related. ``Water is going to be a priced commodity'' in the future, Beddington said in a March 6 speech at the Sustainable Development U.K. conference in London. Bloomberg_ 3/10/08

Yemen sleepwalks into water nightmare

Black-clad women trudge across a stony plateau in the Yemeni highlands to haul water in yellow plastic cans from wells that will soon dry up. "We come here three or four times a day," says Adiba Sena, as another woman draws water six metres to the surface and pours it into jerry cans lashed to her grey donkey. "We use it to clean, cook, wash - we have no pipes that reach us." These women are at the sharp end of what Yemen's water and environment minister describes as a collapse of national water resources so severe it cannot be reversed, only delayed at best. Yemen relies on groundwater, which nature cannot recharge fast enough to keep pace with a population of 22.4 million expanding by more than 3 per cent a year. More water is being consumed than resupplied to 19 of the impoverished country's 21 aquifers, Iryani said. Vancouver Sun_ 3/2/08

Egypt: Scientists uncertain about climate change impact on the Nile

Specialists say Egypt is already facing massive water management challenges due to demographic pressures and rising demand for water and electricity, but it is not clear how climate change will affect future Nile flows, and the key vulnerabilities have yet to be assessed. Some experts say that there will be water increase with more rainfall from the Ethiopian plateau, and some say there will be a decrease because of water evaporation. The river Nile supplies 95 percent of Egypt's total water needs for irrigation, and industrial and economic activities. Most of the population is concentrated on the narrow T-shaped strip along the Nile and the delta coast. The delta makes up only 2.5 percent of Egypt's land mass but is home to over a third of the country's population. IRINnews_ 3/2/08

Photo Feature: Inside Israel's National Water Carrier

Journalists were afforded a rare tour inside the huge pipes that supply water to all of Israel last week. The Mekorot (‘Sources’) National Water Company held the tour at the end of large-scale pumping and infrastructure work on one of the segments of the National Water Carrier, near Rosh HaAyin. Israel National News_ 2/26/08

China diverting major river to 'water' Beijing Olympics
Landlocked Beijing has begun tapping a lattice of reservoirs, rivers, and canals across eastern China to provide plentiful water for this summer's Olympic Games.  As part of the initiative, more than 150 million cubic meters (39.6 billion gallons) of water are being diverted from the Yellow River through a network of canals stretching across three provinces to refill a lake south of the historically drought-stricken Chinese capital.  A parallel project is diverting water to the east coast resort of Qingdao, which will host the Olympic sailing competitions.  "Athletes from all over the world will come to China to join the Olympic Games [in August]," said Huang Feng, a researcher at the Yellow River Conservancy Commission, which is in charge of the river's diversion.  "So Beijing is implementing its master plan to provide the very highest quality of water."  The current rerouting is just the precursor to a 60-billion-U.S.-dollar hydro-engineering project expected to see three human-carved rivers carry water from southern China to the arid north. National Geographic News_2/28/08

Local governments take lead in Great Lakes water quality management

A report released Wednesday by the Great Lakes Commission and the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative suggests that Canadian and US towns and cities bordering the Great Lakes spend about US$15 billion a year on water quality management and ecosystem protection.   Of that, it‘s estimated that Canadian municipalities spend $4.3 billion annually on infrastructure commitments such as management of storm water and waste water, water quality monitoring and residue management.   The report is based on a 2006 poll of municipalities within the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River system.   A joint statement released by the cities initiative board, which includes Thunder Bay Mayor Lynn Peterson, states that “this investment highlights the fact that local governments are on the front lines when it comes to the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence.   Toronto Mayor David Miller, founding Canadian chairman of the cities initiative, said “municipalities are carrying almost the entire burden, and of course it‘s not possible to do what needs to be done if it‘s just the cities carrying the load.”   Miller said the federal government has committed $40 million over five years to address areas of concern in the Great Lakes, but does not make guaranteed annual infrastructure commitments for things like management of storm water and waste water, water quality monitoring and residue management.   “Compared to what municipalities invest, it‘s literally almost nothing,” Miller said, adding municipalities are being left to fend for themselves when it comes to things like the distribution and management of drinking water, and the cleanup and maintenance of public beaches. Chronicle Journal_2/28/08

A third of Romanians without running water: minister
A third of Romanians have no access to running water or sewers, Environment Minister Attila Korodi said