Every day the most important news on water and sanitation from around the world, compiled by the Blue Community Network, defending water as a common, public good and a human right.
Today: Bangladesh, Canada, Colombia, IvoryCoast, Palestine, Publication, Right2Water, Tanzania, UK, UN, US, Water&Gender
Tanzania – Zanzibar: Govt pledges urgent action on Michenzani sewage crisis
Tanzania – Zanzibar: Govt pledges urgent action on Michenzani sewage crisisMEMBERS of the Zanzibar House of Representatives have raised alarm over deteriorating sanitary conditions in parts of the Michenzani Housing Complex, citing blocked drainage systems and foul odours caused by wastewater leaks.
Led by Kikwajuni Representative Nassor Salim Ali, lawmakers demanded to know what long-term solutions the government has planned to address the issue, noting that the housing area is centrally located and represents the face of Zanzibar’s capital.
Read Daily News / Tags: Tanzania – Sanitation
Canada: Trouble in the Headwaters. The hidden impacts of clear-cut logging in B.C.
Canada: Trouble in the Headwaters. The hidden impacts of clear-cut logging in B.C.Trouble in the Headwaters, a powerful 25-minute documentary by filmmaker Daniel J. Pierce, explores the root causes behind the devastating 2018 floods in Grand Forks, B.C. More than 100 families were displaced and millions of dollars were spent on flood infrastructure — yet floods continue to threaten the region. So what’s going on?
The film — which you can watch in full below! — follows Dr. Younes Alila, a professor of forest hydrology at the University of British Columbia, as he investigates the upstream impacts of clear-cut logging in the Kettle River watershed. With compelling field footage and scientific insight, The Narwhal presents a documentary that reveals how loss of forest cover has triggered a cycle of flooding, landslides and drought — transforming the landscape and endangering communities downstream.
Read Narwhal / Tags: Canada
Paris goal of 1.5°C warming is still too hot for polar ice sheets, study warns
Paris goal of 1.5°C warming is still too hot for polar ice sheets, study warnsAt the landmark Paris climate agreement, nearly every country in the world pledged to a goal to limit warming to well below 2° Celsius (3.6° Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels by 2100, and work toward a more ambitious goal to limit warming to 1.5°C (2.7°F). The hope is that such a limit will help Earth avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change.
However, a recent review suggests that even the more ambitious ceiling of 1.5°C may be too warm for the planet’s polar ice sheets and trigger massive sea level rise.
Read Mongabay / Tags: Publication
Palestine: Gaza faces a man-made drought as water systems collapse, UNICEF says
Palestine: Gaza faces a man-made drought as water systems collapse, UNICEF saysGaza is facing a man-made drought as its water systems collapse, the United Nations’ children agency said on Friday.
“Children will begin to die of thirst … Just 40% of drinking water production facilities remain functional,” UNICEF spokesperson James Elder told reporters in Geneva.
“We are way below emergency standards in terms of drinking water for people in Gaza,” he added.
UNICEF also reported a 50% increase in children aged six months to 5 years admitted for treatment of malnutrition from April to May in Gaza, and half a million people going hungry.
Read Reuters / Tags: Palestine – Right2Water – UN
UK’s Thames Water may be required to restate accounts, FT reports
UK’s Thames Water may be required to restate accounts, FT reportsBritain’s Thames Water may be required to restate its financial accounts for the year ended March 2024, the Financial Times reported on Friday, marking another potential setback for the struggling utility as it seeks to avert nationalisation.
Thames Water is trying to understand the consequences of having to restate key figures in its accounts published last year, the report added, citing documents seen by the newspaper.
There was concern within Thames Water that any amendment to the accounts could prompt one of its senior lenders to allege that a breach of debt terms had occurred, the report said.
Read Reuters / Tags: UK
UK: Bring Thames Water into full public ownership and give staff the certainty they deserve, say unions
UK: Bring Thames Water into full public ownership and give staff the certainty they deserve, say unionsReturning Thames Water to public ownership is the best way to protect staff, serve customers and safeguard the environment.
Thames Water should be brought into full public ownership, says UNISON today (Friday).
The union has joined forces with GMB and Unite – who also represent staff at Thames Water – and the TUC to issue a joint statement on the troubled firm.
The call comes as environment secretary Steve Reed said the government was ready for all eventualities when asked about the future of the company. The unions say returning Thames Water to public ownership would give staff certainty about their future and improve service to the public.
Read Unison / Tags: UK
Ivory Coast: Prime Minister inaugurates water tower in Cocody municipality
Ivory Coast: Prime Minister inaugurates water tower in Cocody municipalityOn Thursday 22 March, Ivory Coast’s Prime Minister Jeannot Kouadio-Ahoussou inaugurated the Djibi water tower in the Cocody district, accompanied by the Minister for Economic Infrastructure, Patrick Achi, and the Mayor of Cocody. During the event, the Head of Government announced that the government is addressing the issue of access to drinking water for populations facing shortages in several cities across the country.
“Access to drinking water is a national priority,” the Head of Government emphasised, also stating that “the difficult situation faced by the population is intolerable.” The Prime Minister specified that the Head of State had invested 20 billion CFA francs in infrastructure to facilitate access to drinking water since 2011.
Read Government of Côte d’Ivoire (French) / Tags: IvoryCoast – Right2Water
US: Protecting the Tap. County Rolls Out Water Safety Initiative
US: Protecting the Tap. County Rolls Out Water Safety InitiativeThe Washington County Division of Environmental Management is launching a critical, state-mandated initiative to protect the public drinking water system from potential contamination: the Cross-Connection Control (CCC) Program.
This program focuses on identifying and mitigating risks of pollutants entering the water supply through backflow—a reversal of water flow that can occur in certain plumbing systems. All non-residential properties will eventually be surveyed as part of this important water safety initiative.
The CCC Program will begin with County-owned facilities and then expand to other properties designated as “High Hazard” by the State of Maryland. These include hospitals, industrial sites, funeral homes, car washes, marinas, and other locations where potential hazards to the water supply may exist.
Read Conduit Street / Tags: US
US: Ancient groundwater records reveal worrying forecast for Southwest
US: Ancient groundwater records reveal worrying forecast for SouthwestBangladesh: Ensuring citizens’ basic WASH rights – Editorial
Bangladesh: Ensuring citizens’ basic WASH rights – EditorialThere is no denying that waterborne diseases like cholera, diarrhoea and typhoid pose a threat to physical wellbeing of children and adults alike in Bangladesh. According to an estimate, every year, 272,000 premature deaths occur simply because the victims lack access to safe drinking water. That means, unsafe water, poor sanitation and hygiene, in short, WASH, continues to remain a big challenge for the policymakers in the government demanding timely intervention with necessary budgetary allocations. But recent reports in this regard are indeed disappointing. In this connection, a coalition of civil society organisations, namely, Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC), Water Aid, Fresh Water Action Network South Asia, Water for All and so on recently held a press conference expressing concern over the declining fiscal interventions, that is, budgetary allocations in these critical areas of human development.
Read The Financial Express / Tags: Bangladesh – Right2Water
US: LGBTQ+ Voices in Water Research: Jennifer Carrera
US: LGBTQ+ Voices in Water Research: Jennifer CarreraA woman in rural Alabama checks a pipe behind her home. It carries raw sewage into a shallow ditch just a few feet from where her children play. With no sewer line and a failed septic system, waste spills out in the open.
In Detroit, families rely on bottled water for cooking and bathing when their taps are disconnected, and in Flint, residents conduct their own testing after being told the brown water flowing from their faucets is safe.
These aren’t isolated incidents. They’re symptoms of a system that unevenly delivers public services, often leaving communities with large marginalized populations behind.
Read Michigan State University / Tags: US – Water&Gender
Colombia: vulnerable communities without access to drinking water
Colombia: vulnerable communities without access to drinking waterIn the Guajira Desert in Colombia, finding water is a challenging task. The indigenous Wayúu communities that live here face particular challenges. During the summer months, they rely on artisanal wells, known as hawayes, to extract saltwater, which they sometimes use for drinking.
“We bathed in it, we had allergies, our skin broke out and turned red,” he said.
However, this has changed in communities such as Cucurumaya, where a solar-powered water filtration project has provided them with drinking water for the first time.
“A reverse osmosis system is required for treatment. So, a pre-treatment system using clarification filters was installed in the community, as well as a reverse osmosis system using three 80-40 membranes. Then, using low- and high-pressure pumps, the water is passed through the filters and membranes before being stored in tanks outside,” explained an expert.
Read Noticias NCC (Spanish) / Tags: Colombia – Right2Water
