Drinking Water Crisis in China

There are more than 300 million people in China who live in rural areas short of clean drinking water. Pollution is so severe the government estimates 40% of water in the country's major rivers is fit only for industrial or agricultural use.

More than a decade of near double-digit economic growth has put serious strain on water demand in China, which has only 7% of the world's total water resources, compared with more than 20% of the global population.

In the area where Beijing and Tianjin are located there are some cities which in five to seven years will run out of water.But into the capital there are no signs of a crisis. In the parks of downtown Beijing the sprinklers are all on and the gardeners are watering their plants. The government gives big cities top priority for water. The countryside and smaller towns are the losers.

The economic boom is making matters worse.The country's new middle classes are snapping up washing machines, dishwashers, showers and baths. The price they pay for the water they use is tiny compared with many other countries.

China has only a fraction of the water it needs and a third of the country is already desert. The authorities are worried about unrest if they raise prices to reduce usage. Beijing believes that the answer to the problem lies in the wetter south of the country. The annual rainy season there leads to massive flooding and loss of life. Work has begun on an ambitious construction project to transfer water from the south to the north. But many say it is too late: the current levels of water consumption are unsustainable.

Truth in bottled water labeling required by FDA

The US Food and Drug Administra-tion (FDA), which regulates the bottled water industry, requires that all food products adhere to “truth in labeling.” This means that a label “says what it means and means what it says,” reflecting the product’s true quality.

The FDA’s position stems from its belief that there were misleading images of water sources displayed on bottled water labels in the early 1980s. In one case, a bottler had shown a waterfall and mountain image on its label, when in fact the water was drawn from an artesian well in the Ogallala Aquifer in Texas — a water source not even remotely similar to the image on the label.

The FDA then revised the rules to force bottlers to cite their water source, whether natural spring water, artesian water, municipal water, etc. With such confirmed standards of identity in the regulation, bottlers must ensure that all aspects of the label reflect the true nature of the source, even by implication.

On the Principal Display Panel (PDP) or Information Panel, bottled water labels must show certain basic information :

If the bottler makes health-related claims such as high calcium or added vitamins, the bottler must place, in a prominent position and parallel to the base of the label, such nutritional information, like “dietary supplement.”

The name of the supplement and a descriptive statement such as “herbal supplement” is required as well.

The FDA promulgated the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) to protect consumers from false food benefit claims.

The FDA considers water to have no significant nutritional value, so any health-related claim, implied or otherwise — such as low sodium, no sodium or added vitamins/minerals — requires bottlers to add a Nutrition Facts panel on the label.

A basic Nutrition Facts panel must include a statement of calories, total fat, sodium content, total carbohydrates, protein and any other specific nutritional information.

When a bottler decides to attempt a healthy-for-you claim in an effort to create a point of differentiation, that bottler must consider the validity of its claim, the label design, and whether the benefit of the claim substantially improves market position.

Some bottlers claim their products are a nutritional supplement instead of just bottled water. The FDA has been less aggressive in its management of such claims, making it easier for bottlers to suggest health claims and benefits. However, the product must be sold as a nutritional supplement, not bottled water.

For example, if the presence of calcium is such that it is 50 percent of the reference daily intake (RDI), the product could be considered a food for special dietary use or a nutritional supplement.

As more bottlers and food manufacturers seek to use nutritional supplements as possible points of differentiation, the FDA is aimimg toward tightening up the use of such claims.

Bottlers must identify all ingredients, including artificial flavorings and preservatives, and use the required type font size to display this information. In all cases, non-compliance with this can result in the FDA ordering a recall and/or fines.

Drinking Mineral Water Could Reduce Aluminium In Alzheimer's Disease Sufferers

Scientists at Keele University in Staffordshire (UK) have found that drinking a well-known mineral water regularly could reduce the levels of aluminium in the bodies of people with Alzheimer's disease.

Ten individuals with Alzheimer's were asked to drink up to 1.5L per day of the mineral water, Volvic, for five days as part of their everyday diets. For eight out of ten it resulted in a reduction in their body burden of aluminium.

There is a link between human exposure to aluminium and the incidence of Alzheimer's disease. The objective of the research was to demonstrate a simple method whereby individuals with Alzheimer's disease (and indeed healthy individuals) could both limit their absorption of aluminium across the gut and increase their excretion of body aluminium in the urine.

Volvic is a still mineral water containing a high concentration of silicon and the research team believes that it was the silicon (the natural protector against the toxicity of aluminium) in the mineral water which helped to reduce the body burden of aluminium in the individuals with Alzheimer's disease.

Dr Chris Exley, of the Birchall Centre for Inorganic Chemistry and Materials Science, Lennard-Jones Laboratories at Keele, said: “This was a preliminary study involving only ten individuals and was carried out over only five consecutive days. We do not have any information concerning any influence of drinking the mineral water upon the disease itself only that there were no reported negative side effects.”

“A future study is needed to confirm that long term drinking of a silicon-rich mineral water can reduce the body burden of aluminium in Alzheimer's disease. We shall then be able to determine if concomitant with the reduction in body aluminium there are improvements in the nature and progression of the disease.”

“There is no benefit in accumulating aluminium in our bodies. Anything we can do to reduce its entry and build up in the body can only be beneficial to our health and regular drinking of silicon-rich mineral waters may be a safe and easy way to achieve the lowest possible body burden of aluminium”.

Angola's cholera outbreak situation

From 19 February to 8 May 2006, Angola has reported a total of 30,612 cases of cholera and 1,156 deaths, with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 4%. On 8 May the country reported 581 new cholera cases in 24 hours at national level. Some five more provinces have reported between 3 and 155 cases, with a CFR ranging from 1 -3 3%. The outbreak was first detected in the Luanda district of Boa Vista on 13 February and the capital, Luanda, has been hardest-hit by the epid emic. The peak of the outbreak occurred three weeks ago in Benguela and Bengo provinces. Control activities have been a challenge in view of the precarious water and sanitation situation, particularly in poor communities in urban areas. Heavy rains compounded the situation where living conditions are poor, sanitation facilities are depleted and supply of clean water is insufficient.

Polluted discharge from factories in south China affect drinking water of 40,000 villagers

Waste water discharged from a chemical factory has polluted a river in southern China and affected the drinking water of 40,000 villagers living along its banks, state media and a local official said.
A five-mile stretch of the Sancha River in Guangdong province has been tainted by the factory which "illegally discharged polluted water and caused the incident," the official Xinhua News Agency said.
It did not give any details on what kind of chemicals were involved but said dead fish and shrimp have been found in the water.
The factory is located in Huazhou, a city upstream from Changqi. Xinhua did not release its name.
The town head said the pollution had made a few people ill but none needed to be hospitalized and all had recovered. Some livestock and poultry also died, he said.
Villagers have been told not to drink river water, eat dead fish or use river water for irrigation, he said.
Environmental officials are taking water samples everyday for testing, he said.
Xinhua said government officials in Wuchuan, which oversees Changqi, have taken emergency measures to prevent the dead fish and shrimp from being sold at markets.
Most of China's canals, rivers and lakes are severely tainted by industrial, agricultural and household pollution. Only about a third of the 3.7 billion tons of waste water discharged by Chinese cities each year is treated.
Earlier this month, the country's chief environmental regulator said China has suffered 76 environmental accidents -- or one every two days -- since a toxic river spill last year in the northeast.
The Nov. 13 chemical spill forced the city of Harbin, a major industrial center, to shut off water supplies to 3.8 million people for five days, and sent toxins flowing into Russia, straining relations.

Prozac 'found in drinking water' in UK

Many people choose Prozac over other antidepressants
Traces of the antidepressant Prozac can be found in the nation's drinking water, it has been revealed.
An Environment Agency (UK) report suggests so many people are taking the drug nowadays it is building up in rivers and groundwater.
A spokesman for the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) said the Prozac found was most likely highly diluted.
Environmentalists are calling for an urgent investigation into the evidence.
Theye say: "It is alarming that there is no monitoring of levels of Prozac and other pharmacy residues in our drinking water."
Experts say the anti-depression drug gets into the rivers and water system via treated sewage water.
The DWI said the Prozac (known technically as fluoxetine) was unlikely to pose a health risk as it was so "watered down".
The revelations raise new fears over how many prescriptions for the drug are given out by doctors.
In the decade leading up to 2001, the number of prescriptions for antidepressants in UK went up from nine million per year to 24 million per year.
The Environment Agency report concluded that the Prozac in the water table could be potentially toxic and said the drug was a "potential concern".
The exact amount of Prozac in the nation's drinking water is not known.

China warns of water pollution

Many rural Chinese have no access to clean water.Officials in Beijing have warned that a third of China's rural population - an estimated 360m people - lack access to safe drinking water.
They also said that more than 70% of China's rivers and lakes were polluted.
This is yet another sign that China is struggling to deal with the impact of its breakneck economic development.
China's waterways are dying, and its rivers are running black from industrial effluent and untreated sewage.
The newspapers said that about two million people had suffered diseases caused by drinking water with high arsenic content, including cancer.
In the nation's cities, the situation is just as dire. There, ground water is the major source of drinking water.
Yet in one recent survey, 95% of the samples tested were polluted, some with sewage.
An official from the environmental watchdog openly blamed the crisis on improper policies and poor government administration.

But decades of rampant economic development have taken their toll on China's environment.

Those now tasked with cleaning up face opposition from polluting industries and local governments.

The current leadership has stressed the need to conserve the environment, but these latest figures show just how much damage has already been done.

Drinking water issues in Pakistan

According a Pakistani physician specialized in public health,the main issues related with poor drinking quality in Pakistan are:
1) Civic bodies supplying drinking water think that providing the water connection is all that their duty is.
2) Consumers take this tap water granted as clean water
3) Testing of drinking water quality is done in the water provider's laboratory, who cannot report against the parent organization
4) There is no 3rd party surveillance of drinking water quality
5) Pakistan do not have drinking water standards / guidelines in place
6) Community lacks the much needed awareness of the issue and is apathetic
7) Poor people, sick due to quality water loose their small resources in medical treatment and loose working hours
8) The people of this country are suffering from malnutrition, added to this they suffer from helminthes in their gastro-intestinal systems, which further deprives them of the already scarce food
9) There is lack of affordable, independent complete water analysis facilities, which could give the sensitive consumer a true picture of the quality of water he is drinking
10) the country lacks affordable/ dependable water treatment devices that could help them out of water quality
11) As consumer people think that water is an unlimited resource, in spite of severe periods of drought
In view of that it is of prime importance that the country be aware of the intestinal health related problems associated with drinking water, most important of which is acute watery diarrhea, which leads to dehydration and fatal outcomes, following malaria, typhoid and hepatitis which are not uncommon in the country.

Certified Bottled Water in US

Neither EPA nor FDA certify bottled water.However,
consumers may notice a logo or seal from three other
organizations on the label.
The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) is a trade
organization for water bottlers. IBWA members must meet the
organization’s “model code”and are subject to annual inspections
by an independent third party. Bottlers belonging to
IBWA frequently indicate membership on their labels.
NSF International - Bottled water certified by NSF undergoes
additional testing by unannounced annual plant
inspections. NSF certifications mean that the bottler
complies with all applicable FDA requirements, including
good manufacturing practices.
Underwriters Laboratories,Inc.(UL) is an independent
accredited testing and certification organization that
tests bottled water to FDA, state, and IBWA model code
requirements.

India official deplores drinking water

Water not fit for human consumption is being used by millions of poor people in northern India, a state official has said.

In the state of Uttar Pradesh, Minister of Urban Development Mohammed Azam Khan said Friday that ground water contains carcinogens. He called the results "frightening," Pakistan's Dawn internet newspaper reported.

The state public works department released a report claiming the water was "not fit for human consumption" and could lead to cancer and other illnesses.

Contaminants such as arsenic, lead and cadmium were present in ground water tested in 42 out of the state's 70 districts.

The minister said that once water is contaminated, it is difficult to restore its purity.

The state, which has a population of more than 166 million, will request funds from the World Bank to help rectify the situation and provide the public with safe drinking water.

Cholera in southern Sudan

22 March 2006
Between 28 January and 20 March 2006, a total of 8923 cases and 238 deaths (case fatality rate, 2.67%) of acute watery diarrhoea have been reported for the whole of southern Sudan. The two most affected areas, Juba and Yei, reported a cumulative number of 4543 cases and 88 deaths and 1807 cases and 54 deaths respectively.
The situation in Yei is stable and improving daily with the last reported case received on 20 March and only sporadic cases appearing in the town. The outbreak in Yei was declared officially over by the Under Secretary of Health of the Government of southern Sudan on 14 March.The situation in Juba is improving as the number of cases has consistently decreased over the past 3 weeks, although the full rainy season has not yet arrived.
However, a total of 2573 cases and 96 deaths (case fatality rate, 3.73%), with some cases laboratory confirmed for Vibrio cholerae Inaba, have been reported in the locations outside Yei and Juba. Monitoring of the outbreak is crucial.

Shortages of drinking water in Bangladesh

At least 100 people were injured and over a dozen vehicles burned as rock-throwing protesters blockaded a highway near the Bangladesh capital on Friday in a protest over shortages of drinking water and electricity, last week.Witnesses said the violence erupted when police tried to break up a demonstration by an estimated 10,000 people who gathered on the highway on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka, chanting demands for clean water and uninterrupted power.
Police fired teargas shells and used batons to evict crowds squatting on the highway linking the capital with the main port city of Chittagong, they said. The crowds attacked a police outpost, ransacked a fish market and damaged a health clinic. The violence continued to spread as night fell, reporters at the scene said.
Protests come after the deaths of 20 people, mostly farmers, in police firing in the country's northwest over the last few months during protests for better supplies of power, diesel and water.
There is also a shortage of clean drinking water in the capital city of 10 million and most other parts of the country.

ISO 24000 STANDARDS FOR ASSESSING WATER UTILITIES

ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies(ISO member bodies). Its work is to prepare International Standards,normally carried out through ISO technical committees.
It has announced the preparation of three standards series, related with drinking water and wastewater,which include:

ISO 24510 – Service activities relating to drinking water and wastewater – Guidelines for the improvement and for the assessment of the service to users.
ISO 24511 – Service activities relating to drinking water and wastewater – Guidelines for the management of wastewater utilities and for the assessment of wastewater services.
ISO 24512 – Service activities relating to drinking water and wastewater – Guidelines for the management ofdrinking water utilities and for the assessment of drinking water services.

The ISO 24511 and ISO 24512 standards address successively the following topics:
- Brief description of the physical/infrastructural and managerial/institutional components of utilities,
- Core objectives for water services, considered to be globally relevant at the broadest level,
- Guidelines for the management of the utilities,
- Examples of possible actions that may be taken to achieve the objectives,
- Service assessment criteria related to the objectives,
- Performance indicators linked to the criteria that may be used for assessing the performance of the service.
Under these standards, the aim of the water utilities should be to provide services to everybody in their area, with continuous supply of drinking water and with collection and treatment of wastewater, under economicand social conditions that are acceptable both for users and relevant authorities. Water utilities are expected to meet the requirements of relevant authorities and the expectations specified by the responsible bodies in conjunction with the other stakeholders, while ensuring the long-term sustainability of the service.
In spite that these standards will not be mandatory, the objective of the standards is to provide the relevant stakeholders with guidelines for defining and assessing the services provided and for improving the management of water and wastewater utilities, consistently with the overarching objectives fixed by the national competent authorities and by the international intergovernmental organizations.
Standards' publication is announced for July 2007.

DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION:A FORMIDABLE CHALLENGE

In 2002, there were 2.6 billion people without even the most basic sanitation facilities. Providing improved sanitation for an additional 1.8 billion from 2002 to 2015 will achieve the Millenium Development Goals (MDG) target to halve the proportion unserved by 2015. But, because of rising population, there will still be 1.8 billion people having to
cope with unhygienic sanitation facilities at that time.
The population benefiting from improved sanitation went up by 87 million a year from 1990 to 2002.
An increase to 138 million a year from 2002 to 2015 is needed if the MDG sanitation target is to be met – a 58% acceleration. Sub-Saharan Africa will need almost to double the annual numbers of additional
people served with drinking water and quadruplicate the additional numbers served with basic
sanitation if the MDG target is to be reached. So, reaching the target means going faster and investing considerably more.That is being recognized by the world community in political proclamations and in increased commitments to the sector in some of he poorest countries.There is a strong case to do even more.
Lack of drinking water and sanitation kills about 4500 children a day and sentences their siblings, parents and neighbours to sickness, squalor and enduring poverty. Improvements bring immediate
and lasting benefits in health, dignity, education, productivity and income generation.
The estimated economic benefit comes in several forms:
-Health care savings of US$ 7 billion a year for health agencies and US$ 340 million for individuals.
-320 million productive days gained each year in the 15–59 year age group, an extra 272 million school attendance days a year, and an added 1.5 billion healthy days for children under 5 years of age, together representing productivity gains of US$ 9.9 billion a year.
-Time savings resulting from more convenient drinking water and sanitation services totalling 20 billion working days a year, giving a productivity payback of some US$ 63 billion a year.
-Value of deaths averted, based on discounted future earnings, amounting to US$ 3.6 billion a year.
The WHO study from which these figures are taken shows a total payback of US$ 84 billion a year from the US$11.3 billion a year investment needed to meet the MDG drinking water and sanitation target. It shows too some remarkable additional returns if simple household water treatment accompanies the drinking water and sanitation improvements.

EPA Fines New York City for Drinking Water Violations

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that New York City must pay a fine of $27,500 for failing to meet drinking water standards in a portion of the Catskill/Delaware water supply. The city is required to maintain strict water quality standards, including those related to turbidity, a measure of water clarity and an important indicator of water quality. During the past year, the city’s Catskill/Delaware water has failed or nearly failed turbidity standards on four separate occasions.

“While New York City has done a good job in protecting the Catskill/Delaware watershed, it must step up its efforts to control turbidity,” said EPA Regional Administrator Alan J. Steinberg. “In order to preserve a high degree of water quality, the city must demonstrate greater care than demonstrated in this case. Part of the rationale for New York City receiving a federal waiver from the requirement to filter is that it would maintain water quality standards. We will ensure that the city remains vigilant and proactive in the protection of this vital watershed.”

Turbidity occurs when clay, sand, algae, microbes and other substances suspend in water. Higher turbidity levels can lead to increased water temperature and reduce the amount of dissolved oxygen, a key component of aquatic life and water quality. Although turbidity is not a direct indicator of health risk, there is a relationship between turbidity and the ability of chlorine to kill harmful microorganisms. The particles that cause turbidity may capture and hide, or mask, contaminants, which are harmful to human health, and may reduce the effectiveness of disinfection. The Catskill/Delaware watershed is prone to turbidity due to its underlying geology and, therefore, warrants careful attention in order to maintain high water quality standards.

All drinking water taken from surface water sources must, under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, be filtered to remove microbial contaminants. The law allows EPA to grant a waiver from this requirement to water suppliers if they demonstrate that they have an effective watershed control program and that their water meets strict quality standards.

EPA can, at any time, require the city to filter its system if the Agency determines that the quality of the drinking water is threatened. The city appears to be adequately protecting the Catskill/Delaware drinking water source for the time being. The city is under a filtration avoidance determination (FAD) issued in 2002 for New York City’s Catskill/Delaware system, which allows it not to filter drinking water from this system. EPA does not expect to make any filtration decisions until the current FAD expires in 2007.

Security costs drain funds for water projects in Iraq

The country's supply of clean water is being seriously threatened, because of shrinking funds from the United States and an outdated water treatment and sewage system.

The country's 229 operating water treatment plants are old and badly in need of repairs. Thirsty culprits have shot or drilled holes in some water lines to steal fresh water. That has dropped water pressure to homes and contaminated supplies. Sewage from cities and towns that lack processing networks — more than 90% of the municipalities around the country — seeps into the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, the two main sources for drinking water in Iraq.

The Municipalities and Public Works Ministry provides services to 17 million Iraqis, or 70% of the total population. Of those 17 million, more than 30% have no access to drinkable water.

Under Saddam Hussein,water took a back seat. The last water treatment plant was commissioned in 1989, even though the need for more drinking water grew dire as the population expanded at a rate of 3% a year.

After Saddam's regime fell in 2003, public works bureaucrats were given their own ministry, and the United States pledged $3.65 billion toward it. But as the insurgency intensified, all but $1 billion was diverted to security and other vital needs.

Without security, insurgents jeopardize investments in strategic sectors such as water and sanitation, oil, and electricity, as contractors are unable to implement or maintain projects.

Without the funds, water projects have dried up. Two years ago, 15 water treatment projects were launched across Iraq. Last year, none was initiated.

Iraqis are taking creative measures to compensate for the dearth of clean water. Some have been using less or storing available water in vats. Others have illegally siphoned water from distribution pipes.

Lack of clean water has led to water-borne diseases.Sadr City, a Baghdad slum, experienced an outbreak of infectious hepatitis few months ago because of a lack of good running water. Two years ago, another Baghdad neighborhood was hit with a rash of typhoid.

China is investing to improve water supply

China plans to introduce further world advanced water technologies to improve flood controls and water supplies.

During the opening ceremony of the Promotion Conference on International Advanced Water Technology in Beijing have been highlighted that sustainable use of water resources is of vital importance in China.

The country is plagued by scarce and unreliable water supplies, frequent floods and droughts, serious water pollution and soil erosion.

The promotion of technologies will help China keep in line with the world's water sector,was told during the conference.

During the two-day event, more than 50 enterprises from 15 countries and regions will showcase their latest technologies and try to apply them in China.

They include computer-based systems that monitor water treatment, pollution and irrigation.

The central government has budgeted 50 billion yuan (US$6.2 billion) this year for the country's water sector.

Part of it will be invested in high-tech equipment, particularly water-saving and pollution control systems.

It will play a key role in improving geological prospecting for the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, designed for improving China's uneven distribution of water resources, monitoring water quality in key sections of the Yellow River, one of the country's worst polluted major water systems, and monitoring the soil erosion in the Loess Plateau, one of the world's worst eroded areas.