Worldwide population growth and the related rapid increase in urbanization is already posing problems in many areas for the management of that most precious of resources, water. With these problems only set to intensify, the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) has released a study outlining the challenges humanity faces to maintain water resources in the face of demographic growth and climate change. Called Meeting the Water Reform Challenge, the report says that urgent reform of water policies is crucial in order to preserve human and environmental health as well as economic growth.

According to UN figures, more than one billion people lack access to safe drinking water. Another 2.6 billion lack adequate basic sanitation. The OECD identified three areas that need to be reformed: financing, governance and the interface between water policies and those that govern other sectors of the economy. The report offers practical advice and policy tools to help governments introduce reform in their water sectors.

The water technology sector can play an important role to create a water-sustainable future. The head of the OECD’s Water Unit, Xavier Leflaive, said that technological innovation can help curb water demand (through drip irrigation, smart urban water systems, etc.), improve water quality (for example, wastewater treatment techniques) and embracing better use of alternative water resources such as rainwater.

Xavier added that non-technical innovations matter as much as technological ones, and these include measures such as decoupling utility revenues from the volume of water sold. He also warned that current policies can be an obstacle to the adoption of technologies that are already in place.

“We need policies which do not prescribe a particular technology, but trigger innovative responses and facilitate their diffusion, in particular in developing countries,” he said.

Although over the last 40 years there has been fewer game-changing breakthroughs in the water technology sector than other sectors, such as communications and IT, the water/energy nexus has been prompting innovation in a market that is expected to move US$22 trillion globally in the coming years.

The OECD’s report is available for download here.

The following video from the OECD highlights some of the water supply challenges the world will face in the future and provides some potential solutions.

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On April 13, 14 and 15 each year, Thailand celebrates its New Year with Songkran, a traditional festival that falls in the hottest time of the year and involves the throwing of water.

Unlike many of the most prominent supposedly religious traditions celebrated in western society, (Easter eggs evolved from a Pagan ritual to become the hallmark of a Christian celebration and Father Christmas is modeled on a character in an old Coca Cola commercial) Songkran has remained relatively unchanged for hundreds of years and has always involved the throwing of water.

It’s a much-loved local tradition, and all of Thailand’s 60 million inhabitants get involved, plus a few million “farangs” who fly in for the fun. If you’ve neglected nurturing your inner child, there’s nothing quite like a water fight to bring junior to the fore.

Believe it or not, these images were captured in one of the less crazy parts of Songkran in Bangkok – they were taken from the safety of the Australia Bar in Soi 11 Sukhumvit and I didn’t stray much outside the bar for fear of what would happen to my gear.

The Songkran Festival in the Khaosan Road area of Bangkok makes the goings-on captured here look tame, and the celebrations in Chiang Mai are also much crazier. Add up the whole country, and Songkran is unquestionably the world’s largest water fight.

In ALL Thai cities, groups of Thais roam the streets, usually on scooters or on the back of a pick-up truck, with a vast array of water guns and buckets, while groups also congregate by the roadside with large ice-chests full of water.

Ice trucks patrol the streets so that ice can be added to the water chests, adding a lot of extra bite to the water that gets thrown over you. When they’ve run out of ice, a bucket of water down the back of your neck is easily endured because it’s the hottest time of the year.

Ice cold water is an entirely different matter though, and you will remember getting doused with close-to-freezing water.

The action gets going around midday, though it’s entirely possible to find yourself on the wrong end of a bucket of water at any time during the three days of the festival, regardless of the hour of day.

Once upon a time, the action finished at night fall, but these days the water throwing often begins a day before the official celebrations and in some cities continues for several days afterwards, and long into the night as well.

I was amazed that my cameras didn’t get soaked, but as I became more immersed in the spirit of the festival and a little braver, I realized that some sanity actually does prevail and from time-to-time, when someone caught me outside the confines of my safe haven, they were quite considerate about the cameras – though there was no mercy for the body or my clothes.

In such circumstance, it’s best to just hold the cameras above your head and “cop it.” If you look through the images you’ll see women holding their Gucci handbags above their head while they are drenched.

All cameras taken into the fray should be waterproof, as some found out.

I saw several people spared a thorough dousing during the three days – one was on crutches with a leg in plaster, one was an elderly woman, and another was in a wheelchair.

Children were invariably treated kindly and gently by all and it was amazing to see whole families equipped with water cannons, going hunting for fun.

If you’re planning to visit Thailand for Songkran, remember you are a guest in the country and respect the local customs, including getting wet gracefully and with good humor – I saw several foreigners getting quite angry and threatening at being repeatedly doused.

Getting angry will not help (actually, it rarely does regardless of where you are), but if you’re on the street during Songkran, you’re fair game.

After extensive travel across four decades, I believe Thailand is the safest country in the world, except of course, Thai roads. If you are respectful at all times, you will never encounter physical danger from a Thai. So if you’ve got ice cold water filling your $300 loafers, remember to smile.

As far as traveling on Thai roads, the road toll in Thailand is horrendous in comparison to more developed countries, and it is never more dangerous than at Songkran.

The first five days (April 11-15) of the Thai New Year period saw 253 deaths and 2,751 injuries in 2,581 road accidents. Drunk driving is the major cause of accidents, as it is in all of the world’s countries, with speeding coming in second, as in the rest of the world.

The Thai Government mounted a major publicity offensive on road safety prior to this year’s Songkran but the number of accidents remained almost identical to last year, and the number of deaths soared (from 188 last year). There is no workable solution to reducing this in the short term, so my suggestion for travelers to the Kingdom would be to get to your destination early, and stay off the roads entirely while the carnage unfolds – and don’t run into the roadway to avoid getting soaked.

If you’re old enough to know what Songkran is, then you’ll get the full treatment. If you enter into the spirit, you’ll forget how old you are and have a ball. If you don’t like the rules, go somewhere else for the week of the festival because you will not enjoy yourself.

The white cream you’ll see on the faces of many people in these pics is also a relic from the true meaning of the festival, these days played out by sometimes mixing methylated talc with the water.

With the sudden rise in popularity of smartphones over the last two years, many of the casualties of last year’s Songkran apparently involved dead Android and iOS devices. I came prepared with a spacial bag I’d purchased in a camping store overseas – it cost me US$50.

Entrepreneurialism is alive and well and living in any Asian country though, and this year there were dozens of vendors walking the street selling high quality (with ziplock and fold) plastic bags which were very similar to the one I’d brought with me, though at 30 baht (US$1.00), somewhat cheaper.

I’m sorry I couldn’t supply images of the Khaosan Road area where the action mirrors what is happening in these images, but there are tens of thousands more people all getting crazy in the one spot. Had I ventured there, the camera and lenses would have unquestionably become collateral damage.

Perhaps if I’m lucky enough to be here next year, I’ll have some measure of protection for my gear that will enable me to venture into the midst of the action and deliver something very special.

If you’re young at heart, regardless of your age, I am certain you’ll love being in the midst of the biggest water-fight in the world.

I did!  Mike Hanlon

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Most all U.S. drinking is safe. If you don’t like how your water tastes or smells, you may look at getting a water filter. Federal law requires water utilities serving more than 10,000 people to send and annual report to their customers that explains what’s in the water when it leaves the treatment plant. You can also find the information at your public library.

Removing Arsenic from Drinking Water : Idaho National Laboratory)

1. Cryptosporidium. This  microscopic parasite was responsible for the single largest outbreak disease from a contaminated public water supply in U.S. history. Healthy adults usually recover but the parasite was fatal to about half of those with health problems, especially those with cancer and AIDs.  If your water system is required to run this test it will be noted. Boiling water can kill the parasite.

2. Lead. Water that leaves the treatment plant is usually free of lead but can pick up dangerous amounts by running through lead pipes or lead soldered pipes. The only way to know if your water is lead free is to have it tested. to find a lead testing place call 800-426-4791 or go to www.epa.gov/safewater

Arsenic. This element occurs naturally in the earth and shows up mainly in water drawn from wells. If your water has levels higher than 10 micrograms per liter, use a distiller, the only product currently certified to remove arsenic.

The EPA is moving ahead to to lower the safety levels for arsenic. At the current level, arsenic carries a lifetime cancer risk.

Chlorination byproducts. Chlorination kills germs, but it also reacts with organic matter in water to form chloroform and other trihalomethanes, which are carcinogens and have been linked to an increased risk of miscarriages.

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Water purifier manufacturer SteriPEN has updated its lineup of portable products, with a UV-based unit called the SteriPEN Freedom. Billed as the smallest, lightest and first rechargeable UV water purifier on the market, it disinfects up to 16 oz (0.5 L) of water in 48 seconds.

We’ve previously covered numerous water purification solutions for the developing world, with LifeStraw, Moringa tree seeds, or even banana peels being notable examples. The new SteriPEN device, however, is defined as hiking and camping equipment by its manufacturer, rather than as a life-saving tool.

The Freedom features a germicidal UV light which destroys 99.9 percent of bacteria, viruses and protozoa. Forty-eight seconds is enough for the Freedom to deal with half a liter of water, while a liter simply requires repeating this operation. A green light gauge indicates when it’s safe to drink the water.

Recharged via a micro USB B port from a computer, AC outlet or a compatible solar charger, the Freedom offers up to 40 treatments on a single charge. The overall battery and UV lamp life is estimated to last for 8,000 treatments of 16 oz (0.5 L). The device also serves as a flashlight.

Equipped with a removable lamp cover, the new purifier weighs in at 2.6 oz (74 g) and measures 13 x 3.5 x 2.2 cm (5.1 x 1.4 x 0.8 in). Sold with a USB cable, AC adapter and neoprene case, the SteriPEN Freedom will be available starting this fall (northern hemisphere), priced at US$119.95

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Diseases from unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Children are especially vulnerable, as their bodies aren’t strong enough to fight diarrhea, dysentery and other illnesses.

90% of the 30,000 deaths that occur every week from unsafe water and unhygienic living conditions are of children under five years old. Many of these diseases are preventable. The UN predicts that one tenth of the global disease burden can be prevented simply by improving water supply and sanitation

http://www.charitywater.org/whywater/

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SOME INFO SOURCED ON WATER IMPORTANCE TO US ON EARTH

Water is literally the soul of the Earth. Every drop you see, every drop you feel, and every drop you taste is the pure essence of our planet. There are quite a number of reasons why every drop is precious and there are plenty of ways you can save it.

1. Water Brings Life

Without water there would be no type of existence. Every living thing thrives off of every drop of water and without it, there would be nothing left on this Earth. Existence would crumble and all life would come to a halt. I know that some may find this hard to believe, but it is very true. Water is literally the basis of every single society. It not only helps to create and preserve human life, but plants and animals as well.

2. Agriculture

For life to exist, there has to be an abundant source of water and food. No matter how you look at it, food is something that can only exist if water does as well. From extreme farming to simple things like small vegetable gardens, every single plant needs some source of water. If you try to plant a garden and do not water it, do not expect anything to grow. The soil needs the water for moisture and nutrients. The plants are planted in the soil to receive the water and nutrients that it carries in it. It is a never-ending cycle that must include water.

3. Purification of the Body

Every human & animal life needs water as way to cleanse the body and keep it healthy. Water not only purifies the body, but it also makes it possible for the body to stay hydrated as well. This will keep you from passing out or even getting sick. Water is another thing that keeps infections or any kind of bacteria out of your body. It prevents many people from getting tract infections, reduces your risk of having high blood pressure, and it even helps to improve the look and feel of your skin, hair, and nails. Every single inch of your body depends on water to keep it cleansed.

4. Water-Mood Elevator

Many people do not realize that water is essential to maintaining a healthy hormone level. Your body cannot take having little water in it so it reacts by changing your mood. Try drinking at least eight glasses of water a day and you will be amazed at how much your mood improves and how much more energy you will have. You may have enough energy to get any job done and even make some more friends while you are at it.

5. Decreases misplaced Hunger

Now I’m sure a few people might be confused on this one, but it is quite simple. If you feel like you may get hungry quite a bit, it may not be hunger at all. Most of the time, hunger is confused with dehydration. Your body will often give signals that seem like hunger, but they are in fact a request for water. So give your body what it wants and what it deserves…good ol’ water.

6. Shorten Showers & secure the runoff

If you normally take a long shower, you can save lots of water just by cutting back the time you spend in the shower. You would be amazed how much water is saved  by spending less time taking a shower. After you are done showering, you can put a bucket up under the spout and catch any water that may still be dripping. This water can now be used to water your plants. Simple things like this can go a long way.

7. Make Plans for the Carwash

Now I know there are few people that do not understand why going to a carwash can save water, but you might actually be shocked. The majority of carwashes use nothing more that reused water mixed with only a little bit of freshwater. This helps to conserve the amount of water that is used by each and every single person. Imagine how much water you would normally waste washing your car in your yard. So the next time you feel the need to get your car washed, head on down to the carwash instead of heading to your yard. You will save a heap of water this way.

8. Sweep Your Driveway Clean

Instead of doing things the easy way, why not take some time to consider saving  water. Get a broom and start sweeping your driveway clean. I know that a water hose is tempting and may be easier, but when it comes to conserving water this is one way to go. A benefit to sweeping your driveway is that you are actually getting a workout in as you do it.

9. Laundry Considerations

When you want to wash clothes make sure that you have a full load of clothes to wash so that you will not waste water on a very small load. If you have only a few pieces of clothes to get washed, it is better to wash this in filled basins of water. This will also save on water instead of constantly running the water to wash and rinse your clothes.

10. Kitchen Considerations

If you have a full load of dishes to wash, it is perfectly fine to use the dish washer. If you have only a few dishes, you should fill both sides of the sink with water and wash them by hand. Not only will this save on water usage, but it will also save on your electricity bill as well. Keep bottles of cold water in the fridge for when you are thirsty. This will help with you not having to wait until the water turns cold in the faucet.

All of these things are benefits of having & using water and what you can do to help conserve the water we have now so that there will be a tomorrow where water is abundant & plentiful.

Sourced & published by Henry Sapiecha

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Australia Global Trading and CLLEEN™

join forces for environmentally friendly

water solution

Australia Global Trading has formed a strategic alliance with CLLEEN™ Water and Power, a water treatment company based in Texas, USA, to introduce this new method of processing to the Australian resources sector. The technology will reduce costs in producing potable water, treating waste water, as well as reducing maintenance and operator costs for oil, mining and gas sector operations.

This system is a mobile water treatment skid, that treats oil and gas frac water, abandoned and active mine discharge, and can desalinate seawater.  It is expected that the Australian Resources sector will quickly adopt this system as it offers significant savings in costs, time, effort, energy, maintenance and personnel as well as being environmentally friendly.

Anthony Migyanka, CEO at CLEEN™, said: “One of the key challenges the world faces is how to minimise the impact on our environment through our need for fossil fuels, other minerals and water. This system allows us to better utilise these resources in a cost efficient and environmentally friendly way. As both an economist and chemical engineer,  I  believed it essential to find a new way of doing things, to better utilise our most precious resource – water, and by doing this help our  planet.”

Jan Pagonis, CEO of Australia Global Trading, added: “This collaboration will also provide some genuine opportunities for reducing a mine’s environmental and carbon footprint with machine efficiencies through self-generating power and treatment of underground, seawater, frac water and AMD and is the lowest cost energy solution. This is significant at this time with the impending introduction on July 1, 2012 of Australia’s carbon tax and its resultant impact on the resources sector as well as community.”

Population growth and environmental experts report that as the world’s population grows, nearly one-third of the projected population of 2.7billion people  by 2025 will live in regions facing severe water scarcity according to the International Waste Management Institute (Smith, 2001).  Already global demand for freshwater has seen it double approximately every 15 years. The combined effects of increasing freshwater demand – both industrial and for the population’s needs, when coupled with seawater intrusion into coastal aquifers are stimulating the demand for desalination.

Australia Global Trading and CLLEEN™ Water and Power are working together to introduce this water efficient and environmentally friendly technology to Australian Resource sector operations.  The two organizations together will provide product information and technology implementation. CLLEEN™ will be fully responsible for supporting the Resource sector operatives with machine, technology assistance and on site support.

For additional information, please visit http://www.waterdesalinationplants.com and/or

contact Jan Pagonis on +61 409 198 876.

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NanoH2O, global manufacturer of the most efficient and cost effective reverse osmosis membranes for seawater desalination, today announced the release of its new Q+ Projection Software. The Q+ Projection Software enables customers to optimize seawater reverse osmosis system design with NanoH2O’s nanocomposite high flux and high salt rejection QuantumFlux product line. By reducing energy consumption and increasing freshwater production, QuantumFlux nanocomposite membranes significantly lower the cost of seawater desalination. The Q+ Projection Software is immediately available for download on NanoH2O’s new website designed to support the company’s expanding commercial activity.  Intuitively designed, the Q+ Projection Software provides customers with a new and unique feature set. Q+ users can: view key system design parameters, outputs and warnings on the same easy-to-use home screen; estimate the energy consumption of their systems; seamlessly blend different types of membranes within a pressure vessel to maximize system flux; and enter custom elements to establish performance benchmarks. The Q+ Projection Software is featured on NanoH2O’s new website: www.nanoh2o.com. The site showcases NanoH2O’s products and includes a wealth of information on the company’s patented and patent-pending nanocomposite QuantumFlux membrane technology.

QuantumFlux, Qfx, and Q+ are trademarks of NanoH2O, Inc. All rights reserved. © 2011.

NanoH2O, Inc. • 750 Lairport Street, El Segundo, CA 90245 • USA
P +1 424.218.4000 • F +1 424.218.4001 • info@nanoh2o.com

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Two international teams of astronomers have discovered the largest and farthest reservoir of water ever detected in the universe. The researchers found the huge mass of water feeding a black hole, called a quasar, more than 12 billion light-years away. The mass of water vapor is at least 140 trillion times that of all the water in the world’s oceans combined and 100,000 times more massive than the sun.

Quasars are among the most luminous, powerful, and energetic objects known in the universe. They are powered by an enormous black hole that steadily consumes a surrounding disk of gas and dust, spewing out huge amounts of energy as it eats. The particular quasar under investigation, which bears the catchy name of APM 08279+5255, harbors a black hole 20 billion times more massive than the sun and produces as much energy as a thousand trillion suns.

Although astronomers had expected water vapor to be present even in the early, distant universe, they had not detected it this far away before. They point out that there is water vapor in the Milky Way, but because most of the Milky Way’s water is frozen in ice, the total amount of water vapor is 4,000 times less than in the quasar.

The astronomers say that water vapor is an important trace gas that reveals the nature of a quasar. In this case, the water vapor is distributed around the black hole in a gaseous region spanning hundreds of light-years in size. Its presence indicates that the quasar is bathing the gas in X-rays and infrared radiation, and that the gas is unusually warm and dense by astronomical standards. Although the gas is at a chilly minus 63 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 53 degrees Celsius) and is 300 trillion times less dense than Earth’s atmosphere, it’s still five times hotter and 10 to 100 times denser than what’s typical in galaxies like the Milky Way.

Measurements of the water vapor and of other molecules, such as carbon monoxide, suggest there is enough gas to feed the black hole until it grows to about six times its size. However, it’s unclear whether this will happen or not as some of the gas may end up condensing into stars or might be ejected from the quasar.

The discovery was made by two international teams of astronomers, each led by scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), that have each described their quasar findings in separate papers that have been accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.

“It’s another demonstration that water is pervasive throughout the universe, even at the very earliest times,” said Matt Bradford, a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and a visiting associate at Caltech, who led one of the teams.

Bradford’s team started making their observations in 2008 using an instrument called “Z-Spec” at Caltech’s Submillimeter Observatory, a 33-foot (10-meter) telescope near the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii. Follow-up observations were made with the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-Wave Astronomy (CARMA), an array of radio dishes in the Inyo Mountains of Southern California.

The second team was led by Dariusz Lis, senior research associate in physics at Caltech and deputy director of the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory. This group used the Plateau de Bure Interferometer in the French Alps to find water.

In 2010, Lis’s team serendipitously detected water in APM 8279+5255, observing one spectral signature. Bradford’s team was able to get more information about the water, including its enormous mass, because they detected several spectral signatures of the water.

Source: NASA

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