Water is Life

spaminator

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Iqaluit receives first shipment of potable water after tap water undrinkable
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Emma Tranter
Publishing date:Oct 14, 2021 • 11 hours ago • 2 minute read • Join the conversation
Hand with drinking glass filling water from kitchen faucet
PHOTO BY FILE PHOTO /Getty Images
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IQALUIT, Nunavut — The first shipment of potable water for Iqaluit residents has arrived by plane after water in the Nunavut capital was deemed undrinkable and potentially tainted with petroleum.

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The city has ordered 80,000 litres of water, and four-litre jugs were being handed out in the community of about 8,000 people.


The city says in a release that residents will be given a maximum of four reusable jugs per household and urges people to keep them for future use.

This comes after the city told residents Tuesday not to drink the tap water as a fuel smell was detected at the water treatment plant and it later declared a local state of emergency.

Agnico Eagle, which operates several mines in the territory, also says it is sending 15,000 litres of water to Iqaluit on a cargo flight that is to land tomorrow.

Meanwhile, residents have continued to collect water at Iqaluit’s Sylvia Grinnell River, including volunteers who are getting water for neighbours, elders and those without vehicles.

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Water samples from Iqaluit have been sent to a lab in Southern Canada for testing and are expected back in the coming days.

A University of Saskatchewan professor who has worked in Iqaluit said any amount of fuel in drinking water is unsafe, but drinking it over the short term isn’t necessarily dangerous.

Steven Siciliano, a microbiologist and toxicologist who has done research in the north, said the city did the right thing by telling its residents as soon as it found the smell.


Siciliano said Iqaluit’s regular water testing looks for bacteria, not hydrocarbons, and noted the city shouldn’t be blamed for the situation.

The human nose is “incredibly sensitive” to hydrocarbons, meaning people can smell it even if there’s a very low amount, he said.

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He said long-term exposure to compounds found in gasoline could be “very risky” but drinking it for a week or so probably isn’t going to do much harm.

“It’s not like if you have one cup of water, you’re poisoned for the rest of your life,” said Siciliano.

Despite that, Siciliano said the situation in Iqaluit is urgent and a solution needs to be found as soon as possible.

“If they drank it before they found there was fuel, I don’t think they have grave cause for concern. Going forward, is it OK? Absolutely not.”

As a comparison, he said, smoking one or two cigarettes a day won’t give a person cancer but smoking a pack a day likely will.

“It’s kind of like that with the water. Drinking it every day for a week? Not going to give you cancer,” he said.

“We don’t know how much fuel there is. They may not be fuel in there — that’s the good news.”

One temporary solution, Sicilano said, could be to install “air strippers” in the water, which would move air through contaminated water and removes chemicals.

“If you can push a lot of water through it, you can strip it of those volatile contaminants,” he said.
 

taxslave

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 25, 2008
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Vancouver Island
Never worked in muskeg, but some of the swamps on the coast give off a distinctive petroleum smell when disturbed. Even leave a sheen on the water. Could it just be from the mud melting?
 

Twin_Moose

Hall of Fame Member
Apr 17, 2017
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Twin Moose Creek

Biden Considering Shutting Down Michigan Pipeline


The Biden administration is allegedly looking into what the market consequences will be if it shuts down a Michigan oil pipeline.

Politico reports that the administration is weighing what to do with Line 5, which is part of a network that moves petroleum products, including crude oil, from Western Canada to Escanaba, Mich. Approximately 540,000 barrels of these products are transported per day.

Biden’s move on Line 5 has been sharply criticized by Republicans in Congress. More than a dozen lawmakers from the region sent a letter to Biden, warning the president that this move can result in gas prices spiking even further. Propane prices have already risen 50 percent in Michigan from last year......More

In a way I hope he does shut down the only Oil link to Eastern Canada
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
108,893
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Low Earth Orbit

Biden Considering Shutting Down Michigan Pipeline


The Biden administration is allegedly looking into what the market consequences will be if it shuts down a Michigan oil pipeline.

Politico reports that the administration is weighing what to do with Line 5,

In a way I hope he does shut down the only Oil link to Eastern Canada
It's not the only. There are the private monopolies such as Procor and UTLX who have contracts with CPR running oil east.

Electric and CNG halfbreed diesel electric eco-locomotives pulling oil tankers paid for with subsidies via carbon taxes.
 

Blackleaf

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 9, 2004
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Unless you're a tardigrade. They can go 30 years without water. But I don't think anyone here is.
 

spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 26, 2009
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City of Iqaluit confirms trace amounts of fuel found in drinking water

Author of the article:
Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Publishing date:
Jan 14, 2022 • 11 hours ago • 3 minute read •
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There have been more than 20 complaints recently from residents in Iqaluit who say they smell fuel in their tap water again.
There have been more than 20 complaints recently from residents in Iqaluit who say they smell fuel in their tap water again. Photo by profstocktv /iStock / Getty Images
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IQALUIT, Nunavut — Iqaluit resident Kinguatsiaq Kinguatsiaq says he smelled fuel in his water a couple of days ago but assumed it must be something else.
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“I figured I was wrong because I thought the situation had been resolved,” he said. “This morning I really noticed it when I was running my tap water. It was strong.”

The City of Iqaluit said in a statement Friday that trace amounts of fuel were detected in the Nunavut capital’s water supply earlier in the week, just over a month after a do-not-consume order on the city’s water was lifted.

Iqaluit’s some 8,000 people spent nearly two months under the order last fall after fuel was found in the water.

Kinguatsiaq said he’s concerned about his children drinking the water. No one in his family got sick, but both he and his son had bad headaches.

“The city should be really reliable for this because it’s risking my health and other people’s. Our trust is on them,” he said.
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“They could have resolved this when it happened the first time.”

Iqaluit Mayor Kenny Bell told The Canadian Press that the water is safe to drink.

“It’s within or better than Canadian national standards,” he said.

He said that as of 3 p.m. Friday, the city’s water system didn’t detect hydrocarbons even though it had detected traces of fuel earlier in the week.

Bell said the levels detected earlier in the week were too low to set off the monitoring system’s alarm.

He said the city had warned people that they still might smell residual fuel even after the do-not-consume order was lifted.

“This is something that we told people was likely going to happen,” Bell said.

“That’s why we have procedures in place to make sure that it’s not a new source or a continuation of an old source.”
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Bell also said Qikiqtaaluk Environmental had not yet completed the cleaning of the water treatment plant and had left for Christmas holidays.

“There’s still a lot of environmental cleanup that needs to be done in the plant,” Bell said.

“Obviously people should be concerned. We all want the pristine water we’re used to.”

With temperatures in the minus thirties, some residents have started drilling holes in the ice at the Sylvia Grinnell River outside of the city to get water.

Nunavut’s health department has not said the tap water is unsafe to drink.

The city previously said the source of the fuel contamination last fall came from a historic underground fuel tank, which was dug up shortly after the do-not-consume order was put in place.
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The city said an initial review of data from its real-time monitoring station this week indicates fuel entered the water on Monday and Wednesday.

It said there have been no measurements above low-alarm thresholds, but the city is proactively opening distribution valves to flush the water.

The city said in a release that it believes there may have been leftover hydrocarbons that got into the water supply again.

It is asking residents to remove aerators from their taps and to run the water on cold for 20 minutes before 6 p.m. Friday.

The city is also asking residents to report fuel smells to its water hotline so that staff can collect water samples.

Lizzie Kownirk, another Iqaluit resident, said she started smelling fuel in her tap water Thursday night.
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Kownirk said she was happy about how quickly the city responded to new reports of fuel in the water.

“The city called me that they were going to look into it and get water samples from my building. They said they would get back to me with the results.”

Kownirk also said she trusts the city and felt reassured, but still doesn’t want to drink the water as long as it smells like fuel.

Workers can’t enter people’s homes to test the tap water, however, because the territory is still under a COVID-19 lockdown order.

Instead, samples are being taken at the nearest site to homes that report fuel smells.

“The City continues to proactively screen for petroleum hydrocarbons and (has) increased its weekly laboratory sampling efforts of water produced by the water treatment plant and throughout the distribution system,” the city said in the release.
 

Johnnny

Frontiersman
Jun 8, 2007
9,388
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Third rock from the Sun
Pretty soon Canadians will have to defend the water in the country from people who are from other countries who want our water. Im talking about kids from Northwestern Ontario selling gallon jugs to americans across the border but x1000.
 

spaminator

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Oct 26, 2009
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Sewage pours into Niagara River from troubled U.S. treatment plant
The outpour of sewage and untreated water had not been stopped by late Sunday afternoon.

Author of the article:Liz Braun
Publishing date:May 31, 2022 • 15 hours ago • 2 minute read • Join the conversation

According to disturbing reports out of Niagara Falls, New York, millions of gallons of untreated sewage and other wastewater poured into the Lower Niagara River this past weekend during a power outage and pump failure.


The Buffalo News reports that Niagara Falls’ problematic wastewater treatment system failed both Saturday and Sunday, according to information provided by a state-automated emergency alert system.

Although there was no unusual rainfall in the area lately, wet weather and pump failure were given as the reasons that six millions gallons of untreated wastewater went into the river on Saturday.

One of the pumps was eventually restarted, but on Sunday morning millions more gallons of sewage and untreated water flowed into the Lower Niagara River due to problems with a pump in the Niagara Gorge.

The alert stated that the single pump working could not handle the volume of discharge.

The outpour of sewage and untreated water had not been stopped by late Sunday afternoon.


Asked for comment on Tuesday, Mayor Jim Diodati of Niagara Falls, Ontario said it was unfortunate to learn of the spill.

“We are all very protective of our shared waters of the Great Lakes. Occasionally equipment failure or extreme weather can overcome our systems on either side of the border,” said Diodati.

“When this happens it affects us all and I know that they are working very hard to fix the malfunction and come up with long term sustainable solutions.”

Just five years ago, a black and foul-odoured discharge from the sewer tunnel near the Maid Of The Mist docks on the U.S. side made it obvious that the wastewater treatment plant had issues.

Since that incident in July 2017, the Niagara Falls Water Board has been working to get the sewer plant operating more efficiently.


The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation issued a statement Tuesday, saying, “The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will continue working closely with the Niagara Falls Water Board to improve the management and operations at the wastewater treatment plant and to ensure compliance with all applicable regulations and requirements to protect public health and the environment.”

Citing a failed pump reported Friday, the statement continued, “The installation of three replacement pumps, as required by DEC’s Consent Order with the Niagara Falls Water Board, is continuing at the Gorge Pump Station.”

The first replacement pump will be online by June 2. The others will follow in the next few weeks. These and other enhancements are part of the $20 million in investments by New York State, “to improve wastewater infrastructure at the Niagara Falls wastewater treatment plant.”
:poop:
 

spaminator

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WWF chief hits out at plans to mine the deep sea
"We simply don't know what we will unleash by going down hundreds, thousands of meters (feet)to the bottom of the ocean."

Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Catarina Demony
Publishing date:Jun 28, 2022 • 16 hours ago • 2 minute read • Join the conversation

LISBON — The World Wildlife Fund’s chief warned on Tuesday that the potential impact of mining the deep sea could be “terrifying” and called for strict regulations to avoid yet another environmental disaster.


There is growing interest in deep-sea mining but there is also pressure from some environmental groups and governments to either ban it or ensure it only goes ahead if appropriate regulations are in place.

Deep-sea mining would involve using heavy machinery to suck up off the ocean floor potato-sized rocks or nodules that contain cobalt, manganese, and other rare metals mostly used in batteries.

“Have we not learned our lesson?” asked Marco Lambertini, WWF’s director general, referring to the environmental impacts of digging for minerals on land. “We simply don’t know what we will unleash by going down hundreds, thousands of meters (feet)to the bottom of the ocean.”

Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the U.N. Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Lambertini said the WWF was confident there would be consequences if plans to excavate mineral deposits from the deep seabed get a green light.


He said it could potentially generate damaging sediment plumes and affect fish migration. Lambertini said authorities should instead look into the “great potential of recycling” e-waste for the materials needed for batteries.

The International Seabed Authority (ISA), a U.N. body, is drawing up regulations governing seabed mining in the high seas – areas outside any national jurisdiction. Until global rules are in place, seabed mining is not allowed.

‘EVERYBODY’S WATERS’
WWF has called for a global moratorium on all deep-sea mining activities, and countries such as the Pacific islands of Palau and Fiji launched an “alliance” on Monday to back it.

But not all nations are against it. China is a major proponent and even smaller nations like the tiny Pacific island of Nauru, for instance, asked the ISA last year to fast-track the adoption of seabed mining regulations.


Lambertini also said it was “fundamental” that U.N. member states reach an agreement on a treaty to protect the open seas beyond national jurisdictions, which they failed to do in March this year.

“Today they are nobody’s waters and we need to turn the concept on its head,” he said, explaining that not having a treaty means the high seas are not regulated enough. “They need to become everybody’s waters.”

Member states will meet again in August to discuss the issue and although Lambertini believes there was a “general consensus” on some countries were likely to oppose the long-awaited treaty.

“Without having a common governance mechanism, I think it will be very difficult to coordinate action,” he said.
 

spaminator

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Raw sewage swirls into Florida floodwaters in Hurricane Ian's wake
Such discharges can carry bacteria like E. coli, parasites and viruses that can make humans sick

Author of the article:Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
Ari Natter
Publishing date:Sep 30, 2022 • 1 day ago • 4 minute read • Join the conversation

Floridians reeling from widespread power outages and a deadly surge of water following Hurricane Ian are facing another problem: raw sewage swirling into the floodwaters.


Untold gallons of raw and poorly treated sewage have flowed into streets and rivers as floodwaters inundate infrastructure, power failures knock pumps offline, and manholes overflow.


Such discharges can carry bacteria like E. coli, parasites and viruses that can make humans sick. Nutrients contained in human waste such as phosphorous and nitrogen can also lead to red tides — concentrations of toxic algae — and blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) blooms in ocean waters, which can kill fish and other wildlife. Recent years have seen severe red tides off Florida’s Gulf Coast.

Officials have warned the public to avoid contact with standing water in the vicinity of discharges. Exposure to contaminants in floodwaters may cause skin rashes, gastrointestinal illness and other health problems, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.


Ian slammed ashore in southwestern Florida as a Category 4 Hurricane, dumping nearly 20 inches of rain in some areas and cutting power to millions.

“Whether it’s the storm surge or just the vast amounts of rain, there is not a sewer system on the planet that can take that kind of hit without having some sort of overflow,” said Nathan Gardner-Andrews, chief advocacy officer for the National Association of Clean Water Agencies. “As storms get more intense you are going to see unfortunately more incidents where systems get overwhelmed.”

Unlike in other parts of the US where sewer systems can use gravity, Florida’s flat topography means a series of lifts and other infrastructure is needed to get wastewater where it needs to go. If those pumps fail or lose power, they overflow, Gardner-Andrews said.


On Thursday afternoon, after a water treatment facility in Bradenton become overwhelmed by stormwater and had to be bypassed, officials were expecting millions of gallons of wastewater to be released into the Manatee River, said William Waitt, the city’s superintendent said, adding the incident was ongoing.

In the Orlando suburb of Casselberry, overflowing tanks at a plant after heavy rains resulted in the discharge of tens of thousands of partially treated waste, said Dawn Swailes, the city’s water reclamation superintendent.

And Ian caused thousands of gallons of sewage to be discharged into a storm drain from an overflowing manhole in Miami, according to a filing with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, one of dozens of reports of sewage releases the agency received following the storm.


The state’s water and sewer infrastructure “is going to be heavily impacted” by Ian, Brock Long, who previously served as administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said on Bloomberg Television. “Unfortunately for the citizens that reside down there, they’re going to have to change their mindset and expectations: The infrastructure’s just not going to work for a long time.”

Florida is no stranger to major sewer spills following hurricanes. Hurricane Irma in 2017 led to the discharge of millions of gallons of wastewater, according to a report from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The release after Hurricanes Hermine and Matthew in 2016 was even bigger: 250 million gallons.


Part of the problem is that in some areas of the state, like Miami-Dade County and Fort Lauderdale, wastewater infrastructure is old and crumbling and allows torrents of excess groundwater and stormwater into the system, said Brian LaPointe, a research professor at Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute. In some places the pipes used to carry waste are made out of cast iron that corrodes, or even a kind of wood pulp known as Orangeburg, he said.

The US Environmental Protection Agency estimated in 2016 that $271 billion is needed to maintain and improve the nation’s wastewater pipes, treatment plants and associated infrastructure.

In addition to sewer overflows, the contents of some of Florida’s hundreds of thousands of septic tanks will contribute to the human waste flowing into the state’s Caloosahatchee River and eventually into the Gulf of Mexico, LaPointe said.


“I’d say this is going to be unprecedented,” LaPointe said in a phone interview. “We are anticipating seeing a number of these algal blooms in the wake of Hurricane Ian.”

One model the state could look to in the future is in the Florida Keys. Monroe County spent about $1 billion on a septic-to-sewer upgrade that included new, tightly sealed pipes to keep stormwater out and an advanced wastewater treatment system to remove nitrogen, preventing algal blooms that damage coral reefs. The water is then injected more than 3,000 feet underground, LaPointe said. The area reported no sewage spills after Irma, despite being flooded, he added.

“This is really where I think Florida is going to be heading in the future,” LaPointe said. “We are going to have to spend billions of dollars in many of these urban areas.”