drinking water

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For Drinkable Water, Add ... Dirt?

And maybe some salt: Scientists propose simple fix for world crisis

(Newser) - One in 6 people in the world faces a clean-water shortage, according to the United Nations—so scientists are proposing a quick fix. Dirty water can be rendered drinkable using a few odd ingredients: Sun, salt, dirt, and lime, NPR reports. The sun's rays can kill the germs in...

Weapon of the Future: Water

 Weapon of the Future: Water 
in case you missed it
Mar 25, 2012 6:11 PM CDT

Weapon of the Future: Water

US intelligence fears 'water-based state conflict' in not-so-distant future

(Newser) - Soon, the precious commodity that starts wars may not be oil: It'll be water. Thanks to fresh-water shortages, droughts, and floods, US intelligence thinks it's increasingly likely that water could be "used as a weapon" in war, with one state denying water to another, according to a...

US Will Need $1T to Fix Water Pipes
 US Will Need $1T  
 to Fix Water Pipes   
study says
Feb 29, 2012 5:03 PM CST

US Will Need $1T to Fix Water Pipes

Industry estimate sees steep costs over next 25 years

(Newser) - The US could be facing a $1 trillion plumbing bill. That's how much it will cost over the next 25 years to mend or replace the disintegrating pipes that carry drinking water throughout cities and build new ones to accommodate a rising population, according to an industry study. And...

EU to Water Bottlers: H20 Won't Stop Dehydration

Companies face 2 years in prison for making claim

(Newser) - "Water prevents dehydration"? The EU is warning water companies not to make such outrageous claims. After a 3-year investigation into the effects of water, EU officials announced this week that bottled-water producers are forbidden from making the statement—and risk 2 years in prison if they do. A...

Japanese MP Takes Dare to Drink Fukushima Water

Gulp designed to prove it's safe

(Newser) - Under pressure from journalists to prove that decontaminated water from the Fukushima area is safe, Japanese lawmaker Yasuhiro Sonoda downed a glass of water taken from puddles underneath the reactors themselves during a news conference today, his hands visibly shaking as he did so, the BBC reports. But he did...

'Super Sand' Makes Water Safe to Drink

Rice University filtration idea might ease shortage of drinking water

(Newser) - Access to clean drinking water is not a new problem in the world, and neither is the solution offered by Rice University researchers: sand. Except theirs is an improved version. The regular stuff has long been used to filter water, but it doesn't do a very effective job. Cue...

7.8M-Gallon Reservoir Drained After Guy Pees in It

Little mishap will cost Portland water bureau $36K

(Newser) - You pee in one little reservoir, and the next thing you know, 7.8 million gallons of drinking water are being drained. Yesterday’s incident, in which a 21-year-old man was caught urinating in one of Portland’s uncovered reservoirs by a surveillance camera, will end up costing the Portland...

Acid Spill Leaves Half Million Without Drinking Water

20 tons of carbolic acid ran into the Xin'an River outside Hangzhou

(Newser) - A toxic chemical spilled into a river that supplies drinking water to a scenic city of Hangzhou in eastern China, knocking out supplies to more than half a million people and creating a run on bottled water. A tanker truck carrying 20 tons of carbolic acid overturned late Saturday, and...

Prozac Killing Great Lakes' Bacteria

Scientists fear for ecosystems

(Newser) - E. coli and other microbes in the Great Lakes are dying off thanks to traces of Prozac in the water, scientists find—and that’s not necessarily good news. “Your immediate thought is, 'Well, that's good, because they're not supposed to be there anyways,” a...

Hydrofracking's Ugly Secret: From Gas Wells, Bad Water
Hydrofracking's Ugly Secret: From Gas Wells, Bad Water
new york times expose
Feb 27, 2011 7:01 AM CST

Hydrofracking's Ugly Secret: From Gas Wells, Bad Water

Radiation more than 1K times legal limit not properly treated

(Newser) - It's called "hydrofracking"—injecting huge amounts of water, sand, and chemicals underground to break up rock formations and release natural gas—and it has an ugly secret. The technology allows energy companies to wring out small pockets of natural gas all across America—the number of gas wells...

Bottled Water: Bad News for Your Teeth?

The lack of fluoride can contribute to tooth decay, dentists warn

(Newser) - As if bottled water didn’t have a bad enough rap already , it turns out it can also contribute to tooth decay. Many dentists and pediatricians are concerned that children who only drink bottled water may experience more cavities, thanks to the fact that most bottled water does not contain...

Erin Brockovich Carcinogen Runs Rampant in US Tap Water

Industrial pollutant hexavalent chromium found in 31 of 35 cities surveyed

(Newser) - Those who thought Erin Brockovich was just a decent movie might want to check their drinking water: An environmental group has found the probable carcinogen featured in the film in the tap water of 31 of 35 US cities it analyzed—the first such study of hexavalent chromium to be...

Contaminated Wells Leave Wyoming Town Thirsty

Gas drilling may be to blame

(Newser) - It's not Mexico, but rather the unlikely locale of Wyoming where feds are telling people not to drink the water. The EPA yesterday warned against using the water from 40 wells in the Pavillion area, including 17 contaminated by hydrocarbons—thought to be possibly related to oil and gas drilling...

75 Schoolkids Hospitalized After Drinking Tainted Water

Pink chemical in water tasted sweet

(Newser) - The water coming out of drinking fountains in the new wing of a Queens, NY, elementary school was pink and tasted good, and now almost 75 kids who drank it have been hospitalized. Dozens of children complained their stomachs hurt after drinking the water, which was apparently contaminated with propylene...

Boston Area Gets Clean Water Back

2+ days after water main break, state lifts order to boil tap water

(Newser) - After almost 3 days without a safe water supply, 2 million residents of eastern Massachusetts once again have clean tap water, the Boston Herald reports. After a huge water main ruptured Saturday, the state imposed a boil water order for Boston and 29 other communities. Stores quickly sold out of...

Water Main Break Leaves 2 Million Parched

Massachusetts governor declares state of emergency

(Newser) - Tap water in most of eastern Massachusetts is unsafe to drink following a water main break yesterday in a suburb west of Boston. Some 2 million residents must boil water for at least 1 minute before drinking it, making baby formula, or brushing their teeth, a situation one official described...

49M Americans Drink Contaminated Water
 49M Americans Drink 
 Contaminated Water 
EPA LAPSES
Dec 8, 2009 5:02 AM CST

49M Americans Drink Contaminated Water

EPA fails to enforce water safety laws

(Newser) - Illegal concentrations of arsenic, radioactive materials like uranium, or bacteria have been found in more than a fifth of American water supplies in the last five years. Regulators were notified of the violations but penalties were imposed in only 6% of cases, according to a New York Times analysis of...

Taps Turn Toxic as Clean Water Laws Ignored

Probe finds 500,000 violations of clean water laws in last 5 years

(Newser) - Tap water in a shocking number of American communities is making people ill, rotting teeth, burning skin, and likely causing some cancers and birth defects, reports the New York Times. A lengthy Times investigation found that factories have violated clean water laws half a million times in five years and...

Lithium in Water Cuts Suicide Rate

Japanese study links trace amounts in water supply to less suicides

(Newser) - People in areas where the tap water contains lithium are less likely to kill themselves, according to a new Japanese study. The researchers found that the element—used in high doses to treat mood disorders—appeared to "significantly" reduce the suicide rate even when only tiny amounts of it...

World's Rivers Running Low: Study

(Newser) - The world’s rivers are drying up as climate change worsens and the demand for water increases, the BBC reports. Researchers studying 925 major waterways—from the Ganges to the Colorado—found significantly less fresh water flowing into oceans in 2004 than 50 years earlier. If the trend continues, the...

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