The News Review:

- 24×7 water supply just a decade away
- Drought threat to Spain as farmers and developers gulp down precious…
- Tap opens on water supply for north houses boom.
- Soshanguve left without water for three days

24×7 water supply just a decade away
Times of India – Aug 31, 2006
In reply to aquestion by MIM MLAs in the Assembly, the minister said 24×7 drinking watersupply was taken up on a pilot basis at a cost of Rs 3 crore in Adikmet area ofHyderabad. “The quantum ofwater required for the twin cities is approximately 230 MGD (million gallons perday) while the present availability is 140 MGD. Depending on the sources, weplan to ensure round-the-clock water supply in the next 10 years,” Ranga Raoadded. The state governmenthas submitted proposals to the Centre for funds for the project under theJawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission and a clearance in this regardis awaited. MIM floor leaderAkbaruddin Owaisi, who raised the question, said the existing distributionsystem was insufficient to meet the requirements of drinking water supply in thetwin cities. There are 320 areas in the twin cities that are still uncovered and40 per cent of the water supplied by Water Board was going waste, hesaid. “Under the Krishnaphase-I project, 90 MGD water is available for the state capital but we aredrawing only 60 MGD.

Drought threat to Spain as farmers and developers gulp down precious…
The Independent – Independent – Aug 31, 2006
More than half of the water reserves are little more than mud and not useful for human consumption. With a total of only 244 cubic hectometres left, they have reached the point where there is little water remaining in the Segura and Júcar rivers. Those rivers supply drinking water to the homes and businesses in Murcia and the Valencian province of Alicante. Reservoirs in the Segura river are currently at 12 per cent of their normal capacity while those in the Jucar are down to 13 per cent after losing 28 cubic hectometres in the past week alone. It means with water levels so low, residents in Murcia and Alicante may have only a few weeks of running water left. If the expected rains do not arrive in October, then the situation could worsen. The authorities have admitted the crisis has never been more serious, despite previous bad droughts in 2004 and last year…
Last year, as Spain experienced the worst drought for nearly 60 years, farmers were reduced to using waste water on their crops. Earlier this month, in a report by the Worldwide Fund for Nature, Spain was named the worst developed country for water management, because of the amount of water leaking away from rusty pipes. And increasingly many farmers resort to getting their water from illegally dug wells, further depleting resources. But the problem is not confined to Murcia and Alicante. Elsewhere in Spain, water reserves are only 41 per cent of total capacity and continue to fall at alarming rates. Ecologists point to the priority which the Spanish authorities give to the property industry and golf courses. In Andalucia, an activist Antonio Figueroa claimed golf course owners were “favoured” by the Spanish authorities.

Tap opens on water supply for north houses boom.
Free with registration – Europe Intelligence Wire – AccessMyLibrary.com – Aug 31, 2006
Tap opens on water supply for north houses boom. | Europe Intelligence Wire (August, 2006). The optimism followed sep.

Soshanguve left without water for three days
Independent Online – Aug 31, 2006
About 1 000 households were affected by the break in services that forced people to walk for kilometres to communal taps in other sections of the informal settlement. Although the water supply was reconnected over the weekend, residents are still fuming and demanding answers from their councillor, who they claim has “no interest” in the area. Martha Masuku said the water supply was cut about a month ago without warning. She said according to contractors a pipe had burst and needed to be repaired before the water supply could be restored. She said the council failed to send water trucks or provide any assistance to the residents.