Newark Mayor: Water Testing Could Take Month to Complete

What to Know Newark's mayor says it could take another month before additional
testing is completed on lead levels in the city's water supply That means residents
in affected neighborhoods will have to continue receiving bottled water Newark
began distributing bottled water week ago after lead levels tested high in a few
homes even though residents were given water filters Newark's mayor says it could
take another month before additional testing is completed on lead levels in the
city's water supply. That means residents in affected neighborhoods will have to
continue receiving bottled water. Mayor Ras Baraka's comments on a radio show
Sunday were first reported by Politico. Newark began distributing bottled water a
week ago after lead levels tested high in a few homes even though residents have
been given water filters. About 14,000 homes are affected. In addition, a federal
judge is expected to rule this week on an environmental group's effort to force
Newark to distribute water to thousands more residents who are served by a
different water system. The Natural Resources Defense Council says those residents
also are at risk from excessive lead levels. 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 Copyright Associated Press 

Sydney's water supply falling at fastest rate on record due to drought

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia’s biggest city Sydney is running down its water supply
at the fastest rate on record with dams expected to fall below half maximum
capacity due to the worst drought on record, the government said on Friday. FILE
PHOTO: A woman drinks water from a water fountain during a hot day in central
Sydney January 5, 2010. REUTERS/Daniel Munoz/File Photo Warragamba Dam, the city’s
main water supply, was sitting at 51.4% capacity, down 17.8% in a year and little
more than half its level just two years earlier. The amount of water flowing into
the dam was just 10% of what it was a year ago, according to the New South Wales
(NSW) state regulator WaterNSW. The total water level in Sydney’s 11 dams was
50.1%, forcing authorities to introduced water restrictions in recent months. “We
have never seen these kind of inflows,” said NSW Minister for Water, Property and
Housing Melinda Pavey. “Catchments that have been historically reliable ... are now
facing a critical shortage of water,” she added. At the current rate of decline,
discounting rainfall, Sydney dams would only have enough water reserves for another
two years, according to figures provided by WaterNSW. Pavey said “major (inland)
cities ... run the risk of running out of fresh water in the next 12 months”. “That
is the stark reality for our regional communities,” she added. Sydney has resorted
to water-saving methods in recent months including enforced water restrictions,
which limit the amount of water people are allowed to use outdoors. In March,
Sydney’s desalination plant started working at full capacity to process sea water,
with the aim to lift the city’s water reserves to 70%. The state government said
this week it plans to expand the plant. In April, researcher Kantar Public surveyed
1,000 Sydney residents and found that despite the dry conditions and declining
water supply, 47% of people did not realize there was a drought. Reporting by Mell
Chun; Editing by Byron Kaye and Michael Perry

Snake to blame for polluting South Florida city's water supply with E. coli

DELRAY BEACH, FLA. — Officials in a South Florida city are blaming a snake after
E. coli bacteria was found in a water well, a spokeswoman said. >> Read more
trending news Delray Beach spokeswoman Gina Carter said the snake was found in
the well that supplies the city with water, the Sun-Sentinel reported. City
residents do not need to boil their water, Carter told the newspaper. Members of
Delray Beach's utilities department discovered the bacteria in the water Aug. 7,
but samples tested from Aug. 6 through Aug. 10 tested negative for E. coli, Carter
told the Sun-Sentinel. A contractor found the snake in the well before the water
was treated by the city, Carter told the newspaper. The well was removed from
circulation and disinfected, she said. The well will be retested before the city
uses its water again, Carter told the Sun-Sentinel. Carter told the newspaper she
did not know what kind of snake entered the well, its length or whether it was
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