Global Scans · Clean Water and Sanitation · Weekly Summary

In September 2015, 193 world leaders agreed to 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development. If these Goals are completed, it would mean an end to extreme poverty, inequality and climate change by 2030.
Goal 6. Ensure availability of water and sanitation for all.

• [New] Starting in 2029, water providers that exceed MCLs must have PFAS-reducing solutions in place to bring levels down to new MCL standards. Los Alamos Reporter
• [New] Public Water Systems across Ohio will soon be tasked with testing and treating drinking water for chemicals called PFAS, but some water systems are raising concerns about cost of removing so-called forever chemicals. WVXU
• [New] EPA plans to provide an online calculator to help water systems determine their Hazard Index compliance. Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog
• [New] The US EPA is taking a critical step to address the growing threat from a broad category of chemicals known as PFOAs or PFAs in drinking water. The White House
• [New] When drinking water contaminants are linked to health harms such as cancer, the EPA when developing health advisories must assume the safe level is zero, or the level at which there is no known or expected risk. Environmental Working Group
• Some industry groups and local officials are dissatisfied with EPA's new rules, questioning the economic burden placed on water systems and manufacturers and predicting that certain manufacturing industries will seek residence in countries with less stringent environmental protections. JD Supra
• Public water systems will likely need to implement one or more available technologies to reliably detect (and meet) PFAS at the levels set by EPA. Jones Day
• Water levels were expected to drop in Orsk after historic flooding caused by a burst dam displaced thousands of people in Russia's southern Ural region. Yahoo News
• PFAS in drinking water exceeds the MCLs, the public water system will have until 2029 to develop plans, obtain funding. Lexology
• The EPA rule requires public water systems to monitor for six PFAS chemicals, giving them three years to complete the initial monitoring by 2027. DCReport.org
• Last year, 3M reached a settlement worth $10.3 billion with water systems across the U.S. that will help pay to clean up drinking water contaminated with PFAS, while DuPont de Nemours Inc, Chemours and Corteva reached a similar deal worth $1.19 billion. Yahoo News
• Rising waters were forecast in Siberia's Ishim River, also a tributary of the Irtysh, which along with its parent, the Ob, forms the world's seventh-longest river system. Voice of America (VOA News)
• There are multiple wastewater treatment systems across the ExxonMobil Singapore complex, including a membrane biological reactor that provides additional opportunities for water reuse on site. ExxonMobil
• The opportunity to produce Green Hydrogen through renewable electrolysis of water is emerging throughout Australia as we develop and increase renewable energy capacity (predominantly via solar and wind). Hfw
• Floating Offshore Wind Shot, taking into consideration national circumstances, to accelerate breakthroughs across engineering, manufacturing, and other innovation areas that dramatically reduce the cost of floating offshore wind in deep waters by 2035. The White House
• Floating Offshore Wind Shot, which aims to reduce the cost of floating offshore wind in deep waters by more than 70% and reach 1 5GW of U.S. domestic deployment by 2035. The White House
• Water utilities will have three years to complete their initial monitoring for PFAS and will need to comply with the drinking water regulations starting in 2029. The Washington Post
• Water providers are entering a new era with significant additional health standards that the EPA says will make tap water safer for millions of consumers - a Biden administration priority. AP News
• The Biden administration on Wednesday finalized strict limits on certain so-called forever chemicals in drinking water that will require utilities to reduce them to the lowest level they can be reliably measured. AP News
• Africa is facing more severe effects from climate change than much of the rest of the world; coastal floods could impact energy infrastructure, while water stress may threaten the main input needed to produce green hydrogen, even though it uses less water than other forms of hydrogen production. Lombard Odier

Last updated: 21 April 2024