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supply . The notice said the situation is “ not an emergency .”
However , the notice added that people with specific health concerns should consult their physicians . The notice from the city “ says that for some , drinking water containing uranium in excess over many years can increase risk of cancer and kidney toxicity ,” the Independent Record reported .
The notice said that water sample results during the final quarter of 2016 exceeded the uranium maximum contaminant level ( MCL ). The MCL for uranium is 30 µ g / L , according to the U . S . EPA .
It is unclear where Whitehall will find funding to remedy the issue .
The town “ will likely need to drill a new well or install treatment in the existing wells , Kristi Ponozzo , director of public policy at the Montana Department of Environmental Quality , said . Mayor Dale Davis said that he doesn ’ t know where the town will get the money to treat the problem ,” the Independent Record reported .
According to the World Health Organization , “ Uranium is present in the environment as a result of leaching from natural deposits , release in mill tailings , and emissions from the nuclear industry , the combustion of coal and other fuels and the use of phosphate fertilizers that contain uranium . Its presence in drinking-water is most commonly from natural sources .”
Vanuatu makes progress towards joining the Ramsar Convention
A field trip to wetlands on Efate Island with Donna Kalfatak , the Principal Biodiversity and Conservation Officer at the Department of Environmental Protection and Conservation and Roger Jaensch
The Ramsar Regional Officer for Oceania , Solongo Khurelbaatar , visited Vanuatu from 23 to 27 of January to discuss the country ’ s accession to the Ramsar Convention and the way forward as well as to provide technical support in filling out the Ramsar Information Sheet for Lake Letas . The Lake Letas , a crater lake in the centre of the volcanic island of Gaua in northern Vanuatu , is poised to become the country ’ s first Wetland of International Importance (‘ Ramsar Site ’) when Vanuatu joins the Convention . With financial support from the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund , a local non-governmental organization named “ Ecolifelihood Development Association ” is implementing a small grant project to support the listing of the Lake Letas as a Ramsar Site and raise awareness of threats to the lake ’ s ecology . The local communities have set up a Community Conservation Area including Lake Letas and its entire catchment , and will register it as an officially protected area . The communities are willing to take the conservation of Lake Letas to the next level and designate it as a Ramsar Site hoping that such step will help them promote eco-tourism at the lake to benefit their livelihoods as well promote research activities to better understand the ecology of the lake and associated ecosystems .
Mr Jesse Benjamin , the Director General of the Ministry of Climate Change Adaptation , Meteorology , Geo- Hazards and Environment has been briefed on the Ramsar Convention , benefits and costs of joining the Convention and the history of Convention ’ s engagement with Vanuatu . As a result , it was possible to map out all the formal steps required to move forward the accession . The Department of Environmental Protection and Conservation of Vanuatu , the focal point for the accession process , will follow up on these steps and trusts that the accession will be completed in the second half of 2017 .
Veolia to build drinking water network in Sri Lanka
Veolia has won a E156 million ($ 164 million ) contract to design and build a water treatment and conveyance network supplying potable water to 350,000 people in the Greater Matale region of Sri Lanka .
Veolia business development director Mark Elliot
The Sri Lankan National Water Supply and Drainage Board appointed Veolia subsidiary OTV to project manage the construction of five new water treatment plants , 12 service reservoirs , five pumping stations , and 433 kilometres of transmission and distribution pipeline . Veolia subsidiary SADE will act as subcontractor to design and build the pipeline .
Greater Matale region is in Sri Lanka ’ s Central Province , about 150 kilometres outside of the capital city Colombo , and is predominantly agricultural .
The project comprises a plant in Matale with capacity of 30,000 m3 / d , one in Ambanganga at 18,000 m3 / d ; and Rattotta , Udatenna , and Ukuwela all at 9,000 m3 / d . “ All these plants will take a surface water feed and will utilise clarification , including coagulation , flocculation , and settling , as well as filtration , technologies ,” said Veolia
10 Africa Water , Sanitation & Hygiene • March - April 2017