The guy bringing them out this morning told me they will all be gone by Friday, at the latest. On average only 14% of the bottles and 0% of the packaging is recycled in Ontario each year.  So that means that 63,500 of these bottles will be in landfill this week from just this shipment , from just this store, just this week!!!
​

More states across the country are legalizing a process called “water cremation,” but in Hawaii it is not allowed and opposed by giants in the funeral industry.
​
Kawehi Correa is president of Aloha Mortuary, which does traditional cremation and burial services for families, and pushing to bring water cremation ― or akaline hydrolysis ― to the islands. “Akaline hydrolysis is a way that best preserves the bones in its true nature,” said Correa. A large chamber dissolves the body using heated water. “Your loved one will be placed into basically into a water chamber and it’s mostly water and 5% alkaline. Your body naturally decomposes in this matter. It just quickens it up,” said Correa. The bones can be left intact, which advocates say is valued by Native Hawaiians. “Native Hawaiians had a practice that they had where their mana and their power is in their bones,” said Correa.

Steve Labrash, director of the UH Medical School’s Willed Body Program, says water cremation is a greener way to go.
“The carbon footprint of alkaline hydrolysis is much more reduced than we see from cremation or burial,” said Labrash. “I think it’s a very misunderstood process,” he added. But Hawaii’s funeral industry is strongly opposed to legalizing it, saying a bill at the legislature lacked necessary regulations.

“Approximately 300 gallons of water will be going into the sewer system as well as the composting,” said Jay Morford, president of the Hawaii Funeral and Cemetery Association. “You are looking at 1,000 pounds of human compost that will taken out of the facility and placed somewhere on the islands,” he added.

Advocates say akaline hydrolysis is legal in nearly two dozen states, including California and Florida. “They (Hawaii’s funeral industry) are threatened by another option,” said Correa. She believes families have a right to choose how they want to be laid to rest.
 

Wastewater Discharge in Kapue Stream and Lyman Bay, Hawai‘i

​ADVISEMENT
The public is advised to remain out of waters of Kapue stream below Kapue Bridge and Lyman Bay in Papaikou, Hawaii Island. An unknown volume of wastewater overflowed from a nearby manhole and may have entered the stream and adjacent coastline. Warning signs have been posted.

The public is advised to remain out of the affected waters until the signs have been removed.


ISSUANCE DATE
May 17, 2021

 Although overflowing a rainwater tank may initially seem counter intuitive, it is a benefit for rainwater harvesting as it helps to move water which creates oxygenation and helps prevent stagnation. Using an overflow accomplishes two primary goals: 1.) Creates an exit path for excess incoming water, 2.) helps to remove floating particulate from the surface of the water, and 3.) pushes the overflow water away from the foundation of the catchment.

Creating an exit path for incoming water is important so that you to control where excess water goes and often excess water is routed to a garden or other area for supplemental irrigation. Removing floating particulate from the surface of the water is also beneficial as it is part of the low-maintenance approach that we take to improve the quality of water in your tank.
Overflow can be achieved through standard PVC piping.  See photo attached.

A few things to consider when installing an overflow:
Match the overflow pipe size to the inlet pipe size. This makes sure the overflow can keep up with the incoming water if your tank is full of water. Example: If you have a 4" inlet to your tank, you'll want your overflow to be 4".

Ensure that the overflow pipe is installed at a lower elevation than the inlet pipe. In most instances, you want to make sure that the overflow is a minimum of half the pipe diameter below the inlet pipe. This allows for overflow before backing up into the pre-tank filter/inlet pipe.

Make sure the overflow has a lip/bevel. It is recommended to have some sort of angle on the pipe that the water exits through. This creates a siphon effect and helps to draw water into the pipe (think of a pond skimmer). This also helps to siphon the floating particles through the overflow. If PVC piping is used, an angle of 11 or 22 degrees cut across the pipe is recommended.
​
Prevent mosquitoes/other bugs from entering by placing a knee-high nylon with a rubber band over open ends.  Otherwise, the catchment tank is a fresh water lake to lay their eggs and the organic sediment on the bottom is a food source. 

​You cannot taste, see, or smell lead in drinking water so families should take certain actions to minimize their exposure. Before using any tap water for drinking or cooking, it is recommended to flush the water system by running cold water for 1-2 minutes. Water used for drinking, cooking, and making formula should only come from the cold water tap because hot water increases the leaching of lead from plumbing products. Families can also reduce their exposure to lead in drinking water by using a water filter that removes at least 99% of lead.

Clean Water Station has the unique technology that removes 99.99% of contaminants while leaving in all essential minerals, which are vital to your health, including calcium, potassium, and magnesium.  It eliminates lead, heavy metals, chlorine, chromium 6, mercury, volatile organic compounds, carcinogens, and other contaminants, as well as turbidity, odors, and bad taste.  Performance flow rate: port size 1/4" at 40 psi 1.2 gpm.  Service life is 6,000L.

​WASHINGTON, DC (April 29, 2021) - A new poll by the Value of Water Campaign released today shows that American voters’ support for increasing federal water infrastructure investment (78 percent) remains high, is bipartisan, and is on par with eliminating COVID-19 and strengthening the American economy as a top priority. The poll results found that while 83 percent of American voters support ensuring a reliable supply of water, there is a growing concern about the state of national water infrastructure, with only 47 percent of Americans rating the nation’s water infrastructure as good.

​For the sixth year in a row, the Value of Water Campaign poll surveyed over 1,000 American voters for the annual Value of Water Index. The poll asked voters to rate their support on water issues, including the state of local and national water infrastructure, support for water infrastructure investment, and trust and support for water systems. Support for investing in water infrastructure cuts across age, gender, party, geography, and ideology. 

Key poll findings include: 

• Americans’ support for rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure (72 percent), ensuring a reliable supply of water (83 percent), and addressing drinking water contamination (77 percent) is on par with strengthening the economy (81 percent) and eliminating COVID-19 (73 percent). 
• Support for increasing federal investment remains high (78 percent). 
• 71 percent of respondents support ensuring that the water and wastewater sector receive federal COVID-19 relief in proportion to that of other infrastructure sectors. 
• Nearly four in five Americans say they trust that the water delivered to their home is safe (78 percent). 
• Similarly, four in five Americans trust that the water pipes in their homes are safe (80 percent). 
• Voters feel very positively about their local water infrastructure, with 79 percent of all respondents rating their local water infrastructure as somewhat or very good. 
• 62 percent of voters support a $1.2 trillion upgrade to water and wastewater systems. That percentage climbs to 69 percent when voters are given more information about the state of the nation’s water infrastructure and the need for investment. 
• Voters are highly satisfied with their water and wastewater service (85 percent). As in the past, voters are highly satisfied with their water, wastewater and stormwater service, view it as affordable, and trust that the water delivered to their home is safe. 

Dave Metz, partner and president of Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz, and Associates (FM3), who helped to conduct the poll, said: "The bipartisan support for investing in water infrastructure is impressive, especially as few issues have such consistently-high voter support. It's also remarkable to see that support for ensuring a reliable supply of water is on par with public support for addressing COVID-19 and strengthening the economy." 

Sara Aminzadeh, Vice President of Partnerships of the US Water Alliance, said: "Water utilities provide an essential service, protect public health, and help communities to thrive. These systems are in desperate need of repair and modernization and the needs are only growing and compounding annually. The gap between what the country needs to spend on its water infrastructure and what is actually spent each year is tens of billions of dollars. Congress has a clear mandate to address voters’ concerns by working with the Biden administration to pass a comprehensive infrastructure package immediately that includes a historic investment in water." 

A bipartisan research team FM3 (D) and New Bridge Strategy (R) conducted the poll, seeking voters' opinions on the nation's water infrastructure. The team fielded the poll from March 15-21, 2021. 

Uncle Tilo can assist with well water tests and water disinfection.
​
Learn more here:
https://www.tiloscleanwater.com/
Under the Products page scroll down to Aquavial Well Water Test Kit to learn more.

​Highlights of the American Jobs Plan proposal for $111 billion in water infrastructure investment:

• To eliminate all lead pipes and service lines in the country, the plan calls for $45 billion in the Environmental Protection Agency’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and in Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN) grants. 
  
  
• To modernize aging drinking water, storm water, and wastewater systems by scaling up existing, successful programs, the plan calls for providing $56 billion in grants and low-cost flexible loans to states, Tribes, territories, and disadvantaged communities across the country.
  
  
• Finally, the plan includes $10 billion in funding to monitor and remediate PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in drinking water and to invest in rural small water systems and household well and wastewater systems, including drainage fields.

Read More:   ​http://www.uswateralliance.org/news/president-biden-introduces-plan-111-billion-water-infrastructure-investment

Household leaks can waste nearly 1 trillion gallons of water annually nationwide, so each year we hunt down the drips during Fix a Leak Week.

This year’s Fix a Leak Week comes as we approach the one-year mark of COVID-19, when many people began spending more time indoors and water usage increased. In fact, since the start of the public health emergency, about a quarter of Americans say they have been using more water, meaning it is more important than ever to be aware of common issues and know how to spot them.

​Now is a good time to find and fix leaks inside and outside your home to save valuable water and money all year long.

“Last month’s unlawful intrusion into the City of Oldsmar's water treatment system was the latest example of the vulnerability of our nation’s small and rural utilities to cyber-attacks,” said Matt Holmes, NRWA CEO. “The City’s operator should be commended for taking immediate action to prevent catastrophic consequences. NRWA takes cybersecurity very seriously, and is committed to raising the bar for awareness, education and support for water professionals.”

MCGA and NRWA are developing a plan for a comprehensive continuous cyber education program that will help all small and rural water and wastewater systems better manage their cybersecurity risk, by:

• Creating a multi-stage training program that targets guidance based on risk along with the technical ability and capacity of systems.
• Focusing on training Circuit Riders, the key NRWA field experts who are best placed to sustain the ongoing effort needed to manage the cybersecurity risk.
• Integrating with other initiatives around water sector cybersecurity to ensure that time, effort, and funds are used to best effect.

"MCGA is excited to be partnering with the NRWA in developing a comprehensive cyber and physical security training program for their members. The Oldsmar hack won't be the last attempt to disrupt a water or wastewater system and as that situation has demonstrated having an educated workforce is a vital part of the defense in mitigating risk against critical infrastructure," said Brian Kainrath, MCGA President.

There are more than 145,000 active public water systems in the United States (including territories). Of these, 97% are considered small systems under the Safe Drinking Water Act, meaning they serve 10,000 or fewer people. Systems of the size of City of Oldsmar (15,000 population) have limited resources to manage the threat to their operations.

In the field of cybersecurity, guidance is often too complex or difficult to act. Experts provide lists of 20 or more points that need to be investigated, and many of these require specialist skills. Specialist service providers are often driven by their own business interests, focusing their services on technology at the expense of people and process. NRWA and MCGA will focus on simple guidance and practical steps that will help all members better manage their cybersecurity risk.

It is impossible to completely remove all cybersecurity risk. However, rural water and wastewater systems can take actions that will reduce the likelihood of an incident, or the consequences of that incident. Some of these actions can be taken immediately by water utilities, such as removing insecure remote access, performing a risk assessment, raising awareness, securing user accounts, and implementing policy for former employees.

“Today’s announcement is just the beginning of a sustained effort to tackle the issue of cybersecurity in America’s critical water infrastructure sector,” Holmes said. “For too long, we have witnessed underinvestment by the Federal Government to support small and rural communities respond to cyber threats.”

MCGA and NRWA considers these actions essential for all rural systems. Undertaking these actions does not remove all cybersecurity risk, but it does reduce the risk considerably. There are many more actions that should be taken, and the cybersecurity risk continually changes.
 ​

Uncle Tilo's Clean Water LLC is celebrating Fix-a-Leak Week by offering tips for reducing water waste and tips on saving water.

Pick up a free Dye Tablet to check for leaks in your toilet at the storefront in Pahoa Marketplace.
​Monday - Thursday 10am to 3pm.
​
Check back daily all week to learn more water saving tips.
TilosCleanWater.com

​Uncle Tilo's Clean Water will give away free dye tablets used to identify toilet leaks and water conservation tips in celebration of Fix-a-Leak Week, beginning Monday, March 15.

How to look for household water leaks, easily repair a leaking toilet and Rainwater Harvester tips are among the tips Uncle Tilo will post weekdays starting Monday on its website, www.TilosCleanWater.com and on Facebook.
​
Pick up your free dye tablet at storefront in the Pahoa Marketplace. One tablet per family while supplies last. 100 tablets available.

More than 1,100 water suppliers affected, nearly half the state’s residents scavenge for clean water. ​

​Here’s what happens in Texas when nature so easily overwhelms years of poor decisions.  As the week ended, more than 1,100 of Texas’s 7,000 water utilities alerted their customers to boil their water. Almost half of the state’s 29 million residents were affected. 
There was no running water in much of Austin. In San Antonio, water was shut off to 30 percent of the city. A big apartment development in San Antonio burned to the ground because fire hydrants were inoperable. 
Many small cities were unable to supply water to all or a portion of their customers. San Angelo, a West Texas city of 100,000 residents, alerted residents through its Twitter feed that water trucks would deliver to neighborhoods until 10 p.m. nightly. “They will start back up tomorrow morning to go by areas that they were not able to get to tonight,” the city said. “We ask residents to either leave their containers out or place them early tomorrow so that they can be filled.”
“A lot of neighborhoods, straight up, don’t have water,” said Sharlene Leurig, an Austin resident and chief executive of Texas Water Trade, a water market research and innovation group. “Has there ever been so many people cut off from water in this country?”
Likely not. Circle of Blue was not able to identify a comparable statewide disruption in water supply, and especially in the country’s second largest state. The deep freeze and its accompanying electric blackouts, water line breaks, and interior flooding also are bound to produce the largest weather-related financial losses in state history, according to the Insurance Council of Texas. The highest loss to date was the $20 billion in damage (in 2020 dollars) that Hurricane Harvey produced in 2017.
A sizable slice of those damages will unfold along the Gulf Coast, where temperatures were the lowest in 126 years. Scientists said the freeze will lead to a giant fish kill and harm the region’s multi-billion dollar recreation and sport fishing sectors. As waters warm, the extent of the damage will become clearer as tens of thousands of dead speckled trout, red fish, black drum, and all the fish they feed on float to the surface. “It collapsed the food chain from top to bottom,” said Dr. Larry McKinney, former director of the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, a unit of Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi.  
Over the weekend water utility executives said they still did not know how long it will take to repair their supply networks – a few more days in some cities, maybe another week or so in others. Executives and government authorities were similarly baffled following extreme weather events in the Himalayas, California, India, Australia and other regions battered by the planet’s 21st-century truculence.
The end to the Texas water crisis is still out of view. When the emergency subsides, though, a seminal question will emerge. Will Texans express the imagination and resolve to reduce the threat from the inevitable next deep freeze, drought, or hurricane?

By NANCY COOK LAUER
West Hawaii Today
The county water department plans to trim $459,400 to create its $54.9 million operating budget for the new fiscal year that begins July 1.

The 1% decrease comes on the heels of an average 13% increase in water rates initiated Jan. 1, with a drop in water use accounting for the reduction, Manager-Chief Engineer Keith Okamoto told the Water Board on Tuesday. Okamoto anticipates a $2.5 million decrease in power costs, a wash in the budget as the cost is passed through to customers.

 "The budget includes an additional $630,572, a 3% increase, in personnel costs including raises and benefits, for the Department of Water Supply’s 198 employees" Okamoto said. "This has been a challenging year,” Okamoto said. “This budget is a good budget, I think, moving forward.”

The budget will be the subject of a public hearing scheduled for 9:45 a.m. March 23 prior to the regular board meeting. Then it faces two votes by the Water Board.

In addition to the rate hike, utility management plans to cut 2% from its operations and maintenance budget by cutting vacant funded positions. The original plan trims the utility’s operating reserves to 47 days, compared to the goal of 60 days.
The budget also includes $7.8 million to pay down debt and $1 million — almost twice last year’s amount — to put into capital improvement reserves. Investing in CIP projects is important for the future of the system, Okamoto said.

“Nationwide, it’s an aging infrastructure and we work to keep it up,” he said. “We do improvements or repairs or capital improvement projects to replace aging infrastructure but also to increase capacity and meet flow demands.”
The CIP budget totals $34 million for the coming year, with the two costliest projects the Lalamilo 10 million gallon reservoir, at $11 million and the Waikoloa reservoir at $8 million.

Board member Ben Ney was concerned the system was operating too close to the edge. On the books, the system seemed to have a $9.3 million operating loss last year, according to its annual audit. “I almost think there needs to be a trajectory change,” Ney said. But that number includes $14 million in depreciation of equipment, which is a noncash item, said Chad Funasaki, principal for auditors N& K CPAs Inc.

“Eventually, we’ll have to make sure we’re not overall spending more than we’re bringing in … If there’s any red flags to financial health, we’re aware sooner rather than later,” Okamoto said. He said the department can adjust during the budget year by delaying equipment purchases and postponing new capital improvement projects, for example. “Those are some of the things we can implement quickly,” he said.

The water bill includes an energy charge, a water consumption charge, a set standby charge and a power cost charge that fluctuates with the price of electricity. The water department, a semi-autonomous agency, doesn’t get tax dollars but is funded by charges for its water service.

​
For those using UV bulbs in rainwater catchment systems you should be aware the bulbs contain mercury. When thrown in the trash they go to the landfill spilling mercury into the ocean.

The County of Hawaii Household Hazardous Waste Collection will collect these hazardous UV bulbs for disposal on Sunday, March 7 from 8:30 to 3:30 at the Pahoa transfer station. Uncle Tilo’s Clean Water in the Pahoa Marketplace collects them all year long for your convenience.
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Learn more about hazardous waste collection here:
https://www.hawaiizerowaste.org/.../household-hazardous.../
​

Learn how you can upgrade to Quantum Disinfection, an eco-friendly water disinfection that out-performs hazardous UV bulbs, does not require power, has no chemicals, and kills pathogens.
​
Learn more about Quantum Disinfection here:
https://claire-technologies.com/technology/

​Yes, but it is not recommended. While removing the chemicals and contaminants, the distillation process also removes the beneficial minerals, such as magnesium and calcium from the water.

WHAT IS DISTILLED WATER?
IS IT BETTER FOR YOU THAN MINERAL WATER?
Water is the most essential aspect of all life forms. Up to 70% of the human body is made up of water. Today, there are various types of water and water filters available. Whether water comes from tap water, bottled water, spring water, soft water, a refrigerator filter, distillation, reverse osmosis, we should be extremely conscious of the quality of water that we are putting into our bodies. Distilled water specifically is interesting as the distillation process does purify water removing 99.9%+ of contaminants, but it also poses health risks. When deciding to drink primarily distilled water it is important to consider the health effects from the lack of minerals in distilled water and how the water tastes. But first, what is distilled water?

HOW IS DISTILLED WATER MADE?
Distilled water is created by heating and boiling the water to its boiling point and collecting evaporated steam. When water evaporates and creates steam, it separates pure water from dissolved solids and contaminants. Collecting the steam leaves you with a pure form of filtered water that has not only been stripped of contaminants but also beneficial minerals and vital nutrients as well. This type of water is often called dead water or acidic water, as all impurities, chemicals, and minerals are removed.

GREAT, NOW YOU HAVE PURIFIED WATER FREE FROM CHEMICALS AND IMPURITIES, SO WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?
The problem is that while removing the chemicals and contaminants, the distillation process also removes the beneficial minerals, such as magnesium and calcium from the water. When your body loses water through sweating or urinating, you also lose sodium and other valuable minerals. Typically, minerals are replenished through food and water. By only drinking distilled filtered water, you cannot replenish vital minerals through water intake, which may eventually lead to a deficiency. An increase in urine output could also result in an electrolyte imbalance. It is possible to regain some of these minerals through food in a well-balanced diet, however, when cooking these foods, mineral loss from the cooking process can be up to 70%! Your body also absorbs more minerals out of water than food, so it is important for minerals in your water to replace what you have lost.
Another adverse aspect of drinking distilled water is the flat taste. This is due to a lack of minerals, metals, and inorganic compounds. Many find this unappealing and in the long term, can lead to a decrease in water consumption. Outside of the negative health effects on your body, distilled water can also have harmful effects on the environment. Once the distillation process is completed and the pure water is collected from steam, it leaves behind highly salinized hard water, that can disrupt the surrounding ecosystem of the water source.

WHAT IS A GOOD ALTERTERATIVE TO DISTILLED WATER?
The Uncle Tilo’s Clean Water Filter Pack system is a fantastic alternative to providing pathogens free clean water while retaining minerals. There are a few main reasons why we recommend using Uncle Tilo’s Clean Water Filter Pack, the first being the quality of the water. With Quantum Disinfection™ together with a 20-micron sediment filter and a 5-micron 100% Coconut Shell Carbon filter removes chlorine, insecticides, benzene organic chemicals, bad taste, odors and kills viruses, pathogenic bacteria without the need for electric all while leaving in the minerals that your body needs. For Rainwater harvesters living on the Big Island of Hawai’i Uncle Tilo offers the Acid Rain Mineral Pack to place inside catchment tanks. This product is desirable for a couple of reasons: One it adds minerals to coat copper and brass fittings and components in the plumbing systems to protect from releasing lead into the water source and adds minerals for a great tasting water source that our bodies require.

If you have read this far you know that the quality of your water is a direct link to the quality of your health. Kudo's to YOU!!!

To learn more about the Clean Water Filter Pack for whole house water disinfection which allows consumers to drink, shower, wash your food and dishes with water from your tap and the Acid Rain Mineral Pack visit:
​https://www.tiloscleanwater.com/.../Quantum_Disinfection...

Water treatment professionals have long known that ultraviolet light does not "technically" kill microorganisms.  They understand that UV damages the DNA of a bacterial cell so that it cannot replicate.  Essentially, it is rendered dead because it cannot replicate.  However, they are still in the water, even if they are "dead men walking"!  Now, we also find that in some cases, bacteria may remain dormant after UV disinfection.  
 
In Chemical& Engineering News, dated January 15, 2015, Deirdre Lockwood reported this:
Many drinking water treatment facilities worldwide disinfect water with ultraviolet light because it is quick and efficient, kills protozoa such as Giardia, and does not introduce potentially harmful disinfection by-products. But a new study shows that UV treatment alone can push bacteria into a dormant state instead of killing them, and that in some cases, the bacteria can later revive and proliferate (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2015, DOI: 10.1021/es505211e).
​
“In contrast with chlorination, which kills by destroying the bacterial cell membrane, UV treatment leaves the membrane intact but damages bacterial DNA to block replication. But it can also induce bacteria into a viable but nonculturable state in which the bacteria are dormant and no longer form colonies but can later wake up and start dividing again.”
​

Quantum Disinfection is a "disruptive technology" in that it kills bacteria at the cellular level by removing their electrons.

​Quantum Disinfection is completely and totally different than any other disinfection method. 

​Quantum Disinfection kills bacteria instantly upon contact.  

​By JEFF PEGUES CBS NEWS February 9, 2021

​A shocking case of computer hacking has been uncovered in Pinellas County, Florida. Federal investigators are trying to hunt down the person who tried to poison a public water supply — remotely.  Investigators say a plant operator monitoring the water plant in the Tampa Bay city of Oldsmar noticed breaches starting Friday morning.

The hacker was controlling the computer system's mouse — opening various functions on the screen and changing the sodium hydroxide in the water supply from about 100 parts per million to more than 11,100 parts per million.
​
"This is obviously a significant and potentially dangerous increase," Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said. "Sodium hydroxide, also known as lye, is the main ingredient in liquid drain cleaners."

If ingested in large amounts, sodium hydroxide can cause vomiting, chest and abdominal pain, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

DOH – Safe Drinking Water Branch currently subsidizes the testing for lead and copper in individual homes served by rainwater catchment systems. Owners or users of rainwater catchment systems can take advantage of the program once per year. Under this program, the owner or user of a “legal dwelling” can submit a water sample from their rainwater catchment system to a participating analytical laboratory for testing of lead and copper in the water.
​
The owner must pay for the shipping of the sample and $25.00 for the analyses. The DOH will be billed for the remaining cost of the analyses. AECOS Laboratory, Inc. is currently the only lab approved by DOH, and is participating in this program.