Latest news with #cleanwater
CNN
5 days ago
- Politics
- CNN
Red Cross: Gazans Struggling To Find Food & Clean Water - The Arena with Kasie Hunt - Podcast on CNN Podcasts
Red Cross: Gazans Struggling To Find Food & Clean Water The Arena with Kasie Hunt 46 mins Jim Sciutto and his panel discuss President Donald Trump's new comments from Scotland about the Jeffrey Epstein files after his Deputy Attorney General met with Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell for a second day. Member of the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, joins. Plus, a discussion about the dire situation in Gaza.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
QUEST WATER GLOBAL ANNOUNCES STRATEGIC GOVERNMENT PARTNERSHIP
VANCOUVER, CANADA, July 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- QUEST WATER GLOBAL, INC. (OTCID: QWTR) ("Quest" and/or the "Company"), announced today that the Company has entered into a strategic partnership agreement in the Democratic Republic of Congo ('DRC') with the National Office for Rural Hydraulics ('ONHR'), a branch of the Ministry of Rural Development ('MRD'). The agreement creates a 10-year public-private partnership between the Company and ONHR. The project governed by the agreement aims to provide affordable, clean water to 1.5 – 1.8 million people in underserved rural and peri-urban communities throughout the DRC and is expected to help the Company and its current joint venture, AQUAtap Oasis Partnership SARL, accelerate their growth in the country and drive sustainable impact. The objective of the partnership is for Quest to manufacture and install a total of 300 AQUAtap Community Water Centers over the next five years in DRC communities where infrastructure is limited or nonexistent. This initiative will take place in the provinces of Kinshasa, Kasai, Bas-Congo, Haut-Katanga, and Lualaba. The project will follow a Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Transfer model. Isaac Kalonji Jr. III, COO of Quest, stated, "We are excited to partner with the National Office for Rural Hydraulics on this important initiative. This collaboration marks a significant step forward in our commitment to advancing rural development and enhancing water accessibility in the region. We believe that this partnership will bring about positive and measurable socioeconomic benefits, drive innovation, and enhance public services." Both the Company and ONHR anticipate that the partnership will create job opportunities for DRC residents because it will involve activities such as initial site surveys, installation, system commissioning, daily operations, and maintenance. The first systems will be built in South Africa, with plans to establish a fabrication facility in Kinshasa. Quest, in partnership with CLEAN International, a non-governmental organization based in Southern California, will provide Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) education to the communities involved. The Company is responsible for contributing US$30M to the partnership over the duration of the project to fund the 300 AQUAtap systems. ONHR is entitled to receive 40% of the revenue while Quest is entitled to receive 60% of the revenue generated from the project. ONHR will provide the necessary authorization permits for each installation, as well as administrative support and tax exemptions on the importation of Quest's technology. Additionally, ONHR will provide the installation sites and 24/7 security for the installed systems. ONHR will also conduct water quality tests to ensure compliance with local health standards. About Quest Water Global, Inc. Quest Water Global, Inc. is a socially responsible and innovative water solutions company. The Company's goal is to provide a permanent, abundant, affordable, and sustainable source of drinking water to underserved communities. To achieve its financial, social, and environmental goals, Quest utilizes an inclusive, market-driven Build-Own-Operate business model. For more information, visit the Company's website at Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements, as that term is defined under applicable securities laws. Statements in this press release, which are not purely historical, are forward-looking statements. These statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks which may cause actual results and the Company's plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements, including: negative results from the Company's operations; the effects of government regulation on the Company's business; risks associated with the Company's ability to obtain and protect rights to its intellectual property; risks and uncertainties related to the Company's ability to raise additional capital; loss of management; and other factors beyond the Company's control. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, or performance. Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made, and, except as required by applicable law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all such factors and to assess in advance the impact of such factors on the Company's business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Readers should also refer to the risk factor disclosures and other disclosures outlined in the Company's periodic reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission on EDGAR at and with the British Columbia Securities Commission on SEDAR+ at CONTACTS: John Balanko, President & CEO Quest Water Global, Inc. +1 888 897 5536 info@ Jacqueline McClure, Corporate Communications Quest Water Global, Inc. jmcclure@ Source: Quest Water Global, in to access your portfolio
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
White House rescinds $20m for clean water in pesticide-contaminated rural California
For decades, thousands of residents in California's agricultural heartland couldn't use their wells because the water was too contaminated with pesticides. In December, the Biden administration stepped in with a long-awaited $20m grant to provide clean water, improve municipal sources and relieve the region's financial and health burden. The Trump administration just took the money away. Donald Trump's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) labeled the grant a 'wasteful DEI program', though advocates say the move is an act of cruelty. Drinking water in some parts of the Monterey county region, which largely produces strawberries, has not been safe for decades because it is contaminated with staggering levels of highly toxic pesticide ingredients that threaten the health of agricultural workers and others. The decision to yank the money was 'unjust', said Maraid Jimenez, a spokesperson for the Community Water Center, which was helping manage the grant's implementation. 'People agree that everyone needs safe drinking water, so to have a grant help fix that for a rural community rescinded – it doesn't make any sense to us,' Jimenez said. 'The drinking water crisis here only gets worse, and, beyond our shock, we're trying to mobilize to find a solution.' The funding, along with California state money, would have improved drinking water quality for about 5,500 people, either through improvements to municipal infrastructure or by connecting contaminated wells to municipal lines. The aquifer in the rural, majority-Spanish-speaking communities in Monterey county, which sits about 50 miles (80km) south of the San Jose, is widely contaminated with 1,2,3-TCP, a pesticide ingredient and carcinogen banned in 40 countries that persists for decades in the soil and groundwater. In many cases, the 1,2,3-TCP levels in wells have been found to far exceed state limits and EPA health guidelines for drinking water. 1,2,3-TCP can also evaporate and create toxic fumes in the shower, and it is linked to liver, kidney and reproductive damage. The wells also often contain high levels of arsenic, hexavalent chromium and nitrates. Each are carcinogens and the latter can cause 'blue baby syndrome', a condition in young children that causes their skin to turn blue when the toxin gets into their bloodstream and restricts oxygen flow. Residents have either had to buy jugs of water or use state assistance to purchase them over the last 30 years. Among them is Marcela, a mother of three who has lived in the region for about 10 years. She and her husband are strawberry pickers, and she declined to provide her last name for fear of retaliation from the federal government. Marcela said the family, which lives near Moss Landing, spends about $450 every three weeks on 5-gallon jugs of water. The well on the property that she rents is broken. She and her landlords, an elderly couple who live at the house and whom she takes care of, don't have enough money to fix it. Even if they could, the water from the well would in all likelihood be too contaminated to use. They learned in late 2024 of the plan to connect their property to a nearby water district within three years, which would have alleviated a major stress and financial burden. Then they learned that the Trump administration had rescinded the funding. 'It is devastating news for us,' Marcela said via a translator. 'We urgently need water.' Marcela's family is protected by the bottled water, but some in the region 'didn't know that they couldn't drink or cook with the tap water, so they would use it', said Mayra Hernandez, community advocacy manager with Community Water Center. What that has meant for their health is unclear. Educating residents about the risks has involved Community Water Center staff knocking on doors. The challenges in getting out the word in the region, where there are a large number of workers who don't speak English and who live in isolation from information sources, highlights how essential it is to hook up properties to clean water. The EPA grant, along with state funding, would have connected more than 1,000 residents with unsafe wells to municipal lines. It also would have provided financial support to municipal systems needed to expand water provision and provide improvements. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion In an emailed statement, the EPA said: 'Maybe the Biden-Harris Administration shouldn't have forced their radical agenda of wasteful DEI programs and 'environmental justice' preferencing on the EPA's core mission of protecting human health and the environment.' The cuts are part of the Trump administration's broader attack aimed at killing approximately $2bn for environmental and climate justice initiatives made available through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that would reduce pollution and improve communities' resilience to the effects of climate change. Hundreds of projects across the nation have lost funding, and though lawsuits have sought to restore it, Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' eliminated all IRA money that was not yet disbursed. The decision to rescind the funding came at almost the same time that the EPA announced $30m in funding for rural water improvements – a drop in the bucket compared with what was available under the Biden administration. None of the new funding is going to the region around Marcea's home. Jimenez said the EPA's actions 'don't fall in line with their messaging'. 'Drinking water is a human right and it shouldn't be a political topic that's contested,' she said. The Community Water Center is now looking for other sources of funding through the state, but Jimenez added that advocates are determined even if the situation for now remains unclear. 'Just because a grant is being canceled doesn't mean the problem is going away,' Jimenez said.
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
White House rescinds $20m for clean water in pesticide-contaminated rural California
For decades, thousands of residents in California's agricultural heartland couldn't use their wells because the water was too contaminated with pesticides. In December, the Biden administration stepped in with a long-awaited $20m grant to provide clean water, improve municipal sources and relieve the region's financial and health burden. The Trump administration just took the money away. Donald Trump's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) labeled the grant a 'wasteful DEI program', though advocates say the move is an act of cruelty. Drinking water in some parts of the Monterey county region, which largely produces strawberries, has not been safe for decades because it is contaminated with staggering levels of highly toxic pesticide ingredients that threaten the health of agricultural workers and others. The decision to yank the money was 'unjust', said Maraid Jimenez, a spokesperson for the Community Water Center, which was helping manage the grant's implementation. 'People agree that everyone needs safe drinking water, so to have a grant help fix that for a rural community rescinded – it doesn't make any sense to us,' Jimenez said. 'The drinking water crisis here only gets worse, and, beyond our shock, we're trying to mobilize to find a solution.' The funding, along with California state money, would have improved drinking water quality for about 5,500 people, either through improvements to municipal infrastructure or by connecting contaminated wells to municipal lines. The aquifer in the rural, majority-Spanish-speaking communities in Monterey county, which sits about 50 miles (80km) south of the San Jose, is widely contaminated with 1,2,3-TCP, a pesticide ingredient and carcinogen banned in 40 countries that persists for decades in the soil and groundwater. In many cases, the 1,2,3-TCP levels in wells have been found to far exceed state limits and EPA health guidelines for drinking water. 1,2,3-TCP can also evaporate and create toxic fumes in the shower, and it is linked to liver, kidney and reproductive damage. The wells also often contain high levels of arsenic, hexavalent chromium and nitrates. Each are carcinogens and the latter can cause 'blue baby syndrome', a condition in young children that causes their skin to turn blue when the toxin gets into their bloodstream and restricts oxygen flow. Residents have either had to buy jugs of water or use state assistance to purchase them over the last 30 years. Among them is Marcela, a mother of three who has lived in the region for about 10 years. She and her husband are strawberry pickers, and she declined to provide her last name for fear of retaliation from the federal government. Marcela said the family, which lives near Moss Landing, spends about $450 every three weeks on 5-gallon jugs of water. The well on the property that she rents is broken. She and her landlords, an elderly couple who live at the house and whom she takes care of, don't have enough money to fix it. Even if they could, the water from the well would in all likelihood be too contaminated to use. They learned in late 2024 of the plan to connect their property to a nearby water district within three years, which would have alleviated a major stress and financial burden. Then they learned that the Trump administration had rescinded the funding. 'It is devastating news for us,' Marcela said via a translator. 'We urgently need water.' Marcela's family is protected by the bottled water, but some in the region 'didn't know that they couldn't drink or cook with the tap water, so they would use it', said Mayra Hernandez, community advocacy manager with Community Water Center. What that has meant for their health is unclear. Educating residents about the risks has involved Community Water Center staff knocking on doors. The challenges in getting out the word in the region, where there are a large number of workers who don't speak English and who live in isolation from information sources, highlights how essential it is to hook up properties to clean water. The EPA grant, along with state funding, would have connected more than 1,000 residents with unsafe wells to municipal lines. It also would have provided financial support to municipal systems needed to expand water provision and provide improvements. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion In an emailed statement, the EPA said: 'Maybe the Biden-Harris Administration shouldn't have forced their radical agenda of wasteful DEI programs and 'environmental justice' preferencing on the EPA's core mission of protecting human health and the environment.' The cuts are part of the Trump administration's broader attack aimed at killing approximately $2bn for environmental and climate justice initiatives made available through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that would reduce pollution and improve communities' resilience to the effects of climate change. Hundreds of projects across the nation have lost funding, and though lawsuits have sought to restore it, Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' eliminated all IRA money that was not yet disbursed. The decision to rescind the funding came at almost the same time that the EPA announced $30m in funding for rural water improvements – a drop in the bucket compared with what was available under the Biden administration. None of the new funding is going to the region around Marcea's home. Jimenez said the EPA's actions 'don't fall in line with their messaging'. 'Drinking water is a human right and it shouldn't be a political topic that's contested,' she said. The Community Water Center is now looking for other sources of funding through the state, but Jimenez added that advocates are determined even if the situation for now remains unclear. 'Just because a grant is being canceled doesn't mean the problem is going away,' Jimenez said.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists make breakthrough with cutting-edge device that pulls clean water from thin air — here's how it works
In a cool development for global sustainability, scientists have improved a device that pulls clean, drinkable water straight from the air. Inspired by musical instruments and the fog-drinking power of California redwoods, which get about 35% of their annual water intake from fog, researchers at Virginia Tech created a 3D-printed "mesh-harp" hybrid fog collector that dramatically outperforms other methods. A study published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry A revealed that in lab tests simulating both light and heavy fog, the best-performing prototype captured up to 12.7% of airborne water. This makes it 8.5 times more efficient than mesh nets and nearly four times better than standard fog harps. Much like a musical harp, this vertical wire array channels fog droplets downward. But unlike previous designs that faced clogging or tangling challenges, this hybrid model uses horizontal supports — inspired by guitars — to keep wires evenly spaced. This innovation matters because many conventional fog-harvesting systems either miss most of the microscopic water droplets or struggle with design flaws. These next-gen harvesters avoid both pitfalls, making them practical and affordable for use in remote or drought-stricken areas. The environmental impact could be huge. Unlike desalination and groundwater pumping, fog harvesting is nonpolluting and can support local ecosystems by reducing strain on freshwater sources. It's also a public health win, offering safe drinking water in areas with poor infrastructure. As urban areas grow hotter and drier, passive water-harvesting technologies offer a climate-resilient way to make daily life easier, providing hydration with no long treks to distant water sources, no power outages interrupting access, and no complex and expensive machinery to maintain. For consumers, it could also mean lower utility costs and a more resilient daily water supply. While there's no clear timeline for a large-scale rollout, the researchers said they are hoping to move toward mass production soon. The timing couldn't be more urgent. Over 4 billion people worldwide experience severe water scarcity for at least one month each year, according to a previous study in Science. In underserved and remote regions, where traditional water infrastructure is often unreliable or nonexistent, this low-cost, energy-efficient solution could be a life-saving breakthrough.
