Sanitation Updates

DENVER, March 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The American Water Works
Association (AWWA), the authoritative resource on safe water, today joined
the United Nations, Water for People and water advocates throughout the
world in recognizing World Water Day, observed March 22, 2008.

The theme for World Water Day 2008 is “Sanitation Matters.” This year’s
theme highlights the fact that “adequate sanitation to protect health is
considered a fundamental human right.” Unfortunately, for roughly half the
developing world, safe and reliable water is not accessible. The result is
the daily tragedy of waterborne disease, which claims thousands of lives
each day.

“Safe water and sanitation are vital to human health and are critical
for the stability of nations around the globe,” said AWWA Executive
Director Gary Zimmerman. “In North America, clean water is often taken for
granted, but World Water Day creates an opportunity to think about the
extraordinary value of our precious water supplies and advanced water
treatment and delivery systems.

Read More - PR Newswire

OTTAWA, March 20 /CNW Telbec/ - On the eve of World Water Day (March 22), a coalition of Canadian organizations concerned about the global sanitation
crisis is calling on the Canadian government to make investment in sanitation
and water a foreign aid priority. In an open letter sent to Minister of
International Cooperation Beverley Oda, Sanitation & Water Action Network
(SWAN) Canada called for increased investment in sanitation as a way to save
lives, strengthen economies, and fight poverty around the globe.

Read More - Newswire

Congressman Donald M. Payne, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, today introduced a concurrent resolution supporting the United Nations’ declaration of 2008 as the International Year of Sanitation.

…

Representative Payne affirmed, “Sanitation is the foundation of health, dignity and progress. Economic and social development are its offshoot. It affects everything from a girl’s ability to go to school to work productivity. Every dollar invested in sanitation translates to an average of $7.00 in economic benefit in developing countries.”

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WASHINGTON, Mar 13 (OneWorld) - Activists working to improve lives and livelihoods around the world gathered in the United States capital Wednesday to launch a new initiative to bring water and sanitation facilities to schools that currently lack them.

The WASH-in-Schools initiative aims to bring clean drinking water, toilet facilities, and hygiene education to 1,000 schools in developing countries during its first phase.

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Are you flushing money down the drain every time nature calls?

You may be if you are not one of the 200 Cochranites that have replaced their old toilets with a low-flow alternative.

Estimates are that close to half of all homes in Cochrane have toilets that use 13 to 20 litres or more per flush.

If your home was built before 1992, you may still have the old 13 — 24 litre per flush toilets. Those old toilets are wasting water and costing you money.

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WORCESTER, Mass. | If there was ever a man who could appreciate a good toilet, it is Russell Manoog.

He has dedicated the last 20 years to collecting toilets, as well as sinks and other accoutrements of indoor plumbing, the way other men collect golf shirts, trophy wives, or fine cars.

The result is the American Sanitary Plumbing Museum, a roadside oddity in Worcester known to many as simply the ‘toilet museum’ and a historic showcase to the way we used to live, wash, bathe, and, of course, relieve ourselves.

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Jan 11, 2008 - For a quarter, you get 15 minutes of time for, well, your business.

After years of delay, the first of 20 automated toilets the city plans to install across the five boroughs was opened yesterday outside Madison Square Park, heralded with much grade-school humor.

City Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan said she was “flushed with excitement in this new era. … New Yorkers had their fingers and legs crossed for this special day.”

Link to the Newsday article

Americans use, on average, 13 million gallons of water every minute — 14 times faster than the natural rate of replenishment.

Many high-minded ideas have been proposed to solve this coming crisis, but the simplest solution may come down to plumbing.

There are 300 million toilets in the U.S., and they are the biggest water wasters we have. Many use three to five gallons with every flush.

Link to the complete article on Fox News