Explore Business Standard
Water Wastage
US President Donald Trump has long complained about modern rules that limit water flow for showerheads, making it harder for him to wash his "beautiful hair". In his first term, Trump directed that restrictions on showerheads be loosened, an action that former President Joe Biden reversed. Now Trump is going to let the water flow again. An executive order he signed Wednesday calls for an immediate end to water conservation standards that restrict the number of gallons per minute that flow through showerheads and other appliances such as dishwashers, washing machines and toilets. I like to take a nice shower, take care of my beautiful hair," Trump said Wednesday as he signed an executive order at the White House. I have to stand in the shower for 15 minutes until it gets wet. Comes out drip, drip, drip. It's ridiculous." What you do is you end up washing your hands five times longer, so it's the same water,' he added. "And we're going to open it up so that people can live. The or
The Central Water Commission (CWC) has reported a significant improvement in the live storage levels of India's reservoirs this year, with the current storage exceeding the ten-year average by 14 per cent. According to the latest Reservoir Storage Bulletin, the live storage available in 150 major reservoirs across the country is 124.016 billion cubic metres (BCM), which is 69 per cent of the total live storage capacity of these reservoirs. This marks a substantial increase from the corresponding period last year, when the storage was 111.85 BCM. The current storage also exceeds the ten-year average, known as 'normal storage', which stood at 108.79 BCM. Regionally, the storage levels vary across different parts of the country. In the northern region, which includes Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Rajasthan, the storage is at 51 per cent of the total capacity, a decrease from last year's 88 per cent and below the normal storage level of 71 per cent. Conversely, the eastern region, ...
The Goa legislative assembly has passed a bill proposing amendments to its ground water regulation law, providing for imposing a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh on those indulging in illegal construction of wells and transportation of ground water. The Goa Ground Water Regulation (Amendment) Bill was passed on Wednesday evening. State Water Resources Department Minister Subhash Shirodkar moved the amendments to the Goa Ground Water Regulation Act, 2002. However, Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao, Congress MLA Carlos Alvares Ferreira and Goa Forward party MLA Vijai Sardesai opposed the move. The statement of objects and reasons of the Bill mentions that the present quantum of fine as provided in the Act are not effective to deter the activities of illegal sinking/construction of wells and illegal transportation of ground water. "There is an urgent need to protect groundwater aquifers from pollution and/or contamination. Therefore, the Bill seeks to amend clause (B) of section 17 of the Act
AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh on Monday alleged that the water crisis in Delhi has been "deliberately created" by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to keep the people of the national capital thirsty. Addressing a press conference here, Singh accused the saffron party of hatching a conspiracy against the residents of the national capital. There was no immediate reaction from the BJP on the allegations. "We believe 'pyase ko paani pilane se zyada punya ka kaam nahi hota' and there is no bigger sin than stopping water," said Singh. "For the last several days, there has been a water crisis in Delhi sponsored by the Bharatiya Janata Party and when I am saying that it is a water crisis sponsored by the Bharatiya Janata Party, I want to tell you that the BJP people want that the people of Delhi do not get water and for this, the BJP people are trying their best to put Delhi in a water crisis by whatever means, whatever conspiracies, whatever methods they can," he alleged. The AAP leader
The Union housing and urban affairs ministry on Thursday said the first "Pey Jal Survekshan" survey has covered 485 cities and captured more than 5.21 lakh household responses. It said 46 cities or municipalities had a 100-per cent pass rate of samples taken from households and water treatment plants. The results of the survey and awards for the best-performing cities and states would be released on March 5 at a ceremony to be attended by President Droupadi Murmu. "Direct observation and assessments were carried out in 830 water treatment facilities, 941 water bodies, 1,044 used water treatment facilities and 2,005 parks were visited for assessing availability of rainwater harvesting structures," the ministry said in a statement. Elaborating on the various categories under the "Pey Jal Survekshan Awards", Secretary in the ministry Manoj Joshi said based on the survey scores for access and coverage, and water quality and sustainability parameters, nine awards will be given to cities
A Central government institute on Wednesday decided to set up water clinics in the coastal region of Kerala to ensure regular and large-scale water quality checks in the wake of a recent study that found an alarming level of E coli contamination in the Vembanad lake. Some strains of the E coli bacteria can cause serious food poisoning. The ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) said it would set up water clinics in the coastal region of the state to maintain the quality of drinking water resources. "At a time when climate change continues to fuel storm surges and resulting coastal flooding, the proposed clinics are aimed at assessing the quality of drinking water resources in coastal communities," said Dr A Gopalakrishnan, Director of CMFRI. He was speaking at an awareness workshop on climate change among the fishermen residing in Chellanam and Puthuvypu in Ernakulam district held at CMFRI. "The new initiative is in line with the 'One Health' concept that aims to
Flagging rampant wastage of water in the agriculture sector, a parliamentary panel has recommended to the government to explore the option of having "energy efficient pricing" and said it may become an important tool for sustainable management of groundwater resources. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Water Resources, in its report tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, pulled up the government over its response to an earlier suggestion of the panel on the issue. The panel said there is an urgent need to bring down the water consumption in the agriculture sector. It also said subsidized electricity and fertilizer had encouraged farmers to grow water-intensive crops even in the areas having water scarcity, and called for "institutional changes". The report stated the committee regrets to note that the action taken reply furnished by the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation is silent on the specific recommendation of the committee urging it to explo