Clean Water and Sanitation

Michael Kovacich, CPG, CP graduated from Eastern Michigan University in 1991 with a major in geology and a minor in biology. He received his Master of Science in Earth Science from Western Michigan University in 1999, specializing in contaminant hydrogeology and coastal processes.

John Butler has more than 40 years of experience in water and natural resource management. He is a senior technical advisor in Tetra Tech’s international development practice, focusing on water supply, sanitation, and water infrastructure improvements in Africa.

As I reflect upon this past year at the Arbor Day Foundation, one word remains top of mind: impact. We set our sights on responding to global challenges by planting trees at an unprecedented scale. Those issues — air pollution, water quality, climate change, and deforestation, among others — heightened our resolve that if ever there was a time to plant trees, now is that time.

On November 28, 2018, community officials, the Liberian government, and officials from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) celebrated the dedication of the Sanniquellie City water treatment plant. As part of the USAID Liberia Municipal Water Project (LMWP), Tetra Tech designed a solar-powered water treatment plant and public distribution system, placing kiosks within 500 meters of homes to reduce the time families spend collecting water to under 30 minutes. This is one of the largest solar-powered treatment plants in Liberia and West Africa.

Please join SCS Global Services and the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) to learn about the revised AWS Standard Version 2.0 on a webinar January 30, 2019 at 2:00 pm (EST).

Graduate school completely changed this guest author’s thoughts about sustainability issues, and equipped her with a toolkit for analyzing environmental challenges and implementing circular economy solutions.

Growing up in Kenya, the Ruto brothers couldn’t recall ever having a consistent water supply. Ken and Denis would often go days and weeks without running water, as over 50% of Kenya’s water resources are lost to theft, corruption, or leakage in the aging analog systems. Like other families, they’d buy water from unscreened sources, which was not only expensive but potentially dangerous. The Kenyan government has had no way to track these water losses, which is where Denis and Ken formed the idea for their innovation, Flux.

On the evening of November 22, 2018, the associations of the gas industry presented the German Gas Industry Innovation Award for the 20th time in Berlin. AIDA Cruises was honored in the category Mobility & Transport for building the world’s first LNG cruise ship, AIDAnova, as part of its “Green Cruising” concept.

GRI and CDP have released a linkage document between the updated GRI Water and Effluents standard and the CDP Water Questionnaire that helps companies report on their water related impacts.

This short video captures the excitement of The George Barley Water Prize Stage 3 awards ceremony, held in downtown Toronto a few weeks ago. Sponsored by The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation, this four-stage competition offers an incentive for scientists and technologists to deliver a breakthrough for solving phosphorus-fed algal blooms that affect all 50 U.S. states and many waterways worldwide.