Water crisis - Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association

World Water Day 2021: Drinking water shortage in India

Richa Nigam - Media India Group — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 09:51:02 +0000

Delhi staring at grave water crisis.

Raw water sources in Delhi, primarily the Yamuna and groundwater, are insufficient to meet the demand (MIG Photos/ Aman Kanojiya)

With one of the highest per capita water consumption levels in the country, many areas in Delhi struggle with a shortage of water for daily use, be it in households or schools. Experts say that not just Delhi, but the entire country will face a severe crisis unless states act together, and fast.

In a cramped slum of Bawana village, located in the northwest of the national capital, stays Mrinali. A 17-year-old school-goer, who stays awake almost every day till 3 am in the morning to make sure that the buckets and all the vessels at her home are filled with water. Mrinali has the company of Nagma, Puja, and some other girls of her age who also carry pots, pans, buckets to a community tap, about 500-600 meters away from where they stay. All of them are responsible for getting water to their house every night as soon as the clock ticks two because that is the time when the only running tap with clean water in their locality, gets water.

“This is part of my job. Earlier our mothers used to come with us but now that we are grown up, we come on our own and get water for the next day. Sometimes, we do get water in our taps at home, but that only happens once a week. Mostly, we depend on this water only. Earlier it seemed like a task but I do not mind coming here every night now,” says Mrinali.

Only 32 pc of households have tap water supply from treated sources in India, as per Census 2011 (MIG Photos/ Aman Kanojiya)

Mrinali further says that about 60-70 women, of different age groups, flock at the community tap at midnight daily. If they do not do this every day, their home might not have enough water for everyone to bathe, clean, wash clothes, other household chores or even for drinking, the next day. While one can hear Mrinali and her friends, like most women who gather there, giggling while their buckets get full, the truth about the water availability in their area is far from happy.

Though Delhi occupies a privileged position in terms of water consumption, a daily average of 240 liters per capita, the highest in India, that statistic hides a grim reality. Both the raw water sources in the capital, primarily the Yamuna and groundwater, are insufficient to meet the demand.

When it comes to the main source of water, Yamuna, the governments of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Delhi had signed an agreement in 1994 on the allocation of the river’s waters, under which Delhi was permitted to draw 724 million m3 per year. Even today, Delhi’s share remains the same, though its population has increased by about 22 million since then, according to the data available on the Delhi government’s website. Though the Delhi Development Authority says its pipe network covers 93 pc of the population, the 2016-17 Economic Survey of Delhi estimated that 40 pc of the supply is lost to leakages and theft.

In India, only 32 pc of households have tap water supply from treated sources, as per Census 2011. About 18 pc or 625,000 households in the capital city, Delhi, do not have piped water supply. Yet, this city has one of the highest percentages of households with piped water among all of India’s states and union territories.

Ritu Mehta, who works at Delhi Jal Board (DJB), a government agency responsible for the supply of potable water to most of the national capital region, admits to the problem of water shortage in the region and says that the government is looking for ways to tackle the issue. She mentions that early this month, the DJB moved the Supreme Court against the Haryana government to avert a potential severe water crisis in Delhi. She claimed the Haryana government has reduced the supply of raw water to Delhi, resulting in a shortage of water supply in many areas.

“Such behaviour of the Haryana government is not only undesirable but also deeply disappointing. The regular fall in the level of Yamuna, especially during summers, along with the discharge of pollutants that cause a rise in ammonia levels, is a matter of grave concern,” she says.

Early last week, union education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal, in a response to a written question in the Rajya Sabha quoted statistics from Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) and said over 42,000 government schools across the country do not have drinking water facilities. Khooshboo, a friend of Mrinali from Bawana, goes to one such school.

“My school does not have clean water to drink, on most days, the tap remains dry and sometimes, dirty water comes from it that we use for washing our hands and feet, and sometimes even drink after playing,” she adds.

Talking about the issue, Mehta of DJB says that the drinking water crisis is not exclusive to Delhi but is spread all over. While she says that there is no immediate solution to this, conservation and treatment are the first steps.

“One way to address the water shortage is to increase the production and use of treated wastewater – this could be used in a number of sectors, including agriculture, construction, and industry. It would also mitigate the heavy pollution of the Yamuna. In recent years, several innovative projects have been launched, such as the Indo-Dutch collaborative effort LOTUS-HR (Local Treatment of Urban Sewage Streams for Healthy Reuse),” explains Mehta.

However, treatment is only one part of the story. The recovered water must also be used, on this count, over 30 percent of water already being treated in Delhi is not being utilized. This water could, for example, be used to water the parks owned by the DDA and the MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi), which currently pump groundwater for that purpose, says another member of DJB who did not wish to be named.

“But to make this change, political will is needed to financially back the infrastructure required, as well as inter-departmental cooperation. Because of the lack of infrastructure like dual piping to supply treated sewage water separately from potable water, unused treated water is not even supplied to households,” he adds.

However, Mehta also says that for a long-term solution to Delhi’s water woes, there is a need for better water-sharing among neighbouring states. For instance, while Uttar Pradesh and Haryana have abundant sources of raw water, around 90 pc of their water is used in agriculture or industry. One example of better sharing would be for Delhi’s unutilized treated water to be supplied to industries and for agriculture, while neighbouring states supply their raw water for consumption to the capital. “We have proposed this to neighbouring states. Such exchanges can help the nation fight the water crisis. We need a ‘we first’ approach instead of ‘me first’ approach,” she adds.

Source: https://mediaindia.eu/society/world-day-of-water-crisis/

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Here’s how a week of frigid weather and catastrophe unfolded in Texas

Christina Maxouris, CNN — Mon, 22 Feb 2021 07:27:59 +0000

(CNN) After a devastating week for the Lone Star state, finally some relief.

Temperatures Sunday will continue to warm, with most of the state expected to reach the 60s and 70s — much closer to the average temperatures residents expect during this time of year.

But many Texans have only just begun recovering from the unprecedented devastation that the brutal winter storms unleashed over the past seven days.

At least 26 people died across the state since February 11.

Millions lost their power, forcing families to huddle over a fireplace, scavenge for firewood or spend nights in their car trying to stay warm. Others spent hours searching for food as shelves emptied and weather conditions led to food supply chain problems. The frigid temperatures caused pipes to burst, leading to water disruptions for roughly half the state’s population.

COVID-19 relief efforts, including food banks, were shuttered. Vaccine shipments were delayed and many appointments were canceled.

Here’s how the past week unfolded across the state.

Monday

More than a third of the continental US records below-zero temperatures. Snow, icy roads and power outages are beginning to paralyze cities across the country, sparking emergency declarations in several states.

Among them, Texas, which is beginning to feel the first impacts of what will be a brutal week.

“The window to prepare for this historic storm has closed as the time to hunker down is here,” Harris County, Texas, Judge Lina Hidalgo warns.

Temperatures across the state are historically low: Dallas dips to 5 degrees Fahrenheit — the coldest temperature the city has seen since 1989, while Austin and San Antonio both had single-digit temperatures for the first time in more than 30 years.

For some Texans, rolling blackouts begin early Monday morning after the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) — a grid operator controlling about 90% of the state’s electric load — announces it is experiencing a “record-breaking electric demand.”

Residents bundle up under several layers of blankets or move into their cars for hours hoping to stay warm and charge their electronic devices. State leaders deploy the National Guard to conduct welfare checks on residents and the state opens about 135 warming centers.

“I’ve duct-taped my doors and windows to slow the temperature drop and I’m in multiple layers of clothing, in multiple blankets using my cats for warmth,” Chey Louis, in Irving, said.

Pedestrians walk on an icy road on Monday, February 15, in East Austin, Texas.

Tuesday

More than four million customers are in the dark across Texas on Tuesday. Officials in the state call for answers from ERCOT, with the governor slamming the group’s handling as “unacceptable.”

“The Electric Reliability Council of Texas has been anything but reliable over the past 48 hours,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says in a statement. “Far too many Texans are without power and heat for their homes as our state faces freezing temperatures and severe winter weather.”

Among those residents is Barbara Martinez, who’s been reloading her fireplace to keep her elderly parents, two dogs, and herself warm.

“We are running out of firewood,” Martinez said. “My goal today is to find more firewood.”

As others try to stay warm, officials report a growing death toll as well as dozens of cases of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Houston police report that a woman and a girl died of carbon monoxide poisoning after a car was running in the garage at their home, trying to create heat because the power was out.

Another person died in Fort Worth from a carbon monoxide incident, fire officials there said.

Meanwhile, weather conditions result in more than 550 vehicle crashes between Sunday and Tuesday in the Houston area alone, Police Chief Art Acevedo said. In addition to the two carbon monoxide deaths, Acevedo reported two more deaths, including a homeless person believed to have died from the weather and one traffic-related fatality.

And now, more areas begin to report another problem: water disruptions.

Water leaks caused by the weather prompt San Angelo city officials to issue a boil-water notice.

“We have been advising people to drip their faucets to prevent pipes from freezing, however, due to low water pressure and supply concerns, we are asking citizens to refrain from doing this as much as possible so that we can conserve as much water as possible,” officials said in a tweet.

City of Richardson worker Kaleb Love works to clear ice from a water fountain Tuesday in Richardson, Texas.

Wednesday

At least 3.4 million customers in Texas remain without power Wednesday morning.

Jordan Orta told CNN she slept in her car Tuesday night with her 2-year-old son because her San Antonio home got too cold without power.

“I was worried that my son, being that he’s only 2, he’s tiny and I just wanted to make sure he was okay,” she told CNN. “So I made the decision to start up the car and sit in the heater for a little while.”

Meanwhile, authorities in San Antonio say they’ve been refilling oxygen bottles at homes, as 911 calls are pouring in from residents reporting their supplies are out.

With so many houses still in the dark, Gov. Abbott vows for an investigation into ERCOT.

ERCOT CEO Bill Magness explains the issue was largely a lack of energy supply as the cold weather shuttered power facilities. ERCOT’s controlled power outages, he said, helped avert the system’s collapse.

“If we had waited, and not done outages, not reduced demand to reflect what was going on, on the overall system, we could have drifted towards a blackout,” he said. “People feel like what we’re seeing feels like a blackout, but the blackout that can occur if you don’t keep the supply and demand in balance could last months.”

Why so many people lost power

The power outages, which led to burst pipes in unheated homes, are also hampering water plants.

In Abilene, McMurry University says it is allowing campus residents to use water from the campus swimming pool to flush their toilets.

In Friendswood, Sandra Erickson said her home got so cold that pipes burst and sent the ceiling collapsing in three different rooms.

It was like a “hurricane catastrophe,” she told CNN.

Empty shelves in the meat aisle at a grocery store in McKinney, Texas, on Wednesday

Thursday

Almost 290,000 customers across Texas are left without power by Thursday, a strong improvement from the millions without power earlier. But another round of frigid temperatures puts more than 22 million people across the South under a hard freeze warning, delaying any potential recovery.

While the tally of households in the dark grows smaller, other disasters take shape.

Some 13.5 million people throughout Texas have experienced water disruptions, with nearly 800 water systems reporting issues like frozen or broken pipes, according to Toby Baker, executive director for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. About 725 systems are under a boil-water advisory, Baker said.

One Crestview resident told CNN they began grabbing snow off their balcony and are storing it to use as drinking water if their supply doesn’t return soon.

Officials also announce food shortages, further complicating the dire situation for Texans.

“Grocery stores are already unable to get shipments of dairy products. Store shelves are already empty,” Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said. “We’re looking at a food supply chain problem like we’ve never seen before, even with Covid-19.”

Fort Worth resident Philip Shelley said his pregnant wife and 11-month-old daughter struggled to stay warm and fed.

“(Ava) is down to half a can of formula,” Shelley said. “Stores are out if not extremely low on food. Most of our food in the refrigerator is spoiled. Freezer food is close to thawed but we have no way to heat it up.”

Vehicles are at a standstill southbound on Interstate Highway 35 on February 18 in Killeen, Texas.

Friday

Among those hard-hit in the state are hospitals. President and CEO of Houston Methodist Dr. Marc Bloom, who is in charge of seven hospitals in the Houston area, says two of his facilities were completely without water for days. One of the hospitals collected rainwater to flush toilets, he said.

“It’s frustrating,” he told CNN. “I’m just glad that we were able to respond, that we were able to manage.”

Nearly half of the state’s population continues to face disruptions in water service due to burst or frozen pipes, many of who remain under boil-water advisories. About 190,000 homes and businesses are still without power.

In Austin alone, the state capital’s water supply lost 325 million gallons due to burst pipes, Austin Water Director Greg Meszaros said in a Thursday news conference.

“The fire department indicated they have responded to thousands upon thousands of burst pipes,” Meszaros said.

Austin resident Jenn Studebaker’s home has power, but no water. She told CNN that all week, her family slept around the fireplace and burned chairs and bookshelves to keep warm before scavenging for more wood.

Now without water, they’re melting snow and storing it in their bathtub.

“It’s been constant,” she told CNN. “We’re exhausted, honestly.”

Charles Andrews walks home through his neighborhood in Waco, Texas on February 17, 2021

Saturday

About 85,000 households across Texas remain left in the dark. President Joe Biden approves a major disaster declaration for Texas, unlocking more federal resources to assist the state.

Water disruptions and a depleting pile of supplies are still a concern in homes, businesses, and hospitals.

“This was a sprawling natural disaster that hit us statewide and arrived on top of the pandemic,” Texas Hospital Association spokeswoman Carrie Williams said.

By Saturday morning, more than 15 million people had been impacted by water disruptions statewide, one official told CNN.

As parts of the state begin the slow process toward recovery, more details are unveiled about the devastation of the past week.

People wait for the Sam’s Club store to open as they look to purchase essentials on Saturday, February 20, in Austin.

Marty Miles, the general manager of a hotel group in Galveston, said the demand was overwhelming as residents tried to find a warm place to stay. Miles said that for several days their only power came from an emergency generator, and they had no water for a little more than two days.

“The hardest part is that you don’t know when it’s going to stop,” Miles said. “Because of the rolling blackouts and not knowing when the water would be back, it was a complete stop and go, stop and go. … So every time we thought we were in the clear, two hours later, it started over.”

While thousands remain in the dark, officials have also now began investigating outrageous hikes in some customers’ energy bills as a result of the storm.

“It is unacceptable for Texans who suffered through days in the freezing cold without electricity or heat to now be hit with skyrocketing energy costs,” the governor said in a statement, adding he was working with other state leaders to find solutions and “ensure that Texans are not on the hook for unreasonable spikes in their energy bills.”

Marie Maybou melts snow on the kitchen stove on February 19 in Austin. Ms. Maybou was using the water to flush the toilets in her home after the city water stopped running.

CNN’s Brandon Miller, Mallika Kallingal, Chuck Johnston, Travis Caldwell, Adrienne Vogt, Haley Brink, Eric Levenson, Madeline Holcombe, Keith Allen, Konstantin Toropin and Artemis Moshtaghian contributed to this report.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/21/weather/texas-winter-storm-timeline/index.html

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Winter storms disrupt vaccine effort as variants fuel new fears

CBS Evening News — Fri, 19 Feb 2021 14:15:34 +0000

The post Winter storms disrupt vaccine effort as variants fuel new fears first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Winter storm devastates Texas as power outages continue

Justin Carissimo and Zoe Christen Jones — Fri, 19 Feb 2021 13:52:46 +0000

Severe weather is affecting more than 100 million Americans tonight and snow is still falling in the hardest-hit areas in Texas. While power has been restored to millions in Texas, nearly half of residents, 13 million, don’t have access to clean, running water.

In the city of Kyle, officials said water should “only be used to sustain life at this point.”

In Houston, America’s fourth-largest city, there are long lines for food, gas and supplies. Things are also bad in Oklahoma, where President Biden declared a state of emergency after the longest stretch of sub-zero temperatures there on record. At least 34 deaths were attributed to the storm, 20 of them were from Texas.

The winter weather also created a political storm. Texas Senator Ted Cruz was criticized for flying to Cancun with his family this week, while his constituents suffered in record-low temperatures.

San Antonio to open water distribution stations

The San Antonio Water System announced Thursday that it will begin providing water distribution at seven pump locations around the city. Residents will receive up to five gallons per person and are advised to boil the water they receive as a precautionary measure.

The City of San Antonio and the San Antonio Food Bank will also provide bottled water distribution at sites around the city.

San Antonio has experienced water outages due to the winter weather emergency, and the San Antonio Water System on Wednesday issued a boil water advisory for customers who still have access to water. ~April Siese

Power restoration to continue into Thursday night

ERCOT is continuing its power restoration efforts, according to CBS Houston affiliate KHOU. Restoration will continue into Thursday night, and ERCOT told KHOU that its progress has so far come without additional outages.

That could change later on Thursday or Friday morning depending on how stable the grid is as its load increases.

“The generating units that were online this morning have remained on throughout the day. With generation holding steady, we are hopeful that more generation will continue to become available,” ERCOT Senior Director of System Operations Dan Woodfin told KHOU. ~ April Siese

Winter storms disrupt COVID vaccine effort as variants fuel new fears

As Americans yearn for their pre-pandemic lives, the distribution of coronavirus vaccines is hitting delays as winter storms pummel the U.S. The disease has not only impacted how Americans live, but how long. Jonathan Vigliotti reports for “CBS Evening News.” See video here.

Winter storm continues to pummel South as freezing temps persist

CBS New York weathercaster Lonnie Quinn has an updated look at the frigid forecast. See video here.

34 deaths tied to the winter storm

As of Thursday, 34 deaths have been linked to the severe winter weather across seven states.

The most deaths were recorded in Texas, with 20 residents dying from storm-related incidents. Here’s where they occurred: Houston (7), Taylor County (6), Sugarland (4), Galveston County (2) and San Antonio (1).

Earlier this week, a grandmother and three children were killed in a house fire in Sugarland. City officials said the neighborhood had been without power. The cause of the fire is under investigation. ~Zoe Christen Jones

“This is a nightmare”: Over 13 million Texans face water crisis

For many Texans, it’s been unbearable. Thousands of homes have been ravaged by the storm. More than 13 million — almost half of the state’s population — have water issues.

In many homes, the tap is dry. Finding bottled water is nearly impossible. Some have resorted to boiling snow. Houston opened 11 sites Thursday to help give away water.

When the pipes burst in Texas Representative Shawn Thierry’s home, her world exploded. She and her 8-year-old daughter are in a hotel, but they won’t be able to live there long term.

“I mean this is a nightmare, this is everyone’s nightmare,” Thierry told CBS News. “Your home is your abode, it’s where you go to find your peace and work and now, I’m uprooted.”

Thierry is among millions in a new phase of misery. As lights come back on, the horrors of the storm are revealed.

Water is everywhere — or nowhere, as many treatment plants were knocked offline. A line to get into a plumbing supply store ran for blocks. Even food has become hard to come by as some grocery store shelves lay bare. ~Janet Shamlian

Read more here.

Relief groups rush to offer aid in Texas

Local organizations in Texas are using their resources to help residents in need. Warming stations across the state are still open and are urging residents to come if their situation becomes dangerous.

Organizations from outside the state are also sending teams to brave the storm. Mercy Chefs, a non-profit based in Portsmouth, Virginia, sent a team to Dallas to provide meals to those without water, gas, heat, or a way to leave their homes.

“This winter storm has affected so many people over such a widespread area in communities that simply aren’t prepared for this kind of weather – we’ve never seen anything like it,” Gary LeBlanc, founder of Mercy Chefs, told CBS News. “We are glad Mercy Chefs can respond quickly and get meals to those in need.” ~Zoe Christen Jones

Over 325,000 still without power in Texas

More than 325,000 Texas residents are still without power, Governor Greg Abbot said in a Thursday news conference.

Abbot promised to reform the state’s power utility, claiming that the Electric Reliability Council of Texas assured him Texas was “ready” for the extreme temperatures.

The state legislature will now investigate the company to find out what went wrong.

“Texans deserve answers about why the shortfalls occurred, and how they’re going to be corrected and Texans will get those answers,” Abbott said Thursday.

Some Texas gas stations are running out of fuel

Texas residents are encouraged to stay home or drive with caution. But those who do leave might have trouble finding gas. The winter storm has slowed down deliveries, leaving some gas stations across northern Texas completely out of fuel, CBS Dallas/Fort Worth reported.

Hundreds of thousands of residents are still without power and have resorted to using their cars for auxiliary power, charging phones, medical devices, or simply trying to get some heat.

But traveling is still a risky endeavor.

“Certainly what’s important for drivers to know is this is really more of a temporary outage, not a shortage,” AAA Texas Daniel Armbruster told CBS Dallas/Fort Worth. “So it’s really important that drivers not panic, and certainly don’t rush to the gas station to purchase fuel.” ~Zoe Christen Jones

A gas station ran out of gasoline in Euless, Texas, on February 18, 2021. MICHAEL AINSWORTH / AP

NBA and NHL postpones more games

The severe weather in Texas is forcing major sports leagues to postpone games.

The NBA has postponed Friday’s matchup between the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets after the city of Houston suspended operations at the Toyota Center. The league said the game would be rescheduled for a later date.

The NHL was also forced to postpone Saturday’s match between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas. The league said it is working to re-schedule the four games postponed in Dallas this week. ~Justin Carissimo

A view inside the Toyota Center in Houston on February 11, 2021.CARMEN MANDATO/GETTY

125,000 Louisiana residents without power

More than 125,000 Louisiana residents are without electricity, Governor John Bel Edwards announced Thursday. Bel Edwards said 20,000 have been without power since Monday but are expected to slowly regain it tonight.

Water service is still being affected, with 98 outages reported and one million people under boil water advisories in the state.

The National Guard has delivered 28,000 bottles of water throughout Louisiana but is still working on distribution sites around Lake Charles, which remains compromised from Hurricane Laura.

Texas energy failure follows years of warnings

Politicians and power industry officials are blaming each other for the state’s outages, but they are not yet able to say how long this will last. Texas has its own power grid, which is managed by state and semi-private entities. Those same groups are now playing the blame game, trying to find how the state failed to keep the lights on for Texans.

Governor Greg Abbott is leaving no one out when it comes to pointing the blame for the state’s energy failures. “Whether it be renewable power, such as wind or solar, but also as I mentioned today, access to coal-generated power, access to gas generated power also have been compromised,” he said.

For context, in 2020, wind and solar energy were responsible for roughly 25% of the state’s electricity generation throughout the year. Meanwhile, natural gas, coal and nuclear power combined for roughly 69%.

Even if wind was a major source, the reason behind that failure is much of the equipment has not been “winterized,” which can include using heaters and insulated pipes. That’s something places like Minnesota do and their wind turbines don’t shut down in the cold.

“The natural gas generators are the ones that we were all counting on to provide the electricity. Some coal plants were supposed to fire up also, and they didn’t answer the bell either,”

After a 2011 winter storm in Texas that crippled power, a report recommended winterizing power sources. Ed Hirs, an expert in energy economics and policy at the University of Houston, said the recommendations were not applied.

“The warnings have been there for years and Governor Abbott has done nothing. Before that, Governor (Rick) Perry did nothing. This was a train wreck on the way to happening 10 years ago,” Hirs said. ~Omar Villafranca

A utility truck in McKinney, Texas, on February 16, 2021.COOPER NEILL/BLOOMBERG VIA GETTY

New Jersey and New York prepare as new storm barrels in

A delivery person rides his bicycle in New York City on February 18, 2021.GARY HERSHORN / GETTY IMAGES

New Jersey residents are stocking up and preparing for power outages as the latest winter storm hits the state. Meanwhile, New York City has already surpassed its typical snow total for the year.

Before this latest snowstorm, New York City had been hit with 33.8 inches of snow this year. The normal seasonal average is 25.8 inches.

“This is not a huge storm, but it is coming on top of the snow we’ve had before. Obviously, a lot of the snow is still around,” said New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. “What it means is, be careful out there. It means that the evening rush hour is going to be messy. It is going to be slow. We want people to, as much as possible, stay off the roads if you can.

In New Jersey, neighborhoods were scenic but unplowed, as snow accumulated. The township of Freehold saw some of the most snow, on top of what was already on the ground from three weeks of storms. ~Peter Martinez

Read more at CBS New York.

Texas utility company says its made “significant progress” in restoring power

The utility company that services most of Texas said it has made “significant progress” in restoring power to residents. There are around 500,000 without power Thursday, down from the 3 million outages earlier this week.

The company, Electric Reliability Council of Texas, said power outages remain in areas likely under three categories: ice storm damage to distribution systems, areas where emergency load shed needs to be restored manually and large industrial facilities that voluntarily went offline.

Dan Woodfin, the utility’s senior director of system operations, said smaller rotating outages may be needed due to the cold temperatures. “We really feel like we’re on the right path,” he said. “We believe they’ll be at the level where they could be rotating outages, not the larger numbers we faced this week.” ~Justin Carissimo

Read more at CBS Dallas/Fort Worth.

Ted Cruz says he went to Cancun during Texas crisis because he wanted to be a “good dad”

Senator Ted Cruz flew to Cancun, Mexico, with his family for a trip this week as Texas deals with the aftermath of a winter storm that left millions without power, an airline industry source familiar with the situation told CBS News. The Republican Senator is expected to return on a flight home Thursday afternoon.

Photos of Cruz arriving at the airport for the trip went viral on social media, sparking widespread criticism of the senator for leaving during the emergency. Cruz on Thursday said he wanted to escort his children who were leaving for a trip with friends.

“With school canceled for the week, our girls asked to take a trip with friends. Wanting to be a good dad, I flew down with them last night and am flying back this afternoon,” Cruz said in a statement. The senator said he’s been in “constant communication” with local leaders “to get to the bottom of what happened” in Texas.

“The greatest state in the greatest country in the world has been without power. We have food lines, gas lines, and people sleeping at the neighbors’ houses. Our homes are freezing and our lights are out. Like millions of Texans, our family lost heat and power too.” ~Zoe Christen Jones

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Water scarcity

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations — Wed, 06 Jan 2021 13:35:22 +0000

Water use has been growing globally at more than twice the rate of population increase in the last century, and an increasing number of regions are reaching the limit at which water services can be sustainably delivered. Essentially, demographic growth and economic development are putting unprecedented pressure on renewable, but finite water resources, especially in arid regions. By 2025, 1800 million people are expected to be living in countries or regions with “absolute” water scarcity (<500 m3 per year per capita), and two-thirds of the world population could be under “stress” conditions (between 500 and 1000 m3 per year per capita). The situation will be exacerbated as rapidly growing urban areas place heavy pressure on neighbouring water resources. Moreover, environmental services and ecosystem functions cannot be treated any longer as the residuals of all water users. In the future, climate change and bio-energy demands are expected to amplify the already complex relationship between world development and water demand.

The concept of scarcity is somewhat ambiguous and complex to be defined as it implies different dimensions or facets. First, scarcity needs to be understood as a relative concept, i.e., an imbalance between “supply” and “demand” that varies according to local conditions. Second, water scarcity is fundamentally dynamic. It intensifies with increasing demand by users and with the decreasing quantity and quality of the resource. It can further decrease when the right response options are put in place.

There are several dimensions of water scarcity that can be summarized as follows: (i) scarcity in the availability of fresh water of acceptable quality with respect to aggregated demand, in the simple case of physical water shortage; (ii) scarcity in access to water services, because of the failure of institutions in place to ensure reliable supply of water to users; (iii) scarcity due to the lack of adequate infrastructure, irrespective of the level of water resources, due to financial constraints. In the last two cases, countries may have a relatively high level of water resources endowment, but are unable to capture and distribute them because of limited financial resources for infrastructure development or lack of institutional capacity to maintain and manage them appropriately.

Source: http://www.fao.org/land-water/world-water-day-2021/water-scarcity/en/

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