The community of Southwest Harbor, Maine, recently had a fire truck pumping its drinking water through the system after a pump failure.

Firefighters responded after the second of two pumps taking water from Long Pond to the Southwest Harbor Water and Sewer District failed, leaving only a small supply in a water tank.

A pumper truck was placed near the pond, and a hose was connected 625 feet uphill to a hydrant that flows to the treatment plant.

“They saved our butts,” said district manager Steve Kenney to the Mount Desert Islander.

Source: Mount Desert Islander

Halifax Water Releases Video Showing the Evils of Flushable Wipes

Halifax Water of Halifax, Nova Scotia, has joined the worldwide fight against flushable wipes, citing that they’re damaging sewer equipment and clogging pipes.

The utility released a video commending toilet paper and identifying the problems that flushable wipes can cause.

The products “wrap around the impellers of the pumps and clog them up,” Halifax Water spokesman James Campbell told CBC News. “The pumps can be lifted out and removed and the flushable wipe taken out, but sometimes they can actually snap the impellers off and the pumps need to be replaced.”

Source: CBC News

More Charges Filed in Flint Water Investigation

Additional criminal charges recently were filed by Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette in the Flint drinking water investigation.

New defendants now being charged include state-appointed emergency managers Darnell Earley and Gerald Ambrose. Both men face the same four charges, which include false pretenses, conspiracy, misconduct in office and willful neglect of duty.

Earley was the state-appointed emergency manager from September 2013 through January 2015; and Ambrose served from January to April of 2015.

Source: Detroit Free Press

California Water District to Bottle Recycled Water

A new law taking effect this year will allow districts in California to bottle 1,000 gallons of purified recycled water per year for potable use.

Mike Markus, general manager of the Orange County Water District, told KPBS he will use the recycled water for educational purposes.

“A lot of people have an apprehension about the water, wondering whether it’s safe because of the source that it’s coming from,” he said to KPBS. “We’re using it for educational purposes to help educate the public that we can safely purify water that at one time was wastewater.”

Source: KPBS