The former superintendent of the wastewater treatment plant in Sioux City, Iowa, is charged with falsifying wastewater test results to make it appear that the facility’s effluent was meeting federal requirements.
He is charged with conspiracy and providing inaccurate information from 2012 through June 2015, according to the Sioux City Journal.
He’s the second former official at the plant that has been charged with falsifying data to make it seem like the facility was meeting E. coli standards. A lawyer representing the city says the two were acting under their own volition and were not instructed by anyone at the city to falsify tests.
Microsoft Plans to Become Water Positive by 2030
In a recent blog post, Microsoft President Brad Smith announced the software company aims to replenish more water than it consumes by the year 2030.
Smith says the company is tackling its water consumption in two ways. “We’re reducing our water use intensity — or the water we use per megawatt of energy used for our operations — and replenishing water in the water-stressed regions we operate. This means that by 2030 Microsoft will replenish more water than it consumes on a global basis.”
The strategy, according to Smith, will include “investments in projects such as wetland restoration and the removal of impervious surfaces like asphalt, which will help replenish water back into the basins that need it most. We will focus our replenishment efforts on roughly 40 highly stressed basins where we have operations. This reflects a science-based assessment of the world’s water basins.”
Utility Imposters Brandish Gun at D.C. Residence
In other news, the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water) recently warned its customers to be on the look out for potentially dangerous imposters claiming to represent the company.
The utility shared information with customers after the release of a police report claiming that two suspects tried to gain access to a home by pretending to be DC Water employees. The men were dressed as construction workers and said they needed to check pipes inside the home. When the homeowner refused them entry, they brandished a handgun and tried to force their way inside.
Police say the homeowner managed to get the door closed and the suspects fled the scene.