Tag: water

US billionaire dubbed ‘the most powerful man on Wall Street’ denies neighbours’ claims he’s plundering Wiltshire’s underground water to fill his nine-million-gallon lake

A US billionaire’s dream of creating a grand English country estate in the tradition of 18th Century landscape designer Capability Brown is facing a backlash from neighbours convinced he is tapping into their water supply.

American financier Stephen Schwarzman bought the magnificent Conholt Park in Wiltshire – described as one of the finest shooting estates in southern England – for £82million three years ago. 

He has funnelled millions of pounds into transforming the 2,100-acre estate’s parkland by building a huge lake that will hold more than nine million gallons of water.

But The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Mr Schwarzman, dubbed the most powerful man on Wall Street, is under fire from neighbours who believe he is using a borehole to extract groundwater to fill the lake. 

This, they allege, could lead to water shortages at their own properties because they rely on a shared aquifer.

There is also anger at plans to ‘enhance’ the estate’s pheasant shoots, with local sources claiming Mr Schwarzman is preparing for up to 500 birds to be shot a day.

‘I don’t like what he is doing,’ one local shooting enthusiast told the MoS. ‘That’s not sport.’

Last night a spokesman for Mr Schwarzman, 78, the boss of Blackstone, one of the world’s largest private-equity funds, denied the lake is being filled by a borehole and said the estate was instead using a ‘highly sophisticated water collection system’ that carries rainfall into the lake.

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EPA declares Flint water emergency over after more than $100 million in taxpayer-funded grants

Anearly decade-long fight for safe drinking water in Flint is over.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced Monday the city met all of the requirements of a Safe Drinking Water Act emergency order, which has been lifted.

The EPA issued the order in January 2016.

“Today we celebrate a decade’s worth of hard work and partnership at the local, state and federal level to ensure the residents of Flint, Michigan have access to clean, safe drinking water,” Zeldin said in a statement Monday. “Lifting this emergency order is a cause for great celebration for residents of Flint who worked so hard and sacrificed so much to get to this point.”

Zeldin said water sampling shows the city’s water system is in compliance with lead standards.

Since the order was implemented, the city has replaced more than 97% of its old lead pipes, and the water system has tested below the acceptable limit since July 2016.

The EPA has given more than $100 million in taxpayer-funded grants to the city and the state since 2016 to address the issues.

“The lifting of the EPA’s emergency order is a powerful testament to the strength, and advocacy of Flint residents,” Flint Mayor Sheldon A. Neeley said. For nearly a decade, we have worked tirelessly to restore trust and integrity to our water system, as well as meeting rigorous standards. While this milestone marks progress, our commitment to clean, safe drinking water remains unwavering. We will continue to advance infrastructure, strengthen safeguards, and ensure that the mistakes of the past are never repeated. Flint families deserve nothing less.”

The city’s water crisis began in 2014 when it switched from Detroit’s system to the Flint River to save money. Without proper treatment, that water corroded lead pipes that led to lead contamination and a declared public health emergency.

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‘Public Health Betrayal’: EPA Tosses Drinking Water Limits on 4 Toxic PFAS Chemicals

U.S. regulators said Wednesday they will do away with limits on certain types of toxic chemicals in U.S. drinking water, a move that critics warn could expose millions of Americans to dangerous contaminants.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it intends to rescind limits set under President Joe Biden in April 2024 on four types of harmful per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) chemicals widely found in drinking water — perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS), perfluorobutane sulfonate (PFBS) and GenX.

The EPA will keep the limits of 4 parts per trillion in drinking water for two other types of PFAS, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), the agency said in a statement.

But, in another move drawing criticism from health advocates, the agency said it will delay the deadline for drinking water systems to comply from 2029 to 2031.

“This is a public health betrayal, plain and simple,” said Melanie Benesh, vice president for government affairs at the nonprofit Environmental Working Group.

“Science is clear: PFAS are dangerous even in tiny amounts. The agency must protect all Americans, not just from two chemicals, but from the entire class of harmful PFAS.”

The four PFAS chemicals the EPA plans to roll back regulations for “are the ones currently in use because industry developed them to replace PFOA and PFOS, so they are the chemicals most likely to increase contamination in the future,” Betsy Southerland, a former EPA senior scientist and a former director in the agency’s Office of Water, said in a statement.

PFAS are types of chemicals that have long been used in a wide variety of products and industrial processes, but many have been linked to health problems that include certain cancers and immune system and reproductive harms.

Countries around the world have been pushing companies to eliminate the use of PFAS, known to be particularly dangerous, such as PFOS and PFOA, but the chemicals remain difficult to eradicate.

A recent study found residents of a Michigan community polluted with PFAS from a paper mill continue to have high levels of the chemicals in their blood, even though the mill closed down 25 years ago.

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Scientists spark major breakthrough with ‘blanket’ that makes rivers drinkable: ‘We are the only ones who have made these structures’

Ohio State University researchers have developed a way to supercharge titanium oxide nanoparticles, creating a light-absorbing blanket that can clean water and generate power.

The process starts with electrospinning — a method of applying electrical force to create small fibers — in order to develop fiber-like strips of titanium dioxide (TiO2). This material is often used in solar cells, gas sensors, and various self-cleaning technologies, as the school reported.

The power generation abilities of TiO2 have previously been limited since the necessary chemical reactions only occur through the use of non-visible UV light.

Following the addition of copper, however, these new nanomat structures are able to absorb enough light energy to break down pollutants in air and water, according to Professor Pelagia-Iren Gouma, the lead author of this study.

“There hasn’t been an easy way to create something like a blanket that you can lay on water and start creating energy,” she said. “But we are the only ones who have made these structures and the only ones to demonstrate that they actually work.”

When it absorbs light, the report explained, TiO2 forms electrons that oxidize water and break down pollutants until they’re benign. The addition of copper was able to supercharge the process and optimize the material’s effectiveness.

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Pakistan Warns Of ‘Act Of War’ After India Cancels Landmark Water Treaty

India is retaliating against Pakistan in major ways as tensions soar in the wake of the Tuesday terrorist attack on Indian-Controlled Kashmir, which killed 26 tourists in the picturesque region.

Not only has India closed its border to Pakistan, declaring that no visas will be given to Pakistanis, but the Indian government has downgraded its diplomatic ties with Islamabad and suspended a crucial water treaty. Pakistani visa holders in India have also been ordered leave the country within 48 hours.

The water issue will could impact hundreds of millions of people on both sides of the border, as the 1960 Indus Water Treaty delineates how water is distributed and used from six rivers that flow through both countries, starting in disputed regions of the Himalayas in the north.

The decision was made in a meeting chaired by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who cut short a trip to Saudi Arabia. All Pakistan military advisers who were previously cooperating with their Indian counterparts have also been given a week to leave.

During the terror attack on the tourist destination in the Baisaran Valley men were separated from women and children by armed militants which had descended on the area. The men, all civilians, were then asked their names before being executed at close range. 

This apparently was to confirm that they were Hindus. India has alleged that this was a Pakistan-backed massacre conducted by Islamic extremists due to the sectarian nature of the attack. Islamabad has long been accused of harboring Islamic terror groups along the disputed Jammu and Kashmir border region.

India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri specifically charged Wednesday press conference that “cross-border linkages of the terrorist act” had been “brought out” – in a clear reference to Pakistan. Authorities have identified that 25 victims were Indian, and one a Nepali citizen. 

Pakistan has firmly rejected it had anything to do with the massacre, instead saying that terrorism in India was “homegrown”. Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said “This is the result of a Hindutva [Hindu nationalist] government exploiting and killing religious minorities, including Christians and Buddhists,” He described to a Pakistan news service this was the result of “homegrown rebels.”

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Trump threatens tariffs and sanctions on Mexico for ‘stealing’ water from Texas farmers

President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs, and possibly sanctions against Mexico, if it continues to rob South Texas farmers of Rio Grande water promised under a decades-old treaty.

In a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump proclaimed that Mexico owes Texas 1.3 million acre-feet of water under the 1944 Water Treaty, though Mexico was violating their obligation.

“This is very unfair, and it is hurting South Texas Farmers very badly,” the president wrote. “Last year, the only Sugar Mill in Texas CLOSED, because Mexico has been stealing the water from Texas Farmers. Ted Cruz has been leading the fight to get South Texas the water it is owed, but Sleepy Joe refused to lift a finger to help the Farmers. THAT ENDS NOW!”

Trump continued, saying he will make sure Mexico does not violate treaties with the U.S. and hurt farmers in Texas.

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Trump Says He Sent Troops To “Turn On The Water” In California

President Trump issued an emergency directive to send active duty troops to California to help battle the fires that are still destroying people’s lives.

“The United States Military just entered the Great State of California and, under Emergency Powers, TURNED ON THE WATER flowing abundantly from the Pacific Northwest, and beyond,” Trump announced on Truth Social.

“The days of putting a Fake Environmental argument, over the PEOPLE, are OVER,” the President asserted, adding “Enjoy the water, California!!!”

The move comes after Trump signed an executive order Friday titled “Emergency Measures to Provide Water Resources in California and Improve Disaster Response in Certain Areas.”

“For weeks, residents of the Los Angeles area have watched raging fires consume their homes, belongings, beloved pets, and childhood memories. Almost immediately, firefighters were unable to fight the blaze due to dry hydrants, empty reservoirs, and inadequate water infrastructure,” the order reads.

It continues, “Today, at least 28 people have lost their lives and thousands more have lost everything else, with some damage estimates calculating hundreds of billions of dollars in damage.”

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PFAS Found in Sludge Used as Fertilizer Can Contaminate Milk, Eggs and Meat

U.S. regulators on Tuesday added to growing concerns about the long-standing practice of using sewage sludge to fertilize farmland, releasing a report warning that chemicals contaminating the sludge pose heightened human health risks for cancer and other illnesses.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said two types of hazardous per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) widely found in sewage sludge, a byproduct of wastewater treatment, can contaminate the milk, eggs and meat that come from farm animals raised on agricultural land where the sludge has been applied.

Those “exposure pathways” are among multiple ways in which people can be at risk, the EPA said.

The agency focused on perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), two well-studied types of PFAS chemicals linked to testicular and kidney cancer as well as liver problems.

The EPA last spring designated PFOS and PFOA as hazardous substances under the so-called Superfund law and announced the first legally enforceable limits for the two chemicals and four other types of PFAS in drinking water.

The EPA said that though the majority of U.S. food crops are not grown with the use of sewage sludge as a soil conditioner or fertilizer, because of the “extreme persistence” of PFOA and PFOS in soils, land where sewage sludge was applied years ago may still be contaminated.

The agency’s draft risk assessment, which was made publicly available on Jan. 14, said that “under certain scenarios and conditions,” land-applying or disposing of sewage sludge containing 1 part per billion or more of PFOA or PFOS “could result in human health risks exceeding the agency’s acceptable thresholds for cancer and noncancer effects.”

The draft assessment models health risks for people who live on or near contaminated sites or who eat primarily food or drinking water from PFAS-contaminated areas.

The report will be available for public comment over a 60-day period and may help the agency determine regulatory actions it might take under the Clean Water Act, said the EPA.

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Democrat Megadonor Couple With Monopoly On Calif. Water Supply Blamed For Exacerbating LA Fires

Amid the deadly fires currently devastating Los Angeles, California, a widely circulated video reveals that a husband and wife known for their significant donations to the Democratic Party have been diverting hundreds of billions of gallons of water annually.

The “More Perfect Union” presentation exposes Lynda and Stewart Resnick for essentially taking over the California water industry decades ago.

According to the nonprofit newsroom, the Resnicks seized control of California’s public water supply via a series of secret meetings back in 1994.

After Golden State taxpayers footed the bill for the Kern Water Bank, the couple eventually gained a 60% ownership of the water resource.

The Resnicks also have a stake in several other major water banks throughout the state.

Now, the power couple sells the state’s water back to the very citizens who have a right to the natural commodity.

Of course, donating massive amounts of money to California Democrat politicians such as Gavin Newsom and Dianne Feinstein ensures their monopoly stays intact.

In addition to funding leftist politicians, the Resnicks donate huge sums to the University of California system in exchange for collegiate departments releasing studies that suggest federal and state taxpayer dollars be used to fund water projects that further benefit the family’s H2O enterprise.

Ana Kasparian, the liberal co-host and producer of The Young Turks, shared the “More Perfect Union” report on 𝕏 and lambasted Democrat officials in L.A. for draining water supplies.

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How years of corruption and mismanagement led to LA running out of water in the middle of the Palisades wildfire

As Los Angeles firefighters faced down the most destructive blaze in the city’s history, they ran out of water.

“The hydrants are down,” a firefighter said over the radio, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Another chipped in: “Water supply just dropped.”

Fire crews were forced to watch as entire blocks of the Pacific Palisades — one of the most scenic and celeb-packed neighborhoods in LA — were incinerated in a matter of hours late Tuesday and early Wednesday.

“There’s no water in the fire hydrants,” Rick Caruso, who owns the Palisades Village mall in the heart of the devastated area, fumed to local media. “The firefighters are there, and there’s nothing they can do — we’ve got neighborhoods burning, homes burning, and businesses burning. … It should never happen.”

The water shortage was the result of years of mismanagement of LA’s water system — including a federal indictment of a leader and high-profile resignations — as well as major operational problems that drained reserves too quickly.

The Pacific Palisades fire, whipped up by hurricane-force Santa Ana winds, destroyed more than 1,000 homes and businesses. By Wednesday night, it had spread to 16,000 acres (25 square miles), bigger than the island of Manhattan in New York — and crews had not managed to contain any of it.

LA residents voiced their outrage over the conditions that allowed the fire — and two other blazes in Los Angeles County — to rage out of control. Five people had died as of Wednesday night, several others were injured and at least 70,000 were told to evacuate their homes across the LA area.

Adding insult, Democratic Mayor Karen Bass was 7,400 miles away in Africa, and months earlier she had approved an $18 million cut to the fire department.

“RESIGN! WHY ARE YOU IN GHANA?!,” one person commented on an X post by Bass’ office giving an update on the wildfires.

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