Granite State Analytical Services 
September 2018 Newsletter 


September ends summer and kicks off fall - colder weather is on the horizon. Fall foliage is a New England favorite for leaf peepers near and far.  It is usually best to catch this beautiful site starting the last week of September and through most of October. It's also time to start thinking about fall well maintenance by keeping it clear of debris and checking the cap to ensure it properly sealed.
Global Water Scarcity
By: James Greenwood

It's 6:00 AM and your alarm buzzes on your nightstand alerting you to start your morning routine. You walk to your bathroom and turn on the shower and wait five minutes for the water to heat up. In the meantime you use the toilet and wash your hands. Then you brush your teeth, letting the water flow freely from your faucet. Finally you climb into the warm water, and let your ten minute cleansing in the shower commence. Just a normal morning; nothing wrong with this picture, right?

Wrong

While never really thought about, clean, potable water is one of the most prized possessions of the human race. Our worlds have always revolved around it; it is a force that provides our environment with wonder and ourselves with survival. As the world's timeline has unfolded, water has been there to support our population growths, migrations, and creations of convenience. Unfortunately now, the future of our water sources seems uncertain.

Water scarcity is a problem that occurs worldwide, touching every continent and, according the United Nations, affecting about one-fifth of the world's population. Over the last century water use has increased greatly and has become unevenly distributed throughout the world. Additionally, our once clean waters become wasted or polluted, further depleting our sources. Many nations that are considered "water-stressed" lack the facilities and infrastructure that can provide them with potable water, and are equally inhibited by the rapidly changing global climate (notable areas of impact include sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and Southern Asia).

This crisis leads to tragedy for many people around the world. Water, when plentiful, can boost societies leaps and bounds, however when scarce can inhibit life on the individual level. Access to clean water not only changes the physical health of peoples, but directly impacts economies, educations, and overall development of societies. Instead of worrying about job security, class finals, or infrastructural development, peoples are concerned with finding clean sources of water imperative to their survival.

History has shown that, when societies are threatened by a serious issue that threatens their well-being, diplomacy can be abandoned, and chaos can ensue on a global level. The current situation with international water quality and abundance is no exception, and could definitely prove to be a major facet (if not the cause) of another world war.  Never thought that your morning routine could impact the future of our world as we know it? Guess again.
$16M Grant to Improve Water Infrastructure
 
(Washington, DC) - U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Congresswomen Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01) and Annie Kuster (NH-02) announced a $16 million Clean Water State Revolving Fund Capitalization Grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) to improve water infrastructure and protect clean drinking water supplies. This grant is an increase of nearly $3 million from the previous year and will be used to protect water quality by financing NHDES's construction of wastewater treatment facilities, Non-Point Source, and estuary projects throughout New Hampshire. NHDES was also awarded an additional $162,000 to fund New Hampshire's Water Quality Management Planning program to improve contaminated water and water supplies across the state.
Fall Well Maintenance
 
Fall is the perfect time of the year to prepare your well for the potentially harsh weather, i.e., heavy snowfall, torrential rains, ground freezing & thawing, we usually see in the Northeast. Having routine annual maintenance checks ensure the proper operation of the well and helps to extend its years of service; you should also monitor the water quality which allows for a continued supply of safe drinking water for you and your family.
 
Important things to do:
  • Inspect the well cap or cover just to make sure it is still firmly attached and in good repair.
  • Make sure hazardous chemicals are stored far from the well.
  • Avoid piling leaves around your well when cleaning up the yard. Otherwise, you risk contamination of the well supply. Organic material provides a food source for bacteria.
  • Remove growth of weeds, grasses, and root systems of any trees or shrubs within 10 feet of the well.
  • Check that livestock are further than 50 feet of your well. Animals are of particular concern because of the possibility of manure contaminating groundwater supplies which can introduce e-coli into your well.
  • Perform a safety check on your water; this includes testing for bacteria (coliform and e-coli), nitrates, nitrites, and pH. Every 3 to 5 years a more comprehensive water test should be done, this will monitor minerals and heavy metals which can become present when the land shifts underground and opens up new water veins containing these items.
News From Around The U.S.
More Than Half of U.S. School Districts Aren't Testing for Lead in Their Drinking Water

One Time Miracle Ingredient, Now an Environmental Problem
 
Water Closest: Combined Sewer Flows into the Merrimack River

New Plant Filters Contaminated Water at Pease
Granite State Analytical Services, LLC. /  603-432-3044 rlabranche@granitestateanalytical.com / www.granitestateanalytical.com
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