The Stream, March 26: Neighborhoods in Jerusalem Turn to High Court for Water Service

Water Supply
Impoverished neighborhoods and a refugee camp east of security barriers in Jerusalem have dealt with very little water service for the past three weeks, according to a petition submitted to the High Court by Israel’s Association for Civil Rights, the Jerusalem Post reported. Water infrastructure in these areas has been neglected, according to the petition, forcing residents to buy expensive bottled water.

Residents of Detroit who are behind on their water bills may have their water shut off as the city attempts to crack down on delinquent water payments, The New York Times reported. Almost half of the city’s water customers are considered “delinquent” on their water accounts.

More chemicals may be present in United States drinking water than previously known because water treatment plants only test for a small proportion of chemicals, NPR reported. Chemical testing at public water systems has come under scrutiny in the past few months due to a toxic chemical spill in West Virginia that shut off water for hundreds of thousands of people.

Water Conservation
A new project in Singapore aims to set up a network of wireless sensors throughout the water system in order to more efficiently and cost effectively reduce water lost through leaks, MIT News reported. The sensors look for leaks by detecting changes in the amount of pressure flowing through distribution pipes, and also search for leaks acoustically.

In response to a report from the World Wildlife Fund that identified cotton as one of the world’s thirstiest crops, a major cotton industry group has said that new technology has allowed growers in the United States to reduce irrigated water use nearly 50 percent in the last 30 years, Bloomberg News reported. The WWF report found that the majority of the world’s cotton grows in areas with high water risk, which the industry group said could be explained by the plant’s natural drought and heat tolerance.

The Stream is a daily digest spotting global water trends. To get more water news, follow Circle of Blue on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.

Codi Kozacek

A news correspondent for Circle of Blue based out of Hawaii. She writes The Stream, Circle of Blue’s daily digest of international water news trends. Her interests include food security, ecology and the Great Lakes.
Contact Codi Kozacek