In Skid Row, an area on the eastern edge of downtown Los Angeles, more than 2,700 people live unsheltered on the street.

City leaders, concerned that the new coronavirus could spread rapidly in the absence of adequate hygiene, ordered 250 public handwashing stations in mid-March. The stations were intended to cover all districts of the city with high concentrations of people experiencing homelessness, but only a few were placed in Skid Row.

Even those that did arrive in Skid Row were prone to failure. According to a street survey conducted a few days following the city’s action, several of the stations there lacked water and soap.

The survey was conducted by members of Los Angeles Community Action Network, a community group that is leading a grassroots movement to build, deploy, and maintain handwashing stations in Skid Row, according to a report in The Conversation.

“LA CAN places the hand-washing stations with street community leaders that the organization knows from its years of organizing work in the neighborhood. These leaders maintain the stations, explain how they work to other Skid Row residents, share knowledge about safe practices and generally support their community. To refill the stations, they call on nearby supporters including housed neighbors and adjacent buildings and stores, some of whom also provide liquid soap and sanitizer — a grassroots networks in action.”

The DIY designs can be built more quickly and at lower cost than commercial models, which are back-ordered due to high demand.

Earlier this week, Mayor Eric Garcetti promised that city workers would check soap and water levels at handwashing stations daily, Curbed LA reports.

Demand for dairy products at the grocery store is soaring, with milk purchases up 53 percent in the week that ended March 21 compared to the same period last year, according to Nielsen data.

After years of falling prices, farmers ought to be elated with the clamor for milk, butter, and cheese.

But as Reuters reports, food supply chains face financial and technical barriers to shift production to cater to a suddenly inflated retail market. Many production lines were designed to stock restaurant pantries that have gone dark in response to the coronavirus pandemic. More people are now buying at the grocery store, which requires different packaging.

The mismatch in supply chains is resulting in farmers having no market for their product. One farmer told Reuters that he is dumping 4,700 gallons of milk a day since last Tuesday.

What happens to dumped milk? Because of its high concentration of nutrients, which can feed algae growth in lakes and rivers, it has to be handled with care.

In a public notice, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection reminded farmers that milk is to be treated with the same caution as manure and wastewater from dairy operations.

If farmers need to dump milk in a hurry, Wisconsin regulators recommend diverting it into manure holding tanks. Otherwise, they need to follow their existing plans for spreading milk and manure on fields.

The Raleigh City Council voted unanimously today to change its residential water rate structure in response to shifting patterns of water use brought on by the coronavirus emergency.

The change was recommended by Robert Massengill, the director of public utilities.

Massengill told the Council that even though businesses and schools are closed, the utility is not seeing an overall change in water use.

He believes that water use is simply shifting from offices and residence halls to homes.

With water use rising at home, higher water bills in the coming billing cycles may surprise some households — and be especially unwelcome if someone is dealing with unemployment.

Raleigh uses three tiers for residential water rates, meaning that the cost of water increases with higher use. In tier three, water is 33 percent more expensive than in tier two. The threshold between tier two and tier three is 11 CCF. A CCF is a unit of measurement equivalent to 748 gallons.

Starting April 16, the threshold for tier three will be 21 CCF. It will remain there until 30 days after the state of emergency is rescinded.

“There’s so much uncertainty right now,” Massengill said. “But we can make this adjustment without much financial hit on the utility.”

Politicians in Washington began staking their positions for a fourth coronavirus emergency relief bill.

In a press call on Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reiterated what she said earlier in the week: that Democrats will insist that infrastructure be a central focus of the next stimulus bill and that water will not be ignored.

“Clean water,” Pelosi said while outlining potential pieces of a stimulus bill. “That’s part of our infrastructure proposal, always has been, now more than ever, necessary. Dependable drinking water, clean water, wastewater infrastructure are critical in the effort to limit the spread of the coronavirus.”

President Trump has signaled his interest in working on an infrastructure package.

House Democrats are using a framework unveiled in January as their starting point for negotiations. The Moving Forward framework included $50.5 billion in clean water investment — from sewer upgrades and PFAS treatment to stormwater retention and worker training — as well as $25.4 billion for drinking water programs.

Congress is on break and scheduled to reconvene April 20.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday prohibited California’s public water utilities from disconnecting water service to homes and essential small businesses during the coronavirus emergency because of late payments.

The executive order requires utilities to restore service to any home that was cut off after March 4.

The order does not eliminate any household water debts, nor does it prevent utilities from charging for water service or eventually recovering charges that went unpaid during the emergency.

California follows in the footsteps of New Hampshire, where Gov. Chris Sununu issued a similar order on March 17.