An outbreak of salmonella infections in Alamosa, Colorado has sickened more than 300 since the first symptoms began appearing in residents around March 7. To date, some 85 salmonella cases have been confirmed, with 12 people requiring hospitalization. Of the people sickened, about half have been children under age 11.

Health officials said the tap water in Alamosa, a community of 8,500 about 160 miles south of Denver, tested positive for salmonella bacteria and confirmed the outbreak on March 20. Since then residents have been unable to use water straight from the tap for brushing teeth, washing dishes, drinking, cooking and showering. The city began flushing the municipal water system, which services about 10,000 people, with high levels of chlorine (25 parts per million). Once the entire system has been disinfected, which is expected to be completed April 7, officials plan to leave a residual amount of chlorine in the water to prevent future contamination.

It was determined the particular strain that caused the outbreak is one found in the feces of local deer, birds and other warm-blooded animals, but remains a mystery of how it got into the water. According to a spokesman for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, "Waterborne salmonella outbreaks are fairly rare. The bacteria are typically spread by food." The city's water system was not chlorinated, but there were plans in place to build a new treatment plant with chlorination. People infected with salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps within 12 to 72 hours of infection. Generally the illness lasts a week and most recover without treatment, but the elderly, infant and people with impaired immune systems may require treatment - and for some - hospitalization.

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Salmonella Infections Top 300 in Colorado Town

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a new rule to help protect aircraft passengers from microbiological contamination of drinking water. The proposed Aircraft Drinking Water Rule (ADWR) will tailor existing health-based drinking water regulations to fit the unique characteristics of aircraft public water systems.

In 2004, EPA tested aircraft drinking water quality and reviewed air carrier compliance with regulations. The Agency found that 15 percent of tested aircraft tested positive for total coliform bacteria and that air carriers were not meeting existing regulations, primarily because those regulations were designed for stationary public water systems. In response, EPA began a process to tailor the existing regulations for aircraft systems.

The proposed ADWR will require specific types of monitoring, disinfection and public notification that are appropriate for the airline industry. The approach will build on existing aircraft operations and maintenance programs and better coordinated federal programs that regulate aircraft water systems. The proposed rule applies to the aircraft's onboard water system and only addresses aircraft within U.S. jurisdiction. However, the EPA is also supporting an international effort led by the World Health Organization to develop international guidelines for aircraft drinking water.

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Aircraft Drinking Water Regulation Proposed

Nearly 2.5 billion people have no access to sanitation. Many of those affected reside in urban slums. The world's cities are growing by one million people per week making it difficult for their aging water systems to cope. United Nations (UN) experts are warning global citizens that something "dramatic" needs to change regarding water consumption to reduce an ever-growing "water footprint". Similar to the carbon footprint which measures the amount of greenhouse gases produced by human activity, a "water footprint" calculates the amount of water needed to produce goods or services. As more water is used for producing good and services, less is available to serve global drinking water needs.

The threat of climate change has drawn attention to the world's carbon footprint and is serving as catalyst for how many are rethinking approaches to limit consumption. For example, scientists are experimenting with alternatives to fossil fuels which are limited resources and contributors to global warming. However, a recently published report by UN Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) Institute for Water Education said it takes 70 to 400 times as much water to create energy from biofuels as it does from fossil fuels.

To address this and other issues, UNESCO has established a water-development project called Switch whose goal is to create change toward more sustainable urban water management. As part of this project, engineers are experimenting in a dozen cities from Lima (Peru) to Beijing to find ways to reduce climate change while easing the pressures on water resources. Experiments include turning rooftops into gardens, capturing and recycling rain, recharging underground reservoirs with waste water, and swapping traditional flush sanitation for dry toilets.

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United Nations Experts Concerned by "Water Footprint"

A $20 million grant has been awarded to multiple universities in the United States to research and develop the best means to restore Afghanistan's war-torn water systems so the country can reclaim its agriculture economy. The grant is sponsored by the United States Aid for International Development, an arm of the U.S. State Department.

Afghanistan Water, Agriculture and Technology Transfer (AWATT) is a three-year project that will involve a consortium of universities in the U.S. as well as universities and ministries in Afghanistan. Led by New Mexico State University, Colorado State University, University of Illinois and Southern Illinois University, the project is designed to develop a water-management plan, best use of technologies for water management and the steps to use the technologies to increase the agricultural potential for the area.

Despite the challenges of entering a war-torn country, some of the research has already been conducted in the U.S., since much of Afghanistan's terrain is similar to the area around Las Cruces. The consortium will be drawing from many of the water and agricultural research projects that have been done in the area and hopes to use this knowledge and apply it to some of the situations in Afghanistan.

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American Universities Receive Grant to Help Afghanistan's Water Systems

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