waste water

Taking the Plunge: How the Seine Became Olympic-Ready

Posted on by Shannon Sindermann

What would the Olympics be without a little controversy? From spy drones to air conditioning battles and debates over the bronze medal in women’s floor exercises, the 2024 Games had their fair share. Yet, amidst all the drama, one story stood out—the transformation of the Seine River. After being off-limits to swimmers since 1923, the Seine made a historic comeback this summer, hosting Olympic swimming events for the first time in modern history, including a 10K marathon, the aquatic portion of the triathlon and a Paralympic swimming event (4). With nearly 1 billion people watching, the Seine needed to be more than just swimmable – it had to be media-ready, as even a small misstep could have tarnished the river’s new image. 

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Sanitation and World Water Day 2021: What Would You Change about Water in Your Area?

Posted on by Kari Kenefick

Today, March 22, is World Water Day 2021, recognized by the United Nations and people around the world as a time to focus on the goal of available clean water for all.

United Nations World Water Day 2021 Graphic

Clean water for drinking is essential for our existence. A human can only survive without water for about three days.

While water is essential for life, the need goes beyond simple consumption. As is true of so many things, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown us the need for sanitation—being able to wash our hands, our clothes and ourselves with clean water, being able to rinse foods and a safe means by which to dispose of, or recycle the dirty water afterwards. And, even the need to monitor wastewater to help track infectious disease outbreaks.

World Bank and Sustainable Development Goal #6 (#SDG6)

The World Bank provides an extravagance of data on their sustainable development goal #6, Clean Water and Sanitation, noting the importance of water “for health, the environment and sustainable development”.
To add to the needs surrounding water and its scarcity, the World Bank states that:

Despite gains, more than half the world’s people lack access to safely managed sanitation services.

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