Tag: clean water

A New Year’s Resolution That Has a Big Impact and is Easy to Keep: Save Water!

While many New Year’s resolutions include renewing that old gym membership or cleaning out the garage, a great way to start the new year off right is to focus on conserving water. With severe drought across the country, including New England, water is becoming ever more valuable and people are looking for ways to get the most out of every drop. One of the easiest steps we can take to help mitigate the impacts of drought is conserving water. Unlike most New Year’s resolutions, making a few simple changes to save water is an easy resolution to stick to and it makes a significant difference in the world. Let’s look at a few simple ways you and your community can conserve water.

Ditch Those Old Appliances

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Image courtesy of www.localsanfranciscoplumber.com

The average person in the United States uses about 80-100 gallons of water each day. Of that amount, almost all of it comes from appliances such as washing machines, dishwashers, toilets, and faucets. Toilets alone account for approximately 27% of the water consumed in your home and many older toilets use up to seven gallons of water per flush. Installing a high-efficiency toilet that uses less than 2 gallons per flush can save up to 18,000 gallons of water a year – about $120 off your water bill annually. And if you really want to go green, and are brave to boot – consider one of these alternative toilets!

Washing machines offer another opportunity to save water year-round. Washing machines, on average, account for around 20% of a household’s water use, and switching to a high-efficiency washing machine can cut that water consumption in half. If one in ten American households were to install high-efficiency appliances, we would save 74 billion gallons of water per year as a nation. That’s an annual savings of about $1.5 billion dollars on utility bills. These appliances may have a higher upfront cost, but when you save 30-75 percent of your water bill each month, these investments quickly pay for themselves.

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Water Sense is a partnership program of the EPA and is the standard when it comes to high efficiency faucets and accessories. Image Courtesy of www3.epa.gov

For a more affordable option, updating fixtures such as showerheads and faucets around the house can significantly reduce the amount of water you use. Conventional showerheads use as much as 10 gallons of water per minute. Modern showerheads use just 2-3 gallons per minute, which saves water and minimizes the stress on your water heater. Also, installing faucet aerators can help regulate water pressure to create varying flow rates to use less water depending on the task at hand, saving thousands of gallons annually. Updating your appliances and faucets is the most cost effective solution when it comes to saving water. Combined with simple lifestyle changes, these innovative technologies enable us to save significant amounts of water.

Small Leaks, Big Problems

Although it may look insignificant, a lightly dripping faucet can waste over 20 gallons of water per day. Toilet leaks are another major problem that often go undetected. To check if a toilet might be leaking, place a “toilet dye” tablet in the toilet tank and closely monitor the toilet bowl. If, without flushing, the water in the bowl changes color within half an hour, the toilet has a leak that needs to be repaired. Another way to determine if there is a water leak in your home is to read your house water meter before and after an extended period when no water is being used, like when the family is away on vacation. If the meter does not stay the same, then you have a leak somewhere in your home.

Manage the Meat

Infographic courtesy of www.veganstart.org

Our favorite steak or burger may taste great, but it takes a lot of water to reach the dinner plate.  A pound of beef requires almost 2,500 gallons of water to produce. By avoiding beef for just one day a week, we can save thousands of gallons of water each year. In fact, we would save more water by not eating one pound of beef than we would by not showering for six months. We can save even more by cutting out other foods that require a lot of water to produce such as almonds (1,929 gal/lb.), chocolate (2,061 gal/lb.), pork (1630 gal/lb.), and butter (2,044 gal/lb.). When we do eat beef or other water intensive foods, we should choose pasture raised because grass is less likely to require irrigation compared to corn or soy used in the conventional method of raising livestock. Even cutting out that one extra cup of coffee each day can save hundreds of gallons of water. Being conscious of what we eat is not only good for our health, but also the environment.

To Wrap It Up

When it comes to daily water usage, even the smallest action to save water is significant to combat our country’s severe drought. Paying attention to how you and your family use water in your home will help you come up with the best ways in which your family can make simple changes that can have a big impact. For your New Year’s resolution, think of one thing each day that will save water – even small ideas can add up to big savings, for both our wallet and our planet.

Celebrating the Holidays Through Giving

The Holiday season means many different things for people. Whether it’s getting everyone the perfect gift, spending time with family, or preparing favorite foods for friends, the holidays are a time of giving. Our family here at Tata & Howard takes holiday giving to heart. We understand how important philanthropy is to both our local and global community. For this special time of year, we are looking at some of the most charitable and full-hearted organizations we’ve had the honor to support.

DARE Family Services

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T&H’s holiday DARE Giving Tree

Since 1964, DARE Family Services has been committed to improving the lives of children who have been abused or neglected. By providing a family-based setting, they give children the opportunity to recover and live healthy, happy lives. Every holiday season, DARE Family Services reaches out to communities for gift donations to help kids experience a memorable holiday – in many cases, for the first time in their lives. At Tata & Howard, our employee-owners take DARE’s mission to heart and bring gifts to put under our DARE Giving Tree for children in need. Fortunately, we are one of many organizations and individuals who support DARE and their determination to better the lives of disadvantaged and neglected children. They help thousands of kids every year and we thank them for their generosity.

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

T&H’s Heidi White raised over $3,000 for DFCI this fall through their “Run Any Race” program.”

The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, along with the Jimmy Fund, is home to groundbreaking cancer discoveries. They are one of the greatest examples of a philanthropic organization working for a worthy cause – curing cancer. There are seemingly endless ways Dana-Farber and the Jimmy Fund raise money and resources to give hope to families affected by cancer, especially during the holidays. Tata & Howard is a proud supporter of Dana-Farber and donated $5,300 towards cancer research this past November, and donated another $1,500 this week in lieu of sending printed holiday cards to clients and friends. Some of our employee-owners are doing their own part to help them out as well. Our Marketing Communications Manager Heidi White participated in their “Run Any Race” program and raised over $3,000 by running Ragnar’s Reach the Beach in New Hampshire this past September. Also, T&H Engineer Molly Coughlin is currently training for the 2017 Boston Marathon to raise money for Dana-Farber and the Jimmy Fund. Her personal goal is to raise $15,850 and we are all cheering her on. Go Molly!

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Over 1.8 billion people globally lack access to safe drinking water, and Water For People is looking to change that by committing to provide long-lasting water and sanitation infrastructure for communities in need. They operate in nine countries and have helped over four million people live better lives by providing access to clean water. To make this happen, Water For People works with communities, governments, and business owners to ensure reliable, safe water for future generations. In support of their passion for clean water, many employee-owners at Tata & Howard contribute to Water For People through automatic bi-weekly payroll deductions, which Tata & Howard matches dollar for dollar. In this way, we are able to do our part to realize Water For People’s mission of clean water for everyone, forever.

The Navajo Water Project

This man keeps his water in barrels by his outhouse. Water and sanitation always go hand in hand. About 40% of Navajo don’t have a sink or a toilet at home. Courtesy of navajowaterproject.org.

Speaking of clean water for everyone, the Navajo Water Project is an amazing organization that seeks to solve a little-known water problem. Of the nearly 200,000 Navajo population right here in America, 40% do not have running water – which has created a cycle of poverty that limits health, education, and economic security. As a subsidiary of DIGDEEP and primarily funded through private donors, the Navajo Water Project works with communities in Navajo Nation to install systems that bring running water and electricity into homes. The water is delivered via truck and safely stored in large cisterns, from which it is pumped into a sink and shower inside the home. The organization also installs solar energy systems to power the pumps and lights inside. With their determination and adequate funding, The Navajo Water Project expects to install home water systems in every Navajo home in need by 2018. Since we learned of the plight of the Navajo people in 2015, Tata & Howard has actively supported the Navajo Water Project. In 2017, which is our 25th anniversary year, we are organizing a national virtual 5K to raise money for this incredible organization. Participants will receive a beautiful medal and 100% of the cost of registration will go directly to the Navajo Water Project. Stay tuned for details of this exciting event!

The holiday season is the perfect time to give to others and to help the community, both locally and globally. Even the smallest gesture of generosity helps others in significant ways. And the best gift a person can receive is hope — and that is exactly what DARE Family Services, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the Navajo Water Project, and Water for People are all about. We here at Tata & Howard encourage everyone to give to someone in need and celebrate generosity this holiday season. Happy Holidays to you and yours!

T&H Celebrates the Holidays!

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T&H’s annual holiday celebration was held on Tuesday, December 20, and it was a big success with food, gifts, and some fun competition. We were excited to have several fellow employee-owners from our satellite offices join us for the holiday fun.

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T&H employee-owners enjoying a catered Italian luncheon as they celebrate the holidays

Drawing numbers out of a hat, employee-owners crossed their fingers for our gift giveaway. There were several awesome gifts ranging from gift cards to Bose speakers. Congratulations to our grand prize winner, T&H Project Environmental Scientist James DeAngelis who won an Apple watch!
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T&H Project Environmental Scientist James DeAngelis showing off his new Apple watch.

Employee-owners also participated in a friendly dessert competition. Project Manager Amanda Cavaliere won best homemade dessert with for her amazing custard trifle. For best store bought dessert category, IT Manager James Field stole the show with a delicious tiramisu. The best presentation category went to Engineer Keighty Tallman, who impressed everyone with her creative gingerbread teddy bears.
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Like every year, this year’s holiday celebration was a great time with a lot of laughs. From our family to yours, Happy Holidays!

T&H Thanksgiving Luncheon

T&H employee-owners enjoyed the annual Thanksgiving Luncheon on Tuesday, November 22, and as always, it was a big success. Employee-owners were encouraged to bring in their favorite foods and take some time to appreciate the holiday season. In addition, we were lucky to have some fellow employee-owners from our satellite offices to join us for the food and fun. For our six newest engineers, it was a memorable first Thanksgiving celebration at T&H. There was great food, great people, and a lot of laughs.
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Giving Thanks – for Water!

It is widely known how important water is to our lives and the world we live in. Our body and planet is comprised of about 70% water – making it seem like it is easily accessible and plentiful. However, when you rule out our oceans and ice caps, less than 1% of all the water on Earth is drinkable. Of that less than 1%, groundwater only accounts for 0.28% of fresh water around the globe. Safe drinking water is a privilege we often take for granted while we brush our teeth or drink a glass of water in the morning. While we are giving thanks to our family, friends, and food during Thanksgiving, we should also give big thanks for our clean drinking water and the people who make it happen.

The Importance of Clean Water 

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Villagers in Malawi travel miles to find and transport water which is rarely safe for human consumption.

Keeping yourself hydrated can do wonders for your health. The benefits water provides for our bodies range from relieving headaches, flushing toxins out of the body, improving mood, helping with weight loss, and relieving fatigue. In the U.S., we are fortunate enough to have some of the cleanest drinking water anywhere in the world to keep us healthy and safe. In other countries and for some 783 million people, that is not the case. Many do not have access to sufficient drinking water and the water they do have often contains dangerous pathogens. Often, unclean water sources are miles from villages and some people are forced to spend hours each day simply finding and transporting water. The typical container used for water collection could weigh between 40 and 70 pounds when filled. Imagine how difficult it would be to carry the equivalent of a 5-year-old child for three hours out of each day just to have water to drink. With so many people not having access to clean drinking water around the world, it is important to appreciate the plentiful and safe drinking water we have here in America.

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A visual diagram of water and wastewater distribution systems. Click the image to see full size.

A Special Thanks for the People Who Make Our Water Safe

When looking at America’s clean water, it is especially important to give special thanks to the water and wastewater utilities that work nonstop to give us some of the cleanest drinking water in the world. Despite the fact that our country has beautiful rivers and lakes, the water that comes from them to our taps goes through several processes that require a lot of work and maintenance. Our water and wastewater utilities maintain some of the highest standards in the world when it comes to drinking water, and new innovations for treatment and distribution are always being researched and implemented. Water and wastewater employees work tirelessly to meet regulatory requirements and preserve local waterways despite major setbacks like deteriorating infrastructure and shrinking funding for necessary projects. On top of treating our water, utilities are responsible for keeping their distribution systems running efficiently and also to being stewards to the environment through improving effluent quality. Our water utilities are arguably the most important utilities in the nation because water is so crucial to our survival.

In Conclusion

We are so incredibly fortunate here in the United States to not have to think twice about the purity of water from the tap, a glass of water in a restaurant, a highway rest stop, an airport, or motel – all thanks to our water and wastewater utilities. For that, we should be especially thankful. This Thanksgiving, be sure to give special thanks for having safe drinking water and to the dedicated, hard-working people at water and wastewater utilities.

Water Crisis in the United States, Part 4: Colonias

colonias-in-texas-300x292Recently in the news, we have heard a lot about the nationwide lead in drinking water crisis and the need to update our aging infrastructure. In addition, the plight of the people living in Navajo Nation has been brought to the nation’s attention after being showcased in a video by CBS Sunday Morning News. However, there is yet another very serious water crisis in the United States that has garnered very little media attention, and this week, we will be concluding our four-part series on water crises in the United States by talking about colonias.

What Are Colonias?

Colonia translates to neighborhood in Spanish, and in the United States, colonias are primarily Hispanic neighborhoods found along the Mexican border in Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas. With over 2,200 colonias, Texas has by far the most colonias in the nation, as well as the largest colonia population with over 500,000 residents. The modern-day colonia population is about 96% Mexican-American, with about 74% of those — and 94% of colonia children — being American citizens.

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A Texas colonia residence

Colonias originated in the 1950s. At this time, less than honorable developers bought up worthless land along the Mexican border — such as land that was agriculturally useless or located in flood plains — parceled it into tiny lots with little to no infrastructure and sold it off to low-income immigrants in search of affordable housing. To this day, colonias are often bought through a contract for deed, which is a questionable financing method by which developers offer low down and monthly payments with a very high interest rate and no title until the loan is paid in full. Prior to 1995, developers did not typically record the transactions with the county clerk, leaving the buyer with virtually no rights. If they fell behind on payments, the developer could repossess the property quickly, usually within just 45 days, without going through the foreclosure process.

colonias_lots_for_sale-300x201Fortunately, Texas passed the Colonias Fair Land Sales Act in 1995 to somewhat protect colonia residents who are forced to finance through a contract for deed. The Act requires developers to record the contract with the county clerk and to provide property owners with an annual statement that shows the amount paid towards the loan and taxes as well as the number of remaining payments. The Act also forces developers to itemize which services, such as water, wastewater, and electricity, are available, and whether the land is located in a flood plain.

While the Colonias Fair Land and Sales Act has improved contract for deed sales, there remain serious problems. Because property owners do not actually own the land or have a title, they cannot secure any type of financing that uses the property as collateral. Considering that colonia residents are typically well below the poverty level, any other types of financing are also unavailable to them, making it impossible to improve their property. Therefore, colonia residents typically construct their homes in drawn out phases as funds become available to them. Because of this, colonia homes often do not have electricity or even basic plumbing.

Challenges in Colonias

Arguably the most serious challenge facing colonias is the lack of improved water and sanitation services. Many colonias do not have public sewer systems and instead rely on rudimentary septic systems or outhouses that are often inadequate and overflow. And because the land is frequently in flood plains with poorly constructed roads that do not properly drain, sewage collects and pools, rife with bacteria and pathogens. Even colonias that do have sewer systems typically lack any type of wastewater treatment. Therefore, untreated wastewater is discharged into local streams that flow directly into the Rio Grande or the Gulf of Mexico.

Vending machine in Hidalgo, Image courtesy Wendy Jepson www.wendyjepson.net
Vending machine in Hidalgo, Image courtesy Wendy Jepson
www.wendyjepson.net

Potable water also presents a challenge to colonia residents. Very often, inhabitants must buy water in drums to meet their needs, or, even worse, they utilize untreated water from wells that are contaminated. Some private companies have installed water “vending machines” that provide bottled water at an astronomical cost to residents who can ill afford it. Even colonias that do have water lines have major problems, because residents are unable to tie-in due to their homes not meeting county building codes; to meet the building codes, they need to have adequate plumbing — a true Catch-22 situation. In fact, housing in colonias is typically considered dilapidated by local inspectors. Residents often start with just tents, cardboard, and lean-tos, and make improvements little by little as funds allow.

Due to the lack of improved water and sanitation, as well as lack of electrical services, it should come as little surprise that health conditions in colonias are often deplorable. Hepatitis A, dysentery, tuberculosis, cholera, salmonella, and other diseases occur at an astronomically higher rate in colonias than they do in the rest of Texas, according to Texas Department of Health data. To make matters worse, most colonias do not have local medical services and have a serious shortage of primary care providers, and most colonia residents lack health insurance. Therefore, the average age of colonia residents is only 27 — a full 10 years younger than the national average. And, just as is the case in Africa and other developing areas, quality of health is directly linked to quality of education. Therefore, many colonia residents remain undereducated — 55% of residents do not have a high school diploma — causing the cycle of poverty to continue generationally. The unemployment rate in colonias is anywhere from 20-60%, compared with 7% for the rest of Texas.

Assistance to Colonias

Thankfully, through a series of public outreach initiatives, more attention has been brought to the existence of colonias and the third-world conditions in them. In the last 20 years, the Texas Secretary of State has been recording the infrastructure, or lack thereof, within colonias and providing a significant amount of funding — tens of millions of dollars — to improve these areas. And it is working, albeit slowly. Since 2006, about 100 colonias have been moved out of the “red” category, indicating the worst conditions. However, with over 2,200 colonias along the Texas-Mexico border, there is still much work to be done.

On a federal level, USDA Rural Development has grants available through the Individual Water and Wastewater Program for households residing in an area recognized as a colonia before October 1, 1989. The colonia must be located in a rural area and determined to be a colonia on the basis of objective criteria including lack of potable water supply, lack of adequate sewage systems, lack of decent, safe and sanitary housing, and inadequate roads and drainage. Grant funds may be used to connect service lines to a residence, pay utility hook-up fees, install plumbing and related fixtures like a bathroom sink, bathtub or shower, commode, kitchen sink, water heater, outside spigot, or bathroom, if lacking. Qualifying applicants must own and occupy their home, show income from all individuals residing in the home below the most recent poverty income guidelines, and not be delinquent on any Federal debt. The maximum individual grant for water systems is $3,500 and for wastewater is $4,000 with a lifetime assistance maximum not to exceed $5,000 per individual. Further information can be found on USDA’s web site. In addition, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in Texas, Arizona, California, and New Mexico has set aside up to 10 percent of their State Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) funds for improving living conditions for colonias residents.

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Leticia Jones has received several business loans from LiftFund and now the future of her catering business is bright. Image courtesy dallasfed.org

Fortunately, colonia residents are a very resourceful, tight knit group who are willing to work together and help each other, and some private and non-profit institutions have also become involved in the plight of colonia residents. For example, Texas A&M worked with residents on a water filtration project which involved making simple filters to make water potable. In addition, a non-profit lender called the LiftFund has provided loans to some colonia residents to assist them with starting a business. These loans have a very low interest rate and are given to people who cannot qualify for a traditional loan. Colonia residents are very often entrepreneurial in spirit, perhaps through necessity. After all, for years they have done what they need to do to get by, whether it be selling handmade crafts at flea markets or cutting up tires dumped along colonia roads and turning them into unique flower pots.

In Conclusion

Colonias are a little known part of America that have conditions oftentimes no better than those found in developing countries. One of the biggest causes of generational poverty in colonias is attributed to lack of basic water and sanitation services, causing health and education issues. Just like the plight of the people living in Navajo Nation, it is shameful that people living in the richest land in the world do not have access to these basic human rights. Add to this the lack of charitable organizations supporting water poverty in the United States, and colonias qualify as one of the most significant, and heartbreaking, water crises in the nation.

Clean Water – The Greatest Gift this Holiday season

We here at Tata & Howard wish you all a happy, healthy, and safe holiday and prosperous new year!

It’s the holidays again and ’tis the season for giving gifts, being with our loved ones and celebrating our good fortune by helping those in need.

Credit: Water for People

Here at Tata & Howard we are doing just that.  2014 has been a busy year for us; one of growth and many successes delivering and maintaining proper access to clean water sources for communities all over the country . That is why at this time of year we like to support the gift of clean water for those who sadly don’t have access to this basic human right in other countries.  In addition to the great community service work our regional offices do locally, our team also contributes throughout the year to  our corporate holiday giving fund.  At the end of year the money which staff have contributed is then matched by the company and donated to Water for People.

This global non-profit explains their work is as simple as their name. “We want all people to have safe, continuous water, and when they do, our job will be done. We want water for everyone, forever.”

Currently, 748 million people around the world do not have access to clean water. And, 2.5 billion people – or one in three people – do not have access to something as basic as a toilet.  Lack of access to clean water is at epidemic proportions and contributes to higher mortality rates, lower education levels, and increased violence in countries affected.

Water for People is looking beyond toilets and wells and water pumps, and into the future. The group works with people in affected countries to find out how they live and what they need to feel healthy, safe, empowered, and successful. As their website says, “We’re designing solutions based on long-term needs — and long lives. We don’t want to be around forever, but we want water to be.”

And this non-profit gets it.  The founders, Ken Miller, a former president of AWWA, Wayne Weiss,  and John B. Mannion, a former executive director of AWWA, joined forces to create a path for Water For People’s establishment as an international nonprofit development organization in 1991, which grew to become a leader in social responsibility and innovation in the sector.

Today, Water For People is the AWWA designated charity of choice, and is also endorsed by the Water Environment Federation, the Water Quality Association, the National Association of Water Companies, the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, and the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies.

40 BILLION HOURS from Water For People on Vimeo.

Find out more about their work by visiting their website  We hope you are inspired as much as we are to give thanks at this year’s end by contributing to support the development of clean and healthy water sources for more around the world.

We here at Tata & Howard wish you all a happy, healthy, and safe holiday and prosperous new year!

Clean Water Made the First Thanksgiving a Feast to Remember

1115141358aIt’s Thanksgiving!  It’s that time of year when we cover our table with a feast of turkey, cranberries, and potatoes and imagine that we are celebrating as the earliest settlers had nearly four hundred years ago. But more likely, the Pilgrim and Wampanoag people enjoyed a plentiful bounty of waterfowl and fish at their feast – game and seafood attracted to the area by the clean, undisturbed waters of 17th-century Massachusetts.

Many historians believe that turkey and potatoes were not actually present at the first Thanksgiving. Turkey did not become the poster-bird for Thanksgiving until the early 1800s.  Back in 1621, the feast, which lasted three days, was comprised of foods that could easily be obtained in the region, and the local waters were an excellent resource for finding these.

According to one article, the birds that were most likely eaten were migratory ducks and geese attracted to the clean rivers, streams, and lakes of the Plymouth area.  Without these clean waters attracting birds to Massachusetts, the first Thanksgiving meal would have been much less impressive than it actually was. Below the surface of the rivers and streams, and the ocean of Massachusetts where this three-day feast took place, the Pilgrims and members of the Wampanoag tribe found many delicacies to add to their dinner table.  Clams, cod, lobsters, and eels were plentiful in the clean, undisturbed waters, and the early Americans took full advantage of this.

Additionally in an article from Smithsonian Magazine, there are reports that while there may have been beer at the table, there would have only been about a few gallons for 150 people over three days.  The rest of the group probably washed the meal down with water.  Another reason the guests at the first Thanksgiving were probably thankful for the clean waters available to them.

Water has certainly been a very important – if often overlooked- element of any Thanksgiving dinner.  While you’re boiling your potatoes, and getting the lumps out of the gravy, reflect on a feast such as this without water and give thanks by conserving water in your cooking.

May you and yours enjoy a happy and “water-ful” Thanksgiving!

A New Kind of Pipeline

An old photograph of group of men dropping a large pipe into a shallow trench using wooden planks as levers. Early pipelines were buried underground in an attempt to protect them from sabotage by Teamsters.
An old photograph of a group of men dropping a large pipe into a shallow trench using wooden planks as levers. Early pipelines were buried underground in an attempt to protect them from sabotage by Teamsters.

Although aqueducts were used as far back as the 7th century BC, the first actual pipeline was built in 1595 to carry salt water. It was an impressive 25 miles long and made from 13,000 hollowed tree trunks. In the United States, pipelines have been in use since 1865 when the first truly successful oil pipeline was built in Pennsylvania. Engineered by Samuel Van Syckle, an inventive oil worker from New Jersey, it was constructed of wrought iron and extended five miles from the Pithole pumps to the Oil Creek railroad. Since then, we’ve built pipelines that are literally thousands of miles long that transport not only oil, but also water, natural gas, gasoline, and ethylene, and they even cross international borders.

Typically, pipelines can be classified in three categories, depending on purpose:

  • Gathering pipelines are short, interconnected pipelines with small diameters forming complex networks with the purpose of bringing crude oil or natural gas from nearby wells to a treatment plant or processing facility.
  • Transportation pipelines are mainly long pipes with large diameters, moving products such as oil, gas, and refined products between cities, countries, and even continents.
  • Distribution pipelines (our specialty!) are composed of several interconnected pipelines with small diameters that are used to take products – like clean, treated water – to the final consumer.

veltinsVery recently, however, there has emerged a fourth category of pipeline: beer pipelines.

The Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Germany is a massive soccer stadium that seats over 60,000 people. To cater to such a large crowd, it houses 15 restaurants, 50 grilling stations, 35 cafes, and four subterranean cooling centers that can store 52,000 liters of beer. To transport that beer, it has a three-mile long beer pipeline, built in 2013, that supplies all of the restaurants and bars in the arena. The pipeline transports up to 14 liters of beer per minute, and allows for fluctuations in flow determined by the thirstiness of its patrons. Impressed by the Veltins-Arena, European soccer team Zenit St. Petersburg is looking to install a beer pipeline in their new stadium as well.

Thor_pipelineIn Randers, Denmark, a beer pipeline supplies all of the bars and restaurants in the entertainment district. Originally connected to the Thor Brewery, which moved out of town in the 1990s, the pipeline is now fed by a large tank. Randers enjoys a thriving nightlife, and the pipeline ensures that cold beer is always readily available, even at outdoor taps. Appropriately enough, this Danish beer is called Thor Pipeline, and features an illustration of a pipeline in its logo.

In the city of Bruges, Belgium, yet another beer pipeline has been approved and is planned for construction. The pipeline will stretch approximately two miles under the city streets, from a historic, family-owned brewery to its suburban bottling plant. De Halve Maan, founded in 1854, is the only family brewery in the city and is located in the center of Bruges, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The beer pipeline, which will be capable of transporting 5,700 liters of beer per hour, will eliminate virtually all of the 500 trucks currently used to transport De Halve Maan\’s famous Brugse Zot beer, and will help to preserve the ancient cobblestone streets.

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Oktoberfest 2014, Germany

It seems evident that beer pipelines are the wave of the future. Installing beer pipelines in today’s gargantuan sporting arenas is a cost-effective way to cut transportation costs and reduce the risk of stockouts, while breweries would benefit by ensuring that their beer is always on tap. And on a smaller scale, just this past month Germany’s Oktoberfest constructed a 260 meter temporary pipeline to supply the nearly seven million liters of beer consumed at the two week long event. So far, the United States has yet to see a beer pipeline emerge, and we can’t help but wonder: who will be the beer pioneer and build the first American beer pipeline?

Water For People – Making a Substantial and Sustainable Difference

wfpWater. For us, it’s as natural as breathing. When we want a drink, we run our faucet. To wash our dishes, or our clothing, we press a button. We always have access to restrooms, whether in a public facility or a private residence. Clean water and sanitation are rights, not privileges. But for millions of people outside our borders, life is very different:

  • 780 million people worldwide lack access to clean water. That’s 2.5x more people than live in the United States.
  • More than 3.4 million people die each year from water, sanitation, and hygiene-related causes. That is almost the entire city of Los Angeles. 99% of these deaths occur in developing nations.
  • Every 21 seconds, a child dies from a water-related illness. The majority of illness comes from fecal matter.
  • The water and sanitation crisis claims more lives through disease than any war claims through guns.

Virtually all people in developed nations have access to clean water and sanitation. The areas of the world with the lowest percentage of people having access to clean water and improved sanitation are sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia. And to put those numbers into perspective

  • An American taking a five-minute shower uses more water than the average person in a developing country uses for an entire day.
  • More people have a mobile phone than a toilet.

These are sobering facts indeed.

At Tata & Howard, we firmly believe that every single person on Earth should have access to clean water and improved sanitation. And because of our strong conviction, we have chosen to support Water For People, a charitable organization that works diligently to bring improved water and sanitation facilities to developing countries. Their goal is water for Everyone Forever, and when they say everyone, they mean everyone. Their methodology is precise and comprehensive, and has brought real and lasting results.

everyone foreverHow They Do It:

  • Water For People collaborates with IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre, and Water & Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP) to target districts in defined geographic regions for an Everyone Forever program.
  • Success is defined as every household, every school, and every public health facility/clinic in those regions having access to improved water and sanitation services.
  • Financial, physical, and operational investments are made by local and national governments, community residents, and other organizations to address current and future challenges of water systems and services. Eventually, target communities won’t need support from an international water agency ever again.
  • Development agencies monitor field results for at least 10 years, but the monitoring capacity and responsibility are firmly embedded within communities and government. Data and results are publicly available to everyone.
  • Everyone Forever programming grows from full coverage at district levels to national level and beyond, freeing countries from water and sanitation aid dependency.
A woman in Mwamongu fetches water from an unimproved source.
A woman in Mwamongu fetches water from an unimproved source.

Water For People, the American Water Works Association’s (AWWA) charity of choice, will have a prominent presence at ACE14, the AWWA’s Annual Conference being held June 8-12 in Boston. They will host a booth, an evening fundraiser, an awards luncheon, and will give a presentation at a professional session. More information on Water For People at ACE14 can be found here.

Tata & Howard gives to Water For People through its workplace giving campaign by encouraging employees to donate through automatic payroll deduction which the company then matches dollar for dollar. We encourage you to learn more about Water For People and to visit their website where you can personally see the profound benefits that have come about as a result of their efforts: https://www.waterforpeople.org.