Dirty Water

WASHINGTON - Dozens of US troops in Iraq fell sick at bases using "unmonitored and potentially unsafe" water supplied by the military and a contractor once owned by Vice President Dick Cheney's former company, the Pentagon's internal watchdog says. A report obtained by the Associated Press said soldiers experienced skin abscesses, cellulitis, skin infections, diarrhea, and other illnesses after using discolored, smelly water for personal hygiene and laundry at five US military sites in Iraq.

Pats linebacker Jerod Mayo and Miss Massachusetts USA Natalie Pietrzak were among the folks who dropped by the Greatest Bar over the weekend for one of the "Dirty Water" parties thrown by bar owner Billy Fairweather . Read the Names blog at www.boston.com/namesblog. Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253.

Woburn officials say the city's water system has been significantly improved through a multiyear upgrade, but they acknowledge that some residents are not seeing the benefits. "I clearly think that it's been a good investment and it will pay dividends in the future," Mayor Scott D. Galvin said of the $25 million the city has spent over the past five years to overhaul its aging water infrastructure The work, funded through a $33.5 million bond authorized by the City Council in 2007, has included overhauling and expanding the water treatment plant at the city's Horn Pond well...

The Run of the Charles does not have an identity problem. It has been around long enough - 30 years, to be precise - to know what it is and which way the water flows. It's a niche fit, a neat one, one worthy of more attention. It's not the Head of the Charles, which borrows some of its space each October. It's also not the Boston Marathon, which more or less uses the rivah bank as its guiding shouldah from Hopkinton to Copley Square. The Run has elements of both those biggies, but is still rather humble by Hub standards.

Woburn officials say the city's water system has been significantly improved through a multiyear upgrade, but they acknowledge that some residents are not seeing the benefits. "I clearly think that it's been a good investment and it will pay dividends in the future," Mayor Scott D. Galvin said of the $25 million the city has spent over the past five years to overhaul its aging water infrastructure The work, funded through a $33.5 million bond authorized by the City Council in 2007, has included overhauling and expanding the water treatment plant at the city's Horn...

Oasys Water Inc., a Boston company with a technology to remove salt and other contaminants from dirty water, said it has landed its first customer --- Select Energy Services LLC, a Houston company that provides water services to the oil and natural gas industry. Financial details of the relationship were not disclosed in an Oasys Water press release. Under the agreement, Select Energy Services plans to use Oasys Water technology at a natural gas fracking facility in West Texas.

Pats linebacker Jerod Mayo and Miss Massachusetts USA Natalie Pietrzak were among the folks who dropped by the Greatest Bar over the weekend for one of the "Dirty Water" parties thrown by bar owner Billy Fairweather . Read the Names blog at www.boston.com/namesblog. Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253.

GENEVA - World Health Organization officials said yesterday that famine-stricken Somalia faces a cholera epidemic as dirty water and poor sanitation are leading to an increase in outbreaks of the disease. Officials say cases of acute watery diarrhea - an important indicator of the risk of cholera - are now at 4,272 in Somalia - an 11 percent increase from last week's WHO reported figure of 3,839. WHO public health adviser Dr. Michel Yao told reporters in Geneva yesterday that the number of cholera cases has also risen sharply this year, with officials confirming 18 cases in the 30...

ATLANTA — You might want to look before you leap into a public swimming pool this summer. A new government report shows one in eight public swimming pools were shut down two years ago because of dirty water or other problems, such as missing safety equipment. Kiddie pools were most likely to be the germiest, from fecal matter and improper chlorination. The report is based on more than 120,000 inspections of public swimming pools in 2008, including those in parks and hotels.

LOS ANGELES — Those envisioning July 4 celebrations at the beach may be swimming at their own risk, according to a study that found the number of beach closures nationwide due to dirty water soared last year. The Natural Resources Defense Council, which released its annual report yesterday, found that beach closures and advisories across the country increased by 29 percent in 2010, compared with a year earlier. The conservation group used data from 3,000 locations and found that waters in Louisiana, Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan had the highest levels of contamination.

Woburn officials say the city's water system has been significantly improved through a multiyear upgrade, but they acknowledge that some residents are not seeing the benefits. "I clearly think that it's been a good investment and it will pay dividends in the future," Mayor Scott D. Galvin said of the $25 million the city has spent over the past five years to overhaul its aging water infrastructure The work, funded through a $33.5 million bond authorized by the City Council in 2007, has included overhauling and expanding the water treatment plant at the city's Horn...

Woburn officials say the city's water system has been significantly improved through a multiyear upgrade, but they acknowledge that some residents are not seeing the benefits. "I clearly think that it's been a good investment and it will pay dividends in the future," Mayor Scott D. Galvin said of the $25 million the city has spent over the past five years to overhaul its aging water infrastructure The work, funded through a $33.5 million bond authorized by the City Council in 2007, has included overhauling and expanding the water treatment plant at the city's Horn...

Oasys Water Inc., a Boston company with a technology to remove salt and other contaminants from dirty water, said it has landed its first customer --- Select Energy Services LLC, a Houston company that provides water services to the oil and natural gas industry. Financial details of the relationship were not disclosed in an Oasys Water press release. Under the agreement, Select Energy Services plans to use Oasys Water technology at a natural gas fracking facility in West Texas.

Rancid brown water licks at Samroeng Verravanich's thighs as he wades through one of Bangkok's many flooded streets. The garbageman plunges a white-gloved hand into the filth, fishes out a slimy plastic bag and slings it into the red basket he's towing. "If you have cuts, it can create infections between your fingers," Samroeng says of the dirty water, holding out a dripping hand peppered with a red rash. "My hands got infected. It hurts and it spreads too — like a virus. " As Thailand's worst floods in more than half a century continue to creep into Bangkok,...

GENEVA - World Health Organization officials said yesterday that famine-stricken Somalia faces a cholera epidemic as dirty water and poor sanitation are leading to an increase in outbreaks of the disease. Officials say cases of acute watery diarrhea - an important indicator of the risk of cholera - are now at 4,272 in Somalia - an 11 percent increase from last week's WHO reported figure of 3,839. WHO public health adviser Dr. Michel Yao told reporters in Geneva yesterday that the number of cholera cases has also risen sharply this year, with officials confirming...

MY GREEN MANIFESTO: Down the Charles River in Pursuit of a New Environmentalism By David Gessner Milkweed 224 pp., paperback, $15 "My Green Manifesto" is more paradox than contradiction, and lovely, for that. David Gess- ner, in time-honored environmental-lit style, travels with his friend Dan Driscoll in a canoe on the Charles River through the heart of Boston on the Fourth of July weekend. He is wrestling with the demons of our time: overcrowding, overconsumption, and questions about the meaning of life - a puzzling over an estrangement in the world as well as the paralyzing effects...

Rancid brown water licks at Samroeng Verravanich's thighs as he wades through one of Bangkok's many flooded streets. The garbageman plunges a white-gloved hand into the filth, fishes out a slimy plastic bag and slings it into the red basket he's towing. "If you have cuts, it can create infections between your fingers," Samroeng says of the dirty water, holding out a dripping hand peppered with a red rash. "My hands got infected. It hurts and it spreads too — like a virus. " As Thailand's worst floods in more than half a century continue to creep into Bangkok, mixing with...

Big night at the Fens. When it started, fans were still asking, "Where's Nomar?" But when it was over, they were no longer wondering, "Where's Pedro?" Boston's ace of diamonds returned with a flourish last night. Hair sprouting out from under his cap like black Brillo, Pedro Martinez was his old, gunslinging, "here-it-is-try-and-hit-it" self. The K cards were hoisted and the big board flashed "94 MPH" as the San Diego Padres kept swinging and missing in their first-ever appearance at Fenway Park.

LOS ANGELES — Those envisioning July 4 celebrations at the beach may be swimming at their own risk, according to a study that found the number of beach closures nationwide due to dirty water soared last year. The Natural Resources Defense Council, which released its annual report yesterday, found that beach closures and advisories across the country increased by 29 percent in 2010, compared with a year earlier. The conservation group used data from 3,000 locations and found that waters in Louisiana, Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan had the highest levels of contamination.

ATLANTA — You might want to look before you leap into a public swimming pool this summer. A new government report shows one in eight public swimming pools were shut down two years ago because of dirty water or other problems, such as missing safety equipment. Kiddie pools were most likely to be the germiest, from fecal matter and improper chlorination. The report is based on more than 120,000 inspections of public swimming pools in 2008, including those in parks and hotels.