Latest news with #water
RNZ News
a day ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Raft of customer complaints following faulty Watercare metres
politics local council 26 minutes ago The watchdog that settles disputes about essential services like electricity and gas believes it should be mandatory for water suppliers to sign up to the scheme. Utilities Disputes is an independent disputes resolution service; its compulsary for gas and electricity companies and broadband installers to be part of the scheme. But it's voluntary for water suppliers. It comes after Checkpoint revealed 13,000 Watercare smart metres are not working properly, leaving some customers struggling to pay big catch up bills and frustrated by Watercare's service. Watercare is a voluntary member of Utilities Disputes, which means it has to refer any complaints to the service, customers cant make complaints directly. Utilities Disputes Commissioner Neil Mallon spoke to Lisa Owen.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Close-up images of The Red Planet's ridges from Mars Rover show ‘dramatic evidence' of water
Close-up images of a region of Mars scientists had previously only seen from orbit have revealed 'dramatic evidence' of where water once flowed on the Red Planet. The new images taken by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover raises fresh questions about how the Martian surface was changing billions of years ago. Mars once had rivers, lakes, and possibly an ocean, NASA said. Scientists aren't sure why the water eventually dried up, leading the planet to transform into the chilly desert it is today. Curiosity's images show evidence of ancient groundwater crisscrossing low ridges, arranged in what geologists call a boxwork pattern, the space agency said. 'By the time Curiosity's current location formed, the long-lived lakes were gone in Gale Crater, the rover's landing area, but water was still percolating under the surface,' NASA said in a news release. 'The rover found dramatic evidence of that groundwater when it encountered crisscrossing low ridges.' 'The bedrock below these ridges likely formed when groundwater trickling through the rock left behind minerals that accumulated in those cracks and fissures, hardening and becoming cementlike,' the release continued. 'Eons of sandblasting by Martian wind wore away the rock but not the minerals, revealing networks of resistant ridges within.' The rover has been exploring the planet's Mount Sharp since 2014, where the boxwork patterns have been found. Curiosity essentially 'time travels' as it ascends from the oldest to youngest layers, searching for signs of water and environments that could have supported ancient microbial life, NASA explained. 'A big mystery is why the ridges were hardened into these big patterns and why only here,' Curiosity's project scientist, Ashwin Vasavada, said. 'As we drive on, we'll be studying the ridges and mineral cements to make sure our idea of how they formed is on target.' In another clue, scientists observed that the ridges have small fractures filled with the salty mineral calcium sulfate, left behind by groundwater. Curiosity's deputy project scientist, Abigail Fraeman, said it was a 'really surprising' discovery. 'These calcium sulfate veins used to be everywhere, but they more or less disappeared as we climbed higher up Mount Sharp,' Fraeman said. 'The team is excited to figure out why they've returned now.'
The Independent
2 days ago
- Science
- The Independent
Close-up images of The Red Planet's ridges from Mars Rover show ‘dramatic evidence' of water
Close-up images of a region of Mars scientists had previously only seen from orbit have revealed 'dramatic evidence' of where water once flowed on the Red Planet. The new images taken by NASA 's Curiosity Mars rover raises fresh questions about how the Martian surface was changing billions of years ago. Mars once had rivers, lakes, and possibly an ocean, NASA said. Scientists aren't sure why the water eventually dried up, leading the planet to transform into the chilly desert it is today. Curiosity's images show evidence of ancient groundwater crisscrossing low ridges, arranged in what geologists call a boxwork pattern, the space agency said. 'By the time Curiosity's current location formed, the long-lived lakes were gone in Gale Crater, the rover's landing area, but water was still percolating under the surface,' NASA said in a news release. 'The rover found dramatic evidence of that groundwater when it encountered crisscrossing low ridges.' 'The bedrock below these ridges likely formed when groundwater trickling through the rock left behind minerals that accumulated in those cracks and fissures, hardening and becoming cementlike,' the release continued. 'Eons of sandblasting by Martian wind wore away the rock but not the minerals, revealing networks of resistant ridges within.' The rover has been exploring the planet's Mount Sharp since 2014, where the boxwork patterns have been found. Curiosity essentially 'time travels' as it ascends from the oldest to youngest layers, searching for signs of water and environments that could have supported ancient microbial life, NASA explained. 'A big mystery is why the ridges were hardened into these big patterns and why only here,' Curiosity's project scientist, Ashwin Vasavada, said. 'As we drive on, we'll be studying the ridges and mineral cements to make sure our idea of how they formed is on target.' In another clue, scientists observed that the ridges have small fractures filled with the salty mineral calcium sulfate, left behind by groundwater. Curiosity's deputy project scientist, Abigail Fraeman, said it was a 'really surprising' discovery. 'These calcium sulfate veins used to be everywhere, but they more or less disappeared as we climbed higher up Mount Sharp,' Fraeman said. 'The team is excited to figure out why they've returned now.'
CBS News
3 days ago
- Science
- CBS News
Mars rover captures first close-up images of ridges that hint at planet's watery past in "really surprising" discovery
NASA's Curiosity rover has captured the first close-up images of a part of Mars that scientists say provide evidence of how water once flowed on the red planet. There were once rivers, lakes and possibly an ocean on Mars, but they eventually dried up and the planet became the desert it is currently, according to NASA. The new images by Curiosity show "dramatic evidence" of ancient groundwater in crisscrossing low ridges, arranged in "a boxwork pattern," stretching across miles of a mountain on Mars, the space agency said. "The bedrock below these ridges likely formed when groundwater trickling through the rock left behind minerals that accumulated in those cracks and fissures, hardening and becoming cementlike," NASA said in a news release. NASA's Curiosity rover took images of ridges that scientists think may have been formed by ancient groundwater. NASA The ridges look like spiderweb patterns from space and had previously only been observed from orbit, NASA said. "A big mystery is why the ridges were hardened into these big patterns and why only here," Curiosity's project scientist, Ashwin Vasavada, said. "As we drive on, we'll be studying the ridges and mineral cements to make sure our idea of how they formed is on target." The ridges have small fractures filled with calcium sulfate, left behind by groundwater, which had not been found before in this part of Mount Sharp, the 3-mile-tall mountain Curiosity is currently climbing, NASA said. "That's really surprising," said Curiosity's deputy project scientist, Abigail Fraeman. "These calcium sulfate veins used to be everywhere, but they more or less disappeared as we climbed higher up Mount Sharp. The team is excited to figure out why they've returned now." Curiosity landed in the planet's Gale Crater in 2012. It has been climbing the foothills of Mount Sharp since 2014, searching for signs of environments that could have supported life, according to NASA.
CBC
3 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Village of Baddeck cautiously accepting new sewer and water hookups
The village commission in Baddeck, N.S., has lifted a moratorium on new sewer and water hookups that was implemented last year over concerns about the capacity of the Victoria County community's aging infrastructure. Demand for treated water exceeded the wells' regulated withdrawal limits and partially treated sewage sometimes bypassed the treatment plant and went directly into the Bras d'Or Lake. At the village commission's annual general meeting on Monday evening, chair Jennifer MacDonald said development is now cautiously going ahead under the watchful eye of engineers. "We now feel that we do have a limited capacity," she said. "We're still having bypass events. We're still having withdrawal concerns from our wells. We're not in the clear, but we do know that a single family home here and there isn't going to put undue stress on the system." Development was brought to a standstill last year as the community grappled with the cost of repairing systems that were built decades ago. At Monday's village meeting, with about 40 residents in attendance, MacDonald said about 70 per cent of the material being treated by the wastewater system was not coming from homes and businesses, according to water meter readings. She said water is infiltrating the sewage system and the village is trying to figure out where it's coming from. It's most likely rainwater, because rainy weather coincides with capacity issues at the treatment plant, MacDonald said. An engineering report on the wastewater system is expected this fall, which will help the village plan repairs and expansion and determine how much that will all cost, she said. However, the water treatment system is also not efficient, MacDonald said. Expansion is possible An engineering report found most of the water that is treated is not being delivered to homes and businesses. Some of that loss is through leaks and some of it may be through customers receiving unmetered water. MacDonald urged residents who are not receiving a bill to call the village office. She said a recent study found there is plenty of water in the aquifer, so it's possible to expand the treatment and distribution system. The commission chair said the village is gradually getting a handle on its infrastructure needs and is making plans for improvements, which is why new hookups are once again being accepted. "In the interest of not inhibiting development, we're opening those things back up based on a case-by-case basis again," MacDonald said. "Would we have capacity for a large development? Likely not, but single family dwellings and small commercial hookups, we can certainly accommodate those things at this stage."
