Company to Begin Trials On Treatment for Parasites
Drug company Immtech International Inc. is planning to start human clinical trials later this year on a drug that may effectively treat diarrhea caused by two common water parasites, cryptosporidium and giardia.
Immtech said it would seek fast-track U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for the drug, called DB-075.
The company said test data shows that the drug stays in the digestive tract where the parasite is found, and less than 2 percent of it gets into the blood circulation, greatly reducing its toxicity. In initial metabolism studies, the drug was found bound to the membranes in the digestive tract for several days. As a result, DB-075 could potentially be used for prophylaxis or prevention of diarrhea caused by drinking water, including use as a preventative agent for treating travelers' disease.
Tufts University is currently performing more advanced dosing tests on DB-075 for treatment of Giardia.
Companies Integrate Software System
Intergraph Corporation and Severn Trent Systems (STS) announced a strategic business alliance to fully integrate Intergraph's Geospatial Resource Management (GRM) solution with STS's Worksuite, comprehensive work management system (WMS) - reducing cost, risk, time to implement, and ongoing maintenance costs.
The alliance, addresses product development and integration, business development and customer implementations. Intergraph's G/Industry Solutions next generation geospatial applications, InService(TM) solutions and STS's Storms(TM) work management, Scheduler(TM) resource management and FieldIT(TM) mobile work management systems will now be available as pre-integrated components under the alliance. The suite facilitates greater interoperability of engineering management and operations throughout the enterprise. The products adhere to the latest industry standards for openness, scalability, web-deployment and mobile computing.
According to Kevin Hitt, Intergraph vice president of utilities, "Utility companies need their most important operating systems to work together seamlessly. The alliance with STS supports our vision of an end-to-end GRM solution, in which GIS becomes a foundation for tight integration with outage management and work management systems. Formalizing the Intergraph and Severn Trent Systems' relationship insures the compatibility and maintainability between two market-leading providers of utility industry products."
OMI, UK Firm Announce Partnership
Operations Management International, Inc. (OMI) has signed a strategic alliance with the United Kingdom's largest water and wastewater company.
Specializing in public-private partnerships for the operations and maintenance of municipal water and wastewater utilities, OMI and Thames Water will work together to pursue selected new business opportunities in the U.S. and Canada.
Headquartered in Denver, Colo., OMI is a private operator of water and wastewater systems. OMI operates more than 150 facilities for customers in government and industry. Part of the employee-owned CH2M Hill Companies, OMI has been decorated with several of awards from the EPA, and state and local environmental organizations.
Thames Water is the United Kingdom's largest water and wastewater company, serving 12 million customers in London and the Thames Valley. Worldwide, the company is the third largest, serving over 23 million customers. Its North American offices are in Stamford, Conn.
Robowell Keeps Tabs on Groundwater
United States Geological Survey (USGS) scientists in Massachusetts have patented a robotic ground water monitoring technology, nicknamed "Robowell," which rests inside a well and automatically measures the level and quality of ground water on a regular schedule.
A human supervisor receives the data using radio, cellular-phone modem, or a satellite link. Robowell uses the same techniques that a human sampling crew would use, but much more frequently than is practical for human teams.
The device warms the human operator when local water quality has changed. It has been tested at four sites including a highway, a sewage infiltration facility, an experimental ground water cleanup test site, and a septic system.
"We expect that this technology may be useful as a scientific tool and for an early warning system for the protection of public supply wells and for site monitoring at known or potential sources of contamination such as landfills or industrial sites," said USGS Chief Hydrologist Robert Hirsch.
South African Professor Wins 2000 Stockholm Water Prize
Professor Kader Asmal - a noted human rights scholar, teacher and activist - has won the 2000 Stockholm Water Prize for his efforts in the field of water management in South Africa.
In his position as Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry in President Nelson Mandela's Government of National Unity, Professor Asmal spearheaded a fundamental overhaul of water management policy and practice in South Africa. In doing so, he went back to his roots, ensuring that policies and practices were anchored in human rights, social justice and environmental sustainability. Professor Asmal is currently South Africa's Minister of Education.
The $150,000 Stockholm Water Prize is being awarded for the 10th time by the Stockholm Water Foundation and will be presented by His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden to Professor Asmal during the World Water Week in Stockholm on August 17.
The Stockholm Water Prize is presented annually to an institution, organization, individual or company that has made a substantial contribution to the preservation, enhancement or availability of the world's water resources. The Prize recognizes outstanding research, action or education that increases knowledge of water as a resource and protects its usability for all life.
House Dumps Repeal Of "Low Flow" Rule
A House Commerce subcommittee has voted 31-12 to reject legislation to repeal the 1992 federal law requiring low-flow toilets, urinals, shower heads and faucets. That law reduced the standard for toilets from 3.5 gallons to 1.6 gallons per flush.
Supporters of the law said it is saving the nation 600 million gallons of water a year and has prevented the states from passing their own, varying standards.
Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R-Mich.) has been pushing a repeal bill for several years, claiming that low flow toilets don't work well and often require several flushes, using as much or more water than older toilets.
Plumbing manufacturers say recent models of low-flow toilets work better than the initial ones did.
Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.), subcommittee's chairman and a cosponsor of the bill, did not say if the legislation would be attempted again this session.
Jack Hoffbuhr, American Water Works Association (AWWA) executive director, supported the committee's action.
He said, "Congress supported the scientific research that proves low flow toilets are working, conserving water and saving consumers money."
He said AWWA's research foundation studied residential water use in 14 cities over 3 years, and found that water saving toilets satisfy consumer needs as well as older, less efficient fixtures.
Hoffbuhr said the study found households using the new models had almost identical daily flushing patterns-5.1 flushes per person compared to 4.9 flushes per person with the older, less efficient models-yet reduced per capita water use for toilet flushing by 52 percent.
"The new, efficient plumbing products are a cornerstone of local water conservation programs," Hoffbuhr said. "Because of the fixtures' efficiency, consumers avoid having to invest millions of dollars in new reservoirs and treatment plants."
