Tap Water

The student: Kavita Shukla, 17 School: Centennial High Special achievement: Kavita was one of six students nationwide inducted into the National Gallery for America's Young Inventors last year. She was honored for her food-preservation technology using fenugreek, an ancient Indian herb. Kavita's invention, a biodegradable packaging paper, won the Baltimore Science Fair, which enabled her to compete in May at the International Science and Engineering Fair in San Jose, Calif. There she earned the First Grand Award in Environmental Sciences.

Holy waters! Word has it that the cities of Houston, Kansas City and North Miami Beach may start bottling their own tap water, putting its supposed superior taste up against those fancy designer brands.It's about time.Baltimoreans have been able to buy their own tap water for more than a decade already under the label of Super G -- Giant Food's private label.Way back in 1986, the folks at Giant realized that Charm City's tasty tap water had great market potential. Now, Giant produces roughly 12,000 gallons of drinking and distilled water a week from Baltimore's municipal water system.

County drinking water contains slightly more lead than a new federalstandard would allow, but is still safe, a county spokeswoman said.The lead levels, said Jody Vollmar, a spokeswoman for the county Department of Utilities, are well below the old Environmental Protection Agency standard of 50 parts per billion.The EPA wants to lower the amount of lead in Americans' drinking water to fewer than 15 parts per billion. EPA officials announced a new lead abatement program May 7 which they hope will provide 10 timesmore protection against lead than present regulations.

A yearlong, $2.4 million water line renovation project that will -- affect more than 3,000 homes between Dundalk Avenue and the railroad tracks along Sollers Point Road in eastern Baltimore County will get under way in August.County public works officials said that Heitkamp Inc., a contractor from Watertown, Conn., is to clean out the cast iron water pipes and line them with concrete, using a technology that allows the work to be done without digging up the pipes.Water service to the affected Dundalk homes will be provided by above-ground pipes and hoses that will bypass those being cleaned.

WASHINGTON -- Got milk? You'd better. Since the Bush administration has announced it will suspend a safe arsenic standard, you may want to think twice before drinking water. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, tens of millions of Americans drink tap water containing arsenic at levels that pose significant health risks. Yet the Bush administration wants to delay action to address the problem. After decades of debate, EPA in January finally lowered the allowable level of arsenic in tap water to 10 parts per billion (ppb)

Winds of change are blowing across the water.Bottled water, that is.Along with the push for accuracy in food labeling comes a federal proposal for standard definitions of the various terms used on labels of bottled water.Americans pay 200 to 1,000 times more for bottled water than for tap water -- even though a quarter of all bottled water comes from the same source as tap water, and the Food and Drug Administration believes consumers are entitled to know what's in that water.The standardized definitions, which go into effect July 6, define such terms as "spring water," "artesian water" and "mineral water"; require that labels use the terms truthfully; and require that the quality of bottled water is at least as high as that of tap water.

Next to the Evian, the Poland Springs and the Deer Park you could someday see a bottle of Baltimore water.Baltimore City Council members want to test the notion that the city's tap water can compete with the name-brand springs in the stores.Council members introduced a resolution last night calling on the city's public works director to report on the feasibility of bottling Baltimore's water for sale.Said council President Lawrence A. Bell III: "Baltimore City water is considered to be some of the best water in the country."

My sister and I are planning to spend one week each in Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan. What points of interest are must-sees? Two weeks might seem like a lot, but for cities the size of Tokyo and Kyoto, especially given their histories and culture, you'll have to squeeze a lot into a little time. Tokyo is the country's political and economic center, but a visit to Asakusa district will give you a feel for a more traditional Japan. You'll see the city's most famous and popular temple, Sensoji, which was built in the seventh century, and the Asakusa Shrine.

WASHINGTON -- Americans pay 200 to 1,000 times more fo bottled water than for tap water, even though they often come from the same source. The bottled version commands a high price because some people think it tastes better, and some think it is safer. The Food and Drug Administration now says they are entitled to know where it comes from.So the agency was expected to propose new rules today for bottled water. One will define terms like spring water, artesian water and mineral water and require that labels describe them truthfully.

Some fun facts to impress your friends around the water cooler.* There is no water on the moon, which is why it has so many craters. When megatons of space matter were flying around megacenturies ago, the Earth had its own share of pockmarks, which later were mostly smoothed out by oceans, rivers and streams. Mars and Venus also have no seas or rainfall, making it unlikely there is any form of life on either planet.* The Earth's available fresh water represents about one-half percent of its supply.