Water

Directives issued by New Jersey's water quality advisory board could be polluted if a bad bill pending in the Legislature passes. Assemblyman John Burzichelli (D., Gloucester) not only wants the New Jersey Drinking Water Quality Institute to use chemical industry-funded research. He wants it to ignore the possibility that the data might be biased. Burzichelli's proposal would also put more industry members on the board, which makes critical decisions about the level of pollutants it will allow in the state's drinking water.

LOS ANGELES - British tourist Michael Baugh and his wife said water had only trickled for days as they brushed their teeth, showered and drank from the taps at the Cecil Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, but they could not have imagined the disturbing reason. The body of a Canadian woman was later discovered at the bottom of one of four cisterns on the roof of the historic hotel near Skid Row. The tanks provide water for hotel taps and would have been used by guests for washing and drinking.

Thirty years after the New Jersey Legislature created an independent body to determine limits on pollutants in tap water, there is growing concern about its future. The Drinking Water Quality Institute - whose schedule is determined by the state Department of Environmental Protection - has not met in more than two years following a fight over tightening limits on industrial chemicals. And legislation has been introduced that would add representatives of industrial and chemical companies to the board and press the institute to consider industry-funded research in its decision making.

BEIRUT - Syrian rebels scored one of their biggest strategic victories Monday since the country's crisis began two years ago, capturing the nation's largest dam and iconic industrial symbol of the Assad family's four-decade rule. Rebels led by the al-Qaeda-linked militant group Jabhat al-Nusra now control much of the water flow in the country's north and east, eliciting warnings from experts that any mistake in managing the dam may flood wide areas in Syria and Iraq. A Syrian government official denied that the rebels captured the dam, saying "heavy clashes are taking place around it. " The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Question: Is there any wood or laminate flooring or anything else I could use in the kitchen that does not smell? I have bad allergies. The smells in flooring that I have tried in the past have lasted from about a month to more than a year, and I need to replace floors because of Hurricane Sandy. I have a few different floors to work on. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Answer: There are a number of flooring products on the market that do not off-gas or require adhesives that release chemicals into the air. One I see recommended often, in large part for its sustainability, is bamboo, even though much of it has to be transported from China and Vietnam, adding to the carbon footprint.

Pennsylvania American Water has became the latest company to give compressed-natural-gas vehicles a whirl. The water company on Friday unveiled four Ford F-250 bi-fuel trucks that can run on CNG or gasoline and will operate out of the company's Coatesville and Punxsutawney depots. The vehicles will be fueled at existing commercial CNG stations. The utility, which is applying for state grants promoting vehicles that use cleaner-burning natural gas, plans to build its own fueling facility in Scranton in 2014 that would support up to 36 vehicles.

Our Jan. 11 entry about a hairline crack in a countertop brought some expert advice and more questions, proving once more that one should never take anything for granite. The hairline crack under discussion was about 22 inches long, and was in front of the sink. The countertops are five years old, and the installer is out of business. Marty Jensen of Blue Bell spent 44 years in the granite business, and, though retired, troubleshoots for trade organizations. He said the crack may be the result of a natural fissure or could be a pressure crack caused by the method of installation.

The Greek islands of Kassos and Karpathos both have versions. - Bonnie S. Benwick, Washington Post Pasta With Yogurt and Onions Makes 4 servings Water 3 large red onions Salt 8 ounces spinach penne 5 tablespoons butter 2 cups low-fat plain Greek-style yogurt 1/2 to 1 cup coarsely grated hard, sharp-tasting cheese, such as an aged manchego 1. Bring a large pot...

Question: Eighteen years ago, we had to replace the steam boiler that had heated our old home for more than 50 years. Our oil supplier installed an oil-fired boiler/burner unit, with a new feeder cutoff, smoke pipe, and draft regulator - a complete system replacement. We've left the three-story Victorian for a retirement ranch-style house, and the old house is currently on the market. Recently, we discovered that the steam boiler had cracked, and water is leaking into the burn chamber.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has finalized a process to encourage the use of acid mine drainage for hydraulic fracturing, part of an effort to reduce the use of freshwater in extracting oil and gas from shale. The DEP's white paper says that proposals to use "mine-influenced" water must include sampling and characterization of the water, as well as details about how the water will be transported, stored and used. More than 300 million gallons of water is discharged from abandoned coal mines each day, impairing more than 5,500 miles of Pennsylvania waterways.