Circle of Blue WaterNews: Recent Episodes
Circle Of Blue
Founded in 2000 by leading journalists and scientists, Circle of Blue provides relevant, reliable, and actionable on-the-ground information about the world’s resource crises.
With an intense focus on water and its relationships to food, energy, and health, Circle of Blue has created a breakthrough model of front-line reporting, data collection, design, and convening that has evolved with the world’s need to spur new methodology in science, collaboration, innovation, and response. To document emerging and recognized crises, Circle of Blue collaborates with leading scientists and data experts. Through its partnerships, Circle of Blue then dispatches top journalists to map and define the region where the change is occurring. Making connections from localized occurrences to global trends, Circle of Blue publishes these reports online — free of charge — to inform academics, governments, and the general public, catalyzing participation across disciplines, regions, and cultures.
President Donald Trump has proposed a nearly 90 percent cut to the two funds that are the primary source of federal support for drinking water and sewer systems.The state revolving funds, which loan money at below market or zero-interest rates, have traditionally attracted bipartisan support, and Congress has objected to previous administrations that suggested trimming the program. With Trump in the White House, how will the Republican-led Congress respond this time?To address that question, Circle of Blue’s Brett Walton spoke with Mae Stevens, partner and water practice lead at Banner Public Affairs, a lobbying firm. A veteran of D.C. water policy, Stevens said that lawmakers could follow their accustomed path and buck the president’s recommendation to gut the funds. Returning the funds to their current level of more than $2.7 billion would be the goal. But with such a large proposed cut the negotiations will not be easy.“If you’re of the same party, you’re looking at your president’s budget saying ‘I don’t want to stray too much from the leader of my party,’” she said. “But at the same time, we do need more water infrastructure funding.”
Circle of Blue's Brett Walton interviews journalist Peter Schwartzstein on "The Heat and the Fury," his new book examining the scope and the stakes of global violence spurred by climate change.
What is the value of water? It's an age-old riddle vexed by complexity and complacency. But what is the true value of functioning freshwater ecosystems, and what's at stake without them?Stuart Orr, WWF's freshwater practice leader, speaks with Brett Walton, Circle of Blue Senior Reporter, about the provocative new report, "The High Cost of Cheap Water."
The Three Ages of Water, a new book by scientist Peter Gleick, traces the arc of society through its relationship with the most elemental of human needs.
Canadian leaders are moving to direct more resources toward protecting and managing the nation’s water. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took the first step, pledging to spend $420 million Canadian dollars a year over the next decade to improve water quality in the Great Lakes.In Somalia, record-setting drought has caused the death of some 43,000 people, according to a new report from the United Nations. About half the dead were children under the age of five.
Welcome to “What’s Up With Water” - your need-to-know news of the world’s water from Circle of Blue. I’m Eileen Wray-McCann.On March 20, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in a lawsuit that could change water use patterns in the drying Colorado River basin. The Navajo Nation claims that the federal government has failed in its legal duty to ensure sufficient water for the tribe. That includes claims to water from the Colorado River, which is adjacent to the Navajo reservation. The lawsuit asserts that the U.S. government must determine the Navajo Nation’s water needs and devise a plan to meet those needs. The water in the basin is fully spoken for, so water for the Navajo Nation would come from another use. Legal scholars who are not party to the lawsuit say that the Navajo Nation should prevail in this dispute for two reasons. First, the federal government has near total control of the lower basin of the Colorado River and second, the government has a longstanding legal obligation to secure water for Indian reservations. The states named in the lawsuit and the federal government have a different view. They argue that it is not the federal government’s decision to make. Based on previous lawsuits, they argue that only the Supreme Court has the power to determine water allocations from the Lower Colorado River. Which interpretation the nine justices will support remains to be seen. A decision is expected in June.A study published last week provides fresh evidence that the world’s weather is becoming more extreme. As the planet warms, high-intensity rain storms and prolonged periods of drought are happening more frequently. Researchers came to that conclusion after studying satellite data that shows the distribution of the world’s water. Matthew Rodell, one of the study authors, explained the dynamics to the news agency AFP. Rodell said that a warmer atmosphere holds more water vapor, so that storms can release more rain. At the same time, higher temperatures increase evaporation, which dries out soils and contributes to drought. The researchers expect the trend to continue – as things get warmer, the weather extremes will intensify.The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency took an initial step to control toxic “forever chemicals” in drinking water. The agency proposed first-ever limits for two of the chemicals, PFOA and PFOS. It also proposed regulating four additional forever chemicals as a group. Public health experts applauded the move, pointing to links between the chemicals and a range of illnesses, including thyroid problems, high cholesterol, and kidney cancer. Water utilities, however, cautioned that it will be expensive to update water treatment equipment to remove the chemicals. They say that unless more is done to prevent contamination of rivers, lakes, and groundwater, the cost of meeting federal drinking water standards will be transferred to citizens. The proposal is in draft form, and public comments will be accepted for at least 60 days. A final rule is expected next year.And that’s What’s Up With Water from Circle of Blue, where water speaks. You’ll find more news and analysis - and a chance to support our work - at circleofblue.org. This is Eileen Wray-McCann - thanks for being here.
What’s Up With Water - your need-to-know news of the world’s water from Circle of Blue. A new report from the United Nations highlights the environmental factors that produce deadly, drug-resistant pathogens.In Australia, the government has refused to allow a pair of open-pit coal mines because of their potential to harm to local sources of fresh water and damage the Great Barrier Reef.In the United States, the largest city in Ohio is taking a low-carbon approach to protect its water supply system from extreme weather.
This week, we highlight three stories from the United States on nitrate pollution, groundwater extraction, and drought response.
Diplomats, business leaders, and environmental advocates have gathered in Egypt for two weeks of international climate talks.
As climate change fuels extreme weather, children are bearing devastating impacts.
In the United States, the iconic Mississippi River has fallen to near-record lows, and a group of Mayors in the river basin is seeking federal assistance.
What’s Up With Water – your need-to-know news of the world’s water from Circle of Blue.
Brett Walton sits down with chief correspondent Keith Schneider to discuss key findings from "Danger Looms Where Toxic Algae Blooms,” Circle of Blue’s trail-blazing report on causes, impediments, and cures for harmful algal blooms in the Great Lakes region.
This week's episode of What's Up With Water covers what to expect at COP27, new research on the link between water and the fossil fuel industry in Texas, and an update on Jackson, Mississippi's failing water system.
Find a full transcript to this episode here: https://wp.me/p7hOyy-wsf
This week's episode of What's Up With Water covers extreme weather's toll in Pakistan, Mississippi's dual water crises, and a legislative win for affordable water in California.
Find a full transcript for this episode here: https://wp.me/p7hOyy-wpW
This week's episode of What's Up With Water covers drought in China, stalled Colorado River negotiations, and lawsuits over flooding in Eastern Kentucky.
Find a full transcript to this episode here: https://wp.me/p7hOyy-woK
Without additional cuts, federal forecast projects Lake Mead to continue its decline in next two years.
Read the story: https://bit.ly/3c56Jb5
This week's episode of What's Up With Water covers a potential catastrophic winter storm in California and new research that revealed what may be causing high case numbers of pediatric cancer in Pennsylvania. Plus, Circle of Blue breaks down the latest water cuts in the Colorado River basin.
Find a full transcript of this episode here: https://wp.me/p7hOyy-wn1
This week's episode of What's Up With Water covers extreme heat and drought across Europe. Plus, Circle of Blue reports on the aftermath of catastrophic flooding in some of the poorest counties in the United States.
Find a full transcript of this episode here: https://wp.me/p7hOyy-wkO
Curtis Riganti, climatologist at the National Drought Mitigation Center, speaks with Delaney Nelson, Circle of Blue reporting intern, about the latest U.S. Drought Monitor map.
This week's episode of What's Up With Water covers the state of Australia's environment and a record-breaking heat wave across Europe. Plus, Circle of Blue reports on the enduring allure of big water supply pipelines in the drying American West.
Find a full transcript for this episode here: https://wp.me/p7hOyy-wf8
As the western drylands grow thirstier, some are seeking to revive an old tactic that is becoming increasingly risky. They want to build water pipelines to tap remote groundwater basins and reservoirs to supply growing metropolitan areas or vulnerable rural towns.
Read the full story: https://www.circleofblue.org/2022/world/big-water-pipelines-an-old-pursuit-still-alluring-in-drying-west/
This week's episode of What's Up With Water covers a setback to the environmental rights of nature in Florida and a recent lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Plus, Circle of Blue breaks down the top five must-know facts about drought in the American West.
Find a full transcript of this episode here: https://wp.me/p7hOyy-wd8
This week's episode of What's Up With Water covers how states in the American West are coping with a drying Colorado River and a nearly-completed water pipeline project in Israel to combat water scarcity.
Find a full transcript of this week's episode here: https://wp.me/p7hOyy-waT
This week's episode of What's Up With Water covers water shortages in Mexico and Italy. Plus, Circle of Blue reports on the U.S. government's response to forever chemicals in drinking water.
Find a full transcript of this episode here: https://wp.me/p7hOyy-w6c
This week's episode of What's Up With Water covers a win for environmentalists in Albania, a call for action on phosphorus management from the science community, and a recent decision to cut freshwater use at a major copper mine in Chile. Plus, Circle of Blue reports on the "mega-watersheds" of the American West.
Find a full transcript for this week's episode here: https://wp.me/p7hOyy-w4d
This week's episode of What's Up With Water covers how Bolivia's gold rush is polluting rivers, a resurgence of nitrate pollution in Iowa, and the expansion of desalination in Egypt. Plus, Circle of Blue explores what happens if one of the most powerful hydroelectric dams in the United States stops generating power.
Find a full transcript to this episode here: https://wp.me/p7hOyy-w3i
This week's episode of What's Up With Water covers an unusually warm month in France, famine in Somalia, and withering wheat crops in Iraq.
Find a full transcript of this episode: https://wp.me/p7hOyy-w2t
This week's episode of What's Up With Water covers heatwaves in India, dam removal across Europe, and a groundwater conservation proposal in Arizona.
Find a full transcript of this episode here: https://wp.me/p7hOyy-w01
This week' s episode of What's Up With Water covers water-related financial risks and a mandate to conserve water in California. Plus, Circle of Blue reports on Michigan's opportunity for renewal.
Find a full transcript for this episode here: https://wp.me/p7hOyy-vYx
This week's episode of What's Up With Water covers recent heatwaves in India and Pakistan and the reason some homes in Australia may become "uninsurable." Plus, Circle of Blue reports on how rising water costs in Michigan are impacting low-income households.
Find a full transcript of this week's episode here: https://wp.me/p7hOyy-vVM
Federal and state governments begin to reverse course on underinvestment to address water’s true cost.
This week's episode of What's Up With Water covers two UN reports on humankind's impact on Earth's lands and waters, worsening food crises in the Horn of Africa, and Las Vegas's water insurance policy. Plus, Circle of Blue reports on Michigan's opportunity to correct decades of water mismanagement.
Find a full transcript for this week's episode here: https://wp.me/p7hOyy-vTr
This week's episode of What's Up With Water covers paying for groundwater in California and a controversial canal project in Nebraska. Plus, Circle of Blue reports on the links between Russia's war in Ukraine and global food crises.
Find a complete transcript for this episode here: https://wp.me/p7hOyy-vQt
This week's episode of What's Up With Water covers water outages in Ukraine, water rationing in Chile's largest city and the western United States, and the biggest environmental concerns among Americans.
Access a full transcript here: https://wp.me/p7hOyy-vNr
This week's episode of What's Up With Water covers a recent report from the United Nations climate panel and the ripple effect of war in Ukraine. Plus, Circle of Blue reports on how inflation is affecting U.S. water utilities.
Find a transcript to this episode here: https://wp.me/p7hOyy-vM9
This week's episode of What's Up With Water covers a controversial dam proposal in Australia, worsening drought in California, and a major spending bill in Michigan.
This week's episode of What's Up With Water covers a rare win for Mekong River conservationists, pollution across America's waterways, and an oil spill in the Mississippi River watershed.
This week's episode of What's Up With Water covers a major settlement for Canada's Indigenous communities and persisting drought in the Horn of Africa. Plus, Circle of Blue reports on a database that documents the rising number of violent clashes involving water.
Find a transcript of this episode here: https://wp.me/p7hOyy-vGs
This week's episode of What's Up With Water covers the aftermath of devastating floods in Australia, a flood resilience project in New York City, and water conservation legislation in Utah.
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In a disruptive era, when risks are becoming realities, Circle of Blue reports from the front lines.
This week’s episode of What’s Up With Water covers groundwater concerns at a potential Tesla factory in Germany and water pollution in a Pennsylvania town. Plus, Circle of Blue reports on rising Legionnaires’ disease trends.
The American Rescue Plan Act includes $350 billion to assist states, tribes, territories, and local governments in responding to financial challenges wrought by the pandemic.
Water infrastructure improvements are one of four broad spending categories authorized by the act.
It is clear that ARPA will have a far reach. Plus, funding is not just going to large, multimillion-dollar projects.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: snow-making for the Beijing Olympics and Baltimore's new income-based water rate. Plus the second part of a CoB report on nitrates in groundwater.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: Louisiana using federal covid relief funds for water and sewer systems and a rise in crop insurance payments in the US due to drought and flood. Plus the first of two CoB stories on the impact of farm chemicals on families and communities in Nebraska.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: water system failures in Mississippi's capital, New Mexico starts preparing for another dry year in the Rio Grande basin, drought warnings in Somalia.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: U.S. special forces bombed a strategic dam in Syria in 2017; how the rising cost of water in one major American city is hurting people of color; UK water companies under scrutiny on wastewater.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: drought/hunger/migration in Iraq, an oil exploration company violating environmental laws in Namibia, and a deal in the Colorado River basin to bolster Lake Mead.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: water contamination from a naval fuel storage site in Oahu and Iraq contemplates taking Iran to international court over water use. Plus, CoB's water year in review.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: wetlands protection in Uganda, flood risk for toxic sites in California, and oyster reef restoration in Virginia. Plus a CoB feature on a Michigan water affordability study.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: water restrictions in South Africa, flooding in South Sudan, and a tussle over hydropower imports in New England.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: flooding in Canada, drought in Africa, water cooperation in the Middle East and PFAS regulations in Pennsylvania, U.S. This podcast has been updated to reflect corrections.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: drought and hunger crisis in Afghanistan, swift lead pipe removal in Newark, and a CoB feature on federal water bill assistance.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: Columbia pledges aggressive timeline to protect land; an Oregon city sues to keep Google's water-use data a secret; and a CoB feature on how climate change is gripping trout streams in the U.S.
In the United States, it’s election week, and Circle of Blue reports on state and local ballot measures related to water.
In New York state, voters have a chance to enshrine environmental protections in their state constitution, which could revive a legal movement that flourished in the United States a half-century ago.
The state of Maine also has a ballot measure linked to water. This hotly contested referendum is focused on the future of electric power in the region.
In Boise, Idaho and in Virginia Beach, Virginia, city officials are asking residents to approve measures for massive public works projects.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: A COP26 preview, dam negotiations in the Nile basin and a CoB feature on U.S. ballot measures relating to water.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: India floods, removing invasive trees in Cape Town's watershed, and salmon and tribes in California.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water, from Circle of Blue. This week: river pollution in South Africa, floods in China, a flood risk study in the US, and an Israel-Jordan water agreement.
Ottawa, Illinois learned how to keep its residents out of harms way. But on the river’s edge, safety has often required sacrifice.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. Stories this week: UN Human Rights Office report on water access in Israel and Palestine, and drinking water contamination problems in two Great Lakes communities. Plus a CoB feature on an Illinois town's actions to reduce flood risk.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. Stories this week on effects of wildfire on water supplies in the American West, U.S. flood insurance premiums are going up, and UN researchers develop a global flood risk map. Plus a CoB feature on Michigan irrigation.
A new narrative about water and irrigation is becoming more significant in Michigan as the century progresses, and water scarcity worsens across much of the rest of the nation.
As abundant fresh water and temperate climate become more attractive to out-of-state farm companies, Michigan is experiencing its own early confrontations over water supply and scarcity.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. Stories this week: the effects of wildfire on water supplies in the American West, U.S. flood insurance premiums are going up, and UN researchers develop a global flood risk map. Plus a CoB feature on Michigan irrigation.
Circle of Blue reports on key water questions ahead of a crucial UN climate conference.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week's stories: arsenic from groundwater contaminating the food supply in an Indian state, state data shows little residential water conservation in California, and thousands are sickened after a toxic wastewater spill from an Angolan diamond mine. Plus a CoB feature on water's role in reducing carbon emissions.
This is an excerpt of the September 20, 2021 episode of What's Up With Water.
When diplomats and government ministers converge on Glasgow this fall, they hope to rekindle pivotal negotiations on global climate that were dampened during the pandemic. They will confront a world much altered since their last convention.
As Covid-19 continues to rampage globally, it has underscored the the contrast between the resources available to the rich and to the poor when dealing with environmental stressors. But further, floods in Germany’s Ahr Valley and wildfires in Greece and the American West prove that no country, rich or poor, is immune to the terrors of a fevered planet, with calamities that were summarized in a recent climate science report from the United Nations.
That report, in the technical language of probabilities and scenarios, emphasized the urgency of the moment. It stressed the need to reduce the release of heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere, and to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Over the past year, torrential floods, exhausting droughts, and deadly heat waves have sharpened focus on the mandate to adapt. Adaptation is moving up the agenda in the weeks preceding the UN’s 26th Climate Change Conference, which runs from October 31 to November 12. Some have taken to calling the Glasgow meeting the “adaptation convention.”
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: a First Nations reserve in Canada gets clean drinking water, environmental activist murders set a new high in 2020, and an NPR investigation finds a federal agency that provides low-income housing is disproportionately selling homes in flood-prone areas. Plus, a CoB feature on on how water fits into the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: supply chain problems for water treatment chemicals, more of India's poorest households are getting piped water, and editors of medical journals issue a warning about climate change's threat to public health. Plus: a CoB feature on policing water use in California.
This is an excerpt of the August 30, 2021 episode of What's Up With Water.
After a year of extreme weather, people in the drylands of northern California and the hurricane-drenched bayous of southern Louisiana are brooding on the same question: should they leave? New global research suggests that one of these two “water shock” scenarios is more likely to result in migration. World Bank researchers found that people are five times as likely to move following drought conditions as they are after floods or periods of excess water.
The finding is part of a report on water and migration released last week during World Water Week, an annual conference. The report details the nuanced relationship between changes in water availability and the movement of people.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. Stories this week on Egypt's desalination ambitions, research into the cause of devastating floods in Germany last month, and a potential nuclear waste site near Lake Huron. Plus a CoB feature on the World Bank's migration report.
This is an excerpt of the August 23, 2021 episode of What's Up With Water.
The implications of the drying American Southwest and the limits to the region’s water supply are increasingly apparent. The federal government marked the changing conditions recently, declaring a Tier 1 shortage for the lower Colorado River basin. The shortage declaration will force Arizona and Nevada, as well as Mexico to further reduce their withdrawals from the river in 2022. California, the other lower basin state, is not affected. The declaration also sets the stage for more drastic measures in the near future since Lake Mead is projected to fall another 30 feet over the next two years.
Mead and Powell, the basin’s largest reservoirs, are the lowest they have been since they were first filled.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. Stories this week on Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, the unusual way the pandemic is affecting water availability in Orlando, and water pollution from the fashion industry in Africa. This week's CoB feature is on cuts to Colorado River water.
This is an excerpt of the August 16, 2021 episode of What's Up With Water.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a group of the world’s leading climate scientists, has released its sixth assessment report. The 1,300-page paper is the most comprehensive, up-to-date survey of the physical science of climate change. It synthesizes the findings of thousands of recent publications.
The report paints an alarming picture of the future of fresh water. It concludes that man-made contributions to a warming planet are far-reaching.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water, from Circle of Blue. Stories this week on a broadband-water pipe collaboration in the UK, dry wells in the US, and a massive ice melt in Greenland. Plus a CoB feature on the IPCC report.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. Stories this week on people moving into flood zones, the Canadian government's settlement with First Nations over clean water funding, and drought update in California. Plus a CoB exclusive on waste-to-energy technology.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: deadly protests in Iran, low water in Argentina's Parana River restricts farm exports, Saudi Arabia suspends selling a stake in the world's largest desalination plant, and Lake Powell hits a record low.
This is an excerpt from Circle of Blue's July 12, 2021 episode of What's Up With Water.
The acceleration of disaster is repeating worldwide, in part because vulnerable people and developments are moving into terrain that is hazardous. Landslides in the unstable Himalaya mountains in recent years have demolished newly built hydropower stations and killed hundreds. Over 200 were dead or missing this February from the Chamoli disaster there.
But the acceleration is also occurring because a supercharged climate is churning up more powerful hurricanes, more punishing droughts, more oppressive heat waves, and altogether more environmental and water-related risk. António Guterres, the United Nations secretary general, emphasized that point last week at a special UN session on water and disasters. He said “Last year, cyclones lashed the shores of many countries that were already grappling with serious liquidity crises and debt burdens, made worse by the Covid-19 pandemic.”
The scenario that Guterres described — cyclone plus debt plus pandemic — is an example of what researchers call “compounding” or “cascading” disasters. These are disasters that build upon one another, their effects rippling across society.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. Stories this week: a controversial oil pipeline in Memphis area is cancelled, the Chinese vice premier calls for environmental protections in the Yellow River basin, and an exclusive CoB story on the strain of constant disasters.
This is an excerpt of the June 28, 2021 episode of What's Up With Water.
This year, the intensely dry conditions gripping the American West and Upper Midwest are well past the brown hills stage. Nine western states have some form of drought in nearly 90 percent of their area. More than a quarter of the region is considered to be in exceptional drought, which is the worst category in the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Signs of widespread dryness are everywhere. Lakes Mead and Powell, the major reservoirs on the Colorado River, are only 35 percent full with a two-year outlook that worsened each month this spring. California officials told vineyards along the Russian River in May that the system is too depleted for irrigation. In April, in Utah’s Great Salt Lake, sailboats were lifted out of receding waters that were too shallow to float them. In the Klamath River that flows between Oregon and California, few juvenile salmon are expected to survive this season. In Arizona, the Rafael Fire, burning in the Prescott National Forest near Flagstaff, grew to 36,000 acres since it was sparked on June 18 by lightning.
When water stops flowing, painful days are at hand.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from "Circle of Blue." This week: The killing of an Indigenous activist in Mexico and unsustainable groundwater use in Arkansas. Plus, an exclusive CoB feature on the widespread consequences of drought.
This is an excerpt of the June 21, 2021 edition of What's Up With Water.
On Memorial Day, while many Californians were celebrating the unofficial start to summer, the residents of a house off of County Road 200 were contemplating a loss. That day, the homeowners in northern Glenn County submitted an anonymous report to a state database. It said that their drinking water well was on the verge of sputtering out. The well was shallow, only 75 feet deep, and the flow had slowed to a trickle. It pulled water from its site outside the town of Orland, an agricultural valley some 100 miles north of Sacramento, an area covered by almond, walnut, and olive orchards.
The failing well was not an isolated case — and not a quick fix either, as the incident report went on to recount, saying: “Everyone around us and neighbors are having the same problems and with our water table being so low we will have to drill the well deeper but the wait list in Orland and Glenn County is months out and we cannot afford that cost.”
In this blistering year in California, drinking water wells are going dry in increasing numbers. It’s rekindling memories of the historic drought of 2012 to 2016, when over 2,600 wells across the state stopped producing water.
California is not yet to that level of emergency. But a state database for household water supply issues received 38 dry well reports in the first 12 days of June, the most for any month in nearly five years.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. THis week: a controversial dam in the Nile basin, groundwater depletion in Iran, and drought impacting water supplies in Iowa. Plus, a CoB exclusive on dry wells in California.
This is an excerpt of the June 14, 2021 edition of What's Up With Water.
Microscopic phytoplankton, which are the foundation of the marine food chain, are some of the world’s most abundant and ancient organisms. Though essential to ocean life, they produce plenty of drawbacks, too. When they cluster along the coast, certain species paint the nearshore waters in a palette of fiery reds and mossy greens. Other toxin-producing species cause beach closures, kill fish, and lead to restrictions on harvesting clams and oysters.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that these marine harmful algal blooms are on the rise. But are they really increasing globally?
According to a first-ever assessment, the answer is no.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: an investigation of the deadly Uttarakhand avalanche that happened in February, a Canadian town might get clean water for the first time in 20 years, and PFAS in rain samples in the Great Lakes. Plus, an exclusive CoB feature on a toxic threat to the world’s coastlines.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: oxygen depletion in lakes, China flood risk, and dams located near toxic waste sites. Plus, a CoB exclusive feature on "water savings accounts" in Lake Mead.
This is an excerpt of the May 24, 2021 edition of What's Up With Water.
Frank Picozzi, the mayor of Warwick, Rhode Island, wants $10 million to replace water and sewer pipes. In Louisiana, Gov. John Bel Edwards floated the idea of $300 million for water and sewer infrastructure. Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky, meanwhile, is putting $250 million into upgrading his state’s water systems and connecting rural residents to clean drinking water.
These potential investments are made possible by the American Rescue Plan Act, a coronavirus relief package that includes substantial sums for public works.
President Biden is promoting a multitrillion-dollar standalone infrastructure bill — a proposal that includes over 100 billion dollars to remove lead pipes, upgrade rural water systems, and clean up toxic PFAS chemicals. But in the meantime, the American Rescue Plan Act is a windfall of its own.
When lawmakers in Congress passed the $1.9 trillion rescue plan in March, they opened the public purse in a bid to stoke the economy and help the country recover from a deadly pandemic. In addition to stimulus checks and support for families with children, the act set aside $350 billion for states, cities, and tribal governments. The act allowed for state and local funds to be spent in several ways, including premium pay to essential workers, aid to businesses and households, and covering expenses incurred during the pandemic. The act also stated that funds can be used for “necessary investments in water, sewer, or broadband infrastructure.”
But what is a necessary investment?
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: drought in Taiwan, carbon emissions from dam reservoirs, and dirty water tanks in the US. Plus an exclusive CoB feature on water infrastructure investments from the American Rescue Plan.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue.
Stories this week on Great Lakes water levels, the deep fingerprints that drought left on Australia's rivers, and failure to plan for climate adaptation. And an exclusive CoB feature on dry conditions in the American West.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week - water and sewer utility privatization in Brazil and a legal test of the rights of nature in California. Plus, a CoB exclusive feature on financing innovations that are changing the shape of water, sanitation, and hygiene access around the world.
This is an excerpt of the May 3, 2021 edition of What's Up With Water.
In December, when Congress completed the 2021 budget, lawmakers added more funding to help low- and middle-income Americans withstand the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to a second round of stimulus payments, lawmakers included over $600 million for households that were behind on their water bills. It was the first time that Congress had set aside federal funding for that purpose. Little more than two months later, Congress doubled down on the approach, adding another $500 million to what is now officially called the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program. In total, over a billion dollars will be available to relieve households of water debts.
That’s where the process has slowed. As of late April, none of those funds has been allocated to the states, let alone distributed to families in need. State allocations, to be set by the Department of Health and Human Services, are based on poverty levels and high housing costs. Recently, the department’s Office of Community Services said that they expect the initial funding to be disbursed to states, tribes, and territories by late May.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. Stories this week on financing a canal around Istanbul, how the pandemic reduced the rate of snow melt in South Asia, an unstable glacial lake in Tibet and the threat of historic drought in California. Plus CoB on the status of federal aid for household water debts.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: a Gallup poll about drinking water pollution, Louisiana lawmakers wanting to create a report card for drinking water systems, and concerns about dry wells this summer in California. Plus an exclusive CoB story on the risk of dry wells globally.
This is an excerpt of the April 19, 2021 edition of What's Up With Water.
Circle of Blue looks at a report on California’s drinking water systems showing that hundreds are below health standards, and hundreds more are at risk.
In 2018, when California lawmakers were debating a funding package for clean drinking water, one of things they didn’t know was the extent of the need.
The State Water Resources Control Board has released the 2021 Drinking Water Needs Assessment report, so now regulators have a detailed picture of where things stand: how many small water systems are failing or at the brink of failure and what it would cost to bring them up to par.
The California needs assessment found over 300 public water systems that consistently fail to provide drinking water that meets state and federal standards. Add to this some 600 public water systems that are at risk of failing. There are also roughly 600 state small systems, those that serve fewer than 25 people, that are at high risk of failing to meet health standards because of their location in aquifers with a high risk of contaminated groundwater.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: Stories on the volcanic eruption in St. Vincent, drying of Dhanauri wetlands in India, and $205M settlement in Delaware over air and groundwater contamination from a chicken processing plant. Plus a CoB exclusive feature on failing water systems in California.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: drought in Taiwan, dry conditions in California, and PFAS lawsuits. Plus and exclusive CoB feature on federal study of PFAS exposure and viral illness.
The Biden administration’s historic pitch to remove all lead drinking water pipes is part of a $111 billion proposal for water systems.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: An election in Greenland could affect mining; groundwater as a factor in ocean pollution; and a massive restoration project in Louisiana. Plus a CoB exclusive feature on President Biden’s infrastructure plan and what’s in it for water.
In Albania, a campaign to stop hydropower development on the Vjosa River has received international attention.
In South Asia last week, India and Pakistan met for the first time in over two years in an effort to resolve issues under the Indus Waters Treaty.
This week, Circle of Blue reports on a critical juncture for Michigan’s rural water systems, which now must reckon with decades of underinvestment in infrastructure.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: the end of Jackson, MS boil-water advisory, research on the links between rivers and groundwater, and California regulators developing the world's first guidelines for microplastics in drinking water. Plus a CoB exclusive feature on Line 5 and treaty rights.
This is an excerpt of the March 15, 2021 episode of What's Up With Water.
National governments are not on track to meet the ambitious, globally recognized goals for universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation by 2030. Nor are they sufficiently shepherding their rivers, lakes, and aquifers through an era of climate change, water stress, and population growth. That’s according to a United Nations water agency report assessing progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 6, a global benchmark on water management and delivery.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. Stories this week on Flint water settlement, Louisiana groundwater, and low reservoirs in South Africa. Plus a CoB exclusive feature on Sustainable Development Goals for water.
Navajo Generating Station shut down in 2019 and is now being dismantled. The Colorado River water that cooled the plant is part of a broader legal impasse.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: a water crisis in Jackson, MS, a CDP report on water risk for businesses, and legal personhood status for a Quebec river. Plus an exclusive CoB feature on the closing of the largest coal-fired power plant in the American West - Navajo Generating Station.
Your "need to know news" from Circle of Blue. This week: Taiwan drought affects computer chip industry, the World Wildlife Fund's report on freshwater fish, and a CoB exclusive feature on why Michigan and the Great Lakes region could be a climate migration magnet.
This is an excerpt of the February 22, 2021 episode of What's Up With Water.
The story of the pandemic has been its inequality. By almost every measurement — job losses, vaccine distribution, death rates — the public health emergency has resulted in unequal outcomes. The people hit the hardest are those already on the margins.
So it is for water utilities and their customers. Some utilities have financial aid programs and partnerships with community organizations to help customers in need. Charlotte is North Carolina’s largest city. There, residents who call a helpline will be connected to three local nonprofits offering financial assistance during the health emergency. In other places, such as Jamestown, there is no customer aid program, so struggling residents rely on the kindness of strangers.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: The Mekong River drops to worrying levels, U.S. dam removals in 2020, and Nestle sells bottled water brands. Plus a CoB exclusive on the pandemic's unequal impact on North Carolina water providers and their customers.
A new grant program in Michigan is aimed at removing contaminants from drinking water systems, and it’s so popular, demand for the funds is far outpacing the supply. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy announced that 32 grant applicants, many of them small towns, requested more than $80 million in state funds. The problem? Only $25 million is available to give out.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: research on the health impacts of nitrate in drinking water, Florida water system hacking, and the fourth-largest city in Illinois picks a new water provider to transition away from a declining aquifer. Plus an exclusive CoB feature on a Michigan water infrastructure grant program.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. Stories this week: Regulator in Australia rejects coal mine expansion beneath catchments that provide drinking water to Sydney, India's government proposes an ambitious urban water supply initiative, and activists in northern Minnesota oppose Line 3 oil pipeline replacement. Plus an exclusive CoB feature on Massachusetts water affordability.
This is an excerpt of the February 1, 2021 episode of What's Up With Water.
This week Circle of Blue reports on the risks of aging water infrastructure.
From the early to mid 20th century, dams were all the rage. But the dam-building binge is coming to a turning point.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: Water supply agreement from a disputed lake in Georgia, Biden administration looks to increase spending on disaster prevention, and Chicago council member introduces water shutoff and affordability bill. Plus, a CoB feature on aging dams.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: stories on a lead lawsuit, lake heatwaves, and the benefits of piped water for women and girls in Zambia. Plus a CoB feature story on water-bill debt in California.
On January 4th, the Army Corps of Engineers finalized a rule that further weakens federal protections for the nation’s smallest streams. The revisions are to nationwide permits, which regulate the filling and dredging of waterways. They are among a flurry of environmental deregulatory actions by federal agencies in the final days of the Trump administration, despite the potential for reversal under the Biden administration.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: Criminal charges in the Flint lead crisis, PFAS in drinking water in China, and the city of Victoria, British Columbia stops dumping raw sewage into an international waterway. Plus, a CoB feature on the Trump administration's last-minute rule changes for small streams.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water, from Circle of Blue. Stories this week on data sharing in the Mekong River basin, a shrinking glacier in Bolivia, and global land subsidence. Plus CoB feature on irrigation in India.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. We begin the new year with three stories of water progress in the USA: a settlement for victims of the Flint water crisis, cleaner water in New Jersey and federal approval of a water rights settlement for the Navajo Nation in Utah.
This is an excerpt of the December 21, 2020 episode of What's Up With Water.
This week Circle of Blue reports on a new study revealing the water contamination risks of plastic pipes exposed to the heat of wildfires.
In California, wildfires have been brutal in recent years. They have incinerated millions of acres of forest and blazed through developed areas with vicious force. Fifteen of the 20 most destructive fires in California history have occurred since 2015, obliterating thousands of homes and buildings statewide, from the Sierra Nevada foothills to the Coast Range.
Because these fires are now burning where people live — or, people are living where the fires are — new hazards to health and infrastructure have emerged in the ashes. Among them is the contamination of drinking water, which occurred after catastrophic fires in Santa Rosa, in 2017, and in Paradise a year later.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: PFAS found in a pesticide used in Massachusetts and New Mexico regulators restricting freshwater use in oil and gas production. Plus, a CoB feature on plastic pipes and wildfire.
The tribes unveiled draft legislation to allow their water to be leased to users in Arizona off the reservation or stored underground.
Your "need to know news" of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: lead service line replacement in Flint, extension of a shutoff moratorium in Detroit and criticism of a government plan in Australia to fill coal mines with water. Plus, a COB story on the Colorado River basin, where legal maneuvers could boost flexibility for water use in a drying region.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: drinking water advisories in Canada's First Nations, climate as a security risk in Brazil, refugees fleeing damage from two hurricanes in Central America, and researchers identify a toxic compound that is killing coho salmon in the Puget Sound region.
What a Biden administration might mean for federal water policy.
Guests:
Heather Cooley, the director of research at the Pacific Institute, where she works on a variety of water and climate issues.
Anne Castle, a senior fellow at the Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy and the Environment at the University of Colorado Law School. From 2009 to 2014, Castle was the assistant secretary for water and science at the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Eric Schaeffer, the executive director of the Environmental Integrity Project. Schaeffer also led the EPA Office of Civil Enforcement from 1997 to 2002.
This is an excerpt of the November 30, 2020 episode of What's Up With Water.
So many who were at the cusp of a better life have been beset by an extraordinary reversal of fortune. Until this year, extreme poverty had been steadily falling across the globe over the recent decades. At the same time, hundreds of millions of people had gained access to proper water and sanitation services.
The spread of the new coronavirus has twisted those trajectories.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. Stories this week: Enbridge sues Michigan over Line 5 decision, Enbridge gains a federal permit to replace its Line 3 oil pipeline in Minnesota, the UN announces a sanitation and hygiene fund, and the UN food agency highlights water scarcity for farming regions. Plus a CoB feature on USAID's post-Covid strategy.
This is an excerpt of the November 16, 2020 episode of What's Up With Water.
This week Circle of Blue reports on California’s efforts to better understand the pandemic’s impact on water utilities and their customers.
Last week, California regulators sent a survey to 150 of the state’s largest water providers. It’s an effort to assess the financial fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The virus has caused economic slowdowns, and the State Water Resources Control Board wants to know how this affects water services – from the financial health of utilities who provide the water, to the households who may be unable to pay for it.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: an application for oil and gas wastewater disposal in Wyoming; lawsuits in New Jersey over PFAS pollution; and Michigan's governor orders the shut down of a controversial oil pipeline in the Great Lakes. The CoB feature looks at California’s efforts to better understand the pandemic’s impact on water utilities and their customers.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. Three U.S. stories this week: on wildfire damage to a drinking water system in Oregon, groundwater regulations in Wisconsin, and dry wells in New Hampshire. Plus Circle of Blue reports on the outcome of water-related ballot initiatives in the November election.
This is an excerpt of the November 11, 2020 episode of What's Up With Water.
With the U.S. Senate majority at stake in the 2020 election, nearly every race has become a battleground. That’s the case in Michigan, where incumbent Democrat Gary Peters is being challenged by Republican John James. Polls of likely voters show Peters up by six to nine percentage points. National super PACs on both sides have spent a total of more than $65 million. To defend their seat, the Democratic Senate Majority PAC has spent twice as much as the Republican Senate Leadership Fund.
While Covid and the economy dominate debates, Michigan has another defining issue: water. The state is surrounded by the Great Lakes and grappling with aging infrastructure and the chemical contamination of its lakes, streams, and groundwater.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: negotiations resume for Nile dam dispute, record dryness in the western United States, and carbon-capture technology could worsen water scarcity. Plus, a CoB story on Senate race in Michigan.
This is an excerpt of the October 26, 2020 episode of What's Up With Water.
A number of water advocates and analysts say that during its first term, the Trump administration has pursued revisions to environmental rules that will harm the nation’s waters.
Bob Irvin is president and chief executive of the conservation group American Rivers. He told Circle of Blue “President Trump loves to say that he wants crystal clear water. But his administration has adopted policies that will result in dirtier water across the country.”
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: Stories on pollution from France's largest dairy, growing glaciers in southern Asia, and a mining proposal in Georgia. Plus, a CoB story on what the Trump administration has meant for water.
This is an excerpt of the October 19, 2020 episode of What's Up With Water.
In Michigan, residents who are behind on their water bills will soon be getting some relief. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services will provide over $20 million to 116 water utilities, through an intermediary.
Though the number of customers with overdue water bills is rising because of the pandemic, many states have had difficulty using CARES Act funds to assist these people.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: illegal gold mining in the mountains of eastern Zimbabwe, fires in the Pantanal exemplify the threat of drought for wetlands, and women in Africa report harassment while collecting water. Plus a CoB story on Michigan using CARES Act funds for customer water debt relief.
This is an excerpt of the October 12, 2020 episode of What's Up With Water.
Two Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform asked the CDC to suspend water service disconnections nationwide as a way to slow the spread of Covid-19. Representatives Harley Rouda of and Rashida Tlaib want the federal government’s top public health agency to use its authority under the Public Health Service Act. To protect public health, they want the CDC to prohibit water utilities from shutting off service to customers who are behind on their bills.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: Hurricane Delta damages Louisiana water systems, Japanese fishing industry objects to dumping radioactive water in the ocean, and teachers in Zimbabwe strike over inadequate coronovirus prevention. Plus CoB story on congressional reps asking CDC to impose a national moratorium on water shutoffs during the pandemic.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: stories on Egypt's new initiative to reduce water use for agriculture starts to bear fruit, UN human rights expert calls on Columbian government to suspend operations at one of the world's largest coal mines, a controversial natural gas pipeline gets federal permits to build across streams, and drought in New Hampshire is causing hundreds of wells to go dry.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: a land reclamation project in the Mekong River in Cambodia gets little scrutiny and researchers in Minnesota receive a federal grant to scale up production of a new grain variety that could decrease nutrient pollution in Midwest waters. The CoB feature reports on a water controversy in Michigan around another farming-related pollution source: manure from dairies and livestock operations.
This is an excerpt of the August 21, 2020 edition of What's Up With Water.
This week, Circle of Blue reports on drinking water systems in Louisiana that were damaged by Hurricane Laura. Hurricane Laura made landfall in southwestern Louisiana on August 27 with wind speeds around 150 miles per hour. The Category 4 storm was one of the strongest on record to strike the state.
Laura came ashore in Cameron Parish, and its wind and water took a toll on Waterworks District 7. It serves around 900 people. More than three weeks after the storm, it’s still offline. No residents have returned because the property destruction was so extensive, and it's unclear when the water will flow again.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: stories on Panama Canal Authority seeking bids for projects to safeguard the canal against drought, Mexican farmers protesting water deliveries to the U.S., water shutoffs and mental stress, and a Circle of Blue story on Louisiana water systems damaged by Hurricane Laura.
Circle of Blue reports on fires in the American West, which is ablaze in one of the region’s worst fire episodes in the last century.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week, a report notes groundwater contamination in Alberta from oil sands waste pits, states and advocacy groups sue the EPA to enforce the Chesapeake Bay cleanup plan, and CoB reports on the impact of fires in the West on water infrastructure.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week, stories on Iowa's water quality problems, a global groundwater assessment, German groundwater depletion, and a major global health success story.
In the fifth installment of its "Water, Texas" series, Circle of Blue looks at how water serves the length and breadth of the Texas economy.
This is an excerpt of the August 24, 2020 edition of What's Up With Water.
This week, Circle of Blue continues its focus on water debt in America, examining how some cities are coming to grips with the growing burden of unpaid water bills.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week, flooding in China, a preliminary settlement in a Flint water crisis case and plans for removing lead water pipes in Chicago. Plus, the second installment in an exclusive CoB series on water debt in America.
The fourth installment in the five-part "Water, Texas" series on the consequences of the mismatch between runaway development and tightening constraints on the supply and quality of fresh water in Texas.
This is an excerpt from Circle of Blue's August 17, 2020 episode of What's Up With Water.
Over two decades ago, New York City and its rural partners launched a groundbreaking, multibillion-dollar watershed protection plan, and the review is in – a panel of experts says the effort sufficiently protects the city’s drinking water supply from contamination.
The Catskill and Delaware watersheds are the source of most of the city’s drinking water. Since 1997, New York City has spent some $2.5 billion on ecosystem protection in those watersheds. The money has been put to good use: upgrading 42 wastewater treatment plants, buying out land to prevent development, and stabilizing stream channels to prevent erosion. The funds also replaced failing septic tanks, trapped pollutants in stormwater, and helped dairy farmers control nutrients and pathogens in manure.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. Stories this week: North Carolina regulators cite water quality impacts as a reason for rejecting a permit for a natural gas pipeline, WHO/UNICEF report on hand washing facilities in schools, and Venezuelans finding creative ways to get water amid economic crisis and governmental failure. Plus a COB story on the success of New York City's watershed protection program.
The third in a series of stories on water in Texas, from Circle of Blue. This episode is titled "Three Thirsty Texas Cities Are Global Leaders in Water Innovation: Austin, El Paso, and San Antonio Prepared for Growth and Drought"
This is an excerpt from Circle of Blue's August 10, 2020 episode of What's Up With Water.
This week Circle of Blue presents the first story in a series on the debt that American households owe to their water departments.
Most Americans give little thought to water bills, paying them on time and in full. But for some homeowners and renters, water debt is relentless and menacing.
Circle of Blue’s investigation focused on a dozen major U.S. cities with publicly operated water utilities. Collectively, they represented over a billion dollars in past-due water bills, owed by about a million and a half households. Businesses, industries, and other commercial operations in those cities owed another $416 million.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: monsoon flooding in Mumbai, rural water system struggles in North Carolina, and the first in a series of Circle of Blue exclusives on water debt in America.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week, legal action on Flint's water crisis, a deadly year for environmental campaigners and a dry prognosis for Texas. Circle of Blue presents the first in a series of reports offering an in-depth look at water in the Lone Star State.
"When It Rains, Texans Forget Drought and Worsening Water Scarcity" After the Pandemic, Soaring Population Growth, Industrial Development Will Again Overwhelm Planning and Water Supply
This is an excerpt of our July 27, 2020 episode of What's Up With Water, as Circle of Blue reports on the coronavirus response in Brazil, where community leaders have stepped in to compensate for government failures.
In the midst of a pandemic, Brazil has no health minister. Luiz Henrique Mandetta was fired by President Jair Bolsonaro in April, and Mandetta’s successor stepped down in May. Even though water, sanitation, and hygiene are bedrocks of public health, the federal government refuses to make them a priority, decreasing investment in the sector by billions of reals over the past decade. Despite prior success with both the Zika and swine flu outbreaks, Brazil’s federal, state, and local governments have largely failed to coordinate a clear and effective response to the coronavirus.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. Stories this week: record river pollution fine handed out in Russia, severe floods continue in Asia, and Covid-19 outbreaks in Egyptian prisons. Plus a CoB feature on community coronavirus response in Brazil.
This is an excerpt of our July 20, 2020 episode of What's Up With Water, as Circle of Blue reports on an experiment in Phoenix that is an alternative to shutting off water to homeowners who are behind on their bills.
It involves a simple disk that’s no larger than a quarter. But Kathryn Sorensen and the staff at Phoenix Water Services Department think it could address one of the utility’s most vexing problems.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. Stories this week: confusion over Ethiopia dam filling, China continues to battle massive floods on the Yangtze, and Great Lakes water levels rise more slowly. Plus, a CoB feature on a water flow restriction experiment by the city of Phoenix.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. Stories this week: water theft investigation in Baja California, Great Lakes heat up, Michigan governor extends shutoff ban, and China's massive floods.
This is an excerpt of our July 6, 2020, episode of What's Up With Water, as Circle of Blue reports on coronavirus prevention in Nigeria.
As the coronavirus pandemic spreads through Africa’s most populous country, a health foundation is pushing for better access to water, sanitation, and hygiene. Though it had a late start, the disease is spreading through Nigeria with increasing speed. As of June 30, Nigeria had more than 25,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases, the second highest number in Africa. Forty percent of the cases were recorded in the last two weeks. Vulnerable populations such as frontline healthcare workers are at a greater risk without proper water or hygiene.
Photo © Wellbeing Foundation Africa.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water, from Circle of Blue. Stories this week: Puerto Rico water rationing, Australia drought fund, water-climate research, plus a CoB feature on Covid-19 and hygiene in Nigeria.
This is an excerpt from the June 29, 2020, episode of What's Up With Water. This episode continues our reporting on small water systems facing big money problems.
In North Carolina, officials are working on a rating system that would identify public water and sewer providers that are at risk of financial failure. The ratings would allow state funding and technical assistance to flow to the most distressed communities.
Your "need to know news" of the world's water from Circle of Blue. Three stories from the US this week: Bayer settlement, Line 5 temporary shutdown, and drinking water contamination in jails. Plus CoB story on assessing small water systems in North Carolina.
This is an excerpt from the June 22, 2020, episode of What's Up With Water. This episode reports on a remarkable drop in Colorado River water consumption. It’s an encouraging sign for the beleaguered river.
The three states that hold the Colorado River’s lower basin used a lot less of its water last year, a low that hasn’t been seen in 33 years. This comes at a time of growing awareness of the vulnerability of the region’s water in a drying and warming climate. Arizona, California, and Nevada combined to consume just over 6.5 million acre-feet last year, according to an annual audit from the Bureau of Reclamation, the federal agency that oversees the lower basin.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. Stories this week: the Mekong River Commission asks China for more information about its dam operations, the expansion of informal settlement outside Caracas is another sign of Venezuela's economic collapse, U.S. commercial insurers examine Legionnaires' risks in buildings, Nevada regulators restrict groundwater pumping north of Las Vegas to protect an endangered fish, plus CoB story on Colorado River.
This is an excerpt from the June 15, 2020, episode of What's Up With Water. This episode reports on how efforts to protect salmon in the Pacific Northwest could affect the region’s dams.
Last month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a long-awaited proposal under the Clean Water Act, which would limit water temperatures in one of the country’s largest river systems. The limits apply to some 900 miles of the Columbia and Lower Snake rivers in Oregon and Washington. The intent is to protect endangered salmon and other aquatic species from overheating in waters affected by thermal stress.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. Stories this week: government officials delay expansion of Sydney's desalination plant, Nestle considers selling U.S. bottled water brands, the Flint water crisis caused U.S. children to drink less tap water, and legal proceedings in California put water fluoridation on trial. Plus, a CoB feature on water temperature limits in the Columbia and Lower Snake rivers to protect salmon.
This is an excerpt from the June 8, 2020, episode of What's Up With Water. This episode reports on sewage surveillance as a way to monitor the new coronavirus. It’s attracting a lot of attention, but has some obstacles to overcome before it is widely used for public health decisions.
In hundreds of cities worldwide, health departments and researchers are turning to sewage to better understand the spread of the virus in their communities. This is possible because people infected with SARS-CoV-2 shed particles of the virus in their stool.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: New Jersey finalizes drinking water standards for PFOA and PFOS, federal researchers expect a Gulf of Mexico dead zone and a Lake Erie harmful algal bloom that are smaller than last year, and Sao Paulo state suspends utility shutoffs during the pandemic. Plus, aCoB feature on sewage surveillance for the coronavirus.
This is an excerpt from the June 1, 2020, episode of What's Up With Water. This episode reports on how the global coronavirus pandemic is doubly disastrous to water utilities abroad.
The pandemic, now in its third month, is deepening a financial crisis for water utilities in low- and middle-income countries.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week, stories on cyberattack against Israel, low water levels on the Parana River, and global handwashing access data. Our CoB feature is on how the pandemic is threatening water utilities abroad.
This is an excerpt from the May 18, 2020, episode of What's Up With Water. This episode reports on the deadly consequences of stagnant water in buildings gone dormant during Covid-19 shutdowns.
The extensive closure of offices, hotels, restaurants and other commercial buildings during the coronavirus pandemic could pose a health hazard once those structures are reopened to the public. The greatest concern, say plumbing and water quality experts, is Legionnaires’ disease, a respiratory infection that is the deadliest waterborne illness in the United States.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. Stories this week include the first confirmed case of Covid-19 in the world's largest refugee settlement, a disruption to water supplies in Nairobi, and proposed rule changes at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Also, a CoB feature on the health threats ahead in building plumbing.
This is an excerpt from the May 11, 2020, episode of What's Up With Water. This episode looks at a study pointing to groundwater as the biggest flooding threat to Honolulu as the seas rise.
Building a wall seems like an intuitive way to protect a coastal city from rising seas. Ocean barriers date back to ancient times. But the intuitive response can be the wrong response, say experts, when the obvious threat is not the greatest threat.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. Stories for this week: dam rupture in Uzbekistan; flooding in Kenya; oil and gas states request Covid-19 aid for employing laid off fossil fuel workers for the purpose of plugging abandoned wells; a federal judge says oil and gas leases in Montana did not properly analyze groundwater impacts. And CoB story on flooding risks in Honolulu from rising groundwater.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. Stories for this week: dam rupture in Uzbekistan; flooding in Kenya; oil and gas states request Covid-19 aid for employing laid off fossil fuel workers for the purpose of plugging abandoned wells; a federal judge says oil and gas leases in Montana did not properly analyze groundwater impacts. And CoB story on flooding risks in Honolulu from rising groundwater.
This is an excerpt from the May 4, 2020, episode of What's Up With Water. This episode looks at U.S. Congressional negotiations over financial aid to water utilities and their customers during the coronavirus pandemic.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water, from Circle of Blue. Stories this week: drought in Europe and Argentina, an encouraging rain forecast for eastern Australia, and a CoB story on water aid in Congress.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: the first Covid-19 case in a refugee camp in Lebanon, mining waste accident in China, and Las Vegas water rights case. Plus a CoB story on how the pandemic is affecting response to weather disasters.
This is an excerpt from the April 20, 2020, episode of What's Up With Water. This episode looks at the risks of water contamination that lurk in buildings closed by the coronavirus pandemic.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. Stories this week include: Mekong flows study, Colorado River drought study, and Chile's environmental complaint against mining company BHP. Plus, a CoB exclusive on water contamination risks in idled buildings.
This is an excerpt from the April 13, 2020, episode of What's Up With Water. This episode looks at how the coronavirus pandemic is changing water use in the United States, and the financial repercussions for water utilities and their customers.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. Stories this week: construction in US flood zones, largest dam removal project in US history gets key permit, and preparing for Covid-19 in Jordan's largest refugee camp. Plus CoB story on water utility revenues in the pandemic.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. Stories this week: sea-level rise assessment for San Francisco Bay, coal mining in metropolitan Sydney's water catchment, and brewery dispute in Mexico. Plus a CoB story on virus hunters.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. Stories this week: illegal dumping in Malaysia, the Dakota Access pipeline ruling, and a mega-project in Turkey, plus CoB story on the coronavirus and small utilities.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: Cambodia's rejection of new Mekong dam, anti-water waste campaign in Kolkata, and concerns in the Middle East about the new threat to the health of refugees. Circle of Blue’s feature story looks at the potential impacts of the coronavirus in developing countries.
This is an excerpt from the March 16, 2020, episode of What's Up With Water. This episode looks at efforts in one California community along San Francisco Bay to control flooding and prepare for rising seas.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: U.S. cities suspend water shutoffs, U.S. cities use eminent domain to move residents out of flood zones, and the UK doubles spending on flood protection. Our feature story looks at efforts in one California community along San Francisco Bay to control flooding and prepare for rising seas.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. Stories for this week include a study on the water demands of cattle feed in the American West, the Flint lead crisis lawsuit, and conflict over a proposed brewery in northern Mexico. The Circle of Blue feature is a report on a neglected flood risk in California.
Speaking Of Water -Rising Seas, Groundwater, and Flooding in the San Francisco Bay Area by Circle Of Blue
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week's exclusive is a look at a nationwide trend as seen in one Michigan county seeking a balance between groundwater sustainability and economic growth.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue, with the top stories of the week, including a special feature on North Carolina's water debt.
Speaking of Water Featuring Australian Author And Science Communicator, Julian Cribb by Circle Of Blue
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue - this week's stories include rain in Australia, negotiations in the Nile River Basin, legal challenges to a Canadian pipeline and rising levels in the Great Lakes.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue, with top stories from the week, and an exclusive feature on what Democratic candidates are saying about water issues.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue, featuring top stories from the week and a look at a new study examining the connections between the U.S. food trade and unsustainable groundwater use.
This week, from Circle of Blue, technology is offering answers to the ageless question: Where is the water?
A new mapping tool from the U.S. federal government’s top Earth sciences agency aims to visualize the nations’s water resources with greater frequency and detail. The map displays a nearly complete picture of water storage in the Lower 48 states. It’s updated daily, and shows water currently held in snowpack, soils, and shallow groundwater as compared to the long-term average.
This Circle of Blue featured excerpt comes from the 1/20/2020 episode of What's Up With Water.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue, with top stories and a look at a new water mapping tool from the U.S. Geological Service.
Your "need to know" water news from Circle of Blue features three stories offering hope for the new year - former foes finding common ground in Darfur, the world's first "climate bank," and people helping people in Australia.
Your "need to know" water news from Circle of Blue features three stories offering hope for the new year - former foes finding common ground in Darfur, the world's first "climate bank," and people helping people in Australia.
Your "need to know" news of the World's Water from Circle of Blue. This week, a look at major themes from water news in 2019.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue, with important stories from the week, including a feature on water debt in Louisiana.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue, with important stories from the week, including a feature on Atmospheric Rivers.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week's stories come from India, South Africa and the U.S.
Circle of Blue continues its focus on water rates, as Baltimore officials confront the pressures on their communities.
The Baltimore City Council has taken a bold step to relieve the anxiety of high water rates. The council faced public uproar over rising water and sewer rates and over billing errors. It responded by approving a discount program for its poorest residents that ties their monthly water bills to their annual household income.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week's top stories include how Baltimore is making water services more affordable for its residents.
Floods, droughts, and warming temperatures are already increasing illness and disease risk and may pull back previous health gains, benchmark Lancet Countdown report finds.
Your "need to know" of the world's water from Circle of Blue, with top stories and this week's feature on how water connects climate to health.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue, with important stories from the week's news, including further coverage on the increasing danger of Legionnaires' disease in the United States.
This excerpt comes from the November 4, 2019, episode of What's Up With Water: The United States does not have many regulations for monitoring plumbing for Legionella. The rules that do exist largely target the healthcare industry. People involved in Legionella testing and monitoring said that outside of healthcare, building owners don’t do much to prevent bacterial growth in their plumbing.
"Speaking of Water" from Circle of Blue features Michael Cohen, a Senior Researcher at the Pacific Institute, talking about the problems and potential of the Salton Sea.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue, with important stories from the week, including a look at Legionnaire's Disease in the U.S.
This week Circle of Blue looks at water issues on state and local ballots in November elections. Voters in Colorado, Texas, New Orleans and Oregon have a chance to weigh in on water infrastructure funding. In Colorado, the question is whether to legalize sports gambling and use a portion of the revenue to support the state’s water plan.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue, with top stories of the week, including a look at water issues on November ballots in the United States.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue, with the week's important stories, and in this episode, a look at Venezuela’s collapsing water system.
This is an excerpt from the October 7, 2019, episode of What's Up With Water. This episode looks at a Hawaii lawsuit with broad implications for the country’s waterways might be resolved out of court, avoiding, at least for now, a ruling by the nation’s highest court on the scope of the Clean Water Act.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue, with stories from the week and in this episode, a look at how a lawsuit in Hawaii could lead to a new interpretation of the Clean Water Act.
This excerpt comes from the September 23, 2019, episode of What's Up With Water. It is a story of water in the West United States: There’s not enough water to go around in the Snake Valley, and experts are weighing options as humans compete with habitat.
Your weekly "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue, with the major stories, and, this week, a look at water in the West as a new study considers the groundwater limits of the Snake Valley.
This coverage is an audio excerpt from the September 16, 2019, epsidoe of What's Up With Water. Listen for the full coverage of the World Bank's report on the issue of groundwater quality.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue, with top stories and, this week, a look at a new World Bank report on the perils of pollution.
This audio excerpt comes from the September 9, 2019 episode of What's Up With Water and looks at Houston’s recent agreement to protect water quality with a massive refit to its sewer system. The agreement ends a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue, with top stories and, this week, a feature on Houston's massive sewer refit aimed at improving water quality.
This audio is an excerpt from the 9/3/2019 edition of What's Up With Water, which looks at India’s ambitious plan to harvest energy from the sun – which has a potential dark side when it comes to water.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue, including this week's feature: how solar pumps in India could threaten the nation's groundwater.
This excerpt on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's findings that identifies deficiencies in plumbing and building codes, policies, and research in relation to combating Legionnaire's disease in the U.S.
Your "need to know" news from Circle of Blue, with summaries of the top stories and a look in this episode at Legionnaire's Disease in the U.S.
This excerpt looks at the challenge of forecasting urban water crises and comes from the August 19, 2019 episode of What's Up With Water.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue, with important stories from the week. This episode's Circle of Blue feature looks at the challenge of forecasting urban water crises.
This excerpt on a new study that examined Massachusetts water affordability, and how a state-level study fits within a national narrative, comes from the 8.12.19 episode of What's Up With Water.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water, from Circle of Blue, with top stories and, this week, a look at affordable access to water services in Massachusetts, and what that shows about water management in the U.S. as a whole.
From Circle of Blue's full 08/05/19 episode of What's Up With Water comes a brief on the state of Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, which is increasingly desperate for water.
Two million people live in the metropolitan area, and the mayor said that over half of residents could get running water only once a week. Instead, they are lining up for hours at springs, streams, public wells, and boreholes – water sources that are themselves at risk of failure. As residents forego laundry and sanitation and focus on finding water, the crisis magnifies social and economic hardships in a country already grappling with inflation, currency devaluation, and the high cost of imported goods.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue, with the major stories of the week.
To locate sufficient supplies of fresh water, the nation’s groundwater wells are being drilled deeper and deeper, according to an analysis of more than 10 million well records since the 1950s.
In the latest episode of Speaking of Water, host Eileen Wray-McCann speaks with Dr. Peter Gleick, President Emeritus of the Pacific Institute, on a new bill in California that directs some $130 million dollars to improve access to clean drinking water for many state residents.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water, with top stories and a special focus this week on the trend toward deeper wells in the United States.
Janis Searles Jones, CEO of the Ocean Conservancy speaks with Circle of Blue's J. Carl Ganter about where freshwater and ocean preservation meet.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue, with the week's headlines and a look at a report from the World Bank on Vietnam's water challenges.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue, with headlines and a special look at Paradise, California, and the challenges to restoring the municipal water system after the devastating wildfires.
Your "need to know" water news from Circle of Blue, with the week's headlines and, this edition, a look at Chicago, where the new mayor wants to ban water shutoffs.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue, with a weekly summary of the world's water headlines.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue, with a summary of the headlines, and this week's feature: a look at how a North Carolina community is struggling to recover from repeated floods.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue, with a survey of stories, and, this week, a look at oil and gas field wastewater, and microplastic pollution in rain.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water, with a review of the headlines, and, this week, a look at a resurgence of Hepatitis A in the United States.
Your weekly "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue, with headlines from around the globe.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue, with water headlines from around the globe and a look at moving the capital of Indonesia due to land subsidence from groundwater extraction.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue, with the week's water headlines and a look at nitrates in private wells in Iowa.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue, with headlines and this week's feature: U.S. Irrigation moves east.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water, with headlines from around the globe and, this week, a look at water utility consolidation in California.
Your weekly "need to know" news of the world's water, with global headlines and a look at how Maryland's local water policies can impede access for low-income families.
Your "need to know news" of the world's water from Circle of Blue, with the weekly water headlines around the globe and a look at water policy shifts in the Great Lakes region.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water, from Circle of Blue features the weekly headlines, plus a look at the UN's latest World Water Development report and New Mexico's bill for reusing fracking water.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue, featuring headlines from around the world and, this week, a look at a controversial water bottling plant on Russia's Lake Baikal and a new assessment of American groundwater quality.
Your weekly "need to know" water news from Circle of Blue, with headlines from around the world and a look at water quality concerns in Greece and poisoned pipelines in Paradise, California.
When fire swept through the town of Paradise, California, it was a tragic loss of life and property. Now, as Circle of Blue's Brett Walton reports, those faced with rebuilding homes and businesses are also faced with another grand challenge: how to restart the town's imperiled water system.
Circle of Blue's Senior Reporter Brett Walton spoke with U.S. Senator Gary Peters to discuss the federal government and its response to the PFAS crisis.
Water will be a major factor in the decisions ahead: will there be enough for drilling, and how will fracking affect the water for everyone else?
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue has the weekly update of water headlines, plus feature stories on exploratory fracking in Mexico and an ambitious water recycling plan for Los Angeles.
Your "need to know" news from Circle of Blue has the weekly water headlines, plus a look at the proposed Bill of Rights for Lake Erie.
NASA satellites show the world is literally getting greener as reforestation projects and intensified agriculture have spread vegetation across more land. While this sounds like progress, experts note that not all vegetation is equal in the effort to fight climate change.
NASA satellites show the world is literally getting greener as reforestation projects and intensified agriculture have spread vegetation across more land. While this sounds like progress, experts note that not all vegetation is equal in the effort to fight climate change.
Producing oil produces even more water. Getting rid of it is a large and expanding business.
Your "need to know" news from Circle of Blue has the weekly water headlines, plus features on the implications of global greening and water waste in the oil fields of the Permian Basin.
The collapse of a massive dam containing mining waste has killed scores of people. It now threatens the water of hundreds of communities.
Conflict between farmers and herders over water and pasture shook Nigeria in recent years, leaving more than 1,500 people dead in 2018.
Your "need to know" news of the world's water, from Circle of Blue features the weekly update of headlines, plus a focus on water stress and conflict in Nigeria, and the effects of climate change in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region.
The Colorado River Indian Tribes' decision to seek changes to water leasing rules, which could have profound effects for the Colorado River basin
Artificial intelligence and machine learning, combined with utility pipe-break archives and data about environmental factors like flow rates, soil chemistry, and temperature can pinpoint which pipes are most likely to fail and thus are the best candidates for replacement
Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue offers a roundup of world water headlines and feature stories. This week: the threat to Brazil's water after the rupture of a massive mining waste dam and the Colorado River Indian Tribes' decision to seek changes to water leasing rules, which could have profound effects for the area.
Your weekly water update from Circle of Blue features water news headlines, and two feature stories: land subsidence in Iran due to aquifer depletion, and U.S. water utilities considering Artificial Intelligence to help maintain aging pipe infrastructure.
Circle of Blue senior reporter, Brett Walton, spoke with Heather Cooley of the Pacific Institute and Will Sarni of Water Foundry on U.S. water news and trends to remember, from western water negotiations, business risks and opportunities, and the Clean Water Act. Equally important are the stories which need more attention
PFAS – From Michigan to the Nation an Interview with Senator Gary Peters by Circle Of Blue
What's in the water? The big story about PFAS chemical contamination. Jim Malewitz, environmental reporter for Bridge Magazine (http://bridgemi.com) speaks with J. Carl Ganter, managing editor at Circle of Blue.
From Michigan to the Nation – A Groundwater Emergency Furious and fearful, residents are asking a simple but urgent question: what’s in my water?
Mary Ellen Geist, reporter at Detroit Public Television's Great Lakes Now interviews Dr. Christopher Higgins about the effects of PFAS chemicals.
PFAS are the tip of the spear for threats to groundwater in Michigan and nationally. Nitrates, industrial chemicals, and pathogens have been swept underground for decades — aquifers used as garbage cans. What else is in the groundwater? And what are the risks? This H2O Catalyst rounds up the experts who provide answers to listeners toughest questions.
From Michigan to the Nation – A Groundwater Emergency Furious and fearful, residents are asking a simple but urgent question: what’s in my water? PFAS chemicals are the tip of the spear for threats to groundwater in Michigan and nationally. Nitrates, industrial chemicals, and pathogens have been swept underground for decades — aquifers used as garbage cans. What else is in the groundwater? And what are the risks? This H2O Catalyst rounds up the experts who provide answers to listeners toughest questions.
It will be a tumultuous year for water and climate. Torgny Holmgren, director of the Stockholm International Water Institute talks with Circle of Blue's J. Carl Ganter about the highlights of World Water Week 2018 and what lies ahead for water as climate and other stresses become more apparent.
Benedito Braga, president of the World Water Council, looks back on pivotal moments of the past few years, such as Day Zero in Cape Town and Sao Paulo, the grand problems ahead, and finally, to what message he would leave on the desk of the incoming president of the World Water Council.
What do you need to know about the world's declining and contaminated groundwater supplies? Hundreds of millions of people are affected, from Asia to the United States. Experts discuss the global situation — with focus on India and Michigan — in a special live broadcast from World Water Week in Stockholm August 28, 2018
Torgny Holmgren, Executive Director of the Stockholm International Water Institute, speaks with J. Carl Ganter, director of Circle of Blue, about the latest water news and global water challenges, and about what's happening at World Water Week 2018.
What's Up With Water is your weekly "need-to-know" news about water, from Circle of Blue.
Water watchers know the Pacific Institute is a renowned global water think tank providing thought leadership for sustainable water policies. For over 30 years, the Institute has curated a chronology of water and conflict, tracking and categorizing events from the present back to the earliest recorded history.
"Speaking of Water" host Eileen Wray-McCann spoke with the Pacific Institute's co-founder and President Emeritus, Dr. Peter Gleick to discuss the connections between resource issues, environmental issues, and the broad area of international security and conflict.
What’s up with Water, your need-to-know news of the world’s water, from Circle of Blue.
This week's podcast features an extended interview with Circle of Blue Senior Reporter Brett Walton on his new report (and data dashboard) on U.S. water pricing.
What's Up With Water, a weekly condensation of the world's water news from Circle of Blue
What's Up With Water for April 30, 2018
A weekly condensation of the world's water news from Circle of Blue.
What's Up With Water for April 23, 2018 - a weekly condensation of the world's water news from Circle of Blue.
More and more people are asking a question once thought preposterous in the United States. That question: do I trust my tap water? It turns out that the answer is very different for different groups of people.
Circle of Blue's Brett Walton spoke with Asher Rosinger, an assistant professor of biobehavioral health and anthropology at Penn State University. Rosinger was the lead author for a study published in February that found minorities in the U.S. consume less tap water and are more likely to drink bottled water.
“I know from personal experience that experiences around water, particularly negative ones, can change our behavior for long periods of time," Rosinger said.
What's Up With Water - 2.26.18
What’s up with Water, a condensation of the world’s water news, from Circle of Blue.
In July, the World Health Organization and UNICEF published the first assessment of drinking water and sanitation service under the sustainable development goals.
Circle of Blue reporter Brett Walton spoke with Catarina Fonseca, head of the international and innovation program at IRC, a water and sanitation organization, about the report's strengthens and weaknesses as well as the successes and failures that it documents. Fonseca notes that though more people have gained access to water in recent years, those gains are unevenly distributed.
"There has been progress, but the progress is not fast enough, especially on sanitation, to achieve the sustainable development goals," she says.
his is HotSpots Podcast Episode 12.
Water, or lack thereof, is often at the front lines of conflict. By documenting water conflict across history, Dr. Peter Gleick, chief scientist and president emeritus of the Pacific Institute, explores the instances where water and violence have gone hand and hand. His water conflict chronology is a fascinating river throughout history and was just updated. In our latest podcast, Gleick tells us about some of the lessons learned and highlights from this water conflict chronology, and explores what kind of trends have emerged, and what we can expect in the future.
This is HotSpots Podcast Episode 11.
Large-scale exploitation of groundwater began in the 1950s and continues today.
The water that flows underground and between soil particles gave rise to the Green Revolution in India and allows desert agriculture to flourish. It nourishes streams and springs and is the primary drinking water source for nearly half of the world's people. Yet, due to urbanization, climate change, energy extraction, food production, and other demands, groundwater is under extreme pressure.
William Alley, director of science and technology at the National Groundwater Association, and Rosemarie Alley, a science writer, are the authors of High and Dry, a book that explores the world's growing dependence on groundwater. Circle of Blue reporter Brett Walton spoke with the Alleys about the role of science in groundwater management and the knowledge that is necessary for sustaining what they call "the neglected child of the water world."
This is HotSpots Podcast Episode 10.
How did water become considered a resource? What values guide its management?
Circle of Blue reporter Brett Walton spoke with Dr. Jeremy Schmidt, lecturer in geography at the University of Durham, about his new book, Water: Abundance, Scarcity, and Security in the Age of Humanity. Schmidt argues that the dominant global water narrative -- of abundance leading to scarcity and now concerns about security -- developed from early 20th century American ideas.
This is HotSpots Podcast Episode 09.
More than a half dozen proposals to develop hardrock mines in northwestern British Columbia are producing worry downstream in Alaska. The mines would be located on some of the state's most productive and scenic salmon rivers, and the economic and environmental costs of a large spill of mine waste could be severe. The collapse of a tailings dam at the Mount Polley mine, which happened nearly three years ago in southern British Columbia, is still fresh in the memory.
Last fall, Alaska and British Columbia officials signed an agreement that will guide watershed monitoring and public consultation for new mines. Circle of Blue reporter Brett Walton spoke with Alaska Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott about the state's concerns. The conversation touches on the difficulty of international negotiation, how the Trump administration could affect the agreement's implementation, and Alaska's definition of a successful outcome.
This is HotSpots Podcast Episode 08.
When members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe set up camp on the banks of the Cannonball River in April to protest the Dakota Access pipeline, they had little idea how widely their movement would spiral. The peaceful demonstration, which drew supporters from all corners of the continent to the North Dakota plains, summoned a response that not even the White House could ignore.
Judith LeBlanc, director of the Native Organizers Alliance, which trains social activists in Indian country, spoke with Circle of Blue reporter Brett Walton in early December, days after returning from Standing Rock. The conversation touches on the significance of the Dakota Access protest, the relationship between the federal government and tribal governments for big infrastructure projects, and the role of grassroots movements for political change.
This is HotSpots Podcast Episode 07.
In 2016, Circle of Blue’s US coverage closely followed the developments out of Flint Michigan, as the city continued to struggle with lead contamination in its drinking water. Our team also covered the ongoing controversy over the Dakota Access Pipeline. Around the world, we reported stories on water conflict, infrastructure spending, stranded assets, and severe droughts brought on by El Nino in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
In this special year end round table, Circle of Blue reporters discuss the big stories of 2016. Keith Schneider, Senior Editor and Chief Correspondent at Circle of Blue, Brett Walton, editor of the Federal Water Tap, our weekly digest of U.S. government water news and Codi Kozacek, editor of The Stream, which is Circle of Blue’s daily digest of international water news trends, come together to discuss what they learned in 2016 and what the expect to see in 2017.
This is HotSpots Podcast Episode 06.
From Peru to Australia water stresses are rewriting the way mines are built, regulated, and operated. While the environmental risks to water from mining are well documented, new concerns arise as populations grow and water scarcity increases. Are companies pricing these new risks into their operations? Are communities around mines informed not only about environmental concerns, but also about water access challenges from new or existing projects?
Upmanu Lall, the Director of the Columbia Water Center in New York City, joins Circle of Blue’s senior editor and chief correspondent Keith Schneider to discuss how the global mining industry is changing, and what those changes mean for local communities, government regulators, and operators.
This is HotSpots Podcast Episode 05.
Donald Trump enters the White House at a time of severe ecological and political turbulence. His few campaign statements about the environment were direct and consequential: withdraw from the Paris climate change agreement, close the Environmental Protection Agency, and increase infrastructure spending. What does a Trump administration mean for water? How will he address environmental policy, given the campaign’s other promises for clear air and clean water.
Circle of Blue’s J. Carl Ganter is joined by Keith Schneider, senior editor and chief correspondent; Brett Walton, reporter and author of the Federal Water Tap, a weekly roundup of government water news; and Codi Kozacek, author of The Stream, our daily digest of international water news. Schneider, Walton, and Kozacek report on water issues domestically and internationally. This roundtable discussion is the first of a monthly series and part of Circle of Blue’s HotSpots H2O podcast series.
This is HotSpots Podcast Episode 04.
The great rivers of Southeast Asia -- the Mekong, Irrawaddy, Salween, and others -- are targets for dozens of major dams that will transform the region's politics and ecology. The contest over the Mekong River is perhaps the most well-known, but conflict in the Salween basin is no less active. Fighting between the central government and ethnic groups has displaced thousands of people in recent years as national hydropower plans overlap with long-running political disputes.
In a HotSpots H2O interview with Circle of Blue reporter Brett Walton, Dr. Carl Middleton discusses the strain that hydropower development is adding to one of the region's most politically, culturally, and biologically diverse watersheds. Dr. Middleton, director of the Center for Social Development Studies at Chulalongkorn University, in Bangkok, Thailand, also explores alternate futures for the Salween River.
This is HotSpots Podcast Episode 03.
Large-scale drought in southern Africa. Floods in North Korea and Haiti. Rumblings of water-related conflicts in Pakistan and India. In Circle of Blue’s latest HotSpots H2O podcast, Dr. David Grey, a visiting professor of Water Policy from Oxford University, argues that water security is closely linked to migration, climate change risk, and economic development. In an interview with J. Carl Ganter, Circle of Blue’s director, Dr. Grey also offers solutions to alleviating the world’s water-related risks.
Dr. Grey also is a former member of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Water Security. J. Carl Ganter reports from Washington D.C. at the International Dialogue on the Global Commons.
Produced and edited by Cody Pope. This is HotSpots Podcast Episode 02.
Tensions are heating up between India and Pakistan over key water sources in Kashmir, with India threatening to revoke the nearly 60-year-old Indus Water Treaty.
Tune into a timely HotSpots H2O podcast conversation with Michael Kugelman, India authority at the Woodrow Wilson Center, who joins Circle of Blue’s Cody Pope to discuss the Indus Water Treaty, Kashmir, and the importance of the treaty on India-Pakistan relations.
In an era when more risks are becoming profound realities, HotSpots H2O, a new series from Circle of Blue, helps make sense of a changing, often stressed global waterscape.
This is HotSpots Podcast Episode 01.