Water News
Alberta Water News is a free, subscription-based service that provides the latest information on water news across Alberta and upcoming events.
The news is distributed weekly on Mondays via a collated email and Monday to Friday via WaterPortal social media (Twitter).
Subscribe here for the free service, or follow the WaterPortal on your preferred social media platform.
Lake Minnewanka: Alberta’s underwater ghost town has deep history
Global News
Lake Minnewanka, Alta., is a sacred place, visited for centuries by Indigenous communities. The glacier-fed water of the lake nestled among the Rocky Mountains was said to heal physical and mental ailments. Today, the natural wonder is a tourist hot spot with a rich history that lies beneath. In the 1890s, Minnewanka Landing was a bustling, lakeside resort town. It’s a place that can now only be visited by venturing into the frigid waters. Click here to continue reading
NSW braces for more flash flooding as wet weather lashes Australia’s east coast
The Guardian
New South Wales is bracing for more flash flooding as another week of renewed rain lashes Australia’s already saturated east coast. The Bureau of Meteorology’s Gabrielle Woodhouse said two “very significant” weather systems were moving across NSW over the coming days, with rain and thunderstorms expected over inland parts of the state from Tuesday. Click here to continue reading
Scientists find ways to restore kelp forests
Canada’s National Observer
For Liam Coleman, scuba diving in B.C. waters is like taking a weightless walk in the woods. “It’s a really beautiful, quite special experience to go diving into kelp forests …. It’s like you were walking weightless in space, but it has a forest around you,” said Coleman. After getting past the cold water, Coleman sees schools of fish swimming through the forests, golden sunlight reflecting through the water past the rows of kelp, and once in a while, a seal or sea lion comes by to surprise him. Click here to continue reading
Federal government failing to protect commercially valuable fish: report
CBC News
Fisheries and Oceans Canada is falling short when it comes to protecting endangered aquatic species, a new report tabled in the House of Commons on Tuesday said — particularly species that are commercially valuable. The 2022 Fall Reports from Environment and Sustainable Development Commissioner Jerry DeMarco found inadequate staffing, knowledge gaps and a bias against protecting species of commercial value at the department. Click here to continue reading
SDTC supports innovation from coast to coast
Water Canada
Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) has announced an investment of $18.7 million in six innovative Canadian companies working in sectors ranging from agriculture to aquaculture, to waste management and clean energy solutions. As the largest funder of sustainable small and medium-sized businesses in Canada, SDTC helps entrepreneurs attempting to do extraordinary things. To be truly transformational, these innovative ideas need to be deployed, not just once, but many times. Click here to continue reading
City reviewing the feasibility of recreational activities on storm ponds
Chestermere Anchor
City administration’s action plan includes classifying the type of pond, determining the in and out flow of the ponds, determining the frequency of testing the ice thickness, reviewing the time of year when the ponds would be considered the safest, and collecting data on the depth of the water. Click here to continue reading
Compare and Contrast: Jackson water crisis: Mississippi accused of ‘intolerable’ racial discrimination
The Guardian
The NAACP filed a federal complaint on Tuesday accusing Mississippi state officials of violating civil rights law by repeatedly diverting federal funds meant for ensuring safe drinking water away from the state’s predominantly Black capital, Jackson, to smaller, white communities. Their conduct amounted to racial discrimination and a devastating loss of access to drinking water for more than a month for residents in Jackson, where more than 80% of residents are Black and a quarter are in poverty. Click here to continue reading
Boil water advisory issued for Three Hills, Alta. due to ‘number of water main breaks’
CBC News
An Alberta Emergency Alert was issued for Three Hills, Alta. Thursday. In a critical update, the alert said the town is issuing a boil water advisory until further notice due to the number of water main breaks in the area. A notice from the town asked citizens to bring water to a rapid rolling boil for one minute prior to use and to preferably drink bottled water. Click here to continue reading
Compare and Contrast: Arctic Ocean acidifying up to four times as fast as other oceans, study finds
The Guardian
Acidification of the western Arctic Ocean is happening three to four times faster than in other ocean basins, a new study has found. The ocean, which absorbs a third of all of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, has grown more acidic because of fossil fuel use. Rapid loss of sea ice in the Arctic region over the past three decades has accelerated the rate of long-term acidification, according to the study, published in Science on Thursday. Click here to continue reading
Compare and Contrast: Extreme rainfall from Hurricane Ian worsened by climate breakdown – study
The Guardian
Human-induced climate change increased the extreme rainfall brought by Hurricane Ian, which has devastated parts of Florida, by more than 10%, according to a new preliminary analysis. Ian has caused widespread damage and at least 21 deaths since crunching into south-west Florida on Wednesday, tearing asunder cities such as Fort Myers and Cape Coral with winds that reached close to 150mph and a storm surge that in places reached 18ft. Click here to continue reading