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 (X was Twitter). Please note that news will not be distributed on Holiday Mondays and will be released the following Tuesday.
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Compare and Contrast: Mussel-inspired membrane can boost sustainability and add value to industrial wastewater treatment
ScienceDaily
Engineers have developed a new kind of membrane that separates chemicals within wastewater so effectively that they can be reused, presenting a new opportunity for industries to improve sustainability, while extracting valuable by-products and chemicals from wastewater. Click here to continue reading
Compare and Contrast: Ocean surface hits highest ever recorded temperature and set to rise further
The Guardian
The surface temperature of the world’s oceans has hit its highest ever level as climate breakdown from burning fossil fuels causes the oceans to heat. Global average daily sea surface temperatures (SST) hit 20.96C this week, breaking the record of 20.95C reached in 2016, according to the Copernicus climate modelling service. Click here to continue reading
Compare and Contrast: Aftermath of Typhoon Doksuri brought Beijing floods, meteorologists explain
The Guardian
According to reports, almost a million people have been evacuated in the region. Rescue and recovery crews searched flooded streets in rubber dinghies for any trapped behind. Hundreds of flights were either delayed or cancelled at the city’s two major airports. Click here to continue reading
Clearcut logging leads to more frequent flooding, including extreme floods
Science Daily
Loss of forest cover is associated with more frequent extreme flooding, as well as more frequent floods of any size, according to new research. While it’s widely thought that loss of forest cover is strongly linked to increased flooding, most studies have suggested that the impact is limited to smaller floods. But the study, focused on two snow-dominated regions in British Columbia, the Deadman River and Joe Ross Creek watersheds, argues otherwise. Click here to continue reading
Compare and Contrast: Expert panel calls for urgent rethink on Great Barrier Reef management amid ‘unremitting’ climate crisis
The Guardian
Leading national experts on the Great Barrier Reef have called for an urgent reassessment of the way the world’s biggest reef system is managed, saying current approaches are too inflexible in the face of “unremitting global warming.” Click here to continue reading
Compare and Contrast: Chemical companies’ PFAS payouts are huge – but the problem is even bigger
The Guardian
When the chemical giant 3M agreed in early June to pay up to $12.5bn to settle a lawsuit over PFAS contamination in water systems across the nation, it was hailed by attorneys as “the largest drinking water settlement in American history”, and viewed as a significant win for the public in the battle against toxic “forever chemicals”. Click here to continue reading
More than $662,000 invested in lagoon upgrade at Saskatchewan’s Meadow Lake Provincial Park
Water Canada
The Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, and Saskatchewan’s Minister of Parks, Culture and Sport Laura Ross have announced the completion of the Lac Des Isles Sewage Lagoon Upgrade in Meadow Lake Provincial Park. The Government of Canada contributed $315,000 toward the upgrade, and the Government of Saskatchewan contributed $347,000. The project was completed in mid-May 2023. Click here to continue reading
A floating sponge could help remove harmful algal blooms
Science Daily
In the peak heat of summer, beachgoers don’t want their plans thwarted by harmful algal blooms (HABs). But current methods to remove or kill toxin-producing algae and cyanobacteria aren’t efficient or practical for direct applications in waterways. Now, researchers have coated a floating sponge in a charcoal-like powder, and when paired with an oxidizing agent, the technique destroyed over 85% of algal cells from lake and river water samples. Click here to continue reading
Alberta announces $45 million to fund hydrogen innovation
Edmonton Journal
Alberta is investing $45 million in projects by researchers, companies or industry associations that will advance the province’s hydrogen fuel technologies. The funding will be funneled through two competitions that will select a proposal in its early stages of development and another that is closer to completion. Click here to continue reading
Oldest species of swimming jellyfish discovered in 505m-year-old fossils
The Guardian
The oldest species of swimming jellyfish ever recorded has been discovered in 505m-year-old fossils, scientists have said. The fossils were found at Burgess Shale in Canada, an area known for the number of well-preserved fossils found there. Click here to continue reading