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: Then vs. now: Did the Horn of Africa reach a drought tipping point 11,700 years ago?
Science Daily
If climate models predict that much of tropical Africa will become wetter with a warming climate, then why does it keep getting drier in the Horn of Africa? Click here to continue reading
Measuring the extent of global droughts in unprecedented detail
Science Daily
While some parts of the world suffer extreme heat and persistent drought, others are being flooded. Overall, continental water volumes vary so much over time that global sea levels fluctuate significantly too. By combining the hydrological model WaterGAP with GRACE satellite data, a team of geodesists have come up with a new set of data that shows how the total distribution of water over the Earth’s land surfaces has changed over the past 20 years more accurately than ever before. Click here to continue reading
Compare and Contrast: Heavy rains cause partial dam collapse, flooding in Norway
CBC News
Storm Hans battered Norway with heavy rains Tuesday and Wednesday. Flooding of the Braskereidfoss power dam control room prevented the hatches from opening, causing a partial collapse and flooding downriver. The heavy rains provoked mudslides and swollen rivers which swept away some structures and flooded towns, requiring the evacuation of more than 3,000 people and isolating others. Click here to continue reading
Compare and Contrast: An £800 million legal challenge against six water utilities begins
Global Water Intelligence
Professor Carolyn Roberts has instructed the law firm Leigh Day to instigate a collective legal action against six English water companies to claim compensation on behalf of customers on the basis that the companies have under-reported sewage discharges and that Ofwat should have lowered their tariffs as a consequence. Click here to continue reading
Compare and Contrast: California Waves Have Grown a Foot Taller because of Climate Change
Scientific American
A new study, published Tuesday in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, finds that average winter wave heights have grown by as much as a foot in the last 50 years. And between 1996 and 2016, the number of extreme wave events — when they are taller than 13 feet — doubled from the period between 1949 to 1969. Click here to continue reading
Compare and Contrast: 15 Million People Are at Risk from Bursting Glacial Lakes
Scientific American
At least 15 million people worldwide live in the flood paths of dangerous glacial lakes that can abruptly burst their banks and rush down mountainsides. Click here to continue reading
Help for Alberta farmers impacted by wildfire and drought
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
The AgriStability program has reopened for late participation so producers affected by wildfires and drought can consider enrolling to manage business risks. Alberta producers can sign up for AgriStability until September 29. Click here to continue reading
Compare and Contrast: China floods: at least 14 killed after torrential rain in north-east
The Guardian
At least 14 people are dead after torrential rain hit China’s north-eastern Jilin province, state media has reported, in the latest fatalities from more than a week of weather-related disasters across the country. Click here to continue reading
Compare and Contrast: Japan to start Fukushima water release within weeks – report
The Guardian
Japan plans to start releasing treated radioactive water from the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean as soon as late August, Japan’s Asahi Shimbun daily reported on Monday, citing unnamed government sources. Click here to continue reading
Current estimates of Lake Erie algae toxicity may miss the mark
ScienceDaily
A new study analyzing toxins produced by Microcystis, the main type of cyanobacteria that compose the annual harmful algal bloom (HAB) in Lake Erie, suggests that the toxicity of the bloom may be overestimated in earlier warm months and underestimated later in the summer. Click here to continue reading