Water News

Please note, the daily news can now be found at our new website, waterportal.ca . We will no longer be updating this page, as this website will be removed in the coming weeks. All of our content can be found at our new website, with a modern look and better functionality on all your devices.

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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Construction to start on major Foothills-Okotoks water project

PUBLISHED: 24 October 2024      Last Edited: 24 October 2024

CBC

The Foothills Okotoks Regional Water Project will see water pumped from the confluence of the Bow and Highwood rivers to treatment facilities in both the town and Foothills County.   Click here to read the story. Click the following link for more information on Infrastructure.

Compare and contrast: Britain launches sweeping review of scandal-ridden water utility sector

PUBLISHED: 24 October 2024      Last Edited: 24 October 2024

The Globe and Mail

Britain on Wednesday launched a major review to tackle the crisis in its water utility sector after years of underinvestment and pollution scandals affecting rivers, lakes and seas, which could result in its regulator being abolished.   Click here to read the story. Click the following link for more information on Infrastructure.

Compare and contrast: Risk of cardiovascular disease linked to long-term exposure to arsenic in community water supplies

PUBLISHED: 24 October 2024      Last Edited: 24 October 2024

Science Daily

Long-term exposure to arsenic in water may increase cardiovascular risk and especially heart disease risk even at exposure levels below the federal regulatory limit, according to new research. A study describes exposure-response relationships at concentrations below the current regulatory limit and substantiates that prolonged exposure to arsenic in water contributes to the development of ischemic heart disease.   Click here to read the story. Click the following link for more information on Infrastructure.

Compare and contrast: North Carolina farms face depleted, toxic soil after historic Helene flooding

PUBLISHED: 23 October 2024      Last Edited: 23 October 2024

The Guardian

Suddenly, there’s deep climate trauma here, in a place where we mistakenly thought hurricanes happened to Floridians and coastal communities, not us. It’s not just a question of what Helene, now the nation’s deadliest hurricane since Katrina, took. It’s also a question of what it left behind: tons of soil, sediment and toxic sludge in places where it shouldn’t be – including covering our region’s farms.   Click here to read the story. Click the following link for more information on Flood.

Compare and contrast: Combining satellite methods provides drought detection from space

PUBLISHED: 23 October 2024      Last Edited: 23 October 2024

Science Daily

Observing sites like the Amazon basin from space has underscored the capability of satellites to better detect signs of drought, according to a new study. The researchers combined Global Positioning System (GPS) and the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE methods to improve monitoring of hydrological droughts. Click here to read the story. Click the following link for more information on Drought.

Compare and contrast: ‘Environmental nonsense’: Here’s why France wants to ban bottled water

PUBLISHED: 23 October 2024      Last Edited: 23 October 2024

EuroNews Green

A French politician has called for a ban on small plastic water bottles, calling them “completely absurd” and “environmental nonsense”. In France, at least 13 billion plastic bottles are produced every year. To make it worse, a significant proportion of them are not recycled, with a large number of them ending up in the oceans, which causes vast environmental damage. Nevertheless, France does actually have extensive legislation covering single-use plastics already in place.   Click here to read the story.

Replacing Canada’s crumbling water, road infrastructure would cost more than $300B: Statistics Canada

PUBLISHED: 23 October 2024      Last Edited: 23 October 2024

CBC

The Statistics Canada survey suggests that more than a tenth of Canada’s water systems are considered to be in “poor” or “very poor” condition. It estimates that replacing those systems would cost $106.5 billion.   Click here to read the story.

‘We saw the water levels rise’: Langley-area neighbourhood hit by damaging flood

PUBLISHED: 23 October 2024      Last Edited: 23 October 2024

CTV News

“We saw the water levels rise and we were confused and concerned and after that we realized this was going to become a bigger problem.” Several neighbours told CTV News that they believe work being done nearby on Highway 1 resulted in a blockage to the draining system.   Click here to read the story. Click the following link for more information on Climate and Severe Weather.

How can B.C. protect itself from the next atmospheric river?

PUBLISHED: 23 October 2024      Last Edited: 23 October 2024

CBC

Environment Canada said daily rainfall records were set across the Lower Mainland, including in West Vancouver, which received about 190 millimetres of rain. As officials deal with the aftermath of the weekend storm, some are considering what more needs to be done to plan for heavy rainfall as severe weather events become more frequent.   Click here to read the story. Click the following link for more information on Climate and Severe Weather.

Compare and contrast: COP16: Colombia launches ‘Water Police’ to safeguard rivers and water sources

PUBLISHED: 22 October 2024      Last Edited: 22 October 2024

The City Paper Bogota

8,000 police officers will safeguard Columbia’s vital water resources, including rivers, lakes, reservoirs, high-altitude wetlands – p ramos – and endangered watersheds, the new Water Police will be equipped with specialized training and technical expertise, enabling the officers to undertake educational, operational, and proactive initiatives aimed at addressing growing environmental threats.   Click here to read the story.