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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River diversions may cause microplastics to remain longer on land and in streams before reaching oceans
Science Daily
Diverting streams and rivers to irrigate crops or provide drinking water may significantly extend the time microplastics spend in river catchments before they flow into our oceans, a new study reveals. Click here to continue reading
Canada and British Columbia invest in upgrades to wastewater treatment infrastructure in B.C. communities
Water Canada
In New Westminster, this investment will support the separation of combined sewers and related infrastructure upgrades to increase the City’s capacity to manage wastewater and treat or manage storm water. Project works will include the installation of 24 rain gardens, 8.4 kilometres of storm sewers, three permanent flow monitoring stations, as well as any necessary associated works and rehabilitation of roads impacted by the project. The combined sewer separation works will help improve the quality of storm water that enters the Fraser River. Click here to continue reading
Compare and Contrast: Bureau of Meteorology puts Australia on ‘El Niño alert’
The Guardian
The Bureau of Meteorology has placed Australia on “El Niño alert”, warning there is now a 70% chance of the climate system developing before the end of this year. El Niño tends to reduce rainfall and push up daytime temperatures in winter and spring, increasing the risk of bushfires, heatwaves and coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef. Click here to continue reading
Ukraine dam breached, unleashing floods as residents ordered to evacuate
CBC News
The fallout could have broad consequences: Flooding homes, streets and businesses downstream; depleting water levels upstream that help cool Europe’s largest nuclear power plant; and draining supplies of drinking water to the south in Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed. Click here to continue reading
Feds warn 2023 on track to be the worst fire season ever seen in Canada
CTV News
Canada’s emergency preparedness minister says images of wildfires burning across the country are some of the most severe ever witnessed in Canada and the current forecast for the next few months indicates the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity. Click here to continue reading
‘We need wetlands’: Saskatchewan environmental groups concerned over drainage plan
Sask Today
Clint Blyth continues to see his stream banks erode each year. The southeastern Saskatchewan rancher says the degradation is caused by those upstream who illegally drain water, as every year huge gushes take chunks out of the banks. This year, it has forced him to move his fence line by about one metre. Click here to continue reading
What is Ukraine’s Nova Kakhovka dam?
CBC News
A huge Soviet-era dam on the Dnipro River that separates Russian and Ukrainian forces in southern Ukraine was breached on Tuesday, unleashing floodwaters across the war zone. Ukraine said Russia had destroyed it, while Russia said Ukraine sabotaged it to cut off water supplies to Crimea and distract attention from a “faltering” counter-offensive. What is the dam, what happened — and what do we not know? Click here to continue reading
Too late now to save Arctic summer ice, climate scientists find
The Guardian
It is now too late to save summer Arctic sea ice, research has shown, and scientists say preparations need to be made for the increased extreme weather across the northern hemisphere that is likely to occur as a result. Analysis shows that even if greenhouse gas emissions are sharply reduced, the Arctic will be ice-free in September in coming decades. Click here to continue reading
Compare and Contrast: Top US chemical firms to pay $1.2bn to settle water contamination lawsuits
The Guardian
DuPont and two related companies said they would pay close to $1.2bn to settle liability claims brought by public water systems serving the vast majority of the US population on Friday, just days before the start of a bellwether trial in South Carolina over PFAS contamination. Click here to continue reading
River to safety: Evacuees forced from Fort Chipewyan, Alta., find relief in Fort McKay
CBC News
As an out-of-control wildfire inched closer to the northeastern Alberta community of Fort Chipewyan, Dennis Shott spent the night leading evacuees to safety by water. Shott led the first convoy of boats south along the Athabasca River, helping others navigate the turbulent river to the docks of Fort McKay, as smoke drifted through the dark. Click here to continue reading