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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Alta. irrigators survived ’23 but ’24 remains dire
The Western Producer
Irrigators were able to get through the 2023 season but not without getting bounced around in what has been a year marked by drought conditions, a quick melting mountain snowpack and little precipitation. The situation facing irrigators is best summed up by the latest bulletin from the Lethbridge Northern Irrigation District. Click here to continue reading
Compare and Contrast: Severe plankton bloom off Thailand creates marine ‘dead zone’
The Guardian
An unusually dense plankton bloom off the eastern coast of Thailand is creating an aquatic “dead zone”, threatening the livelihood of local fishers who farm mussels in the waters. Click here to continue reading
Fisheries and Oceans Canada and its partners confirm the arrival of Zebra Mussels in New Brunswick
Water Canada
Since last summer’s detection of Zebra Mussels in Lake Temiscouata, Quebec, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and its provincial, municipal, non-governmental and Indigenous partners have been closely monitoring New Brunswick’s lakes and rivers for any new presence of the aquatic invasive species (AIS). Click here to continue reading
Canada and Saskatchewan invest in drinking water and wastewater infrastructure upgrades
Water Canada
The Narrow Hills Provincial Park will also benefit from upgrades to its water system. The existing systems will be consolidated into a single water treatment and distribution facility to improve efficiency. This will include the construction of a new water treatment plant, potable water treatment equipment, and a new backup well. The new system will make sure a safe and reliable drinking water supply remains available for generations to come. Click here to continue reading
Compare and Contrast: California orders bottled water firm to stop drawing from natural springs
The Guardian
California has ordered the company that owns Arrowhead bottled water to stop using some of the natural springs it has utilized for more than a century, following a years-long campaign by environmentalists to stop the operation. Click here to continue reading
Extreme weather shows need for early warning systems, says Spanish minister
The Guardian
The latest spate of natural disasters – from the floods in Libya, Greece and Spain to the wildfires in Hawaii and Canada – has further underscored the need for early warning systems to help the world cope with the realities of the climate emergency, Spain’s environment minister has said. Click here to continue reading
Laser-based ice-core sampling for studying climate change
Science Daily
Researchers have developed a new laser-based sampling system for studying the composition of ice cores taken from glaciers. The new system has a 3-mm depth-resolution and is expected to help reconstruct continuous annual temperature changes that occurred thousands to hundreds of thousands of years ago, which will help scientists understand climate change in the past and present. Click here to continue reading
Compare and Contrast: UN warns of potential ‘second devastating crisis’ from contaminated water in wake of Libya floods
CBC News
Officials warned Monday that a disease outbreak in Libya’s northeast, where floods have killed thousands, could create “a second devastating crisis” as diarrhea spread among those who drank contaminated water. In a statement, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya said it was particularly concerned about water contamination and the lack of sanitation after two dams collapsed during Mediterranean storm Daniel, sending a wall of water gushing through the eastern city of Derna on Sept. 11. Click here to continue reading
The BoM has finally declared an El Niño. What does it mean – and why did it take so long?
The Guardian
The Bureau of Meteorology has declared that Australia is now in the grip of an El Niño climate pattern. The US government’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had made its own declaration that El Niño was under way in June, followed by a similar warning from the World Meteorological Organization, the UN’s weather agency, in July. It foreshadowed a “surge in global temperatures and disruptive weather and climate patterns” around the planet. Click here to continue reading
Compare and Contrast: Property over people? New York City’s $52bn plan to save itself from the sea
The Guardian
New York’s topography, which includes lengthy river and ocean coastlines, and its dense urban development, as well as the constrained capacity of the city’s sewer system (which floods sewage into the harbour in heavy rains), are hard issues to overcome with a single solution. Click here to continue reading