Water News 2024
Compare and contrast: Global heating and urbanisation to blame for severity of UAE floods, study finds
The Guardian
Scientists from the World Weather Attribution team said downpours in El Niño years such as this one had become 10-40% heavier in the region as a result of human-cased climate disruption, while a lack of natural drainage quickly turned roads into rivers. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: California sets long-awaited drinking water limit for ‘Erin Brockovich’ contaminant
Associated Press
The rule is the first in the nation to specifically target the heavy metal, known as chromium-6, and is expected to reduce the number of cancer and kidney disease cases from long-term ingestion, state officials say. More than 200 million Americans are estimated to have the chemical compound in their drinking water, according to an analysis of federal water testing data by the Environmental Working Group. Click here to continue reading
Manitoba First Nation sues governments over chronic flooding, wants protection
CTV News
The lawsuit also alleges two nearby municipalities diverted water from their areas to improve drainage, but in a way that added to flooding on the reserve’s land. Click here to continue reading
The longer spilled oil lingers in freshwater, the more persistent compounds it produces
EurekAlert!
Oil is an important natural resource for many industries, but it can lead to serious environmental damage when accidentally spilled. While large oil spills are highly publicized, every year there are many smaller-scale spills into lakes, rivers and oceans. Approximately 600,000 gallons of oil were accidentally spilled into the environment in 2023, according to the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation, a group that monitors oil spills. This figure represents ocean spills as well as freshwater spills in rivers and lakes. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Is filtered water healthier than tap water?
BBC News
Table-top filters can remove contaminants from tap water – but are they really necessary, and could they cause unintentional harm? Proponents argue that filtering water can bring about numerous benefits, from removing toxins and pathogens to reducing hardness and improving odour and taste. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Mexican communities fighting for water
Associated Press
As a drought in Mexico drags on, angry subsistence farmers have begun taking direct action on the water-intensive avocado orchards and berry fields of commercial farms that are drying up streams in the mountains west of Mexico City. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Flint residents grapple with water crisis a decade later: ‘If we had the energy left, we’d cry’
The Guardian
Studies later showed that after officials changed Flint’s water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River, the percentage of children with elevated levels of lead levels in their blood doubled – and in some parts of the city, tripled. “Flint was a poor community and majority people of color,” Harris said. “If it had been in another community – a majority white or more affluent community – I think actions would have been taken much sooner”. Click here to continue reading
Province asks all southern Alberta municipalities to reduce water usage
Calgary Herald
The province is “strongly encouraging” southern Alberta municipalities not participating in recently signed water-sharing agreements to decrease usage and implement reduction measures.
The request comes after the Alberta government signed four voluntary deals with 38 major southern Alberta water users last week.“We’ve made it clear to everybody as we go to these water restrictions, everybody needs to abide by them,” said Snodgrass. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Water theft laws and penalties in the Murray-Darling Basin are a dog’s breakfast. Here’s how we can fix them
The Conversation – Australia
Water is one of Australia’s most valuable commodities. Rights to take water from our nation’s largest river system, the Murray-Darling Basin, are worth almost A$100 billion. These rights can be bought and sold or leased, with trade exceeding A$2 billion a year. But water is also being stolen (no-one knows how much) and the thieves usually get away with it. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Climate change makes life harder: in South Africa it’s likely to bring heatwaves, water stress and gender-based violence
The Conversation – Africa
South Africa is feeling the impacts of global warming. Heat is frequent and more intense. Human-induced climate change made the severe 2015–2017 drought three to six times more likely. But climate change also doubled the likelihood of the heavy rain that hit parts of South Africa in April 2022, which led to 400 people being killed and many thousands forced to flee their homes. Click here to continue reading
High and dry: Federal budget 2024 misses the mark on water-related investments
The Conversation – Canada
Across the country, Canadians are worried as they look ahead to summer. Forest fires in British Columbia are expected to begin earlier and last longer this year and severe multi-year droughts are forecast for the Prairies. Other Canadians are also bracing themselves for — or are already experiencing — extreme flood conditions. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Removing PFAS from public water systems will cost billions and take time – here are ways you can filter out harmful ‘forever chemicals’ at home
The Conversation – Africa
Chemists invented PFAS in the 1930s to make life easier: Nonstick pans, waterproof clothing, grease-resistant food packaging and stain-resistant carpet were all made possible by PFAS. But in recent years, the growing number of health risks found to be connected to these chemicals has become increasingly alarming. PFAS – perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances – are now either suspected or known to contribute to thyroid disease, elevated cholesterol, liver damage and cancer, among other health issues. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Workers attempt to repair a water main break in Jackson, Miss.
The Conversation
Climate change is threatening America’s water infrastructure as intensifying storms deluge communities and droughts dry up freshwater supplies in regions that aren’t prepared. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Zimbabwe: El Niño drought causes major drop in Lake Kariba levels – a disaster for people and wildlife
The Conversation – Africa
Water levels at Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe have dropped dramatically because of the latest El Niño drought. The country’s president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, has declared a national disaster. Historian and social scientist Joshua Matanzima grew up at Lake Kariba and has spent the past 10 years researching socioeconomic life there. He discusses the impact of the latest drought on the people of the area. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Angry farmers in a once-lush Mexican state target avocado orchards that suck up too much water
Toronto Star
As a drought in Mexico drags on, angry subsistence farmers have begun taking direct action on thirsty avocado orchards and berry fields of commercial farms that are drying up streams in the mountains west of Mexico City. Click here to continue reading
For First Nations in Alberta, drought only compounds existing water issues
CBC
It’s a reality faced by many First Nations in Alberta, even without the drought — limited access to safe drinking water due to a variety of factors, including lack of funding, infrastructure or source water protection, while caught in jurisdictional tension between the federal and provincial government. The situation is one of the legacies of colonialism. Click here to continue reading
Drought concern prompts water cap on Kelowna farmers
Global News
Concerns about water supply are coming to a head in Kelowna, as the city is putting a cap on water usage this summer for local farmers. As Jayden Wasney reports, some local cherry farmers fear this could decimate their already endangered crops. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: After Zerodha founder’s bold suggestion on Bengaluru water crisis, 300 phone calls in a day and a big debate
Economic Times
“I believe decentralized solutions that upgrade residential STP (sewage treatment plants) discharge could be the next frontier. It’s an opportunity to close the loop on our water cycle. The water crisis is a wake-up call to reimagine how we manage every drop. Initiatives that transform wastewater from a liability into a resource hold immense promise for sustainable urban water security.”. Click here to continue reading
Taps turned off for those who defy watering rules: Merritt mayor
CBC
The whole point is to make sure there’s water later in the season, when things could be more dire. “It’s really simple. If you don’t have water, you don’t have a town. It’s that simple. It’s over.”. Click here to continue reading
Water restrictions mean no top-ups for Calgary’s manmade lakes starting June 1
CityNews Calgary
“We are a closed system at Lake Sundance, so we are not directly connected to any of the local rivers or tributaries,” she said. “Yes, drought would affect our lake levels, because we’re just the same as the province with precipitation and not seeing the snowfall and rainfall we were hoping to.”. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: New radar analysis method can improve winter river safety
Science Daily
“Arctic warming has changed the ways rivers freeze and has impacted rural winter river travel due to later freeze-ups, mid-winter open water zones and earlier breakups,” the authors write. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Untreated sewage: Some 20m tonnes spilled every year
BBC News
“Northern Ireland is the only jurisdiction in the whole of the UK and Ireland without real-time water quality reports, so that’s something that we’re trying to get more of over here. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Scientists discover that the natural purification of groundwater is enhanced by nitrate
Phys.org
In recent years, the world has been experiencing floods and droughts as extreme rainfall events have become more frequent due to climate change. For this reason, securing stable water resources throughout the year has become a national responsibility called “water security,” and “Aquifer Storage Recovery (ASR)”, which stores water in the form of groundwater in the ground when water resources are available and withdraws it when needed, is attracting attention as an effective water resource management technique. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Montreal-area teen visits Kenya to see wells he helped build from home
CTV News
Joshua Morin-Surette learned about the importance of clean water when he was seven years old. Since then, he’s dedicated his free time to raising money to build wells in Kenya. In March, he got to see the fruits of his labour for the first time ever. Click here to continue reading
USask celebrates launch of Canada’s freshwater monitoring network
Water Canada
Led by USask in partnership with eight other Canadian universities, The Global Water Futures Observatories (GWFO) is a network of freshwater monitoring and observation stations placed strategically across Canada. GWFO consists of 64 instrumented basins, lakes, rivers and wetlands, 15 deployable measurement systems and 18 state-of-the-art water laboratories which collectively serve as a national scientific freshwater observation network for Canada’s critical freshwater systems. Click here to continue reading
Ontario Investing $289,000 in Youth Stewardship of Lake Simcoe
Water Canada
The Ontario government is investing over $289,000 in three projects that are engaging local youth and community members in environmental stewardship activities like workshops, field trips and other educational opportunities focused on restoring the Lake Simcoe watershed. Click here to continue reading
University of Windsor signs on to national water observatory network
Water Canada
Participating in a new nationwide scientific freshwater observatory will help to secure the University of Windsor as a leader in freshwater research, says Aaron Fisk. Click here to continue reading
AHS issues boil water advisory for Rocky View County
CTV News
A boil water advisory was issued Friday night for residences supplied by Salt Box Coulee Waterworks System in Rocky View County. The advisory was issued just before 11 p.m. Friday evening. The advisory is in effect until further notice. Click here to continue reading
Alberta irrigation districts to favour ‘high value’ crops
The Western Producer
Southern Alberta’s 11 irrigation districts will reallocate water towards high value, high water crops such as potatoes, sugar beets and corn in order to fulfil an agreement to do more with less water, said the chair of the Alberta Irrigation Districts Association. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Drone video shows Western Australia’s forests dying in heat and drought
The Guardian
Video shows trees and shrubs along Western Australia’s south-west coastline turning brown after Perth recorded it hottest and driest six months since records began. Click here to continue reading
‘Every drop counts’: City of Calgary encouraging residents to reduce water usage
CTV News
The City of Calgary has announced its implementation of a water reductions advisory, which will go into effect immediately as a way of encouraging Calgarians to voluntarily reduce their water usage.
“At the City of Calgary, we’ve continued to reduce our water use and look for more ways to conserve water in our day-to-day operations”. Click here to continue reading
Alberta announces what it says are the largest water-sharing agreements in its history
CBC
Alberta has concluded its negotiations with major water licence holders and is now outlining what it calls the largest water-sharing agreements in Alberta’s 118-year history.
On Friday, the province released the first details of four agreements. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Researcher studies worst western US megadrought in 1,200 years
Phys.org
Drylands in the western United States are currently in the grips of a 23-year “megadrought,” and one West Virginia University researcher is working to gain a better understanding of this extreme climate event. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: New study shows how quickly surface water moves to groundwater reservoirs across Australia
Phys.org
A new study from Charles Darwin University (CDU), Monash University and The University of Newcastle has presented almost 100,000 estimates of groundwater recharge rates across Australia, by far the largest known database of its kind. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: US lawmakers Elizabeth Warren and Ro Khanna seek to ban trade in water rights
The Guardian
Water-futures trading allows investors – including hedge funds, farmers and municipalities – to trade water and water rights as a commodity, similar to oil or gold. The practice is currently limited to California, where the world’s first water futures market was launched. So far, the market hasn’t taken off, dampened by the reality that the physical trade of water in the state has been limited. After a couple of wet years in California, the price of water futures has also plummeted. Click here to continue reading
Toxic forever chemicals in drinking water: Is Canada doing enough?
CTV News
“Definitely U.S. EPA has taken a leap forward in this direction,” she said in a video interview with CTVNews.ca, noting no international standards exist. “So I would say that if we have set up higher limits here for the Canadian citizens, definitely we are exposing them more, or making them more vulnerable to these chemicals.”. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: What are the main challenges to water quality in Asia?
Envirotech
The quality of water varies significantly across Asia, complicating efforts to analyse and address pollution. While India and China have made strides in establishing comprehensive monitoring systems, other countries lag behind due to insufficient data. This disparity hampers the ability of nations to implement effective remedial measures, especially in transboundary water bodies. Click here to continue reading
Agriculture has historically ravaged wetlands. These farmers are trying to change that
The Narwhal
“A lot of the wetlands are dried up, and we’ve got cracks in the ground,” Guilford says. “That’s never a good sign.” Despite the day’s downpour, it’s been a dry couple of years for the Guilfords. Their 1,200-acre ranch, nestled in the rolling hills and winding streams of Manitoba’s Pembina Valley, has faced an extreme drought, per the Canadian drought monitor, since March. The abnormally dry conditions, though, have been around since late 2022. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: California cracks down on water pumping: ‘The ground is collapsing’
The Guardian
California cracks down on water pumping: ‘The ground is collapsing’
Farm region near Tulare Lake has been put on ‘probation’ as overpumping of water has caused faster sinking of ground.
Even after two back-to-back wet years, California’s water wars are far from over. On Tuesday, state water officials took an unprecedented step to intervene in the destructive pumping of depleted groundwater in the state’s sprawling agricultural heartland. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Reeling under water crisis, women of village near Bisalpur dam to boycott polls
The Times of India
The Bisalpur dam on the Banas River in Tonk district, over 140km from Jaipur, serves as the lifeline for the residents of the state capital by providing drinking water. Barely 20km from the dam lies a small village named Jaikmabad, falling under the Chanbassuriya gram panchayat of Todaraisingh panchayat samiti. Despite being so close to the dam, the village is reeling under an acute water crisis. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Live eco-feedback in showers could help the tourism industry cut water use, according to study
EurekAlert!
Analysis showed that shower water runtime was 77 seconds quicker (25.79 per cent) in the group that received continuous, real-time eco-feedback than in the group that received no feedback. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Water levels in Russia’s Kurgan cross ‘dangerous’ levels
Channel News Asia
The water level in the Tobol River around the city of Kurgan in Russia’s southern Urals has exceeded the “dangerous level” mark, RIA state news agency reported on Wednesday (Apr 17), citing local authorities. The river in the city, which is the administrative centre of the broader Kurgan region straddling the Tobol River near the border with Kazakhstan, rose by 12cm in the 24 hours to Wednesday morning, reaching 865cm, RIA reported. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Sink to source: Does what we put into our plumbing end up back in the water supply?
EurekAlert!
In areas with large numbers of on-site domestic wastewater treatment systems within 200 meters of at least one direct pathway into the underlying aquifer, the team detected high concentrations of fluorescent whitening compounds and microplastics. When fluorescent whitening compounds, which definitely come from humans, and microplastics rise and fall together in water samples, that covariation indicates that microplastic contamination is probably coming from wastewater. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Apple ramps up investment in clean energy and water around the world
Apple Newsroom
As part of its broader environmental efforts, Apple also advanced progress toward another ambitious 2030 goal: to replenish 100 percent of the fresh water used in corporate operations in high-stress locations. This includes launching new partnerships to deliver nearly 7 billion gallons in water benefits — from restoring aquifers and rivers, to funding access to drinking water — over the next 20 years. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: U.A.E. hit with heaviest rain ever recorded in the country
CBC
Storm dumps 142 mm of rainfall, easily surpassing the country’s annual average of 94.7 mm. The desert nation of the United Arab Emirates attempted to dry out Wednesday from the heaviest rain ever recorded there after a deluge flooded out Dubai International Airport, disrupting flights through the world’s busiest airfield for international travel. Click here to continue reading
Kirkland Lake declares state of emergency due to flooding
Water Canada
Mayor of the Town of Kirkland Lake, declared an emergency in accordance with the Emergency Management Act 2003, s.4(1) due to the following emergency: Flooding event resulting in the Town’s sanitary system surcharging due to the overflowing of Murdoch Creek. Click here to continue reading
Frozen water and dry conditions a concern for central Alberta firefighting department
CBC
Alberta firefighters are bracing for another destructive wildfire season as still-frozen bodies of water present their own obstacle to firefighting. Regional fire chief and manager of emergency management for Lac La Biche County, said Tuesday that aircraft in the area would face difficulty sourcing water if a large fire were to erupt now. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Colombia’s capital announces new measures to cut water consumption as dry weather persists
Associated Press
In a statement aired by local media, Bogotá’s Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán said homes that use more than 22 cubic meters of water per month will have to pay additional fees. He also threatened to impose fines of up to $300 on people who wash their cars on the streets or conduct other activities that are deemed to be a waste of water. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Golden-hour water use efficiency: Pioneering crop productivity and sustainability in the face of water scarcity
EurekAlert!
A research team has shed light on the early morning ‘golden hours’ as a pivotal time for achieving optimal water use efficiency (WUE) in crops, revealing that plants can maintain lower transpiration rates and higher photosynthetic activity under favorable light conditions and minimal vapor pressure deficit (VPD). Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Switch to green wastewater infrastructure could reduce emissions and provide huge savings according to new research
Science Daily
Researchers have shown that a transition to green wastewater-treatment approaches in the U.S. that leverages the potential of carbon-financing could save a staggering $15.6 billion and just under 30 million tons of CO2-equivalent emissions over 40 years. Click here to continue reading
Drought puts Alberta farmers at risk of another scourge of grasshoppers
CBC
Dealing with drought conditions at his farm near the town of Bow Island in southern Alberta last year, he could see the insects hopping all over the fields where he grows lentils, durum wheat, canola and beans. Click here to continue reading
Drought-resistant mosquito brings earlier possibility of West Nile virus to Alberta
Global News
“We are in a drought so you would expect the mosquito population overall would be lower this year. A local expert on mosquitoes says a drought this summer may not bring the relief it used to from the hungry insects. Click here to continue reading
Pictou Country to receive wastewater upgrades
Water Canada
“Pictou is a vibrant community with tremendous opportunity for continued growth and today’s investment will ensure the residents and businesses of Salem have access to an upgraded wastewater system so they can continue to grow and thrive”. The Salem wastewater extension project includes the construction of a wastewater collection and pumping system to serve part of the community. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Record number of river barriers removed across Europe in 2023
The Guardian
Europe removed a record number of dams and other barriers from its rivers in 2023, a report has found, helping to restore its disturbed waterways to their natural states. Nearly 500 barriers were taken out of European rivers last year, according to figures compiled by Dam Removal Europe, an increase of 50% from the year before. Click here to continue reading
Higher water rates, rebates part of Lethbridge water conservation plan
CBC
With drought conditions still persistent across southern Alberta, the City of Lethbridge is putting its options on the table with a new water conservation plan. One of those options is charging some residents more for their water use. The plan aims to reduce water use by 20 per cent by 2030. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Africa’s iconic flamingos threatened by rising lake levels
Science Daily
It is one of the world’s most spectacular sights — huge flocks or ‘flamboyances’ of flamingos around East Africa’s lakes — as seen in the film Out of Africa or David Attenborough’s A Perfect Planet. But new research has revealed how the lesser flamingo is at danger of being flushed out of its historic feeding grounds, with serious consequences for the future of the species. Click here to continue reading
Community near proposed quarry wants project crushed
National Observer
A coalition of Milton residents is calling on the Ford government to stop the construction of a quarry northwest of Toronto. The group argues that the project, spearheaded by James Dick Construction Ltd. (JDCL), poses environmental risks, threatens local water sources, endangers wildlife habitats and raises serious safety and health concerns for the community. Click here to continue reading
School uncovers buried stream, transforms its schoolyard
CBC
Buried under cities across Canada, in culverts and tunnels, are networks of rivers and streams that once nourished the surrounding landscapes. Now, there are efforts to uncover or “daylight” some of them, restoring habitat for plants and animals, while helping prevent urban flooding. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: As Thailand revels in Songkran water fights, tourist hub Samui suffers through drought
The Guardian
Residents say taps can stop running for days, causing disruption to businesses and daily life. “The water hasn’t run for two and a half days now,” says Wachirawut Kulaphetkamthorn, who has been unable to use his shower. “Last year, the water came every other day, but this week, it hasn’t run for 2-3 days in a row”. Click here to continue reading
Date of fluoride reintroduction in Calgary’s water supply pushed back a second time
CBC
Calgary’s water supply will be without fluoridation for almost another year after a second delay to a construction project needed to reintroduce the mineral. Calgary began fluoridating the city’s water supply in 1991. This continued until 2011, when city council voted to discontinue the addition of fluoride. Click here to continue reading
Ingenium calls for clean water solutions with the 2024 innovation Challenge
Water Canada
Ingenium is tapping into the creativity of young Canadians to inspire solutions to mitigate the disparities many face around clean water and sanitation – in Canada, and globally. With the support of the Ingenium Foundation, the second edition of the Innovation Challenge brings together 150 young adults from across the country – in-person and online – to compete in the development of a digital prototype that raises awareness in youth aged 9-12 to better understand how their actions affect wastewater and sanitation systems. Click here to continue reading
Cranbrook implements new water usage rules in conservation effort
Water Canada
The most significant changes to outdoor water use going forward limits watering hours to a maximum of two hours between 5am and 10am OR 8pm and 11pm on your permitted watering days, during Stage 1 and Stage 2 watering restrictions. Under Stage 3 watering restrictions, you are allowed a maximum of one hour between 6am and 8am OR 8pm and 10pm. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Hawaii is ‘on the verge of catastrophe,’ locals say, as water crisis continues
CBS News
In Hawaii, one of the most important sayings is ola i ka wai, “water is life” — a phrase that not only sums up what it means to exist on an island, but what it means to live, period. But now, one of the largest of the island chain’s land masses is facing a triple threat to its sole freshwater source, and if it isn’t addressed soon, one community member says, “we’re in deep trouble”. Click here to continue reading
Calgary golf courses prepare for potential water restrictions ahead of 2024 season
CTV News
“As the water restrictions go through the different phases, we’ll start to see irrigation of rough grass come offline, then we’ll move into reducing the amount of irrigation on fairways, then to the tees,” Faber said. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: One of the world’s highest cities starts rationing water for 9 million people
CNN
“Most cities around the world depend on aquifers for their water supplies. Bogota is different in that almost all our supply comes from surface waters like reservoirs, which are more susceptible to rain patterns,” said Armando Sarmiento, an ecology professor at Bogotá’s Javeriana University. Click here to continue reading
Adaptation Roadmap for the SSRB: Assessment of Strategic Water Management Projects to Support Economic Development in the South Saskatchewan River Basin (SSROM Phase 3) Final Report
WaterSMART Solutions
The South Saskatchewan River Operational Model (SSROM), is a comprehensive daily mass balance model which enables the comparison of adaptation strategies and evaluation of impacts across the South Saskatchewan River Basin (SSRB). Click here to continue reading
Public candidates invited to serve on Great Lakes Water Quality advisory board
Water Canada
Are you an expert in water quality science and research, policy and governance, or environmental health? Do you want to help guide the future of Canada-United States cooperation on protecting and restoring the Great Lakes basin and transboundary ecosystems?. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Scientist helps link climate change to Madagascar’s megadrought
Science Daily
A University of California, Irvine-led team reveals a clear link between human-driven climate change and the years-long drought currently gripping southern Madagascar. Their study appears in the Nature journal Climate and Atmospheric Science. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: A smarter city skyline for flood safety
Science Daily
With climate change and rising urbanization, the likelihood and severity of urban flooding are increasing. But not all city blocks are created equal. Researchers investigated how urban layout and building structures contribute to pedestrian safety during flooding. Based on their simulated results, the team recommends modifying building corners and protective block layouts to reduce pedestrian risk. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Russia and Kazakhstan evacuate tens of thousands amid worst floods in decades
The Guardian
Russia and Kazakhstan have ordered more than 100,000 people to evacuate after swiftly melting snow swelled rivers beyond bursting point in the worst flooding in the area for at least 70 years. The Ural, Europe’s third-largest river, which flows through Russia and Kazakhstan into the Caspian, burst through an embankment dam on Friday, flooding the city of Orsk, south of the Ural mountains. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Morocco drought: Satellite images show vital Al Massira reservoir is shrinking
BBC News
Morocco’s second-largest reservoir that serves some of its major cities and has been central to farm irrigation is drying up, according to satellite images analysed by the BBC. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Common loons threatened by declining water clarity
EurekAlert!
The paper is the first clear evidence demonstrating an effect of climate change on this charismatic species. Specifically, the paper shows that July rainfall results in reduced July water clarity in loon territories. Reduced water clarity, in turn, makes it difficult for adult loons to find and capture their prey (mainly small fishes) under water, so they are not able to meet their chicks’ metabolic needs. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: How Kids In 40 Schools Saved 9 Million Gallons of Water During India’s Water Crisis
Good News Network
Environmentalist Dr. Hariharan Chandrashekhar began the Rain Reach program in Bengaluru schools after a spate of mass well digging rapidly depleted the water supplies to 8.5 million inhabitants, and around 40 schools inside the city. The program is introduced to kids aged 9 to 15 to ensure that they understand how to avoid wasting water from an early age and go on to build up a life-long habit. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Massive 6-month shutdown of critical water supply for South Africa – what you need to know
BusinessTech
The main water supply to South Africa’s economic hub, greater Johannesburg in the Gauteng province, and to the country’s breadbasket in the Free State, is scheduled to be cut off for six months. Maintenance work on the 37 kilometre Lesotho Highlands Water Project tunnel is due to begin in October 2024. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: To generate clean energy from evaporating water, researchers played with a classic toy
Anthropocene Magazine
Their device produces enough electricity to power small electronics and can operate for several days using only 100 milliliters of water as fuel. Click here to continue reading
Gull Lake water levels continue to concern advocacy group
CBC
Facing the lowest water levels in decades and an impending drought season that threatens water supply across the province, a volunteer advocacy group fears for the worst for the future of one central Alberta lake. Click here to continue reading
Kelowna to employ new technology to repair sanitary sewer
Water Canada
This week, the City of Kelowna will begin a $7-million project to repair 2.7 km of sanitary sewer pipe using an innovative “trenchless” repair technology called Cured in Place Pipe (CIPP). The process will involve inserting a resin-soaked liner into a pipe and then exposing it to steam, which hardens the liner allowing it to become the new internal pipe. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Nearly half of US prisons draw water likely contaminated with toxic PFAS – report
The Guardian
Around 1m people, including 13,000 youths, especially vulnerable because they can do little to protect themselves, co-author says.Nearly half of US prisons draw water from sources likely contaminated with toxic PFAS “forever chemicals”, new research finds. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Flood risk in Lower Mainland will intensify by 2100: report
CBC
U.S. organization’s data predicts at least 325,000 Canadians will be at risk of annual flooding by 2100. A new sea level data map shows flood risk zones will extend higher and further inland on Canada’s coast, particularly impacting populated areas in parts of Metro Vancouver south of the Fraser River. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Researchers envision sci-fi worlds involving changes to atmospheric water cycle
Science Daily
Human activity is changing the way water flows between the Earth and atmosphere in complex ways and with likely long-lasting consequences that are hard to picture. Researchers enlisted water scientists from around the globe to write story-based scenarios about the possible futures humanity is facing but perhaps can’t quite comprehend yet. Click here to continue reading
2024 Water Allocation
St. Mary River Irrigation District
At the April 3, 2024 Annual General Meeting, the St. Mary River Irrigation District Board of Directors has set the water allocation for the 2024 year at 8 inches of water per acre at the farm gate. We will continue to review the Irrigation Water Supply Forecast supplied by Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation and provide updates throughout the irrigation season. Click here to continue reading
Southern Alberta farmers allocated 50% less water than normal for 2024: SMRID
CTV News
hile farmers in southern Alberta will soon be gearing up to plant this year’s crops, those in the St. Mary’s River Irrigation District (SMRID) now know how much water they’ll be receiving.
On Wednesday, the SMRID revealed eight inches of water per acre will be allocated this summer – a drop of about 50 per cent compared to normal. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: For mining in arid regions to be responsible, we must change how we think about water
Science Daily
In an unprecedented study of the South American ‘Lithium Triangle,’ hydrologists discover that not all water responds the same way to environmental change and human use. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: These Entrancing Maps Capture Where the World’s Rivers Go
Smithsonian Magazine
Cartographer Robert Szucs uses satellite data to make art showing which oceans waterways empty into or stall on land and never make it to sea. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Las Vegas Is Going All In on Its Water Conservation Plan
Smithsonian Magazine
As the Southwest dries, can a city notorious for excess find a way to survive with less? Anything goes in Las Vegas, except excessive water use. Two decades ago, the city began to grapple with a reality that many other cities in the Southwest were trying to put off: Eventually, it could run out of water. Click here to continue reading
How can Canada deliver safe drinking water to First Nation communities? A Q&A with Wilfrid Laurier’s Sheri Longboat
Water Canada
“As a Haudenosaunee, Six Nations woman, I feel that I have a responsibility, now that I’m in the academy, to make place and space for others and dedicate my time to elevating Indigenous voices and supporting communities.There should be no reason to not have safe drinking water in every First Nation community”. Click here to continue reading
Wild fish spring to life in Lake Ontario, despite dams, pollution and hatchery competitors
The Narwhal
It’s springtime, which means migration and spawning for many Lake Ontario fish — and a good time to share the fascinating story of how many salmon and trout came to live in this Great Lake in the first place. Dams impeded spawning migrations, pollution from lumber mills and tanneries degraded water quality and clearing forests for urbanization and agriculture warmed waters. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: SUNY ESF leads groundbreaking research in groundwater’s role in ecosystem sustainability
EurekAlert!
Until now, groundwater – a critical water resource around the globe, especially in dry regions – has been largely unstudied in its importance and role in sustaining ecosystems. A new groundbreaking research effort led by the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) in partnership with University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB), Cardiff University, and Desert Research Institute (DRI) examines the relationship between groundwater and ecosystems across California. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: A River in Flux
Inside Climate News
Extreme flooding and droughts may be the new norm for the Amazon, challenging its people and ecosystems. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Microplastics in Nigeria’s Osun River: new study flags alarmingly high levels
The Conversation – Africa
Our study found as many as 22,079 pieces of microplastic in just one litre of water from Nigeria’s Osun River. We compared this data with 267 global studies on microplastics in river water conducted since 1994 and discovered that the levels of microplastics in the Osun river exceeded those reported in any of those studies. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Spain on track for hottest first quarter on record: Have heavy rains helped with severe drought?
EuroNews Green
Despite recent rains topping up reservoirs, an unusually warm winter has made water shortages worse and drought is a consequence of a bigger problem. Click here to continue reading
Discover where ancient rivers flow under Canadian cities
CBC
Ancient rivers once nourished and protected the lands where we built our biggest cities. Now, they’re buried underground. Is it finally time to let them see daylight again?. Click here to continue reading
No water, no oil: How the parched western provinces could hamper the oilpatch
CBC
Persistent and severe drought conditions across Western Canada could have a devastating effect on the oil and natural gas sector, which has drilling operations in some of the driest areas, according to a new report by Deloitte. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Zimbabwe declares drought disaster, the latest in a region where El Nino has left millions hungry
The Canadian Press
imbabwe declared a state of disaster Wednesday over a devastating drought that’s sweeping across much of southern Africa, with the country’s president saying it needs $2 billion for humanitarian assistance. The declaration was widely expected following similar actions by neighboring Zambia and Malawi. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Wetlands are superheroes: expert sets out how they protect people and places
The Conversation – Africa
The view on wetlands has shifted as we have learnt how important these ecosystems are for essential “services”. They purify water, provide habitats for plants and animals, and are also critical for supporting some people’s livelihoods. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Are wetlands our secret weapon for fighting climate change?
BBC News
Podcast: The world’s wetlands store carbon and can help us tackle some of the impacts of climate change. Are we overlooking their importance? And what can we do to protect them more? An episode of BBC’s The Climate Question. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: The connection between water, data and peace
Food and Agriculture Organization
Water access can be affected by conflict but can also cause it. With increasing water scarcity and the impacts of climate change, the risk of conflict is exacerbated. Managing water resources effectively and sustainably is paramount to decreasing competition and contributing to local peace. Click here to continue reading
Water levels starting to fall after weekend flooding in St. George, N.B.
CTV News
Areas in and around Saint George, N.B., are starting to see the water regress after residents woke up Easter morning to massive flooding. There are still some houses surrounded by water. A special weather statement is in effect for much of New Brunswick (including St. George) with a storm that could bring upwards of 20 centimetres of heavy wet snow. Click here to continue reading
Sask. First Nation says it won’t lift long-term boil water advisory until every house has direct water line
CBC
Leaders on a Saskatchewan First Nation say they won’t lift a decade-old boil water advisory until every home in the community has direct access to clean water from the local treatment plant. Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) can recommend that a boil water advisory be lifted, but it is ultimately up to the local chief and council. Click here to continue reading
What can the Dirty ‘30s teach us about drought management today?
CBC
Shannon Stunden Bower, an environmental historian at the University of Alberta, talks with Nancy Carlson about what has happened in the last 100 years that could help people on the Canadian Prairies better mitigate drought. Click here to continue reading
The world’s largest deep lake water cooling project just got bigger
The Globe and Mail
Toronto is digging deep to expand what experts already consider to be one of the coolest and most environmentally friendly energy projects on Earth – the city’s deep lake water cooling system. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Land under water – what causes extreme flooding
EurekAlert!
There are several factors that play an important role in the development of floods: air temperature, soil moisture, snow depth, and the daily precipitation in the days before a flood. In order to better understand how individual factors contribute to flooding, UFZ researchers examined more than 3,500 river basins worldwide and analysed flood events between 1981 and 2020 for each of them. The result: precipitation was the sole determining factor in only around 25% of the almost 125,000 flood events. Soil moisture was the decisive factor in just over 10% of cases, and snow melt and air temperature were the sole factors in only around 3% of cases. In contrast, 51.6% of cases were caused by at least two factors. At around 23%, the combination of precipitation and soil moisture occurs most frequently. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: UK’s summer 2022 drought provides warning for future years
EurekAlert!
The UK will be increasingly tested by more droughts like 2022, emphasising the importance of being prepared for similar extreme weather in future, say scientists who have analysed that summer’s events. The newly published study by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) outlines how the drought evolved and its impacts on water resources, wildlife and people, comparing the situation with previous droughts and looks at whether it is an indication of future events. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Environment: More than half of Colorado River’s water used to irrigate crops
EurekAlert!
Irrigation for agriculture uses more than half of the Colorado River’s total annual water flow, reports a paper published in Communications Earth & Environment. This finding is part of a new comprehensive assessment of how the Colorado River’s water is consumed — including both human usage and natural losses — and provides a more complete understanding of how the river’s water is used along its over 2,300 km (almost 1,500-mile) length. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: New approach to monitoring freshwater quality can identify sources of pollution, and predict their effects
EurekAlert!
The source of pollutants in rivers and freshwater lakes can now be identified using a comprehensive new water quality analysis, according to scientists at the University of Cambridge and Trent University, Canada. Microparticles from car tyres, pesticides from farmers’ fields, and toxins from harmful algal blooms are just some of the organic chemicals that can be detected using the new approach, which also indicates the impact these chemicals are likely to have in a particular river or lake. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Extreme Rainfall Set To Break Los Angeles Record
Newsweek
As of Monday, the National Weather Service (NWS) station in the Californian city said that since October 2022, downtown Los Angeles had received a total 52.46 inches of rainfall, making it the second wettest two-year period on record. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: A Moroccan town protests water management plans
Associated Press
Regional and local leaders in eastern Morocco met this week with residents and civil society groups after months of protests over a water management plan set to take effect later this year. Thousands in the town of Figuig stopped paying water bills and have taken to the streets since November to protest a municipal decision transitioning drinking water management from the town to a regional multi-service agency. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Japan confirms experts met in China to ease concerns over discharge of treated radioactive water
Associated Press
Japan said Sunday its experts have held talks with their Chinese counterparts to try to assuage Beijing’s concerns over the discharge of treated radioactive wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Why the ‘wettest place on Earth’ is facing a water crisis
BBC News
The Northeast Indian town of Sohra regularly receives a downpour of continuous rainfall, sometimes for eight days at a stretch. But today, locals in the area are facing a severe water shortage. They now walk long distances daily and resort to unconventional methods to fetch water for basic, everyday use. What’s behind the water crisis in the ‘wettest place on Earth’?. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Global water crisis fuelling more conflicts, UN report warns
Al Jazeera
Water resources under stress as economies and populations grow with 2.2 billion people lacking clean drinking water. Increasing global water scarcity is fueling more conflicts and contributing to instability, the United Nations warns in a new report, which says access to clean water is critical to promoting peace. Click here to continue reading
PSA: The City encourages residents to be water-wise and use a rain barrel this spring
City of Calgary
Calgary is currently experiencing drought conditions. Together we can make every drop count in our yards by using water wisely. Harnessing rainwater for watering your yard and garden is a simple, yet effective way to reduce your water use by acting as a backup source of water during this drought. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Regulators urged to act over water companies’ record sewage discharge
The Guardian
Government asked to put ‘people and planet before profits’ as analysis shows potential illegal discharging of raw sewage. Analysis of the latest data shows that more than 2,000 overflows owned by a number of companies are discharging raw sewage into rivers and seas at a scale that should spark an immediate investigation into illegal breaches of permit conditions. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Land under water: What causes extreme flooding?
Science Daily
If rivers overflow their banks, the consequences can be devastating — just like the catastrophic floods in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate of 2021 showed. In order to limit flood damage and optimize flood risk assessment, we need to better understand what factors can lead to extreme forms of flooding and to what extent. Using methods of explainable machine learning, researchers have shown that floods are more extreme when several factors are involved in their development. Click here to continue reading
High and dry: The rising tide of flood risks and the insurance dilemma
Canadian Climate Institute
A national low-cost insurance program tied to a broader strategy could help long-term flood resilience in many communities across Canada. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: India’s Bengaluru fast running out of water – and it’s not summer yet
Al Jazeera
Bengaluru, the city of lavish headquarters of multiple global software companies in southern India, is drying up. Residents say they are facing the worst water crisis in decades as they witness an unusually hot February and March. Water experts fear the worst is still to come in April and May. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Where Water Stress Will Be Highest by 2050
Statista
As this infographic based on projections by the World Resources Institute (WRI) shows, 51 of the 164 countries and territories analyzed are expected to suffer from high to extremely high water stress by 2050, which corresponds to 31 percent of the population. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Climate change puts global semiconductor manufacturing at risk. Can the industry cope?
The Conversation – Canada
Despite the industry’s dependence on water, little attention has been paid to how changing environmental conditions may impact it. Globally and regionally there are signs of trouble. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: South Texas lawmaker asks governor declare emergency due to ‘water crisis’
CW39
A South Texas lawmaker is asking for additional state assistance to save agriculture in the region, which is suffering due to a lack of water to grow crops. He also asked for greater pressure on Mexico to comply with the boundary waters treaty. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: How Dire Is the Water Shortage in Mexico City?
The Inter-American Dialogue
Mexico City could run out of water by late June, an official from the national water commission, Conagua, said last month. The Cutzamala System—which is responsible for providing the capital with nearly a quarter of its water supply—is at 40 percent capacity, a historic low. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Taps have run dry across South Africa’s largest city in an unprecedented water crisis
Associated Press
Water management authorities with Gauteng province, which includes Johannesburg and the capital, Pretoria, told officials from both cities that the failure to reduce water consumption could result in a total collapse of the water system. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Twist of groundwater contaminants
EurekAlert!
In recent years, the world has been experiencing floods and droughts as extreme rainfall events have become more frequent due to climate change. For this reason, securing stable water resources throughout the year has become a national responsibility called ‘water security’, and ‘Aquifer Storage Recovery (ASR)’, which stores water in the form of groundwater in the ground when water resources are available and withdraws it when needed, is attracting attention as an effective water resource management technique. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Decline in the stability of water yield in the watersheds
EurekAlert!
treme climatic events such as droughts, heatwaves, and cold spells not only modify hydro-meteorological conditions but also alter the underlying characteristics (e.g., wildfires due to droughts changing the vegetation cover). Intense human activities, such as river channel modifications, afforestation, deforestation, industrialization, and urbanization, further amplify the variability of watershed system components. These changes directly or indirectly impact the hydrological processes of the watershed system. Eur. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: What if the heavy rain would have fallen 50 kilometers away?
EurekAlert!
Floods affect more people worldwide than any other natural hazard, causing enormous damage that is expected to increase in a warming world. However, people and decision-makers in vulnerable regions are often unwilling to prepare for exceptionally severe events because they are difficult to imagine and beyond their experience. Click here to continue reading
Costs to clean up Teck’s B.C. coal mines are billions higher than previously thought: report
The Narwhal
The cost to clean up British Columbia’s largest mining complex is billions of dollars higher than government and industry estimates, according to a new report. It estimates it will cost $6.4 billion to remove just selenium from water affected by Teck’s Elk Valley coal mines. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Euroviews. Are water cycles the missing piece of the climate crisis puzzle?
EuroNews Green
Climate models are based largely on extrapolating fossil fuel emissions. But is a missing critical factor linked to plants and water making things worse? Eurof Uppington opinion piece. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Coffee grounds might be the answer to agricultural contamination: Here’s how
EuroNews Green
Scientists from Brazil’s Federal Technological University of Paraná found that leftover coffee can absorb bentazone, a herbicide frequently used in agriculture. The European Environment Agency has highlighted dangerous levels of bentazone in surface water, exceeding levels set in the Water Framework Directive and putting European Green Deal targets for pesticide use in jeopardy. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Bengaluru: Water crisis shakes India’s Silicon Valley
BBC News
In India’s Bengaluru city (formerly Bangalore), thousands of people have been chasing tankers, taking fewer showers and sometimes missing work to store enough water to get through the day. “It is often said that traffic is the biggest problem in Bengaluru but actually water is the larger issue,” says civic activist Srinivas Alavilli. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: California zombie lake turned farmland to water. A year later, is it gone for good?
The Guardian
For a time last year, it was difficult to drive through a large swath of central California without running into the new shoreline of a long dormant lake. The scene was astounding. Tulare Lake was once the largest freshwater body west of the Mississippi before it was drained for agriculture in the 19th century. While it has re-emerged during other periods of wet weather, the lake hadn’t been seen anywhere near this scale in 40 years. Click here to continue reading
Halifax senior stuck with $45K bill for new sewer, water lines before she can sell her duplex
CBC
She said she planned to rely on money from the sale to pay her rent and bills, but Halifax Water requires new sewer and water lines to be installed before the duplex can be subdivided. Click here to continue reading
Alberta’s North Saskatchewan earns heritage river status
CBC
The governments of Canada and Alberta have declared that the entire portion of the North Saskatchewan River flowing through Alberta is now recognized as a Canadian Heritage River. A 49-kilometre stretch of the river, coursing through Banff National Park, already holds designation under the Canadian Heritage Rivers system. Click here to continue reading
Reuse of the deuce: Calgary company recycling clean water from cattle, hog manure
CBC
A Calgary company is helping farmers recycle livestock manure into clean water that can be used to irrigate crops. Livestock Water Recycling says its technology separates cattle and hog manure into liquids and solids — so farmers can do their duty with their animals’ doody. Click here to continue reading
Students launch Shoal Lake 40 First Nation merch line on World Water Day
Global News
Where does your water come from? For Winnipeggers, the answer is Shoal Lake 40 First Nation, a community that long struggled for their right to clean water.Andrea Redsky, a teacher at Harvey Redsky Memorial School, said not all of her students will remember first-hand the decades-long boil water advisory in the community. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: World Water Day 2024: bridging divides through water cooperation
World Health Organization
Access to drinking-water is a human right, but when water is scarce or polluted, or when people have unequal or no access, tensions can rise (1). This underscores the need to harness the cooperative power of water. Successful examples of water cooperation highlight its value in conflict resolution and community improvement. Click here to continue reading
Calgary-based organization works to improve access to clean drinking water
CTV News
The theme for the 2024 World Water Day is “Water for Peace,” something that staff at the Calgary-based Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology (CAWST) take to heart. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: World Water Day: Considering barriers to clean, safe water
Water Canada
For the Creemore, Ontario-based nonprofit, safe water means continuing to collaborate with Indigenous communities that have identified education and training as critical solutions to many water challenges. It means removing barriers to opportunities that may exist in other classroom models. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Isn’t every day World Water Day?
Water Canada
Having a World Water Day on March 22nd each year is an interesting paradox as there is no day within the calendar that is not influenced by water. Seventy-one percent of the planet’s surface is covered in water, with 2.5% of that being freshwater. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: World Water Day: Mitigating Canada’s Water Scarcity
Water Canada
The effects of climate change are making a water scarcity an issue in jurisdictions we never thought possible, including municipalities and regions in Canada once thought to be home to plentiful resources. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: World Water Day: One Drop survey reveals Canadians’ thoughts on access to safe water
Water Canada
Just in time for World Water Day, the One Drop Foundation is releasing the results of a new public opinion poll and reaffirming its unwavering commitment to safe water access for all. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: World Water Day: Using data-driven transparency as a tool for building consensus on water
Water Canada
The 2024 theme for World Water Day ‘Water for Peace’ couldn’t be more relevant. Peace is not a theme limited to sovereign states. Around the world, there is tension and competition for water, both within and between countries and even among “friends” such as in the EU. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Global water shortages are looming. Here is what can be done about them.
UN Environment Programme
World Water Day, shines a spotlight on the global water crisis, which is being driven by a combination of factors, from climate change to leaky pipes. Here is a look at seven things countries and individuals can do to stem water shortfalls. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Learn about freshwater on World Water Day
Google Blog
To celebrate World Water Day, we’re launching a new “Freshwater” hub to explore some of the ways we can take action to preserve the most important resource for life on our blue planet. The new hub aims to help people learn more about freshwater ecosystems and how this precious resource is linked to climate change, while also discovering solutions to preserve it. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: World Water Day 2024
Stockholm Environment Institute
A collection of articles focused on water projects around the world. Click here to continue reading
Guelph advocacy group calls on province to curb road salt pollution for World Water Day
CBC
Ontario Salt Pollution Coalition is sounding the alarm on the damage done by road salt for World Water Day, and is calling on the province to do more to mitigate the risk of contamination to groundwater, rivers and lakes, as well as to drinking water. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: UN World Water Development Report 2024
UN Water
“Water for prosperity and peace”, UN Water’s annual Water Day publication has been released. The report highlights the wider significance of water for our lives and livelihoods. It explores water’s capacity to unite people and serve as a tool for peace, sustainable development, climate action and regional integration. Click here to continue reading
Statement by the Prime Minister on World Water Day
Prime Minister of Canada
A brief statement by Prime Minister Trudeau on World Water Day. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: AI’s excessive water consumption threatens to drown out its environmental contributions
Compare and contrast: World Water Day: Shocking stories from the frontlines of the worldwide water crisis
EuroNews Green
From dried-up rivers to poisoned water, people around the world are struggling to meet a basic need. This World Water Day, journalists from around the world interviewed some of the people struggling to get fresh water. Click here to continue reading
Water woes in southern Alberta could spell disaster for aquatic ecosystems, and the people who rely on them
The Conversation – Canada
Freshwater will be an increasingly scarce resource as we head into spring and summer in Western Canada with implications for the livelihoods and economic prosperity of humans, and non-humans alike, in southern Alberta and the downstream Prairie provinces. Click here to continue reading
‘Growing concern’: Alarm sounded over water situation
Lethbridge Herald
A director with the Livingstone Landowners Group is sounding the alarm on how dire the situation is in his community with water restrictions in hopes people across southern Alberta will take steps to conserve water. Click here to continue reading
All water bodies closed in 2 B.C. national parks due to parasite
CBC
Parks Canada is closing all bodies of water in British Columbia’s Kootenay and Yoho national parks, and restricting watercraft in Alberta’s Waterton Lakes National Park, in an effort to slow the spread of invasive species. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Fairy circles: Plant water stress causes Namibia’s gaps in grass
Science Daily
Namibia’s legendary fairy circles are mysterious, circular, bald patches in the dry grasslands on the edge of the Namib Desert.Their results show that the grass withers due to a lack of water inside the fairy circle. The topsoil, comprised of the top 10 to 12 centimeters of the soil, acts as a kind of ‘death zone’ in which fresh grass cannot survive for long. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: There are large accumulations of plastics in the ocean, even outside so-called garbage patch
Science Daily
When plastic ends up in the ocean, it gradually weathers and disintegrates into small particles. If marine animals ingest these particles, their health can be severely affected. Large accumulations of plastic can therefore disrupt the biological balance of marine ecosystems. But which areas are particularly affected?. Click here to continue reading
CLIMATE CHALLENGES: DROUGHTS, FLOODS, AND WATER MANAGEMENT IN FOCUS
Chestermere Anchor
With Alberta facing a significant risk of drought due to low river flows, diminishing snowpacks, and insufficient reservoir capacities, the urgency for comprehensive water management and conservation strategies has never been more acute. Click here to continue reading
Fraser River communities receive $10M for flood mitigation projects
Water Canada
The aftermath of the 2021 events exposed vulnerabilities to extreme weather events, annual freshets, and climate change, endangering agricultural assets along the Fraser River. Click here to continue reading
SMRID Notice of Annual General Meeting
St. Mary River Irrigation District
Notice of Annual General Meeting:
SMRID would like to announce Notice of their Annual General Meeting (AGM) being held on Wednesday, April 3rd, 2024 at 1:30pm at the AGRI-FOOD Hub in Lethbridge, AB. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Corn Cobs vs. Woodchips: A Surprising Showdown to Transform Water Quality
Seed World
Corn cobs might outperform woodchips in reducing nitrates in water-quality bioreactors, offering a more cost-effective solution, according to researchers at Iowa State University. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: ‘Water is worth more than gold’: eco-activist Esteban Polanco on why violence won’t stop him
The Guardian
“We cannot allow any vulnerable mountain in this country that produces water to be exploited for mining because, for us, a drop of water is worth more than an ounce of gold.”. Click here to continue reading
Drought concerns in southern Alberta the focus of a new documentary
Global News
A new documentary is bringing awareness to the water crisis in the Oldman River watershed, starting with its title: Dried Up, What Now? The documentary will be shown publicly for the first time on March 23rd at 11 a.m. at Old Man River Brewing in Lundbreck. Click here to continue reading
Calgary water restrictions could start in May as drought looms
CTV News
Amid growing drought concerns, the City of Calgary is telling residents to prepare for possible water restrictions as early as May. In an update on the city’s drought preparedness plan Tuesday morning, Mayor Jyoti Gondek said every Calgarian needs to conserve water. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Rat fur, arsenic and copper: the dangerous ingredients lacing US prison water
The Guardian
Incarcerated people often must drink unhealthy water, a particularly cruel – but not unusual – form of punishment. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Nearly 130,000 children exposed to lead-tainted drinking water in Chicago
The Guardian
About 129,000 Chicago children under the age of six are exposed to poisonous lead in their household drinking water because of lead pipes, according to a study published on Monday. Click here to continue reading
‘Heavy snow on the way’ for Alberta to start spring
Global News
After a week of spring-like temperatures, the southern half of Alberta is expected to be hit with 15 to 25 cm of snow. Click here to continue reading
North Bay, Ont., and DND move to remediate ‘forever chemicals’ site that contaminated drinking water
CBC
PFAS are a family of some 14,000 different substances that are characterized by a stable carbon-fluorine bond. That strong bond means it takes a long time for them to break down in the environment. Click here to continue reading
New platform brings together water data from across BC and the Yukon
Water Canada
The launch of Pacific DataStream means water monitoring groups across British Columbia and the Yukon can grow the audience for their data – and there’s free help to get it online. Pacific DataStream is a free, open access platform for sharing water data and it officially launched March 13 at the Okanagan Basin Water Board-Canadian Water Resources Association, B.C. Branch’s Environmental Flows conference at the Coast Capri Hotel in Kelowna. Click here to continue reading
Waterloo scientists discover method to remove 94 percent of microplastics from our water
Water Canada
University of Waterloo researchers have created a new technology that can remove harmful microplastics from contaminated water with 94 per cent efficiency. Click here to continue reading
As severe Alberta drought looms, fracking consumes huge volumes of water — forever
The Narwhal
As Alberta faces the prospect of a severe drought this summer, the oil and gas sector has already been warned it could be forced to curtail water use. Billions of litres of water used by the industry are permanently removed from the water cycle. Click here to continue reading
Important Notice: 2024 Irrigation Season Water Supply Update March 2024
St. Mary River Irrigation District
Our latest water supply update, as of March 11, 2024, sourced from Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation indicates that we are on course for a below average water allocation for the 2024 Irrigation Season. The Headworks reservoirs comprised of the Waterton, St. Mary and Milk River Ridge reservoirs, has increased slightly since our last update, and now contains a storage level of 147,000 acre-feet. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Aboriginal People Are Locked Out of Australia’s Water Market
BNN Bloomberg
One of the driest places in the world also has one of the most sophisticated water-trading markets. Australia manages to combine extreme water scarcity with billions of dollars in trading turnover. Click here to continue reading
‘Water allocation and priority’: Worst drought in years could lead to Alberta state of emergency
Edmonton Journal
“There will be policy or regulatory changes that we can make sooner rather than later just to help give us the flexibility we need to manage the drought that we are anticipating this year”. Click here to continue reading
Lake Diefenbaker water levels up to begin spring
Swift Current
Lake Diefenbaker users will be treated to higher water levels this spring as the Water Security Agency charted a different path over the winter months. The Crown corporation elected to cut back its release from southwest Sask.’s largest body of water knowing there might be less water replenishing it than in normal years. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Many Bengaluru residents consider leaving city as water crisis hits daily life
Economic Times
Bhavani Mani Muthuvel and her family of nine have around five 20-liter (5-gallon) buckets worth of water for the week for cooking, cleaning and household chores. “From taking showers to using toilets and washing clothes, we are taking turns to do everything,” she said. It’s the only water they can afford. Click here to continue reading
In B.C.’s forests, a debate over watershed science with lives and billions at stake
CBC
Sunshine Coast logging plan highlights divide over best way to assess flooding risk. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Oregon State researchers take deep dive into how much water is stored in snow
Science Daily
There’s a new metric that provides a more holistic look at how much water is stored in snowpack, and for how long. Click here to continue reading
Ontario weakens watershed protections (again) as natural resources minister gets new powers
The Narwhal
New rules for conservation authorities reduce buffer zones between development and wetlands and empower Doug Ford’s cabinet to issue permits without their say. Click here to continue reading
Canada, U.S. launch international inquiry into southeast B.C. mine pollution
The Narwhal
Nearly 12 years after Ktunaxa Nation first urged the Canadian and U.S. governments to task an international body with investigating the mine pollution coursing through its territory, the two countries have agreed to a step the nation says is key to addressing contamination from B.C.’s Elk Valley coal mines. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Mapping water wonders: a groundbreaking leap in hydrology with NDWFI
EurekAlert!
In a significant advancement for hydrological monitoring and water resource management, researchers have developed the Normalized Difference Water Fraction Index (NDWFI), leveraging Landsat imagery and Spectral Mixture Analysis (SMA) within the Google Earth Engine platform. This innovation is pivotal for accurately tracking dynamic and subtle water bodies, crucial for enhancing water security and resilience against extreme hydrological events. Click here to continue reading
Potential drought could affect Albertans at the grocery store
Global News
With the high likelihood of Alberta drought on the horizon, its impacts will be felt by Albertans in many ways. One of those ways is what we choose to buy at the grocery store and what will be available to us. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: A Future of Arctic Rain
The Tyee
In August 2021, rain fell atop the 10,551-foot summit of the Greenland ice cap, triggering an epic meltdown and a more-than-2,000-foot retreat of the snow line. The unprecedented event reminded Joel Harper, a University of Montana glaciologist who works on the Greenland ice sheet, of a strange anomaly in his data, one that suggested that in 2008 it might have rained much later in the season — in the fall, when the region is typically in deep freeze and dark for almost 24 hours a day. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Artificial intelligence helps reduce water leaks
BBC News
Sutton and East Surrey (SES) Water has installed 1000 sensors underground that monitor flow and pressure, then send data back to base. The technology also provides a prediction of what levels should be, so if a leak happens, an alarm is raised within minutes and engineers are deployed. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Study Pinpoints Links Between Melting Arctic Ice and Summertime Extreme Weather in Europe
Inside Climate News
A new study in the journal Weather and Climate Dynamics shows how pulses of fresh, cold water from Greenland ice can set off a chain reaction from the ocean to the atmosphere that ends up causing summer heatwaves and droughts in Europe. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: The Take: Why is Mexico City running out of water?
Al Jazeera
Mexico City’s residents are approaching a “day zero” where the government will no longer be able to provide them with water. A city that was once built on water is now nearly dried up. How did this happen and what is being done to fix it?. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: ‘IT WAS AN OASIS’: MEXICO CITY FRETS ABOUT WATER
enca
MEXICO CITY – Agustin Garcia looks with dismay at the dry bed of the lake where he once fished for a living — a symptom of the water problems facing Mexico and its capital, one of the world’s biggest cities. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: At least 26 dead and 11 missing after flash floods and landslides on Indonesia’s Sumatra island
Associated Press
Floods also damaged 26 bridges, 45 mosques and 25 schools; and destroyed 13 roads, two irrigation system units, which in turn submerged 113 hectares (279 acres) of rice fields and 300 square meters (3,220 square feet) of plantation, the agency said. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Unique way to track carbon emissions in bodies of water
Science Daily
Carbon dioxide emissions are not typically associated with water ways, like streams and rivers, but emerging research shows that water bodies play an important role in storing and releasing carbon dioxide. As many states look for cost-effective ways to mitigate climate change, scientists looked at a way to optimize CO2 sensors to better measure carbon dioxide emissions in lotic, or moving, bodies of water offering a new tool that can help provide valuable information for everything from land use to climate action plans. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Drought, soil desiccation cracking, and carbon dioxide emissions: an overlooked feedback loop exacerbating climate change
Science Daily
Soil stores 80 percent of carbon on earth, yet with increasing cycles of drought, that crucial reservoir is cracking and breaking down, releasing even more greenhouse gases creating an amplified feedback loop that could accelerate climate change. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Is my water safe to drink? Expert advice for residents of South African cities
The Conversation – Africa
In early March 2024 the residents of Johannesburg, South Africa’s largest city and the economic capital of the country, were hit by extended cuts in water supplies. This was a new low after months of continuous deterioration. Professor in the School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand Craig Sheridan sets out the risks this poses to drinking water in the city. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Treated wastewater from Fukushima nuclear plant is safe: UN atomic agency
National Observer
The head of the U.N. atomic agency told local Japanese representatives at a meeting in Fukushima on Wednesday that the ongoing discharge of treated radioactive wastewater at the ruined nuclear power plant has met safety standards and that any restrictions on products from the region are “not scientific”. Click here to continue reading
Salmon farms impacting wildlife: conservation group report
CBC
Conservation group Watershed Watch Salmon Society (WWSS) says a new report, compiling numbers of wildlife — from whales to herring — that have been killed by open net-pen salmon farms in British Columbia over the years, points to longstanding problems within an industry it believes should be shut down. But the B.C. Salmon Farmers Association disagrees, saying WWSS is dredging up old information that doesn’t fairly characterize how the sector has changed. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: India’s water problems set to get worse as the world warms
Science Daily
Winter storms known as western disturbances that provide crucial snow and rainfall to northern India are arriving significantly later in the year. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: In Florida, Skyrocketing Insurance Rates Test Resolve of Homeowners in Risky Areas
Inside Climate News
Research shows the soaring costs hint at widespread, unpriced risk as the global climate warms, with states like California, Florida and Louisiana hit hardest. Click here to continue reading
After 5 years, Oneida still has no clean water. Why a class action settlement could be a ‘relief’
CBC
“We originally had put forward a proposal that we would be able to have water fire flow throughout our community. Right now, we do not have fire flow that services all of our community,” she said. “We have had devastating fires in our community in the past where families have actually perished because we do not have that fire flow”. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Global Water Crisis: Why the World Urgently Needs Water-Wise Solutions
Earth.org
Water is life. Yet, as the world population mushrooms and climate change intensifies droughts, over 2 billion people still lack access to clean, safe drinking water. By 2030, water scarcity could displace over 700 million people. From deadly diseases to famines, economic collapse to terrorism, the global water crisis threatens to sever the strands holding communities together. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Half of twenty-first century global irrigation expansion has been in water-stressed regions
Nature
The expansion of irrigated agriculture has increased global crop production but resulted in widespread stress on freshwater resources. Ensuring that increases in irrigated production occur only in places where water is relatively abundant is a key objective of sustainable agriculture and knowledge of how irrigated land has evolved is important for measuring progress towards water sustainability. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Arctic warming, permafrost thawing, and an accelerating water cycle will have global consequences
Fast Company
As the Arctic warms, its mighty rivers are changing in ways that could have vast consequences – not only for the Arctic region but for the world. Rivers represent the land branch of the Earth’s hydrological cycle. As rain and snow fall, rivers transport freshwater runoff along with dissolved organic and particulate materials, including carbon, to coastal areas. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: A dwindling water supply caused by reservoir sedimentation troubles engineers
American Society of Civil Engineers
Dams have been with humankind since antiquity. As a relatively simple means of turning flood- and drought-prone rivers into reliable water supplies, dams are one of our earliest ways of harnessing and controlling water, making them essential elements of society. However, sediment buildup within reservoirs is a growing concern that civil engineers are working to resolve. Click here to continue reading
Flood risk mapping is a public good, so why the public resistance in Canada? Lessons from Nova Scotia
The Conversation – Canada
The unacknowledged reason why there is a lack of flood risk mapping in Canada is because such maps generally face public resistance. Indeed, it is not uncommon in Canada to see flood or wetland mapping withdrawn or modified because of public pressure. Click here to continue reading
A Quebec lender opted out of mortgages in flood zones. Experts warn it could happen elsewhere
CBC
Desjardins Group, a major financial institution based in Quebec, recently announced it will no longer offer new mortgages in high-risk flood zones — areas in the zero to 20-year flood plain — across the province. It also doesn’t provide flood insurance in those areas. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: With dry summer looming, Lethbridge committee reports unsettling data about monthly water conservation
CTV News
“We are expecting that when we come back next month with the updated strategy and the water conservation plan, we might need to be enacting, I will say, ‘voluntary measures’ to start with in order to encourage residents and the public to start using less water from the get-go,” said Lethbridge infrastructure director Joel Sanchez. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Understanding wind and water at the equator key to more accurate future climate projections
Science Daily
Getting climate models to mimic real-time observations when it comes to warming is critical — small discrepancies can lead to misunderstandings about the rate of global warming as the climate changes. A new study that when modeling warming trends in the Pacific Ocean, there is still a missing piece to the modeling puzzle: the effect of wind on ocean currents in the equatorial Pacific. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: High shower pressure can help people save water, study suggests
The Guardian
Swapping a feeble dribble for a powerful blast might seem like an environmental indulgence when it comes to taking a shower, but researchers say it might actually save water. Water consumption has become a key area of environmental concern given shortages of the resource, as well as the carbon footprint associated with its collection, treatment, supply and – in the case of most showers – heating. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Fruit packing plant near Kelowna seeks application to discharge wastewater into ditch
Global News
A fruit-packing plant in the Central Okanagan that’s been fined in the past for violating waste discharge regulations is apparently applying for a permit to legally dump wastewater into a nearby ditch. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Arctic could become ‘ice-free’ within a decade
Science Daily
The Arctic could see summer days with practically no sea ice as early as the next couple of years, according to a new study out of the University of Colorado Boulder. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Would you drink recycled water?
The Conversation – Global
The wastewater from your home – much like paper and plastic – can be recycled. This is done by sending it, including sewage, either to centralised municipal recycling plants, to local neighbourhood facilities, or even to facilities incorporated in large apartment buildings.
There, with the right technology, it is purified, and the resulting water can be used as normal for cleaning streets or watering plants. If the treatment process is thorough, it can even be used for drinking. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Emissions from households’ water use are on a par with aviation. The big cuts and savings they can make are being neglected
The Conversation – Africa
Our research has identified the benefits of tackling these emissions in Australia’s urban water sector. If we consider the energy we use to heat water, water costs us far more than we think. It’s an issue of cost of living as well as water supply and energy infrastructure. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Climate change: alarming Africa-wide report predicts 30% drop in crop revenue, 50 million without water
The Conversation – Africa
50 million Africans are likely to be pushed into into water distress. What does this mean?
It means severe water shortages in homes and industries. For example, if you used to have access to water all day, you are going to have a much lower supply – a quantity so low that it does not meet your needs. This is a demand and supply issue. There will be higher demand for water resources but because of the short supply, water prices will shoot up. Going into the future, if nothing is done, water across Africa will be very expensive. Click here to continue reading
Toronto wants buildings to tap into its sewage for heating
CBC
Many buildings buy and burn gas or other fossil fuels to keep warm. But there’s actually a free, carbon-free source of heat underfoot that they could be tapping into instead — sewage pipes. Along with wastewater, those pipes carry a lot of “waste” heat from buildings, including warm water from showers and dishwashers. For example, as I was writing this, it was around 0 C outside the CBC building Toronto, but the water in the nearby sewage pipes was roughly 17 C, according to the city. In most places, that heat is literally going down the drain. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Glacier shrinkage is causing a ‘green transition’
Science Daily
Glacier-fed streams are undergoing a process of profound change, according to scientists. This conclusion is based on the expeditions to the world’s major mountain ranges by members of the Vanishing Glaciers project. Click here to continue reading
Great Lakes Ice Cover Hits New Lows
Yale Environment 360
On the North American Great Lakes, ice cover usually peaks in late February or early March. But currently, the lakes are nearly ice-free.
Typically in late winter, ice sprawls across more than 40 percent of the lakes, but at present, ice cover stands at just around 4 percent. For the past half-century, ice cover has trended down as winters have grown warmer, declining by a quarter on average since 1973. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: As Flooding Increases on the Mississippi, Forests Are Drowning
Yale Environment 360
Ever-worsening floods are killing trees at an increasing rate along the upper Mississippi River, and invasive grasses are taking over. The Army Corps of Engineers has launched a project to boost both tree density and diversity, and to improve habitat for fish and waterfowl, too. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: To save water, drought-hit Morocco is closing its famous public baths three days a week
Associated Press
The public baths — hammams in Arabic — for centuries have been fixtures of Moroccan life. Inside their domed chambers, men and women, regardless of social class, commune together and unwind. Bathers sit on stone slabs under mosaic tiles, lather with traditional black soap and wash with scalding water from plastic buckets. Click here to continue reading
Major tunnel projects secure Metro Vancouver’s water supply
BIV News
Engineering water tunnels is as vital for region as ones for transportation. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Call for input: UN Special Rapporteur’s report on “Water and food nexus: a human rights approach to water management in food systems”
UN Water
The UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, is inviting inputs from States and other stakeholders to inform his thematic report on “Water and food nexus: a human rights approach to water management in food systems”. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: ‘Sad and debilitating’: rural midwesterners contend with well water tainted by livestock waste
The Guardian
On a whim, when Broberg first moved in in 1986, the now 69-year-old retired geologist started testing his water for nitrate – an invisible, odorless and tasteless compound found in animal manure and commercial fertilizer. Consuming it in high quantities has been linked to a variety of health risks. Click here to continue reading
M.D. of Pincher Creek deals with water shortfalls in Oldman River Reservoir
Global News
The Municipal District of Pincher Creek has been faced with a water crisis since last summer, and has been under Stage 3 water restrictions for the past eight months. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Ten per cent water reduction may ease drought
East Central Alberta Review
Hanna town council heard the provincial government is not only warning strongly about the possibility of drought this coming summer, but that communities are being asked to plan for a 10 per cent reduction in their normal water usage. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Water restrictions, increased prices and imprisonment: How is Tunisia battling 5 years of drought?
EuroNews Green
Tourist facilities and excessive consumers will be hit hardest by price increases. The cost of drinking water in Tunisia has increased by up to 16 per cent as the country battles with five years of severe drought. Click here to continue reading
Alberta outlines $125M drought and flood grant program as water-sharing talks continue
CBC
The Alberta government says it will accept applications from municipalities and Indigenous communities across the province who want to design and construct projects that protect from flooding and drought. It is expected to launch later this year. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Mining company can’t tap water needed for Okefenokee wildlife refuge, US says
The Associated Press
A federal agency is asserting legal rights to waters that feed the Okefenokee Swamp and its vast wildlife refuge, setting up a new battle with a mining company seeking permits to withdraw more than 1.4 million gallons daily for a project that critics say could irreparably harm one of America’s natural treasures. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Constructed wetlands as nature based solutions – hands-on activities to highlight their potential to minimize ocean pollution
Journal of Coastal Conservation
This work presents an engaging hands-on activity designed to teach school students about nature based solutions (NBS) and their role in achieving high-quality water systems within a sustainable circular economy. (Open access article). Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Humans have driven the Earth’s freshwater cycle out of its stable state
EurekAlert!
A new analysis of freshwater resources across the globe shows that human activity has pushed variation in the planet’s freshwater cycle well outside of its pre-industrial range. The study shows that the updated planetary boundary for freshwater change was surpassed by the mid-twentieth century. In other words, for the past century, humans have been pushing the Earth’s freshwater system far beyond the stable conditions that prevailed before industrialization. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: New ‘digital twin’ Earth technology could help predict water-based natural disasters before they strike
EurekAlert!
The water cycle looks simple in theory — but human impacts, climate change, and complicated geography mean that in practice, floods and droughts remain hard to predict. To model water on Earth, you need incredibly high-resolution data across an immense expanse, and you need modeling sophisticated enough to account for everything from snowcaps on mountains to soil moisture in valleys. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: First Person: Water and electricity ‘will save us from famine’
UN News
Droughts, partly caused by climate change and the resulting lack of water, have driven many communities to the brink as they have been unable to grow the crops they rely on for survival. Many are forced to rely on humanitarian aid. But now, the availability of electricity and water is reviving many villages, including Fenoaivo in the Anosy region, according to the WFP’s Avimaro Mikendremana. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: India’s Thirst for Improved Water Security
The News Lens International
Yale University’s 2022 unsafe drinking water index ranked India 141 out of 180 countries. Nearly 70% of India’s water is contaminated. By 2030, India’s water demand is projected to be double the amount available as reiterated by the Interconnected Disaster Risks Report in October 2023. The potential scarcity would affect millions and adversely impact the country’s GDP. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: The changing nature of groundwater in the global water cycle
Science
The availability of fresh groundwater is vital for agriculture, industry, people, and ecosystems, but its quality and quantity have been significantly affected by climate change and anthropogenic activities. Kuang et al. review the changes that groundwater is experiencing now and will experience in the near future and discuss future challenges to groundwater supplies. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: We need to talk about water – and the fact that the world is running out of it
The Guardian
A paper published in 2017 estimated that to match crop production to expected demand, water use for irrigation would have to increase by 146% by the middle of this century. One minor problem. Water is already maxed out. Click here to continue reading
Trillions of gallons leak from aging drinking water systems, further stressing shrinking US cities
Toronto Star
Water bubbles up in streets, pooling in neighborhoods for weeks or months. Homes burn to the ground if firefighters can’t draw enough water from hydrants. Utility crews struggle to fix broken pipes while water flows through shut-off valves that don’t work. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: ‘We are the guinea pigs’: Arizona mining project sparks concerns for air and water
The Guardian
Pumping out groundwater to clear the way for extraction, known as “dewatering”, is of concern given Arizona’s overall susceptibility to the impacts of the climate crisis. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Tenerife to declare drought emergency as Spain battles with water shortages
EuroNews Green
The island is facing months or possibly years of critical water scarcity, experts say. Tenerife is planning to declare a water emergency on Friday (March 1st) as reservoirs run low due to ongoing drought. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Half of Denmark’s water supplies contaminated with toxins, new report reveals
EuroNews Green
An investigation commissioned by several Danish regional councils says the situation is critical and threatens the country’s transition to a green economy. Click here to continue reading
First Nations who’ve gone years without clean drinking water hope compensation signals a ‘new dawn’
CBC
With the deadline just a week away, the law firm representing victims of unsafe drinking water in First Nation communities is urging those who qualify to file their claims for long-awaited compensation. Click here to continue reading
Indonesia steps up wheat imports amid drought
The Western Producer
Indonesian grain buyers are boosting imports of lower quality wheat as a decline in corn output last year following a severe drought linked to an El Nino weather pattern tightened the country’s animal feed supplies. Click here to continue reading
Alberta Budget 2024: $2 billion set aside for potential disasters amid flood, drought and wildfire threats
Calgary Herald
The province is spending $19 million to create a “modern, 21st-century water strategy” to increase water availability through water storage projects, conservation, data systems and stronger water policies. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: International summit addresses urgent water challenges
University of Hawai’I News
“Hawai?i is facing a myriad of water problems from flooding to drought,” said Thomas Giambelluca, director of WRRC. “There are water quality issues, and we have unknown effects of climate change on our water supply”. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Speech of UNDP Resident Representative in Kazakhstan Katarzyna Wawiernia at the first International Forum on water technologies and resources “GLOBAL WATER”
UNDP Kazakhstan
In our time, 80 percent of the terrible impacts of climate change bear the water mark. From catastrophic floods to relentless droughts, from the ongoing melting of glaciers to the creeping rise in sea levels, these phenomena threaten the very fabric of our global ecosystems. Water, the lifeblood of our planet, is the inextricable link between any discourse on humanity’s balance with nature and the relentless onslaught of climate change. Click here to continue reading
Water First and Interlake Reserves Tribal Council launch new internship program
Water Canada
Water First Education & Training Inc., in partnership with Interlake Reserves Tribal Council (IRTC) and participating communities, is proud to announce a new water treatment plant operator training program for local community members. The expansion to Manitoba marks the first Drinking Water Internship Program to operate outside of Ontario and supports Water First’s commitment to help develop these critical projects with communities across the country. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Want fewer microplastics in your tap water? Try boiling it first
Science Daily
While many creative strategies have been attempted to get rid of these plastic bits, one unexpectedly effective solution for cleaning up drinking water, specifically, might be as simple as brewing a cup of tea or coffee. Boiling and filtering calcium-containing tap water could help remove nearly 90% of the nano- and microplastics present. Click here to continue reading
Kawartha clean water champions collaborate with farmers
The Peterborough Examiner
An innovative program has empowered farmers within the Upper Talbot River sub-watershed to champion water quality improvement efforts. An innovative program has empowered farmers within the Upper Talbot River sub-watershed to champion water quality improvement efforts. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Northern French town flooded for fifth time in four months
EuroNews Green
Residents are fed up as the small Pas-de-Calais town of Bourthes floods once again for the fifth time in four months. The Pas-de-Calais region has been hit by further flooding, with the village of Bourthes under water for the fifth time in four months. The region has been placed under orange alert, meaning significant risk to life, property, and transport. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Climate change is throwing the water cycle into chaos across the U.S.
NBC News
The water cycle that shuttles Earth’s most vital resource around in an unending, life-giving loop is in trouble. Climate change has disrupted that cycle’s delicate balance, upsetting how water circulates between the ground, oceans and atmosphere. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Uzbekistan completes major digital twin water management project
Smart Water Magazine
This venture aimed to revolutionize water management practices in Uzbekistan by harnessing advanced technologies to create a real-time, virtual representation of the nation’s water infrastructure. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Southern Water fined £330,000 for stream pollution that killed 2,000 fish
The Guardian
A water company has been fined £330,000 after raw sewage escaped into a stream in Hampshire for up to 20 hours, killing about 2,000 fish including brown trout. Waste flowed into Shawford Lake Stream on the edge of the South Downs because of faulty equipment at a pumping station. Click here to continue reading
Residents urged to be conscious of rising water
The Sudbury Star
Conservation Sudbury has issued a water safety warning for Greater Sudbury as mild weather and rain over the next few days are likely to boost the levels of local rivers and streams. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Traditional weather forecasts: expert shares 5 ways Africa’s coastal residents predict floods
The Conversation – Africa
Traditional knowledge helps communities prepare for flooding. Transferring this knowledge doesn’t always happen, however, as scientists and policymakers don’t all recognize its value. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Johannesburg’s water crisis is getting worse – expert explains why the taps keep running dry in South Africa’s biggest city
The Conversation – Africa
Since the latter part of 2023 hardly a week has gone by without some residents of Johannesburg, South Africa’s commercial capital, losing their water supply. Notices of planned outages from the local water authority are a common occurrence. Unplanned water shutdowns also happen regularly. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Firefighters needed so much water that a Minnesota town had to go without
Associated Press
Firefighters needed so much water to battle a huge grain elevator blaze that they had to ask the whole town to go without — even canceling school to conserve the water supply, officials said. Click here to continue reading
Charlottetown hopes a rate hike will entice the last few holdouts to switch to water meters
CBC
The City of Charlottetown wants to increase water rates for residents this year in an effort to encourage the last remaining customers to switch to water meters. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Cleaning or desalinating water quickly: Looking deep into smallest pores
Science Daily
Membranes of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VaCNT) can be used to clean or desalinate water at a high flow rate and low pressure. Recently, researchers carried out steroid hormone adsorption experiments to study the interplay of forces in the small pores. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: How a Solar Revolution in Farming Is Depleting World’s Groundwater
Yale Environment 360
Farmers in hot, arid regions are turning to low-cost solar pumps to irrigate their fields, eliminating the need for expensive fossil fuels and boosting crop production. But by allowing them to pump throughout the day, the new technology is drying up aquifers around the globe. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: India completely stops Ravi river water flow to Pakistan. Historical context and significance
Economic Times
The completion of the Shahpur Kandi barrage has effectively ceased the flow of water from the Ravi river into Pakistan, according to a report. Located on the Punjab-Jammu and Kashmir boarder, this development signifies a significant shift in water allocation, with the Jammu and Kashmir region now set to benefit from 1150 cusecs of water previously destined for Pakistan. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: In water-stressed Singapore, a search for new solutions to keep the taps flowing
Associated Press
A crack of thunder booms as dozens of screens in a locked office flash between live video of cars splashing through wet roads, drains sapping the streets dry, and reservoirs collecting the precious rainwater across the tropical island of Singapore. A team of government employees intently monitors the water, which will be collected and purified for use by the country’s six million residents. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: One of the world’s biggest cities may be just months away from running out of water
CNN
When they wash themselves, they capture the runoff to flush the toilet. It’s hard, he told CNN. “We need water, it’s essential for everything.” Water shortages are not uncommon in this neighborhood, but this time feels different, Gomez said. “Right now, we are getting this hot weather. It’s even worse, things are more complicated”. Click here to continue reading
Why drought on the prairies is making your steak more expensive
Calgary Herald
The business of beef is changing, in large part due to consecutive years of severe drought across North America’s main cattle-producing regions. From parched southern Alberta to water-scarce east Texas, ranchers have been downsizing their herds due to a lack of grass for grazing. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: ‘It looked like we were at sea’: UK River and Rowing Museum faces up to climate threat
The Guardian
In January the museum, which Chipperfield designed on stilts due to its proximity to the Thames, came the closest it had come to flooding after water rose within 5cm (2in) of the building’s raised floor. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: ‘Poisoned by chemicals’: citizen scientists prove River Avon is polluted
The Guardian
A citizen science programme has revealed the decline of one of the country’s most significant chalk streams after claims by Environment Agency officials that it had not deteriorated. The SmartRivers programme run by the charity WildFish, which surveys freshwater invertebrates, reported “strong declines in relation to chemical pressure” on the River Avon in Wiltshire. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: US companies DuPont and Chemours generated extensive contamination with toxic “forever chemicals” in North Carolina: UN experts
UN Human Rights
American chemical companies DuPont and Chemours have discharged toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) into the local environment, completely disregarding the rights and wellbeing of residents along the lower Cape Fear River in North Carolina, UN experts said today. Click here to continue reading
Navigating Icy Roads and Road Salt for Drinking Water Health
Uppert Thames River Conservation Authority
Salt is commonly used to melt ice and reduce the risk created by icy conditions, but it also poses a significant threat to water quality. It’s important to ensure our use of salt doesn’t jeopardize the health of our groundwater and, with it, our drinking water. Click here to continue reading
Why this Ontario town created a bylaw for using bubblers in lakes
Cottage Life
While de-icers may protect structures, they can also endanger snowmobilers, wildlife, and other cottage-goers. In September 2023, the Township of Armour, enacted a bylaw regulating the use of de-icers. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: White House is distributing $5.8 billion from the infrastructure law for water projects
Daily Commercial News
The Biden administration announced Tuesday that it is distributing another $5.8 billion for water infrastructure projects around the country. The new allocations will go to projects in all 50 states, bringing the total awarded to states for water infrastructure projects to $22 billion. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Administration announces $5.8 billion in funding to clean up nation’s drinking water, upgrade infrastructure
CNN
Projects underway in Pittsburgh – such as an effort to get rid of lead pipes – are among several across the country that are being funded through bipartisan 2021 legislation that designated $50 billion toward improving water infrastructure. Click here to continue reading
Most Alberta river flows within normal range
The Western Producer
Water levels on the Bow River from Calgary to the mouth of the South Saskatchewan River are running within normal seasonal ranges as of mid-February and the Red Deer River is also flowing at average levels. Click here to continue reading
Water expert warns of changes in runoff, demand
The Western Producer
University of Saskatchewan professor John Pomeroy says traditional weather patterns are shifting in Alberta due to climate change, which will make it necessary to build infrastructure better able to capture earlier spring runoff. Click here to continue reading
‘Every litre counts’: City pleads for Winnipeggers to limit water use as massive sewage spill continues
CBC
The City of Winnipeg wants some 90,000 residences and businesses in the southwest area of the city to know that every little bit of water they can keep from flowing into the sewer system helps, after a pipe crossing under the Red River near Fort Garry Bridge broke two weeks ago. Click here to continue reading
Deadline for clean drinking water class action lawsuit draws near
Ha-Shilth-Sa
Time is running out to apply for a share of the First Nations Drinking Water class action settlement fund. Application forms can be found online and must be submitted before March 7, 2024. Click here to continue reading
Why a dry winter may not mean trouble for Alberta farmers
CTV News
As drought conditions in Alberta worsen, one local farmer is holding out hope. Scott Jesperson, an Edmonton area producer and vice chair of Alberta Grains, said the dry winter won’t hurt grain growers as long as spring brings rain. Click here to continue reading
Quebec institutions join to develop sustainable water management solution
Water Canada
The Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) and the Fédération québécoise des municipalités (FQM) have joined forces to develop sustainable water management solutions as part of the fight against climate change. Click here to continue reading
Opinion: Natural infrastructure is a solution in the face of drought
Calgary Herald
Another piece of the drought-busting puzzle needs more attention natural infrastructure. Natural infrastructure allows us to work with nature to help meet infrastructure needs. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Even very low levels of pesticide exposure can affect fish for generations
Science Daily
Fish exposed to some pesticides at extremely low concentrations for a brief period of time can demonstrate lasting behavioral changes, with the impact extending to offspring that were never exposed firsthand, a recent study found. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Surging bills, fewer showers: India’s Bengaluru reels under water shortage
Reuters
Bengaluru is facing an acute water shortage this year, months before peak summer, forcing many residents in “India’s Silicon Valley” to ration their water use and pay almost double the usual price to meet their daily needs. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Smelly Serbian wastewater adds to environmental woes
Reuters
The problem, caused by a lack of treatment plants, further complicates Serbia’s bid to the join the European Union, which demands far stricter standards than those enforced in Belgrade and across the Balkans, experts say. Click here to continue reading
Kirkland Lake’s water usage per day more than double the national average
Kirkland Lake Northern News
In the report, Eric Neilson, Regional Manager for Northeastern Ontario, OCWA stated Canada averages 300 litres to 500 litres of water per person per day. Using a population of 7750 people, in 2023 Kirkland Lakers used Produced 8,948 cubic meters per day on average, which works out to be 1154 litres per day, per person. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Southwest Winnipeg residents asked to limit water use as sewage continues to spill into Red River
CBC
The City of Winnipeg is asking residents in southwest Winnipeg to reduce their water flow, as sewage continues to spill into the Red River near Fort Garry Bridge after a pipe broke earlier this month. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Researchers shed light on river resiliency to flooding
Science Daily
Increased understanding of rivers’ resiliency is important to maintaining healthy rivers, as human actions can affect flood regimes and change the conditions in rivers for other aquatic life that may rely on algae and plants as a food source. Click here to continue reading
Impact of new flood maps the focus of Calgary town hall meeting
CTV News
Severe flooding in 2013(opens in a new tab), the worst in the province’s history, sparked the Alberta Government to update its flood hazard mapping. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: At least 60% of US population may face ‘forever chemicals’ in tap water, tests suggest
The Guardian
About 70 million people are exposed to toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” in US drinking water, new testing from the Environmental Protection Agency has found. But the testing completed to date has only checked about one-third of the nation’s public water systems, meaning the agency is on pace to find over 200 million people are exposed, or at least 60% of the US population. Click here to continue reading
Sask. offers help to water-short town
The Western Producer
The MLA for a community that declared a state of local emergency due to low water levels in December says the province will help it find solutions. “It’s a moving target but definitely, we aren’t going to leave our communities stranded from extreme conditions. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Rain Comes to the Arctic, With a Cascade of Troubling Changes
Yale Environment 360
Rain used to be rare in the Arctic, but as the region warms, so-called “rain-on-snow events” are becoming more common. The rains accelerate ice loss, trigger flooding, landslides, and avalanches, and create problems for wildlife and the Indigenous people who depend on them. Click here to continue reading
Alberta’s Brutal Water Reckoning
The Tyee
Alberta’s water reckoning has begun in earnest. Snowpack accumulations in the Oldman River basin, the Bow River basin and the North Saskatchewan River basin range from 33 to 62 per cent below normal. Click here to continue reading
Low water levels affect southern Alta. power generation
The Western Producer
Recent low levels on southern Alberta rivers have affected the amount of electricity generated by Irrican Power, owned by the St. Mary River and Raymond irrigation districts, and by TransAlta. Click here to continue reading/
Beavers can mitigate drought threat: analyst
The Western Producer
Alberta conservation group is promoting beaver habitat as a way to keep water on the land amid rising drought concerns in the province. “Beavers can provide benefits and always have provided benefits from an environmental perspective but also from an ecosystem goods and services perspective with drought and flood mitigation”. Click here to continue reading
Sask. watches water levels closely
The Western Producer
The head of Saskatchewan’s Water Security Agency says the province is watching Alberta’s preparation for potential water shortages with concern but also with the security of Lake Diefenbaker behind it. Click here to continue reading
Important Notice: 2024 Irrigation Season Water Supply Update FEBRUARY 2024
St. Mary River Irrigation District
The winter water storage level in the St. Mary River Irrigation District reservoirs remain stable. The Waterton, St. Mary and Milk River Ridge reservoirs experience minor gains, and are still below the lower quartiles for February. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: ‘I feel abandoned’: These Spanish towns haven’t had clean tap water for 10 months
EuroNews Green
Andalucía residents are afraid to wash their children with the tap water, and say even dogs refuse to drink it. Click here to continue reading
Over 50 water shortage advisories issued for Province
centralalbertaonline
Alberta Environment and Parks has issued 51 water shortage advisories for the Province of Alberta. With low amounts of snowfall this season so far many areas are reporting a lack of water and snow pack to melt into the rivers. Click here to continue reading
Priority? Licence transfers? Here’s how Alberta’s water system works
CBC
Alberta’s water usage is front and centre this year. Here’s how the system operates. The Water Act of 2000 states that all water in the province, as well as the right to its diversion and use, is vested in the Crown. This means that water can only be used with the permission of the provincial government. For municipalities and businesses, including most agriculture, this permission is tied to a license. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: What will Spain look like when it runs out of water? Barcelona is giving us a glimpse
The Guardian
The European Drought Observatory’s map of current droughts in Europe shows the entire Spanish Mediterranean coast in bad shape, with red areas indicating an alert similar to those in north Africa and Sicily. Europe is warming at twice the rate of other continents. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: LA County captured enough rainfall this week to provide water to 65,600 residents for a year
CNN
While this week’s atmospheric river drenched Southern California with record-breaking rainfall, some water managers were busy capturing some of that runoff to save for dry days ahead. Others were busy fending off an environmental disaster. Click here to continue reading
First Nations say Ring of Fire development could have negative effects on water systems
CTV News
At a three-day annual lands and resources forum in North Bay, members of the Anishinabek Nation expressed fears that further development could harm the environment, water and fish that swim in area lakes, rivers and streams. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Sewage Across Borders: The Tijuana River Is Spewing Wastewater Into San Diego Amid Historic Storms, Which Could Threaten Public Health
Inside Climate News
Winding around 120 miles northward from Mexico to California before reaching the ocean on the U.S. side of the border, the Tijuana River carries millions—at times, billions—of gallons of sewage across the border each day. Click here to continue reading
Minister ‘confident’ B.C. is adequately preparing for drought, energy needs
Global News
British Columbia’s energy minister is “confident” the province is “taking all the steps that need to be taken” to prepare for what could be another drought-stricken summer followed by more dry summers for years to come. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: The City of Tomorrow Will Run on Your Toilet Water
WIRED
Researchers are finding better ways to extract drinking water, compost, and even energy from wastewater. It’s not gross. It’s science. Click here to continue reading
Water levels, capacity among top priorities at Lethbridge treatment plant
CTV News
The City of Lethbridge is actively monitoring low water levels in the Oldman River but production at its water treatment plant hasn’t slowed down. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: New study sheds new light on forests’ role in climate and water cycle
Science Daily
Forests, which cover a third of Earth’s land surface, are pivotal in carbon storage and the water cycle, though the full scope of their impact remains to be fully understood. In a new study, researchers provide new insights into the complex role forests play in the climate system and water cycle. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Warmer water may help rivers keep antimicrobial resistance at bay
Science Daily
Antimicrobial resistant genes (ARGs) from wastewater can end up in natural biofilms in rivers, but they may not stick around very long. This week in mSphere, researchers report that after ARGs are introduced to a river they invade and initially join natural biofilms. Click here to continue reading
Water levels, capacity among top priorities at Lethbridge treatment plant
CTV News
The City of Lethbridge is actively monitoring low water levels in the Oldman River but production at its water treatment plant hasn’t slowed down. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: New study sheds new light on forests’ role in climate and water cycle
Science Daily
Forests, which cover a third of Earth’s land surface, are pivotal in carbon storage and the water cycle, though the full scope of their impact remains to be fully understood. In a new study, researchers provide new insights into the complex role forests play in the climate system and water cycle. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Warmer water may help rivers keep antimicrobial resistance at bay
Science Daily
Antimicrobial resistant genes (ARGs) from wastewater can end up in natural biofilms in rivers, but they may not stick around very long. This week in mSphere, researchers report that after ARGs are introduced to a river they invade and initially join natural biofilms. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: We Wai Kai Guardians are ‘testing the water’ to prepare for climate change
ChekNews
We Wai Kai Land Gaurdian Shane Pollard is concerned about climate change and the impact it will have on his community. To be proactive as the planet warms, the We Wai Kai First Nation’s land guardians are partnering with other local groups to map and monitor wetlands, watersheds, and streams on Quadra Island as the summer gets drier. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Rio Tinto wrangles investors over water contamination claims
Reuters
Global mining giant Rio Tinto (RIO.AX), opens new tab, which sparked outrage after destroying an ancient Indigenous site in Australia in 2020, faces new pressure from socially conscious investors and lenders, this time on water practices at two of its mines. Click here to continue reading
N.B. conservation group urges faster action to protect water and shorelines
CBC
The goals of the plan are to protect drinking water and ecosystems, improve understanding about water and work co-operatively on management. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Water bosses in England and Wales face bonus bans for illegal sewage discharges
The Guardian
The environment secretary, Steve Barclay, is proposing to block payouts to executives of firms that commit criminal acts of water pollution, starting with bonuses in the 2024-25 financial year from April. Click here to continue reading
‘Is it equitable?’ Okotoks mayor questions Calgary’s water conservation
Calgary Herald
Okotoks Mayor Tanya Thorn said it’s time for Calgary and other communities to get as serious about reducing water use as her community. Click here to continue reading
Our federation helped make Alberta rich in water. Now, that dam is breaking
The Globe and Mail
The movement of Alberta separatism seeks, in part, to erode Ottawa’s jurisdiction over natural-resource management in the province. But what that movement forgets is that Alberta was only able to achieve its prosperity – which really began with water – because of its position as a province within a nation. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: How One of the Nation’s Fastest Growing Counties Plans to Find Water in the Desert
Inside Climate News
The booming population in the southwest corner of Utah has tapped out the Virgin River and its dreams of piping water from Lake Powell are running dry with the reservoir, leaving wastewater recycling and conservation as the best options to keep watering the growth. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: EPA Reports ‘Widespread Noncompliance’ With the Nation’s First Regulations on Toxic Coal Ash
Inside Climate News
“Groundwater contamination at coal ash disposal facilities is a significant concern,” an EPA enforcement alert states. “Approximately 150 facilities have detected groundwater contamination from metals and other inorganic compounds released through coal ash disposal and EPA believes that number will continue to increase.”. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Protecting New York’s freshwater wetlands is now more important than ever
Riverkeeper
Though wetlands provide critical habitat, reduce flood risk, improve water quality, and purify drinking water, they continuously fall victim to unchecked development, pollution, degradation, and climate change impacts. Wetlands are also at risk due to shifting federal protections. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Utah’s Great Salt Lake To Receive Influx of Water
Newsweek
Utah Lake is a freshwater lake in the Utah Valley. The Jordan River is the lake’s only outlet, and a tributary of the Great Salt Lake.Utah Lake has now reached near-maximum capacity, standing at 99.5 percent, data from the Utah Division of Water Resources reported. Click here to continue reading
A shallow, salty lake in B.C. could point to origins of life on Earth
CBC
Researchers found Last Chance Lake has right ingredients for formation of early life. Scientists have mused for centuries over questions about the origins of life on Earth. As it turns out, the answer may lie in a small, unassuming lake in British Columbia’s Interior. Click here to continue reading
B.C. hosting 30 workshops to help farmers prepare for summer droughts
Global News
Drought conditions have significant impacts on communities around the province, specifically for farmers who are extremely dependent on water and water management. To help B.C. farmers, the province is hosting more than 30 in-person workshops. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Nevada jury awards $130M to 5 people who had liver damage after drinking bottled water
Financial Post
A Nevada jury has awarded about $130 million in damages in a lawsuit filed by five people who suffered liver damage after drinking bottled water marketed by a Las Vegas-based company. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: The largest body of water west of the Mississippi disappeared 130 years ago. Now it’s back
Phys.org
The San Joaquin Valley of California, despite supplying a significant percentage of the country’s food, is nevertheless a dry, arid place. Until the late 19th century, the San Joaquin Valley held a lake more than 100 miles long and over 30 miles wide. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: ‘An exceptional solution’: Catalonia is bringing in water by boat to top up dwindling supplies
EuroNews Green
Environmental groups have said this unusual solution doesn’t solve long-term water management problems. To make up for extreme shortages, the Spanish government is planning to ship desalinated water to Catalonia. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: How our drinking water could come from thin air
BBC News
In the dry, desert air of Las Vegas, it seems strange to be talking about a plentiful source of water all around us. Southern Nevada is in the grip of one of the worst droughts it has experienced in recorded history, leading to water shortages and restrictions on use. So, in water-stressed areas such as this, the prospect of wringing water from thin air is an appealing prospect. Click here to continue reading
B.C.’s lack of snow foretells summer drought woes
National Observer
The persistent lack of snow across much of B.C. is setting the stage for a possible repeat of the record-breaking provincewide drought experienced last summer, watershed experts worry. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: First Nations Drinking Water Settlement Claims Closing in March
Water Canada
Eligible First Nations communities and individuals have until March 7, 2024, to submit a claim under the First Nations Drinking Water Settlement. “We encourage those eligible to submit their claim right away so they can be compensated for their harms from living under a long-term drinking water advisory. For those who need help filling out their Claim Form, there are free resources available, including a Claims Assessment Tool and interactive guides, which can be found on the First Nations Drinking Water website. Click here to continue reading
Why We Can’t Take Clean, Safe Water for Granted
The Tyee
We still like to think of B.C. as a “rainforest,” with more water than we know what to do with. But we’ve seen recurring droughts, and last summer’s affected the whole province. Click here to continue reading
Why does Winterlude use drinking water to build the Snowflake Kingdom?
CBC
Some environmentalists are asking why millions of litres of municipal drinking water are used to build the Snowflake Kingdom in Gatineau’s Jacques-Cartier Park during the annual Winterlude festival, instead of drawing it from the nearby Ottawa River. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Ghana: Kumasi city’s unplanned boom is destroying two rivers – sewage, heavy metals and chemical pollution detected
The Conversation – Africa
Ghana’s urban population has more than tripled in the past three decades, from 4 million to nearly 14 million people. Competition for land in cities has increased among various land uses. These trends have led to encroachment in ecologically sensitive areas such as wetlands. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Nevada Court Rules Groundwater and Surface Water are the Same
Compare and contrast: Yes, the Los Angeles River is dramatically full. But it’s just ‘doing its job’
The Guardian
Media images of rising waters may seem alarming – but that’s pretty much what the channel is supposed to look like in heavy rain. “As long as the river doesn’t go over its banks and flood the surrounding neighborhoods, this is the modern LA River doing its job,” Christensen said. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: The good news, bad news on California’s water supplies, drought after record rainfall
Daily Bulletin
The latest storm is likely to reduce water demand for weeks and state records show that both rainfall and snowpack levels are now much improved. But in not-so-great news, water experts say conditions in this “Pineapple Express” storm haven’t been ideal for bolstering the state’s water supply. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: What is an atmospheric river? With flooding and mudslides in California, a hydrologist explains the good and bad of these storms and how they’re changing
The Conversation – United States
An atmospheric river is a narrow corridor or filament of concentrated water vapor transported in the atmosphere. It’s like a river in the sky that can be 1,000 miles long. On average, atmospheric rivers have about twice the regular flow of the Amazon River. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: How demand for lithium batteries could drain America’s water resources
PBS News Hour
The push towards a green, battery-powered future comes with a major tradeoff. Student reporters from the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at Arizona State University discovered that increased mining for lithium inside the United States will stress freshwater aquifers. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: California Flooding Video Shows ‘Damaging Mudflow’ Strike Los Angeles
Newsweek
As heavy rain lashed California during a fierce winter storm, forecasters’ worst fears began to materialize with mudflows and landslides hitting Los Angeles. Shocked bystanders and storm-chasers documented the damage as mud, rocks and vegetation were swept down hillsides and mountains to deluge the land below. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: How socially and culturally diverse Minnesotans value water
Phys.org
Understanding how different communities value water and prioritize its protection is critical to effective policy and governance. While some values are universal—safe drinking water, for example—other values and priorities vary by sociocultural identities. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: As Use of AI Soars, So Does the Energy and Water It Requires
Yale Environment 360
Generative artificial intelligence uses massive amounts of energy for computation and data storage and billions of gallons of water to cool the equipment at data centers. Now, legislators and regulators — in the U.S. and the EU — are starting to demand accountability. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: ‘A new climate reality’: Spain’s drought-stricken villages have been in crisis mode for months
EuroNews Green
Thousands living in small communities that depend on wells which are now running dry are experiencing difficulties getting water fit for consumption. “I don’t think we are aware of what is in store for all of us. … People don’t want to hear about there being a lack of water.”. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: DRC’s worst floods in decades leave tens of thousands in temporary shelter
The Guardian
Tens of thousands of people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are living in temporary accommodation and waiting for government help after the country experienced its worst flooding in six decades. Click here to continue reading
B.C. oil and gas producers warned of potential water shortages in drought-stricken areas
CBC
The agency overseeing oil and gas producers in British Columbia is warning of potential water shortages in 2024. The B.C. Energy Regulator (BCER), formerly the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission, says persistent drought last summer and fall in the northern part of the province continue to negatively affect streamflows and groundwater, with snowpack levels at last reading only 72 per cent of the historical average. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: ‘Life-threatening’ storm system batters California, with flooding and high winds
The Guardian
First-ever hurricane-force wind warning along coast, with millions of people under flood watches and power out for close to a million. An enormous atmospheric river-fueled storm unleashed rain and furious winds across California on Sunday, leaving destruction and hazards in its wake. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Sask. irrigators keep their eyes on water supply
The Western Producer
River flow, low mountain snowpack and reservoirs struggling to fill in southern Alberta haven’t escaped the attention of irrigators in Saskatchewan as the traditional wet spring becomes critical. Mountain snowpack levels across Alberta’s Eastern Slopes as well as those in Montana that feed into the St. Mary and Milk rivers are well below normal. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Our water is under threat. A new global initiative wants to find solutions
National Observer
As climate change threatens global water systems, a new research initiative aims to leverage Indigenous expertise to manage cross-border water resources. Climate change puts people’s access to water in jeopardy. Extreme weather events like floods and droughts are becoming more frequent and extreme, damaging infrastructure and affecting water quality. Often, rivers, lakes and bodies of water affected by these crises cross international borders. Click here to continue reading
Watersheds Canada Recognizes World Wetlands Day
Water Canada
As wetlands cross people’s mind on World Wetlands Day (February 2, 2024), perhaps it is because, at some point in life, they have personally experienced one of the greatest ecological wonders of the world. Canada is home to twenty-five percent of the world’s wetlands. Unfortunately, however, wetlands continue to be degraded or simply lost forever. Click here to continue reading
Okanagan Falls Wetland is Leading the Way in Environmental Sustainability
Water Canada
An Okanagan Falls wetland is leading the way in environmental sustainability and community well-being. Located next to the Okanagan Falls Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), the wetland showcases how thoughtful planning and environmentally friendly initiatives can lead to significant positive impacts. Click here to continue reading
Billions of litres of water are used yearly by Quebec’s mining and metal industry, data reveals
CBC
Quebec has lifted the veil of secrecy around the province’s biggest water users, revealing that billions of litres of water are withdrawn yearly by the mining and metal industry, along with pulp and paper manufacturing. The data dump, which includes records going back a decade, also lists golf clubs, ski hills, water bottling plants and food processors among the companies that are withdrawing tens of millions — sometimes hundreds of millions — of litres in a year. Click here to continue reading
Don Lands Sees First Flow of Water
Water Canada
One of North America’s largest water infrastructure projects reached a major milestone on Wednesday, January 31, when pumps were activated for the first time to begin pushing water into the new Don River valley. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: EU Policy. Pharma and cosmetics industries to pay for wastewater treatment
EuroNews Green
The pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries will have to bear at least 80% of the costs linked to cleaning harmful substances they discharge into urban wastewater, following an inter-institutional agreement reached in Brussels on January 29. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Barcelona declares drought emergency, with big fines for breaking water rules
EuroNews Green
After months of warnings, authorities in Catalonia have declared a drought emergency. The region is in the midst of the worst drought since records began. From Friday, February 2, 89% of the Catalan population, including Barcelona, will be under strict water restrictions. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Opinion: Canada’s wetlands need to be conserved and restored
Calgary Herald
Friday is World Wetlands Day. While many of these beautiful places are frozen over this time of year, this occasion gives us a chance to reflect on their importance and the never-ending services they offer of a hopeful future for our communities. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Groundwater decline is global but not universal
Nature
Measurements of groundwater levels in 170,000 wells reveal the global extent of groundwater decline. But the data also show that such depletion is not inevitable in a changing climate, providing hope for a resilient water future. Click here to continue reading
Drought conditions spark government action, raise questions over wildfire response
CTV News
With parts of Alberta gripped by severe drought, fire chiefs across the province are asking the government to share its strategy for fighting wildfires this year. Click here to continue reading
Water-sharing negotiations start on Feb. 1
Government of Alberta
Alberta’s Drought Command Team has been authorized to start negotiations with water licence holders to strike water-sharing agreements to mitigate the risk of drought. Alberta relies on melting snow and rain for all of its water. This winter, snowpack is below average, rivers are at record low levels and multiple reservoirs remain well below capacity. Click here to continue reading
18 C in Abbotsford as atmospheric river smashes B.C. heat records, brings heavy rain
The Canadian Press
Unseasonable warmth brought by an atmospheric river has shattered records — some almost a century old — at more than 30 B.C. locations, with the mercury passing 18 C in the Lower Mainland. Environment Canada says the daily high temperature at Vancouver’s airport hit 14.3 C on Monday, breaking the previous record of 13.3 C set in 1940. Click here to continue reading
Contamination from old Alberta Rockies coal mines raises cleanup questions
The Canadian Press
A former coal mine in the Alberta Rockies is releasing selenium at rates more than dozens of times higher than federal and provincial guidelines, while another periodically disgorges water so iron-heavy it stains local creeks orange, research says. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Senegal’s pink lake is on the verge of disappearing – how to protect it
The Conversation – Africa
Lake Retba, better known as Lac Rose (the Pink Lake), is located around 35km from the city of Dakar, Senegal. It sits in a depression with a shoreline 6.5 metres below sea level.
The lake is isolated from the sea by about 1km of sand dunes. Its fresh water comes from the seasonal water table in the dunes, which are higher than the lake. Thus the sea provides most of the lake’s water and all of its salt. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Spain drought: Ebro Delta workers are searching for ‘equilibrium’ as water runs out
EuroNews Green
In the wetlands of Catalonia, farmers and environmentalists are working together to adapt to the region’s longest drought. One of Western Europe’s largest wetlands: the Ebro River Delta. It’s not only a habitat for many thousands of species but also serves as a source of hydroelectricity, eco-tourism and – most economically important – rice cultivation. Click here to continue reading
Epcor issues mandatory ban on non-essential water use
CTV News
Epcor issued a mandatory ban on non-essential water use as a result of an issue at a treatment plant. The ban impacts Edmonton, Sherwood Park, St. Albert, Stony Plain, Spruce Grove, Leduc, Beaumont and Fort Saskatchewan. Businesses that use a large volume of water, such as laundromats and car washes, are being asked to halt water use entirely. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Toxic landslide threatens Danish village as argument over clean up costs escalates
EuroNews Green
Authorities in Denmark are working against the clock to stop a slow-moving landslide of contaminated soil from reaching a nearby water source. Public officials and the company that operated the site are arguing over who should pay for the massive cleanup. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Dodging Day Zero: Drought, Adaptation And Inequality In Cape Town
University of California Television (UCTV)
Filmed presentation: In the coming decades, individuals around the world must adapt to changing environmental conditions, often driven by climate change. Adaptation requires significant resources, prompting the question of whether existing economic and social inequities may be exacerbated when adaptation become accessible to some, but not others. Click here to continue reading
Flood, avalanche risk still high across southwestern B.C. after heavy rain
CBC
Flood and avalanche risks remain elevated across British Columbia’s South Coast, where atmospheric rivers continue to bring heavy rains along with unseasonably warm temperatures. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: 83% of English rivers have evidence of high pollution from sewage and agriculture
The Guardian
Eighty-three per cent of English rivers contain evidence of high pollution caused by sewage and agricultural waste, according to the largest citizen science water testing project ever to take place in the UK. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Global Groundwater Declining Rapidly
Water Canada
Groundwater is rapidly declining across the globe, often at accelerating rates. Writing in the journal Nature, UC Santa Barbara researchers present the largest assessment of groundwater levels around the world, spanning nearly 1,700 aquifers. In addition to raising the alarm over declining water resources, the work offers instructive examples of where things are going well, and how groundwater depletion can be solved. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Water, water everywhere and now we may have drops to drink
Science Daily
Researchers have achieved a major breakthrough in Redox Flow Desalination (RFD), an emerging electrochemical technique that can turn seawater into potable drinking water and also store affordable renewable energy. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: ‘We can’t engineer our way out of this’: how to protect flood-hit Severn Valley
The Guardian
Tens of millions have been spent on human-made defences over the years, but the impact of the climate crisis means flooding is inevitable. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: 2020 US rule dramatically deregulated wetlands, streams and drinking water
Science Daily
New research used machine learning to more accurately predict which waterways are protected by the Clean Water Act. The analysis found that a 2020 Trump administration rule removed Clean Water Act protection for one-fourth of US wetlands and one-fifth of US streams, and also deregulated 30% of watersheds that supply drinking water to household taps. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Menindee fish kills: inconsistent pesticide levels sparks calls for review of water testing methods
The Guardian
Experts are calling for more sensitive water-quality testing in the Darling-Baaka River amid concerns that pesticides could be contributing to poor conditions, blue-green algae blooms and fish deaths. It follows two of the state’s top scientific bodies publishing test results from water samples taken near Menindee in far western New South Wales which contained inconsistent results. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Researchers advocate for sustainable logging to safeguard against global flood risks
Science Daily
Dr. Alila says the probabilistic framework is designed to understand and predict, for instance, how much of the 2021 Fraser Valley floods could be attributed to climate change, land use change or logging. But the risk of flooding is influenced by many things, such as how much snow is on the ground, whether it’s melting or not, how much rain is falling, and the characteristics of the landscape itself. The approach also can be extended to investigate the causes of flood risk in other cities and regions. Click here to continue reading
Atmospheric rivers swamp B.C. coast, melting snow and triggering flood advisories
The Canadian Press
Rainfall and flood advisories remain in effect for parts of Metro Vancouver and the Sea to Sky region as balmy weather melts any sign of heavy snowfall earlier this month. Environment Canada forecasts temperatures five to 10 degrees above normal. Click here to continue reading
Drought in Western Canada impacting hydropower production as reservoirs run low
The Canadian Press
Two hydro-rich provinces are being forced to import power from other jurisdictions due to severe drought in Western Canada. Both B.C. and Manitoba, where the vast majority of power is hydroelectric, are experiencing low reservoir levels that have negatively affected electricity production this fall and winter. Click here to continue reading
Nunavut needs more housing, but in the capital, that can’t happen without more water
The Canadian Press
The mayor of Nunavut’s capital says the city’s housing crisis cannot be solved unless another crisis is dealt with first. Iqaluit doesn’t have access to the water it needs to support a growing population, says the mayor. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Humans are depleting groundwater worldwide, but there are ways to replenish it
The Conversation – United States
In a newly published study, our team of data scientists, water specialists and policy experts compiled the first global-scale dataset of well water levels. We analyzed millions of groundwater level measurements in 170,000 wells located in over 40 countries and mapped how groundwater levels have changed over time. Click here to continue reading
Attawapiskat member files UN human rights complaint over decades-long struggle for clean drinking water
IndigiNews
An Attawapiskat member has submitted a 500-page human rights complaint to the United Nations over his First Nation’s lack of access to clean drinking water. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: BHP and Vale ordered to pay $15bn in damages for 2015 Brazil dam collapse
The Guardian
The dam collapse in the south-eastern city of Mariana caused a giant mudslide that killed 19 people and severely polluted the Rio Doce River, compromising the waterway to its outlet in the Atlantic Ocean. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Paper provides a clearer picture of severe hydro hazards
Science Daily
A new study now provides a global examination of drought-pluvial volatility — or the tendency to shift from one weather extreme to another. Click here to continue reading
City of Lethbridge opens water conservation survey
CTV News
Lethbridge residents can now fill out a water conservation survey conducted by the City of Lethbridge. The city is hoping to hear how residents conserve water and ideas for how it can reduce water usage. Click here to continue reading
Prairie water users watch mountain snowpack
The Western Producer
Officials say southern Alberta will be in good shape even if precipitation and runoff capture on the Oldman and St. Mary rivers are at median levels, but low levels could lead to a worst-case scenario. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Project to help water users improve watershed planning
The Western Producer
The organization that represents Alberta’s irrigation districts is spearheading a project that will better allow stakeholders in the South Saskatchewan River Basin to improve watershed planning. The project will use the South Saskatchewan River Operational Model (SSROM) to determine how to best develop infrastructure to benefit Albertans, said Margo Jarvis Redelback, executive director of the Alberta Irrigation Districts Association. Click here to continue reading
Dry January: why a dash of snow and rain can’t solve B.C.’s water woes
The Narwhal
B.C. has released its “Snow survey and water supply bulletin,” which shows the province entering 2024 with barely half its usual snowpack. That’s a provincial average; in many places the situation was far worse, with 15 snow stations recording all-time lows as of January 1, most of them in the interior. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Global warming – not El Niño – was primary cause of unprecedented Amazon drought, study finds
EuroNews Green
Human-induced global warming, and not El Niño, was the primary driver of last year’s severe drought in the Amazon, researchers said on Wednesday. Both climate change and El Niño contributed about equally to a reduction in rainfall. But higher global temperatures were the biggest reason for the drought, according to World Weather Attribution. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: ‘We cannot be cowards’: the Brazilian village fighting for the right to have water
The Guardian
Latin America’s water wars: In a struggle that has already cost one life, a community founded by those who fled slavery is fighting to save its access to water and way of life against encroaching farmers. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Solving the Mysteries of the Water Cycle with Cutting-edge Technology in Northern Finland
Water Canada
In the remote research area in Oulanka, Finland, tubes and sensors crisscross out of a telephone booth-like measuring room. Every minute, they collect samples and measurement data from inside the snow cover, which are immediately analysed using state-of-the-art technology in the booth. The measurements aim to provide information on snow depth, temperature, density and evaporation using new technology. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Minister vows to end water firms’ pollution self-monitoring in England
The Guardian
The environment secretary has told water companies in England that they will no longer be able to monitor and report on pollution from their own treatment works.
Steve Barclay told the privatised industry he would put an end to operator self-monitoring in a toughening of the regulatory approach. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Devastating drought in Amazon result of climate crisis, study shows
The Guardian
The climate crisis turned the drought that struck the Amazon rainforest in 2023 into a devastating event, a study has found.
The drought was the worst recorded in many places and hit the maximum “exceptional” level on the scientific scale. Without planet-warming emissions from the burning of oil, gas and coal, the drought would have been far less extreme, the analysis found. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Britain is at bursting point and its flood barriers need to be updated
The Conversation – United Kingdom
Flooding is the top environmental hazard identified in the UK’s National Risk Register, after a pandemic. Around one in six homes are currently at risk of flooding – a value likely to increase. In the record-breaking stormy winter of 2013/2014 the Thames Barrier closed 50 times, equal to the maintenance limit. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Injectable water filtration system could improve access to clean drinking water around the world
Science Daily
More than 2 billion people, approximately a quarter of the world’s population, lack access to clean drinking water. A new, portable and affordable water filtration solution created by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin aims to change that. A new portable filtration system collects dirty water with a syringe and injects it into a hydrogel filter that weeds out nearly all tiny particles. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Largest Dam Removal in U.S. History Begins
Water Canada
The Klamath River Renewal Corporation (KRRC) initiated the U.S.’s largest drawdown process in its history by opening the low-level outlet tunnel in the Iron Gate Dam earlier this week. Drawdown refers to the slow draining of the water in the reservoirs, which will be lowered in a controlled manner through tunnels located at the base of the dams. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Reservoir water levels low despite widespread flooding
BBC News
Residents are questioning why a reservoir’s water levels appear low despite the region experiencing heavy rain and severe flooding. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: An ancient system that could bring water to dry areas
The Conversation – Africa
Some of Africa’s dry areas face serious water shortages due to minimal rainfall. An ancient system of drawing water from aquifers, the “qanat system”, could help. Gaathier Mahed, an environmental scientist and expert on the management of groundwater, has studied the feasibility of these systems. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Congo’s blackwater Ruki River is a major transporter of forest carbon – new study
The Conversation – Africa
The results of this study show that the Ruki is a major contributor of dissolved carbon to the Congo River, and that the majority of this carbon is sourced from the leaching of forest vegetation and soils. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Heavy rains tarnish San Diego’s reputation for ideal weather
Reuters
San Diego, renowned for its mild, sunny weather, was mopping up on Tuesday after the heaviest rainfall ever recorded in the city in the month of January, a deluge that washed away parked cars, flooded homes and closed a stretch of highway. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Slovenia was devastated by flooding in 2023 – how is it preparing for extreme rain in the future?
EuroNews Green
Slovenia is raising levees and levies in a nationwide effort to become resilient to heavy rainfall and flash flooding. Climate Now reports from the riverside on the works underway and offers insight on the latest Copernicus climate data. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Iconic fishing shacks in Portland, Maine, destroyed as coast sees historic water levels
abcNEWS
Iconic fishing shacks in Portland, Maine, were washed away on Saturday when the coast saw record water levels, as storms sweep across the country. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Risks and opportunities of solar-powered groundwater irrigation
EurekAlert!
The declining cost of solar technologies and growing government commitments to clean energy are driving a boom in the use of solar-powered groundwater irrigation in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs). This has led to more than 500,000 solar pumps across South Asia and an estimated similar number installed across Sub-Saharan Africa over the last decade. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: How California Reservoir Water Levels Changed After Atmospheric Rivers
Newsweek
One reservoir in northern California rose by 5 feet after two atmospheric rivers supplemented the water levels. An atmospheric river is a “long, narrow region in the atmosphere—like rivers in the sky—that transport most of the water vapor outside of the tropics,” according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Satellite Images Show China’s Dam Threatening Neighbors’ Fresh Water Supply
Newsweek
China appears to have completed the construction of a new dam in the country’s southwestern border regions, a project that could have far-reaching strategic implications for its southern neighbors India and Nepal, according to new satellite imagery. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Mozambique’s cyclone flooding was devastating to animals – we studied how body size affected survival
The Conversation – Africa
When it comes to natural hazards, scientists think that traits such as body size, dispersal ability and habitat preference may be important in determining how vulnerable animals are. But it’s seldom possible to test these ideas. The research that was taking place in Gorongosa National Park at the time of Cyclone Idai provided the perfect opportunity to investigate this. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Why are floods in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal so devastating? Urban planning expert explains
The Conversation – Africa
The devastation caused by the recent floods in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa demonstrates again that the country is not moving fast enough to adopt appropriate urban planning. It should be integrating risk assessment and management in the design and development of cities. This is becoming more urgent as the frequency of floods increases. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Colorado Town Appoints Legal Guardians to Implement the Rights of a Creek and a Watershed
Inside Climate News
Systemic roadblocks in the U.S. legal system have thwarted efforts to advance the rights of nature movement. The Colorado advocates are testing a new approach. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Another Hot, Dry Summer May Push Parts of Texas to the Brink
Inside Climate News
Two consecutive summers of brutal heat and drought have left some parts of Texas with notably low water supplies going into 2024. A wet year or a well-placed hurricane could quickly pull these regions back from the brink. But winter rains have disappointed so far. Click here to continue reading
Athabasca Chief Allan Adam consulting with Ottawa on First Nations Clean Water Act
Edmonton Journal
Water — and last year’s tailings fluid leaks from Imperial Oil’s Kearl oilsands mine — were top of mind when Indigenous leaders and technicians from around Alberta met with the federal minister of Indigenous services this week in Edmonton. Click here to continue reading
Farmers in Alberta face growing risk of soil erosion events as drought persists
Global News
Nearly a century after the mass agricultural disaster known as the Dirty ’30s, drought conditions on the Prairies are once again raising the risk that farmers’ valuable topsoil will go blowing in the wind. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Aridity Could Dry Up Southwestern Mine Proposals
Inside Climate News
Critical minerals for the clean energy transition are abundant in the Southwest, but the dozens of mines proposed to access them will require vast sums of water, something in short supply in the desert. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Alberta Invests in Natural Drought and Flood Protection
Water Canada
Watersheds are areas of land that drain rainfall and melted snow into streams, rivers, and lakes. Healthy and resilient watersheds play an important role in preventing drought, reducing the risk of floods and supporting healthy communities and ecosystems. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: No recharge: Long-term Prairie drought raises concerns over groundwater levels
Calgary Herald
“The lowest water levels are all in the last seven years and the levels are much lower now than they were in the ’70s and ’80s,” Pomeroy said. “It’ll be a climate signal that we’re seeing.”. Click here to continue reading
Athabasca Chief Allan Adam consulting with Ottawa on First Nations Clean Water Act
Edmonton Journal
Water — and last year’s tailings fluid leaks from Imperial Oil’s Kearl oilsands mine — were top of mind when Indigenous leaders and technicians from around Alberta met with the federal minister of Indigenous services this week in Edmonton. Click here to continue reading
St. Mary’s River Irrigation District’s January Water Supply Update
As of January 16, 2024, St. Mary’s River Irrigation District’s reservoirs are at 43% of the Full Supply Limit, headworks reservoirs at 27% and total St. Mary Project reservoirs at 34%, targeting lower winter storage levels of the Full Supply Limit
Water grants now available
The Western Producer
The Land Stewardship Centre has opened applications for its 2024 Watershed Stewardship Grant. The grant is available to organizations in Alberta that are planning a water project, including stewardship and synergy groups, naturalist organizations, First Nations and Métis communities, recreational and community associations and other non-profits. Click here to continue reading
150 Calgary households still get drinking water through lead pipes. Half have refused replacement
CBC
More than three years after the City of Calgary launched its $14 million accelerated lead pipe removal program, roughly 150 households in Calgary still get their drinking water through lead pipes. Half of those households have declined replacement, often due to costs. Click here to continue reading
Feasibility study will determine the status of protecting Manitoba’s Seal River Watershed
Global News
A new agreement between First Nations leaders, the province of Manitoba, and the federal government will look at studying the feasibility of designated the Seal River Watershed as an Indigenous protected area. Click here to continue reading
New Sask. university program to offer irrigation training
The Western Producer
As plans for irrigation expansion continue in Saskatchewan and Alberta, the University of Saskatchewan is offering a new program to help agricultural professionals enhance their training in the burgeoning field. It can also be done remotely. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Efficiently moving urea out of polluted water is coming to reality
Science Daily
Researchers have developed a material to remove urea from water and potentially convert it into hydrogen gas. Click here to continue reading
Sask. wetland plan to have local focus
The Western Producer
Saskatchewan continues to wrestle with how best to allow agricultural water drainage while retaining wetlands. It would use a floor concept within the network, or a conservation and development area, to determine the wetlands that exist and how much would have to be kept to meet a certain retention goal. Click here to continue reading
Steps taken to prep for severe drought
East Central Alberta Review
Clive Councillors read a letter at their Jan. 8 meeting regarding a severe drought warning from Minister of Environment and Protected Areas Rebecca Schulz, that severe drought is expected in Alberta in the spring and summer of 2024 and asking municipalities to prepare. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: The drop in Panama Canal traffic due to a severe drought could cost up to $700 million
Western Investor
A severe drought that began last year has forced authorities to slash ship crossings by 36% in the Panama Canal, one of the world’s most important trade routes. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Econse helps Round Table Brewery launch with on-site, sustainable, wastewater treatment
Water Canada
“Operating sustainably certainly isn’t the simplest choice, but in our mind it was the only choice,” says Ricardo Petroni, of Round Table Brewery. “We’re part of this community, so protecting its resources is a responsibility we take seriously. When it came to our wastewater, Econse was the perfect choice. Their system fits in the brewery, is simple to operate, and allows us to produce great beer without negatively impacting water in the region.”. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: A new, rigorous assessment of OpenET accuracy for supporting satellite-based water management
Science Daily
Sustainable water management is an increasing concern in arid regions around the world, and scientists and regulators are turning to remote sensing tools like OpenET to help track and manage water resources. his tool has the potential to revolutionize water management, allowing for field-scale operational monitoring of water use, and a new study provides a thorough analysis of the accuracy of OpenET data for various crops and natural land cover types. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: UH trains future agri-scientists to outsmart climate change threats to food crops
EurekAlert!
Researchers at the University of Houston are training future agricultural scientists in new methods of protecting the world’s food crops – which too often are left vulnerable to extreme weather events in these days of climate change. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Hybrid Water Systems Offer Sustainable Solution for Future Cities
AZoCleantech
Houston’s water and wastewater system could be more resilient with the development of hybrid urban water supply systems that combine conventional, centralized water sources with reclaimed wastewater, according to a study by Rice University engineers published in Nature Water. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: HCL Group and UpLink Announce Winners of Zero Water Waste Challenge, Part of the Aquapreneur Innovation Initiative
Financial Post
The Aquapreneur Innovation Initiative is a five-year $15 million investment to drive freshwater sector innovation from HCL, a leading global conglomerate. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Water in Public Spaces: 15 Urban Projects That Incorporate Water Resources in Their Designs
ArchDaily
Water holds cultural significance in many societies, being associated with rituals and ceremonies and carrying diverse symbolic meanings. When present in urban public spaces, water-related elements also offer various benefits. Click here to continue reading
Explainer: Western Canada’s dry winter heralds worsening drought for 2024
Reuters
Canada’s abnormally dry winter is worsening drought conditions across the western provinces, where most of the country’s oil, gas, forest products and grain are produced. The dry winter follows Canada’s hottest summer on record, partly due to the El Niño weather phenomenon, and is raising concerns that 2024 could be another record-breaking wildfire year. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Brumadinho dam collapse: The danger emerged after the decommissioning, study reveals
Phys.org
A study has now shed light on the Brumadinho disaster. The scientists used numerical and analytical models to investigate the causes of the dam failure, and they have identified a physical mechanism that explains the mining accident. Click here to continue reading
Alberta’s drought could hinder Canadian beef industry’s ability to further reduce emissions
Calgary Herald
Canada’s beef industry has made headway on its 2030 emissions-reduction target, lowering its total emissions by 15 per cent from 2014 levels. Click here to continue reading
Alberta seeks public input on updated flood maps, even during a drought
Calgary Herald
Officials continue to work on updating flood mapping studies covering 1,600 kilometres of riverways in the province. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Study quantifies how aquifer depletion threatens crop yields
Science Daily
the depletion of groundwater — the same that many farmers rely on for irrigation — can threaten food production amid drought and drier climes. The study found that, due in part to the challenges of extracting groundwater, an aquifer’s depletion can curb crop yields even when it appears saturated enough to continue meeting the demands of irrigation. Click here to continue reading
Province plans ahead to mitigate severe drought this year — using a familiar modelling tool
CBC
WaterSMART Solutions, a water management consulting company will conduct drought modelling and determine how to optimize Alberta’s water supply. Using a tool called the South Saskatchewan River Operation Model (SSROM) which was utilized in the province’s 2013 flood response. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: This pristine lake has endured for 2m years. Why are its fish in crisis?
The Guardian
In one of the world’s oldest lakes, Hovsgol grayling, a species found only in these azure waters in Mongolia, are struggling to survive. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: The Cost of Freeing Drinking Water from ‘Forever Chemicals’
Undark Magazine
The EPA is set to limit PFAS in drinking water to barely detectable levels. Can water utilities meet the standard?. Click here to continue reading
Dry Ponds: A simple, yet innovative approach to flood mitigation
Water Canada
Whether it comes up out of the ground or falls out of the sky, it will still want to go where it’s been going for millennia. Which can be a problem when your neighbourhood used to be a lake and you have an old basement. So, what can be done?. Click here to continue reading
Metro Vancouver celebrates 100 years of providing drinking water to the region
Water Canada
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Greater Vancouver Water District, which has, through the collaboration of its members, consistently provided high-quality drinking water to the region’s residents. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: South West Water ‘not honest’ about drought preparations, watchdog claims
The Guardian
The Environment Agency (EA) told the water industry regulator Ofwat that SWW was “not honest” with regulators about the risk a drought posed to the company’s water supplies and was inadequately prepared for the heatwave. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Winters warmer than -8C are making snow disappear – and threatening Europe’s water supplies
EuroNews Green
“Many of the world’s most populous basins are hovering on the precipice of rapid snow declines,” concluded the study of snow amounts since 1981, published on Wednesday in the journal Nature. The study found a key threshold for the future of snowpacks in the Northern Hemisphere: -8 degrees Celsius. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Record heat in 2023 worsened global droughts, floods and wildfires
Science Daily
Record heat across the world profoundly impacted the global water cycle in 2023, contributing to severe storms, floods, megadroughts and bushfires, new research shows. Click here to continue reading
Agricultural drought assistance: Minister Sigurdson
Government of Alberta
Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation RJ Sigurdson issued the following statement on how the government is preparing to assist agricultural producers:. Click here to continue reading
Section of Banff Avenue closed due to water main break
CTV News
Emergency crews were called to a major water main break in the town of Banff Thursday morning. Banff is one of the many Alberta communities currently under an extreme cold warning on Thursday. Click here to continue reading
BC Hydro must pay for overcharging remote First Nations
National Observer
BC Hydro has been ordered to refund a small coastal First Nation more than $700,000 after unfairly charging it an extra annual fee for electricity for nearly a decade. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Thames Water bypassing local opposition in attempt to launch water recycling project
The Guardian
Thames Water is bypassing local democracy to attempt to push through a controversial water recycling project that campaigners say threatens to increase pollution on the river. Click here to continue reading
City of Lethbridge addressing water shortage concerns
CTV News
“Because we are already in such a moisture deficit in the soils, this little bit of precipitation is really not enough. We need feet and feet and feet of snow and/or lots of rain to resupply our soil water stores”. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Drought reveals sunken 11th century church as Spain battles prolonged water shortages
EuroNews Green
Flooded 60 years ago to form the Sau reservoir, which provides essential water supplies to the city of Barcelona, just the top of the church’s three-storey tower usually pokes up above the surface. Now, the 11th-century building stands firmly on dry land and has started to attract ‘drought tourists’. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Laid to Waste
Science
Ukrainian scientists are tallying the grave environmental consequences of the Kakhovka Dam disaster. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Conservation Takes Flight With Wetland Upgrades and Water Management
3BL CSRwire
Wetlands aren’t just for bullfrogs and cattails—they’re important for wildlife and humans alike. Two key projects emerged this year to improve the landscape for waterfowl, wildlife and surrounding communities, each with critical benefits to its respective ecosystem. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Conservative ‘failures’ have led to more sewage pollution, say water experts
The Guardian
Increased flooding blamed on years of government delays over ‘sponge cities’ rules. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Scientists find about a quarter million invisible nanoplastic particles in a liter of bottled water
The Canadian Press
The average liter of bottled water has nearly a quarter million invisible pieces of ever so tiny nanoplastics, detected and categorized for the first time by a microscope using dual lasers. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: EU Policy. Belgium urged to advance extension of water pollutant watch list
EuroNews Green
Belgium plans to move forward a proposal to increase the number of water pollutants subject to strict concentration limits, to include PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ and dozens of others, the EU Council presidency holder has said amid calls from civil society and industry. Click here to continue reading
Miawpukek First Nation improving water system to provide clean water to entire community
Water Canada
Miawpukek First Nation is embarking on a significant water system upgrade to ensure sustained access to safe and clean drinking water in the community. The installation of booster pumps and upgrades to the water treatment plant will ensure ample water pressure across the entire community. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Bottled water can contain hundreds of thousands of previously uncounted tiny plastic bits
Science Daily
A new microscopic technique zeroes in on the poorly explored world of nanoplastics, which can pass into blood, cells and your brain. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: How ‘wildcat’ subdivisions are making Arizona’s drought worse
Fast Company
When a small Arizona community called Rio Verde Foothills lost its water supply one year ago, forcing locals to skip showers and eat off paper plates, it became a poster child for unwise desert development. Click here to continue reading
Alberta government seeking feedback on new Edmonton-area flood maps
CBC
Alberta government seeking feedback on new Edmonton-area flood maps. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Heavy rain swamps much of Europe in floodwaters
CBC
Major rivers in England and Wales overflowed after being hit by a series of rainstorms, causing widespread flooding in the region. Britain is the latest victim of flooding, with places in France, Germany and Belgium still recovering from earlier deluges. Click here to continue reading
Gravel company fined for water discharge into McLeod River
Edmonton Journal
An Alberta natural resources company has been fined for pumping water from a gravel pit into a creek feeding the McLeod River 2 1/2 years ago. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Thailand tries nature-based water management to adapt to climate change
Mongabay
A new report assesses the efficacy of two nature-based approaches to water management in Thailand, which represent a step away from the country’s typically top-down, hard-engineering approach and present several benefits to the environment and communities. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: English towns and villages flooded after heavy rainfall – in pictures
The Guardian
Hundreds of flood warnings remain in place and commuters face travel disruption on Friday after heavy rain fell across parts of the UK. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: English towns and villages flooded after heavy rainfall – in pictures
The Guardian
Hundreds of flood warnings remain in place and commuters face travel disruption on Friday after heavy rain fell across parts of the UK. Click here to continue reading
Alberta is already preparing for a possible drought this spring
CTV News
Calgary set a record for temperatures in December. Your snow shovel and booster cables may be collecting dust, but while many people are glad to avoid the hassles of winter, the warm and dry conditions are also potentially concerning. Click here to continue reading
Alberta government warning municipalities about water use this year due to drought
CBC
Alberta’s environment minister is reaching out to municipalities asking them to find ways to use less water this year in light of the province’s drought. Click here to continue reading
Calgary sees warmest December on record, with water shortages possible this summer
Calgary Herald
Calgary and other parts of Alberta are in the midst of one of the warmest and driest winters on record, prompting concerns about water supply and fire risk heading into spring and summer this year. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Cold-Water Fish Are Being Threatened in Temperate US Lakes
Newsweek
A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that fish species are experiencing two climate-related changes at a time in their habitat: an increase in water temperature, and a lack of water clarity. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: First-Ever December Flood Warning Issued for Red River of the North
Newsweek
The US National Weather Service has issued the rare flood warning following high amounts of ice and rain in North Dakota throughout the month of December. This is the first time a flood warning has ever been issued for the river at this time of year, according to one of the agency’s meteorologists. Click here to continue reading
Is 2024 the year Okanagan Lake floating bridge becomes a suspension bridge?
iNFOnews
This is shaping up to be the driest year on record in terms and if this continues, by the end of winter, could set a modern-day low water level record for Okanagan Lake. That very unlikely event would force a lot of considerations, not least of which is to the only floating bridge in Canada. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: The race to destroy the toxic ‘forever chemicals’ polluting our world
The Guardian
“Forever chemicals” are in our drinking water sources, sea foam and spray, rain and groundwater, sea ice, and even human blood – so now efforts are increasing to detect, remove and destroy them. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: California snowpack lowest in decade despite hope with December storms
The Guardian
In the first snow survey of the season, California came up short – just 25% of the historical average – despite a spate of strong storms that caused flooding and landslides along the coast in late December. Click here to continue reading
Edmonton crews see big jump in water and ice rescues this holiday season
Global News
Over the holidays, Edmonton Fire Rescue Services were called to more than a dozen water or ice rescues. Between Dec. 24 and Jan. 1, there were 13 calls related to water rescues or people on the ice. Click here to continue reading
Water conservation top priority for 2024, says Lethbridge Mayor
CBC
Mandatory water restrictions are on the table, according to Mayor Blaine Hyggen. The mayor sat down with the CBC’s Lethbridge Bureau reporter Ose Irete for a year-end interview to discuss some of council’s priorities this new year. Click here to continue reading
More than 70% of Canada is ‘abnormally dry.’ Here’s why
CTV News
Rising temperatures and intense drought conditions impacted Canadians in 2023, from water rationing to the country’s worst wildfire season on record. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s latest assessment of drought conditions across the country continues to paint a dire picture(opens in a new tab): Canada is “abnormally dry.”. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Fleeing drought, vulnerable populations face flood risk in most African countries
EurekAlert!
In 80% of African countries, people moved toward rivers and into cities during or following drought, increasing the number of people living in flood-risk areas in recent decades. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Scientists discover new way to identify liquid water on exoplanets
EurekAlert!
Scientists have devised a new way to identify habitable planets and potentially inhabited planets, by comparing the amount of carbon dioxide in their atmosphere, to neighbouring planets. Click here to continue reading
Let the lawns go brown: Water conservation key for future Metro Vancouver droughts
Vancouver Sun
A significant amount of the water in Metro Vancouver’s complex reservoir system is consumed not by people, but by lawns, says Linda Parkinson, water services director for Metro Vancouver. Click here to continue reading
‘Life-changing’: Oneida laying groundwork for new water supply pipe
CBC
An Indigenous community near London, Ont., is close to approving the design of a pipeline that will bring fresh drinking water to residents who’ve been on a boil-water advisory for the past four years. Click here to continue reading
Nanton looks to larger neighbour to secure future water supply
CBC
The Town of Nanton is working with the Town High River on a plan to build a treated water pipeline between the two southern Alberta communities. Nanton, about 65 kilometres south of Calgary, needs to secure its future potable water supply. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Growing proportion of England’s flood defences in disrepair, analysis finds
The Guardian
Ministers have been told they will be “punished” by voters after analysis revealed the decline of vital flood defences across England. The proportion of critical assets in disrepair has almost trebled in the West Midlands and the east of England since 2018, leaving thousands of homes and businesses more vulnerable to storms. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Why Are Alaska’s Rivers Turning Orange?
Scientific American
Streams in Alaska are turning orange with iron and sulfuric acid. Scientists are trying to figure out why. Click here to continue reading
Compare and contrast: Thousands of trees planted in Devon to improve water quality
BBC News
More than 40,000 saplings are being planted on land near eight river catchments in Devon. It is part of a long-running project, called Upstream Thinking, to improve water quality. Click here to continue reading