Hotspots H2o

Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. Stories this week: water theft investigation in Baja California, Great Lakes heat up, Michigan governor extends shutoff ban, and China's massive floods.

This is an excerpt of our July 6, 2020, episode of What's Up With Water, as Circle of Blue reports on coronavirus prevention in Nigeria. As the coronavirus pandemic spreads through Africa’s most populous country, a health foundation is pushing for better access to water, sanitation, and hygiene. Though it had a late start, the disease is spreading through Nigeria with increasing speed. As of June 30, Nigeria had more than 25,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases, the second highest number in Africa. Forty percent of the cases were recorded in the last two weeks. Vulnerable populations such as frontline healthcare workers are at a greater risk without proper water or hygiene. Photo © Wellbeing Foundation Africa.

Your "need to know" news of the world's water, from Circle of Blue. Stories this week: Puerto Rico water rationing, Australia drought fund, water-climate research, plus a CoB feature on Covid-19 and hygiene in Nigeria.

This is an excerpt from the June 29, 2020, episode of What's Up With Water. This episode continues our reporting on small water systems facing big money problems. In North Carolina, officials are working on a rating system that would identify public water and sewer providers that are at risk of financial failure. The ratings would allow state funding and technical assistance to flow to the most distressed communities.

Your "need to know news" of the world's water from Circle of Blue. Three stories from the US this week: Bayer settlement, Line 5 temporary shutdown, and drinking water contamination in jails. Plus CoB story on assessing small water systems in North Carolina.

This is an excerpt from the June 22, 2020, episode of What's Up With Water. This episode reports on a remarkable drop in Colorado River water consumption. It’s an encouraging sign for the beleaguered river. The three states that hold the Colorado River’s lower basin used a lot less of its water last year, a low that hasn’t been seen in 33 years. This comes at a time of growing awareness of the vulnerability of the region’s water in a drying and warming climate. Arizona, California, and Nevada combined to consume just over 6.5 million acre-feet last year, according to an annual audit from the Bureau of Reclamation, the federal agency that oversees the lower basin.

Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. Stories this week: the Mekong River Commission asks China for more information about its dam operations, the expansion of informal settlement outside Caracas is another sign of Venezuela's economic collapse, U.S. commercial insurers examine Legionnaires' risks in buildings, Nevada regulators restrict groundwater pumping north of Las Vegas to protect an endangered fish, plus CoB story on Colorado River.

This is an excerpt from the June 15, 2020, episode of What's Up With Water. This episode reports on how efforts to protect salmon in the Pacific Northwest could affect the region’s dams. Last month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a long-awaited proposal under the Clean Water Act, which would limit water temperatures in one of the country’s largest river systems. The limits apply to some 900 miles of the Columbia and Lower Snake rivers in Oregon and Washington. The intent is to protect endangered salmon and other aquatic species from overheating in waters affected by thermal stress.

Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. Stories this week: government officials delay expansion of Sydney's desalination plant, Nestle considers selling U.S. bottled water brands, the Flint water crisis caused U.S. children to drink less tap water, and legal proceedings in California put water fluoridation on trial. Plus, a CoB feature on water temperature limits in the Columbia and Lower Snake rivers to protect salmon.

This is an excerpt from the June 8, 2020, episode of What's Up With Water. This episode reports on sewage surveillance as a way to monitor the new coronavirus. It’s attracting a lot of attention, but has some obstacles to overcome before it is widely used for public health decisions. In hundreds of cities worldwide, health departments and researchers are turning to sewage to better understand the spread of the virus in their communities. This is possible because people infected with SARS-CoV-2 shed particles of the virus in their stool.

Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week: New Jersey finalizes drinking water standards for PFOA and PFOS, federal researchers expect a Gulf of Mexico dead zone and a Lake Erie harmful algal bloom that are smaller than last year, and Sao Paulo state suspends utility shutoffs during the pandemic. Plus, aCoB feature on sewage surveillance for the coronavirus.

This is an excerpt from the June 1, 2020, episode of What's Up With Water. This episode reports on how the global coronavirus pandemic is doubly disastrous to water utilities abroad. The pandemic, now in its third month, is deepening a financial crisis for water utilities in low- and middle-income countries.

Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. This week, stories on cyberattack against Israel, low water levels on the Parana River, and global handwashing access data. Our CoB feature is on how the pandemic is threatening water utilities abroad.

This is an excerpt from the May 18, 2020, episode of What's Up With Water. This episode reports on the deadly consequences of stagnant water in buildings gone dormant during Covid-19 shutdowns. The extensive closure of offices, hotels, restaurants and other commercial buildings during the coronavirus pandemic could pose a health hazard once those structures are reopened to the public. The greatest concern, say plumbing and water quality experts, is Legionnaires’ disease, a respiratory infection that is the deadliest waterborne illness in the United States.

Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. Stories this week include the first confirmed case of Covid-19 in the world's largest refugee settlement, a disruption to water supplies in Nairobi, and proposed rule changes at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Also, a CoB feature on the health threats ahead in building plumbing.

This is an excerpt from the May 11, 2020, episode of What's Up With Water. This episode looks at a study pointing to groundwater as the biggest flooding threat to Honolulu as the seas rise. Building a wall seems like an intuitive way to protect a coastal city from rising seas. Ocean barriers date back to ancient times. But the intuitive response can be the wrong response, say experts, when the obvious threat is not the greatest threat.

Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. Stories for this week: dam rupture in Uzbekistan; flooding in Kenya; oil and gas states request Covid-19 aid for employing laid off fossil fuel workers for the purpose of plugging abandoned wells; a federal judge says oil and gas leases in Montana did not properly analyze groundwater impacts. And CoB story on flooding risks in Honolulu from rising groundwater.

Your "need to know" news of the world's water from Circle of Blue. Stories for this week: dam rupture in Uzbekistan; flooding in Kenya; oil and gas states request Covid-19 aid for employing laid off fossil fuel workers for the purpose of plugging abandoned wells; a federal judge says oil and gas leases in Montana did not properly analyze groundwater impacts. And CoB story on flooding risks in Honolulu from rising groundwater.

This is an excerpt from the May 4, 2020, episode of What's Up With Water. This episode looks at U.S. Congressional negotiations over financial aid to water utilities and their customers during the coronavirus pandemic.

Your "need to know" news of the world's water, from Circle of Blue. Stories this week: drought in Europe and Argentina, an encouraging rain forecast for eastern Australia, and a CoB story on water aid in Congress.