Water

Interstate Water Wars are Heating Up Along With the Climate

COMMENTARY | Sates should put at least as much effort into reducing water use as they do into litigation, because there are no guaranteed winners in water lawsuits.

  • By Robert Glennon, The Conversation

Cities Battle Another Long-Lasting Covid Reminder: PPE Litter

Discarded masks and plastic gloves are turning up on beaches and in waterways with increasing frequency.

  • By Andrea Noble

Why Wall Street Investors’ Trading California Water Futures is Nothing to Fear – and Unlikely to Work Anyway

COMMENTARY | Futures won’t affect whether there’s water in the hose

  • By Ellen Bruno and Heidi Schweizer, The Conversation

Water Being Pumped Into Tampa Bay Could Cause a Massive Algae Bloom, Putting Fragile Manatee and Fish Habitats at Risk

Contaminated water that's being emptied from a leaking reservoir at an abandoned phosphate plant is the latest threat to marine ecosystems in the region.

  • By Larry Brand, The Conversation

State and Federal Wildlife Officials Would Like You to Please Destroy Your Moss Balls

Invasive zebra mussels have been found in aquarium moss balls in at least 21 states. Wildlife officials say the balls must be destroyed to prevent the fast-multiplying mollusk from spreading.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

Mid-Sized City Mayors Urge Feds Not to Forget Them in Climate Fight

The type of infrastructure investment needed to advance the Biden administration’s climate policy goals could be out of reach for many small and mid-sized cities without federal help.

  • By Andrea Noble

As More Americans Struggle to Pay Water Bills, Affordability Solutions Are Past Due

COMMENTARY | With utility shutoff moratoriums expiring, millions of people, particularly people of color and low-income families, are at risk of losing water service.

  • By Chris Shaffner

'I Need to Find Water, and I Need to Find it Now': A Local Official Takes Disaster Relief Into Her Own Hands

Paige Ellis, a city council member in Austin, Texas tracked down 10 pallets of bottled water and distributed it across her district after winter storms left thousands in the state without power or water.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

Failed Poisoning Attempt Shows Vulnerability of Smaller Water Systems to Hackers

While cybersecurity resources can be scarce at small agencies, there are some basic steps they can take to protect themselves.

  • By Daniel C. Vock

A Pennsylvania County Goes Hydro With its Government Buildings

Allegheny County will power its facilities with hydroelectric power under a 35-year agreement with a planned plant on a nearby river.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

Hack of Florida Water Treatment Plant Should Be a Wake-Up Call, Experts Say

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency should be involved every step of the way, a former presidential adviser said.

  • By Mariam Baksh

Hackers Tried to Poison a City's Drinking Water Supply

The cyberattack used remote access to toggle levels of sodium hydroxide at a water treatment plant near Tampa, Florida, but an operator at the facility quickly fixed the problem, officials said.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram
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Texas Prepares to Test for Lead in Schools’ Drinking Water for the First Time

An updated EPA rule requires drinking water in elementary schools be tested for lead and copper — a mandate that emerged from the Flint, Michigan, water crisis.

  • By Erin Douglas, The Texas Tribune

The Unfinished Business of Flint’s Water Crisis

Criminal charges and a class-action settlement may seem like the last chapter in Flint’s story, but many of the most important reforms at the root of the city’s water crisis remain undone.

  • By Anna Clark, ProPublica

Reports: Former Michigan Governor to Be Charged in Flint Water Crisis

Rick Snyder and other former officials could face unspecified charges later this week.

  • By Bill Lucia

Under Biden, Infrastructure Is Back in Play. But Making a Deal Will Still Be Tough

If Republicans keep control of the Senate, many of the obstacles to a package under President Trump will remain. But advocates along the political spectrum still see hope for a compromise.

  • By Bill Lucia

Climate Change Amplifies Colorado’s Water Diversion Debate

Booming communities on the state's "Front Range" want to move forward with a plan to pump water over the Rocky Mountains for use in their cities. But conservationists say climate change should instead be prompting new thinking about how water is used in the state.

  • By David O. Williams

From Sewage Sludge, a New Perspective on the Flint Water Crisis

COMMENTARY | The 2014 lead crisis was troubling. But the science now suggests that other cities — and even Flint — have seen worse.

  • By Siddhartha Roy and Marc Edwards, Undark

States Sue EPA Over Chesapeake Bay Pollution Reduction Plans

A group of states say New York and Pennsylvania are not doing enough to reduce water pollution and arguing the federal government is letting them get away with it.

  • By Andrea Noble

Strained Rural Water Utilities Buckle Under Pandemic Pressure

Rural water service has missed out on federal and state pandemic relief.

  • By April Simpson, Stateline

In a Cross-State Aquifer Spat, a View of a Water-Stressed Future

Mississippi sued Memphis over its use of a deep aquifer. A possibly paradigm-shifting Supreme Court decision looms.

  • By Leanna First-Arai, Undark