Water

EPA issues first-ever drinking water standards for ‘forever chemicals’

The Biden administration also announced nearly $1 billion in newly available funding to help public water utilities implement PFAS testing and treatment.

  • By Elizabeth Daigneau

Fluoride in public water has slashed tooth decay, but some states may end mandates

Public health experts warn that anti-fluoridation legislation is buoyed by misinformation and junk science.

  • By Robbie Sequeira, Stateline

WIC, rental assistance get funding boost in newly unveiled spending bills

But the bipartisan proposals for six bills would cut funding to housing and transit programs.

  • By Kery Murakami

EPA expands water program to help more disadvantaged communities apply for grants

Many communities lack the resources necessary to conduct the technical assessments needed to win federal grants. The EPA wants to help.

  • By Kery Murakami

Who should be in charge of protecting our water systems from cyber threats?

Federal officials don’t agree. Recent hacks on water systems exposed their vulnerabilities. But while some want the EPA to play a stronger role, others emphasized that local systems are best suited to defend themselves.

  • By Chris Teale

Groundwater levels are falling worldwide — but there are solutions

New research shows how to protect the aquifers that hold most of the world’s fresh water.

  • By Jake Bittle, Grist

The cost of freeing drinking water from ‘forever chemicals’

The EPA is set to limit PFAS in drinking water to barely detectable levels. Can water utilities meet the standard?

  • By Charles Schmidt, Undark

Innovative water treatment tech could help remove forever chemicals

The Tampa Water Department is exploring suspended ion exchange technology as a way to address PFAS contamination to meet new federal standards.

  • By Kaitlyn Levinson

Should the EPA let Chicago have 40 years to remove lead pipes?

Some cities with a high number of lead pipes would be given more than the 10 years set by the EPA to replace them. The exception in the proposed rule is drawing criticism from residents and environmentalists.

  • By Kery Murakami

Two recent cyberattacks on water systems highlight vulnerability of critical infrastructure

Pro-Iran hackers allegedly hit a system near Pittsburgh, causing it to replace its Israeli-made equipment as a precaution. Meanwhile, another group hit a system in North Texas and caused operational issues.

  • By Chris Teale

EPA proposes all lead pipes be replaced within 10 years

The requirement would be a “massive unfunded mandate,” said a group representing local water utilities. But it does give cities, particularly those with lots of lead pipes, some leeway.

  • By Kery Murakami

After a pandemic pause, Detroit restarts water shut-offs—part of a nationwide trend as costs rise

COMMENTARY | Cities are turning to water shut-offs as more water service bills go unpaid as utility costs continue to climb.

  • By Elizabeth Mack, Edward Helderop and Tony Grubesic, The Conversation
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The future of the Colorado River hinges on one young negotiator

J.B. Hamby, California’s representative in talks about sharing water from the Colorado River, holds the keys to a quarter of the river’s flow—and its future.

  • By Mark Olalde and Janet Wilson, ProPublica

Sewer rates soar as private companies buy up local water systems

New state laws have unleashed dozens of buyout attempts.

  • By Alex Brown, Stateline

One city’s ‘data conversations’ help confront pressing challenges

Faced with water shortages, Henderson, Nevada, has turned to a data-driven approach to solve it. It’s now rolling out its approach to other departments citywide.

  • By Chris Teale

Low-income water assistance program set to end

Advocates are pushing to extend the program as poverty rates in the U.S. are on rise, an increase attributed to the end of other expanded pandemic benefits for food, rent and unemployment.

  • By Kery Murakami

What Arizona and other drought-ridden states can learn from Israel’s pioneering water strategy

COMMENTARY | Arizona is considering a multibillion-dollar desalination project to address its urgent water needs. Three water experts call for a go-slow approach and point to Israel as a role model.

  • By Gabriel Eckstein, Clive Lipchin and Sharon B. Megdal, The Conversation

States lose federal water funds to earmarks

Democrats and Republicans in Congress could divert nearly $1.5 billion from states for local funding.

  • By Kery Murakami

US water infrastructure ‘unsustainable’ amid rapidly evolving crisis, report warns

The United States is facing an unsustainable demand for water and lacks the security posture to defend the nation’s water systems from emerging threats, according to a new report.

  • By Chris Riotta

Water conservation model built on the Rio Grande may be a template for rest of US

Sen. Martin Heinrich hopes to add a nationwide groundwater conservation program to the Farm Bill.

  • By Danielle Prokop, Source New Mexico

Much is at stake in Congress’ upcoming budget negotiations for state and local water agencies

Two analyses suggest governments will be getting far less than what they need. They blame politics and earmarks.

  • By Kery Murakami