Circle of Blue | Water Reporting, Data & Convening

Is Agrochemical Contamination Killing Nebraska’s Children?

February 2, 2022

The harrowing trail of toxic nutrients in farm country water.

Historically Excluded from Colorado River policy, tribes want a say in how the dwindling resource is used.

January 20, 2022

Who Should Pay to Fix California’s Sunken Canals?

January 13, 2022

Agribusiness and its proponents say repairs will benefit disadvantaged towns. Those residents disagree.

The Next Source of Trouble for Great Lakes Fish Populations: Tires

Speaking of Water: Mapping People, Power, and Water w/ Giulio Boccaletti and Parag Khanna

January 6, 2022

Award-winning nonprofit journalism from the frontlines of water, food, and energy in the changing climate.

Latest Stories

Is Agrochemical Contamination Killing Nebraska’s Children?

February 2, 2022

The harrowing trail of toxic nutrients in farm country water.

Historically Excluded from Colorado River policy, tribes want a say in how the dwindling resource is used.

January 20, 2022

Who Should Pay to Fix California’s Sunken Canals?

January 13, 2022

Agribusiness and its proponents say repairs will benefit disadvantaged towns. Those residents disagree.

The Next Source of Trouble for Great Lakes Fish Populations: Tires

January 11, 2022

Speaking of Water: Mapping People, Power, and Water w/ Giulio Boccaletti and Parag Khanna

January 6, 2022

Perspective | More Attention Needed on Freshwater Biodiversity

December 16, 2021

Freshwater species are dying off and decreasing in abundance. Yet conservation funding centers on lands and oceans.

High Costs, Few Customers: Benton Harbor Water Woes Loom for Michigan Cities

December 15, 2021

This Central Valley Town Has a Carcinogen in its Water. Why Are Solutions So Slow?

December 14, 2021

The Year in Water, 2021

December 9, 2021

Water Crises Take Center Stage

As West Withers Corporations Consolidate Land and Water Rights

December 7, 2021

Rising Cost of Water in Michigan Leads to Affordability Problems

December 2, 2021

A growing number of Michigan households are burdened by high water bills, report finds.

Utah’s Water Dilemma

November 29, 2021

Record-breaking drought along the Wasatch Front forces tough decisions about water supply.

What’s Up With Water — February 8, 2022

In Louisiana, state leaders are using federal funds to help struggling water systems.

Also in the United States, a new report finds that climate change is making it costlier to insure commodity crops against severe weather.

This week Circle of Blue published the first story in a two-part series on the impact of farm chemicals on families and communities in Nebraska

Circle of Blue · What's Up With Water - February 8, 2022

Daily Summary of Global Water News

Children in Ethiopia are suffering from severe malnutrition as drought deepens across the country.
Storm Ana serves as a reminder of climate change’s worsening impact on the world’s most vulnerable communities.
Protected land and water in Ecuador are contaminated after an oil spill last week.
The cost of flooding in the United States is expected to rise nearly 30 percent by 2050.

Public distrust of drinking water in the United States remains high as the government makes plans to address water quality and access.

Read more here.

Weekly Digest of U.S. Water Policy and Trends.

The Bureau of Reclamation and Lower Colorado River Basin states agree to keep more water in a shrinking Lake Mead over the next two years.
The EPA says it will allow the revised Lead and Copper Rule to go into effect…but will revise the revisions to strengthen the rule by emphasizing removing all lead pipes
A watchdog agency says the EPA and Coast Guard should study the environmental effects of chemical dispersants used to cleanup oil spills in oceans.

And lastly, the Defense Secretary says he’s keeping tabs on the water contamination at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.

Read more here.

hotspots3

HotSpots H2O examines regions and populations that are most at risk from water-related unrest and conflict. It reveals the challenges individuals confront — and the solutions they discover — as they face the greatest challenge of the 21st century: water.

HotSpots H2O: Polluted Rivers, Scarce Water, Sinking Capital: Report Warns of Dire Water Threats Facing Indonesia

January 31, 2022

Depending on how effectively they are addressed, water issues could slice 7 percent from Indonesia’s GDP in 2045—or boost it by 3 percent.

HotSpots H2O: As Dust Settles in Tonga After Volcanic Eruption, Drinking Water Now the ‘Biggest Life-Saving Issue’

January 24, 2022

Ocean water and volcanic ash have contaminated the drinking water of tens of thousands of people in the Pacific island nation.

HotSpots H2O: In Chile’s Lithium Mines, Climate and Environment Are Dueling Priorities

January 17, 2022

A battle is brewing over the future of lithium, an essential component of the world’s transition to renewable energy.

HotSpots H2O: 100,000 Displaced as Water Scarcity Ignites Ethnic Clashes in Cameroon

December 20, 2021

Climate change has made rainfall in the Sahel more variable, straining Cameroon’s agriculture industry and sparking ethnic tensions.

Circle of Blue is a partner of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets covering climate

How the world responds to water challenges in the next months and years will have effects for generations.

Delhi is thirsty, even parched. As the 3rd largest population center in the world, its 25 million people need water, and lots of it, to survive. It’s clear that how India responds in the next months and years will have effects for generations. How will it manage the intensifying competition between water, food and energy in a changing climate?

It’s clear that getting enough water day-by-day is foremost on people’s minds. When the challenge is so great and children so thirsty, people often take their water sources into their own hands. Some entrepreneurs bring water by tank pulled by a tractor, and sell at an inflated rate. Others drill their own unsanctioned wells, some even in the middle of the street.

ChokePoint:

The conflicting demand for water, food, and energy is the defining challenge of our century. Global Choke Point, a collaboration between Circle of Blue and the Wilson Center, explores the peril and promise with frontline reporting, data, and policy expertise.

No one is better positioned to deliver groundbreaking knowledge on the critical resource of global water than Circle of Blue.

Ian Bremmer, President, Eurasia Group

Changing the face of journalism.

American Academy of Arts and Sciences

The combining of journalism, science, data, design and convening power is an innovative model that works.

Hon. Jane Harmon, President, Wilson Center

To respond to the world’s greatest, most urgent challenges, we need trusted information, clear context, and solutions-focused dialogue. Circle of Blue cuts through the complexities of global development. Through knowledge and informed action, we can make a better future.

Henrik Skovby, Executive Chairman, Dalberg Group

I am happy that this meeting is taking place, for it represents yet another stage in the joint commitment of various institutions to raising consciousness about the need to protect water as a treasure belonging to everyone, mindful too of its cultural and religious significance.

Pope Francis