The Stream, June 14: Reports on Water Infrastructure and Global Energy Use

Statistics
Aging water and sewer infrastructure and finding the money to pay for repairs are top concerns for U.S. water utility leaders, according to a survey from Black and Veatch, an engineering and consulting firm.

BP released its annual Statistical Review of World Energy, a comprehensive assessment of global energy trends. Energy demand in the wealthy countries of the OECD shrank by 0.8 percent last year, while energy use in emerging economies increased by 5.3 percent. Find a mind-boggling amount of data in the full report.

Low reservoir levels in Uruguay in May reduced hydroelectric output and forced the country to import electricity from neighbors Argentina and Brazil.

United States
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a new planning framework for managing stormwater and sewers. The voluntary guidance will provide more flexibility to communities in how they achieve Clean Water Act goals.

The U.S. Forest Service issued special permits that will allow a ‘shovel brigade’ to repair water lines that supply the town of Tombstone, Arizona. The water infrastructure is in a federal wilderness area, which has given rise to a legal struggle over access.

The Stream is a daily digest spotting global water trends. To get more water news, follow Circle of Blue on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.

Brett Walton

Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States. He also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States(2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). He received the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award in 2018. Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies. Contact Brett Walton