The Stream, September 9: Detroit Moves to Regional Water System

United States
A new regional water system will include Detroit and three counties, including Macomb, Oakland and Wayne, the Detroit Free Press reported. The new system, dubbed the Great Lakes Water Authority, is meant to ease the financial burdens on bankrupt Detroit, though water rates are set to increase for residents.

The federal government announced half a billion dollars that will be made available to improve the country’s aging electrical grid in an effort to shore up infrastructure, Reuters reported. A report on potential water and transportation infrastructure projects is expected to be commissioned in the future.

Floods
Flash floods have now taken the lives of 400 people in the Kashmir region shared by India and Pakistan, and many more people are still trapped by the high waters, Reuters reported. The floods follow the heaviest rains the region has seen in 50 years.

Water releases from China’s Jinghong dam this month could cause portions of the Mekong River to rise as much as three meters, The Nation reported. The increase in water could put some areas along the river in Thailand at risk of flash floods, though water releases from the dam have not yet reached critical levels.

Codi Kozacek

A news correspondent for Circle of Blue based out of Hawaii. She writes The Stream, Circle of Blue’s daily digest of international water news trends. Her interests include food security, ecology and the Great Lakes.
Contact Codi Kozacek