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The Year in Water, 2020

Societies Confront the Fallout from Rapid Environmental Change

By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue – December 9, 2020

The warnings signs were visible, for those who wanted to see them.

Five years ago, the World Economic Forum asked its members to rank the calamities that posed the greatest threat to society. That year, in the middle of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and while SARS-CoV-2 was still only circulating among bats, respondents deemed the spread of infectious disease the number two risk in terms of impact. The citizens of 2020, who have endured lockdowns, job losses, travel restrictions, and the deaths of friends and family during the pandemic, would surely agree. In retrospect they might even lift infectious disease to the top spot.

All years impose their discomforts. This year, in truth, stood out. Not just for the trials of the last 12 months. But as evidence of the tests yet to come.

What was the top-ranked risk in that survey of five years ago? Water crises.

Water crises, in many ways, are not like a pandemic, an event with a single, triggering cause. They are more diffuse and multi-faceted, and an individual crisis is usually constrained, not reverberating globally. But like the pandemic, water crises stem from environmental neglect and failures of leadership, and the repercussions of both are becoming more apparent every year.

2020 was no different.

Manmade systems were tested by supercharged weather and lax oversight. Water levels behind the Three Gorges Dam were the highest since the dam began impounding water in 2003. Operators were said to be on “wartime footing” to manage the inundation from a severe rainy season in southern China that caused an estimated $32 billion in flood damages.

The Three Gorges held, but structures elsewhere could not withstand mounting pressures. In Uzbekistan, the Sardoba Dam, completed just three years earlier, collapsed in May following days of rain. More than 100,000 people were evacuated. That same month in Michigan, two dams upstream of Midland failed during heavy rains. Soils were already saturated in the state, whose coasts were also besieged by record-high levels in lakes Huron and Michigan.

Shifts in water availability affected commercial infrastructure, too. In Panama, managers of the Panama Canal considered a range of water-supply projects to keep the vital shipping route viable during extended drought. To raise funds, the authority introduced new fees in February that apply to large ships using the locks in the waterway that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Farther south, record-low water levels in the Parana River in Argentina resulted in ships running aground and cargo restrictions that limited soybean exports.

Not all was gloom, though. Water use in the American West continued its downward trend as conservation policies in the drying region paid off. A coalition of governments, businesses, tribes, and green groups pushed forward with tearing down four dams on the Klamath River of California and Oregon, in what will become the world’s largest dam removal. Lead service lines in Flint have nearly all been replaced. And the government of Denmark, though a small producer, set a 2050 timetable for ending oil and gas production from its North Sea fields.

Then there was the pandemic, which not only exposed the cracks in public health systems. It also laid bare the intimate bond between water, sanitation, hygiene, and health. Ensuring that households had adequate water during a health emergency was suddenly a top priority for municipal and national leaders. The governor of Michigan ordered all homes without water service to be reconnected, while the president of Ghana said the central government would cover the water bills of all residents for the months of April, May, and June.

All years impose their discomforts. This year, in truth, stood out. Not just for the trials of the last 12 months. But as evidence of the tests yet to come. Environmental challenges of water, climate, and health are real and growing — visible for those who want to see them.

Influential U.S. Government Actions
Customer Water Debt Rises
U.S. Water Access and Affordability
Pandemic Puts Spotlight on Water Systems
Covid-19 and WASH
Disasters Disrupt Water
Technology and Adaptation
Climate Change Brings Water Risks
Water, Texas
HotSpots H2O

Influential U.S. Government Actions

2020 turned out to be the final year of the Trump administration. It was a consequential and tumultuous four years. At the president’s direction, agencies set out to trim the federal rulebook. Water protections were among those regulations that were cut.

In the most significant action, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers finalized in April a Trump campaign promise: to reduce the scope of the Clean Water Act.

Overlooked Army Corps Rulemaking Would Shrink Federal Stream Protections

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November 12, 2020
Conservation groups and state regulators are alarmed by proposed changes to nationwide permits that authorize construction across streams and wetlands.
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U.S., Mexico Sign Rio Grande Water Agreement

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November 3, 2020
U.S. and Mexican officials settled a water dispute that had been simmering for several months and led to protests by Mexican farmers concerned about water access.
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What Has the Trump Administration Meant for Water?

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October 22, 2020
By narrowing or repealing federal rules, the Trump administration has prioritized big business and reduced pollution protection for waterways.
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Feds Propose River Temperature Limits to Protect Salmon in Pacific Northwest

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June 11, 2020
EPA seeks to keep Columbia and Lower Snake rivers from cooking…
https://i2.wp.com/www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/IceHarborDam.jpg?fit=2400%2C1596&ssl=1 1596 2400 Brett Walton https://www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Circle-of-Blue-Water-Speaks-600x139.png Brett Walton2020-06-11 12:34:532020-12-07 10:13:45Feds Propose River Temperature Limits to Protect Salmon in Pacific Northwest

CDC, EPA Change Building Reopening Guidance After Acknowledging Error

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May 19, 2020
Agencies admit incorrect guidance in documents intended to protect people from a deadly waterborne disease.
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Customer Water Debt Rises

Even before the pandemic, residents were behind on their water and sewer bills. These debts are a destabilizing force and put a household at risk of having its water turned off. A Circle of Blue investigation was the first national assessment of the problem. Public records requests from a dozen large U.S. cities revealed that more than 1.5 million residential accounts owed $1.1 billion in past-due balances.

The Covid-19 crisis and its spillover economic damage pushed more people into debt. Many utilities are not shutting off water for overdue payments and have suspended late fees. But those bills that have accumulated during the months of financial reprieve will still come due.

California Water Board Collects Data on Household Water Debt, Utility Finances

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November 10, 2020
More people are behind on their water bills because of the pandemic. State regulators in California want to know how many and how far behind.
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Michigan Allocates $20 Million to Relieve Customer Water Debts

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October 14, 2020
Michigan is using federal CARES Act funding to help residents pay off past-due water bills that accrued during the pandemic.
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Lack of Utility Data Obscures Customer Water Debt Problems

October 12, 2020
Inadequate data hampers understanding of who is most affected by overdue water bills.
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Utilities Ordered To Forgive Customer Water Debt

August 12, 2020
Three cities are promoting the idea of water debt forgiveness.
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Millions of Americans Are In Water Debt

August 4, 2020
Most Americans give little thought to water bills, paying them on time and in full. But for a subset of homeowners and renters, water debt is constant and menacing.
https://i2.wp.com/www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/2019-11-18-Detroit-Water-JGanter-_MG_6745-2500.jpg?fit=1600%2C1067&ssl=1 1067 1600 Brett Walton https://www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Circle-of-Blue-Water-Speaks-600x139.png Brett Walton2020-08-04 19:33:172021-01-04 18:24:42Millions of Americans Are In Water Debt

U.S. Water Access and Affordability

Despite the country’s wealth, running water and a working toilet at home are not assured for all people in the United States.

Though researchers found that there are more urban residents in “plumbing poverty,” rural areas also struggle with outdated water infrastructure, rising costs, polluted water, and declining populations. North Carolina continued its campaign to understand these financial stresses and direct state funds toward sustainable solutions.

Who in the U.S. Is in ‘Plumbing Poverty’? Mostly Urban Residents, Study Says

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November 3, 2020
Not everyone in the country has piped water at home. Study authors argue that water access in the U.S. is inseparable from housing and social inequality.
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Phoenix Tests Water Shutoff Alternative

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July 15, 2020
Before the pandemic, the Phoenix had started installing a device that severely limits water flow into homes that are behind on bills. Other utilities are interested.
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North Carolina, In Early Stages of Financial Review, Sees Potentially Large Number of Distressed Water Systems

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June 25, 2020
North Carolina officials are working to develop a rating system that would identify public water and sewer providers at risk of financial failure.
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Water Shutoffs Are Suspended, But the Bills Will Still Be Due

April 8, 2020
Many utilities will not disconnect water during the coronavirus emergency. But residents are still required to pay their bills when it’s over.
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North Carolina Panel Approves Bailout for Indebted Sewer System

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February 13, 2020
Cliffside Sanitary District, which serves around 75 customers, is under state control because of financial hardship.
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Pandemic Puts Spotlight on Water Systems

The coronavirus pandemic sent shock waves through all corners of society. Water systems felt them, too. Initially, utilities scrambled to ensure that the virus did not decimate their staff and leave no one to operate essential equipment.

Besides being an essential element of the public health response, water was instrumental in foretelling Covid-19 outbreaks. Testing sewage for traces of the virus provided a community-level snapshot of viral loads. Governments quickly embraced sewage surveillance as an early-warning system for cities, neighborhoods, and college campuses.

Enthusiasm But Obstacles in Using Sewage to Monitor Coronavirus

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June 4, 2020
Health departments and researchers in hundreds of cities worldwide are turning to sewage to better understand the spread of the new coronavirus in their communities.
https://i2.wp.com/www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/SanitarySewer.jpg?fit=2400%2C1800&ssl=1 1800 2400 Brett Walton https://www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Circle-of-Blue-Water-Speaks-600x139.png Brett Walton2020-06-04 05:00:032020-12-08 14:02:03Enthusiasm But Obstacles in Using Sewage to Monitor Coronavirus

Utilities in Developing Countries, in Financial Tailspin, Try to Keep Water Flowing During Pandemic and Beyond

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May 28, 2020
Water utilities are experiencing a ‘double hit’ in their finances that could hinder operations into the future.
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‘Deadly’ Consequences If Stagnant Water in Shuttered Buildings Is Not Properly Addressed

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May 15, 2020
The extensive closure of offices, hotels, restaurants and other commercial buildings in response to the coronavirus pandemic is a potential health hazard once those structures are reopened to the public.
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Water Contamination Risks Lurk in Plumbing of Idled Buildings

April 14, 2020
Stagnant water is a breeding ground for bacteria. Before reopening shuttered buildings, the internal water systems need to be investigated, plumbing experts say.
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Volunteer Network Rescues Small Alabama Water System with Operator under Quarantine

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March 26, 2020
Water utilities are concerned that the new coronavirus will lead to staffing shortages.
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Covid-19 and WASH

The pandemic cast a sharp light on the connections between public health and the systems that provide safe water, sanitation, and hygiene.

To keep water flowing to households during the emergency, utilities stopped shutting off water for unpaid bills. In countries without widespread sanitation, aid agencies installed public handwashing stations and distributed soap.

Observers expect the social and economic consequences of the pandemic to influence international aid programs for years to come.

“The reality of this is you don’t have 150 million people drop into extreme poverty within a year without significant global consequences,” Liz Marcey, director of policy and advocacy for WaterAid America, told Circle of Blue.

As Global Poverty Rises, USAID Plans for Covid-Altered World

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November 20, 2020
Ensuring that water, sanitation, and hygiene are threaded throughout the agency’s programs is key, observers say.
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Covid-19 Outbreaks In Prisons Underscore Need For Reform

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August 27, 2020
The U.S. prison system has emerged as a center of Covid-19 transmission.
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Kenya Looks to Sustain Health Focus Beyond the Pandemic

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July 30, 2020
As Covid-19 cases continue to rise in Kenya, a coordinated effort by the government and aid organizations addresses water, hygiene, and sanitation.
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Community Groups in Brazil Step In Where Government Covid-19 Response Falls Short

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July 21, 2020
In Brazil, favela residents take action against societal inequalities exposed by the coronavirus.
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‘This Is the Time to Act Collectively’: Anticipating Coronavirus Spread, Groups Seek to Scale Up Handwashing and Hygiene Efforts

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March 19, 2020
Amid the global coronavirus pandemic, handwashing and hygiene are swelling in urgency and support, even though the message being delivered is not new.
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Disasters Disrupt Water

It was another record-breaking year for natural hazards.

So many hurricanes barreled across the Atlantic that the World Meteorological Organization ran out of names on its alphabetical list and had to resort to Greek letters. Central America was struck by hurricanes Eta and Iota in November, the second being a Category 5 storm. Some of those uprooted by the twin disasters said they would leave home permanently and venture north, to the United States, foreshadowing future movement of people displaced by climate changes.

In the Pacific, the Philippines was hit by 21 tropical storms this year. Southern China endured more than four months of floods due to one of the strongest summer monsoons in recent decades. Water levels at the Three Gorges Dam were the highest recorded since the dam began impounding water in 2003.

Drought and heat were also supporting players in record-setting blazes in the American West, where wind-driven fires destroyed towns and water systems in California, Oregon, and Washington.

‘A Lot of Catastrophe': Louisiana Water Systems Still Reeling from Hurricane Laura

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September 15, 2020
Nearly three weeks after the Hurricane Laura, more than 30 water systems in the state are still not operating.
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Western Wildfires Damage, Contaminate Drinking Water Systems

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September 11, 2020
As they tear through forests and developed areas, fires in California, Oregon, and Washington have destroyed water infrastructure and released chemical contaminants.
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In Northeastern Syria, Pollution And Conflict Prevent Thousands From Clean Water

August 20, 2020
Where the Oil Runs Deep, Water Turns Foul
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India’s Most Recent Cyclone Highlights A Worrying Future

August 11, 2020
Storms are growing stronger as the planet warms. India must focus on an integrated approach after Cyclone Amphan, researchers say.
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Country’s Aging Dams, a ‘Sitting Duck,’ Facing a Barrage of Hazards

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May 22, 2020
Repairing all the country’s deficient dams could cost $70 billion. Having them fail would come with a far greater price, experts say.
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Technology and Adaptation

Meeting the challenges of this volatile era requires fresh approaches, some technical and some political.

States in the Colorado River basin reduced their reliance on the beleaguered river, their withdrawals dropping to 1980s levels.

Not all climate solutions are so simple. Researchers found that removing carbon from the atmosphere — either by mechanical means or by deploying grasses and trees at scale — drastically increases water consumption. Any fix to the world’s carbon and energy problems will need to keep an eye on the implications for water.

Removing Carbon from Air, Which Increases Water Use, Is No Simple Climate Fix

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September 9, 2020
Certain ways of drawing carbon out of the atmosphere to keep global temperatures in check come with substantial tradeoffs for water use, water quality, and food production, study finds.
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After More Than Two Decades, Landmark New York City Watershed Protection Plan Is Working

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August 13, 2020
An expert panel says investments to prevent pollution have been a success, but face new challenges.
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Remarkable Drop in Colorado River Water Use a Sign of Climate Adaptation

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June 17, 2020
Use of Colorado River water in the three states of the river’s lower basin fell to a 33-year low in 2019.
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Building Bigger Walls in San Francisco Bay to Hold Back Rising Waters

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March 11, 2020
Spurred by a recent change in federal flood zone maps and a desire to prepare for rising seas, Foster City is in the process of raising its levees.
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‘The Need Is Significant’: Fast-Growing Michigan County Confronts Groundwater Challenges

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February 21, 2020
Ottawa County, Michigan, attempts to balance population growth and groundwater sustainability.
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Climate Change Brings Water Risks

The year began with hellacious fires in Australia that burned more than 14 million acres in New South Wales, the largest blazes on record in the state. It was the culmination of a dry, hot summer Down Under in which rivers shriveled and towns had to rely on tanker trucks after they ran out of water. Then two months into the year, the skies opened up, dousing the fires but sending flood waters through the burn zones.

From floods and fires to food production, the consequences of a warming planet will be felt in changes to water supplies. Researchers in California and Hawaii found evidence that rising seas will worsen coastal flooding as groundwater levels rise in tandem with the ocean.

In heavily irrigated areas of the United States, the food trade relies on unsustainable groundwater use. California farmers are seeing that future play out now as water managers, in January, filed state-mandated plans for balancing groundwater supply and demand.

Bankers displayed alarm at the dangers of carbon pollution for the financial system. For the first time, the Federal Reserve included a section on climate risk in its semiannual financial stability report, warning that market collapses could occur. “Acute hazards, such as storms, floods, or wildfires, may cause investors to update their perceptions of the value of real or financial assets suddenly,” the report stated.

In Michigan, Rising Lake Levels Disturb Sacred Ground

September 3, 2020
Along Lake Michigan’s shores, rising waters are eroding Indigenous Odawa burial sites.
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For Honolulu, Rising Seas Deliver Flood Risks Three Ways

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May 7, 2020
The biggest source of flooding linked to sea-level rise for Hawaii’s capital city comes not from the sea itself. It comes from underground.
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Hidden Flood Risk for San Francisco Bay Area Communities Lurks Underground

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March 5, 2020
Flooding linked to rising groundwater levels is a neglected consequence of rising seas. Bigger walls won't keep it out.
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U.S. Food Trade Increasingly Leans On Unsustainable Groundwater

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January 23, 2020
It takes water to grow crops, and an increasing portion of the US’s irrigation water is unsustainably mined from groundwater sources.
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Water Crises Again Ranked a Top Global Risk in World Economic Forum Report

January 15, 2020
For the first time in the history of the Global Risks Report, respondents ranked environmental factors as the top five risks that are most likely to occur.
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Water, Texas

The story of Texas is the state’s devout allegiance to the principle that mankind has dominion over nature. In 2020, the pandemic, climate disruption, and ever-present challenges with water supply and use are writing a much different story of vulnerability to nature’s bullying, and to government’s uncertain capacity to adjust.

In a five-part series, Circle of Blue explored the consequences of runaway development and tightening constraints on the supply and quality of fresh water in Texas.

Water Serves Length and Breadth of $1.9 Trillion Texas Economy

August 31, 2020
Growth in Wet Years, Economic Distress in Dry Ones
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Border Wall Concerns in Lower Rio Grande Valley Diminished By Virus and Growth

August 24, 2020
Trump Administration Overrides Long-Standing Conservation Mission
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Three Thirsty Texas Cities Are Global Leaders in Water Innovation

August 17, 2020
Austin, El Paso, and San Antonio Prepared for Growth and Drought
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A Pause For Energy Developers Threatening Texas Big Bend Region

August 10, 2020
Opportunity to Protect A Way of Life Confronted by Oil and Clean Energy
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When It Rains, Texas Forgets Drought and Worsening Water Scarcity

August 3, 2020
In Texas, dry years reveal a momentous confrontation as residents encounter the menacing consequence of runaway growth.
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HotSpots H2O

Water is both a source of tension and a casualty of war. In the end, it is the people who suffer.

Circle of Blue’s weekly HotSpots series highlights areas in which water access plays a role in civic upheaval and armed conflict.

Conflict unfurled this year on stages large and small. International mediators — the U.S. government and now the African Union — have attempted to soothe the current turmoil in Nile basin politics over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Located on the Blue Nile, the dam is intended to electrify Ethiopia’s economic growth, but it also shifts the balance of power in a basin dominated for decades by Egypt.

Elsewhere, water systems were collateral damage in long-running conflicts in eastern Ukraine, Yemen, and Syria. Fighting in these areas resulted in setbacks for clean water provision and sanitation.

HotSpots H2O: Water Systems in Eastern Ukraine Deteriorate as Conflict Continues

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November 9, 2020
Frontline communities in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine and southwestern Russia lack access to clean drinking water and sanitation.
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HotSpots H2O: Proposed Dams Strain Water Politics in Iraq

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October 26, 2020
A proposal by Kurdistan officials to build dozens of dams as a response to water insecurity has caused concern in Iraq.
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HotSpots H2O: Climate Change, Pandemic, Violence Are Volatile Mix in Chad

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August 10, 2020
A warming climate was already making life difficult in Chad, a landlocked country squeezed against the encroaching sands of the Sahara.
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HotSpots H2O: Major Cyberattack on Israeli Water Systems Foreshadows Future Dangers to Infrastructure

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June 1, 2020
Israel thwarted a major cyberattack on its water systems last month, the country’s national cyber chief Yigal Unna confirmed last week.
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HotSpots H2O: Water-Related Violence Spikes in Past Decade

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January 6, 2020
Water-related violence has doubled in the past decade, according to data compiled by the Pacific Institute.
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Circle of Blue · What's Up With Water - 2020
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

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