Circle of Blue
  • Podcasts
  • Great Lakes
    • Fresh
    • Harmful Algal Blooms
    • Water’s True Cost
    • Michigan’s Groundwater Emergency
  • Drying American West
  • Water Debt
  • WASH
  • WaterNews
    • WaterNews
      • The Daily Stream
      • Federal Water Tap
      • Fresh
      • Weekly Water Newsletter
      • HotSpots H2O
      • Special Reports
        • Water, Texas
        • Tapped Out
        • Legionnaires’
        • Fair Bluff
        • After Paradise Burned
        • Water Pricing
        • Water Affordability
        • Water Scarcity in India
        • Groundwater
        • Delhi Waits For Water
      • Convenings
  • Features
    •  
      • The Biggest Dry: Arizona
      • Nebraska Nitrate Contamination
      • Lake Mead
      • Water and Financial Risks
      • California Drought
      • Septic Infrastructure in the U.S.
      • Stranded Assets
      • Cape Town
      • Flint Water Crisis
      • Australia
      • Hidden Waters, Dragons in the Deep
      • Himalayas
      • Designing Waters Future
      • Zeropolis
        • Big Cities, Little Water
      • Water and Climate
      • Unearthing Water Risks of The Global Mining Industry
      • Chennai
  • Choke Point
    • The World at a Choke Point
      • Choke Point: Australia
      • Choke Point: Tamil Nadu
      • Choke Point: South Africa
      • Choke Point: China
      • Choke Point: India
      • Choke Point: Australia
      • Choke Point: Tehuacán Valley
      • Choke Point: U.S.
        • Choke Point: Index
          • California Central Valley
          • Great Lakes Algae
          • Ogallala Aquifer
          • Water Data
  • About
    • Fellowship
    • About Circle of Blue
    • Team Members
    • We’re Hiring
    • Board of Directors
    • Ethics and Sponsorship
    • Internships
    • Underwriters
    • Contact Us
  • Donate
  • Search
  • Menu Menu

Michigan’s 20th Century Water Systems Too Big For Its Shrinking City Populations

Cities around the Great Lakes region struggle with the cost of water maintenance and operation as their populations decline.

Throughout the Great Lakes region and across the U.S., water systems are aging. In some communities, this means water bills that residents can’t afford or water that’s unsafe to drink. It means that vulnerable systems are even more at risk in a changing climate. From shrinking cities and small towns to the comparatively thriving suburbs, the true cost of water has been deferred for decades.

As the nation prepares to pour hundreds of billions of federal dollars into rescuing water systems, the Great Lakes News Collaborative investigates the true cost of water in Michigan.

This is part four of a ten-part series. 

By Natasha Blakely, Great Lakes Now – May 3, 2022

In 2014, the legacy problem of lead pipes throughout the nation came to a head in Flint, Michigan, when the city emergency manager’s decision to switch the water source and not treat it to prevent corrosion led to lead leaching from the pipes into the city’s drinking water. 

But while that situation was directly catalyzed by the choices made by local and state officials at the time, the root of the water infrastructure problem began decades before. 

When the American auto industry took a hit in the ‘80s, so did Flint. Once a booming city rife with industrial work and development, due in large part to General Motors’ presence, Flint’s population went from nearly 200,000 in the ‘60s to 80,000 now. Census data shows that in 1969 12.4% of all persons in Flint lived below poverty level, while 2020 census data shows that 37.3% of the population of Flint now live in poverty.

But even as the size and collective wealth of the population changed, the size of the infrastructure didn’t, and a population less than half the size it used to be was left supporting infrastructure costs it couldn’t afford.

“Now you have infrastructure that’s too huge for the city and the water’s just stagnated, and you have to downsize but the city doesn’t have enough tax base to downsize the infrastructure,” said Arthur Woodson, Flint resident and local activist. “The city has to take loans out and now they’re in a bind, because they can’t pay the loan back and they’re in trouble.”

By 2002, Flint was $30 million in debt and the state of Michigan stepped in with an emergency financial manager. 

Then once again in 2011, the state stepped in with an emergency manager when Flint faced a $19.1 million deficit by 2012. One of the actions taken to reduce that debt was to switch its water source to the Flint River. To save even more money, a corrosion inhibitor was not added to the water. 

Now, Flint residents are back on Detroit water and nearly all of the city’s lead pipes have been removed with the assistance of funding from the state and federal government. But the funding shortages that triggered the water crisis remain a problem that Flint has yet to solve.

Flint Retrospective.00_04_57_17.Still011

Just over 10,000 lead pipes have been replaced in Flint. The city has a September 2022 deadline to finish identifying and replacing its remaining lead service lines. Photo Credit: Great Lakes Now

“The city of Flint has been in a financial crisis for a very, very long time,” Mayor Sheldon Neeley said in his opening remarks at the Flint City Council meeting where he presented the 2022-23 and 2023-24 preliminary budgets.

In the budget, the city’s general fund was expected to be at a $17 million deficit in 2022-23, though that has since been deferred to 2023-24.

“Much of the city’s problem is due to stagnant long-term revenues and rising pension costs,” the budget report stated.

It’s a growing problem that not just Flint but shrinking post-industrial cities around the U.S. are facing, particularly in the Great Lakes region, which overlaps a lot with the Rust Belt.

A 2016 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office on water infrastructure highlighted this exact issue, listing cities like Flint; Detroit; Gary, Indiana; and Niagara Falls, New York, as examples. Rising utility costs and declining revenue from declining populations combine to create a huge challenge for water and wastewater utilities in these cities, the report detailed in its introductory letter.

The expensive need to replace lead pipes is just one of the ways that the issue of neglected, aging water infrastructure is reflected in cities. All around the region, water crises take the form of – if not corroding lead pipes – sewage spills, flooding from overwhelmed stormwater systems and backlogs of maintenance projects. 

The literal cost of the situation is a water bill that residents in many communities cannot afford. A study by the University of Michigan found that from 1980 to 2018, water costs have roughly doubled in the state of Michigan.

“You have these countervailing currents where there’s pressure to increase rates and there’s declining household incomes and higher infrastructure costs, because the costs are increasing as the infrastructure deteriorates,” said Erik Olson, a senior strategic director at the Natural Resources Defense Council who focuses on drinking water issues.

Olson points to rate restructuring being a key part of making these systems more sustainable. Rate restructuring would involve either increasing or decreasing the amount paid by consumers to account for additional needs such as climate resiliency in infrastructure, developing revenue stability, addressing affordability, and more. With the backlog of infrastructure needs that most water utilities are facing, an increase is not only likely but required. 

“But that alone is not going to do it,” he said. “That’s where federal and state assistance really is crucial.”

Flint Retrospective.00_03_52_19.Still007

A child in Flint is tested for elevated lead levels in her blood. Photo Credit: Great Lakes Now

Lack of trust and funds

Years after Flint’s lead pipe problem first surfaced, most of the city’s lead pipes have been replaced.

As of July 16, 2021, 10,059 lead pipes have been replaced in Flint and the city’s website says it is in the final stage of replacement. The NRDC announced in April that the Flint city council agreed to set a September 2022 deadline to finish identifying and replacing its remaining residential lead pipes, an extension from its previous deadline of November 2020. 

“While it is frustrating that it has taken so long to get the lead and galvanized steel service lines out of the ground in Flint, it is important that we make sure everything is done properly, safely, and that no home is left behind,” said?Melissa Mays, local activity and operations manager of Flint Rising, a coalition of community organizations and allies. “Removing lead service lines is a crucial step in replacing Flint’s damaged infrastructure and getting us one step closer to a recovery.”.

A large portion of the replacement project was funded by $350 million from the state of Michigan and $100 million from the federal government.

Since at least 2018, Benton Harbor has been dealing with a similar situation with elevated lead levels in the drinking water. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has promised that Benton Harbor’s lead pipes will be replaced by 2023, and $63.6 million in state money has been secured by the state for the lead service line replacement and water infrastructure projects, according to Scott Dean, strategic communications advisor for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.

But even if Flint and Benton Harbor have gotten the bulk of media attention, elsewhere around the Great Lakes region lead pipes are corroding away. Illinois has the most lead water service pipes in the country. Of the 10 states with the most lead service lines in the U.S., seven of them are Great Lakes states – Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, New York, Wisconsin, Indiana, Minnesota – according to a survey from the NRDC.

The need for government intervention to fund needed water infrastructure is a surfacing pattern that’s happening on a national scale, as the Biden administration’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act – passed in November – directs $50 billion in funding toward drinking water and lead pipe replacement programs. The law mandates that 49% of those funds must be provided as grants and forgivable loans to disadvantaged communities.

These are efforts lauded by many, but residents of communities that have been burned before by the government are wary.

“That’s what’s needed,” Flint activist Arthur Woodson said. “But are the community, the leadership going to do us right for the water, for the infrastructure, especially if you have incompetent leadership in place? You can throw money at any problem, but if you don’t have the right people in place, the knowhow and will to do it, it doesn’t make any difference.”

And regaining the trust of communities would be easy, Woodson said, if the community was allowed to be part of the recovery in incidents like the Flint water crisis. Recovery needs to be community-driven.

“(The government) made all the decisions before the crisis and then they made all the decisions after,” he said.

At less than half the population in 2022 than it had in the 1960s, the city of Flint struggles to pay for the upkeep of its water infrastructure. It’s a struggle that many cities around the region are facing. Photo Credit: Great Lakes Now

But even once Flint water is safe, there will be some residents who will never trust or drink Flint water again, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, the pediatrician whose research exposed the Flint water crisis, said in a previous interview.

That distrust has spread far beyond the city of Flint itself. The Associated Press reported in January that “20% of adults nationally say they don’t drink tap water — filtered or not — up from 14% before the Flint crisis, according to a study of federal survey data.” The difference is even higher among Black adults, 35% of whom avoid tap water, an increase from 25% before Flint.

And even aside from the lack of confidence, the funding directed to communities simply isn’t enough.

The EPA’s latest survey of drinking water infrastructure needs, released in 2018, estimated that “$472.6 billion is needed to maintain and improve the nation’s drinking water infrastructure over the next 20 years.”

The $50 billion from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act doesn’t come close to closing that gap, and cities that already cannot afford to keep up with regular operating costs will not be able to scrape up the funds to fix all their water infrastructure needs.

Climate change will only make that number grow over the years. The increasing frequency of extreme storms means that water systems have to be able to absorb and process more frequent deluges. The warming climate will worsen summer algal blooms – adding to the burden of water intake systems that have to be careful of toxins from the blooms. 

Rate restructuring, consolidation and government assistance programs could all be potential solutions, especially in combination, but transparency in all of that is key, Olson said.

“Too often the operation of the water system is being done in the dark without any real public sunshine about how the system has been operated and what’s going on with it, what contaminants are in there, how it’s treated, where the water is coming from, and how decisions are being made about all that,” he added.

Woodson also emphasized the need for solutions to involve the community and be community-driven. 

“I see them downsizing our community, moving people from certain areas of our community,” he said. “I see brand-new apartments coming up, and a lot of (demolitions) and everything on the east side of Flint and the north side of Flint, and it’s happening in all the communities, not just Flint, the people of color communities, downsizing in those areas so they can shut those valves down, by moving people out of those areas.”

“Flint’s fighting it every day,” he added. “The north side and east side of Flint, we’re fighting it every day.”

Water’s True Cost: In Photos

May 23, 2022
https://i0.wp.com/www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/2022-04-16-Michigan-Akron-JGanter-2500.jpg?fit=1600%2C1067&ssl=1 1067 1600 Circle Blue https://www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Circle-of-Blue-Water-Speaks-600x139.png Circle Blue2022-05-23 12:55:492022-05-27 10:33:37Water’s True Cost: In Photos

Five Fixes for Michigan’s Drinking Water Woes

May 16, 2022
The Great Lakes News Collaborative asked state and national experts how Michigan could break the cycle of underfunding and poor decision-making that has left water systems across Michigan in sorry shape.
https://i0.wp.com/www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/2016-04-Michigan-Infrastructure-TVC-JCGanter_5045_HDR-Edit-2-2500.jpg?fit=1600%2C658&ssl=1 658 1600 Circle Blue https://www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Circle-of-Blue-Water-Speaks-600x139.png Circle Blue2022-05-16 11:06:132022-05-27 16:36:44Five Fixes for Michigan’s Drinking Water Woes

Michigan’s ‘Very Big Opportunity’ in Infrastructure Windfall

May 11, 2022
More communities gain access to the largest federal infusion in a half-century.
https://i0.wp.com/www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/2022-04-15-Michigan-Waters-True-Cost-JGanter-2460-Edit-2500-2.jpg?fit=1600%2C742&ssl=1 742 1600 Brett Walton https://www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Circle-of-Blue-Water-Speaks-600x139.png Brett Walton2022-05-11 08:27:442022-12-09 10:52:32Michigan’s ‘Very Big Opportunity’ in Infrastructure Windfall

Some Michigan Water Systems Are Overbuilt, Underfunded. Are Mergers The Answer?

May 11, 2022
Customers get cheaper, cleaner water when communities share the cost of infrastructure.
https://i0.wp.com/www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/2022-04-15-Michigan-Waters-True-Cost-JGanter-2482-2500.jpg?fit=1600%2C959&ssl=1 959 1600 Circle Blue https://www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Circle-of-Blue-Water-Speaks-600x139.png Circle Blue2022-05-11 08:00:302022-05-11 12:42:00Some Michigan Water Systems Are Overbuilt, Underfunded. Are Mergers The Answer?

High Cost of Water Hits Home

May 10, 2022
Rising rates hurt the state’s poorest residents.
https://i0.wp.com/www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/2022-04-14-Michigan-Waters-True-Cost-JGanter-1717-2500.jpg?fit=1600%2C1037&ssl=1 1037 1600 Brett Walton https://www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Circle-of-Blue-Water-Speaks-600x139.png Brett Walton2022-05-10 07:31:142022-12-09 10:35:15High Cost of Water Hits Home

Short-Changing Michigan Local Governments Has Resulted in Deteriorating Water Systems and Other Services

May 9, 2022
Many of Michigan’s 1,773 cities, villages, and townships are reaching a water infrastructure crisis point.
https://i0.wp.com/www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/DSC_4211.jpg?fit=1600%2C1068&ssl=1 1068 1600 Circle Blue https://www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Circle-of-Blue-Water-Speaks-600x139.png Circle Blue2022-05-09 10:44:502022-05-11 12:36:50Short-Changing Michigan Local Governments Has Resulted in Deteriorating Water Systems and Other Services

Michigan’s Lack of Septic System Regulations is Causing Problems for Some of its Most Pristine Lakes

May 4, 2022
Failing systems can allow contaminated water to seep through the earth into nearby bodies of water.
https://i0.wp.com/www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/20211211_170039.jpg?fit=1600%2C720&ssl=1 720 1600 Circle Blue https://www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Circle-of-Blue-Water-Speaks-600x139.png Circle Blue2022-05-04 10:21:432022-05-11 12:33:40Michigan’s Lack of Septic System Regulations is Causing Problems for Some of its Most Pristine Lakes

Michigan’s 20th Century Water Systems Too Big For Its Shrinking City Populations

May 3, 2022
Cities around the Great Lakes region struggle with the cost of water maintenance and operation as their populations decline.
https://i0.wp.com/www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Flint-Retrospective.00_04_41_00.Still010.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1 720 1280 Circle Blue https://www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Circle-of-Blue-Water-Speaks-600x139.png Circle Blue2022-05-03 08:02:292022-05-11 12:28:31Michigan’s 20th Century Water Systems Too Big For Its Shrinking City Populations

Many Rural Towns Have Neglected Drinking Water Systems for Decades

May 3, 2022
As some rural towns lose population and government funds shrink, some drinking water systems are one failure away from crisis.
https://i0.wp.com/www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/2022-04-16-Michigan-Akron-JGanter-2855-Edit-2500.jpg?fit=1600%2C1055&ssl=1 1055 1600 Circle Blue https://www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Circle-of-Blue-Water-Speaks-600x139.png Circle Blue2022-05-03 08:01:362022-05-11 11:39:38Many Rural Towns Have Neglected Drinking Water Systems for Decades

Water Woes Loom for Michigan Suburbs, Towns After Decades of Disinvestment

May 3, 2022
Michigan cities rich and poor, big and small have been delaying maintenance on their water systems for decades. Now, even wealthy towns are suffering the consequences of past reluctance to pay for water system upkeep.
https://i0.wp.com/www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/IMG_4497.jpeg?fit=1600%2C1200&ssl=1 1200 1600 Circle Blue https://www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Circle-of-Blue-Water-Speaks-600x139.png Circle Blue2022-05-03 08:01:082022-05-11 12:15:59Water Woes Loom for Michigan Suburbs, Towns After Decades of Disinvestment

After Decades of Neglect, Bill Coming Due for Michigan’s Water Infrastructure

May 2, 2022
Federal and state governments begin to reverse course on underinvestment to address water’s true cost.
https://i0.wp.com/www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/2022-04-14-Michigan-Waters-True-Cost-JGanter-1502-Edit-2500.jpg?fit=1600%2C912&ssl=1 912 1600 Brett Walton https://www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Circle-of-Blue-Water-Speaks-600x139.png Brett Walton2022-05-02 07:18:482022-12-09 10:52:35After Decades of Neglect, Bill Coming Due for Michigan’s Water Infrastructure

Read the full series

After Decades of Neglect, Bill Coming Due for Michigan’s Water Infrastructure

May 2, 2022
Federal and state governments begin to reverse course on underinvestment to address water’s true cost.
https://i0.wp.com/www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/2022-04-14-Michigan-Waters-True-Cost-JGanter-1502-Edit-2500.jpg?fit=1600%2C912&ssl=1 912 1600 Brett Walton https://www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Circle-of-Blue-Water-Speaks-600x139.png Brett Walton2022-05-02 07:18:482022-12-09 10:52:35After Decades of Neglect, Bill Coming Due for Michigan’s Water Infrastructure

Many Rural Towns Have Neglected Drinking Water Systems for Decades

May 3, 2022
As some rural towns lose population and government funds shrink, some drinking water systems are one failure away from crisis.
https://i0.wp.com/www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/2022-04-16-Michigan-Akron-JGanter-2855-Edit-2500.jpg?fit=1600%2C1055&ssl=1 1055 1600 Circle Blue https://www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Circle-of-Blue-Water-Speaks-600x139.png Circle Blue2022-05-03 08:01:362022-05-11 11:39:38Many Rural Towns Have Neglected Drinking Water Systems for Decades

Water Woes Loom for Michigan Suburbs, Towns After Decades of Disinvestment

May 3, 2022
Michigan cities rich and poor, big and small have been delaying maintenance on their water systems for decades. Now, even wealthy towns are suffering the consequences of past reluctance to pay for water system upkeep.
https://i0.wp.com/www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/IMG_4497.jpeg?fit=1600%2C1200&ssl=1 1200 1600 Circle Blue https://www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Circle-of-Blue-Water-Speaks-600x139.png Circle Blue2022-05-03 08:01:082022-05-11 12:15:59Water Woes Loom for Michigan Suburbs, Towns After Decades of Disinvestment

Michigan’s Lack of Septic System Regulations is Causing Problems for Some of its Most Pristine Lakes

May 4, 2022
Failing systems can allow contaminated water to seep through the earth into nearby bodies of water.
https://i0.wp.com/www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/20211211_170039.jpg?fit=1600%2C720&ssl=1 720 1600 Circle Blue https://www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Circle-of-Blue-Water-Speaks-600x139.png Circle Blue2022-05-04 10:21:432022-05-11 12:33:40Michigan’s Lack of Septic System Regulations is Causing Problems for Some of its Most Pristine Lakes

Short-Changing Michigan Local Governments Has Resulted in Deteriorating Water Systems and Other Services

May 9, 2022
Many of Michigan’s 1,773 cities, villages, and townships are reaching a water infrastructure crisis point.
https://i0.wp.com/www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/DSC_4211.jpg?fit=1600%2C1068&ssl=1 1068 1600 Circle Blue https://www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Circle-of-Blue-Water-Speaks-600x139.png Circle Blue2022-05-09 10:44:502022-05-11 12:36:50Short-Changing Michigan Local Governments Has Resulted in Deteriorating Water Systems and Other Services

High Cost of Water Hits Home

May 10, 2022
Rising rates hurt the state’s poorest residents.
https://i0.wp.com/www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/2022-04-14-Michigan-Waters-True-Cost-JGanter-1717-2500.jpg?fit=1600%2C1037&ssl=1 1037 1600 Brett Walton https://www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Circle-of-Blue-Water-Speaks-600x139.png Brett Walton2022-05-10 07:31:142022-12-09 10:35:15High Cost of Water Hits Home

Some Michigan Water Systems Are Overbuilt, Underfunded. Are Mergers The Answer?

May 11, 2022
Customers get cheaper, cleaner water when communities share the cost of infrastructure.
https://i0.wp.com/www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/2022-04-15-Michigan-Waters-True-Cost-JGanter-2482-2500.jpg?fit=1600%2C959&ssl=1 959 1600 Circle Blue https://www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Circle-of-Blue-Water-Speaks-600x139.png Circle Blue2022-05-11 08:00:302022-05-11 12:42:00Some Michigan Water Systems Are Overbuilt, Underfunded. Are Mergers The Answer?

Michigan’s ‘Very Big Opportunity’ in Infrastructure Windfall

May 11, 2022
More communities gain access to the largest federal infusion in a half-century.
https://i0.wp.com/www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/2022-04-15-Michigan-Waters-True-Cost-JGanter-2460-Edit-2500-2.jpg?fit=1600%2C742&ssl=1 742 1600 Brett Walton https://www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Circle-of-Blue-Water-Speaks-600x139.png Brett Walton2022-05-11 08:27:442022-12-09 10:52:32Michigan’s ‘Very Big Opportunity’ in Infrastructure Windfall

Water’s True Cost

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water. This independent journalism is supported by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. Find all the work here.

Related

Recent Posts

  • The Stream, February 1, 2023: US Government Restores Protections for Alaska’s Tongass Forest
  • What’s Up With Water – January 31, 2023
  • Federal Water Tap, January 30: Valuing Nature: White House Publishes Natural Capital Accounting Strategy
  • Road Salt, A Stealthy Pollutant, Is Damaging Michigan Waters
  • The Stream, January 25, 2023: Sediment Buildup Will Shrink Reservoir Storage, UN Study Shows

Subscribe: Weekly Waternews

* indicates required
Please also subscribe me to the daily Stream
Please also subscribe me to the Federal Water Tap

© 2023 Circle of Blue – all rights reserved
Terms of Service | Privacy Policy

Donate to Circle of Blue
Many Rural Towns Have Neglected Drinking Water Systems for DecadesFRESH: Biden Strengthens Environmental Reviews for Large Infrastructure Pro... Scroll to top

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

OKLearn more

Cookie and Privacy Settings



How we use cookies

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

Essential Website Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

Google Analytics Cookies

These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience.

If you do not want that we track your visit to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here:

Other external services

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

Other cookies

The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them:

Accept settingsHide notification only
Make an impact this #GivingNewsDay
Journalism with this kind of impact is free to consume but costly to produce.
Support fact-based journalism with your tax-deductible donation
For a limited time, NewsMatch will match your gift, dollar for dollar
Support Independent Journalism
You have the power to inform the world's most important decisions
with your tax-deductible donation
 Twitter
 Facebook
 Reddit
 LinkedIn
 Copy
 Email
 

Loading Comments...