Global Rundown
- Officials in the Netherlands have declared a water shortage as ongoing drought and heatwaves stalk the nation.
- New research raises alarms about the pervasive spread of microplastics through urban centers in the Amazon basin.
- Desalination plants in Kuwait and Iran were reportedly struck over the weekend as the war over the Strait of Hormuz ramps back up.
- Hundreds of people in central Bosnia with lead in their blood, which they suspect comes from a nearby mine, are calling for the government to protect their health.
HotSpots H2O: Water Shortages in the Netherlands
The Dutch government warned last week that water managers and residents in the Netherlands should use drinking water “consciously” amid shortages created by persistent drought and an increasing demand for the resource this summer as heatwaves scorch the continent.
The country’s National Water Distribution Coordination Committee recommended that officials scale up the nation’s current water situation from Level One — “impending water shortage” — to Level Two — “actual water shortage” — the Netherlands Times reports. Level Three, which has not yet been reached, is a full-blown “water crisis.”
The new classification allows the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management to enact certain water-saving measures, such as banning farmers in certain regions from using surface water to irrigate their crops.
Besides the agricultural industry, the shipping sector is also expected to be affected negatively by the shortages. Officials warn that the country’s drying rivers will first affect the movement of goods, as large barges cannot be loaded to capacity and are difficult to navigate in low water levels. This is already playing out next door to the Netherlands, in Germany, where ships on the Rhine River — a crucial industrial corridor — are carrying roughly 20 percent less cargo, EuroMetal reports.
“River levels are remarkably low for this time of year. We are seeing water levels that occur on average only once every twenty years,” Harold van Waveren, chairman of the National Water Distribution Coordination Committee, told NOS Journaal. “The precipitation deficit is also at a level seen approximately once every twenty years.”
Recent WaterNews from Circle of Blue
- Legionnaires’ Disease Surfaced 50 Years Ago. It’s Still Killing People. — America’s deadliest waterborne illness.
- The AI Boom Is Prolonging Indiana’s Fossil Fuel Era, With Hidden Costs for Water — Gas turbines and an old coal plant are expected to consume nearly 7 billion gallons of water annually in service of a new Amazon data center.
Fresh Findings: Microplastics in the Amazon
In Puraquequara Lake in eastern Manaus, Brazil, researchers have found that half of the jaraqui — the most eaten fish in Amazonas state — contained microplastics in their intestines, Mongabay reports.
The findings are one exemplary look at a much larger and understudied story of environmental and human health in the Amazon rainforest’s urban pockets. Communities around Puraquequara Lake lack basic sanitation infrastructure, and wastewater is often dumped directly into rivers and lakes that communities depend on for drinking, fishing, and travel. This sends microplastics — tiny particles that can endure in the environment for hundreds or even thousands of years — into the world’s largest drainage basin, which contains 20 percent of the world’s total liquid freshwater.
Other researchers in the region have begun to better understand the fuller picture of the basin’s microplastic problem. Surveys in recent years, Mongabay reports, reveal that the pollutant has been found in the Negro River, Anavilhanas Archipelago, and mangrove forests in Macapá.
The particles tend to gather most densely in urban areas. For example, 20 percent of the igarapés — narrow, shallow streams — in Manaus had microplastic levels considered unsafe for aquatic organisms. Only 22 percent of the city’s sewage is treated before it ends up in waterways.
Current Affairs: Desalination Plants Hit by Missiles
Missile attacks exchanged this weekend between the U.S. and Iran have damaged critical water and power infrastructure in the Middle East, NBC reports.
In the coastal Iranian village of Bonji, the destruction of a desalination plant has disrupted water access for the roughly 10,000 people who depend on its supply, according to Iranian authorities. In a post on X, the country’s embassy in India said that the plant supplied water for 20 villages and described the attack as a war crime.
Meanwhile, multiple outlets are reporting that retaliatory Iranian strikes damaged an oil facility and desalination plant in Kuwait. As a result, the country’s energy ministry has urged residents to ration electricity — a big ask as temperatures across the arid nation approach 110 degrees Fahrenheit.
Water Works: Lead Poisoning in Central Bosnia
Environmental lawyers and advocacy organizations in Bosnia are decrying what they see as a “total failure” of the country’s government to address chronic and widespread lead poisoning in the central municipality of Vareš, Deutsche Welle reports.
In recent months, more than 300 people in Vareš have tested positive for lead in their blood, for which health experts agree there is no safe concentration to live with. Some residents tested at levels above 10 mcg/dL (micrograms per decileter), while the highest value measured was 29.5 mcg/dL. The U.S. Center for Disease Control uses 3.5 mcg/dL as a threshold for immediate exposure prevention, while the World Health Organization uses 5.0 mcg/dL.
In the aftermath of these results, some 265 parents in April requested that schools systematically test their children for heavy metals, but no screenings have occurred. Instead, the Bosnian government established a panel of experts to assess the risks and environmental conditions in Vareš, though no decisions or actions have yet been finalized.
Vareš is a historic mining town with an aging and dwindling population. In 2024, the arrival of a new silver, lead, and barite mine offered hope for some that the community would be revived. Instead, amid growing health concerns, farmers wary of the quality of their soils, waters, and livestock are considering relocation.
In May, four Bosnian environmental organizations filed criminal charges against Dundee Precious Metals, the Canadian company that owns and operates the mine, Reuters reports. The company has financed health tests and acknowledges there is a problem, but has denied a causal relationship between the mine’s operations and the elevated levels of lead in residents’ blood.
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