Global Rundown
- Oregon lawmakers will soon decide if beavers, whose dams improve the health and quality of fresh waterways, should receive special protections in the wild.
- More than 30 percent of Europe’s rivers surpassed high flood thresholds in 2024, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
- An unusually dry spring has significantly lowered the water level on Germany’s Rhine River, affecting the movement of cargo and goods through its ports.
- Brazil’s Belo Monte Dam, which has severely changed the Xingu River watershed and the communities who depend on it, faces an uncertain future.
The Lead
Since 2016, when the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam began operating on Brazil’s Xingu River, the Volta Grande, “an 80-mile stretch of river and seasonally flooded forest that is a global biodiversity hotspot,” has lost 80 percent of its natural flows, Yale Environment 360 reports.
The operation provides power for 60 million people living many miles away. But 50,000 acres of land were flooded to build it, displacing roughly 40,000 Indigenous Yudjá and other river-dwelling peoples. The massive changes to the landscape Belo Monte wrought has disappeared native fish and turtle populations, threatening subsistence lifeways. Roadways that were once closed, and have now opened due to the dam’s construction, have allowed illegal logging to pick up.
In 2022, local communities began campaigning the Brazilian government to order changes that would restore the environment and their way of life and quell the dam’s water diversions. The dam’s license is up for renewal, and while a decision was expected sometime last year, record-low water levels on the Amazon River over the last two years have further complicated negotiations. NGOs, researchers, and hydrologists have joined the campaign, pushing for changes that would see fewer water diversions and allow the landscape to return to its natural shape.
Recent WaterNews from Circle of Blue
- Kansas Farmers Dramatically and Profitably Pare Water for Irrigation — Much lower draw on Ogallala Aquifer has not hindered region’s giant farm economy.
- Alaska Communities Struggle for Baseline Water Data Amid Climate Uncertainty — As temperatures rise on the Kenai Peninsula, freshwater quality is expected to change — affecting both salmon and humans.
This Week’s Top Water Stories, Told In Numbers
70
Percent of all deaths attributed to floods in Europe last year that occurred in the Valencia floodplain, according to a new report from the Copernicus Climate Change Service. In October, 232 people died in the eastern Spanish city when heavy rains fell, devastating roads and infrastructure. In its aftermath, residents angered by the local government’s failure to give proper forewarning have called for officials to resign. But Spain wasn’t the only country hit by floods. El País reports that deluges affected 413,000 people in Europe in total and caused more than $20 billion in damages. More than 30 percent of the continent’s rivers “experienced flows exceeding the high flood threshold,” and 51 percent of European cities have “adopted dedicated climate adaptation plans” — an increase from 26 percent in 2018.
30
Years since Lake Constance, Germany’s largest lake, has experienced water levels lower than what they currently measure, Deutsche Welle reports. A dry spring has seen 70 percent less rainfall compared to previous years, and the country’s freshwater bodies are all emptier than usual, including the mighty Rhine River. The “busiest inland waterway in Europe” is a crucial shipping highway, and barges have been forced to carry reduced cargo — sometimes half or two-thirds their usual capacity — slowing supply chains.
On the Radar
Oregon state legislators will soon vote on HB 3932, a bill that would prohibit the hunting or trapping of beavers on public lands “within certain watersheds or near certain waters.” The measure aims not only to protect the rodent, but to ensure that streams, rivers, and lakes remain healthy — beaver dams improve water quality by acting as natural filters for sediment or pollution, keeping water temperatures cool, slowing its movement, and creating ponds and wetlands, according to an op-ed in the Oregon Capital Chronicle. The state has more than 310,000 miles of rivers and streams, of which only 46 percent has been monitored for water quality. One-third of the waters that were monitored were found to be “impaired.”
In February, also in an effort to address freshwater health, the United Kingdom made it legal for farmers to reintroduce wild beavers onto their lands.
49th State Focus: Indigenous Communities Lose Funding for Infrastructure Projects
Several Alaska Native communities have had their federal funding suspended or eliminated by the Trump Administration, NPR reports. The Native Village of Kipnuk, located off the road system in western Alaska, received a $20 million grant several weeks before President Biden left office to stabilize a riverbank that was eroding, flooding, and bringing waters 10 to 28 feet closer to homes each year. The Native Village of Tyonek was also counting on $20 million to upgrade or replace old homes “contaminated with asbestos and lead.”
Fresh: From the Great Lakes Region
GigiigooApp: The new mobile app — named for the Ojibwe term meaning “our fish” — is being used by Anishinaabe communities to consume different freshwater fish species in a safe manner, the Mining Journal reports. For many years, the bioaccumulation of toxic chemicals from eating Great Lakes fish has discouraged communities from engaging in traditional meals and practices. But the app is helping to revive this way of life, according to a new study from the Medical University of Wisconsin. The app issues advisories and tracks levels of mercury, protein, and omega-3 in each meal, depending on the fish species, size, and lake in which it was harvested.
Bridge Michigan, Circle of Blue, Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television, Michigan Public and The Narwhal work together to report on the most pressing threats to the Great Lakes region’s water. This independent journalism is supported by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. Find all the work here.
- Fish, mines and Indigenous Rights ensnared in court case in northern Ontario — The Narwhal
- How community gardens serve as ‘third places’ for Detroiters — Great Lakes Now
- Climate change making Great Lakes water birds sick — Bridge Michigan
- Dam failure risk prompts Trout Lake drawdown — Michigan Public