Global Rundown
- Nearly a foot of rain fell across much of Milwaukee this past weekend, causing floods and prompting evacuations.
- Climate variability and tenuous water-sharing agreements pose serious risks for Manitoba, where 96 percent of electricity is generated by hydropower dams.
- A particularly deadly summer of monsoon rains and floods in Pakistan has been made worse by human-caused climate change, an analysis shows.
- A new study reveals that parts of eastern Washington state are losing several feet of groundwater each year.
The Lead
A new analysis from World Weather Attribution, an international organization of climate modelers and scientists, reports that Pakistan’s unusually heavy monsoon rains—which have killed more than 300 people so far this summer—have been made roughly 15 percent more intense by human-caused climate change.
“The high death toll highlights the particular vulnerability of children and urgent need to increase resilience to flooding in Pakistan,” according to the report. The season’s deluges have injured more than 700 people and destroyed more than 1,600 houses across the country.
According to the analysis, because the modern climate has warmed by 1.3 degrees Celsius, the 30-day maximum rainfall amount over the study area—which centers on Pakistan’s capital Islamabad—is now 22 percent more intense had this warming not occurred.
Mongabay reports that Pakistan is ranked 152nd in the world for climate preparedness. As the fifth-most populated country and one of South Asia’s fastest-urbanizing nations, nearly half of its 96 million residents live in informal settlements. “Homes in these areas are often built on riverbanks, drainage basins, and dry riverbeds and are thus at high-risk of flooding,” according to the study.
2022 was one of the worst years for flooding in Pakistan’s history. An estimated 1,700 people died between June and October, and 33 million people were affected by the loss of infrastructure, waterborne diseases, and a lack of food. Rehabilitation and recovery efforts cost an estimated $16.3 billion dollars.
Precipitation is expected to be more variable and intense in coming years. Earlier this decade, the cost for Pakistan to properly adapt for extreme weather between 2023 and 2030 was estimated at $152 billion, “the majority of which remains unfinanced.”
In context: Giant Storms, Growing Stronger, Inundate an Unprepared Planet
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This Week’s Top Water Stories, Told In Numbers
5 to 12
Inches of rain that fell on Milwaukee and its surrounding suburbs overnight this past Saturday into Sunday, as extreme storms moved quickly into the area and caused extensive flooding and damage, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. Both the Kinnickinnic and Milwaukee rivers, which flow within the city limits, were measured at record-high levels on Saturday night. County officials were forced to initiate a sewer overflow, releasing untreated water into local rivers and Lake Michigan to prevent possible backups into homes and businesses. At the peak of the rainfall, nearly 50,000 customers lost power to their homes. Coinciding with the declaration of a state of emergency, the final day of the Wisconsin State Fair was cancelled. Photos show some Wauwatosa evacuating their homes with the help of first responders in boats. The storm in Milwaukee was part of a larger system that moved across the Midwest and placed some 14 million people from Kansas to Wisconsin under a flood advisory.
$157 million
Money lost last year by utility company Manitoba Hydro “due to the effects of extremely arid conditions” across the central Canadian province, which also receives 70 percent of its fresh water from other jurisdictions, the Narwhal reports. Because more than 96 percent of Manitoba’s electricity is generated by hydropower, the province is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of drought and water management decisions in Alberta and Saskatchewan, both of which “are obligated to pass on roughly half of the estimated water that flows through their territories.” In a water-stressed world, this setup is fragile. Compared to last year’s dry spell, the current levels of many rivers in Manitoba are even lower. Meanwhile, rising water demands in western Canada “could stretch the Prairies’ water-sharing agreement to the breaking point.”
On the Radar
According to a new study from Washington State University, groundwater levels in eastern Washington’s Odessa region and Yakima basin are dropping by at least 2 to 3 feet each year, a trend “primarily attributed to a combination of groundwater overuse and climate variability,” the Washington State Standard reports. If these losses continue at the current pace, the Odessa region will lose 10 percent of its accessible groundwater by 2040, and 50 percent over the next 70 years. Of the 15 areas within Washington that were analyzed in the study, published this month in the journal Groundwater for Sustainable Development, just three were found to be gaining water: Spokane, the Lower Snake River, and Klickitat. Experts attribute active monitoring and local conservation efforts for these positive trends.
In context: U.S. Groundwater Wells Race towards Bottom
Fresh: From the Great Lakes Region
Portage County Groundwater: Residents of Portage County, Wisconsin are seeking judicial support for their request to a local farm to conduct more protective groundwater monitoring, Wisconsin Public Radio reports. Gordondale Farms produces more than 12.5 million gallons of manure and wastewater each year. Last year, the farm and the state reached a behind-closed-doors deal requiring the latter to analyze groundwater samples on a quarterly basis — a frequency that some have called too irregular, and others have called illegal. Midwest Environmental Advocates, a law firm, sued the Wisconsin DNR and Gordondale Farms last year over this agreement. While the case is currently on hold, data shows that local residents have good reason for concern: “In 2023, Portage County sampled 62 of 77 wells in the village, finding one third exceeded the drinking water standard for nitrates of 10 milligrams per liter. That’s more than three times the state average.”
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.
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- How Michigan’s Inland Fish Farmers Cultivate a Sustainable Future for the Great Lakes — Great Lakes Now