Global Rundown
- The second tropical cyclone to hit southern China this month continues to drop heavy rain while also damaging cropland, public infrastructure, and homes.
- The fate of the Salween River, a target for dam-building, will likely be determined by the faction that rises to power in Myanmar.
- The Trump administration has cancelled a Biden-era agreement that marked a path toward removing four dams on the Snake River to restore fish habitat in the Pacific Northwest.
- At least 10 people died and more than a dozen are missing after heavy rains triggered a landslide in Colombia.
The Lead
In recent years, at least 20 hydropower dams have been proposed for the Salween River, one of Asia’s last free-flowing rivers. Southeast Asia’s second-longest river originates in Tibet, then moves through China, Myanmar, and Thailand before emptying into the Andaman Sea.
While most of these projects have fizzled, three Myanmar-based dams are “likely to go ahead” on the 2,000 mile-long waterway, Mongabay reports. Another four planned dams in Myanmar face uncertain futures, their fates dependent upon the military junta, which came to power in a 2021 coup but controls only 32 percent of the country today as in-fighting rages on. According to Mongabay, foreign investors hoping to dam the Salween are “waiting for the dust to settle” in the fragmented country before moving forward with their plans.
Environmentalists warn that the hydropower projects would have devastating environmental consequences. The river is home to roughly 50 species of freshwater fish found nowhere else in the world; it irrigates vast swaths of farmland, and it supports the lifeways of Indigenous communities across all three countries. If the dams are built, villages are likely to be submerged, water would be diverted to irrigate rice fields, and forests — including those in protected national parks — would be cut down to build transport tunnels.
Recent WaterNews from Circle of Blue
- Speaking of Water | Water Rises in Global Climate Talks — Water recognized as an essential piece of climate adaptation.
- The Season of Our Growing Discontent — Summer is when natural hazards are most pronounced.
This Week’s Top Water Stories, Told In Numbers
10
Number of people who died this week near Medellin, Colombia, after heavy rains caused flooding in a hilly ravine and triggered a landslide, Le Monde reports. At least 15 people were still missing at time of writing.
4
Number of dams on the Snake River in the U.S. Pacific Northwest that are considered “especially harmful” to Pacific salmon, the cultural and economic lifeblood of the region’s Indigenous communities since time immemorial. Less than two years ago, in a major victory years in the making, several Indigenous tribes successfully negotiated for the power required to move forward with dam removal. But as of last Thursday, ProPublica reports, “the agreement is now just another of those broken promises.” In a new memorandum, the Trump administration has moved to stop federal initiatives aimed to restore salmon habitat and refugia, which, according to the White House, “placed concerns about climate change above the Nation’s interests in reliable energy resources.”
On the Radar
After heavy rains in southern China forced hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate their homes earlier this month, the region is bracing for a second wave of storms as another tropical cyclone makes landfall, Reuters reports. Several inches of rain were dumped Wednesday on the city of Rongjiang, home to 300,000 people. Cars were swept away and the power grid was damaged as downstream rivers swelled and overtopped. One waterway rose to 30 feet above levels considered safe. Though summer rainy seasons are nothing unusual to China, “some scientists say climate change is resulting in heavier and more frequent rain,” according to Reuters. Officials in Beijing have already approved the allocation of $28 million for disaster relief efforts.
In context: Giant Storms, Growing Stronger, Inundate an Unprepared Planet
Fresh: From the Great Lakes Region
Chicago’s Gardens Seek Easy Water Access: For years, multiple community farms and gardens on Chicago’s South Side have relied on rainwater and generous neighbors to irrigate their crops — a grassroots solution to a problem that would be much easier solved if they had access to nearby fire hydrants, Block Club Chicago reports. But the city’s Hydrant Use Permit website was inexplicably down for much of May, the beginning of the growing season, and not every alderman has been willing to issue the letters required to remove hydrant caps. The need for water has been exacerbated in the past week by a dangerous Midwestern heatwave, with temperatures exceeding 100 degrees F around the city.
A Sinking Lake: Since 2020, water levels on Lake Michigan have fallen 3.5 feet along Chicago’s lakefront, exposing protected dunes and connecting beaches on the city’s North side while offering a brief reprieve in South side neighborhoods, whose shoreline buildings were previously at-risk from encroaching waters, Block Club Chicago reports. The recent dip comes during a decade of extreme variability; a record low was set in January 2013, while record highs were set in 2020. The current lake level is only six inches below historic norms for this time of year (averages collected between 1918 and today) and still two feet higher than the 2013 record.
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.
- Experimental forecast hopes to warn when toxins from algal blooms in Lake Erie approach — Michigan Public
- On solid ice: the plan to refreeze the Arctic — The Narwhal
- Iconic whitefish on edge of collapse as Great Lakes biodiversity crisis deepens — Bridge Michigan
- Consumers Energy in negotiations to sell its aging Michigan dams — Great Lakes Now