Heavy rains fell near the north-central Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca this week. Roughly two hours away, a swollen stream flooded the Praid salt mine, a popular tourist destination, and forced evacuations. Photo: Christian Thorsberg.

Global Rundown

  • A mass fish die-off in Iraq’s marshlands is the latest hit to a region troubled by drought and water scarcity. 
  • Ongoing drought is expected to drop China’s national wheat harvest to its lowest output since 2018. 
  • The amount of salt entering Washington, D.C. waterways has steadily increased over the past few winters, studies show. 
  • Flooding in central Romania has forced evacuations after a stream overtopped and broke through a dam protecting a major salt mine.

The Lead

Thousands of dead fish have been found floating in streams and marshlands in central and southern Iraq this week, the latest in a series of mass die-offs over the past few years in a region hit heavily by drought and high temperatures, Al Jazeera reports. 

Authorities have opened an investigation into the event, as many speculate that low oxygen levels — the result of low flows and high evaporation rates — are to blame. Others point to fishermens’ use of poison. 

The die-off is another illustration of the poor health of the country’s freshwater ecosystems. According to Al Jazeera, “for at least five years, Iraq has been hit by successive droughts caused by climate change,” and farmers have been forced to drill wells deep underground to access groundwater needed to irrigate their crops, a process they acknowledge is unsustainable. Keeping livestock alive during periods of variable precipitation has proven exceptionally difficult, causing some to leave the profession.

According to the United Nations, Iraq is the fifth-most vulnerable country to the effects of climate change. Per Human Rights Watch, “water scarcity, extreme temperatures, and desertification threaten an astonishing 92 percent of Iraq’s agricultural land.” 

Recent WaterNews from Circle of Blue

This Week’s Top Water Stories, Told In Numbers

5

Percent by which China’s national wheat harvest is expected to drop this year compared to last, its lowest output since 2018 as a result of ongoing drought in its growing regions, Bloomberg reports. China is both the world’s largest producer and consumer of wheat, and the country typically limits the amount of foreign grain it imports. Earlier this year, when needs were low, it imposed a 15 percent tariff on American wheat. As a result, “overseas purchases were at a seven-year low for the period of just over one million tons.” But extreme weather over the past decade has forced China to reconsider its stance on trade amid food security concerns. Following heavy, destructive rains in 2023, the country imported a record of more 12 million tons of wheat. 

41

Percent by which salt concentrations in Maryland’s Potomac River have increased over the past three Decembers, a phenomenon attributed to road salt running off into waterways following rains and storms, the Washington Post reports. During that same timespan, salt concentrations in the Patuxent River — the other main source of metro D.C.’s drinking water — have increased by 102 percent. Though a filtration plant operates downstream, desalinating water is no easy feat, and residents have reported saltier-tasting tap water in the area over the past eight winters. Saline water also erodes infrastructure, and has been shown to harm native fish and plant species along the east coast.

In Context: Road Salt, A Stealthy Pollutant, Is Damaging Michigan Waters

On the Radar

Following two days of heavy rain in central Romania, the region is experiencing its worst flooding in 30 years after a local stream in Harghita county overtopped. At least 45 households have been evacuated and officials are rapidly responding to reroute the floodwaters, which continue to threaten the Praid salt mine — one of the continent’s largest salt reserves and a popular tourist attraction. After the dam protecting the mine failed earlier this week, parts of its floors caved in, Reuters reports. 

49th State Focus: Bitcoin Mine Proposed for Alaska’s North Slope

Stax Capital Partners: The Alaska-based startup is proposing to build a Bitcoin mine on the state’s North Slope, an ecosystem home to millions of acres of wetlands, permafrost fields, rivers, and streams. The operation would be fueled by “stranded” natural gas — that which is currently untapped in the region’s oil fields — and the company is “in conversation” with potential suppliers. Exact plans for how to transport the resource 30 miles from its stranded location to the mine’s proposed site remain uncertain, the Northern Journal reports, though the operation is expecting costs to exceed $10 million. With gas generators planned to produce 50 megawatts of electricity, the mine would require the same amount of energy as Alaska’s largest coal plant.

Fresh: From the Great Lakes Region

River Raisin Pilot Project: A 300-acre stretch of former farmland in southern Michigan’s River Raisin watershed is now a grassy wetland with a big goal: to help reduce the amount of toxic algal blooms that grow in Lake Erie, Michigan Public reports. The area’s transformation is part of a pilot project that launched last year. If all goes according to plan, the wetland will serve as a buffer that prevents nearby agricultural runoff — namely phosphorus — from entering the river’s headwaters and eventually flowing into Lake Erie. Michigan State University’s Institute of Water Research will collaborate with the Alliance for the Great Lakes and the engineering firm Limnotech to continue to monitor the health of the watershed’s streams and encourage local farmers to employ more sustainable fertilizing practices.

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.

  • US officials release Line 5 environmental review; conclude project is needed — Bridge Michigan
  • Broken trust and Bill 5: First Nations rally against Doug Ford’s controversial mining bill — The Narwhal
  • Sturgeon Streams and Plastic Pollution — Great Lakes Now
  • New wetland could show how Michigan can reduce agricultural runoff polluting Lake Erie — Michigan Public

Christian Thorsberg is an environmental writer from Chicago. He is passionate about climate and cultural phenomena that often appear slow or invisible, and he examines these themes in his journalism, poetry, and fiction.