Uniting classic journalism, and data literacy Circle of Blue informs global audiences about the growing competition between water, food, and energy in a changing climate.

Breaking News

EPA Warns of Health Problems When PFAS Levels in Drinking Water Are Inconceivably Tiny

June 22, 2022

Revised health advisories are a precursor to federal regulation.

Child diarrhea cases surge as sewage runs on Cape Town streets

June 22, 2022

…

Drought’s Spillover Effect in the American West

June 16, 2022

In a region latticed with pipelines and canals, the consequences of dry conditions in one basin are exported to neighboring watersheds.

What Does Water Want?: A Conversation with Author Erica Gies

June 7, 2022

Problems and opportunities spring from the mismatch between the natural world and the built environment.

Subscribe to Weekly WaterNews

What’s Up With Water condenses global water news into snapshot each week.

This week’s edition of What’s Up With Water includes coverage on:

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam
Extreme heat and drought in Pakistan
A data-sharing dispute between India and China
Lead levels in Michigan drinking water

2016-07-01 India Rajasthan Jaisalmer JGanter_G3_5835-Edit-2500 (1)

Daily Summary of Global Water News

Nairobi, Kenya, seeks new water sources amid faltering rainfall. The mayor of Flint, Michigan,pledges to fight “unwarranted” state oversight of the city’s water system. South Africa lifts its drought national disaster as dry conditions ease. New research shows that annual storm-related flood damages could double as coral reefs die off. Water service slowly returns across Puerto Rico, but problems remain. Read More

Weekly Digest of U.S. Water Policy and Trends.

Reclamation will review environmental effects of controversial New Mexico water project. Watchdog agency warns Reclamation about insider threats to dam security. Farm Bill passes out of Senate committee. EPA moves forward with WOTUS rule replacement. GAO says that some tribes struggle to operate and maintain water and wastewater systems built by federal grants. House committee approves a bill to restrict legal challenges to a Texas reservoir project. EPA will hold a community meeting in New Hampshire on perfluorinated compounds. And lastly, a Senate committee discusses USAID’s organizational shuffle. Read More

Latest Stories

EPA Warns of Health Problems When PFAS Levels in Drinking Water Are Inconceivably Tiny

June 22, 2022

Revised health advisories are a precursor to federal regulation.

Child diarrhea cases surge as sewage runs on Cape Town streets

June 22, 2022

…

Drought’s Spillover Effect in the American West

June 16, 2022

In a region latticed with pipelines and canals, the consequences of dry conditions in one basin are exported to neighboring watersheds.

What Does Water Want?: A Conversation with Author Erica Gies

June 7, 2022

Problems and opportunities spring from the mismatch between the natural world and the built environment.

What Happens If Glen Canyon Dam’s Power Shuts Off?

June 6, 2022

Lake Powell is drying behind one of the Southwest’s largest hydropower plants.

The U.S. Has Spent More Than $2 Billion on a Plan to Save Salmon. The Fish Are Vanishing Anyway.

June 1, 2022

Even in Canada, Where Water Prices Are Low, Aging Infrastructure and Rising Costs are a Problem

May 31, 2022

Water’s True Cost: In Photos

May 23, 2022

More WaterNews

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HotSpots H2O examines regions and populations that are most at risk from water-related unrest and conflict. It reveals the challenges individuals confront — and the solutions they discover — as they face the greatest challenge of the 21st century: water.

HotSpots H2O: “Day Zero” Looms for South African Province

1 Comment

June 20, 2022

Government dysfunction has multiplied drought risks.

HotSpots H2O: As Water Systems Fail in Pakistan, Heat Wave Begets A Health Crisis

May 23, 2022

Climate change and mismanagement sowed the seeds of a cholera outbreak.

HotSpots H2O: ‘We Have Nowhere Left To Go’: Durban’s Affordability Crisis Pushed Development into Flood Zones

April 25, 2022

Homes in high-risk flood zones are the only affordable option for Durban’s poorest residents.

HotSpots H2O: In Besieged Ukraine, Water Again a Locus of Conflict

March 21, 2022

Water has long been a source of geopolitical conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Three weeks into the Russian invasion, the damage is mounting.

How India responds to water challenges in the next months and years will have effects for generations.

Delhi is thirsty, even parched. As the 3rd largest population center in the world, its 25 million people need water, and lots of it, to survive. It’s clear that how India responds in the next months and years will have effects for generations. How will it mange the intensifying competition between water, food and energy in a changing climate?

It’s clear that getting enough water day-by-day is foremost on people’s minds. When the challenge is so great and children so thirsty, people often take their water sources into their own hands. Some entrepreneurs bring water by tank pulled by a tractor, and sell at an inflated rate. Others drill their own unsanctioned wells, some even in the middle of the street.

ChokePoint:

The conflicting demand for water, food, and energy is the defining challenge of our century. Global Choke Point, a collaboration between Circle of Blue and the Wilson Center, explores the peril and promise with frontline reporting, data, and policy expertise.

No one is better positioned to deliver groundbreaking knowledge on the critical resource of global water than Circle of Blue.

Ian Bremmer, President, Eurasia Group

Changing the face of journalism.

American Academy of Arts and Sciences

The combining of journalism, science, data, design and convening power is an innovative model that works.

Hon. Jane Harmon, President, Wilson Center

To respond to the world’s greatest, most urgent challenges, we need trusted information, clear context, and solutions-focused dialogue. Circle of Blue cuts through the complexities of global development. Through knowledge and informed action, we can make a better future.

Henrik Skovby, Executive Chairman, Dalberg Group

I am happy that this meeting is taking place, for it represents yet another stage in the joint commitment of various institutions to raising consciousness about the need to protect water as a treasure belonging to everyone, mindful too of its cultural and religious significance.

Pope Francis