Circle of Blue

A half century ago, Israel built canals to move water from the Jordan River to the coasts. Today, desalination plants send freshwater inland. Photo © Brett Walton / Circle of Blue Nepal is still reeling from devastating floods that killed hundreds of people, as experts warn that a hotter planet will fuel similar disasters in the future. Israel has temporarily shut down five of its six desalination plants due to “turbidity” concerns at sea.

In 2006, in the first chapter of Omnivore’s Dilemma, his best-selling takedown of the American food production system, author Michael Pollan offered a stunning exposé of the havoc that corn caused on water, soil, taxpayers, rural economies, and public health. Really? Corn is a serious problem? Indigenous, peaceable, abundant corn? Twenty years after Pollan’s exposé the wreckage from cultivating and harvesting corn has gotten worse.

This story was originally published by Michigan Public | By Anna Barnes The Illinois Department of Natural Resources has detected invasive carp in the Illinois River only 80 miles from Lake Michigan. That’s the closest the fish are known to have gotten to the Great Lakes and hundreds were detected. Officials from the department also suspect there could be spawning grounds closer to the Great Lake and are monitoring the area further.

Circle of Blue and True Elements Launch Situation: Colorado River from Stockholm World Water Week Colorado River faces a “collective nightmare.” New platform delivers a shared view to help inform decisions and collaboration. Situation: Colorado River is part of Designing Water’s Future, the initiative to create “a new operating system for the world’s fresh water” — aligning across finance, policy, media, and innovation.

The Pasig River flows through Manila, capital of the Philippines. Photo © J. Carl Ganter/Circle of Blue Romania is releasing reservoir water into the drought-stricken Danube River in an effort to bring the country’s only nuclear power plant back online. Residents in the greater Berlin area are growing increasingly unhappy with officials allotting large amounts of groundwater for industry, rather than for drinking water.

The two-year federal Colorado River plan places mandatory cuts on Arizona, California, and Nevada, and targets a higher water level in Lake Powell. Cybersecurity agency warns of an “active threat” against certain devices used to operate water and wastewater systems. DOT seeks input on its idea of fast-tracking water, energy, and other “linear” utility infrastructure along specially designated rail and highway corridors. A water-energy research hub wants feedback on regional water supply systems.

Ever since Jacob Leinenkugel discovered spring waters here that were pure enough to brew his famous beer, this small Wisconsin city’s devotion to clean water has been paramount. That’s why in 1997, when Chippewa Falls utility managers detected potentially dangerous concentrations of nitrates in a well supplying city water, officials acted.

Ever since Jacob Leinenkugel discovered spring waters here that were pure enough to brew his famous beer, this small Wisconsin city’s devotion to clean water has been paramount. That’s why in 1997, when Chippewa Falls utility managers detected potentially dangerous concentrations of nitrates in a well supplying city water, officials acted.

The scale of the Panama Canal construction to excavate new channels, widen existing shipping corridors, and complete three new lock chambers on the Pacific side and three more close to the Caribbean make the canal expansion a 21st-century parallel to building the Egyptian pyramids. Photo © Keith Schneider / Circle of Blue Falling water levels in the Panama Canal are spurring million-dollar auctions amongst shipping companies desperate to send their tankers through the trade route.

Army Corps approves a permit for the Line 5 oil pipeline tunnel just as a state permit is invalidated. NOAA finds that July was the warmest month in the country’s 132-year historical record. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service takes comments on draining farmland near protected prairie wetlands. Two Senate Democrats introduce water system cybersecurity bill. USGS reports on long-term changes in U.S. groundwater and surface water.