 | | In northern Louisiana, towns that are losing population are finding their water systems in financial and administrative distress. Photo courtesy of Flickr/Creative Commons user Nathan |
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| Clarence, a northern Louisiana community of fewer than 500 people, could not pay its bills. At beginning of the year, Clarence had $27,766 in past-due water payments to Natchitoches, a larger town, some 7 miles west, from which it purchases water. Including other charges, the town’s past-due bills, in total, amounted to at least $68,000, or five times the cash in its bank accounts.
The situation was on the verge of deteriorating further. Frustrated with the late payments, Natchitoches was threatening to cut off water to Clarence. Natchitoches officials relented only because the state promised to step in.
The struggles of rural water systems in the United States are well-documented. Studies repeatedly show that smaller systems have distinct challenges. They have higher costs per person served, less skillful operators, fewer financial resources, and more health violations. There are nearly 50,000 community water systems in the country, but 80 percent of them serve fewer than 3,300 people.
Those challenges are made worse when a community, like Clarence and many of those on the Louisiana watch list, is small and shrinking. |
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 | | Illinois fields catch the first rays of daybreak. Runoff from farm fields in the Mississippi River watershed contributes to dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico. Photo © J. Carl Ganter/Circle of Blue |
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| Elizabeth Warren, a leading contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, called for a Blue New Deal on Tuesday, unveiling her plan to protect the oceans, Great Lakes, and the rivers that flow into them from pollution and overdevelopment.
Climate change has attained unparalleled prominence in U.S. campaign politics in the run-up to the Democratic primary. All of the leading candidates have released climate plans, some more detailed than others. These plans spell out goals for curbing greenhouse gas emissions as well as how to respond to rising seas and hotter temperatures.
Despite the direct attention to climate, water is a different story. No candidate has a standalone water strategy. When it is mentioned, water is positioned within policy statements on farming, rural economy, climate change, environmental justice, or infrastructure.
Water policy observers nonetheless view Warren’s Blue New Deal and water-related statements from other candidates as significant steps forward in this election cycle. |
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Bali is a beloved travel destination, known for lush forests and rice paddies, exquisite temples, and pristine beaches. Perhaps too beloved: the Indonesian island is in the midst of a drought and water is running out fast, pitting local water needs against those of the powerful tourism industry.
Indonesia as a whole is experiencing drought, with an estimated 50 million people affected. In Bali, dry conditions are magnified by efforts to accommodate the 16 million tourists that visit the island each year. In total, an estimated 65 percent of the island’s water is funneled into tourism. |
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What's Up With Water - December 9, 2019
“What’s Up With Water” condenses the need-to-know news on the world’s water into a snapshot for the start of the workweek via podcast.
This week's episode includes coverage on Bali, which is running out of water. Additional international news looks at Australia has seen its driest spring season in recorded history, while in Zimbabwe, the latest drought is draining the country’s cattle bank. This week, Circle of Blue takes a new look at the phenomenon of atmospheric rivers.
You can listen to the latest edition of What's Up With Water, as well as all past editions, by downloading the podcasts on iTunes, following Circle of Blue on Spotify, following on iHeart Radio, and subscribing on SoundCloud. |
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| From Circle of Blue's Archives: |
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 | | North Carolina authorities took control of Eureka’s finances three months ago because the sewer system was bankrupting the town. Photo © Earl C. Leatherberry |
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| Rising sewer bills, a result of inadequate infrastructure and heavy rainfall, are driving small, rural communities in North Carolina toward bankruptcy. Dozens of small towns, many with aging and declining populations, low incomes, and sewer rates that are already some of the highest in the state, are running chronic budget deficits in their sewer system operations. Economic hardship, deficient infrastructure, and inability to manage and maintain delicate engineering systems have contributed to the stirrings of a rural financial crisis rooted in public sewer system failures, state officials say. |
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