 | | Clouds darken the sky off of Vietnam’s southern coast, near the Mekong delta. Photo © J. Carl Ganter / Circle of Blue |
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| Using updated estimates of coastal elevations, a new study shows that more than three times as many people than previously thought are currently living in areas at risk of being under water during high tide in the second half of the century.
The study reckons that 110 million people today live in these coastal zones that are threatened with inundation at high tide in the coming decades, up from earlier estimates of about 28 million people.
The Climate Central study did not account for relative sea-level rise. It assumed that land elevations remained constant. In the dynamic world, that is not the case. |
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 | | The Western North Carolina Agricultural Center, shown here in October 2014, was the site of a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in September 2019 that sickened 142 people. Photo courtesy of Performance Impressions LLC |
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| There are few regulations in the United States for monitoring building plumbing for Legionella. The rules that do exist largely target the healthcare industry.
Outside of healthcare, building owners generally are doing very little to prevent bacterial growth in their plumbing, according to interviews with people involved in Legionella testing and monitoring. Standards and industry best practices are followed haphazardly. |
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 | | The San Antonio River flows through downtown San Antonio, and is protected by a flood control system that includes dams and a water-retaining tunnel. A ballot measure in Texas proposes putting $800 million in state funds toward flood protection. Photo © J. Carl Ganter/Circle of Blue |
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| Few questions loom larger in politics than those about funding. When those funds are state bond outlays, often the question is put to the voters in a ballot initiative.
This year is no different. Voters in Colorado, Texas, and New Orleans have a chance in November to weigh in on water infrastructure funding. |
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A fuel crisis in Yemen is severely straining water supplies for 15 million people, according to reports from Oxfam and other aid agencies. |
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What's Up With Water - October 28, 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 features coverage on how the capital of the Philippines is undergoing rotating water shutoffs to conserve supplies in its main reservoir. Additional international coverage includes a look at Australia, where many towns are evaluating options for averting “Day Zero” as their water supplies dwindle. In the United States, proposed legislation in Florida intends to address the dangers of harmful algae blooms. Finally, this week's coverage from Circle of Blue looks at water issues on state and local ballots in November elections.
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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 | | In Jakarta, sinking due to groundwater withdrawals and urban growth, lies Lake Pluit, which is below sea level. The district around the lake was inundated by historic flooding in 2007. Photo © J. Carl Ganter/Circle of Blue |
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| The coasts, particularly delta regions, were a natural setting for urbanization. At the intersection of river and ocean, they connected upstream producers to global markets. It was a successful model, for a time. But a new geography of risk has emerged. Because of climate change and mismanagement of natural resources, coastal cities are increasingly hazardous locations.
Subsidence is one of those risks. Shifting land topples buildings and buckles roads and bridges. It is worsened by unrestrained urbanization on fragile, compactable soils and by upstream dams that block the sediments that replenish delta lands. These sediments, which are also channeled out to sea by levee systems, are “the only natural compensation method available” for land lost to compaction. |
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