 | | The Wekiva River flows through Orange County, Florida. County voters approved a charter amendment to grant the river and other county waterways legal rights. Photo courtesy of Flickr/Creative Commons user rain0975 |
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| Residents of Orange County, Florida, voted overwhelmingly in favor of changing the county charter to give legal protection to rivers.
The result was one of a handful across the country in which voters endorsed new protections for waterways or property taxes that will fund water projects. Voters in Utah and Wyoming also approved constitutional amendments that fix technical matters related to municipal water supply and water infrastructure spending. |
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 | | Amistad Dam on the Rio Grande. Photo courtesy of Flickr/Creative Commons user Jonathan McIntosh |
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| U.S. and Mexican officials settled a water dispute that had been simmering for several months and led to protests by Mexican farmers concerned about water access.
Mexico is obligated under a 1944 treaty to deliver to the United States a set amount of water from the Rio Grande and its tributaries over a five-year period. As the end of the most recent period approached in late October, Mexico was behind on deliveries for a second consecutive cycle.
The last-minute agreement signed on October 21 settles the conflict. |
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 | | A house in Detroit where water had been shut off in 2014. Photo © J. Carl Ganter / Circle of Blue |
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| Even in the wealthiest countries, basic water services are not universal. At least 1.1 million people in the United States do not have hot and cold water running water in their house and a shower or tub for bathing, a new study finds.
This “plumbing poverty” is highest in cities and most acute in those like San Francisco that have the greatest income inequality. |
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In Portland, environmental, public health, and social justice groups, represented by the ACLU of Oregon, sued the U.S Department of Homeland Security for the health and environmental consequences of airborne chemicals.
The lawsuit raises concerns about the effect the chemicals may have on the city stormwater system and the Willamette River, which runs through Portland. Once a protest has ended, residual chemicals are washed off of streets and into gutters and drains. The water could then carry toxic substances into the Willamette, potentially affecting wildlife habitat and recreational waters. |
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What's Up With Water - November 2, 2020
For the news you need to start the week, tune into “What’s Up With Water” fresh on Monday’s on iTunes, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and SoundCloud.
This week's episode features coverage on Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan,as negotiations over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam resumed last Tuesday.
In science news, a research team found that one climate change adaptation tool has a large water footprint.
And in the western United States, federal government data shows that vegetation dryness is at historically low levels.
This week Circle of Blue reports on the U.S. Senate race in Michigan and what it means for water. 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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 | | A mobile home park in Orange County, California. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons |
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| Many of the more than one million Californians who live in mobile home parks drink water that is more polluted and more likely to be cut off than residents who get water from other municipal utilities, according to research on water access in California trailer parks. |
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