The Stream, August 26: California Drought Dries Up Water Wells for Hundreds

United States
At least 182 households in California’s San Joaquin valley no longer have running water in their homes due to the ongoing drought, prompting bottled water distributions by emergency services, the Associated Press reported. Circle of Blue’s latest story about the drought explains how a well-drilling “free-for-all” by the agriculture industry is behind the dropping groundwater levels and dry residential wells.

Detroit is resuming water service shutoffs today for residents with overdue water bills, Reuters reported. The month-long pause in shutoffs allowed 8,000 more customers to enroll in payment plans to keep their water turned on, but many more shutoffs are expected.

Pollution
Historic, abandoned landfills in the United Kingdom are releasing ammonium into the country’s rivers, possibly feeding blooms of unwanted algae and creating oxygen-depleted dead zones, the Guardian reported. According to a new study by the Natural Environment Research Council, just one of these landfills near Oxford is releasing 27.5 metric tons of ammonium into the River Thames each year.

West Bank
Development of a new Palestinian town in the West Bank is being hindered by a lack of water and connecting roads, The New York Times reported. The development has buildings and homes, but Israeli authorities have not yet given the go-ahead for water connections.

Climate Change
The rate of ice loss from Earth’s two largest ice sheets has doubled since 2009, and has now reached a rate of 500 cubic kilometers (120 cubic miles) each year, the Guardian reported, citing new research based on findings from the CryoSat-2 satellite. The ice sheet in Greenland is losing 375 cubic kilometers (90 cubic miles) of ice per year, while the Antarctica ice sheet is losing 125 cubic kilometers (30 cubic miles) of ice per year.

Codi Kozacek

A news correspondent for Circle of Blue based out of Hawaii. She writes The Stream, Circle of Blue’s daily digest of international water news trends. Her interests include food security, ecology and the Great Lakes.
Contact Codi Kozacek