Western U.S. Cities Open Wallets in Quest for Water
Circle of Blue Reports
Chris Jones Campaigns to Clean Up Iowa’s Water
An Obscure Provision In FEMA’s Program To Prevent Disaster Is Making Serious Flooding Worse
Planet Enters Era of ‘Global Water Bankruptcy,’ UN Report Says
Speaking of Water | Global Water Bankruptcy, a Conversation with Kaveh Madani
Combatting Agricultural Pollution: Michigan’s New Manure Management Rules
Trump Is Desperate to End Era of Land, Water, Wildlife Protections
Massive Energy Storage Project Eyed for Four Corners Region
National AI Boom Hits Home as Demand for Power Surges
Momentous Court Decisions Near For Line 5 Oil Pipeline
Spain’s Hog Haven Pollutes Catalonian Waters
In Burned Forests, the West’s Snowpack Is Melting Earlier
opinion
Clean Water Is a Virtue in Helping Cities Be ‘Livable and Lovable’
Traces of Old Farm Chemicals Contaminate Water Across the U.S.
Jane Goodall’s Legacy Included Protecting Clean Water
“America First” Puts Big Hurt on International Water Programs
The World Economic Forum Water Systems Map
Water is a system of systems. From rainfall to rivers, infrastructure to policy, local use to global consequences, every part is connected. This interactive map reveals how water flows through everything, particularly a nexus of water, food and energy. It reveals where risks emerge, where solutions intersect, and why informed decisions about water matter everywhere. Curated by Circle of Blue with the World Economic Forum.
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The Stream, February 3, 2026: Brazil’s Belo Monte Dam Ruled Noncompliant After Years of Environmental Harm
● A court has ruled that the second-largest dam in Brazil has failed to comply with requirements to preserve Indigenous communities’ access to clean water.
● A new study suggests that High Mountain Asia, known as the continent’s “Water Tower,” is losing nearly 27 billion tons of groundwater each year.
● Climate change is making regional rains in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and South Africa — such as those that killed 200 people last month — up to 40 percent stronger.
● In a precedent-setting act, a Welsh town will buy and demolish homes that have suffered from repeated flooding…
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Federal Water Tap is a weekly digest spotting trends in U.S. government water policy. Get it delivered to your inbox every Monday.
Federal Water Tap, February 2, 2026: South Dakota Delegation Tries Again for Missouri River Diversion Study
● South Dakota representatives introduce three bills to authorize feasibility studies for regional water supply projects, including two Missouri River diversions.
● BLM revises its publication date for a final environmental assessment of a proposed groundwater pipeline in southwest Utah.
● White House advisory group recommends changes to FEMA’s disaster response.
● USGS researchers assess a less-toxic means of controlling a non-native, ecologically-damaging reed in the Great Lakes.
● A federal financial oversight board’s annual report notes that the Trump administration removed climate-risk guidance for large financial institutions.
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The biggest international, state, and local policy news stories facing the Great Lakes region today.
Fresh, January 28, 2026: Revived Proposal Would Expand Indiana Wilderness and Protect Drinking Water
● Indiana legislators are preparing to introduce a new bill that would expand the size of a federal wilderness area and better protect a crucial source of drinking water.
● The village board of Mt. Pleasant, Wisconsin, unanimously approved a $13 billion plan to build 15 new Microsoft data centers.
● A new report…
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Learn about the future today
Brett Walton’s 2020 investigation uncovered a hidden danger beneath U.S. coasts: rising groundwater threatening homes, infrastructure, and public health. Now, that reporting is helping shape action in Washington. The bipartisan Groundwater Rise and Infrastructure Preparedness Act would task the U.S. Geological Survey with mapping groundwater rise through 2100 and recommending solutions to protect communities before it’s too late. Read the story below.
The Mekong River
In the heart of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the muddy flow of the Mekong River is a lifeline—for fishermen, farmers, families. But this ancient river system is being pushed to the edge.
Matt Black Honored with MacArthur Fellowship
Photojournalists speak of their “duty to see” — their commitment to capture decisive moments that stir empathy, reveal truth, and inspire hope.
We congratulate Matt Black, a Circle of Blue contributing photographer, for being one of the 22 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship honorees this year. Matt received the $800,000 award that is attached to the famous Genius Grant for “chronicling the impacts of inequality and hardship on people and places.”
Circle of Blue identified Matt’s exquisite and influential photography more than a decade ago and featured his striking images of California’s Central Valley for our award-winning multimedia Choke Point: Index project. Photographs for that project were featured in “The Dry Land” photo spread published by the New Yorker magazine. The New York Times also noted Black’s photographs of the Central Valley drought.
We celebrate Matt for sharing our mission to see clearly, tell deeply, and connect the world through water.
The Blue Planet: Quarterly Report
A World on Fire Is a Water Risk
The world is awash in flames. Nearly 22 million acres in Canada have burned this year, the second highest annual total for the country in the last four decades. The European Union is experiencing its worst fire year in the last two decades. Much of the damage has occurred in Portugal, where three times more acres have burned than average. In July, large fires…
Keep readingPOLICY AND ECONOMICS
What It Means For Water and Resources When Trump Budget Cuts Hit Home
QUALITY AND SUPPLY
Michigan’s Other Water Crisis: PFAS’s Prevalence in Private Wells
CLIMATE AND ECOSYSTEMS
Make America Polluted Again Starts in Iowa
The Drying American West
At Phoenix’s Far Edge, a Housing Boom Grasps for Water
HotSpots H2O
Snowfall in Hindu Kush Himalaya In Steep Decline
In response to critically low snow cover in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region, and the potential for serious water shortages in downstream communities, experts from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) have called for immediate action…
The Blue Economy
Water Determines Great Lakes Region’s Economic Future
A Great Lakes News Collaborative series on the relationship between the region’s economy and its most abundant natural resource: water.
This multi-part series revisits a vision set forth a decade ago by Great Lakes leaders to reshape the region’s economy around the stewardship of its most vital asset—water. Through original reporting across the Great Lakes basin, the GLNC newsrooms assess the current state of the “blue economy” and how it has evolved over the past ten years.