The Stream, April 12: Responding to Scarcity

By Rationing In Texas
Drought in Texas is forcing the state’s environmental commission to consider restricting surface water withdrawals, according to the Star-Telegram. Cities in the state’s southeast are already using emergency reserves and purchasing rights on water markets, the Galveston Daily News reports.

By Suing In Oklahoma
The New York Times kicks off a series on water skirmishes in the U.S. with an article about the legal battle for water from Oklahoma’s Sardis Lake. Cities in Texas and Oklahoma and the Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes are the parties involved.

By Building In Algeria
Last Tuesday, the Algerian government opened a 750-km pipeline supplying water to the country’s desert south, Xinhua reports.

By Organizing In El Salvador
Farmer and activist Francisco Pineda is one of the recipients of the 2011 Goldman Environmental Prize, Environment News Service reports. Pineda has campaigned against a Canadian mining company for polluting and diverting rivers. Under threat of assassination, he has round-the-clock police protection.

The Stream is a daily digest spotting global water trends. To get more water news, follow Circle of Blue on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.

Brett Walton

Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States. He also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States(2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). He received the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award in 2018. Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies. Contact Brett Walton