The Stream, May 31: Mines Turning to New Sources for Water

Mining companies are being forced to turn to costly recycling and desalination systems to secure enough water for their operations as rivers and other traditional sources run dry, Reuters reported. Water infrastructure now makes up about 10 percent of mining capital costs.

Jordan’s water supply and distribution system is struggling to keep up with the stream of refugees flowing into the country from Syria, Aljazeera reported. Approximately half a million Syrian refugees are in Jordan, where water supplies were already scarce.

Water Quality
Poland and Finland will work together to clean up the Baltic Sea’s water quality, which is currently afflicted by high levels of phosphorous and nitrates from municipal, industrial and agricultural runoff, United Press International reported. The nutrient pollution can cause hypoxic ‘dead zones’ to form that kill off aquatic organisms.

Japanese fishermen who worked near the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant continue to face a bleak future as the plant struggles to stem the flow of contaminated water, according to Reuters. Tepco, the utility that operates the Fukushima plant, hopes to dump groundwater into the sea before it becomes contaminated, but the fishermen are wary of this plan.

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.

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