The Stream, June 29: Tanzania Moves to Protect Hydropower From Competing Water Users

The Global Rundown

Tanzania plans to protect its electricity generation by barring other water users from diverting supplies at two hydropower sites. Iraq’s southern marshes are drying out again as Islamic State militants alter the flow of the Euphrates River. The Panama Canal’s newly expanded locks were filled earlier this month, flash floods and landslides in Bangladesh turned deadly over the weekend, and a Wisconsin city is closer to diverting Lake Michigan water out of the Great Lakes basin.

“History is repeating itself all over again,”–Sheikh Muhammad al-Asadi, a resident of Iraq’s southern Chibayish marshes, on dwindling water resources in the region due in part to the manipulation of upstream dams by Islamic State militants. The marshes were previously drained under Saddam Hussein’s rule. (Radio Free Europe)

By The Numbers

50,000 cubic meters of water Amount, per hour, that filled the Panama Canal’s new locks over a period of five days in June. The canal expansion project cost $US 5.25 billion and is expected to be operational by April 2016. Miami Herald

23 people Death toll from flash floods and landslides that hit southeastern Bangladesh over the weekend. Reuters

Science, Studies, And Reports

Waukesha, Wisconsin, has “no reasonable alternative” to tapping Lake Michigan for its water supply, according to a draft report by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. If Waukesha’s request for the water is approved, it would be the first city outside of the Great Lakes basin to take water from the lakes since a regional agreement was signed in 2008 to prevent diversions. MLive

On The Radar

Tanzania may declare two hydropower sites “protected” in order to bar farmers and other water users from competing for the scarce resource. Hydropower provides more than half of the country’s electricity, but persistent droughts and competing water demands have hindered power production.

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