The Stream, February 3: India To Borrow Billions To Finance Irrigation

The Global Rundown

India plans to secure billions of dollars in loans from international banks to improve its irrigation systems and protect its agricultural sector from climate change. Lebanon is struggling with an ineffective garbage system that threatens its drinking water and air quality, while Zimbabwe’s capital is seeing a sharp increase in bottled water sales as water quality declines. California is extending mandatory water conservation measures due to an ongoing drought, Australia has approved an environmental permit for the Carmichael coal mine, and U.S. lawmakers are investigating the Flint water crisis.

“We are not asking for an impossible thing. It’s obvious all countries should have a strategic plan on waste management.” –Wadih al-Asmar, organizer of YouStink, a citizen group in Lebanon protesting the lack of effective waste services in Beirut. Piles of garbage, turned away from the city’s main landfill, now threaten its water supply. (Reuters)

By The Numbers

$12.6 billion Amount India plans to borrow from overseas lenders to finance investments in irrigation, which it says are critical for addressing climate change. Bloomberg

23.4 percent Amount of water savings California cities must make, below 2013 levels, to meet mandatory conservation targets that were renewed Tuesday. The targets will be in place through October. The Sacramento Bee

300,000 liters Estimated amount of bottled water sold in Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital, each day. Water quality in the city is declining, while a regional drought pinches water supplies. Reuters

Science, Studies, And Reports

An environmental permit has been granted for the Carmichael mine in Queensland, which would be Australia’s largest coal mine. The permit brings the mine, opposed in part because of concerns over its potential effect on water resources, one step closer to realization. Guardian

On The Radar

The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will hold a hearing today on the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. On Tuesday, the FBI confirmed that it would be part of a federal investigation into the crisis, in which drinking water in the city was contaminated with high levels of lead. Reuters

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