The Stream, February 11, 2025: Buenos Aires’ ‘Blood-Colored’ Stream Causes Alarm; Drought and Heat Worsen Chile’s Wildfires

Australia’s Murray-Darling Basin. Photo: J. Carl Ganter, Circle of Blue.

YOUR GLOBAL RUNDOWN

A stream just south of Buenos Aires has turned a deep red color, startling both residents and experts in a region with a long history of water pollution.
Students in Bosnia and Herzegovina are protesting government inaction in the wake of last fall’s deadly floods.
Torrential snow and rain has fallen across the Pacific, breaking records in Japan and spurring flooding in Australia and California.
In Chile, drought and temperatures exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit have given rise to fifteen active wildfire outbreaks south of the capital, Santiago.

— Christian Thorsberg, Interim Stream Editor

Fresh: From the Great Lakes Region

Fate of Biomonitoring Programs in Limbo: Four Great Lakes states — Michigan, Minnesota, New York and Wisconsin — were among those awarded federal grants last September to implement biomonitoring programs “to measure harmful chemicals in marginalized communities,” the Great Lakes Echo reports. The initiatives test human exposure to harmful substances including PFAS, flame retardants, pesticides, and metals. But their future is uncertain following the federal funding freeze ordered by President Trump, and its subsequent rescinding. “It remains unclear at this point what implications the changes in federal administration will have on this contract beyond year one,” Erin Clary, deputy communications director with the New York State Department of Health, tells the Echo.

Bridge Michigan, Circle of Blue, Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television, Michigan Public and The Narwhal work together to report on the most pressing threats to the Great Lakes region’s water. This independent journalism is supported by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. Find all the work here.

Toronto-area national park to grow as feds scrap airport plan — The Narwhal
What furor over drab Gaylord land says about Michigan’s energy transition — Bridge Michigan
How Ducks Unlimited Became Heroes of the Conservation Movement — Great Lakes Now
“A crisis”: Lake whitefish survey paints an even more dire picture — Michigan Public

The Lead

In the town of Sarandí, located six miles south of Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires, a stream has mysteriously turned the color of blood, the New York Times reports. While no official explanation for the jarring transformation has yet been given, residents have blamed chemicals they say routinely leak from local factories and tanneries, while the country’s environmental ministry speculated that it may be “some type of organic dye.” The stream flows into the Río de la Plata, an estuary which helps form a border between Uruguay and Argentina.

Experts say the region has a history of both advanced pollution and poor regulation and enforcement. The Matanza-Riachuelo River basin, home to 10 percent of Argentina’s population, is one of the “most contaminated waterways in Latin America,” according to the World Bank. La Nación reports that the red stream has a “nauseating smell, like garbage.”

Recent WaterNews from Circle of Blue

USAID Shutdown Causes Global Alarm in International Water and Climate Programs — Trump administration’s declared aim is to eliminate U.S. foreign aid agency.
At Phoenix’s Far Edge, a Housing Boom Grasps for Water — More than 1 million people could pour into western Maricopa County in the coming decades – if housing developers can secure the water.

This Week’s Top Water Stories, Told In Numbers

The number of people killed amidst heavy rains, floods, and landslides last October in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, Reuters reports. Among them, 19 people were killed in the village of Donja Jablanica alone, when an illegal quarry collapsed in the storm. While the Bosnian government received aid from the European Union and donors shortly after the tragedy, the communities affected by the deluge say they have yet to receive any funding for reconstruction, and no investigation into any deaths have been launched. In response, students took to the capital, Sarajevo, on Monday to protest.

The number of hours it took for four feet of snow to fall in northern Japan late last week, shattering winter precipitation records and shutting down streets, schools, airports, and train travel. Similar wet weather was felt throughout much of the Pacific, the Guardian reports. Six months of rain fell in north Queensland, Australia, leaving some 10,000 homes without power and killing two people. In parts of northern California, more than 50 inches of snow and 23 inches of rain fell in just three days, triggering landslides and flooding.

On the Radar

Strong winds and drought have contributed to the spread of wildfires through La Araucanía, Chile, endangering more than 860,000 people, CBS reports. Two evacuation alerts have been issued, more than 200 people are missing, and one person has died. Temperatures in south-central Chile have surpassed 103 degrees Fahrenheit.

49th State Focus: Alaska Considers Alternative to Federal Flood Insurance

Alaska Flood Authority: A new measure, Senate Bill 11, which would replace FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program with a new Alaska flood insurance fund, is being considered by the Alaska state legislature, the Alaska Beacon reports. The bill’s proponents say that only thirty-two cities or boroughs in the state participated in the federal program as of 2022, and that, overall, “Alaskans in the system pay out much more in premiums than they receive in compensation for flood damage.” Floods in Alaska — including glacial outburst flooding — are becoming more common amidst temperature and precipitation fluctuations attributed to climate change. As it is currently written, Senate Bill 11 would cover mudflows, but not landslides.

Christian Thorsberg

Christian Thorsberg is an environmental writer from Chicago. He is passionate about climate and cultural phenomena that often appear slow or invisible, and he examines these themes in his journalism, poetry, and fiction.