Circle of Blue, as part of the Great Lakes News Collaborative, won the US Water Alliance’s annual US Water Prize. The prize honors groups, municipalities and media outlets that innovate or examine issues related to the natural resource.

The award is for “Outstanding One Water Communication” for the “Water’s True Cost” series examining the origins of Michigan’s water infrastructure crisis.

The Great Lakes News Collaborative consists of Circle of Blue, Bridge Michigan, Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television, and Michigan Radio, and is funded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.

The Collaborative works together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water. The independent journalism is funded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.

Previous winners in the category include the Arizona Republic, The New York Times, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and New Orleans Times-Picayune.

The US Water Alliance said the Great Lakes News Collaborative provided “a slate of excellent and comprehensive coverage of water issues in the Great Lakes.” And “these journalists are effectively driving the public conversation around water, the environment, and affordability.”

The award comes as water challenges – across the nation and around the world – are growing and are increasingly exacerbated by climate change. Water is often one of the first places climate impacts are felt by the public, particularly for low-income and communities of color. The U.S. Water Alliance estimates that 2,000,000 individuals across all 50 states experience a lack of access to clean drinking water and sanitation.

“We face converging crises at the intersection of water, food, energy and climate change that are causing billions of dollars of disruptions, testing human and ecological resilience, and requiring us to be much more nimble and responsive,” said J. Carl Ganter, managing director and co-founder of Circle of Blue. “Circle of Blue and our partners are delivering the trusted reporting that communities and their leaders need to understand complex issues and inform decisions and that will affect all of us for decades.”

The collaborative has written extensively about algae blooms, municipal water costs, septic systems, rural water services, bottled water extractions, the health of the Great Lakes, Enbridge Energy’s Line 5, lead pipes and more.

The 2022 US Water Prize winners were selected from a pool of more than 160 nominations and applications, and the awards ceremony took place Tuesday, September 13 in Milwaukee.