Groundwater sustains life, from farming to wild animals. But we don’t fully know how quickly it recharges.
Agborkim Waterfalls, some 17 kilometres from Ikom, about 315 kilometers from Calabar, capital of Cross Rivers State, Nigeria.
Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images
Farah Nibbs, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Water is everywhere, but freshwater supplies are limited on many Caribbean islands. Rising demand and climate change are worsening water shortages for the people who live here.
States are once again turning to desalination to secure freshwater supplies. The problem is, they’re often choosing the wrong spot for ecosystems and fisheries
Lake Koocanusa is seen in June 2021, northeast of Libby, Mont. Mining and other environmental pollutants present serious risks to North America’s fresh water.
(Hunter D'Antuono/Flathead Beacon via AP)
Fining companies that flout environmental regulations is an effective strategy, if the penalties are severe enough.
A view of the Yaqan Nukiy, also known as the Lower Kootenay Band First Nation, wetland restoration project is seen near Creston, B.C.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Norm Allard
The results of a new study are clear: resilient water governance systems are effective and enjoy strong public support. The time is now to build resilience into our global water systems.
Water treatment doesn’t have to be one large, citywide system.
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Water shortages are one of the greatest problems created by a warming world. A decentralized water system is a compelling counterargument to the notion that bigger is better.
A front-end loader dumps road salt into a truck in Chelsea, Mass.
(AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Increasing awareness of the dangers ‘forever chemical’ road salts pose to our fresh water systems highlights the urgent importance of finding new approaches to de-icing our roads.
Cargo ships wait at the entrance to the Panama Canal in late September.
Luis Acosta/AFP via Getty Images
Any plan to dam or extract water from some of Australia’s last wild rivers must carefully consider the consequences. Prawn, mud crab and barramundi fisheries could suffer in the Gulf of Carpentaria.
In 2022, California built an emergency drought barrier across the West False River near Oakley to protect against saltwater intrusion.
AP Photo/Terry Chea
Saltwater intrusion is bad for human health, ecosystems, crops and infrastructure. Here’s how seawater can move inland, and why climate change is making this phenomenon more frequent and severe.
The Peach Blossom Jellyfish (Craspedacusta sowerbii) is native to China and an invasive species in Canada.
(Florian Lüskow)
We’ve blown past the safe and just limit for vital Earth systems, from climate change to the biosphere and the use of fertilisers and freshwater. For humans to thrive means living in safe limits
Roads require de-icing strategies in northern regions, but this practice has negative effects on aquatic biodiversity.
Although it has been considerably less studied than other environmental problems, salinization presents major challenges for biodiversity in freshwater and coastal areas.