Recent research shows that US rivers are becoming saltier and more alkaline. Salt pollution threatens drinking water supplies and freshwater ecosystems, but there is no broad system for regulating it.
Western Canada faced record droughts and forest fires in 2017.
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We think of Canada as a water-rich country, but we are not immune to water shortages or disasters. With some advance planning, Canada can avoid a water catastrophe.
Deep dive: water flows from a bore in Birdsville, Queensland.
Lobster1/Wikimedia Commons
Groundwater is out of sight, but it shouldn’t be out of mind. As cities struggle to cope with drought, we should remember that our largest stocks of water are hidden deep underground.
Rising waters: Paris, January 29, 2018.
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Pacific salmon are ingrained in the culture and economy of Canada. They are also a key link between ocean and land. But what happens if a pipeline failure contaminates their habitat?
The mouth of the Murray River delivers vital nutrients to marine life in the ocean beyond.
SA Water
Low flows in the Murray River in recent years have harmed tiny marine plants called phytoplankton, with consequences for local marine species and management.
Instead of building a wall on the US-Mexico border, a landscape architect calls for restoring the Rio Grande and turning its course into an international park – an idea first proposed in the 1930s.
The Murray-Darling Basin is an incredibly complex ecological system.
Mike Russell/Flickr
A recent report argues more water is needed to resurrect the Murray-Darling Basin. But simply increasing river flow alone could actually harm the Basin.
The Bronx River will never be the way it used to be, but it sure looks a lot better today than it did 20 years ago.
RickShaw/flickr
New Zealand just conferred personhood upon the Whanganui River, giving it standing to legally defend its rights. Can this novel strategy save the environment?
The Wollangambe River’s canyons are loved by adventurers.
Ben Green
The environmental regulator has stepped in to stop water pollution from an underground coal mine damaging a World Heritage River. Can the mine deliver improvements and will the river recover?
The Whanganui River: now a legal person.
Joerg Muller/Ulanwp/Wikimedia Commons
New Zealand’s Whanganui River and the Ganga and Yamuna Rivers in India have been given the right to ‘sue’ over issues like pollution. The challenge now is to ensure these legal rights are enforced.
Illustration titled, “If you want to get rid of mosquitos, drain the swamp that breeds them.” (1909)
Library of Congress
Why don’t more of Australia’s urban residents swim in city rivers? History provides a guide to reclaiming these important urban assets as public spaces.
Executive Director and Professor of Fisheries and River Management, Gulbali Institute (Agriculture, Water and Environment), Charles Sturt University, Charles Sturt University