Spawning sockeye salmon make their way up the Adams River near Chase, B.C.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
Populations of freshwater species are in a state of deep decline. But we know why and we can reverse the trend.
The Murrumbidgee River is one of several sites in the Murray-Darling Basin where improvements are being detected.
CSIRO/Wikimedia Commons
April 30, 2018
Angus Webb , The University of Melbourne ; Darren Ryder , University of New England ; Fiona Dyer , University of Canberra ; Michael Stewardson , The University of Melbourne ; Mike Grace , Monash University ; Nick Bond , La Trobe University ; Paul Frazier , University of New England ; Qifeng Ye ; Rick Stoffels , CSIRO ; Robyn J Watts , Charles Sturt University ; Samantha Capon , Griffith University , and Skye Wassens , Charles Sturt University
The Murray-Darling Basin Plan has been politically fraught and mired in scandal. But environmental monitoring suggests that the health of the rivers is indeed improving – even if it will take decades.
Researchers are finding plastics in fish in freshwater ecosystems.
(Shutterstock)
Ocean plastic has gained notoriety, but we’re starting to realize that microplastics pollute our freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems too.
Little Missouri River, North Dakota.
Justin Meissen
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.
Lake Tarawera, seen from its outlet, has excellent but declining water quality.
Troy Baisden
The ecological health of New Zealand’s lowland rivers and lakes is in decline, but principles borrowed from drinking water safety could help reverse the degradation.
A new report finds concerns about water infrastructure tops the list for Canada’s water providers.
(Shutterstock)
World Water Day shines a light on the importance of safe, clean drinking water, but a new report finds Canada’s freshwater systems are under stress.
The Iguazu Falls in Brazil are part of the Guarani Aquifer, one of the world’s major underground reserves of fresh water. The 8th World Water Forum, part of 2018 World Water Day, is being held in Brazil, home to the most fresh water on Earth.
(Shutterstock)
Water is one of our most precious resources, yet it’s in danger. World Water Day reminds us of the need to develop policies and governance to avoid squandering water.
Demonstrators at a 2010 Toronto rally protesting the mercury contamination of the Wabigoon-English waterway in northwestern Ontario carry long blue banners meant to represent a river.
(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young)
The declared end of Flint, Mich., contaminated water crisis echoes similar claims worldwide. Evidence shows victims of past and ongoing water crises, especially Indigenous people, continue to suffer.
Coal mines, such as this one near Bowen, use water for everything from equipment cooling to dust management.
CSIRO
Adani’s controversial Carmichael coal mine in Queensland’s Galilee Basin has been granted an unlimited 60-year water licence. But a range of measures could help the industry use less freshwater.
The Murray-Darling is a complex freshwater ecosystem.
Murray River wetlands image from www.shutterstock.com
Tempers have flared once again over the long-term plan to return water to the Murray-Darling River and improve its health.
Flooding in Wangaratta, Victoria.
Paul Humphries
Floods are often seen as a force of destruction. But as river ecologists, we find it hard not to rejoice at the flooding.
Krzysztof Odziomek/shutterstock
Scientists are pioneering a new way of monitoring water species, using techniques more familiar to fans of crime scene TV shows.
Shutterstock
Freshwater is one of the most threatened resources on Earth. Dragonflies can tell us what we need to know about the state of this precious resource.
Spangled perch are one of Australia’s strongly migratory native fish. After storms in January 2015 these fish were actively travelling up a flooded road in outback Northern Territory.
Jessica Brown
Freshwater fish are declining everywhere, in part thanks to dam-building. But we can have both.
Moo-ve along: livestock are one of many threats to Australian freshwater ecosystems.
Mick Stanic/Flickr
Freshwater covers only 0.5% of the Earth’s surface but is home to 10% of the world’s lifeforms.
The Louisiana swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii.
Shutterstock
The introduction and spread of invasive freshwater crayfish into Africa threatens the continent’s freshwater biodiversity.
One of Melbourne’s drinking water reservoirs at 30% capacity in 2010. At the time of writing, the dam is 60% full.
Melbourne Water/Flickr
Despite its long idle, Melbourne’s desalination plant plays a vital role in providing water in a drying climate.
So much water has gone into groundwater it has slowed rising seas.
Bore image from www.shutterstock.com
There’s enough water under the ground to form a lake 100m deep over the earth.
The remote rivers of northern Australia could be home to untold numbers of new and threatened fish.
Matthew Le Feuvre
A score of new fish species discovered recently in northern Australia remind us how little we know about our country.
Pretty, but also pretty nasty.
Willem van Aken/CSIRO/Wikimedia Commons
With El Niño ramping up, Australia is in for a long, hot, dry summer - perfect conditions for blue-green algae. And that innocuous-looking pond scum can pack a toxic punch if you’re not careful.