Every day the most important news on water and sanitation from around the world, compiled by the Blue Community Network, defending water as a common, public good and a human right.
ZeroPM Regulatory Watch
ZeroPM Regulatory WatchAs the European Union Green Deal roles out, the ZeroPM (Zero Pollution of Persistent, Mobile Substances) regulatory watch will announce upcoming initiatives related to persistent and mobile substances. There are over 60 researchers from 15 institutes located in 10 European countries who collaborate in ZeroPM. In addition, ZeroPM benefits from both an extended stakeholder group and an advisory board. The most recent update was prepared on June 6th 2025:
European Water Resilience Strategy contains limited actions on water pollution
Read ZeroPM Regulatory Watch / Tags: PFAS – Europe
Mexico: The Water Footprint was approved in the Congress of the CDMX, allowing laws to be passed in favour of water and its consumption.
Mexico: The Water Footprint was approved in the Congress of the CDMX, allowing laws to be passed in favour of water and its consumption.It will enable the formulation of public policies, laws and governance mechanisms.
To operate as a clear and well-founded guide to promoting an agenda of water justice, budget efficiency and urban resilience, the Finance Committee of the Mexico City Congress approved the research project ‘Huella Hídrica en Ciudad de México: Marco Normativo y Mejores Prácticas (Water Footprint in Mexico City: Regulatory Framework and Best Practices).
The legislators authorised this technical-legislative research document on the water footprint in metropolitan areas, which is designed to guide the formulation of public policies and regulatory reforms in Mexico City.
Read La Prensa (Spanish) / Tags: Mexico
Publication: Rethinking Water Scarcity, Energy, and Agriculture: Coupling Agrivoltaics With Addressing Groundwater Depletion
Publication: Rethinking Water Scarcity, Energy, and Agriculture: Coupling Agrivoltaics With Addressing Groundwater DepletionResolving groundwater overuse is an ongoing challenge that will require irrigation to cease on some land, leading to questions about what to do with land no longer irrigated. At the same time, the world is undergoing a green-energy transition, with new renewable energy infrastructure needed to meet renewable energy targets. Transitioning previously irrigated land to solar energy production with agriculture (i.e., agrivoltaics) can provide simultaneous benefits of reducing water use while increasing renewable energy generation on already disturbed land.
Read JAWRA / Wiley Online Library / Tags: US
India’s $80 billion coal-power boom is running short of water
India’s $80 billion coal-power boom is running short of water
Public ownership of England’s water companies could cost close to zero, says thinktank
Public ownership of England’s water companies could cost close to zero, says thinktankExclusive: Common Wealth report argues debt, pollution and underinvestment justify process known as special administration.
Ministers could bring water companies into public ownership for minimal cost through a process designed to safeguard vital public services when the companies running them are failing, a thinktank report has argued.
According to the report by Common Wealth, ministers could use a process known as special administration to take over a company like Thames Water and, rather than transfer it to another private company, keep it under permanent public ownership.
Read The Guardian / Tags: UK
Namibia: Katima Mulilo sewage crisis worsens as town pump fails, residents urged to relocate
Namibia: Katima Mulilo sewage crisis worsens as town pump fails, residents urged to relocateThe Katima Mulilo Town Council has warned of a sewage overflow after a major pump failure amid ageing infrastructure and rapid population growth.
Chief executive Raphael Liswaniso on Saturday told The Namibian although they are working hard to repair the main sewage pump, it will not be repaired soon.
He said residents should temporarily relocate to the villages, while businesses should also consider closing so they are not exposed to or affected by the overflowing sewage.
Read Namibian / Tags: Namibia – Sanitation
South Africa: Residents decry deteriorating state of the Boksburg Lake
South Africa: Residents decry deteriorating state of the Boksburg LakeEnvironmental experts have warned of the historical mismanagement of mines that fail to adhere to maintenance regulations enforced by the Department of Mineral Resources. This follows public alarm in Boksburg, where residents say their local lake has turned a rusty red, reportedly due to acid mine drainage.
Over recent weeks, the Boksburg Lake has been plagued with discoloured water, a strong foul odour, and dead fish.
Residents say the environmental changes are affecting their health and quality of life, as they can no longer open their windows due to the persistent smell from the lake. They also claim that the tainted water is flowing into their homes.
“Our water source comes from the dam,” says resident Mellisa Smith.
Read SABC News / Tags: SouthAfrica
WAMU-NET’s Side Event for IHP 50th Anniversary
As part of the celebrations for the 50th Anniversary of the International Hydrological Programme (IHP), the Global Network of Water Museums (WAMU-NET) is pleased to invite you to a high-level side event at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. This event is one of two coordinated activities by WAMU-NET and marks an important moment for the global water heritage community.
Side Event: The Voices of Water. Valuing ancient water cultures and hydro-technologies for a shared future.
12 June, 14:00 – 15:30 CEST, UNESCO Headquarters, Paris
Read Unesco / Tags: UN
South Africa: Pensioner spends R1,000 a month on water in this Free State village
Qholaqhwe village in the Eastern Free State has not had running water for more than five months, due to pump station failures.
Villagers have to get untreated water from nearby villages and mountain streams. Older people, unable to push wheelbarrows or lift water buckets themselves, are paying others to fetch water for them.
Tabita Kokong, a pensioner, said she has to spend up to R1,000 a month on water. “I am living with grandchildren who have to take a bath in the morning at school and I also have to wash their clothes. There is a pile of clothes in the house,” she said.
Read GroundUp / Tags: SouthAfrica – Right2Water
UK: Thames Water’s problems are too big to be flushed away
The US private equity giant KKR has pulled out of a £4bn rescue deal for the beleaguered utility, citing political risk. What now?
After holding last-minute talks with Downing Street, the US private equity group KKR pulled out of a £4bn rescue package for Thames Water, citing political risk.
So what? The stinking saga has become a must-watch for directors and executives, offering salutary lessons on stakeholder and reputation management, pay and how (not) to handle a crisis.
Read The Observer / Tags: UK
UK: Mrs U has a self-imposed hosepipe ban. But I don’t know why she bothers when Thames Water wastes more than half a BILLION litres every day
For under a series of rapacious foreign owners and private equity firms, out to make a fast buck, Thames Water has made such a disgraceful hash of serving its customers that it has achieved what many of us might have thought impossible: along with other privatised water companies nationwide, it has succeeded in becoming more unpopular even than the banks, whose greed brought the country to the brink of ruin during the credit crunch.
Read Daily Mail Online / Tags: UK
