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.
In Nigeria’s Water Tug of War, Cleanliness and Access Collide
In Nigeria’s Water Tug of War, Cleanliness and Access CollideHer water source? A shallow, visibly contaminated well which is the only option for her household of six and many other families in the area. Her story mirrors the everyday reality of millions of Nigerians who endure the daily torment of water scarcity and exposure to waterborne diseases.
While access to water is a basic human right, in Nigeria, it is a privilege riddled with compromises. The 2021 Water, Sanitation, Hygiene National Outcome Routine Mapping (WASH NORM) Survey revealed alarming gaps in water access and safety across Nigeria. Only 67% of Nigerians have access to basic drinking-water services and just 32% have an improved water source within their premises, forcing many to travel an average of 17 minutes to fetch water.
Read Nigeria Health Watch / Tags: Nigeria – Right2Water – WASH
Where did the water go? Poplar Lake dries up in north Edmonton
Where did the water go? Poplar Lake dries up in north EdmontonA north Edmonton community is full of questions, after their natural water feature all of a sudden disappeared.
The body of water Poplar Lake, also known as Klarvatten Wetland, has existed for decades along 82 Street — so much so, the road curves around the lake, which existed before the neighbourhood grew up around it.
The city described it as a “stormwater-influenced wetland” buffered by additional park space. The outlet is controlled to provide a range of water levels, accommodating wetland function and wildlife habitat, the city’s website said.
Read Global News / Tags: Canada
South Africa: Climate adaptation and inequality. Lessons from Cape Town’s drought
South Africa: Climate adaptation and inequality. Lessons from Cape Town’s droughtA growing number of urban areas around the world face water scarcity. Focusing on the prolonged drought that Cape Town experienced from 2015 to 2018, this column examines how adaptation shaped outcomes for the city’s residents and for its municipal water utility. While policy measures including higher prices and usage restrictions saved the city from running out of water, they reduced demand more among wealthy households who were able to substitute away from municipal water, undermining the utility’s ability to cross-subsidise lower-income households’ consumption. Post-drought tariff reforms led to a more efficient pricing scheme that maintained support for low-income households.
Read CEPR / Tags: SouthAfrica – WaterCrisis
US: Oklahoma’s loophole. How Tyson’s water use goes unchecked
US: Oklahoma’s loophole. How Tyson’s water use goes uncheckedWhile Tyson says its growers obtain water from ‘lawfully acquired sources,’ the state’s permitting system allows poultry operations to pump water without permits.
Within a roughly 25-mile radius of the southeast Oklahoma town of Idabel, there are 59 industrial poultry farms — more than half built in the last 15 years, typically larger than older operations. Together, they raise nearly 7.4 million birds at maximum capacity. All but six grow chickens for Tyson Foods, the largest meat company in the country; the other six farms supply Pilgrim’s Pride, a Colorado-based, multinational food company.
Read Investigate Midwest / Tags: US
Ensuring water security in Africa requires gender-transformative change at scale
Ensuring water security in Africa requires gender-transformative change at scaleWater insecurity impacts agrifood systems across Africa— impacted by climate change, colonial legislation, lack of institutional capacity and resources, conflicts, and past initiatives on land and agriculture privatization. Underlying all these challenges are gender inequalities and social exclusions that make water insecurity a key factor in women’s economic growth and wellbeing. A review of literature shaped by a 3M approach (micro, meso and macro) reveals the risks of unsustainable, exclusionary water interventions and investments that have historically widened gender and social inequality. The report highlights three findings that will impact the ambitious goal for Africa’s Green Revolution.
Read CGIAR / Tags: Africa – Water&Gender
US: In the Arizona desert, a farm raising fish raises questions about water use
In the desert of landlocked Arizona, where the Colorado River crisis has put water use under a microscope, Mainstream Aquaculture has a fish farm where it’s growing the tropical species barramundi, also known as Asian sea bass, for American restaurants.
Mainstream sees it as a sustainable alternative to ocean-caught seafood. They say chefs and conscious consumers like that the food has a shorter distance to travel, eliminating some of the pollution that comes from massive ships that move products around the world. And they and some aquaculture experts argue it’s efficient to use the water twice, since the nutrient-rich leftovers can irrigate crops like Bermuda grass sold for livestock feed.
Read Associated Press / Tags: US
UK – Thames Water: Britain’s biggest utility just got captured by toxic private credit markets
UK – Thames Water: Britain’s biggest utility just got captured by toxic private credit marketsNo rescue. No reform. Just control – seized through debt.
By 2027, your water bills will be up. Your rivers will still stink. And two American credit funds will be quietly sailing off with the profits via Thames Water.
In June 2025, KKR – one of the world’s most aggressive private equity firms – circled Thames Water.
This is a firm that’s happily turned collapsed retailers, energy firms, and hospitals into gold mines. It sent in consultants. Built the models. Briefed Whitehall. And then? Nothing.
No bid. No press release. Just silence. Because inside Thames, it didn’t find a turnaround story; it found a corpse in a pinstripe suit:
Read The Canary / Tags: UK
