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.
How to avoid Africa’s next water war
How to avoid Africa’s next water warIn 2023, Gen. Michael Langley, commander of U.S. Africa Command, warned that African countries face new destabilizing challenges, including “climate change [that] is increasing desertification.
One year earlier, Morocco, a close U.S. ally on the northwestern edge of the Sahara Desert, had already started taking bold steps to get ahead of the negative effects of climate change. In particular, it began building a series of dams to better manage its increasingly precarious water resources.
Scheduled for completion between 2026 and 2029, the dams will lessen the impact of more frequent and more violent floods, and they will allow Morocco to adapt to longer and more acute droughts. However, while the dams proactively mitigate the risks climate change poses to Morocco’s domestic stability, they are catalysts for broader regional destabilization.
Read The Hill / Tags: Africa – WaterConflicts – Morocco – Algeria
Bangladesh: Salty Water, Shattered Lives. The Water Crisis
Bangladesh: Salty Water, Shattered Lives. The Water CrisisIn the southern coastal district of Satkhira, Bangladesh, water is both everywhere and nowhere. Rivers crisscross the region, the Bay of Bengal lies to the south, and the Sundarbans—the world’s largest mangrove forest—hugs its borders. And yet, for the people living here, safe and drinkable water is alarmingly scarce. Increasing salinity has turned this fertile region into a harsh, parched land. It’s not just a crisis—it’s a catastrophe unfolding in real time.
Read Good Morning Kashmir / Tags: Bangladesh
US: The Yurok tribe have reclaimed Blue Creek, 138 years after it was taken from them
US: The Yurok tribe have reclaimed Blue Creek, 138 years after it was taken from themThe Yurok tribe of northern California has achieved what once seemed impossible: reclaiming the 19,000-hectare (47,000-acre) watershed of Blue Creek, a cold-water artery vital to salmon survival and tribal identity. This marks the largest land-back conservation deal in California history. It’s a case study in how ecological restoration, tribal sovereignty and financial innovation can converge, Mongabay contributor Justin Catanoso reports.
For the Yurok, whose lands and waters were stripped under the 1887 Dawes Act, the return of Blue Creek is not merely symbolic: It is an ecological necessity. Chinook, coho and steelhead salmon rely on the icy refuge at Blue Creek’s mouth to cool their bodies during upstream migrations. Without it, their journey — and the tribe’s culture, economy and ceremonies — faces collapse.
Read Mongabay / Tags: US
Bolivia: Drinking water and irrigation projects for families in La Paz, Santa Cruz and Potosí.
Bolivia: Drinking water and irrigation projects for families in La Paz, Santa Cruz and Potosí.The national government is investing over Bs 12.1 million to guarantee the implementation of these projects, which will benefit municipalities in the aforementioned departments.
‘We have tried to streamline programmes and projects, and we will continue to do so. We regret that some assembly members continue to block resources for the population. While this undoubtedly harms the administration of President Luis Arce, it harms the population even more. In these last three years, they have not approved our projects, but we hope that they will do so in the coming months for the good of the Bolivian people,’ said the Minister for the Environment and Water, Álvaro Ruiz, in a press report.
Among the projects for La Paz municipalities is the construction of the San Felipe community drinking water system in Coroico, representing an investment of Bs 173,925 and benefiting 320 people.
Read abi – agencia boliviana de informacion (Spanish) / Tags: Bolivia
Honduras: Water from the Navy
Honduras: Water from the NavyThe Honduran Navy is distributing drinking water to vulnerable communities in Tegucigalpa. As part of the Water for All programme, the Navy has carried out a significant social support initiative to benefit residents of the Mirador de Oriente and Nueva Oriente neighbourhoods in the capital.
The initiative aims to ensure communities with supply difficulties have access to drinking water, thereby contributing to the well-being and health of Honduran families.
The Agua Fría company supported this solidarity campaign by donating the water distributed, enabling dozens of households to receive a free and safe supply.
The Water for All programme continues to implement actions nationwide in coordination with local authorities and the private sector to mitigate the impact of water scarcity and improve the quality of life of Hondurans.
Source: Canal Ocho (Spanish) / Tags: Honduras
US: Groundwater in the Colorado River basin won’t run out — but eventually we won’t be able to get at it, scientists warn
US: Groundwater in the Colorado River basin won’t run out — but eventually we won’t be able to get at it, scientists warnThe Colorado River basin has lost a Lake Mead’s worth of water in the last 20 years — and scientists say we’re passing a “critical point” where pumping groundwater will become too expensive.
Stark new satellite data reveal that the Colorado River basin has lost huge amounts of groundwater over the last few decades, with some research suggesting that this groundwater could run out by the end of the century.
But is that really the case? And if so, what could be done to prevent that happening?
While groundwater is being depleted, it’s unlikely the water will ever run out completely. However, continued drainage of the basin could make the water table fall so far it’s basically inaccessible, experts told Live Science.
Read LiveScience / Tags: US
UN says 1.5M in urgent need of clean water as Chad faces breaking point
UN says 1.5M in urgent need of clean water as Chad faces breaking pointHumanitarian coordinator warns of looming cholera threat amid massive refugee influx from neighboring Sudan.
Chad is nearing collapse under the weight of a rapidly escalating humanitarian crisis, with 1.5 million people in urgent need of clean water and only a fraction currently being reached, the UN humanitarian affairs office warned Friday.
Speaking at UN briefing in Geneva, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Francois Batalingaya said that “many are receiving just 5 liters (1.32 gallons) a day, well below the 15-liter standard.” The growing water crisis is compounded by overcrowding and unsanitary conditions that have raised fears of a cholera outbreak, with cases already detected just 10 kilometers (6.21 miles) from the refugee epicenter in Adre, according to the coordinator.
Mauritania: Türkiye Diyanet Foundation opens 34 clean water wells
Mauritania: Türkiye Diyanet Foundation opens 34 clean water wellsThe Türkiye Diyanet Foundation (TDV) has drilled 34 water wells in Mauritania, a desert-climate country in West Africa, over the past seven years.
The foundation continuously works to provide access to one of the most essential needs in Africa, water.
Under the “A Drop of Life Water Well and Foundation Fountain” project, supported by donors, 34 wells have been opened in Mauritania’s desert climate over seven years.
Thanks to solar-powered water pumps, these wells are designed to last for many years.
Read Daily Sabah / Tags: Mauritania – Turkey – Türkiye
South Africa: Mother and child die in Mayfair West fire as water crisis turns deadly
South Africa: Mother and child die in Mayfair West fire as water crisis turns deadlyA devastating house fire in Mayfair West, Johannesburg, has claimed the lives of a mother and her child, and exposed the fatal consequences of South Africa’s worsening water crisis.
Emergency services were reportedly unable to extinguish the blaze due to non-functioning fire hydrants and critically low water pressure, the result of ongoing water outages and collapsing infrastructure in the area.
“This wasn’t just a tragic fire, it was a systemic failure,” said Shumirai Zizhou, Responsive Campaigner at Greenpeace Africa. “Lack of water is not just an inconvenience. It is a life-and-death issue.”
Read Greenpeace / Tags: SouthAfrica
The ripple effects of US foreign aid cuts to food and water access across North Africa
The ripple effects of US foreign aid cuts to food and water access across North AfricaWhen Executive Order (EO) 14169, “Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid,” was issued and implemented by the administration of President Donald Trump in early 2025, it effectively halted nearly all US foreign aid. The order primarily suspended the disbursement of non-military aid programs, leading to the termination of US-funded assistance projects, contracts, and employment across the world. The impact of this abrupt elimination of foreign aid was especially acute for humanitarian and development programs, crippling those targeting food assistance, clean water access, public health, and agricultural support.
Read Middle East Institute / Tags: US – Africa
National Policy Dialoque on Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus in Kenya
As part of the project “Applying the Water-Energy-Food Nexus to Promote Ecosystem-Based Adaptation in the Ewaso Ng’iro North Catchment, Kenya,” this national policy dialogue will bring together policymakers, county officials, researchers, community representatives, and other key stakeholders to explore practical applications of the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus, drawing on insights and experiences from the Ewaso Ng’iro North River Catchment Area (ENNCA).
Italy: Green Light for EU Water Funding in Sicily
The EU has given the green light to €230 million of funding for water services in Sicily. Schifani said, “Our commitment has been rewarded and investments are accelerating.”
The European Commission has released over €230 million in funds to improve the integrated water service in Sicily. This followed the Region’s completion and approval of all nine Area Plans for Optimal Territorial Areas (ATO), satisfying the ‘enabling condition 2.5: updated planning of necessary investments in the water and wastewater sectors’ of the Sicily ERDF Regional Programme 2021-2027. This is a prerequisite established by the European Union for projects to be considered for funding. Without its fulfilment, it is not possible to access structural fund resources.
Read Gazzetta del Sud (Italian) / Tags: Italy – Europe
