Today: Australia, Belgium, BottledWater, Cameroon, Colombia, DominicanRepublic, Ecuador, Europe, Guinea, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Mali, Mexico, Palestine, Panama, Plastics, PublicWater, Remunicipalisation, Right2Water, SouthAfrica, Spain, UK, US, WaterConflicts, WaterCrisis
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.
Spain: Sant Iscle de Vallalta has regained control of its drinking water management and remunicipalised the service.
The town hall is now managing the water supply service directly, bringing the total number of Catalan municipalities that have switched from private to public management to 42.
The Town Council of Sant Iscle de Vallalta (Maresme) has enjoyed public management of its water supply service since July. The service had been managed by Agbar since 2001, but after 24 years, the Town Council will now manage it directly.
La Vanguardia (Spanish) / Spain – Remunicipalisation – PublicWater
Iraq plans ten new dams as “El Niño” worsens water crisis
Water Resources Minister Awn Dhiab Abdullah announced that “El Niño’s negative impact” on Iraq is increasing, with 12 provinces now relying exclusively on groundwater, as the ministry prepares advanced studies for constructing ten dams for water harvesting in desert areas.
Climate change is becoming increasingly damaging to urban populations, and officials in the Middle East are now warning that entire cities could be in danger of mass water shortages and desertion if trends continue in the warming direction. El Niño is an abnormal rise in surface water temperature in the eastern Pacific Ocean that affects weather patterns worldwide. The announcement comes as Iraq suffers from persistent high temperatures of over 50°C (122° Faranheit).
Dominican Republic: Protest in Las Yayas de Azua over lack of drinking water. Tyres burned.
Young people and community organisations in Las Yayas de Azua mobilised to protest against the lack of drinking water, which has affected the community for several months.
From early Monday morning, residents blocked the main access road, burning tyres and using logs and rubbish to obstruct traffic, bringing vehicle and pedestrian traffic, as well as commercial activities, to a standstill.
One of the organisers, who wished to remain anonymous, said that the protest would continue until the local authorities understood that no one can live without this precious liquid.
Occupied West Bank: Israeli settlers destroy Palestinian water wells.
The Ein Samiya wells are the only source of water for many Palestinian villages near Ramallah.
On Monday, a local organisation reported that illegal Israeli settlers had destroyed water wells in a Palestinian town in the West Bank as part of ongoing attacks in the occupied territories.
According to a statement from the Jerusalem Water Undertaking, the Ein Samiya wells in Ramallah, in the centre of the West Bank, were destroyed by armed settlers on Sunday night, completely cutting off access to water.
The organisation specified that these wells were the only source of water for dozens of Palestinian villages in the region.
US: Chicago was supposed to warn residents about toxic lead pipes. It’s barely started
Months past a federal deadline, more than 90% of at-risk Chicagoans haven’t been told their drinking water could be unsafe. Of the 10 cities with the most lead pipes, only Chicago has confirmed it hasn’t finished sending out notices.
US: Their Water Taps Ran Dry When Meta Built Next Door
In the race to develop artificial intelligence, tech giants are building data centers that guzzle up water. That has led to problems for people who live nearby.
After Meta broke ground on a $750 million data center on the edge of Newton County, Ga., the water taps in Beverly and Jeff Morris’s home went dry.
The couple’s house, which uses well water, is 1,000 feet from Meta’s new data center. Months after construction began in 2018, the Morris’s dishwasher, ice maker, washing machine and toilet all stopped working, said Beverly Morris, now 71. Within a year, the water pressure had slowed to a trickle. Soon, nothing came out of the bathroom and kitchen taps.
People Horrified As American Brings Water Backpack to European Restaurants
When 34-year-old Liz White from North Carolina couldn’t find the water she wanted on her European trip, she came up with an unusual solution—bringing her hiking hydration backpack to the restaurant.
White had been traveling through London, Venice, and the Dolomites, where she says she struggled to meet her daily water intake. “I drink a lot of water in general,” she told Newsweek. “After a few days of struggling to get the water amount I desired at restaurants in Italy and England, I realized I could be innovative.”
Newsweek / US – Europe – PublicWater
How much salt is OK in drinking water? Without limits, Australia’s health gap widens
Most Australians consume far too much sodium, mostly in the form of salt (sodium chloride) in the food they eat.
The National Health and Medical Research Council recommends no more than 2,000 milligrams of sodium a day, roughly one teaspoon of salt.
Yet the average Australian consumes nearly twice that.
In some regional and remote communities, salty drinking water is quietly adding to this problem – yet sodium levels in tap water are often overlooked.
Cameroon: Seven companies are in the running to equip Camwater’s future production units with bottled water.
In order to democratise access to drinking water, Cameroon set itself ambitious targets as part of its Vision 2025 initiative. The government aimed to increase access to drinking water to 75%. Although this objective was not met by the deadline, the country has increased its ambitions in the National Development Strategy 2020–2030 (SND30). This reference document now stipulates universal access in urban areas and 85% coverage in rural areas by 2030.
Camwater, Cameroon’s drinking water service concessionaire, plans to construct five ultrafiltration and bottling plants for table water in Douala, Yaoundé, Bafoussam, Limbe and Maroua. Pre-qualified companies are expected to provide market research, architectural and technical design services, and the supply, installation and commissioning of complete bottling lines in 10-litre, 1.5-litre (packs of six bottles) and 0.5-litre (packs of 12 bottles) formats.
Mali: Drinking water in Bamako. SOMAGEP director declares war on turbidity – shock measures for your tap!
The quality of water distributed in Bamako has become a major concern due to the alarming deterioration of the quality of the river water. In response to this critical situation, Ms Bocoum Fatoumata Siragata Traoré, Director General of SOMAGEP-SA, has implemented a series of decisive measures to ensure the supply of safe and reliable drinking water. Her approach is clear: to increase action on the ground, including crisis meetings and unannounced inspections, to quickly identify and solve problems.
Gazans’ Daily Struggle for Water After Deadly Strike
The al-Manasra family rarely get enough water for both drinking and washing after their daily trudge to a Gaza distribution point like the one where eight people were killed on Sunday in a strike that Israel’s military said had missed its target.
Living in a tent camp by the ruins of a smashed concrete building in Gaza City, the family say their children are already suffering from diarrhoea and skin maladies and from the lack of clean water, and they fear worse to come.
“There’s no water, our children have been infected with scabies, there are no hospitals to go to and no medications,” said Akram Manasra, 51.
U.S.News / Israel – Palestine – Right2Water
South Africa: Vulnerable kids suffer after Joburg Water cuts supply to Children’s Memorial Institute
Children’s welfare NGOs have launched an urgent court application to have Joburg Water restore the supply after it was disconnected on less than a day’s notice.
On 13 June 2025, Johannesburg Water told the Children’s Memorial Institute (CMI) it intended to cut water supply due to noncompliance with the city’s by-laws. Less than 24 hours later, the supply was cut off.
The CMI, in Braamfontein, is a centralised hub for services to the province’s most vulnerable and special needs children. It houses more than 20 NGOs and is historically linked to Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital; the hospital’s laundry is housed at the CMI.
UK: Thames Water troubles swell as parent firm defaults on debt
Thames Water has seen its troubles deepen after its parent company defaulted on part of its huge debt pile.
Kemble Water has formally told lenders it failed to meet a deadline to pay interest on £400m of debt due on Tuesday.
The water giant has also asked lenders not to take any action as it explores its options.
Thames Water’s 16 million customers will not be affected.
also read:
- English water firm doubles CEO’s pay despite ‘elevated concern’ over finances. Boss of Affinity Water, which serves 3.9 million customers in London and south-east, receives £1.6m. The Guardian
- Thames has reported a rise in pollution incidents in the last year – they rose to 470 from 350 pollutions in the previous 12 months. The company admits that reducing pollutions “continues to be a significant challenge for us”, and blames wet weather. The Guardian
Belgium: Is there PFAS in your bottled water? Here’s what a worrying study reveals:
According to an investigation by the Apache website, traces of PFAS, a controversial chemical, have been found in nearly 75% of bottled spring and mineral waters analysed in Belgium. Roman water had the highest concentration of PFAS, a type of which is difficult to eliminate.
Traces of ultra-short-chain PFAS were found in almost three-quarters of the spring and mineral waters analysed from the Ardennes, the Hautes Fagnes, and the rolling hills of East Flanders.
Drinking water pollution: government activates task force for immediate response
In response to recent warnings about drinking water pollution, the Guinean authorities are taking action. A series of emergency measures has been launched in coordination with the Ministries of Environment, Sustainable Development and Mines to mitigate health and ecological risks.
An inter-institutional task force has been set up to ensure the rigorous daily monitoring of recommendations issued by the inter-ministerial mission deployed to sites identified as potential sources of contamination, particularly those located upstream of major waterfalls.
The University of Panama has announced that it will suspend classes on Monday due to a lack of drinking water.
The university announced that academic and administrative activities would be suspended on Monday, 14 July in units without drinking water, due to a supply shortage following work carried out at the Chilibre water treatment plant this weekend.
Mexico-US: ‘With What Water?’
The shrinking of a mighty Mexican river has hollowed out the economy of Chihuahua’s Conchos Valley and bred civil unrest as South Texas demands the water it’s owed.
Historically, the Rio Conchos served as Mexico’s most reliable workhorse for delivering water to Texas in accordance with a treaty negotiated by the United States and Mexico in 1944. But it’s become increasingly apparent that decades of megadrought and overexploitation have ridden the old river nearly to death.
Texas Observer / Mexico – US – WaterCrisis
Mexico: Guaranteeing 100 litres of water per person per day. A social justice priority in Querétaro
In light of the state of Querétaro’s growing water crisis and unequal access to drinking water, Deputy Homero Barrera McDonald, a member of the Morena Legislative Group, presented a bill to reform the law regulating drinking water, sewage and sanitation services, with the aim of ensuring a minimum supply of 100 litres per person per day in line with World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations.
Ecuador: “They’re even fighting with knives over water”: tension is rising in southern Quito due to shortages.
Entire families have been without drinking water for more than five days following the collapse of the La Mica transmission line. Disputes over water tankers and the lack of immediate solutions are exacerbating the situation in neighbourhoods such as Lucha de los Pobres.
The same scene is repeated on every block: rows of buckets, children sitting next to empty bottles and elderly people looking out onto the street with resignation. Water has been scarce in southern Quito since 10 July 2025, when a collapse damaged a key pipe in the La Mica–Quito Sur transmission line, leaving residents without service.
Primicias (Spanish) / Ecuador – WaterConflicts – Right2Water
Colombia: The government regulates universal access to drinking water and basic sanitation.
The minimum vital amount of water is set at 50 litres per person, with measures in place for areas without formal coverage.
The Ministry of Housing has established guidelines to ensure the provision of the minimum vital amount of drinking water and basic sanitation in Colombia. These guidelines establish the conditions necessary to ensure effective access to water suitable for human consumption and public sewerage services, particularly for those living in poverty or vulnerable situations. The regulation also implements Article 192 of Law 2294 of 2023 in line with the National Development Plan for 2022–2026.
US: Half of Households on Native American Reservations Lack Access to Reliable Water Sources, Clean Drinking Water, or Adequate Sanitation
U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), along with U.S. Representatives Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) and Gwen Moore (D-Wis.), have introduced the Tribal Access to Clean Water Act, a bill aimed at significantly improving access to clean water in Tribal communities through major investments in water infrastructure.
The legislation would increase funding for water projects through the Indian Health Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Bureau of Reclamation. These investments would support critical infrastructure development and help ensure that Native American households without reliable access to clean water are finally connected to safe, sustainable water sources.
Native News Online / US – Right2Water
Also read: Legislation Would Fulfill Trust Obligation to Provide Clean, Accessible Water for Indigenous Communities. National Wildlife Federation
Italy – Cariati: ‘A year without drinking water’. Lampare denounces the poor service provided to citizens.
The council group is calling for a change of course, describing it as one of the most serious and persistent emergencies facing citizens. Chronic poor service, undrinkable water and frequent interruptions.
“The water problem in Cariati continues to be one of the most serious and persistent issues for citizens. Chronic inefficiencies, undrinkable water and frequent interruptions, as well as management that is far removed from the area’s needs, have made it clear that a change of course is needed. This complaint comes from the Lampare council group in Cariati, who point out that the water problem in the city has been raised and exposed several times, yet still remains unresolved. They emphasise that “the choices made at regional level have aggravated the local situation”.
Kenya should lead nations in securing binding treaty to end plastic pollution
Without global action, plastic pollution will worsen, harming human health and the environment.
The annual rate of glacier melt is equivalent to humanity’s water consumption over a period of 30 years.
Of the approximately 275,000 glaciers worldwide, many are shrinking at an alarming rate in both mountainous and polar regions.
Between 2012 and 2023, the decline was 36 per cent greater than in the previous ten years, according to a study by the Swiss University of Fribourg. According to a study by the Swiss University of Fribourg, the decline between 2012 and 2023 was 36 percent greater than in the previous ten years. The main cause is human-made greenhouse gas emissions, which are warming the climate. In an attempt to raise awareness, the United Nations has designated 21 March as the new World Glacier Day.
