Today: Argentina, Bangladesh, China, Colombia, Cuba, India, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Privatisation, Right2Water, Spain, UK, Uruguay, US, WaterConflicts, WaterCrisis, WaterJustice
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.
Italy: Seventy years without water or sewers. Rome’s forgotten suburbs are finally being rebuilt.
Work on the Tiberina is almost complete, and six thousand people will finally be able to request a connection.
In Borgo Sant’Isidoro, however, time seems to have stood still. For over seventy years, the approximately six thousand people living between Via della Tenuta Piccirilli and Via Tiberina have endured something unthinkable for a European capital: a complete lack of drinking water and a sewerage system.
Almería is at rock bottom. Spain’s last drought-stricken region
While most of the country is enjoying a reprieve from the drought, Almería remains the last dry stronghold, caught between a state of emergency and political neglect.
At first glance, national data invites optimism: reservoirs are at 73% capacity, spring was one of the rainiest in a century and more than 150 territorial units have returned to normal water levels. However, one need only look to the south-east of the peninsula to see that the relief has not been widespread. In Almería, drought remains a constant presence. In fact, Campo de Níjar is the only region in Spain that is still officially in a prolonged state of drought.
Water crisis: from Mexico City to Kabul, city dwellers are experiencing water shortages.
The largest cities in Asia, Europe, the Americas and Africa are experiencing drinking water scarcity. This article takes a round-the-world look at the solutions discussed in the international press to address the growing threat of a world without water.
At a construction site in Adarsh Colony in Delhi, India, six huge motors are pumping water from pipes into tanker trucks. The trucks then hit the road to deliver their precious cargo to residents, who line up with buckets, bowls, bottles and other containers to ensure they don’t waste a single drop. “The operation is fast, meticulous, profitable and illegal,” wrote The Print in June 2024.
US: Trump’s funding cut stalls water projects, increasing risks for millions
The Trump administration’s decision to slash nearly all U.S. foreign aid has left dozens of water and sanitation projects half-finished across the globe, creating new hazards for some of the people they were designed to benefit, Reuters has found.
Reuters has identified 21 unfinished projects in 16 countries after speaking to 17 sources familiar with the infrastructure plans. Most of these projects have not previously been reported.
US: Tanker truck crashes and spills fuel into a creek on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula
A tanker truck crashed into a creek on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula on Friday, spilling fuel into a tributary of a river where salmon runs were recently restored after a decades-long fight to remove its dams.
A spokesperson for Gov. Bob Ferguson’s office said the petroleum spill in Indian Creek was the result of an accident on U.S. 101. It was not immediately clear what caused it.
Kerala, India: Govt sanctions two dams in Wayanad to tap water from Kabani basin
The state government has given administrative sanction for the preparation of Detailed Project Reports (DPR) for the Kadamanthodu and Thondar dam projects for the effective utilisation of 21 TMC (Thousand Million Cubic Feet) of water in the Kabani sub-basin in Wayanad as per the verdict of the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal (CWDT).
Uruguay: Farewell to the Río de la Plata.
The government is changing and concentrating the supply of drinking water for the metropolitan area in Santa Lucía.
The government and the private consortium have confirmed plans to build a new drinking water plant in Aguas Corrientes, abandoning the Arazatí project. A reservoir and a plant will also be constructed in Solís Chico to supply the Costa de Oro area.
On Friday, the government of Yamandú Orsi celebrated fulfilling one of its commitments by changing the contract to include the construction of a water treatment plant in Aguas Corrientes and another in Solís Chico, as well as a freshwater reservoir. This prevented the construction of the plant in the Arazatí area (San José).
Argentina: Milei’s government has begun the privatisation of water services in Buenos Aires.
90% of shares in the state-owned company Aguas y Saneamientos Argentinos S.A. (AySA) will be transferred to private ownership, with the remaining 10% remaining with the company’s employees.
The state-owned company, Aguas y Saneamientos Argentinos S.A. (AySA), is to be privatised. On Friday, the president’s spokesperson, Manuel Adorni, announced that Javier Milei’s government would begin a process resulting in the transfer of 90% of the shares to private shareholders ‘through a mixed scheme combining national and international public tenders’. The remaining 10% will continue to be owned by the company’s employees, as has been the case until now. AySA is the only state-owned company on the list of ‘privatisable’ companies that is currently running a surplus, after the price of the service increased by almost 400% — double the rate of inflation — since the far-right government came to power 18 months ago, completely halting its infrastructure projects in the process.
El Pais and El Esequibo (Spanish) / Argentina – Privatisation
Kenya: The bug in your glass. Why tap water in Nairobi is not so safe
Two weeks ago, I fell ill on a weekend and rushed to the hospital. My symptoms included a painful stomach and acidity.
On Saturday, a day before I got unwell, I had taken some sukuma, pork and ugali at my friend’s house.
At the hospital, we conducted tests, including a Helicobacter pylori infection test, which is a common stomach infection. However, I was given a clean bill of health.
There was an issue, though, the test results showed that I had symptoms of food poisoning, and traces of bacteria called E. coli.
US: Southwestern Drought Likely to Continue Through 2100, Research Finds
Climate change is warming the North Pacific Ocean, leading weather patterns that drive drought in the U.S. Southwest to persist decades longer than they have in the recent past.
The drought in the Southwestern U.S. is likely to last for the rest of the 21st century and potentially beyond as global warming shifts the distribution of heat in the Pacific Ocean, according to a study published last week led by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin.
US: AI Data Centers Accused of Creating Major Problems for Local Water Systems
For tech companies, “water is an afterthought.”
After Meta started building an enormous data center less than 400 yards away from their house, a couple living in Newton County, Georgia, says their water started to dry up. That began in 2018; years later, two of their bathroom taps still don’t work. What water remains has turned into a gritty sludge, littered with sediments.
So far, Beverly Morris and her husband Jeff have spent $5,000 on their water problems, they told the New York Times in a new interview, and can’t afford to replace their well, which would cost $25,000.
Colombia: Farmers have blocked a road between Bogotá and the Caribbean city of Valledupar to demand access to drinking water and medical care.
They are also demanding access to basic services and land distribution, as well as repairs to homes affected by the Ruta del Sol 3 motorway. This is putting pressure on local authorities and the Yuma concessionaire to provide immediate responses.
The road connecting Bogotá with the Caribbean region remains blocked in the Valledupar municipality of the Cesar department due to the farmers’ protest.
Mexico: Green Party deputy presents initiative to ensure responsible water use
The initiative aims to promote rational and sustainable water use through awareness campaigns.
Alberto Guevara de la Garza, a Green Party deputy and member of the Parliamentary Group, presented an initiative to promote water culture in Mexico. The proposal seeks to oblige the National Water Commission (CONAGUA) to coordinate with competent municipal authorities to promote the principles of water culture among public administrations and citizens, emphasising efficient use and waste prevention.
China begins construction of world’s largest dam on Brahmaputra river:12 lakh crore worth project near Arunachal border raises ecological concerns
China has begun construction of the world’s largest hydroelectric dam on the Brahmaputra River in Tibet, sparking alarm in neighbouring India and Bangladesh.
The project, located in Nyingchi near the Arunachal Pradesh border, was officially inaugurated by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Saturday.
Bhaskar English / China – India – Bangladesh – WaterConflicts
Water Sector Must Understand Human Behavior To Tackle Looming Shortfall
With four areas of the UK now facing drought conditions, new research from the University of Surrey shows that helping households use less water means first understanding their everyday habits – and getting the public onboard attempts to change those habits.
A collaboration between Surrey academics and more than 100 professionals across the water sector has revealed a major knowledge gap: despite government targets to cut household demand, the sector still has many unanswered questions about how to change behaviour.
Eurasia Review /
UK: Government to cut sewage pollution in half by 2030
Sewage pollution from water companies will be cut in half by the end of the decade, the Environment Secretary Steve Reed will pledge today (Sunday 20 July).
Our rivers, lakes and seas will be the cleanest since records began, meaning millions of families will benefit from cleaner beaches and rivers.
For the first time the Government has made a pledge to cut sewage pollution with a clear target which they will be held accountable to.
Water activist Feargal Sharkey comments:
🤣🤣🤣 Would that be the slashing that was already announced by Ofwat and was directly the result of 2.5 years worth of work that was going on before the election?
Bit like the mythical £104bn “private sector investment” then. 🤣🤣🤣
With Thames teetering and river pollution on the rise, the water sector is on the verge of a huge shake-up. What’s coming down the pipe next?
US: Where does our water come from?
For over 160 hours, Victoria residents were left without clean drinking water in their homes and businesses. While this past week wasn’t the first time residents were under a nearly week-long boil-water notice, this might be the first one that caught them by surprise. First and foremost, residents need to understand where their water comes from before it’s pouring out of their faucets.
India, Mumbai: BMC’s ‘Water For All’ Policy Fails To Deliver Tap Connections To Thousands In Slums Even After 3 Years
Even three years after its launch, the ‘Water for All’ policy intended to ensure water access for slums, unauthorised non-slum settlements, Gaothan, and Koliwadas has yet to make meaningful impact, allege social activists. They are urging the civic administration to address critical implementation gaps and remove bureaucratic roadblocks to ensure equitable water access for all.
Cuban mothers block a street in Regla after going without water for several months.
Mothers in Regla, Havana, have taken to protesting by blocking streets due to a lack of water supply for over three months, in response to broken promises from the Cuban government.
According to well-known user X San Memero, the mothers of Calzada Vieja, between C and D in Regla, decided to block the streets with objects, forming a human chain with their children.
“There has been no water from the pipes for more than three months. They have been receiving empty promises for months,’ he added.
CiberCuba (Spanish) / Cuba – Right2Water
