Drinking Water

The Colorado River, drinking water source for one in ten Americans, is severely impacted. A new interactive visualization illustrates just how dramatic the problem has become.

December 17, 2015 - U.S. Department of the Interior

A "water atlas" compiled by UCLA's Luskin Center for Innovation reveals the patchwork that is Los Angeles' water supply system. Neighborhoods reliant on small providers and groundwater sources may be vulnerable.

May 30, 2015 - CityLab

The U.S. EPA recently announced the Water Infrastructure and Resiliency Finance Center "as a resource to communities to improve their wastewater, drinking water and stormwater systems." Two reports show why it's the new resources are so badly needed.

January 20, 2015 - The Courier-Journal

A lawsuit by the Des Moines water utility could change the way the farming industry mitigates its environmental impacts.

January 13, 2015 - Grist

The country's aging water infrastructure is growing more wasteful and expensive to fix with every year. What will it take to re-engineer our drinking water supplies?

November 3, 2014 - NPR

In light of August's drinking water catastrophe in Toledo, Ohio, Great Lakes mayors gathered this week to call for policy action to protect water resources round the Great Lakes.

September 25, 2014 - Chicago Tribune

On Monday, August 4, half a million people in the Toledo, Ohio metro region could once again drink from their water taps after a weekend without safe drinking water due to a toxin resulting from an algal bloom in the city's water supply, Lake Erie.

August 7, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal

Fortunately, there were no injuries in the restored, downtown waterfront district in this city of 71,000. Fifteen cars derailed; three exploded into a six-story-high fireball. Oil spilled into the James River, threatening downstream water supplies.

May 2, 2014 - Los Angeles Times

The coal ash spill, 82,000 tons as of Feb. 8 after being detected on Feb. 2, comes from a pond adjacent to a closed, coal-burning Duke Energy power plant. It is said not to pose a threat to drinking water, though the river has turned black and grey.

February 8, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal - U.S.

A New York Times examination of the conditions of the city’s ubiquitous water tanks reveals unhealthy levels of E. coli and coliform—bellwethers for many varieties of disease-causing microorganisms.

January 28, 2014 - New York Times

Three hundred thousand residents in nine counties in W.Va, including the state capital have gone without tap water since Thursday due to a massive chemical spill into the Elk River. All uses except flushing are off-limits. How much longer is unknown.

January 13, 2014 - The New York Times

Although a growing list of communities (of which Portland is the largest) have banned the addition of fluoride to tap water, such places are doing so against the recommendations of the medical establishment. What's driving the backlash?

May 23, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

In its enduring quest to slake its immense thirst, and protect its beautiful beaches, Los Angeles leaders are putting forth an ambitious proposal to solve two problems with one solution: make runoff drinkable.

April 9, 2013 - The New York Times

The City of Villahermosa, Mexico, an oil industry town in Tabasco, is reclaiming space from the auto, rejuvenating their urban spaces, and on a more basic level, cleaning the water supply and modernizing their sewage systems.

June 25, 2012 - The New York Times - Global Business

American drinking water meets federal safety standards, but some say it's only because those standards are far too low and don't accurately reflect the potential for contamination.

December 18, 2009 - The New York Times

Levels of lithium in the municipal water of Oita prefecture in Japan have been linked to lower rates of suicide, according to a new study.

May 6, 2009 - BBC