Tag: water
Deep-Sea Desalination Pulls Drinking Water from the Depths
Deep-Sea Desalination Pulls Drinking Water from the Depths Companies are experimenting with deep-sea tech to produce cheaper fresh water By Vanessa Bates Ramirez edited by Sarah Lewin Frasier From Cape Town to Tehran to Lima to Phoenix, dozens of cities across the globe have experienced water shortages recently. And in the next five years the…
New water ombudsman will tackle leaks and overcharging
A new ombudsman will tackle leaky pipes, incorrect bills and other issues people have with water companies, the government has annnounced. The new consumer champion is being launched as part of wider plans to overhaul the industry, due to be announced later, following public outcry over rising bills and an increase in sewage discharges into…
Sewage discharges to halve by 2030 in ‘water revolution’, minister pledges
The government is preparing a “water revolution” that will halve the number of times sewage is discharged into waterways in England and Wales by 2030, the environment secretary has said. Steve Reed told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that the water sector was “broken” and the regulator, Ofwat, was “clearly failing”. The “reset” would…
Serious pollution incidents by water companies up 60% last year
Serious pollution incidents by water companies have risen 60% in a year, according to the Environment Agency. In total there were 2,801 pollution incidents in England in 2024, the highest on record, compared with 2,174 in 2023. Of these, 75 were considered to pose “serious or persistent” harm to fisheries, drinking water and human health…
Vibrio Bacteria in Beach Water Can Make You Seriously Ill
Deadly Bacteria May Be Moving to a Beach Near You Illnesses from stealthy pathogens known as Vibrio are advancing northward along numerous coasts, potentially ruining your summer vacation By Kyle Brumfield edited by Mark Fischetti On a small, gently rocking research boat anchored just offshore in Chesapeake Bay, I lowered a sterile plastic bottle into the water to…
Children fetching water killed in Israeli strike in Gaza, emergency officials say
Ten people, including six children, have been killed in an Israeli air strike while waiting to fill water containers in central Gaza on Sunday, emergency service officials say. Their bodies were sent to Nuseirat’s al-Awda Hospital, which also treated 16 injured people, seven of them children, according to a doctor there. Eyewitnesses said a drone…
Water on Mars Probably Doesn’t Explain These Weird Streaks
The UniverseFridays Mars ‘Water’ Streaks Could Just Be Dust A new global overview of Mars suggests dust, rather than water, is the source of mysterious streaks there By Phil Plait edited by Lee Billings Dark “slope streaks,” likely resulting from dust avalanches, stretch across an area of Mars called Acheron Fossae in this image from…
With Indus Waters Treaty in the balance, Pakistan braces for more water woes
By Betsy Joles ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — High in the Himalayas, the Indus River flows over the Tibetan Plateau before branching into a web of tributaries that stretch through India and Pakistan and converge to empty into the Arabian Sea. For more than six decades, this river network has been divided between the two countries according…
Thames Water hit with biggest ever penalty over sewage and shareholder payouts
Thames Water has been fined £122.7m for breaching rules over sewage spills and shareholder payouts. The penalty is the biggest ever issued by the water industry regulator Ofwat, which said the company had “let down its customers and failed to protect the environment”. The watchdog confirmed the fines would be paid by the company and…
Stay Hydrated With the DREO Reverse Osmosis Water Filter
There are many health benefits to drinking water…not the least of which is staying alive! But you may have heard, not all water is created equal. I was lucky enough to grow up in the San Francisco Bay Area, where the water is good enough to drink straight from the tap. But having lived in…
Mexico to send water to Texas farmers as US treaty threat grows
Mexico’s failure to keep up 81-year-old water-sharing treaty has sparked a diplomatic spat with the US Mexico will make an immediate water delivery to Texas farmers to help make up its shortfall under a treaty that has strained US relations and prompted tariff threats by Donald Trump, said Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, on Friday. Mexico…
HHS will review guidance on the addition of fluoride to drinking water
By Alana Wise The Department of Health and Human Services is directing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to make new recommendations on the addition of fluoride to U.S. water sources. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has blamed the fluoridation of water for a number of health problems. The agency is directing the…
Revealed: Big tech’s new datacentres will take water from the world’s driest areas
Amazon, Google and Microsoft are building datacentres in water-scarce parts of five continents Amazon, Microsoft and Google are operating datacentres that use vast amounts of water in some of the world’s driest areas and are building many more, the non-profit investigatory organisation SourceMaterial and the Guardian have found. With Donald Trump pledging to support them,…
PFAS Found in Nearly Half of Americans’ Drinking Water
Nearly Half of People in the U.S. Have Toxic PFAS in Their Drinking Water New data released by the EPA show that nearly half of people in the U.S. have drinking water contaminated by toxic “forever chemicals,” or PFAS By Andrea Thompson edited by Dean Visser Join Our Community of Science Lovers! New data recently…
Bread Lines and Salty Drinking Water: Israeli Aid Block Sets Gaza Back Again
Middle East Tensions Shipments surged into Gaza after Israel and Hamas reached a cease-fire, even if they weren’t enough. Then Israel blocked the border again to pressure Hamas in truce talks. Shipments surged into Gaza after Israel and Hamas reached a cease-fire, even if they weren’t enough. Then Israel blocked the border again to pressure…
Trump could water down tariffs on Canada and Mexico
President could strike deal to provide ‘relief’, US commerce secretary says, amid warnings of price increases for US consumers Donald Trump is weighing plans to water down sweeping US tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico, according to a senior official, one day after an economic strike on the US’s two biggest trading partners sparked…
Private ‘Athena’ Moon Lander and NASA ‘Trailblazer’ Launch to Hunt for Lunar Water
Private ‘Athena’ Moon Lander and NASA ‘Trailblazer’ Launch to Hunt for Lunar Water Intuitive Machines’ Athena lander is planned to touch down near the moon’s south pole on or around March 6 By Josh Dinner & SPACE.com A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, carrying the Intuitive Machines moon lander Athena.…
Watch a Frog Walk on Water with High-Speed Belly Flops
Watch a Frog Walk on Water with High-Speed Belly Flops Tiny frogs seem to skim the water’s surface, but high-speed video reveals their secret By Rohini Subrahmanyam edited by Sarah Lewin Frasier Graduate researcher Talia Weiss observes a cricket frog, whose unusual locomotion lets it appear to skip across the water’s surface. Join Our Community…
After Los Angeles Fires, Drinking Water Safety Is at Risk
Wildfires May Be Contaminating Los Angeles Water with Harmful Chemicals Fires can make drinking water, pipes and tanks unsafe. An environmental engineer explains why that’s so and what to do By Andrew J. Whelton & The Conversation US Water runs from a pipe where a home once stood, destroyed by the Palisades Fire, on January…
Amid the fires, LA is warning some residents the tap water isn’t safe. Here’s why
Pien Huang The warning is stark: “Do not drink or cook with the tap water … Do not treat the tap water yourself,” typed in all caps and boldface. The alert, issued January 10 by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, also advises people not to take hot baths or long showers. It’s…
Nick Viall Reveals He’s on “Water Fasting” Diet
Nick Viall is taking new steps in his dietary habits for 2025. The Bachelor alum revealed he’s on a “water fasting” diet. New year, new diet for Nick Viall. The Bachelor alum kicked off 2025 by revealing that he is doing an unconventional water diet that has left him “hangry.” “I haven’t eaten in 36…
Berries, creek water and two muesli bars: how missing hiker survived in Kosciuszko national park
After almost two weeks missing in the rugged Australian Alps, Hadi Nazari has been found alive It’s some of Australia’s harshest, most unforgiving terrain. In Kosciuszko national park, the bush can be so thick in places you can’t see far beyond what’s in front of your face. The ranges are steep and remote. Extreme UV…
Thousands without water in Republic of Ireland
Thousands of customers in the Republic of Ireland are still without water and electricity as snow and icy weather conditions continue to grip much of the country. All non-urgent outpatients appointments in a number of hospitals have been cancelled and thousands of homes are without power. Schools in several counties were closed on the first…
‘Forever Chemicals’ Reach Tap Water via Treated Sewage, Study Finds
Wastewater, even after treatment to make it drinkable, contains high levels of PFAS, according to researchers. By Hiroko Tabuchi As the world grapples with climate change, population growth and dwindling supplies of fresh water, more people are set to rely on treated wastewater to sustain their daily lives. But wastewater, even after treatment, contains high…
Breakaway Moldovan region cuts heating and hot water as Russia stops gas flow
Supply to Transnistria halted as transit deal between Russia and Ukraine expires The breakaway Moldovan region of Transnistria has cut heating and hot water supplies to households after Russia stopped supplying gas via Ukraine. “There is no heating or hot water,” an employee of local energy company Tirasteploenergo said by phone from Tiraspol, Moldova’s main…