AquaCivics™ · A year of headlines
A year of water, in headlines.
100 sourced stories from the past year, each summarized in our own words and filed under the AquaCivics™ conversation it starts. Today’s news lives in The Daily Drip.
The Daily Drip, in your inbox
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Oct. 9, 2026
Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaWater in schoolsAbout one in ten Philadelphia schools had high lead in kitchen taps used to cook student meals
Lead laws that cover drinking fountains can miss kitchen faucets, and one sink tested at 6,200 ppb.
Source: Grid Magazine · Contamination and rules
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Oct. 7, 2026
Laurel, MSFailing infrastructureA struck line near the treatment plant puts all of Laurel, Mississippi, under a boil notice
Small Southern cities run on a single point of failure, so one damaged eight-inch line can affect every home and business.
Source: WDAM · Infrastructure and utilities
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Oct. 6, 2026
Kabul, AfghanistanDrought, aquifers and supplyKabul is on track to run out of groundwater by 2030, and many residents already have
It could become the first modern capital to run dry, as wells fail and families pay for trucked water.
Source: CNN · Climate, drought and floods
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Oct. 6, 2026
Aragon, SpainData centers and our waterThe public had 23 days to review 25,000 pages of Amazon documents, which shows how fast-tracking shuts residents out.
Source: Reuters (via 93.3 The Drive) · Data centers, energy and industry
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Oct. 6, 2026
United States (500 largest systems)Water bills and shutoffsReport finds U.S. water bills rose 62% in ten years, faster than inflation and incomes
In 93% of the systems studied, bills are now unaffordable for low-income households, as aging pipes and shrinking federal aid push costs onto ratepayers.
Source: WaterWorld (on Food & Water Watch report) · Infrastructure and utilities
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Oct. 1, 2026
Western U.S. (11 states)Air, soil and waterStudy finds burned area in the West’s big drinking-water watersheds has nearly doubled
Watersheds serving over 100,000 people now burn about 9% a year on average, up from under 5%, and ash and debris foul water that aging treatment plants were not built to handle.
Source: KUNC · Climate, drought and floods
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Sept. 27, 2026
Nevada-Oregon borderDrought, aquifers and supplyThe critical-minerals push is skipping review of aquifer drawdown in a town whose water was unsafe for decades from past mining.
Source: Inside Climate News · Data centers, energy and industry
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Sept. 27, 2026
Imperial Beach / San Diego County, CAShared riversCross-border sewer collapses still keep American beaches closed even under a binational fix plan.
Source: Times of San Diego · Infrastructure and utilities
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Sept. 26, 2026
Anson, North Anson, Embden and Madison, MaineFluorideFluoride overfeed triggers 'don’t drink' order for several central Maine towns
Treatment errors can make an additive unsafe overnight, so fast public notice matters.
Source: Portland Press Herald · Contamination and rules
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Sept. 21, 2026
NationalWho sets the standards?Without the guidance, fewer industrial permits may cap PFAS releases upstream of water intakes.
Source: PFAS Project Lab · Contamination and rules
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Sept. 21, 2026
TexasData centers and our waterThe biggest data center state has stopped approvals because as few as 28% of data centers even answered the state’s water-use survey.
Source: Texas Tribune · Data centers, energy and industry
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Sept. 21, 2026
CaliforniaData centers and our waterNewsom signs seven data center laws: disclose water use before approval, pay your own grid costs
Local governments in California can no longer approve a new data center until the developer says how much water it will use.
Source: SFist · Data centers, energy and industry
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Sept. 17, 2026
New York StateWater in schools42% of New York public schools had at least one tap over the state’s lead limit
More than 12,500 school fountains and sinks tested above 5 ppb, and advocates say filtering every outlet would cost under $100 million.
Source: Investigative Post · Contamination and rules
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Sept. 9, 2026
Two Rivers, WisconsinFluorideTwo Rivers, Wisconsin, council votes 7-2 to stop fluoridating city water
Fluoride decisions are now being made city by city at council meetings, where residents can speak.
Source: WTAQ-WLUK via 101 WIXX · Contamination and rules
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Sept. 4, 2026
United StatesWho sets the standards?It builds on the November 20, 2025 proposal implementing Sackett and would leave many headwater streams and wetlands to state law alone.
Source: WSSI (Wetland Studies and Solutions) · Justice, health and accountability
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Sept. 2, 2026
United StatesBeaches, rivers and swimming waterSewage and runoff routinely make swimming water unsafe, and most people never see the test results.
Source: Environment America · Justice, health and accountability
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Aug. 31, 2026
India and Pakistan (Indus Basin)Shared riversHague court rules India can’t suspend the Indus Waters Treaty; India rejects the ruling
Water for more than 200 million people in Pakistan depends on a treaty that one nuclear power now says it won’t honor.
Source: Al Jazeera · Climate, drought and floods
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Aug. 28, 2026
Kansas City, MOFailing infrastructureA collapsed 1892 clay sewer opens a sinkhole on a major Kansas City road
Pipes from the 1800s are still in service under busy streets, and they fail without warning.
Source: KCUR · Infrastructure and utilities
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Aug. 27, 2026
New JerseyCorporate water promisesNew Jersey makes data centers report water and power use twice a year and ends a $500M tax credit
Reporting is now required, but advocates warn the public-records limits and lack of audits weaken what residents can actually see.
Source: New Jersey Monitor · Data centers, energy and industry
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Aug. 24, 2026
Jackson, MississippiWho runs our water?Who will control Jackson’s water system after the court-appointed manager leaves, and who pays for it, is still undecided, and a rate-hike fight with the city continues.
Source: WLBT · Justice, health and accountability
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Aug. 24, 2026
LouisianaToxins in the water8-year-old dies of brain-eating amoeba after swimming in Louisiana’s Lake Claiborne
Warm freshwater can carry a rare but nearly always fatal infection, and families rarely get warnings.
Source: Gizmodo · Justice, health and accountability
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Aug. 23, 2026
Permian Basin, TexasRecycled waterThe Permian makes nearly 1 billion gallons of produced water a day, and the health standards for reusing it haven’t been made public.
Source: Texas Public Radio · Data centers, energy and industry
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Aug. 21, 2026
Colorado River Basin (AZ, CA, NV, Upper Basin states)Shared riversArizona alone loses 760,000 acre-feet a year under the 2027-2028 guidelines, the deepest cuts yet for the cities and farms that rely on the river.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior · Climate, drought and floods
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Aug. 19, 2026
Indianapolis, IndianaData centers and our waterIndianapolis bans new data center applications through the end of 2027
Marion County joins 20+ Indiana counties pausing data centers, showing how fast local moratoriums are spreading in the Midwest.
Source: Mirror Indy · Data centers, energy and industry
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Aug. 18, 2026
National (D.C. Circuit)Toxic sites next doorAppeals court upholds Superfund hazardous-substance listing for PFOA and PFOS
Polluters can still be made to pay to clean up the two most common forever chemicals, even as drinking-water limits are being rolled back.
Source: Earthjustice · Contamination and rules
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Aug. 16, 2026
Lake Powell, Utah/ArizonaDrought, aquifers and supplyLake Powell falls to its lowest level on record
The nation’s second-largest reservoir is edging toward the level where Glen Canyon Dam can no longer make hydropower, which threatens both water and power for millions.
Source: CNN · Climate, drought and floods
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Aug. 14, 2026
GlobalMicroplastics and new contaminantsWith plastic output set to triple by 2060 and the U.S. opposing limits on production, microplastics in oceans and water will keep rising.
Source: Health Policy Watch · Justice, health and accountability
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Aug. 13, 2026
Gulf of Mexico / LouisianaFood, farms and runoffThe small reading came from weather, not cleaner rivers, so farm-runoff pollution from the Mississippi basin is still the underlying problem.
Source: Louisiana Illuminator · Justice, health and accountability
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Aug. 4, 2026
Multiple states incl. MichiganWater and cybersecurityCyber risk to water is now a national security issue, not an IT footnote.
Source: ABC News · Infrastructure and utilities
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Aug. 3, 2026
NationalWho sets the standards?EPA lays out its plan for an expedited fluoride health-risk assessment focused on children
The review could lead EPA to change the federal fluoride standard and will shape local decisions on whether to keep fluoridating.
Source: Water Conditioning & Purification Magazine · Contamination and rules
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Aug. 3, 2026
Flint, MILead pipesFlint finishes the last of its lead service line work about a decade after its crisis began
About 32,000 properties were dug up and more than $1B was spent. From here on, homeowners pay for their own line work.
Source: Michigan Public · Infrastructure and utilities
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July 31, 2026
Waterbury, CTFailing infrastructureTwo main breaks in one week leave about 15,000 Waterbury residents and businesses without water
Century-old pipes failing back to back left a mid-size city on bottled water and a six-day boil advisory.
Source: Connecticut Public · Infrastructure and utilities
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July 31, 2026
New York CityToxins in the waterA new cooling-tower testing law didn’t prevent the outbreaks, so building water systems are a public-health risk.
Source: Gothamist · Justice, health and accountability
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July 30, 2026
Minnesota (Plymouth, South St. Paul, Maple Plain, Braham)Water and cybersecurityMalware shut down plant controls and led to a local emergency, showing that hackers can now reach small-town water.
Source: Wikipedia (summarizing NYT, MNIT, city statements) · Infrastructure and utilities
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July 22, 2026
OhioData centers and our waterPublic comments stopped a one-size-fits-all permit for cooling water that can carry PFAS and nitrates.
Source: Circle of Blue · Data centers, energy and industry
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July 21, 2026
Cheyenne, WyomingData centers and our waterThe utility took four months to tell the public, and the bacteria passed into two local creeks.
Source: WyoFile · Data centers, energy and industry
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July 16, 2026
Kerrville, Comfort and Uvalde, TexasFlooding and stormwaterFlash floods hit Texas Hill Country again, a year after the deadly 2025 disaster
Uvalde got more than 21 inches of rain and over 230 people were rescued, showing the same communities are still exposed one year on.
Source: KUT (Austin NPR) · Climate, drought and floods
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July 14, 2026
New YorkData centers and our waterNew York becomes first state to pause new hyperscale data centers for a year
The executive order orders a review of water, air, noise and energy impacts before any 50MW-plus facility moves ahead.
Source: ESG Dive · Data centers, energy and industry
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June 30, 2026
Global (Eastern Mediterranean, Africa, South-East Asia, Americas)Toxins in the waterWHO: cholera cases rose 43% in May 2026 to nearly 30,000 across 16 countries, with 271 deaths
Cholera tracks unsafe water and sanitation, and the outbreak is growing again.
Source: World Health Organization · Justice, health and accountability
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June 26, 2026
GlobalCorporate water promisesMicrosoft says it’s 'water positive' five years early but still won’t publish its total water use
Corporate replenishment claims are growing while the raw consumption numbers communities need stay hidden.
Source: Data Center Dynamics · Data centers, energy and industry
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June 25, 2026
Metro Detroit, MichiganLead pipesLead keeps exceeding state limits in Metro Detroit suburbs served by the regional water authority
25 communities exceeded Michigan’s lead action level at least once since 2018, with eight still over at the end of 2025, years after Flint.
Source: Planet Detroit · Contamination and rules
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June 25, 2026
Benton Harbor, MichiganLead pipesA majority-Black city’s lead victims won a deal on paper, but no money moves until a second legal fight ends; a separate suit against the state is also going ahead.
Source: WNDU · Justice, health and accountability
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June 24, 2026
West Virginia, North Carolina, New JerseyPFAS, the forever chemicalsIt’s described as the first federal enforcement settlement with a PFAS maker, including about $280M for clean drinking water, yet North Carolina’s attorney general called it an insult and the company can keep making PFAS.
Source: AP via PBS NewsHour · Justice, health and accountability
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June 17, 2026
St. Pauls, Robeson County, North CarolinaToxic sites next doorRobeson County, N.C., residents sue over landfill PFAS reaching their tap water
Home taps tested at roughly seven times EPA’s PFOA limit plus high GenX in a low-income, majority non-white community, and the GenX limit is one EPA wants to drop.
Source: Inside Climate News · Contamination and rules
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June 15, 2026
United StatesData centers and our waterRecord local pushback: 75 data center projects worth about $130B blocked or delayed in Q1 2026
Neighborhood organizing at hearings is now one of the main things deciding where AI infrastructure gets built.
Source: Broadband Breakfast (citing Data Center Watch) · Data centers, energy and industry
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June 11, 2026
Miami and Biscayne Bay, FloridaDrought, aquifers and supplyRising seas push saltwater into South Florida’s main drinking-water aquifer
Coastal wells are already being abandoned and cities are drilling farther inland to keep salt out of the water millions drink.
Source: Inside Climate News · Climate, drought and floods
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June 11, 2026
NationalWho sets the standards?EPA workforce shrinks about 13% in a year as agency research output falls
Fewer scientists and staff mean less capacity to study contaminants and enforce drinking-water rules.
Source: EHSLeaders · Contamination and rules
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June 10, 2026
Metro Atlanta, GeorgiaData centers and our waterGeorgia residents near Meta and AWS sites are raising water quality, blasting damage and bill concerns without public test data to settle them.
Source: SaportaReport · Data centers, energy and industry
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June 9, 2026
Johannesburg, South AfricaFailing infrastructureJohannesburg suburbs go 12 days without water after a planned maintenance shutdown
A routine shutdown left parts of Africa’s economic hub with dry taps for nearly two weeks, showing how brittle big-city water systems have become.
Source: Daily Maverick · Climate, drought and floods
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June 9, 2026
Des Moines, IowaFood, farms and runoffRiver nitrate hit 12.3 mg/L, above the federal limit, showing how agricultural runoff strains city treatment plants and customers pay to remove it.
Source: Iowa Public Radio · Contamination and rules
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June 5, 2026
PennsylvaniaWater-energy nexusThe nuclear restart, backed by Microsoft’s power deal, shows that AI electricity has a large water cost at the power plant.
Source: CBS 21 (local21news) · Data centers, energy and industry
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June 4, 2026
New JerseyWater bills and shutoffsNJ American Water shutoffs more than double while the company seeks a 12% rate increase
More than 18,000 households lost water in 2025, and only about 4% of eligible customers use the low-income discount.
Source: Explore New Jersey · Infrastructure and utilities
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June 2, 2026
United States (Houston, SE Louisiana, coastal Florida hit hardest)Flooding and stormwaterIt puts a price on the Sackett ruling, and the flooding falls hardest on low-income communities and communities of color.
Source: Inside Climate News · Justice, health and accountability
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May 28, 2026
GeorgiaWho pays? Power, bills and waterPSC staff found large industrial users raise other customers' fuel costs about 5-11% a month, and the $16B buildout is mainly for data centers.
Source: GPB News · Data centers, energy and industry
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May 22, 2026
Atlanta, GAFailing infrastructureAtlanta’s water still depends on fragile plants and pumps two years after the 2024 citywide outage. The problem here was electricity, not a pipe.
Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution · Infrastructure and utilities
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May 21, 2026
Flint, MichiganLead pipesMore than a decade after the crisis, the $600M+ settlement is still being paid out, and most of it goes to people who were children then.
Source: Michigan Public · Justice, health and accountability
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May 20, 2026
NationalLead pipesEPA sends states nearly $2.9 billion for 2026 lead pipe inventories and replacement
This is the main federal money behind the lead service line replacement push, and how states spend it decides which neighborhoods get pipes replaced first.
Source: Association of State Drinking Water Administrators · Contamination and rules
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May 19, 2026
NationalWho sets the standards?If finalized, GenX, PFNA, PFHxS and PFBS would no longer be federally limited in tap water, and the two remaining PFAS limits could slip two more years.
Source: Waste Dive · Contamination and rules
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May 19, 2026
VirginiaIndustry next doorVirginia requires Tier 4 pollution limits on data center diesel backup generators
Virginia data centers have more than 11 GW of diesel backup, and new permits must now meet much stricter air limits.
Source: Data Center Knowledge · Data centers, energy and industry
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May 8, 2026
San Luis Valley, ColoradoPrivate wellsDrought and overpumping concentrate arsenic and uranium in Colorado’s San Luis Valley wells
Up to one in four private wells there show elevated heavy metals, and well owners in this low-income, largely Hispanic region have no one monitoring their water.
Source: Inside Climate News · Contamination and rules
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May 8, 2026
Tucson, ArizonaData centers and our waterA desert city that voted against the project still found its drinking water being used to build it.
Source: KJZZ · Data centers, energy and industry
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May 8, 2026
Imperial Beach / San Ysidro, CaliforniaShared riversThe sewage is now making the air unsafe as well as the water, with doctors reporting asthma, rashes and infections in children.
Source: CalMatters · Justice, health and accountability
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May 7, 2026
United StatesWhen disaster hitsWhite House council recommends a FEMA overhaul that shifts more disaster costs to states
Raising the bar for federal aid by more than 50% and shrinking the flood insurance program could leave local water systems paying more of the cost after a disaster.
Source: NPR · Climate, drought and floods
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Apr. 20, 2026
United StatesStudent scientists and water careersCities face a silver tsunami as a third of water workers near retirement
EPA warns of losing more than 27,500 operators by 2031, which puts at risk the people who keep plants running and respond to breaks.
Source: National League of Cities · Infrastructure and utilities
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Apr. 14, 2026
Jackson, MSWho runs our water?Control of a majority-Black capital’s water and sewer moves to a board the city doesn’t control, and about $200M in debt could still fall on the city.
Source: Mississippi Today · Infrastructure and utilities
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Apr. 9, 2026
Memphis, TennesseeData centers and our waterWithout the recycling plant, xAI’s cooling needs could draw on the aquifer that supplies Memphis drinking water.
Source: Action News 5 · Data centers, energy and industry
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Apr. 2, 2026
NationalMicroplastics and new contaminantsEPA puts microplastics and pharmaceuticals on its drinking-water watch list for the first time
The draft Sixth Contaminant Candidate List is the first federal step toward possibly regulating microplastics in tap water, though it sets no limits; a later July 2026 monitoring proposal (UCMR 6) left microplastics out for lack of a validated test method.
Source: Global Environmental Law Review (Beveridge & Diamond) · Contamination and rules
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Mar. 23, 2026
Atlanta, GeorgiaFlooding and stormwaterStormwater parks meant to protect neighborhoods are driving displacement through buyouts and eminent domain.
Source: Capital B News · Justice, health and accountability
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Mar. 16, 2026
Alabama Black Belt (Lowndes County and others); national USDA programSewage at our doorstepA bipartisan Alabama bill aims to expand septic grants for rural households living with raw sewage
After DOJ dropped the Lowndes County sanitation agreement, this bill is one of the few federal moves left on failing septic in poor rural areas.
Source: Alabama Reflector · Infrastructure and utilities
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Mar. 16, 2026
Camp Lejeune, North CarolinaSettlements and claimsCamp Lejeune: more than $700M paid, but only about 2,500 of 400,000+ toxic-water claims settled
Veterans and families exposed to contaminated base water are dying while they wait for compensation.
Source: WECT · Justice, health and accountability
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Mar. 12, 2026
Western U.S.Drought, aquifers and supplyA record 'snow drought' grips the West as Colorado and Arizona snowpack hit all-time lows
Most Western water starts as snow, so a warm, snowless winter means less water for cities, farms and reservoirs all summer.
Source: Drought.gov (NIDIS/NOAA) · Climate, drought and floods
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Mar. 11, 2026
Northeastern ArizonaTribal water rightsThousands of tribal households still lack running water, and Interior officials questioned the price tag.
Source: KJZZ · Justice, health and accountability
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Mar. 10, 2026
Southaven, Mississippi / Memphis, TennesseeIndustry next doorMississippi approves 41 gas turbines for xAI’s Southaven plant despite unanimous neighbor opposition
The permit replaces turbines that ran without permits to power Colossus 2, raising Clean Air Act and environmental justice concerns for nearby Black neighborhoods.
Source: Mississippi Free Press · Data centers, energy and industry
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Mar. 9, 2026
New Orleans, LAFailing infrastructureA 48-inch main bursts in New Orleans and puts most of the East Bank under a boil advisory
Officials blamed a system that’s mostly more than 70 years old, the kind of pipe many U.S. cities still depend on.
Source: FOX 8 WVUE · Infrastructure and utilities
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Feb. 28, 2026
Wisconsin and IllinoisBottled vs. tapBottled water isn’t automatically safer than tap; it has its own contamination and oversight gaps.
Source: Newsweek · Contamination and rules
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Feb. 20, 2026
St. James Parish, LouisianaWater history of our placeIt tests whether land-use decisions that put petrochemical plants in Black districts are unconstitutional (the case centers on air and industrial pollution, not water).
Source: The Lens · Justice, health and accountability
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Feb. 17, 2026
Southwest Kansas (Groundwater Management District 3)Drought, aquifers and supplySouthwest Kansas district proposes 20 years of pumping cuts to save what’s left of the Ogallala
Less than 40% of the aquifer’s original water remains under the area, and the farm towns that drink and irrigate from it face mandatory cuts if they don’t act.
Source: Oklahoma Energy Today · Climate, drought and floods
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Feb. 11, 2026
PA, NJ and multi-stateWho runs our water?About 17 million customers would be served by one investor-owned company, and its affiliates are asking for 10-15% rate hikes.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer · Infrastructure and utilities
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Feb. 5, 2026
United StatesWho sets the standards?More than 3,000 facilities have been in significant Clean Water Act noncompliance for 3+ years, so communities can’t count on regulators to act.
Source: Environmental Integrity Project · Justice, health and accountability
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Feb. 4, 2026
Querétaro, MexicoShared riversNeighbors get water three days a week, and their requests to learn how much water data centers get go unanswered.
Source: Context (Thomson Reuters Foundation) · Data centers, energy and industry
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Jan. 30, 2026
Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, MDFailing infrastructureExtreme cold exposed brittle pipes so widely that one of the nation’s largest utilities had to ration demand to protect pressure.
Source: WSSC Water · Infrastructure and utilities
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Jan. 30, 2026
Columbus, OHFailing infrastructureColumbus works through 60+ winter main breaks with six crews and calls the job whack-a-mole
It shows how thin repair crews and 1950s-era pipes turn a cold snap into flooded, frozen streets.
Source: WOSU · Infrastructure and utilities
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Jan. 26, 2026
Tennessee (Nashville and rural counties)When disaster hitsDeadly ice storm leaves Tennessee towns under boil-water advisories as mains break
18 utilities issued boil-water advisories and Nashville logged at least 14 main breaks, a reminder that freezes can knock out safe tap water for days.
Source: WUOT (Knoxville NPR) · Climate, drought and floods
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Jan. 23, 2026
IowaFood, farms and runoffManure pollution feeds tainted drinking water and the Gulf dead zone, but penalties are too small to deter it.
Source: Inside Climate News · Justice, health and accountability
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Jan. 21, 2026
National (D.C. Circuit)Who sets the standards?Federal appeals court refuses EPA’s bid to quietly erase four PFAS limits through the courts
The court forced EPA to go through formal rulemaking if it wants to drop PFAS standards, keeping them on the books for now.
Source: ASDWA · Contamination and rules
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Jan. 20, 2026
United StatesWho runs our water?Congress holds the water revolving funds flat, but earmarks take more than half of the money
About $715M of the $1.13B drinking-water fund and $893M of the $1.64B clean-water fund go to earmarks, which leaves less for formula loans to the systems that need them most.
Source: ASDWA · Infrastructure and utilities
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Jan. 19, 2026
Potomac River, Montgomery County MD / Washington DCFailing infrastructureOne of the largest sewage spills in U.S. history happened upstream of the nation’s capital because one aging pipe failed.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice · Infrastructure and utilities
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Jan. 17, 2026
GlobalWho’s accountable?It covers about half the planet’s surface and opens the door to marine protected areas on the high seas.
Source: European Commission (Oceans and Fisheries) · Justice, health and accountability
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Jan. 11, 2026
El Paso, TXFailing infrastructureOne broken pipe drained reservoirs, triggered a boil notice and sent a major city to bottled-water distribution points.
Source: KFOX14 · Infrastructure and utilities
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Jan. 10, 2026
Great LakesDrought, aquifers and supplyGreat Lakes drop below their long-term average for the first time in about a decade
The largest freshwater system in the country swung from record highs in 2020 to below normal, which affects shorelines, shipping and the push to tap the lakes for new users.
Source: WILX · Climate, drought and floods
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Jan. 5, 2026
Gary and McDowell County, WVFailing infrastructureIn Appalachia, distressed small systems leave residents on long boil advisories while takeovers bring big rate hikes.
Source: Pulitzer Center / Charleston Gazette-Mail · Infrastructure and utilities
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Dec. 26, 2025
Jackson, MSWater bills and shutoffsJackson shows who ends up paying to fix a broken system: residents who already pay their bills.
Source: Mississippi Free Press · Infrastructure and utilities
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Dec. 17, 2025
PJM region (Mid-Atlantic/Midwest)Who pays? Power, bills and waterPJM grid auction hits record $16.4B as data center demand drives up power bills across 13 states
Nearly all projected peak-demand growth is data centers, and families could see bills rise about $70 a month by 2028.
Source: Canary Media · Data centers, energy and industry
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Dec. 15, 2025
U.S.-Mexico border, San DiegoShared riversIt sets binational deadlines through 2028, but beaches were still being closed for sewage into October 2026.
Source: Office of Rep. Scott Peters · Justice, health and accountability
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Dec. 12, 2025
Western WashingtonFlooding and stormwaterAtmospheric rivers bring record floods to Washington state, straining levees and treatment plants
Levee failures and flooded wastewater plants put both homes and sewage treatment at risk during a multi-day emergency.
Source: Associated Press via ClickOrlando · Climate, drought and floods
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Dec. 3, 2025
Western JamaicaWhen disaster hitsOver a month after Hurricane Melissa, 60,000 western Jamaica customers still have no running water
A Category 5 storm can leave a whole region on trucked water for months, and recovery costs for the utility topped J$10 billion.
Source: The Gleaner · Climate, drought and floods
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Dec. 1, 2025
Tehran, IranDrought, aquifers and supplyTehran nears 'Day Zero' as reservoirs empty and Iran’s president floats moving the capital
A city of about 10 million facing dry taps shows what happens when drought meets years of over-pumping and mismanagement.
Source: CNN · Climate, drought and floods
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Dec. 1, 2025
Indonesia, Sri Lanka, ThailandFlooding and stormwaterFloods and landslides kill more than 900 across Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand
Sri Lanka’s president called it the largest disaster in the country’s history, and the toll kept climbing as hundreds stayed missing.
Source: Earth.Org · Climate, drought and floods
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Oct. 31, 2025
NationalFluorideFDA moves to pull unapproved swallowed fluoride supplements for young and low-risk kids
It’s the first federal regulatory step against ingested fluoride and adds fuel to state and local fights over fluoride in tap water.
Source: HHS / FDA press release · Contamination and rules
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Oct. 4, 2025
Nile Basin (Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt)Shared riversEgypt blames Ethiopia’s new mega-dam for Nile floods in Sudan and Egypt
The first flood season after the GERD opened turned a long-running dispute over a shared river into evacuations and open accusations.
Source: Africanews · Climate, drought and floods
Stories run from Oct. 4, 2025 to Oct. 9, 2026. Headlines are summarized in our own words; follow each link for the original reporting.