Other State Water News

According to data reported by the island’s water systems between January 2015 and March 2018, 97 percent of Puerto Rico’s population is served by a local drinking water system with at least one recent violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act’s lead and copper testing requirements. That is far higher than any U.S. state.

With El Niño conditions brewing in the eastern Pacific Ocean, meteorologists are leaning toward a warm and wet forecast for Arizona this winter. However, one source of weather predictions is painting a very different picture. The Old Farmer’s Almanac’s weather map for winter 2018-19 has the words “cold, snowy” emblazoned over the southern half of Arizona.

Monsoon storms in the desert Southwest are vital for recharging groundwater – but it now appears likely this recharge effect may be compromised by climate change. The major cities of the Southwest – Phoenix, Tucson, Albuquerque, Las Vegas – currently get most of their freshwater from the Colorado River or its tributaries. That river, however, is experiencing its 19th straight drought year, suggesting a new permanent dry state is gripping the giant watershed.

I [John Fleck] went on a bike ride this morning to get a look at the Rio Grande through Albuquerque. Flows dropped below 100 cubic feet per second Thursday evening for just the second time since we moved here in 1990. Flows this low are hard to measure – we didn’t get a numerical picture of just how bad things are until the USGS river measurement people calibrated their Central Avenue gauge Friday morning.

Authorities in an Arizona county bordering Mexico have declared a state of local emergency in response to raw sewage leaking into the U.S. from the Mexican state of Sonora.

As New Mexico state agencies move forward with plans to study reusing wastewater from oil and gas drilling, some environmental and community groups want the administration to slow down. They’re concerned about the quick schedule and lack of transparency thus far on an issue they say demands careful study.

Drinking water has been shut off at all Detroit public school buildings following the discovery of elevated levels of lead or copper in several schools. This spring, Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) superintendent Nikolai Vitti ordered water testing in the district’s 106 buildings.

Whipping winds and surging ocean waters won’t be the only threats from Hurricane Florence, which is expected to make landfall in North Carolina on Friday. Rain and rising floodwaters could swamp coal ash basins and hog waste lagoons, washing the byproduct of the state’s industries into rivers and lakes. Environmentalists warn of toxic chemicals, bacteria and other dangers.