Clean Water Act

 

Permits & Certifications

 

Lawsuit: EPA Permit Rule Ignores Supreme Court Precedent. According to E&E News, “EPA’s new rule limiting states’ power in Clean Water Act permitting for federally approved projects like pipelines violates federal law and conflicts with a prior Supreme Court ruling, a coalition of environmental groups argued in a lawsuit today. Their complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, highlights a 1994 Supreme Court ruling that said states may write hydropower permits to include requirements not explicitly addressed under the Clean Water Act. EPA’s new rule, which reins in the scope of state water quality reviews under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, leaned on the dissent in the case, titled Public Utility District No. 1 of Jefferson County v. Washington Department of Ecology (Greenwire, June 2). ‘A seven-justice majority of the Supreme Court has held that when a state grants a water quality certification to a project under section 401 of the Clean Water Act, it can protect against harms from the project as a whole, not just from a specific discharge,’ the green groups, represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center, wrote in their lawsuit. ‘The new federal regulation challenged here expressly and unlawfully rejects that controlling ruling of the Supreme Court and embraces the reasoning of a two-justice dissent on the scope of 401 certifications.’” [E&E News, 8/26/20 (=)]

 

South Carolina Groups Challenge Pres. Trump's Rollback On Clean Water Protections. According to SFGate, “Multiple conservation groups in South Carolina joined a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s changes to the Clean Water Act, which they say limits the states and local residents from protecting their drinking water. In a press release, conservation officials say the Trump administration’s rollback on clean water protections can have a huge effect on South Carolina residents’ drinking water, rivers, streams, wetlands and aquatic life. They say the specific part of the rewrite is from section 401, which originally was meant to ensure states and tribes can protect their wetlands and drinking water from large, federally-approved projects. ‘Stripping away the states’ ability to protect local waters and strangling the voices of impacted communities are the epitome of protecting polluters instead of protecting people,’ said Frank Holleman, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center. ‘Through administrations of both parties since the Nixon administration, states have been able to protect their drinking water, wildlife, and communities by requiring that federal permits include local protections and comply with state law. For the first time, the Trump EPA’s rule denies those protections to the states and local communities, sacrificing the nation’s clean water to benefit polluting industries and their lobbyists.’” [SFGate, 8/26/20 (=)]

 

MVP Seeks More Time. According to Politico, “EQM, the operator of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, has requested that FERC extend its certificate to complete construction of the 303-mile, interstate pipeline project by two years ‘due to the uncertainty regarding the timing’ of necessary permits and the outcome of subsequent legal challenges. Under a previous three-year FERC order, Mountain Valley must complete construction and place the project into service by Oct. 13, but it asks for an extension until October 2022 due to ‘unforeseen litigation and permitting delays,’ including litigation directly challenging the project’s permits and authorizations. ‘Unfortunately, yet unsurprisingly, opposition groups have sought to delay the issuance of these new and reissued permits for the Project and stated their intention to continue litigating these permits in the hopes of delaying or canceling the Project, regardless of the merits,’ assistant general counsel Matthew Eggerding wrote to FERC on Tuesday. ‘By their actions, these groups lengthen the time Mountain Valley relies on temporary erosion control devices and forestall the environmental benefits and protections associated with final restoration, to the detriment of landowners and the environment.’ To date, Eggerding writes, the project is about 92 percent complete.” [Politico, 8/27/20 (=)]

 

Water Pollution

 

Drinking Water & Water Pumping

 

Environmental Group Challenges Ginnie Springs Water Pumping Request . According to Politico, “Our Santa Fe River, an environmental nonprofit group based in Fort White, is asking a state administrative law judge to recommend that the Suwannee River Water Management District deny a requested water pumping permit near Ginnie Springs. The request, which was forwarded by the Suwannee River Water Management District to the Division of Administrative Hearings on Monday, contends the proposed pumping by Seven Springs Water Co. will harm the Santa Fe River and its springs. Our Santa Fe River says in its hearing request that the district has failed to question whether the water use is in the public interest as required by law. ‘It’s not Seven Springs we’re really upset about,’ Our Santa Fe River President Mike Roth said in an interview Wednesday. ‘It’s the water management district. Really, this whole case is one more example of the water management district giving away water willy-nilly at a time when we have some serious problems.’ Seven Springs Water Co. challenged the district’s staff recommendation earlier this year to deny the company’s request to pump the same 1.2 million gallons per day it has been permitted to pump for the past 25 years. The company pipes the water to a nearby Nestlé Waters North America bottling plant.” [Politico, 8/26/20 (=)]

 

Michigan’s State Of The Great Lakes: Drinking Water Quality Garners Spotlight. According to Great Lakes Now, “In her first regional appearance after taking office in January 2019, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer made it clear that Michigan would take a leadership role on Great Lakes issues. ‘Michigan has to lead on Great Lakes issues,’ Whitmer told Great Lakes Now after speaking to fellow Great Lakes governors and Canadian premiers and the broader Great Lakes community in Milwaukee. ‘The Great Lakes are at the core of who Michigan is,’ she said. Fast forward to the release of her first State of the Great Lakes report last week, which encompasses 2019, and in it she positions Michigan as a regional and national leader on drinking water issues. Introducing the report, Whitmer said Michigan has ‘led the way’ for the Great Lakes region, citing the launch of a Great Lakes 2020 agenda for presidential candidates. On PFAS, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, one of the most vexing water quality issues that plague the country, Whitmer said ‘Michigan is truly a leader in the region’ and the state’s coordinated approach to PFAS ‘has been adopted across the country.’ Following Whitmer in the report, Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy director Liesl Clark cited the creation of public advocacy positions for clean water and environmental justice as 2019 accomplishments. ‘These new initiatives support our mission of protecting Michigan’s environment and public health by managing air, water, land, and energy resources,’ Clark said.” [Great Lakes Now, 8/26/20 (+)]

 

PFAS

 

The US Is In A Water Crisis Far Worse Than Most People Imagine. According to The Guardian, “We are in a water crisis beyond anything you can imagine. Pollution and toxins are everywhere, stemming from the hazardous wastes of industry and agriculture. We’ve got more than 40,000 chemicals on the market today with only a few hundred regulated. We’ve had industrial byproducts discarded into the ground and into our water supply for years. This crisis affects everyone – rich or poor, black or white, Republican or Democrat. Communities everywhere think they are safe when they are not. Each water system is unique, but some of the most toxic offenders include hexavalent chromium (an anticorrosive agent), PFOA (used to make Teflon pans), PFOS (a key ingredient in Scotchgard), TCE (used in dry cleaning and refrigeration), lead, fracking chemicals, chloramines (a water disinfectant) and more. Many of these chemicals are undetectable for those drinking the water. Many cause irreversible health problems and people in communities throughout the country are dealing with these repercussions. Like a blood test for disease, you can only find what you test for. If you don’t order a specific test for one of these chemicals, you won’t know it’s there. And you can’t treat water unless you know what’s in it. Now, I know what you might be thinking. What about the EPA, Erin? What about corporate remediation departments? Aren’t the experts handling it? The short answer is no.” [The Guardian, 8/26/20 (=)]

 

Coal Ash

 

Anderson County Residents Keep The Heat On TVA Over Worries About Toxic Coal Ash. According to Knoxville News Sentinel, “Anderson County resident Loni Arwood says she doesn’t need a study to convince her the Tennessee Valley Authority is contaminating her community with its radioactive coal ash dust. ‘I’ve seen the stuff flying through the air at the (Kid’s Palace playground) ... where the children play ball,’ she said, referring to a children’s recreational area located less than 100 yards from a coal ash dump at TVA’s Bull Run Fossil Plant in Claxton. ‘Why hasn’t that been shut down? Can anyone tell me that?’ Arwood isn’t alone in her complaints about TVA’s handling of the millions of tons of toxic coal ash waste it produces and stores at the Bull Run plant — located next to Kid’s Palace and less than a mile from the Claxton Elementary School — and the utility’s current plan to leave all that waste behind when it shutters the plant in 2023. More than 50 residents, including several Oak Ridge scientists and researchers, turned out earlier this month for a virtual community meeting to voice concerns about TVA’s coal ash waste in Anderson County. ‘Coal ash is the largest unregulated radioactive waste in the United States,’ Oak Ridge resident and scientific researcher Bob Hatcher told attendees at the virtual Bull Run Neighbors community group meeting. ‘This is a toxic material without any question. There are radiological elements in it, despite the denials of TVA.’” [Knoxville News Sentinel, 8/27/20 (=)]

 

State To Hold Hearing On KU’s Role In Coal Ash At Herrington Lake. According to WTVQ-TV, “Kentucky’s Energy and Environment Cabinet will hold a virtual public hearing from noon-3 p.m. Thursday to take public comments on whether it should approve Kentucky Utilities’ plan to address the contamination of Herrington Lake from the E.W. Brown coal-fired power plant near Harrodsburg. Kentucky Utilities has asked the state to approve its plan at the same time that a lawsuit is pending in federal court in Lexington. The suit was filed on behalf of members of the local communities who use Herrington Lake. These local residents have called on KU to stop polluting the lake with discharges contaminated by toxic coal ash, and to clean up the decades’ worth of pollution already in the lake. Critics say that instead of addressing these concerns, the utility giant has proposed a Corrective Action Investigation, Source Assessment and Risk Assessment Report that would fail to address and clean up pollution still entering or already in the lake.” [WTVQ-TV, 8/26/20 (=)]

 

Duke Energy Executives Push Back On Proposals For Reduced Coal-Ash Cost Recovery In Rate Case. According to Charlotte Business Journal, “Duke Energy, in the second day of its joint rate-case hearing, pushed back hard against the state utility customer advocate’s contention that regulators should limit coal-ash charges to customers and could do so without meaningfully weakening Duke’s financial standing. CFO Steve Young told the North Carolina Utilities Commission that focusing on relatively small immediate increases in interest charges on new debt ‘entirely misses the point’ on the potential damage to Duke’s debt rating and financial stability. Meanwhile, William Grantmeyer, an attorney of the commission’s Public Staff, asserted the commission is not required by state law or practice to consider possible downgrades by a credit rating agency when it sets rates. His assertions appeared to earn support in some questions by skeptical commissioners. ‘I would agree,’ Young said in response to a series of such questions from Grantmeyer. ‘But I want the commission to certainly understand the implications of these decisions on the capital markets.’ ‘The cases now pending before the commission address matters that if decided unfavorably to (Duke Energy Carolinas) and (Duke Energy Progress) as recommended by some intervenors, could have a significant impact on our financial stability, making access to future debt and equity capital more costly and more difficult,’ he said.” [Charlotte Business Journal, 8/26/20 (=)]

 

Toxic Algae

 

Petition Seeks More River Protections. According to Dorchester Reporter, “The Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) filed a petition with the Environmental Protection Agency on Monday that is aimed at protecting the Neponset River from stormwater pollution, following upticks in algae blooms caused by pollution. The petition requests that the EPA use its authority to require large properties contaminating the river with runoff to obtain Clean Water Act permits. CLF also filed an identical petition with respect to the Mystic River. ‘Properties have been given free rein to dump toxic pollutants into the Mystic and Neponset Rivers for too long,’ said Heather Govern, the director of CLF’s Clean Air and Water program. ‘Communities surrounding the Mystic and Neponset already see far more than their share of pollution, and toxic algae outbreaks only add insult to injury. It’s time EPA hold these polluters accountable and ensure that residents have access to clean and healthy rivers.’ Cyanobacteria, more commonly known as blue-green algae because of their color, are the result of too much phosphorus in the rivers. Exposure to cyanobacteria blooms has been linked to neurodegenerative diseases like ALS, and the algae are also harmful to pets and wildlife.” [Dorchester Reporter, 8/26/20 (=)]

 

Researchers Find Foam, Algae Connection. According to Daily Messenger, “You could call them foam chasers. Researchers Rick Smith and Stella Woodard, with help from citizens scientists, pulled out all the stops to get to the bottom of that sudsy substance on Canandaigua Lake. Findings from their latest research, done last year, reveal a connection between lake foam and toxic blue-green algae. ‘These big blooms can really affect the chemistry of the lake on a large scale,’ said Smith, during a presentation via Zoom last week with the Canandaigua Lake Watershed Association. Is the foam hazardous? The finding showed microcystin — the toxins produced by blue-green algae — at higher concentrations in the foam than in nearby water. In a few cases, the concentrations were higher than the state Department of Health’s recreational limit. The study included testing for PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), highly toxic industrial compounds. Those results will be forthcoming. Smith and Woodard, of Global Aquatic Research LLC, collected samples throughout the late summer and fall of 2019. The pair are experts in aquatic research with multiple accolades to show for their work. Smith said the study on Canandaigua Lake is not a first for finding algae responsible for foam. Other examples are foam on the North Sea and on the English Channel. Research indicates the source of the foam comes from within the lake and proteins for invasive mussels are not the source. An advanced technique used to identify organic substances indicated the foam is primarily made of carbohydrates, in particular long chains of sugars called polysaccharides.” [Daily Messenger, 8/26/20 (=)]

 

Three Cape Coral Canals Now Positive For Toxic Blue-Green Algae. According to WBBH-TV, “The Department of Environmental Protection has now identified three canals filled with toxic blue-green algae. NBC2 showed viewers the green waters of the Makai Canal yesterday. Now, the Department of Health is warning people to avoid the Boris and Highland Canals as well. People in the area fear the algae could spread. NBC2 took a sample to FGCU Laboratories to find out more about the toxins. World-Class Scholar and FGCU Professor Barry Rosen found Microcystis Wesenbergii, which is a blue-green algae, in the sample. It has the potential to make toxins and is the organism creating bright green canal waters. ‘The Florida Department of Health posts advisories when any measurable amounts of microcystin – a cyanotoxin – is found,’ says Rosen.” [WBBH-TV, 8/27/20 (=)]

 

Wastewater

 

US And Mississippi Sue Hattiesburg Over Wastewater Problems. According to SFGate, “The U.S. government and the state of Mississippi are suing Hattiesburg over alleged violations of the federal Clean Water Act, including the release of untreated sewage. A lawsuit filed Wednesday seeks injunctive relief and penalties for violations of the Clean Water Act and the Mississippi Air and Water Pollution Control Law, the Hattiesburg American reported. The governments accuse Hattiesburg of making unauthorized discharges of pollutants from its wastewater collection and transmission system. Hattiesburg has a population of about 45,900. The city had dealt with wastewater issues for years, and those culminated in 2015 when a federal court fined it about $1,500 a day for missing a deadline to have plans approved for fixing its wastewater treatment and dispersal issues. The new lawsuit claims the city continues to violate federal and state law years after the city believed it had fixed the issues. A city spokesperson said officials will hold a news conference Thursday to discuss the suit. … ‘Hattiesburg is liable for civil penalties not to exceed $37,500 per day for each violation that occurred after January 12, 2009 through November 2, 2015, and not to exceed $55,800 per day for each violation that occurred after November 2, 2015,’ the lawsuit says. In addition, ‘Hattiesburg is liable for a civil penalty of up to $25,000 per day during which a violation of (Mississippi codes) occur.’” [SFGate, 8/26/20 (=)]

 

Water Infrastructure

 

Water Sector Report Urges Significant Boost For Infrastructure Investment. According to Inlander, “A new report from proponents of increased water infrastructure spending is warning that unless federal investment in the sector increases significantly over the next 20 years, the nation risks a $2.9 trillion decline in the gross domestic product (GDP) as well as billions of dollars of increased healthcare costs. The report, ‘The Economic Benefits of Investing in Water Infrastructure: How a Failure to Act Would Affect the US Economic Recovery,’ released Aug. 26 by the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Value of Water Campaign was planned before the COVID-19 pandemic began but says the impacts of the disease underscore existing problems. ‘The financial challenges water utilities face as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic are layered onto chronic, long-term, and insufficient investment in the nation’s water infrastructure,’ the report says. Local, state, and federal funding is meeting a fraction of the current water infrastructure funding need. ‘If this trend continues, the nation’s water systems will become less reliable, breaks and failures will become more common, vulnerabilities to disruptions will compound, and the nation will [put] public health and the economy at risk,’ the report adds. ‘We’re living off of yesterday’s investment, but we need tomorrow’s infrastructure,’ Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA), who sits on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said during an Aug. 26 webinar discussing the report.” [Inlander, 8/26/20 (=)]

 

Flooding

 

U.S. Flood Strategy Shifts To ‘Unavoidable’ Relocation Of Entire Neighborhoods. According to The New York Times, “This week’s one-two punch of Hurricane Laura and Tropical Storm Marco may be extraordinary, but the storms are just two of nine to strike Texas and Louisiana since 2017 alone, helping to drive a major federal change in how the nation handles floods. For years, even as seas rose and flooding worsened nationwide, policymakers stuck to the belief that relocating entire communities away from vulnerable areas was simply too extreme to consider — an attack on Americans’ love of home and private property as well as a costly use of taxpayer dollars. Now, however, that is rapidly changing amid acceptance that rebuilding over and over after successive floods makes little sense. The shift threatens to uproot people not only on the coasts but in flood-prone areas nationwide, while making the consequences of climate change even more painful for cities and towns already squeezed financially. This month, the Federal Emergency Management Agency detailed a new program, worth an initial $500 million, with billions more to come, designed to pay for large-scale relocation nationwide. The Department of Housing and Urban Development has started a similar $16 billion program. That followed a decision by the Army Corps of Engineers to start telling local officials that they must agree to force people out of their homes or forfeit federal money for flood-protection projects.” [The New York Times, 8/26/20 (+)]

 

Every American Home Is Getting A Flood-Risk Score – And Many Are At Higher Risk Than Previously Known. According to CNBC, “As Hurricane Laura bears down on the Gulf Coast, residents are preparing for what could be a historic storm surge. The potential for widespread flooding is high, but even after major storms like Hurricane Harvey in 2017, some homeowners in high-risk areas still do not have flood insurance. That’s because today’s federal flood maps, which guide insurance demand, are backward-looking and don’t factor in the effects of climate change. Starting this week, however, every homeowner and potential homebuyer in America will be able to see a new, forward-looking analysis of their property’s flood risk. That could have a huge impact on the national housing market. A nonprofit research and technology group, First Street Foundation launched an interactive website offering flood risk data on more than 142 million homes and properties across the country in June. Now Realtor.com, one of the nation’s largest home listing sites, will put those scores on all of its listings. First Street, working with more than 80 scientists and researchers, is remapping America’s flood risk in an effort to educate homeowners, buyers and the greater real estate industry. It assigns a flood score to every property. ‘We’re basically building flood models that calculate the past, present and future flood risk for every home in the country,’ said Matthew Eby, founder and executive director of the First Street Foundation. ‘By integrating Flood Factor into Realtor.com’s platform, we will not only reach millions of people on a daily basis, we will do so when they need it most — when they are buying or selling a home.’” [CNBC, 8/26/20 (=)]

 

Major Real Estate Website Now Shows Flood Risk. Should They All? According to NPR, “Millions of people rely on real estate websites when they’re hoping to buy or rent a home. Major sites like Zillow, Redfin, Trulia and Realtor.com feature kitchens, bathrooms, mortgage estimates and even school ratings. But those sites don’t show buyers if the house is likely to flood while they’re living there. Now, Realtor.com has become the first site to disclose information about a home’s flood risk, and how climate change could increase that risk in the coming decades, potentially signaling a major shift in consumers’ access to information about climate threats. ‘People are buying property with little knowledge of whether it’s going to flood or not,’ says Harriet Festing, co-founder of the advocacy group Higher Ground, which connects people across the country who have survived floods. ‘It ruins lives.’ Still, other websites such as Redfin, Zillow and Trulia have no plans to share information about flooding with users. Millions of buyers risk overpaying for homes likely to be hit with a natural disaster over the course of a 30-year mortgage. But representatives for other realty sites say home sellers are reluctant to publish flood risk information, since it could decrease their home’s value.” [NPR, 8/26/20 (=)]

 

Flood Risk Increases For U.S. Properties As Sea Levels Continue To Rise. According to NPR, “New research shows Greenland glaciers melted faster than normal last year — a lot faster than normal. Some scientists say that so far, we’re on track for sea level rise on the high end of what’s been predicted by models. Meanwhile, energy consumption is projected to rise, and so is flood risk. Greenland’s ice sheet melted more last year than it has since at least the 1940s. ‘It lost enough water that it would cover all of California in 4 feet of water,’ said Alex Gardner, a research scientist at the national Jet Propulsion Laboratory and co-author of the study detailing the ice loss in the journal Communications Earth & Environment. Sea levels are overall rising slowly but steadily, on average a little more than one-eighth of an inch per year, Gardner said. A small amount that adds up. ‘Next time you have a storm come through, that maximum storm surge will now be about a meter higher at the end of the century, and that’s really impactful for coastal communities,’ Gardner said. Sea level rise set a new record for the eighth year straight. New flood models developed by the nonprofit First Street Foundation quantify current and future flood risk to U.S. properties from rising sea level and increased precipitation. Matthew Eby is executive director. ‘There’s about 14.6 million properties that have substantial flood risk, a 1% annual risk of flooding or greater,’ Eby said.” [Marketplace, 8/26/20 (=)]

 

Climate Change And The Challenge Of Community Relocation. According to Phys.org, “For example, flood-prone communities may seek to accommodate change through practices like increased structural elevation (in attempts to rise above floodwaters), while others may seek to harden against changing conditions through structures like seawalls (in attempts to block out floodwaters). The problem with approaches like these is that they can lead to a so-called ‘safe development paradox,’ in that protective measures may have the effect of encouraging further growth, leading to greater losses if a natural disaster (like a flood) is too much for the protective measures to handle. The failure of the levee system in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina is a powerful case in point. Another option is to employ land-use measures that limit development in known hazardous areas or that relocate at-risk communities following major disasters. Particularly striking are those situations where all or part of a community must contemplate a physical move. Even more striking is that these situations are not hypothetical possibilities. Community relocation poses very real and powerful present-day challenges. Take, for example, Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana, where 98% of the island has already been swallowed by the Gulf of Mexico. Or Newtok or Shishmaref, Alaska. Or the Florida Keys. Or Princeville, right here in North Carolina. Or any of the other 1,100 counties across the U.S. in which more than 43,000 homeowners have chosen to relocate following FEMA-funded ‘buyouts.’” [Phys.org, 8/25/20 (+)]

 

Misc. Waterways

 

Report Raises Alarm Over Critical Minerals, Habitat Overlap. According to E&E News, “The vast amount of key critical mineral deposits in wild places that outdoor recreationists covet has alarmed conservation groups amid the Trump administration’s push to boost domestic mining. Critical minerals such as cobalt and lithium help lower carbon emissions as they power renewable energy technologies from wind turbines to electric vehicle batteries. But half of the country’s known critical mineral deposits are in trout and salmon habitat, and 1 in 10 critical mineral deposits is found on protected public lands, according to a new report by Trout Unlimited, the National Wildlife Federation and Backcountry Hunters & Anglers. With cobalt near Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and rare earth elements in central Idaho salmon and trout habitat, the location of these deposits ‘was alarming to say the least,’ said Ty Churchwell, a mining coordinator with Trout Unlimited. ‘It became abundantly clear to all of us that really the places that we care deeply about as hunters and anglers and outdoor recreationists are in the crosshairs, if you will, if critical mineral development were to move forward in some of these locations,’ Churchwell said at a virtual press briefing yesterday.” [E&E News, 8/26/20 (=)]

 

We Can Solve Water Scarcity In The U.S., New Study Says. According to EcoWatch, “The U.S., like much of the world, has the compounding problem of a growing population and an increased likelihood of drought due to the climate crisis. In fact, the Southwest is already in the throes of its worst drought in 1,200 years while Colorado and California are seeing how drought has turned their forests into tinder boxes. Now, a new study has identified ways to revamp how water is utilized to thrive in a time of water scarcity. The study, titled ‘Reducing water scarcity by improving water productivity in the United States’ was published Tuesday in Environmental Research Letters. The authors say that some of the most water-stressed areas in the West and Southwest have the greatest potential for water savings. The paper attributes nearly half the potential to simply improving how water is used in agriculture, specifically in growing the commodity crops, corn, cotton and alfalfa. The researchers, led by a team from Virginia Tech, looked at realistic water usage benchmarks for more than 400 products and industries. The team of scientists pinpointed unrealized water savings in various river basins across the country. ‘Nearly one-sixth of U.S. river basins cannot consistently meet society’s water demands while also providing sufficient water for the environment,’ said Landon Marston, a Civil & Environmental Engineering professor at Virginia Tech University, in a statement. ‘Water scarcity is expected to intensify and spread as populations increase, new water demands emerge, and climate changes.” [EcoWatch, 8/26/20 (+)]

 

 

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