Background Articles

Despite reduced overall ice coverage in Canada's Northwest Passage, the Arctic shipping season is shortening due to increased mobility and breakage of sea ice creating navigational hazards.

Eleven out of twenty-five communities in Nunavut have received boil water advisories in 2024 due to infrastructure and water quality issues, with efforts underway to upgrade aging systems.

Agrigento, a tourist destination in Sicily, is facing severe water shortages, leading to rationing and the turning away of tourists, impacting the local economy reliant on tourism and agriculture.

Yellowknife is using water from Yellowknife Bay to refill its reservoirs due to unusually high outflow rates at a pumphouse, the cause of which is under investigation.

Alaska's impending water quality regulations may necessitate advanced treatment for contaminants like phthalates in wastewater, posing challenges for local systems to comply with stricter EPA standards.

Rivers and streams in Alaska are changing color – from a clean, clear blue to a rusty orange – because of the toxic metals released by thawing permafrost, according to a new study.

Recent discoloration of 75 streams in Arctic Alaska reflects increased iron and trace metal loading following climate-driven permafrost thaw. These findings have considerable implications for drinking water supplies and subsistence fisheries.

The article discusses a contentious proposal for new fish passage infrastructure at the Eklutna River dam, with differing plans and potential legal challenges as stakeholders await the governor's decision.

Washington State declares a statewide drought emergency due to significantly low snowpack levels, with expectations of less than 75% of the normal water supply.

Emergency measures are in place in Kotzebue after a failure in the Swan Lake Loop left 74 households without water, prompting local and state officials to declare an emergency and take action to provide services and repair infrastructure.

Alberta's water allocation data reveals regional disparities in usage and availability, with agriculture dominating in the south and oil and gas in the north, amidst concerns of overuse and drought.

Algal blooms in the Liffey River threaten Dublin's drinking water due to pollution and climate change, raising concerns about the safety of fish and the future impact on water treatment.

More than 80 per cent of B.C.'s water basins are experiencing level 4 or 5 drought conditions, with salmon in many parts of the province struggling to make it to their spawning grounds.

Teller is considering moving to a new subdivision site to avoid flood zones and eventually connect to water and sewer systems, with the project estimated to be completed by summer 2025.