Fresh Water

The Rural Utilities Service has helped millions of people, but the Trump White House says money for rural water isn’t needed.

A new essay collection, Living in the Anthropocene, dissects our vast planetary impact.

A difficult hurricane season unearths issues ranging from cancer hotspots to deadly bacteria.

October brings us new books about sea-level rise, wolves and feeding the resistance.

Mountaintop mining and excrement-filled lagoons threaten the unique biodiversity of the American southeast.

Manmade “dam analogues” could help beavers recolonize former habitats — and help fish in the process.

Toxic algae can threaten our drinking water, but a new study also reveals that it causes economic harm. According to The Toledo Blade, research from Ohio State University reveals that algal blooms in two of the state’s lakes over the past six years have cost homeowners an amazing $152 million in property values. The blooms have also had an impact on recreational fishing, affecting not just the fishing industry but nearby businesses that rely on the tourism. A summer-long bloom could cause more than $5 million in economic harm to the angling industry, according to the researchers. 

In spite of 15 years of goal-setting, average nitrogen levels in the Mississippi have not declined.

Funding to forecast toxic algae blooms could be at risk, putting lakes and water supplies in danger.

Saving freshwater mussels requires scrappy scientists and unlikely allies.