Water & Oceans

"State and federal leaders on Wednesday reaffirmed their commitment to build a giant pair of tunnels to divert the Sacramento River out of the Delta."

"Thousands of people consume fish from Washington, D.C.’s highly polluted Anacostia River, despite safety warnings."

"FRESNO, Calif. — California Gov. Jerry Brown is set to reignite the state's water wars when he makes the long-awaited announcement next week about plans to build a massive twin tunnel system to carry water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to farmland and cities."

"Perhaps the most unsung patch of heaven in New York City is a tiny sliver of riverfront parkland tucked between a metal-recycling yard and a giant wholesale produce market, on the far side of a six-lane highway and a pair of active freight train tracks. Hunts Point Riverside Park, a 1.4-acre speck in the South Bronx, opened a few years ago on what had been a filthy, weedy street end."

"Back in the late 1700s, when Baltimoreans got their water from nearby streams, springs and wells, every household was ordered to keep two leather buckets filled to fight fires. That precaution might come in handy again, as the water main break Monday near the Inner Harbor delivered a disruptive reminder to downtown businesses and commuters of just how decrepit the regional system supplying the vital liquid has become."

"WASHINGTON -- After an impasse with a South Carolina senator was broken, the Senate passed a historic bill Wednesday by unanimous consent that would help thousands of sick Marine veterans and their families who were exposed to contaminated water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C."

"For the better part of a decade, Rev. David Hudson has been fighting to uncover what’s polluting the water in his home town."

"Hudson moved to DeBerry, Texas, a poor, predominantly black community straddling the Louisiana border in 2002.

DeBerry lies in the heart of the Haynesville Shale natural gas development. When Hudson moved in, the area was littered with injection wells used to deposit waste from oil and gas drilling deep beneath the earth.

"More than half of the continental United States is currently suffering through the worst drought in 50 years, with heat and a lack of rain rippling through the middle of the country. Crops are wilting, soils are cracked, and some dried-out forests are catching fire. U.S. corn production in particular is dwindling. So is this a glimpse at our hotter, drier future? It appears so."

"Until now, scientists could only guess at the amount of plastic waste in the Great Lakes. This week, a team of researchers sets sail to conduct the first-ever survey of plastic pollution in the world’s largest fresh water system."