Company breached three-year rolling limit on abstraction licence at Fylde aquifer in 2018
United Utilities has been fined £800,000 after illegally abstracting 22bn litres of water in Lancashire, causing damage to an important aquifer that will take years to recover.
The illegal removal of water from the Fylde aquifer, which happened during a period of dry weather in 2018, is likely to have negatively affected river flows.
Continue reading...Number of vessels able to pass through each day limited because lower availability of water
Commercial ships are facing long queues and delays to travel through the Panama Canal as a lengthy drought in the Central American country has led to a cut in the number of vessels able to pass through one of the world’s most important trading routes.
In a fresh demonstration of the impact of the climate crisis on global business and trade, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), which manages the waterway, introduced restrictions on the number of transiting vessels as a result of the drought.
Continue reading...Australian investment bank funds troubled UK utility’s overhaul of pipes and sewage works
The Australian infrastructure investor Macquarie has confirmed it will inject a further £550m into the UK’s Southern Water in an attempt to turn around the troubled company.
The funds are intended to help Southern Water, which supplies Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, to overhaul its leaky pipes and faulty sewage works.
Continue reading...New analysis of Environment Agency data by Lib Dems shows more than 100 systems are faulty
An increasing number of sewage monitors in England’s swimming spots are broken, new analysis has shown, meaning unknown quantities of raw sewage may be present in bathing waters.
New analysis of 2022 Environment Agency data by the Liberal Democrats has shown that more than 100 sewage monitors in bathing waters were faulty. This is an increase on 2021, when 88 of the monitors were broken.
Continue reading...Many of the 40,000 people in the suburb of Germantown under order to avoid using water for everything except flushing toilets
A diesel fuel spill that contaminated the water supply system of Germantown, Tennessee, has left residents unable to drink their tap water as the city’s public works crew rush to flush out the contaminated water.
The city first told residents on 20 July that a spill at a treatment plant tainted the water supply system. The order came after residents reported a fuel smell in their water. Officials said that a generator at the plant spilled diesel fuel into a reservoir after the facility lost power during recent storms.
Continue reading...Government claims 98% success rate for cloud seeding but critics urge improving irrigation and water supply systems
Amid a historic heatwave and months of drought, Mexico’s government has launched the latest phase of a cloud seeding project it hopes will increase rainfall.
The project, which began in July, involves planes flying into clouds to release silver iodide particles which then, in theory, will attract additional water droplets and increase rain or snowfall.
Continue reading...A key pipeline to the southern Ukrainian port city was hit by a missile early in the invasion, but for now people are managing to keep vital services running
Ludmyla Osadchuk put her foot to the pedal and the rickety red-and-white tram edged forward, exiting the depot with a crunching of wheels and a rattle of the old, loosely fitting doors. On board were three blue canisters, each holding 1,000 litres of water.
With a “Special route” sign attached to the front window, the tram trundled to the first of four stops in different parts of Mykolaiv. The only passenger was former tram driver Serhiy Vytstyna, who hopped out at the stop and connected a set of pumps to the canisters.
Continue reading...At least 97% of the blood samples contained a type of PFAS known as PFOS, associated with multiple serious health problems
California researchers have found new evidence that several chemicals used in plastic production and a wide array of other industrial applications are commonly present in the blood of pregnant women, creating increased health risks for mothers and their babies.
The researchers said their findings add to a growing body of evidence showing that many chemicals people are routinely exposed to are leading to subtle but harmful changes in health. The work should be a “wake-up call” to policymakers, they said.
This story is co-published with the New Lede, a journalism project of the Environmental Working Group
Continue reading...After years of underinvestment, reservoir has had to be topped up from estuary, raising health concerns
More than half of Uruguay’s 3.5 million citizens are without access to tap water fit for drinking, and experts say the situation could continue for months.
Some had predicted the crisis years ago when pointing out the vulnerability of the single reservoir supplying water to the metropolitan area around the capital, Montevideo.
Continue reading...Country suffering its worst drought in 74 years, with government even mixing saltwater into drinking supply
A plan to build a Google data centre that will use millions of litres of water a day has sparked anger in Uruguay, which is suffering its worst drought in 74 years.
Water shortages are so severe in the country that a state of emergency has been declared in Montevideo and the authorities have added salty water to the public drinking water supplies, prompting widespread protests.
Continue reading...Exclusive: General manager says chemical analysis shows ‘slight overlap’ of mine lead and samples from local residents’ rainwater tanks
Chemical analysis has identified the Cadia Hill goldmine as a potential source of some of the lead found in samples collected from nearby residential rainwater tanks in central west New South Wales, the mine’s management has said.
The NSW Environment Protection Authority has been investigating the goldmine – one of the largest in the world – since May, when it issued Newcrest’s Cadia Holdings Pty Ltd with a draft pollution prevention notice and a draft licence variation regarding its management of emissions of dust and other pollutants. It followed local residents, including children, reporting heavy metals in their blood and rainwater tanks.
Continue reading...Public urged to use water sparingly on Koh Samui, as authorities say they don’t want it to become ‘a disaster zone’
Authorities on Koh Samui are working to tackle a water shortage that has left taps running dry often for months, saying they do not want the Thai island to become a “disaster zone”.
A lack of rain and a resurgence in tourism has put intense pressure on supplies, prompting Sutham Samthong, a deputy mayor of Koh Samui, to urge the public to use supplies sparingly.
Continue reading...USS support for turnaround plan comes as water company buckles under £14bn debt burden
One of Thames Water’s big shareholders has given its backing to the embattled water company, after the surprise departure of its chief executive and crisis talks with the government over its viability.
Thames Water, which is buckling under a £14bn debt burden and has embarked on an eight-year turnaround plan, is owned by a series of pension funds and other governments’ sovereign wealth funds. The second-biggest shareholder is a UK pension fund for academics, the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), which holds about 20% and is the first investor to make public its support for the company.
Continue reading...Demands for an end to the ‘revolving door’ as ex-Ofwat directors are hired by key firms
Two-thirds of England’s biggest water companies employ key executives who had previously worked at the watchdog tasked with regulating them, the Observer can reveal.
Cathryn Ross, the new interim joint chief executive of Thames Water and a former head of watchdog Ofwat, is one of several ex-employees working for water companies in senior roles such as strategy, regulation and infrastructure.
Continue reading...Firm refuses to say when it will publish annual report; pressure builds on regulator Ofwat
Thames Water has refused to say when it will publish its annual report and accounts, which had been expected by investors next week, as concerns mount over the company’s financial viability.
The risk of delay will add to the turmoil engulfing England’s 11 privatised water companies, after a day in which board directors, ministers and regulators scrambled to restore calm as discussions continued over a potential temporary nationalisation of Thames Water.
The Environment Agency (EA) announced it was sending specialist investigators into water companies across England to secure evidence in the biggest criminal investigation into illegal sewage dumping since privatisation.
The experienced City troubleshooter Sir Adrian Montague was parachuted in to take over as chairman of Thames, a role he will take up on 10 July.
The prime minister’s spokesperson said it was for Ofwat “in the first instance” to monitor the financial resilience of water companies, adding to pressure on the regulator.
Continue reading...Plans drawn up to pay for cost of dealing with sewage crisis and climate emergency
Water companies are reportedly pushing for bills in England to rise by up to 40% under plans being drawn up to pay for the cost of dealing with the sewage crisis and the climate emergency.
The increases are due to be announced next year and could drive annual bills up from an average of £450 to £680 in parts of the country by the end of the decade, according to a Times report citing consultation documents.
Continue reading...Utility’s head says demand for drinking water has risen 20% since pandemic, outpacing supply
A water company has blamed more people working from home post-pandemic for a new hosepipe ban.
South East Water, which supplies more than 2m homes and businesses, will impose the first hosepipe ban of the summer on Monday, affecting households across Kent and Sussex.
Continue reading...Settlement will provide funds to US municipalities over 13 years to test for and treat PFAS contamination in public water systems
3M Co has reached a $10.3bn settlement with a host of US public water systems to resolve water pollution claims tied to “forever chemicals”, the chemical company announced on Thursday.
The company said the settlement would provide the funds over a 13-year period to cities, towns and other public water systems to test for and treat contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.
Continue reading...Some areas left with little or no water, forcing schools to shut and residents to fetch drinking water from bottle stations
A hosepipe ban is scheduled to come into effect across Kent and Sussex as a result of record demand for drinking water, South East Water bosses have said.
Parts of the region have been left with little or no water this week during the hot weather, forcing schools to shut and residents to fetch drinking water from bottled water stations.
Continue reading...Fishery board reports shrinkage in size of River Ness as water scarcity alert issued for parts of Scotland
Concern has been raised about the water levels of Loch Ness and the River Ness amid the protracted dry spell affecting Scotland and the rest of the UK.
Brian Shaw, the director of Ness District Salmon Fishery Board, said there had been a dramatic shrinkage in the size of the River Ness. He told the BBC: “These conditions are not normally good for angling.
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