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Tag: water

  • Drugs entering the US by sea down 97% since vessel strikes?

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    President Donald Trump has cited dramatic results from U.S. strikes on vessels in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, saying they’ve nearly stopped the flow of drugs trafficked to the U.S. by water.

    Since September 2025, the U.S. has struck at least 40 alleged drug vessels, killing 149 people.

    “With our action in the Gulf of America, that sounds so nice when I hear the Gulf of America, drugs entering our country by sea are down 97%,” Trump said at a Jan. 29 White House event. “So when you see the boats being hit, those boats kill on average 25,000 people a boat.” We’ve rated the statement about 25,000 deaths Pants on Fire. 

    Even though Trump mentioned the Gulf of America, his comments appeared to reference the Caribbean and Pacific strikes.

    When asked for evidence about the 97% claim, the White House pointed us to Customs and Border Protection statistics from July 2025 to November 2025. Those numbers show a 98% drop in the pounds of drugs seized by CBP air and marine operations. 

    But drug seizures tell us only how many drugs are stopped from entering the U.S. There isn’t data to show how many drugs are being sent to the U.S. or how many are making it in. Drug experts also say changes in drug seizure data aren’t sufficient to make definitive statements about policy outcomes.

    “No one knows how much doesn’t get caught, so no one can cite a precise percentage change,” Jonathan Caulkins, a Carnegie Mellon University drug policy researcher, said. “Trump is making a claim about something that is unknowable.”

    The White House didn’t explain why it chose those months. There has been a drop in CBP drug seizures since September 2025 when the vessel strikes began, but the percentage drop fluctuates depending on the months compared.

    Additionally, the Coast Guard — not CBP — oversees most drug seizures on water, especially in international waters, an agency spokesperson told PolitiFact. Its data shows a spike in annual cocaine seizures — 200% in fiscal year 2025 compared with its yearly average. (The Coast Guard generally focuses on cocaine seizures, while CBP’s 98% decline is mainly related to marijuana.) 

    While the White House cites a drop in CBP drug seizures as a success, the Coast Guard cites an increase in seizures as a sign of strong enforcement.

    This image from video provided by U.S. South Command, shows a vessel accused of trafficking drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean shortly before it was destroyed by the U.S. military, killing two and injuring one, Jan. 23, 2026. (U.S. Southern Command via AP)

    An uncharacteristically high month for marijuana seizures inflates percent drop

    The White House’s calculation starts in July 2025, which was an outlier with an uncharacteristically high number of marijuana seizures. In July, CBP seized 224,000 pounds of drugs, including 203,000 pounds of marijuana. CBP seizes about 20,000 pounds of all types of drugs in a month.

    From August 2025, the last month before the vessel strikes began, to January, the latest available data, CBP drug seizures dropped 79%.

    For the Coast Guard, drug seizures are up.

    In the 2025 fiscal year which ended in September, the Coast Guard seized 510,000 pounds of cocaine, a 200% increase from a typical fiscal year when the Coast Guard seizes about 167,000 pounds of cocaine. 

    In August 2025, the Coast Guard launched an operation to target cartels and criminal organizations. From August 2025 to February 2026, the Coast Guard seized 200,000 pounds of cocaine more than it seizes in a typical year, according to agency press releases. 

    The Coast Guard has hailed the increase in seizures as a success in “preventing the flow of dangerous drugs into American communities.”

    Statistics don’t show how many drugs make it into the US

    Regardless of the data point, it’s unknown how many drugs enter the U.S. each year. Drug seizures show only how many pounds of a drug were stopped from getting into the U.S.

    “It’s a black market. And so by definition, we do not have good market data,” Elizabeth Dickinson, deputy program director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the International Crisis Group, a nonprofit that researches global crises.

    The decrease in CBP seizures could point to less enforcement or fewer drugs moving on a specific route, Dickinson said. “There’s really not a good way to understand that data,” she said.

    Dickinson said the Trump administration’s drug enforcement efforts, such as the vessel strikes, have “scared some traffickers away from using specific routes.” 

    Rather than stop trafficking, they might have rerouted. 

    “Drug trafficking is a very old and mature business, in many ways, these organizations have been in a cat and mouse game with law enforcement, not just for years, but really for decades,” Dickinson said. They “are expert at reconfiguring routes, finding new ways to ship things, and innovating in a way to avoid enforcement.”

    Our ruling

    Trump said, after U.S. vessel strikes in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, “drugs entering our country by sea are down 97%.”

    The administration hasn’t provided any evidence that the vessels it has struck were carrying drugs.

    There has been a drop in CBP drug seizures since the strikes began. But the Coast Guard — not CBP — oversees most drug seizures on water, especially in international waters. And that agency has seen a steep increase in drug seizures.

    The White House cites a drop in CBP drug seizures as a success at the same time the Coast Guard cites an increase in drug interdictions as a success, too. 

    However, neither an increase nor a decrease in drug seizures shows how many drugs are entering the U.S. That number is unknowable, according to drug experts. Drug seizures tell us only how many drugs are stopped from entering the U.S.

    Trump’s statement is unsubstantiated. We rate it False.

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  • When it comes to shark attacks, there’s a grim reason California stands out in the U.S.

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    Shark attacks returned to near-average levels in 2025 after a dip the previous year, according to the latest report from the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File, published Wednesday.

    Researchers recorded 65 unprovoked shark bites worldwide last year, slightly below the 10-year average of 72, but an increase from 2024. Nine of those bites were fatal, higher than the 10-year average of six fatalities.

    The United States once again had the highest number of reported incidents, accounting for 38% of global unprovoked bites when assessed on a country-by-country basis. That said, it’s actually a decline from recent years, including 2024, when more than half of all reported bites worldwide occurred off the U.S. coast.

    In 2025, Florida led all states with 11 recorded attacks. California, Hawaii, Texas and North Carolina accounted for the remaining U.S. incidents.

    But California stood out in another way: It had the nation’s only unprovoked fatal shark attack in 2025.

    A 55-year-old triathlete was attacked by a white shark after entering the water off the coast of Monterey Bay with members of the open-ocean swimming club she co-founded. It was the sole U.S. fatality among 25 reported shark bites nationwide.

    It’s not surprising that the sole U.S. shark-related death occurred in California, said Steve Midway, an associate professor of fisheries at Louisiana State University. “In California, you tend to have year-to-year fewer attacks than other places in the U.S. and in the world,” Midway said. “But you tend to have more serious attacks, a higher proportion of fatal attacks.”

    The difference lies in species and geography, Midway said. Along the East Coast, particularly in Florida, many bites involve smaller coastal sharks in shallow water, which are more likely to result in nonfatal injuries. California’s deeper and colder waters are home to larger species, such as the great white shark.

    “Great whites just happen to be larger,” Midway said. “You’re less likely to be attacked, but if you are, the outcomes tend to be worse.”

    Whether measured over 10, 20 or 30 years, average annual shark bite totals globally are actually very stable.

    “The global patterns change only slightly from one year to the other,” said Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research.

    Those annual fluctuations are influenced by a combination of shark biology, ocean conditions and the number of people in the water at any given time in any given place, researchers say.

    At the same time, global shark populations remain far below historical levels. Naylor categorizes about 30% of shark species as endangered, largely due to overfishing. In some countries, including the United States and Australia, stronger protections have allowed certain shark populations to recover.

    Nevertheless, the risk of being bitten by a shark remains extremely low. The report notes that drowning is a far more common cause of death worldwide — and, if it helps you sleep (or swim), the data show that you are much more likely to be killed by lightning than you are by a shark.

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    Meg Tanaka

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  • What Potomac sewage spillage means for drinking water

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    A collapse in the Potomac Interceptor sewer line sent over 200 million gallons of waste water into the Potomac River, prompting recreation advisories while officials said the region’s drinking water remained safe.

    According to DC Water, a section of the 54‑mile Potomac Interceptor sewer line collapsed on January 19 along Clara Barton Parkway in Montgomery County, causing a major overflow into the C&O Canal National Historical Park. The line normally carries about 60 million gallons of wastewater each day from areas including Dulles Airport to D.C.’s Blue Plains treatment plant.

    DC Water said crews quickly moved to build a bypass, which went into service on January 24, using pumps and the C&O Canal to divert flow around the damaged segment.

    Is the Potomac River Drinking Water Safe?

    “It’s important to note, DC Water’s drinking water system is separate from the wastewater system, and we want to reassure the public the drinking water is safe, and water service is NOT affected by this incident,” DC Water said.

    “The overflow is downstream from the Washington Aqueduct’s (Aqueduct) intakes at Great Falls. In coordination with the Aqueduct, the intakes are also closed at Little Falls downstream.” 

    A spokesperson for the agency reiterated to Newsweek on Tuesday that drinking water is not, nor ever was, impacted by the incident, and that the water and sewer systems are separate.

    “We have been coordinating with U.S. EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] since the Potomac Interceptor collapsed and appreciate the ongoing support and counsel they have provided. Just last week, we hosted the Assistant Administrator for Water for a tour of the site and briefing on the project and the progress made to date. Our operations team set up a bypass to reroute wastewater around the broken section and limit overflows to the Potomac River,” the spokesperson said.

    “Additional pumps have been installed this week to allow for the excavation of the damaged section to remove a rock dam and allow us to make emergency repairs to the pipe. While repairs are on track for completion within 4–6 weeks, this incident underscores the urgent challenge of aging infrastructure. Continued regional and federal partnership can help restore and strengthen one of the most critical water assets in the region.

    “DC Water stands ready to work together to protect our shared national treasure, the Potomac River,” they added.

    The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) said that Fairfax is the closest Virginia community that draws its main water supply from the Potomac River. Its intake point sits several miles upstream from where the spill entered the river, placing it outside the affected area.

    Potomac River Sewage Spillage Mapped

    DC Water released a map showing the spill site and the six locations where E. coli sampling has been underway. The agency said crews are concentrating on clearing debris from the broken pipe so repair work can begin. It also noted that cleanup and remediation planning is in its early stages, with efforts expected to focus on affected areas such as the canals and the Potomac River. Those measures will be developed in coordination with federal, state, and local partners, it said.

    The VDH has issued a recreational water advisory for the river “out of an abundance of caution” due to the spill and a subsequent discharge report on February 7—the area which extends 72.5 miles from the American Legion Memorial Bridge (I-495) in Fairfax County to the Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge (Route 301) in King George County, it said.

    “VDH has observed no evidence of impacts to drinking water at this time,” read a February 13 press release from the agency.

    What People Are Saying

    DC Water CEO David L. Gadis said in an open letter: “We recognize that describing response actions and infrastructure details does not erase the environmental impact or the concern this incident caused. For those who live near the river, recreate on it, or work every day to protect it, witnessing this unfold was distressing. We hear that clearly.

    “This incident has also underscored a broader reality facing utilities across the country: much of the infrastructure that protects our waterways was built decades ago, long before today’s environmental standards, population growth, and climate pressures. The Potomac Interceptor – more than 60 years old – is a critical regional asset, conveying wastewater from across the metropolitan area to the Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant. Its failure reinforces why sustained investment and vigilance are essential.”

    President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday: “There is a massive Ecological Disaster unfolding in the Potomac River.”

    An EPA spokesperson told The Hill: “DC Water is responsible for responding to the Potomac Interceptor collapse, and there is currently no impact to drinking water systems. EPA inspectors are visiting the site every week to perform compliance monitoring, and EPA will continue to coordinate with DC Water to ensure their efforts are sufficient.”

    What Happens Next

    DC Water said Monday that its crews and contractors were “nearing completion of an enhanced bypass system that will allow emergency repairs to begin on a damaged section of the Potomac Interceptor.”

    “The emergency repair is expected to take another 4-6 weeks once the enhanced bypass system is activated ,” it said.

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  • Dog Hydration on the Go: What to Pack for Year-Round Walks, Hikes, and Travel with Your Pup | Animal Wellness Magazine

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    Want better ways to keep your dog hydrated on the go? Check out these dog hydration tips to help them drink more when you’re on the move!

    Keeping your dog well-hydrated helps regulate their body temperature, supports joint and organ function, and prevents dangerous issues like heat exhaustion. When you’re traveling or exercising together, dog hydration is even more important. However, it can be challenging to make sure your dog drinks enough on the go. Here are some great tips for your adventures at any time of year!

    Equipment That’ll Make On-the-Go Dog Hydration Easier

    A few simple tools and tricks can make canine hydration a breeze when you’re out and about, whether you’re hiking, on the water, out in the back country, road tripping, or going on a journey:

    • Portable or collapsible bowl: Easy to pack, and your dog can drink anywhere
    • Saddlebag: A wearable pack for your dog that simplifies carrying extra water
    • Pet water bottle: Holds water, and the lid doubles as a bowl

    Tips to Encourage Water Consumption  

    Even though dogs need water to survive, they can still be picky about how and when they drink. And then add stress from something like travel, extreme temperatures, or exercise and you can have a situation where there’s an increased risk of dehydration. Use these tips to help your pup drink enough when you’re out and about:

    • Water additives or alternatives: Low-sodium broth, fruit juice, and liquid toppers can make drinking more appealing and supply additional nutrients.
    • Bring their bowl: Something that smells and feels like home can make them feel more relaxed.
    • Take regular breaks in shady spots: Stop every 20 to 30 minutes during exercise/summer activities or every two to three hours during a trip.
    • Use positive reinforcement: When your dog takes a drink, let them know what a good pup they are.
    • Keep it cool: Dogs typically prefer cool water to room temperature or ice water.
    • Try ice: Some dogs love ice, and it can help to keep them hydrated if it’s feasible to bring a small cooler with you.

    Watching for Signs of Dehydration

    Dehydration can develop quickly during heat, travel, or exercise, even during the cooler months. Severe dehydration can become an emergency, so recognizing these signs early is essential:

    • Heavy panting
    • Dry or sticky gums
    • Sunken eyes
    • Lethargy
    • Loss of skin elasticity

    If your dog shows signs of dehydration, offer fresh water right away and move them to a cool, shaded area. If symptoms don’t improve quickly—or if your dog seems weak, lethargic, or refuses to drink—contact your veterinarian immediately.

    Keep Your Pooch Hydrated with Come-pooch-a!

    Come-pooch-a bone broth from NutriSource is a delicious, nutritious way to encourage dog hydration—while also giving a gut-healthy boost! This meaty, one-of-a-kind liquid topper contains prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics that support the gut and promote improved nutrient utilization while making every meal a treat. It can soften kibble or double as an on-the-go hydration booster, encouraging picky eaters and drinkers alike! And the convenient, sealable pouch makes it the ideal hydration companion for adventures and travel.

    Visit NutriSource to learn more.

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    Animal Wellness is North America’s top natural health and lifestyle magazine for dogs and cats, with a readership of over one million every year. AW features articles by some of the most renowned experts in the pet industry, with topics ranging from diet and health related issues, to articles on training, fitness and emotional well being.

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    Animal Wellness

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  • As a Colorado River deadline passes, reservoirs keep declining

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    The leaders of seven states failed to negotiate a deal to share the diminishing waters of the Colorado River by a Trump administration deadline on Saturday, leaving the Southwest in a quagmire with uncertain repercussions while the river’s depleted reservoirs continue to decline.

    Former U.S. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt said in an interview with The Times that the impasse now appears so intractable that Trump administration officials should take a step back, abandon the current effort and begin all over again.

    Babbitt said he believes it would be a mistake for Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to “try to impose a long-term solution” by ordering major water cuts across the Southwest — which would likely set off a lengthy court battle.

    “We need a fresh start,” Babbitt said. “I believe that in the absence of a unanimous agreement, [the Interior Department] should renew the existing agreements for five years, and then we should start all over. We should scrap the entire process and invent a new one.”

    Officials for the seven states have tried to boost reservoir levels via voluntary water cutbacks and federal payments to farmers who agree to leave fields dry part of the year. But after more than two years of trying to hash out new long-term rules for sharing water, they remain deadlocked; the existing rules are set to expire at the end of this year.

    The states similarly blew past an earlier federal deadline in November.

    Interior Department officials have not said how they will respond. The agency is considering four options for imposing cutbacks starting next year, as well as the option of taking no action.

    Babbitt, who was Interior secretary under President Clinton from 1993 to 2001, said he thinks the Trump administration’s options are too narrow and inadequate. They would place the burden of water cuts on Arizona, California and Nevada while not requiring any for the four other upriver states — Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico.

    Without a consensus, the only reasonable approach is to extend existing water-saving agreements for a few years while making a new push for solutions, Babbitt said.

    Federal officials have “missed the opportunity” to take a strong leadership role, he said, and it’s time to reimagine the effort as a “much more inclusive, public, broad” process.

    The river provides for about 35 million people and 5 million acres of farmland, from the Rocky Mountains to northern Mexico. California uses more water than any other state but has cut back substantially in recent years.

    Since 2000, relentless drought intensified by climate change has sapped the river’s flow and left reservoirs depleted. This winter’s record warmth and lack of storms has left the Rockies with very little snow.

    Lake Mead, the river’s largest reservoir, is now 34% full, while Lake Powell is at 26%.

    “Our states have conserved large volumes of water in recent years,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a joint statement with Arizona’s Katie Hobbs and Nevada’s Joe Lombardo. “Our stance remains firm and fair: all seven basin states must share in the responsibility of conservation.”

    The states’ positions haven’t changed much in the last two years, said JB Hamby, California’s lead negotiator, and moving toward an agreement will require firm commitments for cuts by all.

    Officials representing the four Upper Basin states said they’ve offered compromises and are prepared to continue negotiating. In a written statement, they stressed they are already dealing with substantial water cuts, and said their downstream neighbors are trying to secure water “that simply does not exist.”

    The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s latest forecast shows the amount of runoff flowing into Lake Powell will decrease so dramatically this year that the dropping reservoir levels could render Glen Canyon Dam unable to continue generating electricity.

    The Interior Department said in a written statement Saturday that it will finalize new rules by Oct. 1, and it “cannot delay action.” The agency is accepting comments from the public as part of its review of options until March 2.

    “Negotiation efforts have been productive,” Burgum said. “We believe that a fair compromise with shared responsibility remains within reach.”

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    Ian James

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  • Florida man dives into water, rescues pregnant woman from sinking vehicle

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    A man helped rescue a pregnant woman from a vehicle in a pond off Interstate 95 in Florida. Hours later, she gave birth to the child.Logan Hayes had been driving to work near Stuart before 8 a.m. Friday before the Gatlin exit near the weigh station.”As I was driving by, I saw this car in the pond,” he told WPBF.The vehicle was sinking. He jumped into the cold waters, swam out to the vehicle, and pulled the woman to shore.Hayes later learned the woman was pregnant. Martin County Fire Rescue crews arrived minutes later. The patient was taken to HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital in Fort Pierce with serious injuries.MCFD divers entered the water to confirm no other occupants were inside and to assist with scene recovery.”Great teamwork by all responding units and the citizens on scene,” the agency posted on Facebook.SLCScanner’s Dan Toback, who posts information on the Treasure Coast, called it “an incredible story.”

    A man helped rescue a pregnant woman from a vehicle in a pond off Interstate 95 in Florida. Hours later, she gave birth to the child.

    Logan Hayes had been driving to work near Stuart before 8 a.m. Friday before the Gatlin exit near the weigh station.

    “As I was driving by, I saw this car in the pond,” he told WPBF.

    The vehicle was sinking. He jumped into the cold waters, swam out to the vehicle, and pulled the woman to shore.

    Hayes later learned the woman was pregnant.

    Martin County Fire Rescue crews arrived minutes later.

    The patient was taken to HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital in Fort Pierce with serious injuries.

    MCFD divers entered the water to confirm no other occupants were inside and to assist with scene recovery.

    “Great teamwork by all responding units and the citizens on scene,” the agency posted on Facebook.

    SLCScanner’s Dan Toback, who posts information on the Treasure Coast, called it “an incredible story.”

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  • DC Water says it will take longer to repair broken sewer pipe in Potomac River spill – WTOP News

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    It’s going to take at least another four weeks to repair a large sewer pipe that collapsed last month, spilling wastewater into the Potomac River.

    A recently placed warning sign is seen at the sight of a massive pipe rupture, as sewage flows into the Potomac River, right, in Glen Echo, Md., Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. A massive pipe that moves millions of gallons of sewage has ruptured and sent wastewater flowing into the Potomac River northwest of Washington, polluting it ahead of a major winter storm that has repair crews scrambling. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)(AP/Cliff Owen)

    The large sewer pipe that collapsed on Jan. 19, resulting in millions of gallons of wastewater being spilled into the Potomac River, is going to take four to six weeks longer to repair.

    That’s because D.C. Water has discovered a giant rock dam south of the site of the original collapse.

    “This will require us to bring in additional equipment to remove the obstruction,” said D.C. Water spokesperson Sherri Lewis, adding the sewage flow has been successfully bypassed around the failed pipe, known as the Potomac Interceptor.

    “These giant industrial vacuums that we use can’t suck the boulders out because they are so big,” she said.

    Personnel will have to go into the pipe to remove the rocks manually. Additional pumps are being brought in from Texas and Florida to complete the task, but that will add more time to complete the repairs.

    In the meantime, water quality tests conducted by the University of Maryland and the Potomac Riverkeeper Network have found alarmingly high levels of E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus, which causes staph infections, in several samples taken from Jan. 21 to Jan. 28.

    Contamination levels are much higher near the break site, which is in Montgomery County along the C&O Canal and Clara Barton Parkway. But bacterial contamination has been detected nine miles down river.

    Potomac Riverkeeper Dean Naujoks urged the local health departments to issue a public alert about the contamination.

    “We’re getting calls and emails literally every day from people who are concerned,” Naujoks said. “We’re demanding that these public health agencies in Maryland and most importantly D.C. do their jobs and start protecting public health and just err on the side of caution and issue an advisory.”

    Leaders of the Washington Aqueduct have said drinking water isn’t being impacted by the spill. The main pumping station that supplies water to the aqueduct is several miles north of the failed pipe.

    A station closer to the spill site has been offline since before the break — and the aqueduct’s general manager said it will stay that way until water quality levels are back to normal.

    D.C. Water will build a large pit upstream of the collapse site in order to access the existing sewer line and to install new, high-capacity pumps. Five more pumps — coming from Florida and Texas — will increase the pumps on site to 13 and expand the capacity to more than 100 million gallons per day, allowing the diversion of wastewater so crews can safely remove the rocks.

    D.C. Water has put up signs along the C&O Canal at river access points alerting people to the dangers of coming into contact with the water.

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    © 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Alan Etter

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  • What the DC region is doing with the ‘snowcrete’ it’s hauling off the streets – WTOP News

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    Arlington County crews worked nonstop for days after a major snowstorm, hauling truckloads of snow as sleet and freezing temperatures complicated cleanup efforts across roads, sidewalks and bus stops.

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    How the DC region is handling ‘snowcrete’

    In response to the recent snowstorm, crews in Arlington, Virginia, worked 12-hour shifts for seven straight days before scaling back continuous operations.

    Ever since, they’ve been working to get roads, sidewalks and bus stops clear, according to Jeremy Hassan, bureau chief for Water, Sewers and Streets in Arlington County.

    The county, Hassan told WTOP, is responsible for clearing about 1,000 lane miles in response to winter weather — that includes turn lanes, bike lanes and bridges.

    As part of the cleanup effort, neighborhoods across the D.C. region have been confronted with a choice — haul the snow away, or push it toward the curbs or parking lots, and hope temperatures inch closer to seasonal averages so it eventually melts.

    “Some of our drivers that have been doing this for 10 or 20 years, it’s even unique to them, because it’s not something that you can really train for, prepare for. They were, on the fly, making adjustments to handle it as best you can,” Hassan said.

    In Arlington, crews have been hauling it to a handful of predetermined locations. The list includes parking lots and other facilities, but time management and convenience are considered, because of the number of trips that have to be made.

    In some cases, such as near the county courthouse, hardpack snow is piled up and closing a stretch of the street.

    In other locations, Hassan said, there are snow-melters operating around the clock. It’s the first time in a decade the county has had to use the equipment.

    “Day and night, 24/7, we had to haul over 5,000 truckloads of materials from our commercial corridors,” Hassan said. “And even then, there’s still material out there that we’re trying to prioritize and find that good balance of, what’s enough to get the community out there to be able to enjoy businesses, make their medical appointments, take their family where they need to be; but also try to hope that Mother Nature … helps us kind of takes its part of that as well.”

    Some of the drop-off sites are at full capacity, Hassan said, adding, “Once we’re out there plowing, it gets to a point of where we’ve kind of maximized our efficiency of where we can push things.”

    The storm presented unique challenges, he said, because sleet came after the snow, almost creating “a skating rink on top of six inches of fluffy snow.”

    Plows are effective in pushing material off streets, but their strength is limited once it freezes, Hassan said.

    “So now, when you’re hitting it with that plow, it adds weight, it adds resistance, and they’re trying to push it to the sides,” he said. “Also, it moves in chunks versus fluffy snow, which is more like just sand and material you could push it out to the sides.”

    While the county has prioritized commercial corridors, with a lot of pedestrians and on-street parking, “you’re kind of limited where you push it, because the businesses are trying to push it closer to the street and the sidewalk. We’re pushing it to the street, and that pile just accumulates,” Hassan said.

    “In those areas, the only other option when you get to a certain point is to remove it physically, which calls for drastic hauling operations,” he added.

    The work will continue, Hassan said, until students can safely navigate bus stops, and county drivers find intersections and traffic patterns that are “looking good.”

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    © 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Scott Gelman

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  • This L.A. startup uses SpaceX tech to cool data centers with less power and no water

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    As the artificial intelligence industry heats up, Karman Industries is trying to cool it down.

    The Signal Hill startup says it has developed a cooling system that uses SpaceX rocket engine technology to rein in the environmental impact of data centers, chilling them with less space, less power and no water.

    It recently raised $20 million and expects to start building its first compressors in Long Beach later this year.

    “Our high-level thesis is we could build the best compressor out there using the latest and greatest technology,” said David Tearse, chief executive of Karman. “We want to reduce that electrical consumption of cooling so that you have the most efficient way to cool these chips.”

    The high-end, expensive chips that power AI can slow down or shut off when they overheat. They can reach more than 200 degrees, but need to be below 150 degrees to work best.

    Cooling warehouses packed with tens of thousands of them can require fields full of equipment and huge quantities of water.

    Karman has developed a cooling system similar to the heat pumps in the average home, except its pumps use liquid carbon dioxide as refrigerant, which is circulated using rocket engine technology rather than fans. The company’s efficient pumps can reduce the space required for data center cooling equipment by 80%.

    Over the years, data centers have used fans and air conditioning to blow cold air on the chips. Bigger facilities pass cold liquid through tubes near the chips to absorb the heat. This hot liquid is sent outside to a cooling yard, where sprawling networks of pipes use as much water as a city of 50,000 people to remove the heat.

    A 50 megawatt data center also uses enough electricity to power a mid-sized city.

    As AI has super-sized data centers, adding more and more chips, they have needed increasing amounts of space and power for cooling.

    “It’s kind of a losing battle, especially when you keep densifying your chips,” said Tearse.

    Cooling systems account for up to 40% of a data center’s power consumption and an average midsized data center consumes more than 35,000 gallons of water per day.

    Nearly 100 gigawatts of new data center capacity will be added by 2030 and energy constraints have become the biggest barrier for expansion. U.S. data centers will consume about 8% of all electricity in the country by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency.

    Communities across the U.S. have begun protesting data center construction, fearing that the power and water needs could strain infrastructure and boost costs to consumers. The cooling systems are projected to use up to 33 billion gallons of water by 2028 per year.

    Big tech companies and venture capital investors are spending billions of dollars to replace old-school technologies with energy-efficient solutions. Microsoft announced a new data center design that uses zero water for cooling. It recently vowed to ensure its data centers don’t increase the electricity costs or deny water to nearby communities.

    The data center-cooling market is projected to grow from about $11 billion in 2025 to nearly $25 billion by 2032.

    To serve this seemingly insatiable market, Karman has developed a rotating compressor that spins at 30,000 revolutions per minute — nearly 10 times faster than traditional compressors — to move heat.

    “Three or four years ago, it was very challenging to do just because the motors didn’t exist. Automotive components are getting up to those speeds,” said Chiranjeev Kalra, co-founder and chief technology officer of Karman.

    About a third of Karman’s 23-person team came from SpaceX or Rocket Lab, and they co-opted technologies from aerospace engineering and electric vehicles to design the mechanics for the high-speed motors.

    The system uses a special type of carbon dioxide under high pressure to transfer heat from the data center to the outside air. Depending on the conditions, it can do the same amount of cooling using less than half the energy.

    Karman’s heat pump can either reject heat to air, or route it into extra cooling, or even power generation.

    One of the potentially biggest selling points for the systems is that they don’t require water, which will enable data centers in spots where water is scarce.

    In really hot places such as Texas and Arizona, cooling systems struggle, either using excessive water to cool or having to throttle the chips to stop them from overheating.

    Karman’s latest funding round brings the total money raised to more than $30 million. Major participants included Riot Venture, Sunflower Capital, Space VC, Wonder Ventures, and former Intel and VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger.

    Karman said it will begin customer deliveries in the summer of 2026 from its Los Angeles manufacturing facility that is designed to make 100 units per year. The plan is to eventually quadruple capacity.

    If successful, Karman could dent the market share of Trane Technologies and Schneider Electric, the leaders in heat rejection systems.

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  • Egypt’s Sisi Says He Values Offer by Trump to Mediate Egypt-Ethiopia Dispute on Nile River Waters

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    CAIRO, Jan ‌17 (Reuters) – ​Egypt’s President ‌Abdel Fattah ​al-Sisi said he ‍valued an offer ​by ​U.S. ⁠President Donald Trump to mediate a dispute over Nile ‌River waters between Egypt ​and ‌Ethiopia.

    In a ‍post on ⁠X, Sisi said on Saturday that he addressed Trump’s ​letter by affirming Egypt’s position and concerns about the country’s water security in regards to Ethiopia’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

    (Reporting ​by Menna Alaa El-Din and Muhammad Al Gebaly; ​Editing by Toby Chopra)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

    Photos You Should See – January 2026

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  • Country club’s plan to cut down trees paused by Planning Board

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    NORTH ANDOVER — The Planning Board wants a local country club to do its due diligence before allowing it to cut down more than 30 trees along the lake that serves as the town’s water supply.

    The Planning Board denied an application from the North Andover Country Club for an emergency watershed special permit at its meeting Tuesday.

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    By Angelina Berube | aberube@eagletribune.com

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  • Andover commission OKs conditions to revitalize old Shawsheen building

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    ANDOVER — The Conservation Commission gave its seal of approval to a project to redevelop the site of a historic building in Shawsheen Village and breathe new life into it as an educational hub for Merrimack College.

    The commission approved a wetlands notice of intent and order of conditions for the revitalization project, submitted by Lupoli Companies, at its meeting Tuesday. The Planning Board approved the site plan last month.

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    kAmr@?D6CG2E:@? p86?E q6?;2>:? |6256 D2:5 E96 62D6>6?E 92D 366? 7@C>2=:K65 2?5 >6>@C:2=:K65 :?E@ 2 A=2? :?4=F565 😕 E96 @C56C @7 4@?5:E:@?D A6C>:E]k^Am

    kAm%96 62D6>6?E 😀 ?@H 4=62C=J >2C<65 @? E96 A2C<:?8 DFC7246[ 2=@?8 H:E9 =@25:?8 2?5 F?=@25:?8 7@C G69:4=6D 2?5 3@2ED E@ C6249 E96 C:G6C[ |6256 D2:5]k^Am

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    By Angelina Berube | aberube@eagletribune.com

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  • Trump Issues First Second-Term Vetoes for Colorado Water Project and Florida Tribal Measure

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    WASHINGTON, Dec 30 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump vetoed a major ‌drinking ​water project in Colorado, drawing immediate ‌condemnation from Colorado Republican lawmaker Lauren Boebert, a former loyal MAGA ally who also ​recently challenged Trump over the Jeffrey Epstein files.

    The White House announced Trump’s veto of the Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit (AVC) ‍Act, which was approved unanimously by both ​the House of Representatives and the Senate, and a second measure affecting a Florida project, late on Tuesday. ​They were the ⁠first two vetoes of Trump’s second term.

    The veto of the Colorado project came after Trump’s vow to retaliate against the state for keeping his ally Tina Peters in prison, despite his attempt to pardon her earlier in the month, and Boebert’s action to force the release of the government’s files on the late convicted sexual ‌offender Epstein.

    Peters, a former Colorado county clerk, is serving a nine-year prison term after being convicted on state ​charges ‌for illegally tampering with voting ‍machines in the ⁠2020 presidential election. Trump’s pardon covers only federal charges and the state has refused to release Peters.

    Boebert, who sponsored the bill, condemned Trump’s veto of what she called a “completely non-controversial, bipartisan bill” in a statement on X, adding her hope is that “this veto has nothing to do with political retaliation for calling out corruption and demanding accountability.”

    The bill was aimed at funding a decades-long project to bring safe drinking water to 39 communities in Colorado’s Eastern Plains, where the groundwater is high ​in salt, and wells sometimes unleash radioactivity into the water supply.

    In his letter to Congress, Trump said he vetoed the measure to prevent “American taxpayers from funding expensive and unreliable policies.”

    It was not immediately clear if the Republican leaders in Congress would allow a vote to override Trump’s veto.

    Boebert was one of four Republican lawmakers, along with Marjorie Taylor Greene, who played a key role in forcing the release of Justice Department files on Epstein. Trump had fought the release of the files for months before ending his opposition.

    The White House said Trump had also vetoed a measure to spend $14 million to protect an area known as Osceola Camp within the Everglades National Park that is inhabited by ​members of the Miccosukee tribe of Native Americans, which has fought Trump’s makeshift immigrant detention center “Alligator Alcatraz” in the Everglades. A federal judge has now ordered the detention center to be shut down.

    Trump said the tribe was never authorized to inhabit the Osceola Camp area, and his administration would not ​support projects for special interests, especially those “unaligned” with his immigration policies.    

    (Reporting by Andrea Shalal and Kanishka Singh; Editing by Caitlin Webber and Lincoln Feast.)

    Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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  • House of the Seven Gables’ historic properties planned to relocate to address rising sea levels

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    SALEM — The House of the Seven Gables is earmarking money to move five of its historic structures further inland in anticipation of rising seas and groundwater levels caused by climate change.

    As such, the organization is seeking grants and donations to implement its 50-year climate adaptation plan. In 2022, the Gables received a $509,919 grant from the state to study site conditions and create the plan that was completed in May.

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    Michael McHugh can be contacted at mmchugh@northofboston.com or at 781-799-5202

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    By Michael McHugh | Staff Writer

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  • Video: How Much Water Does the A.I. Industry Use?

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    new video loaded: How Much Water Does the A.I. Industry Use?

    Kevin Roose and Casey Newton, the hosts of “Hard Fork” at The New York Times, spoke with Andrew Marley, executive director for Effective Altruism DC, about how much water A.I. data centers use.

    By ‘HARD Fork’

    December 23, 2025

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    ‘HARD Fork’

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  • News We Love: Two friends celebrated at school after one saved the other from drowning

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    STREET MARKET ON OUR WEBSITE WKYC.COM. A YOUNG INDIANA BOY IS BEING CALLED A HERO AFTER SAVING HIS FRIEND FROM DROWNING AT AN INDOOR POOL. IT WAS HIS BIRTHDAY PARTY AND LIKE, I WAS EXCITED, SO I JUST JUMPED IN THE POOL. I SAW HIM LIKE, DROWNING. LIKE HE WAS LIKE, NOT SWIMMING. SO I HELD A HOLE, LIKE, GET HIM. AND THEN I GOT HIM. WELL, BRAXTON THOUGHT THE WATER WAS SHALLOW ENOUGH WHEN HE JUMPED IN. HIS FRIENDS SAW HIM STRUGGLING AND SWAM RIGHT TO HIM, LIFTING BRAXTON UP AND HOLDING HIM ABOVE THE SURFACE. EVENTUALLY, BOTH BOYS WERE ABLE TO GET OUT SAFELY. I WAS THANKING HIM HOW HE JUST SAVED MY LIFE AND I WAS LIKE, THANK GOD. LIKE GOD SENT HIM TO SAVE ME. FAMILY TO ME, HE’S MY BEST FRIEND AND I JUST LOVE TO BE WI

    News We Love: Indiana boy praised for heroic effort to save friend from drowning at birthday party

    Updated: 6:05 PM PST Dec 20, 2025

    Editorial Standards ⓘ

    A young Indiana boy is being called a hero after saving his friend from drowning at an indoor pool.”It was his birthday party, and like I was excited, so I just jumped in the pool,” Braxton said.His friend Clark jumped into action when he noticed Braxton wasn’t swimming.”I saw him like, drowning, like he was, like, not really swimming. So I had to… to get him, and then I got him,” Clark said.Braxton said he thought the water was shallow enough when he jumped in.After Clark jumped in and pulled Braxton to the surface, the boys were able to get out safely.”I was thanking him how he just saved my life, and I was like, Thank God, like God sent him to save me,” Braxton said. “He’s like family to me. He’s my best friend, and I just love to be with him.”The boys were honored at their school’s character award ceremony.

    A young Indiana boy is being called a hero after saving his friend from drowning at an indoor pool.

    “It was his birthday party, and like I was excited, so I just jumped in the pool,” Braxton said.

    His friend Clark jumped into action when he noticed Braxton wasn’t swimming.

    “I saw him like, drowning, like he was, like, not really swimming. So I had to… to get him, and then I got him,” Clark said.

    Braxton said he thought the water was shallow enough when he jumped in.

    After Clark jumped in and pulled Braxton to the surface, the boys were able to get out safely.

    “I was thanking him how he just saved my life, and I was like, Thank God, like God sent him to save me,” Braxton said. “He’s like family to me. He’s my best friend, and I just love to be with him.”

    The boys were honored at their school’s character award ceremony.

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  • Heavy rain prompts temporary switch to groundwater for Portland’s drinking water – KXL

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    PORTLAND, Ore. — Heavy rain has increased turbidity levels in the Bull Run watershed, prompting the Portland Water Bureau to temporarily stop using Bull Run water and rely entirely on groundwater from the Columbia South Shore Well Field.

    Water bureau officials said the community’s drinking water remains safe and that no action is needed by customers. The groundwater system is meeting all state and federal drinking water standards.

    Turbidity refers to organic material suspended in water, which can increase rapidly during major storm events. When turbidity rises beyond certain thresholds, the bureau shifts away from Bull Run water to ensure continued compliance with drinking water regulations.

    Operations Manager Kimberly Gupta said the transition to 100 percent groundwater went smoothly, crediting long-term investments by ratepayers and the work of Water Bureau staff.

    “Getting water to flow from a faucet seems simple,” Gupta said. “But it takes the hard work of engineers, construction crews, customer service staff, certified operators and more to continually deliver safe water.”

    Interim Water Bureau Director Quisha Light said groundwater plays a key role in preparing for extreme weather.

    “We constantly monitor water quality and plan ahead for the weather’s impact on our water supply,” Light said. “This careful planning ensures we’re ready to meet our region’s water needs now and into the future.”

    The Columbia South Shore Well Field serves as Portland’s secondary drinking water source and can supplement or replace Bull Run water during storms, floods, fires or other emergencies. The well field draws high-quality water from protected aquifers deep underground.

    Depending on location, it can take up to two weeks for groundwater to fully move through the distribution system and replace Bull Run water at household taps. The Water Bureau will continue operating the groundwater system as long as weather conditions and water quality require and will notify customers when the system returns to 100 percent Bull Run water.

    Officials also pointed to the new Bull Run filtration facility, currently under construction, as a future safeguard against storm-related water quality issues. Once complete, the facility will be able to remove sediment, organic material and disease-causing microorganisms, allowing the bureau to continue serving Bull Run water during extreme weather events.

    More information about Portland’s groundwater system is available at portland.gov/groundwater. Customers with questions can contact the Water Quality Line at 503-823-7525.

    More about:

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    Jon Eric Smith

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  • Data centers aren’t new, but seem to pop up everywhere

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    While it may seem like a new buzzword generating debate across the nation, data centers are nothing new.

    The large facilities, some of which can house millions of servers, have been around for decades. Construction is booming across the country, largely due to the growth of artificial intelligence.

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    By Anna Wiest | awiest@dailyitem.com

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  • Stockton diver searches for missing Army specialist swept out to sea near Big Sur

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    DURING THE HOLIDAYS. TONIGHT, THE SEARCH FOR A MAN WHO FELL INTO THE WATER ALONG THE RUGGED BIG SUR COAST HAS BEEN SUSPENDED. BUT A VOLUNTEER DIVER FROM STOCKTON IS REFUSING TO GIVE UP UNTIL HE IS FOUND. HERE’S FELIX CORTEZ. OUR FIRST LOOK AT ARMY SPECIALIST AMON, WHO WAS SWEPT OUT TO SEA SATURDAY AFTERNOON. AT SOME POINT NEAR GARRAPATA STATE PARK. THE 35 YEAR OLD, PICTURED HERE WITH HIS NEPHEW, WAS A STUDENT WHO LEAVES BEHIND A WIFE. THEY ONLY THINK ABOUT GETTING HIM BACK. THEY ALREADY PASSED UP. THE STAGE. THAT OKAY, HE’S DEAD. NO. THEN THAT STAGE THAT I WANT CLOSURE. I WANT MY BROTHER. I WANT MY HUSBAND BACK. THAT’S WHY IT’S. I MEAN, FOR THAT REASON, TO BRING CLOSURE TO THE FAMILY. VOLUNTEER DIVER. ONE HEAD OF THE NONPROFIT ANGELS RECOVERY DIVE TEAM HOPING TO BRING THAT CLOSURE. HE JOINED COUNTY AND STATE DIVE TEAMS AS THEY ENTERED THE WATER FOR ONLY THE SECOND TIME SINCE TINY WAS SWEPT OFF THE ROCKS INTO THE OCEAN. HE WOULD BE RECOVERED. HE WOULD BE, YEAH, THAT’S FOR SURE. I’M GOING TO STAY TOMORROW. I’M GOING TO DIVE AGAIN. AND. AND COMING BACK FRIDAY AGAIN. AND IF THEY HAD TO COME SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, I WILL BE HERE. HE WILL BE FOUND FOR SURE. HEREDIA IS THE SAME DIVER WHO LOCATED THE BODY OF A SEVEN YEAR OLD CANADIAN GIRL WHO WAS SWEPT OUT TO SEA JUST A WEEK EARLIER, NOT FAR FROM WHERE THE ARMY SPECIALIST WENT IN. THE GIRL’S FATHER ALSO DROWNED. AS VACATIONERS COME IN FOR THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND. A WARNING TO BEACHGOERS. RESPECT THE OCEAN. DON’T TURN YOUR BACK ON IT AND OBEY ALL SIGNS AND WARNINGS. EVERYWHERE WE GO, EVERY SIGN THAT SAYS, DON’T GO THERE, YOU DON’T GO THERE. YOU DON’T GO ON THE ROCKS. YOU DON’T GO WHERE THERE’S DANGER BECAUSE THERE’S JUST TOO MUCH RISK. YOU THINK YOU’RE GOING TO BE OKAY? IT LOOKS OKAY. AND THEN THEY GET WET AND YOU FALL. THAT WAS FELIX CORTEZ REPORT

    Stockton diver searches for missing Army specialist swept out to sea near Big Sur

    Updated: 10:45 PM PST Nov 27, 2025

    Editorial Standards ⓘ

    The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office has suspended its search efforts for Army Specialist Amanpreet Thind, who was swept out to sea Saturday afternoon at Soberanes Point near Garrapata State Park, after four days of searching from the air, water, and along the rugged Big Sur coast.Despite the suspension, resources will remain on standby should there be any sign of the missing man. Volunteer diver Juan Heredia, from the non-profit Angels Recovery Dive Team, is determined to continue searching until Thind is found. Thind, a 35-year-old DLI student, leaves behind a wife and was last seen with his nephew. Heredia said, “They only think about getting him back. They already pass that stage that, okay, he’s dead, now they’re in that stage that I want closure, I want my brother, I want my husband back, I’m diving for that reason to bring that closure to the family.”Heredia joined county and state dive teams as they entered the water for only the second time since Thind was swept off rocks into the ocean. “He will be recovered, he will be. Yeah, that’s for sure. I’m going to say tomorrow and dive again, and coming back Friday again. And if I have to come Saturday and Sunday, I will be here. He will be found for sure,” Heredia said.Heredia previously located the body of a 7-year-old Canadian girl who was swept out to sea just a week earlier near the same area. The girl’s father also drowned. As vacationers arrive for the holiday weekend, there is a warning to beachgoers to respect the ocean, not turn their back on it, and obey all signs and warnings. A concerned mother, Connie Riley, advised, “Everywhere we go, every sign that says don’t go there, you don’t go there, you don’t go in the rocks. You don’t go where there’s danger because there’s just too much risk. You think you’re going to be okay. It looks okay. And then they get wet and you fall.”The family of Thind will continue to search from the shore at Garrapata State Park, while Heredia plans to dive as long as water conditions allow.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

    The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office has suspended its search efforts for Army Specialist Amanpreet Thind, who was swept out to sea Saturday afternoon at Soberanes Point near Garrapata State Park, after four days of searching from the air, water, and along the rugged Big Sur coast.

    Despite the suspension, resources will remain on standby should there be any sign of the missing man.

    Volunteer diver Juan Heredia, from the non-profit Angels Recovery Dive Team, is determined to continue searching until Thind is found.

    Thind, a 35-year-old DLI student, leaves behind a wife and was last seen with his nephew.

    Heredia said, “They only think about getting him back. They already pass that stage that, okay, he’s dead, now they’re in that stage that I want closure, I want my brother, I want my husband back, I’m diving for that reason to bring that closure to the family.”

    Heredia joined county and state dive teams as they entered the water for only the second time since Thind was swept off rocks into the ocean.

    “He will be recovered, he will be. Yeah, that’s for sure. I’m going to say tomorrow and dive again, and coming back Friday again. And if I have to come Saturday and Sunday, I will be here. He will be found for sure,” Heredia said.

    Heredia previously located the body of a 7-year-old Canadian girl who was swept out to sea just a week earlier near the same area. The girl’s father also drowned.

    As vacationers arrive for the holiday weekend, there is a warning to beachgoers to respect the ocean, not turn their back on it, and obey all signs and warnings.

    A concerned mother, Connie Riley, advised, “Everywhere we go, every sign that says don’t go there, you don’t go there, you don’t go in the rocks. You don’t go where there’s danger because there’s just too much risk. You think you’re going to be okay. It looks okay. And then they get wet and you fall.”

    The family of Thind will continue to search from the shore at Garrapata State Park, while Heredia plans to dive as long as water conditions allow.

    See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

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  • Violent conflict over water hit a record last year

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    In Algeria, water shortages left faucets dry, prompting protesters to riot and set tires ablaze.

    In Gaza, as people waited for water at a community tap, an Israeli drone fired on them, killing eight.

    In Ukraine, Russian rockets slammed into the country’s largest dam, unleashing a plume of fire over the hydroelectric plant and causing widespread blackouts.

    These are some of the 420 water-related conflicts researchers documented for 2024 in the latest update of the Pacific Institute’s Water Conflict Chronology, a global database of water-related violence.

    The year featured a record number of violent incidents over water around the world, far surpassing the 355 in 2023, continuing a steeply rising trend. The violence more than quadrupled in the last five years.

    The new data from the Oakland-based water think tank show also that drinking water wells, pipes and dams are increasingly coming under attack.

    “In almost every region of the world, there is more and more violence being reported over water,” said Peter Gleick, the Pacific Institute’s co-founder and senior fellow, and it “underscores the urgent need for international attention.”

    The researchers collect information from news reports and other sources and accounts. They classify it into three categories: instances in which water was a trigger of violence, water systems were targeted and water was a “casualty” of violence, for example when shell fragments hit a water tank.

    Not every case involves injuries or deaths but many do.

    The region with the most violent incidents was the Middle East, with 138 reported. That included 66 in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, both in Gaza and the West Bank.

    In the West Bank there were numerous reports of Israeli settlers destroying water pipelines and tanks and attacking Palestinian farmers.

    In Gaza the Israeli military destroyed more than 30 wells in the southern towns of Rafah and Khan Younis.

    Gleick noted that when the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders last year, accusing them of crimes against humanity, the charges mentioned Israeli military attacks on Gaza water systems.

    “It is an acknowledgment that these attacks are violations of international law,” he said. “There ought to be more enforcement of international laws protecting water systems from attacks.”

    Water systems also were targeted frequently in the Russia-Ukraine war, in which the researchers tallied 51 violent incidents.

    People fill water in bottles.

    Residents collect water in bottles in Pokrovsk, Ukraine, where repeated Russian shelling has left civilians without functioning infrastructure.

    (George Ivanchenko / Associated Press)

    Russian strikes disrupted water service in Ukrainian cities, and oil spilled into a river after Russian forces attacked an oil depot.

    “These aren’t water wars. These are wars in which water is being used as a weapon or is a casualty of the conflict,” Gleick said.

    The researchers also found water scarcity and drought are prompting a growing number of violent conflicts.

    “Climate change is making those problems worse,” Gleick said.

    Many conflicts were in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

    In India, residents angry about water shortages assaulted a city worker.

    In India, a woman carries a container of drinking water filled from leaking water pipes.

    In Jammu, India, a woman carries a container of drinking water filled from leaking water pipes in March.

    (Channi Anand / Associated Press)

    In Cameroon, rice farmers clashed with fishers, leaving one dead and three injured.

    At a refugee camp in Kenya, three people died in a fight over drinking water.

    There’s an increase in conflicts over irrigation, disputes pitting farmers against cities, and violence arising in places where only some water is safe to drink.

    A man carries jugs to fetch water from a hole in the sandy riverbed.

    A man carries jugs to fetch water from a hole in the sandy riverbed in Makueni County, Kenya in February 2024.

    (Brian Inganga / Associated Press)

    Gleick, who has been studying water-related violence for more than three decades, said the purpose of the list is to raise awareness and encourage policymakers to act to reduce fighting, bloodshed and turmoil.

    The United Nations, in its Sustainable Development Goals, says every person should have access to water and sanitation.

    “The failure to do that is inexcusable and it contributes to a lot of misery,” Gleick said. “It contributes to ill health, cholera, dysentery, typhoid, water-related diseases, and it contributes to conflicts over water.”

    In Latin America, there were dozens of violent incidents involving water last year.

    In the Mexican state of Veracruz, protesters were blocking a road to denounce a pork processing plant, which they accused of using too much water and spewing pollution, when police opened fire, killing two men.

    In Honduras, environmental activist Juan López, who had spoken up to protect rivers from mining, was gunned down as he left church. He was the fourth member of his group to be murdered.

    A man fills containers with water due to the shortage caused by high temperatures.

    A man fills containers with water because of a shortage caused by high temperatures and drought in Veracruz, Mexico in June 2024.

    (Felix Marquez / Associated Press)

    “There needs to be more attention on this issue, especially at the international level, but at the national level as well,” said Morgan Shimabuku, a senior researcher with the Pacific Institute. “It is getting worse, and we need to turn that tide.”

    For 2024, there were few events in the U.S., but among them were cyberattacks on water utilities in Texas and Indiana.

    In one, Russian hackers claimed responsibility for tampering with an Indiana wastewater treatment plant. Authorities said the attack caused minimal disruption. In another, a pro-Russian hacktivist group manipulated systems at water facilities in small Texas towns, causing water to overflow.

    The Pacific Institute’s database now lists more than 2,750 conflicts. Most have occurred since 2000. The researchers are adding incidents from 2025 as well as previous years.

    During extreme drought in Iran worsened by climate change, farmers were desperate enough to go up against security forces, demanding access to river water. Iran’s water crisis, compounded by decades of excessive groundwater pumping, has grown so severe that the president said Tehran no longer can remain the capital and the government will have to move it to another city.

    Tensions also have been growing between Iran and Afghanistan over the Helmand River, with Iranian leaders accusing their upstream neighbor of not letting enough water flow into the country.

    Gleick said if the drought persists and the Iranian government doesn’t improve how it manages water, “I would expect to see more violence.”

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    Ian James

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