Consumers seeks to delay millions in flood control upgrades as it pursues dam sales Consumers Energy is looking to delay hundreds of millions of dollars in planned safety upgrades at the largest dam in Michigan while it seeks approval of a hotly-debated plan to sell the facility and 12 others. In a filing March 16, the company asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for permission to put off a long-planned $350 million replacement of the spillway at Hardy Dam on the Muskegon River.

A 95-year-old Michigan dam needs a $350M safety upgrade — but the utility wants to delay it while selling to private equity. Tens of thousands live in the flood zone. Who's responsible if something goes wrong?

#ConsumersEnergy #WaterNews #GreatLakes #WaterandEnergy #Dams #HardyDam #Flooding

Could Iran Disrupt the Gulf Countries’ Desalinated Water Supplies? Commentary by David Michel; Originally published by CSIS Published March 19, 2026 The economies of the Persian Gulf countries depend on oil and natural gas. Their populations depend on desalinated water. Nature endows the Arabian Peninsula with scant freshwater resources. Consequently, all of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations lining the Gulf’s southern shores critically rely on desalination plants drawing seawater from the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea.

The Gulf's water supply runs on desalination — and it's now a war target. As conflict with Iran escalates, missile strikes near critical plants raise a stark question: what happens when the taps run dry?

#Iran #DesalinationPlants #GulfCountries #WaterNews #Environment #WarOnIran

Circle of Blue Newsletters Subscribe to the Water newsletter for insights on trends and policies affecting water resources in the U.S.

World Water Day is one day. Our coverage runs every day. Subscribe to The Stream and the Federal Water Tap delivered straight to your inbox, twice a week.
buff.ly/wq6quU0
#WhereWaterFlows #WaterAndGender #WorldWaterDay #WaterJournalism #WaterNews #ColoradoRiver #Line5 #GreatLakes #WaterIsARight

For all the big news stories affecting the water and wastewater industry in the UK and Ireland this week, head on over to www.watermagazine.co.uk

#WaterNews #WaterIndustryNews

The latest issue of #WaterNews is out 💧
Explore leading-edge research, recent publications and collaborative activities from across The Water Institute.

mailchi.mp/uwaterloo/wa...

From Pre-Civil War to Present, U.S. Drinking Water Pipes Show a Range of Ages The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimated in 2023 that the nation’s water utilities need to spend $625 billion on infrastructure over the next 20 years. Two-thirds of that total is for water transmission and distribution – the pipes, in other words. Water mains are a city’s hidden circulatory system. In large metro areas they snake for thousands of miles beneath streets and across neighborhoods.

America’s drinking water pipes tell a story of aging infrastructure—some even predate the Civil War. Replacing them is now the biggest cost facing utilities, with up to $625 billion needed over the next 20 years. What’s at stake beneath our streets?

#WaterInfrastructure #WaterNews #DrinkingWater

Enbridge paid police to protect one pipeline. Now it wants to do it again in Wisconsin. Alleen Brown, Grist This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist's weekly newsletter here. The Canadian oil pipeline giant Enbridge will pay Wisconsin law enforcement for riot suits, training, and hours spent policing protests, according to an agreement approved by two counties last week. The secretive arrangement offers an uncapped funding source to local sheriffs as the company prepares for disruptive, Indigenous-led resistance to the controversial Line 5 reroute.

Enbridge will pay Wisconsin counties for policing Line 5 pipeline protests—raising concerns about taxpayer safety, Indigenous rights, and private influence over public law enforcement.

#Enbridge #Line5 #PipelineProtests #IndigenousRights #WaterProtection #WaterNews #Wisconsin #EnbridgePipeline

Federal Water Tap Weekly water news in the United States

A State Department official says the administration is focusing on its backyard.

Want to gain access to the latest water policy news? Sign up for the Federal Water Tap today: www.circleofblue.org/water-tap/
#WaterNews #WaterPolicy #EnvironmentalNews

Federal Water Tap Weekly water news in the United States

A Senate committee will hold a hearing this week on tribal water rights settlements in northeastern Arizona.

Want to gain access to the latest water policy news? Sign up for the Federal Water Tap today: www.circleofblue.org/water-tap/
#WaterNews #WaterPolicy #EnvironmentalNews

Federal Water Tap Weekly water news in the United States

A House committee advances its version of the farm bill.

Want to gain access to the latest water policy news? Sign up for the Federal Water Tap today: www.circleofblue.org/water-tap/
#WaterNews #WaterPolicy #EnvironmentalNews

Federal Water Tap Weekly water news in the United States

EPA sets out eight priorities for technical assistance to poor and rural water systems.

Want to gain access to the latest water policy news? Sign up for the Federal Water Tap today: www.circleofblue.org/water-tap/
#WaterNews #WaterPolicy #EnvironmentalNews

Federal Water Tap Weekly water news in the United States

USFS publishes a final environmental impact statement for South32’s Hermosa project, a proposed manganese and zinc mine in southern Arizona.
Want to gain access to the latest water policy news? Sign up for the Federal Water Tap today: buff.ly/LBih4w0
#WaterNews #WaterPolicy #EnvironmentalNews

Federal Water Tap Weekly water news in the United States

BLM publishes a final environmental impact statement and authorizes rights of way for the Pine Valley project, a proposed groundwater pumping and pipeline scheme in southwestern Utah.

buff.ly/LBih4w0
#WaterNews #WaterPolicy #EnvironmentalNews

Federal Water Tap Weekly water news in the United States

NOAA forecasts that runoff into Lake Powell this summer will be fifth-lowest on record.
Want to gain access to the latest water policy news? Sign up for the Federal Water Tap today: www.circleofblue.org/water-tap/
#WaterNews #WaterPolicy #EnvironmentalNews

The Stream Daily water news across the globe

A new study suggests that “compound extreme” weather events in which severe heat waves precede droughts are becoming increasingly common across the globe.

The Stream newsletter gives you access to the latest global water news: buff.ly/PihrHYf
#WaterNews #GlobalWaterNews #EnvironmentalNews

The Stream Daily water news across the globe

North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality has rejected a federal project to widen Cape Fear amid concerns that the effort will worsen PFAS contamination.
The Stream newsletter gives you access to the latest global water news: buff.ly/PihrHYf
#WaterNews #GlobalWaterNews #Environment

The Stream Daily water news across the globe

Dozens of people have died in floodwaters in Nairobi, Kenya, after more than four inches of rain fell on the capital in just 24 hours.
The Stream newsletter gives you access to the latest global water news: www.circleofblue.org/stream/
#WaterNews #GlobalWaterNews #EnvironmentalNews

The Stream Daily water news across the globe

Facilities that turn seawater into drinking water were bombed over the weekend in Bahrain and Iran as the conflict in the Middle East escalates to include public utilities.
www.circleofblue.org/stream/
#WaterNews #GlobalWaterNews #EnvironmentalNews

Consumers Warns Michigan: Dams Could be Torn Down Unless Utility Sells Them This story is part of a Great Lakes News Collaborative series called Shockwave: Rising energy demand and the future of the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes region is in the midst of a seismic energy shakeup, from skyrocketing data center demand and a nuclear energy boom, to expanding renewables and electrification. In 2026, the Great Lakes News Collaborative will explore how shifting supply and demand affect the region and its waters.

Consumers Energy is giving regulators an ultimatum: approve its plan to sell 13 hydropower dams to a private equity firm or face their decommissioning. State officials warn the deal could leave ratepayers exposed and Michigan rivers at risk.

#WaterNews #GreatLakes #ConsumersEnergy #HydropowerDam

Federal Water Tap Weekly water news in the United States

Bureau of Reclamation officials outline options for propping up a shrinking Lake Powell.
Want to gain access to the latest water policy news? Sign up for the Federal Water Tap today: www.circleofblue.org/water-tap/
#WaterNews #WaterPolicy #EnvironmentalNews

Federal Water Tap Weekly water news in the United States

House Democrats from the D.C. region ask Congress to fund the repair of a major sewer pipe break.
Want to gain access to the latest water policy news? Sign up for the Federal Water Tap today: www.circleofblue.org/water-tap/
#WaterNews #WaterPolicy #EnvironmentalNews

Federal Water Tap Weekly water news in the United States

Army Corps directive aims to speed up infrastructure work, prioritize projects.
Want to gain access to the latest water policy news? Sign up for the Federal Water Tap today: www.circleofblue.org/water-tap/
#WaterNews #WaterPolicy #EnvironmentalNews

Federal Water Tap Weekly water news in the United States

EPA staff decreased 7 percent in the nine months through June 2025, GAO found.
Want to gain access to the latest water policy news? Sign up for the Federal Water Tap today: www.circleofblue.org/water-tap/
#WaterNews #WaterPolicy #EnvironmentalNews

Federal Water Tap Weekly water news in the United States

Senate passes a bill to allow southern Nevada’s water authority to build a water-supply pipeline beneath a national conservation area.
Want to gain access to the latest water policy news? Sign up for the Federal Water Tap today: buff.ly/CzoFuoi
#WaterNews #WaterPolicy #EnvironmentalNews

Federal Water Tap Weekly water news in the United States

GAO says NOAA, which has oversight authority, should do a better job of tracking cloud seeding and other weather modification.
Want to gain access to the latest water policy news? Sign up for the Federal Water Tap today: www.circleofblue.org/water-tap/
#WaterNews #WaterPolicy #EnvironmentalNews

Federal Water Tap Weekly water news in the United States

Interior Department overhauls its environmental review procedures.
Want to gain access to the latest water policy news? Sign up for the Federal Water Tap today: www.circleofblue.org/water-tap/
#WaterNews #WaterPolicy #EnvironmentalNews

Syria’s Environmental Woes Fueled Its Long Conflict. Left Unaddressed, They Will Do So Again. By Peter Schwartzstein Originally published by the New Security Beat; February 23, 2026 I recently returned to Syria for my first peacetime visit. Unsurprisingly, the country is an awful mess. The destruction is somehow slightly more conspicuous than it seemed through a number of trips between 2014 and 2022. People’s exhaustion is palpable, and the economic situation is every bit as bad for many now as it was during the war.

After years of war, Syria’s landscape is in collapse. From vanishing forests and polluted rivers to water shortages fueling new tensions, environmental recovery is now central to peace, stability, and rebuilding the country’s future.

#Syria #EnvironmentalConflict #WaterNews

Fresh Discover important Great Lakes environmental news and policies. Subscribe to Fresh for weekly updates delivered straight to your inbox.

A new study of H2Ohio, the state’s comprehensive plan to improve water quality and mitigate pollution, suggests that its wetland restoration and fertilizer management programs have brought serious economic benefits to the Buckeye state.
buff.ly/EAGAZUd
#GreatLakes #Environment #WaterNews

Fresh Discover important Great Lakes environmental news and policies. Subscribe to Fresh for weekly updates delivered straight to your inbox.

Earlier this month, a judge ruled in favor of a planned $450 million reroute of Enbridge’s Line 5 oil and natural gas liquids pipeline.
Want access to the latest Great Lakes news? Sign up for Fresh today: buff.ly/EAGAZUd
#GreatLakes #Environment #WaterNews #Freshwater #EnvironmentalNews #News

Fresh Discover important Great Lakes environmental news and policies. Subscribe to Fresh for weekly updates delivered straight to your inbox.

A bill introduced in the Michigan House proposes to change the state’s definition of “wetland,” which its authors say has become “confusing, inconsistent, and overly burdensome” for both residents and developers.
Sign up for Fresh today: buff.ly/EAGAZUd
#GreatLakes #Environment #WaterNews