USDA pause on manure-to-gas loans extended through the year Originally published by The New Lede The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) extended its moratorium on loans for anaerobic digesters — many of which are issued for large-scale farms that turn animal waste into gas — through the end of 2026 due to “persistent and escalating concerns.” The directive this week extended an earlier pause announced in January that halted federal loan guarantees for new anaerobic digester projects due to high loan delinquency and project failures.

The USDA just extended its pause on manure digester loan guarantees through 2026. Environmental groups are cheering. The biogas industry says 4 troubled projects don't define the whole sector. Who's right?

#USDA #AnaerobicDigesters #WaterNews #USDALoans #CAFOs

Mega manure digester project in Washington state meets community resistance Originally published by The New Lede A proposal to build a mega-manure digester in a small Washington state community is sparking uproar among citizens who say the project to convert waste from dairy cows into fuel will add to the region’s already significant pollution problems. At issue is a proposed manure digester project called Sunnyside RNG, LLC, that would be one of the largest in the US.

A proposed mega-manure digester in Sunnyside, WA — 83% Hispanic, 18% in poverty — is drawing fierce pushback over air pollution fears. Critics say the permit relies on outdated data. The community isn't backing down.

#Agriculture #Washington #ManureDigester #WaterNews #Pollution #ManureEmissions

Effort to rebuild UK Regulation 31 testing market aims to unblock water innovation - Water Magazine New industry-backed initiative seeks to address a growing bottleneck in the UK water sector: the limited capacity for Regulation 31 testing.

Effort to rebuild UK Regulation 31 testing market aims to unblock water innovation...

www.watermagazine.co.uk/2026/04/08/e...

#WaterNews #Regulation31 #WaterInnovation

Ofwat warns water companies over executive pay and governance - Water Magazine Ofwat writes to water companies reinforcing expectations that executive pay must be firmly aligned with company performance and customer outcomes.

Ofwat warns water companies over executive pay and governance...

www.watermagazine.co.uk/2026/04/08/o...

#WaterSector #WaterIndustry #Ofwat #WaterNews #Ofwat

Executive Order Puts Oldest Polluting Coal Plants Back in Action Until May 2025, utility executives like those at Consumers Energy in Michigan operated in the world of orderly oversight of electricity generation. In coordination with MISO, the regional transmission agency, and the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC), Consumers Energy decided when to build new power plants to meet energy demand. When plants grew old and too costly to operate, as happened with the coal-fired J.H.

The Trump administration ordered Michigan to keep a 63-year-old coal plant running — costing ratepayers $615K a day. It's the first time the feds have ever done this unprompted.

#CoalPlants #WaterandEnergy #Trump #EmergencyOrder #Michigan #Pollution #ConsumersEnergy #Environment #WaterNews

New rules on water company executives’ integrity and consumer involvement come into force - Water Magazine New rules which come into force from 1 April 2026 require new water company executives to pass a fit and proper person test.

New rules on water company executives’ integrity and consumer involvement come into force today...

www.watermagazine.co.uk/2026/04/01/n...

#WaterNews #Ofwat

Federal Water Tap Weekly water news in the United States

EPA asks for public comment on water utility financial assessments.
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Federal Water Tap Weekly water news in the United States

EPA’s internal watchdog assesses wildfire and inland flood risk for federal Superfund sites.
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‘We’re harvesting the sun’: A huge solar project grows in California By Jeff St. John; Originally published by Canary Media Photography by Adam Perez Harris Ranch Resort isn’t close to much. Residents of California’s major cities know it mainly as a rest stop about halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco on Interstate 5’s long run through the San Joaquin Valley. The sprawling stucco building has a Western-themed gift shop and a couple of good restaurants where travelers can enjoy regional specialties like tri-tip tacos and almond-smoked prime rib — perhaps while they charge their EV at one of the Tesla stations outside.

California's biggest water district is turning fallowed farmland into the world's largest solar project. 21 gigawatts. 136,000 acres. One last bet to save the San Joaquin Valley.

#California #SolarEnergy #WetlandsWaterDistrictSolar #WaterNews #Environment #ValleyCleanInfrastructurePlan #Water

Federal Water Tap Weekly water news in the United States

Water bills introduced or passed in Congress include data center water use, non-flushable wipes, and a Glen Canyon Dam modification.
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Federal Water Tap Weekly water news in the United States

An Interior Department watchdog’s audit finds that three of four federally-funded projects to place solar panels above irrigation canals are not proceeding due to the administration’s priorities.
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Federal Water Tap Weekly water news in the United States

EPA loan program will support a project to bring Lake Michigan water to Illinois communities with unsustainable groundwater use.
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Federal Water Tap Weekly water news in the United States

GAO testifies on ways to reduce federal exposure to the financial risk of flooding.
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Federal Water Tap Weekly water news in the United States

Without saying climate change, the USFS revises the definition of a ski area that operates on federal lands to allow for more non-ski activities.
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Federal Water Tap Weekly water news in the United States

EPA’s new biofuels mandate, the highest yet, is likely to put more pressure on soil and waters.
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The Stream Daily water news across the globe

An airborne snow survey found that a basin in Arizona lost 90 percent of its snowpack in the three weeks ending on March 12.
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The Stream Daily water news across the globe

Airborne snow survey finds that a basin in Arizona lost 90 percent of its snowpack in three weeks between February and March, reflecting terrible snow conditions across the American West. www.circleofblue.org/stream/
#WaterNews #GlobalWaterNews #EnvironmentalNews

The Stream Daily water news across the globe

New research identifies patterns of household water insecurity in the Americas, where Peru, Honduras, and Venezuela rank as most water insecure.
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The Stream Daily water news across the globe

Kuwait electricity and water ministry reports damage to a service building at a power and desalination facility from an Iranian airstrike.
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The Stream Daily water news across the globe

UN food agency warns of a ‘systematic shock’ to global food production from the U.S. war against Iran.
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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

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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

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

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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.

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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.

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Federal Water Tap Weekly water news in the United States

A House committee advances its version of the farm bill.

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