Reading Deeper

Demand and drought strain water supplies.

Maybe I’m more in tune with the water and wastewater industry than I used to be, or more likely Google is just feeding me more of what I read, but I don’t ever remember the volume of water-related headlines I see now.

Many are bleak. Some tie to climate change. Others reference novel solutions or heroic responses to disasters. But overall, they very clearly give the impression of impending doom.

These are all headlines that came across my screen in a single day:

• Lake Mead Water Levels Hit Historic Low

  Beyond Boundaries: Earth’s Water Cycle Is Being Bent to Breaking Point

• Deer in Texas Are Struggling to Grow Antlers as Drought Grips State

  An Idea for Solving West’s Drought: Let’s Divert Mississippi River Water to The Colorado

• How Climate Change Is Disrupting California’s Central Valley Crops

• Why Can’t We Drink Saltwater?

• World Faces ‘Ocean Emergency’, UN Warns, as Activists Urge Action

  John Oliver Calls Out Developer’s ‘Monumentally Stupid’ Reaction to Drought

  Hikers Describe Firsthand Experience Watching Trucks Float Down Capitol Reef Flood Waters

  What Our Planet Will Look Like in 2050 If Climate Change Isn’t Stopped

  Yellowstone’s Innovative Flood Response Offers a Lesson for All National Parks

• Shocking Images of The World’s Most Extreme Weather

  Climate Change Driving Multiple Extreme Weather Events Happening at Once

• How Climate Change Is Driving Extreme Weather in 2022

There’s no doubt drought and water supply issues are dominating the headlines. Depending on where you live they might be dominating your daily lives, too, or at least work lives. There are some serious problems hanging out in front of us. But there’s also some impressive work being done to keep communities safe and resilient.

The headline you don’t see on that list is the one about the North Texas Municipal Water District. You’ll have to turn a little farther into the magazine for that. North Texas just wrapped up one of the largest environmental restoration projects of its kind in the U.S. The Bois d’Arc Lake project included the first major reservoir built in Texas in 30 years, along with 6.3 million new trees, thousands of acres of enhanced wetlands and grasslands, and 7 miles of improved streams. The result is a stronger environment and greater resilience.

That’s a story that should be getting headlines beyond these pages.

I hope you find some inspiration in the story. Enjoy this month’s issue. 



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