Water & Oceans

"When Jeremy Boutor moved to a master-planned community in Houston’s booming energy corridor, he saw it as idyllic. ... Then, Hurricane Harvey changed everything. As the downpours began and Boutor studied maps flashing on his TV screen, he realized that his home wasn’t at risk of flooding just because of record rainfall; it was also located inside one of two massive reservoirs that had been built west of Houston decades ago to protect the city."

"The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is proposing to add more lakes and streams to the state's list of impaired waters."

"In an order issued Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would hear arguments in the long-running “tri-state water wars” case involving Florida and Georgia -- a case that has already run up astronomical legal bills for both states."

"The Supreme Court this week will wade into a legal dispute that could have big consequences for the Trump administration as it attempts to repeal and replace the Obama-era Clean Water Rule."

"Raleigh, N.C. — Maps released by Duke Energy late last week reveal for the first time that nearly 300 individual structures – homes, businesses and town infrastructure – could be in danger of flooding as a result of dam failures at the energy firm's coal ash pits scattered across the state."

"For ten days across recent summers, researchers aboard the University of Delaware research vessel Hugh R. Sharp collected water samples from the mouth of the Susquehanna River to Solomons Island in a first-of-its-kind investigation. They wanted to know when and where the waters of the Chesapeake Bay were turning most acidic."

"When Marla Waseka converted the gracious Franciscan nunnery northwest of St. Cloud to a boutique lakeside resort and retreat in 2008, the nitrate levels in her well were low. A few years later they were so high she had to warn her guests not to drink the water. And when authorities warned they’d shut her down if it weren’t fixed, she spent $12,000 to drill a deeper well for clean water."

"The Trump administration has a new plan for the Portland Harbor Superfund site that Oregon officials say could reverse progress toward cleaning up toxic pollution in the Willamette River."

"Rainfall from Hurricane Irma has pushed the water level in Lake Okeechobee to its highest point since 2005. Now, with more wet weather in the forecast, nearby residents fear a collapse of the 80-year-old dike around the lake."