Water & Oceans

"Michigan's government on Monday released goals to help the city of Flint recover from a health crisis caused by the lead contamination of its drinking water."

"The Panama Canal will next month impose new draft restrictions on ships due to falling water levels at nearby lakes that form part of the waterway, the authority that administers the canal said in a statement on Monday."

"Three out of four jobs globally are dependent on water – which means shortages and limited access may limit economic growth in the future."

"The Obama administration is sounding alarms over potential dangers in the water supplies on the nation’s Indian reservations, saying the vast majority of tribal members live on reservations that haven’t adopted federally approved standards."

"Federal officials are proposing to give Nestle a new five-year permit to bottle water on federal land in drought-ridden California."

"Heavy winter rains have left the Missouri and Mississippi River basins, from Iowa to Louisiana, at an elevated risk of moderate flooding through June, U.S. government forecasters said on Thursday."

"With Lake Okeechobee continuing to drop, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers announced on Thursday that it would further reduce harmful water releases to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers."

"More than 36 million people face hunger across southern and eastern Africa, the United Nations has warned, as swaths of the continent grapple with the worst drought in decades at a time of record high temperatures."

"While a harsh national spotlight focuses on the drinking water crisis in Flint, Mich., a USA TODAY NETWORK investigation has identified almost 2,000 additional water systems spanning all 50 states where testing has shown excessive levels of lead contamination over the past four years."

"Researchers have created the first reliable population estimates for the now-rare New Zealand southern right whale."