#water-pollution

#water-pollution

According to a Sept. 8 paper published in the proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, an iconic Arctic watershed in Alaska's Brooks Range has recently turned a dark, murky orange color, alarming scientists throughout California and Alaska. "This is what acid mine drainage looks like," Tim Lyons, a biogeochemist at UC Riverside, told the university in a September 2025 article. "But here, there's no mine. The permafrost is thawing and changing the chemistry of the landscape." According to the research paper, authors believe that permafrost - soil, rock or sediment that's been frozen for at least two years - is thawing, exposing sulfide minerals and delivering iron and other potentially toxic metals to the remote Alaskan wilderness.

All 25,000 of these outflows are causing toxic pollution every time it rains. While sewage pollution attracts all the attention and coverage with 56bn earmarked to address it, just a few million is invested into addressing pollution from these 25,000 road outfalls. This pollution contains microplastics, hydrocarbons, toxic metals and chemicals. It is carcinogenic, it gets into the water system but no one is measuring these harms. No one is interested.

The Big Windermere Survey saw 350 volunteers collect more than 1,000 water samples from over 100 locations, many previously untested, across ten sessions spanning two and a half years.

"Even as Massachusetts residents are back to enjoying the fresh sea breeze and splash of waves at the beach, pollution is still plaguing too many of the places where we swim. Now is the time to fix our water infrastructure and stop the flow of nasty bacteria and pollution to our beaches," said John Rumpler, clean water director for Environment Massachusetts.

The environment secretary has pledged to halve the number of sewage discharges by 2030, marking the first clear target set by ministers on this issue due to public outcry over pollution incidents.

Tesla has not yet paid a $750 fine for spilling 916 gallons of a dyed water solution into Matadero Creek eight months ago. Stanford officials asked the city to remove Stanford from Tesla's citation, but the request was denied because Stanford owns the property.

Jon Cunliffe’s report could lead to tightened regulations and modernization of Britain's water industry, targeting years of illegal polluting that has harmed waterways.

Beverly Morris fears drinking water from her well due to sediment buildup she attributes to the nearby AI data center. "I'm afraid to drink the water, but I still cook with it, and brush my teeth with it," she expressed.

The UK's hottest and driest spring on record has caused an increased risk to fish and wildlife as it has led to record levels of water pollution in rivers.

This low-tech system, built less than 10 years ago, is transforming life along the water. Fish and sensitive species like salamanders and frogs are returning to Deckers Creek.