The drought monitor was updated with the start of February, and more than 97% of Virginia is abnormally dry, and almost half of the commonwealth is in a moderate drought. Most of our area is still in a moderate drought, and some parts of the state are even in a severe drought. We received just over half of the rainfall we normally receive in the month of January, and after starting the year with drought conditions carried over from 2017, we could be facing a serious drought this spring and summer. John Miller, with the Virginia Department of Forestry, said a drought like this is unusual in Virginia, especially because we normally recharge our ground water in the…

A public interest law firm and a group of citizens on Thursday asked Cathy Stepp, regional administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to step aside from any involvement in the federal agency’s ongoing review of Wisconsin’s water pollution program. Stepp, a Republican, oversaw all environmental regulations in Wisconsin, including water issues, as secretary of the Department of Natural Resources from 2011 until August of last year. She was appointed to the post by Gov. Scott Walker. The EPA has been monitoring the state’s water program for years. In July 2011, the federal agency cited 75 shortcomings, or deficiencies, and ordered the DNR to fix the problems within two years. Some matters date back to before the start of the Walker administration. The deficiencies largely involve technical issues designed to assure Wisconsin is properly enforcing water regulations. The issues range from allowable limits for pollutants and management of storm water to an examination of whether the DNR has adequate state authority to carry out its work. Frustrated by the pace of the state’s response, Midwest Environmental Advocates and a group of 16 citizens asked the EPA in October 2015 to conduct a formal review of the DNR’s water pollution program. The groups filed what is known as a petition for corrective action that could strip the DNR of its oversight of state water programs, if the EPA concluded that the state’s efforts were falling short. In October 2016, EPA personnel inspected DNR records at its headquarters in Madison as part…

Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan is demanding answers from state bureaucrats who failed to test new schools for lead contamination, forcing hundreds of Perth students to drink bottled water yesterday. Two schools, Doubleview Primary School and Southern Grove Primary School, have now been cleared. But Rapids Landing Primary School, Aveley North Primary School and Aveley Secondary College students are still banned from drinking from the taps at their schools. Mr McGowan is blaming public servants, who did…

EVERYONE who lives in Cape Town is dreading April 12, dubbed Day Zero. Unless things change quickly – and drastically – it’s the day when taps in the South African city will be turned off, and Cape Town will be officially out of water. Reuters Cape Fear The ongoing water crisis in South Africa has got worse since December, the start of the Cape’s scorching summer, and the situation is now so bad that Cape Town could become the world’s first major city to drain its water reserves completely. Terrifying stats on the City of Cape Town website chart the city’s dwindling water supplies week-by-week, with Day Zero looming as reservoirs trickle down below 28 per cent capacity. All the water conservation targets have been missed, and almost every project to secure alternate water sources is languishing behind schedule. Rain is the city’s only hope. Alamy In a city with a reputation for crime, and a heavy reliance on tourism, the droughts could spell disaster – especially as more foreign visitors cancel their holidays. Local water wars are a distinct possibility, and city officials have shared fears that an end to flushing toilets could spark outbreaks of preventable diseases like typhoid. The droughts are partly down to an explosion in Cape Town’s population, with a 79 per cent increase in people since 1995 met by a mere 15 per cent increase in water storage capacity. But researchers agree that changing global temperatures also play a role in explaining why the reservoirs are running dry – and why more cities could follow Cape Town into such dangerous territory. Heather Cooley, from the Pacific Institute, a research charity looking at water shortages, told Sun Online: “All regions are vulnerable to drought, though the frequency, intensity, and duration of the drought can vary. “For many areas, droughts are becoming more common and more severe due to climate change.” AFP or licensors Water Wars Without water to cool people off, temperatures can flare up during prolonged dry periods. In drought-prone India, for example, water shortages have led to the emergence of a black-market “water…