Alex Milan Tracy for Underscore
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The dozens of independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan news organizations that make up the Rural News Network are developing the broadest news alliance reporting on rural America. These newsrooms are pursuing coverage that provides a more complete picture of what it means to live and work in these communities.
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LATEST NEWS FROM THE NETWORK
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Rivers are the West’s largest source of clean energy. What happens when drought strikes?
April 26, 2024
With rivers across the West running low, utilities must get creative if they are to meet demand without increasing emissions.
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Feds reject plan to pump Moneta oilfield waste into potential drinking water
April 24, 2024
Federal environmental officials have rejected a request by Aethon Energy to pump Moneta Divide oilfield wastewater into the Madison aquifer, saying the deep reservoir could be used for drinking water, especially by tribal nations on the Wind River Indian Reservation.
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California farmers depleted groundwater in this county. Now a state crackdown could rein them in
April 16, 2024
Kings County agencies and growers may face probation and millions of dollars in fines — which could be the first step toward the state wresting control of groundwater.
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State officials to test local drinking water for fracking waste contamination
April 09, 2024
About 50 people attended a March 27 town hall in Coolville to hear updates on the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ water testing plan and related issues.
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Can a Groundwater Recharge Program Save Teton Valley’s Farmers?
April 08, 2024
In Teton Valley, Idaho, where water is as precious as its native trout, irrigators and environmental groups have teamed up to recharge the area’s diminishing aquifer. In the process, they want to do something novel: find someone to pay farmers for the effort.
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Is water from the Buchtel spring safe to drink?
March 14, 2024
Village residents swear by the spring’s quality, preferring it to public water. Scientists and public health officials say it’s a risk.
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Big Companies Cashed In on Mississippi’s Water. Small Towns Paid the Price.
February 05, 2024
They vowed to fix water woes and save cities millions. But a Times investigation found the deals racked up debt and left many worse off than before.
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Lithium mining’s untold threat to water
February 02, 2024
The coming electric battery revolution in America will require billions upon billions of gallons of water to mine lithium – and many of the new U.S. mines will be located in the drought-prone American West, an investigative report has found.
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Nevada Supreme Court issues major water ruling
January 26, 2024
With significant implications for the management of groundwater in Nevada, the Supreme Court had ruled that the state has broad authority over such management.
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Some Vermont schools have been without potable tap water for years
January 07, 2024
Multiple Vermont schools serving hundreds of students use bottled water after detecting toxic PFAS chemicals in their water system. For some, including many in rural areas, the temporary solution has become the new normal.
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Millions of rural Americans rely on private wells. Few regularly test their water.
October 29, 2023
The practice is common despite concern about runoff from farms and industrial sites, plus cancer-causing minerals that can taint groundwater.
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‘Scoping’ results show new Colorado River rules will face a range of demands
October 24, 2023
A new federal government report shows Colorado River states are aiming to agree on a plan to cut back on water, but remain divided about how to share the shrinking supply among tens of millions across the Southwest.
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States opposed tribes’ access to the Colorado River 70 years ago. History is repeating itself.
October 17, 2023
Records shed new light on states’ vocal opposition in the 1950s to tribes claiming their share of the river.
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‘Blessed to have water’: Hualapai Tribe praises historic water rights settlement
October 02, 2023
After more than a decade of negotiations, the Hualapai Tribe settled with the federal government and the state of Arizona to provide water to the tribal residents, and establish a trust fund of $312 million that can be used to develop water infrastructure on the Hualapai Nation.
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Is groundwater trading the future of California water?
September 25, 2023
With risks to small farmers, new groundwater markets could make almond, pistachios investments more secure through drought.
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