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Saving a city millions of gallons of water – one tap at a time

Jennifer Kishan

March 19, 2020 |

The Guardian |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: India, Kolkata

As part of the Fix for Life campaign, members of Active Citizens Together for Sustainability (ACTS) have been working with plumbers to install taps on the free water pipes across Kolkata. Without taps, a significant amount of water goes to waste, and this is the problem that ACTS is trying to fix. The group, informed by locals who submit locations of pipes that need attention, are on their way to their goal of fixing 1,500 pipes.

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The Dutch are giving rising rivers more room. Should we follow suit?

Tristan Baurick

March 09, 2020 |

The Times-Picayune |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Netherlands, Noordwaard

The Dutch government bought out and relocated 200 households in high-risk areas as a way to create more space for rising water levels instead of building bigger levees. The program is called Room for the River, and more than 60,000 people now have much lower flood risk. The program also built new roads, bridges, and pumping stations, one of which doubles as a wildlife-watching tower. This, along with the green spaces, bike paths, and plazas, is credited for building public approval for the project.

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The Beautiful Place that Stopped Big Bottled Water

Hannah Wallace

March 02, 2020 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Cascade Lockes, Oregon

Washington State could pass one of the toughest restrictions on water bottling operations in the United States, thanks to activists who raised environmental concerns over a bottling facility that wanted to open in a town. Their advocacy is modeled after a similar legal fight in Oregon, where environmentalists, Native American tribes, and labor unions came together behind the campaign. Their success could provide a plan for similar efforts in other communities.

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Madhya Pradesh's ‘fluoride warriors' unleash citizen science to empower community

Sahana Ghosh

March 02, 2020 |

Mongabay |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: India, Alirajpur, Madhya Pradesh

As part of a social work graduate program through Alirajpur Post Graduate College, a group of students are using “citizen science” to share their research that water with elevated levels of fluoride can be dangerous to drink. This has especially been an opportunity for female students to develop public speaking skills while connecting with women whose role it is to manage water for their households and encourage them to use wells with the appropriate fluoride levels, based on their data and research.

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How a Beloved Bird Is Helping Save the Chesapeake Bay

Libby Sander

February 18, 2020 |

Hakai Magazine |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Chesapeake, Maryland

The Natural Lands Project works with local landowners to turn hundreds of hectares of marginal croplands into native grasslands. The grasses offer refuge for the northern bobwhite quail and grip the soil, which helps prevent erosion and keeps agricultural runoff and sediment out of the Chesapeake Bay. The quail population has grown to 450, a 39% increase from 20 years ago. The project works with landowners to convert small parcels of their land for the habitat. The landowners receive a small payment and help planting and maintaining the native vegetation. Many species have flourished in the new habitat.

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Havre's Wastewater Woes Solved By Beer

Rachel Cramer

February 10, 2020 |

Yellowstone Public Radio |

Radio |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Havre, Montana

Upcycling spent barley helps to ease wastewater treatment. In Havre, Montana, the town’s wastewater treatment plant uses barley from a local brewery, Triple Dog Brewing, to feed bacteria. The nutrients from the barley give the bacteria a boost, helping to reduce nitrogen and phosphorous levels in the water. The collaboration means that Havre can save on expensive solutions and upgrades to its wastewater treatment plant.

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WFP uses new tech to fight refugee food shortages in Jordan

Melanie Saltzman Christopher Livesay Alessandro Pavone

February 01, 2020 |

PBS NewsHour |

Broadcast TV News |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: Jordan

Jordan is dealing with an influx of Syrian refugees that are putting a strain on already scarce resources like water. In response, the United Nations World Food Program has started to grow barley and other foods hydroponically in a process that uses 90% less water than traditional methods. Beyond the innovations in the lab, new technology is also allowing refugees to shop freely in local supermarkets and use their irises—checked with eye scans—to pay for their groceries from their given funds. This eliminates the threat of theft and is improving food access across Jordan.

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Making a home for fish in the desert takes a little help – and a lot of PVC

Dylan Simard

January 31, 2020 |

Planet Forward |

Multi-Media |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Rio Verde, Arizona

Volunteers in Arizona are building plastic cube structures to create a fish habitat in some of the state’s lakes. Since many of the lakes are in the desert, the shoreline is often not very hospitable for fish. These “fish cities,” made out of PVC pipe, plastic tubes, and glue, create an ecosystem in the lake. The Arizona Game & Fish Department dropped 500 cubes in Bartlett Lake and received positive feedback from anglers. They would like to implement the cubes in other lakes, but the project has been suspended because of limited funds.

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Are you pouring hundreds of dollars a year down the drain?

Angela Ross

January 15, 2020 |

ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) |

Broadcast TV News |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: Australia, Melbourne, Victoria

The use of rain gardens and rain tanks - which capture rainwater runoff, clean the water, and reuse the water for plants and gardens - helps to reduce water waste and toxic runoff. One Australian man built a rain garden to cut back on his waste (and his water bill) and estimates that he has cut down water consumption in his house by one third.

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How to Exorcise the Ghosts of Crab Traps Past

Dani Leviss

January 09, 2020 |

Hakai Magazine |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New Jersey

Low cost sonar helps teams of crabbers in the Great Bay Estuary locate abandoned traps, which they use hook lines to remove to protect wildlife and damage to fishing boats. Funded by three grants, teams have retrieved around 2,200 traps and crabbers are compensated for their efforts. The initiative is modeled after one in the Chesapeake Bay, where 34,408 ghost pots were removed over six years. Similar efforts have been implemented around the world, including the Ghost Trap Rodeo in Tampa Bay, which is styled like a fishing tournament but competitors collect abandoned traps instead of catching fish.

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