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Water News
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Global Warming Burning Lakes?
Lake temperatures are rising much faster than air temperatures in many places around the world, and the fate of freshwater species hangs in the balance.
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Blog: Why Rivers Need to Flow -- High and Low -- Again
A new study finds that 86 percent of U.S. rivers are impaired, with many no longer flowing the way they're supposed to flow--and that's changing the mix of fish and other organisms that call them home.
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Blog: Sandra Postel Talks Water at TedX
National Geographic Fellow and water conservation expert Sandra Postel told the D.C. audience: "We have lost our sense of wonder" over water,... but the "tears we shed today" over the most daunting problems in our world "are comprised of molecules of water that have cycled through Earth's ecosystems forever."
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Blog: The River That Runs Through Nature's Greatest Spectacle
After witnessing the world's greatest wildlife migration along Kenya's Mara River, rivers expert Mark Angelo reflects on the role of rivers in nurturing entire ecosystems.
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Turtle Herpes Tumors Due to Sewage?
Herpes tumors that have plagued green sea turtles worldwide for decades may be caused by pollution, a new study says.
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Blog: Water Crisis Looms in South Africa
Awareness of the world's mounting freshwater troubles has bubbled to the top of South Africa's political agenda.
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Blog: Australia Takes a Bold Step To Shape its Water Future
After a decade of devastating drought in Australia's Murray-Darling River Basin, officials have issued a draft plan to save rivers and wetlands by cutting average water allocations to farmers and other water users by a whopping 22-29 percent.
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Texting Program Helps African Farmers
A new Kenyan "micro-insurance" program cushions small-scale farmers against weather-related crop loss using a novel, mobile phone-based approach.
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Blog: Americans Value Water More Than Energy—New Survey
Our nation's drinking water and wastewater infrastructure is aging at the cost of wasted water and the risk of contamination, according to advocates for increased public funding for repairs.
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Gas Rush Dashes Dream
The shale gas industry maintains that it protects drinking water and land. But mistrust has been sown as the industrial process has moved into rural communities.
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Toxic Spill Latest Insult to Danube River
As cleanup continues in Hungary, experts weigh in on the environmental damage and future risks of mining and industry along Europe’s rivers.
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Blog: Dam Removals Open Way for Cultural and Habitat Restoration
As dams come down in different parts of the world, exciting opportunities are opened to restore lost habitats and cultural sites sacred to indigenous peoples.
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Blog: Preparing for a Water-Limited World
"Our water problem turns out to be much more worrisome than our energy situation," writes global water expert Sandra Postel in a new book.
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Blog: GM Pesticides Found in Streams
Pesticides produced by genetically modified corn have been found in Indiana streams, raising new questions about water quality.
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Blog: Expect More Floods
There is nearly 20 percent more water flowing into the oceans than there was 10 years ago--a sign of climate change and more flooding.
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Why We Shouldn’t Dam the World’s Most Productive River
New dam projects in Laos and Thailand threaten the biodiversity of Asia’s Mekong River. National Geographic Fellow Zeb Hogan tells us what needs to happen in order to save the region's giant fish.
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Photos: Hungary's Toxic Sludge Flood
"This is huge," says one toxicologist of the failure of a toxic-sludge reservoir in Hungary. "If you are trapped in it, it will kill you."
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Damming the Omo to Stop the Flow of Ethiopia’s Cultural Diversity?
An ancient way of life that sustains 200,000 people could be lost if the Ethiopian Government can find the money to build a big new hydroelectric dam on the Omo River.
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Blog: To Save the Heart of a Mighty River
An innovative new initiative aims to better protect a stretch of Canada's Fraser River, one of the most productive stretches of river anywhere in the world.
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Blog: Dust Lowers Colorado River
Each year 261 billion gallons of water are lost in the Colorado River watershed due to dust settling on snows near the headwaters.
Latest News
The World's Water
The world's increasing population and development of agricultural land are putting pressure on the Earth's limited freshwater supplies. Find out what's at stake and how you can help.
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Why Should You Care?
Learn more about the world's water challenge with photos, stories, videos, and more.
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How Much Water Per Pound?
How much water does it take to put beef, pork, wheat, and more on your plate? Explore our newest interactive and find out.
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Water Is Life
Explore the pages of National Geographic magazine's special issue devoted to water.
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Water Blog Posts
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Blog: Expect More Floods
There is nearly 20 percent more water flowing into the oceans than there was 10 years ago--a sign of climate change and more flooding.
-
Blog: GM Pesticides Found in Streams
Pesticides produced by genetically modified corn have been found in Indiana streams, raising new questions about water quality.
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Blog: Dust Lowers Colorado River
Each year 261 billion gallons of water are lost in the Colorado River watershed due to dust settling on snows near the headwaters.
Water News Media Partners
Special Report: Shale Gas Rush
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A Dream Dashed by the Rush on Gas
The shale gas industry maintains that it protects drinking water and land. But mistrust has been sown in rural communities.
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New Jobs Through Energy
The industry promises jobs to a state badly in need of an economic boost, but the work so far isn't where you might expect it to be.
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Mapping a Gas Boom
Track the growing mark that energy companies have etched on Pennsylvania since first producing natural gas from shale.
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