Disturbing news about our water resources is now constant and unrelenting. In just the past few weeks, media have reported that Puerto Rico is suffering a deep water crisis as severe drought has cut water supplies to thousands. The Rhine and Po rivers in Europe are at record low levels. The seven states sharing the Colorado River in the US are fighting over unprecedented shortages, while its major reservoirs have shrunk to their lowest levels since they were built.

Hungary’s only nuclear power plant is on the verge of shutting down because there isn’t enough water in the Danube River to cool it. Toxic chemicals have been found in all English water bodies.

Desalination plants in the Middle East have been bombed in the ongoing war with Iran and municipal water systems in the United States are being hacked.

The worst El Niño in recorded history is unfolding in the Pacific, affecting weather and water around the world. Violence over water is worsening, with more water-related conflicts than at any time in recorded history. And communities are mobilizing to block water-hungry datacenters, concerned that their water resources will be drained away.

At any given moment, there........

© The Guardian