Water & Oceans

"Firefighting foam contaminated groundwater beneath O’Hare and Midway airports with PFAS chemicals, military investigators have found. It’s unclear how far it has spread."

"As oil and gas companies struggle to dispose of their wastewater in the Permian Basin, the city of Midland is challenging applications for disposal wells near one of its drinking water sources."

"As the world's nations enter another round of talks this week on creating a first-ever treaty to contain plastic pollution, officials are bracing for tough negotiations over whether to limit the amount of plastic being produced or just to focus on the management of waste."

"Australia and Pacific Island state Tuvalu on Friday signed a security and climate change treaty designed to counter China's growing influence in the Pacific and address the low-lying island nation's concerns about rising seas induced by climate change."

"Tens of millions of people — and millions of acres of farmland — rely on the Colorado River’s water. But as its supply shrinks, these farmers get more water from the river than entire states."

"Minnesota state agencies aren’t doing enough to prevent nitrates — a toxic byproduct of fertilizers and livestock manure — from entering drinking water in the southeast part of the state, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency."

"A three-year drought that has left millions of people in Syria, Iraq and Iran with little water wouldn’t have happened without human-caused climate change, a new study found."

"Environmental advocates hope an agreement negotiated earlier this month by Baltimore City, the state Department of the Environment and the nonprofit Blue Water Baltimore to upgrade the city’s two wastewater treatment plants will help meet the state’s Chesapeake Bay restoration goals."