#watersupply — Public Fediverse posts

#Kansas town is getting an underground #nuclear reactor [whether they like it or not!]

Story by Jessie Williams, July 29, 2026

"A pilot project to bury a #NuclearReactor one mile underneath a town in Kansas has split the opinion of local residents, with some fearing the #EnvironmentalImpacts while others hope it will create economic opportunities.

"The so-called #GravityReactor is being proposed by #DeepFission, a California-based start-up from a father-daughter duo, #LizMuller and #RichardMuller, emeritus professor of physics at University of California, and an inventor.

"It will be the first time a commercial nuclear reactor operates underground.

"The startup has raised around $150 million in the past year, with $40 million of that going to fund the work in #ParsonsKS, a rural town in Kansas with a population of 9,600.

"So far Deep Fission has drilled one test hole with a second due to be completed this year, and a full-scale prototype canister intended to test installation procedures.

"Their plan is to send the canister loaded with nuclear fuel into a third hole to heat water a mile underground and generate electricity on the surface in 2027 or 2028.

"But some people in Parsons are worried about the short time frame by industry standards and the impact on the #environment and their #WaterSupply.

"Each reactor would generate 15 megawatts of electricity from inside a 30-inch borehole, enough to power 12,000 homes. But Muller wants 100 or more reactors, providing more than a gigawatt – which would be enough for a #datacentre.

"The design relies on established pressurised water reactor technology, but with the reactor one mile underground, Deep Fission says it could remove some of the most expensive parts of conventional #NuclearPlants, as rock and water pressure could replace some costly #safety structures, such as #cooling and #containment.

"Nuclear only generates about a fifth of US electricity, but the Trump administration is seeking to kickstart a '#NuclearRenaissance,' aiming to quadruple America’s nuclear-power generation by 2050. It comes amid skyrocketing demand for electricity, mainly driven by data centres for AI."

Read more:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/general/kansas-town-is-getting-an-underground-nuclear-reactor/ar-AA28YRrx

#NoNukesForAI #AISucks #TrumpSucks #USPol #AIDatacenters #Datacenters #NoNukes #NoNewNukes #WaterIsLife #NuclearPowerPlant #SafetyStandards #EnvironmentalCosts

Saturday, July 4, 2026

https://activitypub.writeworks.uk/2026/07/saturday-july-4-2026/

‘On A Whole Other Level’ - Rapid Snow Melt-Off In American West Stuns Scientists
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Experts say brutal March heat has left critical snowpack at record-low levels – and key basins in uncharted territory
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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/01/snowmelt-american-west <-- shared media/technical article
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https://www.nifc.gov/nicc-files/predictive/outlooks/monthly_seasonal_outlook.pdf <-- shared National Significant Wildland Fire Potential @ 04/01/26 (for the next four months)
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[ extreme lack of snowfall already in the ‘25/’26 US West winter to begin with, and now this… ☹ ]
#GIS #spatial #mapping #remotesensing #weather #metrology #climatechange #extremeweather #snowpack #USWest #USA #winter #heat #melting #snowmelt #risk #hazard #water #hydrology #waterresources #watersecurity #agriculture #wildfire #risk #hazard #firerisk #watersupply #watershed #management #planning #Colorado #Utah #California #earthobservation
@the Guardian | @nasa | @California Department of Water Resources

Upstream Hydrology And The Importance Of Snowmelt In Buffering Droughts In The Karnali Basin In Nepal
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https://doi.org/10.3389/frwa.2025.1720178 <-- shared paper
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https://nepalitimes.com/banner/a-karnali-portrait <-- shared media article
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https://youtu.be/ns7jytSwpng?si=rGm90l9FC_ahHum5 <-- shared video, Megh Ale, Nepal River Conservation Trust on the Karnali R.
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#water #hydrology #hydrography #surfacewater #catchment #waterresources #Nepal #Karnali #snowmelt #drought #SPHY #model #modeling #ERA5 #Himalya #river #basin #fluvial #pluvial #precipitation #rainfall #discharge #history #record #weather #climate #snow #climatechange #watersecurity #watersupply #conservation #planning #risk #hazard #rain #runoff #baseflow #waterbalance #evapotranspiration #ET #variability #spatiotemporal #change #time #streamflow #resilience

Monday, December 8, 2025

https://activitypub.writeworks.uk/2025/12/monday-december-8-2025/

Colorado River Basin Has Lost As Much Water As A Full Lake Mead Since 2003, Study Says
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https://www.kjzz.org/science/2025-05-30/colorado-river-basin-has-lost-as-much-water-as-a-full-lake-mead-since-2003-study-says <-- shared technical article
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https://doi.org/10.1029/2025GL115593 <-- shared paper
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#GIS #spatial #mapping #CRB #ColoradoRiver #ColoradoRiverbasin #Reservoir #lakeMead #lakePOwell #watersupply #waterstorage #drought #climatechange #groundwater #mining #depletion #remotesensing #NASA #GRACE #GRACEFO #satellite #water #hydrology #population #usecase #farming #irrigation #agriculture #watersecurity #foodsecurity #usage #model #modeling #landsurface #sustainability #sustainable #extraction #aridification

Landsat At Work – Satellites Help With Complex Crop And Water Issues
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https://www.usgs.gov/centers/eros/news/landsat-work-satellites-help-complex-crop-and-water-issues <-- shared USGS technical article
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https://www.usgs.gov/landsat-missions/landsat-data-access <-- shared open data USGS landsat datasets
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#GIS #spatial #mapping #landsat #remotesensing #earthobservation #satellite #agriculture #usecase #irrigation #orchards #California #landsurface #groundwater #pumping #efficiency #watereresources #fedscience #watersupply #monitoring #planning #management #sustainable #sustainability #LandIQ #well #model #modeling #watersecurity #food #foodsecurity #crops
#USGS | #EROS

Groundwater Dominates Snowmelt Runoff And Controls Streamflow Efficiency In The Western United States
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https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02303-3 <-- shared paper
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#GIS #spatial #mapping #water #hydrology #fedscience #climatechange #snowmelt #waterresources #watersupply #management #planning #watersecurity #USWest #Rockies #snow #winter #mountain #catchment #dating #tritium #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #runoff #streamflow #infiltration #model #modeling #geology #geomorphology #groundwater #storage #surfacewater #streamwater #precipitation #bedrock #soils #sediments #permability #porosity #watershed #subsurfaceflow #storage #climate #future #landscape

Over A Third Of Groundwater In USA Public-Supply Aquifers Is Anthropocene[sic]-Age And Susceptible To Surface Contamination
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https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-022-00473-y <-- shared paper
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#GIS #spatial #mapping #surface #contamination #USA #waterquality #waterresources #groundwater #publicsupply #Anthropocene #potable #waterwell #municipal #watersupply #residential #age #aquifers #regional #landsurface #contamination #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #holocene #publicsafety #pumping #sustainability

Where Glaciers Melt, The Rivers Run Red
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https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/19/science/peru-glaciers-water-pollution.html <-- shared media article
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#GIS #spatial #mapping #water #hydrology #waterquality #ShallapRiver #CordilleraBlanca #Peru #watersecurity #glacial #glacier #climatechange #melting #mineralogy #geochemistry #tropicalglaciers #contamination #contaminates #toxic #metals #heavymetals #humanimpacts #acid #acidic #oxidisation #pollution #Andes #deglaciation #pyrite #ironsulfide #meltwater #ironhydroxide #sulfuricacid #heavymetals #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #foodsecurity #fishing #farming #watersupply #waterresources

#StandingRockSioux Tribe files new lawsuit over #DAPL

By: Mary Steurer - October 15, 2024

"The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe on Monday filed a new lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers arguing that the #DakotaAccessPipeline is operating illegally and must be shut down.

"The tribe has long opposed the pipeline, also referred to as DAPL, due to concerns that it violates the tribe’s #sovereignty, endangers #sacred cultural sites and threatens to pollute the tribe’s #WaterSupply.

"The Army Corps of Engineers has jurisdiction over the section of the pipeline that passes under #LakeOahe — a reservoir on the #MissouriRiver — roughly a half-mile upstream from the #StandingRockReservation.

"The tribe in a 34-page complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia argues the Army Corps flouted federal regulations by allowing the pipeline to operate without an easement, sufficient study of possible #environmental impacts or the necessary emergency spill response plans, among other alleged violations.

"'We are fighting for our rights and the water that is life for Oceti Sakowin tribes,' Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Chairwoman #JanetAlkire said during a news conference the afternoon of #IndigenousPeoplesDay.

"The Army Corps of Engineers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"The more than 1,000-mile-long pipeline carries crude oil from the #BakkenOilFields of northwest North Dakota to Illinois, and has been operating since 2017. Its pathway includes #unceded land recognized as belonging to the #SiouxNation under an #1851Treaty with the U.S. government.

"The lawsuit was triggered in part by a 2024 engineering report that raised questions about the construction of the pipeline crossing below Lake Oahe, representatives of the tribe said Monday.

"The report calculated that up to 1.4 million gallons of bentonite clay-based drilling mud used in the horizontal directional drilling process was not fully accounted for in construction records. The report notes that there is no clear indication where the fluid migrated, but that it could have seeped into the surrounding soil.

“'The Corps has failed to act and failed to protect the tribe,' Alkire said of the report’s findings.

"The report was prepared by engineering consulting firm Exponent for environmental advocacy group #Greenpeace as part of an ongoing lawsuit brought by pipeline developer #EnergyTransfer. Greenpeace commissioned the report to defend itself against Energy Transfer’s allegations that Greenpeace defamed the pipeline during its involvement in protests against DAPL in 2016 and 2017.

[...]

"Standing Rock’s complaint also emphasizes that the Dakota Access Pipeline has still been allowed to operate despite that it no longer has an easement authorizing it to cross under Lake Oahe.

"The Army Corps approved the easement in 2017, but a federal judge later revoked it in 2020, finding that the Corps violated environmental law by granting it without properly researching the possible environmental impacts of the pipeline.

[...]

"The ban was related to a criminal pollution case against Energy Transfer for two pipelines in #Pennsylvania. Violations alleged in the criminal case included that Energy Transfer had used unapproved additives in the #DrillingFluid used to construct one of the pipelines. The company was convicted of #EnvironmentalCrimes under Pennsylvania law.

"For this reason, Standing Rock wonders whether the drilling fluid used to bore under Lake Oahe truly contained no toxins.

"'That’s a question the tribe has — what was in the drilling fluid?' Don Holstrom, an environmental consultant for Standing Rock, said Monday."

Full article:
https://dailymontanan.com/2024/10/15/standing-rock-sioux-tribe-files-new-lawsuit-over-dapl/

#WaterIsLife #StandWithStandingRock #NoDAPL #KelcyWarren #Trump #StandWithStandingRock
#NoDAPL #CorporateColonialism
#BigOilAndGas #WaterIsLife #EnvironmentalRacism #StandingRock

New Water Accounting Reveals Why The Colorado River No Longer Reaches The Sea
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https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01291-0 <-- shared paper
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#GIS #spatial #mapping #ColoradoRiver #ColoradoRiverBasin #CRB #USA #waterresources #USWest #irrigation #crops #feed #grass #hay #alfalfa #SaudiArabia #watersecurity #wateruse #water #hydrology #waterrights #overuse #magicwater #extraction #rationing #cropland #watercrisis #accounting #volumetric #model #river #watersupply #modeling #riparian #wetland #ET #evapotranspiration #waterbudget #regional #municipal #agriculture #commercial #industrial #cattle #cattlefeed #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal