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Tapped Out Part 1: Power, justice and water in the West

Power, justice and water in the West

Eight INN member news organizations document serious concerns including contamination, excessive groundwater pumping and environmental inequity.

Read the stories in the collaboration below.

Impact Report

Water-thirsty communities gain global attention; story unleashes millions in funding

Eight INN members spent more than three months reporting on water issues in the Western U.S. For more INN reporting on this issue, see “Tapped Out: Power and water justice in the rural West.”

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Showing 7 results of 7
May 25, 2021
The Central California Town That Keeps Sinking

The very ground upon which Corcoran, California, was built has been slowly but steadily collapsing, a situation caused primarily by agriculture.

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May 14, 2021
“A Generational Historic Struggle to Regain Our Water”

The Gila River Indian Community is ensuring that its members have long-term access to their own resources while helping solve broader water…

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May 7, 2021
Navajo-Gallup water delay spurs problem solving in arid Southwest

A new project comes as a result of a historic agreement that settled Navajo Nation claims to water in this region after decades of discussions.

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May 6, 2021
Cheese in the desert: Why mega-dairies are piping water onto Oregon’s shrub-steppe

An environmental coalition lobbies for a moratorium on mega-dairies, which have proliferated in a water-challenged area in Oregon.

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May 5, 2021
‘I’m Scared of Getting Sick From the Water’

Some rural California communities have waited nearly a decade for state regulators to repair their tainted drinking-water systems.

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May 4, 2021
Toxic Cyanobacteria Choke Water Systems Around California’s Clear Lake

Toxic blooms are a public health risk and increase water treatment costs.

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May 3, 2021
California Tribes Call Out Degradation of Clear Lake

A monitoring program tracks toxic cyanobacteria and influences change.

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The collaboration participants are INN members California Health Report and High Country News; SJV Water and the Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism; Circle of Blue; Columbia Insight; Ensia; and New Mexico In Depth.

This project was made possible by a grant from The Water Desk, with support from Ensia and INN’s Amplify News Project.

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