Tapped Out Part 2: Power and water justice in the rural West
Power and water justice in the rural West
In May, eight INN members spent three months exposing power inequity, failures of justice and a lack of water in the West. The reporting led to $3 million in federal dollars to bring water to Gallup, California, and surrounding areas, as well as international attention to surface water transfer programs.
Since then, what’s gotten better? What’s gotten worse? Learn more in part two of our Tapped Out series.
Read the stories in the collaboration below.
IMPACT REPORT
Tapped Out: Second round of reporting leads to deeper coverage, stories otherwise untold
Nine INN newsrooms spent several months reporting on water justice issues in the rural Western U.S. The participants — California Health Report, Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism/SJV Water, Circle of Blue, Colorado Public Radio, Columbia Insight, The Counter, High Country News and New Mexico In Depth — explored issues including contaminated water, drought, overuse of groundwater and land ownership.
‘Like a demon that’s always behind us’, the Jackpile Mine toxic legacy continues
New Mexico In Depth – December 15, 2021New Mexico’s Jackpile Mine has joined a list of America’s most heavily polluted places.
This Central Valley Town Has a Carcinogen in its Water. Why Are Solutions So Slow?
California Health Report – December 14, 2021Contaminant removal is often hampered by high treatment costs and water infrastructure. And polluters rarely have to answer for their actions.
Who should pay to fix California’s sunken canals?
High Country News – December 8, 2021Groundwater pumping caused San Joaquin Valley’s canal system to break. Many want taxpayers to foot the repair bill.
Historically excluded from Colorado River policy, tribes want a say in how the dwindling resource is used. Access to clean water is a start.
Colorado Public Radio – December 7, 2021State water and federal officials say they will include tribes in Colorado River policymaking negotiations for the first time.
As West withers corporations consolidate land and water rights
Columbia Insight – December 6, 2021As western lands are consolidated, so are the rights to use the water that flows under and over those lands.
Utah’s Water Dilemma
Circle of Blue – November 29, 2021Whites Valley is the top candidate for a dam and reservoir proposal. How that will affect residents in a water-scarce state?
How a federal drought relief program left southern Oregon parched—and contributed to the ongoing groundwater crisis in the West
The Counter – November 23, 2021The Bureau of Reclamation incentivized farmers to pump water faster than the resource could recover. Now residents face the fallout.
Where is the water going?
Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism – November 22, 2021Small farmers in Kings County, California, struggle as agriculture titans wheel water for profit
The collaboration participants are INN members California Health Report, Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism/SJV Water, Circle of Blue, Colorado Public Radio, Columbia Insight, The Counter, High Country News and New Mexico In Depth. This project was made possible by a grant from the Water Foundation, with additional support from the Institute for Nonprofit News.
This project was managed at INN by Amplify Collaborations Editor Sharon McGowan.
