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

Eight INN newsrooms spent more than three months reporting on water issues in the Western U.S. The participants — 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 — documented serious concerns including contamination, excessive groundwater pumping and environmental inequity. For more INN reporting on this issue, see “Tapped Out: Power and water justice in the rural West.”