National Wildlife Federation

The current study assessed the physicochemical quality of groundwater from wells in a rural region of northeastern Romania, where local communities depend exclusively on this resource for drinking water. Eighty wells were analyzed in situ for total dissolved solids (TDS), dissolved oxygen, oxygen saturation, salinity, con-ductivity, redox potential (ORP), and pH. For comparative purposes, similar measurements were conducted on urban water supplies in the cities of Iași and Botoșani, as well as on 14 commercial bottled water brands. The findings revealed critical water quality issues in rural wells, including frequent exceedances of microbiological and chemical thresholds, particularly for nitrates and coliform bacteria. Spatial mapping showed strong variation across parameters, with elevated salinity and low oxygenation most prominent in lowland areas. Bottled water analysis showed a wide range of mineral compositions, influencing their appropriateness for daily consumption. Still waters such as Aqua Carpatica Still and Wonder Still displayed low sodium, calcium, and magnesium concentrations, making them suitable for specific dietary needs. In contrast, highly mineralized waters like Aqua Carpatica Sparkling exceeded World Health Organization (WHO) recommended limits for TDS and salinity. The study also highlighted the insufficient monitoring by local authorities and the lack of comprehensive labelling on bottled water, both of which hinder informed decision-making by consumers. The results emphasize the urgent need for standardized groundwater surveillance, public health initiatives, and improved transparency in bottled water labelling. These findings provide a foundation for future policy actions targeting safe and equitable access to drinking water in rural communities.

Effectively addressing the climate crisis at scale in a timely manner will require novel engagement strategies that move beyond laboratory findings and policy dictates. In this practice insight, we present the Moving Farm Tour, a movement-based, farm- and community-centered exploration of the intersection of art and culture with agriculture and climate change. Through this model, we highlight the use of dance and creative engagement as tangible mechanisms for learning about, sharing, understanding and creating new perspectives. Additionally, we demonstrate the value of not only bringing science (and scientists) out of the lab, but of establishing a visceral, physical connection with place and community. Our collaborative efforts have resulted in a scalable, replicable model that demonstrates how live, interactive experiences are useful for cross-sector learning, broadening perspectives, fostering community building, and inspiring novel approaches to collaboration that can lead to better outcomes for researchers, industries, communities, and the planet.

Abstract African Swine Fever virus (ASFv) is a rapidly spreading animal disease with impacts on global economy and food security. Since the first known case of ASFv in Kenya in 1921, the virus has undergone significant evolution resulting in the emergence of 25 distinct genotypes. These genotypes have a wide variety of epidemiological traits, leading to uncertainty about how a genotype or variant of a genotype might spread in a population. Understanding the impacts of different epidemiological traits on the spread of ASFv is important for developing effective surveillance systems and control strategies. We developed a spatial epidemiological model of ASFv transmission in wild pigs, which contributes to ASFv persistence in countries where wild pig populations are widespread. We evaluated the impacts of a realistic set of epidemiological traits including incubation period, infectious period, disease-induced mortality rate, and length of immunity on spatial transmission dynamics under different ecological conditions for the host population (i.e. host density). We analyze effects of these conditions on outbreak metrics using boosted regression models with response variables: peak incidence, rate of spatial spread, seroprevalence and area invaded after one year, and probability that an outbreak will occur. We found that the infectious period of living individuals is the most important predictor at all pig densities for peak incidence and the area affected at one year, followed closely by the incubation period of the virus. We discuss considerations for surveillance and control strategies for different genotypes of ASFv.

The development of distributaries in large river deltas plays an important role in the geology, hydrology, and ecology of the coastal ocean, as large rivers are a dominant mechanism by which particulate, suspended, and dissolved material is delivered from the continents to the global ocean. And yet, there is relatively little, near-real time observational data on the development of distributaries in large river deltas -- in part because the development of modern observation coincides with an era when rivers have been controlled by large engineering projects (i.e., the 20th and 21st centuries). This article reports on Neptune Pass, the largest new distributary to form in the Mississippi River in nearly a century. It developed between 2019 and 2021 when a small canal rapidly expanded by at least an order of magnitude. The system now carries about 15-17% of the flow of the Mississippi River, > 3,000 m3 s-1 when the Mississippi River is at moderately high flows. This is comparable to the 10th largest river in North America and the 100th largest river on Earth. Neptune Pass is building a delta, and this study sought to examine whether this delta is comprised largely of material eroded from the Neptune Pass (redistributed sediment hypothesis), or includes material recently derived from the Mississippi River (new sediment hypothesis). These hypotheses were tested using a combination of marine-geophysical surveys, remote sensing techniques, and sediment core collections. Results indicate that the delta in Quarantine Bay was 56-79% larger than the material excavated from Neptune Pass, corroborating the new sediment hypothesis, and indicating that it is a net land building system. These findings provide key insights that are critical to the restoration and safe management of the Mississippi River and its delta, the largest system of its kind in North America.

This Article argues that the zero discharge goal of the Clean Water Act is more than naive rhetoric. To the contrary, it is the Act's raison d'être, and it is woven into the fabric of the Act's operative provisions. So understood, the zero discharge goal can and should provide continuing guidance for EPA's implementation of the Act.

Abstract The federally threatened southeastern beach mouse Peromyscus polionotus niveiventris occupies just a fraction of its former range along Florida’s Atlantic coast, mostly within the 72 km of continuous coastline on federal lands of the Cape Canaveral Barrier Island Complex. Although believed to be caused by loss and degradation of habitat associated with human urban expansion, no precise explanation for the reduction in southeastern beach mouse range is known. We used nine years of winter habitat occupancy survey data for a trend analysis, and a subset of four years to identify key factors influencing occupancy dynamics in coastal habitat throughout the core population. Using a maximum likelihood based model selection approach, we tested evidence for the effects of environmental and anthropogenic factors arranged into four hypotheses related to habitat structure, beach erosion, population isolation, and access to inland habitat. As predicted, sites closer to the primary dune, farther from open water, and with higher elevation had higher initial occupancy than sites with the opposite characteristics. Also as predicted, sites farther from open water, with higher elevation, more coastal strand, less ruderal vegetation, and in proximity to oak trees had lower site extinction. Contrary to predictions sites closer to infrastructure (roads, railroads, paved sites) and more isolated by narrow width or unsuitable habitat features also had lower extinction, possibly because of restriction of predator access. A Bayesian analysis showed that annual southeastern beach mouse habitat occupancy was generally high (0.63–0.97) but variable across the 72 km of coastal dune spanning most of the remaining species’ range. Simulation showed that the power of the survey was sufficient to detect a 20% decline between years. This study provides a baseline of knowledge about habitat occupancy dynamics for future monitoring and management of the southeastern beach mouse and other beach mouse subspecies.

Environmental justice and sustainability have both become major concerns for water resource management, particularly with recent federal emphasis on environmental justice under the Biden administration in the United States. Texas, like many U.S. states, lags behind the federal government in this emphasis. While many localities have made progress in some respects—for example, some major Texas municipalities have included equity and sustainability metrics in their recent climate action plans—others have not. This has left a patchwork of persistent water management and availability issues that are exacerbated by extreme weather and worsening impacts of climate change. We provide a review of many of Texas’s water equity and sustainability challenges, both now and in a more extreme climate future. These include water access, affordability, contamination, flooding, drought, and aging infrastructure. For example, many Texas counties rank highest in the nation for flood risk, including coastal counties with high populations of disadvantaged communities and counties containing populations that live in persistent poverty in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Additionally, approximately 44,000 Texans, or about 0.4% of the state population, lack access to complete plumbing facilities in their homes. The costs of water infrastructure leaks (estimated at about 51 gallons of water per day statewide) are shared across customers of all income levels, though they place a disproportionate burden on low-income customers. We then assess existing statewide and local policy and planning efforts and gaps in addressing these concerns in Texas. We focus particularly on the role of efforts to incorporate community voice—the ideas, concerns, needs, and expertise of impacted community members, dismantle causes of injustice, and improve equity in spending. If communities are not intentional with future development, new water infrastructure could continue to perpetuate existing harms. Thus, we provide a research agenda and recommendations for addressing some of the policy and planning gaps and persistent environmental justice issues. We aim to help water managers and policy makers identify and dismantle sources of inequity, particularly through including community voice.