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After six years, a Texas town’s boil-water notice has been lifted, but residents are still concerned

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Friday, August 9, 2024

Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. After being in place for over six years, a boil-water notice for the small West Texas town of Toyah has been lifted. The city official overseeing the city’s water system, Brandie Baker, rescinded the boil water notice on July 11. In a written announcement, she said, “The public water system has taken the necessary corrective actions to restore the quality of water distributed.” According to Baker, the city provided the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality with “laboratory results” that showed Toyah’s water now meets the required drinking water standards. In an email, a TCEQ spokesperson confirmed the city had taken the proper steps to prove that its water is potable. “It was a team effort and I'm glad to see Toyah at a place where we can start moving forward,” Baker said in an interview with Marfa Public Radio. “There's a lot of people that live here and it'd be nice for them to have it back the way it should be.” The town’s troubles first started in 2018, when its water was flagged after it tested positive for the dangerous E.coli bacteria. TCEQ inspectors responded and began to uncover more issues surrounding Toyah's water. For years, the city’s water treatment plant was operated by staff that were unlicensed or were underqualified. At times, workers struggled to properly sanitize the water and state officials noted illegal modifications to the facility. The Texas Attorney General's Office eventually filed a lawsuit against the city in 2022 over its numerous violations of state drinking water standards. Court documents stated the “neglect and mismanagement” of Toyah’s water system posed “a serious threat of harm” to residents. The case is ongoing and, according to the TCEQ, even though the boil water notice has been lifted there may be some outstanding violations that may need to be addressed. Despite the documented problems with Toyah’s water system, local leaders over the years have claimed the town’s water was fine to drink. Even now, Baker says she hasn’t really had to explain to residents the steps she took to lift the boil water notice and ensure the town’s water is now safe to consume. “Nobody’s really asked me,” She said. Baker struggled for years to earn her Class B surface water operator license, which is required to operate Toyah’s water treatment plant. However, she passed the qualifying exam and received her certification late last year. The city has also come into compliance with state reporting requirements and in general the treatment facility appears to be much cleaner than it had appeared in the past. Baker says she's worked hard to rebuild Toyah's relationship with the TCEQ. “A lot of the long wait as well was, once we got things going and good, is the confidence with the state,” she said. “They sent many people out here. They’ve worked with me, they’ve watched me do my labs, they’ve signed off on me.” These improvements haven’t convinced everyone in Toyah that the city’s water is safe. Elida ‘Angel’ Machuca, a longtime resident of Toyah, has been a vocal critic of the city and has scrutinized how officials have addressed the problems with the town’s water quality. Machuca says she felt optimistic at first when she read Baker’s announcement that the boil water notice had been lifted, but then doubts began to set in. “It’s just been too long with too many secrets being kept,” she said. “If it’s totally honest it’s something to celebrate.” According to Machuca, the city’s water still appears to be cloudy, which she believes is a sign the treatment plant isn’t functioning properly. And for now, her family is still hauling in their own water supply, taking the same precautions they did while the boil water notice was in place — something she says they’ll continue to do to “keep our family safe.” Machuca said the only way she’ll drink Toyah’s water is if “an accredited water engineer to put it on paper that he came and he inspected it and that it's properly running and operating.” As of last week, the city of Toyah was still off its boil water notice, according to Baker who maintained the water is now safe to drink and that the city’s water treatment facility is fully functioning. The full program is now LIVE for the 2024 Texas Tribune Festival, happening Sept. 5–7 in downtown Austin. Explore the program featuring more than 100 unforgettable conversations on topics covering education, the economy, Texas and national politics, criminal justice, the border, the 2024 elections and so much more. See the full program.

The town’s troubles started in 2018, when its water tested positive for the dangerous E.coli bacteria.

Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.

After being in place for over six years, a boil-water notice for the small West Texas town of Toyah has been lifted.

The city official overseeing the city’s water system, Brandie Baker, rescinded the boil water notice on July 11. In a written announcement, she said, “The public water system has taken the necessary corrective actions to restore the quality of water distributed.”

According to Baker, the city provided the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality with “laboratory results” that showed Toyah’s water now meets the required drinking water standards. In an email, a TCEQ spokesperson confirmed the city had taken the proper steps to prove that its water is potable.

“It was a team effort and I'm glad to see Toyah at a place where we can start moving forward,” Baker said in an interview with Marfa Public Radio. “There's a lot of people that live here and it'd be nice for them to have it back the way it should be.”

The town’s troubles first started in 2018, when its water was flagged after it tested positive for the dangerous E.coli bacteria. TCEQ inspectors responded and began to uncover more issues surrounding Toyah's water.

For years, the city’s water treatment plant was operated by staff that were unlicensed or were underqualified. At times, workers struggled to properly sanitize the water and state officials noted illegal modifications to the facility.

The Texas Attorney General's Office eventually filed a lawsuit against the city in 2022 over its numerous violations of state drinking water standards. Court documents stated the “neglect and mismanagement” of Toyah’s water system posed “a serious threat of harm” to residents.

The case is ongoing and, according to the TCEQ, even though the boil water notice has been lifted there may be some outstanding violations that may need to be addressed.

Despite the documented problems with Toyah’s water system, local leaders over the years have claimed the town’s water was fine to drink. Even now, Baker says she hasn’t really had to explain to residents the steps she took to lift the boil water notice and ensure the town’s water is now safe to consume.

“Nobody’s really asked me,” She said.

Baker struggled for years to earn her Class B surface water operator license, which is required to operate Toyah’s water treatment plant. However, she passed the qualifying exam and received her certification late last year. The city has also come into compliance with state reporting requirements and in general the treatment facility appears to be much cleaner than it had appeared in the past.

Baker says she's worked hard to rebuild Toyah's relationship with the TCEQ.

“A lot of the long wait as well was, once we got things going and good, is the confidence with the state,” she said. “They sent many people out here. They’ve worked with me, they’ve watched me do my labs, they’ve signed off on me.”

These improvements haven’t convinced everyone in Toyah that the city’s water is safe. Elida ‘Angel’ Machuca, a longtime resident of Toyah, has been a vocal critic of the city and has scrutinized how officials have addressed the problems with the town’s water quality.

Machuca says she felt optimistic at first when she read Baker’s announcement that the boil water notice had been lifted, but then doubts began to set in.

“It’s just been too long with too many secrets being kept,” she said. “If it’s totally honest it’s something to celebrate.”

According to Machuca, the city’s water still appears to be cloudy, which she believes is a sign the treatment plant isn’t functioning properly. And for now, her family is still hauling in their own water supply, taking the same precautions they did while the boil water notice was in place — something she says they’ll continue to do to “keep our family safe.”

Machuca said the only way she’ll drink Toyah’s water is if “an accredited water engineer to put it on paper that he came and he inspected it and that it's properly running and operating.”

As of last week, the city of Toyah was still off its boil water notice, according to Baker who maintained the water is now safe to drink and that the city’s water treatment facility is fully functioning.

The full program is now LIVE for the 2024 Texas Tribune Festival, happening Sept. 5–7 in downtown Austin. Explore the program featuring more than 100 unforgettable conversations on topics covering education, the economy, Texas and national politics, criminal justice, the border, the 2024 elections and so much more. See the full program.

Read the full story here.
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‘Mad fishing’: the super-size fleet of squid catchers plundering the high seas

Every year a Chinese-dominated flotilla big enough to be seen from space pillages the rich marine life on Mile 201, a largely ungoverned part of the South Atlantic off ArgentinaIn a monitoring room in Buenos Aires, a dozen members of the Argentinian coast guard watch giant industrial-fishing ships moving in real time across a set of screens. “Every year, for five or six months, the foreign fleet comes from across the Indian Ocean, from Asian countries, and from the North Atlantic,” says Cdr Mauricio López, of the monitoring department. “It’s creating a serious environmental problem.”Just beyond Argentina’s maritime frontier, hundreds of foreign vessels – known as the distant-water fishing fleet – are descending on Mile 201, a largely ungoverned strip of the high seas in the South Atlantic, to plunder its rich marine life. The fleet regularly becomes so big it can be seen from space, looking like a city floating on the sea. Continue reading...

In a monitoring room in Buenos Aires, a dozen members of the Argentinian coast guard watch giant industrial-fishing ships moving in real time across a set of screens. “Every year, for five or six months, the foreign fleet comes from across the Indian Ocean, from Asian countries, and from the North Atlantic,” says Cdr Mauricio López, of the monitoring department. “It’s creating a serious environmental problem.”Just beyond Argentina’s maritime frontier, hundreds of foreign vessels – known as the distant-water fishing fleet – are descending on Mile 201, a largely ungoverned strip of the high seas in the South Atlantic, to plunder its rich marine life. The fleet regularly becomes so big it can be seen from space, looking like a city floating on the sea.The distant-water fishing fleet, seen from space, off the coast of Argentina. Photograph: AlamyThe charity Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) has described it as one of the largest unregulated squid fisheries in the world, warning that the scale of activities could destabilise an entire ecosystem.“With so many ships constantly fishing without any form of oversight, the squid’s short, one-year life cycle simply is not being respected,” says Lt Magalí Bobinac, a marine biologist with the Argentinian coast guard.There are no internationally agreed catch limits in the region covering squid, and distant-water fleets take advantage of this regulatory vacuum.Steve Trent, founder of the EJF, describes the fishery as a “free for all” and says squid could eventually disappear from the area as a result of “this mad fishing effort”.The consequences extend far beyond squid. Whales, dolphins, seals, sea birds and commercially important fish species such as hake and tuna depend on the cephalopod. A collapse in the squid population could trigger a cascade of ecological disruption, with profound social and economic costs for coastal communities and key markets such as Spain, experts warn.“If this species is affected, the whole ecosystem is affected,” Bobinac says. “It is the food for other species. It has a huge impact on the ecosystem and biodiversity.”She says the “vulnerable marine ecosystems” beneath the fleet, such as deep-sea corals, are also at risk of physical damage and pollution.An Argentinian coast guard ship on patrol. ‘Outside our exclusive economic zone, we cannot do anything – we cannot board them, we cannot survey, nor inspect,’ says an officer. Photograph: EJFThree-quarters of squid jigging vessels (which jerk barbless lures up and down to imitate prey) that are operating on the high seas are from China, according to the EJF, with fleets from Taiwan and South Korea also accounting for a significant share.Activity on Mile 201 has surged over recent years, with total fishing hours increasing by 65% between 2019 and 2024 – a jump driven almost entirely by the Chinese fleet, which increased its activities by 85% in the same period, according to an investigation by the charity.The lack of oversight in Mile 201 has enabled something darker too. Interviews conducted by the EJF suggest widespread cruelty towards marine wildlife in the area. Crew reported the deliberate capture and killing of seals – sometimes in their hundreds – on more than 40% of Chinese squid vessels and a fifth of Taiwanese vessels.Other testimonies detailed the hunting of marine megafauna for body parts, including seal teeth. The EJF shared photos and videos with the Guardian of seals hanging on hooks and penguins trapped on decks.One of the huge squid-jigging ships. They also hunt seals, the EJF found. Photograph: EJFLt Luciana De Santis, a lawyer for the coast guard, says: “Outside our exclusive economic zone [EEZ], we cannot do anything – we cannot board them, we cannot survey, nor inspect.”An EEZ is a maritime area extending up to 200 nautical miles from a nation’s coast, with the rules that govern it set by that nation. The Argentinian coast guard says it has “total control” of this space, unlike the area just beyond this limit: Mile 201.But López says “a significant percentage of ships turn their identification systems off” when fishing in the area beyond this, otherwise known as “going dark” to evade detection.Crews working on the squid fleet are also extremely vulnerable. The EJF’s investigation uncovered serious human rights and labour abuses in Mile 201. Workers on the ships described physical violence, including hitting or strangulation, wage deductions, intimidation and debt bondage – a system that in effect traps them at sea. Many reported working excessive hours with little rest.Much of the squid caught under these conditions still enters major global markets in the European Union, UK and North America, the EJF warns – meaning consumers may be unknowingly buying seafood linked to animal cruelty, environmental destruction and human rights abuse.The charity is calling for a ban on imports linked to illegal or abusive fishing practices and a global transparency regime that makes it possible to see who is fishing where, when and how, by mandating an international charter to govern fishing beyond national waters.Cdr Mauricio López says many of the industrial fishing ships the Argentinian coastguard monitors turn off their tracking systems when they are in the area. Photograph: Harriet Barber“The Chinese distant-water fleet is the big beast in this,” says Trent. “Beijing must know this is happening, so why are they not acting? Without urgent action, we are heading for disaster.”The Chinese embassies in Britain and Argentina did not respond to requests for comment.

Water
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Pollution

EPA Says It Will Propose Drinking Water Limit for Perchlorate, but Only Because Court Ordered It

The Environmental Protection Agency says it will propose a drinking water limit for perchlorate, a chemical in certain explosives

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday said it would propose a drinking water limit for perchlorate, a harmful chemical in rockets and other explosives, but also said doing so wouldn't significantly benefit public health and that it was acting only because a court ordered it.The agency said it will seek input on how strict the limit should be for perchlorate, which is particularly dangerous for infants, and require utilities to test. The agency’s move is the latest in a more than decade-long battle over whether to regulate perchlorate. The EPA said that the public benefit of the regulation did not justify its expected cost.“Due to infrequent perchlorate levels of health concern, the vast majority of the approximately 66,000 water systems that would be subject to the rule will incur substantial administrative and monitoring costs with limited or no corresponding public health benefits as a whole,” the agency wrote in its proposal.Perchlorate is used to make rockets, fireworks and other explosives, although it can also occur naturally. At some defense, aerospace and manufacturing sites, it seeped into nearby groundwater where it could spread, a problem that has been concentrated in the Southwest and along sections of the East Coast.Perchlorate is a concern because it affects the function of the thyroid, which can be particularly detrimental for the development of young children, lowering IQ scores and increasing rates of behavioral problems.Based on estimates that perchlorate could be in the drinking water of roughly 16 million people, the EPA determined in 2011 that it was a sufficient threat to public health that it needed to be regulated. Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, this determination required the EPA to propose and then finalize regulations by strict deadlines, with a proposal due in two years.It didn’t happen. First, the agency updated the science to better estimate perchlorate’s risks, but that took time. By 2016, the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council sued to force action.During the first Trump administration, the EPA proposed a never-implemented standard that the NRDC said was less restrictive than any state limit and would lead to IQ point loss in children. It reversed itself in 2020, saying no standard was necessary because a new analysis had found the chemical was less dangerous and its appearance in drinking water less common than previously thought. That's still the agency's position. It said Monday that its data shows perchlorate is not widespread in drinking water.“We anticipate that fewer than one‑tenth of 1% of regulated water systems are likely to find perchlorate above the proposed limits,” the agency said. A limit will help the small number of places with a problem, but burden the vast majority with costs they don't need, officials said.The NRDC challenged that reversal and a federal appeals court said the EPA must propose a regulation for perchlorate, arguing that it still is a significant and widespread public health threat. The agency will solicit public comment on limits of 20, 40 and 80 parts per billion, as well as other elements of the proposal.“Members of the public deserve to know whether there’s rocket fuel in their tap water. We’re pleased to see that, however reluctantly, EPA is moving one step closer to providing the public with that information,” said Sarah Fort, a senior attorney with NRDC.EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has sought massive rollbacks of environmental rules and promoted oil and gas development. But on drinking water, the agency’s actions have been more moderate. The agency said it would keep the Biden administration's strict limits on two of the most common types of harmful “forever chemicals” in drinking water, while giving utilities more time to comply, and would scrap limits on other types of PFAS.The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environmentCopyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See – December 2025

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Scientists are raising concerns about free-living amoebae, resilient microbes that can survive in water systems and enable the spread of deadly infections. Scientists specializing in environmental and public health are drawing attention to a group of pathogens that has received little public notice but is becoming increasingly dangerous: free living amoebae. In a recent perspective [...]

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New Navy Report Gauges Training Disruption of Hawaii's Marine Mammals

Over the next seven years, the U.S. Navy estimates its ships will injure or kill just two whales in collisions as it tests and trains in Hawaiian waters

Over the next seven years, the U.S. Navy estimates its ships will injure or kill just two whales in collisions as it tests and trains in Hawaiian waters, and it concluded those exercises won’t significantly harm local marine mammal populations, many of which are endangered.However, the Navy also estimates the readiness exercises, which include sonar testing and underwater explosions, will cause more than 3 million instances of disrupted behavior, hearing loss or injury to whale and dolphin species plus monk seals in Hawaii alone.That has local conservation groups worried that the Navy’s California-Training-and-Testing-EIS-OEIS/Final-EIS-OEIS/">detailed report on its latest multi-year training plan is downplaying the true impacts on vulnerable marine mammals that already face growing extinction threats in Pacific training areas off of Hawaii and California.“If whales are getting hammered by sonar and it’s during an important breeding or feeding season, it could ultimately affect their ability to have enough energy to feed their young or find food,” said Kylie Wager Cruz, a senior attorney with the environmental legal advocacy nonprofit Earthjustice. “There’s a major lack of consideration,” she added,” of how those types of behavioral impacts could ultimately have a greater impact beyond just vessel strikes.”The Navy, Cruz said, didn’t consider how its training exercises add to the harm caused by other factors, most notably collisions with major shipping vessels that kill dozens of endangered whales in the eastern Pacific each year. Environmental law requires the Navy to do that, she said, but “they’re only looking at their own take,” or harm.The Navy, in a statement earlier this month, said it “committed to the maximum level of mitigation measures” that it practically could to curb environmental damage while maintaining its military readiness in the years ahead. The plan also covers some Coast Guard operations.Federal fishery officials recently approved the plan, granting the Navy the necessary exemptions under the Marine Mammal Protection Act to proceed despite the harms. It’s at least the third time that the Navy has had to complete an environmental impact report and seek those exemptions to test and train off Hawaii and California.In a statement Monday, a U.S. Pacific Fleet spokesperson said the Navy and fishery officials did consider “reasonably foreseeable cumulative effects” — the Navy’s exercises plus unrelated harmful impacts — to the extent it was required to do so under federal environmental law.Fishery officials didn’t weigh those unrelated impacts, the statement said, in determining that the Navy’s activities would have a negligible impact on marine mammals and other animals.The report covers the impacts to some 39 marine mammal species, including eight that are endangered, plus a host of other birds, turtles and other species that inhabit those waters.The Navy says it will limit use of some of its most intense sonar equipment in designated “mitigation areas” around Hawaii island and Maui Nui to better protect humpback whales and other species from exposure. Specifically, it says it won’t use its more intense ship-mounted sonar in those areas during the whales’ Nov. 15 to April 15 breeding season, and it won’t use those systems there for more than 300 hours a year.However, outside of those mitigation zones the Navy report lists 11 additional areas that are biologically important to other marine mammals species, including spinner and bottle-nosed dolphins, false killer whales, short-finned pilot whales and dwarf sperm whales.Those biologically important areas encompass all the waters around the main Hawaiian islands, and based on the Navy’s report they won’t benefit from the same sonar limits. For the Hawaii bottle-nosed dolphins, the Navy estimates its acoustic and explosives exercises will disrupt that species’ feeding, breeding and other behaviors more than 310,000 times, plus muffle their hearing nearly 39,000 times and cause as many as three deaths. The report says the other species will see similar disruptions.In its statement Monday, U.S. Pacific Fleet said the Navy considered the extent to which marine mammals would be affected while still allowing crews to train effectively in setting those mitigation zones.Exactly how the Navy’s numbers compare to previous cycles are difficult to say, Wager Cruz and others said, because the ocean area and total years covered by each report have changed.Nonetheless, the instances in which its Pacific training might harm or kill a marine mammal appear to be climbing.In 2018, for instance, a press release from the nonprofit Center For Biological Diversity stated that the Navy’s Pacific training in Hawaii and Southern California would harm marine mammals an estimated 12.5 million times over a five-year period.This month, the center put out a similar release stating that the Navy’s training would harm marine mammals across Hawaii plus Northern and Southern California an estimated 35 million times over a seven-year period.“There’s large swaths of area that don’t get any mitigation,” Wager Cruz said. “I don’t think we’re asking for, like, everywhere is a prohibited area by any means, but I think that the military should take a harder look and see if they can do more.”The Navy should also consider slowing its vessels to 10 knots during training exercises to help avoid the collisions that often kill endangered whales off the California Coast, Cruz said. In its response, U.S. Pacific Fleet said the Navy “seriously considered” whether it could slow its ships down but concluded those suggestions were impracticable, largely due to the impacts on its mission.Hawaii-based Matson two years ago joined the other major companies who’ve pledged to slow their vessels to those speeds during whale season in the shipping lanes where dozens of endangered blue, fin and humpback whales are estimated to be killed each year.Those numbers have to be significantly reduced, researchers say, if the species are to make a comeback.“There are ways to minimize harm,” Center for Biological Diversity Hawaii and Pacific Islands Director Maxx Phillips added in a statement, “and protect our natural heritage and national security at the same time.”This story was originally published by Honolulu Civil Beat and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See – December 2025

Water
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Energy

Hungary's 'Water Guardian' Farmers Fight Back Against Desertification

Southern Hungary landowner Oszkár Nagyapáti has been battling severe drought on his land

KISKUNMAJSA, Hungary (AP) — Oszkár Nagyapáti climbed to the bottom of a sandy pit on his land on the Great Hungarian Plain and dug into the soil with his hand, looking for a sign of groundwater that in recent years has been in accelerating retreat. “It’s much worse, and it’s getting worse year after year,” he said as cloudy liquid slowly seeped into the hole. ”Where did so much water go? It’s unbelievable.”Nagyapáti has watched with distress as the region in southern Hungary, once an important site for agriculture, has become increasingly parched and dry. Where a variety of crops and grasses once filled the fields, today there are wide cracks in the soil and growing sand dunes more reminiscent of the Sahara Desert than Central Europe. The region, known as the Homokhátság, has been described by some studies as semiarid — a distinction more common in parts of Africa, the American Southwest or Australian Outback — and is characterized by very little rain, dried-out wells and a water table plunging ever deeper underground. In a 2017 paper in European Countryside, a scientific journal, researchers cited “the combined effect of climatic changes, improper land use and inappropriate environmental management” as causes for the Homokhátság's aridification, a phenomenon the paper called unique in this part of the continent.Fields that in previous centuries would be regularly flooded by the Danube and Tisza Rivers have, through a combination of climate change-related droughts and poor water retention practices, become nearly unsuitable for crops and wildlife. Now a group of farmers and other volunteers, led by Nagyapáti, are trying to save the region and their lands from total desiccation using a resource for which Hungary is famous: thermal water. “I was thinking about what could be done, how could we bring the water back or somehow create water in the landscape," Nagyapáti told The Associated Press. "There was a point when I felt that enough is enough. We really have to put an end to this. And that's where we started our project to flood some areas to keep the water in the plain.”Along with the group of volunteer “water guardians,” Nagyapáti began negotiating with authorities and a local thermal spa last year, hoping to redirect the spa's overflow water — which would usually pour unused into a canal — onto their lands. The thermal water is drawn from very deep underground. Mimicking natural flooding According to the water guardians' plan, the water, cooled and purified, would be used to flood a 2½-hectare (6-acre) low-lying field — a way of mimicking the natural cycle of flooding that channelizing the rivers had ended.“When the flooding is complete and the water recedes, there will be 2½ hectares of water surface in this area," Nagyapáti said. "This will be quite a shocking sight in our dry region.”A 2024 study by Hungary’s Eötvös Loránd University showed that unusually dry layers of surface-level air in the region had prevented any arriving storm fronts from producing precipitation. Instead, the fronts would pass through without rain, and result in high winds that dried out the topsoil even further. Creation of a microclimate The water guardians hoped that by artificially flooding certain areas, they wouldn't only raise the groundwater level but also create a microclimate through surface evaporation that could increase humidity, reduce temperatures and dust and have a positive impact on nearby vegetation. Tamás Tóth, a meteorologist in Hungary, said that because of the potential impact such wetlands can have on the surrounding climate, water retention “is simply the key issue in the coming years and for generations to come, because climate change does not seem to stop.”"The atmosphere continues to warm up, and with it the distribution of precipitation, both seasonal and annual, has become very hectic, and is expected to become even more hectic in the future,” he said. Following another hot, dry summer this year, the water guardians blocked a series of sluices along a canal, and the repurposed water from the spa began slowly gathering in the low-lying field. After a couple of months, the field had nearly been filled. Standing beside the area in early December, Nagyapáti said that the shallow marsh that had formed "may seem very small to look at it, but it brings us immense happiness here in the desert.”He said the added water will have a “huge impact” within a roughly 4-kilometer (2½-mile) radius, "not only on the vegetation, but also on the water balance of the soil. We hope that the groundwater level will also rise.”Persistent droughts in the Great Hungarian Plain have threatened desertification, a process where vegetation recedes because of high heat and low rainfall. Weather-damaged crops have dealt significant blows to the country’s overall gross domestic product, prompting Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to announce this year the creation of a “drought task force” to deal with the problem.After the water guardians' first attempt to mitigate the growing problem in their area, they said they experienced noticeable improvements in the groundwater level, as well as an increase of flora and fauna near the flood site. The group, which has grown to more than 30 volunteers, would like to expand the project to include another flooded field, and hopes their efforts could inspire similar action by others to conserve the most precious resource. “This initiative can serve as an example for everyone, we need more and more efforts like this," Nagyapáti said. "We retained water from the spa, but retaining any kind of water, whether in a village or a town, is a tremendous opportunity for water replenishment.”The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See – December 2025

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Agriculture
Land Use

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Vanishing Springs

The Florida you know is a lie. In contrast to what Americans have been told, Florida’s magic is not found in the giant mouse, the rolling green golf courses, or in the beachside palaces. The beauty and uniqueness of Florida is under our feet - the aquifer. This pure, crystal clear water is the life blood of our state and without it, life as we know it in the sunshine state would not exist. This life sustaining force is only seen where it bubbles up to the surface through Florida’s collection of 1,000 springs. These springs were originally what drew society to this land. Wealthy tourists in the 1900’s flooded the Florida springs seeking medicinal cures from its pristine waters. As springs became a popular tourist destination, spring houses were built around these pools of water. When this development began, the springs began flowing less and some eventually stopped altogether. People assumed this was the natural order of this wonder and moved on. Theme parks, golf courses and resorts were erected to entice tourists to visit Florida, the natural beauty of the state soon faded out of our memory. The springs of Florida now silently suffer from the effects of continued development in Florida. The current strain we are placing on the fragile ecosystem is choking the life out of our state. Overdevelopment is one of the leading forces that is damaging the springs. The once pure sources of water no longer boil up like a fountain the way they have for centuries. The water that the springs do produce is polluted by nitrates. This pollution fuels the growth of toxic algae blooms, which are taking over springs and the rivers they feed, thus putting our health at risk. Over 90% of our drinking water gushes out of these sapphire pools. These glorious reservoirs have begun to shrink. If something is not done soon, the springs will simply become part of Florida history. In southern Florida they already have. Springs once bubbled up all across the state. They were wiped out in South Florida decades ago by the ditching and draining of the landscape as well as over-pumping of the aquifer. This water was then sprayed on suburban lawns and farmers' fields, run through showers and flushed down toilets, turned into steam to crank turbines for electricity, or siphoned into plastic bottles for sale around the country. Because of poor use and neglect of our greatest resource, we will soon be without this supply of fresh water. Floridians regard their water supply as abundant and cheap, when the fact is it's neither. Until this attitude changes, the springs will not be rescued.

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Health

Lake Victoria: An Ecosystem in Turmoil

Decades of mismanagement, environmental changes and a burgeoning population have created tensions for the 40 million people living on the shores of the world's second largest freshwater lake, Lake Victoria. Desperate fishermen use illegal nets and overfish the East African lake's dwindling stocks, while many fishermen have had to turn to other forms of work - much of which has a detrimental impact on the health of the lake and its residents. Lake Victoria: An Ecosystem in Turmoil follows some of those trying to eek out a living on the lake: a Kenyan fisherman who illegally crosses the border into Uganda in the search for fish; a Ugandan who gave up fishing to become a palm oil farmer; and a Tanzanian gold miner using mercury with his bare hands to extract the precious mineral from unregulated mines on the lake's shores. But how well do they comprehend the pressure that they’re putting on the lake, and can the regional governments and communities take action before irreversible damage happens?

Land Use
Water
Government

Chicas al Agua

You can count the number of female paddlers in Futaleufú, Chile on one hand... and they want to change that. After many riverside matés and floating conversations, the idea to create a kayak course for local teenage girls was hatched. Thanks to a committed group of women from around the globe, what started as a dream is now an inspirational contribution to the local community.

Water
Youth
Inspirational

Cave Keeper

Exploration and discovery define an aging caver's life who now works to preserve his fragile access.

Conservation
Water
Student

Daaham Thirst

Water is a precious resource which humanity should use responsibly. Our relationship with Nature should always be guided by reciprocity. Nature protects us all and we in turn should protect natural resources and be sympathetic to the needs of fellow human beings.

Water
Culture
Fiction

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