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According to the Environmental Protection Agency, between 30 and 60 percent of water consumption in American homes comes from outdoor use, depending on how dry the climate is. The EPA also states that water managers in 40 states anticipate water shortages, under average rainfall conditions, over the next 10 years. Even in typically rainy regions like the Pacific Northwest, summers are becoming drier.

That’s where a gravel garden comes in. “We are trying to create a beautiful garden with what Mother Nature provides, meaning rain,” says horticulturist Jeff Epping, “because water is incredibly precious, and it’s getting more and more scarce.”

Using a thick layer of gravel improves drainage and water runoff by helping the rainwater make its way to the soil underneath. And putting dry-loving plants into the gravel can dramatically reduce your water bill: Once the plants are established, there is no need for supplemental watering.

Gravel gardens also make a great alternative to the traditional lawns that have dominated American landscapes for decades. And a gravel garden full of water-wise plants that don’t require pesticides, fertilizers or mowing can help promote biodiversity by creating a happy habitat for local birds, pollinators and other beneficial insects. If you plant catmint, for example, it can attract bees that will help pollinate and reproduce those plants over time. The strong scent of the leaves of catmint can also repel garden pests, including rabbits and deer.

Epping says he’s noticed a huge difference in the wildlife that visit his gravel garden in Madison, Wis. The native plants, such as prairie baby’s breath, are “chock-full of bees and wasps,” and Monarch butterflies lay eggs on the nearby milkweed.

“I’m not just gardening for me, or choosing plants that just look good to me,” Epping says. “I’m doing it for the birds, and butterflies and the insects.”

The first step in creating a gravel garden is choosing your spot, ideally somewhere that gets full sun. There are no size requirements; you can make a large or small space work, if you choose your plants accordingly. Try to place your garden away from trees to keep debris from falling in because as plant detritus builds up and breaks down, unwanted weed seedlings could germinate and start growing.

Once you’ve chosen a location, excavate the top layer of dirt by removing all existing vegetation. Make a border of pavers or stones about 6 inches high to keep the gravel contained and at a consistent level, and to help keep weeds at bay.

Next, you’ll need a good quality washed gravel stone, ideally from a local supplier or quarry. Go with a hard stone that won’t break down over time, Epping says. The gravel should be all the same size, so the pieces remain loose and allow water to move through. Think of it as marbles in a jar.

Look for stones between ¼- and 3/8-inch, says Adam Glas, a garden supervisor at the Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. “If it’s too small, then it will hold moisture,” he says. “If it’s too large, the weed seeds can fall deeply into the gravel layer and find the subsoil.”

Spread the stones evenly across the area in a 4- to 5-inch layer. This foundation is key, Epping says, because if your gravel is too deep, the plants struggle. If it’s too shallow, “the roots of weed seedlings will reach the soil below and become established in your nice, clean gravel garden.”

Choose plants based on what will survive in your region, says James Monroe, who shares plant tips on Instagram at @unknownsucculents. Start by checking the USDA plant hardiness zone map.

Go for “a mixture of natives and non-natives that are climate adapted to your area” with deep root systems, says Erin Lau, a landscape designer in Seattle. Or better yet, Epping says, go all-in on natives. “They all do fine without us watering them, so we just need to use those throughout our gardens.” Depending on where you live, that could include perennials such as allium, foxglove beardtongue or Eastern bluestar.

Whatever you choose, start small. “Don’t be buying two- and three-gallon plants to put into your gravel culture,” says Jeff Jabco, director of grounds and coordinator of horticulture for the Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College. You want to be able to tease the soil from the root ball into a bucket or tray, to keep organic matter out of the gravel and minimize the disturbance to your gravel layer when you’re planting down into it. It’s much easier to do that with quart-size plants or plugs.

You don’t need any special gardening tools. Just use your hands to dig into the gravel, making sure you do not dig up the soil underneath. Pop the plant in and cover the root system with the gravel, ensuring the crown of the plant is flush with the top of the gravel. There’s no hard and fast rule for arranging the plants, but Epping recommends spacing them about a foot apart.

Minimal maintenance required

Read the full story here.

Initially, you’ll need to water the garden frequently to help the plants along. But eventually, Glas says, if you’re using plants “that want to send their roots deep down and find the moisture within the soil, you shouldn’t have to water at all.”

You also don’t need to mulch, or use harsh fertilizers or soil amendments. A leaf blower is helpful to get rid of dust and foliage that lands on the gravel, and to help ensure weed seeds don’t germinate, but you could also use your hands. After winter, there is some cleanup to be done, cutting back herbaceous plants and removing leaf litter, but otherwise, you should be home-free. That’s because the gravel does the work, Epping says. As the garden grows over time, you can barely see the gravel under all the vibrant plant life.

This low-lift maintenance is exactly what drew Egbert to gravel gardening. “I’m not constantly coming home and thinking, ‘oh gosh, I’ve got to trim the hedges, mow the lawn, spray the lawn,’” he says. “It’s not a burden anymore. It’s just a pleasure.”

Photos courtesy of

Related News

People living along polluted Thames file legal complaint to force water firm to act

Residents claim raw sewage and poorly treated effluent as result of Thames Water’s failings are threat to healthCommunities across south-east England are filing the first coordinated legal complaints that sewage pollution by Thames Water negatively affects their lives.Thames Water failed to complete upgrades to 98 treatment plants and pumping stations which have the worst records for sewage pollution into the environment, despite a promise to invest in them over the last five years. Continue reading...

Communities across south-east England are filing the first coordinated legal complaints that sewage pollution by Thames Water negatively affects their lives.Thames Water failed to complete upgrades to 98 treatment plants and pumping stations which have the worst records for sewage pollution into the environment, despite a promise to invest in them over the last five years.People in 13 areas including Hackney, Oxford, Richmond upon Thames and Wokingham are sending statutory nuisance complaints to their local authorities demanding accountability from Thames Water and urgent action.At several sites it is not just raw sewage from storm overflows that causes pollution but also the quality of treated effluent coming from Thames Water facilities, which presents a direct threat to public health, the campaigners say.At Thames’s Newbury sewage treatment plant, raw effluent discharges into the River Kennet, a protected chalk stream. Data shows raw sewage discharges from the plant increased by 240% between 2019 and 2024 from 482 hours to 1,630 hours. Thames says the plant is among its 26 most polluting sites.Thames wants the water regulator, Ofwat, to allow it to charge customers £1.18bn over the next five years for the upgrades it has failed to carry out. But the regulator has refused to let it pass the full cost on to customers, allowing only £793m, as it deems bill payers have already funded the upgrades. It says any escalation of costs should be borne by Thames Water.With the company failing to act, people living in the catchment are turning to statutory nuisance complaints under section 79 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. In letters to their local authorities, they are asking for decisive action by Thames to stop its sewage pollution that is causing harm along the river.A statutory nuisance is an activity that unreasonably interferes with the use or enjoyment of land and is likely to cause prejudice or injury to health.Those living in the area say sewage pollution from Thames’s failing sites and infrastructure has made rivers unsafe and disrupted recreation, sport, local businesses and everyday enjoyment.They cite a 16-year-old rower from Henley rowing club who became unwell after training on the river; tests confirmed he had contracted E coli. His illness coincided with his GCSE exams, preventing him from revising and sitting some papers.In West Berkshire, people are highlighting the case of a kayaker who capsized and became unwell over the following days. And at Tagg’s Island in Hampton, south-west London, five children became ill after playing in the River Thames near Hurst Park.Laura Reineke, who lives in Henley-on-Thames and founded the campaign group Friends of the Thames, said: “People here are fed up with living beside a river that’s being treated like an open sewer. We’ve submitted a nuisance complaint to our local authority because what Thames Water is doing is unacceptable.”Citizen testing of the river has found treated effluent leaving the Henley plant has contained E coli at levels 30 times higher than bathing water safe levels, calculated using Thames Water’s data released under an environmental information request.“Local residents are angry and determined to hold this company accountable for the damage it’s causing to our river and our community,” Reineke said.Thames has already received a record £104m fine by Ofwat over environmental breaches involving sewage spills across its network, after failing to operate and manage its treatment works and wastewater networks effectively.Amy Fairman, the head of campaigns at River Action, which is supporting the coordinated complaints, said: “This action is about fixing sewage pollution in the Thames for good, not compensating people for past failings.“Each local authority must investigate these complaints and, where statutory nuisance is found to exist, issue an abatement notice and take enforcement action. Councils now have a legal duty to act.”She said there was extensive evidence of performance failures at Thames Water, which was on the brink of insolvency. Despite this ministers had not put the company into special administration, a process that would allow for urgent infrastructure upgrades, put public interest ownership and governance first, and protect communities and the environment.Thames Water was approached for comment.

Health

Pollution

Gold clam invasion in NZ threatens drinking water for millions of people

The invasion threatens more than water. Clams could foul dam intakes and reduce hydroelectric efficiency in a river that generates 13% of New Zealand’s power.

Michele Melchior, CC BY-NDAs a geochemist studying New Zealand’s freshwater systems, I’ve spent years tracking the subtle chemical shifts in our rivers and lakes. But nothing prepared me for the rapid transformation unfolding in the Waikato River since the invasion of the Asian clam (Corbicula fluminea, also known as the freshwater gold clam). First detected in May 2023 in Lake Karāpiro, a reservoir lake on the Waikato, this bivalve is now altering the river’s chemistry in ways that could jeopardise drinking water for up to two million people, disrupt hydroelectric power and undermine decades of ecosystem restoration efforts. Our team’s work reveals how these clams are depleting essential minerals like calcium from the water, impairing arsenic removal during treatment and signalling a rapid escalation with broader impacts ahead. Gold clams now dominate the river bed in many areas, with densities exceeding 1,000 individuals per square metre. Michele Melchior, CC BY-ND Native to eastern Asia, the gold clam can self-fertilise and spreads via contaminated gear, birds or floods. Climate change will likely accelerate its invasion. The problem is already spreading quickly beyond the Waikato River. A recent detection in a Taranaki lake has led to waterway closures. And warnings for the Whanganui River underscore the urgent need for national vigilance. A silent invasion with big consequences The Waikato River stretches 425 km from Lake Taupō to the Tasman Sea, powering nine hydroelectric dams and supplying drinking water to Auckland, Hamilton and beyond. It’s a taonga (cultural treasure) central to Māori identity and the subject of a landmark restoration strategy, Te Ture Whaimana o Te Awa o Waikato, that aims to revive the river’s mauri (life force). In late 2024, arsenic levels in treated Waikato water briefly exceeded safe limits of 0.01 milligrams per litre (mg/L), triggering alarms at treatment plants. Investigations ruled out typical culprits such as geothermal spikes. Instead, our analysis points to the clams. By filtering water and building calcium carbonate shells, the clams are drawing down dissolved calcium by 25% below historical norms. But calcium is crucial for water treatment processes because it helps bind and remove contaminants such as arsenic. Our modelling estimates the clams are forming up to 30 tonnes of calcium carbonate daily in Lake Karāpiro alone. This suggests lake-wide densities averaging around 300 individuals per square metre. 2025 surveys show hotspots with up to 1,134 clams per square metre. The result? Impaired arsenic removal. Without stable calcium, flocs (clumps of particles) don’t form properly, letting arsenic slip through. While the exceedances were short-lived and contained through quick adjustments, they exposed vulnerabilities in a system optimised for historically consistent river chemistry. Field teams survey the rapidly expanding population of freshwater gold clams in the Waikato River. Michele Melchior, CC BY-ND How the clams are changing the river The gold clam isn’t just a filter-feeder; it’s an ecosystem engineer. Each clam can process up to a litre of water per hour, sequestering calcium for shells while releasing ammonia and bicarbonate. Our data from 2024-2025, collected at multiple sites, show these shifts are most pronounced in deeper waters. Statistical tests confirm patterns absent in pre-invasion records. Longer residence times in the reservoir lake (up to seven days) exacerbate the issue. Faster flushing correlates with higher growth rates, as clams ramp up activity. But prolonged retention in warmer months can lead to hypoxia (low oxygen), with the potential to trigger mass die-offs that release toxins or mobilise sediment-bound arsenic. Lake Karāpiro water column temperature and dissolved oxygen levels (from November 2024 to October 2025) show oxygen depletion in deep water during warmer summer conditions, likely exacerbated by the gold clam. Author provided, CC BY-NC-ND These changes threaten more than water treatment. Clams could biofoul dam intakes and reduce hydroelectric efficiency in a river that generates 13% of New Zealand’s power (25% at peak). Native species like kākahi (freshwater mussels) face competition and shifts in nutrient cycling could fuel algal blooms, clashing with restoration goals. Climate risks and stressors in a warming world Amid these ongoing changes, climate projections indicate that hot, dry events – such as prolonged heatwaves or droughts – are likely to become more frequent. Such conditions could reduce river flows and elevate water temperatures, lowering dissolved oxygen levels and creating low-oxygen zones. If clam densities continue to rise exponentially, a mass die-off might occur. This would release pulses of ammonia and organic matter that further deplete dissolved oxygen. This, in turn, could promote arsenic mobilisation from sediments and harmful algal blooms in nutrient-enriched, stagnant waters. This could necessitate supply restrictions for affected communities. Ecologically, it might kill fish and disrupt native biodiversity. Economically, it could interrupt industries reliant on the river. From the Waikato to a nationwide threat The invasion isn’t contained. The clam, which can produce up to 70,000 juveniles annually, thrives in warm, nutrient-rich waters. It is notoriously hard to eradicate once established. In mid-November, the Taranaki Regional Council confirmed the gold clam in Lake Rotomanu. Just days later, warnings were issued to boaties on the Whanganui River, urging rigorous “check, clean, dry” protocols. Without intervention, the clams could reach other systems, including the Clutha or Waitaki, and compound pressures on New Zealand’s already stressed freshwaters. Our research highlights the need for integrated action. Monitoring should expand, incorporating environmental DNA for early detection and calcium isotope tracing to pinpoint clam impacts. Water providers could trial calcium dosing during peak growth periods. But solutions must honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles. Collaboration with iwi and blending mātauranga Māori (indigenous knowledge) with science, such as using tikanga indicators for water health, is essential. Biosecurity measures including gear decontamination campaigns are critical to slow spread. Field teams are counting invasive gold clams on the banks of the Waikato River. Michele Melchior, CC BY-ND This invasion intersects with New Zealand’s evolving water policy framework, particularly the Local Water Done Well regime which replaced the repealed Three Waters reforms in late 2023. Councils are now implementing delivery plans and focusing on financial sustainability and infrastructure upgrades. The Water Services Authority Taumata Arawai continues as the national regulator, enforcing standards amid an estimated NZ$185-260 billion infrastructure deficit. Recent government announcements propose further streamlining, including replacing regional councils with panels of mayors or territories boards, while encouraging amalgamations to simplify planning and infrastructure delivery. These changes aim to make local government more cost-effective and responsive to issues such as housing growth and infrastructure funding. But a hot or dry event could test the effectiveness of water policy, potentially straining inter-council coordination for shared resources such as the Waikato River and highlighting gaps in emergency response. Globally, the gold clam has cost billions in damages. New Zealand can’t afford to wait. By acting now, we can protect Te Awa o Waikato and safeguard water security for generations. Adam Hartland receives funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment via grant LVLX2302.

Business

Greeks Challenge EU-Backed Fish Farms Amid Environmental Concerns

For Dimitris Kaleantopoulos, the mud is most disconcerting. When he sets out in his fishing boat, the waters of the Aegean Sea are clear enough for him to see quite a ways down. He says that for large patches of the shallow waters that encircle his village on the Greek island of Evia, where there […]

The country is one of the top producers of farmed fish in the EU, which has promoted aquaculture as an environmentally sustainable option for food security within the bloc.By Moira LavelleFor Dimitris Kaleantopoulos, the mud is most disconcerting. When he sets out in his fishing boat, the waters of the Aegean Sea are clear enough for him to see quite a ways down. He says that for large patches of the shallow waters that encircle his village on the Greek island of Evia, where there were once meadows of wavering sea grass and schools of minute silver fish, there is now a thick layer of sludge. “It’s a quagmire,” he said.

Food

Sustainable

Water shortages could derail UK’s net zero plans, study finds

Tensions grow after research in England finds there may not be enough water for planned carbon capture and hydrogen projectsRevealed: Europe’s water reserves drying up due to climate breakdownTensions are growing between the government, the water sector and its regulators over the management of England’s water supplies, as the Environment Agency warns of a potential widespread drought next year.Research commissioned by a water retailer has found water scarcity could hamper the UK’s ability to reach its net zero targets, and that industrial growth could push some areas of the country into water shortages. Continue reading...

Tensions are growing between the government, the water sector and its regulators over the management of England’s water supplies, as the Environment Agency warns of a potential widespread drought next year.Research commissioned by a water retailer has found water scarcity could hamper the UK’s ability to reach its net zero targets, and that industrial growth could push some areas of the country into water shortages.The government has a legally binding target to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and has committed to a clean power system by 2030 with at least 95% of electricity generated from low-carbon sources, but the study concludes there will not be enough water available to support all planned carbon capture and hydrogen projects.Development of these kinds of projects, which use significant amounts of water, could push some UK regions into water shortages, according to the analysis undertaken by Durham University and funded by the water retailer Wave – a joint venture between Anglian Venture Holdings, the investment and management vehicle responsible for Anglian Water Group’s commercial businesses, and the Northumbrian Water Group.Led by Prof Simon Mathias, an expert in hydraulics, hydrology and environmental engineering, researchers assessed plans across England’s five largest industrial clusters in Humberside, north-west England, the Tees Valley, the Solent and the Black Country, to determine how much water would be needed to reach net zero and whether the UK’s future water supply could meet this demand.“Decarbonisation efforts associated with carbon capture and hydrogen production could add up to 860m litres per day of water demand by 2050. In some regions, for example Anglian Water and United Utilities, deficits could emerge as early as 2030,” said Mathias.Decarbonisation within the Humberside industrial cluster could push Anglian Water into water deficit by 2030, leading to a shortage of 130m litres a day by 2050, while plans around the north-west cluster could push United Utilities into a deficit of around 70m litres a day by 2030, according to the research.However, a United Utilities spokesperson said the deficit figures were “overstated as regional water management plans already make allowances for the predicted hydrogen demand”, and added that the “drive to net zero is an important issue facing the water sector, with significant work already under way to drive sustainable solutions”.Anglian Water did recognise the deficit figures but said they were at the upper end of a range it had considered. It blamed Ofwat for not allowing water companies to spend more, hindering its ability to secure future supplies.Business demand is often excluded from strategic planning, according to Anglian Water, which it said prevented water companies from making the investments needed, weakening the system’s resilience to the climate crisis and limiting its capacity to support economic growth.A spokesperson for Water UK confirmed water companies’ plans to ensure there were enough water supplies in the future did not take into account the needs of some large planned projects, and blamed the Environment Agency for the omission.“After being blocked from building reservoirs for more than 30 years, we have finally been given approval to build 10. The problem is that the Environment Agency’s forecasts, on which the size, number and locations of these reservoirs are based, do not account for the government’s economic or low-carbon ambitions. Hydrogen energy needs a lot of water, so correcting these forecasts is increasingly urgent.”Nigel Corfield from Wave said he had commissioned the work because “water companies don’t have the same statutory obligations for businesses as they do for households, and we sensed that there was going to be a bit of a problem”.“Government and Ofwat are allowing businesses and these big projects to sort themselves out in terms of how they’re going to get their water,” said Corfield. “We generally don’t think that’s right, because this is about energy security so we think that the best people to provide that and supply that and support that are the water companies.”The government said the UK was “rolling out hydrogen at scale”, with 10 projects said to be shovel-ready. It said it expected all schemes to have sustainable water-sourcing plans and, where required, abstraction licences. Carbon capture schemes would get the green light only if they could prove they met strict legal standards and limits and offered “a high level of protection” for people and the environment, it said.“We face a growing water shortage in the next decade and that is one of the reasons we are driving long-term systemic change to tackle the impacts of climate change,” said a government spokesperson.“This includes £104bn of private investment to help reduce leakage and build nine reservoirs, as well as a record £10.5bn in government funding for new flood defences to protect nearly 900,000 properties by 2036.”But Dieter Helm, a professor of economic policy at the University of Oxford, said England’s water system was stuck in the past and that there was no lack of water, rather that it was badly managed.“It’s worse than an analogue industry,” he said. “Until recently, some water companies didn’t even know where their sewage works were, let alone whether they were discharging into rivers. The information set is extremely weak. But a data revolution now means we can map water systems in extraordinary detail, digitally, at a far finer resolution.”Helm said every drop of water should be measured and reported in real time, and that the data should sit with a new, independent catchment regulator, not the water companies.“You should never be able to have an abstraction without an abstraction meter,” he said. “And it should be a smart meter, automatically reporting. You can’t run a system without data, and you can’t rely on the water companies to hold the data for everyone in the system – they’re just one player.”In his model, the catchment regulator would hold live data on “all the catchment uses of water”, such as abstraction, runoff, water and river levels, sewage discharges, and publish everything on a public website. Anyone, he said, should be able to look up a catchment, see what was going on, and even model the impact of a new project, such as a hydrogen plant, on the system.“That’s how you run an electricity system,” Helm said. “Why don’t we have that in water? And why don’t we have a body responsible for it? There’s an information revolution required here, quite separate from the question of whether we actually run short of water.”The government and the Environment Agency have already warned of an England-wide water deficit of 6bn litres a day by 2055, and have said England faces widespread drought next year unless there is significant rainfall over the winter.

Government

Brown Grass Cost a Famed Golf Course a Big Tournament and Highlighted Hawaii Water Problems

The Plantation Course at Kapalua Resort on Maui is famous for its ocean views and hosting The Sentry, a $20 million PGA Tour event

HONOLULU (AP) — High up on the slopes of the west Maui mountains, the Plantation Course at Kapalua Resort provides golfers with expansive ocean views. The course is so renowned that The Sentry, a $20 million signature event for the PGA Tour, had been held there nearly every year for more than a quarter-century. “You have to see it to believe it," said Ann Miller, a former longtime Honolulu newspaper golf writer. “You're looking at other islands, you're looking at whales. ... Every view is beautiful.”Its world-class status also depends on keeping the course green.Ultimately, as the Plantation's fairways and greens grew brown, the PGA Tour canceled the season opener, a blow that cost what officials estimate to be $50 million economic impact on the area.A two-month closure and some rain helped get the course in suitable condition to reopen 17 holes earlier this month to everyday golfers who pay upwards of $469 to play a round. The 18th hole is set to reopen Monday, but the debate is far from over about the source of the water used to keep the course green and what its future looks like amid climate change. Questions about Hawaii's golf future There’s concern that other high-profile tournaments will also bow out, taking with them economic benefits, such as money for charities, Miller said.“It could literally change the face of it,” she said, “and it could change the popularity, obviously, too.”The company that owns the courses, along with Kapalua homeowners and Hua Momona Farms, filed a lawsuit in August alleging Maui Land & Pineapple, which operates the century-old system of ditches that provides irrigation water to Kapalua and its residents, has not kept up repairs, affecting the amount of water getting down from the mountain.MLP has countersued and the two sides have exchanged accusations since then.As the water-delivery dispute plays out in court, Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental legal group, is calling attention to a separate issue involving the use of drinking water for golf course irrigation, particularly irksome to residents contending with water restrictions amid drought, including Native Hawaiians who consider water a sacred resource.“Potable ground drinking water needs to be used for potable use,” Lauren Palakiko, a west Maui taro farmer, told the Hawaii Commission on Water Resource Management at a recent meeting. “I can’t stress enough that it should never be pumped, injuring our aquifer for the sake of golf grass or vacant mansion swimming pools.” ‘This is water that we can drink’ Kapalua's Plantation and Bay courses, owned by TY Management Corp., have historically been irrigated with surface water delivered under an agreement with Maui Land & Pineapple, but since at least the summer have been using millions of gallons of potable groundwater, according to Earthjustice attorneys who point to correspondence from commission Chairperson Dawn Chang to MLP and Hawaii Water Service they say confirms it. Chang said her letter didn't authorize anything, but merely acknowledged an “oral representation" that using groundwater is an an “existing use” at times when there’s not enough surface water. She is asking for supporting documentation from MLP and Hawaii Water Service to confirm that interpretation. In emails to The Associated Press, MLP said it did not believe groundwater could be used for golf course irrigation and Hawaii Water Service said it didn’t communicate to the commission that using groundwater to irrigate the courses was an existing use. MLP's two wells that service the course provide potable water. “This is water that we can drink. It’s an even more precious resource within the sacred resource of wai,” Dru Hara, an Earthjustice attorney said, using the Hawaiian word for water. TY, owned by Japanese billionaire and apparel brand Uniqlo’s founder Tadashi Yanai, doesn't have control over what kind of water is in the reservoir they draw upon for irrigation, TY General Manager Kenji Yui said in a statement. They're also researching ways to bring recycled water to Kapalua for irrigation. Kamanamaikalani Beamer, a former commissioner, said he's troubled by Earthjustice's allegations that proper procedures weren't followed. The wrangling over water for golf shows that courses in Hawaii need to change their relationship with water, Beamer said: “I think there needs to be a time very soon that all golf courses are utilizing at a minimum recycled water.” Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See – Nov. 2025

Nature

Suggested Viewing

Waterbackpack PAUL

The world is a paradise but more and more natural and manmade disasters happen. A German professor and his students invent a tiny but ingenious bag to clean polluted water after environmental catastrophes without chemicals and electricity to save people's life.

Pollution

Solutions

The Cost of Sand

The Cost of Sand highlights the potential destruction of a crucial bio-link on the edge of the Ramsar wetlands from proposed expansion of sandmining in Bass Coast, Victoria. It features interviews with scientists and conservationists about the significance of preserving the last remnant coastal bushland in the region and the vulnerable wildlife and ecosystems it supports.

Resources

Conservation

I Am Ocean - PT Hirschfield

This short film showcases the inspirational story of PT Hirschfield, who's successful 11-year battle with endometrial cancer has been fueled by her passion for scuba diving, a deep connection with the underwater world, and a mission to save the heavily persecuted wildlife at her local dive sites. The film was created for Ocean Media Institute as part of its 'I am Ocean' series documenting powerful human connections with the ocean from around the world.

Inspirational

Documentary

Death and the Dragon

The drought and the lack of water supplies in the capital city of Iran (Tehran), is a horrendous problem nowadays. The lakes of Tehran's area are all dried, some of the farmers have got to irrigate their farms by a kind of drainage to produce adequate harvest. This documentary proves that these problems have historical reasons and background in the political history of Iran in the last century. In addition to this historical and scientific view, The director shows that the fear of drought and famine in Iran is one of the major issues in Persian mythologies and legends. Narration of the film uses a poetic language to combine a mythological story about drought with the historical realities according to this specific topic: There's a dreadful dragon in Persian mythology, who is immortal and responsible for drought. Water crisis in Tehran contemporary history is a major problem too; and a dry land is a sign of the return of the dragon.

Culture

Government

Caught in Quicksand

The Dead Sea is disappearing. The documentary, Caught in Quicksand, was made to raise public awareness about the receding of the Dead Sea.