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These lessons from rural Africa could help eradicate poverty-related tropical diseases in the U.S. South

Lyndsey Gilpin

August 30, 2018 |

Southerly |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Nigeria

In the 1980s, throughout African and Asian countries, a tropical disease known as guinea worm was being transmitted through contaminated stagnant water. Thanks to a combination of endeavors that included "education and intervention programs, funding for clean water access, and government-supported public health campaigns," the near eradication of this epidemic is now being used as a model for how to combat other diseases in various parts of the world.

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What a project in Wisconsin can teach others about working with farmers to reduce phosphorus runoff

Stephanie Hemphill

January 23, 2019 |

Ensia |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Green Bay, Wisconsin

In Green Bay, Wisconsin, farmers are experimenting with BMPs, or best management practices, to farm their land in a way that protects the environment and decrease algae in the water. Five years into the pilot program, early results show some progress - and as more farmers adopt BMPs, the bigger the impact on the waterways will be.

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The Flint of California

Patricia Leigh Brown

May 25, 2016 |

Politico |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Matheny Tract, California

The Flint lead crisis has made us think of tainted water as an urban problem, aging pipes slowly poisoning the children of poor communities - but a huge amount of America’s substandard drinking water is actually consumed in all but invisible rural areas. An arsenic-poisoned community in California becomes the test case for a new legal idea: the 'human right to water.'

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As floods increase, cities like Detroit are looking to green stormwater infrastructure

Erica Gies

April 16, 2019 |

Ensia |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Detroit, Michigan

In Detroit, a city with plenty of open space, there is ample opportunity for green stormwater infrastructure to help the city better manage water. The dual goal of decreasing water pollution and better managing flood conditions has already started with the 16 GSI projects in use. A new approach to water drainage fees based on amount of land has incentivized business owners to implement their own stormwater-reducing measures. The city plans to spend $50 million more on these efforts in the next ten years.

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As the West burns, a town fields its own amateur firefighters

Carl Segerstrom

September 05, 2018 |

High Country News |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Dufur, Oregon

In the town of Dufur, Oregon, local residents have been acting as firefighters to protect their fields and homes, using farming equipment to bury dry vegetation and tanks of water to put out the flames. While this has been the norm for years – because of the length of time it takes professional firefighters to arrive – the recent increase in wildfires is calling into question the safety of this informal fire fighting and figuring out how to work together with professionals.

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This building designed to flood is a glimpse of things to come

Katharine Schwab

September 28, 2018 |

FastCompany |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: India, Mumbai

At a factory in Mumbai, clever design and “resilient architecture” join together to form the “Concrete Void,” a space designed to hold water during India’s monsoon season. Rather than trying to keep the water out, the architect designed the factory such that this Concrete Void, positioned below the higher level of the factory, holds water in the rainy season. In the off-season, it functions as an amphitheater space for workers to gather. As climate change becomes more of a threat, more types of this resilient architecture are expected to be created.

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Newark DIG: Doing Infrastructure Green

Scott Morris

December 19, 2017 |

CivicStory |

Video |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Newark, New Jersey

Due in part to an outdated infrastructure, Newark's storm sewers get overwhelmed with litter, oil and other materials that end up impacting the cleanliness of the community's drinking water. To combat this issue, a group of passionate community members formed Doing Infrastructure Green (DIG) to help bring education to residents about sustainable solutions around the water supply.

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Towaoc Had No Running Water in the 1970s. Now it Does, and the Tribe Irrigates a Farm. What Changed?

Austin Cope

May 22, 2018 |

KSJD |

Radio |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Colorado

A green oasis sits amongst desert land in southwest Colorado, but this swath of Ute Mountain land wasn't always so fortunate. Thanks in large part to the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe leveraging their sovereignty, a settlement led to federal funding for canals, pipelines and the construction of the McPhee reservoir.

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New sanitation system tested in Arctic village of Kivalina

Scott Jensen

September 07, 2015 |

Anchorage Daily News |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Kivalina, Alaska

Lack of access to sanitary bathrooms in the village of Kivalina, Alaska led to the implementation of a novel, home-based water sanitation system, currently being tested for effectiveness. The hope is that it proves to be a solution for areas all over the state with lack of access to clean water systems.

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Mending Coastal Marshes

Kerry Rose Graning

January 20, 2020 |

Hakai Magazine |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Louisiana

Martin Ecosystems uses recycled plastic bottles to manufacture artificial islands and shorelines, allowing native vegetation to grow and preventing land erosion, which has restored Louisiana’s wetlands and barrier islands. Plastic mats are layered, injected with Coast Guard approved foam for buoyancy, and planted with native vegetation. Once anchored in rows of up to 20 or more, they act as breakwaters reducing wave height by up to 80% and minimizing erosion. The mats also provide cover for nesting birds and a complex ecosystem for aquatic life. They have withstood years of hurricanes and tropical storms.

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