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Independent journalism on water, public health and the environment

WATERSHED partners with national and international media to run high impact investigations covering all issues affecting the freshwater and marine environment.

Revealed: how companies ‘secretly’ use billions of litres of public water in drought-hit England

Revealed: how companies ‘secretly’ use billions of litres of public water in drought-hit England

Less than 1% of businesses in England use more water than the daily needs of 10 million people, as millions of households face hosepipe bans and three-quarters of the country is in drought.

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE FRESHWATER WATER RESOURCES
PUBLISHED IN:
LINKS:
• THE GUARDIAN
“Nobody trusts the water, not with all the cancers,” Chief Tuccaro.

“Nobody trusts the water, not with all the cancers,” Chief Tuccaro.

Canada’s oil companies want permission to treat and release toxic waste from Alberta’s tar sands into the Athabasca River — the same river that flows into the drinking water supplies of First Nations communities. But many First Nations leaders say they’re already carrying an unbearable burden from the world’s fourth‑largest oil reserve, with health impacts […]

CHEMICALS CLIMATE CRISIS CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE FRESHWATER POLLUTION PUBLIC HEALTH WILDLIFE
PUBLISHED IN:
LINKS:
• PRX The World
Toxic for 100 years: the UK golf course built on chemical waste dump

Toxic for 100 years: the UK golf course built on chemical waste dump

Despite contamination at Malkins Bank in Cheshire, it is deemed suitable for golf … and now a children’s play area.

CHEMICALS LAND USE POLLUTION PUBLIC HEALTH
PUBLISHED IN:
LINKS:
• The Guardian
‘It’s Russian roulette’: alarm as Europe backs critical minerals mines in water-stressed regions

‘It’s Russian roulette’: alarm as Europe backs critical minerals mines in water-stressed regions

The European Commission plans to rewrite the EU’s flagship water protection law to speed up the development of critical minerals mines, despite many being located in drying and water-stressed regions, Watershed's analysis has found.

CLIMATE CRISIS ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE POLLUTION WATER RESOURCES
PUBLISHED IN:
LINKS:
• THE GUARDIAN
Oil fuels separatism in Canada

Oil fuels separatism in Canada

It’s being called Canada’s “Brexit moment.” Alberta’s premier has announced that a referendum will be held in October, asking voters in the province whether they wish to remain part of Canada, or begin the legal process of pursuing separation.

CLIMATE CRISIS ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE POLLUTION PUBLIC HEALTH
PUBLISHED IN:
LINKS:
• PRX The World • BBC The Weekend • Soundcloud
Gibraltar dumping all of its raw sewage into Mediterranean

Gibraltar dumping all of its raw sewage into Mediterranean

Raw sewage from nearly 40,000 people and businesses is being pumped straight into the sea because the British overseas territory of Gibraltar does not have, and has never had, a wastewater treatment plant.

OCEANS POLLUTION PUBLIC HEALTH
PUBLISHED IN:
LINKS:
• THE GUARDIAN
‘Forever chemicals’ in water linked to film studio

‘Forever chemicals’ in water linked to film studio

The site of a former film studio has been investigated as a possible source of “forever chemicals” found in groundwater, a water company said.

CHEMICALS FRESHWATER
PUBLISHED IN:
LINKS:
• BBC Online • BBC Radio
Germany was largest exporter of plastic waste in 2025, sending 810,000 tonnes overseas

Germany was largest exporter of plastic waste in 2025, sending 810,000 tonnes overseas

In 2025, about a fifth of Britain’s plastic waste exports still went to non-OECD countries, with shipments to Malaysia – now the UK’s third-largest destination – rising by almost 60% since 2024. Pua Lay Peng, a Malaysian activist who campaigns against the influx of foreign plastic waste and the resulting pollution, said: “This is waste colonialism.”

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE PLASTICS POLLUTION
PUBLISHED IN:
LINKS:
• The Guardian
‘Drinking from a fetid pond’: superbug-creating genes found in UK’s largest lake

‘Drinking from a fetid pond’: superbug-creating genes found in UK’s largest lake

Watershed detected genes capable of creating antibiotic-resistant superbugs in the UK’s largest lake, which supplies drinking water to about 40% of Northern Ireland.

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE FRESHWATER LAND USE POLLUTION PUBLIC HEALTH WATER RESOURCES
PUBLISHED IN:
LINKS:
• The Guardian • BBC Radio • BBC NI Radio

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