the water observer

EIB and Gruppo CAP sign €100 million deal to modernise Lombardy’s water systems

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Gruppo CAP have signed a €100 million finance agreement to support the company’s 2025–2030 investment plan. The announcement was made by EIB D...

Water crisis: the subtle rise of managed aquifer recharge

They allow water to be stored in its most precious reservoir, the subsoil, with lower environmental impacts and costs than surface aquifers. Yet, for decades, managed aquifer recharge (MAR) tec...

Elizabeth A. Koch: “Who is missing from the rooms of water diplomacy?”

For much of modern history, water diplomacy has been a predominantly male domain. From engineers, hydrologists, and agronomists designing irrigation systems to the “hydro-bureaucrats” ma...

Turning water from a problem into a resource: the challenge of sustainable cities

To counter climate change, we must rethink the way we design and experience our cities: public health, the environment, urban planning and innovation must converge in a single “One Health&rdqu...

Water at the heart of COP30: what to expect after the Baku turning point

Within the global debate on the climate crisis, water represents a central paradox. According to experts, it is the element through which approximately 70% of the impacts of climate change manifest ...

Water Cycle and Blue Economy Take Center Stage at Ecomondo 2025

Water is increasingly becoming the most transversal sector of the green economy — a crucial resource that embodies the urgency of circular management and sustainable innovation. At Ecomon...

A New Global Map Reveals 426 Shared Aquifers Crossing Borders

This article is also available in Italian / Questo articolo è disponibile anche in italiano The world’s hidden water reserves have just been mapped with unprecedented detail. The Inter...

PFAS, the “forever chemicals” that challenge science and the environment

This article is also available in Italian / Questo articolo è disponibile anche in italiano Resistant to water, grease and high temperatures. But also indestructible, “silent” an...

Why UNGA 80 and the 2026 UN Water Conference Will Not Change Water Politics

This article is also available in Italian / Questo articolo è disponibile anche in italiano The 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly has just concluded in New York. For a week...

Water: 1 in 4 without safe access. Arrojo-Agudo: the real figure is double that

This article is also available in Italian / Questo articolo è disponibile anche in italiano Fifteen years after the historic UN resolution that established access to safe drinking water and ...

Navigating wetland conservation in challenging political climates

This article is also available in Italian / Questo articolo è disponibile anche in italiano The Convention on Wetlands COP15, which concluded at the end July in Zimbabwe, left me with much f...

Flood risk prevention, Günter Bloschl: “Statistics are useful but not sufficient”

This article is also available in Italian / Questo articolo è disponibile anche in iitaliano On 27 August, during the 2025 edition of World Water Week, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden awarded...

Africa, over 10 billion pledged for water at AIP Water Investment Summit 2025

This article is also available in Italian / Questo articolo è disponibile anche in italiano Seven years after coming close to “Day Zero”, when Cape Town risked running out of wat...

From the Pacific to Sicily: the relentless Mediterranean odyssey of the Asian seaweed

This article is also available in Italian / Questo articolo è disponibile anche in italiano Edoardo Piretto’s weathered hands have been scraping scales off fish since he was nine, in t...

Cheese Whey for Circular Groundwater Remediation

This article is also available in Italian / Questo articolo è disponibile anche in italiano In early June, the Umbria region and ARPA Umbria, along with Ramboll Italy and the Grifo Agroalime...

Not just microplastics: mineral water may also contain PFAS

This article is also available in Italian / Questo articolo è disponibile anche in italiano ‘Mineral’ does not necessarily mean pure. In recent years, there has been much talk ab...

Drought: Here are the Global Hotspots. No Country is Safe

This article is also available in Italian / Questo articolo è disponibile anche in italiano “No country is immune to drought and we need to be prepared.” Daniel Tsegai, Program O...

Miteni PFAS Trial: Historic Ruling Condemns 11 Former Executives

This article is also available in Italian / Questo articolo è disponibile anche in italiano After four years of deliberation, 130 hearings, approximately 300 civil parties involved, and an i...

Water Resilience Strategy EU: grand promises, no obligations

This article is also available in Italian / Questo articolo è disponibile anche in italiano From Bruxelles - A 10% water efficiency target by 2030, but it’s not binding. No new legisla...

The Caspian Sea is drying up, and Kazakhstan asks Russia to collaborate in managing the Volga River

This article is also available in Italian / Questo articolo è disponibile anche in italiano from Moscow - Kazakhstan is concerned about the rapid decline in the level of the Caspian Sea, whi...