Water

Water shortages and problems around Minnesota — and the country — have many wondering what is the true cost of clean and reliable water. This reporting is supported in part by The Water Main, a project of American Public Media.

Protesters maintain blockade overnight at Line 3 pipeline site
Protesters fighting the Enbridge Energy company’s push to replace an aging oil pipeline across northern Minnesota maintained a blockade at a pump station Tuesday as part of a summer drive to stop the project before it can go into service.
Line 3 opponents occupy Enbridge pump station as protest ramps up
Hundreds of activists gathered Monday near the headwaters of the Mississippi River to protest the ongoing construction of the new pipeline, which will replace a line that's been carrying Canadian tar sands oil across northern Minnesota since the 1960s.
EPA alerts Wisconsin, Fond du Lac Band that PolyMet mine 'may affect' their waters
The EPA is required, under the Clean Water Act, to alert a state if it determines a project in another state might have the potential to affect its water quality. The mine would be located near Babbitt and Hoyt Lakes on the eastern side of the Iron Range in northern Minnesota.
Melting snow usually means water for the West. But this year, it might not be enough
Much of the West is in extreme drought, and a good spring snowmelt could bring relief. But drought and the warming climate make that less likely, putting the water supply for millions of people at risk.
New world record set on Mississippi River, but for how long?
A crew of paddlers took a canoe from the headwaters of the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico faster than anyone in history — breaking a 20-year world record. But a second crew is hot on their heels.
Catch, click, release: Fishing tournaments going virtual
A new format is gaining advocates who say fish caught and quickly released are less likely to die afterward. It's an alternative to the traditional catch-hold-release tournament, in which anglers would race to shore with their catch and crowd around a weigh-in station to see how it stacked up against competitors.
State utility regulators dismiss calls for Line 3 investigation
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission has unanimously rejected a complaint and request for an investigation from an environmental group that argued Enbridge Energy’s pipeline replacement project is no longer needed because of recent capacity increases the company has made to its pipeline system. 
New method aims to herd, capture invasive carp in Mississippi
Last week, a team of biologists and technicians from state and federal agencies captured and harvested invasive carp from a stretch of the Mississippi River in far southeastern Minnesota. It was part scientific survey, part defensive battle against a notorious aquatic invader that has been steadily progressing up the Mississippi.