Since Friday, some residents have gone without water and businesses and government offices have temporarily closed. For a broader view of this infrastructure failure, we turn to Dr. Iris Tien with Georgia Tech.

After a series of water mains breaks that began Friday in Atlanta, a large portion of residents remain without drinkable water. GPB’s Amanda Andrews reports business owners are demanding financial relief.

For at least some residents, Atlanta's water problems aren't over. Resident Milena Franco says flow was cut off to her apartment before dawn Monday, leaving her a dry shower. City officials say water was shut down in the immediate neighborhood as part of a successful effort to stanch the flow from a broken water main.

Water pressure is returning to downtown Atlanta and nearby neighborhoods. Problems are easing Sunday after a water outage that began Friday, shutting down businesses and leaving faucets dry at many homes. A large swath of the city remains under an order to boil water before drinking it.

Atlanta Watershed shut off water at 1 a.m. to certain streets to complete “essential repairs” on a broken water main that has been gushing since Friday night.

Residents and businesses across Atlanta are experiencing low water pressure or outages after a water main broke today.

A drought has upended life in several South American cities, leading to water rationing and power cuts as well as forest fires.

A trial for a mass environmental injury case begins in Hawaii on Monday, more than two years after a U.S. military facility poisoned thousands of people when it leaked jet fuel into drinking water.

Ten years ago, Flint, Mich. switched water sources to the Flint River. The lack of corrosion control in the pipes caused lead to leach into the water supply of tens of thousands of residents. Pediatrician Mona Hanna-Attisha recognized a public health crisis in the making and gathered data proving the negative health impact on Flint's young children. In doing so, she and community organizers in Flint sparked a national conversation about lead in the U.S. water system that persists today.

Today on the show, host Emily Kwong and science correspondent Pien Huang talk about the state of Flint and other cities with lead pipes. Efforts to replace these pipes hinge on proposed changes to the EPA's Lead and Copper Rule.

Have questions or comments for us to consider for a future episode? Email us at shortwave@npr.org — we'd love to hear from you!

Some say that topdown solutions for Georgia’s coal ash ponds ignore depths of community health woes and the reality of how water flows.

A private utility is asking Georgia lawmakers to change a state law so it can provide water service to new homes near Hyundai's upcoming electric vehicle plant without getting permission from local governments.

Reservoirs that furnish a large part of the Mexican capital have fallen to historic lows, as low rainfall, climate change and mismanagement exacerbate the problem.

Bulloch residents remain wary of effects of industrial growth on their county.

79% of the population of the southeastern United States has experienced some level of drought over the past month. Parts of Georgia fall into the extreme and exceptional drought categories, which affect crops, livestock and and soil health. 

Drinking water in Columbus contains traces of toxic chemical compounds, commonly referred to as ‘forever chemicals’, slightly above proposed federal standards.