Mostly Water 2024 review

and 2025 preview

I'm a little late to the looking back and forward party this year with a review of 2024 and a preview of 2025. I’m currently reaching out to my friends at County, State, and Federal agencies to see how much is left of the programs and projects we’ve been working on. I’ll have a more detailed update in a couple of weeks.

Photo by K. Mitch Hodge on Unsplash

Drinking Water

In 2024 I reported extensively on PFAS in drinking water. Progress may stall in 2025, With chemical industry veterans already appointed to key positions in the EPA, we’ll need to rely on states for progress. In Washington State, I’m cautiously optimistic about a couple of the leadership changes. Casey Sixkiller, recent director of EPA region 10, takes over as Director of Washington State Department of Ecology from Laura Watson, who returns to the Attorney General’s office as Deputy to AG Nick Brown, who replaced Bob Ferguson as the latter became governor. All these individuals are informed and have a good track record on PFAS issues.

I’ve also been working on a water system consolidation project, where some of the funding is also now at risk. In 2025, I’ll be following these stories. I also owe you a story on rainwater harvesting to which I’ll add a piece on another alternative water source, desalination, during a trip to California later this year. I plan, too, to write about water system governance.

Climate Change

Last year, I was asked to participate in a workshop on the Climate Resiliency Sub Element of the County comprehensive plan update. As no good deed goes unpunished, this year I’ve been asked back to be on the Climate Policy Action Team - alas no badge or cape. Of all the manifestations of climate change, sea level rise is the most urgent in the Puget Sound region.

Land

I spoke to a couple of farmers groups last year about water for agriculture, and in my most-read story, Bad Day at Black Seed, wrote about a devastating arson fire at a black-owned farm just a few miles from my home.

Community

Acting locally, which I wrote about last year, will be more important than ever in 2025 and beyond. I plan to keep on doing it, writing about it, and, at events like the Leadership Whidbey Ecology Day coming up, speaking about it!

Travel

Last year, I got to follow my triathlete wife to Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, central Washington, and New Zealand, and found water stories in each of those places. In 2025, we’ll be visiting California, Idaho, Spain, Italy and the UK, and I fully expect to write about the water issues I find there.

Memoir

In 2024, I was inspired by a writing workshop and by so many other wonderful writers on Substack, to try some memoir pieces featuring Scotland, California, languages, and The Bomb. I enjoyed writing them and hope to be inspired to write more in 2025.

Collaborations

Four writers,

15thCenturyFeminist

,

Sari Botton

,

Julie Gabrielli

, and

Jane Ratcliffe

were generous enough to invite me to contribute to their publications. Thank you, each of you, so much for the privilege. It was a blast working with each of you.

• Men Performing Masculinity, Convo #3

• This is (Almost) 73: John Lovie Responds to The Oldster Magazine Questionnaire

• 🍃Reciprocity: the interview - by John Lovie - Homecoming

• Justice, Fairness, Kindness, and Water

There is at least one more potential collaboration already under discussion.

Finally, I’d like to thank all the new free and paid subscribers to Mostly Water in 2024. While I plan to keep Mostly Water free for all, paid subscriptions do help offset the cost and time of researching these posts and support my work in the community. If you’d like to make sure you catch all the posts in 2025, won’t you please consider a subscription?