Water covers most of our planet, yet less than 3% of it is freshwater and most of it is contained in glaciers, making it not readily usable. Contamination and overuse threaten the valuable supplies of freshwater that humans and other animals, especially aquatic organisms, depend on to live.
On World Water Day, a United Nations day observed every March 22, Mongabay highlights three recent stories showcasing recent wins and losses for freshwater ecosystems.
Nearly one freshwater fish described a day in 2025
More than 300 new-to-science freshwater fish species were described in 2025. It was the third-highest tally year since 1758, when scientists began keeping records.
Among the species are two cave-dwelling fish in China, both adapted to life in permanent darkness: the Yang’s plateau loach (Triplophysa yangi) and the Sichuan mountain cave loach (Claea scet).
In the U.S. Appalachian Mountains, scientists described the 60-centimeter (24-inch) sicklefin redhorse (Moxostoma ugidatli), believed to be the largest fish described in North America in the last century.
“Our planet’s rivers and wetlands are still full of surprises,” Michael Edmondstone, a spokesperson at SHOAL Conservation, told Mongabay wildlife reporter Spoorthy Raman.
Potential nuclear power plant overlaps Africa’s largest freshwater lake
Lake Victoria, the largest freshwater lake in Africa and roughly the size of Ireland, has been shortlisted as one of three potential sites for a planned 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant in Kenya.
Lake Victoria, known as Lake Nalubaale in the local Luganda language, feeds into the Nile River. According to a WWF report, the region is one of the most biodiverse areas in the world for freshwater fish.
If waste from a nuclear plant is mismanaged or in case of an accident, Elodie Toto reported for Mongabay, the lake and its fish could end up contaminated.
Huge freshwater reservoirs found beneath Atlantic seafloor
Scientists looking for oil and gas drilled the seafloor at three different locations off the northeastern shore of the U.S. They were surprised to find freshwater at each site.
Brandon Dugan, a geophysicist at the Colorado School of Mines, U.S., who was the co-chief scientist on the expedition, called the discovery a “beautiful scientific accident.”
Dugan said a glacier from roughly 20,000 years ago may have deposited the giant freshwater reserves there, buried beneath the Atlantic Ocean.
That means, unlike groundwater, the ocean reservoirs won’t naturally recharge, and extracting that water could upset sensitive seafloor ecosystems.
Banner image: Lake Victoria in Kenya. Image by Jozef020 via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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