Nature Water

Nature Water, Published online: 05 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s44221-026-00642-9 Crop models increasingly project that irrigation can offset agricultural losses from climate change, informing major adaptation investments worldwide. Yet these models may systematically overestimate irrigation’s protective capacity because the representation of how irrigation alters crop thermal environments remains inco…

Nature Water, Published online: 05 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s44221-026-00646-5 Endocrine-disrupting progestogens pose risks to ecosystems through their biological activity. A chemoproteomics study shows that many phytoplankton species can transform these chemicals into forms that may be even more biologically active, potentially increasing ecological risk.

Nature Water, Published online: 01 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s44221-026-00640-x Water environments are pivotal in the spread of antimicrobial resistance, acting as conduits for antibiotics and resistance genes. Here, the authors explore the dual role of inactivating antibiotic resistance genes, highlighting their ecological benefits and risks, and propose strategies to enhance ecosystem resilience wh…

Nature Water, Published online: 01 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s44221-026-00638-5 Urbanization is reshaping microbial ecology within wastewater treatment systems. This study reveals that urbanization drives microbial homogenization and that reduced diversity is linked to poorer wastewater treatment performance and stability.

Nature Water, Published online: 30 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s44221-026-00652-7 Publisher Correction: A six-plex digital PCR assay for monitoring respiratory viruses in wastewater

Nature Water, Published online: 30 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s44221-026-00637-6 Catalytic technologies play a pivotal role in wastewater treatment, yet identifying high-performance catalysts through conventional approaches remains challenging. A multi-agent artificial intelligence system has been developed to enable application-oriented catalyst discovery by coordinating tasks typically distributed…

Nature Water, Published online: 30 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s44221-026-00639-4 Shifting seasonal water availability and variation in societal demands for surface water challenge water resource management. This study reveals that where streamflow timing becomes more narrowly concentrated, junior water right holders could benefit with greater shares of water within a priority system like that applie…

Nature Water, Published online: 30 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s44221-026-00634-9 This work introduces an AI system that can independently design highly effective water purifying catalysts—validated both in theory and real wastewater samples—showing how AI can dramatically speed up the discovery of materials for cleaner, safer water.

Nature Water, Published online: 23 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s44221-026-00643-8 Microcystin risk cannot be inferred from cyanobacterial biomass alone. Understanding toxin production, persistence and degradation across scales is essential if freshwater management is to move from bloom response to anticipatory protection.

Nature Water, Published online: 23 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s44221-026-00620-1 Nanoplastics are persistent water contaminants that evade conventional removal methods. Magnetic biohybrid nanonets are found to capture up to 99.9% of them, remain highly recyclable and greatly reduce in vivo accumulation.

Nature Water, Published online: 21 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s44221-026-00635-8 Industrial cooling towers release large quantities of water vapour that remains largely unutilized, despite its potential as a recoverable resource. This study demonstrates a passive, biomimetic multi-tier system to achieve high-rate water recovery with substantial large-scale savings potential.

Nature Water, Published online: 17 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s44221-026-00624-x Urban water systems in low-income cities often face contamination risks and unreliable supply, motivating evaluations of infrastructure upgrades. An assessment of the impact of water service line replacements on water quality and access in Beira, Mozambique, reveals reduced source water contamination and improved access.

Nature Water, Published online: 17 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s44221-026-00631-y Vegetation greening is traditionally thought to increase evapotranspiration and reduce streamflow, posing a challenge for balancing ecosystem restoration with water supply. This study reveals that greening can enhance both evapotranspiration and streamflow, particularly in semi-arid regions through albedo-driven, energy…

Nature Water, Published online: 16 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s44221-026-00630-z Often viewed solely as an environmental concern, radioactive tracers such as anthropogenic tritium can also provide powerful insights into groundwater flow. High-frequency monitoring of tritium enables detailed reconstruction of water transit times in managed aquifer recharge facilities.

Nature Water, Published online: 16 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s44221-026-00625-w Like a tango partner stepping forward when the other falters, solar and wind can compensate for drought-driven hydropower shortfalls — turning these variable renewables into an underappreciated source of grid resilience.

Nature Water, Published online: 15 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s44221-026-00632-x This study reveals an effective way to achieve mineralization of short-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances by pairing two reactive species that work together under mild conditions, offering a powerful and scalable strategy for remediating persistent pollutants.

Nature Water, Published online: 15 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s44221-026-00636-7 Urea, the most widely used nitrogen fertilizer, has unknown impacts on freshwater ecosystems. This study demonstrates that urea additions in Canadian prairie agricultural reservoirs triple phytoplankton abundance without increasing cyanobacterial toxins, revealing considerable nitrogen loss to the atmosphere and highlig…

Nature Water, Published online: 15 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s44221-026-00626-9 Microbial life depends on the exchange of metabolites. Extracellular vesicles are shown to provide protected delivery for nutrients and enzymes, reshaping metabolic interactions and biogeochemical cycling in aquatic ecosystems.

Nature Water, Published online: 15 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s44221-026-00605-0 Microorganisms release extracellular vesicles, but their ecological roles in natural environments remain unclear. A year-long multi-omics study reveals that environmental extracellular vesicles mediate metabolite exchange central to carbon and nitrogen cycling while stabilizing microbial communities.

Nature Water, Published online: 15 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s44221-026-00628-7 Nitrate electroreduction loses selectivity as accumulated hydrogen recombines to form H2. Nanoconfinement in carbon nanotubes reorganizes interfacial water, accelerates proton transfer, reduces hydrogen accumulation and enhances ammonia production.