Over the next century, three of four coastal communities will face the threat of saltwater contaminating drinking and irrigation water because of rising sea levels, according to NASA. It's already happening along the Delaware Bay on the East Coast.

Delaware Bay

Extreme weather events are occurring more frequently amid rising sea-levels and increasing temperatures.

Climate Crisis

NASA has reported that over the next century, rising sea levels could lead to saltwater contamination of drinking and irrigation water for up to three-quarters of coastal communities. This issue has already been observed along the Delaware Bay on the East Coast, where saltwater has begun to encroach on freshwater supplies. Such changes pose significant threats to agriculture and water consumption in the affected areas.

Farmers near Dover, Delaware, like Paul Cartanza Jr., are witnessing the impact firsthand as saltwater intrudes upon their fields, rendering the land unsuitable for traditional crops like corn. Options such as switching to salt-tolerant crops or converting lands back to marshes are considered, but these solutions come with economic and ecological trade-offs. Some farmers, however, are determined to continue cultivating their usual crops, demonstrating the complexities of adapting to these environmental changes.

Saltwater intrusion has broader ecological effects, including the creation of ghost forests where saltwater kills trees that cannot tolerate the increased salinity. Saltwater also poses threats to drinking water supplies, as seen when saltwater moved significantly up the Delaware Bay, endangering water intakes. The corrosion of infrastructure and potential water quality issues highlight the urgency for measures to prevent salt contamination. Scientists and conservationists emphasize the importance of addressing these challenges, given the concentration of the population in coastal areas and the wider implications for water resources.



Saltwater could contaminate drinking water over next century: NASA

Paul Cartanza Jr. is a farmer outside Dover, Delaware. He's experienced saltwater contaminating the freshwater that he uses on his corn. There's probably 12 or 16 rows of corn that we would use to plant here when we didn't have the salt intrusion. So this would have been pointless to put corn here because it wouldn't make it? Yes. David joins us now. So I watched this part of the documentary where farmers actually have to come up with solutions which could include changing out their crops altogether. I imagine that is way easier said than done. Yeah, and I think many don't want to do anything like that. There are other crops like switchgrass which can be used to create kinds of fuel. So there are crops that will grow in semi-salty soil if you wanted to transition away. Paul, he doesn't want to do that. He's going to keep planting his corn. He's sort of made that barrier that we just saw. I think it seems like the more popular solution, if there is a popular solution, is to turn that land back into its natural state. You have these marshes that are pushing up into the farmland, and one way is to just say, we're going to give up. And there are conservation programs that pay landowners and farm owners to do that because there's a lot of ecological benefit to having a good marsh. Well, on the flip side of the benefit are these ghost forests. You actually set out to find one. What's the significance of these? I was fascinated by this idea that similar to saltwater intruding up into the farmer's fields, it's also intruding into forests. And so you look around, and you start to see there's all these dead trees sitting next to the marsh. The sea is rising. It's pushing saltwater up into the bay, up rivers, and into the land. And so the soil gets a little bit salty. I also didn't realize this. Saltwater is just things don't grow in saltwater. It just kills almost everything it comes in contact with. And so it's killing trees, and that's a real telltale sign. If you're out somewhere and you see these trees are dead, that's what's killing them. One expert that you spoke to talked about how the country's population lives on the coast, but we should all care about this. Why? Because so many people live on the coast. Even for people who maybe don't. Well, drinking water is the biggest issue. The water is the same thing that's killing the trees and killing the crops. It could get up the river into where we take in our fresh water. Like in Philadelphia last year, saltwater pushed up the Delaware Bay 20 miles up the river. 20 miles. Yeah, and it got closer and closer to the water intake. The water intake, you can't put salt in there. It ruins all the pipes that are in there. It's corrosive. It releases lead. People can't drink saltwater. If that saltwater gets into freshwater intakes and it hasn't happened like that, that is devastating. And so they're really focusing on how do we keep the salt from going up the river.

Russia pummeled Kyiv with the largest drone attack of the war, injuring at least 23 people and damaging buildings across the capital only hours after U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with Russia's Vladimir Putin, officials said.

Kyiv

Ukraine Invasion

Russia hits Kyiv with largest drone attack after Trump-Putin call

U.S. President Donald Trump marked the passage of the new spending bill, which includes changes to food assistance, student loan programs, and clean energy credits. Robert Costa joins "CBS Mornings" to break down what's in the legislation.

Washington

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More than 80 Palestinians were killed in Gaza on Thursday (July 3), according to health officials, as Israel intensified its strikes, hitting a school-turned-displacement facility. CNN’s Paula Hancocks looks at the damage and humanitarian toll.

Jerusalem

More than 80 people killed in Gaza in one day

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv will do "anything" to advance EU accession talks. Zelenskyy spoke alongside Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, President of the European Council António Costa and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

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President Donald Trump said Washington will start sending letters to countries on Friday specifying what tariff rates they will face on imports to the United States, a clear shift from earlier pledges to strike scores of individual deals.

Global Tariffs

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Indonesian rescuers on Thursday (July 3) temporarily halted a search for 30 people still missing after a ferry carrying 65 people sank near the island of Bali with the loss of six lives, the national search and rescue agency said.

Gilimanuk

Indonesia suspends search for 30 missing after ferry sinks near Bali

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Florida says the first group of migrant detainees have arrived at the new immigration detention center known as "Alligator Alcatraz." CBS News correspondent Shanelle Kaul has more.

Ochopee

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U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday (July 3) that he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin and that he plans to hold a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. CBS News White House reporter Willie James Inman has more.

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CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez reports on a lawsuit from lawyers for Kilmar Abrego Garcia alleging he suffered “torture and mistreatment” after he was wrongfully deported and held in El Salvador’s notorious mega prison.

Tecoluca

Kilmar Abrego Garcia claims he was tortured in El Salvadoran prison

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CBS News political contributor Caroline Polisi joins "CBS Mornings" to break down the jury's verdict in Sean "Diddy" Combs' federal trial and the judge's decision to deny bail for the music mogul ahead of his sentencing.

Manhattan

Sean "Diddy" Combs denied bail after split verdict

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Madrid

Liverpool soccer player dies in car crash 10 days after wedding

The Pentagon said that U.S. strikes 10 days ago had degraded Iran's nuclear program by up to two years, suggesting the U.S. military operation likely achieved its goals despite a far more cautious initial assessment that leaked to the public.

Tehran

Iran Strikes

Iran nuclear program degraded by up to two years: Pentagon

Days before his 90th birthday, the Dalai Lama announced the Gaden Phodrang Trust, a non-profit he founded, will have the sole authority to recognize his future reincarnation, but China insists it will choose the successor of the Tibetan spiritual leader.

Lhasa

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The U.S. Congress inched towards approving President Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, despite attempts by Democrats to stop it. The bill is Trump’s signature legislation which includes massive spending increases on the military and immigration enforcement while slashing social programs.

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New York

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Bryan Kohberger changed his plea to guilty Wednesday for the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students. CBS News national correspondent Carter Evans has more on the case.

Boise

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The Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down a state abortion law that was adopted in 1849 in a 4-3 landmark decision. CBS News' Shanelle Kaul reports.

Madison

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Paris

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Everglades

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Former criminology graduate student Bryan Kohberger has agreed to plead guilty to killing four Idaho college students in 2022, a move that would spare him the death penalty under a deal with prosecutors, ABC News reported on Monday (June 30).

Moscow

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Thailand's Constitutional Court on Tuesday suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from duty pending a case seeking her dismissal, adding to mounting pressure on a government fighting for survival on multiple fronts.

Bangkok

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Israeli strikes killed at least 60 people across Gaza on June 30 in some of the heaviest attacks in weeks as Israeli officials were due in Washington for a new ceasefire push by U.S. President Donald Trump.

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