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"In their search for renewable electric power, China's engineers have been building mega-dams at a rate unmatched in human history. Many far larger than the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River - which is 221 meters high and capable of generating more than 2,000 megawatts of power - are being constructed on China's greatest rivers. Best known is the Three Gorges Dam, completed in 2008, which stretches a mile-and-a-half across the Yangtze and can generate ten times the hydropower of the Hoover Dam. Yet the Three Gorges is only a fraction of China's current dam programme. "

"The Colorado River flows from the Rocky Mountains in Colorado through the southwestern United States. Along its route, the river passes through an elaborate water-management system designed to tame the yearly floods from spring snowmelt and to provide a reliable supply of water for residents as far away as California. The system is appreciated for the water it supplies, but criticized for the environmental problems and cultural losses that have resulted from its creation."

"Due to increasing demand for Colorado River water by the United States and Mexico, the final stretch of the Lower Colorado has virtually disappeared. It has been decades since the Colorado flowed all the way through Mexico to the Gulf of California. Major spring floods are a rarity, and the lower reaches of the river only flow after rainstorms or when agricultural runoff drains into the dried riverbed."

"170 dead pigs recovered from a river in northwest China is the latest in a string of food and water safety scandals"

"The Orange River has its headwaters in the high mountains of Lesotho, a tiny nation completely surrounded by South Africa. The rural mountain communities farm and herd animals, proud of their ability to survive the harsh conditions."

With the swelling ranks of Syrian refugees in Jordan, an overstressed river is at risk of going dry.

"Within a week, India's ministry of environment and forest finds itself committed to conducting an overall impact assessment of dams in the rivers Ganga and Brahmaputra"

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - In the hills to the east of Kuala Lumpur, the Klang River is clean enough for visitors to play in. But just a few hundred metres downstream, the water darkens and rubbish clogs the banks.

"Authorities push forward plans for 314 metre-high dam on Dadu river which would affect rare plants and fish"

"Authorities push forward plans for 314 metre-high dam on Dadu river which would affect rare plants and fish"

"Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory have become the first two administrations to sign up to the Murray Darling Basin plan, committing both governments to replenish water to the key river system."

"On Sunday, I revealed in the Observer that the most persistent and frequent polluters of England's rivers and beaches are the nation's biggest 10 biggest water companies. I wrote:"

"As water levels plummet to 45% in America's second-largest reservoir, new islands appear - and fears grow for a waterway that serves 40 million people"