13 Water Conflict

"Forecasters expect quieter hurricane season this year which means less rain to help refill dry reservoirs and water withering crops"

"North Korea says it is facing the worst drought in a century, sparking fears of worsening food shortages."

"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."

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

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.

The U.S. Drought Monitor, which publishes its colorful drought map every Thursday, this week is expected to show a slight decline in the dark brown parts of California suffering the most acutely from a drought that has parched the state four years in a row.

"Africa's fourth-largest lake could drop by 20 metres, causing an ecological and human disaster to rival the shrinking of the Aral Sea in central Asia, if Ethiopia goes ahead with massive irrigation projects linked to a giant dam, according to a university paper."

"From California to the Middle East, huge areas of the world are drying up and a billion people have no access to safe drinking water. US intelligence is warning of the dangers of shrinking resources and experts say the world is 'standing on a precipice'"

"Friends of the Earth campaign highlights problem which it says is being exacerbated by hold-ups in Middle East peace process"

"A grossly inefficient sewage system makes the city's tap water filthy and consigns millions to disease, will it ever improve?"

"As he put the state under an official emergency declaration last week, California governor Jerry Brown warned his state is 'facing perhaps the worst drought California has ever seen since records began being kept 100 years ago'. Wildfire dangers are increased, and some cities are close to running out of water"

"Project would help slow shrinking of Dead Sea, but critics say it is playing with nature and fails to address root causes"

"A Billion people don't have access to sufficient water and with water use growing at twice the rate of the population, water will surpass oil as the most desired and needed liquid. BBC sent 4 correspondents around the world to investigate. Then Matt Frei talkes with Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University."

"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. "

"Texas voters last night approved the creation of a water bank expected to fund nearly $30bn in water infrastructure projects in the coming decades. The passage of Proposition 6 means the state will begin putting its 2012 State Water Plan - which calls for more than $50b in spending on new water infrastructure by 2060 - into action."

"A year from now, the 1,000km middle section of the South-North water diversion is expected to begin operation, channelling water from the south to the arid northern region, in one of the world's biggest feats of engineering. These pictures show the raising of the Danjiangkou dam in preparation for water diversion, which has resulted in the massive relocation of villagers in Xichuan county, Henan province"

"The aquifer is said to hold some 200bn cubic litres of water." "According to Unesco, about 17 million of Kenya's 41 million people lack access to safe water."

"If India can deploy adequate technology to treat water, it could significantly expand its water supply and better water means better public health and economic development"

"Plan to build 160 dams in the northeast may cut reliance on coal, but would damage wildlife and habitat, and the power generated won't benefit locals, critics say"