"The two rivers that converge at Marietta [OH] are among the 10 most polluted in the country, according to a new environmental report."

"Republicans roll out their own version of a water bill, as state legislators are being held up mostly by obscure water policy details and regional self-interests."

"Bowing to intense public pressure, the Chesapeake Energy Corporation says it will not drill for natural gas within the upstate New York watershed, an environmentally sensitive region that supplies unfiltered water to nine million people."

"Ontario's environment ministry has given its blessing to a massive, controversial $550 million sewage line -- known as the "Big Pipe" -- that will open the door to billions of dollars worth of new development in the eastern GTA. However, years after construction started on the project in York Region, politicians are embroiled in in-fighting, as the remainder of the pipeline proposed to run through Pickering faces opposition from residents."

"The Environmental Protection Agency said on Thursday that it would overhaul enforcement of the Clean Water Act, as lawmakers sharply criticized the agency's decade-long lapses in punishing polluters."

"Canada's major waterways have suffered significant alterations in their natural flows, a WWF-Canada report contends."

"A proposed coal-fired power plant in Surry County (Va.) would add 'significant and harmful' amounts of mercury and other pollutants to the Chesapeake Bay and several river systems in coastal Virginia already suffering from excessive mercury levels, a study released Wednesday concludes."

"More than 100,000 people in northern Iraq have abandoned their homes since 2005 because of water stress, after drought and over-extraction of groundwater caused the collapse of an ancient water system, UNESCO said on Tuesday."

"In a sign that a deal addressing California's longstanding water supply problems may be near, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger convened a special session of the Legislature on Monday to revisit a package of water bills."

"The Obama administration is proposing a sea change in how we manage our oceans, including a comprehensive policy on fishing, offshore energy, and shipping."

"As sea temperatures have risen in recent decades, enormous sheets of a mucus-like material have begun forming more often, oozing into new regions, and lasting longer, a new Mediterranean Sea study says."

"Citing danger to marine life, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration opposes opening large tracts of coast to drilling and recommends buffer zones off Santa Barbara."

"California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger desperately wants a bill to fund an overhaul of the state's water system -- so much so he is hinting he may veto more than 700 bills awaiting his signature by midnight Sunday if top lawmakers fail agree to one."

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today published a final rule to ensure that safe and reliable drinking water is provided to aircraft passengers and crew. The rule requires airlines to have their water systems inspected at least once every five years, report the test results to the EPA and fix any 'significant deficiencies.'"

"Clean sand and silt will be used to cover a vast deposit of the pesticide DDT and toxic compound PCB on the ocean floor off Southern California, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Monday."