"The South Pacific island nation of Palau has declared all the waters within its Exclusive Economic Zone to be a marine mammal sanctuary for the protection of whales, dolphins, and dugongs."

"It took years for Illinois officials to discover that southwest suburban Crestwood was pumping contaminated water to its residents, in part because the state took village officials at their word that nothing was wrong. Such lax oversight is a problem in scores of communities throughout the nation, according to a new report from the U.S. Environmental Agency's inspector general that urged federal and state officials to conduct more rigorous inspections and adopt tighter reporting guidelines."

"There is a new front in the fight over whether Texas should build more coal-fired power plants -- water."

"A new set of federal rules issued for shallow-water drilling are null and void because federal regulators didn’t offer the proper notices or public comment period, a judge in New Orleans said this week."

"TransCanada Corp and Atco Ltd have abandoned plans to build a C$5 billion ($4.85 billion) dam on the Slave River in northern Alberta after a local native group refused to back the project."

Roundup: What's up with whale poop? Humpback sets migration record. Whale jam off Norther California. Deaths blamed on krill, ship traffic.

"Lake Mead sank to its lowest level in nearly 75 years on Sunday, a stark reminder of how drought and growing water demands have sapped the Colorado River and its huge reservoirs."