Global Water Issues

MILWAUKEE, May 6 (UPI) -- A study blaming both natural erosion and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a water-level drop in two of the Great Lakes is suspect, critics say.

WASHINGTON, May 6 (UPI) -- U.S. Geological Survey scientists say they've determined Pacific methylmercury contamination will increase 50 percent by 2050 if current rates continue.

EAGLE, Alaska, May 5 (UPI) -- The old village of Eagle, Alaska, has been destroyed by the worst flooding ever recorded there, the National Weather Service said Tuesday.

LONDON, May 4 (UPI) -- British soul singer Amy Winehouse was briefly hospitalized and treated for dehydration after she collapsed on the island of St. Lucia, her spokesman said.

WASHINGTON, May 4 (UPI) -- Global warming has opened up previously inaccessible areas along the Norwegian, Canadian, U.S. and Russian coasts and triggered a rush to define regional waters and exclusive economic zones in order to stake claims to the region’s largely untapped energy reserves. Now Russia is taking its intentions a step further by intending to build a series of floating nuclear power stations in order to provide electricity to a number of hydrocarbon development projects in what the Kremlin calls "energy-unavailability areas."

JOHN C.K. DALY || UPI International Correspondent

MOSCOW, May 4 (UPI) -- A hurricane slammed into Russia's Khabarovsk region, killing a 15-year-old girl and damaging buildings, an Emergencies Ministry source said Monday.

WASHINGTON, May 3 (UPI) -- Federal environmental regulators, fearing U.S. power plants have shifted from air to water for toxic discharges, are considering tougher rules, analysts said.

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C., May 2 (UPI) -- A signal from a missing New York state girl's cell phone led police to a river in South Carolina, but the search failed to turn up any trace of her.

LONDON, May 1 (UPI) -- Japanese researchers say low levels of lithium found naturally in some water systems may help prevent suicides.

MORRISTOWN, N.J., May 1 (UPI) -- Owners of restaurants and marinas at New Jersey's largest lake charge the state has left them high and dry as the busy summer season approaches.

SAN DIEGO, April 30 (UPI) -- University of California researchers said Thursday they have made a key finding that could some day produce a new generation of crops that grow with less water.

National parks provide recreation, wildlife habitats and natural beauty that could be lost if officials don't act quickly to safeguard these reserves from the effects of climate change, experts told federal policymakers last week.

ROSALIE WESTENSKOW || UPI Energy Correspondent

DURHAM, N.H., April 13 (UPI) -- A U.S. study suggests the significant increase in polyaromatic hydrocarbons entering waterways might come from driveway and parking lot sealcoats.

MEXICO CITY, April 12 (UPI) -- The Easter Passion play in Mexico City's Iztapalapa barrio, Mexico's most elaborate staging, was set against a backdrop of scarcity this year, observers say.

CHICAGO, April 3 (UPI) -- Polluted water from Chicago has helped create a dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico, where excess algae suffocates marine life, says a U.S. Geological Survey study.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill., April 1 (UPI) -- Disinfecting water with chlorine and chloramines generates by-products that react with organics that can generate toxins, U.S. researchers warn.

PAINESVILLE, Ohio, March 30 (UPI) -- The Lake County, Ohio, utilities department said a malfunction with a chemical feeder caused many customers to receive pink water from their faucets.

EDGEWATER, Md., March 30 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say rising levels of carbon dioxide might result in a rise in seal levels but might also help coastal wetlands survive such an event.

FRANKFURT, Germany, March 27 (UPI) -- Plastic mineral water bottles contaminate drinking water with estrogenic chemicals, researchers in Germany said.

HOUSTON, March 27 (UPI) -- Researchers say chronic stress related to Hurricane Katrina has contributed to a significant increase in heart attacks in New Orleans.

HUDSON, Colo., March 25 (UPI) -- At least three homeowners in Hudson, Colo., say their homes' water supply has become flammable as a result of methane gas in a nearby well.

PRINCETON, N.J., March 25 (UPI) -- Drinking-water pollution is the top environmental concern among Americans, with 59 percent saying they worry a great deal about it, a Gallup survey indicated.

ODENTON, Md., March 24 (UPI) -- Wells in Odenton, Md., near the U.S. Army's Fort George C. Meade, are being tested for cleaning solvents suspected of causing cancer.

ISTANBUL, Turkey, March 23 (UPI) -- The Fifth World Water Forum ended Sunday, wrapping up a full week of dozens of meetings among governments, private businesses and non-governmental organizations. The breadth of the range of panels has been both global and impressive, but one aspect of the gathering that is bound to grow in future years is the presence and influence of environmental and green parties. And host nation Turkey's Ilisu Dam project is becoming a lightning rod for criticism.

JOHN C.K. DALY || UPI International Correspondent

BRUSSELS, March 18 (UPI) -- European environmental officials warned that the continent does not have enough water to sustain current consumption levels.