Herb Niederberger, division chief of the Sacramento County Department of Water Resources, said that for the past nine years the county was in settlement agreements with the companies, but nothing had be done to replace the water supply or "make us whole."

"After nine years of discussion, Aerojet and Boeing have yet to take responsibility," Niederberger said. "We needed to do something."

With the lawsuit, the county is looking to cover all costs and alleges that "the contamination resulting from defendants' disposal and release of hazardous substances continues to expand, presents an imminent and substantial endangerment to health or the environment, and threatens to contaminate additional county water supply wells."

Aerojet spokeswoman Linda Cutler said, "in 2003 we reached a landmark water agreement with them that they unilaterally terminated in 2008. "Despite this unilateral action, Aerojet and Boeing have continued to negotiate in good faith to resolve the county's demands."

Blythe Jameson, a Boeing spokeswoman, said the complaint was under review and declined to comment specifically about the lawsuit, but did say the company has been cleaning up the site, as reported by the Sacramento Bee.

"This is some really exciting stuff," Cathy Schaeffer, Walla Walla County watershed planning director, told a group yesterday, gathered at the William A. Grant Water and Environmental Center.

"The three main areas that are top priorities now are creation of the governing board, development of the water bank and work on the "flow from flexibility" framework," Schaeffer said.

"This has changed state law in a significant way to allow local people to manage water," said Karen Terwilleger, staff member of the state House Agriculture Natural Resources Committee.

"The first choice is, are we going to collaborate or litigate? They are watching us to see how this works," she said, referring to the Indian tribes who are to be affected by the new program.

Note: The picture shown is part of the Bennington dam, part of the Walla Walla watershed, as reported by the Union-Bulletin.

"So we're going to go out here to a couple of complaints in the Carmel Valley area and check on it and see what's going on. Hopefully educate the public about the water restrictions," Seneca Page said.

"Sometimes you do kind of feel like you're banging your head against the wall, chasing your tail, you know, you’re kind of in the dark. So sometimes it does," he says. "But you know, you kind of shake it off. Because for every one where you don't see anything, there are six that you do, he said."

Page explained that his job is to educate people about what they can and can't do when it comes to watering, and that alone will keep him busy for the rest of the summer, as reported by KPBS.

Pottawatomie County putting $1.3 million into improvements at a treatment plant to remove iron from drinking water.

Holton,KS is using $164,000 for native plants and a rain garden to control erosion in a storm water drainage area.

Topeka (pictured)is starting a $55,000 study to determine if a wastewater treatment facility can use "green" technology to conserve energy.

The Center for Child Development at Kansas State University is getting $454,000 for installation of a porous pavement to harvest rainfall.

El Dorado,KS is using $200,000 to the install a hydroelectric generator on a city water pipe to generate about 100 kilowatts of energy for use at a water treatment plant.

"This funding will not only help create much-needed jobs but will have a major impact on communities in need of these important infrastructure projects," said Rod Bremby, secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

Kerry Wedel, chief of the state water bureau's watershed management section, said 20 percent of the federal financing was earmarked for green infrastructure, water and energy-efficiency improvements.

"It's basically practices that maintain or restore natural hydrology," Wedel said.

Ron Geisler, Kansas Department of Health and Environment water bureau's chief of municipal programs, said the largest project made possible by economic stimulus legislation was a $15.6 million endeavor in Johnson County, for construction of an improved facility to treat sludge at the current wastewater treatment plant, as reported by The Topeka Capital-Journal.

"Pollution in the Mekong River has pushed the local population of Irrawaddy dolphins to the brink of extinction," the conservation group said.

The WWF researchers also cautioned that pollutants found in the Mekong water could affect the health of millions of humans who rely river for potable water, as reported by the Reuters News Service, and published by ABC News.

The contractor discharged sediment from the construction site into a tributary of Schweitzer Creek and failed to obtain the proper permit as required under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.

"While many builders and developers are doing the right thing by preventing runoff from their sites, there are some who are ignoring these important storm water requirements," said Jim Werntz, EPA's director of Idaho operations. "We take protecting Idaho waters very seriously. Builders and developers need to get the right permits and implement runoff controls before they start work or, like Barnes Construction, they will face fines," as reported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Any fire in this region, fueled by these dead trees, could potentially damage reservoirs, pipes and other infrastructure that supply water.

Wildfires can "literally bake the soil," leaving behind a water-repellent surface that sheds rain and leads to severe erosion and debris, Cables said. The loss of so many trees also will reduce shade in the region, which in turn could reduce water supplies in the hot, dry summer months and accelerate snow melt in the spring, he said.

A Forest Service analysis shows that people in San Diego, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Tucson, AZ who receive their tap water from the Colorado River get one quart of every gallon from national forests in the Rocky Mountain region.

"The arid West absolutely depends on national forests as the source for their water," Cables said. "The reach of this watershed is unparalleled in the West."

Barbara Bentz, a research entomologist with the Forest Service, said that the the current outbreak of bark beetles, which has destroyed nearly 8 million acres of trees, is the largest in history, as reported by the Associated Press, and published by the Mercury News.

It has been reported by the the Bhopal Superintendent of Police that in 17 of the state's districts, at least five people have been beaten to death over water disputes, and many more have been injured.

In the city of Bhopal on May 13, a father, mother and their son were killed while trying to get water from a leaking municipal pipe.

"The water problem is a huge crisis," said Babulala Gaur, Minister of Urban Administration and Development. Gaur said volunteers are helping to organize the water distribution.

"It's the nature of people fighting over water tank because they want the water first," he said.

"This year, everyone is struggling for water," said Maria Fernandez, regional director for WaterAid India. "This is the worst I have ever seen," she said.

"It's of an unimaginable magnitude. In fact, it's unprecedented," Bhopal Mayor's Sunil Sood said, speaking of the current drought.

"Police is not there to beat people and stop them from taking water. It only ensures that all people get water," he said. "When our water tankers reach a particular locality, people rush to collect as much water as possible. And this results in scuffle and fights. We are trying to ensure that all of them get equal or fair share," as reported by ABC News.

At both of the dairies locations, EPA inspectors found solid manure build-up accumulating on the surface which indicates the manure lagoons lack adequate capacity for the number of animals currently allowed by the dairies' permits.

The dairies have been ordered to stop all discharges of pollutants, and within 30 days an relocate stockpiled manure to an area that will cause runoff to be captured in an approved lagoon.

They also have been ordered to excavate and relocate their mortality management areas to an approved location that is not in a wetland and does not discharge into a wetland or waterway, and provide certification that this has been accomplished, as reported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Once again, this time in Worcester, MA, Bailin & Associates, Inc., while building a 79-acre residential subdivision of townhouses (pictured), starting in 2003 neglected to get a water discharge permit or a NPDES General Permit for Storm Water Discharges from Construction Activities.

Then, both before and after Bailin received permit coverage on May 29, 2008, they formed a detention pond with a manually-activated submersible pump that discharged silt laden water to a wooded wetland, flowed through a channel into an unnamed tributary, through a series of ponds, then to Beaver Brook and ultimately to the Blackstone River.

Balin's fine for this example of stupidity, while yet to be finalized, can be up to up to $157,000, as reported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

They have stated that since West Virginians eat less fish then most other Americans, they are exposed to less mercury, and thus higher levels of mercury are permitted than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends.

An advisory tells residents statewide to limit fish consumption due to the high incident of mercury contamination in West Virginia waters. This is why fish consumption is down in the state.

Logic would follow that if you allow more mercury to be released, more fish will be contaminated.

What the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection is not taking into consideration is that eating fish has many health benefits, so where is the logic in allowing more mercury?, as reported by the Center for Progressive Reform, and published by AlterNet.

Under the terms of the consent decree, Zelmer must restore the impacted wetlands at the development site plus complete a wetlands creation project in nearby Turner County, at an estimated cost of $444,500. Additionally,the company must pay a fine of $25,000.

"These actions compromised water quality by failing to manage runoff and by filling important wetlands," said Diane Sipe, Director of EPA Region 8's Water Enforcement Program. "EPA is requiring Zelmer to prevent its construction operations from depositing sediment into nearby waters and to restore the impacted wetlands. We will continue to pursue actions against those who violate federal laws that protect South Dakota’s waters," as reported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The mining operation exceeded the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit it had covering lead, zinc, and cadmium, and discharged it into the the South Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River, between September 2008 and February 2009.

"Unchecked industrial discharges have serious environmental consequences for our rivers, lakes and streams," said Ed Kowalski, Director of Compliance and Enforcement at EPA's Seattle office."Compliance with wastewater permits is critical to protecting Idaho's waterways. Bringing this facility into compliance and reducing the metals load is a significant step forward in protecting and restoring the South Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River," as reported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The city wants to more than triple the number of people who use highly treated wastewater instead of drinking water to irrigate their lawns. The move could save more drinking water than the seawater desalination plant adds to the region's supply, as well as recharge the Hillsborough River,which is the city's primary fresh water source.

With half of the drinking water provided by the city being used to water lawns, the thought of expanding the program makes sense, and the City would want to provide incentives for more residents to embrace the use of treated wastewater for their lawns, as reported by the St.Petersburg Times.

"Residents have been left without water from 8:00AM on Tuesday, until such time that technicians sort out the problem," spokesperson for Johannesburg Water, Tebatso Baldwin Matsimela said.

The shutdown is part of an overall upgrading of the primary water, sewer, and waste treatment infrastructure, designed to meet the needs of the growing city, as reported by SAPA, and published by News24.