Civil unrest erupts over use and allocation of water from Baiyang Lake, the largest natural lake in northern China. Several people die in riots by villagers in July 2000 in Shandong after officials cut off water supplies. In August 2000, six die when officials in the southern province of Guangdong blow up a water channel to prevent a neighboring county from diverting water.
In Queensland, Australia, police arrest a man for using a computer and radio transmitter to take control of the Maroochy Shire wastewater system and release sewage into parks, rivers, and property.
A clash between villagers and thirsty monkeys leaves eight apes dead and ten villagers wounded. The duel starts after water tankers bring water to a drought-stricken area and monkeys desperate for water attack the villagers.
A drill simulating a terrorist attack on the Nacimiento Dam in Monterey County, California got out of hand when two radio stations reported it as a real attack.
Violent conflicts break out over water resources in the villages Burna Legan and Taina Legan, and in other parts of the region, as drought depleted local resources.
In July, workers at the Cellatex chemical plant in northern France dump 5,000 liters of sulfuric acid into a tributary of the Meuse River after they are denied workers’ benefits. A French analyst points out that this is the first time “the environment and public health were made hostage in order to exert pressure, an unheard-of situation until now.”
Clashes between protesters and police are reported in the east and south of Algeria, as well as in different neighbourhoods of the capital, over water shortages. Streets are blocked and public buildings are burned.
Members and supporters of the ANC protest over insufficient free water and electricity in South Africa.
At least 130 people are killed in a string of clashes between Pokomo farmers and Orma, semi-nomadic cattle herders over access to land and river water.
In June 2001, the Kyrgyz parliament adopts a law classifying water as a commodity and announces that downstream countries would be charged for water. In response, Uzbekistan cuts off all deliveries of natural gas to Kyrgyzstan and accuses Kyrgyzstan of failing to honor an agreement to provide Uzbekistan with water in return for oil and gas.