Sharing Water: Making Decisions About Sustainable Water Management

Water: we need it every day, and use it in countless ways. As the world enters the second decade of the 21st century, the human community finds itself searching for new paradigms for water supply and management in response to expanding populations, sprawling development, climate change, and the limits of existing conventional supplies.

The following websites, video, and NAP reports present the issues and problems we face to make water available both now and in the future.

Links

Safe Drinking Water Is Essential

This project, a production of the National Academy of Sciences and the Marian Koshland Science Museum, examines the state of the world’s water supply and what can be done to improve it. Covering the sources, treatment, and distribution of drinking water, Safe Drinking Water Is Essential employs rich, interactive exhibits to illustrate this worldwide problem and explore possible solutions.

The National Academies Water Information Center

Use this portal to explore over 100 reports from the National Academies offering independent, objective advice on water-related issues in the United States and abroad. These reports are peer reviewed and represent the consensus of experts from academia, industry, and government. This site also provides basic information about drinking water, as well as resources for providing safe drinking water in developing nations.

Video

Challenges and Opportunities in the Hydrologic Sciences

New research opportunities to advance hydrologic sciences promise a better understanding of the role of water in the Earth system that could help improve human welfare and the health of the environment. Dr. George Hornberger and Dr. Henry J. Vaux, Jr. discuss the findings of the 2012 report, “Challenges and Opportunities in the Hydrologic Sciences.”

Publications from NAP

Books from the Division of Earth and Life Studies tackle issues of water management, ecosystem preservation, and future prospects for water supplies. These books can inform debate and guide decision making. All are free to download.

Challenges and Opportunities in the Hydrologic Sciences150 pages | Paperback | Price: $35.77New research opportunities to advance hydrologic sciences promise a better understanding of the role of water in the Earth system that could help improve human welfare and the health of the environment. Reaching this understanding will require both… [more]

Water Reuse: Potential for Expanding the Nation’s Water Supply Through Reuse of Municipal Wastewater200 pages | Paperback | Price: $40.50Expanding water reuse–the use of treated wastewater for beneficial purposes including irrigation, industrial uses, and drinking water augmentation–could significantly increase the nation’s total available water resources. Water Reuse presents a… [more]

Sustainable Water and Environmental Management in the California Bay-Delta280 pages | Paperback | Price: $42.30Extensively modified over the last century and a half, California’s San Francisco Bay Delta Estuary remains biologically diverse and functions as a central element in California’s water supply system. Uncertainties about the future, actions taken under the… [more]

Review of the St. Johns River Water Supply Impact Study: Final Report160 pages | Paperback | Price: $33.97The St. Johns River Water Management District is responsible for managing water resources in the St. Johns River basin, which comprises 23 percent of Florida. Approximately 4.73 million people (one-quarter of Florida’s population) live in the area served by… [more]

A Review of the Use of Science and Adaptive Management in California’s Draft Bay Delta Conservation Plan100 pages | Paperback | Price: $23.40The San Francisco Bay Delta Estuary is a large, complex estuarine ecosystem in California. It has been substantially altered by dikes, levees, channelization, pumps, human development, introduced species, dams on its tributary streams and contaminants. The… [more]

Achieving Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Goals in the Chesapeake Bay: An Evaluation of Program Strategies and Implementation258 pages | Paperback | Price: $49.05The Chesapeake Bay is North America’s largest and most biologically diverse estuary, as well as an important commercial and recreational resource. However, excessive amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment from human activities and land development have… [more]

Missouri River Planning: Recognizing and Incorporating Sediment Management164 pages | Paperback | Price: $34.65Historically, the flow of sediment in the Missouri River has been as important as the flow of water for a variety of river functions. The sediment has helped form a dynamic network of islands, sandbars, and floodplains, and provided habitats for native… [more]

Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades: The Third Biennial Review – 2010328 pages | Paperback | Price: $59.85Although the progress of environmental restoration projects in the Florida Everglades remains slow overall, there have been improvements in the pace of restoration and in the relationship between the federal and state partners during the last two years…. [more]

Management and Effects of Coalbed Methane Produced Water in the United States238 pages | Paperback | Price: $34.42In some coalbeds, naturally occurring water pressure holds methane–the main component of natural gas–fixed to coal surfaces and within the coal. In a coalbed methane (CBM) well, pumping water from the coalbeds lowers this pressure, facilitating the release… [more]

Water Implications of Biofuels Production in the United States88 pages | Paperback | Price: $27.00National interests in greater energy independence, concurrent with favorable market forces, have driven increased production of corn-based ethanol in the United States and research into the next generation of biofuels. The trend is changing the national… [more]

Urban Stormwater Management in the United States610 pages | Paperback | Price: $47.70The rapid conversion of land to urban and suburban areas has profoundly altered how water flows during and following storm events, putting higher volumes of water and more pollutants into the nation’s rivers, lakes, and estuaries. These changes have degraded… [more]