The Office of Water of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) presents the full text of a report entitled "What's Up with Our Nation's Waters?" published in May 2001. The report covers how the quality of water is determined, pollutants, wetlands, ground water, and related science projects.

In order to confront the increasingly severe water problems faced by all parts of the country, the United States needs to make a new commitment to research on water resources. A new mechanism is needed to coordinate water research currently fragmented among nearly 20 federal agencies. Given the competition for water among farmers, communities, aquatic ecosystems and other users-as well as emerging challenges such as climate change and the threat of waterborne diseases-Confronting the Nation's Water Problems concludes that an additional $70 million in federal funding should go annually to water research. Funding should go specifically to the areas of water demand and use, water supply augmentation, and other institutional research topics. The book notes that overall federal funding for water research has been stagnant in real terms for the past 30 years and that the portion dedicated to research on water use and social science topics has declined considerably.

Drinking water provides an efficient source for the spread of gastrointestinal microbial pathogens capable of causing serious human disease. The massive death toll and burden of disease worldwide caused by unsafe drinking water is a compelling reason to value the privilege of having safe drinking water delivered to individual homes. On rare occasions, that privilege has been undermined in affluent nations by waterborne disease outbreaks traced to the water supply. Using the rich and detailed perspectives offered by the evidence and reports from the Canadian public inquiries into the Walkerton (2000) and North Battleford (2001) outbreaks to develop templates for understanding their key dimensions, over 60 waterborne outbreaks from 15 affluent countries over the past 30 years are explored as individual case studies. Recurring themes and patterns are revealed and the critical human dimensions are highlighted suggesting insights for more effective and more individualized preventive strategies, personnel training, management, and regulatory control. Safe Drinking Water aims to raise understanding and awareness of those factors that have most commonly contributed to or caused drinking-water-transmitted disease outbreaks - essentially a case-history analysis within the multi-barrier framework. It contains detailed analysis of the failures underlying drinking-water-transmitted disease epidemics that have been documented in the open literature, by public inquiry, in investigation reports, in surveillance databases and other reliable information sources. The book adopts a theme of 'converting hindsight into foresight', to inform drinking-water and health professionals including operators, managers, engineers, chemists and microbiologists, regulators, as well as undergraduates and graduates at specialty level. Key Features: Contains details and perspectives of major outbreaks not widely known or understood beyond those directly involved in the investigations. Technical and scientific background associated with case studies is offered in an accessible summary form. Does not require specialist training or experience to comprehend the details of the numerous outbreaks reviewed. By providing a broad-spectrum review using a consistent approach, several key recurring themes are revealed that offer insights for developing localized, tailor-made prevention strategies.

"The report, 'Make It Safe: Canada's Obligation to End the First Nations Water Crisis,' documents the impacts of serious and prolonged drinking water and sanitation problems for thousands of indigenous people--known as "First Nations"--living on reserves. It assesses why there are problems with safe water and sanitation on reserves, including a lack of binding water quality regulations, erratic and insufficient funding, faulty or sub-standard infrastructure, and degraded source waters. The federal government's own audits over two decades show a pattern of overpromising and underperforming on water and sanitation for reserves"--Publisher's description.

This Clean Water Action Plan, issued by the EPA & the Ag. Dept., provides a blueprint for restoring & protecting the nation's precious water resources. A key element in the Plan is a new cooperative approach to watershed protection in which state, tribal, Fed., & local governments, & the public first identify the watersheds with the most critical water quality problems & then work together to focus resources & implement effective strategies to solve those problems. Includes new initiatives to reduce public health threats, improve the stewardship of natural resources, strengthen polluted runoff controls, & make water quality information more accessible.

Expanding 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 portfolio of treatment options available to mitigate water quality issues in reclaimed water along with new analysis suggesting that the risk of exposure to certain microbial and chemical contaminants from drinking reclaimed water does not appear to be any higher than the risk experienced in at least some current drinking water treatment systems, and may be orders of magnitude lower. This report recommends adjustments to the federal regulatory framework that could enhance public health protection for both planned and unplanned (or de facto) reuse and increase public confidence in water reuse.