Lecture Notes in Water Policy

Freshwater is our planet's most precious resource — essential for life itself. Despite this fact, many people across our planet face difficulties finding safe, clean, potable water. A U.S. State Department report contends that the world's thirst for water may become a human security crisis by 2040. The World Bank reports many developing nations face catastrophe from intensive irrigation, urbanization, and deteriorating infrastructure. Also, numerous reports contend that in many places un-treated wastewater is still released directly into the environment. This is particularly true in low-income countries, which on average treat less than 10% of their wastewater discharges.In short, we face three imminent challenges regarding freshwater: (1) demands by agriculture, cities, industry, and energy production are increasing; (2) severe pollution from various contaminants and growing withdrawals are limiting the capacity of waterways to dilute contaminants — threatening human and aquatic life; and, (3) climate change will cause periods of frequent and severe droughts — punctuated by acute periods of flooding.The goal of this book is to illuminate how the governance of freshwater is a political, social, economic, cultural, and ecological challenge. The management and provision of water are not merely technical problems whose resolution hinges on hydrological principle, cost, or engineering feasibility. They are products of decisions made by governments, businesses, and interest groups that exercise control over who has access to water, how they use it, and in what condition they receive it. It discusses basic knowledge about water supply and quality; the evolution of water policy in different societies; the importance of water to human and environmental health; the role of law, politics, and markets in its allocation, use, and protection; and, the importance of ethics in its equitable provision.Contents: About the AuthorIntroductionIntroduction — Freshwater Management as Global Policy ChallengePast as Prologue — Water Resources Policy in Historical PerspectiveUS Policies in a Global Context — Law, Practice, and InstitutionsWho Controls Freshwater? Allocation and UsesWater Quality — Impacts to Health, Environment, and Well-BeingSources of Water Conflicts — Diversion, Depletion, and DegradationCalifornia as 'Hydraulic Empire' — Fact, Fiction, Fantasy?California's Water — Problems and Solutions in Global ContextEthics, Values, and Water — The Challenges of Adaptive ManagementIndexReadership: University-level undergraduate and masters-level graduate students in environmental studies; environmental policy; and natural resources studies.Water Conflicts;Environmental History;Water Policy;Water Pollution;Water Supply;Comparative Environmental Policy;Contaminants of Emerging Concern;Environmental Justice and Water;Groundwater;Flood;Drought;Climate Change Impacts0Key Features:Provides a clear, readable introduction to water resource policy from a non-technical perspective — accessible to students at the undergraduate levelEmbraces a multi-disciplinary approach to policy: drawing on science, engineering, social science, the humanities, and even the artsTakes a global perspective — citing examples from every inhabited continent. Uses current, up-to-date illustrations and examplesProvokes questions and discussions by using examplesFocuses on current threats to water including contaminants of emerging concern, climate change, urbanization, and population growthFocuses on governance as an organizing principle: acknowledges that the management of freshwater is a political, social, economic, cultural, and ecological challengeDiscusses environmental and water justice as well as other equity issuesProvides basic knowledge about water supply and quality; the evolution of water policy in different societies; the importance of water to human and environmental health; the role of law, politics, and markets in its allocation, use, and protection; and, the importance of ethics in its equitable provision