Never are we more aware of how important water is when we don't have access to a safe, clean constant supply. But worldwide there are millions of people who don't because of social, economic and political inequities and climate change.

Science and technology have provided methods for measuring water shortages, for predicting weather events causing droughts and floods and for purifying and storing water for future use but they cannot replace human efforts required to implement them.

The story of water preservation and protection in Arizona began more than a century ago when farmers, politicians, water management groups, public utilities and consumer advocates recognized its importance and began working together to plan for Arizona's future water needs. Water now weaves through our state within the Salt River Project (SRP) lakes and reservoirs and through the Central Arizona Project (CAP) canal.

Arizona has been in the midst of a drought for more than two decades. Even though the water levels in our lakes and reservoirs have declined as the amount of groundwater has ebbed and flowed, our future water supply should be secure if we take care of it.

Before exploring this website, please review the information in the Site Notes section.

 
Importance

Water is also used in agriculture, transportation for moving goods across oceans and in rivers, as a universal solvent,water is capable of dissolving more substances than any other liquid for putting out fires and for hydroelectric powerthe use of flowing water to power a turbine to produce electrical energy production.

Water is far more. It is necessary for sustainable socio-economic development, human productivity, healthy ecosystems and a key factor in managing epidemics, famine, social inequality and political instability.^[3]

The United Nations estimated that the world's population reached 8 billion on November 15, 2022. It took 12 years for the global population to grow from 7 to 8 billion. It is expected to reach 9 billion by 2037, meaning that the planetary population is increasing, but at a declining rate.^[4]

But countries with the highest fertility rates are usually those with the lowest per capita income, meaning that global population growth is now concentrated in the world's poorest countries. Most are in Africa where development of water systems can't keep up with sustained rapid population growth.^[4]

Rising per capita incomes create unsustainable patterns of production and consumption. Countries with the highest per capita incomes also produce the most greenhouse gases, causing drought and flooding and disproportionately affecting water supplies in poorer countries.^[4]

Water resources require short-term and long-term management. Increased competition for water, pollution, technological breakthroughs, global warminga gradual increase in the overall temperature of the Earth's atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and other pollutants and climate changea change in global or regional climate patterns, in particular a change apparent from the mid to late 20th century onwards and attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels lead to stresses on, threats to and water imbalances among the hydrosphere,the combined mass of water found on, under, and above Earth's surface biosphere,the regions of the surface, atmosphere, and hydrosphere occupied by living organisms atmosphere,the layer of gases surrounding a planet or moon cryosphereportions of a planet's surface where water is solid, including sea ice, lake ice, river ice, snow cover, glaciers, ice caps, ice sheets, and frozen ground and lithosphere.the rigid outer part of the Earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle

All citizens of planet Earth have a responsibility to care for our water by practicing water conservation, encouraging new water uses that improve standard of living and sanitation, and learning about this rare and precious resource.

 
Habitable Zone

Europa
Europa
NASA
Sep. 7, 1996
Wikipedia Europa
https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Europa_(moon)#/media/
File:Europa-moon-with-margins.jpg
public domain

Enceladus
Enceladus
NASA/JPL
Oct. 28, 2015
Wikipedia Enceladus
https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Enceladus#/media/File:
PIA17202_-_Approaching_Enceladus.jpg
public domain

At approximately 150 million kilometers, Earth is the third planet from the Sun. We live in the habitable zone,also called the "Goldilock's zone," the orbital region around a star in which an Earth-like planet can possess liquid water on its surface and possibly support life where H₂O can simultaneously exist in all three forms, as ice, liquid water and water vapor.^[1]

Our neighbor Venus, the second planet from the Sun, at about 108 million kilometers, is surrounded by a thick carbon dioxideCO₂, a colorless, odorless, incombustible gas atmosphere and sulfuric acida strong acid made by oxidizing solutions of sulfur dioxide clouds. It has a surface pressure 92 times that of Earth, and a temperature of 864^oF (462^oC). If Venus ever had water, it disappeared long ago as a result of Venus' runaway greenhouse effect. occurs when a planet's atmosphere contains greenhouse gases that block heat escaping from the planet, preventing the planet from cooling and from having liquid water on its surface^[2]

Our other neighbor, Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, at about 228 million kilometers, has a very thin carbon dioxide atmosphere and no surface water, although ice has been detected below its surface, where the pressure is less than 1% of that at Earth's surface.^[3]

Phoenix,
Phoenix Lander
NASA/JPL/Corby Waste
Jan. 1, 2007
Wikipedia Phoenix spacecraft
https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Phoenix_(spacecraft)#/
media/File:Phoenix_
landing.jpg
public domain Spirit,
Spirit Rover
NASA/JPL
Apr. 5, 2009
Wikipedia Spirit Mars Rover
https://no.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Spirit_(Mars-rover)#/
media/Fil:Spirit_
Rover_Model.jpg
public domain Opportunity,
Opportunity Rover
NASA/JPL
Oct. 28, 2015
Wikipedia Opportunity Mars Rover
https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Opportunity_(rover)#/
media/File:NASA_Mars
_Rover.jpg
public domain and Curiosity
Curiosity Rover
NASA
Oct. 7. 2015
Wikipedia Curiosity Mars Rover
https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Curiosity_(rover)#/
media/File:Curiosity_
Self-Portrait
_at_'Big_Sky'_Drilling_Site.jpg
public domain are four of history's most successful Mars missions. Phoenix located ice near Mars' north pole.^[4] Opportunity landed in a crater, where it found the mineral hematite,a common iron oxide black to steel or silver-gray, brown to reddish-brown, or red in color that usually precipitates from water and collect in layers at the bottom of a lake, spring, or other standing water which usually forms in water. Spirit found rocks ten times richer in magnesium and iron carbonates than any other Martian rocks previously found. These rocks formed when Mars was warm, wet, had neutral pHscale used to specify how acidic or alkaline a water-based solution is, acidic solutions have lower pH, and alkaline solutions have higher pH water and a thicker carbon dioxide atmosphere.^[5]

Sources:

 
Origin and Structure

Water, as part of Earth's hydrosphere,the combined mass of water found on, under, and above Earth's surface is formed from hydrogen and oxygen, two of the three most abundant elements in the universe. Throughout Earth's history, water has been a central link among Earth's atmosphere,the layer of gases surrounding a planet or moon cryosphere,portions of a planet's surface where water is solid, including sea ice, lake ice, river ice, snow cover, glaciers, ice caps, ice sheets, and frozen ground biospherethe regions of the surface, atmosphere, and hydrosphere occupied by living organisms and lithosphere.the rigid outer part of the Earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle Interactions between water and land formed oceans, rivers, lakes, and streams through erosion, providing life a place to thrive for millions of years.^[1]

In space, ice acts as a surface for the formation of organic compoundsa chemical compound in which carbon atoms are are linked to hydrogen, oxygen or nitrogen atoms that are precursors for life and that eventually became incorporated into cometsa celestial object consisting of a nucleus of ice and dust which develops a gas tail that points away from the Sun and asteroidsa small rocky body orbiting the Sun in the early Solar System.^[2]

Scientists speculate that most of Earth's water arrived with extraterrestrial assistance, not from aliens, but from comets and asteroids. By counting the numbers of protonsa positively-charged subatomic particle in atomic nuclei and neutronsa neutrally-charged subatomic particle in atomic nuclei in water molecules they can determine whether those molecules have the usual 10 protons and 8 neutrons, or if those molecules are water isotopesone of two or more species of atoms of a chemical element with the same atomic number and position in the periodic table and nearly identical chemical behaviour but with different atomic masses and physical properties with a different number of protons.^[3]

The proportion of deuteriumisotope of hydrogen with a nucleus consisting of one proton and one neutron found in Earth's water, in comet 46P/Wirtanen
46P/Wirtanen
S. Mandrel
Dec. 12, 2018
Wikipedia 46P/Wirtanen
https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/46P/Wirtanen#/media/File:
Comet_46P_Wirtanen_on_
12_December_2018_(cropped).png
CC BY-ND 4.0 and in Vesta,
Vesta
NASA/JPL/Cal Tech
Aug. 2, 2011
Wikipedia 4 Vesta
https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/4_Vesta#/media/
File:Vesta_Rotation.gif
public domain a large asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter, are about the same, meaning that both comets and asteroids may have contributed to Earth's water.^[3]

A 2023 study, based on exoplaneta planet that orbits a star outside of the solar system data, speculates that chemical reactions that occurred during Earth's formation could have produced enough water to fill Earth's oceans Hydrogen has been found in the atmospheres of exoplanets similar to Earth, implying that our planet may have also had that element in abundance.^[4]

Sources:

 
Earth History

Earth has changed significantly during its 4.6 billion-year history. There have been long periods of stability, interrupted by violent events and temperature changes causing mass extinctions.refers to an event when many species die off in a relatively short period of geological time ^[1]

Scientists speculate that 770 million years ago the Earth may have been covered in ice, a period referred to as Snowball Earth. One theory states that sulfur gas particles, from large volcanic eruptions, were absorbed by the atmosphere, reacted with solar radiation and cooled the planet. These conditions may have caused an explosion of multicellular organisms.^[1]

The Carboniferous period, about 350 million years ago, was known for marshy forest communities inhabited by ancestors of reptiles, mammals and amphibians. Permanent ice caps covered Earth's poles.^[1]

About 305 million years ago, carbon dioxide levels increased, preventing heat from escaping the atmosphere. Earth warmed, dried and endured intense seasonal changes. Carboniferous rainforest plants suffered, leading to a change in plant and animal communities and the age of the dinosaurs.^[1]

The Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event occured about 66 million years ago, when an asteroid collided with Earth at Yucatán, Mexico. The collision created the Chicxulub crater.
Chicxulub crater
NASA/JPL
Feb. 1, 2000
Wikipedia Chicxulub crater
https://simple.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Chicxulub_crater#/media/
File:Yucatan_chix_crater.jpg
public domain

A huge cloud of ash, dust and other debris was absorbed by the atmosphere, blocking sunlight. Phytoplanktonplankton consisting of microscopic plants and plant photosynthesisprocess by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesize foods from carbon dioxide and water stopped and dinosaurs disappeared.^[1]

Scientists are debating on an official start of the Anthropocene, but some believe it began near the end of the 18th century when the industrial revolution began. Others claim that nuclear weapons testing in the 1950s and an acceleration of destructive human activity changed our planet.^[7]

A decade of American and Australian dust storms, declining bald eagle populations, and the publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring in 1962, exposing the devastating use of pesticides, resulted in the 1972 ban of DDT.^[7]

In 1979, David Attenborough's Life on Earth series brought distant wildlife and environments into the homes of 25 million television watchers.^[7]

Reports by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the United Nations and increased worldwide media coverage began to educate the public about the devastating effects of climate change.^[7]

Sources:

 
Water History

About 10,000 years ago permanent, agrarian settlements relying on local water sources, were established. Clean water was necessary for humans, animals and plants to survive and maintain food sources.^[1]

Since the Bronze Age, between 3200 to 1100 BC, domestic wastewater was used for irrigation and aquaculture in China, Egypt, the Indus Valley, Mesopotamia and Crete.^[2] Traces of wells, rainwater channels and toilets were discovered in these cities.^[1] The growth of permanent settlements led to the development of collection systems for this wastewater and for stormwater.^[2]

During the late fourth millennium BC, walled cities in southern Mesopotamia, near the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, were established on intensive irrigation agriculture that required canal maintenance.^[3]

The Minoans developed advanced sewage systems to dispose of wastewater to rivers, the ocean, and agricultural land for irrigation and fertilization purposes.^[2]

Between 1000 BC to 330 AD, wastewater was used for irrigation and fertilization in areas surrounding important cities, including Athens and Rome.^[2] Ionian philosophers recognized that all of Earth's water is recycled and reused and the existence of the water cycle and evaporation.^[2]

Sanitation systems arose in Great Britain, spread across Europe and arrived in the U.S. These systems limited the spread of water-borne diseases, including cholera, dysentery and typhoid fever that scientists discovered in water supplies.^[1]

Between 330 and 1400 AD in Medieval Europe water technology and knowledge made little progress because of frequent wars. Disease outbreaks were common and epidemicsa widespread occurrence of an infectious disease wiped out town and village residents. In Europe, about 25% of the population died due to cholera, plague, and other water born diseases due to unregulated waste disposal.^[2]

The Aztec made other contributions to water resource planning including management of saline water and fresh water, control of the lake levels to avoid floods and management of urban wastewater and agriculture to increase food security.^[2]

Beginning in 1531, wastewater was used for crop production in Bunzlau, modern-day Poland, and later in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1650.^[2]

Sanitation practices re-emerged in the mid-nineteenth century following the great epidemics in several regions of the world and water filtering and chlorinationwater disinfection by adding chlorine were introduced into municipal water supplies.^[2]

By the mid-20th century, the health effects of biological hazards, including chemical and radioactive waste, were discovered, but not eliminated. About 10,000 people die every day from dysentery, cholera, and other diseases cause by unsafe water and inadequate sanitation. Most are members of marginalized groups, refugees and the poor.^[1]

About 80% of the world's wastewater and over 95% in some under developing countries is released into rivers and streams, where it is diluted and transported downstream or infiltrated into aquifers.a body of permeable rock which can contain or transmit groundwater^[2]

As the world's population grows, unplanned potable reuse and the methods used to purify this water for human consumption will become more important.^[2]

Sources:

 
Climate Change

In addition to water, most terrestrial life depends on solar energy. About half of the sunlight reaching our atmosphere strikes the surface, where it is absorbed and radiated as infrared light, also called heat. About 90% of this heat is absorbed by greenhouse gases and reradiated, slowing heat loss into space.^[1]

There is ample evidence for human-caused climate change:

• the current warming rate has not occurred in the past 10,000 years
• information derived from ice cores, rocks, tree rings and satellites demonstrate a changing climate
• global and ocean temperatures are rising
• ice sheets and sea ice are melting and glaciers are retreating
• ocean temperatures are increasing
• the number of extreme weather events is increasing.^[7]

The U.N. has determined that:

• by 2050, the number of people at risk of floods will increase from its current level of 1.2 billion to 1.6 billion
• in the early to mid-2010s, 1.9 billion people, 27% of the global population, lived in potential severely water-scarce areas and by 2050, this will increase to 2.7 to 3.2 billion people
• more than one-fifth of the world's basins have recently experienced either rapid increases in their surface water area indicative of flooding, a growth in reservoirs and newly inundated land or rapid declines in surface water area indicating drying up of lakes, reservoirs, wetlands, floodplains and seasonal water bodies
• new climate change mitigation pledges for 2030 need to be four times higher to limit global warming to 2C^o and seven times higher to get on track to limit global warming to 1.5C^o (degree changes are noted as C^o or F^o while specific temperatures are noted as ^oC or ^oF)
• current Arctic sea-ice cover is at its lowest level since at least 1850 and is projected to reach practically ice-free conditions at its summer minimum at least once before 2050^[18]

Northeast:

• heat waves, heavy rain, sea level rise
• infrastructure, agriculture, fisheries and ecosystems will be increasingly threatened
• new crop options will probably be available, but at higher costs and risks
• adaptation may not be able to keep up with climate change
• states and cities are incorporating climate change into long-term planning^[11]

• changes in river and stream peak flows are reducing water supplies
• competing demands for water
• sea level rise, erosion, flooding, risks to infrastructure and increasing ocean acidity are major threats
• increasing incidence of wildfires
• heat waves, insect outbreaks and tree diseases causing widespread forest death^[11]

• sea level rise poses widespread and continuing threats to economy and environment
• extreme heat will affect health, energy and agriculture
• decreased water availability will have economic and environmental impacts^[11]

• extreme heat, heavy rain and flooding
• damage to infrastructure, health, agriculture, forestry, transportation and air and water quality
• the Great Lakes are at environmental risk^[11]

• increased heat, drought, and insect outbreaks
• increase in number and severity of wildfires
• decline in water supplies, reduced agricultural yields and triggered heat-related health impacts in cities
• coastal flooding and erosion in some states^[11]

In 1905 the Colorado River flooded a dry basin, creating California's Salton Sea. It became a haven for tourists and wildlife. By the 1980s, the sea was cut off from its Colorado water supply, sustained by agricultural runoff, full of pesticides and fertilizers.^[13]

The sea's local community consists primarily of Latino agricultural workers and Indigenous Tribe members, now subjected to the smell of rotting fish and lead and chromium toxins. Blowing dust, laced with harmful algae and bacteria, affects more than 650,000 people in surrounding communities.^[13]

Since 2003, the sea's surface area declined by 38 square miles, leaving behind a mass store of briny lithium, an important component of electric vehicle batteries and clean energy storage. Efforts to mine this element may further damage the drying sea.^[13]

Alternatives to restore the sea, including bringing water from the Sea of Cortez and building a desalination plant were suggested but have not yet been implemented.^[13]

The Paris Agreement, a legally binding international treaty, was adopted on December 12, 2015 by 196 parties at COP 21 in Paris. It entered into force on November 4, 2016.^[5]

The agreement marked the first time nations united in a common cause to combat climate change. Its goal is to limit global warming to 1.5C^o by reducing greenhouse gases.^[5] (Degree changes are noted as C^o or F^o while specific temperatures are noted as ^oC or ^oF.)

The countries agreed to:

• recognize the emergency, reaffirming the Paris Agreement goal limiting global average temperature increase to below 2^oC above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5C^o
• accelerate action, because carbon dioxide emissions must be reduced by 45% to reach net zero around mid-century
• move away from fossil fuels
• deliver on climate finance, reaffirming the pledge of $100 billion for developing countries
• increase adaptation support to protect lives and livelihoods
• complete the Paris rulebook on the implementation of the Paris Agreement
• acknowledge that climate change has impacts on people
• strengthen the Santiago Network connecting vulnerable countries with providers of technical assistance, knowledge and resources to address climate risks.^[4]

• 137 countries committing to halting and reversing forest loss and land degradation by 2030
• 103 countries, including 15 major emitters, signed up to the Global Methane Pledge, aiming to limit methane emissions by 30% by 2030, compared to 2020 levels
• more than 30 countries committed to producing zero-emission new car and van sales by 2040
• leaders from South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Germany, and the European Union announced a partnership supporting South Africa's transition from coal because South Africa is the world's most carbon-intensive electricity producer
• private financial institutions and central banks announced moves to realign trillions of dollars towards achieving global net zero emissions, including the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, with more than 450 firms across 45 countries control $130 trillion in assets.^[4]

In September 2022, Denmark became the first country to pledge funding for climate-related loss and damage. The country vowed to spend more than $13 million to help developing nations taking the biggest hit from rising global temperatures. The world's most vulnerable countries, like Bangladesh and Haiti need far more, but Denmark's effort is a start.^[10]

Environmental justice advocates and developing world leaders have argued that rich countries bear a greater responsibility for causing climate damage and should pay for economic losses, damaged infrastructure and other climate-related destruction.^[10]

Wealthy countries like the U.S. have oppposed efforts to create a dedicated loss and damage fund, claiming that a financial commitment would imply that rich countries, the primary polluters, are legally liable for climate damage.^[10]

But in November 2022, new pledges made during the United Nations climate conference in Egypt are aimed at directly aiding vulnerable countries. New Zealand committed $12 million to support Pacific Islanders, Belgium $2.6 million to Mozambique, and Austria $52 million over four years for a disaster support initiative.^[16] During summer 2022, Jordanians went without water for as long as three weeks. Population growth, decreasing water supplies and climate change, damaged and inefficient infrastructure and geographical challenges have only made things worse. The resulting shortages serve as a warning of what the future might hold for the region's water future.^[14]

Rainfall has significantly decreased during the last few decades. Warmer temperatures mean that rain evaporates quickly. Longer and hotter summers have also shortened growing seasons.^[14]

The Jordan River, which used to feed the Dead Sea,
Dead Sea and Sea of Galilee in Jordan
NASA
Aug. 26, 2006
Wikipedia Dead Sea
https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Dead_Sea#/media/File:
Dead_Sea_Galilee.jpg
public domain
is now flowing at less than 10% of its historical average and its tributary, the Yarmouk River has been significantly affected by a water shortage.^[14]

The rivers Jordan shares with Israel and Syria have been diverted by those countries for many years, leading to Jordan's reliance on water extracted from underground aquifers. whic are being drained at twice the rate at which they are naturally replenished. This water is about 60% of the country's water supply.^[14]

Jordan's population is more than 11 million and includes more than 760,000 people registered with the United Nations as refugees, who are particularly affected by the water crisis because they are unable to afford transported water. The average amount of water available each year to a Jordanian resident, about 80 cubic meters, is far below the absolute water scarcity threshold of 500 cubic meters set by the United Nations.^[14]

A large-scale desalination project in the port city of Aqaba on the Red Sea is being planned, but it will be many years before the plant is operational.^[14]

Jordanian farmers were using abut 70% of the country's water supply, but increased efficiency and lower water-use crops have lowered agricultural use to 50%.^[14]

One solution involves buying water from Israel. In November 2022, Jordan and Israel signed a water-for-energy agreement at the United Nations climate conference in Sharm el Sheikh.^[14]

Carbon dioxide equivalent is measured in metrics tons. It is the standard unit of measure for climate change sustainability goals and targets, and a method for converting greenhouse gases based on their global warming potential (GWP)a measure of how much energy the emissions of 1 ton of a gas will absorb over a given period of time, relative to the emissions of 1 ton of carbon dioxide^[2]

This standardization allows for universal measurement. For example, one metric ton of methane has a GWP of 29.8 times that of CO₂.^[2]

Climate change obstructionists use several methods to counter climate change protection and action:

• fossil fuel corporations like ExxonMobil, fund misinformation campaigns, lobby politicians and provide campaign contributions to stifle climate change legislation
• conservative foundations, some funded by the Koch Brothers, fund think tanks that distribute climate change disinformation
• corportate employees and paid actors deliberately distribute disinformation at staged events
• trade associations, including the Global Climate Coalition, the Alliance for Energy and Economic Growth and the Coalition for Vehicle Choice, pretend to be pro-environment, but are not
• advertizing firms hired by fossil fuel companies create deceptive public relations campaigns to promote public opposition to climate change mitigation efforts
• front groups, like the former Greening Earth Society, promote false ideas, including the idea that increased carbon dioxide is environmentally beneficial
• contrarian scientists, sometimes working at large universities, receive disproportionate attention for their views denying climate change
• conservatie media, including Fox News, amplifies climate change disinformation
• Republican politicians, like Senator Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, who frequently attack climate scientists.^[9]

• This is the coldest winter we've had in years! So much for global warming.
  Those making this claim confuse weather and climate.
• Climate change is natural and normal and has happened throughout history.
  Global warming and cooling have occurred in the past, however, during those periods there were devastating environmental disruptions, including mass extinctions.
• There is no scientific consensus that climate change is real.
  There is nearly 100% agreement among scientists. The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) determined that global warming is accelerating, and will reach 1C^o above pre-Industrial levels around 2030. (Degree changes are noted as C^o or F^o while specific temperatures are noted as ^oC or ^oF.)
• Plants and animals can adapt.
  They can't. Human-induced climate change is happening too rapidly for species to adapt.
• Climate change is good for us.
  Climate change causes droughts, floods, crop failures, mass migrations, fires, home destruction and sickness, resulting in human trafficking, forced labor, other human rights abuses and death. The economic cost to the global economy is estimated to be $23 trillion by 2050.
• Maybe climate change is real, but it is too late to do anything about it.
  If governments, business, and individuals begin taking drastic action now, we can keep warming within the 1.5C^o target set by the Paris Agreement.^[9]

• Alarmed - most engaged, worried about global warming and strongly supporting climate action
• Concerned - think global warming is a significant threat but prioritize it less and are less likely to take action
• Cautious - aware of climate change but uncertain about its causes and are not very worried
• Disengaged - largely unaware of global warming
• Doubtful - don't think it is caused by human activity and see it as low risk
• Dismissive - reject the reality of human-caused global warming and oppose climate change policies^[12]

• make it personal and concrete
• use clear, simple and accessible language
• help individuals and groups to feel empowered to affect change
• provide solutions that can be achieved in gradual steps
• encourage collaboration
• give examples of existing and socially acceptable environmental conservation-related behaviors
• utilize trusted sources
• use preemptive warnings when including climate change denial information.^[19]

Climate TRACE is a nonprofit coalition of environmental groups, technology companies and scientists. The project uses software to collect and analyze satellite and other data project emissions for countries, industries and individual polluting facilities. It catalogs more than 72,000 steel and cement factories, power plants, oil and gas fields, cargo ships and cattle feedlots. Climate TRACE is working with regional governments in Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, Spain and Italy to provide information about local emissions.^[15]

Sources:

 
Water Quality

• 2.2 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water services
• almost 2 billion people depend on health care facilities without basic water services
• over half of the global population or 4.2 billion people lack safely managed sanitation services
• 297,000 children under five die every year from diarrheal diseases due to poor sanitation, poor hygiene or unsafe drinking water
• 2 billion people live in countries experiencing high water stress
• 90% of natural disasters are weather-related, including floods and droughts
• 80% of wastewater flows back into the ecosystem without being treated or reused
• about two-thirds of the world's transboundary rivers do not have a cooperative management framework
• agriculture accounts for 70% of global water withdrawal^[4]

UNESCO's 2022 Water Development Report emphasized the importance of caring for Earth's groundwater, which accounts for about 99% of all liquid freshwater on Earth. Nearly 50% of the world's urban population depends on underground water sources.^[5]

Gross domestic product (GDP)total monetary value of all finished goods and services produced in a country per capita and urbanizationconcentration of human populations into towns and cities as a percent of land area for countries with the best water versus those with the worst differ significantly.^[2] The average GDP for the best 10 is more than 29 times that of the worst 10, and the average urbanization for the best 10 is nearly three times that of the worst 10.

The major issues affecting water are pollution, inequitable distribution, regulation and climate change.^[5]

Arab region:

• one of the most water-scarce in the world
• groundwater is the most relied-upon water source in at least 11 of the 22 Arab states
• over-extraction has led to groundwater table declines
• groundwater is the primary source of water for vulnerable, disconnected groups and those lacking public resources
• unsustainable agricultural practices and industrialization and urbanization are negatively affecting groundwater quality
• most groundwater resources are non-renewable
• difficulty monitoring groundwater extraction despite use of new technologies
• cooperation among regional countries is minimal but required to manage groundwater resources^[5]

• world's largest groundwater extractor, including seven of the 10 largest: Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan and Turkey
• these countries alone account for about 60% of the world's total groundwater withdrawal
• used heavily for agricultural, industrial and municipal needs
• groundwater is abundant but its depletion is leading to sustainability concerns
• contamination from both anthropogenicrelated to human activity and geogenicrelating to the Earth processes
• unrestricted access and lack of management practices and regulatory systems threaten future availability^[5]
• Managing the Water-Energy-Land-Food Nexus in Korea addressed policy recommendations and governance for sustained growth^[8]

• faces major challenges to ensure a sustainable water supply
• state and territory governments are responsible for managing water within their jurisdictions
• the Australian Government provides national coordination and leadership^[11]
• the 2004 National Water Initiative commits territories to prepare water plans, achieve sustainable water use, register water rights, expand trade in water rights, improve water storage and delivery pricing and better manage urban water demands^[12]

• resources vary by country based on geography, geology and availability
• groundwater principally used for drinking water
• need to control water quality to reduce health risks
• most common pollutants are agricultural nitrates and pesticides and mining chemicals
• more information on emerging pollutants is needed
• increasing awareness of the transboundary groundwater resources and need for international cooperation
• monitoring and expertise available from specialized institutions that need to cooperate^[5]
• European Commission's Directorate-General for Environment developed the Environment Initiative on the Economic Aspects of Implementing the EU Water Framework and Floods Directives to address planning, financing, pollution and water scarcity^[7]

• abundant surface water and the limited groundwater use
• less than 30% of freshwater comes from groundwater sources
• in countries relying on groundwater, approximately half of the extraction is used for irrigation, a third is for domestic use and the rest for industrial use
• limited protection and monitoring of groundwater, which is exploited and contaminated
• sustainability and accessibility affect the most vulnerable populations, who depend on these groundwater sources for drinking water
• represents 50% of the water used by the industrial sector
• political processes requiring monitoring and management are required to meet future water needs^[5]
• Making Water Reform Happen in Mexico included an assessment and policy recommendations to support Mexico's water reform^[9]

• Water Charges in Brazil assessed implementation challenges, possible solutions, water security issues security issues and enhancement of economic growth and social welfare^[10]

• has large groundwater resources estimated to be more than 100 times that of the annual renewal of the region's freshwater resources
• groundwater development could satisfy the need for a rapidly increasing water supply across Sub-Saharan Africa
• about 400 million people do not have access to basic water services
• most countries in Western and Central Africa have little groundwater storage but high annual rainfall and regular recharge
• many countries in Eastern and Southern Africa have considerable groundwater storage but low levels of recharge
• current groundwater pumping will affect future generations
• only 3% of the total cultivated land in Sub-Saharan Africa is under irrigation and only 5% of that is irrigated with groundwater
• groundwater development could act as a catalyst for economic growth, irrigation, agricultural yield increases and crop diversity
• development is limited by a lack of investment in infrastructure, institutions, trained professionals and knowledge of the resource^[5]

• need to replace aging water and wastewater infrastructure
• funding for capital improvements
• compliance with federal water laws
• groundwater management
• watershed resource protection^[22]

• achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all
• achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations
• improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally
• substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity and substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity
• implement integrated water resources management at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate
• protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes
• expand international cooperation and capacity-building support to developing countries in water- and sanitation-related activities and programs, including water harvesting, desalination, water efficiency, wastewater treatment, recycling and reuse technologies
• support and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management^[3]

The 1972 Clean Water Act, 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act, 1986 Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments and 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments are supposed to guarantee that all U.S. inhabitants have access to clean and safe water. For nearly a decade Flint, Michigan residents consumed drinking water that failed to meet federal regulations.^[23]

The damage was already done:

• 66% of households reported one or more adult members experiencing unusual behavioral health issues
• 54% of households reported at least one child experiencing behavioral health issues
• 22.5% of households reported difficulties getting access to behavioral health services
• 34% of individuals self-reported anxiety
• 29% self-reported depression symptoms
• 51% of households felt physical health of at least one member had worsened due to the water crisis^[24]

PFAS are synthetic chemicals widely used in food packaging, firefighting foams and non-stick pan, paper, and textile coatings because they are oil, water and stain resistant.^[19]

PFAS samples were collected in North America, Europe and the Arctic. They have been found in the Pacific Ocean, the Great Lakes, Baltic Sea and Mediterranean Sea.^[18]

PFAS were first identified in the tissues of fish, birds, marine mammals, and specifically bald eagles, polar bears, albatrosses and seals in the early 2000s. Fish-eating predatory animals were found to contain concentrations greater than could be accounted for in their diets.^[18]

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) measures blood PFAS in the U.S. population every two years, starting in 1999-2000, estimating that PFAS-related chemicals are in the blood of 97% of the U.S. population.^[19]

Since 2002, U.S. production and use of PFOS and PFOA in the United States have declined. From 1999-2000 to 2017-2018, blood PFOS levels declined by more than 85% and from 1999-2000 to 2017-2018, blood PFOA levels declined by more than 70%. As PFOS and PFOA are phased out humans may be exposed to other PFAS.^[20]

In February 2023, the EPA announced that $2 billion in grants from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was available to communities to address PFAS issues in drinking water.^[13]

On March 14, 2023, the EPA announced the proposed National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) for six PFAS including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA), perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), and perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS).^[21]

The proposed PFAS NPDWR should be finalized by the end of 2023. If implemented, the EPA expects the new rules will prevent thousands of deaths and reduce tens of thousands of serious PFAS-related illnesses.^[21]

By May 2023 10 states had banned food containers containing PFAS along with hundreds of cities.^[27]

In May 2023 Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R. Wy.) introduced the Water Systems PFAS Liability Act. If passed, the act would hold polluters responsible for cleaning up PFAS discharges under the 1980 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The new law would close a loophole in the 1980 law that would prevent polluters from passing on cleanup costs to water system customers.^[26]

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Solutions

In 1986 federal regulations expanded WOTUS to include

• all waters which are or have been used for interstate or foreign commerce
• all interstate waters including interstate wetlands
• intrastate lakes, playaa flat, dry desert basin where water evaporates quickly lakes, rivers, streams, intramittent streams, mudflats, sandflats, wetlands, sloughs,an area of soft muddy ground prairie potholes, wet meadows and natural ponds that could be used for interstate or foreign commerce
• tributaries of included waters^[1]

For the next three decades several state, appellate court and Supreme Court cases reinterpreted the 1986 definition. The 2015 Clean Water Rule excluded ephemeral streamsa temporary stream that flows as the result of precipitation^[1] from WOTUS.

On January 20, 2021, President Biden signed Executive Order 13990 on Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis. The order required federal agencies to review existing regulations to ensure that they addressed science, climate change and social justice.^[1]

Clean Water Act programs will need to ensure their waters are protected by federal law. Where they do not Tribes and states have authority.^[1]

In April 2023 the EPA announced $41 million in assistance under the America's Infrastructure Act to help solve wastewater challenges. The funding will help rural, underserved and Tribal communities to assess water needs, identify solutions and access funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.^[3]

The act has five priorities: financing and funding, protection of water quality, improvement of Tribal wastewater systems, assistance to communities with decentralized water systems and lagoon wastewater treatment.^[3]

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Resources

Denise Meeks, dmeeks@arizona.edu