by Rebecca Walker — September 20, 2010—Citing a looming freshwater crisis that could affect the nation’s economy, the livability of our communities and the health of our ecosystems, a diverse coalition of businesses, non-profits and government agencies are making a call to action aimed at heading off a national crisis in water quality and supply.
“Charting New Waters: A Call to Action to Address U.S. Freshwater Challenges,” is the culmination of an intense two-year collaboration exploring solutions to U.S. freshwater challenges.
The report identifies serious challenges to the quality and supply of freshwater, such as pollution and scarcity; competing urban, rural and ecosystem water needs; climate change; environmental and public health impacts; and a variety of economic implications. The document offers actions to confront these threats and a plan to ensure that our freshwater resources are secure for the 21st century.
The document represents consensus recommendations of diverse interests convened by The Johnson Foundation at Wingspread in Racine, Wisconsin.
Reliable freshwater supplies are an essential underpinning of U.S. economic security, with energy generation, manufacturing, food production and many activities of daily life dependent on access to freshwater, the report says.
It notes that an estimated 41 percent of U.S. freshwater withdrawals are for thermoelectric power generation, primarily coal, nuclear and natural gas; 37 percent go toward irrigated agriculture.
The report was presented to the Obama Administration at a meeting of federal agencies convened by the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), and released to the public during a noon forum at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center.
The document proposes a series of shared actions across sectors to ensure sustainable and resilient freshwater resources so that we have the ability to absorb changes, sudden or otherwise, through flexible water management strategies.
The Call to Action’s recommendations include a range of freshwater management strategies to head off a potential crisis, such as streamlining and better coordinating fragmented governance among federal, state and local jurisdictions. Another key need identified in the report is modernizing our freshwater regulatory framework, developed in the 1970s to deal with the acute environmental issues of that era.
The report also calls for better accounting of the full cost of services delivered by municipal water and wastewater utilities and sharing this information with consumers. Revised pricing structures that more accurately reflect the full cost of services could be one step toward financing badly needed upgrades to U.S. water and wastewater systems.
For more information, see the Web site.
