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From Source Water to Drinking Water Workshop Summary (2004) / Chapter Skim
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Summary
Pages 1-6

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From page 1...
... During the ensuing century, the United States has experienced a surge in population growth, which is projected to increase until 2050; a shift of population from densely populated urban areas to sparsely populated rural areas; and greater demands on water for multiple needs such as recreation, drinking water consumption, industrial use, and agricultural use. All of these needs have resulted in additional pressure on our waterways and will likely affect our ability to supply adequate water in the future, according to some workshop participants.
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From page 2...
... Thus, at the same time that water must be reused -- given the growing demand -- there is additional pressure to ensure that the drinking water remain at levels of acceptable public health protection. Meanwhile, the changing activities and increasingly concentrated locations both of people and of industries result in significant levels of new emerging contaminants.
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From page 3...
... Many localities have developed comprehensive programs to balance the need for source water for public drinking and the use of rivers and aquifers for industrial purposes. While this has helped to ensure the availability of safe drinking water, many urban areas are experiencing population loss to rural townships, which do not have comprehensive planning and rely heavily on household sewage treatment systems, which have an estimated failure rate of 25 percent, and only a small fraction (8 percent)
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From page 4...
... By partnering with federal agencies, the commission was able to develop a database that can address water needs from the state level and aid in planning new water intakes and monitoring for contaminants through modeling and data collection. EMERGING ISSUES IN PROVIDING SAFE DRINKING WATER Chemical and biological pollutants, whether from natural or human sources, that are regulated under various state, national, and international programs represent but a small fraction of the universe of chemicals present in the environment.
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From page 5...
... The result has been ecosystem collapse and contamination because of modified river flows, fluctuating temperatures, decreased water quality, and dams that trap sediments needed to maintain river deltas. Thus, Gleick called for governments and organizations to adopt a new paradigm for managing water and policy.
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From page 6...
... Workshop participants discussed whether the approaches that government has traditionally used are feasible as the United States faces a growing population and increased consumption per capita. Further, any new paradigm will not be the sole regulatory domain of one agency, but will rather rely on smaller shifts and increased coordination among multiple agencies at the federal, state, and local levels.
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Key Terms

  • safe drinking
  • water act
  • source water
  • providing safe
  • water quality

  • clean water
  • meet basic
  • basic human
  • population growth
  • comprehensive planning

  • increased consumption
  • nitrogen oxides
  • clean drinking
  • estimates suggest
  • water consumption

  • public drinking
  • emerging issues
  • household sewage
  • participants discussed
  • kenneth reckhow

  • recently identified
  • sparsely populated
  • employ adaptive
  • revised drinking
  • populated rural

  • water supply
  • noted gleick
  • growing population
  • trap sediments
  • meet environmental


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