The dust bowl that swept the American Plains region in the 1920s was one of the most dramatic and most severe droughts in modern history. This dust storm struck Elkhart, Kansas, in May 1937. (New York Public Library/Getty)
Water is perhaps the single most important chemical compound on Earth. It is essential for human life in some fundamental ways, such as drinking, and critical for other uses, such as sanitation and power production. People have been thinking about and writing about the importance of water in human civilization for many centuries. No bibliography of the length available here can even begin to touch on the great variety of books, articles, reports, and Internet commentaries on water in general and on the present world crisis in water availability and use. This bibliography can be seen, therefore, as primarily an introduction to some of the most recent publications available on the topic.
Some resources are available in more than one format, usually as articles and as Internet reproductions of those articles. In such cases, information about both formats is provided. The reader is reminded that this list of resources is not meant to be exhaustive, but is provided as a source of references with which one might continue his or her research on the topic. The reader is also encouraged to review the references for Chapters 1 and 2, which contain a number of other valuable resources, most of which are not duplicated in this bibliography.
Antonelli, Marta, and Francesca Greco, eds. 2015. The Water We Eat: Combining Virtual Water and Water Footprints. Cham, Switzerland: Springer.
The essays that comprise this book focus on so-called green water, water that is contained in plants. It considers issues of sustainability and food security that depend on a ready supply of green water. Some chapter titles are “Water in Food,” “Virtual Water in Diet, Shopping and Food Waste,” “Aware Eaters of Water: An Idea for Water Labeling,” and “The Virtual Water in a Bottle of Wine.”
Baba, A., et al., eds. 2011. Climate Change and Its Effects on Water Resources. Dordrecht, South Holland: Springer.
This book is part of the NATO Science for Peace and Security Series. Its chapters deal with a variety of climate- and water-related topics such as impacts of climate change on recharge rates of groundwater resources; management of karst reservoirs during climate change; potential effects of climate change on specific water resources, such as those in Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia; and the threat of nanoparticles to groundwater resources.
Bell, Alexander. 2013. Peak Water: How We Built Civilisation on Water and Drained the World Dry. New York: Luath Press.
This book takes a strongly historical view of the world’s current water situation, arguing that human civilization was originally based to a large extent on the ability of humans to capture and put water to use for a host of different activities. The author then shows how various societies have increasingly ignored their key link to water resources, producing the global water crisis that exists today. He shows how many different aspects of society will suffer if efforts are not made to make better use of the water resources available to humans.
Berlatsky, Noah. 2012. Water. Detroit: Greenhaven Press.
This book is part of the publisher’s Global Viewpoints series for young adults, which outlines important contemporary issues and presents a variety of viewpoints about various aspects of those issues.
Booth, Colin, and Susanne Charlesworth, eds. 2014. Water Resources for the Built Environment: Management Issues and Solutions. Chichester: Wiley Blackwell.
This book includes a number of essays dealing with a variety of issues related to the use of water resources in urban settings and other so-called built environments. Individual sections deal with topics related to deficiency and excess of water resources, water policy and legislation, water privatization, urban water economics, the impact of dams and reservoirs, hydropower, water quality and treatment, desalination, delivering potable water to buildings, water conservation, rainwater harvesting, and gray water harvesting.
Buckley, Michael. 2014. Meltdown in Tibet: China’s Reckless Destruction of Ecosystems from the Highlands of Tibet to the Deltas of Asia. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
This book focuses on the changes in water resources that have been taking place in Tibet and neighboring countries largely as a result of development projects initiated by the Chinese government. Individual chapters deal with topics such as “what are Chinese engineers up to?,” “what is the fate of the mighty rivers of Tibet?,” “why is China snuffing out Tibetan nomad culture?,” and “what does a rain of black soot have to do with this?.”
Callow, Roger, Eva Ludi, and Josephine Tucker, eds. 2013. Achieving Water Security: Lessons from Research in Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene in Ethiopia. Rugby, UK: Practical Action Publishing.
The authors report on a five-year study on the effects of investing in water and WASH programs on water security in Ethiopia. They argue that such investments produce significant returns, not only for Ethiopia, but also for other nations in sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.
Chávarro, Jimena Murillo. 2015. The Human Right to Water: A Legal Comparative Perspective at the International, Regional and Domestic Level. Cambridge, UK: Intersentia.
The author reviews the history of the doctrine of water as a human right and then explores the way in which that doctrine has been interpreted and put into practice at the domestic, national, and international levels.
Chellaney, Brahma. 2013. Water, Peace, and War: Confronting the Global Water Crisis. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
This book provides an excellent general introduction to the current global water crisis, based on the author’s presumption that water issues lie at the basis of many, if not all, major international conflicts in the world today. For a good review of the book, see http://www.globalpolicyjournal.com/blog/19/02/2014/book-review-water-peace-and-war-confronting-global-water-crisis-brahma-chellaney.
De Villiers, Marq. 2015. Back to the Well: Rethinking the Future of Water. Fredericton, NB: Goose Lane Editions.
This book is a follow-up on the author’s 2003 overview of the world water crisis (see later), with extended discussions of some basic issues, such as who actually owns the world’s water supplies, is access to water a basic human right, whose responsibility is it to ensure that adequate supplies of clean water are available, and what relative claims to individuals and society as a whole have on water resources?
De Villiers, Marq. 2003. Water: The Fate of Our Most Precious Resource, 2nd ed. Toronto, ON: M&S.
The author takes a grand overview of the world’s water status in the early 21st century, starting with a broad general introduction to the topic that includes data and history of water use by humans, followed by a discussion of factors that have brought about significant changes in the quality of water, the amount of water available, and the uses to which it is put. He next discusses specific water issues in places such as the Middle East, northern Africa, China, and the United States, before concluding with a section on “What Is to Be Done?”
Dong, Bo. 2014. Climate Change and the Water Cycle Hydrological Impacts of Climate Change in the Continental United States. Saarbrücken, Germany: LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing.
One may think of the water cycle as a relatively fixed phenomenon in which water is recycled through Earth’s atmosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere. Yet, that cycle is subject to change by a variety of factors, one of which is climate. This book explores measurable changes that have occurred in Earth’s water cycle, with particular reference patterns to the United States, along with a consideration of the practical effects these changes may have on weather patterns, food production, and other elements of the nation’s economy.
Filho, Walter Leal, and Vakur Sümer, eds. 2015. Sustainable Water Use and Management: Examples of New Approaches and Perspectives. Cham, Switzerland: Springer.
Problems relating to ways in which water scarcity and insecurity can be dealt with are of growing interest to a variety of groups and individuals around the world. The chapters in this book present ideas for water management from individual projects in countries in all parts of the world including Canada, the United States, Lithuania, Australia, Kenya, Afghanistan, Turkey, Finland, and India.
Free Flow: Reaching Water Security through Cooperation. 2013. Paris: UNESCO Publishing; London: Tudor Rose.
This excellent book contains dozens of essays on various aspects of water issues by experts from around the world. The essays are arranged into eight major sections on water diplomacy; transboundary water management; water education and institutional development; financing; legal framework at national and international levels; water cooperation, sustainability, and poverty eradication; economic development and water; and international cooperation on water sciences and research.
Gleick, Peter H. 2014. The World’s Water. Volume 8: The Biennial Report on Freshwater Resources. Washington, DC: Island Press.
This book is the latest volume in a biennial report on the state of the world’s water resources. It includes chapters on topics such as sustainable water management, desalination, hydraulic fracturing, water governance, transboundary disputes over water ownership and use, water funding, access to water and sanitation in various countries, and water resources globally and by country.
Gulbenkian Think Tank on Water and the Future of Humanity. 2013. Water and the Future of Humanity: Revisiting Water Security. Dordrecht, South Holland: Springer.
This anthology consists of a number of papers on various aspects of the world’s current water resources situation. Some topics include drivers of water demand, lessons from the past, climate change and water management, recent changes in water availability, human impact on the environment, changing approaches to water management, urban centers and urban water systems, smarter management of food and water systems, water and energy, and strategies for moving to a positive future.
Jagerskog, Anders, Ashok Swain, and Joakim Ojendal. 2015. Water Security, 4 vols. Los Angeles: SAGE.
As issues of water scarcity become more widespread and more common among nations of the world, questions have arisen as to how governments can guarantee water security within their own borders, ensuring that citizens will continue to have access to the amounts and quality of water that they expect and require. The four volumes in this series consider all aspects of that issue, including origin and foundations, international conflict and cooperation, water security and development, and current dilemmas and future challenges.
Kallen, Stuart A. 2015. Running Dry: The Global Water Crisis. Minneapolis: TwentyFirst Century Books.
This book is intended as an introduction to water issues in today’s world for readers at the secondary school level. It provides a good general introduction to the topic.
Kluge, Thomas. 2015. “Water Gap: The Overuse of Fresh Water.” In Susanne Hartard and Wolfgang Liebert, eds. Competition and Conflicts on Resource Use. Cham, Switzerland: Springer, Ch. 14, 213–229.
The author presents a general overview of the problem of freshwater shortages worldwide, explains how the problem can lead to conflict between nations and regions, and also explains the steps that can be taken to deal with those conflicts.
Lassiter, Allison, ed. 2015. Sustainable Water: Challenges and Solutions from California. Oakland, CA: University of California Press.
Most of the major issues surrounding water scarcity and related problems arising around the world have their counterparts in California. This volume brings together essays from experts in a wide variety of fields, including policymakers, lawyers, economists, hydrologists, ecologists, engineers, and planners, each of whom discusses water problems confronted by the state of California and solutions that have been devised to deal with those problems.
Meija, Abel. 2014. “Water Scarcity in Latin America and the Caribbean: Myths and Reality.” In Mardechai Shechter, ed. Water for the Americas: Challenges and Opportunities. Abingdon; New York: Routledge, Taylor and Francis, Ch. 3.
This book provides a particularly interesting analysis of the factors that combine to make water shortages (in Latin America, but in other parts of the world also) largely a result of political, social, and economic decisions rather than a matter of shortages in physical supplies of water.
Nakayama, Mikiyasu, and Ryo Fujikura. 2014. Restoring Communities Resettled after Dam Construction in Asia. Abingdon, UK; New York: Routledge.
Research on the short-term consequences of dam construction on local communities is relatively abundant. Similar research 5, 10, or more years later is rare. This book attempts to fill that gap by reporting on the long-term changes that have occurred in five countries—Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Sri Lanka, and Turkey—as a result of dam construction.
Peppard, Christiana Z. 2014. Just Water: Theology, Ethics, and the Global Water Crisis. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books.
The author notes that the world’s current water problems have fundamental and important moral and ethical cognates. She analyzes those problems within that context.
Piper, Karen Lynnea. 2014. The Price of Thirst: Global Water Inequality and the Coming Chaos. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Piper takes her cue for this book from a 2006 headline in The New York Times, “There’s money in thirst,” raising questions about the economic aspects of the current global water crisis. She begins with historical stories of the economic aspects of water shortages in California and Chile, before moving on to more recent conflicts over water in South Africa and India. She concludes her story with a retelling of wars that have been fought over water rights in Egypt and Iraq.
Postel, Sandra. 2014. The Last Oasis: Facing Water Scarcity. Hoboken, NJ: Taylor and Francis.
This book provides a general overview of the water problems facing the world today, the way in which these problems have developed, and some of the solutions that have been devised for dealing with these problems.
Richter, Brian D. 2014. Chasing Water: A Guide for Moving from Scarcity to Sustainability. Washington, DC: Island Press.
The author reviews the history of the development of the current global water crisis and points out some solutions that have been developed by governmental agencies at the national and international levels. He then argues that water issues often require the attention of individual communities, who can only devise solutions that are appropriate to their own unique settings.
Shrestha, Sangam, ed. 2015. Managing Water Resources under Climate Uncertainty: Examples from Asia, Europe, Latin America, and Australia. Cham, Switzerland; New York: Springer.
As the evidence for climate change continues to become available, questions about ways of dealing with potential water shortages become of greater significance. This book brings together a number of articles dealing with specific ways in which authorities from a variety of countries have begun to explore ways of solving this problem of the future. Examples come from Vietnam, Indonesia, Laos, India, Cambodia, Bhutan, Australia, and Europe.
Tang, Qiuhong, ed. 2015. The Terrestrial Water Cycle: Natural and Human-induced Changes. Washington, DC: American Geophysical Union.
The essays in this book focus on the changes that have been made, intentionally and unintentionally, in the Earth’s water cycle.
Tannahill, Kim, Peter Mills, and Colin A. Booth. 2014. “Impacts and Issues of Dams and Reservoirs.” In Colin Booth and Susanne Charlesworth, eds. Water Resources for the Built Environment: Management Issues and Solutions. Chichester: Wiley Blackwell, Ch. 5.
The authors provide a general overview of the status of dams worldwide as of 2014 and then discuss the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of those dams.
Tanzi, Attial, et al., eds. The UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes: Its Contribution to International Water Cooperation. Leiden, South Holland; Boston: Brill Nijhoff.
The chapters in this book review the history of the water convention and the influence it has had on countries having to deal with transborder and related water issues over the past decade or more.
Thielbörger, Pierre. 2014. The Right(s) to Water: The Multi-Level Governance of a Unique Human Right. Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg; New York; Dordrecht, South Holland; London: Springer.
The three main sections of this book deal with (1) the current legal status of water rights in Europe and other parts of the world, (2) philosophical approaches to determining the right to water, and (3) implementation of principles governing decisions as to how water rights ought to be distributed internationally.
Tilt, Bryan. 2015. Dams and Development in China: The Moral Economy of Water and Power. New York: Columbia University Press.
This excellent book reviews one very specific aspect of global water issues, the interaction between moral and economic issues that occur as a result of the accelerated construction of dams on many of China’s largest and most important rivers.
Tortajada, Cecilia, Asit K. Biswas, and Avinash Tyagi, eds. 2015. Water Management and Climate Change: Dealing with Uncertainties. Milton Park, UK: Routledge.
The chapters in this book deal with some of the problems involving water management caused by significant climate and other types of changes in coming years. The chapters focus on such issues in a variety of nations, such as Australia, Mexico, Spain, Greece, Italy, and the United States.
Vajpeyi, Dhirendra K., ed. 2014. Water Resource Conflicts and International Security: A Global Perspective. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
The editor notes that modern technology has created the possibility of increasing numbers and intensities of disputes between and among countries for the use of water from shared resources, such as rivers and lakes that lie between those countries. The essays in this book focus on some specific issues of this kind that have arisen with regard to the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, the Nile and Jordan River basins, water resources in South Africa, and debates over the Aral Sea Basin.
Weber, Karl. 2012. Last Call at the Oasis: The Global Water Crisis and Where We Go from Here. New York: Public Affairs.
This book is a companion publication written to accompany the motion picture Last Call at the Oasis, which discusses the current global water crisis. The book can be read alone for the information and stories it provides about the present situation, but is probably used more effectively along with a viewing of the film.
Aiken, S. Robert, and Colin H. Leigh. 2015. “Dams and Indigenous Peoples in Malaysia: Development, Displacement and Resettlement.” Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geography. 97(1): 69–93.
This article provides a comprehensive and very interesting review of the effects of dam construction and operation on a very specific population in rural Malaysia.
Akpabio, Emmanuel M., and Kaoru Takara. 2014. “Understanding and Confronting Cultural Complexities Characterizing Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Sub-Saharan Africa.” Water International. 39(7): 921–932.
The authors argue that a number of nonscientific factors are involved in the acceptance or lack of acceptance of WASH programs in the communities of sub-Saharan Africa. They review some of the cultural and religious factors that may be involved in limiting the acceptance and effectiveness of such programs.
Akter, T., and Ali A. Mehrab. 2014. “Factors Influencing Knowledge and Practice of Hygiene in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Programme Areas of Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee.” Rural and Remote Health. 14(3): 2628. Epub.
This article focuses on some of the factors that affect the implementation or non-implementation of WASH programs in a number of the subdistricts of the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee.
Bain, Robert, et al. 2014. “Global Assessment of Exposure to Faecal Contamination through Drinking Water Based on a Systematic Review.” Tropical Medicine & International Health. 19(8): 917–927.
The authors use data from published studies to attempt to estimate the number of individuals worldwide who are at risk for diseases from water contaminated with fecal matter. They conclude that about 1.8 billion people worldwide are exposed to drinking water that contains at least some level of fecal contamination and that about 60 percent of that number face at least a “moderate” risk from such contamination.
Campbell, Suzy J., et al. 2014. “Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH): A Critical Component for Sustainable Soil-Transmitted Helminth and Schistosomiasis Control.” PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. 8(4): e2651.
The authors discuss the reasons that WASH and nutritional programs can be critical in the fight against two major tropical diseases, helminth infestation and schistosomiasis. They also review some of the factors related to the implementation of such programs as well as factors that may inhibit their broader use.
Chartres, Colin J., and Andrew Noble. 2015. “Sustainable Intensification: Overcoming Land and Water Constraints on Food Production.” Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food. 7(2): 235–245.
The authors review the water demands that will be created by a growing agricultural enterprise that will be needed to provide food for the world’s population in coming demands and make a number of recommendations as to how these demands can be met.
Chaturvedi, Vaibhav, et al. 2015. “Climate Mitigation Policy Implications for Global Irrigation Water Demand.” Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change: An International Journal Devoted to Scientific, Engineering, Socio-Economic and Policy Responses to Environmental Change. 20(3): 389–407.
The authors ask two questions about the effects of climate change on water resources for irrigation: (1) how large will the demand for irrigation water be over the next century, and (2) what will be the effects of efforts to deal with climate change have on these demands? They argue that “increasing population and economic growth could more than double the demand for water for agricultural systems in the absence of climate policy, and policies to mitigate climate change further increase agricultural demands for water.”
Famiglietti, J. S. 2014. “The Global Groundwater Crisis.” Nature Climate Change. 4: 945–948.
The author argues that the world’s groundwater crisis is “a far greater threat to global water security than is currently acknowledged.” He reviews the nature of that crisis and the kinds of actions that are necessary to deal with the crisis.
Freeman, Matthew C., et al. 2014. “Systematic Review: Hygiene and Health: Systematic Review of Handwashing Practices Worldwide and Update of Health Effects.” Tropical Medicine & International Health. 19(8): 906–916.
The authors attempt to estimate the effects worldwide of appropriate handwashing practices as a preventative for contagious diseases and conclude that handwashing after contact with excreta is “poorly practiced globally, despite the likely positive health benefits.”
Gorijan, Shiva, and Barat Ghobadian. 2015. “Solar Desalination: A Sustainable Solution to Water Crisis in Iran.” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 48: 571–584.
The authors describe the water crisis that currently exists in Iran, where more than 70 percent of the land area is arid. They explain how and why desalination is a reasonable and perhaps best available approach to solving the nation’s water shortage.
Groll, M., et al. 2015. “Water Quality, Potential Conflicts and Solutions—An UpstreamDownstream Analysis of the Transnational Zarafshan River (Tajikistan, Uzbekistan).” Environmental Earth Sciences. 73(2): 743–763.
This article provides a superb analysis of the water issues related to the flow of a river that passes through two countries and the way that water resource is affected by global climate change, growing demands for fresh water by humans living in the area, the needs of agriculture in the two nations, and a host of political factors determining appropriate distribution of water rights.
Ireson, A.M., et al. 2015. “The Changing Water Cycle: the Boreal Plains Ecozone of Western Canada.” Water. 2(5): 505–521.
Virtually all experts in the field acknowledge that climate change will make significant changes in the fundamental features of water distribution and use on Earth. This article describes in some detail a careful study of the nature of those changes to be expected in one very specific region, the boreal plains of Western Canada. A must read for anyone concerned with potential changes in the water cycle as a result of climate change.
Islam, Shafiqul, and Amanda C. Repella. 2015. “Water Diplomacy: A Negotiated Approach to Manage Complex Water Problems.” Journal of Contemporary Water Research & Education. 155(1): 1–10.
The authors point out that, at one time, water issues tended to be relatively simple disputes that could be solved fairly easily as long as disputants were willing to put forward the effort. Now, they say, such disputes tend to be far more complicated, requiring a more sophisticated approach to reaching solutions. They review some of the elements that might be involved in such efforts.
Jaeger, W. K. 2013. “Toward a Formal Definition of Water Scarcity in NaturalHuman Systems.” Water Resources Research. 49(7): 4506–4517.
The term water scarcity is widely used in articles about the global water crisis, but is not always carefully defined. This article attempts to provide a precise technical definition for the term and a detailed analysis of the factors involved in discussions of the phenomenon.
Jones, Peter, David Hillier, and Daphne Comfort. 2015. “Water Stewardship and Corporate Sustainability: A Case Study of Reputation Management in the Food and Drinks Industry.” Journal of Public Affairs. 15(1): 116–126. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pa.1534/epdf. Accessed on June 15, 2015.
A number of corporations have begun to acknowledge their role in dealing with national and global problems of water use. These authors attempt to learn more about the motivations for such concerns and the types of actions being taken by companies to deal with sustainable use of water in their businesses.
Le Roux, C. E., Michael Van der Laan, and Mark Gush. 2015. “Agricultural Water Management.” Water Wheel. 14(2): 22–26.
This article provides an interesting and very readable explanation of the important role that water plays in a traditional agricultural enterprise, some of the problems associated with water use, and some methods that have been developed for dealing with those problems.
Liechti, T. Cohen, et al. 2015. “Influence of Hydropower Development on Flow Regime in the Zambezi River Basin for Different Scenarios of Environmental Flows.” Water Resources Management. 29(3): 731–747.
This technical article explores the question of how and to what extent a balance can be achieved in building a hydropower dam that is needed to increase energy supplies in a country while reducing the dam’s environmental effects to their lowest possible level.
Liu, Yongbo, Xubin Pan, and Junsheng Li. 2015. “Current Agricultural Practices Threaten Future Global Food Production.” Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics. 28(2): 203–216.
The authors review global agricultural data for the past 50 years and find that the amount and quality of land available for agriculture have declined during the time period. But demands for food from a growing population are almost certain to increase the need for productive agricultural practices. They outline the challenges that are likely to arise because of this conflict.
Liuzzo, Lorena, et al. 2015. “Modifications in Water Resources Availability under Climate Changes: A Case Study in a Sicilian Basin.” Water Resources Management. 29(4): 1117–1135.
The authors make use of a climate modeling system to predict the effects of climate change on water resources in a southern region of Italy, with some interesting predictions as to what such changes are likely to produce.
Martínez-Ibarra, Emilio. 2015. “Climate, Water and Tourism: Causes and Effects of Droughts Associated with Urban Development and Tourism in Benidorm (Spain).” International Journal of Biometeorology. 59(5): 487–501.
This article explores an interesting sub-issue about global water problems, the interaction of water shortages in regions that depend heavily on tourism for their economic survival. The author reviews the ways in which the Benidorm region has dealt (essentially successfully) with water shortages in the past, the deleterious effects of such shortages on the local economy, and prospects for the region’s continued success in maintaining an adequate water supply.
Molden, David, Charlotte De Fraiture, and Frank Rijsberman. 2007. “Water Scarcity: The Food Factor.” Issues in Science and Technology. 23(4): 39–48.
The authors discuss the role of water resources in food production and point out that the “water crisis” is actually, to a large extent, “the role of water in food production” crisis. They remind readers that there are abundant supplies of water and that the main problem is finding ways to get water to people who need it to grow food.
Ngure, Francis M., et al. 2014. “Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH), Environmental Enteropathy, Nutrition, and Early Child Development: Making the Links.” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 1308: 118–128.
The authors discuss the possible role of WASH and nutritional programs in health programs for very young children for which, they say, little clinical evidence is available. They recommend that greater attention be paid to the inclusion of such programs in early childhood health programs, largely as a way of dealing with endemic enterological problems among young children.
Panjabi, Ranee Khooshie Lal. 2014. “Not a Drop to Spare: The Global Water Crisis of the Twenty-First Century.” Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law. 42(2): 277–424.
The author, professor at Memorial University in Newfoundland, Canada, provides a long and detailed analysis of the elements of the world’s current water crisis with special focus on some political and legal aspects of that issue.
Prüss-Ustün, Annette, et al. 2014. “Burden of Disease from Inadequate Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Low- and Middle-Income Settings: A Retrospective Analysis of Data from 145 Countries.” Tropical Medicine & International Health. 19(8): 894–905.
The authors examined available data to estimate the number of deaths and cases of disease resulting from inadequate water and sanitation systems worldwide. They concluded that, in 2012, 502,000 deaths from diarrhea could be attributed to inadequate drinking water systems and 280,000 deaths from inadequate sanitation systems. An additional 297,000 deaths were attributable to inadequate handwashing systems.
Richey, Alexandra S., et al. 2015. “Quantifying Renewable Groundwater Stress with GRACE.” Water Resources Research. 51(7): 5217–5238.
This article describes a process developed and used by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to measure changes in the world’s 37 largest aquifers. The data collected suggest that 21 of those aquifers are currently losing water faster than it is being replenished.
Schmidt, Wolf-Peter. 2014. “The Elusive Effect of Water and Sanitation on the Global Burden of Disease.” Tropical Medicine & International Health. 19(5): 522–527.
Schmidt briefly discusses the history of WASH programs in developing countries and then raises the issue as to how researchers can adequately access the importance of such programs in the health of communities in those nations. He reviews the problems associated with carrying out research on this topic and obtaining good evidence for the success or failure of WASH programs. He concludes that “[i]t is not esoteric to believe that water and sanitation are upstream interventions, likely to have a broad impact on wellbeing and health.”
Swatuk, Larry., et al. “Seeing “Invisible Water”: Challenging Conceptions of Water for Agriculture, Food and Human Security.” Canadian Journal of Development Studies/Revue Canadienne D’études du Développement. 36(1): 24–37.
The authors argue that broad concerns about the availability of adequate amounts of freshwater in the present and the future are incorrect in that they do not take into account the vast amounts of “green water” available on the planet. When that source of freshwater is taken into account, they say, “there is enough water and land for food security for all.”
Teague, Jordan, E. Anna Johnston, and Jay P. Graham. 2014. “Water, Sanitation, Hygiene, and Nutrition: Successes, Challenges, and Implications for Integration.” International Journal of Public Health. 59(6): 913–921.
Through interviews with 16 stakeholders in the WASH and nutrition sectors, the authors of this article attempt to discover the factors that contribute to and tend to discourage the integration of good WASH and nutrition practices in child health programs.
Vogel, Richard M., et al. 2015. “Hydrology: The Interdisciplinary Science of Water.” Water Resources Research. 51(6): 4409–4430.
This article focuses on the nature of hydrology in the 21st century. They point out that rather being considered as a relatively straightforward scientific topic—the study of the properties, distribution, and circulation of water on and below Earth’s surface—the field has now become a much more interdisciplinary subject that takes into account social, political, economic, and other considerations in its study of water.
Zarfl, Christiane, et al. 2015. “A Global Boom in Hydropower Dam Construction.” Aquatic Sciences: Research across Boundaries. 77(1): 161–170.
The authors of this article comment on the very large number of dams currently under construction or being planned worldwide (about 3,700 major dams) and express their concerns about the social, economic, and ecological ramifications of this dam construction boom.
Zhang, Y., et al. 2015. “Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam: Implications for Downstream Riparian Countries.” Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management. 141(9): 5001–5002.
The authors discuss the potential environmental impacts of the construction of a new dam, which will be the largest dam in Africa. They suggest that little or nothing is known about the multitude of ways in which the mammoth dam will affect countries downstream of it once it begins to fill.
Zhou, Dingyan, Zhuoying Zhang, and Minjun Shi. 2015. “Where Is the Future for a Growing Metropolis in North China under Water Resource Constraints?” Sustainability Science. 10(1): 113–122.
The Beijing-Tianjin metropolis in northern China presents a classic case of water shortages for a region that is growing rapidly in population, increasing in industrial complexity, and largely lacking in the water resources needed to meet these changes. The authors review the recent history of this problem and suggest some possible solutions for dealing with water issues in the region in the future.
Bigas, Harriet, Tim Morris, Bob Sandford, and Zafar Adeel, eds. 2012. “The Global Water Crisis: Addressing an Urgent Security Issue. Papers for the InterAction Council.” Hamilton, ON: UNU-INWEH.
This report consists of a selection of papers by experts in the field with regard to water issues facing the world in the 21st century. They cover topics such as when and where the next war over water will be fought; water resources and climate change; water and political security; water, sanitation, and hygiene; women’s role in water issues; the right to water; and legal and ethical issues related to water use.
Callow, Roger, et al. 2011. “Climate Change, Water Resources and WASH: A Scoping Study.” Overseas Development Institute. http://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/7322.pdf. Accessed on September 21, 2015.
This report investigates the interrelationships among climate change, water resources, and water, hygiene, and sanitation problems and practices in sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia. The report summarizes the current status of programs in these areas and suggests steps to prepare the two regions more fully for changes that are likely to occur as a result of climate change.
“Climate Change: Evaluating Your Local and Regional Water Resources.” 2015. U.S. Geological Survey. Reston, VA: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.
This booklet is designed specifically for watershed management experts, but it provides an interesting insight into the types of problems and potential solutions for watersheds posed by climate change.
“Collaboration: Preserving Water through Partnering That Works.” 2015. PWC. http://www.pwc.com/us/en/corporate-sustainability-climate-change/publications/assets/pwc-access-to-water-for-businesses.pdf. Accessed on September 21, 2015.
This report is intended for businesses and other stakeholders who are interested in and concerned about water use in their industry. It discusses ways in which a business can partner with other businesses and other entities to make the wisest and best use of water in their activities.
Douglas, Colin, ed. 2009. “Charting Our Water Future: Economic Frameworks to Inform Decision-making.” The 2030 Water Resources Group. [n.p.]. http://www.mckinsey.com/client_service/sustainability/latest_thinking/charting_our_water_future. Accessed on September 19, 2015.
The 2030 Water Resources Group consists of representatives from a number of major corporations, including the Coca-Cola Company, the International Finance Corporation, Nestlé SA, and Syngenta. This report summarizes some of the impacts that water scarcity worldwide is likely to have on the economic community. It also recommends some specific actions that business can take to ameliorate the effects of water shortages on their operations.
Economic Commission for Europe and the International Network of Basin Organizations. 2015. “Water and Climate Change Adaptation in Transboundary Basins: Lessons Learned and Good Practices.” Geneva: United Nations.
Climate change is causing a greater number of countries to begin thinking about transboundary water issues and to look for ways of identifying and solving those issues. This document brings together a number of lessons that have been learned about dealing with transboundary issues in the past, with suggestions as to how those lessons can be applied to new problems arising out of climate change.
Faeth, Paul, et al. 2014. “A Clash of Competing Necessities: Water Adequacy and Electric Reliability in China, India, France, and Texas.” CNA Analysis and Solutions. http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/file/Water%20Adequacy%20and%20Electric%20Reliability.pdf. Accessed on September 20, 2015.
This report was prepared by researchers at CNA Corporation, Aarhus University in Denmark, and the University of Vermont Law School. It concludes that the competition between electricity generation and domestic uses of water will become increasingly severe, leading to a 40 percent gap between water demands and resources by the year 2030.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2012. “Coping with Water Scarcity: An Action Framework for Agriculture and Food Security.” Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization.
This report offers a detailed analysis of the existing water shortages present and developing in nations around the world, with a review of the causes for such shortages and future potential water scarcity patterns. The focus of the report is on how these shortages will affect food production and how shortages of food production are likely to affect the world’s communities and economies. The report ends with a number of suggestions for ways of dealing with future water shortages and their potential effects on food production.
Freyman, Monica. 2014. “Hydraulic Fracturing & Water Stress: Water Demand by the Numbers.” Ceres. http://www.ceres.org/resources/reports/hydraulic-fracturing-water-stress-water-demand-by-the-numbers/view. Accessed on September 21, 2015.
One of the major causes of stress on water resources in some regions of the world is the recently developed fossil fuel recovery technology of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.” This report provides detailed information on the use of water resources by that technology.
Gassert, Francis, et al. 2013. “Aqueduct Country and River Basin Rankings: A Weighted Aggregation of Spatially Distinct Hydrological Indicators.” Working paper. Washington, DC: World Resources Institute. wri.org/publication/aqueduct-country-river-basin-rankings. Accessed on September 21, 2015.
This report provides a comprehensive and technical overview of the world’s nations with regard to their levels of water stress. An excellent general introduction to the topic of water stress.
Melillo, Jerry M., Terese (T.C.) Richmond, and Gary W. Yohe, eds. 2014. “Climate Change Impacts in the United States: The Third National Climate Assessment. U.S. Global Change Research Program.” Washington, DC: U.S. Global Change Research Program.
This report was prepared in response to the Global Change Research Act, which requires the Global Change Research Program to prepare a review for Congress every four years of the assessment of global climate change effects in the United States. This report is organized around 13 sectors, such as water, energy, transportation, agriculture, and forests; 10 geographic regions in the United States; and 5 different response strategies, such as mitigation, adaptation, and continuing assessment. The primary parts of the report dealing with water are to be found on pages 69–112 and 257–281.
Molden, David, ed. 2007. “Water for Food. Water for Life. A Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture.” London: Earthscan.
This very important report considers the water needs for agriculture in coming years, expressing the view that enough water will be available provided that different approaches be adopted for the way water is used in agriculture. The report makes eight recommendations for policy actions that will help to bring about this situation.
Pegram, Guy. 2010. “Global Water Scarcity: Risks and Challenges for Business.” Lloyd’s 360° Risk Insight. London: Lloyd’s.
This report makes and discusses four major points about water scarcity: “Global Water Resources Are under Threat and Businesses Are Affected”; “Different Types of Business Face Different Threat Levels”; “Water Is Different to Other Natural Resources—It Needs to Be Managed on a Local, Basin or National Scale”; and “Tools and Approaches for Managing Business Risk from Water Scarcity Are Already Being Developed.”
Ringersma, Jacquelijn, Niels Batjes, and David Dent. 2003. “Green Water: Definitions and Data for Assessment.” Wageningen, The Netherlands.
This report explores a number of basic questions about so-called green water, including what the term means, the physical principles of water storage in the soil, the availability of data about green water on the planet, ways of optimizing green water use, models available for estimating the efficiency of green water use, and applications of remote sensing for determining the availability of green water worldwide.
World Health Organization. 2015a. “Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene in Health Care Facilities: Status in Low- and Middle-income Countries and Way Forward.” Geneva: World Health Organization. http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/154588/1/9789241508476_eng.pdf?ua=1. Accessed on September 19, 2015.
This report claims to be “the first comprehensive, multi-country analysis on water, sanitation and hygiene services in healthcare facilities.” It summarizes extensive research on the use of WASH in such facilities, some important issues revealed by this research, and steps that can be taken to improve the use of WASH in health care facilities in the future.
World Health Organization. 2015b. “Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Accelerating and Sustaining Progress on Neglected Tropical Diseases.” Geneva: World Health Organization. http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/182735/1/WHO_FWC_WSH_15.12_eng.pdf?ua=1. Accessed on September 19, 2015.
This report lays out a new global plan for using WASH programs to target and attack 17 neglected tropical diseases. The plan involves increasing public awareness of the problem of NTDs and putting into practice new and tested methods for introducing and promoting the use of reliable WASH techniques to address these diseases.
“World Water Development Report.” Annual. Geneva: UN Water. Detailed information at http://www.unwater.org/publications/world-water-development-report/en/. Accessed on September 16, 2015.
This report was first issued in 2003 in conjunction with the World Water Forum. It was originally conceived of as a triennial publication and was produced again in 2006, 2009, and 2012. In 2014, it was reconfigured as an annual publication and appeared again in 2015. The report focuses in each edition on a specific aspect of global water issues, such as “water for people, water for life” (2003), “water in a changing world” (2009), “managing water under uncertainty and risk” (2012), and “water and energy” (2014). All reports are available at no cost on the Internet.
WWAP (United Nations World Water Assessment Programme). 2015. “The United Nations World Water Development Report 2015: Water for a Sustainable World.” Paris: UNESCO.
This report takes a look at the current and probable future characteristics of the world’s water supplies. It comes to some pessimistic conclusions, including the prediction that the world will have access to only 60 percent of the water it needs by the year 2030. The report suggests a number of policies and actions that nations can take to deal with future water issues.
“Agricultural Water.” 2015. National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. http://sustainableagriculture.net/fsma/learn-about-the-issues/agricultural-water/. Accessed on September 19, 2015.
Farmers, cattlemen, dairy operators, and others in the field of agriculture use very large amounts of water for a variety of purposes. A number of provisions of the Clean Water Act and other federal legislation prescribe practices designed to help such individuals and businesses to conserve the water they use and make sure that it is as clean as possible before, during, and after use. This Web page provides an excellent overview of those regulations as of 2015.
“Aqueduct: Measuring and Mapping Water Risk.” 2015. World Resources Institute. http://www.wri.org/our-work/project/aqueduct. Accessed on September 21, 2015.
Water risk is a term used to describe the damage that might be caused by some water-related event, such as water scarcity or water stress. This Web site contains interactive maps that show places and severity where water risk is a problem today and in the future.
Bliss, Laura. 2015. “Contaminated and Unregulated: A Worrying New ‘Water Atlas’ of L.A. County.” Citylab. http://www.citylab.com/tech/2015/05/contaminated-and-unregulated-a-worrying-new-water-atlas-of-la-county/393332/. Accessed on September 20, 2015.
This article provides interesting insights into the water problems faced by a single community in the United States, albeit the second largest city in the nation. The problems described by the new “atlas” are not, however, unique to Los Angeles.
Bosman, Dawid. 2015. “Alternative Water Supply.” The Water Wheel. http://www.wrc.org.za/Lists/Knowledge%20Hub%20Items/Attachments/11184/WW_May2015_desalination.pdf. Accessed on June 14, 2015.
This article reviews the history of Australia’s attempts to deal with serious long-term droughts with the construction and use of desalination plants, and how this history can and should affect future policy decisions about desalination.
Brown, Lester. 2013. “The Real Threat to Our Future Is Peak Water.” http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2013/jul/06/water-supplies-shrinking-threat-to-food. Accessed on September 19, 2015.
This long-time writer on environmental issues adopts the principle of “peak oil” and “peak coal” to argue that the most serious problem about water scarcity is that some nations have reached or are approaching a point at which they simply no longer have adequate freshwater supplies to meet their needs. He then considers the consequences of such a situation in any particular country.
Choy, Janny, and Geoff McGhee. 2014. Groundwater: Ignore It, and It Might Go Away.” Water in the West. http://waterinthewest.stanford.edu/groundwater/overview/index.html. Accessed on September 16, 2015.
This article takes a close look at the role that groundwater plays in meeting the state of California’s water needs and the troublesome changes that have occurred in aquifers because of the underregulated use of groundwater over past history. Also see other articles by Water in the West associated with this topic and linked to this article.
“Climate Change and Water News.” Regular publication. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. http://www2.epa.gov/climate-change-water-sector/climate-change-and-water-news. Accessed on September 21, 2015.
The EPA publishes a regular electronic newsletter carrying information and news on the relationship between climate change and water resources. A recent issue of the newsletter, for example, had articles on managing water quality in the face of uncertainty, “early warning systems on algal blooms,” a regional storm water conference, and the national Resilient Cities Challenge.
Damayanti, Okty. 2014. “Connecting Indonesian Communities to Clean Water.” Cornerstone magazine. http://cornerstonemag.net/tag/water-energy-nexus/. Accessed on September 23, 2015.
Cornerstone magazine is the official journal of the world coal industry. The article cited here is one of a number at the Cornerstone Web site that discusses ways in which the coal industry is attempting to ameliorate the negative environmental effects of its mining operations around the world. In this case, Damayanti outlines ways in which the PT Adaro Indonesia company attempts to recycle a portion of its waste waters in such a way as to provide neighbors of the mine with a reliable source of freshwater, which they currently do not have.
Dimick, Dennis. 2014. “If You Think the Water Crisis Can’t Get Worse, Wait until the Aquifers Are Drained.” National Geographic. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/08/140819-groundwater-california-drought-aquifers-hidden-crisis/. Accessed on September 16, 2015.
This article provides an excellent overview of the risks posed by increasing withdrawal of water from the nation’s aquifers. It contains a number of links to other very good related print and electronic articles on the topic.
“Drought Basics.” 2015. National Drought Mitigation Center. http://drought.unl.edu/DroughtBasics.aspx. Accessed on September 21, 2015.
The National Drought Mitigation Center is an agency whose purpose it is to help people prepare for droughts and to deal with the effects of droughts. This Web site has many useful sections, one of which is a general introduction to the characteristics of drought, called “Drought Basics.”
“El Salvador Mining Ban Could Establish a Vital Water Security Precedent.” 2013. The Guardian. http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2013/jun/10/el-salvador-mining-ban-water-security. Accessed on September 23, 2015.
This article reports on the attempt by the government of El Salvador to prevent a Canadian mining company from operating an open-pit gold mine near one of the country’s major rivers, the San Jose River, because of the potential pollution mine wastes would cause in the river and surrounding countryside.
“Facts about Pollution from Livestock Farms.” 2013. Natural Resources Defense Council. http://www.nrdc.org/water/pollution/ffarms.asp. Accessed on September 23, 2015.
One of the threats to the world’s freshwater resources is wastes from large livestock operations. This Web site summarizes some of the most important of those effects.
“Freshwater Crisis.” 2015. National Geographic. http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/freshwater-crisis/. Accessed on September 19, 2015.
This Web site provides a good general overview on the topic of water scarcity, but is especially strong in the visual presentations that accompany the text, along with many links to Web pages with related information.
“Great Pacific Garbage Patch.” 2015. National Geographic. http://education.nationalgeographic.com/encyclopedia/great-pacific-garbage-patch/. Accessed on September 23, 2015.
This article provides a good general overview of the topic of ocean “garbage patches” in general and of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in particular. A number of links to other references on the same topic are provided.
“Groundwater in the News.” 2015. University of California. Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. http://groundwater.ucdavis.edu/Groundwater_in_the_News/. Accessed on September 20, 2015.
This Web site may well provide the most complete list of articles on the subject of groundwater to be found anywhere on the Internet. It is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in the status of groundwater issues in the United States and around the world.
Hertsgaard, Mark. 2015. “If You Only Read One Book about the Water Crisis: ‘Cadillac Desert.’ ” The Daily Beast. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/07/11/if-you-only-read-one-book-about-the-water-crisis-cadillac-desert.html. Accessed on September 19, 2015.
This long and thoughtful article is a review of two books on the role that dams play in today’s water crisis in the American West and, by analogy, in other parts of the world.
Holland, Lynn. 2015. “The Open Pit and the Great Green Macaw in Costa Rica.” Council on Hemispheric Affairs. http://www.coha.org/the-open-pit-and-the-great-green-macaw-in-costa-rica/. Accessed on September 23, 2015.
Holland, Lynn. 2015. “For the Love of Water: The Ban on Mining in El Salvador.” Council on Hemispheric Affairs. http://www.coha.org/for-the-love-of-water-the-ban-on-mining-in-el-salvador/. Accessed on September 23, 2015.
The waste produced during mining operations is often responsible for a host of environmental problems, water pollution being one of them. The problem exists in all types of mining operations in many parts of the world. This series of three articles deals with specific cases of water pollution and other environmental damage caused by actual or proposed mining operations in Central America. (The third article in the series is “to be published soon.”)
“Infiltration—The Water Cycle.” 2015. USGS Water Science School. http://water.usgs.gov/edu/watercycleinfiltration.html. Accessed on September 20, 2015.
This Web site provides a good general introduction to the subject of infiltration and the role it plays in the water cycle.
“Introduction to Global Water Scarcity.” 2015. eSchoolToday. http://www.eschooltoday.com/global-water-scarcity/global-water-shortage-for-kids.html. Accessed on September 16, 2015.
This Web site provides a comprehensive and easily understood general introduction to the subject of water scarcity, with sections on the water cycle, drinking water treatment, threats to the water supply, and effects of water shortages.
“Irrigation and Water Use.” 2015. Economic Research Service. U.S. Department of Agriculture. http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-practices-management/irrigation-water-use.aspx. Accessed on September 19, 2015.
This Web site provides a good general introduction to the ways in which water is used in irrigation systems in the United States, along with some of the problems involved with agricultural water.
Kershner, Isabel. 2015. “Aided by the Sea, Israel Defeats Old Foe: Drought.” The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/30/world/middleeast/water-revolution-in-israel-overcomes-any-threat-of-drought.html?_r=0. Accessed on September 21, 2015.
This article explains how the state of Israel has apparently overcome a long-standing national problem, drought, by putting into practices a number of practices and technologies, including water conservation, reuse of waste water, and desalination such that for Israelis “the fear [of water scarcity] is now gone.”
“Mission 2012: Water.” 2015. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. http://web.mit.edu/12.000/www/m2012/finalwebsite/index.shtml. Accessed on September 19, 2012.
This Web site was developed by a group of freshmen at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who were challenged “to develop a comprehensive solution to a complex problem facing the world.” The problem chosen by this class was to design a program that would ensure the availability of clean freshwater in western North America for the next 100 years. The Web site does a very thorough job of defining the nature of this problem and of laying out a number of solutions for the region’s future water problems.
Morain, Dan. 2015. “Swimming Upstream to Save a Victim of State’s Water Crisis.” Sacramento Bee. http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/dan-morain/article17351492.html. Accessed on September 20, 2015.
The three-inch-long Delta smelt is threatened by extinction in California because so much of its natural water resource is being diverted to deal with the state’s ongoing water shortage. Morain reviews the status of that situation and asks what steps can and should be taken to help the smelt survive this crisis.
Paulson, Linda Dailey. 2015. “What Is Water Scarcity?” RWL Water. http://www.rwlwater.com/what-is-water-scarcity/. Accessed on September 21, 2015.
This essay defines water scarcity, explains the difference between physical and economic water scarcity, and outlines some methods for dealing with water scarcity.
Pearce, Fred. 2012. “Beyond Big Dams: Turning to Grassroots Solutions on Water.” Environment 360. http://e360.yale.edu/feature/beyond_big_dams_turning_to_grass_roots_solutions_on_water/2571/. Accessed on September 19, 2015.
The author begins this article with the view that “[m]ega-dams and massive government-run irrigation projects are not the key to meeting world’s water needs.” He then goes on to review a host of much simpler technologies for water diversion, storage, and use that can be developed and/or implemented by water users in both developing and developed countries.
Pottinger, Lori. 2009. “The Wrong Climate for Big Dams.” International Rivers. http://www.internationalrivers.org/resources/the-wrong-climate-for-big-dams-1730. Accessed on September 19, 2015.
African countries have gone on a dam-building “spree” in recent decades as a way of producing the hydropower they need for development. This author explains why this line of development is not good for the continent’s environment and discusses alternative sources of energy for African nations. Also see related links at the end of the article for additional essays on this topic.
Powers, Madison. 2015. “Water Scarcity.” http://www.fewresources.org/water-scarcity-issues-were-running-out-of-water.html. Accessed on September 16, 2015.
This Web site provides a comprehensive and well-presented introduction to the subject of water scarcity in today’s world along with many useful links to Web sites on related topics.
“Problems with Big Dams.” 2015. International Rivers. http://www.internationalrivers.org/problems-with-big-dams. Accessed on September 19, 2015.
This Web site is devoted to a discussion of the environmental and other effects of dams. The home page provides some useful general information, which can be supplemented by a large number of individual articles on discrete aspects of the issue.
Ramachandran, Sudha. 2015. “Water Wars: China, India and the Great Dam Rush.” The Diplomat. http://thediplomat.com/2015/04/water-wars-china-india-and-the-great-dam-rush/. Accessed on September 19, 2015.
The construction of dams is frequently the basis for transboundary disputes over the use of water. This article focuses on some of the specific problems created between China and India as a result of dam building in one or the other of the two countries.
Ruby, Emily. 2015. “How Urbanization Affects the Water Cycle.” California Water and Land Use Partnership. http://www.coastal.ca.gov/nps/watercyclefacts.pdf. Accessed on September 21, 2015.
This concise and well-written pamphlet outlines the major ways in which urbanization affects water issues in a region or community.
Schulte, Peter. 2014. “Defining Water Scarcity, Water Stress, and Water Risk: It’s Not Just Semantics.” Pacific Institute. http://pacinst.org/water-definitions/. Accessed on September 21, 2015.
Three terms commonly used to describe shortage of water are water scarcity, water stress, and water risk. This article explains the difference among the three terms and explains why that difference is important.
“Selected USGS Groundwater Publications.” 2015. U.S. Geological Survey. http://water.usgs.gov/ogw/pubs.html. Accessed on September 16, 2015.
This Web site is an excellent resource on a wide variety of government publications on the topic of groundwater, including subjects such as estimated use in the United States, depletion by wells, basic groundwater hydrology, aquifer basics, maps of the principle aquifers in the United States, and a glossary of water resource terms.
Stallard, Brian. 2015. “Groundwater Crisis Is Driving World Conflict.” Nature World News. http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/10153/20141108/global-groundwater-crisis-driving-conflict.htm. Accessed on September 20, 2015.
Stallard writes about recent reports and opinion pieces that suggest that groundwater shortages may be responsible for disputes among nations that have or may lead to armed conflict. These conflicts appear to be most common in India and the Middle East, but may begin to develop also in China and the United States.
“U.S. Drought Monitor.” 2015. Center for Climate and Energy Solutions. http://www.c2es.org/science-impacts/extreme-weather/drought. Accessed on September 21, 2015.
This Web page provides a brief introduction to drought issues, but has a number of useful links to other sources of information and background data.
“Water.” 2015. The World Bank. http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/water. Accessed on September 16, 2015
The World Bank is very active in funding a number of general and specific water programs around the world. This Web page describes these activities, which include programs in transboundary cooperation, solar-powered irrigation pumps in Bangladesh, innovative methods for finding water and sanitation projects, collaborative management of water resources in the Zambezi River, and water-powered energy projects in central Asia.
“Water Properties and Measurement.” 2015. The USGS Water Science School. http://water.usgs.gov/edu/waterproperties.html. Accessed on September 16, 2015.
This Web page provides an excellent overview of the major properties of water, such as its chemical and physical properties, the water cycle, and water in the environment.
“Water Resources.” 2015. GreenFacts. http://www.greenfacts.org/en/water-resources/. Accessed on September 16, 2015.
This Web page provides a comprehensive overview of the major factors essential to an understanding of the current global water crisis, including information on where and how much water is found on Earth, what the current pressures on water resources are, how human activities affect water resources, and how water resources can be sustainably developed and used.
“Water Resources of the United States.” 2015. U.S. Geological Survey. http://www.usgs.gov/water/. Accessed on September 16, 2015.
This Web site provides basic information on all of the major topics dealing with water resources in the United States, such as water data; streams, lakes, and reservoirs; groundwater, aquifers, and wells; quality of water resources; and water use.
“Water Rights Law: Prior Appropriation.” 2015. FindLaw. http://corporate.findlaw.com/business-operations/water-rights-law-prior-appropriation.html. Accessed on September 16, 2015.
This Web page provides a good general introduction to the legal principles involved in the doctrine of prior appropriation of water rights.
“Water Scarcity.” 2015. Bat Conservation International. http://www.batcon.org/our-work/regions/usa-canada/address-serious-threats/water-scarcity. Accessed on September 20, 2015.
This Web page provides an excellent overview of the importance of water to the survival of one order of animals and explains how water shortages in many parts of the world are contributing to the decline of that order.
“Water Scarcity.” 2015. World Wildlife Fund. http://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/water-scarcity. Accessed on September 19, 2015.
This excellent Web site provides a general introduction to the problem of water scarcity worldwide, with special emphasis on its effects on threatened and endangered plant and animal life. The Web site also provides information on the activities being undertaken by the organization to deal with problems of water scarcity.
“Water Stewardship.” 2013. World Wildlife Fund. http://awsassets.panda.org/downloads/ws_briefing_booklet_lr_spreads.pdf. Accessed on September 20, 2015.
As part of its effort to protect threatened and endangered species worldwide from water shortage issues, the World Wildlife Fund has prepared this booklet outlining some of the steps that businesses can take to make sure that they are conserving water and protecting water quality to the maximum extent possible. The booklet represents an interesting and promising effort to combine the best interests of enlightened corporations with wildlife conservationists.
“Water Use in Agriculture.” 2015. OECD (The Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development). http://www.oecd.org/tad/sustainable-agriculture/wateruseinagriculture.htm. Accessed on September 19, 2015.
Agricultural water is a topic of major interest to the OECD. This Web page provides an excellent introduction to the topic with basic statistics and information about problems related to the use of water in agriculture. Of special interest is a wide variety of reports, papers, datasets, and other sources of information about the topic.
“World Water Crisis.” 2015. BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/world/2000/world_water_crisis/default.stm. Accessed on September 20, 2015.
This Web site provides a good general overview of the world’s global water crisis, along with an interactive map for a dozen specific places around the world, each with its own unique water issues.
Yacoub, Sameer. 2015. “ISIS Reduces Water Supply to Areas in Iraq’s Anbar.” The World Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/04/isis-iraq-anbar-water_n_7510174.html. Accessed on September 21, 2015.
This article describes a contemporary example of the way that disruption of water supply can be used as a weapon of war.
The dust bowl that swept the American Plains region in the 1920s was one of the most dramatic and most severe droughts in modern history. This dust storm struck Elkhart, Kansas, in May 1937. (New York Public Library/Getty)