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WATER by Brian F. Goetz |
1. Start with U.S. Water News, a great little monthly that focuses on various water issues. The News does a good job of presenting technical information in a user-friendly, non-technophile manner. Topics are broken up into subcategories which include: water supply, water quality, legislation, litigation, conservation and global water issues. Archives go back nearly two years. Links to products, services, consultants and other water related websites.
2. Your next stop is the EPA's Office of Water. The EPA continues to update its efforts to provide the public with comprehensive information on environmental regulations. This site does a good job of doing just that. Here the user can learn the latest about the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act, drinking water health standards, treatment options and drinking water policies. Concerned citizens can get involved in source protection and kids and teachers can learn lots by clicking on the drinking water activities for kids.
3. If you surf around the Office of Water's website long enough you'll find a link to Envirofacts. The Envirofacts Warehouse is the EPA's comprehensive (and user friendly) site designed to allow you to retrieve environmental information from databases on Superfund sites, drinking water, toxic and air releases, hazardous wastes, water discharge permits, and grants information. Its section on drinking water includes overviews about current regulations, updates on the Safe Drinking Water Act, and a query form for searching information about your water system's compliance record.
4. For the industry's perspective on drinking water, click your way to the American Water Works Association's (AWWA) website. There you'll also be able to keep up on the latest information regarding drinking water regulations and find links to other water-related websites and an index of all of the public drinking water systems that currently have their own websites.
5. If you find yourself overwhelmed with the nitty-gritty details of drinking water at the tap, visit Cadillac Desert for some diversion. Here, you'll find information about BIG water systems according to Marc Reisner's groundbreaking book of the same name and subsequent PBS documentary. As the site mentions: "Cadillac Desert chronicles the growth of a thriving civilization in the great American desert...It is the story of tremendous demands for water set against the reality of Earth's physical limits to supply it." Here, you'll find summaries of the PBS documentary and links to help you learn about water conservation and the water world.
6. Finally, to get some perspective from public advocacy groups, go to the
Environmental Working Group's (EWG) website. There, you'll find out that
the EWG is "a leading content provider for public interest groups who are
campaigning to protect the environment." Click on their "Tap Water" link
and you'll learn about "What's in your Water?", a collection of EWG studies
regarding drinking water. These studies range from summaries of chemical
discharges that have polluted waters, to how "excessive use of farm
fertilizer pollutes drinking water supplies in 40 states."
Brian F. Goetz is an environmental consultant and writer from Salt Lake City, Utah. He can be reached at bfgoetz@xmission.com.