Pollution and Water Quality
According to the United Nations, declining water quality has become a global issue of concern as human populations grow, industrial and agricultural activities expand, and climate change threatens to cause major alterations to the hydrological cycle. Resources available in this sub-theme include manuals describing water quality testing and treatment, reports and assessments of water quality from around the world, methods of maintaining water quality and managing pollution, and other resources that support enabling environments for effective water quality control.
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Pollution and Water Quality Resources
Quality Unknown: The Invisible Water Crisis
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June 25, 2021Quality Unknown: The Invisible Water Crisis demonstrates the importance of water quality monitoring and how poor water quality undercuts nearly all of the SDGs. The report elucidates hidden water quality issues and outlines strategies for combating their impacts.Read more
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GlobalWorld Health Organization Guidelines for drinking-water quality
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June 25, 2021The fourth edition of the World Health Organization's (WHO) Guidelines for drinking-water quality (GDWQ) provides a standardized basis for national or regional drinking-water policies and actions. The Guidelines include recommendations for contextual hazard identification, chemical background...Read more
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GlobalIndicators for Monitoring Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene: A Systematic Review of Indicator Selection Methods
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June 25, 2021Monitoring water, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) is important to track progress, improve accountability, and demonstrate impacts of efforts to improve conditions and services, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Indicator selection methods enable robust monitoring of WaSH projects and...Read more
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GlobalA Twenty-First Century U.S. Water Policy
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July 2, 2021Pacific Institute
Environmental justice is a trending topic among water officials, especially for those who are trying to reorient federal water policy to increase equity. Environmental justice advocates are attempting to correct the decades of water injustices that have targeted disenfranchised communities,...Read more
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United StatesEnvironmental justice and drinking water quality: are there socioeconomic disparities in nitrate levels in U.S. drinking water?
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July 2, 2021Low-income and minority communities often face disproportionately high pollutant exposures. The lead crisis in Flint, Michigan, has sparked concern about broader socioeconomic disparities in exposures to drinking water contaminants. Nitrate is commonly found in drinking water, especially in...Read more
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United StatesComparing methods to improve reliable sensor deployment time in continuous water quality monitoring
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July 13, 2021Maintaining water quality depends on monitoring, as reliable data are critical for environmental management and protection. Continuous monitoring is still a challenge, since the equipment requires constant calibration and has a high cost. The results help to detect pollution and determine actions...Read more
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GlobalEnvironmental justice and drinking water quality: are there socioeconomic disparities in nitrate levels in U.S. drinking water?
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July 13, 2021Low-income and minority communities often face disproportionately high pollutant exposures. The lead crisis in Flint, Michigan, has sparked concern about broader socioeconomic disparities in exposures to drinking water contaminants. Nitrate is commonly found in drinking water, especially in...Read more
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United StatesMaking the Invisible Visible: Results of a Community-Led Health Survey Following PFAS Contamination of Drinking Water in Merrimack, New Hampshire
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July 13, 2021In March 2016, citizens of Merrimack, New Hampshire, learned that their public water supply was contaminated with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). A subsequent state-led investigation revealed widespread contamination of both public and private well water with PFOA and several related chemicals,...Read more
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United StatesApplying a Cumulative Risk Framework to Drinking Water Assessment: A Commentary
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July 13, 2021The health risks of drinking water contaminants and the economic benefits of drinking water standards are typically assessed one chemical at a time, an approach that misses the health impacts of co-occurring contaminants in drinking water. In contrast, a cumulative risk framework has become common...Read more
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United StatesWWF Position: Biobased and Biodegradable Plastic
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July 16, 2021Global plastic pollution is an increasingly urgent environmental crisis, and one which has amassed significant public attention in recent years. Plastic pollution threatens aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems around the world. An estimated 8 million tons of plastic waste enter the oceans every year...Read more
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