U.S. Domestic Resources

Welcome to the H2infO U.S. Domestic Resources Page. On this page you will find U.S. Water Partnership member resources aimed at helping domestic stakeholders address the unique water challenges of the United States.

U.S. Domestic Resources

Rain and Precipitation

Published: 
July 21, 2021
Rain and snow are key elements in the Earth's water cycle, which is vital to all life on Earth. Rainfall is the main way that the water in the skies comes down to Earth, where it fills our lakes and rivers, recharges the underground aquifers, and provides drinks to plants and animals. Water...Read more
Regional focus: 
United States

Agriculture and the Quality of the Nation's Waters

Published: 
July 21, 2021
Intensive studies by the USGS National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project in agricultural areas provide insight into how agricultural activities have altered the natural flow of water and the way that agricultural chemicals enter streams and aquifers, and in particular how nutrients affect...Read more
Regional focus: 
United States

Sediment Sampling and Data Processing

Published: 
July 21, 2021
Sediment can be transported as suspended load (moves with the flow of the river) or as bedload (rolls along the riverbed) or can be deposited on the riverbed or bank. Sediment is naturally occurring and essential to supporting the ecological function of a water body. High sediment concentrations in...Read more
Regional focus: 
United States

Water Quality Surveillance and Response

Published: 
July 13, 2021
The EPA Water Security Division has developed a program that provides information, case studies and a framework utilities can use to develop a Water Quality Surveillance and Response System (SRS). An SRS can help improve a utility's ability to monitor source water and distribution system water...Read more
Regional focus: 
United States

What Can Communities Do About Lead in Drinking Water?

Published: 
July 13, 2021
An estimated 6 million leaded service lines(link is external) deliver drinking water to households across the United States, and when these lines leach lead into drinking water, it poses a serious public health problem. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, states and cities are working to issue...Read more
Regional focus: 
United States

Environmental justice and drinking water quality: are there socioeconomic disparities in nitrate levels in U.S. drinking water?

Published: 
July 13, 2021
Low-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
Regional focus: 
United States

Making the Invisible Visible: Results of a Community-Led Health Survey Following PFAS Contamination of Drinking Water in Merrimack, New Hampshire

Published: 
July 13, 2021
In 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
Regional focus: 
United States

Applying a Cumulative Risk Framework to Drinking Water Assessment: A Commentary

Published: 
July 13, 2021
The 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
Regional focus: 
United States

Water Justice

Published: 
July 9, 2021
Waters in urban and rural areas can be contaminated from a variety of sources, including industrial discharges, automobiles, wastewater, and agricultural use. Polluted water can cause environmental health hazards such as poor water quality and unsafe waters for recreation. Water utilities play a...Read more
Regional focus: 
United States

Watered Down Justice

Published: 
July 2, 2021
Safe drinking water is a pillar in good water policy, but many communities of color face barriers that lead to a chronic lack of water access. Serious disinvestments in water infrastructure, which are fueled by systemic racism, have made significant impacts on majority-black cities like Newark, New...Read more
Regional focus: 
United States