Water: International and Regional Issues

This page:
International | International Issues | United States | Canada | Latin America | Europe | Middle East | Australia | Africa and the Developing World

International

• EarthTrends: Water Resources and Freshwater Ecosystems - The state of the world's water, with profiles of individual countries
• Gender and Water Alliance
• International Water and Sanitation Centre - Focuses on health issues
• Special Report: Water - A series of articles by the Guardian (U.K.) on the problem on not enough clean water in many parts of the world (August 2003)
• Sustainability of semi-Arid Hydrology and Riparian Areas (SAHRA) - Research for the dry parts of the world (University of Arizona)
• Watersheds of the World - River basin data (World Resources Institute)
• World Water Day - International celebration on March 22 each year, includes Events and Links on Water and Culture
• The World's Water - Water supply worldwide [Worldwater.org]

United Nations and affiliated organizations:

• Unesco Water Portal - The state of water supply and quality worldwide

United National Environmental Programme (UNEP):

• Freshwater - Water issues around the world
• UNEP Maps and Graphics: Water

World Health Organization:

• Drinking Water
• Water, Sanitation and Health
• Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality
• See also Water Law, International

International Issues

Arsenic

This is a major problem in South Asia, especially Bangladesh.

• Arsenic in Drinking Water (World Health Organization)
• Arsenic: In Search of an Antidote to a Global Poison (Environmental Health Perspectives)
• Chronic Arsenic Poisoning - Studies the health effects of arsenic (Harvard University)
• London Arsenic Group - Studies arsenic pollution
• SOS Arsenic.net - On the problem in Bangladesh
• U.S. EPA: Arsenic in Drinking Water - It's a problem in parts of the United States, too

Water Privatization

• Faulty Pipes - 2006 report on what's wrong with privatizing water service (Food and Water Watch)
• The Water Barons - Investigative report by the Center for Public Integrity
• Water for All - Campaign by Public Citizen
• Water for Profit - Report by Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
• Water Observatory - News on this issue, aimed at activists
• World Water Council - "The international water policy think tank"; organizes the World Water Forum every three years; supports "public-private partnerships"

United States

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Water
• U.S. Geological Survey Water Resources Division
• Local Offices for Water Resources
• American Water Resources Association
• American Water Works Association
• National Ground Water Association (NGWA)
• National Institutes for Water Resources - Links to all 54 state water resources institutes

Great Lakes:

• Great Lakes Information Network
• Great Lakes Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Ann Arbor, Mich.
• The Dynamic Great Lakes by Barbara Spring

California:

• USGS' California Water Resources page
• Water Education Foundation
• See also Water News: Regional

Texas:

• Edwards Aquifer Home Page - A great page devoted a groundwater resource in Texas

The West:

• Las Vegas and Water in the West - Exhibit from the library of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas
• Western Waters Digital Library - A collection of digital information on the Platte, Rio Grande, Colorado, and Columbia river basins presented by several universities in the region



• See also Government Agencies and Water News

Canada

• Biosphère - A science center in Montreal; several exhibits are on water, particularly in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River area
• Canadian Water Resources Association

  Environment Canada:

• Freshwater Web Site
• Groundwater and the Internet

Latin America

• Inter-American Water Resources Network - Organizations, agencies, documents dealing with water in the Americas
• Brazil's Water Industry - Advertises a pricey market report. I can't say whether it's worth it.
• Centro del Agua del Trópico Húmedo para América Latina y el Caribe (CATHALAC) - Water Center for the Humid Tropics of Latin America and the Caribbean

Europe

• Euro-Mediterranean Information System on the Know-How in the Water Sector (EMWIS) - Large collection of links

• European Water Association

Britain:

• Environment Agency (U.K.)
• Water Quality - Fresh, marine, underground and surface water in England and Wales
• Water Resources
• Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) - Regulators of public water supplies for England and Wales
• Office of Water (OFWAT) - Economic regulator of the water industry in England and Wales
• Centre for Ecology and Hydrology - Research organization
• Water UK - Industry group

Middle East

• IES Water Database Bibliography - formerly the Middle East Water Information Network
• MEh3O (Middle East Water) mailing list
• Middle East Water News
• Water in the Middle East (Columbia University Middle East and Jewish Studies Library)
• Waternet: Water, Conflict, and Politics in the Middle East

Australia

• Cooperative Research Centre for Water Quality and Treatment
• CSIRO, the Australian science agency
• Land and Water
• Water for a Healthy County

Africa and the Developing World

• Africa Water Journalists Network - Providing information for journalists concerned with water
• Mvula Trust - NGO developing water and sanitation services in South Africa
• The Water Page, Incorporating the African Water Page
• Water in Africa - Lessons for U.S. schoolchildren (Peace Corps)
• Water for People
• Lifewater International
• Water Resources and Third World Development - Case studies (McGill University, Montreal)