Regional Climate Change and Adaptation — the Alps Facing the Challenge of Changing Water Resources

European Environment Agency
http://tinyurl.com/ybkm95s
[Abstract] Spanning the centre of continental Europe, the Alps play a crucial role in accumulating and supplying water to the continent. As such, they deliver vital ecosystem services both within and beyond the region, underpinning social and economic wellbeing in vast lowland areas. Troublingly, the alpine climate has changed significantly during the past [...]

Frontiers in Soil Science Research : Report of a Workshop

National Research Council
http://tinyurl.com/m824gn
Free with registration
[Description] There has been renewed interest in soil and soil science in recent years as the recognition that biogeochemical processes that occur at the Earth’s surface influence global climate change, land degradation and remediation, the fate and transport of nutrients and contaminants, soil and water conservation, soil and water quality, food [...]

Mercury in Fish, Bed Sediment, and Water from Streams Across the United States, 1998–2005

USGS / by Barbara C. Scudder, Lia C. Chasar, Dennis A. Wentz, Nancy J. Bauch, Mark E. Brigham, Patrick W. Moran, and David P. Krabbenhoft
http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2009/5109/
Scientists detected mercury contamination in every fish sampled in 291 streams across the country, according to a U.S. Geological Survey study released today.

Fixing the Delta : How Will We Pay for It?

Public Policy Institute of California / by Dean Misczynski
http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/report/R_809DMR.pdf
[From Greenwire article by Colin Sullivan, subscription required] The Public Policy Institute of California argues in the paper released yesterday that the state is stymied by questions about how to bankroll new canals, levees, dams or other water infrastructure…
Solutions to water problems…were difficult enough before the [...]

Global Environmental Health: Research Gaps and Barriers for Providing Sustainable Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Services : Workshop Summary

National Research Council
http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12597&utm_source=feeds&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=new_from_nap_rss
[Summary] One of the objectives of the workshop was to think about the interdependence of environmental health and human health as connected through water. Organizations cannot discuss water without considering the interrelationship of sanitation and hygiene. It is the convergence of these strategies that promotes healthy outcomes for both individuals and the environment.
A [...]

Cost Estimate : S. 787 Clean Water Restoration Act

Congressional Budget Office
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/105xx/doc10507/s787.pdf
[From summary]  S. 787 would amend the Clean Water Act to establish federal jurisdiction over certain bodies of water. The Clean Water Act requires that any person seeking to discharge certain material into waters under federal jurisdiction obtain a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps). The Supreme Court has ruled [...]

Sustaining California Agriculture in an Uncertain Future

Pacific Institute / by Heather Cooley, Juliet Christian-Smith and Peter Gleick
http://www.pacinst.org/reports/california_agriculture/final.pdf
[Summary] This report… argues that California’s future is increasingly uncertain. Competition over limited water resources continues and climate change is increasing climate variability. With existing technologies, management practices, and educational and institutional resources, we can reduce agriculture’s vulnerability to water supply constraints and improve [...]

Energy and Water : Preliminary Observations on the Links between Water and Biofuels and Electricity Production

Government Accountability Office
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09862t.pdf
[Summary] Water and energy are inexorably linked — energy is needed to pump, treat, and transport water and large quantities of water are needed to support the development of energy. However, both water and energy may face serious constraints as demand for these vital resources continues to rise. Two examples that demonstrate the [...]

Clean Water Infrastructure : Design Issues and Funding Options for a Clean Water Trust Fund

General Accountability Office / Statement of Anu K. Mittal, Director Natural Resources and Environment
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09893t.pdf
[Summary] This testimony summarizes findings of a May 2009 report (GAO-09-657), where GAO was asked to examine (1) stakeholders’ views on the issues that would need to be addressed in designing and establishing a clean water trust fund and (2) potential options [...]

Drought in the United States : Causes and Issues for Congress

Congressional Research Service
http://opencrs.com/document/RL34580/
[Summary] Drought is commonly defined as a deficiency of precipitation over an extended period of time, usually a season or more, relative to some long-term average condition. Droughts have affected the United States, particularly the American West, for centuries. Drought affects societies because of the combination of reduced supply (e.g., less precipitation, [...]