This article is about water resource policy, its institutions, the policy making processes and major subdivisions rather than implementation or hydrology, irrigation, geography, fisheries management, implementation, the management of specific water projects or the purchase, ownership and conveyance of water law|water rights. Water resource management is the implementation of policy and is usually carried out over smaller political, spatial, and geographical domains than policy. It includes policy for "regions, catchments, shared or transboundary water resources, and inter-basin transfers. Policy is a cause of management practices, but best management practices are identified, evaluated, modified and disseminated by policy making bodies".[1] These policy issues may be subdivided by various means, but broadly concern either the identification, annexation, procurement, maintenance, protection, preservation, expansion of water supply and protection of its quantitative degradation through evaporative loss, water main breakage, waste or constraining qualitative degradation through direct pollution. "Supply isn't just about water production, it is also about distribution infrastructure" [2] Technical issues of the world's aging water infrastructure also includes origination and dissemination of best practices to deal with metering, control systems, and pressure management.Much of policy discussion involves management of competing interests in supply and polluting uses by and between different user classes, with some commentators projecting resource wars as demand exceeds supply throughout most of the globe.[3] User classes of interest to policy making institutions and policy advocates include domestic, industrial, mining and agricultural facilities.[4]
Water resource policy issues are receiving increasing attention.[5] It is widely believed that water policy is entering a period of more or less permanent crisis,[6] at least in some regions, and the chilling spectre of worldwide crisis at some point in the future.[7] Given the complexity of international law, national sovereignty and forecasted water shortages, attention is increasingly focused on various approaches to this complex subject matter.[8] Organizations such as the Global Water Policy Project have sprung up to promote awareness and prod government and NGO's into heightened awareness of the problems.[9] Various jurisdictions at all levels from international down to small water districts regulate water resources to protect drinkability and agricultural uses from water pollution. Advanced industrial countries typically develop stringent rules which are disseminated worldwide through aid agencies and international agencies such as various departments of the United Nations. Within the developed nations, some localities have more highly developed water regulatory policy analysis, making and implementation bodies in place, due either to general social and ideological concerns or familiarity with specific, often problematic water quality problems.
Planning is viewed as a means to
A few high points in multilateral initiatives are as follows:
The 1977 Mar del Plata United Nations Conference on Water was the first intergovernmental water conference, leading to the 1980 Declaration of the International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade by the UN General Assembly.[12]
The United Nations Environmental Program is a key institution housing water resource policy making agencies and disseminating best practices worldwide. This activity occurs at global, regional and national levels. This role has been enhanced by landmark policy directives:
which thereafter (2009)reported on Environmental Flows in Water Resources Policies, Plans, and Projects[16]
Treaties between nations may enumerate rights and responsibilities. For instance, a treaty between Poland and Germany, "An Agreement to establish cooperation on water resources management" provides:
The Permanent Court of International Justice adjudicates disputes between nations including water rights litigation. [18]
Non governmental organizations may have consultative status at the UN. One such NGO is the World Water Council, an "international multi-stakeholder platform" established in 1996 to act "at all levels, including the highest decision-making level...[in] protection, development, planning, management and use of water in all its dimensions...for the benefit of all life on earth." It was an outgrowth of the 1992 at the UN's International Conference on Environment and Development in Dublin and at the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit. The Council itself is mow based in the City of Marseilles.[12] Their website explains its' multi-stakeholder basis as due to the fact that "authority for managing the world's fresh water resources is fragmented amongst the world's nations, hundreds of thousands of local governments, and countless non-governmental and private organizations, as well as a large number of international bodies." Subsequently, in 1994, the International Water Resources Association (IWRA) organized a special session on the topic in its Eighth World Water Congress held in Cairo in November 1994, leading to creation of the World Water Council.[19]
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development has engaged stakeholders in a process it refers to as in its H2OScenarios engaged in a scenario building. In June 2011 in Geneva, the Future of Water Virtual Conference, "hosted by" Dow Chemical, exchanged view on sustainable water issues. Notable presented included Peter Bell of Harvard's Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations and David Abraham, CEO of ClearWater Initiative. Other sponsorships included Scientific American and Fast Company (magazine)|Fast Company, a media firm. Issues raised included
This forum indicated policy concerns with
Operational water management implements policy. These policies are implemented by organizational entities created by government exercise of the police power of the state. However, all such entities are subject to constraints upon their autonomy.[28] These constraints originate in the legitimacy demands of their constituents and also the conflicting constraints originating from global and regional international entities, national government and state or provincial policy instruments such as treaties, laws, regulations and contracts.[29] These factors affect ownership and control of water resources all the way down to the level of municipalities and special districts for flood control and allocation of water rights in accordance with local water law. In many localities, structural limitations on policy making and resulting implementation snarls lead to failed policies.[30]
Subject matter and geographic jurisdiction are distinguishable.[31] Jurisdiction is limited by geographic political boundaries as well the limits imposed by enabling legislation. In some cases, legislation targets specific types of land uses (wilderness,agricultural,urban-residential, urban-commercial, etc.) A second level of jurisdictional limitation exists in terms of the subject matter which any given agency is authorized to control such as flood control, water supply and sanitation, etc. This creates a situation where regulatory authority is fragmented and thus policy analysis at a higher level is in demand in order to coordinate and identify gaps.
In typically water challenged province in a developed nation, the number of water regulatory agencies at the provincial level alone is substantial, not counting county, city and special districts:
Overlapping jurisdictions may pass legislation which creates conflict of laws. For interest, recent changes in California law intended to reduce air quality problems from shipping has been interfered with by Federal legal changes intended to reduce the cost of shipping.[32]
Government secrecy is an ongoing problem as bureacratic ineptitude and illicit, privately profitable arrangements are shielded from public view. In some nations there are provisions for press and other NGO access but costly lawsuits may be required to exercise these rights.
As reported on the non partisan Civil Society Institute website, a 2005 Congressional study on water supply impact of American production is apparently being suppressed as it has become the target of a Freedom of Information Action (FOIA) litigation filed by the Civil Society Institute (CSI) vs the Department of Energy (DOE) and U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu.
Water can become a natural disaster in the form of coastal or inland manifestations. These include tsunami, hurricane,cyclone, rogue wave and storm surge or floods originating from terrestrial water - bursting dams, rivers overflowing their banks. Planning and prevention of floods is a part of water resource policy which is separated from ordinary water resource management designed to allocate supply and provide for sanitation.
Invasive species have become a serious problem in many areas. For instance, the Great Lakes of the US are threatened by Asian carp and parts of the Western US by invasive mussels.
One jurisdiction's projects may cause problems in other jurisdictions, causing untold grief to all concerned. For instance, Monterey County California controls a body of water which acts as a reservoir for San Luis Obispo County. Who pays for measures to restrict growth of Quaaga Mussels? The down stream jurisdiction will face expensive damage to their piping systems if things get out of control, but boaters in the upstream jurisdiction will infect the lake if they are not subject to education and enforcement programs, which cost money. Similar examples abound.
Surface water and groundwater have often been studied and managed as separate resources, although they are interrelated.[36] There are three recognized classifications of groundwater which jurisdictions may distinguish: subterranean streams, underflow of surface waters, and percolating groundwater.[37]
Drinking water and water for utilitarian uses such as washing, crop cultivation and manufacture is competed for by various constituencies:
Salt water resources are important for ethical-aesthetic reasons and on a practical level for recreation, tourism, maintenance of fisheries which includes wildlife resources such as birds and marine mammals. The sea is also a venue for shipping and for extractive exploitation for oil and minerals which creates a need for resource regulatory policy to protect the foregoing values from detrimental effects.
Ballast water, fuel/oil leaks and trash originating from ships is a growing concern in terms of water pollution in addition to other concerns. Sources may include.
Ballast water may contain toxins, invasive plants, animals, viruses, and bacteria.
Oil rigs and undersea mineral extraction creates a host of regulatory and resource management problems as demonstrated by high profile oil spills such as Deepwater Horizon. Also, decommissioning of such operations presents policy challenges. Rigs to reefs is a proposal which has as yet failed to reach consensus. California's Tranquillon Ridge project met its demise in the aftermath of Deepwater Horizon, and was controversial as environmentalists covenanted with the oil industry to open California's waters up to offshore drilling in exchange for early termination of existing Federal oil leases.
Such regulatory bodies as exist cover designated regions [39] and regulate piped waste water discharges to surface water which include riparian and ocean ecosystems. These systems of review bodies are charged with maintenance maintaining a healthy aquifer for purposes of wilderness ecology (wildlife habitat,drinking water, agricultural irrigation and fisheries. Another area of regulatory attention, which may or may not be housed within the same regulatory structure, includes storm water discharge which tend to carry fertilizer residue and bacterial contamination from domestic and wild animals.[40] They have the authority to make orders which are binding upon private actors such as international corporations [41] and do not hesitate to exercise the police powers of the state. Water agencies have statutory mandate which in many hurisdictions is resilient to pressure from constituents and lawmakers in which they on occasion stand their ground despite heated opposition from agricultural interests[42] On the other hand, the Boards enjoy strong support from environmental concerns such as Greenpeace,Heal the Ocean and Channelkeepers.[43]
Water quality issues or sanitation concerns reuse or water recycling and pollution control which in turn breaks out into stormwater and wastewater.
Surface runoff is water that flows when heavy rains do not soak (infiltrate) soil; excess water from rain, meltwater, or other sources flowing over the land. This is a major component of the water cycle.[44][45] Runoff that occurs on surfaces before reaching a Channel (geography)|channel is also called a Nonpoint source pollution|nonpoint source. Such sources often contain man-made contaminants, the runoff is called nonpoint source pollution. When runoff flows along the ground, it can pick up Soil contamination|soil contaminants including, but not limited to petroleum, pesticides, or fertilizers that become discharge (hydrology)|discharge or nonpoint source pollution.[46][47] At a policy level, political groups aggregate at such policy making entities as will hear their claims. Thus, in democratic jurisdictions with relatively open access to citizen participation, agricultural interests, developers, fish and wildlife groups, and environmentalists will compete for policy maker attention and for implementation of their preferred policy options.[48]
Wastewater is water which has been discharged from human use; "water that has been adversely affected" by anthropogenic influence.[49] The primary sources are discharge from the following sources:
Potential contaminants exist in varying concentrations and new ones are found on an ongoing basis}. Sewage is technically wastewater contaminated with fecal and similar animal waste byproducts, but is frequently used as a synonym for waste water. Origination includes cesspool and sewage outfall pipes, some of which are unpermitted .
Water treatment is usually a matter of implementation however it is subject to multiple overlapping jurisdictional constraints which limit the governmental autonomy [50] exercised by these bodies. For instance, levels of chloramines with their resulting toxic trihalomethane by product are subject to Federal guidelines even though water management implementing those policy constraints are carried out by local water boards.[51]
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