Four Critical Fresh Water Challenges Facing Nation Presented to Presidential Candidates
Pacific Institute Releases Action Plan
Published on Oct 10, 2008 - 7:27:21 AM

By: Pacific Institute

OAKLAND, Calif. October 9, 2008 - Ongoing severe drought afflicts farmers and communities in California, the southeastern states, Texas, and elsewhere. Water restrictions are being imposed to try to save water. Climate changes are altering water availability and quality. The nation's water systems are vulnerable to terrorism. And international politics around water are increasingly affecting U.S. interests. Why don't we hear more about water?

Many serious issues face the American people, and many pressing concerns await the next President of the United States. But water is central to policy around energy, climate change, and national security and must not be ignored. Today the nonpartisan, independent Pacific Institute released 16 key water policy recommendations for the next administration to consider and implement.

Dr. Peter H. Gleick, co-founder and president of the Pacific Institute and a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences, is one of the world's leading authorities on sustainable water use and climate change policy and planning. He was recently described by Wired magazine as one of "15 people the next President should listen to." He has presented both the McCain and Obama camps with four critical domestic and international challenges related to fresh water, central to the economy, foreign policy, and security of the United States, with action plans for addressing them.

According to Gleick, the next administration must (1) develop a comprehensive national water policy, with a new bipartisan Water Commission for the 21st Century; (2) spotlight national security issues related to water; (3) expand the role of the U.S. in addressing global water problems; and (4) integrate climate change into all federal water planning and activity.

"We have limited and unevenly distributed fresh water resources, and they are used inefficiently and ineffectively - in part because of the lack of basic national water policy," said Gleick. "Our water quality is not as well protected as it could, and should, be. And new domestic and international security threats around water are growing."

Key recommendations from the Pacific Institute include restructuring and streamlining federal water programs, updating federal water quality laws, and rethinking federal subsidy programs. The goal of the next administration must be to ensure the integrity of the nation's water resources, protect against new contaminants, and expand the use of new technologies to monitor and treat water.

The Memorandum to the two campaigns also notes that U.S. interests around the globe will be affected in many regions where there is a growing risk of political instability around access to fresh water. Diplomatic efforts to reduce the risks of conflict must now include this "environmental" component, and military preparedness needs to include a threat analysis with serious attention given to water.

"Water is a global issue. Access to clean drinking water and sanitation is still unavailable for between two and three billion people," said Gleick. "The U.S. should play a leading role by refocusing our international aid spending priorities toward meeting basic water needs, and working with international nongovernmental organizations and the private sector. It is not only the right thing, it is the necessary thing for a stable world."

Gleick also calls it critical for the next administration to develop a national strategy to integrate climate change into water management and planning at all levels, with particular emphasis on two simultaneous efforts: reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with our water system, and helping communities adapt to the unavoidable impacts of climate change on our water resources.

"The next President faces challenges around our freshwater supply and management with diplomatic, economic, political, and public health ramifications," said Gleick. "The next President must make comprehensive and sustainable national water policy an early priority."

Based in Oakland, California, the Pacific Institute is a nonpartisan research institute that works to create a healthier planet and sustainable communities. Through interdisciplinary research and partnering with stakeholders, the Institute produces solutions that advance environmental protection, economic development, and social equity -- in California, nationally, and internationally.

For more information, visit www.pacinst.org

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