USGS groundwater water pollution contamination 2011 report arsenic manganese radon uranium

USGS Report: Trace Elements Exceed Health Standards in 20 Percent of U.S. Water Wells

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Utilities are required by law to treat water to national standards, but no such controls exist for private wells, where the risk from contaminants is greater.

Bob Giles and Mans Hultman Join Circle of Blue’s Advisory Board

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This week, Circle of Blue adds two distinguished professionals to our Advisory Board
shan

Building China’s 21st-century Megacity: Shanghai’s Experiment with Water and Nature

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A new community on the Yangtze River has, so far, been more successful at attracting ducks than people. But city officials have their sights set high for Lingang Port City, which they say could be home to nearly a million people by 2050. Cleaner water will be a big help.
CLARK, LINCOLN, AND WHITE PINE COUNTIES GROUNDWATER DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

Proposed Nevada Pipeline and Water Rights: Report Describes Worst-case Scenario, State Engineer Hears Case

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On Monday, the Nevada state engineer will hear opening arguments in a water-rights case that has been ongoing for more than two decades. If passed, the construction of an extensive infrastructure network could dramatically raise the average monthly water bill for many of the state's residents, as well as impact public lands and endangered species.

James Workman: My Local Wants vs. Their Global Needs — UN Water Forum Hints at Tensions of Competing Agendas

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Heavy hitters in the water world met at the United Nations headquarters in New York City on September 16 for a public-awareness marketing campaign. But who is the target audience? And what message do they need to hear?

Disturbing U.S. WASH Report: Water and Sanitation Lacking for Poorest Americans

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Despite an extensive water and sanitation system ranking among the world’s best, a human rights lawyer — appointed by the United Nations — has reported that some of the poorest Americans live without affordable, convenient access to these basic necessities.
Temperature Map

2011 is Record-setting Year for Climate Change: Ice Melts in Arctic, High Temps in U.S.

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A new study has revealed that ice volume in the Arctic Sea reached an all-time low in 2010. Meanwhile, in the United States, more high-temperature records have been set this summer than in any other year previously, as well as many regions that have broken rainfall and drought records.
President Barack Obama

Water, Energy, and Transportation: President Obama Backs Infrastructure Bank in Jobs Speech

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Included in the U.S. president's proposed American Jobs Act is the BUILD Act, allocating $US 10 billion to create a National Infrastructure Bank, governed by an independent board, which would help attract private capital and lower the borrowing costs for public works projects of regional significance.

Ned Breslin: Building Momentum — Is Self-starter the New Self-sufficient?

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Every time I see Mayor Mendoza, I am greeted by his warm smile…
Peter Gleick

Peter Gleick: Is the U.S. Reaching Peak Water?

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Adequate, high-quality freshwater is fundamental for health, growing food, natural ecosystems, and a productive U.S. economy including the production of energy and all vital goods and services. But as populations and economies grow, new constraints on water resources are appearing, raising questions about ultimate limits to water availability.
Somalia Suffers from Severe Drought

Water and Food Security: Somalia Famine Grows, Drought Could Ease

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Meteorologists are hopeful for future rainfall, though they say the current disaster was preventable. The lack of rain, which is also affecting neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia, and political instability have tipped Somalia into a food crisis that could persist, even as drought conditions abate.
Somalia Suffers from Severe Drought

Peter Gleick: Water as a Weapon — Qaddafi’s Last Desperate Gamble

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There is a long history of conflicts over water. The first known water war was nearly 5,000 years ago: a conflict over irrigation ditches between the cities of Umma and Lagash in ancient Mesopotamia, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now Iraq.