 United
States Department of Agriculture -
Forest Service |
 Southern Research Station200 Weaver Boulevard P.O. Box 2680 Asheville, NC 28802 |
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National Forests and Grasslands Watersheds for Water Quality
(Asheville, NC) When we turn on the faucet, we expect to see clear water, clean and ready to drink. Report of a community's water supply being interrupted by a water main break or contaminated by a flood makes the news. Yet more and more Americans drink bottled or filtered water, carrying it to work, ordering it in restaurants. The purity of our drinking water no longer strikes everyone as a given. The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Amendment of 1996 established a time line to assess the status of all drinking water sources across the country and to publish the results by 2003. Southern Research Station scientists joined scientists and land managers from across the Forest Service to write Drinking Water from Forests and Grasslands: A Synthesis of the Scientific Literature. Edited by water quality consultant George E. Dissmeyer, this publication aims to assist forest and grassland managers in their efforts to comply with the SDWA. It reviews and synthesizes the scientific literature about how the management of Forest Service lands affects public drinking water sources.
We rely on forests and grasslands as sources of clean drinking water for two reasons: (1) forests mainly grow under conditions that produce relatively reliable water runoff; and (2) properly managed forests and grasslands can yield water relatively low in contaminants when compared with many urban and agricultural land uses. Approximately 3,400 towns and cities depend on National Forest System watersheds for their public water supplies. About 60 million Americans served by public water supplies live in communities that draw source water from national forests and grasslands.
Drinking Water from Forests and Grasslands: A Synthesis of the Scientific Literature focuses on potential contamination of source water associated with ordinary land uses in national forests and grasslands. This book aims to inform managers about specific effects of land-use practices on drinking water, giving them the best tools with which to decide how to protect human health by protecting drinking water. Drinking Water from Forests and Grasslands: A Synthesis of the Scientific Literature examines how uses of national forests and grasslands impact watersheds and water quality. Measured effects include recreation and built environment; vegetation management; grazing animals, birds, and fish; and mining and oil and gas development.
Drinking Water from Forests and Grasslands: A Synthesis of the Scientific Literature speaks to public land managers, as well as managers of public and private forests and grasslands, managers of public water supplies, and community groups concerned with drinking water quality. The book's structure separates it into chapters by types of land use; but the authors recognize that in most practical situations, effects on source waters result from the cumulative effects of multiple land uses that often overlap in space and change over time. The inclusion of a glossary of abbreviations and acronyms and a glossary of terms strengthen the publication's readability.
You can download or print Drinking Water from Forests and Grasslands: A Synthesis of the Scientific Literature by visiting the Southern Research Station's Web site at www.srs.fs.fed.us. If you prefer a print copy, call 828-257-4830 or send an e-mail to pubrequest@srs.fs.usda.gov.
To get information about a source water assessment program (SWAP) from a particular State, go the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) homepage to view the SWAP contact list. You can find names and telephone numbers of State source water contacts and hotlinks to State homepages. Visit the EPA homepage at http://epa.gov/OGWDW/protect.html.
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