For most Americans, poor quality water has never been a
concern. However, with the beginning of the 21st century,
many communities are facing diminishing water supplies and
growing competition for the resource. Many lakes and reservoirs
throughout the country are at historically low levels. Causes
for diminishing water supplies are varied.
Socio-geographic changes in population are placing increased
demands on water resources. Population growth is occurring
where municipal and industrial demands are already great.
Much of the increased demand is occurring in arid regions
where water is always scarce. Water resources become even
less dependable in years of drought. As water bodies become
depleted, water quality decreases due to higher concentrations
of chemical, biological, and physical contaminants. Numbers
of intra and inter-state controversies are emerging as a result
of water shortages.
Agricultural water management becomes increasingly important
in the presence of low water supplies because it is usually
when consumption by agricultural operations is examined more
closely by their respective communities. When agricultural
operations are able to incorporate more efficient methods
of using water, a greater quantity of drinking water is made
available for use by the community at large.
The PNW Regional Water Quality Program provides a broad range
of research-based educational materials devoted to water conservation and agricultural water management. These have been compiled
and published in a 4-page informational flyer. View
an HTML version of the educational materials here, or
download the 11x17 informational
PDF flyer here, or download
the 4-page PDF version here.
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