Water

Overview

LEARN ABOUT
LOCAL
GLOBAL

Municipal water systems are organized around three major water uses: drinking water, wastewater, and storm water systems. All three systems share a common infrastructure based on watershed geography. Indeed, a watershed management approach has emerged as best practice across the country. Other key elements in municipal water systems include sources (groundwater vs. surface water), and treatment processes.

Sustainable water policy at the local level addresses i) the need for cross-jurisdictional collaboration, ii)maximizing non-potable water for uses other than human consumption, iii) promoting decentralized rain harvest practices, iv) protecting water sources from pollution, and v) limiting impervious surfaces.

Municipal water customers — residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural — have water needs that are met by one or more of three public water systems described under Traditional Approaches:

Drinking (Potable) Water
Wastewater
Storm Water

Additionally, this section outlines the elements of municipal water infrastructure:

Watersheds geography
Water sources - Ground water and surface water
Water Treatment Processes – physical, biological, and chemical.
Distribution & Collection Infrastructure

Environmental Challenges discusses the primary problems associated with all three public water systems:

1. Drinking (Potable) Water Systems

Use of drinking water for non-potable uses
Growing demands on natural water sources
Increasing pollution of water sources

2. Wastewater Systems

Impacts of Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) systems

3. Stormwater Systems

Effects of pervious ground cover

4. All Water Systems

Aging infrastructure
Water’s role in energy production
Chemical treatments

Sustainability Principles include:

Develop a comprehensive plan that integrates water use and watershed management
Create cross-jurisdictional partnerships as needed
Link land use and water management plans
Promote innovation, efficiency, and conservation in water use

Sustainable Strategies presents an overview of the dominant best management practice in municipal water systems, the Watershed Management Approach.

Define and prioritize water problems by entire watersheds (including sub-watersheds, and drainage basins).
Coordinate strategies, programs and initiatives with other agencies and jurisdictions affected by shared watersheds.
Track performance through shared systems for data collection and monitoring.
Leverage resources among partner agencies and jurisdictions to avoid redundancies and realize cost savings.

Click here for a comprehensive overview of the Water Section including Approaches, Challenges, Principles and Strategies.

Local governments in the United States are also experiencing the effects of the emerging global water crisis.

Increasing population size is putting a strain on already-taxed water supplies.
Electric bills are rising as water supply dwindles and increases in value.
Jurisdictions are fighting over the rights to shared water sources.
Expansion of water treatment facilities and distribution pipes is causing a rise in capital construction costs and operation and maintenance budgets.

Between 1950 and 2000, the amount of water withdrawn by local county and city water departments for home and business delivery increased approximately 300 percent. Water use for the production of electricity alone rose almost 500 percent.

Seventy percent of our planet is made up of water from oceans and glaciers. Of that amount, only two percent is suitable for human use. Scientists until recently agreed that was more than enough to support human life. However, water is a finite resource. Our current consumption is rapidly outpacing the planet's supply and renewal rates (Figure 1).

The United Nations predicts that water supply across the world will diminish significantly by 2025 (Figure 2). As the global population swells to an anticipated nine billion by 2050, forty percent is expected to live in water-scarce areas.