A Twenty-First Century US Water Policy

I don't agree with some of the conclusions presented in this book. The authors have brought up relevant topics and presented facts that clearly present the need for wise sustainability practices that need to be immediately implemented. I really enjoyed the parts that I didn't agree with because I found myself reading and arguing those points while I read. This is the same process that will need to be implemented to come to a consensus for a plan and action to move forward to ensure that we have water resources for our future generations along with all the beneficial uses that go with those water resources.

200 years of local and state court rulings, laws, "land reclamation" dams & diversions, ACOE river re-designs, groundwater mining, and good ol' boy networks of water management boards and engineering consultants now defining the profitable water sector have all contributed to the exploitation of the most public of our natural resources in the public trust of our nation. Australia woke up after a lengthy drought left nobody untouched - urban, agricultural, industrial, and environmental stakeholders. The Pacific Institute has made the case that the US cannot wait for a 1000 year drought. We must organize our own wake-up moment for a national water policy, and this easily read publication starts the process.

This is an excellent text for anyone who is in anyway involved in water policy at the local, state or federal level. It does a good job of showing the various ramifications of good and bad water policies. It is not a text that many would want to read unless they are somehow involved in water policy.

Ever wondered what IS our national water policy? This book will scare you - because we don't have one! The authors make a strong case for the need for the federal government to get its act together and pay attention to a water policy that makes sense. It's widely known that one of the biggest challenges of the 21st Century is going to be how climate change and population affect our water resources, even in a first-world place where you can drink the tap water. I'm from Upstate New York and was really glad to see a case study from Syracuse included in this book, where the community fought to keep a big wastewater plant out of a low-income neighborhood and instead use a smaller plant and green infrastructure. The chapters all drive home how water is not only a resource, but an equity issue. If you think water isn't a problem in the United States, think again. This book reports 1.7 million people lack indoor plumbing and that having safe drinking water varies based on economics and ethnicity in neighborhoods. Christian-Smith and Gleick have maps and charts and stats on all kinds of water issues, but they've also got case studies and on-the-ground situations that help make really readable and clear how multi-faceted the problem of water management is, and how important it is to make it a priority. Whether you go for all of their recommendations or not, you will find that knowing what the challenges are makes you very glad there are smart people out there thinking about ways to update, improve, and integrate water policies in the U.S. to confront our big challenges in the decades ahead.

One of the worst books I have ever read. It is a strictly bureaucratic approach - it downplays the problems, overestimates the successes, and has nothing new to offer. It is unbelievably dry for a book about water and does not go beyond the obvious.

The water policy book I've been waiting for--a MUST-READ guide for anyone interested in U.S. water issues! For many years, Peter Gleick has been our leading independent water analyst. Few combine his scope and depth of knowledge. In this book he and his colleagues fill a niche that has been sorely missing from the growing literature on water--a comprehensive overview of the main issues and important policy challenges facing the United States in the new era of freshwater scarcity.There are 12 well-footnoted chapters, each covering a key aspect of the politics and science of water. Included are trends in US freshwater availability and use, the deep and growing interlinkages between Water and Energy, Agriculture, and Climate Change, the imperative of protecting freshwater ecosystems, municipal water issues, water quality challenges, and aspects of environmental justice and tribal water rights. One very useful chapter helps unravel the bewildering, convoluted--and frequently incoherent--legal and institutional matrixes governing U.S. water.Every single American federal and state legislator and water regulator should be ABSOLUTELY REQUIRED to read the final chapter--Conclusions and Recommendations. It is one of the finest, concise summaries of our national water conditions and challenges. Its 10 basic Recommendations for helping the U.S. transform our prodigious, though misused national water resources into an engine for economic growth and environmental sustainability should be the starting point for a much-needed national debate on water reform.STEVEN SOLOMON, author, WATER: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization

It is public record that Peter Gleick forged a memo from the Heartland Institute and admitted committing identity fraud. In no sane world would he still be in any position of authority or responsibility, and no one interested in truth should read anything bearing his name. Shame!