USGS Newsroom

Editor's note: This briefing covers national issues but is of particular interest to media outlets in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

Competition for water is becoming more intense as the nation's population continues to grow, increasing the demands for water use in agriculture and power production.

Water quality impaired by human activities constrains water use. Perhaps less understood is that water use can degrade water quality by releasing naturally occurring contaminants, like salts, uranium and radium, into streams and aquifers, thereby constraining water availability.

Rep. Grace Napolitano, Chairwoman of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power, the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, and the Water Environment Federation invite you to a briefing to examine the factors that limit the water available for critical uses throughout the country. The briefing is held in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program.

This briefing will explain and provide examples of the connections between water use and water quality and how they can ultimately affect water availability for critical uses.

When:

Thursday, March 20
10:00am - 12:00pm

Where:

Room HC 5 United States Capitol Building

Who:

David Anning, NAWQA scientist, USGS
David Kanzer, Colorado River Water Conservation District
Robert Hirsch, Associate Director for Water, USGS
Claudia Copeland, Congressional Research Service

Additional Resources:

• Congressional briefing recording (111 MB) - Transcript available in 7 - 10 days
• Briefing paper (handout - Word)
• Decreases in Salinity Noted in Southwestern Streams
• Water Availability—The Connection Between Water Use and Quality (PDF)
  
• Pharmaceuticals, Hormones, and other Organic Wastewater Contaminants in U.S. Streams