Policy Solutions

All Policy Documents Tagged drinking water

Hydraulic Fracturing Can Potentially Contaminate Drinking Water Sources

Fact Sheet

Communities across the country are concerned about the risks that oil and gas production using fracking poses to drinking water sources, and scientists and environmentalists are increasingly concerned about groundwater and surface water contamination that may be associated directly or indirectly with fracking. NRDC opposes expanded fracking until effective safeguards are in place.

Clean Water Saves Lives

Fact Sheet

Every day in the United States, most people walk a few feet to a clean and private bathroom, and turn on the tap: a flow of fresh, clean drinking water gushes out. At the same time, there are women and girls all around the globe who are not as fortunate. Women and girls are often responsible for collecting water for their families, a task that takes hours each day and can limit time for other things, such as school. Instead of turning on the tap, they have to make a dangerous trek of more than three and a half miles, on average, to gather water for their families. The water they collect, while desperately needed, is not always clean or safe for human consumption. When they need to use the bathroom, they often retreat to the forest or bush because there is no toilet available, which then contaminates the very water they are drinking. Get document in pdf.

Dosed Without Prescription
Preventing Pharmaceutical Contamination of Our Nation's Drinking Water

Fact Sheet

The presence of pharmaceuticals in our waterways and drinking water has gained national attention among lawmakers, regulators, and the public. Prescription drugs can enter water through manufacturing waste, human or animal excretion, runoff from animal feeding operations, leaching from municipal landfills, or improper disposal. With many questions still unanswered regarding the scope of the problem and its consequences for human health and the environment, NRDC conducted an extensive survey of the scientific data, legal analyses, and existing advocacy campaigns around this issue. Based on our findings, we offer several recommendations related to drug design, approval, production, use, and disposal to curb the flow of pharmaceuticals entering our water systems and lessen the impacts of the pollution they cause.
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Atrazine: Poisoning the Well
Atrazine Continues to Contaminate Surface Water and Drinking Water in the United States

Report

Watersheds and drinking water systems across the nation remain at risk for contamination from the endocrine-disrupting pesticide atrazine. The U.S. EPA's inadequate monitoring systems and weak regulations have compounded the problem, allowing levels of atrazine in watersheds and drinking water to peak at extremely high concentrations.

21st Century Water Planning: The Importance of a Coordinated Approach

Testimony

Testimony of Nancy K. Stoner, co-director of NRDC's water program before the House Science Committee, March 4, 2009. Get document in pdf.

What's On Tap?
Grading Drinking Water in U.S. Cities

Report

This June 2003 NRDC study of drinking water quality in 19 U.S. cities finds that pollution and deteriorating, outdated plumbing are sometimes delivering drinking water that might pose health risks to some residents, and unless steps are taken now, tap water will get worse. The report issues grades to each municipal water system studied in water quality and compliance, source water protection, and right-to-know compliance, and outlines a plan for protecting the nation's drinking water supply.

Bottled Water
Pure Drink or Pure Hype?

Report

A petition to the FDA and attached report on the results of NRDC's four-year study of the bottled water industry, including its bacterial and chemical contamination problems. The petition and report find major gaps in bottled water regulation and conclude that bottled water is not necessarily safer than tap water.

Under Attack: New York's Kensico and West Branch Reservoirs Confront Intensified Development

Report

A report finding that encroaching development and inadequate protection by city and state officials threaten New York City's two most important reservoirs.