Pollution and Water Quality
According to the United Nations, declining water quality has become a global issue of concern as human populations grow, industrial and agricultural activities expand, and climate change threatens to cause major alterations to the hydrological cycle. Resources available in this sub-theme include manuals describing water quality testing and treatment, reports and assessments of water quality from around the world, methods of maintaining water quality and managing pollution, and other resources that support enabling environments for effective water quality control.
Browse by resource type
- Topical Report (46) Apply Topical Report filter
- Project Report (12) Apply Project Report filter
- Case Study (3) Apply Case Study filter
- Instruction Manual (3) Apply Instruction Manual filter
- Website/Blog (3) Apply Website/Blog filter
- Meeting Documents (2) Apply Meeting Documents filter
- Project Evaluation (2) Apply Project Evaluation filter
- Factsheet (1) Apply Factsheet filter
- Topic Guidance (1) Apply Topic Guidance filter
- Training Resource (1) Apply Training Resource filter
Pollution and Water Quality Resources
Report of Weed Control and Water Quality Study in the Zapotitan Valley
Published:
January 1, 1971U.S. Agency for International Development
Report on research related to weed control in the Zapotitan Valley. An integral part of the research was to include a water quality study, dealing with the contamination of irrigation water by herbicides.Read more
Regional focus:
El SalvadorLatin America and the CaribbeanAppendix A: Abstracts Pertaining to Arid Regions
Published:
January 1, 1970U.S. Agency for International Development
The abstracts contained were obtained to gain insight into what was accomplished in the realm of research of hydrologic and range phenomena in an arid watershed. The abstracts are classified into categories: range management, climatology, rainfall, water quality, drought, surface runoff, soils,...Read more
How Trees Can Retain Stormwater Runoff
Published:
December 31, 1969The National Institutes for Water Resources
Trees in our communities provide many services beyond the inherent beauty they lend to streets and properties. One of the most overlooked and underappreciated is their ability to reduce the volume of water rushing through gutters and pipes following a storm. This means less investment in expensive...Read more
Regional focus:
United StatesNorth AmericaMethods of Analysis for Waters, Organic Matter, and Pond Bottom Soils Used in Fisheries Research
Published:
January 1, 1969U.S. Agency for International Development
This report provides guidance on water quality testing with respect to fisheries and increasing fish production and the methods to doing so.Read more
Regional focus:
United StatesNorth AmericaGuiding Principles on an Optional Approach For Developing and Implementing a Numeric Nutrient Criterion That Integrates Causal and Response Parameters
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
These guiding principles offer an approach for developing a numeric nutrient criterion that integrates causal (nitrogen and phosphorous) and responsive parameters into one water quality standard.Read more
Analyzing a Water Sample
U.S. Agency for International Development
This technical notes describes the steps in water analysis. Water analysis is helpful to determine the level of water supply treatment. This note outlines testing for bacteriological contamination.Read more
Final Report, June 1988 to May 1991: The Importance of Mangroves in Sustaining Fisheries and Controlling Water Quality in Coastal Ecosystems
U.S. Agency for International Development
This final report describes an ecosystem analysis of Guayas River estuary, Ecuador, along with ecological studies in Terminos Lagoon, Mexico, to quantify the function of mangroves in different environmental settings. Mangroves may provide food and habitat to a variety of trophic levels, as well as...Read more
Regional focus:
EcuadorLatin America and the CaribbeanClearing the Waters: A Focus on Water Quality Solutions
Published:
March 22, 2010Pacific Institute
This report released by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) for World Water Day, March 22, 2010, lays out steps and solutions to address our urgent water-quality challenges––and they start with awareness and will to action.Read more
Human Costs of Nitrate-contaminated Drinking Water in the San Joaquin Valley
Published:
March 1, 2011Pacific Institute
This research finds that nitrate contamination of groundwater has wide-reaching effects on California's health, economic vitality, and environmental well being, disproportionately affecting low-income households and Spanish-speaking residents.Read more
Economics of Water Quality Protection From Nonpoint Sources: Theory and Practice
Published:
November 1, 1999U.S. Department of Agriculture
Pollution from nonpoint sources is the single largest remaining source of water quality impairments in the United States.
Agriculture is a major source of several nonpoint-source pollutants, including nutrients, sediment, pesticides, and salts. Agricultural nonpoint pollution reduction policies can...Read more
Don't see what you're looking for? You can search USWP member sites, request a resource, or contact the USWP.