The world is “running out of water”. Even though the planet is water rich, relative to its neighbors in the solar system, little of its water is available to human consumption. About 97% of global water resources is ocean water, and of the remaining 3% of freshwater only about 13% are accessible to humans. Competition over these freshwater resources is growing. Population growth, climate change, economic development and misguided policies lead to increasing water scarcity, a situation which hits some regions harder than others due to the problem of uneven global distribution; almost one-quarter of the world’s supply of freshwater is stored in Lake Baikal, Latin America has 12 times more water per person than South Asia, and an inhabitant of Yemen has 450 times less water available than a person living in Canada.

Access to clean water is increasingly becoming the most important issue that faces people around the world. Worldwide, 1.2 billion people lack access to sufficient amounts of clean water, millions die every year from contaminated water, and hundreds of millions are sickened and disabled.^1,2 Industry, agriculture, livestock, mining, refining, and virtually every aspect of human activity depend on water. No other problem today is close in magnitude, and problems with water are expected to grow worse rapidly due to population growth imposing larger demands for domestic, industrial, agricultural, livestock, and energy uses.

In addition, water supplies are increasingly threatened by contamination of aquifers, the largest source of freshwater in the world, by toxic compounds and salts intruding from sea and saline sources. Salting and contamination of freshwater sources drive the need for new clean water, or more extensive water treatment. As the glaciers disappear on continents throughout the world, the major rivers that currently supply freshwater year-round may become intermittent, forcing the search for new water supplies.^3,4

The United States Environmental Protection Agency, regions, states, and tribes are working together to connect smart water policies with sustainable communities. Thousands of communities across the nation are facing difficult challenges in meeting their water resource needs. According to a 2003 US General Accounting Office report, 36 state water managers anticipate water shortages by 2013, and that is before taking into account drought conditions or any of the potential impacts of climate change. This is one reason EPA convened a work group in 2007 to examine the possible impacts of climate change on our National Water Program.

In March of this year, EPA released a draft strategy to respond to the challenges that water programs may face because of climate change. The draft strategy is the product of the workgroup, which was made up of senior water program managers from headquarters and regional offices and senior managers from EPA’s Office of Water, Office of Air and Radiation, and Office of Research and Development. In the National Water Program Strategy: Response to Climate Change, we provide an overview of the potential effects of climate change on water resources and America’s clean water and safe drinking water programs. We also outline 46 specific actions we are proposing to adapt program implementation in light of climate change