The Quick Facts: Americans use water each day to drink, clean, bathe, flush toilets, cook, water lawns and gardens, and for recreation and other purposes. Water — a valuable resource — is also essential to life. To manage this resource properly and prepare for the future, it is important to know our current level of water use. Americans’ use of water affects our quality of life and the environment. Understanding household use of water can help make important decisions to conserve and use water more efficiently. Overall, awareness is the key to conserving water — a precious resource — and money.

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The Quick Facts: The use of pharmaceuticals in the United States is common and widespread. Unfortunately, people tend to improperly dispose of unused pharmaceuticals by putting them in the trash or by flushing them down the toilet. These disposal methods may be causing environmental and human health hazards such as disrupting reproductive systems, neurological problems in children, and increased incidence of some cancers. No national standards exist for how much of any pharmaceutical is too much in waterways or in drinking water. You can help to protect the health of humans, wildlife, and the environment by properly disposing of unused, unwanted, or expired pharmaceuticals in these ways.

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Quick Facts: The U.S. Supreme Court’s latest decision regarding the environment, Rapanos v. United States, focused on wetlands protection. The case presented the Court with an opportunity to clarify what many believe to be ambiguous wording in the federal Clean Water Act and to draw clear lines as to what wetlands are protected under federal law. The decision that the Court handed down could have made it easier for environmentalists to preserve wetlands; it also could have made it much harder. Thus far, the Rapanos decision has been most noted for the lack of clarity provided.

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The Quick Facts: In 2006, there were 25,000 beach closings and advisory days nationwide at ocean, bay, and Great Lake beaches. Beach closings or advisory days are issued when water quality does not meet the national health standards set by the EPA. Contact with water contaminated with fecal matter can cause gastroenteritis, diseases affecting the eye, ear, skin, and upper respiratory tract. Due to their weak immune systems, small children and senior citizens are particularly susceptible to contaminated water and exposure can potentially be fatal. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, based on data collected by the EPA, the vacation beaches with the best water quality in the nation can be found in California at Laguna Beach; North Carolina at Kure Beach and Kill Devil Hills Beach, Maine at Libby Cove, Mother’s Middle, Cape Neddick, Short Sands and York Harbor beaches; Michigan at Grand Haven City Beach and Grand Haven State Park beaches; and Wisconsin at Sister Bay Beach and North Beach. The vacation beaches with the worst water quality in the nation can be found in California at Avalon Beach (north of Green Pleasure Pier) and Venice State Beach; Illinois at Jackson Park Beach; Maryland at Hacks Point and Bay Country Campground and Beach; and New Jersey at Beachwood Beach West.

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The Quick Facts: It is generally recommended that humans drink eight to ten (eight ounce) glasses of water per day. More and more people are turning to and consuming bottled water to help meet these water consumption recommendations. The average American drank 1.6 gallons of bottled water per year, while in 2006, we each drank 28.3 gallons of bottled water. But drinking bottled water not only has an impact on our pocketbooks, it also may have negative impacts on our health and the health of the environment. Bottled water is no more strictly regulated than tap water; some would say it is less regulated. American bottled water consumers also contribute to the disposal of approximately 38 billion water bottles per year into landfills (despite the fact that they are recyclable). Read on to learn more about the impacts of bottled water.

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