Principal aquifers in California are the main underground water sources found within the state’s borders. According to the Oxford Dictionary of Environment and Conservation, an aquifer is a layer of rock or soil that allows water to flow through it and is covered by a layer of rock that does not allow water to pass through. California has identified 515 groundwater basins and subbasins within these aquifers.
The Great Lakes–St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact is a legal agreement between the U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
The Colorado River Compact is a 1922 agreement that divides water among seven states in the Southwestern United States. The agreement covers the area where the Colorado River flows. The agreement was first suggested by attorney Delph Carpenter.
The Murray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) is the main government organization responsible for managing the Murray–Darling Basin in a way that protects the environment and ensures resources last. The MDBA is an independent government body that works with the states in the Basin to manage water resources for the benefit of the entire country. It reports to the Minister for the Environment and Water, a position held since May 2025 by Murray Watt.
The Mekong River Commission (MRC) is an international organization that works directly with the governments of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam to jointly manage the shared water resources and the sustainable development of the Mekong River. Its mission is “To promote and coordinate sustainable management and development of water and related resources for the countries’ mutual benefit and the people’s well-being.”
The Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) is a partnership among countries that share the Nile River. It aims to work together to use the river’s resources, share benefits, and improve peace and security in the region. The NBI started with talks between the countries, leading to a shared goal: to achieve long-term progress that helps people and the economy through fair use of the Nile’s water.
The Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, also called the Water Convention, is an international agreement focused on environmental protection. It is one of five environmental treaties negotiated by the UNECE. This agreement aims to help countries improve their efforts to protect and manage shared surface and groundwater resources.
Water chlorination is a method of adding chlorine or other chlorine-based chemicals, such as sodium hypochlorite, to water. This process is used to kill harmful bacteria, viruses, and other microbes in water. This helps prevent the spread of waterborne diseases such as cholera, dysentery, and typhoid.
Since the beginning of societies where people lived in one place (often starting when agriculture was developed), human communities have faced important problems related to keeping areas clean and ensuring access to safe drinking water. When water supplies, systems for moving water, or sanitation methods were not enough, diseases spread, causing illness and early deaths. Large communities could only form in places with plenty of fresh surface water, such as near rivers or natural springs.
Seven cholera pandemics have happened over the past 200 years, with the first one starting in India in 1817. The seventh cholera pandemic is still ongoing today and began in 1961, as reported by the World Health Organization in a factsheet from March 2022. Many major local cholera outbreaks have also been recorded, such as an outbreak in South America from 1991 to 1994 and a more recent outbreak in Yemen from 2016 to 2021.