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August 2020: National Water Quality Month
Selector: Clayton Hayes
August is National Water Quality Month, so I have gathered resources related to water quality for our August 2020 Subject of the Month. As someone who was born and raised in Michigan, I know how easy it can be to take freshwater resources for granted. The size and scope of the Great Lakes means it can be easy to forget how much work goes in to maintaining water systems. Even here in the Great Lakes region, where water can feel like a limitless resource, water quality remains an essential part of our everyday lives and should not be overlooked. With this in mind, I've expanded the scope of this guide a bit beyond just water quality and have included resources related to freshwater systems and ecology here in the Great Lakes region, as well.
Image credit: Aerial Associates Photography, Inc. by Zachary Haslick for the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory
Databases, August 2020
- GeoREF This link opens in a new windowCovering geology and related topics for North America from 1785 and that of the rest of the world from 1933.
- GreenFILE This link opens in a new windowOffers well-researched information covering all aspects of human impact to the environment.
- IEEE Xplore This link opens in a new windowProvides full-text access to transactions, journals, magazines, and conference proceedings on a variety of engineering-related topics.
- Nature journals online This link opens in a new windowOne of the most widely-read collections of science-related journals covering a variety of topics.
- Web of Science This link opens in a new windowAn important index of science and social science articles covering a wide range of topics.
Electronic Journals, August 2020
- Environmental health perspectives This link opens in a new windowEnvironmental Health Perspectives is a journal of peer-reviewed research and news on the impact of the environment on human health.
- WaterWater is a peer-reviewed open access journal on water science and technology, including the ecology and management of water resources.
- CLEAN: Soil, Air, WaterCLEAN covers all aspects of sustainability and environmental safety, giving interdisciplinary insights on a broad range of topics including air pollution, waste management, the water cycle, and environmental conservation.
- Water Quality Research JournalThe Water Quality Research Journal publishes peer-reviewed, scholarly articles on a host of water quality-related topics.
Special and Archival Collections, August 2020
Note that these resources are only available on-site at the Reuther and Purdy-Kresge libraries. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Purdy-Kresge Library is expected to remain closed through the Fall 2020 semester while the Reuther Library will allow research visits by appointment only. Updates regarding library access may be found at https://library.wayne.edu/covid-19/
Michigan Environmental Justice oral histories
from the 2014 WSU School of Information Sciences Oral Histories course:
Organizations Invested in Water Quality, Local to International
Detroit Water and Sewerage Department - Water Quality Reports
The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) produces yearly reports on the water quality in the city of Detroit.
Belle Isle Conservancy
The Belle Isle Conservancy's mission is to protect, preserve, restore and enhance the natural environment, historic structures and unique character of Belle Isle as a public park for the enjoyment of all – now and forever.
Friends of the Rouge
Friends of the Rouge (FOTR) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that was founded in 1986 to raise awareness about the need to clean up the Rouge River in southeast Michigan.
Southeast Michigan Council of Governments
The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) supports local planning through its technical, data, and intergovernmental resources. The work SEMCOG does improves the quality of the region's water, makes the transportation system safer and more efficient, revitalizes communities, and spurs economic development.
Healthy Urban Waters
Healthy Urban Waters (HUW) is a collaboration of Wayne State University researchers networked with the community to focus on water in an urban setting and future impacts of human culture on community, ecosystem, and economic health.
Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy - Water
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) establishes water quality standards, oversees public water supplies, regulates the discharge of industrial and municipal wastewaters, monitors water quality and the health of aquatic communities, develops policy, and fosters stewardship.
Environmental Protection Agency
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) includes a wide range of water quality-related material, like their Water Quality Standards, Great Lakes resource page, and Water Topics guide.
United States Geological Survey - Water Resources
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) works with partners to monitor, assess, conduct targeted research, and deliver information on a wide range of water resources and conditions including streamflow, groundwater, water quality, and water use and availability.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Environmental Program
As the nation’s environmental engineer, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) manages one of the largest federal environmental missions: restoring degraded ecosystems; constructing sustainable facilities; regulating waterways; managing natural resources; and, cleaning up contaminated sites from past military activities.
International Joint Commission
Canada and the United States created the International Joint Commission (IJC) to manage lake and river systems along their shared border. The IJC has two main responsibilities: approving projects that affect water levels and flows across the boundary and investigating transboundary issues and recommending solutions.
World Health Organization - Water
The World Health Organization (WHO) is an agency within the United Nations that works internationally to coordinate health-related goals and policies.
eBooks, August 2020
Water Quality
Guidelines for Drinking-Water Quality by
The World Health Organization's Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality builds on over 50 years of guidance by WHO on drinking-water quality, which has formed an authoritative basis for the setting of national regulations and standards for water safety in support of public health.
Call Number: [ebook]Publication Date: 2017
Water As a Social Opportunity by
Water as a Social Opportunity conveys the idea that the ways in which society responds to water-related challenges has the potential to yield a variety of positive outcomes not just for water, or the economy, but for society more broadly. Contributors consider water issues across Canada from this original perspective, and suggest this concept as a basis for developing a long-overdue national water strategy in Canada.
Call Number: [ebook]Publication Date: 2016
Water Quality by
Water quality is fundamental for our health and affects the environment we share with other animals including marine, freshwater and terrestrial species. Water quality is often managed based on indicators for levels of bacteria and other chemical/physical contents. To assist in better management and monitoring of water quality, this book provides an overview of state of the art assessments of water quality.
Call Number: [ebook]Publication Date: 2013
Water Quality & Treatment: A Handbook on Drinking Water by
Comprehensive, current, and written by leading experts, Water Quality & Treatment covers state-of-the-art technologies and methods for water treatment and quality control. Significant revisions and new material in this edition reflect the latest advances and critical topics in water supply and treatment. Presented by the American Water Works Association, this is the leading source of authoritative information on drinking water quality and treatment.
Call Number: [ebook]Publication Date: 2010
The Great Lakes
The Heart of the Lakes by
The water corridor that defines southeast Michigan sits at the heart of the world's largest freshwater ecosystem, the Great Lakes. Over forty-three trillion gallons of water a year flow through the Detroit River, providing a natural conduit for everything from fish migration to cargo-bearing freighters. Joining this journey downriver in place and time, from Port Huron to Monroe, from the 1600s to the present, provides insight and hope for the region's water-based renaissance.
Call Number: [ebook]Publication Date: 2019
Local Activism for Global Climate Justice by
This book will inspire and spark grassroots action to address the inequitable impacts of climate change, by showing how this can be tackled and the many benefits of doing so. With contributions from climate activists and engaged young authors, this book pays special attention to Canada and the Great Lakes watershed, showing how the effects of climate change span local, regional, and global scales through the impact of extreme weather events such as floods and droughts, with related economic and social effects that cross political jurisdictions.
Call Number: [ebook]Publication Date: 2019
Pandora's Locks by
The St. Lawrence Seaway was considered one of the world's greatest engineering achievements when it opened in 1959. The $1 billion project-a series of locks, canals, and dams that tamed the ferocious St. Lawrence River-opened the Great Lakes to the global shipping industry. Blending science with compelling personal accounts, this book is the first comprehensive account of how inviting transoceanic freighters into North America's freshwater seas transformed these wondrous lakes.
Call Number: [ebook]Publication Date: 2009
Phytoplankton Dynamics in the North American Great Lakes by
Phytoplankton Dynamics in the North American Great Lakes is the compilation of two volumes, originally published 1996 and 2000, representing the culmination of nearly three decades' worth of work. With these volumes, the phycology of the North American Great Lakes has been brought into the new millennium.
Call Number: [ebook]Publication Date: 2013
Voices for the Watershed by
Voices for the Watershed is a unique look at the singular and ecologically inter-connected region of the Great Lakes-St Lawrence watershed. With contributions from experts from the United States, Quebec, and Ontario, this book offers an accessible introduction to the issues affecting the quality of our most essential and precious of natural resources - clean, fresh water.
Call Number: [ebook]Publication Date: 2000
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