Getting Started
Almost a third of the global population lacks physical or economic access to safe drinking water and two thirds lack access to safe sanitation. Untreated water together with lacks infrastructure results in water-born disease. Access to water is compromised particularly in conflict areas, but water can also contribute to conflict as 62 countries share bodies of water. This challenge therefore addresses the need for access to safe drinking water and sanitation worldwide.
Background
Reference resources provide a starting point for your research projects.
Credo Reference
Credo Reference provides hundreds of encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri, and more in one place. Below is a sample of keyword searches in Credo Reference related to this topic:
Call Numbers & Subject Headings
You can use the list of call numbers and subject headings below as keyword searches in our catalog and databases, or you can go to these sections of the library to find books on these topics.
- GB651-2998: Hydrology. Water.
- HD28-9999: Industries. Land use. Labor.
- RA565-600: Environmental health.
Books
Books from Lane Library
All books in this list are located in the Franzen Center on Floor 3A.
- The atlas of water / G1046.C3 B53 2016
- Aquanomics / HD1691.A68 2012
- The big thirst / HD1691 .F55 2012
- Chasing water / HD1691.R53 2014
- Clean Water: An introduction to water quality and water pollution control / TD370 .V55 2003
- Elixir / GB671 .F34 2011
- Empire of water / TD225.N5 S65 2013
- Food, energy and water: the chemistry connection / TD193 .F66 2015
- The future of conservation in America / S930 .M13 2018
- Governing Water: Contentious Transnational Politics and Global Institution Building / TD345 .C65 2006
- The Great Lakes water wars / HD1695.G69 A56 2006
- The Oxford handbook of water politics and policy / HD1691 .O94 2018
- Poison in the well: Radioactive waste in the Oceans at the Dawn of the Nuclear Age / TD898 .H35 2008
- Quenching the thirst / TD195.W3 A462 2013
- The Ripple Effect: The fate of fresh water in the twenty-first century /TD345 .P77 2011
- The state of water / TD224.C3 K353 2019
- Unlikely Environmentalists: Congress & Clean Water 1945-1972 / GE180 .M55 2006
- Water in plain sight / HD1691 .S839 2016
- Water, peace, and war: / HD1691.C44 W37 2013
- Water Pollution: Causes, Treatments and Solutions! / TD433 .B45 2015
- Water Pollution: Types, Causes and Management Strategies / TD424.3 .M36 2018
- Water Pollution Policies and the American States: Runaway Bureaucracies or Congressional Control? / TD424.3 .H66 2011
- Water Quality and Pollution / TD370 .W38 2017
- Water wars: privatization, pollution, and profit / TD345 .S525 2016
Search terms for additional books in Lane Library’s catalog:
- Drinking Water–Contamination
- Marine pollution
- Nonpoint pollution of water
- Nutrient pollution of water
- Oil pollution of water
- Waste disposal in rivers, lakes, etc.
- Water pollution
Discovery Search: Search Lane Library’s books, ebooks, and articles in one place.
Books from other libraries
WorldCat: Search for books not available at Lane Library and borrow from other libraries for free through interlibrary loan.
Articles
Databases
The following databases are useful places to search for water-related articles. Contact a librarian if you would like more information on how to search for articles on your specific topic.
- Academic Search Complete: Wide range of academic disciplines, including for scholarly and popular journals.
- BioOne: Full-text journals in biology, ecology, and environmental science.
- Greenfile : Collection of scholarly, government, and general interest titles covering environmental studies.
- New York Times: Access to news and archival content from NY Times. If you run into a paywall, here is more information on how to sign up.
- ProQuest Research Library: Includes both popular and scholarly periodicals covering a variety of subjects, with over 3300 titles available in full text.
- ProQuest Social Science Journals: Social science topics.
Get articles from other libraries
If you cannot find a full-text version of the article you need, request it through interlibrary loan. Interlibrary loan is a free service that allows you to borrow books and articles from other libraries. Find answers to frequently asked questions about ILL here.
Government Sources, Statistics, and Websites
Government sources
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- United Nations Sustainable Development Goals – Goal 3: Good Health & Wellbeing; Goal 6: Clean Water & Sanitation; Goal 9: Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure; Goal 12: Responsible Production and Consumption; Goal 14: Life Below Water
- UN – Water
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- U.S. Geological Survey
- Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Statistics
- CIA World Factbook : Background information on each country in the world
- Gallup polls : Polls on a variety of topics by a trusted organization
- Proquest Statistical Abstract : Statistics from federal agencies
- World Almanac : Collection of statistics and rankings