Introduction to Water Policy

Water is the essence of life and without it no humans, animals, or plants can survive without it. In the modern era, mankind has improperly managed all aspects of natural systems, including the quantity and quality of water on which our lives depend. Water policies are created and used to guide the management and governance of our most precious resources. Therefore, it is very important to create a framework within policy to understand how to approach future issues and make improvements to management of the remaining water resources and to restore those that have been damaged by unacceptable management practices causing overuse and contamination. In this textbook, we have attempted to organize water policy into the various aspects that control it because management and governance are not effective if they are not supported by the people who are impacted by it. Many scientists and engineers believe that technology can be used to develop water policies that should be followed to create an abundance of high- quality water, sufficient for use by the population and nature. However, the technical aspects of water management and governance are only one aspect of water policy. Water policy development and decisions involve a decision tree that could be termed the Water Policy Tetrahedron with four basic components including technical, legal, sociopolitical, and economic aspects. Any single policy or decision is formulated within all four aspects and depending on the complexity, normally it will involve all four parts. Also, management of water resources must consider sustainability and resilience in the process of making water policy decisions.