WASHINGTON — A report outlining the challenges facing the U.S. freshwater supply was presented to the Obama Administration during a meeting of federal agencies convened by the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) on Sept. 15, according to a press release.

The report, titled “Charting New Waters: A Call to Action to Address U.S. Freshwater Challenges,” represents consensus recommendations of diverse interests convened by The Johnson Foundation at Wingspread in Racine, Wisc.

The report identifies serious challenges to the quality and supply of freshwater, such as pollution and scarcity; competing urban, rural and ecosystem water needs; climate change; environmental and public health impacts; and a variety of economic implications.

The document offers actions to confront these threats and a plan to ensure that the nation’s freshwater resources are secure for the 21st century, the release stated.

“There was broad consensus among participants that our current path will, unless changed, lead us to a national freshwater crisis in the foreseeable future,” the Call to Action reports. “This reality encompasses a wide array of challenges … that collectively amount to a tenuous trajectory for the future of the nation’s freshwater resources.”

The document is believed to be the first such comprehensive, cross-sector examination of U.S. freshwater challenges and solutions.