Almost two weeks after a major earthquake hit southwest China, over one million people in the southwestern province of Sichuan still lack sufficient clean drinking water, according to Chinese officials. The 8.0-magnitude earthquake that hit the area on May 12^th left over 9 million people without potable water.

To date, drinking water supplies have resumed in the six provinces impacted by the quake with the exception of parts of Sichuan Province. Chinese authorities have outlined an epidemic control and response plan, which includes distribution of safe water and food, robust epidemic monitoring and control of any identified outbreaks. Sichuan health authorities have sent around 300 disease prevention and control teams and some 200 health inspection and enforcement teams, according to the WHO.

Measures are being taken to repair the water supply system, provide temporary disinfection devices or household water purifiers, and transport water to where it's needed. According to officials, the water system, including pipelines, will be reconstructed over time and ultimately replace current, existing solutions.

To read more about China and the earthquake from the World Health Organization, please go to:
WHO Aids China after Earthquake

The Environmental Protection Agency's has released its 2008 Report on the Environment (ROE) examining the state of the nation's air, water, land, and human health. The report takes a close look at trends in the quality of drinking water and the role of contaminants particularly in surface water, which large-scale water supply systems rely upon, including drinking water obtained from Community Water Systems (CWS), public water systems that supply water to the same population, year-round.

In particular, the report identified four drinking water contaminants that pose a public health risk:

• Human activities that contaminate the source: aquifers and surface waters can be contaminated by chemicals from disposal sites, organic solvents, petroleum products, in part.
• Natural sources: Ground water that travels through rock and soil can pick up naturally occurring contaminants, such as arsenic, other heavy metals or radionuclides.
• Microbial pathogens: Harmful microbial pathogens such as Giardia, Cryptosporidium and E.Coli O157:H7, can enter water supplies through contamination by inadequately treated wastewater effluent, rainwater runoff from grazing area and animal feed lots, as even from natural areas with wildlife that harbor such pathogens.
• Treatment and distribution: Treatment can also result in the presence of certain disinfection byproducts that may themselves be harmful, including the uptake of corrosion products such as heavy metals.

The report stated that the disinfection of drinking water has dramatically reduced the incidence of waterborne diseases such as typhoid, cholera, hepatitis, as well as gastrointestinal illness in the United States.

In addition, the report found that most Americans served by CWS are served by facilities with no reported violations. Over 286 million Americans were served by CWS in fiscal year 2007, approximately 95 percent of the U.S. population. In fact, since 1993, the percentage of Americans served by CWS for which states reported no health-based violations has increased from 79 percent in 1993 to 92 percent in 2007. These figures reflect EPA's view that strengthened requirements and compliance with water systems standards have resulted in a higher level of public health protection.

The EPA 2008 ROE is an update of the draft ROE that was released in 2003 and builds on the foundation of that draft report. The agency determined that the 2003 ROE resulted in a better understanding of which indicators are robust enough to include in the EPA 2008 ROE.

To read the full report, please go to the:
EPA Report on Environment

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded a grant for $8 million to help San Francisco develop and evaluate a drinking water contamination warning system for its drinking water supply. The pilot project, called the Water Security Initiative, is expected to serve as a model for the nation's drinking water utilities. New York City also recently received a similar grant, last month.

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) currently tests drinking water more than 90,000 times per year throughout a regional water system that reaches more 2.4 million Bay Area residents in San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Alameda Counties using state-of-the-art sampling, detection and analysis tools.

The contamination warning system to be installed and evaluated through the EPA grant will enable the SFPUC to deploy and pilot high technology equipment that involves online water quality monitoring, public health surveillance, sampling and analysis, enhanced security monitoring and consumer complaint surveillance. The warning system is also designed to be sustainable for long-term operation and to improve water quality management.

For more information about the EPA's Water Security Initiative, please go to:
EPA's Water Security Website

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