Fred Reiff, P.E., is a retired official from both the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Public Health Service.
From 1981 to 1995, Reiff was responsible for disseminating the WHO drinking water quality guidelines and fomenting the adoption or updating of national drinking water quality standards.
He also was responsible for managing the United Nations Global Environmental Monitoring Programs for Water (for the Americas), the development and promulgation of environmental interventions in disaster preparedness and relief, and the development of appropriate technology for treatment of both potable and waste water.
He also served on the Pan American Health Organization’s management task force that was formed for the prevention and control of cholera. This level of involvement provided many opportunities for both overall and close-up monitoring of the status of water supply disinfection and its effectiveness as a public health measure in prevention and control of waterborne diseases in all Latin American and the Caribbean countries before, during, and after the introduction of cholera in Peru in 1991.